Upstart

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...

8th-AQU, $84K, OC, 4yo/up, 1m, 5:06 p.m. ZANDON (Upstart), last seen running fourth Dec. 3 in the GI Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, returns to the scene on Saturday in this spot for owner Jeff Drown. Receiving Lasix for the first time, the Chad Brown trainee will be ridden by Flavien Prat and will leave from gate two. Zandon's 3-year-old campaign included a victory in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S., and a pair of third-place finishes in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Runhappy Travers S. His dam Memories Prevail...

The TAA-accredited R.A.C.E. Fund, a 501c3 that stands for "Retirement Assistance and Care for Equines," will launch its 2023 fundraising drive May 12. The online auction will appear on eBay and end May 19. A number of halters--including those of Essential Quality, Serena's Song, Quality Road, Mandaloun, and Upstart--horseshoes, and signed pictures will be part of the auction, as will a VIP farm tour of Three Chimneys. "We have some very exciting and amazing auction items again this year," said R.A.C.E. Fund president Marlene Murray. "We would like to especially...

And so we come to the abyss: that giddy phase between launching your first juveniles and being able to claim a viable niche in this most unforgiving of marketplaces. Yes, for those few young stallions that do manage to seize their fleeting opportunity, a narrow path can rise rapidly towards lucrative heights. Most of the others, however, find themselves clinging to a crumbling ledge. Whatever you do, don't look down! It's easy to disparage the robotic tendencies of the commercial market. Too easy, certainly, for me to have neglected the...

Strictly, it's the very reverse of what he's doing—which is actually to revert from two turns to one. In a sense, however, the return of Zandon (Upstart) to Aqueduct on Saturday will bring things full circle.

Enjoy your day at the Big A. Led by the GI Cigar Mile H. and three other graded events, Aqueduct's loaded 10-race card will be in the spotlight in South Ozone Park Saturday. Zandon (Upstart), winner of the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. and third-place finisher in the GI Kentucky Derby this spring, cuts back to a one-turn mile for Chad Brown in the feature. The dark bay, favored at even-money on the Cigar Mile's morning-line, also finished third in the GI Runhappy Travers S. and second in the GI...

Led by top three third-crop sire Upstart, whose fee has risen from $10,000 to $30,000 for the upcoming year, Airdrie Stud has released the stud fees for the farm's 2023 stallion roster. New stallion Happy Saver, a Grade I winner who will retire after an expected start in the Nov. 5 GI Breeders' Cup Classic, and Girvin, a top freshman sire whose three stakes winners include GII Saratoga Special S. winner Damon's Mound and who has been relocated from Ocala Stud, will stand for $12,500 and $20,000, respectively. "These are...

Plainsman (Flatter--S S Pinafore, by Street Sense), a three-time graded winner and third-place finisher in the 2021 GI Cigar Mile H., has been retired to Buck Pond Farm in Kentucky. He will stand the 2023 season for $5,000. "He's by Flatter, who has not only been a great sire, but is also the sire of Upstart, who is a leading young sire himself," Buck Pond's Doug Arnold told TDN. "He had incredible speed. He ran 1:33 and change two different times and he's extremely good looking. He looks like his...

When The Great Maybe (Upstart) left the blocks at Saratoga and strolled in eight lengths ahead of a lively-met field of fillies, she carried not only the silks of Lael Stables--whose name invokes great nostalgia and respect in the halls of the Thoroughbred community--but also the dreams of a small breeding operation an hour north of Lexington, run by Monica Egger. Now, that farm in Piner, Kentucky, has a 'TDN Rising Star' to add to their list of accomplishments. "I have really enjoyed my short foray into Thoroughbreds and have...

Lael Stables' THE GREAT MAYBE (Upstart), let go at 8-1 in a live-looking field of juvenile fillies Sunday at Saratoga, made that price look like a gift when winning a far-turn pace duel and bursting clear in the stretch for a first-out romp and 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Bought by De Meric Sales for $55,000 at Fasig-Tipton October, the dark bay blossomed into a $425,000 OBS March 2-year-old after breezing a furlong in :10 flat--her sire's most expensive progeny to sell thus far in 2022--and showed an above-average but not...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY--During a pre-season interview in early July, trainer Chad Brown offered another colt--at that point, with a low profile--to a discussion of his deep bench of GI Travers prospects: Zandon (Upstart), Early Voting (Gun Runner) and Jack Christopher (Munnings). "I have a late -bloomer, a horse named Artorius (Arrogate), that I really like," Brown said.  "He's going to run in the Curlin Stakes. Much like the dad, he's late bloomer. I'm not saying he's a threat to win the Travers, but I'm going to tell you: he's lightly...

A lot of you will know the feeling. Day three of the January Sale, back ring, and your horse is coming back out after a matter of seconds. The digital board had stalled at $2,500, and then cleared. Bret Jones exchanged a grimace with farm manager Ben Henley. Pretty terrible, no getting away from it. But what can you do? It wasn't the first time Airdrie has had to cut its losses on a horse, and nor would it be the last. As his father has always told Bret: "Better...