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BEYER SPEED
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2014
TOP BEYERS
TOP STORIES
OHIO-BRED BEST BEYERS, ALL RACES
PAGE 10
INDIANA-BRED BEST BEYERS, ALL RACES
Mucho Macho Man interest sold to Adena Springs
Breeders’ Cup Classic winner will stand at Frank Stronach’s stud farm
upon retirement but will remain in training with Kathy Ritvo.
READ MORE >>
PAGE 10
MICHIGAN-BRED BEST BEYERS, ALL RACES
PAGE 10
Commissioner, Top Billing headline Fountain of Youth
Talented 3-year-olds from Pletcher and McGaughey will face
11 opponents in Saturday’s Grade 2 event at Gulfstream Park.
READ MORE >>
2014 LEADING SYNTHETIC SIRES
PAGE 11
Midwest Stallions: Strong Hope
2014 LEADING CANADA GENERAL SIRES
Son of Grand Slam led Indiana general sire list for
third consecutive year in 2013.
PAGE 11
READ MORE >>
Midwest Stallions: Mobil
Canadian champion led Ohio sires by earnings in 2013.
READ MORE >>
Sparkman: Solving Rubick’s cube
READ MORE >>
John Sparkman discusses the pedigree of rising Australian colt
Rubick, a son of Coolmore’s Encosta de Lago.
MORE ON DRF.com
Fair Grounds cuts overnight purses by 10 percent
READ MORE >>
Crist: Tread wearing thin on synthetic era
READ MORE >>
Thornton: Outlaw tracks gave rise to winter racing
READ MORE >>
‘The Man’
Over
PRIVATE
ZONE The
WINS ‘Moon’
VOSBURGH
AT BELMONT,
‘14 Stud FeeS. (G1)
‘13 G1SW
‘13 GSW
6F IN STAKES RECORD 1:08!
www.AdenaStallions.com
$25,000 LFSN
Macho Uno
Malibu Moon
$25,000
$95,000
3
1
6
6
‘13 %SW/Rnrs
4.64
4.64
BACK TO TOP STORIES
headline1
America’s Turf Authority Since 1894
Mucho Macho Man interest
sold to Adena Springs
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Barbara D. Livingston
Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man, a son of Adena Springs stallion Macho Uno, is
pointed to the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap on March 8.
By Mike Welsch
2343 Alexandria Dr., Suite 305
Lexington, KY 40504
3
Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs Farm has
purchased an undisclosed interest in Breeders’
Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man from
owners Dean and Patti Reeves, the two parties
announced on Friday.
The agreement takes effect immediately and is
for both racing and breeding purposes.
Mucho Macho Man, 6, is a son of the Adena
Springs-bred Macho Uno, a Breeders’ Cup winner
and Eclipse Award winner during his racing
career. Upon his retirement, Mucho Macho Man
will join a stallion roster that includes four other
Breeders’ Cup Classic winners: Alphabet Soup,
Awesome Again, Fort Larned, and Ghostzapper. Fort
Larned narrowly defeated Mucho Macho Man in
the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Mucho Macho Man will continue to be trained
by Kathy Ritvo and race in the colors of Reeves
Thoroughbred Racing.
“It’s a homecoming of sorts,” said Stronach,
who noted that Mucho Macho Man had finished
in the top three in 16 stakes, including the
Kentucky Derby and two Breeders’ Cup Classics.
“Our program bred Ponche de Leona to Macho
Uno before selling her with Mucho Macho Man
in utero.
“There are not many stallion prospects
anywhere in the world who can hold their top
form from 2 to 6 like he has.”
Mucho Macho Man, who has earned $5,580,410
in 24 starts, is being pointed for the Grade 1 Santa
Anita Handicap on March 8. He is scheduled to
work at Gulfstream Park on Saturday and ship
to Southern California the following day.
“Patti and I are happy that we reached the
agreement with Frank,” said Dean Reeves. “Mr.
Stronach has a great organization that will give
Mucho Macho Man every chance to succeed as a
stallion. But first and foremost, we look forward
to Mucho Macho Man starting in the Santa Anita
Handicap and his 2014 campaign in defense of
his Breeders’ Cup win.”
BACK TO TOP STORIES
headline 2
Commissioner, Top Billing get rematch in Fountain of Youth
The Fountain of Youth Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park is worth $400,000,
and it’s a Grade 2 event – all that certainly
worthwhile in and of itself. But the race
carries even more importance in regard to
the Kentucky Derby. It’s like having jumbo
stone crabs and key lime pie.
The points system used by Churchill
Downs to determine the field for the May
3 Kentucky Derby shifts into a higher gear
beginning Saturday, with the Fountain of
Youth and, at Fair Grounds, the Grade 2
Risen Star. Both stakes are worth 50 points
to the winner, 20 for second, 10 for third,
and 5 for fourth. Those 50 points essentially guarantee the winner a starting spot
in the Derby, which has a maximum of 20
runners.
That is why a bulky field of 13 is entered
in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth. And
even though there are four stakes winners
in the field, it is two lightly raced 3-yearolds making their stakes debuts who are
the marquee names.
Commissioner and Top Billing were
separated by a neck in a 1 1/8-mile optional
claiming race here Jan. 3. Top Billing
came out of that loss to win Jan. 25, while
Commissioner, who hadn’t run since
August, was pointed directly to the Fountain of Youth. Their rematch – pitting two
Derby-winning trainers against each other
– makes this a compelling Derby prep 70
days before the first Saturday in May.
“We’ve been focused on this since the
allowance win,” Todd Pletcher, the trainer
of Commissioner, said Thursday. “It’s rare
to back up to a mile and a sixteenth off a
mile-and-an-eighth race. I’m totally confident he can handle any distance. He’s
a two-turn route horse – a mile and an
eighth, a mile and a quarter, a mile and a
half are all well within him.”
