Lane's End News

LANE'S END STAKES DRAWS 151 NOMINATIONS

FLORENCE, KY - February 22, 2010: The 39th running of Turfway Park’s Lane’s End Stakes, a Grade II prep race for the Kentucky Derby, has drawn 151 nominations, Racing Secretary Richard S. Leigh announced Monday. The 1 1/8-mile race for three-year-olds is scheduled for March 27.

For years run six weeks before the Kentucky Derby, the Lane’s End Stakes this year is scheduled five weeks ahead of the first Saturday in May to accommodate the recent trend toward fewer preps with ample time between them. The Lane’s End Stakes’ $500,000 purse virtually guarantees the winner a spot in the Derby field should more than 20 seek to enter.

WinStar Farm LLC won its first Lane’s End Stakes last year with Hold Me Back, trained by Bill Mott. This year WinStar has nominated 10 to the race, including the promising Drosselmeyer, also trained by Mott, and Rule, trained by Todd Pletcher.

For the second straight year, Pletcher represents the most nominations with 13. Pletcher has won the Lane’s End Stakes twice, in 2005 with Flower Alley and in 2001 with Balto Star. Trainer D. Wayne Lukas nominated 11, including Marylou Whitney’s Bird Empire and Wow Wow Wow. Lukas won the race in 1983 and 1995, and both wins are noteworthy. In 1983, when the race was known as the Jim Beam Spiral Stakes, the winner Marfa put the race on the national map for the first time as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby. In 1995 Lukas made history when he saddled Serena’s Song, the only filly to win what is now the Lane’s End Stakes.

Ken and Sarah Ramsey, perennially the leading owners on the Kentucky circuit, own five of this year’s nominees, including four trained by Mike Maker. One of the four, Kera’s Kitten, was the easy winner of the WEBN Stakes, Turfway’s one-mile prep for the Lane’s End. Should one or more of their nominees start, the Ramseys would be looking for their first win in the Lane’s End Stakes.

The full list of nominees is posted at www.turfway.com.

The Lane’s End Stakes undercard features the Grade III Bourbonette Oaks, a one-mile race for three-year-old fillies leading to the Kentucky Oaks (G1); the 1 1/16-mile Rushaway Stakes (listed) for three-year-olds, also a prep for the Derby; the six-furlong Queen Stakes for older fillies and mares; the six-furlong Hansel Stakes for three-year-olds, and this year also the 1 1/16-mile Fairway Fun Stakes for older fillies and mares . All horses nominated to the Lane's End Stakes are also automatically nominated to the John Battaglia Memorial, set to run this Saturday as the final local prep, the Rushaway, and the Hansel.

The Lane’s End Stakes will be televised by USA Network. Gates open at 10am ET on March 27. The first of the day’s 12 races goes off at 1:10pm.

One of the world’s leading Thoroughbred operations, Lane’s End encompasses about 3,000 acres in the heart of Central Kentucky. The operation also includes a second breeding farm in Texas. Lane’s End currently stands 20 stallions in Kentucky, including CURLIN, SMART STRIKE, ENGLISH CHANNEL, and A.P. INDY, and four in Texas.

Contact Sherry Pinson, (859) 647-4842.

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7th annual Maker’s Mark Lane’s End Stakes bottle honors 1990 Cincinnati Reds

FLORENCE, KY - February 22, 2010: For the first time, the Maker’s Mark bottle, which commemorates the Lane’s End Stakes at Turfway Park, will honor an entire team: the 1990 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds. This limited edition bottle is the seventh in a series honoring Turfway’s Kentucky Derby prep race.

The 2010 bottle pays tribute to the 20th anniversary of the Reds’ wire-to-wire season and stunning four-game sweep of the Oakland A’s. The label of the 375 ml bottle features the famous photo, taken by then director of publicity Jon Braude, of the champions celebrating on the field. The bottle is hand-numbered and dipped in red wax.

Led by team captain Barry Larkin, the 1990 Reds spent the entire regular season in first place, defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in six games to take the National League title, and then tore into the heavily favored A’s. Larkin, Eric Davis, Chris Sabo, Paul O’Neill, and Billy Hatcher powered the team at the plate, while Jose Rijo, Tom Browning, Jack Armstrong, Danny Jackson, and the bullpen’s Nasty Boys—Rob Dibble, Norm Charlton, and Randy Myers—intimidated opponents from the mound.

Maker’s Mark is producing an unprecedented number, 8000, of these commemorative bottles, the most since the series started in 2004. The bottles are to go on sale Friday, March 19, and will retail for about $24 depending on the retail outlet. Proceeds from sales will benefit the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.

Previously bottles commemorating the Lane’s End Stakes have benefited the Cris Collinsworth ProScan Foundation; the Oscar and Yvonne Robertson Family Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation; the Reds Community Fund and One Way Farm on behalf of Marty Brennaman and Joe Nuxhall, respectively; the Johnny Bench Scholarship Fund and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum; and the Boomer Esiason Foundation.

