Practical Joke

Frost Free Coast to Coast in Chick Lang

Sent off the 9-5 choice to collect his first graded win of his career, Frost Free went to the front and was never headed, registering a 1 1/2-length victory in Pimlico's GIII Chick Lang S. Mr Skylight missed the break and dropped to last from his inside draw as Frost Free jumped to the front from stall six. In the clear as Sweet Soddy J (Bee Jersey) and Cats by Five surveyed the issue following a :23.24 quarter, the grey continued to show the way through a :46.66 half. Comfortably...

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Breeding Digest: The Real Dazzle Behind Encino

His contentious prohibition from Churchill penalizes many others besides Bob Baffert and his loyal patrons. A shot at the GI Kentucky Derby, once-in-a-lifetime for most, is also being denied to everyone else with a stake in his horses' development, from those on duty at the foaling shed to the pre-trainer to the feed company. And, of course, there's nothing like a Derby winner to market a stallion. As things have turned out, a setback means that Nyquist would have lost the services of Nysos even had he moved to another...

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Steve Asmussen Plans Big Season for Skelly

After emerging in good form from his GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. victory, MGSW Skelly (Practical Joke) will look to climb the class ladder with future targets including the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. and the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, announced trainer Steve Asmussen Sunday morning. Having posted the meet's best time for six furlongs at 1:08.82 in that Count Fleet effort, beating the prior mark of 1:09.38, which he also set in his 2024 debut, the Oaklawn star will be setting his sights on bigger prizes this summer and...

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Marylou Whitney Stables Homebred Debuts A Winner At Oaklawn

8th-Oaklawn, $115,000, Msw, 3-29, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.55, ft, 6 1/4 lengths. TWEETSTER (f, 3, Practical Joke--Tweeterdini, by Bernardini) debuted with Lasix as the heavily backed 3-2 choice here. The homebred started slowly, but with the rail open she was able to lead the second pack up the backstretch. Rolling around the turn, the filly chased longshot Hurricane Fire (Can the Man), who appeared to be getting away. Moving from the rail towards the center of the course at the eighth pole, Tweetster closed like a freight train and won...

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Breeding Digest: A Family that Just Gets Sweeter

Quite a few horses have lately nourished the illusion that we might, collectively, actually know what we're doing. Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), for instance, is threatening to make sense of the second-highest price paid for an American yearling in 2022; while Newgate (Into Mischief) is steadily working off a $850,000 debt of his own, while similarly bringing closer the real payday at stud. But last weekend we were given yet another reminder of the genetic powder-keg lit by a mating strategy that can only have prompted a supercilious smile in...

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Klaravich's Domestic Product Wins Wild Tampa Bay Derby

In a GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby delayed more than 30 minutes due to a tote issue plaguing much of the East Coast, Klaravich Stables homebred DOMESTIC PRODUCT (c, 3, Practical Joke--Goods and Services, by Paynter) won in a wild scramble at the finish. Recent GIII Sam F. Davis S. winner No More Time (Not This Time) was nosed out for the win and held second over recent Swale S. third Grand Mo the First (Uncle Mo), while pacesetter Good Money (Good Magic) just missed the board. The final...

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Breeding Digest: High Stakes Paying Off With Sierra Leone

Among the winners at the last Breeders' Cup, what was it that separated White Abarrio (Race Day), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}) from the rest? Answer: they were the only ones that had changed hands at an American yearling auction, respectively for $7,500, $170,000 and $3,500. Even that lavish investor in the yearling market, Mike Repole, won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a homebred. Except for a couple of European turf juveniles, the rest of the show was a parade of champions raised by "end users":...

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Minnesota Ready Tops Lothenbach Dispersal on Fasig-Tipton Digital

The Lothenbach dispersal of Horses of Racing Age on Fasig-Tipton Digital, run Jan. 29 to Feb. 2, closed with 66 horses selling for $4,840,000 with MSP Minnesota Ready (More Than Ready) leading all lots at a final price of $380,000, changing hands to Richard Colton Jr.. The first in the digital ring, Minnesota Ready was most recently seen Jan. 20 in the Duncan F. Kenner S. at the Fair Grounds, where he again ran third in a blanket finish with SW Sosua Summer (Summer Front) and MSW & MGSP Just...

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Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Machmer Hall

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Machmer Hall's Carrie Brogden. Becca's Rocket, 6, (Orb-Idoitmyway, by Unbridled's Song). To be bred to Elite Power. Becca's Rocket is currently in foal to Jackie's Warrior. We bred this Orb filly and after the untimely death of her Unbridled's Song dam in a paddock accident, I vowed to buy this beautiful stakes mare back after her racing career. When she was born, I had such high hopes for her because she was just a...

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Value Sires For 2024 Part 7: The Big Guns

Today we conclude our survey of Kentucky stallion options with a look at the apex of the pyramid, comprising a couple of dozen standing between $60,000 and $250,000--besides whatever it might take to secure your mare an audience with Justify. It feels presumptuous enough to offer counsel even on cheaper sires, when each mating should boil down to you finding an optimal fit for an individual mare that you know inside out. Still greater hesitation, then, must precede any attempt to discover "value" among this lot. No stallion has any...

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Justify's Valentine Candy Dominates Oaklawn's Advent

Valentine Candy (Justify) put a sweet punctuation to his year with a dominant display in the Advent S. on Oaklawn's opening day. Victorious against a well-met field of Saratoga maidens in July, the chestnut tired badly in the GI Hopeful S. after a round of bumper cars soon after the break took him off the pace. He resurfaced at Keeneland in October with two starts--a second against first-level optional claimers on the seventh and then running third Oct. 28 in the Bowman Mill S. Sent away at 9-5 in good...

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$425K Chameleon On Top As Book 3 Opens at Keeneland November

LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale entered its Book 3 section Saturday in Lexington. Leading the day's trade was the 4-year-old broodmare Chameleon (Candy Ride {Arg}), who sold for $425,000 to the bid of Terri Burch of Stoneway Farm. The mare, in foal to Practical Joke, was bred and consigned by Mt. Brilliant Farm. During the session, 243 horses grossed $15,012,500 for an average of $61,780 and a median of $50,000. The average was down 27% from last year's opening Book 3 session and the median was...

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