7 minute read
Making waves
Melissa Bauer-Herzog rounds up the big-race action at Saratoga August, headed up by Epicenter’s Grade 1 Travers Stakes victory
THE MURKY three-year-old colt route division was made a little clearer in late August when Epicenter (Not This Time) secured his first Grade 1 in tremendous style with a 5l romp in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
Running no worse than second in each of his starts since a sixth on debut, Epicenter was already amongst the top of a competitive group coming into the Travers with an in-hand win in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy and second place finishes in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby and Grade 1 Preakness Stakes during this year’s Triple Crown campaign.
He is the leading runner for third-crop sire sensation Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway), whose nine stakes winners and 20 stakes performers in 2022 also include the Grade 1 Madison Stakes winner Just One Time from his first crop.
Not This Time’s third crop – this year’s juveniles – has already produced two stakes performers, led by the Kitten’s Joy Stakes (G3) winner Gigante.
Interestingly, Not This Time’s six runners out of Candy Ride mares have yielded Epicenter and the Grade 2 winner Simplification. They are bred on the reverse of the Candy Ride-Giant’s Causeway cross that produced Horse of the Year and rising superstar sire Gun Runner and two other graded stakes winners.
It was a young sire trifecta in the Travers with Not This Time leading home secondcrop sire Gun Runner’s dual Grade 1 winner Cyberknife, and third-crop sire Upstart’s Grade 1-winning son Zandon in third.
While there are still questions about how the three-year-old Dirt routing colts will shake out by the end of the year, the threeyear-old sprinting and fillies divisions have clear leaders.
Suffering his first career loss when stretched out to 1m1f in July, Jack Christopher (Munnings) was back to his winning ways on the Travers undercard with victory in the Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial.
Coolmore and Peter Brant bought into Jack Christopher last year and the outlay has already paid dividends with three Grade 1 victories and a Grade 2 win in his six starts.
Depending on what happens in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint later this year, Jack Christopher may even be crowned the best of the sprinters overall if he can beat Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music).
Jackie’s Warrior suffered his first defeat of the year the same day as Jack Christopher’s victory when he was caught late in the Grade 1 Forego Stakes. That victory went to homebred Curlin colt Cody’s Wish, who is named after Make-A-Wish participant Cody Dorman.
Born with Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome, Dorman met the colt when touring Godolphin in 2018 and the pair immediately bonded.
Cody’s Wish broke his maiden last year as a three-year-old and has won two stakes races this year. He was making his Grade 1 debut in the Forego and proved up to the task.
He was one of two Curlin runners out of A.P. Indy-line mares to win a Grade 1 on the card with last year’s champion three-yearold filly and Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat winning the Personal Ensign (G1) a few races later.
The race was a throwback to last year’s Oaks with that race’s runner-up Search Results (Flatter) just half a length behind the winner.
Curlin runners from the A.P. Indy line proved to be incredibly successful throughout the Saratoga meet in all divisions.
The week before the Travers card, Nest followed up her 12l Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks win in July with an eased up 4l win in the Alabama Stakes (G1) making her the clear frontrunner for champion three-year-old filly honours after three Grade 1 wins and two Grade 1 seconds in 2022.
In all, Curlin bred to A.P. Indy line mares has produced 15 graded stakes winners, 26 stakes winners, and 48 stakes performers with the eight Grade 1 winners led by Stellar Wind, Clairiere, Paris Lights, Malathaat, and Nest.
Many have decried Declaration Of War’s transfer to Japan over the last few years but it looks like the former Coolmore Stud-based stallion may have a son to take up his mantle in the US breeding industry with Gufo.
THREE-TIME Grade 1 winner, Gufo secured his second straight Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes victory at Saratoga in late August.
The race gave Japan’s JBBA plenty to celebrate as it also stands Noble Mission (Galileo), the sire of secondplace finisher Mira Mission.
Galileo was a huge influence in the race with Noble Mission’s full-brother Frankel (Galileo) siring the third-placed Soldier Rising, while Australia (Galileo) is the sire of fourth-placed Broome.
Two of the past seven Sword Dancer winners are by stallions who have ended up in Japan – the 2014 winner Main Sequence is by Aldebaran, who was conceived the year prior to Aldebaran moving to Japan.
The Grade 1 Ballerina Handicap held the day after the Travers Stakes proved to be a good one for the late broodmare Primal Force.
Her grandson Ghostzapper (Awesome Again) is the sire of winning Goodnight Olive, who was making her stakes race debut, and her son Macho Uno (Holy Bull) is the dam-sire of the third-placed finisher Obligatory.
Primal Force died in 2011 after foaling a full-sister to Macho Uno, but her influence continues to be felt as the mare is also the grand-dam of Good Forever (Forever D’Oro), who recorded a stakes victory in the Circle City Stakes on September 7.
The closing weekend of the Saratoga meet also cleared up the picture concerning the older males on the east coast. Olympiad (Speightstown) rebounded from a fourthplace finish in the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes with a 2l win in the 1m2f Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes.
The four-year-old has won six of his seven starts this year with five graded stakes victories. He is the third Grade 1 winner of the year for WinStar Farm stalwart Speightstown (Gone West), who also sired the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) winner Shirl’s Speight going a mile on the Turf and the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Switzerland going 6f on the Dirt.
On the opposite coast Fightline (Tapit) once again lived up to his name with a Grade 1 Pacific Classic victory.
Eased up in the stretch, the four-year-old retained his undefeated title with a 19l victory over the Group 1 Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer (Tonalist).
It was the fifth start for Flightline, who was registering his third straight Grade 1 victory with those wins coming by a combined 36l.
It has been a strong year for the Tapit-Indian Charlie cross as Charge It, this year’s 23l Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes winner and Grade 1 Florida Derby runner-up, is bred on the same cross.
Nest
Stallions from the A.P. Indy line bred to Indian Charlie mares have sired three graded stakes winners, nine stakes winners, and 19 stakes performers with six of those stakes winners by Tapit and his sons.
The bloodstock world suffered a sizable loss in late August when More Than Ready (Southern Halo) was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age.
Making more trips than any other shuttle stallion during his breeding career with stud duties in both the US and Australia since 2001, More Than Ready has sired 100 graded stakes winners, 216 stakes winners, and 402 stakes performers, led by 26 Grade 1 winners in five different countries.
Among those 26 Grade 1 winners were seven Breeders’ Cup winners, the most of any stallion in Breeders’ Cup history.
