Airdrie Stud

At this point in the season, a freshman sire can hardly do better than to win Saratoga's--and the nation's--first graded stakes of the year for 2-year-olds. When that young stallion also leads the nation's first-crop sires in winners with 12 (75% of starters), he's signaling he might be something special. With that kind of start, it's no surprise Airdrie Stud's Complexity, a son of Maclean's Music, is firmly on top of the freshman stallion list at this early juncture. He's also currently leading all sires, regardless of number of crops,...

When GIII Sanford Stakes morning-line choice Mentee (City of Light) was scratched Saturday morning, it might have been assumed the race had lost some of its luster, but apparently no one told Mo Plex (c, 2, Complexity--Mo Joy, by Uncle Mo), who was featured in TDN's Saratoga Notebook Friday. The New York-bred Jeremiah Englehart trainee went gate to wire to stay undefeated and give his freshman sire (by Maclean's Music) his first graded win. Studlydoright (Nyquist) and Three Echos (Echo Town) each suffered bumps at the break, but kicked on...

Airdrie Stud's first-crop sire sensation Complexity (by Maclean's Music) continued the barnstorming start to his second career with a first winner in Europe on Wednesday as Eleanora Kennedy's Black Forza captured Fairyhouse's six-furlong Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden. Breaking smartly from his wide stall, the Michael O'Callaghan-trained 6-1 shot who had been fifth on debut in The Curragh's hot Barronstown Stud Maiden at the Irish Derby meeting closed powerfully to take control a furlong out under Seamie Heffernan. Readily asserting from there, the dark bay who was a £220,000 Goffs...

The outside-drawn gelding whose change-of-plans entry made it a foursome in Saturday's GIII Dwyer S. at Aqueduct has quite a bit going for him despite being ranked as the longest shot at 4-1 on the morning line. The cleverly and elegantly named Save the Trees (by Preservationist out of the Forestry mare Canopy Lane) sports a 2-for-2 record, an adversity-overcoming, off-the-pace style, and a $335,000 auction price that was third-highest at Keeneland's Apr. 26 Horses of Racing Age (HORA) sale conducted after the final race of the spring meet. That's...

2nd-Belmont The Big A, $75,000, (S), Msw, 6-20, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:05.05, ft, 10 lengths. MO PLEX (c, 2, Complexity--Mo Joy, by Uncle Mo), sent off at even money from his high draw, was hustled into contention as Man From Malta (Honest Mischief) cut out an opening quarter in :22.16. Narrowly in front approaching the quarter pole, the favorite was given his cue by Irad Ortiz Jr. straightening for home, and the New York bred shot clear late, scoring by 10 lengths over fellow firster Chasing Colton (Leofric). With the...

'Saturday afternoon horses' are every breeder's goal. We continue our new weekly series with a young sire who got his first graded win in a high-profile race this past weekend. At this time last year, an unheralded colt parlayed a sole maiden win into victory in the GIII Peter Pan S., which led to Classic success in the GI Belmont S. This year, Antiquarian (Preservationist) is following the same blueprint put in place by Arcangelo (Arrogate): a maiden win early in his sophomore campaign before bursting onto the national scene...

1st-Woodbine, C$87,579, Msw, 5-12, 2yo, 4 1/2f (AWT), :52.26, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. FRENCH HORN (f, 2, Complexity--Emma's Encore {GISW, $398,248}, by Congrats) was rewarded for her debut as the 1-1 choice here. The filly got down to business from the bell by making the pace up the backstretch. Chased by her three rivals, she continued to make every pole a winning one around the far turn and into the lane. The juvenile dug down and found more to deliver a second win for her freshman sire (by Maclean's Music)....

Keeneland will host its April Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale following Friday's 10-race card on closing day of the Spring Meet. The fledgling auction will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET. Keeneland's final race will go off at approximately 5:09 p.m. ET. A total of 134 horses--and still growing--have been catalogued to the one-day sale. "It's an exciting sale," Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said earlier this week. "It's kind of a celebration of the end of our race meet and it also kicks off Derby week. This...

Seven supplemental entries have been added to the Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale to be held Friday evening following the closing day card at the Lexington track. The latest entries to the auction include: Life Advice (Into Mischief), consigned by Gainesway, agent; Low Country Magic (Good Magic), a three-length winner in her Apr. 17 career debut at Keeneland, consigned by I. C. Racing, agent; Maghra (Ire) (No Nay Never), consigned by Grovendale Sales, agent; Now and Later (Candy Ride {Arg}), consigned by Claiborne Farm, agent; Proud Mary (Point...

Airdrie Stud, a longtime supporter of Old Friends, has sent MGSW McCraken (Ghostzapper) to reside at the Thoroughbred retirement farm as of Monday, Mar. 25, the non-profit said via a press release early Wednesday morning. The 10-year-old stallion was donated to the farm courtesy of Airdrie, who has made three prior contributions to the Old Friends roster. "It is already evident to me that this well-mannered multiple stakes winner is going to be a real hit with our many visitors to Old Friends," said John Nicholson, President and CEO of...

When Domestic Product (Practical Joke) bullied his way through traffic to get his nose in front in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby Saturday, he not only earned valuable qualifying points to the GI Kentucky Derby, he also provided a timely update for his half-sister who is scheduled to sell during the first session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales' Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Tuesday. "She's been very popular today, let's put it that way," Becky Thomas said of the filly from the first crop of Complexity (hip...

Among the winners at the last Breeders' Cup, what was it that separated White Abarrio (Race Day), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and Nobals (Noble Mission {GB}) from the rest? Answer: they were the only ones that had changed hands at an American yearling auction, respectively for $7,500, $170,000 and $3,500. Even that lavish investor in the yearling market, Mike Repole, won the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a homebred. Except for a couple of European turf juveniles, the rest of the show was a parade of champions raised by "end users":...