Global Campaign

The stallions we assess today find themselves at the first major crossroads of their new career. Poor fellows, they're still a long way from having the chance to demonstrate whether they can actually produce runners. But that seems a pretty incidental consideration in the current marketplace, which has created a self-fulfilling cycle. Like it or not, stallions nowadays do indeed have their best chance of producing a good one from their first crop, as these typically emerge from the biggest and best books they will ever get. That, in turn,...

The top six sellers at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Mixed and Horses of Racing Age Sale Tuesday were all racehorses, led by the 3-year-old gelding Radical Right (First Samurai) (Hip 281), who brought $260,000 from Tom Kagele. The Richard Shultz homebred is a three-time winner and entered the sale off a second in the City of Laurel S. Nov. 26 for trainer Dale Capuano. He was consigned by Northview Stallion Station. Trainer Mike Maker was very active, purchasing four racehorses, including the second highest-priced offering Heldish (Great Notion) (Hip 243),...

As we saw in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, if there's anything more exciting than a duel to the wire, it's the intrusion of a third nose. And that's pretty much the way a remarkable contest for the freshman sires' title is playing out entering the stretch. The first thing to stress is that it really shouldn't matter which of the stallions involved happens to bank the critical extra cents to claim the crown. That won't be how the marketing teams of their respective farms are viewing things, naturally, but...

A digital campaign titled 'British Racing: Invest in the Best' was launched by Great British Racing International (GBRI) on Monday. Slated to take place for four weeks each autumn for a three-year period, the campaign is designed to highlight the strength and importance of the British racing industry globally and encourage future international investment. The campaign will deliver a digital showcase of Britain racing's credentials across various sides of the racing industry, from training, racing and breeding, to bloodstock sales and welfare, as told by leading figures and organisations from...

WinStar Farm's GISW and first-year sire Global Campaign (Curlin--Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy) was represented by his first reported foal when a filly was born at Maryland's Country Life Farm Friday night, Jan. 14. The filly is the second foal out of Miss Mystique (Teuflesberg)--a multiple stakes-placed winner who earned $258,283--and was bred by Country Life. "We were excited to breed to him and we couldn't be happier with this filly," said Christy Holden, Country Life's general manager. "Being a Maryland-bred will give her lots of opportunities to earn bonuses...

Even last year, when doing so much to fortify breeders through the uncertainties of the pandemic, stallion farms appeared to price their rookies to squeeze the usual juice from the commercial market's greatest addiction. That was fair enough. Nowadays farm accountants can bank only on the most fleeting of vogues in drawing up a business plan for stallion acquisitions. And nor can we sensibly expect any slack now, pending the arrival of first foals and then a debut at the weanling sales next fall. A stallion has to be in...

Speightstown will head the roster at WinStar Farm in 2022 with a fee of $90,000, stands and nurses, the same fee for which he stood in 2021. Right behind the chestnut is Constitution, North America's second-leading third-crop sire, who will stand for $85,000 S&N, also the same as 2021. Among notable changes on the 18-horse roster, More Than Ready gets a trim from $65,000 to $50,000. "Our 2022 roster is suited for breeders at every level," said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. "Speightstown, Constitution, and More Than...

Leading the way with five Grade I victories in 2020, including a win in the second leg of the Triple Crown and a GI Kentucky Oaks exacta, WinStar Farm was recognized as Outstanding Breeder. It was the third Eclipse Award for Kenny Troutt's operation and second as Outstanding Breeder (2016). WinStar ranked second overall via breeder earnings in 2020, trailing only Calumet Farm, capturing 148 victories from 1,106 starters, and $9,221,764 in earnings. Top horses in 2020 bred by WinStar include: Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) (GI Preakness S. and GI Alabama...

For the first half of this story, please visit yesterday's instalment. Precocity may not be the first thing you'd have in mind from Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike--Julia Tuttle, by Giant's Causeway), who enters service at WinStar at $17,500 after only really seizing our attention at the age of seven. Nonetheless, he represents one of the most promising prospects of the intake. For a start, he's by a sire of sires out of a graded stakes-placed Giant's Causeway mare whose own dam was a full-sister to Candy Ride (Arg). And nine...

What is it, beyond our obvious bond in the Thoroughbred, that most vitally comprises the fabric of the Turf? It's a question answerable in too many ways, requiring definition of too many intangibles, to be easily condensed. But I think we'll get somewhere close if we ponder the retirement this week of Stan Hough, an old-school horseman of a type largely overwhelmed in the era of the super-trainer. And especially because his departure from the stage coincides with the removal of two key features of the scenery: Calder Race Course,...

'TDN Rising Star' Global Campaign (Curlin--Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy), an excellent third when last seen in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, will not resume training and has been retired from racing. He will enter stud for the 2021 breeding season at WinStar Farm. "We considered bringing him back for a final start in the [GI] Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. because he ran so well in the Breeders' Cup," said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. "He shed his frog in that race and the timing of...

A win in the Nov. 7 GI Breeders' Cup Classic moved Authentic (Into Mischief) into a co-topping second in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings with a 126 rating, an increase from 124 which he had received after winning the GI Kentucky Derby Sept. 5. Improbable (City Zip), runner-up in the Classic, earned a 123 ranking, while Global Campaign (Curlin) earned a 120 rating following a third. Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), winner of a treble of Group 1 stakes this season, leads the rankings with a 130 rating, while dual...