All Equine All The Time

Breeders' Cup Classic winner Gun Runner winning the Stephen Foster earlier this year. The Breeders’ Cup taking place in Del Mar, Calif. for the first time was historic in itself but the horses couldn’t let it be the only special thing to happen on the weekend with a Keeneland September Yearling sale topper winning a Breeders’ Cup race for the first time, multiple broodmares joining an elite list and many sires getting their first winners. Read on to learn about just a few of the historic points that happened at this year’s Breeders’ Cup. Leslie’s Lady – 2016 Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Broodmare of the Year Leslie’s Lady (Tricky Creek) may have made a case to take home her second title when Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on Friday. The mare has had a runner in the Breeders’ Cup winner’s circle four of the last six years with Beholder (Henny Hughes) winning three between 2012 and 2016 and...

Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) was last year's Keeneland topper at $3 million. He broke his maiden last month. While summer yearling sales always provide highlights for first-crop stallion ads, the Keeneland September yearling sale seems to be more of an overall indicator of their reception with the quality of the yearlings on offer running across the board. Additionally, this year, Fasig-Tipton’s new Turf Showcase the day before the Keeneland September sale also provides a place for the more turf-orientated horses to shine, making this an interesting year in Kentucky. Below are a few of the first-crop sires who will be ones to watch at both sales over the next two weeks based on their reception at previous sales, the pages of their offerings and a few other factors that could make them interesting commercial successes or bargains. Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile) – The star of the first crop sire show this year has undoubtedly been Airdrie Stud’s Cairo Prince (stood in par...

Noble Bird is one of the Grade 1 winners in the field In a race that has been in the headlines since it was announced last year, it’s fitting that the Pegasus World Cup has more than just a few interesting bloodline tidbits. From a mare who brings two rivals together to two horses looking to make earnings history, here are 13 pedigree facts you should know before Saturday’s race. Starters’ Resumes - The headliners of this race are obviously Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song) and California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) but the 12 horse Pegasus field is actually a decently competitive one when you look past them. Six of the runners are Grade 1 winners, one is a Grade 2 winner, one is a Grade 3 winner, one is a stakes winner and the four who haven’t yet broken through at the stakes level are all graded stakes placed. The field includes two Eclipse winners who have five Eclipse Awards between them (Arrogate and California Chrome) and one Canadian champion (Shaman Ghost). Restricted to horses a...

Drefong's half-sister In a Breeders’ Cup for the ages, owners, horses and trainers went down in the history books at Santa Anita. From championship caliber wins to new sires hitting it big, the 13 races of the Breeders’ Cup saw horses bred in three countries and two states in the winner’s circle. From Juddmonte’s big weekend to a top stallion making it big in another way, read on to find out some of the interesting things that happened at the Breeders’ Cup this year. Juddmonte Farms – Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Arrogate wasn’t the only one making this year’s Breeders’ Cup a good one for Juddmonte. While that was the only win for the stable as an owner, they also had a second place finish with Flintshire in the Turf, his final start before retiring to Hill ‘n’ Dale for 2017. Flintshire was one of the top performers of the weekend for Juddmonte’s stallion Dansili, who also sired Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Queen’s Trust for Cheveley Park Stud. In an interestin...