Cover image courtesy of Scoop Dyga
France
G1 Prix de Royallieu gives Galileo his 103rd Group 1 winner
Coolmore and Westerberg's G3 Stanerra S. victrix 3-year-old filly Grateful (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who hit the board in last month's G2 Park Hill S. at Doncaster, made the necessary transition under an inspired ride from Christophe Soumillon to secure a career high in Saturday's G1 Qatar Prix de Royallieu at ParisLongchamp. She became the fourth winner on the card for a dominant Aidan O'Brien. Grateful now has won three of her seven starts and this was her first at Group 1 level.
“The lads bought her dam (for US$8 million {AU$11.8million} at Fasig-Tipton's 2017 November Mixed Sale) and she was an incredible race mare,” said O'Brien. “It's an incredible day and the result of the team's work. Christophe (Soumillon) gave her a superb ride. When she won the Group 3 race in Ireland, we used waiting tactics and I told Christophe to bide his time today. Tepin has unfortunately died and I imagine that her daughter will eventually pick up the baton at stud sooner or later.”
Grateful, who becomes the 103rd elite-level winner for her late sire, is the third of four foals and one of two scorers from as many runners out of multiple Grade I-winning dual US champion Tepin (USA) (Bernstein {USA}), who also bagged Royal Ascot's G1 Queen Anne S. Tepin, whose other winner is last month's G2 Golden Fleece S. runner-up Delacroix (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), is a full-sister to GII Peter Pan S. and GIII Coolmore Lexington S. placegetter Prime Cut (USA). She is also kin to three-time Grade II winner Vyjack (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}). Grateful's S.-placed third dam Round It Off (USA) (Apalachee {USA}) is a half-sister to G2 Ladies H. and dual G3 Carousel S. victrix Miss Slewpy (USA) (Slewpy {USA}).
Second G1 Prix de Cadran for Kyprios
Ballydoyle's star stayer Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) went unbeaten through six contests in 2022 and completed an exact replica of that campaign with a pillar-to-post triumph in Saturday's G1 Qatar Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp. That 2022 season included an extravagant win in this marathon event, but it was a more straightforward affair this time around.
“Kyprios is such a special horse and the team have done a fantastic job to get him back on track after his health problems,” said Aidan O'Brien. “He has so much class and, for a stayer, he has a rare ability to quicken. He also has such a strong mindset and that was already apparent when he was a 2-year-old. This was his eighth Group 1 win, he's won the most Group 1 races for us and it's a great privilege to look after him every day. It would have been disrespectful to run him in the (G1) Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe over one-and-a-half miles as it's distance over which he hasn't raced for a long time. We can now look forward to returning to (Royal) Ascot for the (G1) Gold Cup next year.”
Winner of 14 of his 18 starts, Kyprios is the latest of 10 foals, all winners, produced by dual Broodmare of the Year Polished Gem (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), herself out of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Trusted Partner (USA) (Affirmed {USA}). Trusted Partner is the third dam of this term's G2 Queen Mary victrix Leovanni (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}). Kyprios, one of his sire's 103 elite-level winners, is kin to seven stakes winners headed by dual G1 Irish St Leger heroine Search For A Song (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes-winning sire Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and G2 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes victrix Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}). Descendants of Polished Gem, a full-sister to GI Matriarch Stakes heroine Dress To Thrill (Ire), also include G1 Vincent O'Brien National Stakes hero Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). Kyprios's third dam, the GI Matron Stakes and GI Spinaway Stakes-winning US champion Talking Picture (USA) (Speak John {USA}), is the ancestress of G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Sydney Cup hero Gallante (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}).
England
G1 Sun Chariot won by 3-year-old filly Tamfana
Atoning for a luckless defeat in the G1 1,000 Guineas, 3-year-old filly Tamfana (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) returned to Newmarket's Rowley Mile to conquer a strong renewal of the G1 Sun Chariot Stakes on Saturday. Tried over different trips by David Menuisier following that Classic effort, she had proven that this trip is what she needs when winning Sandown's G3 Atalanta Stakes in August and faced an easier task from the break as Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) again surrendered ground.
“For once everything went smoothly and she really deserves this. It's a big sense of achievement this win today, especially when you feel you have missed out a few times. I'm just glad for the filly, before myself,” said Menuisier.
Tamfana, who was successful in the G3 Prix Miesque at two, had also gone close in the G1 Prix de Diane where she was beaten less than a length into third before stretching out too far when fourth in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris. Her next target could be the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in a fortnight, but her trainer was holding fire. “We will see how the filly she is. She goes on any ground, but at this time of year you just have to play it by ear.”
