Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

When 5-year-old entire Angel Capital (Harry Angel {Ire}) won the G2 Autumn Stakes when resuming as an autumn 3-year-old, he had four wins under his belt for trainer Clinton McDonald and was headed to the G1 Australian Guineas. Yulong saw his potential and paid big for him with the sum rumoured at the time to be $4 million.

They’ve had to show perseverance, but it paid off on Saturday with victory in the G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.

He didn’t run in that Guineas, and wasn’t seen again until the spring of his 4-year-old season where he won the Listed Chautauqua Stakes for his new trainer Chris Waller. Since then he’s had three Group 1 placings.

“It was certainly a well-deserved Group 1. It looked like it was going to be a suitable race leading in with the track conditions, barrier drawer and the handicap conditions, so it really just came down to luck in the running,” Yulong’s Racing Manager Danny Rolston said.

“He got that and got the deserved win.

“I don't think there's any misconceptions that he's always been a Group 1 level sprinter and now he's got the tag in his race record.”

The Everest is on the cards, again

Angel Capital ran in Yulong’s The Everest slot in 2025, running sixth in the race won by global superstar Ka Ying Rising (NZ) (Shamexpress {NZ}). The crowd thrilling Hong Kong speedster is back for 2026 and perhaps Angel Capital will have another crack at him too.

“We’ll have a meeting tomorrow internally and chat to Chris (Waller) and his team, but the Everest is firmly in the discussion. We're not locking him in right now, as we'll see how he's come through the run and it'll certainly be one of the options on the table,” Rolston said.

“He would be the obvious horse that would warrant putting it in from our own team.”

Angel Capital now has six wins from 18 starts and earnings over $2.9 million.

It was a good day out for Yulong, whose 3-year-old filly Quick Finish (Grunt {NZ}) put herself in the G1 Victoria Oaks picture with a victory at Caulfield over 1800 metres. She now has two wins from three starts.

“She obviously got out over a trip yesterday and had no trouble finding the distance to her liking. She’s got an entry for the VRC Oaks, and all going well, she'll be on that pathway into an Ethereal, leading into the Oaks.”

The perfect Group 1 birthday present

Bred by David Peacock, Angel Capital was purchased for $400,000 by Upper Bloodstock from the Mill Park Stud draft at the 2023 Inglis Premier Yearling Sale.

“At long last!” breeder David Peacock, who was also celebrating his 80th birthday yesterday, told inglis.com.au.

“I was saying my prayers for him and when he got to the home turn I was like ‘C’mon mate, you can do it, you can do it.’ I was screaming at the TV, I was really thrilled because he’s tried so hard to win his Group 1 and I was so proud today, he won so well and they don’t give away Group 1s, they’re bloody hard to win.”

Angel Capital is one of three Group winners out of the classy Teofilo (Ire) mare Bahamas, who was a winner over 1600 metres and placed in the G1 Australasian Oaks, G3 South Australia Fillies Classic and the Listed Alexandra Stakes.

He continues a long list of elite graduates from Mill Park Stud in South Australia.

“I think it's 23 Group 1 winners. That's a pretty exciting achievement for us. I hope it keeps rolling on,” Mill Park Stud’s Chris Watson said.

“He was always a bit of a standout from day one. He wasn't your typical, precocious, early goer, but he had a presence about him, a lovely bit of scope and presence to him and was a lovely quality balanced looking athlete.

“He was very well found (at the sales) with a lot of inspections for him and he ended going to a good judge in Upper Bloodstock. He had a presence to him and he was always one that stood out to us.”

It’s a tough pedigree with Angel Capital’s half-brother Berkeley Square (Territories {Ire}) winning ten races including the G2 Moonee Valley Vase and three Listed races, including the Listed Ballarat Cup twice. He ran in the G3 Naturalism Stakes on the same card that Angel Capital was victorious at on Saturday.

Another half-brother Senor Toba (Toronado {Ire}) was a Group 3 winner in both Australia and Hong Kong, and he placed in the G1 Queensland Derby and G1 Champions and Chater Cup.

“The colt went to the Inglis Premier Sale in the Mill Park draft – who do a wonderful job with all of my horses - and I was happy to retain him if he didn’t sell for the right price but when he hit $400,000 I was happy to let him go and what a wonderful journey it’s been to watch,” Peacock said.

“We’ve still got the mare (Bahamas). She’s a lovely mare, she just foaled down a lovely City of Troy colt, we’re very pleased with him and this year she’s going back to Harry Angel for the first time since Angel Capital.”

Bahamas in recent times has left a 2-year-old colt named Disraeli (Blue Point {Ire}) and she foaled a City Of Troy (USA) colt in August.

“The mare has always thrown a nice style of horse with a bit of size and scope and leg to them. Berkeley Square is obviously a very big horse and Senor Toba. She’s been an amazing mare for David Peacock and really well-deserved for David to get another Group 1 winner,” Watson said.

