Mage

ARCADIA, CA - As Javier Castellano gets ready to ride three mounts on Breeders' Cup Saturday, the recently turned 46-year-old is amidst one of the best years of his career. And it almost never happened. A pair of Breeders' Cup wins at the 2019 Championships put an exclamation point on the Hall of Famer's eighth straight season with more than $20 million in earnings. But, the year 2020, like it was for so many, was more about overcoming adversity for the native of Venezuela. Castellano was the first jockey to...

It was almost a year ago that Case Clay stepped away from his position at Three Chimneys Farm to focus full-time on his company, Case Clay Thoroughbred Management. With services including bloodstock auction and private purchases, portfolio management and equine insurance, he has stayed busy since going solo. Clay was in Australia for the Inglis Easter Sale this spring to oversee a successful auction for his clients offering yearlings there. They celebrated several lucrative sales, including a Dundeel (NZ) colt out of Kevikki (Aus) (Smart Missile {Aus})--a mare that Clay...

The five days between last Wednesday's pre-entries and Monday's official draw for the Breeders' Cup afford a brief window of opportunity to examine a few subtleties that emerged from the early version of the match-ups for this weekend's championships. The decision by the connections of Practical Move (Practical Joke) to aim for the GI Dirt Mile instead of the GI Classic tops the list. The Classic, which lost Mage (Good Magic) and Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) to illness and injury, respectively, over the weekend, lacks a standout favorite,...

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) has been ruled out of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic by trainer Gustavo Delgado. Delgado made the announcement Sunday on X (formerly Twitter), writing: "We are sorry to announce that we have decided to cancel Mage's trip to California. He presented a feverish state this morning and we have noticed symptoms of loss of appetite. Given the proximity to the race, we feel that it is best for the horse to skip the Classic." Delgado wrote that prior to this setback, Mage had...

For the last three or four years, bloodstock agents Ramiro Restrepo, Bo Bromagen, and Clay Scherer had talked about attending the White Turf races in St. Moritz, Switzerland as fans. The races are among the most unique in the world. They're held every February and run over a frozen lake that is packed down with snow, creating a spectacle unlike anything, anywhere in the world of horse racing. The races have been held since 1907. "We always thought that the St. Moritz white turf races were so cool, so appealing,"...

6th-Keeneland, $99,588, Msw, 10-14, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45, ft, 6 1/2 lengths. DORNOCH (c, 2, Good Magic--Puca {SW & GSP, $299,406}, by Big Brown) had run well in each of his first two career starts, including a runner-up effort in the Sapling S. in his most recent trip to the races Aug. 26, and made good on a promise of 1-2 favoritism to break his maiden in style Saturday at Keeneland. The full-brother to GI Kentucky Derby hero Mage, GISW, $2,507,450; and half to Gunning (Gun Runner), MSP, $278,835,  was...

Good Magic entered the GI Juvenile a maiden; he came out a Breeders' Cup winner. He's making an even bigger splash at stud. A little more than six weeks before his first crop turned up GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage, he had this year's priciest OBSMAR 2-year-old. That $2-million colt is now GISW Muth and will be one of the favorites for this year's Juvenile. "The odds are rare to buy a horse and have it become an important stallion," said Hill 'n' Dale's John Sikura of Good Magic. "Intuitively...

It's a busy time at Keeneland. The September sale has just ended, the fall race meet is upon us and the November sale is right around the corner. With that in mind, the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland called upon Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach to fill us in on the latest from one of America's favorite racetracks. Breathnach was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week. The foal crop keeps dropping every year, but that doesn't seem to affect the September sale. There were...

This year's GI Kentucky Derby winner, Mage (Good Magic--Puca, by Big Brown), will stand at stud at Airdrie Stud upon his retirement from racing, Airdrie announced Wednesday. The chestnut, who was bred in Kentucky by Grandview Equine, will continue to race for the ownership team of OGMA Investments, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing and Commonwealth Thoroughbreds. Currently being pointed for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Mage has earned $2,507,450 to date in a career that includes runner-up efforts in the GI Haskell S. and GI Florida Derby as well as...

The connections of Mage (Good Magic) will be on-hand at Churchill Downs on Saturday, Sept. 16 to receive their engraved Kentucky Derby 149 trophies after the GIII Iroquois S., the track said in a release Friday. The group includes: owners OGMA Investments (Gustavo Delgado), Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing (Sam Herzberg) and CMNWLTH (Brian Doxtator and Chase Chamberlain); trainer Gustavo Delgado; and breeder Grandview Equine (Robert Clay). Jockey Javier Castellano is unable to attend due to riding commitments elsewhere. Engraved Oaks trophies will be presented to the connections of Pretty Mischievous...

By Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland September Yearling Sale's first Book 2 session continued right on from where the auction's elite Book 1 section concluded, producing strong results largely in line with last year's record-setting renewal. During Wednesday's session, 209 yearlings sold for $64,024,000. The session average of $306,335 and the median was $255,000. During last year's Book 2 opener, 219 head grossed $66,695,000 for an average of $304,543 and a median of $250,000. With 83 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 28.42%....

A half-brother to this year's GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) by McKinzie brought $1.2 million when selling to CRK Stables at Wednesday's session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. MGISW McKinzie, a Gainesway sire, is represented by his first crop of yearlings this year. The $1.2-million colt is out of former 'TDN Rising Star' Puca (Big Brown), a SW & GSP runner whose three foals to race, including current juvenile Dornoch (Good Magic), are all stakes performers. Grandview Farm bred both the Derby winner and Hip 669, who...