Commissioner drew the rail. Top Billing, by contrast, landed post 12, which
could prove problematic with a short run
to the first turn, though his trainer, Shug
McGaughey, said he was “not really bothered by it.”
“With this horse, I’d rather be there than
down on the rail,” McGaughey said. “I’m
not saying I like it. I’d rather be in [post] 6
or 7. He doesn’t have speed. If he was inside,
he’d have to rush away from there to not get
squeezed.”
It’s up to jockey Joel Rosario to work out
4
Barbara D. Livingston
Commissioner will make his first start in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes
since defeating Top Billing by a neck at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 3.
a trip on Top Billing.
“Hopefully, he can save a little ground.
I don’t want him out in those tents,”
McGaughey said, referring to the barns
on the clubhouse turn. “He might use him
down the backside to put him in position. If
you ask him, he’ll give it. He likes a target.”
Another rematch pits General a Rod
against Wildcat Red. Those two were first
and second, separated by a head, in the
Gulfstream Park Derby, a one-turn, onemile race on New Year’s Day. General a Rod
hasn’t raced since. Wildcat Red came back
Feb. 1 with a powerful win in the sevenfurlong Grade 3 Hutcheson Stakes.
Mike Maker, trainer of General a Rod,
said he thought it was smart to await the
Fountain of Youth rather than run in the
Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes on Jan. 25.
“Running in the Holy Bull would have
been cramming a whole lot into a short
amount of time,” Maker said Thursday.
“He came out of the Gulfstream Park Derby
well, and the time seems to have done him
well. We’ve got a lot of confidence.”
Like General a Rod, Wildcat Red will be
making his first start around two turns.
The D’Wildcat colt has never finished worse
than second in five starts and crushed his
rivals in the Hutcheson. Javier Castellano
rode him that day but chose General a Rod
for the Fountain of Youth.
Almost Famous is looking to bounce back
after finishing fourth in the Holy Bull. Our
Caravan was eighth in the Holy Bull, his
lone start since a debut maiden win here
Dec. 14.
Pletcher also sends out We Miss Artie,
who has won on synthetic in the Grade 1
Breeders’ Futurity and on turf but has yet
to win on dirt. He was seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on dirt, and in his only
start since, he was second by a head in the
Kitten’s Joy Stakes on turf Jan. 19.
“He’s just trained too well on dirt to
not try again,” Pletcher said of We Miss
CONTINUED >>
BACK TO TOP STORIES
Artie, a son of Artie Schiller. “He’s always
trained well on dirt, but with his pedigree,
we leaned toward running him on turf.
“After he won the Breeders’ Futurity, we
went to the Breeders’ Cup. We changed his
style because of the track. He loomed up,
and he was only beaten four lengths. He’s
had two exceptionally good works on dirt
since the Kitten’s Joy.”
Medal Count, Casiguapo, C. Zee, Best
Plan Yet, Hesinfront, and East Hall
complete the field.
The Fountain of Youth is the 11th race
on a 12-race card that begins at 12:40 p.m.
Eastern. Preceding it are two stakes, the
Grade 2 Davona Dale for 3-year-old fillies
and the Grade 3 Canadian Turf for grass
milers.
–Jay Privman
Vicar’s in Trouble looks to show growth in
Risen Star
Vicar’s in Trouble is a Louisiana-bred by
Into Mischief who cost $8,000 at a yearling
auction, and that’s exactly how he looks.
His hair coat doesn’t glow. He’s on the light
side. And, quite frankly, the colt is tiny:
He’ll be a full head shorter than brutes like
Gold Hawk when he lines up in the Fair
Grounds starting gate Saturday for the
Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes.
“He puffs up when he gets out on the track,
though,” assistant trainer Joe Sharp said.
Indeed, Vicar’s in Trouble has made
the opposition look puny in his two Fair
Grounds starts. He crushed Louisianabred maiden sprinters Dec. 14 and treated
his rivals in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes
last month with equal disdain, winning by
almost seven lengths.
Vicar’s in Trouble has sprinter’s speed,
but he harnessed it in the Lecomte, his legs
turning over at a blur as he spurted away
from well-regarded rivals Albano and Gold
Hawk in the stretch.
Can he do it again? That’s what the Risen
Star will reveal, and Vicar’s in Trouble had
another hurdle thrown in front of him when
he drew post 14 for the $400,000 race over
1 1/16 miles. The scratch Wednesday of
Bond Holder moves Vicar’s in Trouble into
5
post 13 and allows also-eligible Emmett
Park to get into the race. The second alsoeligible, Teniente Coronel, won’t run even
if there’s another scratch, trainer Paul
McGee said.
Vicar’s in Trouble, resold as a 2-year-old
for $80,000 to Ken and Sarah Ramsey, is the
5-2 favorite on the morning line. He showed
rating ability in the Lecomte, settling off
the flank of the pacesetting Roman Unbridled until jockey Rosie Napravnik gave
him his cue midway around the far turn.
Even while bounding clear, Vicar’s in
Trouble ran greenly, changing leads while
shifting in and out. His connections believe
there’s room for improvement.
“In his overall presence, he’s starting to
show more confidence,” Sharp said.
Vicar’s in Trouble has good gate habits,
and an alert beginning Saturday can
produce a favorable trip despite the wide
draw. Grade 3 Delta Downs Jackpot winner
Rise Up, drawn in post 2, also should take
up the early running.
“He wants to be fairly close,” said jockey
Gerard Melancon, who rode Rise Up in the
$1 million Jackpot. “He’s a free-running
horse.”
Rise Up’s three wins have come in a
Mountaineer Park sprint and in two races
around Delta’s small oval. Trainer Tom
Amoss admits that the Risen Star will
determine how much staying power and
substance Rise Up possesses.
