Practical Joke

LEXINGTON, KY-The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale produced its strongest session of the week Wednesday at Newtown Paddocks, bringing its cumulative figures within striking distance of its 2022 record levels. Through three sessions, 790 yearlings have grossed $38,981,000 for an average of $49,343 and a median of $23,500. The average is down just 4.5% from the same point of last year's sale and the median is down 6%. "It was another solid day," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. "Today the numbers were up over the similar session last year and...

Keeneland has supplemented four horses, including Ack Naughty to Book 1 of the 80th November Breeding Stock Sale on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. ET, and has added eight supplements to the November Horses of Racing Age Sale, which begins at noon Nov. 17, the sales organization said in a release Thursday. Consigned by Sequel New York, agent, Ack Naughty (Hip 246) is an 11-year-old stakes-placed daughter of Afleet Alex who is in-foal to Into Mischief. Her son Practical Move (Practical Joke), winner of the GI Runhappy Santa Anita...

Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy), currently North America's leading second-crop sire in stakes horses, will stand for a fee of $200,000, live foal, at Ashford Stud in Kentucky in 2024, Coolmore America announced on Tuesday. The 9-year-old's fee represents a jump of $100,000 from the figure of $100,000 that he stood for in 2023. Justify's 2024 fee is the fourth-highest of the stallions announced so far for 2024, placing him behind perennial leading sires Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday) and Curlin (Smart Strike), and third-crop standout Gun Runner (Candy Ride...

Trainer Tim Yakteen reported GI Santa Anita Derby winner Practical Move (Practical Joke) was in good order the day after winning his return from a nearly six-month layoff on Friday. "He's in great shape," Yakteen said Saturday morning. Returning in an allowance going a mile on dirt, Practical Move stalked a lively pace and then drew off in the stretch to notch a comfortable four-length victory under Ramon Vazquez. The winning time was 1:35.14, which earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form. Yakteen and Practical Move's...

8th-Santa Anita, $63,700, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 10-6, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:35.14, ft, 4 lengths. PRACTICAL MOVE (c, 3, Practical Joke--Ack Naughty {MSP, $310,450}, by Afleet Alex) has never been off the board in his career and after almost six months away since winning the GI Santa Anita Derby by the slimmest of noses over Mandarin Hero (Jpn) (Shanghai Bobby), he returned to the races here like he never left. Enthusiastically hammered down to 2-5 favoritism at the windows and on Lasix for the first time in his career, he left...

5th-Belmont The Big A, $90,000, Msw, 9-28, 2yo, 1m (off turf), 1:36.04, ft, 8 lengths. MOONLIGHT (c, 2, Audible--Sundown, by Tapit) showed ability when second by just a neck to GI Summer S. winner Carson's Run (Cupid) when unveiled over 1 1/16 miles on the grass at Saratoga July 29. Racing with blinkers added Thursday, the 6-5 favorite drew in off the also-eligible list in this off-the-turf event and quickly was up to pressure fellow also-eligible entry Stolen Magic (Good Magic) for the lead. As that runner began to fade...

Canigetaloan (Leofric) had to lay it all down, but gamely managed to fight off a familiar foe in a wild finish to break his maiden, score his first black-type victory in the Aspirant S., and tally the first stakes winner for his freshman sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}) all at once. Debuting in the same Aug. 11 state-bred maiden at Saratoga as Trust Fund (Practical Joke), who would go on to win by 2 1/4 lengths, Canigetaloan came out on the better end of the photo for second and would...

A colt by Practical Joke led the way Wednesday, kicking off Book 5 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington. Consigned by Bluewater Sales, Hip 2980 is out of Jetbird (Wildcat Heir), a half-sister to Group 1 winner X Y Jet (Kantharos). "We were prepared [for the $250,000 price] because of the entire package," said CJ Thoroughbred's Corey Johnson. "We felt between $200,000-$250,000 was what it was going to take to purchase him. We were expecting somewhere around that number." On Day 9, Ashford's Practical Joke was the second...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis The Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened with a packed pavilion and plenty of bidding from a diverse buying bench ultimately producing eight seven-figure sales led by a $2.3-million daughter of Into Mischief. At the end of the session, numbers were largely in line with the figures from the opening session of last year's record-breaking auction. "We were all biting our nails a little bit thinking about being measured up to last year's sale which was so phenomenal," said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. "But the...

'TDN Rising Star' Ways and Means (Practical Joke), one of the more impressive maiden winners this summer at Saratoga, will square off with unbeaten GIII Adirondack S. heroine Brightwork (Outwork) in a deep renewal of Sunday's GI Spinaway S. at the Spa. Ways and Means, a homebred for Klaravich Stables, earned a field-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure for her geared-down 12 3/4-length debut victory going six furlongs Aug. 6. She'll take on an additional furlong in the Spinaway. "She's had two easy works since, and she looks fine," trainer Chad...

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...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - The two-day Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale concluded with a day of brisk trade Monday in the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion which produced--from a significantly larger catalogue--the auction's highest-ever gross. "We concluded another successful New York-bred Yearling sale today," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. "It continued the strength and momentum that we have witnessed at this sale in recent years, and also the strength that we saw at the selected sale last week. There was very good activity and lots of outstanding horses on the...