Skip Dickstein
Rags To Riches: ABR Legends
Anne M. Eberhardt
Rags to Riches won five Grade I's in her three year old champion season including the Kentucky Oaks pictured here.
Order PhotoSkip Dickstein
Better Than Honour achieved a rare back-to-back Belmont Stakes (gr. I) double when her daughter Rags to Riches won in 2007.
Order Photo
With Todd Pletcher scoring his 4,000th win today, I thought this would be a good time to reprint my recap of the 2007 Belmont Stakes victory by Rags to Riches, which I feel is still Pletcher's greatest training job. read blog
Twelve-time defending Gulfstream Park Championship Meet leading trainer Todd Pletcher reached a personal milestone March 18, when Eagle Scout won the fifth race to give the trainer his 4,000 victory.
A trio of new marathons, two of them for fillies and mares, will offer horsemen and fans at Belmont Park an exclusive opportunity to experience some of the longest stakes races available in American racing.
The first reported foal for champion Shanghai Bobby is a colt, born Jan. 16 at Coolmore's Creekview Farm near Paris, Ky.
Jazil, winner of the 2006 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), died after sustaining an injury in his paddock Oct. 11 at Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell Farm near Lexington.
Unable to ride any longer due to a series of injuries and being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Valerie Buck turned her passion in another direction. read blog
Streaming, whose two victories in as many starts as a 2-year-old included the Hollywood Starlet Stakes (gr. I), has been retired due to a hind limb injury.
This year's Belmont Stakes (gr. I) includes Commissioner, who will be the final classic starter for A.P. Indy. Going into this edition, 14 Belmont victors have gone on to sire a Belmont winner.
The Blood-Horse and Glenye Cain Oakford visit with 2007 Kentucky Oaks winner Rags to Riches. Coolmore Stud Sales Director David O'Loughlin describes Rags to Riches Galileo foal while watching Rags at her new home in Ireland. watch video
The Blood-Horse and Glenye Cain Oakford visit with 2007 Kentucky Oaks winner Rags to Riches. Listen to Coolmore Stud Sales Director David O'Loughlin describe Rags to Riches Galileo foal while watching Rags at her new home in Ireland. More from this Stars of the Oaks series: Rachel Alexandra Rags to Riches Ashado Silverbulletday Blind Luck Plum Pretty
A Distorted Humor filly from the family of sterling mare Better Than Honour was purchased by Live Oak Plantation for $1 million during the Aug. 5 session of the Fasig-Tipton selected yearling sale in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Porter On Pedigrees
Alan Porter dives into the family of Belmont Stakes winner Palace Malice.
Todd Pletcher will set a record if all five 3-year-olds he entered start in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), but the multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer is most concerned about the race result.
Just looking at recent history, eight of the previous dozen Belmont Stakes winners were by sires who won grade I races at 1 1/4 miles or longer, including three winners by previous Belmont Stakes winners.
Filly Unlimited Budget will take on the boys in the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) when she is saddled by Todd Pletcher, the only living trainer to win the 1 1/2-mile race with a filly. Pletcher saddled 2007 winner Rags to Riches.
Trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddled filly Rags to Riches to victory in the 2007 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), is considering a pair of fillies he trains for this year's 1 1/2-mile classic at Belmont Park.
by John P. Sparkman
In just about every way possible, A.P. Indy has been the ideal Thoroughbred of the international era of American racing and breeding.
French agent Nicholas de Watrigant saw off the Kentucky-based agent David Ingordo and Tomoyuki Nakamura to secure the 10-year-old mare for $2,872,190.
Eamon Cleary, owner of Clearsky Farms near Lexington, died Friday, Sept. 21, of cancer.
Magnificent Honour, a half or full sister to Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winners Rags to Riches and Jazil, commanded $600,000, the highest price so far during the second session of the Keeneland January horses of all ages sale.
Fillies are beating colts regularly all over the world. read blog
Casino Drive, a half brother to Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winners Jazil and Rags to Riches, has been retired from racing for stallion duty at Shadai Stallion Station in Japan.
