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News from the WTBOA
August 28, 2015
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Calendar
Friday, September 11, 2015
WASHINGTON HORSE RACING COMMISSION MEETING
Auburn City Council Chambers
25 W. Main St., Auburn, WA
(360) 459-6462
Saturday, September 19, 2015
THE PRODIGIOUS FUND THOROUGHBRED SHOWCASE
WTBOA Sales Pavilion
Auburn, WA
The Prodigious Fund, Emerald Downs
(253) 288-7000; emeralddowns.com
Saturday, October 3, 2015
THE PRODIGIOUS FUND THOROUGHBRED AND HALF-THOROUGHBRED HORSE SHOW
Donida Training Center
Auburn, WA
The Prodigious Fund, Emerald Downs
(253) 288-7000; emeralddowns.com
Friday, October 9, 2015
WASHINGTON HORSE RACING COMMISSION MEETING
Auburn City Council Chambers
25 W. Main St., Auburn, WA
(360) 459-6462
Thursday, October 15, 2015
BREEDERS' CUP FOAL NOMINATION DEADLINE
Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31
BREEDERS' CUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Keeneland, Lexington, KY
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
BARRETTS FALL YEARLING AND HORSES OF RACING AGE SALE
Del Mar, CA
(909) 629-3099;info@barretts.com; barretts.com
Friday, November 13, 2015
WASHINGTON HORSE RACING COMMISSION MEETING
Auburn City Council Chambers
25 W. Main St., Auburn, WA
(360) 459-6462
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Quick Links
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Mission Statement
The Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association seeks to unite and represent those who are interested in breeding, owning, racing and improving Thoroughbreds in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest.
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Washington Thoroughbred Foundation
Helping to build a solid foundation
for the Thoroughbred industry
A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
thoroughbredfoundation.orgYou can help support our many worthy programs by selecting the Washington Thoroughbred Foundation as your charity of choice through one or both of the following programs: Fred Meyer's Community Rewards Program - Link your Rewards Card to the Washington Thoroughbred Foundation at fredmeyer.com/communityrewardsand at AmazonSmile ( smile.amazon.com) with the same wide selection of products, low prices, and convenient shopping features as on Amazon.com.
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Reminders
WTBOA Sales Incentive Program
Allowance Race
Saturday, August 29, 2015
For eligible two-year-olds; $20,000 purse
Washington Cup XIII
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Note: Some of the conditions have changed,
but each race still pays through 8th place
For more information, contact the WTBOA office
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2015 WTBOA Summer Yearling Sale Average Up Over 15 Percent
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| Hip 75
Into Mischief - Campanita filly |
The 59th annual Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale brought forth increases in both gross and average for the fourth straight year, while the median slipped slightly.
Held at the Morris J. Alhadeff Sales Pavilion located at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Washington, this year's August 18 sale cataloged 105 summer session yearlings, as well as a dozen mixed and paddock session horses.
The energy level - and in fact the whole racing atmosphere in Washington - has been buoyant this year with the many positive changes seen at Emerald Downs this season and the recent boosts in the overall Thoroughbred industry. And the proverbial "cherry on top" was the not first, but second exciting victory of WTBOA Sale poster boy Stryker Phd in the Northwest's marquee race - the $200,000 Longacres Mile (G3) - held just two days prior to the sale.
Topping the venue was a filly (Hip 75) sired by top North American sire Into Mischief which was purchased by John Brocklebank, as agent, for $80,000. The striking dark bay, a daughter of multiple stakes producer Campanita, a half-sister to Grade 1 winner and Grade 1 producer Rings a Chime, was bred and consigned by Terry and Mary Lou Griffin's Griffin Place LLC. Brocklebank also purchased Hip 12 for $65,000 from Griffin Place, a filly from the first crop of 2011 Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) winner Coil and out of the Tough Knight mare Mia F Eighteen, who has already produced $574,849 Grade 3 stakes winner Summer Hit and $198,697 stakes winner and Emerald Downs champion Starbird Road.
Brocklebank, who was the sale's leading buyer, purchased a total of ten yearlings - ranging from $5,000 to the sale topper - for a total of $383,000. The Utah horseman also paid $75,000 for the sale's third highest offering (Hip 82), a Stormin Fever filly out of Washington champion racemare Clair Annette consigned by Stormy Hull and Ginger Samples' Critter Creek Farm.
