LEXINGTON, Ky. - Longtime Gainesway stallion Lear Fan, sire of such champions as Windsharp and Ryafan, has been pensioned from stud duty at age 23. The Roberto horse's fertility had declined, prompting his retirement.
"Lear Fan has been a source of pride for Gainesway," farm president Antony Beck said. "He had an outstanding career as both a racehorse and sire, and we have been honored to have him at the farm."
Pleasantly Perfect, currently training to defend his Breeders' Cup Classic title, will have a $40,000 stud fee when he retires at the end of the year.
Lane's End and Pleasantly Perfect's owner, Gerald A. Ford's Diamond A Racing Corporation, announced late last month that the 6-year-old horse would stand at Lane's End in Versailles, Ky., beginning in 2005.
The Tattersalls October Part 1 yearling sale, the first segment of a reformatted two-part auction, ended Friday with a European record for gross and a $2,149,350 top price.
The four-day auction posted a record of 52,631,500 guineas, or about $98,368,274, for 512 lots sold. The average was $192,124, and the median was $130,830.
The top-priced yearling was the $2,149,350 Danehill-Bordighera colt that Coolmore agent Demi O'Byrne bought from Trickledown Stud. The colt is a half-brother to three-time Group 1 winner Grandera.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Blazing away from his competition over a fast turf course at Longchamp to win the Prix de l'Abbaye, Var could hardly have been more impressive in a display of pure speed. In that and other respects, he is remarkably like his sire, the Storm Cat stallion Forest Wildcat.
Both are highly talented horses who showed high speed early in their careers but did not win a stakes until they were 5. By that time, many owners have given up on talented horses who have yet to succeed in a stakes, but perseverance paid off in spades with this father and son.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - When Iowa-based Thoroughbred owner Maggi Moss retired her former claimer U.S. Gold to Blazing Saddles Farm in Randolph, Mass., she believed she had rescued him.
The now 9-year-old gelding ran 100 times in his career, winning 21 races and more than $513,000 for a variety of owners, including Moss. When she saw that U.S. Gold was losing in cheap claiming company at Monmouth this summer, Moss arranged to buy him and retire him.
The Ocala Breeders' Sales fall mixed sale begins Monday with weanlings the dominant sales category.
"I fully expect our weanling market to be very strong," said OBS general manager and sales director Tom Ventura.
The following is an alphabetical list of Florida stallions who were graded stakes winners and have first weanlings going to market.
Fappie's Notebook: The son of Notebook earned $561,085 and won six races, including the Grade 3 Deputy Minister Handicap. He also placed in four additional stakes.
If last week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale is any indicator, there is still plenty of life left within Maryland's breeding industry.
The two-day auction (Oct. 4-5) at Timonium set records in nearly every category, and was topped by a Maryland-bred colt by Silver Deputy who brought $500,000 - the first auction horse ever to reach the half-million-dollar mark in Maryland.
ARCADIA, Calif. - In the days after A to the Z finished a game second in an allowance race at Del Mar on Aug. 27, trainer Paula Capestro's phone seemed to be ringing constantly.
"People kept saying, 'Is the horse for sale?' " Capestro said.
Not wanting to sell the 4-year-old A to the Z on behalf of owner Darel Ray, Capestro and her husband, Andy, decided to buy the gelding for an undisclosed sum.
"I was going to lose him," Paula Capestro said. "I wanted a nice horse. I'm hoping I can improve him a bit."
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Lane's End stallion Kingmambo will stand for $300,000 in 2005, putting him in company with fellow Lane's End sire A.P. Indy as North America's second most expensive stallions.
The highest-priced North American stallion is Storm Cat, who stands at Overbrook Farm for a $500,000 fee.