Tapizar filly out of Humorlee
Todd Mostuller bought the above Wolver Hill bred Tapizar filly for $60,000 yesterday at Keeneland.
This Audley bred, Exchange Rate filly out of Midtown Miss sells today.
Also selling today are the above Sky Mesa filly out of Misty Rain bred by Chance Farm and a Morgan’s Ford bred
City Zip Colt out of Thor’s Daughter. He was purchased as weanling by McMahon & Hill Bloodstock for $75,000.
City Zip colt out of Thor’s Daughter
The draw for Saturday’s (Sept. 26) Virginia-bred Stakes Day at Laurel is Wednesday September 23rd. A total of five $60,000 stakes will be contested for a combined $300,000 in purses, along with the $150,000 Commonwealth Oaks (Gr. III), presented by the Virginia Equine Alliance. This is the second straight year the state-bred stakes bonanza has been held at Laurel.
A total of 149 horses have nominated for the five and another 43 have done so for the Oaks. Heading the count is the Bert Allen Stakes with 34 noms, including the top three finishers from the 2014 race. Jane Cibellie’s Rose Brier won that edition while Luis Duco’s Hard Enough was runner-up and Kathleen O’Connell’s Dannhauser was third. In what looks to be a strong showing Saturday, 15 of the 34 nominees have won over $100,000.
The Oakley and Brookemeade Stakes have drawn 33 and 32 nominations respectively. The Oakey, a 5 1/2 furlong turf sprint for females, is headlined by Michael Maker’s Thank You Marylou, who was third in last fall’s $1,000,000 Breeders’ Cup Filly/Mare Sprint. The 4 year old Birdstone filly also nominated to the Brookemeade, a 1 1/16th miles turf stakes which also attracted Reid Nagle’s Leda’s Swan, who lost by a neck in the 2014 edition.
The Punch Line Stakes, a 5 1/2 furlong turf sprint for males, drew interest from 27 candidates including 2014 champ Two Notch Road, who has bankrolled $309,601 in grass earnings. The Jamestown, contested at the same distance but restricted to two year olds, has 23 nominations. A pair of hopefuls is fresh off maiden special weight victories on dirt at Saratoga — Barclay Tagg’s Realm, who scored on July 25th and Kiaran McLaughlin’s Sticksstatelydude (shown below) who connected on August 1st.
The Grade III Oaks drew an impressive 43 nominations including 8 from Graham Motion, 6 from Chad Brown, and 3 each from Todd Pletcher, Christophe Clement and Michael Maker. Play The Break, a 3 year old Pleasantly Perfect filly bred in Virginia by Carol Holden, will try to follow last Saturday’s feat when Virginia-bred One Go All Go captured the Grade II Commonwealth Derby.
2014 colt out of Pink Pallet by Lemon Drop Kid
The above Lemon Drop Kid colt was bred by Smitten Farm and sold to Steve Dowoskin for $75,000 on Saturday.
2014 colt out of Pearls by Mizzen Mast
Mr. & Mrs. J. S. Moss purchased the above Mizzen Mast colt for $90,000 on Sunday. The colt was bred
by Morgan’sFord Farm and was
the reserve grand champion of the September 5th Virginia Breeder’s Fund Yearling Futurity.
2014 Arch colt out of River Fancy
Hip # 1845 was a $70,000 rna for Morgan’s Ford Farm.
2014 First Samurai filly out of Saxet Heights
Wolver Hill bred the First Samurai filly out of Saxet Heights who sold to Klaravich Stables for $125,000 on Sunday.
2014 filly out of Skipstone by Include
Hip #1884 was the last Virgnia bred yearling through the ring Sunday and he was rna’d by Morgan’s Ford Farm for $22,000.
(The Plains, VA — 9/20/2015) —- Rider Jack Doyle guided a pair of winners for trainer Elizabeth Voss in Sunday’s co-featured $30,000 allowance races at Great Meadow, as the inaugural running of Virginia Downs made its debut. A total of 55 horses competed in six turf races, all presented by the Virginia Equine Alliance.
