Spendthrift Farm

The Starlight Racing and Harrell Ventures partnership was always excited about their well-bred son of Omaha Beach named Pirate, but their anticipation for the colt's debut reached an all-time high when he was assigned the infamous first stall adjacent to Todd Pletcher's office at his barn on the Oklahoma. "We've been working with Todd for 23 years and it's hard to get him to get really excited about a horse," joked Starlight's founder and managing partner Jack Wolf. "But you could tell that he liked ours from the get-go." Pirate...

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 235 selected yearlings for the 102nd Saratoga Sale, to be held on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 7-8, in Saratoga Springs, New York with sessions to begin each evening at 6:30 p.m. ET in the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion, the organization said in a release early Wednesday morning. "This year's Saratoga catalogue is exceptional," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "Our numbers have increased by 10% over last year, and the quality of sire power, pedigrees, and physicals are at the top of this year's yearling crop." The...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings failed to live up to its lofty 2022 levels, but concluded Tuesday evening with solid numbers and a filly from the first crop of GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic leading the way when selling for $475,000 to Alex and Jo Ann Lieblong. "We had a very solid start to the 2023 yearling sales marketplace," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "I think we all recognized that we were coming off a euphoric 2022 yearling marketplace that saw pretty significant increases across...

Representing freshman sire Vino Rosso, The Wine Steward recorded that stallion's first stakes winner with a victory at Ellis Park in the Bashford Manor S. With a maiden-breaking score by 6 lengths against New York state-bred company May 28 at Belmont Park, the Mike Maker trainee shipped to Kentucky. Off at odds of 2-1, the bay colt chased leaders Go Otto Go (Bolt d'Oro) and Call Me Andy (Midshipman) to the outside of the second flight. Rounding the far turn, the $340,000 OBSMAR buy went three-wide with good energy and...

4th-Mth, $55K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5fT, 2:02 p.m. AMO Racing's MADAME MISCHIEF (Into Mischief), out of a half-sister to MGISW Divisidero (Kitten's Joy), went for $550,000 at OBSMAR after clocking .10 flat during the under-tack breeze show. The Jorge Delgado trainee gets Isaac Castillo in the irons. TJCIS PPS 1st-HAW, $35K, Msw, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, 3:30 p.m. Another recent OBSMAR grad who fetched $500,000, Dorothy Crowfoot (Audible) makes her first start for trainer Larry Rivelli. Her dam, Enjoy This Moment (Midnight Lute), is a half-sister to MGSW Sum of...

He's the first one to admit he's a "little guy," a small breeder who owns two mares, two breeding rights, and all the good and bad luck that comes along with any such small operation. Losing his farm in the economic crisis of 2009 was just about as bad as it gets. Winning a race as a breeder at Royal Ascot? Just about as good. Ramon (R. J.) Rangel says he never would have had the opportunity he experienced Thursday--when Valiant Force (Malibu Moon) whom he co-bred with Spendthrift Farm...

6th-Ellis, $120,000, Msw, 6-16, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 1:04.69, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. STREAMING NOW (f, 2, Into Mischief--One True Kiss {MGSP, $231,459}, by Warrior's Reward) came into this debut riding a pair of bullet works at the Thoroughbred Training Center, both four furlong moves in :48 flat, and she showed that speed here. Setting the pace right from the jump, she put up :22.92, :46.63, and :58.43 splits on an uncontested lead and was under confident handling entering the lane. Responding to further urgining, she inched away from a...

Spendthrift Farm's MGSW Major Dude (3, c, Bolt d'Oro--Mary Rita, by Distorted Humor) showed his class, overcoming a bit of trouble to gut out victory in the GII Penn Mile S. at Penn National Friday evening. The 2-5 choice looked to bobble slightly coming out of the gate before assuming a tracking spot behind the :23.17 and :47.85 fractions carved out by Recruiter (Army Mule). Tucked in third on the inside, Major Dude made an initial move on the backstretch, easing to within a neck shy of the front before...

4th-Belmont, $90,000, Msw, 5-28, 3yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:25.06, ft, neck. VIRTUAL REALITY (f, 3, Cloud Computing--Miss Malibu Style, by Malibu Moon) had been on the work tab religiously since the middle of February, and put it all together here at first asking, finishing best of the inexperienced runners in the field. Breaking inward at the jump, Manny Franco was able to correct her but wound up three wide before jostling with eventual third-place finisher Ms. Solveig (Bernardini) as that one steadily inched closer to the rail. The bumper cars came...

6th-SA, $61k, Msw, 3-5yo, 6 1/2f, 6:42p.m. ET In against a field of mixed maidens of various age, Bob Baffert will unveil two expensive stablemates in this sixth at the Great Race Place on the Golden Coast lead by EXTORTION (Into Mischief). Out of an unraced half-sister to full-siblings MGISP Munnings (Speightstown) and GSP Munnings Sister, another of Gaudete's half-sisters produced SP-Uae Speight'spercomete (Speightstown). Extortion can claim a Group-placed sibling of his own in MGSP-Uae Snowboarder (Raven's Pass) and one of his half-sisters named Beauty and Light (Unbridled's Song) is...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $80,000, Msw, 5-27, 2yo, f, 5f, 1:00.27, ft, head. EASY RED (f, 2, Omaha Beach--Blessings Count, by Pulpit) was hammered at the windows from 5-1 down to 3-2 in her debut here for first-crop sire Omaha Beach (by War Front), who recorded his first winner with Cynane May 5 at Belmont Park. The chestnut filly trailed early, but began to make up ground around the far turn. Racing out in the center of the track, Easy Red laid down a furious rally down the lane and with less...

4th-Pimlico, $54,160, Msw, 5-25, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, :52.90, ft, 1/2 length. KRISTINACHRYSALIS (f, 2, Maximus Mischief--Tiz Her Now, by Tiznow) notched the first winner for her freshman sire (by Into Mischief) and former 'TDN Rising Star' with a maiden-breaking score at Old Hilltop. Flashing early speed along the rail, the 9-2 chance contested the lead with 7-5 favorite Buckin' Great (Great Notion), but around the far turn the bay filly began to get away from her rival and went on to graduate by 3/4 of a length over the...