LEXINGTON, Ky. - Conquistador Cielo, whose dramatic Metropolitan Mile-Belmont Stakes double in just five days propelled him to the 1982 Horse of the Year title and a record syndication price, died Tuesday morning at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Ky. The Mr. Prospector horse foundered in his left foreleg, and Claiborne officials decided to euthanize him. Conquistador Cielo was 23.
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Dual Grade 1 winner and millionaire Manndar will start his stud career in 2003 at Wintergreen Stallion Station in Midway, Ky., the farm has announced. Manndar, now 6, will stand for $3,500 (foal stands and nurses). A son of the late sire Doyoun, Manndar was bred by the Aga Khan, who also raced him early in his career.
Maryland-breds met the challenge, and then some, at Sam Houston Race Park on Dec. 7.
Seven Maryland-breds made the trip to Texas for the inaugural Great State Challenge, and they came away with one victory and three third-place finishes. That was enough to earn Maryland third place in the overall competition with 29 points, behind Kentucky (36) and Florida (34), two states whose combined annual foal production is more than 10 times that of Maryland.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - There will be no shortage of potential starters for the inaugural $3.6 million Sunshine Millions for California-breds and Florida-breds at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita on Jan. 25.
Early-bird nominations closed on Monday with 326 horses eligible for the eight races. The Sunshine Millions is a new concept developed by Magna Entertainment, the parent company of both tracks.
The most popular race is the $250,000 Sunshine Millions Dash for 3-year-olds over seven furlongs at Gulfstream Park, which drew 58 nominations.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - When the Eclipse Award ballots go out, Virginia Kraft Payson's achievement as a breeder might not be obvious on rankings of money earned or number of stakes winners. But her name will appear in two important places, as the breeder of Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Vindication and dual Grade 1 winner Farda Amiga, runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Distaff.
Sez Who Thoroughbreds is a tale of two cities - Ocala, Fla., and Stillwater, N.Y. Both Sez Who operations are owned by retired insurance magnate Dick Simon. Management is mostly made up of the team that operated Harry T. Mangurian Jr.'s Mockingbird Farm, which is now closed, the exceptions being Ocala director of operations Steve Silver and New York farm manager Bill Leak. Mark Casse is the overall general manager.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Vindication will stand at John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farm near Lexington at the conclusion of his racing career, according to a Thursday announcement by the colt's owner, Satish and Anne Sanan's Padua Stables. The likely 2-year-old champion, Vindication is being pointed for the Kentucky Derby.
Banks Hill, the champion turf female of 2001, has been retired and sent to Kentucky to be bred, trainer Bobby Frankel said.
The 4-year-old Banks Hill finished fourth in her final start, the $500,000 Matriarch Stakes at Hollywood Park on Dec. 1. Overall, she won 5 of 15 starts and $1,933,651 for Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms. Racing in three countries, Banks Hill won five stakes, including three Grade or Group 1 stakes - the 2001 Coronation Stakes at Ascot, England, the 2001 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Belmont Park, and the Prix Jacques le Marois in August in France.