The homebred, Kentucky-born filly by Curlin – Galloping Ami sold for $1.25 million to trainer Wesley Ward for an anonymous owner. In Kentucky, the demand for breeding stock is alive and well, at least at the high end. Session 1, Book 1 of the 2025 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale on Nov. 4 saw the […]
There are quick workouts and there is the effort the 4-year-old filly Kopion displayed at Santa Anita on Sunday. A four-time stakes winner, Kopion worked three furlongs in 33.20 seconds under jockey Mike Smith in advance of a first start against males in Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar. “That was pretty […]
Spendthrift Farm’s two-time Grade 1-winning filly Kopion will be taking on males in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), trainer Richard Mendella told Daily Racing Form’s Brad Free. Originally, Kopion was pre-entered for the seven-furlong Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), in which she was tabbed as the early 2-1 favorite, but Mandella opted for the six-furlong […]
Owner-breeder Ivan Dalos, Eclipse champion Ghostzapper, and trainer Mike Doyle were among the 2025 inductees into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Mississauga Convention Center in suburban Toronto on Wednesday night. Thoroughbred builder inductee Ivan Dalos has been a successful owner-breeder for nearly 50 years. His Tall Oaks Farm […]
Leading into the first Saturday in May, the Beyer Speed Figure benchmark for the year hadn’t been set by one of the star 3-year-olds in the nation, but by the 4-year-old California campaigner Kopion (f, 4, Omaha Beach–Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop), who closed out her 2024 season as a surprise 37-1 victress in the GI La […]
As he made the walk down the Churchill Downs tunnel, pausing briefly to accept congratulations from some of his Hall of Fame comrades, Richard Mandella came to halt outside of the entrance to the winner’s circle and openly wondered ‘Where am I supposed to go?’” It was a genuine query given that the Hall of […]
For almost 50 years, 2025 Thoroughbred Builder inductee Ivan Dalos has been part of the Canadian Thoroughbred industry, establishing himself as one of Canada’s most successful owner/breeders. After claiming his first racehorse in 1978, with a dream to become a breeder of champions, his Tall Oaks Farm was born. Learning everything he could about pedigrees […]
Kopion reminds trainer Richard Mandella of her sire, multiple grade 1 winner Omaha Beach. The ease with which the 4-year-old filly captured the Feb. 1 Santa Monica Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park certainly bolstered the opinion of the Hall of Famer who trained them both. Read More
When Kopion returned from a near nine-month layoff Dec. 26 to pull off a 37-1 upset in the seven-furlong La Brea Stakes (G1) Dec. 26 at Santa Anita Park, she not only earned her first grade 1 victory but also cemented herself as a leading member on the long honor roll of horses bred by […]
Spendthrift Farm, forced to scratch Grade I winner Tamara (Bolt d’Oro) with an elevated temperature Thursday morning, had a more than suitable understudy in the afternoon’s GI La Brea Stakes when Kopion (Omaha Beach) romped home a geared-down 2 3/4-length winner at Santa Anita. Returning from nine months on the sidelines and dismissed at 35-1, […]