first-crop sires

There is no shortage of active pedigrees at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, but this year Warrendale Sales has a draft of eight yearlings that includes several particularly eye-catching updates. Hunter Simms, Warrendale's Director of Bloodstock Service, can attest that landing a buzz horse in a yearling's pedigree is exactly what you're hoping for in the weeks leading up to a sale--especially at Saratoga where blacktype already abounds. "People want to buy into young, active families," he said. "If it's fillies, there is hope that down the road you have some...

2nd-Belmont The Big A, $90,000, Msw, 10-13, 2yo, f, 6fT, 1:10.46, fm, head. REAGAN'S FLAME (f, 2, Flameaway--Mizzen Donald, by Mizzen Mast), a 10-1 gamble on career debut, jumped away fairly, but was ridden along by Kendrick Carmouche to argue the early fractions inside of fellow firster Save Us Melania (Constitution). Shaking free from that one in upper stretch, the $185,000 OBS April breezer was clear into the final eighth of a mile and held on late to take it by a head. Favored Lamorna (Munnings), scratched out of last...

Spendthrift's freshman sire Omaha Beach (by War Front) picked up his first stakes winner Sunday when daughter Hot Beach came from off the pace to take down the Ellis Park Debutante S. Still a maiden since settling for second as the beaten favorite when tackling five furlongs on debut over this track July 7, the dark bay got bet all the way down to 2-1 from her 10-1 morning line. Fourth behind a pair of early longshot leaders in Intermittent Fast (Tapwrit) and Twirling Queen (Twirling Candy), Hot Beach rated...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings failed to live up to its lofty 2022 levels, but concluded Tuesday evening with solid numbers and a filly from the first crop of GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic leading the way when selling for $475,000 to Alex and Jo Ann Lieblong. "We had a very solid start to the 2023 yearling sales marketplace," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "I think we all recognized that we were coming off a euphoric 2022 yearling marketplace that saw pretty significant increases across...

During the TDN's visit to Ocala last spring to scope out which first-crop sires were earning favor with the 2-year-old consignors, the response was fairly conclusive. Bolt d'Oro was a common prediction for leading freshman sire, and the consignors who believed in him before his first juveniles reached the starting gate certainly hit the nail on the head. Interestingly, of the seven Bolt d'Oro progeny that were featured in our 'Thoughts from Ocala' video series (see here and here), five of those went on to break their maiden on debut....

by Margaret Ransom Since neither of the top three first-crop sires battling it out to win the 2022 division title had a runner on Thursday, their numbers remain unchanged. The focus now turns to a busy Friday with Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) in a solid position to pull away from both Justify (Scat Daddy) and Good Magic (Curlin) with six runners total--three in the fifth race at Turfway Park, two in the sixth at Woodbine and another at Oaklawn Park. Good Magic's lone runner on Friday--Zia Park Juvenile S. winner...

A three-horse match race for the 2022 first-crop sire crown is on! The TDN will continue to publish our earnings list on a nightly basis with data streaming in for Northern Hemisphere-born foals from stallions standing in North America. Note that Japanese earnings are added every Sunday night, and there may be delayed reporting from other countries, which could postpone the final results in a very tight race into early January. We will also be providing a preview of 2-year-olds entered the next day in North America and beyond. Let...

By Brian Sheerin and Emma Berry   After a hectic few months perusing this year's foal and yearling crops, we asked the buyers to share their thoughts on the young stallions with first foals and yearlings.  Dermot Farrington, agent: "If you look at the list of people who have bought yearlings and foals by Advertise, it's a long time since a young stallion has attracted the who's who of the bloodstock world, and that's exactly what he has done. Whether it be yearlings to breeze, yearlings to race or foals...

Coolmore America's Triple Crown-winning freshman sire Justify (Scat Daddy) was represented by his first two Japanese winners Saturday afternoon at Hanshin Racecourse, his 24th and 25th individual winners overall. In the afternoon's opening event over 1800 meters, Kazumi Yoshida's 2-year-old colt Jovian, a debut second over the metric seven furlongs on Hanshin debut Nov. 19, was the 7-10 favorite to go one better and jumped right into the bridle for the visiting Cristian Demuro. Allowed to control the pace and maintaining a narrow lead into the second turn, Jovian responded...

Mill Ridge Farm's Oscar Performance, who currently ranks among the top 10 first-crop sires based in North America, will get a bump in his fee for 2023 to $20,000 live foal, the initial fee he stood for in his first two years at stud. The four-time Grade I winner, whose victories included the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, has sired 14 individual winners (16% winners to foals) and four graded stakes performers, including the GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. exacta with the winner Andthewinneris and runner-up Deer District....

It is a question that has long fixated the bloodstock industry: which stallion can be caught as he rises to the top? As we know, those good stallions can be hard to find. Opportunity is naturally a key element to early success, but a stallion still needs to make the most of the chances afforded to him and for every one that lives up to expectations, there will be also be plenty who flop. As often said, horses are a great leveller and with that in mind, there is also...

West Point Thoroughbreds' Terry Finley joined this week's TDN Writers' Room on the eve of the start of the 2-year-olds sales season at the OBS March Sale. The writers asked Finley about the health of the market, some of his picks for top first-crop sire, and of course, how superstar Flightline is training these days.