Goncalo Torrealba

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. With a ton of steam behind impressive debut winner Just a Touch (Justify) heading into Saturday's GIII Gotham S., the second-place finisher's come-from-behind effort over a sloppy, sealed track that day at Fair Grounds may look even better after this weekend. Off at debut odds of 10-1 for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Gun Party (c, 3, Curlin--Carina Mia, by Malibu Moon) trailed the field of eight...

On the spectrum of Thoroughbred stallions, you won't find too many either side of Gun Runner and Despot. One, charging $250,000 a dance at Three Chimneys, is the most immediately accomplished sire of recent times. The other was claimed for $350 at Waterford Park, some 50 years ago, before being set to work annually producing a handful of half-breds in rural Maryland. "Liver chestnut son of Stevward," says the man whose career unites this unlikely pair. "You should have seen us trying to figure out how to breed mares on...

by Jessica Owers and Oz Wedmore, TDNAusNZ Case Clay was in the headlines last month with his announcement that, after 20 years with Three Chimneys Farm, he was going solo. This week he finds himself on the Gold Coast, and we caught up with him to learn a little more about the next chapter of his career. Nearly 20 years ago, American bloodstock agent Case Clay did an interview with a local Kentucky newspaper. He said that succession, complicated as it was when it came to family business, didn't always...

Goncalo Torrealba's Three Chimneys, the farm that stands young sire sensation Gun Runner, has promoted Veronica Reed to the role of stallion manager. Reed, who has been serving as assistant stallion manager at the Central Kentucky farm, will be assisted throughout the 2023 breeding season by longtime stallion manager and Kentucky Farm Manager of the Year recipient Sandy Hatfield, who will continue to play a key role in the stallion barn as she steps back from her duties. "I am excited to take on this new responsibility and am so...

After 20 years at Three Chimneys Farm, Case Clay is shifting his focus full-time to his company, Case Clay Thoroughbred Management, according to a press release from Clay Tuesday morning. His services will continue to include bloodstock auction and private purchases, portfolio management and equine insurance. "I am grateful to the Torrealba Family for allowing me to add outside clients of my own over the past several years, in addition to my role at Three Chimneys," said Clay. "As my business and clients have grown, it feels like the right...

In the face of an end run in the Kentucky legislature, The Jockey Club will rescind its 140 mare cap for stallions, the organization announced in a press release Thursday morning. "The Jockey Club announced today that it is rescinding the following italicized language in Rule 14C of The Jockey Club's Principal Rules and Requirements of the American Studbook that addresses limitations to the total number of mares bred per stallion: The total number of broodmares bred per individual stallion whose year of birth is 2020 or thereafter shall not exceed 140...

Three Chimneys' Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) set a new record for progeny earnings for a first-crop sire when his total moved past the $3.8-million mark Sunday. Coolmore's Uncle Mo held the previous record of $3,717,490, which he established in 2015. Prior to Uncle Mo, the first-crop progeny earnings record had been held by Gainesway's Tapit, who set the mark in 2008. Gun Runner took over the record earnings figure when the Tom Amoss-trained Shotgun Hottie won a $92,000 maiden special weight at Churchill Downs Sunday, becoming the stallion's 22nd...

Three Chimneys Farm is the second stud farm in as many days to release a roster of reduced stud fees for the 2021 season due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The historic farm's 2021 roster is headlined by Horse of the Year Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) at $50,000 LFS&N. The six-time Grade I winner, who was represented by his first yearlings this season, stood for $70,000 in 2020. "The industry finds itself in unusual times," said Three Chimneys Chairman Goncalo Torrealba. "One can take comfort in knowing...