There was a 'lucky' ending to the last major two-year-old contests of the year with Looking At Lucky taking the Cashcall Futurity (gr. I) and Blind Luck the Hollywood Starlet Stakes (gr. I). Lookin At Lucky is a son of Smart Strike ( TrueNicks , SRO ) , who won’t repeat his Leading Sire titles of 2007...
by
Alan Porter 1
on
12-22-2009
We were interested to note the victory of Apapane in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies (gr. I), the most important contest for two-year-old females in Japan. The race has been won in recent years by such stars as Buena Vista and Vodka, and Apapane was scoring for the third straight time in four starts. Apapane...
by
Alan Porter 1
on
12-17-2009
The fireworks of Keeneland's two-day Book One yesterday and today, interrupted by Fasig-Tipton's prestigious Selected sale held last evening, have been muted rather predictably by drops in gross, averages, and medians. I watched a few of my favorite mares walk through the ring to final bids of no more...
by
sgillies
on
11-11-2009
Holy grade I winners, Batman. Better Than Honour just saw another foal take some impressive black type when Man of Iron nosed out a win in the Breeder's Cup Marathon (a race destined to earn grade I status upon eligibility). Thought this was a good time to reflect a bit on a great mare. Here's a few...
by
sgillies
on
11-06-2009
Early this year, I complained that sales companies are well behind the times in their catalog technologies ( Revelations of the Catalog Page -- The Thoroughbred Industry's Techno Failure ). I suggested that newly-revitalized Fasig-Tipton would be the right one to try out newer technologies, such as sending...
by
sgillies
on
10-18-2009
The juvenile filly grade I races over the weekend (including Friday) both went to stallions who made their names in a regional market before moving to Kentucky. The Frizette Stakes (gr. I) went to Devil May Care, who was making only her second start. She is by Malibu Moon ( TrueNicks , SRO ), who initially...
by
Alan Porter 1
on
10-14-2009
We've tracked the progress of freshman Pollard's Vision ( TrueNicks , SRO ) in several previous posts, but we must admit we didn't expect him to vault to the top of the Freshman Sire table. However, that's what happened when his daughter, Blind Luck, emerged from the Oak Leaf Stakes (gr. I) with a 2...
by
Alan Porter 1
on
10-08-2009
An interesting article on our sister site has me thinking about herd dynamics with my own horses. Mares' Social Bonds Might Enhance Reproductive Success on TheHorse.com summarizes a larger study that seems to indicate the social structure of herds helps to increase mares' ability to conceive, carry,...
by
sgillies
on
10-07-2009
Sea the Stars has rightfully dominated the headlines from Europe but the other story of the weekend was the remarkable performance of horses bred and owned by the Aga Khan. We'll start with the 2½ mile Prix du Cadran (gr. I), which went to Alandi (TrueNicks A ), who is by Galileo out of the stakes winning...
by
Alan Porter 1
on
10-07-2009
Dawn asks : I am somewhat new to this and really need some help. have a mare named Buy You A Bear (Bayou Hebert x Sheckyrilla - Shecky Greene) that I am contemplating breeding to Borrego or Leroidesanimaux. These are my questions: 1) Based on TrueNicks, she nicks better with 'Leroi' than Borrego, but...
by
Alan Porter 1
on
10-05-2009