Preservationist

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 at Chukyo and Sapporo Racecourses: Saturday, August 31, 2024 6th-CKO, ¥13,720,000 ($94k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400m YUTO THE YUTO (c, 2, Preservationist--Officer Leah, by Officer) is set to become the first Japanese starter for his young sire, who has accounted for 41...

Having long served as Champion Bore regarding the schism between gene pools either side of the Atlantic, I always find it curious that Europeans so readily shed their inhibitions about American stallions once a 2-year-old is introduced to their domestic market by a compatriot pinhooker. That's presumably because they are nowadays so enslaved by the clock--whatever their contrary claims--that pedigree has almost been neutralized at 2-year-old sales. Functionality is all. Admittedly an elite sire will put a premium on a bullet time. But just as unfashionable local stallions have achieved...

'Saturday afternoon horses' are every breeder's goal. We continue our new weekly series with a young sire who got his first graded win in a high-profile race this past weekend. At this time last year, an unheralded colt parlayed a sole maiden win into victory in the GIII Peter Pan S., which led to Classic success in the GI Belmont S. This year, Antiquarian (Preservationist) is following the same blueprint put in place by Arcangelo (Arrogate): a maiden win early in his sophomore campaign before bursting onto the national scene...

Centennial Farms's Antiquarian (Preservationist) became the first graded winner for his young sire while punching his ticket to the GI Belmont S. with a victory in Saturday's GIII Peter Pan S. at the Big A. Off at odds of 5-1, the last-out GII Louisiana Derby sixth-place finisher found a good spot in an outside third rounding the clubhouse turn behind Unique Insight (Gun Runner) and favored last-out GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. runner-up The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso). Positions unchanged through a half mile in :47.96, Antiquarian hit the gas while...

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":...

The 24-1 longest shot in a field of nine for Saturday's Martha Washington S. at a soggy Oaklawn Park, Dixiana Farms LLC's Band of Gold (Preservationist) became the first black-type winner for her young Airdrie Stud-based sire (by Arch) with an irresistible late run to best heavily favored Denim and Pearls (Into Mischief). Content to drop down onto the fence from her low draw, the $70,000 Keeneland November weanling switched off nicely behind midfield for Brian Hernandez, Jr. and remained within striking distance for the run around the turn. In...

6th-GP, $89k, Msw, 3yo, 6f, post time: 2:39 p.m. ET TURN UP THE TREES (Liam's Map) cost $100,000 as a foal at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale before St. Elias Stable paid $500,000 for the bay at Keeneland September less than a year later, the fourth-priciest of 58 of his sire's yearlings sold in 2022. A son of the Grade III-placed Clearbrook (Smart Strike), Turn Up the Trees descends from the family of stallions Sky Mesa and Bernstein. Sicilian Defense (Uncle Mo) is a maternal grandson of GSW/GISP Molto Vita...

Having dealt with the new sires as a case apart, today we start our journey through the price bands of Kentucky stallions by seeing what we can do with a four-figure budget. Even at this end of the market, the perennial dilemma remains that value means different things to different people. A breeder operating at this level tends to appreciate every cent of a commercial return, however marginal. If your belt is already at the last notch, then the understandable inclination is to leave any selfless consideration of the breed's...

Girvin (Tale of Ekati), the sire of three graded stakes winners including Grade I winner Faiza, and Upstart (Flatter), the sire of GI Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Zandon, will both stand for a stud fee of $30,000 at Airdrie Farm in Midway, Kentucky, for the 2024 season, Airdrie announced Wednesday. "We couldn't be looking more forward to the 2024 season as we continue to build momentum in our stallion barn," said Airdrie's Bret Jones. "We believe we have two very special stallions in Girvin and Upstart headlining our roster...

3rd-Belterra, $23,700, (S), Msw, 6-29, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.70, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. ARTISTIC LANEY (f, 2, Preservationist--Artistic License {SW, $196,488}, by Heart of the Storm), chilly on the board at 9-1 in her afternoon debut, tucked in behind the leading duo of Pretty Patty (Bold Warrior) and Twisted Justice (Biondetti), content to sit off them through fractions of :22.73 and :48.80. Shaken up to take the lead with a four-wide move into the stretch, she was easily the class of the field to the wire, hitting the line 3...

For the past few days, we have been hearing from top judges on whose progeny will come out of the gate flying. MIKE RYAN Top pick: Omaha Beach (War Front-Charming, by Seeking the Gold). Spendthrift Farm, 2023 fee: $30,000. My pick is Omaha Beach. There is a tremendous amount of quality and class there. He is a beautifully-bred horse. He was very fast and he got great support from the breeders and was well-supported in the sales ring. It's a close call, but he is my pick over Audible. Under-the-radar...

With the 2-year-old sales season having kicked off and the first 'baby' races of the year ready to get going in a few weeks, laser focus will be placed on the up-and-coming first-crop stallions. Rightfully so, as we all hunt in earnest for the next breakout young sire. Could there possibly be another Gun Runner in the freshman class of 2023? A total of 16 young guns in North America have 50 or more current 2-year-olds resulting from their first covers in 2020. A great many more have fewer than...