Michael McCarthy

Grade I winner Smooth Like Straight (Midnight Lute--Smooth as Usual, by Flower Alley), retired sound from racing in March, will stand in 2024 at War Horse Place near Lexington, where his fee will be $3,500 live foal. Blood-Horse was the first with the story. A Cannon Thoroughbreds, LLC homebred trained by Michael McCarthy, Smooth Like Strait campaigned for five seasons and won five graded events, including the 2021 GI Shoemaker Mile S, the 2020 GII Twilight Derby, and the 2020 GII Mathis Brothers Mile S. He was also runner-up to...

Back in early 2022 when John and Diane Fradkin announced that their homebred GI Preakness winner Rombauer (Twirling Candy) was being retired after suffering a soft tissue injury they went to work to find him his new home. The horse has a good pedigree and is a Grade I winner, so the expectations were that he'd stand at stud in Kentucky. Regional markets were also considered. Another option was Japan. But no matter where their horse might land, the Fradkins decided that Rombauer's racing career was over. That was the...

For every Off-the-Track Thoroughbred enthusiast, having a sound and healthy former racehorse to partner with for a second career is all they hope for. And while these same people will tell you their horse's racing history doesn't matter much, many of these same OTTB devotees will also admit their immense pride in explaining their companion's racing career, recreating as much of it as possible to anyone who will listen. Just about everyone in the Thoroughbred industry understands that most OTTBs are runners who served as the backbone of racing, filling...

4th-Keeneland, $97,670, Msw, 10-21, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:19.10, ft, 1/2 length. LUGAN KNIGHT (c, 2, Goldencents--Sly Roxy, by Speightstown) was outfinished by the impressive Protege (Good Magic) on Churchill debut Sept. 21 and was off at 97 cents on the dollar to go one better Friday afternoon. Away a touch slowly from the inside gate, the homebred tucked in just behind the leading trio in fourth down the backstretch and traveled on the bridle on the turn. The favorite was ridden for luck into the stretch and was stymied with...

by Dan Ross & Jessica Martini POMONA, CA - The Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearlings and Horses of Racing Age Sale, held Tuesday at Fairplex in Pomona, produced 14 six-figure lots, led by a filly by Mr. Big who sold for $250,000 to Todd Tomazic. Numbers declined from last year's lively renewal of the auction, with 205 head grossing $6,257,100 and the average falling 22% to $30,522 and the median dipping 15% to $17,000. The buy-back rate was 25.7%. It was 24.4% in 2021. "It was a very solid session," Fasig-Tipton...

The momentum carried through into Tuesday's closing session of Book 4 of the Keeneland September Sale in Lexington with a filly by sophomore sire Connect drawing a $450,000 final bid from Maddie Mattmiller, acting as agent for Black Type Thoroughbreds. Tuesday's session grossed $21,182,500, up slightly from the corresponding session in 2021 when 312 horses sold for $20,549,000. The average for the day was $71,805, up 9.02% from 2021, while median increased 22.22% to $55,000. The final day of Book 4 saw a total of 295 horses sold, while 1,851...

Todd Pletcher was in a chipper mood one morning in his office near Saratoga's Oklahoma training track when I asked him about the Green sisters. "Which one?" Pletcher replied, wryly. "The one right outside the door." "Oh, the brown-noser," Pletcher said with a laugh. "Do you want to listen in, Sophie?" "No," said the mocking English voice from the other side of the glass door. "I will never say anything nice about you again!" Meet Sophie Green, the elder of the Green sisters, the younger being Amelia. The two sisters...

Actuator (Bodemeister), just a $2,200 FTKFEB yearling graduate, stayed perfect on dirt to capture a career high in Saturday's GIII Indiana Derby. Third in his first two tries on grass for trainer Rodolphe Brisset at Horseshoe Indianapolis last term, including going a mile in his juvenile finale Oct. 6, he returned from the bench to air in his dirt debut going seven furlongs in his first try for trainer Michael McCarthy at Churchill Downs last time June 8. With Black Type Thoroughbreds acquiring a 75-percent controlling interest since, 3-1 third-choice...

Champion Ce Ce (Elusive Quality) successfully defended her title in Gulfstream's GII Princess Rooney S. Saturday and stamped her ticket to Keeneland in November to attempt another title defense in the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint S. Heavily favored at 2-5 as the pure class of the field, Ce Ce broke alertly, but was content to track from a two-wide third as Make Mischief (Into Mischief) clicked off an opening quarter in :23.01 and half in :45.46. Charging up two wide to take control exiting the bend, the chestnut sailed...

Owner Michael Cannon woke up on Memorial Day with a gut feeling. Cannon Thoroughbreds was going to win a Grade I that day. His inkling didn't come without good reason. The stable's leading earner Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute) would be attempting to defend his title in the GI Shoemaker Mile and was slated as the 4-5 morning-line favorite. Of course as anyone in this business can attest, favoritism doesn't secure a trip to the winner's circle no matter how small the odds. So while Smooth Like Strait had to...

Last year's edition of the GI Preakness S. marked one of the best days of John Fradkin's life when Rombauer (Twirling Candy-Cashmere, by Cowboy Cal), a second-generation homebred for the California native and his wife Diane, took the second leg of the Triple Crown. Going off as the fifth choice, Rombauer stormed past favorites Medina Spirit (Protonico) and Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) in the stretch to win by 3 1/2 lengths. It was the first Preakness victory for trainer Michael McCarthy and jockey Flavien Prat and the first Grade I win...

Ce Ce (Elusive Quality), game winner of the 2020 GI Apple Blossom H., underscored her affinity for Oaklawn with another game victory in Saturday's GII Azeri S. The 2021 champion female sprinter was squeezed slightly at the start by the wayward Lady Mystify (Bernardini), while Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) took the worst of it and was forced back sharply as defending Azeri champ and race favorite Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) raced out to take control. Showing the way through an opening quarter in :23.44 followed by a :47.53 half, the leader continued to...