“It is an absolute pleasure being able to produce and grow and raise these lovely horses for some great clients in the Peacocks.”

This is also the extended family of the G2 Matriarch Stakes winner and Group 1-placed Affair To Remember (Toronado {Ire}) and the three-time Listed winner St Trinians (Black Hawk {GB}).

The Harry Angel sire line providing outcross options

Harry Angel (Ire) is a son of Champion Sire in GB and Ire Dark Angel (Ire) who is a son of Acclamation (GB), best known in this region for Hong Kong-trained world’s highest earner Romantic Warrior (Ire).

“We're very excited to have two top performed sons of Harry Angel with Private Harry and now with Angel Capital set to join the roster one day,” Yulong’s Allison Sedgwick said.

G1 Galaxy Handicap winner Private Harry stands his first season for $27,500 inc GST at Yulong’s Segenhoe farm in the Hunter Valley.

“Private Harry's flying. He’s taken to his new role with gusto, and is going very well in the shed. He has great libido. He’s got his first four mares in foal so obviously his fertility is good, which is a great relief to us all. He's settled in very well here at Segenhoe in the Hunter Valley. He looks a picture. Everyone who comes to see him, says how well he looks, how relaxed he is. So we couldn't be happier with how he has started.”

Whether Angel Capital eventually retires to the Hunter Valley or Victoria is a decision that Yulong aren’t going to be making anytime soon.

“The appeal of Angel Capital for us is that he’s well related. He’s a half-brother to Senor Toba and Berkeley Square. He’s got a good pedigree behind him and he raced at two, three, four and now five.

“There's longevity there, there's precocity too.” Angel Capital won on debut at two, and ran in two group races to conclude his juvenile season.

“He's a very good looking son of Harry Angel. Obviously, Harry Angel himself started his career at Darley down the road in 2019 and I was fortunate enough to go over to Newmarket and see Harry Angel in 2018 before he came down to Australia.

“The thing about Harry Angel is that he was just so fast.”

“A winner of the Haydock Sprint Cup, a winner of the Newmarket July Cup, and bred by a very good breeder in Ireland, Paul McCartan who is incredibly astute, and also bred Battash. He’s a fan of Dark Angel who stood at Yeomanstown Stud.”

Dark Angel, now 21, stands for €45,000 (AU$72,500) in 2026. He is the sire of 115 stakes winners, with 17 of those at Group 1 level.

“Dark Angel started off from pretty humble beginnings, with the O'Callaghan family down there. I think his service fee initially was as low as €6000. He was a horse that did incredibly well off a pretty low base. He was very quick 2-year-old, but he only ran at two with nine runs for four wins.

“But he won the Mill Reef stakes, the same race that Harry Angel won and he also won the Middle Park Stakes. He was very fast over that six furlong mark.”

And the speed is being transferred to his sons, grandsons, and hopefully for Yulong to the next generation through Private Harry’s progeny in time.

“It’s a sire line that initially a lot of people in Australia weren't familiar with, but with the exploits of Harry Angel and his progeny, Tom Kitten, Angel Capital, War Machine, Private Harry, it’s being put in the forefront of people’s minds.

“Basil Nolan at Raheen Stud in Queensland, he had Top Ranked who only stood for three seasons before he died, but Basil said he's the most popular stallion he's ever stood. He had speed, Queenslanders love speed and that was the appeal for him up there.”

Top Ranked (Ire), a son of Dark Angel, has 173 live foals with a small third crop thanks to his untimely demise during the 2025 covering season. His first crop are 2-year-olds and 19 of them have been named so far.

Harry Angel is an outcross to Danehill (USA), something Private Harry brings in through his second dam Pilgrim (Danehill {USA}).

“A big selling point for us when we bought Private Harry was looking across Harry Angel’s progeny. Tom Kitten is out of a Street Cry mare, Angel Capital out of a Teofilo mare, War Machine is from a Hussonet mare and Private Harry out of a Congrats mare. You're covering everything there.

“Dark Angel is the same, he's worked with a lot of different mares. Charyn is out of a Kodiak mare and he’s going to Cambridge this year. They’re jumping on the Dark Angel bandwagon. There’s Alflaila at White Robe Lodge too.”

With the hunt for successful sire lines that will match well to the Danehill-heavy broodmares in Australia, Angel Capital looks set to join the rush towards Harry Angel and Dark Angel as a solid speed focused outcross option.

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

TTR’s problems-and-solutions series has so far heard from a trainer, breeder, punter, race club board member and welfare advocate. The next response comes from Jamie Walter, managing director of Proven Thoroughbreds.

What is the biggest problem in racing?

Data accuracy concerns are a problem that affects all racing aficionados be they breeder, owner, trainer, punter, strapper or dare I say, syndicator. The gripe, whilst conceding it may not be the biggest problem confronting the industry, is Track Ratings and how inaccurate so many are.

