STALLIONS

Clark Shepherd, Shepherd Equine Advisers: TONALIST — Lane’s End Farm, $15,000

When I analyze matings for my clients, I try to stay commercial, but first and foremost, I want to design a racehorse. I make a list of OPTIMAL Matings from my overall analysis, then drop back and ask what makes sense physically, then what makes sense commercially.

Mon, 02/04/2019

STALLIONS

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL.–It was dark, dreary and getting wetter by the minute as the rain that plagued Hallandale Beach on and off all day picked up as the field for the $9 million GI Pegasus World Cup approached the gate. However, the dreary conditions did not stop City of Light (Quality Road) from shining brightly in his career finale Saturday as he charged home a dominant winner of America’s richest race. The GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner will now join the stallion roster at Lane’s End Farm to stand alongside his red hot sire Quality Road.

Mon, 01/28/2019

STALLIONS

The first foal by freshman Lane’s End stallion arrived Thursday, Jan. 10. The colt, who was bred by Colby Marks, was born at Stonehaven Steadings in Versailles, Kentucky.

The colt is out of Proud Citizen mare Citizen by Day, who is a full-sister to the graded stakes winning 2012 Derby fourth place finisher Went The Day Well. She hails from the family of G2 winner and G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Sweet Roberta and multiple G1 winner Brody’s Cause.

“High quality colt, I think I’ll breed the mare back to Unified,” said Marks.

Thu, 01/10/2019

SALES

Abel Tasman (Quality Road)

Breeder: Clearsky Farms (KY)

Consignor: Taylor Made Sales Agency, Agent XCVII

Buyer: Coolmore

Mon, 01/07/2019

STALLIONS

Kaleem Shah’s Bellafina seemed well on her way to an Eclipse statuette for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly heading into November’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at Churchill Downs. But she disappointed as the favorite and likely ceded that award to Jaywalk (Cross Traffic). Sunday at Santa Anita, however, the $800,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream purchase gave the racing world an empathic reminder that she is nevertheless one of the top contenders as eyes start to look towards the GI Kentucky Oaks with a comprehensive romp in the GII Santa Ynez S.

Mon, 01/07/2019

SALES

One of the best of her generation at two, Grade One placed Best Performance was a graded stakes performer on both dirt and turf and earned black-type from 5½ to 8½ furlongs. She is a daughter of Broken Vow, a highly-successful sire, who is now a fast-emerging broodmare sire, and out of a multiple stakes producing Smart Strike mare.

Wed, 01/02/2019

STALLIONS

It’s probably fair to call it a first-world problem, but one dilemma which extremely successful owner/breeders can find themselves facing is what strategy to adopt when a top-class broodmare produces several prospective stallions, because it is asking a lot for them all to fulfil their potential if they are standing alongside (and essentially in competition with) each other. That is the position which Prince Khalid Abdullah has found himself in with Kind (Ire) (Danehill), dam of two winners of the G1 Champion S., i.e.

Wed, 01/02/2019

STALLIONS

While Audible (Into Mischief) seemed all but unbeatable in Saturday’s GIII Harlan’s Holiday S., returning to the Gulfstream Park strip over which he romped in both the GII Holy Bull S. and GI Florida Derby earlier this term, it was another sophomore–Sir Anthony (Mineshaft)–who stole the show. Sir Anthony belied 35-1 odds when annexing Arlington’s Bruce D. Memorial S. in August, and resurfaced in a state-bred allowance at Hawthorne Oct. 5, getting the job done by a head. The chestnut added another Hawthorne score Nov.

Mon, 12/17/2018

STALLIONS

The next phase of Tequilita's career has already been mapped out. She has a date this spring with champion and Darley stallion Street Sense , a mating she already proved herself worthy of by virtue of the multiple graded stakes wins on her past performances lines.

More than a year had gone by, though, since her connections got to see the 4-year-old daughter of Union Rags  make her way into a winner's circle. If her time in the Dec. 15 Rampart Stakes (G3) goes down as her final start, credit the bay filly for giving her team a last impression they can savor.

Mon, 12/17/2018

STALLIONS

A $330,000 Keeneland September yearling from a female family nurtured over decades by noted breeder Peter Blum, Leofric (Candy Ride {Arg}) was sold to owner Steve Landers for $100,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale, a decent amount of money for a well-pedigreed horse, but one that had placed just once from three career starts while under the care of Neil Howard. It all came full circle Friday afternoon, when the handsome gray entire put the wraps on a truly memorable season with a doggedly determined defeat of an equally game Bravazo (Awesome Again) in Friday’s GI Clark H.

Mon, 11/26/2018

STALLIONS

Liora (Candy Ride {Arg}), a runaway maiden winner at third asking beneath the Twin Spires Oct. 28, led them every step to narrowly pull off a 27-1 upset over heavily favored ‘TDN Rising Star’ Restless Rider (Distorted Humor) in Saturday’s GII Golden Rod S. at Churchill Downs. High Regard (Will Take Charge) completed the trifecta.

Mon, 11/26/2018

STALLIONS

As the dust settles from Accelerate’s thrilling victory in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, some context is in order. 

In addition to the Classic, Accelerate also won the Santa Anita H., the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, the TVG Pacific Classic, and the Awesome Again S.—all important Grade I events. Notably, four of these Grade I wins came at the American Classic distance of 1 1/4 miles, the yardstick by which the industry measures itself. 

Thu, 11/15/2018