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At around halfway in the opening day's Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I), Animal Kingdom (TrueNicks) and Declaration of War were about the same distance off the lead. From that point, however, the duo went in opposite directions: Animal Kingdom, who had pulled hard in the early stages and found no cover, fading out of contention, while Declaration of War ...

The victory of Snow Bell in the Prix des Lilas at Chantilly on June 4 credited the young French sire Kendargent with his sixth individual stakes winner from his first two crops. Kendargent's start as a sire has been a lot more impressive than his early career as a runner. In fact, he started six times at 2 and 3 before he was able to gain his ...

It's no secret that the late German stallion Monsun, who died last September at the age 22, was an outstanding sire. However, even by his standards, he had exceptional day May 26, with 5-year-old Maxios taking the Prix d'Ispahan (Fr-I) and 3-year-old filly Silasol capturing the Prix Saint-Alary (Fr-I), both at Longchamp; and in Milan on the same ...

The interpretation of Thoroughbred pedigrees is no simple matter. The multi-factorial elements that might be considered include nicks, inbreeding, linebreeding, the positions of ancestors relative to one another, the relationship of the pedigree to the female line, and the class of the individuals involved. Given the volume of the data, and the ...

Photo: Anne M. EberhardtStorm Cat (1983-2013) News today of the passing of Storm Cat at the age of 30 gave pause to reflect on how a stallion can be a constant presence for half a lifetime (indeed, if you are a member of a younger generation, it must seem as if he's always been there). I first saw Storm Cat back in July 1987 at ...

Today brought the news of Black Caviar's retirement from racing. The big question now is which stallion will have the privilege of serving the great mare in her first season at stud? But first, to reflect on Black Caviar's remarkable record, her unbeaten 25-race career included 15 group I victories and spanned six consecutive calendar years. She ...

The death of Dixie Union in July 2010 was a serious loss for commercial breeders. As a mid-priced horse (he stood for $35,000 in his final season) who was an extremely consistent stakes sire, and who also consistently got a physically attractive horse, he was almost a ''must use,'' particularly for the market breeder. At the time, the only thing ...

Sunland Park's big day turned into a benefit for Bob Baffert and Mike Pegram, who took the Sunland Park Derby (gr. III, VIDEO) with Govenor Charlie (also bred by Pegram) and the Sunland Park Oaks (VIDEO) with Midnight Lucky (owned by Pegram in partnership). The duo—who both scored in track record time—are both from the first crop of the ...

Photo: Anne M. EberhardtAlmudena - Order This Photo From time to time we come across a mare who is ''not from around here,'' as the expression goes. This is often an imported mare whose pedigree, while quite possibly high-class in her own environment, has little in common with the population in her new home. Planning a mating for this ...

It might be a bit too early to say that ''The Winds of Change are Blowing Through the Nation,'' but with frequently expressed concerns about the durability and stamina of the U.S. Thoroughbred, there appears to be a move that indicates stallion masters and breeders are willing to at least consider standing or breeding to something other than ...