Take for example Saturday (September 5) at Randwick where the track condition will be historically documented as a Good 4. Half the ten-race card recorded sub-34 second final sectionals, in fact for the 1000 metres G3 Concorde Stakes, the overall time posted was 55.6. That’s the second quickest 1000 metres run at Randwick in the last six seasons with the last 600 metres in a blistering 32.65 secs.

A Good 4? Really? That is actually the fourth fastest (or sixth slowest) track rating that can be officially allotted on any given day, so what time would they have run on a Firm 1? About 30 seconds flat?

A brief history. In December 2005 the 1-10 numerical system was introduced. The old categories — Fast, Good, Dead, Slow and Heavy — were retained, but a number was added to give more precision.

Nine years on, the terminology was overhauled. The numerical 1–10 scale stayed, but the category names were changed to the modern system with Fast, Dead and Slow canned for Firm 1–2, Good 3–4, Soft 5–7, Heavy 8–10.

Form is so detailed today in its analysis that the numerical 1-10 band rating system has been a welcome initiative.

However, it's important that the numbers are absolutely accurate. Assessing a horse that may never raced on a Good 3, you’re confronted with the question; should we run when it’s rated like that? If on closer analysis, some of the Good 4s from six months ago were actually racing like Good 3s or even Firm 2s, this shifts the potential decision.

The same applies to stallions. What if a stallion runs a time that is perceived to be faster or slower than average for the official Track Rating, but the whole meeting ran faster or slower? The way the horse is subsequently rated by form gurus and breeders can thus change.

It’s a pretty simple system. Yet since that ruling in 2014, the clubs, officials, curators, whoever decides these things, continually and consistently mislead the racing world with laughably erroneous ratings. Yes, weather on the day can alter the surface mid-meeting and the policy of describing a track based on the worst patch in the whole circumference, is generally acceptable though those discrepancies tend to be more prevalent on rain affected decks. As it stands, Track Ratings are sometimes changed during a meeting based on weather or performance. It’s the consistency of these decisions that’s in question.

And yes, like every component of this great game, opinions abound. Jockey A may interpret the going on a particular day as inferior to Jockey B’s view. That’s fine but on days like Saturday September 5, when everyone from participants to punters were in unanimous agreement that the horses were galloping on a Fast 2 or Good 3, who are we fooling by labelling it a more publicly succulent Good 4?

Who are we putting the spotlight on here? Is it the curators? Is it the promoters, the club or the regulator, who are saying, we can't have a Fast 2 or Heavy 10. This is not an indictment of curators. They have a tough gig. Most of the metropolitan racecourses get a lot of traffic over them in challenging conditions. We are an outdoor sport and the weather impacts on everything.

There is also a welfare component to these imprecise gradings. A trainer with a horse prone to jarring up on hard surfaces, will be reluctant to run on a Firm 2 or Good 3 but happy to proceed if the official rating is a Good 4 or Soft 5. If that horse pulls up sore, is it fair to ask whether that flawed rating is paying lip service to the health of the horse?

In an era when the subtleties of race form are more acutely analysed than ever previously and our grand sport is being morally and ethically judged, then it’s important that something as basic as a track rating, is as accurate as nature allows. Anything less suggests commercial motivation is at play.

Apart from obvious veterinary reasons, post final scratching time at 7.30am, trainers are only permitted to scratch if the track rating changes. So in essence, are incorrect ratings an attempt to maintain field sizes and thus avoid an impact on turnover?

What is the solution?

It’s easily fixed. Try something as fundamental to integrity as telling the truth. Punters and other racing participants need to be able to trust the information the industry provides for form analysis. If you're documenting for history's sake or for the sake of tomorrow’s form guides, then providing inaccurate information results in the ethics of the game being challenged.

Today’s world is data rich. That data is so critical now because we live and breathe by it. In an extremely competitive wagering climate, if punters can't trust the form, then that will affect turnover in the long term. Not being accurate to preserve field sizes is a short term fix that will have a long term impact.

Whoever is making the decision, whether it's stewards, whether it's commercial pressure from elsewhere or coming from the regulators, it can't be as inaccurate as it's been.

A small issue? Well, not if you value the trust of core customers and participants.

So we put the question back to the industry: do you feel the Track Ratings data is inaccurate and what should be done?

Email your thoughts to vicky@ttrausnz.com.au.

Read the other answers in this series:

Cover image courtesy of The Image Is Everything

With future stars like Beiwacht (Bivouac), Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon) and Paradoxium (Extreme Choice) all having their first outing at the first 2-year-old trials of the season, the nine heats will have plenty of eyes on them.

Last year’s heats have already produced the stakes winners Shiki (Too Darn Hot {GB}), Paradoxium (Extreme Choice), Incognito (Stay Inside), and Revengeance (Hellbent). And in TTR’s analysis of these trials last week, this high production rate of success isn’t unusual.