Intense Holiday has won only once in
seven starts but can notch his first stakes
win Saturday. In from Florida for trainer
Todd Pletcher, Intense Holiday has met the
best of his generation – Honor Code, Cairo
Prince, and Havana – in East Coast graded
stakes, but despite his ambitious schedule,
he remains somewhat unexposed because
of unlucky circumstances. A wide draw
last month, for instance, made winning the
Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes, where Intense
Holiday rallied for third, almost impossible.
“We think maybe we’re a good trip away
from making that big jump forward we
need,” Pletcher said.
Intense Holiday has raced well off the
pace in his last three starts but needn’t get
that sort of trip again.
“I think he’s a horse who’s maybe a little
handier than it looks on paper,” Pletcher
said.
Albano beat Gold Hawk for second by a
half-length in the Lecomte, a somewhatdisappointing performance for Gold
Hawk, who was favored at 7-5 after a smart
allowance win. Gold Hawk has trained
forwardly since, and trainer Steve Asmussen still holds the Empire Maker colt in
high regard.
“I think he’s very talented, and I do
expect him to move forward, but he could
improve and it still might not be enough,”
Asmussen said. “And I am concerned with
traffic: Fourteen runners, and he’s a very
big horse.”
Albano has more positional speed than
Gold Hawk, but his draw Saturday in post
1 is problematic.
Last-start maiden winners Hoppertunity
and Commanding Curve merit respect.
Hoppertunity took a big step forward while
stretching out to two turns in his Jan. 30
maiden win at Santa Anita Park. He won
easily and galloped out powerfully.
“The talent’s there,” trainer Bob Baffert
said. “He just needs seasoning.”
Commanding Curve makes his first
start since a sharp Churchill maiden win
Nov. 30, though none of the 11 horses he
beat there has shown much since. Trainer
Dallas Stewart skipped the Lecomte and
first-level allowance races to wait for the
Risen Star.
“He’s built muscle, matured, and I think
he’s ready for a stakes,” Stewart said.
Emmett Park, unbeaten after two route
races over Turfway Park’s synthetic
surface, could rally into a top placing at
long odds. Keith Desormeaux, the trainer
of last year’s 105-1 Risen Star winner, Ive
Struck a Nerve, saddles longshot Flat Gone.
The Risen Star offers 85 Kentucky Derby
qualifying points on a 50-20-10-5 basis. The
race is the fourth of five stakes on a 13-race
card that includes three other graded
races, the Rachel Alexandra, the Mineshaft, and the Fair Grounds Handicap. A
50-cent all-stakes pick four starts with race
8 and ends with the Risen Star, race 11,
with a post time of 5:25 Central. First post
Saturday is 12:30.
–Marcus Hersh
BACK TO TOP STORIES
Headline3
Midwest Stallions: Strong Hope
By Patrick Reed
Strong Hope completed his third
consecutive season atop Indiana’s general
sire list in 2013 by amassing $1,166,832 in
progeny earnings and edging runner-up
Domestic Dispute by just less than $11,000.
The 14-year-old son of Grand Slam
stands at Dr. Roger Beam’s Midwest
Equine and Veterinary Hospital in
Trafalgar, south of Indianapolis. He has
maintained the top position in Indiana
since relocating to the Hoosier State in
late 2011, largely based on earnings from
older horses sired during his stints in
Kentucky and Florida.
Hattaash, a gelding out of stakes winner
Lotta Rhythm and a close relation to Horse
of the Year Rachel Alexandra, was Strong
Hope’s leading earner in 2013 as a 6-yearold, winning four times in nine starts and
earning $103,088. The veteran runner, a
mainstay at Midwestern tracks over the
past several years, nearly broke through
with his first stakes win in the Grade 3
Washington Park Handicap at Arlington
Park in August, finishing third by a neck
behind Willcox Inn and Gallant Eagle.
Hattaash is Strong Hope’s third-highest
career earner with $277,035, behind Grade
3 winner and Grade 1-placed Papaw Bodie
($442,826) and multiple stakes winner
Clement Rock ($286,446).
Strong Hope’s fourth-highest earner,
dual stakes winner Seal Cove, captured
an optional-claiming turf race at Saratoga last year at age 5 (defeating the
ill-fated Grade 1 winner Turallure by a
head) and earned $70,650 during the year
to boost his career total to $260,090. The
hard-knocking gelding, homebred by
Stuart Janney III and trained by Shug
McGaughey, made his 2014 debut Feb. 2 at
Gulfstream Park and finished eighth in a
deep optional-claiming event.
Strong Hope raced exclusively on dirt
for owners Eugene and Laura Melnyk and
trainer Todd Pletcher, winning the Grade
2 Dwyer Stakes and Jim Dandy Stakes as
a 3-year-old and placing in three Grade
1 events – the Travers, Carter Handicap,
and Metropolitan – in 2003 and 2004.
Eugene Melnyk purchased Strong
Hope for $1.7 million at the 2001 FasigTipton Saratoga selected yearling sale
from co-breeder Trackside Farm, and the
horse’s pedigree was no doubt a major
factor in his auction price.
Even though he made all of his starts
on dirt, Strong Hope has a turf-oriented
female family, as his dam, the unraced
Deputy Minister mare Shining Through,
also produced Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes
winner and $783,769-earner Bahamian
Pirate. His second dam, Solar, by Halo,
was an Irish Group 3 winner and a halfsister to English and Irish champion and
classic winner and sire El Gran Senor.
It comes as no surprise, then, that
Strong Hope’s best runners have come on
turf and/or synthetic.
