Sharp Azteca

Steve Cauthen sat in the shade of Barn 42 at the Four Star Sales consignment Tuesday afternoon, basking not in the memory of his glory days as a Hall of Fame jockey, but in quiet celebration after selling one of the top-priced yearlings of the day at the Keeneland September Sale. The colt, a flashy son of Sharp Azteca out of the stakes-placed mare She's Roughin It (Forest Camp), sold for $250,000 to Jerry Namy and Garry Simms. "This is as exciting as winning a race," Cauthen declared. "When you...

After breaking his maiden on debut at Ellis Park July 30, Private Creed shipped to Saratoga to contest the Skidmore S., checking in third just two lengths behind winner Oxymore (Astern {Aus}). Back in Kentucky, the 5-2 second choice behind overwhelming favorite Sharp Aza Tack, racing with blinkers for the first time, utilized a similar racing style from his first two starts--tracking in third behind pacesetter Revere Note (Revolutionary) with the favorite racing between them. Tipped to the inside of his rival past the quarter pole, Private Creed engaged Sharp...

Pan the camera away from Saratoga and Del Mar, where the glamorous juveniles debut one after another, and focus for a moment on two lower-profile tracks that hosted two eye-popping performances this weekend. On Saturday at Prairie Meadows, Tyler's Tribe, a 2-year-old Iowa-bred gelding by Sharp Azteca (Freud), won the 5 1/2-furlong Iowa Stallion Futurity by 12 1/2 lengths in 1:04:18 to remain undefeated in three starts. He earned a 90 Beyer Speed Figure--you read that correctly--for the easy score. It wasn't a fluke, either, because in his previous start...

SHARP AZA TACK (c, 2, Sharp Azteca--Que Chulo, by Bernardini) took his show across the country Saturday and couldn't have been any more impressive while becoming the second stakes winner for his fast-starting freshman sire (by Freud) in Monmouth's Tyro S. Having belied 12-1 odds when scoring first out on the Santa Anita sod June 10, the :10 flat OBSMAR breezer was no secret this time around as the even-money chalk. Briefly challenged to his inside by second choice Power Attack (War Dancer), Sharp Aza Tack shook free of that...

2nd-Finger Lakes, $28,635, Msw, 7-18, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.55, sy, 9 3/4 lengths. CUZ UR PRETTY (f, 2, Sharp Azteca--Without the Risk, by Majestic Warrior) became the 12th winner for her red-hot freshman sire (by Freud) with an authoritative debut victory. The 2-1 shot contested the early pace, but was squeezed back entering the turn and settled into a stalking third. She rerallied along the rail and bound clear into the lane before splashing home to score by 9 3/4 lengths. Puzzle (Brethren) rallied from last to be second. Cuz...

Tyler's Tribe became the first black-type winner for his freshman sire (by Freud) with a daylight score in the Prairie Gold Juvenile S. Saturday at Prairie Meadows. Just like in his debut June 20 over this surface at a furlong shorter, the 2-year-old dark bay opened a clear lead early and stayed there. After capturing his unveiling by 16 3/4 lengths, he took Saturday's stakes event by 8 1/2 lengths. Tyler's Tribe broke from the rail Saturday, blazed to the front, set :22.07 and :45.16 fractions, and barreled home a...

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...

● Sharp Azteca (Freud), winner of the 2017 GI Cigar Mile, was represented by his first foal when Special City (City Zip) produced a filly Jan. 5 at Wind-n-Wood Farm. ● The filly was bred by Chesapeake Farm and Crown Chase Farm and is the first foal out of Special City, whose dam is a half-sister to Grade I winner Haynesfield (Speightstown). ● Sharp Azteca stands at Three Chimneys. His 2020 fee is $10,000 LFS&N.