We will see a future star on Monday, and like Beiwacht, they might run last.

What does it cost to get here?

With the commercial yearling market focused on finding precocious horses, it would make sense that the horses who are ready this early are going to cost some serious coin. Of the 59 runners, 56 were catalogued for a sale and 53 sold. Five of them were sold twice, first as a weanling, then as a yearling. All the figures used here are their most recent sale.

Collectively, they sold for $15.6 million, at an average of $294,800. This is approximately double the $143,000 average for all yearlings sold in Australia and New Zealand at physical auctions in 2026.

They range from True North (Snitzel) who cost $1.2 million down to Gellar (In The Congo) who was a $10,000 Inglis Australian Weanling Sale graduate.

Fourteen of the runners were bought for less than $100,000 each, while there are two seven figure yearlings in the heats. True North and Moneyball (Frankel {GB}) who cost $1.1 million.

The Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale’s reputation for precocious stock has held true with 36 of the 56 catalogued horses going through that ring, while ten went through the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale. The remainer are spread around various sales.

Vendors spread across the nation

Across the 56 who went through a sale, they were offered by 39 different vendors.

Vinery Stud has the most offerings with five representatives, with three of those coming from their Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft. Michael Freedman trains both Macho (Ole Kirk), a colt who cost $550,000 and Shraddha (Ole Kirk), a filly who cost $250,000. Peter Snowden-trained Machiavelli (Russian Revolution) was a $100,000 graduate from that draft.

Vinery sold Coronado (Ole Kirk) at the Inglis Easter Yearling Sale for $320,000 and he is trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, while rounding out the group is Marc and Mitchell Conners-trained She’s Supreme (Exceedance) who was a $40,000 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale graduate.

Coolmore Stud, Yarraman Park Stud and Widden Stud all sold three runners, while seven farms sold a pair of runners being Longwood Thoroughbred Farm, Yulong, Kingstar Farm, Newhaven Park Stud, Silverdale Farm, Newgate Farm and Alma Vale Thoroughbreds.

Stallions with precocious stock

Across the 59 runners, the spread of stallions is quite broad with 39 different stallions represented. Sitting on top is Zoustar and Ole Kirk, who both have four runners in the heats. G1 Golden Slipper winner Capitalist as well as multiple Champion Sire I Am Invincible both have three runners.

Ten different stallions have two runners, leaving 25 stallions with a sole representative.

Of the first season sires, Anamoe has two runners with Bjorn Baker-trained colt Nonu (NZ) leading the way by price as a NZ$600,000 graduate of Wentwood Grange’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale. The other is Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained filly Runaway Diva who cost $380,000 from Raheen Stud’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft.

In The Congo has two runners, both of them sold by Kingstar Farm. The aforementioned Gellar, named for actress Michelle Gellar who stared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gellar’s dam is Buffy (Trusting). Heart Of Congo was a $280,000 graduate from the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

Hitotsu’s pair of runners might surprise with their precocity, but it does take an early maturing type to win the G1 Victoria Derby. Hitotsu has $200,000 filly Unmei and $40,000 colt Chasing Archer.

The first season sires with one runner are Jacquinot, Sejardan, State Of Rest (Ire), and Top Ranked (Ire).

Home Affairs leads the way for the second season sires with two runners. Outback Affair cost $290,000 from Longwood Thoroughbred Farm's Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale draft, and Internal Security is a home bred for Coolmore and partners.

Trainers with precocious reputations

Only 20 trainers have runners representing their yards across the nine heats. The stable who has won the most Golden Slippers (seven), Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, have 12 runners. Bjorn Baker has eight while Michael Freedman has seven.

Gary Portelli has six runners, and with four each are Peter Snowden and John Thompson. Four stables have two runners each being Annabel and Rob Archibald, Chris Waller, Sara Ryan, and Geoff Allendorf.

Europe

Primetime Emmy wins Group 3 in France

By Sean Cronin, TDN Europe and Renee Geelen, TTR

Australian-bred TDN Rising Star Primetime Emmy (Extreme Choice) bounced back off a first defeat in Deauville's G3 Prix de Cabourg seven weeks ago to register a career best with a last-gasp victory in Saturday's G3 Prix Eclipse Tattersalls at Chantilly.

She's a Southern Hemisphere 3-year-old but was born on January 27, 2024, so is also a Northern Hemisphere 2-year-old. On Sunday afternoon, Australian time, Newgate Farm's Henry Field hinted that she might end up in their The Everest slot.

"We've already contacted IRT (International Racehorse Transport) to see whether there is time to get Primetime Emmy to Sydney for The Everest," Field told racingandsports.com.au.

"Logistically, it might be impossible but we are exploring all our options and we should know one way or the other in the next 24-48 hours. After watching The Shorts yesterday, I couldn't imagine anything out of that race troubling Ka Ying Rising.

