Spendthrift Farm

The Week in Review: Beholder's $4-Million Baby Fires a Bullet

While 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) will be a main attraction on the Dec. 26 opening-day card at Santa Anita, another highly anticipated foal who is also out of the fan-favorite champion Beholder--this one an unnamed and unraced 2-year-old colt by Curlin--fired a bullet three-furlong morning move Saturday in just his third published workout for trainer Bob Baffert and owner Zedan Racing. The in-company :36 clocking (1/18) just prior to the Christmas holiday on a non-racing Saturday at Santa Anita might have flown a touch under-the-radar for a juvenile...

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Major Dude Mows'em Down Late, Earns Millionaire Status in Ft. Lauderdale Score

Traffic trouble proved to be no problem for Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro), who muscled his way to the lead and went on to becoming racing's newest millionaire in the GII Ft. Lauderdale Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Despite winning twice this season in the lead up to this race, Major Dude had been rounding into his best form to date. When he won last out Oct. 10 at Keeneland against allowance company, his two-length victory was given a 96 Beyer and his effort July 20 at Saratoga against optional claimers garnered...

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Saturday Racing Insights: Pricey Twirling Candy Colt Yinzer Rehearsed for Churchill Downs Bow

7th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 3:55 p.m. ET. A $1-million buy at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, YINZER (Twirling Candy) takes the racing stage for the ownership group of West Point Thoroughbreds, CJ Stables and Bill Farish. The Steve Asmussen trainee is out of Rehearsed (Tapit) who is a full-sister to GISP Closing Bell and a half-sister to GII San Felipe Stakes hero Hear the Ghost (Ghostzapper). Also making the races is Aerate (Candy Ride {Arg]). The Stone Farm homebred trained by Brian Lynch was produced by Ducru...

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How I Got Hooked on Racing: Larry Collmus, Ned Toffey

How did we get hooked on this sport? We all have stories about how our love affair developed and blossomed. The TDN will be reaching out to numerous notable people in the industry to get their stories to find out how they got hooked and stayed hooked on the sport. Larry Collmus, racecaller It really started for me at Timonium, where my father put in the sound system. I would work for him in the summers, monitoring the sound in the grandstand while he was monitoring all the fair exhibits...

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With Three Newcomers, Spendthrift Gearing Up for Another Busy Breeding Season

This past year marked a new record for Spendthrift Farm when they came just six short of covering 3,700 mares during an exceedingly busy breeding season. After adding three new recruits for 2025, they'll likely surpass that number next year with a growing roster of 29 stallions. It's the biggest sire lineup in Spendthrift's history since the farm was purchased by B. Wayne Hughes 20 years ago. With such a wide array of stallions, open house season is a busy time at Spendthrift. As the Keeneland November Sale transpired some...

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GISW Tamara Set For Comeback at Del Mar Friday

Spendthrift's Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), injured in the Breeders' Cup last fall and unraced in 2024, is expected to make her return at Del Mar Friday. She is entered in the seventh race on the card, a six-furlong optional claiming test. "She's doing good," Mandella said. "She's ready to race." A daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes), the multiple champion defeated colts in the GI Pacific Classic in 2015 and annexed the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff in both 2013 and 2016. The Spendthrift homebred was tabbed a TDN Rising...

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MGISW National Treasure Retires To Spendthrift, Will Stand For $40,000

National Treasure, the three-time Grade I-winning son of Quality Road, has been retired from racing and will take up residence at Eric & Tamara Gustavson's Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, where he will stand stud in 2025 for an introductory fee of $40,000 S&N, according to a post on the farm's website. A classic winner of the GI Preakness Stakes and victor in this year's GI Pegasus World Cup and GI Metropolitan Handicap, National Treasure is now available for inspection by appointment. Spendthrift acquired the breeding rights to the colt,...

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$6-Million McKulick Tops Competitive Fasig-Tipton November Sale

by Jessica Martini, Christina Bossinakis, & Jill Williams LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton November Sale failed to continue its streak of $100-million plus gross results, but did produce a day of vibrant trade from a diverse international buying bench Monday in Lexington. Twenty-five mares sold for $1 million or more during the auction, matching the figure from 2023. Nine sold for $2 million or more and four sold for $3 million or over, compared to 16 and 10, respectively, a year ago. "It was another tremendous November sale," said Fasig-Tipton...

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Denim and Pearls to Spendthrift for $2.8 Million

Spendthrift Farm's General Manager Ned Toffey signed the ticket at $2.8 million to acquire graded winner Denim and Pearls (Into Mischief) (hip 240) on behalf of the farm Monday at Fasig-Tipton. The 3-year-old, consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, sold as a racing or broodmare prospect. Winner of this year's GII Beaumont Stakes, she is a full-sister to GI Santa Anita Handicap winner Newgate.

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Into Mischief Anchors Spendthrift's 2025 Stallion Roster

Spendthrift Farm's unstoppable Into Mischief, the five-time leading sire who is on target for a sixth consecutive title in 2024, will again lead the farm's stallion roster for the upcoming breeding season. He will stand the 2025 season for $250,000 stands and nurses, the same fee he held in 2024. With more than two months remaining in 2024, Into Mischief's current earnings of $29,720,854 have already surpassed his previous record of $28,122,550, set in 2022. His five Grade I winners in 2024 include Dubai World Cup winner Laurel River, as...

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Dornoch Retires to Spendthrift Following Training Setback

Dornoch (Good Magic--Puca, by Big Brown), a leading 3-year-old colt with impressive wins in the 2024 GI Belmont Stakes and GI Haskell Stakes, has been diagnosed with bone bruising, which will force him to miss his planned final start in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Dornoch, fourth in the GI Travers Stakes last out, has been retired from racing and will begin his stud career at Spendthrift Farm in 2025. "Dornoch's performance in the Travers really wasn't what we expected, and we just have not been happy with the way...

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Authentic's Kalea Bay Strolls Home to Break Maiden

2nd-Santa Anita, $54,500, Msw, 9-28, 2yo, 6f, 1:09.67, ft, 8 1/2 lengths. KALEA BAY (c, 2, Authentic--For Royalty {SW}, by Not For Love), who had placed in a pair of Del Mar maidens this summer, made it third time lucky under Flavien Prat here. Despite bumping with Smartier (Liam's Map) in the initial strides, the prohibitive 3-10 favorite in the field of six assumed command and set demanding fractions of :21.63 and :44.45 while unchallenged. Given his cue turning for home, he opened up his advantage over his toiling rivals...

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