Conversely,
earnings
runner-up
Domestic Dispute led all Hoosier sires
with three stakes winners – Daydreamin
Gracie, Fersmiley, and The Bien’s Gift –
and all three won stakes on dirt, although
Daydreamin Gracie also placed in the
Maryland Million Ladies Stakes on turf
at Laurel Park. Daydreamin Gracie and
The Bien’s Gift are Maryland-breds, and
Fersmiley is a Pennsylvania-bred. Domestic Dispute, a multiple Grade 2-winning
14-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song, relocated from Maryland to Indiana for the
2012 breeding season and this year stands
at Indiana Stallion Station in Anderson.
Pass Rush, third on the 2013 earnings
list, had two stakes winners last year
– Facey’s Spirit and Short Round. They
both won stakes at Indiana Downs, and
another Pass Rush foal, Pass the Crown,
was multiple stakes-placed at the Shelbyville racino. Pass Rush, a 15-year-old son
of Crown Ambassador, won or placed in
15 stakes, led by a win in the Grade 2 San
Fernando Breeders’ Cup. He has stood at
Swifty Farms in Seymour since starting
his stud career in 2007.
STRONG HOPE
Bay Horse
Foaled Feb. 19, 2000
Gone West 84
Grand Slam 95
Bright Candles 87
Deputy Minister 79
Shining Through 89
Solar 76
Mr. Prospector 70
Secrettame 78
El Gran Senor 81
Christmas Bonus 78
Vice Regent 67
Mint Copy 70
Halo 69
Sex Appeal 70
LEADING INDIANA GENERAL SIRES BY 2013 PROGENY EARNINGS
RANK NAME (BORN, SIRE) 2014 FARM
6
1
2
3
Strong Hope (2000, Grand Slam) Midwest Equine and Veterinary Hospital
Domestic Dispute (2000, Unbridled’s Song) Indiana Stallion Station
Pass Rush (1999, Crown Ambassador) Swifty Farms
4
5
Chief Seattle (1997, Seattle Slew) Article of Faith (2004, Storm Cat) R Star Stallions at RichWine
2014
2013
STUD FEE
RNRS WNRS SW SWINS CHIEF EARNER, EARNINGS EARNINGS TOP RUNNER-BEYER
$1,800 2,000 2,500 81
68
27
47
31
17
0
3
2
0
3
2
Hattaash-$103,088
$1,166,832 Daydreamin Gracie-$110,112 1,155,842 Facey’s Spirit-$112,699
662,845 Hattaash-95
Fersmiley-99
Facey’s Spirit-84
Short Round-84
580,615 Crown the Chief-89
505,888 Grandpa Grumpy-73
Died 2011
1,000 43
28
19
15
1
1
1
1
Boston Chief-$48,900
Joint Tenant-$125,411
BACK TO TOP STORIES
headline 4
Midwest Stallions: Mobil
By Joe Nevills
Mobil and Lunarpal, recent additions to
the Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm stallion
roster, finished one-two on Ohio’s sire list
by progeny earnings in 2013.
Mobil, a 14-year-old son of Langfuhr, was
represented by 28 winners from 61 runners
who earned a total of $1,583,548. He was
the Buckeye State’s only stallion to reach
seven figures in progeny earnings in 2013.
Mobil’s runners were led by Hobnobsnob,
who won three of four starts in 2013, highlighted by a win in the Victoriana Stakes
at Woodbine. Hobnobsnob, who earned
$138,298 last year, joined Welloiledmachine
and Hard to Be Humble among Mobil’s
stakes winners for 2013. Mobil also had two
stakes-placed runners in Canada.
“He is by far, I feel, ahead and above any
sire that’s proven in Ohio,” Dr. George
Sikora of Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm
said of Mobil. “Even going out into the
Midwest, he stands alone in that respect.”
While Mobil led Ohio’s stallions by 2013
progeny earnings, he has yet to sire a crop
as an Ohio-based stallion.
He and Lunarpal relocated to Mapleton
Thoroughbred Farm in Polk for the 2013
breeding season, joining several additions
to the state’s stallion assembly as Ohio’s
racing and breeding segments continue
to build on new revenue streams from
expanded gaming. Their first Ohio-sired
foals will arrive in 2014.
“When I saw that [Mobil] was going to be
for sale [at the 2012 Keeneland November
breeding stock sale], we actually contacted
the owners and bought him privately
before the sale because we wanted him in
the worst way,” Sikora said.
Mobil previously stood at Schonberg
Farm in Ontario, while Lunarpal came to
Ohio from Le Mesa Stallions in Louisiana.
Mobil will stand for an advertised fee
of $2,500 in 2014, but Sikora said the farm
would offer a two-for-one deal for Ohioregistered mares.
The stallion has sired five crops ages
3 and up, with 77 winners of $7,242,325
through Tuesday. In addition to those
previously mentioned, he is represented by
stakes winners Mobthewarrior and Attitude Included as well as Canadian classic
runner-up Mobil Unit.
Homebred in Ontario by Gustav
Schickedanz, Mobil was Canada’s champion older male of 2004. He won 11 stakes
races, including four Grade 3 events, and
placed in the Grade 1 Atto Mile and in
the Queen’s Plate. Mobil, who is out of the
Naskra mare Kinetigal, retired with 12
wins in 29 starts for earnings of $1,877,136.
Lunarpal finished the year with 27
winners from 40 starters for progeny earnings of $876,877. His top earner was Mars
Curiosity, who won four of five starts in
2013 for earnings of $92,050, and his lead-
ing runners included 2013 stakes-placed
Secret Pal.
Lunarpal, who stands for $2,000, is out
of the winning Quiet American mare
Quiet Eclipse. He is a half-brother to three
stakes winners, including classic-placed
Grade 3 winner and young sire Astrology,
by A.P. Indy.
On the racetrack, Lunarpal won four
of six starts for earnings of $284,677. His
résumé includes Grade 3 victories in the
Bashford Manor Stakes and Kentucky
Breeders’ Cup Stakes as well as a win in
the Three Chimneys Juvenile Stakes, all at
Churchill Downs.