Fourteen other yearlings brought a $30,000 or higher price, including the $77,000 that nationally prominent Ten Broeck Farm - the nom de course for Woodinville resident and longtime Washington horseman David Mowat - paid for the Tiz Wonderful-Witchy Meeting filly (Hip 59) consigned by Blue Ribbon Farm, as agent for Patricia Murphy and Rick and Debbie Pabst. The filly is bred on the same lines as Grade 1 winner Condo Commando (by Tiz Wonderful out of a General Meeting mare).
Also bringing a $65,000 bid was a filly (Hip 37) from the first crop of 2012 Wood Memorial (G1) winner Gemologist. Consigned by Dr. Duane and Susan Hopp's Castlegate Farm, the half-sister to Grade 2 $683,263 stakes winner Briecat was purchased by trainer Mark Glatt of Monrovia, California.
After eight withdrawals, 97 summer session yearlings went through the ring with 77 selling for a $1,423,900 total (up 9 1/2 percent from the 2014 figure), a $18,492 average (up 15.2 percent from 2014's $16,056) and a $10,000 median (down 4.8 percent from last year's $10,500). There were 20 RNAs (reserves not attained) this sale (20.6 percent) versus 18 or 18.2 percent in 2014.
Top Selling Yearlings
Hip Name, Sex, Sire-Dam (Consignor) ... Buyer, Price
75 unnamed, filly, Into Mischief-Campanita (Griffin Place LLC) ... John Brocklebank, Agt, $80,000
59 unnamed, filly, Tiz Wonderful-Witchy Meeting (Blue Ribbon Farm, Agt for Pat Murphy & M/M F. L. Pabst) ... Ten Broeck Farm, $77,000
82 Barbara Jo, filly, Stormin Fever-Clair Annette (Critter Creek Farm, Stormy Hull & Ginger Samples) ... John Brocklebank, Agt, $75,000
12 unnamed, filly, Coil-Mia F Eighteen (Griffin Place LLC) ... John Brocklebank, Agt $65,000
37 unnamed, filly, Gemologist-Silk Briefcase (Dr. & Mrs. Duane Hopp, Castlegate Farm) ... Mark Glatt, $65,000
33 Flood Watch, colt, Forestry-Rewritten (Griffin Place, Agt for Carnation Racing Stable) ... Glen Todd, $52,000
86 unnamed, filly, Atta Boy Roy-Crafty Diva (Tall Cedars Farm LLC) ... River Ridge Ranch, $50,000
93 unnamed, colt, Sixthirteen-Felice the Cat (Bar C Racing Stables Inc., Pam & Neal Christopherson ... John Brocklebank, Agt, $50,000
To review the complete sale results, go to wtboa.com. Final results will also be published in the Fall issue of the Washington Thoroughbred and will be added to the online WTBOA Sales Archives.
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2015 Longacres Mile Smiles
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Stryker Phd
Palmer Photography
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On Sunday, August 16, the right pieces all came together when the gallant Washington-bred Stryker Phd added his illustrious name to the Emerald record books as the first double winner of the prestigious $200,000 Longacres Mile Handicap (G3).
A field of 11 talented competitors, with the late scratch of Solemnly Swear, gathered for the 80th running of the masterpiece race that Joe Gottstein first inaugurated in 1935.
Modern broke first, opening up a clear lead with early fractions of :22.13 and :44.74 before giving up the top spot to Peter Redekop Ltd's Alert Bay (City Zip-Hickory [Chi]), who had to move four-wide in the turn to get there. His time in the leading role proved brief, as the crowd favorite, Mona and Jim Hour's Stryker Phd began to make his patented late roll - with his usual wide run - and had gained command with a furlong to go. The six-year-old gelding reached the wire a length the better of W. C. Racing's fast-closing Sammy Mandeville (Rock Hard Ten-Nadadora), who was ridden by Alex Solis, with Alert Bay just a half-length back in the number three spot.
For his final time of 1:34.06, Stryker Phd received a career high 99 Beyer rating.
