Charlatan

2011's GI Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty (Medaglia d'Oro) died Monday at Gainesway Farm according to a release from the farm. The 16-year-old was a multiple Grade I winner throughout her career for Peachtree Stable and trainer Bob Baffert and ultimately captured the lilies before retiring in 2012 with earnings of over $1.7m and a final record of 12-5-2-3. A $130,000 OBS yearling, Plum Pretty would last secure a final bid of $4.2m from Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm at KEENOV in 2012.  She produced a total of 8 foals...

6th-SA, $65K, Msw, 4-5yo, 7f, 5:59 p.m. ET At $1.15 million as the ninth highest price taken during Keeneland's 2021 September Sale, Mayberry Farm signed the ticket on behalf of Lee and Susan Searing's CRK Stable to acquire THEISMANN (Quality Road). Sent to John Shirreffs, the colt initially began to drill late in his juvenile year, but was given time by the veteran conditioner when he had several minor setbacks as a 3-year-old. Ready to fire as an 8-1 shot on the morning-line, the bay was bred by Dixiana and...

As we approach the opening of the 2024 breeding season, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why. Here we catch up with Larry Johnson, the owner of Legacy Farm in Bluemont, Virginia. "I'm trying to go from primarily breed-to-race to more commercial opportunities," said Johnson. A GREAT TIME (10, Street Magician - Short Time, by Clever Trick) to be bred to Constitution A homebred stakes winner of nearly $250,000 by my homebred stallion...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - Three Witches (Into Mischief) provided the highlight of a workaday Book 2 section of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale when selling for $1.7 million Friday in Lexington. Book 2 opened with a uneven session Thursday at Keeneland, but activity was more consistent throughout Friday's Book 2 finale. "It was a solid day of trade," said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. "From start to finish, it felt a little more consistent and healthy today. Yesterday was a little bumpy,...

Hill 'n' Dale Farms multiple leading sire Curlin will have a stud fee equal to Spendthrift Farm's Into Mischief at $250,000 LFSN, as the breeding operation published its roster for the 2024 season in a press release Thursday morning. Farm stalwart Curlin, who has defined himself as one of the most preeminent sires at stud today, had his fee raised from $225,000. The 19-year-old is the sire of five individual Grade I winners this year, including Idiomatic, Cody's Wish, Clairiere, Elite Power and Bright Future. Curlin's champion son Good Magic...

Bidding on the 33 entries in the Fasig-Tipton April Digital Sale is now open and will close next Tuesday at 2 p.m. The catalogue, which can be viewed at digital.fasigtipton.com, features horses of racing age, breeding stock, 2-year-olds, and yearlings. There are offerings located throughout the United States, including Arkansas, California, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. "There is something for everyone in this catalogue," said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. "We expect significant interest and a very active market." Among the entries...

5th-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 3-12, 3yo, 7 1/2fT, 1:29.34, fm, 2 1/2 lengths. FEARLESS SOLDIER (c, 3, City of Light--Hessie's Girl, by Giant's Causeway) had something of a rough debut Feb. 16 when he tossed his head at the jump and hopped coming out of the stall. Racing all over the synthetic track from there, as far as seven wide in the stretch before lugging in through the final furlong, he finished a very green fourth but producing a field-best Beyer Speed Figure of 74. Cutting back from that 1m70 contest...

Bob Baffert has issued an upbeat bulletin on his Saudi Cup contenders and said that, if for whatever reason his short-priced favourite Taiba (Gun Runner) does not get the job done, then stablemate and last year's runner-up Country Grammer (Tonalist) should be there to pick up the pieces in the world's richest race on Saturday.  The Saudi Cup is one of the only big dirt races that has eluded Baffert and, along with Country Grammer, the American handler has sent out Charlatan to fill the runner-up spot to Mishriff (Ire)...

Hill 'n' Dale's Charlatan (Speightstown), a multiple Grade I stakes winner, was represented by his first two foals this past week. On Jan. 17, a bay colt out of Inventive (Dixie Union) was born at Seclusive Farm. Inventive is already the dam of GISW Klimt (Quality Road) and of GSP West Coast Chick (Malibu Moon). "This colt has strength, power, substance, and great bone," said Seclusive's Chris Baccari. "Excited to have other mares in foal to Charlatan and will plan to breed back to him after seeing this colt. I...

The group we consider today for now retains a convenient gloss, still in the happy position of offering "all talk, no action." But they will actually have got as far as delivering their first flesh-and-bone foals into the straw by the time they start receiving their second book of mares. And many of the people who exploited their novelty value last year will automatically have moved on to the next intake of rookies, rather than expose themselves to the peril that the market won't like a debut crop. Foals conceived...

Frank Brothers will retire from his roles as a bloodstock agent and a member of Keeneland's yearling inspection team, he announced Friday morning in a press release. "I'm fortunate that my health is good," he said. "I'm 76 years old and quite content to take a seat in the viewing area and watch the game for a while." After training horses from 1980 to 2009, Brothers moved into his current role of selecting horses for a few clients before ultimately partnering with Starlight and StarLadies Racing for the past 13...

The Thoroughbred is certainly more versatile than we sometimes give it credit for. There is always the capacity to surprise, particularly when it comes to predicting stallion success. For instance, despite examples showing otherwise, it remains tempting to box sires as 'dirt' and 'turf' and 'American' and 'European' when actually some of them will prove capable of crossing the differing racing jurisdictions quite easily. Had all breeders and buyers remained on 'the straight and narrow', the chance to appreciate the likes of Scat Daddy, Medaglia d'Oro, More Than Ready and...