Countdown to Glory: Anticipation Builds Ahead of the Breeders’ Cup
It’s two weeks until the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships take over Del Mar (and the racing world), and owners and breeders are holding their breath in anticipation. However, in the weeks until then, the racing world chugs on.
Time to Dazzle Shines Bright in Franklin Stakes Victory at Keeneland
At Keeneland, home of Tropical Racing, Time to Dazzle won the Oct. 12 Franklin Stakes (G2T). In the stretch, jockey Jose Ortiz kept the four-year-old filly hugging the rail, and when a hole opened, sent her charging through to victory. The gray daughter of Not This Time drew off to a decisive, 3 ¼-length triumph for owner Tracy Farmer; no stranger to success at Keeneland. Farmer also owns La Cara, winner of the Ashland Stakes (G1) at the track’s spring meet.
Barnes Dominates Perryville Stakes with Runaway 8¼-Length Victory
On Saturday, Oct. 18, Barnes delivered a victory in the Perryville Stakes (G3). Three-year-old Barnes positively romped in the race, outclassing his competitors by 8 ¼ lengths. His best distance is seven furlongs, the distance at which his Perryville triumph came (and his earlier graded victory, in the grade 2 San Vicente Stakes).
Barnes Adds to Baffert and Zedan Legacy with Another Dominant Performance
A son of Into Mischief (sire of this year’s Derby winner, Sovereignty), Barnes is a maternal great-grandson of 2000 Test Stakes (G1) winner Dream Supreme. Barnes competes for Saudi mogul Amr Zedan and is trained by the legendary Bob Baffert; you may remember these two as the owner and trainer of Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) before being disqualified.
Kappa Kappa Springs Stunning 27-1 Upset in Lexus Raven Run Stakes
In the Lexus Raven Run Stakes (G2), 27.03-1 shot Kappa Kappa gutted out a head victory over Vodka with a Twist. She is the latest success story for the Pennsylvania-bred program, which offers incentives and rewards to breeders and owners of horses bred in that state. Kappa Kappa is a daughter of Omaha Beach (a leading third-crop sire, meaning that this is the third year his foals have been eligible to compete at the track) out of a half-sister to hard-knocking millionaire Pat on the Back. She races for Glenn Bennett’s LC Racing LLC, Cash is King LLC (best-known for campaigning Afleet Alex, who nearly fell to his knees in the 2005 Preakness Stakes [G1] before going on to win), and Wellesley Stable (AKA trainer Butch Reid).
Venencia and Ready for Candy Sweeten Fall Stakes Season with Graded Victories
The next day at Keeneland, French-bred Venencia captured the Dowager Stakes (G3T). She relished the soft turf, earning her first graded stakes win just in time to be consigned to the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. On Oct. 18 at Belmont at The Big A, Ontario-bred Ready for Candy took the Sands Point Stakes (G2T). This was her second consecutive graded stakes win and third straight triumph.
Borealis Trail Leads the Way in Ontario Derby for Chiefswood Stables
Heading north to Woodbine, perhaps most the most famous track in Canada, the Ontario Derby (G3) went to Borealis Trail. He is a homebred (meaning that the same team owned and bred him) for Chiefswood Stables Limited. Chiefswood which achieved the remarkable feat of having its horses run first, second, and third in the 2024 Breeders Stakes (the final leg of the Canadian Triple Crown). The gelding is a distant branch on the family tree of La Troienne, one of the most successful broodmares in history.