"Primetime Emmy going lickety-split with 42.5kg on her back might be the only chance Australia's got. Fundamentally, it is Matthew's decision what he does with this filly but sometimes you have to think outside the square. If we can get this filly to The Everest, we will start a worldwide search for a jockey who can ride the her as close to 42.5kg as possible."

Sandblom spoke to TDN post-race before this idea was proposed.

“It's quite some journey to come to Europe from Australia, but I love racing and watching the horses in France,” said Hollymount Stud's Matthew Sandblom. “I like that the horses aren't over-trained here, which can sometimes happen in Australia. I told Francis [Graffard] that the one thing Australian horses have is that quality acceleration and she showed that today. Extreme Choice makes me look like an excellent breeder when it's simply the sire who is exceptional. At the monent, I'm focusing on broodmares capable of producing 2-year-old winners.”

Settled behind the leaders in fourth after an alert getaway, the 9-5 favourite came under pressure to go second approaching the final furlong and kept on in determined fashion to usurp the hitherto unbeaten Scythe (Victor Ludorum) by a short-head in a bobbing finish, with the duo 3.5 lengths clear of the remainder headed by Spanish raider Belisa Bay (Bayside Boy).

Pedigree: Primetime Emmy, who becomes the 17th Group winner for her sire, is the third stakes scorer out of Listed winner Princess Emmy (King's Chapel), who also produced G3 Chairman Stakes winner Thurlow (Sebring) and his Listed Anzac Day Stakes-winning full-brother Three Kings.

Their second dam, Listed Canterbury Belle third Hoot N' Holler (Kashani), is the leading performer out of Snow White (Sun And Shine), herself the second dam of G3 Frank Packer Plate victrix Dream Machine (Nothin' Leica Dane). Princess Emmy, who hails from the immediate family of G1 Queensland Oaks heroine Travel Light (Bellissimo), has a yearling colt by Tiger Of Malay to come.

America

The Puma wins GI Pennsylvania Derby

By Steve Sherack, TDN

The Puma (Essential Quality) had to wait for the third Saturday in September for his Derby victory.

Scratched from the GI Kentucky Derby with swelling in his leg due to a skin infection, The Puma dug down gamely to fend off favoured 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Further Ado (Gun Runner) by a half-length in a thrilling renewal of the GI Pennsylvania Derby on a beautiful, late summer afternoon at Parx Racing Saturday. It was another 1.1 lengths back to Sassmaster (Curlin) in third.

The Puma and Further Ado were also one-two in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 7, the first career victory for the former.

“You always want to win the Grade I,” winning trainer Gustavo Delgado said. “For all the people, the family, it's very good. The best race for me is right now. Very happy and very exciting. Right now, we will wait before thinking about the Breeders' Cup. We will go back to Saratoga, and we will meet with my partners and my son (assistant trainer Gustavo, Jr.) and then decide.”

Off as the 5-2 second choice, The Puma raced in eighth with Further Ado placed in a stalking, inside fourth as longshots Talk to Me Jimmy (Modernist) and Ponder and Dream (Uncle Lino) showed the way through fractions of :23.27 and :47.69.

Hall of Fame rider Javier Castellano took the overland route beneath The Puma and caught the eye with a powerful, sweeping move on the far turn while Flavien Prat waited for racing room with Further Ado.

The Puma struck the front at the top of the stretch and Further Ado was tipped out and the Tampa Bay Derby rematch was on.

The Puma had the jump, however, and opened up a three-length advantage at the stretch call. Further Ado kept on coming in the stretch with massive strides, but fell just short in a race that didn't deserve a loser.

The Puma is campaigned by a large partnership group, led by the Delgado Family's OGMA Investments, High Step Racing (Randy Guy, Joe Noble, Kevin Avera, Jim Ferreira and former Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Todd Perry), TCC Stables, YNG Stables and Jose Aguirre's JR Ranch.

“We are excited,” Guy said. “It's been a long ride. We scratched on the day of the (Kentucky) Derby, and it was frustrating. But it was the best thing. I was not overconfident coming here, but I knew he had that performance in him. We will let the boss (Gustavo Delgado) decide his future. He is the original Puma, before the horse came. What Gustavo is great about is letting the horse tell him what he wants to do. We knew he was happy coming into this race and it showed.”

The Puma, also a painful second, beaten only a nose in the GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park March 28, rolled a pair of fours earlier this summer in the GI NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at a sloppy Monmouth Park July 18 and the GI DraftKings Travers Stakes at Saratoga last time August 29. He raced in first-time blinkers in the Pennsylvania Derby.

Pedigree: The Puma, a US$95,000 (AU$133,000) RNA as a Keeneland September yearling turned US$150,000 (AU$210,000) OBS April purchase by Ramiro Restrepo's Marquee Bloodstock, is one of eight black-type winners and the lone graded winner for sophomore sire Essential Quality. He is the first Grade I winner for the two-time champion and Darley stallion.

