Upstart

5th-Pimlico, $50,904, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 6-13, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:10.27, ft, 6 lengths. EDIE MEENY MINY MO (f, 3, Upstart--Plum {SW, $128,440}, by Pure Prize) continued a promising start to her career Sunday at a somewhat surprising 3-1 while sporting blinkers for the first time. A sharp :10 flat breezer at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic last year, the dark bay debuted a 4 1/4-length winner in a waiver maiden claimer (not in for the tag as the race condition is effectively a state-bred maiden special weight plus open $40,000 maiden claimer)...

This is the second half of the latest instalment in our ongoing survey of covering options for the new breeding season. The first part can be read here. UPSTART (Flatter--Party Silks, by Touch Gold) was cleverly named and I think him a very plausible type, likely to rise pretty quickly through the ranks. Certainly there were more than enough "nouveaux riches" among his first juveniles--only Not This Time exceeded his 19 winners (from 54 starters)--for him to be pegged at $10,000 by Airdrie. His principal earner was Reinvestment Risk, who...

5th-Laurel, $48,520, Msw, 12-12, 2yo, 1m, 1:38.31, ft, 12 1/4 lengths. MANOR HOUSE (c, 2, Upstart--Cascina, by Dixie Union) could scarcely have been more impressive making his debut over Laurel's one-turn mile Saturday, as he drew off through the final furlong to graduate by 12 1/4 lengths. The Florida-bred was away to an uneventful beginning from the two hole and made the lead with a minimum of fuss, covering the opening half in :47.50 while taking mild pressure. He began to widen approaching the quarter pole, kicked farther in front...

A field of nine, including several impressive debut winners, are set to line up in Saturday's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. at Keeneland, a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Founder (Upstart) was green, but awfully good at first asking, graduating by a neck over his Chad Brown-trained stablemate and next out winner Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) in the Saratoga mud going six furlongs Aug. 29. He brought $600,000 from Jeff Drown and Don Rachel after breezing a quarter in :21 flat at OBS March. Godolphin...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened its two-session Book 3 with a day of solid trade Friday in Lexington, with bloodstock agent Mike Ryan making the day's highest bid of $625,000 to acquire a colt by red-hot sire Into Mischief (hip 1614). In all, 200 yearlings grossed $21,803,500 during the session for an average of $109,018 and a median of $85,000. With 134 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate remained elevated at 40.12%. The auction's cumulative buy-back rate stands at 39.72%. Last year's first Book 3...

With the obvious caveat that anything can happen with 2-year-olds this early in their development--look no further than Sittin On Go (Brody's Cause)'s 24-1 upset in Saturday GII Iroquois S.--Monday's GI Runhappy Hopeful S. looks solidly like a three-horse affair, as arguably the three most impressive dirt juveniles of the meet will clash in the seven-furlong test. Made the fractional favorite on the morning line at 7-5, J. Kirk and Judy Robison's Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) looks formidable in his attempt for back-to-back Spa graded stakes scores. A first-out winner...

6th-Ellis, $46,200, Msw, 8-30, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:16.52, ft. UPSTRIKER (c, 2, Upstart--Casanova Striker, by Smart Strike) opened with the money on but drifted up to a generous 11-1 at the off while looking to become his first-crop sire's fifth winner and second in as many days after the impressive unveiling Saturday at Saratoga of pricey Founder. Showing good speed to chase in second, the dark bay confronted pacesetter Bluegrass Pharoah (American Pharoah) after a :45.98 half. He went by willingly at the top of the lane, and widened at...

Sent off right at his morning line of 6-1, Jeff Drown and Don Rachel's FOUNDER (c, 2, Upstart--Blue Beryl, by Bernstein) looked to have it all to do at the midpoint of his career debut Saturday at Saratoga, but he caught the eye with a rail run into the stretch, came out at the eighth pole, raced as green as the boggy grass and improbably ran down his better-backed stablemate Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) to open his account at first asking. The highly regarded two favorites, Newbomb (Speightstown) and Happymac...

SPOTLIGHT ON RUNHAPPY BABY IN LOADED SARATOGA MAIDEN 6th-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 3:57 p.m. ET HAPPYMAC (Runhappy), an $800,000 RNA at the OBS June Sale (:20 3/5), looks like the one to beat in this extremely deep baby race at the Spa. The half-brother to runaway GII Amsterdam S. winner and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) fired a five-furlong bullet from the gate in :59 2/5 (1/12) at Saratoga Aug. 17. Happymac, drawn widest of all in post 10 for the Heiligbrodts and Hall of Famer...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency DAUGHTER OF WINTER MEMORIES DEBUTS AT THE SPA 2nd-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:44 p.m. Jimmy Toner unveils the latest daughter out of his MGISW pupil Winter Memories (El Prado {Ire}) Sunday in SEASONS (Tapit). A dual Grade I winner in New York, including this venue's Diana S., millionaire Winter Memories is a daughter of MGISW Memories of Silver (Silver Hawk) and a half-sister to GSW La Cloche (Ghostzapper), who in turn produced GSW Bellavais (Tapit). Winter Memories is also the dam of...

The Saratoga opener Saturday was one of those vintage events in which virtually every firster was touted as a runner, and it was Klaravich Stables, Inc.'s Reinvestment Risk (Upstart) who emerged as the best of the bunch while becoming his freshman sire (by Flatter)'s third winner and first 'TDN Rising Star'. A $140,000 FTKJUL yearling turned $280,000 OBS March acquisition off a strong :20 4/5 breeze, the bay joined the Chad Brown barn at Payson Park this spring before stints at Monmouth and most recently locally. Off at 4-1, he...

Baytown Bear (Upstart) cruised to a 9 3/4-length victory to become the first winner for his freshman sire Upstart (Flatter) at Indiana Grand Tuesday. The gray gelding, who RNA'd for $9,500 as a Keeneland September yearling, was well-beaten in a pair of efforts sprinting at Churchill Downs, over the main track May 22 and over the turf June 5, and was coming off a fourth-place effort going 5 1/2 furlongs over the dirt in Louisville June 12. Sent off the 9-5 second choice in this stretch-out to a mile, Baytown...