Result: April 9, 2008 

Keeneland Race 2

Causin' Havoc looked very calm in the paddock.  Maybe a little too calm.  He stood quietly while being saddled and didn't make a fuss. He is a nice looking bay, marked similiarly to his sire, Medaglia d'Oro.

    Causin' Havoc with Rafael Bejarano

   Medaglia d'Oro - Anne M. Eberhardt

The most striking horse in the paddock, however, was Laver who looked ready to go.

   Laver and John Velazquez

As the gates opened, the 2-year olds looked confused, going this way and that and banging a bit.  All except for Dicey Riley who knew just what to do, he took the lead and never looked back.  Laver was behind early, but got on track to get second just in front of Troy G who was in the fray after a bit of hesitation.  The others weakened after showing some speed. 

And then there was Causin' Havoc who didn't even seem to start running until the wire was crossed.  In fact, by the time the jockeys got their mounts pulled up, he was near the lead. As his saddle was removed, his ears were pricked and he was ready to go. Unfortunately, the race was long over. 

Equibase Chart  

2-Year Old Works

New to this blog

Precious Beans, a Medaglia colt out of the Gone West mare, Precious Feather, worked 4 furlongs on 4/9 at Calder, recording a time of :49.80. Precious Feather was a stakes winner who earned $257,441. She made one start at 2 and finished 7th. She is the dam of two winners, one of which was a winner in his first start as a 2-year old.

Hip #35; colt, Smarty Jones - Alaska Queen by Time for a Change, worked 1/4 in :21.4.

The big story of the under tack show for the 2008 April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Keeneland was the Langfuhr colt who worked an eighth of a mile in :9 3/5, but there were plenty of 1st-crop sire offspring in action as well.

Two Smarties were on the track, Hip #82, a dark bay/brown filly out of the Sword Dance (IRE) mare Worth a Look worked an eighth in :10.2.  Notable names in this filly's pedigree include Student Council, Don't Get Mad, and Gulch Approval.

The other Smarty Jones was Hip #35, a bay colt by Alaska Queen, a Time for a Change mare.  Alaska Queen is the dam of 4 winners including stakes winners Keats and Fairbanks. Fairbanks finished 2nd in the Gulfstream Park Handicap (gr. II) earlier this year. Hip #35 worked a quarter in :21.4.

Seven Speightstown offspring worked, highlighted by hip Hip #184 a filly who worked an eighth in :9.4.  This filly is out of the Spectacular Bid mare Balancing Act who has produced 8 winners including graded stakes winner Eleusis who earned $165,801 including victory in the Long Island Handicap (gr. II). See Don Gato Among Standouts at Keeneland for more about this filly.

Hip #32; filly, Speightstown - Mean Imogene by Silver Deputy, worked 1/8 in :10.0.

Working an eighth in :10.0 was Hip #32, a chestnut filly (Speightstown - Mean Imogene by Silver Deputy). Her dam earned $61,780 and finished 3rd in the Santa Ynez (gr. II). Mean Imogene has produced one winner.  She is from the same family as Hollywood Story and Seattle Fitz.

Hip #130; colt, Medaglia d'Oro - Kris's Intention by Kris S., worked 1/4 in :21.1.

Medaglia d'Oro had four offspring breeze on April 7. Hip#125, a bay filly out of the Homebuilder mare Home Together, breezed an eighth in :10.0, while Hip#77, a dark bay or brown colt (Medaglia d'Oro - Viaduct by Thunder Gulch) worked the same distance in :10.1.  Hips#130 (colt; Medaglia d'Oro - Kris's Intention by Kris S.) and #156 (filly; Medaglia d'Oro - Ronique by Raise a Native) both worked a quarter of a mile in :22.1.  Hip #130 is a half-brother to 6 winners including stakes winners Leelanau and All Trumps both of whom won at 2.

Hip #53; colt, Saarland - Sandshell by Silver Hawk, worked 1/4 in :21.3.

Saarland's workers included Hip#53, a colt out of the Silver Hawk mare Sandshell.  He worked 1/4 mile in :21.3. Sandshell has produced three winners including stakes-placed Speedy Sonata and El Batallon both of which won at 2.

Hip #173; filly, Johar-Vassar by Royal Academy, worked 1/8 in :10.1.

