Medaglia d'Oro

by Jessica Martini, Christie DeBernardis and Brian DiDonato LEXINGTON, KY- Bidding remained steady as Book 2 of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale concluded Wednesday in Lexington. Andrew Cary made the session's most expensive purchase, going to $500,000 to acquire the mare Contributing (Medaglia d'Oro) from the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consignment on behalf of Coteau Grove Farms. Weanlings held the next six top prices of the session and, for the third straight day of the sale, Justify was responsible for the top-priced foal when Chris Baccari went to...

Higher Power (Medaglia d'Oro-Alternate, by Seattle Slew) will retire to Darby Dan Farm at the conclusion of his racing career and stand in partnership with Matt Bowling Bloodstock, the farm announced Tuesday. The Hronis Racing colorbearer, trained by John Sadler, is pointing to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Nov. 7. His 2021 fee will be $10,000 S&N for nominations completed prior to the Breeders' Cup. A 5 1/4-length winner of the 2019 GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar, Higher Power recorded a career-best 107 Beyer in the 10-furlong...

5th-Gulfstream West, $36,000, Msw, 10-25, 2yo, f, 1m, 1:38.80, sy, 3 lengths. GLADYS (f, 2, Medaglia d'Oro--Lotta Kim {SW & GSP, $146,485}, by Roar) met trouble at the start of her career and sprint debut here Sept. 18, never getting into the mix and finishing eighth. Sent off at 11-1 for her route bow, she was a stalking fourth behind Beyond Heavenly (Uncle Mo), who set  moderate early splits. Angled out several paths wide at the three-sixteenths pole, she took over in the stretch and ran clear to graduate by...

Stud fees have been announced for Darley's U.S. stallions in 2021, with leading sire Medaglia d'Oro set to stand for $150,000. He stood the 2020 season for $200,000. He is currently the number one yearling sire in North America by both average and median and was represented by four million dollar-plus offerings in 2020, the same number he was represented by in 2019. "These are trying times breeders are facing," said Darley Sales Manager Darren Fox. "We gave great consideration to this when setting our fees to reflect the economic...

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 Saturday running at Chukyo Racecourses. Sunday's action features the return to the races of Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who preps for the final leg of the Japanese Triple Crown in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai: Saturday, September 26, 2020 4th-CKO, ¥13,400,000 ($127k),...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-PRX, $40K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 5 1/2f, post time: 12:55 p.m. DANCE FOR THE GOLD (Medaglia d'Oro) is the second foal, but the first to race from Dance To Bristol (Speightstown), who won half of her 20 career trips to the post, including the GI Ballerina S. in 2013. Bred on the reverse cross responsible for the likes of Grade I winners Rock Fall and Separationofpowers and other graded winners Barkley and Strike Power, Dance for the Gold is a full-sister to a yearling colt...

Hip 319, a Medaglia 'Oro half-sister to Group 3 winner Sergei Prokofiev (Scat Daddy), rolled to the top of the leaderboard about midway through the second day of bidding at the Keeneland September sale after selling to Shadwell Farm for $1.6 million. The Apr. 27 foal was bred in Ontario and consigned to the sale by Anderson Farms and was produced by Orchard Beach (Tapit), a $200,000 graduate of the 2012 September sale, whose produce have now accounted for better than $4 million in turnover at this auction since 2017....

Three years ago, Darley's Sales Manager Darren Fox boarded a plane for Australia to see if  Astern (Aus), their highly-rated son of Medaglia d'Oro, could be a good fit for the American roster. "Upon making the trip to Australia to make sure he would work physically, it took all of about three seconds of looking at Astern to say, 'Yes, this horse will work in America,'" Fox recalled. "He has a lot of attributes that we look for and he was, in any jurisdiction, a high-level, high-performing racehorse. So it...

1st-Ellis, $46,200, Msw, 8-21, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:06.71, fm. NAVRATILOVA (f, 2, Medaglia d'Oro--Centre Court {GISW, $961,048}, by Smart Strike), backed as the tepid 5-2 favorite with a standout pedigree among this group, flew home late to ace her maiden test. Far back early among a very strung-out field, the bay first caught the eye when rolling into fourth entering the stretch. She continued to gobble up ground down the center of the course and blew by the tiring leaders to prevail by a widening 2 1/4 lengths. Fellow...

Stonestreet Stable's Cantata (Medaglia d'Oro) became the newest 'TDN Rising Star' with an effortless-looking debut romp at Saratoga Sunday. Sent off the 6-5 favorite, the $950,000 KEESEP yearling purchase was content to let the two pacesetters go and settled in third. She inched closer entering the turn, stuck a head in front at top of the stretch and glided clear without being asked to win by 10 1/4 lengths. Nevisian Sunrise (War Front) was second and School of Thought (Empire Maker) was third. The time for the 6 1/2 furlongs...

1st-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:10 p.m. ET Stonestreet Stable's CANTATA (Medaglia d'Oro) debuts for Steve Asmussen, who is winning with 20% of his runners at the current meet. Purchased for $950,000 at Keeneland last September, the bay is the second foal out of Stoweshoe, who is also responsible for Desert Peace (Curlin), who realized $1.3 million from Godolphin at the same venue one year earlier. The Doug and Felicia Branham-bred filly has been training steadily at Saratoga, including a four-furlong move two back Aug. 6 (XBTV Video)....

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. Moonlight d'Oro (f, 2, Medaglia d'Oro-Venetian Sonata, by Bernardini) stamped herself as a 2-year-old to watch after rolling home through traffic to finish a strong second as the 3-5 favorite in her five-furlong unveiling at Del Mar Aug. 2 (video). Trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, the $620,000 Keeneland September yearling was outsprinted early and ridden in eighth heading into the far turn. On the move with...