Winner of four of her nine starts, Tamfana is the sixth top-level winner for her late sire. She is out of Tres Magnifique (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}) whose dam Ticana (Ger) (Sholokhov {Ire}) is a full-sister to the dual listed winner and G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly runner-up Timos (Ger) and half to the GI Beverly D. S. heroine Sea Calisi (Fr) (Youmzain {Ire}).
America
Godolphin’s juvenile East Avenue romps to G1 Breeders’ win
Godolphin homebred 2-year-old colt East Avenue (USA) (Medaglia d'Oro {USA}) romped in front-running fashion by a geared-down 5.5l while making his two-turn debut in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland. He is now unbeaten in two starts.
Godolphin and trainer Brendan Walsh won this same race in 2019 with Darley stallion Maxfield (Street Sense), who was a late scratch and forced to sit out that fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile with a foot bruise.
“I've been lucky enough to have a couple of very good horses the last two years, especially with Godolphin, and he seemed like he was right up there,” Walsh said. “I was just waiting for confirmation. I think he's a very special horse.”
East Avenue becomes the 27th Grade I/Group 1 winner worldwide for leading sire Medaglia d'Oro. East Avenue was produced by the unraced Dance Music (USA) (Ghostzapper {USA}), a half-sister to Horse of the Year and Darley stallion Cody's Wish (USA) (Curlin {USA}).
East Avenue's second dam Dance Card (USA) (Tapit {USA}), a US$750,000 (AU$1.1million) Fasig-Tipton Florida 2-year-old purchase by Sheikh Mohammed's operation, won the 2012 GI Gazelle S. and was third behind two-time champion Groupie Doll (USA) (Bowman's Band {USA}) in the following year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in her career finale.
Scottish Lassie’s G1 Frizette S. gives Abreu first graded win
What a way to tally a first career graded stakes! Both trainer Jorge Abreu and his charge, who entered Saturday with only a third-place finish under her girth, broke their graded maiden with a runaway score in the GI Frizette Stakes at Belmont at the Big A. Now Abreu and 2-year-old filly Scottish Lassie (USA) (McKinzie {USA}) have earned a fees-paid berth to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in four weeks. Third on debut, Scottish Lassie is a Grade 1 winner at only her second career start.
“I had really high expectations of this filly since day one,” said Abreu, who co-owns Scottish Lassie with Sportsmen Stable, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Photos Finish LLC, and Corms Racing Stable. “I was expecting a good race today. I know people didn't believe–not in her, in me–because this is the first time I've ever won a graded stakes. You need the quality to win those kinds of races, and I thought I had the horse.” Abreu is a former assistant to Chad Brown.
Bred in Kentucky by Dr. Naoya and Marie Yoshida's Winchester Farm, Scottish Lassie sold for US$50,000 (AU$74,000) at the 2023 Keeneland September sale to Lynwood Stable before going through the ring a second time in this year's OBS March sale. After working a quarter mile in :21, she hammered to the tune of US$85,000 (AU$125,000) post sale to Parkland Thoroughbreds.
One of two North American freshman sires with a Grade I winner already this year, McKinzie shot to the top of the class with Scottish Lassie's victory, an addition of a second Grade I winner to his score sheet. The Gainesway stallion, a son of Street Sense (USA), already had GI Hopeful Stakes winner Chancer McPatrick (USA). The Frizette winner's dam, Bodebabe (USA), an US$8,000 (AU$11,800) purchase by Ascot Health Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale in 2018, is a daughter of Bodemeister (USA), the former WinStar stallion who has stood in Turkey since the 2020 season.
G1 Aqueduct Champagne win gives McKinzie Grade 1 double
Chancer McPatrick (USA) (McKinzie {USA}) ran by them all to remain unbeaten and provide his freshman sire with a rolling Grade I double in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI Champagne Stakes at the Belmont at the Big A meeting. McKinzie's Scottish Lassie, a debut third as the favorite at Saratoga, broke her maiden in style with a runaway success in the GI Frizette Stakes one race earlier on the card. Chancer McPatrick is unbeaten in three starts, two of those at Grade 1 level.
Chancer McPatrick becomes the fifth Champagne winner for trainer Chad Brown. He also saddled subsequent GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Good Magic (USA) (Curlin {USA}) to a second-place finish in the 2017 renewal.
