Rock Your World

As is the custom, the summer ushers in the yearling sales season, headed by Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings at Newtown Paddocks. Beginning at 10 a.m., the sale features a trimmed-down catalogue of 286 yearlings, once again highlighted by a selection of first-crop sires, making up roughly a third of the catalog. Featuring 370 head one year ago, this season's offering of yearlings points not only to availability, but to the ongoing drive toward quality. "It's always a function of the type of horses that you're exposed to...

Every year, the Fasig-Tipton July sale offers the first chance for buyers to get a look at a new crop of yearling sires. Many buyers were seeing these sires' yearlings for the first time this week, and while it's admittedly early, we took a little survey to get their first impressions. The group includes: Basin, Beau Liam, By My Standards, Charlatan, Core Beliefs, Essential Quality, Independence Hall, Knicks Go, Known Agenda, Leinster, Lexitonian, Maxfield, Modernist, Raging Bull, Rock Your World, Silver State, Tacitus, Uncle Chuck, and Yaupon. LIZ CROW: Tacitus...

9th-Santa Anita, $57,000, Msw, 4-28, 3, 4,/5yo, f/m, 6fT, 1:09.01, fm, 3/4 length. CHARM YOUR WORLD (f, 3, Candy Ride {Arg}--Charm the Maker {MSW & MGISP, $340,290}, by Empire Maker) debuted with Lasix as a 27-1 longshot here. From the bell, the 3-year-old settled mid-pack as Heart of the Night (City of Light) tried to steal the race up the backstretch. As the pacesetter began to run out of gas around the far turn, it was 3-2 favorite Not A Sinner (GB) (Land Force {Ire}) who took over. Seemingly in...

The 2021 GI Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) was represented by his first reported foal Jan. 9 when a filly was born at Diana Shoop's Gemstone Farm in Lexington. The bay lass is the first foal out of her winning dam, Mrs. O'Connell (American Pharoah), and was bred by Mark and Allison Menscer's Post Rock Farm. "We are thrilled with the filly," said Mark Menscer. "She looks like Rock Your World. He stamped her out. She has tremendous bone and a lot of substance. We...

All five first-season stallions based at Spendthrift Farm have had their first mares reported in foal, the farm announced Sunday evening. Basin (Liam's Map)'s first reported in-foal mare is Littlegreatone (Bernardini), and By My Standards (Goldencents)'s is Danceswithbourbon (Outwork). Known Agenda (Curlin), Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Yaupon (Uncle Mo) each had two mares confirmed as pregnant on the same day. Pink Fizz (Dialed In) and Sunandsea (Henny Hughes) checked in foal to Known Agenda, Hope Lady (Tapiture) and Mrs. O'Connell (American Pharoah) to Rock Your World, and...

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have George Adams of Housatonic Bloodstock, who serves as the Director of Stallions and Breeding for Wasabi Ventures Stables. "With a relatively young group of mares, ideally we'd like to send them to a proven stallion at least once or twice in their first few years, just to get a better handle on their ability as producers," said Adams. "At a lower stud fee price point...

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have Erin Fisher of Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds. "All my horses are crossed with stallions that I feel will throw appealing and sound horses that can provide second and third careers off the track and provide longevity to the breed," said Fisher. "I look for soundness and attitude with the idea that my foals can have long futures in any discipline after racing." APPEALING WAY (m, 8,...

Back in March of 2009, in the Werk Thoroughbred Consultants blog, the late Jack Werk recounted a wager we'd made years earlier. This is what he wrote: "The year that Elusive Quality went to stud, pedigree expert Sid Fernando and I had a small side bet: Who was the best sleeper or long shot from that crop? Sid picked Distorted Humor, standing for $12,500, a pretty astute choice at the time. I, of course, picked Elusive Quality, who also went to stud very cheap--$10,000. "As it turns out, we both picked wisely! The top two...

Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}--Charm the Maker, by Empire Maker), who defeated GI Kentucky Derby winner and GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up Medina Spirit (Protonico) in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby in his first start on the dirt, has been retired from racing and will enter stud in 2022 at Spendthrift Farm. The nursery had previous announced the acquisition in last April. The handy winner of a six-furlong turf sprint on career debut at Santa Anita Jan. 1, the $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase took the one-mile...

GI Santa Anita Derby hero Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) looks to take his turf record to three-for-three as he returns to the grass for the first time since February in Sunday's GII Twilight Derby at Santa Anita. Opening his account with a pair of turf victories, including the Pasadena S. Feb. 27, the $650,000 KEESEP buy wired the Santa Anita Derby Apr. 3, but could not reproduce that effort in Louisville, finishing 17th in the GI Kentucky Derby May 1. A well-beaten in the GI Belmont S. June...

Medina Spirit (Protonico) was supplemented, at a cost of $1,000, to Sunday's Shared Belief S., a one-mile event for 3-year-olds on the Del Mar main track. The $100,000 contest will be the first start for the colt since finishing third--beaten five lengths--by Rombauer in the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico May 15.  His victory in the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby victory remains in limbo pending a Kentucky Horse Racing Commission ruling. "I've entered him, he's running," Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said. "I figure I'll use this as...

A total of 15 horses--headed by Hronis Racing's GISW Rock Your World (Candy Ride)--have been nominated to Del Mar's GI TVG Pacific Classic Aug. 21, a 'Win and You're In' to the Breeders' Cup Classic. Winner of the GI Santa Anita Derby in April, the John Sadler trainee was initially being targeted for the Sept. 4 GII Del Mar Derby on the turf despite having won a Grade I on the dirt. In his two most recent starts, the striking dark bay finished 17th and sixth, respectively, in the GI...