NEWS AND NOTES FOR DECEMBER 6, 2013

NEWS AND NOTES FOR DECEMBER 6, 2013

TEXAS STALLION STAKES ON TAP FOR SATURDAY AT RETAMA PARK
Carded as race number 6, the 6-furlong, $75,000 Darby’s Daughter division of the Texas Stallion Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, boasts a competitive field of 11 contenders.  Trainer Steve Asmussen will send out the 6-1 coupled entry of Desert Jones (Seneca Jones – Graytfulness), Primed N Willing (Primal Storm – Ready Light) and Seneca Destiny (Seneca Jones – Dixie’s Destiny), along with Paddle Out (Valid Expectations – Top Paddler), while Danny Pish will saddle Krazy Kitty (Valid Expectations – Smoking Kitty) also at 6-1, Queen’s Bling (Too Much Bling – Penny Lake) and Way Too Naughty (Midway Road – Naught N Pg). Rounding out the field are Thegirlinthatsong (My Golden Song – Belle of the Band) trained by Andy Konkoly, Bakken Baby (Valid Expectations – Royalactgo), sent out by Michael Franklin, Forever Since (Supreme Cat – Glorify), trained by Jack Bruner and Coyote Queen (Early Flyer – Coyote Cafe), saddled by Bret Calhoun.

The $75,000 My Dandy division of the Texas Stallion Stakes for 2-year-old colts and geldings at 6 furlongs, carded as race 8, has a strong field of 12, including the Asmussen-trained coupled entry of Dial Up (Too Much Bling – Tuned In) and Pop Music (Too Much Bling – Funny Tune), along with Cope With Seneca (Seneca Jones – Cope with the Cat).  Bret Calhoun sends out Circustown Flyer (Early Flyer – Rockin Regent) and morning line favorite Ibaka (Uncle Abbie – Synersis).  Completing the field are F J Uncle Vic (Uncle Abbie – Let Her Reign), saddled by Terry Eoff, Ellie’s Flyer (Early Flyer – Dance with Dana) trained by Ronnie Cravens, Aces N Jacks (Jet Phone – Purse Mischief) sent out by Caroline Dodwell, Awesome J T (Chief Three Sox – Colleague) trained by Andy Konkoly, Time Iz Flyin (Early Flyer – First Final), saddled by Allen Milligan and From Day One (Touch Tone – No Other Name) trained by Jack Bruner.

Eligible horses for this Stallion Stakes Series do not have to be foaled in Texas, but must be sired by an Accredited Texas Stallion who stood the 2010 breeding season in Texas and was nominated to the Stallion Stakes program.  All entrants in both divisions happen to be Accredited Texas-bred with the exception of the Louisiana-bred filly Primed N Willing and the Oklahoma-bred gelding Ibaka.

Good luck to everyone!

TTA INTERNET AUCTION OF 2014 STALLION SEASONS
The first round of internet bidding on 2014 stallion seasons is now closed, and seasons to the following stallions have been sold: A P Million, Angliana, Crossbow, Early Flyer, Grasshopper, Indygo Mountain, My Golden Song, Oratory, Power Storm, Too Much Bling and Wimbledon.

The second round of internet bidding is now open, with many seasons still available. This final round will end at 5pm Central on Wednesday January 8th.  Place your bids now by following the links at www.texasthoroughbred.com.

Many thanks to the donors and purchasers of these seasons.

ANOTHER STAKES WIN FOR OL WINEDRINKER WHO
Texas-bred Ol Winedrinker Who continues to get better with age as the 2012 Zia Park Derby winner captured Wednesday’s $150,000 Zia Park Distance Championship for older horses at 1 1/8 miles. With Carlos Madeira up, Ol Winedrinker Who took the lead in the homestretch and surged clear for a 3 1/4-length victory in 1:50.09 as the 3-1 favorite. The race was originally scheduled for Sunday but was postponed due to winter weather in New Mexico.

“He definitely likes the racetrack, and he’s run well every time on it,” his trainer, Joel Marr, said. “He’s getting better with age and getting more mature. He’s learned to run between horses and on the inside. He didn’t like that early on.”

Bred and owned by Sam E. and Sammy L. Stevens, Ol Winedrinker Who is a 4-year-old gelded son of Sligo Bay (Ire). Now a winner of seven of 20 starts, he has banked $346,579. In addition to the Zia Park Derby and Zia Park Distance Championship, the Texas-bred has also won the Veterans Stakes at Zia and the Norgor Derby at Ruidoso Downs.

BLOODHORSE.COM HAS A NEW LOOK
Look around BloodHorse.com today and you’ll see some key changes in the look and architecture of the website.

One of the biggest improvements is a new horizontal navigation bar with drop-down menus that provide quicker pathways to the content you need every day. These menus also make the depth of information available on BloodHorse.com easier to use through embedded search boxes for race results, video replays, Stallion Register Online profiles, and racehorse profiles.

Along with a cleaner, easier-to-read design, users now have the ability to comment on BloodHorse.com stories.

NOTES:  The American Graded Stakes Committee assigned grades to 455 races scheduled for 2014, two fewer than for 2013…The Midlantic December Mixed Sale scheduled for Monday December 9 has 7 new addendum entries with hips 32, 41, 66, & 211-214…Heritage Place in Oklahoma will hold its second annual Thoroughbred mixed sale at 11:00 a.m. on Dec. 14 with a catalog of 135 head including includes not only breeding prospects and yearlings, but also horses of racing age… The online catalog of 1,590 horses in the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale (January 6-9) is now available…January 6 is the closing date for entries to the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Texas 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale set for April 1…The Texas Racing Commission will meet at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 10th with agenda items to include progress reports by inactive racetrack license holders on preparations to being live racing, the allocation of purses and breed splits pursuant to Commission Rule 321,303(a), the distribution of funds in the Escrowed Horse Purse Account among the various breeds of horses under Commission Rule 321.509 and to consider the establishment of an advisory committee on pari-mutuel wagering…Reminder: December 16th is the deadline for receipt of ballots in the TTA Board of Directors election…Good luck to Deputiformer in the Claiming Crown Iron Horse Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday; he is trained by Dallas Keen for owners Brent Gasaway and Ian Yarnot.