Speightstown

3rd-Meydan, AED175,000, Nov., 2-9, NH & SH 3yo, 1400m, 1:23.77, ft. FALCON OF ARABIA (c, 3, Speightstown--Lawn Party {SP-US}, by Medaglia d'Oro) made a winning debut over the main track on Friday. The colt led pillar-to-post and coasted home to win by 1 1/4 lengths. He was pressed by Auto Bahn (Arg) (Asiatic Boy {Arg}) the entire way around. It was 10 1/4 lengths back to the third-place horse, King Of Luck (GB) (New Bay {GB}). "He has to be nice to do that first time," said O'Shea of the...

1st-OP, $115K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:30 p.m. ET. Under the baton of Ken McPeek, MIDSUMMER MARCH (Mendelssohn) debuts for Walking L Thoroughbreds. The dark bay initially sold to Sycamore Hall for $280,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale before hammering down for $425,000 during the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale, which was the highest priced yearling for her sire in 2022. Bred by David Fennelly's Mountmellick Farm, the filly is out of GIII Torrey Pines S. winner Munny Spunt (Munnings), who sold for $340,000 at Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale...

GISW Olympiad (Speightstown) has his first foal--a filly--who arrived Jan. 18, Gainesway Farm said in a Thursday release. Out of the mare, Sophie Sophie (Unbridled's Song), a half-sister to GISW and millionaire Seattle Smooth (Quiet American), the filly was bred by Dr. Oscar Benavides and born at his Montesacro Farm. "I am very happy with my filly," said Dr. Benavides. "She looks racy and has great conformation as we expected being by Olympiad." Olympiad, a five-time graded stakes winner, posted eight wins in 13 career starts for earnings of $3,027,560...

10th-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, f, 1mT, 4:34 p.m. ET. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has a pair of newly-minted 3-year-old fillies heading to the post for their debuts over the turf in the Sunday finale in Hallandale. First, EL MEGEETH (Constitution) makes her first start for Shadwell Stable. Bred by Three Chimneys, the $750,000 Keeneland September purchase is out of Amour d'Ete (Tiznow), who Borges Torrealba Holdings acquired as the third topper at the same sale back in 2013 for $1.75 million. Her most notable produce is GI Preakness...

5th-OP, $115K, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 3:22 p.m. ET. A $700,000 Keeneland September purchase by Willis Horton Racing and trained by Eddie Milligan Jr., WILL TAKE IT (Tapit) is the first to the post out of unraced Lady Take Charge (War Front). The latter was the top-priced foal at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale when she was hammered down to Whisper Hill Farm for $3.2 million. Eclipse Award winner Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), a daughter of Lady Take Charge's half-sister Charming (Seeking the Gold), was the overall topper when...

As the year winds down, now is a relatively quiet time for horse racing. But there was nothing quiet about 2023, a year, it seems, where the bad news stories overshadowed the good news stories. What resonated most with TDN readers? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be our stories that reported on some of the darker aspects of the sport. Here are the top 10 most widely read stories of 2023 and the number of views they received: 1) Europeans Unleashed As Santa Anita is Struck by Tragedy, by Emma...

Given the dominance she showed when blowing away a field of Presque Isle maidens by 11 lengths in fast time on her six-furlong debut Oct. 25, the connections of El Terreno (Speightstown--Palma, by Malibu Moon) would hardly have been dismayed when Friday's second race from Gulfstream Park was washed off the turf and onto the synthetic surface. Accordingly smashed into 2-5 favoritism, the Castleton Lyons homebred duly obliged with another commanding performance, this one good for 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Kicked straight into the lead by Irad Ortiz, Jr., El...

Speightstown (Gone West--Silken Cat, by Storm Cat), Eclipse Champion Sprinter in 2004 and among the leading sires of the past 15 years, had to be euthanized Friday, Dec. 8, due to foot issues from old age, WinStar Farm announced in a press release Friday. Speightstown, a Taylor Made/WinStar stallion, was 25 years old. "Speightstown was a foundational sire for WinStar and helped stamp our legacy as a sire-making farm," said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. "I want to thank Larry McGinnis and his team for...

8th-CD, $127k, Alw, 3yo/up, f/m, post time: 4:33 p.m. ET Bass Stables' beautifully bred BANDITA (Gun Runner) could not have been more impressive in her lone racetrack appearance to date, as she led every step of the seven furlongs on Gulfstream debut Jan. 29 to score by nearly nine lengths en route to a 'TDN Rising Star' nod (video). The $350,000 Keeneland September grad is unraced since. The bay is out of a daughter of four-time stakes winner and Grade III-placed Simplify (Pulpit), the dam of Bandita's stakes-winning full-sister Optionality...

Some horses never seem to set a foot wrong. Speightstown is one of those. From $2-million Keeneland July yearling to Breeders' Cup winner to champion to influential sire, he's not only done it all, but done it all extremely well. When WinStar's David Hanley was asked if he had a few words to say about the remarkable 25-year-old, he said with a laugh: "I've more than a few words. He's a wonderful horse. I've been very lucky and fortunate to be around him for the past 10 years. He's a...

New Narration, the dam of recent GI Pennsylvania Derby winner Saudi Crown, is the latest supplemental entry added to Fasig-Tipton's upcoming November Sale, the auction company said in a release Thursday. Consigned by Sequel New York, agent, as hip 259, the 8-year-old daughter of Tapit is in-foal to Nashville (Speightstown). Saudi Crown, her second foal, is expected to make his next start in the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup Classic. "New Narration is an exciting addition to our marquee November Sale lineup," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "Saudi Crown is one...

Celebrating 40 Years of the Breeders' Cup Can you imagine being a horse racing-crazy kid with a ringside seat to the creation of the Breeders' Cup? Mark Taylor can, because he was. Fast forward more than four decades and now he is president and CEO of the Central Kentucky farm that is believed to have raised and/or sold more Breeders' Cup winners than any other. There's also the matter of having stood the Breeders' Cup winner who currently holds the record for siring the most Breeders' Cup winners in turn....