Ashford Stud

Karma, football, a wild longshot in the Santa Anita Oaks, and one of the industry's oldest farms striving to break new ground in new areas. Let's also not forget the big Twin Spired shadow looming over us. Here's how the controlled chaos went down this week. Defying the odds...again Taiba will be up against all sorts of historical norms by forging ahead to the Kentucky Derby off just two lifetime starts. Since 1937 (the advent of detailed start statistics), only four horses have ever even attempted the Derby in career...

If the early trials have produced a Derby horse to "rise without trace," then that might well turn out to be Morello (Classic Empire). As winner of two sprints round Aqueduct this winter, he obviously still has a long way to go--in every sense. But there's no mistaking his raw talent, nor the fact that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg even in that very stylish exhibition in the Jimmy Winkfield S. Certainly Morello looks eligible to restore some deserved attention to his sire. Though they're all...

Echo Town (Speightstown)'s first foals have arrived. Miss Sephora (First Samurai), a half-sister to GSW Pataky Kid (Rockport Harbor), produced a bay filly by Echo Town bred by Allen Poindexter. "She's a good, correct, leggy quality foal," Tim Hamlin said. "Delighted with her. We'll be sending mares back to Echo Town in 2022." Then on Thursday, My Tempo (Declaration of War) foaled a chestnut colt at Chesapeake Farm by Echo Town bred by Crown Chase Farm. "He is a really nice colt, very correct with plenty of bone and quality,"...

European champion 2-year-old Air Force Blue (War Front--Chatham, by Maria's Mon) has been acquired by Pegasus Farm in South Korea, according to a report in the Blood-Horse. From two crops of racing age, Air Force Blue is responsible for five black-type winners, including Astronomer, who won Del Mar's Qatar Golden Mile S. on the Breeders' Cup Friday undercard; and Canadian Classic winner Haddassah, who captured Fort Erie's Prince of Wales S. Air Force Blue, bred in Kentucky by Stone Farm, brought $490,000 from Magnier, Tabor and Smith at the 2014...

Edited Press Release The Thoroughbred industry in Kentucky has raised $517,224 for both immediate response and longer-term recovery needs of individuals and families impacted by the deadly tornadoes occurring in Western Kentucky Dec. 10 and 11. The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association organized a GoFundMe page Dec. 11, which raised $318,199 since inception. Further donations came in, including a season to Triple Crown winning stallion Justify donated by Ashford Stud/Coolmore America and private sources, raising the total quickly. All told, 315 Thoroughbred breeders, racehorse owners including Spendthrift Farm, trainers, jockeys, industry stalwarts...

And so we reach the final leg of our journey hunting out value among Kentucky sires in 2022. It's been a rather more focused exercise this time round, and if that means plenty of stallions (and indeed some farms) have been overlooked, so be it. It's only ever the subjective view of a single bystander. You'll know what works for your own mare, and for your own agenda, too, whether you're an end user, say, or first and foremost need to anticipate commercial demand. We've often complained that a market...

LEXINGTON, KY--Kentuckians across the Commonwealth woke up with a text on Saturday morning: 'Are you okay?' For most, it was an uneventful night aside from perhaps being awakened once or twice to the sound of high winds. But for some, unimaginable destruction and immeasurable damage occurred overnight as a catastrophic tornado hit western Kentucky. As of Friday, 77 Kentuckians have lost their lives due to a storm that is expected to have affected an estimated 227 miles, according to WLKY News. Bradley Boyd, a professional Quarter Horse trainer based in...

So finally we come to a group of stallions that has at least offered some initial indication of their competence actually to produce a runner. Not that the market tends to enjoy this process! Its nervousness about sires at this stage of their career makes it easy to see why so much investment is instead concentrated in that period of grace when they haven't yet been exposed in such heartless fashion. Yes, the one or two that are prompt to seize their chance are instantly on their way: their second...

Though the first three installments of this series have featured the stallions with most to prove, we know that they will collectively be dominating commercial traffic in the new covering season. But today we come to the group that has just completed that first, critical market cycle--and finally stands on the brink of testing their stock where it really counts. Or should count, anyway. The sad reality is that they have already exhausted their usefulness to a lot of breeders, many of whom will meanwhile have ridden the carousel through...

Coolmore's Adrian Wallace joins this week's TDN Writers' Room to discuss Ashford Stud's star-studded 2022 roster.

Coolmore has released its 2022 stud fees for stallions standing at Ashford Farm in Kentucky. Uncle Mo remains at the top of the roster at $160,000--down slightly from an advertised fee of $175,000 for the 2021 breeding season. The champion juvenile has been represented this year by the likes of GI Forego S. winner Yaupon; streaking turf miler Mo Forza; and brilliant turf sprinter Golden Pal. Triple Crown winner Justify, whose first yearlings have been well received this year at an average of $393,713 and with multiple seven-figure sellers, will...

Ashford Stud's Dermot Ryan was named the 2021 Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club announced Tuesday. Ryan has long been a supporter of the club, through donations, involvement in club events, and encouraging participation from other Ashford Stud employees. With his blessing, Ashford Stud hosted the inaugural KTFMC 5K in 2016 and has expressed interest in hosting again in the future. He has supported other programs such as KEMI by taking students each session and has served on many boards and committees industry...