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As a grandson of Mr. Prospector, Distorted Humor (TrueNicks, SRO) has been given plenty of opportunity with Northern Dancer-line mares, even though he himself is out of a mare by Northern Dancer son Danzig. Some versions have proved better than others, but overall, the broad Distorted Humor/Northern Dancer cross gets a TrueNicks rating of C+ and ...

The first day of the Royal Ascot meeting produced some remarkably international results. The opening race - the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) for 4-year-olds and up over a mile - saw Australian-foaled Haradasun narrowly get the better of last year's classic fillies Darjina (by Zamindar) and Finsceal Beo (by Mr. Greeley). Haradasun, the Australia's ...

  Newsflash: Curlin is a monster. His Stephen Foster romp while carrying a small anchor on his back confirmed as much. As far as most are concerned, he is the best horse in the world - hands down. This much is undisputed. But here are a few questions that I pose to you: Where does he rank on the list of best horses since 1979? And if he is ...

Caption: Stephen Foster - Photo: A. Duckworth  Everyone said my experience on Stephen Foster day at Churchill Downs would be totally different than my experiences on Derby day. Man, there is no comparison. Besides not working, I could see and experience a lot of things not accessible during the Derby. It was a much different experience, and ...

Why do racing fans coalesce around one horse and not another? Favorability can be as simple as a catchy name (Smarty Jones) or backing an underdog (Funny Cide). Unfavorability, since horses themselves don’t usually rub us the wrong way, is tied to the animal’s human connections.Nobody should question Big Brown's talent. Yet, other than vying for ...

 Seattle Slew was a heck of a racehorse. He started only three times at 2 and had just six races prior to winning the 1977 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). He went on to win the Preakness (gr. I) and Belmont (gr. I) Stakes and remains, 31 years later, the only unbeaten horse to win the Triple Crown.Big Brown tried…and failed.We can look back and ...

There is no doubt about who is the early sensation amongst European freshman sires. One Cool Cat has already sired 10 individual winners, but more importantly, has three individual black type winners. His daughter Knavesmire captured the Hilary Needler Trophy at Redcar. Then the colt Icesolator captured the National Stakes at Sandown Park. ...

One stallion that has been on the move, both physically and in terms of his stud fee, is Exchange Rate (TrueNicks, SRO). The son of Danzig - Sterling Pound (by Seeking the Gold) retired to Padua Stables in Ocala, Fla., where he stood for as little as $7,500. However, after a flying start, the gray has earned a move to Three Chimneys Farm in ...

By John Clay, Lexington Herald LeaderUnlike last Saturday, this time the superstar delivered. Big time. There is only one true superstar on the Thoroughbred racing planet right now, and it isn't that worn-out 3-year-old who dissolved into a Big Brown meltdown in the Long Island heat during last Saturday's Belmont Stakes. Curlin is king of the ...

It's just 35 years since Mill Reef stamped himself as one of the best horses to race in Europe during the 20th century. Paul Mellon's son of Never Bend went on to prove himself an outstanding sire, too, so it's something of a surprise to find that his male line is already in danger of extinction. Recent weeks, however, have indicated that the line ...