Partnered by Leslie Mawing, who also rode him to a his half-length tally in the 2014 Mile and has been his regular rider since his June 14, 2014, (Budweiser Handicap) debut for new trainers Larry and Sharon Ross.
"It feels fantastic to win the Longacres Mile. Any jockey that can win one, it's fantastic, let alone two," said Mawing post his exciting triumph. "I give all the props to the horse. This horse is fantastic. I just want to thank everybody that helped get this horse and myself to this point, from the gallop boy, to the groom, to the pony people. I'm just grateful to be on this horse."
Bred by Char Clark and Todd Havens of Spokane, the victory, worth $110,000, pushed Stryker Phd's lifetime earnings to $485,651 for his Bellevue-based owners. His career record is 8-5-5 in 21 starts.
The enthusiastic Clark, who had been at the track for both of "her baby boy's" Mile victories, is largely responsible for Stryker Phd's sports section cover photo and press coverage in the August 23, 2015, issue of The Spokesman-Review in a story titled "Stryker Phd born to run with the best - area bred gelding has won Longacres Mile two straight years."
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Canadian trainer Craig MacPherson saddled his first winner at Emerald Downs when British Columbia-bred Finality's Charmer won a $25,000 claimer on August 21 over 2014 Emerald Downs stakes winner Pippa Bou Peep.
The following day, Darrin Paul's homebred two-year-old filly Sugarseeker turned in an easy five-length win in her first outing, a six-panel maiden special weight race. The Washington-bred daughter of Ready's Image-Pinseeker, by Offlee Wild, is trained by Frank Lucarelli and was ridden to the 1:11.31 win by Joe Steiner.
With no stakes on the Sunday, August 23 card, top honors for the day went to Oak Crest Farm LLC homebred Guinevere's Folly, who took an allowance/$25,000 optional claiming (N) race by three-quarters of a length over Citizen Kitty. The four-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Tale of the Cat is the final foal out of Oak Crest's 1998 Washington horse of the year Guinevere, a graded stakes-winning daughter of Fit to Fight. Trained by David Martinez and ridden by Rocco Bowen, Guinevere's Finale has won three of ten starts and earned $65,333. Oak Crest Farm, the nom de course of Emerald Downs vice president Jack Hodge Jr. and his wife Theresa, has three wins in their last three starts, the others being taken by two-year-old fillies Cape Grace and Trinni. On the same card, rider Debbie Hoonan - who missed all of 2014 after shoulder surgery - scored her first Emerald victory in nearly two years with Kimberly and Dalton Stecker's Washington-bred Mister Breeze in the third race.
A Jewel of a Lady
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| Lady Rosberg
Heather Sacha Photo |
Lady Rosberg is one very nice mare and would be highly valued in any stable, but none more so than that of her breeder Karl Krieg of Oak Harbor. However, the talented distaffer is far from the first top runner bred by Krieg and his wife Darlyne and conditioned by his team of trainers - Tom Wenzel at Emerald Downs and Valorie Lund at Turf Paradise and Canterbury Park. Since 2013, the Kriegs have earned six year-end Washington championship titles, starting with that year's champion three-year-old and horse of the year Makors Finale and his half-brother Absolutely Cool, in the first of his three consecutive titles. In addition to Absolutely Cool's 2014 award as Washington champion sprinter, another Krieg homebred, the lightly raced Lady Rosberg, earned top accolades as Washington's best turf horse after her victory in the Queen of the Green Stakes at Turf Paradise.
Lady Rosberg began her 2015 campaign - which has been run exclusively in stakes events - with a second in the 1 1/16-mile turf Glendale Handicap in January, but since that runner-up finish, no horse has bested the now five-year-old mare. She added her second turf stakes victory in the mile Sun City Handicap in February but since then proved her versatility with three successful romps over the dirt. Her latest win, and one likely to gain her older mare honors at Emerald Downs, came in the $65,000 Emerald Distaff Handicap, where she stretched out her speed to take the nine-furlong stakes by 3 3/4 lengths. It was the first of two championship defining stakes run on the August 16 card.
