ARCADIA, Calif. - Race for Glory was so blocky as a weanling that Bob Callahan, the manager at Craig and Rebecca Shields's farm in Santa Ynez, compared him to a Sherman tank.
It's safe to say Race for Glory is sleeker now, as he nears a start in the $1.5 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita on Oct. 25.
Race for Glory is the lone California-bred among the pre-entries for the eight Breeders' Cup races.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Jockey Club on Thursday released statistics gleaned from its 2003 Reports of Mares Bred, and, once again, stallions at Coolmore-owned Ashford Stud are the nation's busiest.
Grand Slam led all North American stallions by number of mares bred in 2003, with 197. Johannesburg was second with 193 mares in his book. Both stood the season at Ashford, near Versailles, Ky.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Grade 2 winner Crafty C. T. has retired from racing and will stand his first season at Contemporary Stallions in Coxsackie, N.Y. His fee hasn't been announced.
The 5-year-old Crafty Prospector horse retires with $832,652 in earnings and six Grade 1 placings. Howard Zucker trained Crafty C. T. for owner C. T. Grether, who purchased the horse for $240,000 from Cauthen Sales Agency at the 2000 Keeneland juvenile sale.
A $39,000 Delaware Township- Emeralds and Rubys colt that Cashel Stud, agent, sold to Grey Dawn Stables and Ennis Ranch was the session leader as of 5 p.m. on Thursday's Day 4 of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s fall mixed sale in Florida.
At Wednesday's session, the first of two open sessions, a $31,000 Trippi-Sparkling Honey weanling filly was the top seller on a final bid from Dry Creek Stables; Cashel Stud, agent, consigned the filly.
It looks complicated on paper, but the curious three-farm partnership that formed Metropolitan Stud earlier this year actually has streamlined operations for a trio of New York Thoroughbred breeding operations.
Questroyal Stud, Dutchess Views Farm, and Silvernails Farm are all familiar names in upstate New York's breeding industry. Questroyal and Dutchess Views, in particular, have had established stallion rosters and client bases, while the newer Silvernails had begun standing the young stallion Williamstown on one of the state's exceptional properties.
Recently retired Milwaukee Brew, back-to-back winner of the Santa Anita Handicap, will stand at Adena Springs Farm near Lexington, Ky., for a first-year fee of $15,000.
Milwaukee Brew, a 6-year-old by Wild Again, earned more than $2.8 million during his career, winning eight races from 24 starts.
Multiple Grade 1 winner Aldebaran, who is set to retire after the Oct. 25 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita, will stand his initial year at stud for at least $50,000, Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, Ky., announced on Tuesday.
"This initial fee is guaranteed only until the Breeders' Cup Sprint, after which the fee may be raised," a farm statement said.
Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum's Darley organization announced Monday that its 2003 Dubai World Cup winner, Moon Ballad, and Group 1 winner Grandera have been retired to Yushun Company's farm in Japan.
Moon Ballad, 4, is by Singspiel out of the Group 2-winning Shaadi mare Velvet Moon. In addition to his World Cup victory, he also won the Group 2 Dante and Group 3 Select Stakes in England and a United Arab Emirates Grade 3 race, the Maktoum Challenge-Round 2. He also was third in the Epsom Derby last year. He retires with a record of 12-4-3-1 and $4,262,640 in purses.