Spendthrift

Grade I winners and 'TDN Rising Stars' Taiba (Gun Runner) and Arabian Lion (Justify) will join Zandon (Upstart) and stand at Spendthrift Farm for the 2024 breeding season. Spendthrift announced the news Saturday. "We are really excited to be bringing in three new stallion prospects of the caliber of Taiba, Arabian Lion and Zandon for the 2024 breeding season," said Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey. "All three are superior physicals, and all three displayed immense talent in winning some of America's biggest 3-year-old races on dirt. Obviously, the Breeders' Cup...

Three Chimneys Farm's Gun Runner threw down the gauntlet at Wednesday's session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale with a $1.15-million colt to lead the day's top-priced receipts about two-thirds of the way through Wednesday's selling. Hip 614, bred in Kentucky by Runnymede Farm, LLC and Peter J. Callahan, is out of Margate Gardens (Speightstown), a full-sister to GSW Bridgetown. Runneymede consigned the Apr. 28-foaled chestnut, who was purchased by Mike Repole's Repole Stables and Spendthrift Farm. The mare's current 2-year-old, Wilson Q (Constitution), was second in the Bashford Manor...

Some eleven years after her multiple champion dam Beholder (Henny Hughes) was just nosed out of a victory, 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) did her momma proud with a thoroughly dominating performance in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante on closing weekend at the seaside oval. It was an effort that even exceeded the already lofty expectations of her Hall of Fame connections. "She's been doing things in her training that 2-year-olds aren't supposed to do," said her jockey Mile Smith. "She's really special. She's like her mother....

The explosive start to Tuesday night's second session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale continued when a colt by two Hall of Famers--Curlin and Beholder (Henny Hughes)--led all yearlings thus far when he sold for $4 million to Amr Zedan. Donato Lanni, agent for Zedan Racing, signed the ticket. The much-anticipated offering, recently featured in TDN, was bred in Kentucky by Spendthrift Farm and consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. The Apr. 6-foaled chestnut is the first-ever sales offering out of his champion dam, who was represented by her first stakes...

They say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but in the case of one of the world's most precious broodmares it has so far been a case of "look but don't touch." That's all about to change, however, with the inclusion in Fasig-Tipton's freshly-minted Saratoga catalogue of a colt by Curlin out of Beholder (Henny Hughes). This is the first of the Hall of Famer's foals to be offered for sale by Spendthrift, a move that reflects a quiet shift of the weathervane as the farm evolves...

GII Louisiana Derby winner Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) remains a possibility for either the GII Jim Dandy July 29 at Saratoga Race Course or the previous week's GI Haskell S. at Monmouth Park said Spendthrift Farm's general manager Ned Toffey. "We're freshening him a little bit, keeping some options open," Toffey said. "There's the Haskell and the Jim Dandy and we'll look at those, but we'll talk with [trainer] Todd [Pletcher] and just keep things open. Obviously, it gets pretty tough with fewer spots for these good 3-year-olds. You won't find...

5th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 2:45 p.m. PUMPKIN SCONE (Into Mischief), a $1.25-million Keeneland September Yearling purchase by Spendthrift Farm, debuts for Brad Cox from the outside gate on Sunday. Bred in Kentucky by the China Horse Club, the bay filly is out of Embellish the Lace (Super Saver), who has also produced three-time winner and fellow $1.25-million KEESEP graduate Tap the Faith (Tapit). Pumpkin Scone hails from a female family which includes GI Travers S. hero Afleet Express (Afleet Alex) and MGISP My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song),...

She'd been the buzz horse among the Churchill locals all day and V V's Dream (Mitole) took the first baby steps to making quite a few come true while securing 'TDN Rising Star'-dom in this stylish unveiling. Breaking slowly and asked to race in seventh from two off the rail going into the turn, the grey bided her time as the field watched the other Mitole Cheetah Miss put up all the fractions as :21.90 and :45.59 flashed across the board. Rolling under a full head of steam and splitting...

Tom McCrocklin was calling all that winter, on and on about the same horse. "Listen," he said. "I got a Bolt d'Oro filly that can really run. I'm telling you, maybe as good as anything I've ever had." Mark Toothaker had to take heed; had to pass on the word to his employers at Spendthrift, where he is Stallion Sales Manager. After all, he has known McCrocklin since 1985, when he'd arrived at Louisiana Tech and found this guy who was a real man of the world: already a graduate,...

Spendthrift Farm's duo of GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby winner Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) and GII Jeff Ruby Steaks runner-up Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro) had their penultimate works prior to Kentucky Derby Day when they each breezed five furlongs in 1:00.80 Thursday morning at Churchill Downs. The duo clipped through opening eighth-mile fractions of :12.60, :24.40 and :36.20. They galloped out together through six furlongs in 1:13.40. "I think people gave Kingsbarns a discount because of the time of the Louisiana Derby," Spendthrift Farm President Eric Gustavson said. "I don't think you...

Spendthrift Farm's Kingsbarns (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Lady Tapit, by Tapit) made it a perfect three-for-three in a dominating, front-running performance in Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. 'TDN Rising Star' Disarm (Gun Runner) was second; 'TDN Rising Star' Jace's Road (Quality Road) was third. Well-backed at odds of 9-2 from a 6-1 morning-line quote, Kingsbarns was sent to the front by Flavien Prat from post six and led the way through easy fractions of :24.71 and :49.60 with Jace's Road shadowing in second. Kingsbarns began to shake free...

After compiling Peter Brant's mating plans two years in a row, it's pretty clear that there may be no other owner/breeder who spends more time on this. And why not? With one of the deepest, most impressive broodmare bands in the business, mating his mares is both a big responsibility and a labor of love. He shared his system with us. "I go by three or four major things," said Brant. "The mare's race record in terms of distance, speed, turn of foot, whether they don't have much of a...