Going off as the two-to-five favorite, Gallyn Mitchell kept Lady Rosberg posed and ready while racing just off the pace set by early leaders Among the Stars and Madame Pele. The race highweight at 122 pounds, Lady Rosberg drew out to an open lead in the stretch and then powered to her easy victory in 1:48.68. It marked the second year in a row that trainer Wenzel has swept the older filly division at the Auburn track.
Mark Dedomenico LLC, Dr. George Todaro and Jerry Hollendorfer's Sarahline (Northern Afleet-Hold the Sugar) finished second, a half-length the better of Kama'aina Thoroughbreds' Madame Pele (Salt Lake-Striking Scholar), whose older half-brother would bring down one race later when he won the track's marquee event.
"She's just so versatile. She's just so nice to ride," commented Mitchell. "When I rode her last time, Tom thought there was quite a bit of speed in there. And I told him, 'This mare breaks awful good, and I can place her wherever I want.' Today, she broke and was right with them, and I could have had the lead at any time. And I just talked to her, and she came right back, and I did anything I wanted in the race. She'll run dirt, turf, long or short, and that just makes her that much better of a horse. I really didn't look back. I was just hoping nothing was coming. But she was giving it to me, so I was pretty confident."
Lady Rosberg, a daughter of British Columbia stallion Rosberg and out of the Distorted Humor mare Enter Laughing, has an enviable record of 8-2-2 from 15 starts and has earned $170,022 during her three-year campaign.
Also on the Mile undercard, Michael and Amy Feuerborn's homebred Scat Daddybaby, who finished fourth in the 2014 Mile but failed to draw into the 2015 race, rolled to a 3 1/2-length win in the $25,000 Pete Pedersen Memorial Purse. Also ridden by Mitchell, the Robbie Baze trainee ran the eight panels in 1:34.17, just 0.11 seconds off Stryker Phd's 2015 Mile journey. The five-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Scat Daddy out of former Emerald Downs champion three-year-old filly Bianconi Baby has won six races and earned $99,439.
In the fourth race, trainer Dustin Murray recorded his first Emerald win with Les Bois Park ship-in Memo to Reese.
ERC Wins Again with Tribal Waters
The ninth race proved bittersweet for the Emerald Racing Club, as their number two horse - Tribal Waters - scored his second win for the 187-member group, but was claimed for $12,500 out of his nearly two-length win. Trained and ridden by winning Mile connections Larry Ross and Leslie Mawing, the four-year-old California-bred gelding had two wins and two fourths in his four starts for Emerald Downs' second race club and $16,806 in race earnings.
Rule Number One
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| Mach One Rules
Palmer Photography |
In an exciting race, two juvenile sons of Harbor the Gold dueled throughout the 6 1/2 furlongs of the WTBOA Lads Stakes to finish only a head apart in the 34th renewal of the $50,000 stakes. R. E. V. Racing's unbeaten Mach One Rules took the close decision over Big Bill, Clemens View Farm and Bre Skeslien's first-time starter Viewingthegold. Mach One Rules not only became the second Lads winner in two years for Roy and Ellie Schaefer's R. E. V. Racing, as well as trainer Frank Lucarelli and rider Leslie Mawing, but he bettered the stakes record set by his stablemate Trackattacker (who himself had set a new stakes record) in 2014 with a time of 1:15.78 versus 1:16.19.
The $1.90-to-one favorite in the stakes field of eight after breaking his maiden by nearly four lengths in a maiden special weight race run on July 14, Mach One Rules set early fractions of :22.29, :44.67 and 1:09.16. Viewingthegold (Harbor the Gold-Kittyzallwet), a $25.90-to-one longshot ridden by Javier Matias, pressed the winner's strong pace and was literally at his throatlatch through a prolonged drive which saw him only just miss while giving the winner a pound advantage. Mach One Rules earned a 72 Beyer for the win, the largest for any two-year-old at the 2015 meet.
John E. Parker's Gold Rush Dancer (Private Gold-Dances On Water), who ran second to Emerald Express Stakes to the now absent Barkley, finished four lengths back in third place.
