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In his first crop, sired at a relatively modest fee of $10,000, Broken Vow ( TrueNicks , SRO ) came up with a very promising colt in Private Vow. Winner of the Futurity Stakes (gr. II) and Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II), Private Vow might also have gone close in the Breeders' Cup Futurity (gr. I) had a rein not broken in the straight. A leading winter fancy...
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The most recent weekend saw another pair of grade I Kentucky Derby (gr. I) preps, with the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and the Santa Anita Derby on the West Coast. In New York, two of the leading Derby hopefuls, Gemologist and Alpha, had to finish in the first two to be certain of having sufficient graded earnings to make the field. In the event, they achieved...
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The weekend past saw the 56th running of the world's richest 2-year-old race, the AAMI Golden Slipper (Aus-I), run over 1200m (6 furlongs) at Rosehill in Sydney with the victor being the undefeated Gai Waterhouse-trained Pierro (Gai had touted Pierro strongly leading up to the race as seen in this pre-race video ). Traditionally the race that decides the champion...
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The most recent weekend saw two Kentucky Derby (gr. I) preps with $1 million purses, and both resulted in upsets. The Florida Derby (gr. I, video ) seeing longtime Derby favorite Union Rags and the well-regarded El Padrino finish third and fourth, respectively, behind gate-to-wire scorer Take Charge Indy. The Louisiana Derby (gr. II, video ) fell to another pacesetter...
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Proud Citizen Photo: Airdrie I well recall in the summer of 2002, taking what was then the short drive to Belmont Park, to take a look at Proud Citizen ( TrueNicks , SRO ) on behalf of a friend who was managing a prominent Kentucky stallion farm. At the time, Proud Citizen was recuperating from an injury suffered in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I)—a condylar fracture...
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Continuing on the Secret Circle theme from today's Blood-Horse Pedigree Weekly Newsletter , there is certainly no question about the speed and courage possessed by this 2012 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) hopeful. Secret Circle's potential distance capacity – a weekend win in the 8½ furlong Rebel Stakes (gr. II) not withstanding – remains something of a mystery. If our...
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Ron the Greek looked like a horse who could develop into a genuine classic prospect when closing late to take the 2010 renewal of the LeComte Stakes (gr. III) by 1½ lengths. At that point, the Florida-bred was a winner of three of his four starts, but rather surprisingly, it would take another 22 months and ten races before he revisted the winner's circle. That...
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We're always happy to see TrueNicks customers succeed on the racetrack, and we were especially thrilled when Derby prospect El Padrino won the Risen Star Stakes (gr. II) over the weekend. Emory Hamilton, breeder of El Padrino, uses TrueNicks broodmare reports for her mares, and a report for El Padrino's dam, Enchanted Rock, identified Pulpit ( TrueNicks , SRO...
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Union Rags, who remained winter favorite for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) despite a narrow loss to Hansen ( TrueNicks ) in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), made his keenly-awaited seasonal debut in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II, video ) at Gulfstream Park. The wait proved worthwhile, as Union Rags could hardly have been more impressive, settling behind...
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It appears – to paraphrase the song about New York – that the Southwest Stakes (gr. III) has become the race “so good they ran it twice.” Since 2004, when Smarty Jones swept the series en route to victories in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I), the Oaklawn Park road to the Triple Crown – the Southwest Stakes (gr. III), Rebel Stakes (gr....
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In what was somewhat of an upset victory, the classy mare Pinker Pinker won the historic Cox Plate (Aus-I), the best weight for age race over 10 furlongs in Australasia, last night at Moonee Valley. Interestingly, the owner of Pinker Pinker's dam Miss Marion had asked TrueNicks to run a Broodmare Analysis Report on the mare when Pinker Pinker was still an unnamed...
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Saint Ballado, 1989-2002 There was a moment when the Hail to Reason line through Halo threatened to establish itself as the “third force” in U.S. breeding (behind the inevitable Mr. Prospector and Northern Dancer). Of course we still have the ultra-consistent Southern Halo son More Than Ready ( TrueNicks , SRO ) (whose own son Ready's Image ( TrueNicks , SRO...
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Back in mid-June, we blogged that “ On the West Coast, Bob Baffert has a potential good 'second season' 3-year-old in Coil (TrueNicks A++), who took his record to three wins in four starts by capturing the Affirmed Handicap (gr. III). Coil was apparently under consideration for the Woody Stephens, but he shouldn’t have much trouble carrying his speed a distance...
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Perhaps the most interesting pedigree of the July 4 weekend stakes winners is that of Her Smile, the 3-year-old filly who took the Prioress Stakes (gr. I, video below). She’s a daughter of Include ( TrueNicks , SRO ), who had the grade I-winning fillies Panty Raid and Cash Included in his first crop, but hadn’t had a graded stakes winners since. However, Her...
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The first U.S. 2-year-old grade II winner of the year is Jack’s in the Deck (TrueNicks A+ ), who upset the Futurity Stakes (gr. II, video below), breaking his maiden in only his second start. Jack’s in the Deck is from the second crop of Love of Money ( TrueNicks , SRO ) (by Not For Love ( TrueNicks , SRO ), a brother to Rhythm, and three-parts-brother to Woodman...
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