Virginia Downs action at Great Meadow
Doyle, who spent the last eight years competing in England, scored with Swoop, a 5 year old Louis Quatorze mare in the female division and with Renown, a 4 year old Champs Elysees gelding, in the colt/gelding division. Swoop competed in a pair of turf claiming events at the Saratoga meet this summer, finishing ninth most recently, while Renown shipped south after a fourth and fifth place finish this summer at Delaware Park. Both thrived Sunday stretching out to the 1 1/4 miles distance.
Renown wins a Virginia Downs allowance at Great Meadow, Sept. 20 —photo courtesy of Kurtis Coady
“I had two very nice horses that I loved today,” said Doyle. “There was a nice enough crowd, great atmosphere and the track held up fine.” Doyle, who started his career in Ireland, came to the U.S for the first time last summer and collected two steeplechase wins at the Saratoga meet. He came back again this summer, got another pair of jump wins and on Sunday, got his first flat race wins in the U.S.
A day after a Virginia-bred captured the Grade II Commonwealth Derby, Mushroom King was best in a field of Virginia-breds that kicked off Sunday’s card. A field of seven went to post in a $15,000 maiden starter allowance and trainer Lilith Boucher’s entry finished one-two. Class Classic, top money earner in the field with $32,159, was runner-up to Mushroom King, a 9 year old Brahms gelding out of the Class Secret mare, Class Reality. The winner, who was bred by Mede Cahaba Stable & Stud, covered the 1 1/8 miles race in 2:00.
Horses race for the wire at Virginia Downs September 20th
Other winners on the card were Ice Women, who scored in a $25,000 maiden race for fillies and mares. Jeff Murphy directed the 3 year old Street Sense filly, who finally caught front running Hardly Patient in deep stretch and pulled away to win in 2:01 2/5. Jonathan Thomas trains the victor for JAH Racing.
Irish-bred Bonded won his second straight in a $25,000 colt/gelding maiden event. The Jimmy Day trainee came in fresh off a $65,000 steeplechase allowance triumph at Saratoga and had no problem shortening to 1 1/8 miles from 2 1/16th miles distance of August 13th. Bernald Dalton rode the 8 year old Oasis Dream gelding in both wins.
Horses race down the back side of the one mile turf course at Virginia Downs
Annawon triumphed in the longest race of the afternoon — a 1 1/2 miles allowance marathon. After back-to-back runner-up efforts at Delaware Park, the 8 year old Smart Strike gelding connected in a tight victory in 2:39 4/5 for trainer/owner LInda Gaudet.
Next up on the Virginia Equine Alliance calendar is the $150,000 Commonwealth Oaks (Gr. III) and five $60,000 Virginia-bred stakes races, all slated for Saturday September 26th at Laurel Park. Fields will be drawn this Wednesday.
For the first time ever, a Virginia-bred horse captured the Grade II, $400,000 Commonwealth Derby ironically, in a year the race was held outside of Virginia at Laurel Park in Maryland. The stakes was sponsored by the Virginia Equine Alliance.
One Go All Go, sent off at 35-1, pulled a stunning gate to wire upset in which jockey Ronald Hisby earned his first ever stakes win. The victory also gave trainer Pavel Matejka and McLean, Virginia based breeder Albert Coppola their biggest career victories too. Most of the public’s attention was on Force The Pass, a million dollar earning horse who was sent off as the 2-5 betting choice. The Alan Goldberg trainee was two starts removed from winning the Grade I Belmont Derby.
