McKulick

There are undoubtedly many good reasons to have a rounded life with interests beyond the breeding, training, buying and selling of a supreme equine athlete who can run faster than his contemporaries. Those of us whose waking hours are mostly consumed by one or more of these bloodstock industry pursuits can rightly be accused of not getting out more, particularly at this time of year. But when the daily non-racing headlines revolve around the British economy in freefall, hurricanes and floods decimating parts of the world, and President Putin looming...

A half-dozen 3-year-old fillies, topped by the one-two finishers in the July 9 GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S., will do battle in Sunday's GIII Saratoga Oaks Invitational S., one of three graded stakes taking place on the first Sunday in August. Highly-regarded McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}), named after trainer Chad Brown's first employee when he struck out on his own, was an impressive debut winner last summer at the Spa, but went winless in her next three starts while placing in the GII Miss Grillo S., GII Edgewood S. and...

An awful lot of people have been getting hot under the collar this week, and not just because a heatwave is currently sweeping Europe, leading to the cancellation of five race meetings in England and some rejigging of times and locations on the continent. The BHA's whip report was published last Tuesday sparking a predictably wide range of views being aired on both sides of the debate. While some believe that by enforcing changes racing is pandering to those who don't understand the sport and need educating as to horse...

Adrian O'Brien, who under the banner of Hazelwood Bloodstock, raised and consigned GI Belmont Oaks winner McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) on behalf of her breeder Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, has opened up about what Saturday's top-level triumph means to everyone on his farm.  Hazelwood Bloodstock, which O'Brien set up alongside his wife Philippa in 2016, boards up to 30 mares with an emphasis on quality over quantity.  In Astrelle (Ire) (Makfi {GB}), the dam of McKulick and one of the first mares to walk through the gates at...

Walkathon got the jump on odds-on McKulick and kept finding in the lane to make the grade and stay unbeaten on gras while becoming jockey Julien Leparoux's 1000th winner at Churchill Downs. Having finished second and fourth in her second and third starts, respectively, sprinting on the main track, Walkathon was runner-up in a rained-onto-Tapeta Gulfstream route Feb. 13. She resurfaced to graduate over the Keeneland turf Apr. 22, and was flattered when the next two finishers came back to earn their own diplomas. The Whitham homebred was coming off...

McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will look to annex a career high in Saturday's GIII Regret S. at Churchill Downs. The 3-year-old filly, named after trainer Chad Brown's first-ever employee, the late Mary McKulick, was last seen finishing second in the GII Edgewood S. May 6. She was also a close third as the heavy favorite, beaten only one length, in the GII Miss Grillo S. last fall at Belmont Park. Also looking for her first graded stakes score is Beside Herself (Uncle Mo), who enters Saturday's contest off a 2...

It seems nearly inconceivable that there is a stakes race for 3-year-old fillies that has not been won by trainer Chad Brown, but such is the case with Friday's $500,000 GIII Edgewood S. at Churchill Downs. It will be equally surprising if that statistical anomaly is not corrected, as the conditioner is represented by the top three choices on the morning line, though Mother Nature might have something to say about it, with daylong rains predicted. Klaravich Stables' McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was a poignant debut winner at Saratoga last...

Trainer Chad Brown will have two chances--led by even-money morning-line favorite McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB})--for his ninth GII Miss Grillo S. victory Saturday. McKulick, named for the late Mary McKulick, a longtime office manager and bookkeeper for Brown, kicked home nicely from fifth to graduate over three next-out winners, including runner-up stablemate Consumer Spending (More Than Ready), at the Spa on debut Aug. 8. She is drawn widest of all in post six for the Miss Grillo. Brown will also saddle Kinchen (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who finished an...

Chad Brown has won so many big races with so many good horses that he can be forgiven if sometimes they all start to run together. But, for Brown, Sunday's second race at Saratoga will never be just another victory. The winner of the maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies was named McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}). She was named after Brown's first-ever employee, bookkeeper Mary McKulick. McKulick passed away last October at the age of 67, losing a battle with cancer. "When I decided to go out on my own,...