Lunarpal has sired five crops ages 3 and
up, led by stakes winners I Dare U Em and
Full Rigged.
MOBIL
Bay Horse
Foaled Jan. 15, 2000
Danzig 77
Langfuhr 92
Sweet Briar Too 86
Naskra 67
Kinetigal 88
Kenergy 81
Northern Dancer 61
Pas de Nom 68
Briartic 68
Prima Babu Gum 80
Nasram 60
Iskra 61
King Emperor 66
Future Decision 73
LEADING OHIO GENERAL SIRES BY 2013 PROGENY EARNINGS
RANK NAME (BORN, SIRE) 2014 FARM
1
2
3
4
5
7
Mobil (2000, Langfuhr) Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm
Lunarpal (2002, Successful Appeal) Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm
The Cliff’s Edge (2001, Gulch) Fair Winds Farm
Western Pride (1998, Way West) RC Cline Farm
Killenaule (2002, Fusaichi Pegasus) Cedar Brook Farm
2014
2013
STUD FEE
RNRS WNRS SW SWINS CHIEF EARNER, EARNINGS EARNINGS TOP RUNNER-BEYER
$2,500 2,000 2,500 Private
1,500 61
40
59
37
40
28
27
28
20
17
3
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
Hobnobsnob-$138,298
$1,583,548 Welloiledmachine-90
Mars Curiosity-$92,050
876,877 Mars Curiosity-89
Taste the Fortune-$78,452
813,233 Mellow Fellow-93
Miss Dayna Lee-$75,207
534,950 River Rocks-88
Secondhand Justice-$72,237 446,420 Hesraisincain-75
Sparkman
BACK TO TOP STORIES
JOHN SPARKMAN’S PEDIGREE PERSPECTIVES
Courtesy of Coolmore Stud
Encosta de Lago proved that pedigree assets outweighed his soundness deficiencies by siring four stakes winners in his first crop.
Solving Rubick’s cube
The course of great sire lines is sometimes
decided by chance, but more often by careful
planning, and there is no more careful planner in the Thoroughbred world than John
Magnier, master of Coolmore. Magnier’s
stated purpose in purchasing an interest in
current star Australian 2-year-old Rubick
is to replace his aging sire, dual Australian
leading sire Encosta de Lago, but the chain of
events that led to Rubick illustrates the role
of both chance and planning in the fortunes
of the Thoroughbred.
The element of chance in the sire line
that leads to Rubick occurred in 1985, when
Robert Sangster and Magnier’s homebred
Fairy King broke a bone in his foot in his
career debut at The Curragh. That turned
out to be Fairy King’s only start, but since he
was a year-younger full brother to the partners’ 1984 Irish 2000 Guineas and Eclipse
8
Stakes winner Sadler’s Wells, then a firstyear sire at Coolmore, Magnier gave him a
chance alongside his brother.
Fairy King started out as a much cheaper
alternative to Sadler’s Wells, but while
Sadler’s Wells was carving out a career as
one of the greatest stallions in Thoroughbred
history, Fairy King worked his way up from
the poor man’s alternative to become leading
sire in France in 1996.
In keeping with Magnier’s penchant for fully
exploiting his assets, Fairy King also shuttled
to Australia on two occasions, and on his first
trip to the Antipodes in 1992, he sired Encosta
de Lago, out of the very well-bred Star Way
mare Shoal Creek. Encosta de Lago was bred by
Nasser Lootah’s Emirates Park, but Magnier
bought a share of him, and he developed into a
high-class miler at age 3 in Australia.
Third in the listed Debutant Stakes and the
Group 2 Maribyrnong Plate in his only starts
at 2, he scored his first victory in the Group
2 Ascot Vale Stakes at 1,200 meters (about
six furlongs) early in his 3-year-old season.
Easy victories in the Group 1 VicHealth Cup
at 1,400 meters (about seven furlongs) and the
Group 2 Bill Stutt Stakes at around a mile
followed in quick succession.
Classic victory in the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas eluded Encosta de Lago, though, when he
finished third, beaten a head and 1 1/4 lengths
by Alfa and Intergaze. Encosta de Lago raced
only once more, finishing eighth in the Group
1 Salinger Stakes at about six furlongs.
Although he was a Group 1 winner,
Encosta de Lago had not done quite enough
to be considered a top-shelf stud prospect, and he began his stallion career at
Philip and Patti Campbell’s Blue Gum
Stud at Euroa, Victoria, at a fee of 8,500
CONTINUED >>
BACK TO TOP STORIES
Australian dollars (about $6,300).
Part of the problem, perhaps, was that
Fairy King sired only one other stakes
winner, Group 2 winner King Ivor, in that
first Australian crop, and he did not yet
possess the exalted reputation he developed in subsequent years. Encosta de Lago,
however, had just about every other attribute
you could want in a prospective sire.
He is an exceptional individual, and his
dam, the minor winner Shoal Creek, by Star
Way, was a half-sister to brilliant Group 1
Golden Slipper Stakes winner Flying Spur,
by Danehill, who would eventually lead the
Australian sire list in 2007. Encosta de Lago’s
second dam, Rolls, by Mr. Prospector, was a
full sister to stakes winner Smackover Creek,
and his third dam, Grand Luxe, by Sir Ivor,
was a half-sister to champions L’Enjoleur, by
Buckpasser; La Voyageuse, by Tentam; and
Medaille d’Or, by Secretariat, all offspring
of Encosta de Lago’s champion fourth dam,
Fanfreluche, by Northern Dancer. Pedigrees,
whether in Australia or elsewhere, really do
not get much better than that.