One Go All Go broke cleanly from post six and led by a two length margin at each respective quarter fraction. He stayed along the rail throughout the 1 1/8 miles turf contest and in deep stretch, faced challenges outside from fast closing runner-up Fundamental, Force The Pass and Great Dancer. The 3 year old Fairbanks colt held on though and crossed in 1:48.35, one full length over Fundamental. The winning bay colt, out of Ashleigh Run, by Marquetry, is owned by the Preston Stables, LLC and Prestonwood Racing, LLC
The winner was making his sixth career start and despite his modest lifetime bankroll of $37,565, came into the Derby fresh off his only appearance in 2015 — an allowance race at Indiana Downs on August 21st where he won but was disqualified. “We were looking to race again in a Indiana stakes race, but the horse ended up needing a little more time between starts so we opted for this,” said trainer Pavel Matejka, a Slovakian native. “The horse had a pair of dirt starts last fall and he just didn’t show the ability on that surface, so we switched him over to grass for the Indiana start.”
Breeder Albert Coppola’s earlier brush with fame came in 1982 when his father’s horse Runaway Groom won the Travers Stakes and in doing so, beat the respective Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont winners that year, all of whom competed in the Travers. “My father purchased him as yearling,” said Coppola, “So he didn’t breed him. That’s what makes today’s win so special. It’s very surprising and gratifying to know we bred the winner of the Commonwealth Derby.”
Coppola’s Drumlanrig farm is in Upperville and is part of a neighborhood where Scottish named farms prevail. “We’ve had the lineage of that horse on our farm on the mother’s side for three generations now,” added Coppola.
One Go All Go coming down the lane
Jockey, Ronald Hisby enjoys his first stakes win
The Virginia Equine Alliance sponsored Saturday’s $250,000 Colonial Cup (Gr. II) and Mr. Speaker, one of two million dollar-plus earners in the field of seven, surged past Cut To Order and Legendary in the stretch to win by 1 1/4 lengths.
The 4 year old Pulpit colt, trained by Claude “Shug” McGaughey, sat third through much of the 1 1/8 miles race before making his move. By the top of the stretch, he was a head better than runner-up Legendary and took off from there.
“I was in a nice position and the horse just fired,” said rider Jose Ortiz describing the stretch move. “The pace was a little bit slow but I was sitting right behind the leaders so it worked out perfectly.” The winner crossed in 1:47.77.
Mr. Speaker, winner of the 2014 Belmont Derby, went through a string of races where he got “sidetracked”, as Assistant Trainer Robbie Medina described. “He hasn’t finished well since then but we’re pleased with how he’s been racing of late, especially in his last three races. You’d never know it from the past performance lines, but he could have won all three. That’s why we didn’t go off as the favorite today”.
“We thought about staying in Canada after his most recent Woodbine start, but saw this race on the calendar, was familiar with the turf at Laurel, and thought this would be the right place for him”, added Medina. Mr. Speaker, owned and bred by Phipps Stable of Kentucky, now has 5 wins from 13 turf starts
Up With Birds, the high money earner entering the race with $1,463,189, was favored but never emerged from mid-pack and finished fourth. Legendary, with regular Sheldon Russell up, ran second throughout the race and El Jefe Grande finished third.
Mr. Speaker wins the 2015 Commonwealth Turf Cup Jim McCue Photo
(Warrenton, VA — 9/18/15) —- The inaugural running of the Virginia Downs thoroughbred race day at Great Meadow will go to post Sunday September 20th at 2:00 PM and will feature six turf races, $150,000 in purse monies, pari-mutuel wagering and a former Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes horse. The event is being sponsored by the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) and all admission/tailgating monies will benefit the Fauquier SPCA.
A pair of $30,000 allowance races are co-featured and have been carded as the respective third and sixth races at a distance of 1 1/4 miles. Euro Power, based on two recent turf victories, is the early 5-2 favorite in the fillies and mares race while Renown, with experience in turf allowances at Delaware Park, is 9-5 choice in the male counterpart.
