MERCURY FALLING

UPDATE - 11:32 A.M. GO BETWEEN DIES, SOON AFTER WORKOUT
It happened yesterday at Payson park but somehow was not reported by anyone until this morning. GO BETWEEN, multiple stakes winner and one of the current stars in training, did in his stall when his rapid heart rate could not be slowed...

http://news.bloodhorse.com/article/48762.htm






GRAB A BOOK

Winter temperatures will be added to the snow in Toronto this week, grab a book, perhaps the latest DICK FRANCIS racing novel? and stay inside!

Note: PATENA, the Kentucky-bred, Canadian-owned colt that was 2nd in the Lecomte Stakes on Saturday at Fair Grounds, earned a 91 Beyer Figure.


KEENELAND JANUARY
Average down 45% as industry continues to suffer

HERE ARE SOME CANADIANS who were in action yesterday in day 1:

Dominion Bloodstock - ELEVEN PINS, $5,000, a 3yo Tenpins racing prospect; MARIA'S MON 2yo colt, $20,000; EL CORREDOR 2yo colt, $6,000;
Anderson Farms, agent Austin Paul, GREEN DOOR $155,000, 5yo Danzig broodmare prospect
Dr. Richard Lister (agent Tanya Boulmetis), INDIA DIVINA, $20,000, SW Roy mare in foal to Thunder Gulch; SISTER GIRL BLUES, $53,000, IN FOAL to PETIONVILLE

Nick Gonzalez, BORREGO colt, $9,000, yearling; SKY MESA Canadian bred yearling filly $15,000;


Reade Baker sold ONTHEQT for $140,000 to Southern Equine and her yearling filly by Officer for $22,000; ELUSIVE THOUGHT for $40,000; Forest Wildcat yearling colt $35,000 to Rosemont Farm; BOLDEST OF ALL, $35,000 to Ben Renfroe; SKY MESA yearling to Nick Gonzalez for $15,000.

Canadian stakes winner MY LIST, bought back for $30,000



EXCERPT:
THOROUGHBRED DAILY NEWS

BAKER'S HALF-DOZEN (trainer will have string at Belmont,, 2009)

Baker’s Half-Dozen... A Sovereign Award winner as Canada's outstanding
trainer, Reade Baker is well-known as an astute conditioner.Baker dabbles in breeding, too. Or dabbled, as the case may be.

Baker is selling off all his bloodstock
holdings at Keeneland January, a total of five mares and four weanlings.
"I just don't have the time, said Baker from his winter base in Florida. It used to be that
I could go to the farm and look at my mares, but now I've just got too much going on."

Baker said the move corresponded with his decision to add a string in New York in 2009. Baker confirmed that he would be sending roughly 10 horses to Belmont
in the spring, while retaining his usual barn of 45 runners at Woodbine.

"I just want to give some of my horses a chance to run on conventional dirt," he explained. "I'll send an assistant down to Belmont.




WHEN MONEY IS NOT ENOUGH...

Just like last September when Mike Paulson bought back a yearling for $7.7 million, he bought back the yearling's mum yesterday:

EXCERPT FROM LOUISVILLE-COURIER JOURNAL:


$4.4 million bid for Azeri wasn't enough for seller

By Gregory A. Hall • ghall@courier-journal.com • January 13, 2009

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Representatives of the thoroughbred breeding industry's biggest farms were present and the bidding spiraled upward to $4.4 million on 2002 Horse of the Year Azeri.

But that wasn't enough to surpass the reserve set by Michael Paulson on behalf of the Allen E. Paulson Living Trust. The sale of the 11-year-old Azeri, in foal with what is believed to be a filly by 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, was expected to be the highlight on the opening day of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.

Paulson, trustee and son of the trust's late namesake, wouldn't disclose the reserve, but said the bidding "just missed" the reserve, and that once the price reached $4.2 million, he thought Azeri would be sold.

The scene was oddly familiar to last year's September Yearling Sale when Azeri's first foal by A.P Indy, Vallenzeri, failed to sell a $7.7 million – an industry record for a reserve not attained.

John Sikura of Hill 'n' Dale Farm, whose sales division consigned Azeri for Paulson, said he deliberately didn't know the reserve because he was bidding on the mare, stopping around $4 million.



FRESHMAN SIRE CONTEST UPDATE

I am calculating the points for each stallion and the standings should be up tomorrow or the next day.

NO ONE in the THOROUGHBLOG FRESHMAN SIRE CONTEST had TAPIT as their STABLE STAR, although a few had LION HEART as the stable star (Stable
star gets double the points).

Only about half of the entries had TAPIT at all on their list.










Tapit (above), Lion Heart (right)
photos by Cindy Pierson Dulay and Coolmore.com









TOP BUNK LIST UPDATED

New on the list, for $500,000 earners racing for $5,000 claiming or less, include STORMY ROMAN, EASY GRADES and SPEED WHIZ.

http://alexbrownracing.com/wiki/index.php/Top_Bunk_List