Gunite

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Erin Fisher of Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds. "We have been working on upgrading our bloodstock over the last several years with a focus on good-running mares that might not have a Kentucky commercial pedigree up front, but still have the ability to create excellent racehorses and future stallion prospects. If you look at the current stallions in Kentucky, you will see that around half are out of mares with non -commercial Kentucky sires. My personal...

As we approach the opening of the 2024 breeding season, the TDN staff is once again sitting down with leading breeders to find out what stallions they have chosen for their mares, and why. Today we caught up with Williams S. Sparks of Monroe, Louisiana. Originally from Arkansas where he grew up attending Oaklawn races with his grandfather, Sparks has assembled a band which reflects his philosophy of breeding to race. "I'm really deeply committed to breeding a sound racehorse who is going to do what they do best--run," said...

by George Adams, Housatonic Bloodstock Wasabi has been focused on upgrading the quality of the foals that it's breeding over the last few years, and to that end will be using some higher-end stallions in 2024 than what we've bred to in the past. A stallion that we'll be patronizing heavily this year is Maclean's Music.  He's about to jump from a crop of 2023 2-year-olds numbering 41 and conceived off of a $20,000 stud fee (out of which he already has nine winners, three of whom have also picked...

And so another cycle opens, bringing all the usual dilemmas. To assist their resolution--albeit the exercise seldom fails to entail a degree of provocation, sometimes even offense--today we commence our annual quest for value among Kentucky stallions. This time round, value feels likely to prove quite elusive. With the middle market increasingly porous, stud fees overall are at a challenging level. If they were driven up by a long bull run in international bloodstock, that appears to be tapering away and there's evidently going to be quite a lag before...

After hearing from Chris McGrath in his 2024 Value Sires Part I, we thought we'd ask several breeders who they thought offered particularly good value this year. Here's what they said: Jody Huckabay The horses I have chosen are expensive, but I think they are good value. GOLD: Elite Power (Curlin--Broadway's Alibi, by Vindication), Juddmonte Farms, $50,000. The first horse I like for his body of work, race record, and pedigree is Elite Power. To me, he's on top of the list, with everything being considered. I look at it...

Last year's Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Epicenter is the first stallion that Coolmore's Ashford Stud has stood for Winchell Thoroughbreds and the partnership got off to a blazing start as the son of Not This Time was one of the most popular stallions in Kentucky this year, covering 262 mares in his debut season. Now, Coolmore has teamed up with the same racing and breeding operation to debut another Grade I-winning stallion--this time a homebred son of Winchell's own Gun Runner. Gunite, who claimed the GI Hopeful S. as a juvenile...

Gunite (Gun Runner--Simple Surprise, by Cowboy Cal), a two-time Grade I winner and runner-up behind champion Elite Power (Curlin) in Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita, has been retired from racing and will stand at Coolmore America's Ashford Stud for 2024. His fee has been set at $35,000. Trained by Steve Asmussen, the Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred defeated the aforementioned two-time Breeders' Cup Sprint winner in this summer's GI Forego S. at Saratoga. Gunite also won the GI Hopeful S. during his 2-year-old season and the GII Amsterdam S....

Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) had successful surgery today to repair her two broken sesamoids in her left front leg and the surgery "went as well as could be expected" said David Fiske, racing manager to co-owner Ron Winchell. The surgery was performed at the Southern California Equine Foundation's hospital on the grounds of Santa Anita Park. The 4-year-old filly suffered an injury Friday morning at Santa Anita, working in company with stablemate Gunite (Gun Runner) in preparation for the Breeders' Cup. "She's out of surgery," said Fiske. "Out of recovery....

Gun Runner has joined Into Mischief and Curlin on top of the roster of 2024 stallions with a $250,000 fee, Three Chimneys announced Friday morning. He is the first sire in history to have sired nine individual millionaires with just two full crops. He currently ranks second on the TDN's General Sire list, behind only Into Mischief, with over $14 million in progeny earnings. Counted among his 13 stakes winners and 31 stakes performers in 2023 are Grade I winners Gunite and 'TDN Rising Stars' Echo Zulu and Locked, the...

Clairiere (Curlin) and stablemate Gunite (Gun Runner) each had their first works at Santa Anita Saturday for trainer Steve Asmussen while Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) fired a bullet towards the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for trainer Bob Baffert.   Work of the Day from @santaanitapark—Arabian Knight worked 6 Furlongs in 1:12.60 on October 7th, 2023, for trainer Bob Baffert. pic.twitter.com/z1CDb3I55x — XBTV (@WatchXBTV) October 7, 2023 Also on Saturday, GI Breeders' Cup Sprint hopefuls Anarchist (Distorted Humor) and The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) each worked and Arcangelo (Arrogate), another contender for...

A trio of Breeders' Cup-bound horses trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen had their first works at Santa Anita Friday. Drilling easy half miles under the watchful eye of assistant Scott Blasi were Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), who went the distance in 50.80 seconds and Society (Gun Runner), who completed her move in 50.20 seconds. Also working for Asmussen was Private Creed (Jimmy Creed), who was officially clocked going three furlongs in 37.40 seconds. "This was their first work on the racetrack so we didn't want to do a...

With Santa Anita Park set to begin its fall meet, fans will be greeted by a pair of all-new state-of-the-art paddock video boards beginning on opening day, Friday, Sept. 29, 1/ST Racing said in a press release late Thursday. Manufactured by US-based Daktronics, the video boards each measure nine feet tall by 16 feet wide. While the previous paddock video boards had a pixel pitch of 15mm, the new boards provide much higher quality viewing, with a finer 6mm one. To view a time-lapse installation click here. Breeders' Cup Stars...