Encosta de Lago quickly proved that those
pedigree assets outweighed his soundness
deficiencies by siring four stakes winners,
including Group 2 winners Gold Lottey
(out of Lottey, by Bellotto) and Chong Tong
(Coquetry, by Zoffany), in his first crop of 84
foals. His first Australian Group 1 winners,
Delago Brom (Brompton Cross, by El Qahira)
and Titanic Jack (Gold Tunic, by Stage
Door Johnny), appeared in his second crop,
making it abundantly clear that Encosta de
Lago was on his way to even better things.
His first real champion, the brilliant
Alinghi (Oceanfast, by Monde Bleu),
appeared in his fourth crop. Australia’s
champion filly at 2 and 3, Alinghi won 11 of
18 starts, including the Grade 3 Ballston Spa
Breeders’ Cup Handicap in an injury-shortened U.S. campaign.
Encosta de Lago’s early success inevitably
attracted Magnier’s attention, and in 2004,
Coolmore bought out other shareholders
and transferred him to Coolmore Australia
at Jerry’s Plains, New South Wales. Encosta
de Lago has gone from strength to strength
since then, leading the Australian sire list in
2008 and 2009.
As his stud career winds down, Encosta de
Lago has sired 101 stakes winners from 1,808
foals ages 3 and up (5.6 percent stakes winners
from foals), including 66 group or graded
winners and 20 Group 1 winners. That number
9
Northern Dancer 61
Fairy King 82
Fairy Bride 75
Encosta de Lago 93
Star Way 77
Shoal Creek 88
Rolls 84
RUBICK
Bay Colt
Foaled Sept. 23, 2011
Danehill 86
Rock of Gibraltar 99
Offshore Boom 85
Sliding Cube 04
Canny Lad 87
Shantha’s Choice 92
Dancing Show 83
includes Australia’s leading first-crop sire of
2013, Northern Meteor (Explosive, by Fappiano), who died last year after only four seasons
at stud. Northern Meteor’s sensational first
crop includes current Group 1-winning 3-yearolds Zoustar and Romantic Touch.
The stud success of Encosta de Lago and
Northern Meteor, of course, go a long way
toward explaining Magnier’s interest in
Rubick, but the Encosta de Lago colt has
plenty of other assets going for him. Bred by
Teeley Assets Ltd., Rubick was a star at the
2013 Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale,
attracting a $483,138 bid from David Raphael.
His outstanding conformation is matched,
if not exceeded, by his top-shelf pedigree.
Rubick is the third foal out of Group 3 winner
Sliding Cube, by Rock of Gibraltar, a threequarter-sister to Australia’s greatest living
sire, Redoute’s Choice, by Danehill, from a
fabulous Australian branch of one of the best
families in the American Stud Book, tracing
to foundation mare Best in Show.
Although she won the Group 3 San Domenico Stakes, Sliding Cube may have been the
least talented of the five stakes winners out
of her dam, Shantha’s Choice, by outstanding
Australian sire Canny Lad. Redoute’s Choice
won four Group 1 races, including the Caulfield
Guineas, and his full brother Platinum Scissors captured the Group 1 Spring Champion
Stakes. Their half-brother Manhattan Rain,
by Encosta de Lago (and thus a three-quarter-brother to Rubick), captured the Group 1
Sires’ Produce Stakes. Manhattan Rain’s full
brother Echoes Of Heaven was only a listed
Nearctic 54
Natalma 57
Bold Reason 68
Special 69
Star Appeal 70
New Way 70
Mr. Prospector 70
Grand Luxe 74
Danzig 77
Razyana 81
Be My Guest 74
Push a Button 80
Bletchingly 70
Jesmond Lass 75
Nijinsky II 67
Show Lady 76
stakes winner but ran second in the Group 1
South Australia Derby.
Shantha’s Choice was a half-sister to two
Group 1-winning sprinters, Hurricane Sky,
by Star Watch, and Umatilla, by Miswaki,
both successful sires, and her half-sister
Show Dancing, by Don’t Say Halo, is the
dam of Group 1 winner Al Maher, by Danehill, another sire of Group 1 winners. Best in
Show’s family includes such luminaries as
Belmont Stakes winners Rags to Riches and
Jazil, current star 3-year-old filly Streaming,
and champions Peeping Fawn, Aldebaran,
Xaar, El Gran Senor, and Try My Best,
among others.
Thus it is something of an understatement
to say that Rubick has a “sire’s pedigree,”
which is practically a prerequisite for standing at any of Coolmore’s global outposts. He
has certainly showed championship potential in his two starts early in his 2-year-old
season. Winner of a 1,000-meter (about fivefurlong) maiden race at Randwick on Jan. 25,
he captured the about-5 1/2-furlong, Group
3 Blue Diamond Prelude Stakes on Feb. 8 at
Caulfield. Rubick’s acid test will be in tomorrow’s Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes at about
six furlongs at Caulfield.
Whether Rubick’s name is a clever play
on his dam’s name, slightly misspelling the
name of the inventor of the Rubik’s Cube, or
perhaps in honor of the video-game character of that name, his future as both a racehorse and potential stallion could hardly be
brighter. And that is all according to plan for
the master planner of Coolmore.
