Omaha Beach

'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), the beaten favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, is not being pointed for the GI Kentucky Oaks, reports Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. The beautifully bred daughter of Beholder (Henny Hughes) finished seventh in the Breeders' Cup and came out of the race with a crack in a splint bone. "She's out of training," Mandella said. "It was a small crack in the splint bone, but it needed time to heal up. She'll start training again in about a week, but...

Spendthrift stallion Omaha Beach got the first graded win of his nascent sire career with a blowout victory by Kopion (f, 3, Omaha Beach--Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop) in Santa Anita's GIII Santa Ynez S. Sunday. Three of the four fillies in the gate were by first-crop sires, but it was the least experienced of the newly minted sophomore fillies whom the public pegged at 1-5 and who put herself firmly in the early GI Kentucky Oaks conversation. The Santa Ynez was worth 10 points on the Oaks trail on...

Now we're really entering nosebleed altitudes for most breeders, between $30,000 and $50,000: a zone where you should feel that you're improving the odds of coming up with an elite horse. It tells you a lot about our business that the majority of the two dozen stallions operating at this level can only do so because they have yet to send a single runner into the starting gate. A quarter of these we immediately set to one side, as absolute beginners, because those received separate consideration in the opening instalment...

6th-Oaklawn, $115,000, Msw, 12-31, 2yo, 6f, 1:10.52, ft, 1 3/4 lengths. TIME FOR TRUTH (c, 2, Omaha Beach--Shape Shifter, by Lookin At Lucky) debuted as a 4-1 shot here and got down to business from the bell as he fanned three-wide up the backstretch. The bay colt briefly took over the lead around the far turn until he was joined at the quarter pole by Mr Fillip (Mitole). As the pair entered the lane, they separated themselves from the rest of the field, but it was the Ron Moquett trainee...

1st-Del Mar, $61,500, Msw, 11-26, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:16.13, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. KOPION (f, 2, Omaha Beach--Galloping Ami {Outstanding Broodmare-Can}, by Victory Gallop) did not disappoint her backers who made her the 1-5 favorite for this debut. The $270,000 Keeneland September buy trailed towards the rear of the field as a pair showed the way up the backstretch. Given her cue around the far turn, the Richard Mandella trainee ranged up and let the throttle out to graduate by 3 3/4 lengths over She's a Tempest (Connect). The...

Everybody understands the deal with new stallions. Most will never again command so high a fee, nor so potent a book, and many will complete their principal service to commercial breeders long before any of their stock has actually entered a starting gate. Once they reach that point, you need only browse the freshman tables of years past to get a chastening sense of how many "exciting" newcomers will establish a lasting eligibility to keep seeding the breed. On the other hand, their window of opportunity is ruthlessly brief. If...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $122,250, Msw, 10-29, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:11.83, sy, 1 length. COASTAL INVASION (f, 2, Omaha Beach--Intelyhente, by Smart Strike) went off favored at even money and broke right to the front to show the way through a :21.97 opening quarter over the slop. Kept off the rail in the clear, she took on a challenge from eventual runner up Blue Squall (Tapwrit) at the top of the lane and dueled that rival into defeat close to home to graduate at first asking by a length. A $700,000 OBSAPR...

The five days between last Wednesday's pre-entries and Monday's official draw for the Breeders' Cup afford a brief window of opportunity to examine a few subtleties that emerged from the early version of the match-ups for this weekend's championships. The decision by the connections of Practical Move (Practical Joke) to aim for the GI Dirt Mile instead of the GI Classic tops the list. The Classic, which lost Mage (Good Magic) and Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) to illness and injury, respectively, over the weekend, lacks a standout favorite,...

5th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 3:01 p.m. ET. After clocking :10 flat during the OBS March under-tack show, TENNESSEE (Justify) brought $1.2 million as the second topper when the dark bay colt was purchased by Maverick Racing and Siena Farms. Unveiled here, the Brad Cox trainee races for Siena and WinStar Farm, and was purchased by Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds for $250,000 at Keeneland September. Out of GSP Zinzay (Smart Strike), who went for $525,000 to Summer Wind Equine back in 2016 during Keeneland November when she carrying eventual SW &...

Cut loose in the lane and rolling home, Youalmosthadme (f, 2, Oxbow--Good Gator, by Good and Tough) gave them the slip on the cut back from a mile and dominated the Myrtlewood S. to pick up her second career black type victory. Last seen finishing second behind long-gone GIII Pocahontas victress 'TDN Rising Star' V V's Dream (Mitole), who finished second to Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI Darley Alcibiades earlier in the month, Youalmosthadme already tallied an open length maiden score over this track in the spring and...

The first to the races for her dam, Sandy Bottom gave her freshman sire Omaha Beach (by War Front) his second black-type stakes winner when she went gate to wire in the Anoakia at Santa Anita on Saturday afternoon. Notching a front-running win at first asking Sept. 10 at Del Mar, the 6-5 choice broke alertly from the rail, once again seized the lead and never looked back as she commanded the pole position through the checkered flag. "Today, it seemed like she caught a flier [leaving the gate]," said...

Fees have been set for Spendthrift's four first-crop sires, currently occupying four of the five top spots on the leading freshman sire list in North America, according to a release from the Central Kentucky farm Wednesday. Their fees for the 2024 breeding season were held back when Spendthrift announced the farm's roster and fees in late September. The Spendthrift roster will feature three new stallions in 2024: Taiba (Gun Runner), Arabian Lion (Justify), and Zandon (Upstart). Taiba is already at the farm and will stand for $35,000, while the other...