Speightstown

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...

It's exceedingly rare to see a Kentucky Derby point race run on a Tuesday, but thanks to a week of catastrophic weather in the Commonwealth, that's what is happening at Keeneland as a field of seven line up to contest the last of the major Derby preps--the GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes. On the rail, and fortuitously drawn to the inside of a closer, is 'TDN Rising Star' River Thames (Maclean's Music). With the small field, the speedster will likely encounter considerably less traffic trouble than that post position would...

5th-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 1:26p.m. ET Though not the most expensive in the field, TOTAL SENSATION (Speightstown) comes into this race with perhaps the best-known family as the son of Eblouissante (Bernardini), the half-sister to Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}). A $300,000 yearling from KEESEP in 2023, and racing for the partnership of Qatar Racing, CHC, Inc., and Trilogy USA, the colt is a half-brother to GSW Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}) and GSP The Process (More Than Ready) from the family of the aforementioned Horse of...

Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Straight No Chaser (Speightster--Margarita Friday, by Johannesburg) will stand at WinStar Farm upon his retirement, the farm announced Friday. After beginning his year with a win in the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia in February, the Dan Blacker trainee is entered in next Saturday's G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan on Dubai World Cup Day. "Acquiring the breeding rights to Straight No Chaser ensures that we will retire the fastest horse in the world two years in a row, following Cogburn this season," said WinStar...

However staunchly I defend American blood to fellow Europeans, I'm always forced to concede that a cramped distance spectrum makes it harder to characterize a page, and therefore the balance sought from a mating. When Epicenter (Not This Time) embarked on the GI Kentucky Derby trail in 2022, he offered an exceptional guarantee of stamina through his third and fourth dams by copper-bottomed European staying brands Ela-Mana-Mou (Ire) and Busted (GB). That's the clarity gained from spreading elite opportunity from five to 20 furlongs. In contrast, American families are so...

The first mare bred to Grade I winner and stakes-record setter 'TDN Rising Star' Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) has been checked in foal, Claiborne Farm announced Feb. 27. The mare Itgetsgreaterlater (Justify) hails from the family of GISW Cupid (Tapit). Prince of Monaco, winner of the 2023 GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity and narrow runner-up in the 2024 GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., stands at Claiborne Farm for $30,000 LFSN.

5th-Gulfstream, $70,000, Msw, 2-22, 3yo, 5fT, :54.74, fm, 4 lengths. PIVOTAL MOMENT (c, 3, Bolt d'Oro--Tipping Point, by Speightstown), third as the favorite after getting steadied at the start in his unveiling sprinting over the Aqueduct turf June 23, proved well worth the wait as the 9-5 favorite here. Adding blinkers and Lasix for this, he was outsprinted in sixth early, launched an eye-catching, sweeping move on the far turn and continued on in very impressive fashion down the stretch to win by a geared-down, four lengths. Proudly Hailed (GB)...

2nd-GP, $94k, Msw, 3yo, f, 7 1/2fT, 1:20p.m. ET Debuting on the Gulfstream grass for Bregman Family Racing, Athaliah (Gun Runner) will go to post from the George Weaver barn. The $480,000 KEESEP grad is out of graded-placed Divine Elegance (Uncle Mo), a half-sister to the dam of multiple Grade I-placed Standard Deviation (Curlin). This is the extended female family of GI Kentucky Oaks victress Believe You Can (Proud Citizen). To her outside is Uncommon (Quality Road), a half-sister to MGSW Fast Boat (City Zip), who hails from a busy,...

George Adams of Housatonic Bloodstock discusses the 2025 mating plans for the Wasabi Ventures' broodmare band. Now with its own Kentucky farm, Serendipity Springs, Wasabi Ventures Stables & Stallions continues to try to improve the quality of its breeding program and the commerciality of its foals. Everyone knows that freshman sires tend to be the most commercial, and Wasabi will be supporting several of them in which we have shares. Specifically, we're sending five mares to Speightstown's only 2-year-old Grade I-winning son, Prince of Monaco at Claiborne. We love Speightstown...

9th-Fair Grounds, $55,000, Msw, 2-15, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.49, ft, 2 lengths. YINZER (c, 3, Twirling Candy--Rehearsed, by Tapit) got the job done here on his fourth try after finishing third on debut last November at Churchill Downs, and then fifth in his second start at Fair Grounds with first-time Lasix as well as last out at this venue Jan. 18. Sent off at 11-1 odds, the $1-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale graduate went right to the front after the jump and established a tempo through :23.70 and a half in...

'TDN Rising Star' Mullion (Into Mischief) sired his first foal when Maggiore (Speightstown) gave birth to a filly, announced Sequel New York in a release Saturday evening. The first foal for her dam, a half-sister to MGSW & MGISP Bonny South (Munnings), the filly was bred by Albaugh Family Stables. The mare is also a half to GSP Sun Path (Munnings), SP Capella (Quality Road), and to the dam of MSW Mister Omaha (Omaha Beach). The female family includes the likes of multiple Group/Grade I runner Etoile Montante (Miswaki), herself...

Two new stallions with powerful partnerships behind them will begin their stud careers at Claiborne Farm in 2025. Prince of Monaco, Speightstown's only Grade I winner at two, and Bright Future, a Grade I-winning son of Curlin, will bring the Hancock family operation's roster up to 11 members.    This past October, a third newcomer joined Claiborne when Jacob West toke on the role of stallion seasons and bloodstock manager. West, who continues to manage his company West Bloodstock, has been busy ahead of his first breeding season with Claiborne....