BACK TO TOP STORIES
OHIO-BRED BEST BEYERS, ALL RACES
2/10 THROUGH 2/16
BEYER
NAME
70
63
53
51
49
46
44
42
40
40
Bold Captain........................8................... G................Bold Truth.............................AOC..........................TAM.................. 14-Feb....................1M 40Y.................. D.....................3.................. 58-7-9-9
Judy’s Reflection.................5................... M...............Newfoundland......................AOC..........................BEU.................. 11-Feb.....................5 1/2F.................... D.....................1...................22-7-2-3
Mini Reward.........................6................... M...............Parents’ Reward....................AOC..........................BEU.................. 11-Feb.....................5 1/2F.................... D.....................2..................40-9-9-2
Elroy J...................................6................... G................Pioneering.............................CLM..........................BEU.................. 11-Feb.....................5 1/2F.................... D.....................3...................37-6-7-5
Jungle Dancer......................7................... M...............Timeraker..............................AOC..........................BEU.................. 11-Feb.....................5 1/2F.................... D.....................3.................. 22-3-2-3
Geppetto...............................3................... C................Mercer Mill...........................ALW..........................BEU.................. 11-Feb.....................1M.......................... D.....................2.....................8-2-2-0
Lilly of Gold..........................7................... M...............Ray of Gold............................AOC..........................BEU.................. 11-Feb.....................5 1/2F.................... D.....................4..................19-3-6-4
Cruella Za Ville....................8................... M...............Donthelumbertrader.............CLM..........................BEU.................. 11-Feb.....................5 1/2F.................... D.....................1...................47-7-8-7
Perfect Groom.....................6................... H................Pleasantly Perfect................ALW..........................BEU.................. 11-Feb.....................1M.......................... D.....................4.................. 16-2-4-4
Twentycaratsormore...........4................... F................Northern Afleet.....................CLM..........................TUP.................. 12-Feb....................6 1/2F.................... D.....................7...................18-2-2-2
AGE
SEX
SIRE
CLASS
TRACK
DATE
DIST.
SURF.
FIN.
RECORD
INDIANA-BRED BEST BEYERS, ALL RACES
2/10 THROUGH 2/16
BEYER
NAME
79
68
64
60
57
56
55
55
53
53
53
53
50
Dreamin Big...................6..........M......... Pure Prize..................... STK............. Bayakoa S................................................................ OP..............16-Feb........... 1 1/16M...........D.............4......29-10-10-2
Bellachino......................5..........G......... State City...................... CLM............................................................................................. TAM............16-Feb........... 1M...................T..............3......... 24-2-3-2
Sneakin Away................5..........G......... Limehouse.................... STR............................................................................................... OP..............13-Feb........... 1M...................D.............9......... 23-5-4-1
Thisain’tmyday..............5..........G......... Dayjur............................ STR............................................................................................... BEU............15-Feb........... 5F.....................D.............1......... 21-6-2-4
Spencers Choice...........5..........G......... Chapel Royal................ CLM............................................................................................. OP..............13-Feb........... 6F.....................D.............7..........23-3-2-1
Upthemiddle..................5..........M......... Act of War..................... MCL............................................................................................. BEU............15-Feb........... 5F.....................D.............1......... 10-1-0-0
Go Go Gracie..................4..........F.......... North Light (IRE).......... CLM............................................................................................. TUP............12-Feb........... 6 1/2F..............D.............2..........26-2-2-1
Jodavi.............................4..........G......... Mondavi........................ AOC.............................................................................................. TAM............16-Feb........... 6 1/2F..............D.............5..........12-1-3-2
Flying Hion Sugar.........4..........G......... High Fly......................... MSW............................................................................................ TAM............12-Feb........... 1 1/16M...........T..............4..........10-0-2-1
Garcon............................6..........G......... Tenpins......................... CLM............................................................................................. TAM............14-Feb........... 5 1/2F..............D.............4.........36-5-0-4
Prince Larry...................6..........G......... Alluvial.......................... CLM............................................................................................. OP..............15-Feb........... 6F.....................D.............8.......... 37-7-8-1
Sliver of Hope................3..........F.......... Value Plus..................... AOC.............................................................................................. TAM............16-Feb........... 6F.....................D.............6............6-2-0-1
Tazdue............................3..........G......... Devil His Due................ MCL............................................................................................. TAM............13-Feb........... 6F.....................D.............1..........10-1-0-1
AGE
SEX
SIRE
CLASS
STAKES NAME
TRACK
DATE
DIST.
SURF.
FIN.
RECORD
MICHIGAN-BRED BEST BEYERS, ALL RACES
2/10 THROUGH 2/16
BEYER
NAME
76
67
59
55
43
40
Sean Who.............................6................... G................Valid Trefaire.........................SHP..........................TAM.................. 15-Feb....................1 1/8M................... T......................3................ 36-6-12-5
Hooched Express................9................... H................Favorite Express...................OCL..........................FG..................... 14-Feb....................1 1/16M................. D.....................5...............77-9-10-10
Sheza Classy Lady..............5................... M...............Meadow Prayer.....................CLM..........................LRL................... 12-Feb....................6F........................... D.....................5.................31-10-5-7
Kathleen’s Touch.................5................... G................Touch Gold............................CLM..........................TUP.................. 15-Feb....................6 1/2F.................... D.....................1..................34-3-4-9
Limited Words.....................4................... G................Equality.................................CLM..........................TAM.................. 13-Feb....................6 1/2F.................... D.....................5...................18-1-3-4
Nearly Irish...........................4................... G................Equality.................................MCL..........................TAM.................. 12-Feb....................5 1/2F.................... D.....................2.....................2-0-1-0
10
AGE
SEX
SIRE
CLASS
TRACK
DATE
DIST.
SURF.
FIN.
