TDN Rising Stars

A signature TDN product, TDN Rising Stars allow readers to identify a race winner in the first few starts of his or her career who will, in our estimation, go on to be a Graded Stakes winner. Designated as Rising Stars by the worldwide TDN staff after a careful and comprehensive review of many factors--including the quality of the field, margin and time of victory, pedigree, sales price and more--Rising Stars are tabbed as such in a maiden, allowance or Listed Stakes race. Mouse over the name of the horse for race details, or mouse over the 1st Dam for available information on her. Click the Writeup link to view the entire TDN Rising Star story.

Featured Rising Star

November 29, 2018 - Fair Grounds, Race 6, Msw, USD $38,000, 7 1/2F

Winter Sunset, F, 2, 2016 by Tapit

1st Dam: Winter Memories (MGISW, $1,268,100), by El Prado (Ire)
2nd Dam: Memories of Silver, by Silver Hawk
3rd Dam: All My Memories, by Little Current

Owner: Coffepot Stables & Phillips Racing Partnership
Breeder: Phillips Racing Partnership (KY)
Trainer: Wayne M. Catalano

Winter Sunset

Tapit, sire of new TDN Rising Star Winter Sunset | Mathea Kelley

Winter Sunset
Winter Sunset (Tapit) got her career off to a strong start with a front-running debut victory at Fair Grounds Thursday, which was impressive enough to earn her the ‘TDN Rising Star’ moniker. Breaking on top from her rail draw, the gray was a bit green rounding the far turn, but was quickly straightened out and showed the way through opening splits of :24.64 and :49.09. Confronted by two rivals to her outside approaching the bend, the 3-1 shot took the final turn much better than the first and sailed clear in the lane under a quiet ride to win as she pleased by 4 1/4 lengths. Freedom Passage (Verrazano) completed the exacta. The winner’s dam Winter Memories won a pair of Grade I events on the turf for John Phillips’s operation, just like her mother, fellow millionaire and MGISW Memories of Silver. Winter Memories is a half to GSW La Cloche (Ghostzapper), the dam of MSW Bellavais (Tapit); stakes winners British Blue (Storm Cat) and War Choice (Storm Cat); and the dams of GSW Hawkish (Artie Schiller) and SW Red Lodge (Midshipman), both of whom are ‘TDN Rising Stars’. Winter Sunset is the second foal to make the races out of Winter Memories and her first winner. The 10-year-old mare produced a Tapit colt in 2017 and a filly by the Gainesway stalwart this year. She was bred back to Union Rags.