Girvin

With commercial sires nowadays represented by such enormous cavalries, it's unsurprising that they should encounter random statistical clusters. These tend to even themselves out, so that a stallion that "hits form" with a sudden spate of stakes performers will also endure barren spells that naturally receive rather less attention. What every farm covets, then, is for a horse to get on a roll while there are still mares out there with mating decisions pending for this spring--and there's no better way to do that than making some noise on the...

A $725,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic grad, Faiza (Girvin) already had lofty expectations by the time she entered the starting gate for the first time Nov. 12. A popular choice at the betting windows, she put on a 3 1/2-length winning performance that day worthy of a 'TDN Rising Star' tag and immediately backed that form up with a narrow win next time out over familiar foe Pride of the Nile (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GI Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Dec. 10. In a field that included the top three...

5th-GP, $84k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 2:09 p.m. ET Missourians Robert and Lawana Low purchased SGT. PEPPER (Uncle Mo) for $1.6 million at the 2021 FTSAUG sale. Bred by Bobby Flay Thoroughbreds, he will make his debut sprinting on the dirt with Lasix in South Florida for the Todd Pletcher barn. Sgt. Pepper, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, is a half-brother to GSW Spice Is Nice (Curlin), who fetched $1.05 million from these same connections at the 2018 KEESEP sale. Sgt. Pepper's dam Dame Dorothy (Bernardini), owned and campaigned by Bobby Flay,...

It is beginning to feel as ingrained a New Year ritual as the concert in Vienna: the raising of a toast not just to another record year for Into Mischief, but to the way his reign has become an apt symbol of our times. After all, the whole point of marking the turn of a year-it's just another leaf in the calendar, really, just one more sunrise in the indefinite (but never infinite!) sequence we are apportioned-is to take a step back and see whether we can discern a fresh...

'TDN Rising Star' Faiza (Girvin) narrowly outslugged Pride of the Nile (Pioneerof the Nile) and survived a stewards' inquiry to deliver as the 1-2 chalk in a roughly run renewal of the GI Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Saturday. The win marked the sixth straight Starlet victory and ninth overall for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. The flashy six-furlong debut winner at Del Mar Nov. 12 was making her two-turn debut in the Starlet. Placed in a perfect spot by Flavien Prat in an outside, stalking third through fractions of...

Born just a day apart in the same foaling barn, two daughters of Girvin once roamed the same Bluegrass fields in their early days at Airdrie Stud. On Saturday, the duo will meet again as 'TDN Rising Star' Faiza and stakes-placed Blessed Touch enter the starting gate for the GI Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Race Course. The Brereton C. Jones-bred fillies represent two of the 20 winners this year for fast-starting first-crop stallion Girvin, who has relocated from Ocala Stud to Airdrie for the 2023 breeding season. With four...

Faiza (Girvin), named a 'TDN Rising Star' off an impressive debut score Nov. 12 at Del Mar, will be supplemented for $10,000 to the $300,000 GI Starlet Saturday at Los Alamitos. The Starlet, which is for fillies at 1 1/16 miles, is the first of four stakes events for 2-year-olds to be run during Los Al's six-day Winter Thoroughbred meet that opens Friday. Owned by Michael Lund Petersen, who won the 2015 GI Los Alamitos Futurity with Mor Spirit (Eskendereya), and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Faiza cruised...

Dubbed a 'TDN Rising Star' for her ultra-impressive last-to-first effort on debut when sprinting at Del Mar July 31, Justique had to settle for third as the beaten favorite in her jump up to graded-stakes company in the GII Chandelier S. behind GISW And Tell Me Nolies (Arrogate). The half-sister to GISW and top-10 freshman sire Mo Town (Uncle Mo), Justique again displayed her trademark running style Saturday as the 3-2 chalk, spotting pacesetter Parody (Distorted Humor) nearly 11 lengths as she took her time from the gate. Never in...

   Sent right to the front after a fast beginning by jockey Flavian Prat, FAIZA (Girvin--Sweet Pistol, by Smart Strike), a $725,000 2-year-old purchase out of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale, hooked up early with Teena Ella (War Front) and outlasted her rival to earn 'TDN Rising Star' status on debut. The pair kept the pace honest, covering the first quarter in :21.92 as Teena Ella, the daughter of four-time champion Beholder, stuck a head in front and the top two pulled several lengths clear of the rest of the field....

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency                     10th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1m, 5:35 p.m. A $500,000 Keeneland September yearling out of the 2020 Stonestreet Thoroughbreds consignment, CAWKAB (Curlin) was purchased by Shadwell Stables and makes a belated debut out of the Brad Cox barn. A 3-year-old son of Catch the Moon (Malibu Moon), Cawkab is a half-brother to four graded-stakes winners including the late GSW & MGISP Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), GISW & up-and-coming freshman sire Girvin (Tale of Ekati), GSW Cocked and Loaded...

Led by top three third-crop sire Upstart, whose fee has risen from $10,000 to $30,000 for the upcoming year, Airdrie Stud has released the stud fees for the farm's 2023 stallion roster. New stallion Happy Saver, a Grade I winner who will retire after an expected start in the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Classic, and Girvin, a top freshman sire whose three stakes winners include GII Saratoga Special S. winner Damon's Mound and who has been relocated from Ocala Stud, will stand for $12,500 and $20,000, respectively. "These are...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency  7th-KEE, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 4:12 p.m. Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbreds and purchased for $1.6 million by Woodford Racing & West Point Thoroughbreds, WEYHILL ROAD (Quality Road) makes his debut Friday at Keeneland. Out of the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon, Weyhill Road is a half-brother to GSW & MGISP Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), GISW and up-and-coming sire Girvin (Tale of Ekati), GSW Cocked and Loaded (Coloniall John), and GSW Pirate's Punch (Shanghai Bobby).Trained by Shug McGaughey, Weyhill Road enters off a four-furlong work...