"Nothing taken away from Javier's horse. He's very game," said Mawing, who has now won a record four WTBOA Lads. "And I know that he is a two-year-old and this is only his second race, so he probably just needed that experience. But I knew this was anybody's race. On the other hand, I knew I had a lot of horse under me, so I just wanted to be dictating the pace. If my horse was going to get beat it was going to get beat on the front end today, but he dug right back in. It was all horse today. It wasn't me. It was all horse. I was just happy to have the best horse out there today."
Mach One Rules became the fourth son of Harbor the Gold - and third in three years - in seven years to take the Lads. Bred by Pam and Neal Christopherson's Bar C Racing Stable, he is the first winner out of the Distinctive Cat mare Felice the Cat, which is the same cross as Lads runner-up Viewingthegold and that runner's full brother, 2009 Gottstein Futurity winner Koala Beach. Mach One Rules has now put $43,450 into the Schaefers' Port Orchard bank account. Mach One Rules timing couldn't have been any better for the Christophersons, as they were offering his yearling half-brother by Sixthirteen at the WTBOA Sale just three days later. The colt brought $50,000.
A Royal Birthday Party
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| Princess Kennedy
Wayne Nagai Photo |
A stakes win is always a cause for celebration, but when the last stakes winner you bred came 15 years prior when Dr. Slew took the 2000 WTBOA Lads and then it happens to be your rider's 53rd birthday, there is even more cause for jubilation.
A field of eight distaff juveniles met with the starter for the $50,000 Barbara Shinpoch Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong test which complimented the males' WTBOA Lads on the August 15 card.
Randall and Rossi LLC and trainer Frank Lucarelli's Freaky Kiki (Regal Ransom-Amaretta's Way) broke on top and held sway for the first half-mile. Meanwhile Princess Kennedy - the $1.80-to-one bettors' choice - settled three to four lengths off the early leaders After reaching the lead in the lane, she powered off by herself to an 8 3/4-length victory in 1:17.12. The margin of victory is the largest in the 34-year history of the race. Freaky Kiki finished second, 1 1/2 lengths the better of Coal Creek Farm's Angie C. Stakes winner My Heart Goes On (Albertus Maximus-My Untamed Heart), who was 1 3/4-lengths in front of first-time starter Say It Slow, with the rest of the field strung out well behind them.
"I just want to thank the Thorners and Tom Wenzel for giving me a shot. I'm sure glad I had a chance to ride this filly on my birthday, and she pulled it out for me," said Mitchell, the track's all-time leading rider in wins (1,410) and stakes victories (78). "The first couple times I rode her I figured some stuff out, and I talked to Tom, and we fixed them. Last race, we just got in a little bad racing luck, and for a two-year-old filly to pick herself back up and come running like she did, I knew she was something special." The win gave Mitchell his record-breaking fifth Shinpoch victory.
The filly also gave trainer Wenzel his fourth stakes win of the 2015 meeting, and his fifth would follow less than 24 hours later in the Emerald Distaff.
Lady Kennedy, a daughter of Sun King-Pat Hand, by Cape Town, was bred in Kentucky by Yakima attorney, former WTBOA president and longtime racing enthusiast David Thorner. Though unraced herself, Pat Hand, a half-sister to two stakes-placed runners, has produced six winners from six starters among her first seven foals. She is also the dam of Grade 2-placed, stakes producer Dagger and has a yearling filly by Afleet Express and a weanling colt by Parading. In four starts, Lady Kennedy has two wins and a second and has earned $49,038.
Also on the Saturday card, veteran horseman Howard Belvoir saddled his 2,000th winner when John Parker's five-year-old mare Vistarella took the fourth race by 4 1/4 lengths with Belvoir favorite Jennifer Whitaker riding.
"When you think how many trainers have never even run 2,000 races, let alone win 2,000, it's pretty amazing. This is something I really wanted," commented the breeder, owner and trainer of the great Wasserman.
Through August 24, trainer Jeffrey Metz continues to stay in the number one spot by wins with 46 and is ranked second in earnings with $409,848. Leading in earner is Frank Lucarelli with $423,375, who ranks second in wins with 27. Blaine Wright is third on the leaderboard in wins with 25 and is fourth by money won with $322,684. Winning Mile trainer Larry Ross holds third in earnings with $379,485. Fourth with 23 wins and fifth in earnings, with $303,544, is Howard Belvoir. Rigoberto Velasquez ranks fifth in wins with 18.