The bottle signing at Turfway Park is Saturday, March 27, the morning of the Lane's End Stakes. The signing is from 8 AM to 11 AM at Turfway Park, Gate B. 400 free tickets will be distributed on a first come-first served basis, to persons 21 years and older and one ticket per person. Each ticketholder may bring two of the 2010 bottles to be autographed.

The 39th running of the Grade II Lane’s End Stakes is a 1 1/8-mile race for Thoroughbreds aiming for the Kentucky Derby. With its $500,000 purse, the race virtually guarantees the winner a spot in the Derby field, which is limited to 20 starters.

This year’s Lane’s End Stakes is set for Saturday, March 27, at Turfway Park. Tickets for the race range from general admission at $10 to the Maker’s Mark VIP Tent at $175 and are available by calling Turfway at (859) 371-0200. More information is available at www.turfway.com..

The Lane’s End Stakes is sponsored by Lane’s End of Versailles, Kentucky., one of the world’s leading Thoroughbred operations and first among North America’s stud farms for 10 years, seven consecutively. The farm stands such influential stallions as A.P. INDY, SMART STRIKE, KINGMAMBO, and two-time Horse of the Year CURLIN. Lane’s End is owned by William S. Farish, former United States ambassador to the Court of St. James’s. Farish was honored earlier this year with the Eclipse Award of Merit for outstanding lifetime achievement in the Thoroughbred industry.

As part of the bottle introduction, the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum will host a grand opening celebration of its new exhibit: 1990-A Celebration of the 1990 World Champion Cincinnati Reds on March 25 at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. Reds Hall of Famers and select members of the 1990 team will be in attendance. The evening will consist of dinner and a question and answer session with the 1990 players. Admission is $80 for the general public. Reds Hall of Fame members and Maker’s Mark Ambassadors may purchase tickets at the discounted price of $70. Tickets are available for purchase by calling 513-765-7923.

Contact Honi Goldman, Maker’s Mark, (502.419.0426) or Sherry Pinson, Turfway Park, (859.647.4842).

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LANE'S END SALES GRADS ARE WINNING!

Jan. 1, 2010: Lane’s End continues to be the leading consignor of Grade 1 winners in 2009, and graduates of our consignments are racking up impressive performances from The Curragh to California and beyond. In 2009, Lane’s End grads include no fewer than 32 stakes winners, with 15 graded winners and four Grade 1 winners!

They include:

• Quality Road. The three-year-old colt soundly beat a top field in the G2 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S., then annexed the G1 Florida Derby while establishing a new track record at Gulfstream for nine furlongs (1:47.72). He lowered another track record when returning to win Saratoga’s 6 1/2-furlong G2 Amsterdam S. in a blazing 1:13.45. A game third in the G1 Shadwell Travers S. at Saratoga, he then was second in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont. Quality Road, offered at the 2007 September Sale, was bred and is owned by longtime Lane’s End client Ned Evans.

• Mr. Sidney. Raised and sold by Lane’s End, Mr. Sidney lived up to his sterling pedigree with a gutsy first Grade 1 victory in the Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland. Bred by Hilbert Thoroughbreds, Mr. Sidney was produced by Tomisue's Delight (A.P. INDY), a full-sister to Lane's End's Horse of the Year MINESHAFT. Mr. Sidney was a $3.9 million Keeneland September purchase by Lee Einsidler's Circle E Racing in 2005. He was the third-highest-priced yearling of that year. On July 4th, he added the Grade 2 Firecracker H. to his resume.

• Diamondrella (GB). The Lane’s End-bred turf specialist crafted another fine season, in which she won half of her six starts. In search of her sixth straight victory, the five-year-old rallied from well back to capture Belmont’s G1 Just a Game S. in June over champion Forever Together (BELONG TO ME). Later in the season, she added Keeneland’s G1 First Lady S. to her tally. Diamondrella was a $185,000 Keeneland September Lane’s End grad.

• Court Vision (GULCH). A dual graded stakes winner on the dirt at two and winner of the G1 Hollywood Derby at three, Court Vision returned in 2009 to win the G1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland. He was flying late in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf and finished a very good fourth, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Goldikova (Ire). Court Vision’s half-sister Smart Surprise (SMART STRIKE) also enjoyed a strong season. The mare, who has been first or second in 15 of 22 lifetime, won four stakes in 2009, including the Hendrie S. at Woodbine. Both Court Vision and Smart Surprise were bred and sold in partnership by Lane’s End.

• Dunkirk. Another bred by Lane’s End and sold for a sale-topping $3.7 million at September, he offered up one of the best performances on Belmont Stakes day when he set a fast pace in the G1 Belmont and fought on to finish second in the 1 1/2-mile Classic. He had earlier run a very good second to Quality Road in the G1 Florida Derby.

