Yorkton

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. To follow are the horses entered for Thursday at Saratoga: Thursday, July 18, 2024 Saratoga 6, $100k, 2yo, f, 5...

Crestwood Farm's freshman stallion Yorkton (Speightstown) was represented by his first foal in Indiana Feb. 3. A strapping colt out of Bayerly Seen (Bayern) was born at Arrowhead Thoroughbred Center in Fairland. Bayerly Seen is a half-sister to GI Kentucky Derby contender and GIII Lecomte S. winner Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute). "This colt is very correct, and has been the best foal to be the first one born on our farm," says farm co-owner Brandi Steele. "Momma is a wonderful maiden and handles his feisty attitude very well."

For the first half of this story, please visit yesterday's instalment. Precocity may not be the first thing you'd have in mind from Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike--Julia Tuttle, by Giant's Causeway), who enters service at WinStar at $17,500 after only really seizing our attention at the age of seven. Nonetheless, he represents one of the most promising prospects of the intake. For a start, he's by a sire of sires out of a graded stakes-placed Giant's Causeway mare whose own dam was a full-sister to Candy Ride (Arg). And nine...

Multiple graded stakes winner Yorkton (Speightstown--Sunday Affair, by A.P. Indy) will take up stud duties at Pope McLean's Crestwood Farm in 2021. Bred and raced by Chiefswood Stables and trained by Stuart Simon, the 6-year-old won the 2018 and 2019 renewals of the GIII Bold Venture S. He was second in the 2018 GII Nearctic S. and third in that year's GIII Vigil S. In his final trip to the post, Yorkton was third in this year's GII True North S. at Belmont Park. On the board in 14 of...