In the jockey colony, Julien Couton leads with 75 winners, a dozen more than second place Juan Gutierrez. Couton also ranks second in monies with $851,826 to leader Leslie Mawing's $1,037,834, who ranks one victory behind Gutierrez in trips to the winner's circle with 62. Rocco Bowen stands in fourth place in both wins, 39, and in earnings, $522,059, while Joseph Steiner holds down both fifth places with 37 wins and $501,179.
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For the second time of the meet, Stryker Phd was named Washington-bred runner of the week for breeders Char Clark and Todd Havens. His coach, Larry Ross, earned trainer accolades and his riding partner, Leslie Mawing, took jockey honors. The trio was also the top picks in week 14.
Stryker Phd's happy owners, Mona and Jim Hour, were named top owners for week 18. They were joined by exercise rider Brad Balcom, from Robbie Baze's barn, who was named the tops of his field, and best groom honors went to Gumaro Martinez, who works for Frank Lucarelli.
Week 19 Washington-bred honors went to John E. Parker's Chaching Pete, who in taking a $5,000 claimer by four lengths on August 21, was adding his 13th victory at Emerald Downs and 17th overall. The eight-year-old son of Petersburg also won at Kin Park, Portland Meadows and Sun Downs (two). Bred by Victor Cozzetti's partnership Vic-Tory VII, Chaching Pete is one of two winners from three named foals, the other winner being his full brother Highdleburg (five wins, $38,577) out of the Vying Victor mare Vying High, who took a trio of wins at Emerald and earned $16,921. High on the Chisos, Chaching Pete's second dam, produced one other winner among her six foals, the Slewdledo runner Slews Destiny. His third dam Gallant Prophesy, by Gallant Best, had three winners, but his fourth dam, Premium Miss, was a 100 percent producer with nine foals racing, including 13-race winner and $103,829 earner Ono Bret and Northwest Pleasure, who was twice stakes-placed at Grants Pass.
Debbie Hoonan was saluted as top rider of the week. Frank Lucarelli earned trainer honors and Bullseye Racing was named best owner. Groom of the week honors were given to Hector Cardenas, who works for Don Munger.
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Ben's Cat Takes Mister Diz Stakes for Sixth Time
Multiple Maryland horse of the year Ben's Cat continues to cement himself in the hearts and memories of Free Staters as the gallant now nine-year-old gelding posted his unprecedented sixth victory in the $60,000 Mister Diz Stakes for Maryland-bred runners on August 22 at Laurel Park. Seven-year-old Night Officer, by Officer, finished a half-length back in second in the 5 1/2-furlong turf event. Bred, raced and trained by recent National Racing Hall of Fame inductee King Leatherbury and partnered by regular rider Julian Pimentel, Ben's Cat, who is out of the multiple stakes-placed Thirty Eight Paces mare Twofox, improved his illustrious record to 30-8-4 from 50 outings and has now earned $2,461,405.
Ben's Cat is one of three 2015 stakes winners for Gibson Thoroughbred Farm's four-time leading Washington sire and current top state sire Parker's Storm Cat ($493,812, through August 24), whose three-year-old Betrbegone won the Seattle Slew Handicap and most recently ran a strong second in the Emerald Downs Derby on August 9.
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WTBOA Sales Graduates in the News
Multiple Canadian champion Lexie Lou, whose last start was a runner-up finish in the La Canada Stakes (G2) last January at Santa Anita, had her second 2015 start delayed after suffering an eye injury in mid-August. Though the eye was still swollen shut as of August 24, trainer Mark Casse said ". . . we have an expert from the University of Guelph taking care of her. I don't think it's anything serious. She'll be fine. I'm guessing she just brushed against some hay and that's how it happened. We just want to make sure that she's Ok. And, we wanted people to know what happened" as the four-year-old filly had been scheduled to start at Woodbine on August 26. The Paradox Farm of Dr. Moira Gunn and her late husband Dr. Mike Gunn was honored as 2014 CTHS breeder of the year due to Lexie Lou's outstanding accomplishments. The granddaughter of Washington-bred champion Favored One has earnings of$1,468,714 with a record of 7-4-2 from 17 starts.