Euro Power is the leading turf money earner in the ladies field of ten with over $68,000. The 7 year old mare is coming off a neck triumph at Laurel Park August 15th and a 1 1/4 length win at Penn National July 10th. Both were solid come from behind efforts at the 1 1/16th miles distance in $7500 and $13,000 claiming company. Watch This Cat, a Jonathan Thomas trainee, ships south after a pair of starts at Woodbine. The 3 year old filly has been racing in tough company, including a Grade III stakes in Canada. She had a nice score at Tampa Bay Downs in January, rallying late to win a maiden special weight race.
Renown, with only four lifetime starts, is the least experienced starter in the ten horse field of males. Bred in Great Britain, the 4 year old gelding connected in his first start, a maiden special weight score in Ireland, and has recent 4th and 5th place finishes at Delaware. Out Of The Fire, a 6 year old English Channel gelding with the most experience of the entrants, is the 5-2 second choice. He has a pair of respectable third place finishes in allowance company at Penn National and has 12 “in the money” finishes in 27 career outs. Plated, third pick at 6-1, is the highest money winner with $131,445, but $90,000-plus of that has been from dirt efforts.
The highest profile horse on the Virginia Downs card easily is Mr. Hot Stuff, who competed in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 2009, and took third in that year’s Santa Anita Derby and Sham Stakes prior to those Triple Crown races. In 2010, after 13 straight losses, the horse was sold and new trainer Jack Fisher switched him to steeplechase racing. The handsome 9 year old son of Tiznow took to hurdles and in 2013, won the Grade I, A.P. Smith Memorial at Saratoga. He has been on the board in all three starts this year including a Grade III steeplechase stakes and most recently, a solid third in a 1 1/2 mile flat race at Suffolk Downs. He is the even money early choice in Sunday’s $25,000 fifth race allowance. Annawon, with $132,461 in turf earnings, is second choice for trainer/owner Linda Gaudet. The 8 year old Smart Strike gelding has been consistent in 2015 and reached the winner’s circle twice this spring at Pimlico.
The kickoff race, a maiden starter allowance race for $15,000, is restricted to Virginia-bred and sired horses. Celtic Lord, a 3 year old Saraha Heat gelding bred by Phil Cassidy, is the 2-1 morning line pick. With only a trio of life starts, Celtic Lord lost by a nose in his best effort to date, a maiden claimer on the dirt at Monmouth August 23rd. Malibu Dreamer, a 3 year old Malibu Moon colt, is second choice. Bred by James Carter and trained by Russell Haynes, Malibu Dreamer has raced primarily at Churchill and Gulfstream. Lilith Boucher’s entry of Class Classic and Mushroom King make up the third selection at 5-1. Interestingly, the former has competed exclusively in jump races since 2012 while the latter has been in four sprint races in the last ten months. Sunday’s distance is 1 1/8 miles.
The other two Virginia Downs races are for maidens at 1 1/8 miles. The program’s second race, which has Ice Women favored at 2-1, is for fillies and mares, while the fourth race, where Golden Rum has 5-2 early status, is for colts and geldings. Edgar Prado guided Ice Women to a nice third place finish in a Gulfstream turf sprint September 3rd while Golden Rum was runner-up in a maiden special weight event at Great Meadow during the Virginia Gold Cup day on May 2nd.
2014 Blame colt out of Aristra
Hip # 773 is a Blame colt out of Aristra who is 1/2 sister to the dams of Hymn Book, Datalink and Strike the Bell.
The colt was bred by Mr. & Mrs C. Oliver Iselin, III.
2014 Union Rags % Maid of Heaven
The Iselin’s second yearling of the day, hip #970, is a filly by Union Rags out of Maid of Heaven.
Maid of Heaven is a grade 3 placed earner of $158,602.
2014 Mizzen Mast colt out of Mystic Miracle (GB)
Hip #1005 is out of Mystic Miracle (GB) from the family of European Gr. 1 winners Medicean & Starscope.
This colt was sired by Mizzen Mast.