X-Men Racing

6th-Woodbine, C$77,818, Alw (NW2L)/Opt. Clm ($36,086), 4-26, 3yo/up, f/m, 5 1/2f (AWT), 1:04.56, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. PARTY ON (f, 4, Twirling Candy--No Curfew, by Curlin), who has not raced in nearly two years, got her picture taken at Woodbine on opening day for the newly-crowned Sovereign recipient Kevin Attard. An 8 1/4-length winner in her only prior start in July 2023, Party On came off the bench Saturday and the filly angled over from the outside gate to take over the lead up the backstretch. Making every pole a...

6th-Keeneland, $110,000, Msw, 4-17, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:28.04, ft, 6 lengths. CLICQUOT (f, 3, Quality Road--Royal Obsession {GSP, $140,857}, by Tapit) ran a distant sixth in her first start at Gulfstream Park Mar. 1. Shipping to Keeneland from Brendan Walsh's Palm Meadows base, the filly put in a pair of solid drills locally before serving as the 7-5 choice here. The 3-year-old was in the mix early and vied for the lead up the backstretch alongside Mazayaat (Bernardini), who incidently finished as the runner-up in their debut race in Hallandale....

Keeneland has supplemented 10 horses to its Horses of Racing Age Sale scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 14, the sales company said in a Thursday press release. A total of 234 horses have been cataloged to the single-session auction, which will begin at noon ET. Additional supplements will be considered until the day of the sale. Trained by Kevin Attard and owned by X-Men Racing, Madaket and SF Racing, Tripolina is a 3-year-old by Constitution. The filly won the Display Stakes and was the runner-up in the GIII Mazarine Stakes to...

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That was the case for Canadian Horse of the Year MOIRA (Ghostzapper--Devine Aida, by Unbridled's Song) as she took the lead in her third attempt in the GI Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, before driving home a half-length winner for her first Grade I tally at Del Mar Saturday. In so doing, the 5-1 shot held off the late rush of Godolphin's 13-5 favorite Cinderella's Dream (GB) (Shamardal), who nosed out Didia (Arg) (Orpen) for second. The final...

The name Canuck Racing Club might not be a familiar one to most folks in the horse racing industry, however at least one of the personalities behind it most certainly is. Less than two weeks ago in Saratoga Springs, New York, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni made his presence felt when signing the tickets on five yearlings--led by a pair of sales-topping colts--totaling over $9 million in gross expenditures. Already well established south of the border, the Montreal-raised Lanni decided to forge a deeper stake into the Canadian industry over the...

1st-Woodbine, C$83,346, Msw, 7-13, 2yo, 5f (AWT), :58.15, ft, 8 3/4 lengths. PARTY ON (f, 2, Twirling Candy--No Curfew, by Curlin) took on the boys in her debut, going off as the 2-1 choice and going right out to the early lead. Set down through fractions of :22.31 and :45.59, she easily dispatched pressure from Valyrian Sky (Sky Mesa) turning for home and easily the class of the field to the line to win by 8 3/4 lengths. The second impressive 2-year-old filly for Twirling Candy on the day, Party...

4th-ELP, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 3:16 p.m. OXO Equine's BALTA (Munnings), a $685,000 '23 OBSMAR purchase who went :9 4/5 during the under tack show, debuts Saturday for Paulo Lobo. The 2-year-old chestnut colt's family tree includes GISW Cupid (Tapit) and is a half-brother to SW Opus Forty Two (Mendelssohn). Opposing him will be fellow firster, trained Kenny McPeek, Northern Flame (Flameaway), who brought $425,000 at the Fasig-Tipton August sale last year. Also entered is D. Wayne Lukas trainee Just Steel (Justify), who went for $500,000 at the '22...

Moira (Ghostzapper), dominant winner against males in last year's Queen's Plate S., took home both Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old honors at the 48th Annual Sovereign Awards ceremony hosted by the Jockey Club of Canada on Thursday. The evening began with a commemoration of the club's 50th anniversary and recognition of the founding members from 1973. The top three finalists in each category are determined by the online ballots of the Jockey Club of Canada's voters. The media category award finalists were determined by professionals within the industry...

I called the elite bloodstock agent Donato Lanni last Wednesday only to tell him I'd call him again Sunday and to expect my call. I was fortunate he picked up, because he was on a golf course enjoying a rare day off following a busy Keeneland September sale where he'd purchased a number of million-dollar yearlings among many others. When we made plans to speak again, neither of us mentioned why I'd be calling. I didn't want to jinx him, with Cave Rock (Arrogate), War Like Goddess (English Channel), and...

ETOBICOKE, ON--Heading into the 163rd Queen's Plate, most of the pre-race talk swirled around X-Men Racing, Madaket Stables and SF Racing's Moira (Ghostzapper), and her pre-Woodbine Oaks antics that led to her ultimately running, and romping, without hind shoes. Keeping her shoes--if not entirely her composure--firmly intact prior to Sunday's Classic fixture at Woodbine, the filly appeared to sprout wings in the stretch, cruising to an eye-catching seven-length victory over the Mark Casse-trained pair of Hall of Dreams (Lemon Drop Kid) and Sir For Sure (Sligo Bay {Ire}). "There are...

Moira looped the field impressively en route to a dominant score in Sunday's Woodbine Oaks, providing trainer Kevin Attard with a second-straight win in this event and adding to a long list of accomplishments for her ownership group. And she did it all without her hind shoes, having acted up in the paddock and been unable to be adequately re-shod in time. An impressive debut graduate from out of the clouds in the C$250,000 Princess Elizabeth S. here last October, the bay settled for second as the favorite in the...