Ciaran Dunne

A colt from the first crop of Independence Hall (hip 619) tied the time for the fastest quarter-mile of the week so far in Ocala when he worked the distance in :20 2/5 at the fourth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Wednesday. Consigned by Wavertree Stables, the juvenile is out of Waltzing (Candy Ride {Arg}), a half-sister to graded winner Dancing Solo (Giant's Causeway) and to Grade I-placed Dancing (Bernardini). He was purchased by Ron Fein's Superfine for...

With the first major 2-year-old sale, OBS March, now in the books, it's time for some predictions. We asked the experts who their pick is for leading freshman sire and also asked them for a "sleeper pick" or a stallion that will perform beyond expectations. Here's what they had to say: Jimbo Gladwell Top Pick: Charlatan, Standing for $50,000 in 2025 at Hill 'n' Dale Ten percent of the horses I've had on the farm are by Charlatan, so I am a Charlatan fan. They are really smart horses that...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training opened Tuesday with a colt from the first crop of Grade I winner Maxfield (hip 119) leading the way when selling for $1 million to Japanese trainer Mitsu Nakauchida. The colt was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables. At the end of the session, 117 juveniles had sold for $15,902,000 for an average of $135,915 and a median of $85,000. At the conclusion of last year's opening session, 152 head...

The under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, delayed a day by weather and beset by a strong and persistent headwind when it opened Thursday, nonetheless got off to a fast start when the first horse on track, a colt by Charlatan (hip 176), worked a furlong in :9 4/5. Just a few minutes later, a son of another freshman sire, Maxfield (hip 119), equaled that time and the trio of bullet workers on the day was completed later in the first set...

System seems to work pretty well. Donato Lanni buys their standout for Amr Zedan, and on they go: win their Grade Is, make another ton of money at stud. In 2022, it was the $2.3- million Uncle Mo colt we now know as Hill 'n' Dale stallion and 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight; a year later, it was a $2-million son of Good Magic, 'Rising Star' Muth, meanwhile underway at Gainesway. With horses, however, there's always something you could do to make things even better. Last year Zedan called Jimbo...

When it comes to racing, breeding and sales, Justin Wojczynski has done just about everything. He's been a pinhooker, he's broken horses for others and prepared them for the races, he's handled layup horses and he's been a trainer. One might think that's plenty, but Wojczynski is intent on expanding his stable of race horses while keeping his other side jobs. That might sound like a lot, but it has been made easier by the emergence of the 6-year-old mare Awesome Treat (Awesome Patriot). In her last start, she sprung...

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 is the lone such horse entered for Sunday at Saratoga: Sunday, July 14, 2024 Saratoga 1, $100k, 2yo,...

TIMONIUM, MD - The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded its two-day run at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium Tuesday with a lively session of bidding led by a $1.25-million daughter of Bolt d'Oro. Through two sessions, 343 horses sold for $32,766,500. The average of $95,485--up 2.9% from a year ago--just ticked up from the sale's previous record average of $95,391 set in 2022, while the median of $50,000 tied the sale record set in 2021 and equaled again in 2023. "I thought we had two very...

A filly by Bolt d'Oro (hip 401) brought a final bid of $1.25 million from trainer Steve Asmussen, acting on behalf of Ron Winchell, midway through the second session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Tuesday in Timonium. Consigned by Wavertree Stables, the filly worked a furlong during last week's under-tack preview in :10 flat. Ciaran Dunne purchased the filly on behalf of a pinhooking partnership for $335,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. She is out of Werewolf (Arch) and is a half-sister to graded-placed Howling...

TIMONIUM, MD - The juvenile sales season makes it annual stopover in Maryland when the two-day Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training opens Monday morning at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. After a rain-interrupted under-tack show last week, skies were still overcast but there was no rain during a busy day of showing for consignors Sunday. "We have had so much foot traffic up to this point so far," said consignor Randy Miles. "Even yesterday, early in the morning in the rain, they were still coming. So...

TIMONIUM, MD - The under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded with a third session Friday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium and after an initial session of headwinds and a second session punctuated by tailwinds, conditions were calm with overcast skies during the show's finale. A filly by Bolt d'Oro (hip 401) had the fastest furlong work of Friday's session, covering the distance in :10 flat during the day's third set. Consigned by Wavertree Stables, the bay filly is out of Werewolf (Arch)...

TIMONIUM, MD - After an unexpected day off Wednesday and a two-hour delay, the under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale resumed for its second session at 10 a.m. Thursday with a lively surface and a significant tailwind which persisted throughout the day. The first horse to work Thursday matched the :10 flat bullet time of Tuesday's opening session of the three-day show and was followed in that first set by six more to hit that mark in the first set before a colt by Street...