Whisper Hill Farm

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm LEXINGTON, KY - During a session dominated for much of the day by the short yearlings, the supplemented broodmare Sebago Lake (Tapit) jumped to the lead in the final hips when selling for $700,000 to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm. Overall, through two days of the four-day auction, 430 head have grossed $31,596,700 for an average of $73,481 and a median of $30,500. With continued strength at the top of the market, the Book 1 average dipped just 3.39% from a year ago, but...

Achieving the mark of 'TDN Rising Star' means that you have done something out of the ordinary. Though he may have been green at the start of Aqueduct's fourth race on a slop-filled Sunday afternoon, by the time it was over, Crimson Light (c, 3, City of Light--Crimson Frost, by Stormy Atlantic) proved he earned the title. The colt definitely fit the mold when he came back from a seemingly insurmountable distance to graduate. The Todd Pletcher trainee debuted with Lasix as the even-money choice here, but he hopped so...

5th-OP, $115K, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 3:22 p.m. ET. A $700,000 Keeneland September purchase by Willis Horton Racing and trained by Eddie Milligan Jr., WILL TAKE IT (Tapit) is the first to the post out of unraced Lady Take Charge (War Front). The latter was the top-priced foal at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale when she was hammered down to Whisper Hill Farm for $3.2 million. Eclipse Award winner Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), a daughter of Lady Take Charge's half-sister Charming (Seeking the Gold), was the overall topper when...

In the Aqueduct Sunday opener, Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief) took to the track in what amounted to a professional debut as she won impressively against a field of five others. The sharp start to her career garnered her 'TDN Rising Star' honors for the effort. Overlooked a touch at the windows as the 9-2 third choice, the Keeneland September grad exited the gate swiftly to set the pace up the backstretch. Despite a brief challenge around the far turn by chasers Value Area (More Than Ready) and heavy favorite Shoplifting...

1st-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 12:20 p.m. ET. Whisper Hill Farm purchased LESLIE'S ROSE (Into Mischief) for $1.15 million at last year's Keeneland September Sale. Bred by John D. Gunther & Eurowest Bloodstock Services, the Todd Pletcher trainee's younger half-sister and stablemate Bo Derek (Speightstown) sadly passed away after making her second start back in January for Siena and WinStar Farms at Gulfstream Park. Second dam MGSP Wildwood Flower (Langfuhr) produced GI Florida Derby champ Materiality (Afleet Alex) and GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song),...

Fan favorite and beloved Bradley family member Groupie Doll won two Eclipse Awards, two Breeders' Cup races, four Grade Is, and nine graded stakes; she set two track records, including at Churchill Downs in the GI Humana Distaff; and she sold to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm for $3.1 million. But it's not the accolades that mean the most to co-breeder, co-owner, and trainer Buff Bradley, he said. It was the special ride she gave the Bradley family during a difficult time. "Winning the Breeders' Cup was great and awesome...

Even a horse on the end of a chain can be a conveyance to horizons without end. At Keeneland last week, Mandy Pope's equine journey reached a fresh milestone: five seven-figure yearlings sold from Whisper Hill Farm in Book I. But the road remains the same as the one she stumbled across in a neighboring yard at four years of age. "We lived in a small farming town in North Carolina, outside of Raleigh," Pope recalls. "People there were still using horses to plow their fields. And there was this...

Spendthrift sire Into Mischief stepped smoothly into Day 2 of the Keeneland September sale off his runaway Day 1 success with a $1.1-million colt early in the session. Hip 218, consigned by Gainesway, was signed for by Donato Lanni, agent for SF Bloodstock/Starlight/Madaket. The colt is out of Magical World (Distorted Humor), whose MGISW daughter Guarana had a colt by the same sire sell Monday for $1.4 million to Winchell Thoroughbreds. Bred by Three Chimneys Farm, LLC and Whisper Hill Farm, LLC, the Magical World colt is an Apr. 20...

The very first horse through the ring Tuesday, the second day of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, got things going in a big way when selling for $1.3 million to an online bidder, later identified as Sinandigan Stable. The Tapit filly out of Lady Take Charge (War Front) was consigned by Gainesway, where Tapit stands, and was bred by Whisper Hill Farm, LLC, who bought her dam for $3.2 million at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. A Mar. 27 foal, Hip 202's granddam is Broodmare of the Year Take Charge...

Whisper Hill Farm homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Charge It (c, 4, Tapit--I'll Take Charge, by Indian Charlie) got his season back on track with a dominating performance in Saturday's GII Suburban S. at Belmont Park. The 3-5 favorite, a 23-length winner in last term's GIII Dwyer S. over the same surface, was kept out in the clear by Johnny Velazquez and took over following an opening quarter in :24.49. Still racing several paths off the rail down the backstretch, the gray took the field of five into the far...

3rd-Keeneland, $98,610, Msw, 4-27, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:27.71, ft, 11 lengths. ARDEN'S ASSAULT (f, 3, Violence--Can't Explain {SW & GSP, $219,809}, by Not For Love), debuted to be third when routing in a rained-off event Mar. 18 at the Fair Grounds, made the trek to Keeneland and entered the gate Thursday with added blinkers as the 2-1 choice in a tightly-bunched wagering field. Pushed for speed early by Luis Saez, she stormed to the front along the rail and was never challenged through a half in :46.04. In a one-horse...

A new kingpin graces the No. 1 slot after a wild, final weekend of 100-point preps. The rankings below are independent from the "Road to the Derby" leaderboard Churchill Downs uses to determine starting berths, with several horses included here who are currently below the cut.   1) PRACTICAL MOVE (c, Practical Joke--Ack Naughty, by Afleet Alex) O-Leslie & Pierre Jean Amestoy & Roger Beasley; B-Chad Brown & Head of Plains Partners (KY); T-Tim Yakteen. Sales history: $90,000 RNA yrl '21 KEESEP; $230,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-4-1-2,...