First-crop sire Johar's only offspring in the sale, hip #173, made a favorable impression working an 1/8 in :10.1. This bay filly out of the Royal Academy mare, Vassar, is a half-sister to Coast Guard who most recently finished 3rd in the Santa Anita Derby.  Other notable names in her pedigree include Naninja and Dance Master.  For more on this filly, see Don Gato Among Standouts at Keeneland.

The horses will be sold April 8 and 9 beginning at 7:00 pm.

March 21, 2008 

Fair Grounds Race 6

First-Timer Closeout was much the best in this one winning by more than 5 lengths. In the early part of the race she was near the back, but when swung to the outside, she easily went by the rest.  This looks like one to keep an eye on. The other debut runner, Joanie's Jetta, finished last.  Buffythecenterfold's sister, Cape Cod Bay, broke through the gate before the start, but still ran a nice race to pick up third.  Baloobas ran pretty much the same race as last time, near the front for much of the race before tiring and fading to 7th.  Voice went off as the favorite, but she simply galloped the whole way round to finish 8th (interesting comment in the equibase chart for this one, "never dangerous").

Equibase Chart

Workouts

The Medaglia d'Oros continue to lead the 1st-year stallions in quantity of 2-year old works. Fiesta d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro - Ionian Bride by Icecapade) had 2 works since we last reported workouts, going 3 furlongs in :39.00 at Goldmark on 3/15/08 and 4 furlongs in :48.80 on 3/22/08 at that same track.  Also working at Goldmark was Double Espresso (Medaglia d'Oro - Second Strike by Fast Play) who worked 2 furlongs in :24.00. Double Espresso's dam was unraced, but she is a half-sister to 4 winners including Sparkling Sea who earned $139,820. 

The first notice of a Speightstown 2-year old working out was received as Pick's Express (Speightstown - Program Pick by Peterhof) went 2 furlongs in 26:00 on 3/21/08 at New Episode Training Center.  Pick's Express's dam was a stakes winner who earned $125,589.  She has produced 6 winners including Stormy Pick who won the Spinaway (gr. I) and the Sorority (gr. III) as a 2-year old.  She earned $441,900 for her career. Program Pick is also the dam of Expected Program a stakes-winner who earned the majority of his $140,190 ($120,240) as a 2-year old.

And, at Oaklawn, Curly worked on 3/22/08 going 5 furlongs in 1:02:20.  This was the third-fastest work out of 18 for the distance.  

March 15, 2008 

Fair Grounds Race 5

First-Timer Cape of Bradford set the pace, but she was passed by both Amaretta's Way and fellow debut runner, My Little Dragon. My Little Dragon, who went off at 88-1, paid a whopping $51 to place and was the bottom of $554 exact (and the middle of a $7,314 trifecta).  The other first-timers also finished together, 6th (Fan Dame), 7th (Polite), 8th (Louisiana Roux), and 9th (Tomisue's Cat).  Of these, Polite probably showed the most promise as she was near the front before tiring.  Interestingly, Tomisue's Cat's full-brother, Save Big Money, ran in the Allen LaCombe Memorial also on Saturday at Fair Grounds.  He finished 6th.

Equibase Chart

2-year old works

Storm Leopard (Pleasantly Perfect - Thiscatsforcaryl by Storm Cat) had another nice work at Palm Meadows, going 3 furlongs in :36.00 on Sunday, March 16. Also working March 16, was Medaglia d'Onore (Medaglia d'Oro - Always Ready by Dixieland Band) who worked 3f in :37.80 at Victory Haven Training Center.

Gabby's Golden Gal (Medaglia d'Oro - Gabriellina Giof (GB) by Ashkalani (IRE)) had another work this morning (3/18), going 3 furlongs at Hollywood in :35.00.

Oriental Sunshine (Medaglia d'Oro - Kristi's Sunshine by Miswaki) worked 3f in :37.40 at The Thoroughbred Center on 3/18.

We have made a decision to follow as many offspring as possible of the following 1st-year stallions (in alphabetical order): Birdstone, Medaglia d’Oro, Pleasantly Perfect, Smarty Jones, and Speightstown.  This does not mean that other first-year sires will be ignored, but for now they will not be monitored as closely.  This could change if one jumps up and has a large number of winners (as with Posse last year). Also, if anyone has strong feelings about another 1st-year stallion, post the name and your reason (and yes, he is my favorite horse of all time is a legitimate reason) and we’ll consider adding him.

