Serena's Song

Nine years after Almanzor dropped a massive hint that Wootton Bassett might just be a decent sire by winning the Prix du Jockey Club comes the next wave for the stallion whose fee has gone from as low as €4,000 to this year's high of €300,000.  As has been well documented, Wootton Bassett's current crop of three-year-olds are the result of his first season standing at Coolmore in Ireland after one of the biggest transfer deals of recent years saw him leave Haras d'Etreham, where he had made his name...

The R.A.C.E. Fund online auction--featuring halters from champions, farm tours, and other memorabilia to bid on--is set to go May 9, the group announced Monday evening. Kicked off with an online auction on eBay beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST and ending May 16, the non-profit's annual fund drive looks to raise money which will be used to help Thoroughbreds in need of retirement and rescue from slaughter. All proceeds from this auction will go toward that goal. Featured items include halters of champions like fan-favorite California Chrome; Serena's Song; Essential...

She is not the oldest living Eclipse Award winner--that honor is believed to belong to 1994 Champion Turf Female Hatoof (Irish River {Fr}), who is still going strong at Darley's Gainsborough Farm at age 36--but she's close. As the hours tick down before the newest class of champions are honored Thursday evening, it's a thrill to remember 1995 Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Serena's Song (Rahy--Imagining, by Northfields), who just turned 33 at the Bandoroff family's Denali Stud near Paris, Kentucky. This year the sport celebrates the 30-year anniversary of her spectacular...

Strangely enough, the beginnings of my horse racing journey are tied to a racing-related contest put on by one of the local grocery chains in suburban Chicago in the 1970s where you'd watch a short clip at 6:57 p.m. and try to match your ticket for a can of Spam or something of the like. A few years later, a neighbor three doors down (kryptonite?) campaigned a mare called Diablo Morn with trainer Jerry McGrath, no great shakes (she finished her career 2-32, I just looked), but it gave me...

ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption and After the Finish Line will restart the popular Moneigh auctions--abstract artwork created by horses using their lips, muzzle, hoof, and/or whiskers--later this week. Eighteen original Moneighs by Breeders' Cup winners and competitors will be up for bid, including original artwork by Cody's Wish, Serena's Song, Authentic, Kitten's Joy, Afleet Alex, Blame, Ghostzapper, Midshipman, and others. "This new collaboration between charities means proceeds will help even more Off-Track Thoroughbreds in need. The Moneighs are back with a fresh new look and exciting new stallion, broodmare, and pony...

Old Friends, which will host its 19th Annual Homecoming Event on Sunday, May 5, has opened absentee bidding for a number of halters featured in a live and silent auction. Halters previously worn by Afleet Alex, Candy Ride (Arg), Channel Maker, Feathered, Gun Runner, I'll Have Another, Lava Man, Sea Hero, Serena's Song, Silver Charm, Silver State, Sky Mesa, and Tapit are available, with most accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. To bid, email your name, address, and phone number along with your highest bid to: horses@oldfriendsequine.org. The final deadline...

The TAA-accredited R.A.C.E. Fund, a 501c3 that stands for "Retirement Assistance and Care for Equines," will launch its 2023 fundraising drive May 12. The online auction will appear on eBay and end May 19. A number of halters--including those of Essential Quality, Serena's Song, Quality Road, Mandaloun, and Upstart--horseshoes, and signed pictures will be part of the auction, as will a VIP farm tour of Three Chimneys. "We have some very exciting and amazing auction items again this year," said R.A.C.E. Fund president Marlene Murray. "We would like to especially...

5th-CD, $120k, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 3:01p.m. ET Conditioner Steve Asmussen will unveil the regally-bred WITHOUT A SONG (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-brother to Champion older horse Honor Code (A.P. Indy) as well as GISP Noble Tune (Unbridled's Song); hailing from the female family of Hall of Famer and blue-hen Serena's Song (Rahy). This is also the family of MGSW Vocalised (Vindication) and Grand Reward (Storm Cat) as well as at least nine other graded and group runners beneath that stellar third dam. The late starter will have Ricardo Santana Jr. in...

Thoroughbred nurseries are a place of new beginnings. Each spring the trees begin to bud, the grass becomes green again, and the next crop of foals arrive. Denali Stud has participated in this tradition for over three decades and has raised hundreds of future racehorses on its rolling acres, from the foals of Hall of Famer Serena's Song (Rahy) to 2011 GI Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}). Last year, Denali Stud was the location of a different sort of new beginning as the site of the wedding of...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 9th-CD, $85K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 5:06 p.m. ET Blue-blooded CENTRIFUGE (Tapit), a $700,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, makes his belated debut for Rodolphe Brisset. The half-brother to dual Grade I-winning and sophomore sire Honor Code (A.P. Indy) is out of SW Serena's Cat (Storm Cat), a daughter of multiple-stakes winning Serena's Tune (Mr. Prospector) and a granddaughter of 1995 Champion 3-year-old Filly and Hall of Famer Serena's Song (Rahy). Serena's Cat, a $1.4-million KEENOV purchase in 2003, is also responsible for Noble Tune (Unbridled's Song), a...

There really is something about horses; it seems to be simply impossible to fall out of love with them. Craig Bandoroff tried once. Devastated after losing the use of his right arm in a horrific fall at Garden State Park in New Jersey in 1974 less than a year into a promising career as a jockey, Bandoroff decided he was done with the animals. He refocused his attention and enrolled at the University of Virginia-where he met, naturally, a professor that had horses. "I think, initially, I had the mindset...

Farm tours may have ground to a halt in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that hasn't stopped Horse Country, central Kentucky's Thoroughbred industry tourism arm, and its partners from connecting with fans. While those of us in the business know that nothing beats getting visitors onto a farm and hands-on with horses, some of the Bluegrass's biggest operations are doing the next-best thing: bringing the tours to the fans virtually through platforms like Facebook and Instagram Live. Denali Stud a week ago hosted its first virtual tour, taking...