Alternation

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for Sunday running at Chukyo Racecourse: 5th-CKO, ¥10,480,000, Maiden, 3yo, 1600mT DOUBLE JOKE (c, 3, Practical Joke--Double Date, by Rahy) is out of an unraced half-sister to Canadian Horse of the Year, champion 3-year-old colt and dual Grade I winner Peaks and Valleys (Mt. Livermore)...

MSW Alternate (Seattle Slew--Strike a Balance, by Green Dancer), dam of MGSW and Grade I-producing sire Alternation (Distorted Humor), died Oct. 15th at her lifetime home, Pin Oak Stud. She was 23 years old. She will be buried at her birthplace. The Pin Oak homebred won six races and placed another 11 times, seven in stakes, including the GII Monmouth Breeders' Cup Oaks, GIII Delaware Oaks, GIII Bewitch S. and the GIII Glens Falls H. She was trained by Graham Motion and earned over $550,000. The dam of nine winners...

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have George Adams of Housatonic Bloodstock, who serves as the Director of Stallions and Breeding for Wasabi Ventures Stables. "With a relatively young group of mares, ideally we'd like to send them to a proven stallion at least once or twice in their first few years, just to get a better handle on their ability as producers," said Adams. "At a lower stud fee price point...

Multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Alternation (Distorted Humor--Alternate, by Seattle Slew), a half-brother to Grade I winner and Darby Dan Farm stallion Higher Power (Medaglia d'Oro) and the sire of multiple Grade I winner Serengeti Empress, is being relocated from Pin Oak Stud to Darby Dan Farm by Steve Belford's Maccabee Farm for the upcoming breeding season, the farm announced today. Alternation is being re-syndicated and will stand for a fee of $7,500 S&N. "We're excited to bring a horse of Alternation's caliber to Darby Dan," said Ryan Norton, stallion director...

Today we come to a final group of stallions whose development we're treating separately, before wrapping up our series with a look at those survivors who made it across the highwire and can be grouped together as "Established Sires." (After which we'll also be taking a tour of regional stallions.) In the last couple of instalments, we've observed the Kentucky talent pool in each intake rapidly drying up, so that our review of third- and fourth-crop options respectively encompassed 18 and just six stallions. And we are left with a...

Higher Power (Medaglia d'Oro-Alternate, by Seattle Slew) will retire to Darby Dan Farm at the conclusion of his racing career and stand in partnership with Matt Bowling Bloodstock, the farm announced Tuesday. The Hronis Racing colorbearer, trained by John Sadler, is pointing to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 7. His 2021 fee will be $10,000 S&N for nominations completed prior to the Breeders' Cup. A 5 1/4-length winner of the 2019 GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar, Higher Power recorded a career-best 107 Beyer in the 10-furlong...

Last year's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks heroine Serengeti Empress (Alternation) punched her ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint with an ultra-game, front-running performance while turning back in distance in Saturday's GI Ballerina S. at the Spa. The dark bay wasn't off to the sharpest of beginnings from her rail draw, but was quarter-horsed to the front by Luis Saez to hold a narrow advantage over the pride of Mexico Letruska (Super Saver) through an opening quarter in a blazing :21.75. Getting scrubbed on and appearing to...

Last January, following a promising sophomore season that fell short of a divisional title, Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) made her 4-year-old debut with a win in the GIII Houston Ladies Classic S., using it as a springboard to a championship campaign. Sunday at Sam Houston, Joel Politi's Eclipse finalist Serengeti Empress (Alternation) will attempt to replicate her predecessor's feat against five rivals as she opens her auspicious 4-year-old account. Catching the racing world's attention with back-to-back stakes wins by a combined 33 lengths in the summer of 2018, the $70,000...