Medaglia d'Oro

At the close of 2022, Turfway Park's Holiday Meet concluded with jockey Gerardo Corrales, trainer Paulo Lobo and Larry Best's OXO Equine winning their respective titles. Corrales tabbed 30 wins from 104 mounts--a stout 29% win clip. His mounts tallied $1,115,484 in purse earnings. Corrales' meet was highlighted by a victory in the $125,000 Prairie Bayou Stakes aboard the Lobo-trained In Love (BRZ) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}). The 26-year-old rider also won the $125,000 Holiday Inaugural Stakes aboard Ready to Venture (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Corrales finished eight wins in front of...

It is beginning to feel as ingrained a New Year ritual as the concert in Vienna: the raising of a toast not just to another record year for Into Mischief, but to the way his reign has become an apt symbol of our times. After all, the whole point of marking the turn of a year-it's just another leaf in the calendar, really, just one more sunrise in the indefinite (but never infinite!) sequence we are apportioned-is to take a step back and see whether we can discern a fresh...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 9th-TAM, $27K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 4:33 p.m. Facing a full field of 13 from the inside gate, JUST THE SKY (Justify), a homebred for Eurowest Bloodstock with her freshman sire's (by Scat Daddy) connections John Gunther also involved, stretches out over the grass for trainer Chad Brown. Out of a half-sister to MGSW & MGISP Honorable Duty (Distorted Humor), Just the Sky traces back to broodmare of the year Toussaud (El Gran Senor), herself the dam of MGISW & late sire Emire Maker...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 6th-AQU, $85k, Msw, 2yo, f, 1m, 2:14p.m. ET Manzanita Stables LLC went to $300,000 at KEESEP in 2021 to acquire LUCKY COMBINATION (Ghostzapper), a price tag likely aided by her dam being out of a half-sister to GISW & MGISP Girolamo (A.P. Indy) and his full-siblings MGISP & MGSW Daydreaming and GISP Accelerator. Dam Lucky Number herself claims GISW Got Lucky (A.P. Indy)--responsible for MGSP Overtook (Curlin)--as a half-relation and has produced two other winning fillies. This is the female family of GISW Chocolate Gelato...

The Thoroughbred is certainly more versatile than we sometimes give it credit for. There is always the capacity to surprise, particularly when it comes to predicting stallion success. For instance, despite examples showing otherwise, it remains tempting to box sires as 'dirt' and 'turf' and 'American' and 'European' when actually some of them will prove capable of crossing the differing racing jurisdictions quite easily. Had all breeders and buyers remained on 'the straight and narrow', the chance to appreciate the likes of Scat Daddy, Medaglia d'Oro, More Than Ready and...

As we saw in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, if there's anything more exciting than a duel to the wire, it's the intrusion of a third nose. And that's pretty much the way a remarkable contest for the freshman sires' title is playing out entering the stretch. The first thing to stress is that it really shouldn't matter which of the stallions involved happens to bank the critical extra cents to claim the crown. That won't be how the marketing teams of their respective farms are viewing things, naturally, but...

5th-CD, $120k, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 3:01p.m. ET Conditioner Steve Asmussen will unveil the regally-bred WITHOUT A SONG (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-brother to Champion older horse Honor Code (A.P. Indy) as well as GISP Noble Tune (Unbridled's Song); hailing from the female family of Hall of Famer and blue-hen Serena's Song (Rahy). This is also the family of MGSW Vocalised (Vindication) and Grand Reward (Storm Cat) as well as at least nine other graded and group runners beneath that stellar third dam. The late starter will have Ricardo Santana Jr. in...

9th-Churchill Downs, $114,155, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($100,000), 10-30, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:26.84, sy, 1 3/4 lengths. PRETTY MISCHIEVOUS (f, 2, Into Mischief--Pretty City Dancer {GISW, $286,344}, by Tapit) was named a 'TDN Rising Star' off a 2 1/4-length winning performance on debut when sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs over this same track Sept. 18. Hammered into 1-5 favoritism for her first try against winners, Pretty Mischievous settled into a stalking position from fourth behind pacesetter Bluelightspecial (Super Saver). Given her head with three furlongs to run, she struck the front at...

Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable and LNJ Foxwoods' Olympiad (Speightstown--Tokyo Time, Medaglia d'Oro) will take up stallion duties at Gainesway Farm upon his retirement from racing. To date, Olympiad has won eight of 12 career starts, including five graded stakes victories, highlighted by the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. Having already amassed over $2-million in earnings, the 4-year-old is expected to make his next start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland next month. Trained by Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Olympiad captured five graded victories this season, beginning...

8th-Keeneland, $110,000, Alw, 10-14, (NW2L), 3yo/up, 6f, 1:10.46, ft, 6 lengths. STROBE (c, 3, Into Mischief--Flashing {MGISW, $633,226}, by A.P. Indy) hoisted his 'TDN Rising Star'-dom even higher for all to see with this monster return off the layoff after needing some more time to overcome minor issues. Sporting an eye-catching 99 Beyer for his unveiling May 7 on the Derby Day undercard--a race where he dominated a field which included eventual GSW Elite Power (Curlin), currently on a four-race win streak--the Godolphin homebred was hammered down to overwhelming 1-5...

Perennial top sire Medaglia d'Oro once again heads Darley's Jonabell Farm roster for 2023 with his fee remaining at $100,000, the same amount as 2022. Darley has also added two new stallions to the now-11 horse roster, including G1SW Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) and GISW Speaker's Corner (Street Sense). Mystic Guide, who won the 2021 G1 Dubai World Cup, was retired earlier this year. He will stand for a fee of $15,000 in his initial season at stud. Speaker's Corner, a Godolphin homebred out of Tyburn Brook (Bernardini) who is bred...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-DMR, $80K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, post time: 4:00 p.m. ET Michael Petersen and Willow Grace Farm, who campaign last year's GI Del Mar Debutante winner Grace Adler (Curlin) in partnership, team up for the Sunday opener at Del Mar with $950K Keeneland September acquisition CARLA (Medaglia d'Oro). The February foal is the first produce from Naples Princess (Distorted Humor), a full-sister to SW Banker's Buy and a half to SW City Dweller (Carson City) and SW Glacken's Gal (Smoke Glacken), the dam of...