The Puma, bred in partnership by Hidden Brook Farm and Brian Kahn, is the first foal out of Eve of War (Declaration of War), a runaway debut winner for owner/breeder Jeff Treadway and trainer Todd Pletcher at Gulfstream Park back in 2020. She finished a career-best third in that term's GIII Monmouth Oaks.

Eve of War also has a yearling colt by Nyquist (scratched out of Keeneland September) and a Practical Joke colt of this year in the pipeline. She was bred back to Sierra Leone. Eve of War RNA'd for US$245,000 (AU$344,000) carrying The Puma at the 2022 Keeneland November sale.

Bodacious Bay wins G1 Cotillion Stakes

By Patrycja Szpyra, TDN

It was her big unveiling in elite company and it couldn't have been a better result for a debuting lady.

Fresh off a private purchase, a trainer change, and heading right into Grade I competition proved to be no problem for Bodacious Bay (Not This Time) as she comfortably held off Always a Runner (Gun Runner) to win the GI Cotillion Stakes at Parx.

Last seen running second to My Miss Mo (Uncle Mo) in the GIII Monmouth Oaks July 25, that effort ended up being her final start for trainer Rodolphe Brisset before being moved to Saffie Joseph Jr.. Before that she'd broken her maiden two back June 26 against Churchill Downs maidens by four lengths on a sloppy track and had two runner-up finishes May 22 and April 26–this latter contest being on unveiling at Oaklawn.

Taking command from the overland route while the pacesetter tired to her inside, Bodacious Bay kicked away from the battle for the minors even as GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Always a Runner seemed to be mounting a menacing late rally. The 4-5 favourite never managed to seriously cut into the margin as the victress came in with air to spare as a 5-1 upset. GI Alabama Stakes runner-up Measure (Essential Quality) came on late to miss second by a head and Tap to Open (Tapit) was fourth.

“I was loaded the whole way,” said winning rider Micah Husbands. “I was just sitting there on a lot of horse. By the half-mile pole, she wanted to go a little earlier than I thought, and I didn't want to get in her way, so I just let her cruise up and tried to bide my time. She finished it off like a monster.

“I thought there was going to be more speed, and I thought I would be covered up more, but it didn't work out that way. So, I just tried to keep clear and not go after my stablemate (My Miss Mo), and she did it proper.”

Joseph Jr. minced no words about his charge's talent after the race, but wasn't prepared to plan out a path to the World Championships at Keeneland in October, saying, “This was a huge win, and I think next year we could have the best filly in the country. A lot of good fillies are going to retire, and our filly is just now getting good. The owners will talk it over and make a decision, but we feel like we have a filly that is hard to find these days. She is special.”

“I don't know (if Bodacious Bay will go to the Breeders' Cup),” Joseph Jr. continued. “Nitrogen is super. After that you would say it's wide open. We will enjoy this and give it a couple weeks and then decide. She will go back to Saratoga (Sunday morning) and we will stay there until the Breeders' Cup.”

Pedigree: Grade I success could hardly come as a surprise for 3-year-old filly Bodacious Bay as she is out of a graded winning half-sister to GI Spinaway victress Sippican Harbor (Orb). That sister later replicated her success on the track in the form of her son, GI Florida Derby hero Commandment (Into Mischief).

The winner is the third stakes runner for Bodacious Babe (Mineshaft) behind graded winner Royal Spa (Violence) and 2-year-old half-brother stakes placed Social Symbol (Violence), but is the first Grade I winner for the broodmare. After the juvenile, their dam produced a yearling filly by Curlin as well as a 2026 colt by Justify. Bodacious Babe was bred back to Elite Power for 2027.

Not This Time's sustained meteoric rise into stallion superstardom saw no speed bumps with this performance as Bodacious Bay became his 15th elite-level offspring and the fifth individual Grade I winner of 2026. Like many great stallions, his offspring can run on anything and everything with his heaviest hitters including the likes of Up to the Mark, multiple Group/Grade I winner Magnitude, GI Travers winner Epicenter, and world-record setter Cogburn–four of whom have since joined the breeding ranks.

Talented fillies and mares like Breeders' Cup champion Cy Fair, the late Claret Beret, Sacred Wish, Princess Noor, and In Our Time, among others, claimed their Grade I rosettes on both surfaces and at a variety of distances. In this family reunion, Bodacious Bay fits in just fine.

Cover image courtesy of Keeneland

At A Glance

•

During Saturday's first Book 3 session, 255 yearlings grossed US$61,072,000 (AU$85 million).

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The session average of US$239,498 (AU$335,000) was up 7.74% from last year's comparable session, and the median of US$200,000 (AU$280,000) was up 11.11% from a year ago.

