Speightstown

Constitution (Tapit), the leading sire of 2-year-olds of 2023 whose progeny were highly coveted at auction this summer, will stand the 2024 breeding season for $110,000, stands-and-nurses terms, at WinStar Farm. The 12-year-old is responsible for no fewer than 18 juvenile winners this season, led by Aspenite, impressive winner of the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile last month. The sire's current crop of yearlings proved extremely popular at the recently concluded Keeneland September Sale, with five horses sold in excess of $750,000, including a colt out of Solo Uno (Medaglia d'Oro),...

GISW Lexitonian (Speightstown--Riviera Romper, by Tapit) will be transferring to Calumet Farm for his third breeding season. The Calumet homebred won from ages two to five, recording his most important victory in the 2021 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H.  He won or placed in five graded stakes races for earnings of $718,682. After retiring from the track, the stud joined the Lane's End stallion roster for the 2022 and 2023 seasons where he covered a total of 136 mares. At Calumet, Lexitonian joins GISWs Keen Ice and Oxbow in addition...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - In his second career start Saturday, General Partner (Speightstown) was really ready for prime time at Saratoga Race Course. While it wasn't exactly a led-from-gate-to-wire performance, General Partner was in front quickly under Manny Franco. He was never seriously challenged and won the seven-furlong maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds a solid four lengths in front of the favorite Dive Bomber (Omaha Beach). Klaravich Stables's chestnut colt reached the wire in 1:22.33. General Partner debuted for trainer Chad Brown at six furlongs on July 22 and...

WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Pastor T (c, 2, Into Mischief--Top Quality, by Quality Road) covered stacks of ground from a wide draw, but overcame the tough trip to graduate by 4 1/4 impressive lengths to be named the afternoon's second 'TDN Rising Star', the 40th of the all-conquering Into Mischief's sons and daughters to be accorded such honors. The colt's worktab--both at Santa Anita and over the local strip--didn't so much whisper 'ready' as much as it screamed it and the bay was duly dispatched as a 2-5 mortal...

2nd-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 1:07 p.m. The action kicks off with a heavily-loaded maiden race on the Whitney undercard Saturday. A quartet of colts, all first-time starters, take to the dirt led by the inside draw BE YOU (Curlin), the first of a pair of starters for Todd Pletcher. Out of the graded-stakes winning mare Jacaranda, herself a $2,000,000 purchase by this colt's breeder Alpha Delta, Be You already has a stakes-placed full-sister in American West, a $925,000 Keeneland yearling herself. Jacaranda is out of the Distorted Humor mare...

Yo Yo Candy (Danzing Candy), a distant third behind Gold Sweep (Speightstown) in the Tremont S. downstate June 11, pulled off a 46-1 shocker with blinkers added in Saturday's GIII Sanford S. at the 'Graveyard of Favorites.' With the complexion of the race completely upside down after the aforementioned 1-5 favorite stumbled badly at the start, Yo Yo Candy found a good spot in a stalking third through fractions of :22.15 and :45.83. He was tipped out at the top of the stretch by Angel Castillo and kicked home nicely...

TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack reveals a pair of selections for the first Saturday of the Saratoga meeting. Race 1, Msw, $136k, 2yo, 5 1/2f, post time: 1:10 p.m. ET There's every chance that National Treasure (Quality Road)'s half-brother and rail-drawn 4-5 morning-line favorite Pirate (Omaha Beach) turns out to be a complete monster, but I'll be taking a shot against him with fellow firster Special Element (Copper Bullet). There's plenty of precocity in Special Element's pedigree. His freshman sire Copper Bullet, winner of the 2017 GII Saratoga Special...

Living up to both his price tag and his recent workouts, Prince of Monaco (Speightstown--Rainier by Medaglia d'Oro) earned 'TDN Rising Star' billing as the 2-year-old poured on the speed at Los Alamitos on Sunday afternoon en route to a maiden-breaking victory for trainer Bob Baffert. Off at 1-20 for this debut, the $950,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select graduate broke a touch awkwardly from his wide draw in this compact field, but soon seized the lead heading into the far turn. Opening up at the top of the lane, the dark...

2nd-LRC, $45K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 4:33 p.m. Facing a field of entirely first-time starters, PRINCE OF MONACO (Speightstown) drew the enviable outside gate for his afternoon debut for trainer Bob Baffert and the prolific ownership group known as the 'Avengers'. Purchased for a coll $950,000 as a yearling out of last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale, the dark bay colt is out of Medaglia d'Oro mare Rainier, herself a half to MSW/MGSP Laurie's Rocket (Bluegrass Cat) and to the dam of MSW/GSP Necker Island (Hard Spun). This is also the...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Hanshin and Hakodate Racecourses: Saturday, June 17, 2023 5th-HSN, ¥13,720,000 ($97k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200m ECORO GAIA (c, 2, Speightstown--Charge of Angels, by Distorted Humor) is a full-brother to the stakes-placed Winning Number and is out of an unraced daughter of...

Steve Asmussen made it a 'sweep' for the 2-year-old stakes wins at Belmont Sunday with a dominating performance by Gold Sweep to not only break his maiden but stamp himself a contender for upcoming summer races. Despite missing by a just a neck when unveiled at Churchill Downs May 18, the son of Speightstown was running late and still earned a 75 Beyer Speed Figure for his losing effort.  Bet down to 4-5 breaking from an outside gate, Gold Sweep came away in good order and raced widest of the...

6th-SA, $61k, Msw, 3-5yo, 6 1/2f, 6:42p.m. ET In against a field of mixed maidens of various age, Bob Baffert will unveil two expensive stablemates in this sixth at the Great Race Place on the Golden Coast lead by EXTORTION (Into Mischief). Out of an unraced half-sister to full-siblings MGISP Munnings (Speightstown) and GSP Munnings Sister, another of Gaudete's half-sisters produced SP-Uae Speight'spercomete (Speightstown). Extortion can claim a Group-placed sibling of his own in MGSP-Uae Snowboarder (Raven's Pass) and one of his half-sisters named Beauty and Light (Unbridled's Song) is...