Birdstone

The 2-year-old filly Alyeska (Vekoma), an eye-catching, come-from-behind debut winner carrying the famed Marylou Whitney silks at Churchill Downs Sept. 20, brought a sale-topping $675,000 from bloodstock agent Steve Young at Keeneland's single-session November Horses of Racing Age sale Thursday, which produced substantial across-the-board increases. Fellow Marylou Whitney homebred and the once-raced 2-year-old colt Captain Cook (Practical Joke), a troubled sixth on debut beneath the Twin Spires Oct. 27, was also purchased by Young for $410,000, the second-most expensive lot of the day. The duo were both previously trained by...

Edited Press Release Jeff Matty was only 13 when Smarty Jones captured the collective heart of the horse racing world by coming within a length of winning the Triple Crown in 2004. (Queue Tom Durkin: "And Birdstone wins the Belmont Stakes.") In his third year as executive director of the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (PTHA), Matty came up with an idea to ensure that the legacy of the best Pennsylvania-bred ever would endure for generations to come. The result is "The Ride of a Lifetime--The Smarty Jones Story," a documentary...

8th-Oaklawn, $115,000, Msw, 3-29, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.55, ft, 6 1/4 lengths. TWEETSTER (f, 3, Practical Joke--Tweeterdini, by Bernardini) debuted with Lasix as the heavily backed 3-2 choice here. The homebred started slowly, but with the rail open she was able to lead the second pack up the backstretch. Rolling around the turn, the filly chased longshot Hurricane Fire (Can the Man), who appeared to be getting away. Moving from the rail towards the center of the course at the eighth pole, Tweetster closed like a freight train and won...

Old Friends in Georgetown, KY, will host a retirement celebration for Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado on Saturday, July 15, they announced Monday. The veteran reinsman was the regular pilot for two Old Friends residents--GI Belmont S. winners Sarava (Wild Again) and Birdstone (Grindstone)--as well as 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro (Dynaformer) and 2015 Breeders' Cup Sprint hero Runhappy (Super Saver). "It's an honor to be present at Old Friends," Prado said. "They really take care of the horses after their careers, giving them the best life possible every...

In a tweet sent out Tuesday afternoon, Gulfstream Park announced that Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado has retired. With 7,119 victories, Prado, 56, is the eighth winningest jockey in the sport's history. He has not ridden since the Jan. 6 card at Gulfstream. At deadline for this story, Prado had not returned a phone from the TDN, but told the Blood-Horse that he wanted to spend more time with his family. "It was getting harder and harder and I was wasting the time that I spent with my family,...

Edited Press Release A colt by Cape Canaveral and a filly by Birdstone brought in top price of $35,000 during the 2022 CTHS Alberta Thoroughbred Sale Friday, Sept. 16 at Westerner Park in Red Deer, Alberta. With a total of 40 yearlings sold, revenue from the 2022 sale increased to $443,600 this year and the average price rose to $11,090. In 2021, the sale grossed $405,600 for 37 yearlings and an average of $10,962. Purchased by agent Karlene Kingston, the Cape Canaveral colt, consigned by Starline Thoroughbreds, is out of...

Grindstone, the winner of the 1996 GI Kentucky Derby, passed away at age 29. The news was reported by Oakhurst Equine of Oregon, which acquired the stallion in 2009. "RIP Champ," Oakhurst Equine posted on its Facebook page. "Thank you for providing us with the thrill of a lifetime. You changed our lives when you joined us and will always be missed." Grindstone was the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner, a status he enjoyed for just a few days. At age 31, 1994 Kentucky Derby winner Go for Gin died...

Multiple graded stakes winner Bird Song (Unbridled's Song--Bird Town, by Cape Town) has been purchased to continue his stud career in Saudi Arabia in a deal brokered by Chad Schumer of Schumer Bloodstock. The 7-year-old previously stood at Gainesway Farm, with his oldest crop being yearlings of this year. Trained by Ian Wilkes on behalf of Marylou Whitney, Bird Song won the GII Alysheba S. and GIII Fred W. Hooper S. as a 4-year-old in 2017 and finished his career with over $500,000 in earnings. His dam, who captured the...

Birdstone (Grindstone--Dear Birdie, by Storm Bird), who sired the winners of two-thirds of the 2009 Triple Crown with runners from his first crop to race, has been retired from stud duties at Gainesway. He will live out his days at Old Friends Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY. Bred by the late Marylou Whitney and trained by Nick Zito, the year-older half-brother to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Bird Town (Cape Town) won two of his three starts as a juvenile, including a 2 1/2-length success in the GI Champagne S. Eighth...

Gainesway Farm will be open to visitors this week for inspections of its 2020 roster of stallions. Open House hours will be held from Monday, Jan. 13 through Friday, Jan. 17 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Visit www.gainesway.com for more information.