Bloodlines

Continuing to make history with his first crop of racers, Gun Runner (by Candy Ride) picked up a sixth Grade 1 winner on Sept. 24, when he had a total of five stakes winners on the day. Among those five were Taiba, who won the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby, and Society, who became a Grade […]

Juvenile champions are an elite subset of the population, and for many years now, Coolmore has made a project of collecting as many of these as possible to stand at its Ashford Stud outside Versailles, Ky. This has worked well, most notably with champion Uncle Mo (by Indian Charlie), champion and classic winner Lookin at […]

How soon they forget! Had this year’s leading juveniles been switched with last year’s, what headlines would the papers be carrying? Over the weekend, a pair of juveniles by champion Arrogate (by Unbridled’s Song) won the Grade 1 features at Del Mar. A colt and a filly by the same sire taking Grade 1 honors? […]

To win a race so impressively that it’s fleetingly compared to one of the great events, like Secretariat’s Belmont Stakes, is a major accomplishment for a racehorse and its owner and caretakers. To actually run a race that is comparable … boggles the mind. Yet that is what Flightline did in the Grade 1 Pacific […]

If there was much doubt about the best 3-year-old sprinter this season, Jack Christopher (by Munnings) cleared it up with a strong victory over fellow Grade 1 winner Gunite (Gun Runner) in the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga on Aug. 27. Bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate, Jack Christopher has […]

Horse of the Year, Horse of the Century, Horse of the World. Unbeaten champion, son of a great sire and sire of sires. A horse of exceptional character and strength, Frankel received the highest ever rating from the decades’ old Timeform organization. For talent, pedigree, and physical presence, Frankel stood apart. So, how has he […]

The dramatic maiden special winner Damon’s Mound (by Girvin) came out of Kentucky with a big reputation, almost as big as that for Gulfport (Uncle Mo), who had won a fancy-looking maiden and then followed with a powerful victory by 12 ¼ lengths in the listed Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs. In the Grade […]

Unlike the situation with his sons, which are not well represented with stakes winners in the male line, the daughters of Unbridled’s Song are treasures as producers. It is also noteworthy that daughters of the sons of Unbridled’s Song are making a mark. Among those representing Unbridled’s Song in the broodmare sire line over the […]

With stakes winners on the West Coast and the East Coast on successive days, at Del Mar on July 28 and at Saratoga on July 29, Arrogate (by Unbridled’s Song) doubled his total number of stakes winners. From the sire’s first crop, now three, Arrogate’s first stakes winner, Alittleloveandluck, came on New Year’s Day, then […]

With a one-two finish in the Grade 1 Haskell on July 23, Cyberknife defeating Tiaba by a head, leading sire Gun Runner (by Candy Ride) is wading into the subtle distinctions that separate truly important sires from the select few who transcend the breed and reshape the sport in their own images. It is too […]