Keeneland January

Hot on the heels of the announcement that his US Classic-winning sire would be relocating to Japan in time for the 2024 breeding season, Shadai Race Horse's American-conceived, but Japanese-foaled Jantar Mantar (Jpn) (Palace Malice) provided the perfect advertisement Sunday with a smart success in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. at Hanshin. With the victory, his third in as many trips to the races, the homebred is in the reckoning for champion Japanese 2-year-old male honours. Favoured to build on his last-out score in the G2 Daily Hai Nisai...

Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah--Mary's Follies, by More Than Ready), a two-time winner of the G1 February S. at Tokyo, has been retired from racing and will stand the 2024 breeding season at Arrow Stud on the island of Hokkaido. Bred in Kentucky by the late Paul Pompa, Cafe Pharoah was consigned by Eddie Woods to the 2019 OBS March Sale and was hammered down to Emmanuel de Seroux's Narvick International for $475,000. Trained by Noriyuki Hori for owner Koichi Nishikawa, Cafe Pharoah made an immediate impact, winning his maiden by...

Pin Oak Stud's Boltage (c, 2, Bolt d'Oro) made a smashing impression in his first start on the turf and going a distance of ground Thursday evening at Del Mar, charging home with big, round strides to graduate by 5 1/2 lengths, good for 'TDN Rising Star' honors. And an electrifying effort it was. Drawn towards the outside in a field of 10, the March-foaled bay bounced very alertly and was involved in bit of an early tussle for the lead with longshot Details Matter (Coast Guard) before ceding the...

12th-Santa Anita, $75,888, Alw, 4-8, (NW1$X), 3yo/up, f/m, 1m (off turf), 1:37.10, ft, 6 lengths. ANCIENT PEACE (f, 3, War Front--Deceptive Vision {GSW & GISP-Can, GSW-USA, $501,441}, by A.P. Indy), off the board in her one-mile turf debut at Del Mar last December, graduated by a front-running 4 1/4 lengths going that same distance over the Santa Anita lawn Dec. 30 for Mike Ryan and trainer Graham Motion, just days before selling for $650,000 to Travis Boersma's Boardshorts Stables at this year's Keeneland January sale. Ryan had purchased the well-bred...

Defining Purpose (f, 3, Cross Traffic--Defining Hope, by Strong Hope) lit up the tote board at 20-1 to upset Friday's GI Central Bank Ashland S. on opening day at Keeneland. The gray sat a dream trip in a stalking second behind a longshot leader through fractions of :23.62 and :47.25. She turned up the heat rounding the far turn, gained command at the top of the stretch, and, after enjoying a clear lead down the lane, held the rallying duo of previously unbeaten and favored Punchbowl (Uncle Mo) and 'TDN...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Bloodstock agents are equal parts pedigree analysts, money managers and equine recruiters for those audacious (crazy?) enough to dabble in Thoroughbred ownership. Few have followed the trajectory of the career of Country Grammer (Tonalist) more closely than the well-respected Peter Bradley, who went to work on behalf of the late Paul Pompa, Jr. at the 2019 OBS April Sale. It was Bradley's name on the docket when the hammer fell in the first 20 minutes of the final day of the auction, having parted with...

Due to a tornado warning issued for Jessamine and Fayette Counties--including Lexington and surrounding towns--the start of the fourth and final session of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale was delayed this morning, and got underway around 10:40 a.m., 40 minutes after its scheduled start time. According to the National Weather Service, a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located eight miles west of Richmond, Kentucky, moving in an eastward direction at 55 mph. The area is also under a severe thunderstorm warning until 10 a.m....

Fifteen horses, including the dam of recent GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner Practical Move (Practical Joke), have been supplemented to Keeneland's 2023 January Horses of All Ages Sale. Ack Naughty (Afleet Alex), who soon turns 11, sells in foal on an early cover to Upstart and is consigned by ELiTE, agent. Also supplemented is 2021 GII San Clemente S. and GIII Senorita S. winner Madone (Vancouver {Aus}) as a racing or broodmare prospect, and four-time Grade 1-placed Reinvestment Risk (Upstart), who was second twice as a juvenile to champion Jackie's...

Keeneland has cataloged 1,509 horses--broodmares and broodmare prospects, yearlings and horses of racing age as well as stallions and stallion prospects--for the 66th January Horses of All Ages Sale, which will cover four sessions from Jan. 9-12, 2023. The January Sale catalog now is available online at Keeneland.com. Print catalogs are scheduled to arrive in the mail the week of Dec. 19. "Because the January Sale is held at the crossroads of racing and breeding seasons, the auction is a terrific opportunity for horsemen to plan for the future, whether...

A complete dispersal of horses owned by Patricia Generazio will be offered at the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale and will be consigned by Denali Stud. The sale is scheduled for Jan. 9-12. Among the horses that will be sold are racing/broodmare prospects SW Mischievous Dream (Into Mischief), Pure Bode (Bodemeister), and Marquet Legacy (Gio Ponti), all from the families of some of the most popular graded winners developed by the Generazio operation. Among the horses campaigned by Generazio and her late husband, Frank, are GISWs Presious Passion (Royal...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Tokyo and Hanshing Racecourses. Group 1 racing in Japan takes the week off, but four events at Group 2 and Group 3 level are programmed, including the stakes debut of an expensive and promising OBS March acquisition: Saturday, November 5,...

Sent off the 2-1 second betting favorite, Meiner Vision (Jpn) sat three wide the trip and battled on bravely through the final furlong to become the first Japanese winner and third overall for Mill Ridge Farm's freshman sire Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy--Devine Actress, by Theatrical {Ire}) in an 1800-meter maiden at Fukushima Racecourse. Drawn gate 11 in a scratched-down field of 12, the bay was nudged along early to take up a prominent position and landed three wide punching the breeze while firmly held by jockey Yukito Ishikawa. Settled nicely...