• Long Lashes (ROCK HARD TEN). In June, the Lane’s End-sold juvenile filly became the first winner--and first stakes winner--for her freshman sire when she galloped home clear in the Listed Ballygallon Stud S. in her debut at The Curragh. Sold privately to Godolphin, she quickly added Newmarket’s G3 Sweet Solera S.

• Charitable Man (LEMON DROP KID). Stamped himself as an exciting horse when capturing the G2 Futurity S. as a juvenile, then confirmed his ability with a sharp victory in the nine-furlong G2 Peter Pan S., won in 1:47 flat. Mike Ryan purchased Charitable Man for $200,000 out of the 2007 Keeneland September Sale.

• Shared Account (PLEASANTLY PERFECT). The three-year-old filly became her sophomore sire’s first graded stakes winner when she took the G2 Lake Placid S. in impressive fashion. She was then runner-up in both the G1 Garden City Breeders' Cup S. and G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. Shared Account, produced by the SMART STRIKE mare Silk N' Sapphire, was a $170,000 September grad.

• Carolyn’s Cat. The William K. Warren colorbearer led every step to win by daylight in the G2 Vagrancy H. in May. Agent Mike Ryan purchased Carolyn’s Cat for $650,000 at the 2006 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

• Vistoso. Produced by the multiple graded stakes-placed A.P. INDY mare Charmed Gift and bred by long-time Lane’s End client Kilroy Thoroughbred Partnership, the three-year-old colt has collected three Group 1s, including the G1 Clasico Cameonato and G1 Clasico Anahuac.

• Lane’s End also sold a number of promising two-year-olds, including Thiskyhasnolimit, winner of the G3 Iroquois S.; Dixie Band (DIXIE UNION), winner of the Arlington-Washington Futurity; and Citrus Kid (LEMON DROP KID), winner of the Dover S. and third in the G2 Remsen S.

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CHAMPIONSHIP FORM FROM LANE’S END

Jan. 19, 2010: Yesterday was a big day for Lane’s End, as the Eclipse Awards were handed out in Beverly Hills.

Our two-time leading sire SMART STRIKE, already the sire of two-time Horse of the Year CURLIN and Champion Turf Horse ENGLISH CHANNEL, added yet another Eclipse champion to his resume. SMART STRIKE is the sire of ten champions.

This time, it was the brilliant two-year-old colt Lookin at Lucky who shone on Eclipse night. In a season that included three Grade 1 victories and a narrow runner-up finish in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Lookin at Lucky was a landslide winner as the best two-year-old colt in 2009. Congratulations to breeder Gulf Coast Farms and all the racing connections of Lookin at Lucky!

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CURLIN, BELONG TO ME’S FOREVER TOGETHER, HONORED AT ECLIPSE AWARDS

Jan. 30, 2009: On the heels of a another ground-breaking season, SMART STRIKE’s superlative son CURLIN was honored with a second Horse of the Year title at the Eclipse Awards, held at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. CURLIN became the first horse to win back-to-back titles since Cigar. It was fitting that CURLIN matched Cigar’s feat, as it was Cigar’s mark that Curlin surpassed when he became racing’s all-time leading money earner with a bankroll of $10,501,800. CURLIN, whose victories in 2008 included the G1 Dubai World Cup and three other Grade 1's, was also honored as Champion Older Male. CURLIN raced for Jess Jackson’s Stonestreet Stables and Midnight Cry Stable.

George Strawbridge received a well-deserved Champion Turf Mare statuette for his GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare turf heroine Forever Together. In addition to her Breeders’ Cup win at 1 1/4 miles, Forever Together, a daughter of BELONG TO ME, also won the one-mile G1 Diana S. and the nine-furlong G1 First Lady S. Forever Together has won seven of her 14 starts and earned over $2 million. BELONG TO ME is the sire of ten Grade 1 winners.

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LANE’S END “ECLIPSED” THE AWARDS

Jan. 24, 2008: The Eclipse Awards were held Monday night in Los Angeles, California, and as expected, Lane’s End stallions dominated the proceedings. In fact, five of the 11 categories, not including steeplechaser, were taken by a son or daughter of a Lane’s End sire. On top of that, another winner will one day stand at Lane’s End, and yet another is booked to a Lane’s End sire.

Like we said all year: Win, and you must be doing business with Lane’s End!

The star of the Eclipse Awards was SMART STRIKE’s brilliant son Curlin, who was named Horse of the Year after a thrilling season that included wins in the G1 Preakness S., G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup and G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Curlin also walked away with the hardware in the Three-Year-Old Male category and, majority owner Jess Jackson announced, is being returned to training in 2008!

