Whisper Hill Farm

In the Aqueduct Sunday opener, Leslie's Rose (Into Mischief) took to the track in what amounted to a professional debut as she won impressively against a field of five others. The sharp start to her career garnered her 'TDN Rising Star' honors for the effort. Overlooked a touch at the windows as the 9-2 third choice, the Keeneland September grad exited the gate swiftly to set the pace up the backstretch. Despite a brief challenge around the far turn by chasers Value Area (More Than Ready) and heavy favorite Shoplifting...

1st-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 12:20 p.m. ET. Whisper Hill Farm purchased LESLIE'S ROSE (Into Mischief) for $1.15 million at last year's Keeneland September Sale. Bred by John D. Gunther & Eurowest Bloodstock Services, the Todd Pletcher trainee's younger half-sister and stablemate Bo Derek (Speightstown) sadly passed away after making her second start back in January for Siena and WinStar Farms at Gulfstream Park. Second dam MGSP Wildwood Flower (Langfuhr) produced GI Florida Derby champ Materiality (Afleet Alex) and GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song),...

Fan favorite and beloved Bradley family member Groupie Doll won two Eclipse Awards, two Breeders' Cup races, four Grade Is, and nine graded stakes; she set two track records, including at Churchill Downs in the GI Humana Distaff; and she sold to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm for $3.1 million. But it's not the accolades that mean the most to co-breeder, co-owner, and trainer Buff Bradley, he said. It was the special ride she gave the Bradley family during a difficult time. "Winning the Breeders' Cup was great and awesome...

Even a horse on the end of a chain can be a conveyance to horizons without end. At Keeneland last week, Mandy Pope's equine journey reached a fresh milestone: five seven-figure yearlings sold from Whisper Hill Farm in Book I. But the road remains the same as the one she stumbled across in a neighboring yard at four years of age. "We lived in a small farming town in North Carolina, outside of Raleigh," Pope recalls. "People there were still using horses to plow their fields. And there was this...

Spendthrift sire Into Mischief stepped smoothly into Day 2 of the Keeneland September sale off his runaway Day 1 success with a $1.1-million colt early in the session. Hip 218, consigned by Gainesway, was signed for by Donato Lanni, agent for SF Bloodstock/Starlight/Madaket. The colt is out of Magical World (Distorted Humor), whose MGISW daughter Guarana had a colt by the same sire sell Monday for $1.4 million to Winchell Thoroughbreds. Bred by Three Chimneys Farm, LLC and Whisper Hill Farm, LLC, the Magical World colt is an Apr. 20...

The very first horse through the ring Tuesday, the second day of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, got things going in a big way when selling for $1.3 million to an online bidder, later identified as Sinandigan Stable. The Tapit filly out of Lady Take Charge (War Front) was consigned by Gainesway, where Tapit stands, and was bred by Whisper Hill Farm, LLC, who bought her dam for $3.2 million at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. A Mar. 27 foal, Hip 202's granddam is Broodmare of the Year Take Charge...

Whisper Hill Farm homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Charge It (c, 4, Tapit--I'll Take Charge, by Indian Charlie) got his season back on track with a dominating performance in Saturday's GII Suburban S. at Belmont Park. The 3-5 favorite, a 23-length winner in last term's GIII Dwyer S. over the same surface, was kept out in the clear by Johnny Velazquez and took over following an opening quarter in :24.49. Still racing several paths off the rail down the backstretch, the gray took the field of five into the far...

3rd-Keeneland, $98,610, Msw, 4-27, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:27.71, ft, 11 lengths. ARDEN'S ASSAULT (f, 3, Violence--Can't Explain {SW & GSP, $219,809}, by Not For Love), debuted to be third when routing in a rained-off event Mar. 18 at the Fair Grounds, made the trek to Keeneland and entered the gate Thursday with added blinkers as the 2-1 choice in a tightly-bunched wagering field. Pushed for speed early by Luis Saez, she stormed to the front along the rail and was never challenged through a half in :46.04. In a one-horse...

A new kingpin graces the No. 1 slot after a wild, final weekend of 100-point preps. The rankings below are independent from the "Road to the Derby" leaderboard Churchill Downs uses to determine starting berths, with several horses included here who are currently below the cut.   1) PRACTICAL MOVE (c, Practical Joke--Ack Naughty, by Afleet Alex) O-Leslie & Pierre Jean Amestoy & Roger Beasley; B-Chad Brown & Head of Plains Partners (KY); T-Tim Yakteen. Sales history: $90,000 RNA yrl '21 KEESEP; $230,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-4-1-2,...

We're approaching the edge of the GI Kentucky Derby abyss. Three final 100-points prep races Saturday, followed by four weeks of microscopic analysis and animated speculation. Bring it on! 1) FORTE (c, Violence--Queen Caroline, by Blame) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable; B-South Gate Farm (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $110,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt, MGISW, 7-6-0-0, $1,833,230. Last start: 1st GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Apr. 1. Kentucky Derby Points: 190. 'TDN Rising Star' Forte has made...

At almost no point during the opening 6 1/2 furlongs of Saturday's GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby did things look particularly promising for Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's heavily favored Tapit Trice (Tapit). But in a stretch rally befitting his status as a 'TDN Rising Star', the $1.3-million Keeneland September graduate went through his gears and whistled home to--somewhat unbelievably--post an open-lengths victory over Classic Car Wash (Noble Bird) and Classic Legacy (Into Mischief), the third- and fourth-place finishers, respectively, in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. four...

Unveiled at Aqueduct Nov. 6, Tapit Trice (Tapit) endured a wide trip throughout and was coming on late but had to settle for third just 2 1/2 lengths off the winner. It would be the only time so far that the grey son of Tapit did not find the winner's circle as he rebounded with a narrow victory over a muddy but sealed track Dec. 17 before flying south to Gulfstream to earn his 'TDN Rising Star' nod with an eight-length romp Saturday. Racing with Lasix for the first time,...