Gamine

With the Churchill Downs spring meet, which was moved over to Ellis Park, winding down, it appeared that Bob Baffert would soon be able to put the worst of his problems behind him. Baffert was serving a two-year suspension from Churchill Downs that came in the aftermath of Medina Spirit (Protonico) testing positive for a substance banned on race day after crossing the wire first in the 2021 GI Kentucky Derby. The suspension forced Baffert to sit out the 2022 and 2023 runnings of the Derby, the race that is...

The Fasig-Tipton November Sale, also known as the 'Night of the Stars,' has officially opened nominations for the 2023 edition, which will be held Tuesday, Nov. 7 at Newtown Paddocks in Lexington. Nominations can be made by visiting fasigtipton.com. "We advertise the Fasig-Tipton November Sale as the world's premier breeding stock event, and for good reason," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "It provides an atmosphere of electricity unlike any other Thoroughbred auction in the world, providing sellers with the strongest market for quality out there." The top-class sale is always...

by Jessica Martini, Christie DeBernardis & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton November Sale, which surpassed the $100-million mark in gross sales for the first time in its history last year, went past that milestone for the second time Sunday when 169 horses sold for $101,214,000. "Another remarkable November sale just concluded here at Fasig-Tipton," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "Last year, we surpassed $100,000,000 in gross for the first time--that was kind of one of those goals that we dreamt about, but didn't think it was realistic--and we...

Brilliant champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Gamine (Into Mischief) looks poised to top her second Fasig-Tipton Sale after sparking a furious bidding war in Newtown Paddocks just after 9:00 p.m. Sunday night. When the dust had settled, Coolmore's MV Magnier--who has been extremely active all night--was holding the $7-million ticket to take home the $1.8-million FTMMAY '19 topper and five-time Grade I winner. Gamine was consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, agent as hip 289. The Michael Lund Petersen colorbearer was offered carrying her first foal by Quality Road.

John Velazquez wouldn't give a definitive answer on where Gamine (Into Mischief - Peggy Jane, Kafwain) ranks on the list of all-stars the Hall of Fame jockey has been associated with over the years, but he came pretty close. Asked how the champion sprinter stacks up against a long line of high-class fillies he has ridden to Grade I success, he responded, "She's definitely one of the top ones. Like definitely one or two, I would say." That answer is high praise coming from the two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey, who...

A total of 299 main-catalogue entries--the largest in the history of the sale--have been taken for Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale, the auction house's boutique mixed sale, to be held in Lexington, Kentucky, Sunday, Nov. 6, beginning at 1 p.m., one hour earlier than last year's 2 p.m. start in order to accommodate the extra volume of offerings. "The Fasig-Tipton November Sale annually offers the highest concentration of quality breeding stock in the world, and this year's catalogue more than lives up to that billing," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr....

Three stakes--including a graded event--worth a combined $425,000 highlight the Los Angeles County Fair meet at Los Alamitos. The 10-day season is scheduled to begin Friday, June 24 and continue through Sunday, July 10. Racing will be conducted Friday-Sunday opening weekend (June 24-26) and the final week (July 8-10) and Friday-Monday (July 1-4) the middle week. The July 4 program is a special holiday card and will include a handicapping contest with two berths in the 2023 NTRA National Handicapping Championship in Las Vegas on the line. Post time will...

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 636 entries for its upcoming Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, to be held on Monday and Tuesday, May 23-24, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. "This is the strongest catalogue we have ever had for Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training," said Midlantic Sales Director Paget Bennett. "It is the largest in size in recent memory, and there is tremendous quality that will suit both leading national stables as well as the various regional circuits in our area." Bennett added, "Just about every current leading sire is...

Michael Lund Petersen's Gamine (Into Mischief) has been booked to Lane's End stallion Quality Road for 2022, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni confirmed Sunday. "We had a meeting with Michael to decided what to do and we all agreed that Quality Road was the right horse to start off her broodmare career," Lanni said. "You really can't go wrong with Quality Road--he's a very good sire." Acquired for $1.8 million at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, Gamine won nine of 11 starts, including the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup...

Bob Baffert testified for about 3 1/2 hours in Thursday's hearing to determine whether the New York Racing Association (NYRA) can exclude the trainer over alleged "detrimental conduct." Much of the testimony consisted of exchanges between the Hall of Fame trainer and NYRA attorney Hank Greenberg, whose attempts to rattle Baffert were largely unsuccessful. The Hall of Famer stuck to what has been the narrative from his team since the issues of his repeated medication violations first arose--that each offense involved mitigating circumstances that explain why he wasn't deserving of...

Knicks Go (Paynter) was one of a dozen winners at the 2021 Breeders' Cup meeting at Del Mar in early November to be named Eclipse Award finalists, as the candidates in 11 equine and five human categories were announced Saturday morning on TVG. While the finalists for 2021 were not revealed--they will be announced at the conclusion of the Eclipse Award ceremony at Santa Anita Feb. 10--it is a fait accompli that Knicks Go will take home the evening's most coveted award. The grey, winner of the 2020 GI Breeders'...

Michael Lund Petersen's champion Gamine (Into Mischief--Peggy Jane, by Kafwain), has been retired from racing and will reside at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa Farm in Paris, Ky., it was announced Tuesday. Breeding plans for the 5-year-old are still being discussed. Bred by Grace Thoroughbred Holdings, Gamine topped the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale when hammering to Petersen for $1.8 million and was named a 'TDN Rising Star' for her dominant 6 1/4-length debut romp last March at Santa Anita. The bay went on to dominate the GI Acorn S. by...