Eight-year-old Newfound Gold, a Kentucky-bred gelding by Newfoundland-Binntastic, by Lyphard's Wish (Fr), who was a $9,500 RNA at the 2008 WTBOA summer sale, won a $12,500 6 1/2-furlong claiming race at Del Mar on August 21 by 2 1/4 lengths in his third win in four 2015 starts. In 47 starts he has earned $231,259 with a 14-16-9 record.
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Barrett's August Yearling Sale
Barretts Sales held its first select yearling sale at Del Mar on August 15 with 76 yearlings cataloged. The sale, which was held after the Saturday race card, saw 44 horses change hands for a $1,629,000 gross, a $37,023 average and a $32,500 median. Twenty-seven yearlings didn't meet their consignors' expectations, including a Shackleford colt that was a $140,000 RNA.
Topping the venue for $90,000 each were a Tapizar colt out of stakes producer Sallie's Memory, by Holy Bull; and a colt from the last crop of Harlan's Holiday out of the stakes-placed Broken Vow mare Diva's Seastar. Bred by John and Doris Konecny in Kentucky, Diva's Seastar is out of Washington broodmare of the year Taj Aire, by Taj Alriyadh. Among Taj Aire's eight winners are two Grade/Group 3 winners, one Washington champion and three other stakes horses.
Other horses selling with a Washington connection include Rick Pasko's Heatseeker (Ire)-Stormy Bet, by Storm Creek, which sold for $14,000 and stems from the family of Grade 1 winners Georgie Boy and Delicate Vine; and a Slew's Tiznow colt out of a winning daughter of former WTBOA sale topper Collect Call, a graded stakes winner of $434,000 who also produced Grade 2 stakes winner and sire Old Fashioned.
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Fear of the Cat, a two-year-old British Columbia-bred gelding sired by El Dorado Farms LLC's Abraaj out of Imaflashycat, by Tale of the Cat, upped his earnings to $15,142 after he added his second stakes placement with a third place finish in the $38,210 New Westminster Stakes run at Hastings Racecourse on August 21.
2015 Washington Racing Hall of inductee trainer Wesley Ward continued to make his mark internationally when he entered his two-year-old 2015 Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes winner Acapulco against older runners in the Group 1 Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at England's York course on August 21 and came away with a second place finish, beaten two lengths, by four-year-old filly Mecca's Angel, by Dark Angel, in the five-furlong turf sprint. On the same day, but across the Atlantic at Saratoga, Ward trainee Bruised Orange, a juvenile filly by City Zip, ran second by a head to the colt Too Discreet in the second division of the Schenectady Stakes. The following day at the New York summer meet, Ward-trained two-year-old Sheikh of Sheikhs, by Discreetly Mine, took a six-panel maiden special weight race by nearly two lengths in his race debut.
Mark Dedomenico LLC's three-year-old Chief of Staff, a California-bred colt by Majestic Warrior-Morning Jewel, by Awesome Again, took a mile allowance/$20,000 optional claiming (N) race by 6 1/2 lengths at Del Mar on August 21, upping his earnings to $123,418 for the Jerry Hollendorfer-trained runner.
Dr. George Todaro and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's five-year-old Pleasantly Perfect gelding Perfect Set, who won a Del Mar allowance/$40,000 optional claiming (N) race by 2 1/4 lengths on August 22, upped his earnings to $157,845 with his third win this year.
Two-time champion Beholder, a five-year-old daughter of Henny Hughes-Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek, whose third dam was former Washington broodmare One Last Bird, became the first filly or mare to take the Pacific Classic (G1) - in its 25th running at Del Mar on August 21 - and did so after making "a breathtaking rally" at the three-eighths pole to score a record-breaking 8 1/4-length victory in the million dollar race. Gary Stevens was aboard the Richard Mandella-trained champion in the 10-furlong race. Beholder improved her record to 14-3-0 from 19 starts and brought her earnings to $4,256,600. Mandella trainee Catch a Flight (Arg) finished second to his stablemate, one length the better of third place Red Vine. The question now is whether Beholder will run in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) or Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1), both for which she has earned "Win and You're In" BC challenges.