We have begun getting notices of 2-year olds working, so I thought I’d update you on their progress.

Medaglia d’Oro is clearly the winner in this area, as he has had 3 offspring work.

Gabby’s Golden Gal (Medaglia d’Oro – Gabriellina Giof (GB) by Ashkalani (IRE)), a bay filly, has worked 3 times, all at Hollywood, all at 2 furlongs.  Each work has been a little faster.  On 2/26/08 she covered the distance in :25.80, on 3/5/08 her time was :24.20, and on 3/11/08 it was :23.40.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see this one show up in one of the first baby races.  Gabby’s Golden Gal’s dam was a stakes winner who earned $220,646.  She began her career in Italy, but was imported to the U.S. where she won the Manhattan Beach and placed in the San Clemente (gr. II) and the Harold C. Ramser Sr. She did all her running on the turf. Gabriellina Giof has had one foal to race, a Hennessy filly born in 2005 named Gabby’s Hen.  Gabby's Hen has earned $2,000 in 5 starts.

The bay filly Fiesta d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro – Ionian Bride by Icecapade) worked at Goldmark on 3/1/08 recording a time of :37.40 for 3 furlongs.  Fiesta d’Oro’s dam won 5 races and earned $151,576.  Ionian Bride has produced 6 winners including Phil the Grip who won $451,587 and won or placed in 12 stakes including the Kentucky Cup Classic Preview (gr. III) and the Turfway Park Fall Championship (gr. III).

Causin’ Havoc (Medaglia d’Oro – Degenerate Gal by Degenerate Jon), a bay colt, worked 3 furlongs at Keeneland on 3/12/08 recording a time of :37.00.  Degenerate Gal was a grade III stakes winner who earned almost a million dollars ($936,393). She won or placed in 19 stakes. Degenerate Gal has produced 7 winners including stakes winners Blacktie Bird and Positive Gal who won the Gallant Bloom (gr. III).

Smarty Jones and Pleasantly Perfect each had one offspring record an official work.

Dr. Smarty Jack (Smarty Jones – Hoh Buzzard (IRE) by Alhaarth (IRE)), a chestnut colt, worked 4 furlongs in :54.00 at Sunland Park on 3/5/08.  Grade II stakes winner Hoh Buzzard earned $319,839 and included the Mrs. Revere (gr. II) among her victories.  Dr. Smarty Jack is her first foal.

Storm Leopard (Pleasantly Perfect – Thiscatsforcaryl by Storm Cat), a chestnut colt, worked 3 furlongs from the gate at Palm Meadows recording a time of :37.00.  Thiscatsforcaryl failed to win at the track, but she has produced 6 winners including the stakes winner Be Like Mike (earnings $174,202) and Sacred Journey who finished 3rd in this year’s Southwest Stakes.  

No workouts yet from Birdstone or Speightstown offspring.  We are especially interested in seeing the Speightowns since they have been doing well at the 2-year old sales.

The announcer trumpeted the first of the Smarties into the sales ring at the Fasig-Tipton Calder Selected Two-Year Olds in Training Sale, but the audience was less than impressed.  Two Smarty Jones’ offspring entered the ring and two went home again having not met their reserve.

The star of the first year stallions was Speightstown with 4 horses selling for an average of $751,250.  The top-selling Speightstown was hip #254, a colt out of the Holy Bull mare La Comete.  He brought a final bid of $1.7 million.  (Hip #176, the Speightstown colt who is a half-brother to Lost in the Fog was withdrawn from the sale.)

Other notable results from first-year sires include three Medaglia d’Oro offspring who sold for an average of $425,000 and three Lion Hearts who averaged $395,000.  The top-selling Medaglia d’Oro was hip #240, half-sister to Spun Sugar and Daaher.  This filly was bought by Roy and Gretchen Jackson's Lael Stable.

Xtra Heat's filly (by Elusive Quality), hip #129 was sold for $750,000.  We'll have to keep an eye out for that one.  

In other first-year sire news, we received the first notification of an official workout by a Medaglia d’Oro 2-year old.  Gabby’s Golden Gal (Medaglia d’Oro – Gabriellina Giof (GB) by Ashkalani (IRE)) worked 2 furlongs on the Cushion Track at Santa Anita recording a time of :25.80.