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The 2025 Book 3 cumulative average was US$201,804 (AU$283,000) and the median was US$160,000 (AU$224,000).

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A colt by Not This Time topped Saturday's session when selling for US$1.5 million (AU$2.1 million) to RTM Racing from the Gainesway consignment.

The Keeneland September Yearling Sale resumed after a dark day on Friday and picked up right where it left off as its Book 3 section opened with an additional four seven-figure yearlings and competitive bidding from start to finish Saturday in Lexington.

The four million-dollar yearlings sold Saturday bettered the three to hit that mark during last year's entire Book 3 section. Twenty horses sold for US$500,000 (AU$701,000) or more on the day. That figure was 19 on the first day of last year's Book 3.

A trickle down from earlier days

Gainesway sold two of the day's seven-figure yearlings and was the session's leading consignor with 39 sold for US$12,685,000 (AU$17.7 million).

“I think it's a trickle down,” Gainesway's Brian Graves said of the competitive session. “People look for quality horses regardless of the book, and when they find them, they are willing to go hard for them. There is a line and if you get across it, you're good.

“I thought if there was any soft spot it was in Book 2, when a pretty solid horse seemed a little sticky. And now in Book 3, it's very obvious when you come across a good horse that there is plenty of money for him. And I hope that will just trickle into books four and five. People who are buying horses to trade and pinhook, they can get a lot of work done there.”

Fergus Galvin made a seven-figure bid to acquire a colt by Into Mischief on behalf Sheikh Fahad's Qatar Racing, while his Hunter Valley Farm consignment sold 11 yearlings Saturday for US$1,915,000 (AU$2.7 million).

“It's a deep bench of buyers,” Galvin said. “It's the same story. If you have the goods, there are plenty of people for them. That doesn't mean, necessarily, if you bring any horse up, you're going to get paid. You've got to have the goods. But there are plenty of buyers and plenty of money for the right horse.”

Carlisle was the session's leading buyer with five purchased for US$2,825,000 (AU$3.9 million).

Tagermeen buying spree continues with $1.5 Million Not This Time colt

Tagermeen Racing continued to be busy buying during Saturday's fifth session of the Keeneland September sale, going to US$1.5 million (AU$2.1 million) to acquire a colt by Not This Time (hip 1275) from the Gainesway consignment. The yearling, bred Three Chimneys Farm, is out of Ana's Gun (Gun Runner). The mare is a half-sister to graded-placed Always Carina (Malibu Moon), who produced GI Kentucky Oaks winner Always a Runner (Gun Runner), and to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Structor (Palace Malice).

Under the third dam is GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner More Than Real. This is the family of G1 Golden Slipper winner Lady Of Camelot (Written Tycoon).

“We loved this colt,” Tagermeen's Mahmud Mouni said after signing the ticket on the colt. “He has an amazing pedigree. We did not expect to have to pay that much, but when you look at the horses for the next few days–even the next few hours–it will be very tough to find horses like him. He is amazing, a gorgeous colt.”

Mouni continued, “Everybody wants the good horse, it doesn't matter what book they are in. I think the horse deserved that price. He could have been in Book 1 or 2.”

Mouni said a trainer had yet to be chosen for the colt, who will head to Ocala to be broke by Randy Miles.

Mouni has been signing for the Tagermeen partnership as RTM Racing. RTM Racing has purchased 19 horses for US$14 million (AU$19.6 million), with an 20th yearling purchased in partnership with Whisper Hill Farm for an additional US$1.6 million (AU$2.2 million). Leading the group is a US$2.8 million (AU$3.9 million) son of Gun Runner who topped Monday's first session of the auction.

Hip 1275 was the 12th seven-figure yearling of the auction for Not This Time. The Taylor Made stallion was represented by a US$2.1 million (AU$2.9 million) colt Monday and a pair of colts who sold for US$2 million (AU$2.8 million) on Thursday.

‘Waiting all day for her': $1.4 million Not This Time filly to Carlisle

Just over an hour after Not This Time registered his latest Grade I winner when the filly Bodacious Bay captured the GI Cotillion Stakes at Parx, bloodstock agent Lauren Carlisle fended off Donato Lanni to acquire a yearling daughter of the stallion (hip 1523) for US$1.4 million (AU$1.96 million) at Keeneland Saturday. It was the fourth seven-figure yearling of the session and the second of the day by Not This Time, who now as 12 over the auction's first five days.

“We were waiting for her all day,” Carlisle said. “We knew it wasn't going to be easy. I didn't know it was going to be that hard, but that's the sale right now. Mark Casse is going to train her and he told me before he left today to buy this filly.”

Hip 1523, consigned by Eaton Sales and bred by Jumping Jack Racing, is out of stakes-placed O'Maggie (Paddy O'Prado), a half-sister to Grade I winner Dream Tree (Uncle Mo).

