Bernardini

5th-Laurel, $46,000, Msw, 10-29, 2yo, f, 1m (off turf), 1:41.41, sy, 5 1/2 lengths. GHERARDINI (f, 2, Bernardini--Brush Hour, by Broad Brush) was sent off the 3-2 choice in this maiden rained off the grass and onto a Zeta-affected main track at Laurel and sustained a rally for the better part of 3 1/2 furlongs to graduate by an impressive 5 1/2 lengths. Away clearly last beneath Sheldon Russell, the $150,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was ridden quietly from about third last before being asked to improve a long way...

Stud fees have been announced for Darley's U.S. stallions in 2021, with leading sire Medaglia d'Oro set to stand for $150,000. He stood the 2020 season for $200,000. He is currently the number one yearling sire in North America by both average and median and was represented by four million dollar-plus offerings in 2020, the same number he was represented by in 2019. "These are trying times breeders are facing," said Darley Sales Manager Darren Fox. "We gave great consideration to this when setting our fees to reflect the economic...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-KEE, $70K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 2:50 p.m. ET Pricey Rising Empire (Empire Maker) is one of two signed on here for Larry Jones. The $275,000 Keeneland September yearling blossomed into a $700,000 OBSAPR juvenile after a powerful :10 1/5 breeze. He's half to the long-winded GSW and 'TDN Rising Star' Rocketry (Hard Spun). Fox Hill Farms Inc.'s Trump Card (Nyquist) is out of a precocious mare who earned a big figure for a June 2-year-old debut before finishing third in Saratoga's GIII Schuylerville S. He...

For up-and-coming horsewoman Sabrina Moore, co-owner and operator of GreenMount Farm in Glyndon, Maryland, two of her greatest accomplishments revolve around Maryland breeding and racing. Last year Knicks Go (Paynter), a colt she co-bred with her mother Angie Moore, was named Maryland-bred Horse of the Year after winning the 2018 edition of the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and running second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile behind Eclipse Award winner Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}). [tdn_vimeo_embed title="GreenMount Farm's Sabrina Moore " admp4="https://player.vimeo.com/external/457768014.sd.mp4?s=4c622a4137c4a6dbc07e85af3da7af49dd5142e9&profile_id=165" videomp4= "https://player.vimeo.com/external/463243423.sd.mp4?s=9edd38c392a47ba5a2b490471439765dcf42f9e7&profile_id=165" thumbnail= ""] "When Knicks Go got...

Spendthrift purchased the breeding rights to Authentic before the Grade l Santa Anita Derby, and the $9 million kicker it agreed to pay Authentic's former ownership group for winning the Gl Kentucky Derby is indicative of the premium that's placed on a stallion prospect with North America's most prestigious Classic on his resume. A front-running colt, Authentic has the right type of sire behind him as well. He's by Spendthrift's flagship stallion Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday), who cranks out graded stakes winners like nobody's business, particularly sprinters and milers that...

On a cloudless August morning in Goshen, Kentucky, a steady stream of horses step on and off the synthetic track at Skylight Training Center. It's a tranquil, scenic drive along Liberty Road to get to Skylight, and quiet still upon pulling into the training center's drive. But at a barn towards the far end of the property, there's a certain effervescence at Tom Drury's stable. The magnetic energy is palpable even in watching the staff go about their daily tasks. "It's a lot busier around here lately," Drury said with...

There's a tendency in this business--as in life--to downgrade the relevance of the aged and to push them aside in favor of youth. You see this in bloodstock all the time. Everyone wants young mares, just as everyone wants to patronize first-year sires. Old mares, even some stakes producers, are discarded cheaply, and older sires, unless they are elite, have a hard time attracting mares, even at discounted fees. Likewise, everyone wants good 2-year-olds that will mature into early 3-year-olds on the Triple Crown trail, but no one seems to...

There was no easy ride for heavily-favored ART COLLECTOR (c, 3, Bernardini--Distorted Legacy, by Distorted Humor) in Sunday's Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, as he was pressured hard on the front end throughout, but in the end it made little difference, as the streaking bay turned away all challengers to cement himself as one of the favorites for the GI Kentucky Derby. Breaking sharply at 2-5, Art Collector made the lead on his own power under Brian Hernandez, Jr. while being kept a bit off the rail heading into the clubhouse...

All eyes will be on Art Collector (Bernardini) as he looks to go four-for-four on the year and punch his ticket to Louisville in Sunday's $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby. After airing over subsequent GIII Indiana Derby hero Shared Sense (Street Sense) in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs June 13, the Bruce Lunsford homebred followed up with another impressive performance capturing Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. July 11, his second straight victory with a triple digit Beyer Speed Figure. "I'm just hoping for a good clean trip more...

You didn't know? Sure they do, every Travers weekend. All the Bluegrass stallions. They get together for a few bourbons at the country club, compare notes on the covering season. And it's not like the officers' mess, where no gentleman would bandy a lady's name. They guffaw when they discover that some notoriously ornery mare was sent to a naïve new subscriber; they drool enviously when one of the senior members reveals that he was favored with a visit from that gorgeous maiden who topped a session at the November...

"The Homeboy, I call him: the Louisville Homeboy." Bruce Lunsford gives a proud chuckle. "With Tommy, and Brian, we've made it an all-Louisville crowd. So that's kind of fun. In fact, when we laid out a plan, one of the good things was that we could get all the way to the Breeders' Cup without leaving Kentucky. I think that's an advantage, but who knows?" One thing he does know: he would prefer to cede the limelight to those unsung horsemen, Tom Drury, Jr. and Brian Hernandez, Jr. But if...

Bruce Lunsford's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Art Collector (Bernardini) will run in the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9, trainer Tom Drury told the Ellis Park notes team. The Runhappy Ellis Park Derby, with its purse doubled and distance extended from a mile to 1 1/8 miles, this year carries GI Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The winner receives 50 points toward qualifying for the Sept. 5 Derby, a number that virtually assures a spot in the 20-horse field at Churchill Downs. The runner-up receives 20 points, with...