St Elias Stable

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- With over 100 of the world's most talented gallopers on hand, it isn't easy to stand out, but John and Susan Moore's G1 Dubai Turf hopeful Catnip (Kitten's Joy) has done just that at Meydan this week. A strapping, nearly-black gelding, Catnip exits a longshot, but close third to Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Jan. 27. Trainer Mike Stidham looked at Catnip's Ragozin sheet and that encouraged him to swing for the fences in a hot renewal of...

4th-SA, $65K, MSW, 3yo, f, 6f, 5:32 p.m. QUICK BROWN FOX (Justify), the first foal out of MGISW Bast, debuts Saturday for owner/breeder Spendthrift Farm and trainer Richard Mandella. Spendthrift went to $4.2m, a top-four price, at FTKNOV in 2020 for the daughter of Uncle Mo who earned over $850,000 on the track for trainer Bob Baffert. Bast herself is out of $1.5m Eaton Bloodstock broodmare buy Laffina (Arch) and the family has plenty of graded-stakes caliber runners led by GISW and $1.2m FTKNOV broodmare Fault (Blame) and SW/MGSP South...

Arcangelo (Arrogate--Modeling, by Tapit) and Up to the Mark (Not This Time--Belle's Finale, by Ghostzapper), both Eclipse champions of 2023 now standing their first season at stud at Lane's End, have had their first mares scanned in foal. Diamondcoat (Gemologist) has been pronounced in foal to 2023 champion 3-year-old Arcangelo. The 9-year-old mare, owned by Allied Racing Stable, is a half-sister to multiple Grade I-placed Absinthe Minded (Quiet American), the dam of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath (Arrogate). Campaigned by Jon Ebbert's Blue Rose Farm and trained by Jena...

St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, Steven Duncker and Vicarage Stable's Deterministic (Liam's Map), off since earning 'TDN Rising Star' status with a debut victory at Saratoga last August, could make his return to the races in the Mar. 2 GIII Gotham S., according to trainer Christophe Clement. "He won very impressively as a 2-year-old. We put him aside and he's on his way back," Clement said. "He's a very exciting horse to have, but the question is, where should we bring him back? He might come back in the Gotham....

8th-GP, $91K, Alw/Opt. Clm., 3yo, f, 5f (AWT), 3:39 p.m. ET St. Elias homebred PRETTY LIAM (Liam's Map) opened her account in outstanding fashion at first asking, firing home to take a course-and-distance maiden by a widening 3 3/4 lengths Jan. 11, good for a lofty 85 Beyer Speed Figure. Irad Ortiz, Jr. has a return call aboard the bay, whose year-older half-sister Danse Macabre (Army Mule) was a leading turf female of her generation in 2023, winning this track's GIII Herecomesthebride S. and three other stakes around one turn,...

6th-GP, $91k, AOC, 3yo, f, 7f, post time 2:39 p.m. ET LESLIE'S ROSE (Into Mischief) cost Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm $1.15 million at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale, and despite going off at a somewhat lukewarm 9-2 facing five others at Aqueduct Nov. 19, graduated by better than nine lengths over 6 1/2 furlongs en route to 'TDN Rising Star' honors. The St. Patrick's Day foal is out of a daughter of SW & MGSP Wildwood Flower (Langfuhr), the dam of GI Florida Derby-winning 'Rising Star' Materiality (Afleet...

It didn't take long for champion Forte (Violence - Queen Caroline, by Blame) to settle in at Spendthrift Farm and after just a few weeks of breeder inspections, the 'TDN Rising Star' is already booked full for his first year at stud. "Any time you get a chance to show a champion off to your breeders, it makes the sales team's job pretty easy," said Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker. "He has been hugely popular and is completely sold out. Most every mare that he got is a blacktype mare, so he's...

2-year-old champion and 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence), whose retirement was announced earlier this week, has arrived at Spendthrift Farm where he will take up stud duty in 2024. His introductory fee will be $50,000 S&N and he is available for inspection by appointment. "The first thing I think about Forte is just how much of an honor it is for us to bring a horse like him to Spendthrift. He's the fifth champion we've been fortunate enough to add to our stallion ranks since 2020, and that's a testament...

5th-KEE, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 3:08 p.m. ET Gold Square's AIR OF DEFIANCE (Quality Road), a $400,000 Keeneland September purchase, is the 3-1 morning-line favorite after running a solid second behind 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) over a muddy strip at Saratoga in his six-furlong debut Aug. 25. The Brad Cox trainee is the second foal out of graded stakes winner Faypien (Ghostzapper). St. Elias and Starlight Racing's It'smyluckytime (Not This Time), a $450,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling, makes his first trip to the post for trainer Todd Pletcher....

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road) saved his best for last, as he found his best stride inside the final furlong and edged away to take Wednesday's GII Pilgrim S., earning an all-expenses-paid trip to Santa Anita for the Nov. 3 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in the process. Favored at a shade under 5-2 the $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase--carrying the St. Elias colors this time--was content to sit one from the tail as the outposted Spirit Prince (Cairo Prince)--a latest third...

LEXINGTON, KY - A bevy of high-priced yearlings provided a late spark to the first Book 3 session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, but the auction--which had kept pace with its record-setting 2022 renewal during Books 1 and 2--lost a bit of its steam as it entered into its second week Saturday. A total of 289 yearlings sold Saturday for $46,697,000. The average of $163,849 dipped 7.3% from last year's Book 3 opener and the median fell 7.1% to $130,000. The buy-back rate remained steady at 22%. During the...

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's lightly raced Bright Future (Curlin), a well-backed 7-2 in Saturday's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S. at Saratoga, dug down deep beneath the ageless Javier Castellano to hold off Proxy (Tapit) by a nose and punch his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita. "It was a good spot to try a Grade I and he delivered a big performance," winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. "In order to go to the next one, he's going to need to make another move...