Not This Time

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training had one more seven-figure juvenile up its sleeve with a colt by Tiz the Law bringing a sale-topping $1.5 million during the final session of the four-day auction which concluded with it third straight record average Friday. "We are very appreciative and glad and happy--all of the adjectives you can apply to the week," OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said at the close of business Friday. "It was a...

Named a 'TDN Rising Star' when decimating a field of main-track maidens at Gulfstream by 16 1/4 lengths last October, Shisospicy (Mitole) faded to third after setting hot fractions in the Fern Creek Stakes at Churchill in November. She just failed to last in the Jan. 4 Mockingbird Stakes at Oaklawn, but most recently wired a Gulfstream allowance in her first go on the grass Feb. 5. Carrying an imposing worktab for this return to stakes competition, the Morplay colorbearer was kicked straight into a clear advantage by Irad Ortiz,...

Mark Stanley had a fair idea what must have happened when hearing a sudden cascade of message alerts as they drove along. "Based on, nobody calls to tell you a horse ran bad," he says wryly. "We were out with our grandkids, so I'd taped the race. And then my phone just starts exploding. So I knew he must have won, even before we got back and watched it. Obviously I have nothing to do with him, now, but we've enjoyed following him a lot more than I thought I...

We've taken the plunge into the deeper end of the prep pool for the GI Kentucky Derby. Five nine-furlong stakes each awarding 100 qualifying points are scheduled over the next two Saturdays, after which this list will expand to the Top 20. 1) CITIZEN BULL (c, Into Mischief--No Joke, by Distorted Humor) O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Robert Low & Lawana Low (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history:...

Resolute Racing's farm manager Noel Murphy is not one for interviews, especially when they take place in front of a camera, but when the topic of conversation is Goodnight Olive? Well okay, he will kindly acquiesce. For Murphy, the story of Goodnight Olive has always appealed to him. A $170,000 yearling purchase campaigned by First Row Partners and Team Hanley, the daughter of Ghostzapper developed into a four-time Grade I winner and dual Breeders' Cup champion. "I think it's the fact that she was not the chosen one at the...

For much of his career, Touchuponastar (Star Guitar) was regarded as a good Louisiana-bred. Nothing more. Coming into Saturday's GII New Orleans Classic, he had won 14 races from 20 starts, but 13 of those wins had come in Louisiana-bred company. He beat open company in the 2023 Delta Mile S., but had never won a graded stakes race. Nothing figured to change in the Classic as Touchuponastar, a $15,000 yearling purchase, was set to face Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), last year's 3-year-old male champion who cost $2.3-million at the...

Juddmonte homebred Final Gambit (c, 3, Not This Time--Pachinko, by Tapit), an impressive last-to-first maiden winner at third asking at Turfway Park Feb. 15, ran by them all once again to pull off a 15-1 upset in Saturday's GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks in Florence, good for 100 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby. Flying Mohawk (Karakontie {Jpn}), a winner of two straight on grass, was a good second. Maximum Promise (Maximum Security) was third. Final Gambit was bumped at the start and broke in a tangle and...

Founded by Josephine Abercrombie in 1952, Pin Oak Stud has entered a new era under the ownership of Jim and Dana Bernhard. The Bernhards purchased Pin Oak Stud in November of 2022 and acquired an additional 465 acres from Adena Springs in September of 2023. "Pin Oak has always strived to breed horses that can compete at the pinnacle of our sport, this vision begins with the decisions that we make when selecting our matings each year," Pin Oak's Michael Hardy said. "Our team works in close collaboration, carefully selecting...

10th-Santa Anita, $68,500, Msw, 3-15, 3yo, f, 6fT, 1:10.39, gd, 1/2 length. MISLEADING (f, 3, Not This Time--Heart of Paradise {GSP}, by More Than Ready) executed a perfectly-timed rush to graduate in-style. A 10-1 shot here, the Keeneland September grad was in no hurry when it came to exiting the gate. Biding her time at the back of the field, the filly seemed out of it by the far turn, but the 3-year-old was gearing up for a late push. Misleading tipped towards the center of the course at the...

The catalogue for the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale, which takes place between 8 and 10 May, has been released and features the progeny of world-class stallions Justify, Wootton Bassett (GB), Lope De Vega (Ire), Sea The Stars (Ire), Dubawi (Ire) and more. A total of 192 two-year-olds feature in the sale that was headed last year by recent UAE 2,000 Guineas hero Ruling Court (Justify), who was sold by Norman Williamson's Oak Tree Farm to Godolphin for €2.3 million. There are seven horses by Justify in this year's sale that features...

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 Blue Heaven Farm. 2024 was Blue Heaven Farm's best year on record. In addition to several nice results at the Keeneland September sale, we were represented by five different stakes horses on the track, including two runners in the Breeders' Cup. We are hoping to keep the momentum going in 2025 and beyond.  Below are the mating plans for a handful...

As racing across the nation heats up with spring nearly upon us, we take a look at trends and notable items from the country's graded races in February.  February featured 20 graded races from coast to coast. Five tracks hosted graded events during the month: Fair Grounds (4), Gulfstream Park (3), Oaklawn Park (4), Santa Anita Park (7), and Tampa Bay Downs (2). Four were Grade II events, while 16 were Grade III. Six were contested on turf, with 14 on dirt. Eight of the graded contests were for sophomores,...