Two horses with Washington owners won races at Del Mar on August 19. In the second race, Al and Saundra Kirkwood's Cadet Roni, a three-year-old Kentucky-bred daughter of Colonel John-Exemption, by Forestry, took a $50,000 maiden claiming race by 4 1/4 lengths. She is trained by Mark Glatt. Three races later, Dr. George Todaro, Mark Schlaich, Richard Robertson and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's Frandontjudge came from last in the field of nine to win a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance by 1 1/4 lengths. It marked the fourth win for the four-year-old California-bred daughter of Benchmark-Call a Judge, by Judge T C - a full sister to $228,816 stakes winner Bench the Judge - who has earned $163,520 after her latest victory. On August 21, the Kirkwoods' Rockin Robin, a three-year-old gelding by Rock Hard Ten, added his second victory in a $40,000 claiming race at Del Mar. The Mark Glatt trainee has earned $86,620.
On July 18, Horseplayers Racing Club LLC (HRC) and Nancy Vanier's homebred Boom Box, a three-year-old Illinois-bred son of Straight Line, added his second victory in a $16,000 claiming race on August 14 at Arlington Park, increasing his earnings to $36,517. On August 15, HRC's juvenile Glitter O'Prado, a Louisiana-bred filly by freshman sire Paddy O'Prado out of $140,923 stakes-placed Glitterdancing, by Glitterman, won a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race at Louisiana Downs, by 2 1/2 lengths.
WTBOA member I. Melvin Gorasht and E. M. and M. Braithewaite's homebred stakes winner Locket, a five-year-old British Columbia-bred daughter of Rosberg-La Belle Creole, by Ascot Knight, added her third stakes second of the year when she was beaten a neck by Touching Promise, in the $38,211 British Columbia Cup Distaff Handicap run at Hastings Racecourse on August 21. She has earned $149,983 with her eighth stakes placement.
A painting titled "Reflecting" by Equine Art Show winner Sally Martin, a niece of Jean Welch of Tall Cedars Farm, was featured in the article "A Compassionate Approach to Training and Showing," written by Susan Gordon, in the September 2015 issue of Equus magazine.
Grade 3 stakes winner Fury Kapcori, a $521,040 earner who raced for Rick Awtrey, Dr. George Todaro and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, has been retired from racing. The five-year-old son of Tiznow, who is one of a trio of stakes winners produced out of Gin Running, by Go for Gin, will stand the 2016 breeding season at Journeyman Stud in Ocala, Florida. No stud fee has been announced.
The September/October 2015 issue of Canadian Thoroughbred has an article on Robert Geller, who recently left his longtime post as Emerald Downs race caller for Woodbine's greener pastures. The 2015 Washington Hall of Fame inductee seems to be adjusting well to the Canadian clime. Also in that issue is a short piece on rider Gary Boulanger's 2015 induction to the Washington Hall of Fame.
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Rex Mudd
Rex Mudd, 71, of Redmond, passed away on August 13, 2015. Rex was born in Sömmerda, Germany, on August 27, 1943, the son of Charlotte Klaubel and Rex Mudd, Sr. As the war ended, Rex and his mother left Germany to join his father in the United States to begin a new life.
Rex graduated from Pius X High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1961 and enrolled immediately at the University of Nebraska where he received a BS in business.
In 1973, Rex founded Marci Jewelry in Bellevue and for 42 years its operation and success remained one of his dearest passions.
In 1994, Rex's good mare, Jessie Janey, was awarded "Most Improved Plater" by the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association. His homebred Hoopstar earned two Washington championship titles: champion three-year-old colt in 1995 and in 1997, champion handicap horse. Rex also bred Hoopstar's stakes-placed half-siblings Ms. Jill Z and Dancing Liebling.
After much hard work, Rex established the "Golden Spoon Scholarship" fund to raise money for youth to attend his private high school and alma mater, Pius X.
Rex was a devout Catholic. He loved to travel and took many adventures throughout the world with his wife, Lorri.
Rex is survived by wife, Lorri Mudd; son, Mike (Jenny) Mudd; granddaughter, Makena; niece, Briannah Wayman; sisters, Rita Wayman and Lisa Mudd; and nephew, Larry Powell.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made to the American Heart Association (heart.org).
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