Independence Hall

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training produced an additional two seven-figure juveniles during its second session Wednesday, with a filly by Good Magic leading the way when selling for $1.1 million to Sean Flanagan. Through two of three sessions of the March sale, 269 horses have grossed $39,588,000 for an average of $147,167 and a median of $70,000. Those numbers are down slightly from the end-of-session figures from last year's March sale, which included a $1.5-million...

Later in Wednesday's session, a colt by Freshman sire Independence Hall realized $1-million from Muir Hut Stables. Offered as Hip 404 as a member of the Eddie Woods consignment, the son of stakes placed Orecchiette (Harlan's Holiday) covered an eighth in :9 4/5 during last week's breeze session. A $32,000 Keeneland November weanling, the Mar. 8 foal was purchased by Woods's Quarter Pole Enterprises for $165,000 at Fasig-Tipton last July. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners bred the colt in Kentucky.  "We just thought he was an athlete." We have our first 7-figure...

Saturday marked the final day of under-tack previews for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and a colt by Gun Runner (hip 654) set the bar within the first six hips of the day with the sales co-fastest time, breezing an eighth in a swift :9 3/5. The grey or roan colt, consigned by Eddie Woods, agent, was a $200,000 Keeneland September grad for St. Clair Stables last year. He is the first foal out of Tynan, a winning daughter of Liam's Map who is...

It sometimes seems that not a weekend goes by where Brad Cox isn't making news and visiting the winner's circle somewhere after winning another important race. That was the case last weekend as Cox won the Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs with John Hancock (Constitution). This coming weekend he'll send out one of his top threats for the GI Kentucky Oaks when the filly Good Cheer (Medaglia d'Oro) makes her 2025 debut in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. at the Fair Grounds. To talk about past successes...

Having dealt with the rookies separately, we now start our quest for value among those stallions already at stud. We'll be going through the pyramid by price band, and today kick off at the level most accessible to breeders on a budget. But do not be deceived that we must be scraping the barrel here. If anything, candidly, there are more horses standing at four figures that one could trust--above all, for a breed-to-race program--than among far more expensive newcomers featured in the first instalment. Whether one could also recommend...

Every year, the Fasig-Tipton July sale offers the first chance for buyers to get a look at a new crop of yearling sires. Many buyers were seeing these sires' yearlings for the first time this week, and while it's admittedly early, we took a little survey to get their first impressions. The group includes: Basin, Beau Liam, By My Standards, Charlatan, Core Beliefs, Essential Quality, Independence Hall, Knicks Go, Known Agenda, Leinster, Lexitonian, Maxfield, Modernist, Raging Bull, Rock Your World, Silver State, Tacitus, Uncle Chuck, and Yaupon. LIZ CROW: Tacitus...

Few jockeys have ever come so far so fast. Keith Asmussen, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, has been riding full time for less than two years, but has already snagged mounts in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks and sits in second-place in the jockey standings at Oaklawn Park. Asmussen, who will ride Just Steel (Justify) in the Derby and Lemon Muffin (Collected) in the Oaks for trainer Wayne Lukas, joined the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland this week to discuss his...

Somehow this is a real sweet spot in the market. For a stallion farm, the $10,000 cover is a particular pitch: you're a cent away from offering a horse at four figures, but you feel that dropping him into a low-rent neighborhood might be beneath his dignity. You're offering a very accessible fee, but you're not going to let him look cheap. That makes this a surprisingly congested zone, ample for separate assessment. And since clinging to a five-figure fee somewhat represents a show of faith, some of these sires...

With the breeding season underway, the TDN staff is continuing the '2023 Mating Plans' series, presented by Spendthrift Farm, to find out what stallions breeders have chosen for their mares this year, and why. Here Woodford Thoroughbreds shares their plans for the breeding season. As a commercial breeding farm, Woodford Thoroughbreds operates with two principles in mind when choosing our matings. 1) We are producing racehorses. In 2023, Woodford is the breeder of Mimi Kakushi (City of Light), a Group 3 winner on the Oaks trail; Rocket Can (Into Mischief),...

MGSW & GISP Independence Hall (Constitution) sired his first reported foal when a colt out of the winning Distorted Humor mare Seascape was born Monday, Jan. 16 at Mahoney Eden Manor Farm in New York. The colt was bred by Mahoney Eden Manor, Dark Horse Racing Stable and Cutair Racing. "He's a very leggy, racy-looking colt, just what you imagine when you look at Independence Hall," said Britt Wadsworth. "If they come out looking as such, we're all in good shape." From the first crop of leading sire Constitution, Independence...

The catalog for Fasig-Tipton's Gulfstream Sale of Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training is now available online. The auction, which will be held at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, will take place Wed., Mar. 30, beginning at 2 pm. The under-tack show is scheduled for Monday, Mar. 28, beginning at 9 am. "The Gulfstream sale annually offers a concentration of quality that is unmatched by any 2-year-old sale," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "Buyers that arrive in South Florida for this year's sale will once again be presented with quality individuals...

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have Randy Gullatt of Twin Creeks Farm. INTO MYSTIC (m, 6, Into Mischief--Loveofalifetime, by Medaglia d'Oro), to be bred to Constitution She's a multiple stakes winner and multiple graded stakes-placed maiden mare with earnings of $448,623, and will be bred to Constitution. Constitution, purchased out of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale by Twin Creeks Racing and WinStar Farm, is loaded in the pipeline with a tremendous...