“I was a little surprised they ran away from him on the stretch out,” Brown said. “They were going pretty fast, but still I thought on the stretch out he would put himself a little closer. He jumped good out of the gate–he might have veered out just a touch–but he jumped forward good and then they just ran away from him again. So, momentarily there I thought he was a little too far back but Flavien (Prat) rides him with so much confidence and he told me, 'Once I asked him to go, he made up a lot of ground really fast and in hand.' He felt he was always there for him whenever he wanted.”
Brown continued, “He runs his races like he's a year older than he is. He runs like an experienced, fit 3-year-old. He's got a long, strong run. He showed it in all three of his starts. The way he finished up and the way he relaxes, I don't see going two turns as a problem.
“It was a real strong run. The horse that finished second (Tip Top Thomas)–he was a smart winner at Saratoga and the figure came back really fast. I was in the race with a horse that ran third (Keewaydin) that I hold in high regard, so I knew he was real that horse. Super race to set those fractions and still be there late in the race with this horse.”
Chancer McPatrick, a US$260,000 (AU$383,000) Fasig-Tipton July yearling purchase by GS Inversiones Hipicas, brought US$725,000 (AU$1.07million) from trainer John Kimmel and bloodstock agent Nick Sallusto on behalf of owner Sean Flanagan after breezing a quarter in :21 at OBS April.
Chancer McPatrick's winning dam Bernadreamy (USA) (Bernardini {USA}), a US$40,000 (AU$59,000) Keeneland September yearling is a daughter of 2008 GI Darley Alcibiades Stakes winner and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Dream Empress (USA) (Bernstein {USA}).
Breeders Cup for Citizen Bull after G1 American Pharoah win
On a weekend of stellar 2-year-old racing with a plethora of Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' berths on the line, 2-year-old colt Citizen Bull (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}) closed out Saturday's graded action with victory in the GI American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita. He earned a fees-paid entry to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and gave his trainer, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, a 13th win in the American Pharoah, which had previously been branded both the Frontrunner Stakes and Norfolk Stakes at different times. Citizen Bull now has won two of his three starts and placed in the other.
“At Del Mar, [Citizen Bull] really needed that race. Mike [Smith] rode him and the colt was heavy, and he's still heavy,” said Baffert. “This track is very demanding. It is very deep and slow. You could tell he was getting tired at the end, so I think he will get so much out of this race. He is a good doer, he's a good strong colt. He's bred really well. I'm proud of both my horses, I think Getaway Car, he was in a good spot, but Citizen Bull, you could tell it was going to be hard to get by him.”
Into Mischief (USA) went all summer without adding any new Grade I winners to his tally, unusual territory for the reigning five-time leading sire. Lest anyone think he's losing his touch, Citizen Bull marked the Spendthrift stallion's 22nd career Grade I winner, fifth on the year, and second on the day following Gina Romantica (USA)'s repeat win in Keeneland's G1 First Lady Stakes. To no one's surprise, Into Mischief leads all North American sires on the 2024 tables by black-type winners (30), graded winners (15), and progeny earnings (over $29 million). Citizen Bull is his 78th career graded winner and 162nd black-type winner.
WinStar's pensioned Distorted Humor (USA), perennially one of the best broodmare sires in the business, has been responsible for some of Into Mischief's best runners. Citizen Bull is the 11th stakes winner bred on the exact cross and joins other Grade 1 winners Life Is Good (USA) and Practical Joke (USA). Distorted Humor has 156 black-type winners out of his daughters.
Robert and Lawana Low bred Citizen Bull in Kentucky out of their unraced mare No Joke (USA) (Distorted Humor {USA}), whom they purchased as a US$750,000 (AU$1.1million) yearling at Keeneland September in 2017. The mare is a half to Grade 1 winner Moonshine Memories (USA) (Malibu Moon {USA}), while her grandam is Evil Elaine (USA), dam of 1997 Horse of the Year Favorite Trick (USA) (Phone Trick {USA}).
First G1 Keeneland Turf Mile win for Chad Brown
Never before in his nine-race career had 4-year-old entire Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) led at the first or second call of any of his races. Never before, even more remarkably, had Chad Brown unsaddled a winner of the GI Coolmore Turf Mile at Keeneland.
But, drawn widest in a field of nine for Saturday's 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Mile the flashy chestnut was ridden for speed from out there by Tyler Gaffalione and found extra in the final furlong to earn an all-expenses-paid trip to Del Mar. He took his record to seven wins from 10 starts.