SMART STRIKE garnered his second individual winner on the night when English Channel was given a richly deserved Eclipse as Champion Turf Male. The six-time Grade 1 winner won a trio at the highest level in 2007, including an overwhelming seven-length romp in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Monmouth Park.

A.P. INDY, meanwhile, has long been well-represented on Eclipse night, with the likes of Horse of the Year MINESHAFT and three-year-old champ Bernardini to his credit, and on Monday his daughter Rags to Riches was honored as Champion Three-Year-Old Filly after a season that included a win in the G1 Belmont S. over Curlin.

LANGFUHR has sired the likes of champions WANDO, Mobile and Kimchi, and now has another with the top handicap horse Lawyer Ron. LANGFUHR’s strapping son laid waste to Saratoga’s major handicap races in 2007, winning the G1 Whitney H. and G1 Woodward S., and was rewarded with the Eclipse as Champion Older Male.

While he’s not by a Lane’s End sire, WAR PASS will someday be one himself. Robert LaPenta’s untested superstar, by Cherokee Run, was the near-unanimous choice as Champion Juvenile Male after a season that included wins in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and G1 Champagne S.

And last but not least, Shadwell Stable’s Lahudood (GB) (Singspiel {GB}), heroine of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, has a date with KINGMAMBO after being named Champion Turf Female

Lane’s End would like to offer our congratulations to ALL the Eclipse Award winners and wish everyone the best of luck in 2008!

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LEADING OWNER AT KEENELAND

April 2009

FARISH ALL-TIME LEADING OWNER AT KEENELAND

Lane’s End owner Will Farish is the all-time leading owner at Keeneland with 184 wins (some of the winners have been owned in partnership). Farish won his first race at Keeneland in 1967. He has accumulated 20 stakes wins, including the Ben Ali, Ashland Stakes, Lexington Stakes, Beaumont Stakes, and Alcibiades Stakes.

Keeneland awards a gold julep cup to the winner of each graded stakes race. When an owner receives eight gold julep cups, he or she is awarded a gold tray. Having earned the tray, eight additional graded stakes wins earn the owner a gold pitcher. Farish is only the third owner to win a gold pitcher.

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PROUD TO BE THE SPONSOR

In 2002, Lane's End became the exclusive sponsor of the Grade 2 Lane's End Stakes at Turfway Park.

Lane's End Stakes (Grade 2)
39th Running - Turfway Park - Saturday, March 27, 2010, 1 1/8 mi., 3yo.

Lane's End became the title sponsor of the Grade 2 Lane's End Stakes beginning in 2002. One of the premier preps for the Triple Crown, this event was inaugurated in 1972 and Lane's End joined as the sponsor in 2002. Winners have included such outstanding runners as current Lane's End stallion STEPHEN GOT EVEN as well as Summer Squall, Hansel, Lil E. Tee, and Prarie Bayou. The 2008 winner Adriano was sired by A.P. INDY and the 2006 winner With A City, was sired by Lane's End's top young stallion CITY ZIP.

Lane's End congratulates the connections of HOLD ME BACK (06 c., Giant's Causeway--Restraint, by Unbridled's Song), winner of the 2009 Lane's End Stakes-G2.

Owner/Breeder: WinStar Farm LLC.
Breeder: Haras Santa Maria de Araras SA & WinStar Farm LLC.
Trainer: Bill Mott
Jockey: Kent Desormeaux

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Lane's End (and Partners) Racing Stable Wins and Stakes Placings In 2009

March 13, Sam Houston Park – WINDING ROAD, 07 C., Mdiway Road-Dixie Velvet

March 3, Tampa Bay Downs – EXPECT RAIN, 07 F., Valid Expectations-Sharp Thunder

February 6, Sam Houston Park – VALID CODE, 06 F., Valid Expectations-Charlie Fepp

February 3, Tampa Bay Downs – SEA CURRENT, 05 G., Seeking the Gold-Pretty Dutch

February 3, Gulfstream Park – GRASSHOPPER, 04 H., Dixie Union-Grass Skirt

February 3, Tampa Bay Downs – HOBBY, 07 G., Midway Road-Calico Skirt

January 17, Gulfstream Park – BANNER YEAR, 07 F., Dixie Union-Gold Streamer

January 16, Gulfstream Park – PINCKNEY HILL, 06 R., A.P. Indy-Jemima

January 16, Gulfstream Park – DYNAMOOR, 06 C., Dynaformer-Catumbella

January 16, Gulfstream Park – TODD GOT EVEN, 05 H., Stephen Got Even-Tomisue’s Gold

January 16, Gulfstream Park – ESTHER GOT EVEN, 05 F., Stephen Got Even-Lady Esther

January 14, Tampa Bay Downs – FULL CHARGE, 05 H., Mineshaft-Twist Afleet

January 1, Fair Grounds – COFFEE BREAK, 07 C., A.P. Indy-Java

 

 

 

 

 

   
     
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