Laoban

Golden Gamble (f, 2, Laoban--Me and Mine, by Bernardini) stamped herself as a filly to watch for trainer Ken McPeek with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance at second asking traveling around two turns in the Churchill nightcap Saturday. The 5-2 chance found a perfect spot beneath Brian Hernandez, Jr. in an outside fourth through fractions of :23.60 and :48.17. Traveling nicely rounding the far turn, she made a flashy, three-wide move to stick her head in front approaching the quarter pole, and, despite racing a bit green as they straightened,...

Whether or not the stewards made the right or wrong calls when disqualifying Brick Ambush (Laoban) and not disqualifying Antonio of Venice (Laoban) in the $500,000 Great White Way Division of the New York Stallion Series run Saturday at Aqueduct is something the New York Gaming Commission is not going to lose any sleep over. Two owners reached out to the Gaming Commission to file an appeal of the stewards' rulings on the race. The first came from Dean Reeves, whose Brick Ambush (Laoban) was disqualified from second and placed...

Dr. Heather Wharton, the veterinarian responsible for injecting WinStar stallion Laoban with a so-called "Black Shot" shortly before his death in 2021, has begun serving a 90-day suspension as part of a negotiated settlement with the Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners revealed Tim Sullivan with the LEO Weekly. Per the released report, Wharton is also obligated to pay a $30,000 administrative fine, complete at least four hours of continuing education, and has agreed to accept a written reprimand that will serve as a permanent disciplinary mark on her record. A...

Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) may have been gone since August last year, but she showed no signs of rust Friday as she floated home the easiest of winners in the East View S. at Aqueduct. A five-length winner at first-asking Aug. 10 at Saratoga in a six panel, state-bred maiden dash over the fast main track, she returned 16 days later in the slop to duel her way to an open length victory in the state-bred restricted Seeking the Ante S. over familiar face Lady Mine (First Samurai), GSP...

Keepmeinmind (Laoban--Inclination, by Victory Gallop), whose prowess on the track first brought sire Laoban to the national forefront, and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner and Eclipse finalist Fire At Will (Declaration of War--Flirt, by Kitten's Joy) join Honest Mischief, Freud and Mission Impazible at Sequel New York's stallion roster, bringing diverse and interesting options for Thoroughbred breeders in the Empire State. Bred by Southern Equine Stables, the physically impressive Keepmeinmind broke his maiden in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. in November of his 2-year-old season. Prior to that,...

OLYMPIAD (Speightstown), winner of the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S. and runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, has had his first mares scanned in foal, Gainesway Farm announced Friday. He is confirmed in foal to Cheyenne Stables's Navasha (Giant's Causeway), who is from the female family of Grade I winners Fault (Blame) and Juju's Map (Liam's Map). Olympiad stands for $35,000 at Gainesway. Gainesway also announced that GI Woody Stephens S. winner DRAIN THE CLOCK (Maclean's Music) has his first mare in foal as well--Amelia Island (Hook and...

Keepmeinmind (Laoban--Inclination, by Victory Gallop), a Grade II winner at two and placed three times at Grade I level, will enter stud in 2023 at Sequel New York, where he will cover mares at a fee of $6,500. Bred by Southern Equine Stables, Keepmeinmind was runner-up to future two-time Eclipse Award winner Essential Quality (Tapit) in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and finished third to that rival in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile before breaking his maiden in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Sixth in the GI Kentucky Derby...

Keeneland has announced 10 supplements--headlined by recent Delta Mile S. winner Dreamer's Disease (Laoban)--to its November Horses of Racing Age Sale to be held Nov. 17. The online catalog for the single-session auction features Daily Racing Form and Equibase past performances along with Thoro-graph and Ragozin sheets, race replays and more. Horses will be available for inspection at Keeneland on Wednesday, Nov. 16. The auction will start the next day at noon. Highlighting the latest supplements are: Dreamer's Disease, a gate-to-wire winner of the Delta Mile on Nov. 5 at...

The Louisville Courier-Journal is reporting that Laoban (Uncle Mo)'s death last year resulted after the stallion was injected with a cocktail of vitamins and minerals they called the "Black Shot," which was meant to increase his interest in breeding after he struggled to cover mares toward the end of the season. The Courier-Journal based much of its reporting on insurance documents it obtained regarding the death of the stallion that stood at WinStar Farm. Part-owners Cypress Creek Equine and Southern Equine Stables filed suit last month in Fayette Circuit Court...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-KEE, $80K, MSW, 2yo, 4 1/2f, 1:00 p.m. The opening day of the 2022 Keeneland Spring Meet features the first 2-year-old races of the year and the first opportunity for freshman sires to get their second careers off to a winning start. Success as a new stallion is of no concern for Uncle Mo, the sire of first-time starter DOMINICANA. A daughter of the SP Speightstown mare Chattertown, Dominicana is a full-sister to GSW and late sire Laoban. Purchased for $300,000 from the 2021 Keeneland...

A co-owner of the deceased stallion Laoban (Uncle Mo) is suing a collective of insurance providers in an alleged wrongful denial of coverage case for failing to pay out on mortality policies in the aftermath of the 8-year-old's sudden death 10 months ago. The civil complaint was filed Mar. 22 in Kentucky's Fayette Circuit Court. Paulick Report first broke the story. According to the court filing, Cypress Creek Equine, LLC, wants the defendants--North American Specialty Insurance Company, XL Specialty Insurance Company and Underwriters at Lloyd's, London and Lloyd's Kentucky, Inc.--to...

The first mares bred to Fortune Ticket (Candy Ride {Arg}-Quiet Giant, by Giant's Causeway) and Son of Thunder (Uncle Mo-Chattertown, by Speightstown) have been confirmed in foal via press release from Climax Stallions. Fortune Ticket, the full-brother to Horse of the Year and #1 two-year-old sire Gun Runner, is standing his first season at Anchor and Hope Farm in Maryland. On the board in four of six lifetime starts with two wins, he sold for $27,000 two years ago at KEENOV. Son of Thunder, the full-brother to the late Laoban,...