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Above: TrueNicks ratings of the Sadler's Wells sire line with Seeking the Gold line mares. I’m sure Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr never expected his famous epigram plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, which loosely translated amounts to “the more things change, the more they stay the same” to be applied to the development of Thoroughbred ...

Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner and Champion Two-Year-Old Midshipman (TrueNicks,SRO) is now available on TrueNicks. The son of Unbridled's Song will stand the 2011 breeding season at Darley's Jonabell Farm near Lexington, Ky. A debut maiden winner at Del Mar, Midshipman captured the 7-furlong Del Mar Futurity (gr. I) in his second start. ...

OK, here’s something to ponder. With a number of question marks regarding this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) hopefuls, why shouldn’t the connections of Gio Ponti give the Classic serious consideration? After all, many think Quality Road is not at his best going 1 ¼ miles; Lookin At Lucky is way behind in his training and won’t ...

This year's Perfect Trip Award will recognize a Breeders' Cup Challenge race winner from this season's North American races that best exemplifies a ''Perfect Trip''. The winner will be selected from a panel of racing experts and will have the opportunity to experience his or her own ''Perfect Trip'' through Sentient Jet, with ...

(Originally published in the September 11, 2010 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine. Feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions at the bottom of the column.)  By Eric Mitchell Keeneland has successfully developed the September sale into the largest international marketplace for Thoroughbred yearlings. But whether the sale ...

TrueNicks is pleased to announce the addition of Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Monarchos (TrueNicks,SRO). Breeders are now able to run unlimited TrueNicks reports courtesy of Nuckols Farm. Monarchos burst onto the 2001 Derby scene with three authoritative victories at Gulfstream Park, including an explosive move around the turn in the Florida ...

So, Quality Road is back on track and headed to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I). Todd Pletcher loved his race in the Woodward (gr. I). Johnny Velazquez loved his race in the Woodward. In fact, everyone close to the horse loved his race in the Woodward. But their initial reaction to the colt’s 4 ¾-length victory was more relief than ...

At the time the exportation of Trippi to South Africa looked to be a major loss to the Florida breeding industry, and he’s continued to underline the point since. In fact, that point became an exclamation mark after his daughter R Heat Lightning scored an impressive win in the weekend’s Spinaway Stakes (gr. I). R Heat Lightning is the first ...

The Five-Cross Files is back from a lengthy sabbatical. I promise many fun and informative posts will again steal your attention for a few minutes a couple of times each week -- but I wanted to start out with something considerably more serious. As you've probably read, 27 horses were killed in a barn fire Labor Day morning at a property adjacent ...

Last summer, just before he went into Saratoga Hospital to have a hip repaired, Dr. Leo Hoge, local racing historian and former medical practitioner, recounted his memories of Secretariat to library assistant Victoria Garza. Hoge and Garza met by chance beneath the colorful WPA frescoes that decorate the main entrance to the Post Office. “I took a ...