Hard Spun

Built (Hard Spun), a maiden winner at second asking at Keeneland Oct. 6, stretched to two turns in style with a daylight victory in Saturday's Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds, good for 10 points on the Road to the GI Kentucky Derby. Off at odds of 7-2, the rail-drawn Built showed the way through fractions of :24.64 and :49.23 and dropped the hammer in the stretch to win by 6 3/4 lengths. Magnitude (Not This Time) was second; Render Judgment (Blame) was third. Heavily favored 'TDN Rising Star' Admiral...

Back in mid-October, trainer John Kirby claimed a horse named Tricolour (Hard Spun) at Parx out of a $10,000 maiden claimer. Not everyone thought that was such a good idea. "The first time we ran him, the guys on TVG said, 'Who in their right mind would claim a horse that was 0-39?'" said Kirby, who is also the horse's owner. The answer: a smart trainer. Tricolour was on his way to becoming the sport's next Zippy Chippy (Compliance), who went winless in 100 career starts. Purchased for $140,000 at...

7th-Keeneland, $100,000, Msw, 10-6, 2yo, 7f, 1:23.96, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. BUILT (c, 2, Hard Spun--Sea Garden, by Curlin) finished fourth on debut, but then was elevated to third after another horse was disqualified at Ellis Park Aug. 24. The winner who collected a 'TDN Rising Star' badge for his effort and was just crowned as the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity champ was East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro). As the 2-1 second choice here, Built raced in between runners out of the chute and then set up shop off sole leader...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Thursday's program at Kentucky Downs: Thursday, September 5, 2024 KY Downs 1, $100k, 2yo, (R), 1mT, 1:25 p.m. ET Horse (Sire),...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Saturday at Saratoga and Ellis Park: Saturday, August 24, 2024 Saratoga 6,...

3rd-Ellis, $71,000, Msw, 7-22, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:04.81, ft, 2 1/4 lengths. PONDERING (f, 2, Hard Spun--Always Thinking {SW, $162,638}, by Street Sense) debuted as advertised, breaking as the 4-5 favorite facing six rivals of which five were fellow first-time starters. Close to the lead while pressuring Pax Americana (War Front) and Electrifying Lady (Practical Joke) to her inside, the homebred stayed three wide throughout, swept up past those runners off the turn and easily took to the front, finishing strongly while kept to task by jockey Luan Machado...

Getting Informed Patriot (Hard Spun) from Horseshoe Indianapolis to the sales ring at Fasig-Tipton in less than 48 hours was going to be quite the juggling act, but Hunter Houlihan and the rest of the Taylor Made team managed to keep all the balls in the air and then finish with a flourish when the late supplement to the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale came out as a record-breaking sales topper. The morning that Informed Patriot was set to run in the GIII Indiana Derby, Hunter Houlihan,...

Good Lord Lorrie (Hard Spun) came back from a lengthy layoff to not only win his seasonal bow but also claim his first black-type in the Woodhaven S, When last seen, the chestnut broke his maiden in a turf dash at Saratoga last summer, defeating SP Smokey Smokey (Mendelssohn) and SP Ocean Mermaid (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Brushing with a rival after the jump, he was well-placed early in third and tracked the leading duo until late on the backstretch, where he took closer order. Called for a rally, he shifted...

The racing year is only just doing up its laces, but already Into Mischief is on the march. Last week we examined the GI Kentucky Derby candidature of his son Timberlake and now, with a little help from the evergreen Dettori, he has a 19th Grade I scorer in Newgate. I must admit that my heart went out to connections of Subsanador (Arg) (Fortify), who led every step bar the last, and would have been John Sadler's fourth winner of the storied Santa Anita Handicap-still dearly cherished by some of...

1st-OP, $115K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:30 p.m. ET. Under the baton of Ken McPeek, MIDSUMMER MARCH (Mendelssohn) debuts for Walking L Thoroughbreds. The dark bay initially sold to Sycamore Hall for $280,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale before hammering down for $425,000 during the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale, which was the highest priced yearling for her sire in 2022. Bred by David Fennelly's Mountmellick Farm, the filly is out of GIII Torrey Pines S. winner Munny Spunt (Munnings), who sold for $340,000 at Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale...

Gold Square's Drum Roll Please (c, 3, Hard Spun--Imply, by E Dubai), a very solid third going against the grain of the track in the GII Remsen S. at Aqueduct Dec. 2, took care of business as the 3-5 favorite while turning back in distance for Saturday's Jerome S. at the Big A. He trailed the field of five in the early going after exiting from the fence. Given his cue by Javier Castellano on the far turn, he made a three-wide bid approaching the quarter pole and came rolling...

Now we're really entering nosebleed altitudes for most breeders, between $30,000 and $50,000: a zone where you should feel that you're improving the odds of coming up with an elite horse. It tells you a lot about our business that the majority of the two dozen stallions operating at this level can only do so because they have yet to send a single runner into the starting gate. A quarter of these we immediately set to one side, as absolute beginners, because those received separate consideration in the opening instalment...