RECORD
BACK TO TOP STORIES
2014 LEADING SYNTHETIC SIRES
YEAR TO DATE THROUGH 2/20
RANK NAME (BORN, SIRE) 2014 FARM
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
2014 STUD FEE
RNRS
WNRS SWNRS SWINS
CHIEF EARNER, EARNINGS
2014 EARNINGS
TOP RUNNER-BEYER
Tribal Rule (1996, Storm Cat) Ballena Vista Farm................................ $6,500............ 26.......... 12............0............0................Solar Tex-$35,640............................$190,973.........Marcelino Springs-81
. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Six Votes-81
. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Solar Tex-81
Bertrando (1989, Skywalker) Ballena Vista Farm.......................... Pens. 2011............ 21............ 2............1............1................Tamarando-$120,000........................$187,115.........Tamarando-91
Harlan’s Holiday (1999, Harlan)........................................................Died 2013............ 13............ 5............3............3................Naughty Holiday-$60,000............... $162,608.........Zeewat-89
Ministers Wild Cat (2000, Deputy Minister) ........................................Private............ 13............ 5............0............0................Curvy Cat-$54,600...........................$112,200.........Classic Crusader-86
Tommy Town Thoroughbreds
City Zip (1998, Carson City) Lane’s End.............................................$25,000............ 12............ 6............1............1................Ruslana-$30,000................................$94,915.........Cast in Silver-86
Candy Ride (1999, Ride the Rails) Lane’s End....................................$35,000............ 17............ 3............0............0................Candy for Debbie-$27,180................. $90,648.........Icy Ride-83
Stormin Fever (1994, Storm Cat) Golden Eagle Farm......................... $3,500............ 10............ 2............0............0................Hurryhank-$27,040............................ $68,220.........Kitty Marie-78
Siberian Summer (1989, Siberian Express)....................................Died 2011............ 12............ 3............0............0................Uncle Dick-$28,236............................$67,276.........Uncle Dick-81
Tizbud (1999, Cee’s Tizzy) Harris Farms...............................................$1,500............ 16............ 4............0............0................Tiz Partners-$31,200......................... $63,620.........Tiz Partners-77
Benchmark (1991, Alydar) Ballena Vista Farm..................................... $5,000............ 15............ 3............0............0................Luscious Lonna-$18,200.................. $63,525.........Mandala-85
Colonel John (2005, Tiznow) WinStar Farm.......................................$17,500.............. 2............ 1............1............1................Here’s Johnny-$60,000......................$61,905.........Here’s Johnny-72
Peppered Cat (2000, Tabasco Cat) Daehling Ranch............................ $2,000............ 12............ 2............0............0................Pepper Crown-$31,200......................$59,755.........Pepper Crown-86
Elusive Quality (1993, Gone West) Darley..........................................$50,000.............. 5............ 1............0............0................Enterprising-$44,000........................ $59,550.........Enterprising-86
Marino Marini (2000, Storm Cat) Rancho San Miguel........................ $2,500.............. 9............ 3............0............0................Power of Ten-$24,180.........................$56,471.........Marshal Marini-75
. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Power of Ten-75
Dixie Chatter (2005, Dixie Union) Ballena Vista Farm......................... $5,000.............. 7............ 4............0............0................Kris Furillo-$13,000............................$54,410.........Preacher Roe-65
Kela (1998, Numerous) Stillwater Equine Veterinary Clinic.................Private.............. 6............ 1............0............0................Beast of Bourbon-$43,400.................$51,700.........Beast of Bourbon-91
Bluegrass Cat (2003, Storm Cat) Rockridge Stud................................$7,500.............. 8............ 3............0............0................Terrys Tom Cat-$21,600..................... $51,145.........Weekend Wish-74
Decarchy (1997, Distant View) Magali Farms....................................... $3,000............ 15............ 2............0............0................Broadway Nika-$15,400.....................$50,570.........Broadway Nika-75
Point Given (1998, Thunder Gulch) Calumet Farm............................ $10,000.............. 7............ 3............1............1................Point Finish-$34,596..........................$50,179.........Point Finish-95
Kitten’s Joy (2001, El Prado) Ramsey Farm......................................$100,000............ 23............ 1............0............0................Puppy Manners-$18,000...................$47,280.........Puppy Manners-85
2014 LEADING CANADA GENERAL SIRES
YEAR TO DATE THROUGH 2/20
RANK NAME (BORN, SIRE) 2014 FARM
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
2014 STUD FEE
RNRS
WNRS SWNRS SWINS
CHIEF EARNER, EARNINGS
2014 EARNINGS
TOP RUNNER-BEYER
Wilko (2002, Awesome Again) Highfield Stock Farm.........................$1,879............ 33............ 9............1............1................Sheza Smoke Show-$68,400.......... $283,224.........Happy My Way-102
Badge of Silver (2000, Silver Deputy) Colebrook Farms Stallion Station........ $7,175............ 35............ 8............0............0................Tetradrachm-$55,000....................... $177,924.........Tetradrachm-97
Milwaukee Brew (1997, Wild Again) Adena Springs Canada...............$7,048............ 39............ 7............1............1................Flipcup-$20,000.............................. $172,583.........Procurement-93
Gottcha Gold (2003, Coronado’s Quest) Stride Away Thoroughbreds...........$1,792............ 30............ 5............0............0................Making Havoc-$21,705....................$115,495.........Uptown Anthem-81
Silent Name (2002, Sunday Silence) Adena Springs Canada............$7,048............ 19............ 2............0............0................Fanticola-$24,980...............................$87,367.........Mr. Online-96
Olmodavor (1999, A.P. Indy) Dunroven Farm........................................ $1,120............ 25............ 6............0............0................Cuppy Cake-$21,350..........................$81,027.........Cuppy Cake-79
Quest (1999, Seeking the Gold) Dunroven Farm.....................................$896 ............ 9............ 3............0............0................Questlie-$25,800................................$74,839.........Greengrassofyoming-81
Sligo Bay (1998, Sadler’s Wells) Adena Springs Canada.................... $4,698............ 24............ 2............0............0................Irish Beau-$15,840............................ $60,531.........Ol Winedrinker Who-78
Formal Gold (1993, Black Tie Affair) Esquirol Farms...........................$2,241 .......... 21............ 5............0............0................Crimson Giant-$13,810..................... $45,080.........Crimson Giant-78
Where’s the Ring (1999, Seeking the Gold) Mapleville Farms............ $3,687.............. 8............ 2............0............0................Karats for Me-$9,424......................... $32,852.........Sir Travis-73