Gabriel Duignan

West Point Thoroughbreds, David Ingordo and Gabriel Duignan's REAGAN'S HONOR (c, 3, Honor A. P.--Rutile, by Medaglia d'Oro)--a horse with the fingerprints of the late John Shirreffs all over him--was forced to tackle older horses in his first go against winners Thursday afternoon at the Fair Grounds, but he passed the test with flying colors, leading past every pole en route to an easy 6 3/4-length victory. After touching 2-5 in the wagering, the $140,000 Keeneland September yearling was off to an awkward beginning as the 11-10 chalk, bumping with...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearling Sale kicks off, not just the yearling sales season, but also a bidding-packed day of action at Newtown Paddocks in Lexington Tuesday. The auction, with 261 head catalogued, begins at 10 a.m. and will be followed immediately by the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale, with 70 catalogued ready-to-race offerings. Buyers were out in force at the sales barns on a steamy day in the Bluegrass Monday, with temperatures inching over the 90- degree mark. "We have been slammed all...

Gabriel Duignan's Echo Sound (Echo Town) might not be perfect but she's pretty darn close. The winner in her latest start in the GIII Miss Preakness Stakes will try to make it back-to-back graded wins for trainer Rusty Arnold in Saratoga's opening day feature, the GIII Victory Ride Stakes. According to Arnold, a win in the 6 1/2-furlong test for sophomore fillies would be special for more reasons than simply its placement on the calendar. "We've targeted this race because of the distance, and it's also a special race to...

After winning her initial three career starts, she was beaten 2 1/2-lengths in second in Churchill Downs' Fern Creek Stakes, However, she showed that her latest may have been an aberration as she rebounded to score by two lengths in Friday's GIII Miss Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. Echo Sound settled in a wide fifth as Hollygrove-with G W's Girl (Munnings) and Family (Sharp Azteca) in pursuit-carved out an opening quarter in :22.95. As You'll Be Back moved into contention along the inside, the pace-setting Hollygrove threw down a :46.14 half....

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm Lexington, Ky - The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale concluded its three-day run Wednesday in Lexington with figures largely in line with its four-day 2024 edition. Through three days, 685 head grossed $33,444,900 for an average of $48,825 and a median of $22,000. The average increased 6% and the median rose 47% from last year's four-day sale when 831 horses grossed $38,330,300 for an average of $46,126 and a median of $15,000. The buy-back rate was 26.34% this year compared to 22.84%...

Extending the activity that has been building through earlier sessions, the eighth day of selling at the Keeneland November Sale offered more of the same as witnessed by gross receipts closing at over $184.6 million (through the ring), well ahead of the $173,925,300 sold through this point in 2023. Heading Tuesday, Music City Stables acquired a weanling filly (Hip 2935) from the first crop of stakes winner Nashville for $85,000 to record the highest purchase of the next-to-last session. Consigned by Buckland Sales (Zach Madden), agent, the filly is out...

Among the dogs noisily bounding to inquire after your business at Dundrum Farm, one is really something special. Gordon, a big black schnauzer, lost his sight to blastomycosis a couple of years ago, but you would never know it: he scampers confidently along corridors, through doorways, even joins the reception committee outside. "Until he gets on the grass," Lesley Campion explains. "Then he knows that he only has one stride, and has to stop. But no, he's a genius, that dog." Certainly he couldn't exhibit a more certain sense of...

The Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation was established in 2020 in memory of Gerry Dilger, the beloved and well-respected breeder and pinhooker of such horses as GI Kentucky Derby winners Nyquist and Always Dreaming, who passed away on Feb. 24, 2020. The Foundation awarded three scholarships for 2024 for the Kentucky farm experience to Sean Berns and Sara Pepper to go to Springhouse Farm in Lexington, and to Larry Mulvaney, who was placed at Hunter Valley Farm. A pair of 2023 scholarship recipients--Ivanna Dempsey and Elle Sorensen--who did their farm...

11th-Kyoto, ¥42,190,000 ($284,065), Allowance, 4yo/up, 1900m, 1:57.4, ft. AWESOME RESULT (f, 4, Justify--Blossomed, by Deputy Minister), a maiden winner in a single juvenile appearance in 2022, was perfect in her three trips to the races last season, including a victory over 2100 metres at Tokyo Nov. 18. A touch unprepared at the break of this 4-year-old return, the bay was accordingly off a half-step slowly and was consigned to the latter third of the field for the run around the first turn. Yutaka Take slipped her some rein and asked...

The Keeneland November Breeding Stock concluded its nine-day run in Lexington Thursday with numbers off from its 2022 renewal in what Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy called a "pragmatic, solid sale." At the close of business Thursday, 2,128 horses had sold through the ring for $176,571,000. The average of $82,975 was down 16.94% from a year ago, while the median of $32,000 was down 20.00%. "Overall, it's been a very pragmatic, solid sale," said Lacy. "Demand for quality is extremely strong, probably as strong as ever, and that's...

The inaugural golf tournament fundraiser for the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation was held Oct. 10 at Houston Oaks Golf Course and was a tremendous success. On behalf of our board, and the Dilger Family, we would like to extend a warm thank you to everyone who helped to make this first fundraiser happen. It was great to see so many people come out. We had wonderful support from the equine community. A very special thank you to Ashford Stud, Eddie Woods, Fasig Tipton, Garrett O'Rourke, Hagyards Equine Medical Institute,...

   Paramount Sales has fast become one of the leading consignors in America with Jack Christopher, Life Is Good and Kameko an example of the recent graduates. Pat Costello, who emigrated to America in 1984 and climbed the ranks in the industry before setting up Paramount Sales in 2001 with fellow Irish ex-pat Gabriel 'Spider' Duignan, shares all about his racing backstory in this week's Q&A.    From turning a profit pinhooking for 10 years on the trot to revealing what horses in the Paramount Sales draft he's most looking...