Category: Media

Kirkwood Grad Coal Front Remains Perfect in Amsterdam G2 at Saratoga

Courtesy of the TDN

 $200,000 GII Amsterdam S. (6 1/2f) Coal Front, c, 3 by Stay Thirsty

Coal Front | Sarah Andrew

“TDN Rising Star” Coal Front kept his perfect record in tact and became the first graded stakes winner for his second-crop sire (by Bernardini) with this stylish front-running score in his stakes debut.

Sent to the front by Johnny Velazquez from his inside draw, the $575,000 OBSAPR buy held a narrow advantage through opening fractions of :22.37 and :45.90. The dark bay kicked for home in control, opened up a three-length lead in the stretch, and was never seriously threatened by Excitations, who rallied nicely from last of six to complete the exacta.

“We weren’t committed to the lead–the thing we were focused on was letting him break and kind of find his rhythm,” winning trainer Todd Pletcher said. “We knew he was fast, but we didn’t want to be in a speed duel, but we didn’t want to take away what is coming easy to him, either. We kind of left it in Johnny’s hands. Johnny said he was very relaxed, really comfortable. A really talented horse.”

Romping by 6 1/2 lengths on debut at Keeneland Apr. 20, Coal Front followed suit with a facile score in a first-level allowance at Belmont June 8. Sol Kumin’s Head of Plains Partners privately purchased a piece of the colt from Robert LaPenta following his last victory.

“It’s hard to win a race, much less the first three, and he beat a pretty strong group of older horses last time, and then to step up into a graded stakes, it just seems like he’s getting better and better,” Pletcher said.

As for what’s next, Pletcher added, “We talked about the [GI] Allen Jerkens [Aug. 26], we’ll see how he comes out of it. He’s a horse with a strong pedigree and enough talent to stretch out, when the time is right.”

Pedigree Notes:

Coal Front’s unraced dam Miner’s Secret, a half-sister to MGSW Woodlander (Forestry), is responsible for a yearling colt by Noble Mission (GB) and foaled a Pioneerof the Nile filly Feb. 28. She was bred back to Triple Crown hero American Pharoah.

Miner’s Secret went through the ring twice, bringing $250,000 from Reynolds Bell Jr., agent, at the 2006 KEESEP Yearling Sale and $52,000 from Coal Front’s breeder Michael Connelly in foal to War Pass at the 2009 KEENOV sale.

AMAZE ME GRACE wins her second in a romp

Four year old Indiana Bred filly AMAZE ME GRACE  (Stormy Atlantic) won her second race with ease wiring the field at Indiana Grand going 1 1/16 on the turf. She won by almost 7 lengths. AMAZE ME GRACE is owned by Edward A. Seltzer, Beverly Anderson & Jamie Corbett. She was bred by  Edward A. Seltzer and is trained by Anthony J. Granitz.

Var Filly Tops Sale Well-related good-looker grabs the limelight

The Emperors Palace Johannesburg Ready To Run Sale came to a close on Friday after evening after two solid sessions of spirited bidding

Courtesy of Sporting Post
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Highest price of R1,2 million was paid by Mayfair Speculators for a beautiful Var filly consigned by Balmoral Stud.  (This filly was selected for resale last January by a Doyle / Kirkwood partnership.)

Ice Queen is out of Baltic Beauty, a full sister to champion racemare, Mother Russia, who won 13 of her 27  starts, including four Gr 1’s.

Var Var – top class racers produced over many seasons

Super  sire Var is a noted producer of high-class fillies – his best daughters including Gr1 winning champions as Val De Ra and Via Africa, as well as the top class graded winners Princess Of Light, A Womens Way, Valdivia, and the Gr1 filly Schiffer.

Var’s daughters are also showing promise at stud, and he already features as broodmare sire of smart stakes winner Mambonick (by Mambo In Seattle) and the leading Fillies Guineas hope, and Gr3 Starling Stakes winner She’s A Giver (by Philanthropist).

We saw another smart Var on the up at Kenilworth on Wednesday when Sommerlied, a Maine Chance Farms bred and owned filly, won her second start on the trot for Dennis Drier. She is rumoured to be very good and has done little to dispel that so far!