City of Light

Now we're really entering nosebleed altitudes for most breeders, between $30,000 and $50,000: a zone where you should feel that you're improving the odds of coming up with an elite horse. It tells you a lot about our business that the majority of the two dozen stallions operating at this level can only do so because they have yet to send a single runner into the starting gate. A quarter of these we immediately set to one side, as absolute beginners, because those received separate consideration in the opening instalment...

2nd-AQU, $85k, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 12:20p.m. ET From the family of GISW Acoma (Empire Maker) and her half-brother, the late, great GISW Arch (Kris S.), CONQUEST WARRIOR (City of Light) will be the priciest unveiling on the afternoon in New York, carrying a princely $1 million tag from the 2022 KEESEP sale. Racing for Courtlandt Farms under the tutelage of Shug McGaughey, the colt is a half-sibling to a series of winners out of dam MSW Tea Time (Pulpit) including unraced 3-year-old filly Soul Play (Union Rags), who was also...

9th-FG, $52K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 5:45 p.m. A $700,000 son of Arrogate, PHANTOM SPEED makes the races Friday for Pin Oak Stud and trainer Michael Stidham. The colt is a half to GSW Biddy Duke (Bayern) while his 3-year-old City of Light half-brother brought a final bid of $1.05m from Repole Stable and St. Elias out of the 2021 Keeneland September Sale. This is the extended family of champion 2-year-old filly Folklore (Tiznow). TJCIS PPS 4th-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 1:46 p.m. Leading off a pair of homebreds, The Hero...

Breaking out of the pack to kick off Monday's opening session of  Book 4 at the Keeneland November sale in Lexington, Act Now (Street Sense) (Hip 2184), dam of recent runaway winner at Del Mar and TDN Rising Star Coach Prime (Quality Road), brought $610,000 from Mark McStay's Avenue Bloodstock. The 8-year-old mare was consigned by Nardelli Sales, acting agent to dissolve a partnership with Bill Werner. "We thought she could make that much, because Coach Prime was a such a lovely horse," said Kim Nardelli. "We did know all...

5th-Del Mar, $84,500, Msw, 9-10, 2yo, 1mT, 1:36.03, fm, 1/2 length. FORMIDABLE MAN (c, 2, City of Light--Fanticola {GSW & GISP, $561,986}, by Silent Name {Jpn}) was a 9-2 shot here at first asking and the bay colt wrangled the lead past the grandstand, settling on the front end into the first turn. The hooded Mike McCarthy trainee continued to set the fractions and arriving at the top of the lane, he fended off a challenge from fellow firster and favorite Ngannou (Mendelssohn) to win by half a length. The...

2nd-Del Mar, $84,500, Msw, 9-8, 2yo, f, 5fT, :57.22, fm, 1 1/4 lengths. SOHO (f, 2, City of Light--Keri Belle {GSW, $323,140}, by Empire Maker) lacked racing room in the opening jumps and took back to split the field from fifth as Feisty Mitole (Mitole) surged from the inside gate to the lead. Always traveling well, the 4-1 shot took a ground-saving track around the far turn before tipping out to kick for home. Charging past favored Avoir (More Than Ready) and a fading pacesetter, Soho went clear close to...

2nd-DMR, $82K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5fT, 6:30p.m. (ET) Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds' SOHO (City of Light) gets her start for trainer John Sadler, who wins at a 7% clip with his first-time starters. The dark bay has been showing a progressive worktab leading up to this unveiling, including a five-furlong move in 1:00 1/5 (8/55) at the seaside oval Sept. 3. A $625,000 Keeneland September purchase, the daughter of Keri Belle (Empire Maker), a GSW on the turf, also holds the distinction of being the top priced filly...

Named in honor of Mike Repole's beloved grandmother, Nonna Mia (Empire Maker) won her second career start by 12 lengths for Repole Stable in 2008 and she went on to place in the GI Frizette S. and GIII Tempted S. as a juvenile that year. The mare's first two foals Nonna's Boy (Distorted Humor) and eventual Grade I victor and sire Outwork (Uncle Mo) were both debut winners early in their 2-year-old years and her third foal Nonna Bella (Stay Thirsty) claimed her first two career starts at three. Last...

Mike Repole knows a thing or two about impressive Saratoga maiden winners. On the 28th of August, 2010, Repole and Todd Pletcher unleashed a son of Indian Charlie and Playa Maya (Arch) named Uncle Mo, who made a quote of 9-10 seem like a Travers Day gift when rolling home by better than 14 lengths in 1:09.21 to become a 'TDN Rising Star.' Fast forward some 4,742 days and second-generation Repole homebred Fierceness (c, 2, City of Light) put on a show of his own--one day  the marquee race of...

Wygod Equine's Victory Way (City of Light) leads a nine-horse field in Parx's Tuesday feature, the GIII Smarty Jones S. A winner of two of his three starts, the homebred's only defeat came in when narrowly third in the seven furlong GIII Bayshore S. at Aqueduct Apr. 8. To get the win, the Bill Mott trainee will have to take on another homebred in Salute the Stars (Candy Ride {Arg}) for Gary and Mary West. Riding a three-race win streak, including the Pegasus S. at Monmouth at this distance over...

Dreamfyre (f, 2, Flameaway--Appreciating, by Sky Mesa) may not have been the GIII Sorrento S. favorite behind 'TDN Rising Star' Benedetta (City of Light) and flashy Baffert/Zedan runner Dua (Arrogate), but she ran like it, controlling the 2-year-old filly contest from pillar to post. In Del Mar's co-feature Saturday, Dreamfyre broke like a shot from the inside post and immediately put daylight on the rest, clicking off early fractions in :21.74 and :45.10. Benedetta and Dua followed with the rest of the field stretched out well behind. Coming off the...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Kokura, Niigata and Sapporo Racecourses: Saturday, August 12, 2023 2nd-NII, ¥10,480,000 ($72k), Maiden, 2yo, 1800mT ROCK CITY BOY (c, 2, City of Light--Mississippi Coast, by Super Saver) was acquired in utero for $125,000 at the 2021 Keeneland January Sale and...