“My horse broke alertly (from the outside post),” jockey Gaffalione explained. “I looked to the inside, and nobody was really in any hurry to get going forward. I didn't want to take too much away from my horse, so I just put my hands down and let him get comfortable. He proved he was best today. He's a tremendous athlete. All the credit goes to (trainer) Chad (Brown) and his team. They bring these horses over ready to run. (The horses are) so kind; they listen to the cues of the jockeys. He did everything I asked him, and he really turned it on.”
On behalf of Bob Edwards's operation, Mike Ryan acquired Carl Spakler’s dam Zindaya (USA) (More Than Ready {USA}), a half-sister to American Grade I winner and top Indian stallion Western Aristocrat (USA) (Mr. Greeley {USA}), for US$550,000 (AU$809,000) at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale and she was turned over to Chad Brown. A decision to keep the mare in training at five was rewarded when Zindaya won the Intercontinental Stakes and later the GII Goldikova Stakes at Santa Anita.
Edwards had Carl Spackler consigned through Ballylinch Stud to the 2021 Tattersalls October Sale, but elected to retain him when bidding stalled out at 350,000gns (AU$509,000), a choice that looks very wise in retrospect. Regal Gallery (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), the 3-year-old half-sister to Carl Spackler, cost Godolphin 450,000gns (AU$692,000) at Tattersalls in 2022, while the juvenile full-brother, Sandtrap (Ire), commanded the same price from A.C. Elliott at last year's October Sale and was the impressive winner of a 1400-metre Salisbury maiden on debut for Ralph Beckett Sept. 13.
Second G1 First Lady S. for Gina Romantica
Returning to the site of her previous victories in the 2022 GI QE II Challenge Cup and last year's GI First Lady Stakes, Peter Brant's Gina Romantica (USA) (Into Mischief {USA}) sat an ideal trip from a close-up third in defence of her title in the latter over a fast turf course in the G1 Keeneland First Lady S.
The win was the seventh straight in the First Lady for trainer Chad Brown and fourth in a row for Peter Brant (Blowout {GB}, 2021, In Italian {GB}, 2022). Gina Romantica is the second back-to-back winner of the First Lady, joining former Brown champion Uni (GB) (More Than Ready {USA}) and could well get an opportunity to improve on her fourth-place effort in the 2023 GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar Nov. 2. She took her career record to six wins from 16 starts.
“It was beautiful. She loves it here,” winning rider Jose Ortiz commented. “The break was key today. She broke very alert and put me into a great position going into the first turn. I was very happy throughout the backside, and when we hit the quarter pole, there was an opening between two horses and she exploded.”
Machmer Hall paid US$6,000 (AU$8830) for the unplaced Special Me (USA) (Unbridled’s Song {USA}), a half-sister to G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen hero Our Special Recruit (USA) (Alphabet Soup {USA}) as a 3-year-old at the 2009 Keeneland January Sale and she has become one of the more consequential broodmares in recent times.
Special Me has produced seven winners from eight to race, four of which are graded winners, including–in chronological order–Stonetastic (USA) (Mizzen Mast {USA}); Grade 1 winner and Lane's End sire Gift Box (USA) (Twirling Candy {USA}); and Special Forces (USA) (Candy Ride {Arg}), a dual graded winner over the Woodbine synthetic in addition to Gina Romantica.
Grade 2 win for daughter of Aussie mare
With a racing move as ageless as the racetrack itself, it was 4-year-old mare Zeitlos (USA) (Curlin {USA}) who made a timeless move to the rail and got up for the win in the GII Thoroughbred Club of American Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday afternoon. The score meant that the 4-year-old not only earned her first graded stakes victory, but she took home a prized ticket to enter the starting gate in the GI PNC Bank Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar next month. Now the winner of eight of her 16 starts, Zeitlos translates to “timeless or ageless” in German.
“It was remarkable,” said trainer Steve Asmussen. “I was hesitant to wheel her back off a big race the other day so quick [after winning the listed Open Mind Stakes at Churchill Downs Sept. 14]. She was beaten here in a maiden race [finishing second April 15, 2023, in her third start]. Keeneland can be unique to itself, but she ran as good as she ever has, and what a great day to do it.”
Her dam Thyme For Roses (Redoute’s Choice) was acquired by Stonestreet Stables for $800,000 at the 2017 Australian Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale. Winner of the G3 VRC Thoroughbred Breeders S. at two, Thyme For Roses is a daughter of R-Listed Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Augusta Proud (More Than Ready {USA}) who also added two Group 3 races among her nine wins. This is the family of recent group winners Lazzago (Capitalist) and Doull (Snitzel).
