Oscar Performance

Polite but perfunctory. That was pretty much the tone in which people tended to praise Kitten's Joy while he was with us, and I guess it should be no different now that he's gone. Even so, it strikes me that his loss has been inadequately lamented. Not just in his own right, as an avowed turf stallion who freakishly contrived two general sires' championships in North America; but also, virtually unremarked, as a final straw in what has over the past nine months become an outright catastrophe for the enlightened...

Sent off the 2-1 second betting favorite, Meiner Vision (Jpn) sat three wide the trip and battled on bravely through the final furlong to become the first Japanese winner and third overall for Mill Ridge Farm's freshman sire Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy--Devine Actress, by Theatrical {Ire}) in an 1800-meter maiden at Fukushima Racecourse. Drawn gate 11 in a scratched-down field of 12, the bay was nudged along early to take up a prominent position and landed three wide punching the breeze while firmly held by jockey Yukito Ishikawa. Settled nicely...

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 Sunday running at Fukushima and Kokura Racecourses: Sunday, July 24, 2022 3rd-FKS, ¥9,900,000 ($72k), Maiden, 2yo, 1800mT MEINER VISION (JPN) (c, 2, Oscar Performance--Songoficeandfire, by Dynaformer) turned in a very promising debut effort when tried over this distance at Tokyo June 25, finishing...

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 weekend running Saturday at Tokyo and Sunday at Hanshin. The latter venue plays host to Sunday's G1 Takarazuka Kinen, the final top-level event in Japan for three months and offering the winner a spot in the field for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf...

2nd-Keeneland, $76,240, Msw, 4-28, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.85, fm, 2 lengths. ANDTHEWINNERIS (c, 2, Oscar Performance--Run Like the Boss, by Scat Daddy) was sent off the 4.10-1 second choice and showed a decisive turn of foot in the final eighth of a mile to become the first winner for his Mill Ridge-based freshman sire (by Kitten's Joy) at Keeneland Thursday afternoon. Void of early speed, Andthewinneris raced last but one early and improved by one position as they hit the turn. Traveling smoothly inside on the bend, he was angled...

Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy), a four-time Grade I winner, including the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, will stand the 2022 season at Mill Ridge Farm for $12,500 LFSN for first-time breeders, and $10,000 for repeat breeders or multiple mares. Bred and raced by Jerry and John Amerman and trained by Brian Lynch, Oscar Performance won Grade I stakes at two, three, and four, and broke a 20-year course record at Belmont Park, covering a mile in 1:31.23, all with no Lasix. Oscar Performance has proven outstanding fertility with 90%...

For a farm so steeped in heritage, and so properly respectful of it, there's no mistaking the vitality, the aversion to complacency, animating Mill Ridge with a sixth generation now at the reins. Back in April the Bell family grieved farm founder Alice Headley Chandler, a revered matriarch not just around their own hearth but among the whole Bluegrass community. But their loss, while poignantly refreshing their gratitude and sense of privilege, could only reinforce an engrained determination that her legacy be honored by all the ambition that had characterised...

With the Keeneland September Sale fast approaching, Gray Lyster of Ashview Farm is looking forward to showcasing his colt by Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy-Devine Actress, by Theatrical {Ire}). Bred by Colts Neck Stables, the bay catalogued as Hip 892 is a half-brother to the talented MGSW Venetian Harbor (Munnings). The sibling duo is out of the stakes-placed mare Sounds of the City (Street Cry {Ire}), who hails from the family of champion sprinter Safely Kept (Horatius). "He's actually the fifth generation of the family that we've raised here at Ashview,"...

Thursday, Chris McGrath covered the first half of the Kentucky stallions with first yearlings. Click here to read about Justify, City of Light, West Coast, Mendelssohn, Good Magic, Bolt d'Oro, and Always Dreaming. The second part appears below. ACCELERATE (Lookin At Lucky--Issues, by Awesome Again) has also been trimmed to $17,500, at Lane's End, having already been our "gold" value pick of the intake at an opening $20,000. Whatever made him attractive then has scarcely diminished in the meantime, given that he was never going to appeal to those fast-buck...

The fourth season of the National Musem of Racing and Hall of Fame's popular live webcam series Foal Patrol will debut online Dec. 29 at www.foalpatrol.com. The season will feature mares at Mill Ridge Farm, Safari North at Pauls Mill and Three Chimneys in Kentucky and Old Tavern Farm in New York. Season four will also feature leading sire Tapit at Gainesway Farm. The featured mares for season four include:   Janae (Closing Argument), in foal to Malibu Moon and due in April; residing at Safari North;   Miss Always...

Mill Ridge Farm has set the 2021 stud fee for world record turf miler Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy) at $15,000, LFSN. Bred and raced by Jerry and John Amerman, he won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, captured Grade I stakes at 2, 3, and 4, and broke a 20-year track record at Belmont Park at a mile in 1:31.23, all with no Lasix. "We celebrate his third year, for we have seen so many of his foals and they are genuine quality," said Headley Bell. "He has every opportunity...

About the time 'spring was about to sprung,' we all got hit...and hit very hard. As a way to adapt and hopefully share, about 8:30 each morning I posted short videos on Twitter. The grass was just starting to green and the birds were starting to sing and yes, we were welcoming our first crop of Oscar Performance babies here at Mill Ridge Farm. It made for a very uplifting setting and the response to these videos is heartwarming. At the same time, Horse Country was actively working with their...