OBS March Sale

WinStar Farm stallion Improbable (City Zip), the champion older male of 2020 and a 'TDN Rising Star', was euthanized late last night at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington after suffering from ataxia behind, a condition which causes poor voluntary muscle control, the farm said in a release early Sunday. "He was sent to Rood and Riddle yesterday morning to determine the exact cause of the ataxia," said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. "He was responding well to treatment, but went to lie down...

West Point Thoroughbreds and the Green family's D J Stable went to $1.2 million to acquire a colt by Tapit from the Lothenbach dispersal Tuesday at OBS. Bred by the late Bob Lothenbach, the gray colt is out of Distorted Music (Distorted Humor) and is a half-brother to graded winner She Can't Sing (Bernardini). He was consigned by Tom McCrocklin. The result was the third million-dollar sale from the dispersal. She Can't Sing sold for $1.1 million at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale where Bell's the One sold for $1.3...

8th-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 3:37 p.m. ET. For a $1-million price tag, Sean Flanagan secured TOP CONOR (Twirling Candy) for his stable at last year's OBS March Sale, which tied the colt for the fourth-highest at the auction and made him his sire's highest-priced 2-year-old in 2023. Previously going for $200,000 during Keeneland September, the Chad Brown trainee is out of GSP Divine Dawn (Divine Park), who International Equities acquired with a filly by Nyquist in-utero for $285,000 at the Keeneland November Sale in 2017. A full-sister to GSW/MSW...

R Harper Rose (Khozan) represented her fellow Florida-breds well in Saturday's GIII Forward Gal S. over the Hallandale strip as she dropped the hammer down the lane to win. The OBS March grad made her debut a winning one as she streaked to a gate-to-wire finish by 6 1/4 lengths at Gulfstream Park in early August. Stepping into optional claiming company over the same surface Sept. 22, the filly was equally as potent when she won by 5 3/4 lengths. On her home floor last fall, the bay took on...

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...

6th-TAM, $53K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 3:04 p.m. ET. Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred, ARI'S MAGIC (Good Magic) initially went for $150,000 during Keeneland September. After rolling a :10 flat at last year's under tack breeze show, the juvenile sold for $725,000 at the OBS March Sale. Owned by LSU Stables and trained by Christophe Clement, the newly-minted 3-year-old is out of Ari the Adventurer (Pioneerof the Nile), who Stonestreet bought for $350,000 at the '13 OBS Select 2-Year-Old Sale. TJCIS PPS

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX - A colt by Practical Joke brought $110,000 to top Monday's single-session Texas Thoroughbred Association (TTA) Summer Yearling Sale at Lone Star Park. By the numbers, a total of 175 yearlings sold for $3,240,000. The figures represented a decrease from 2022 when 161 sold for a record $3,416,000 in gross receipts. This term, the average was $18,542, while the median was $11,000 and 77 horses reported not sold. Foster Bridewell, Director of Horse Sales for the TTA, said of the auction, "Three of our top five offerings were...

5th-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 3:27 p.m. MUNNY ROCKETTE (Munnings) sold to Champion Equine for $450,000 as a yearling at last year's Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale and went for $1-million when Donato Lanni signed the ticket for Frank Fletcher Racing Operations on the final day of this year's OBS March Sale. Trained by Bill Mott and with Junior Alvarado in the irons, the bay filly's second dam is a half sister to GI Test S. and GI Ballerina H. winner Chaposa Springs (Baldski) and GI Met...

Muth (c, 2, Good Magic--Hoppa, Uncle Mo), a $2 million purchase back in March at OBS, certainly lived up to expectations Sunday afternoon at The Great Race Place as he won convincingly in his debut at odds of 1-5 and stamped himself as a newly-minted 'TDN Rising Star' for his efforts. After settling down in the gate, the bay colt briefly broke outward, but flashed some strong early foot to seize the lead up the backstretch. Immediately distancing himself from the rest of the field, the Bob Baffert trainee poured...

2nd-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 3:30 p.m. When the hammer fell at OBS back in March, MUTH (Good Magic) was not only the session topper, but the 2-year-old tied the sale record with a final price of $2 million. Purchased by Amr Zedan and trained by Bob Baffert, the bay colt breezed during the under tack show by going 1/8 in :9 3/5. Muth debuts for these connections from the outside post with Juan Hernandez aboard. TJCIS PPS 1st-BEL, $90K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5f, 1:05 p.m. On Belmont's Sunday card,...

1st-Belmont, $90,000, Msw, 6-2, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.73, ft, 1/2 length. STATUS SEEKER (f, 2, Upstart--Casual Cocktail, by Magna Graduate) breezed a furlong in :10.1/5 ahead of this year's OBS March sale and was put into training with Rudy Rodriguez, who also retains an ownership interest. Off as the 4-1 third choice here, Status Seeker lost a couple of spots from second up the backstretch, began to rally around the far turn and with good energy down the lane, ran down Permed (Street Boss) to break her maiden at first-asking...

8th-Santa Anita, $78,316, Alw, 4-28, 4yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:16.16, ft, head. EDA (f, 4, Munnings--Show Me, by Lemon Drop Kid) came into this contest riding a three race win streak, though it was one which began in 2021--capped by victory in the GI Starlet S.--and continued via her lone 2022 start where she held on to win the GIII Santa Ysabel S. by a half-length before going on the sidelines. Gone for almost fourteen months, she came back here against an allowance group and the betting public made their...