Carlisle signed for five yearlings Saturday for a gross of US$2,835,000 (AU$3.9 million). In addition to the Not This Time filly, the agent also acquired a daughter of Life is Good (hip 1328) for US$625,000 (AU$876,000).

Carlisle did admit the team had missed out on a colt earlier in the session.

“We tried to buy the [$1.25-million] Life is Good colt, we were the underbidders on him,” she said. “So that hurt. People are so in the bridle to buy. And that's a good thing for our industry. But it is frustrating when you are bidding. I have had every emotion you could think of here: blood, sweat and tears. But it's good for the health of our industry. It's encouraging for that, but it can be frustrating when you get outbid constantly.”

Through five sessions, Carlisle has signed for 11 horses for a total of US$7,860,000 (AU$11 million).

Another Graves success story, $1.25 million Life is Good colt to St. Elias & Partners

The partnership of St. Elias Stables, West Point Thoroughbreds, Lane's End Racing, and Belladonna Racing added another seven-figure yearling to its roster–and added more pinhooking success to Brian Graves's resume–when paying US$1.25 million (AU$1.75 million) for a colt (hip 1412) from the Gainesway consignment Saturday at Keeneland. It was the group's seventh million-dollar purchase. Through five sessions, the partners have purchased 17 yearlings for US$15,175,000 (AU$21 million).

Hip 1412 is out of Graceful Fancy (Liam's Map), a daughter of Icon Project (Empire Maker) and a half-sister to graded winner Fashion Business (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

The result was the second seven-figure pinhook result of the week for Graves, who acquired the colt for US$285,000 (AU$399,000) at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“He was a perfectly balanced individual,” Graves said of the colt's appeal last fall. “He wasn't the biggest horse I've ever bought, but he had everything in the right spot. He had a lot of definition to his shoulder and withers, something I am really fond of in a horse. I thought he would grow a little more than he did and there was a time that I was maybe a little apprehensive about that, but there was a lot of quality about him.”

Graves said the colt's biggest attribute heading back through the ring Saturday was likely his young sire, who has gotten off to a flyer with his first crop of 2-year-olds on the track this year. In addition to recent GI Hopeful Stakes winner The Good Life, Life is Good has been represented by stakes winner Waggley and multiple graded-placed Scarlett Begonia.

“Life is Good really took off and is clearly doing a great job as a stallion,” Graves said. “I think that probably helped more than anything. When he got a Grade I winner last week, I think it cemented in everyone's mind that he is a serious stallion prospect. And I think what you see now is that these horses are in high demand.”

Hip 1412 was just the biggest of three scores with sons of Life is Good that Graves enjoyed Saturday. Gainesway's general manager also sold hip 1344–acquired for US$275,000 (AU$385,000) at Keeneland last November–for US$675,000 (AU$946,000) to Colt Pike, as agent for Highlander; and hip 1215–acquired in utero in partnership with Gainesway and Sheerwater Stables for US$150,000 (AU$210,000) at the 2025 Keeneland January sale–for US$450,000 (AU$631,000) to Hartley/DeRenzo, as agent for Tom Durant.

During Monday's first session of the auction, Graves sold a colt by Nyquist (hip 39) for US$1.2 million (AU$1.68 million) to St. Elias and partners. That colt had been purchased by Graves's En Fuego pinhooking partnership for US$525,000 (AU$736,000) at this year's Keeneland January sale.

“We had been trying all week on these high-end Into Mischiefs,” Fergus Galvin admitted after signing the US$1 million (AU$1.4 million) ticket on a colt by Spendthrift's super sire (hip 1250) Saturday at Keeneland on behalf of Qatar Racing's Sheikh Fahad. “I had only seen him for the first time this morning and I called Sheikh Fahad right away and said this is the one. Taking my memory back to earlier in the week about the good Into Mischiefs and certainly he stacked up very well to them.”

The colt was Into Mischief's 11th million-dollar yearling of the auction. The stallion is the sire of the auction's US$3.7 million (AU$5.2 million) top-priced lot.

Hip 1250, consigned by Claiborne Farm, is out of Weather Delay (Curlin), a daughter of multiple Grade I winner American Gal (Concord Point). He was bred by Repole Stable and his dam was purchased by Mike Repole for US$500,000 (AU$701,000) at the 2022 Keeneland September sale.

“He's a beautiful horse,” said Claiborne's Jacob West, who signed the ticket on Weather Delay on behalf of Repole in 2022. “He's bred the right way. He comes from a deep family. We are just happy to sell a horse like that.”

It was the second seven-figure yearling of the week for Repole's breeding operation, which sold a colt by Not This Time (hip 115) for US$1 million (AU$1.4 million) during the first session of the auction.

Of the colt's final price tag, Galvin said, “We were pretty sure we would have to stretch to the seven-figure mark for him, as you have to with all of these good Into Mischiefs. We are happy to get him at that price.”