Practical Joke

A total of 308 horses have been cataloged for the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale, to be held Sunday and Monday, Aug. 15 and 16 in the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion on the sales grounds in Saratoga Springs, New York. The New York-bred sale returns to its normal spot on the sales calendar after COVID-19 caused the New York-bred yearlings to be sold at the Selected Yearling Showcase in Lexington last September. "We are thrilled to be conducting this sale back in Saratoga Springs--where it belongs--following last year's cancellation...

Wit romped home an eight-length winner of the GIII Sanford S. at Saratoga Saturday, becoming the first stakes winner for his highly touted freshman sire (by Into Mischief). The dark bay colt, who broke last before romping home to a six-length 'TDN Rising Star' victory in his 5 1/2-furlong debut  at Belmont June 5, was again away from the gate slowly and settled off the pace as longshot Trust Our Journey (American Pharoah) set the early tempo. The pacesetter was some three lengths in front through a quarter in :22.68...

Reflective of a murky early-season 2-year-old male pecking order, a full dozen will line up in Saturday's GIII Sanford S. at Saratoga, with 'TDN Rising Star' Wit (Practical Joke) expected to go favored from the rail. Easily the most expensive of 88 yearlings to sell from his freshman sire in 2020 when hammering for $575,000 at Keeneland September, the dark bay was hammered down to 45 cents on the dollar debuting June 5 at Belmont only to break last. That was no matter though, as the Todd Pletcher trainee advanced...

How badly does New York native Mike Repole want to win the GI Belmont Stakes? Well, if the scene in the winner's circle following the eye-catching unveiling of 'TDN Rising Star' Wit (c, 2, Practical Joke--Numero d'Oro, by Medaglia d'Oro) after a tardy start in the blockbuster card's 11:35 a.m. lidlifter was any indication, NYRA may have to start constructing a larger enclosure. "I had six horses running on Belmont day and had 50 family and friends there," Repole said. "Here he is at 2-5 and eighth after spotting the...

OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds continued the trend of strong results at this spring's juvenile sales with a day of competitive bidding Wednesday in Central Florida. Gary Young made the session's highest bid, going to $425,000 to acquire a filly by Practical Joke on behalf of owner Amr Zedan. A total of 176 horses sold Wednesday for a gross of $7,268,400. The average was $41,298 and the median was $20,000. All figures were up from, not just the pandemic-delayed 2020 June sale, but...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 11:35 a.m. Juvenile colts kick off the festivities on GI Belmont S. day. Trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle three for the big one, and two members of the next generation in here. Repole Stable, St. Elias Stable and Gainesway Stable's Wit (Practical Joke) was a $575,000 Keeneland September buy. He is a half brother to the talented Washington-based GSW Barkley (Munnings). Wit's stablemate Keepcalmcarryon (Union Rags) cost $75,000 at the same auction. His dam Lavender Chrissie (Scat Daddy) was...

A filly by Practical Joke (hip 258) turned in the fastest quarter-mile work of Thursday's second session of the under-tack show for next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds, stopping the clock in :21 1/5. The time matched the mark set by two juveniles during Wednesday's first day of the six-session breeze show. Consigned by Top Line Sales, the filly is out of stakes-placed Devious d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-sister to graded stakes winner Devious Intent (Dixie Union) and multiple stakes winner and graded placed Pioneer Spirit...

Freshman sire Practical Joke got off the mark with his first winner Saturday at Lone Star Park. Under a ride and outsprinted in fifth through an opening quarter in :22.59, Tom Durant homebred Catchusifyoucan (Practical Joke), off at odds of 5-1, rode the rail into the stretch and snuck up the fence in the late stages to secure a half-length decision over Free Like a Girl (El Deal). The winner's stakes-winning dam Legal Mind (Bellamy Road) is also represented by a Sky Kingdom colt of 2020. She was bred to...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 4th-KEE, $60K, Msw, 2yo, 4 1/2f, post time: 2:45 p.m. ET Tom Durant's TEJANO TWIST becomes the first starter for the much-hyped freshman sire Practical Joke for the potent 2-year-old barn of Bret Calhoun. A son of the Grade III-placed Haley's Lolipop (Cuvee), the homebred is a half-brother to Game Day Play (Violence), a second-out maiden winner last August and two starts later victorious in the Clevor Trevor S. at Remington Park. Second dam Two Foxie (Fair Skies) produced the fleet GSW & GISP Maddalena...

NEWMARKET, UK—"That's what I love about this place," one shopper complained on Tuesday afternoon as a consignor extolled the virtues of the horse being paraded before him. "There's never any bad news." Well, he must have spent the last year under a rock. Pretty universally, all that anyone in the European industry sought from the new breeze-up cycle at Newmarket this week was a renewed sense of stability. And, while the closing session of the Craven Sale at Tattersalls proved somewhat tougher going for vendors than the first day, there...

NEWMARKET, UK—After such giddy disruption to the last cycle, the first session of the European breeze-up calendar gave the sector a comforting sense that its world might be easing back on its axis. But those seeking continuity could find it, not between the market that was eventually salvaged last summer and the one that was tested here on Tuesday, but extending from the 2-year-old sales already staged this year across the ocean. Practical Joke has been the toast of the Florida sales, not least with the $750,000 filly who topped...

There is not much Marc Tacher hasn't tried his hand at in the horse racing industry. The native of Puerto Rico breeds, buys and races horses; owns part of a racetrack; and pinhooks. He hopes to enjoy more pinhooking success Wednesday as he sends three juveniles through the ring at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Tacher was bit by the racing bug at a young age and made his first investment in the game early in his adult years. "I got into horse racing early. As...