Champion Rags to Riches, winner of the 2007 Belmont Stakes (gr. I), delivered a Henrythenavigator colt March 17 in Ireland.
World's most expensive broodmare will be bred back to Street Cry
Best of the Decade: Steve Haskin ranks the most memorable Triple Crown performances. Who's #1?
Better Than Honour, who established a world-record price for a broodmare or broodmare prospect sold at public auction, is in foal to major sire Street Cry.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said May 9 that Susan Magnier's Dunkirk, 11th in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), is under consideration for the $1 million Belmont Stakes (gr. I) on June 6.
Although she is little more than a week old, Rags to Riches' first foal is already displaying the same independent streak her mother was known for.
The first foal produced by champion and classic winner Rags to Riches was born on Monday, March 9, at 9:30 pm, at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.
On the heels of Better Than Honour selling for $14 million, a bay filly out of her daughter, Teeming, sold to Reiley McDonald of Eaton Sales for $1.475 million late in the opening session of the 2008 Keeneland November breeding stock sale Nov. 3.
Keeneland will play host to the international Thoroughbred community for the next two weeks as it conducts its 65th annual September yearling sale. The catalog is the largest in the auction's history, with 5,555 horses listed.
Keeneland has cataloged a record 5,555 yearlings for its 2008 September yearling sale, which is scheduled for Sept. 8-23.
Better Than Honour, dam of consecutive Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winners Jazil and Rags to Riches, won't be bred again this year.
After being delayed by one day due to inclement weather and track conditions, Casino Drive's final preparations for the June 7 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) were completed Thursday when the son of Mineshaft worked at Belmont Park.
Can a son of Boundary win the Belmont Stakes (gr. I)? Many people had their doubts that a Boundary could win at 1 1/4 miles, but Big Brown keeps defying the odds and eliminating one question mark after another.
Nobutaka Tada, racing manager for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto, said consideration has been given to Japanese, European, and American riders, but no decision will be made for "four or five days," on who will ride Casino Drive in the June 7 Belmont Stakes (gr.I).
With the chance for a Triple Crown on the line, the field for the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) June 7 at Belmont Park is beginning to take shape. In addition to Crown hopeful Big Brown, six rivals are gearing up at their chance to stop him.
Casino Drive came out of his victory in the Peter Pan (gr. II) May 10 at Belmont Park as effortlessly and professionally as raced in his United States debut. Now, he is ready to tackle the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes (gr. I) June 7.
On May 10 at Belmont Park, North America got its first look at the colt who could have the best chance at spoiling Big Brown's entry into racing immortality, as Japanese invader Casino Drive blew away eight challengers to win the $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II) in sensational fashion.
Jet Set Racing's Tomcito, one of four horses that did not make the cut in last week's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), will be looking to make a splash in the June 7 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) instead. To do that, the son of Street Cry will take the traditional route, entering in the $200,000 Peter Pan Stakes (gr. II) May 10, a 1 1/8-mile contest that serves as the local prep for third leg of the Triple Crown.
Frank Stronach's 5-year-old Ginger Punch heads a field packed with talent in the $300,000 Louisville Breeders' Cup Handicap (gr. II) at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) day May 2. Facing the Eclipse Award winner will be grade I winner Lear's Princess, grade II winner Kettleoneup, and blacktype winner Unforgotten.
One year ago, Rags to Riches was a superstar on the racetrack and the favorite to win the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I). Today, she is an expectant mother spending her retirement days at Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.
The board of directors of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders (KTOB) honored the breeders of the 2007 Kentucky-bred champions and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) leaders at its annual luncheon April 23 at Keeneland.
Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, owners of recently retired 2007 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Rags to Riches, have agreed to donate their royalties from the sales of the Breyer model horse in the image of their champion filly to the NTRA Charities - Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.
Seth Benzel, Todd Pletcher's New York assistant, will open a public racing stable of his own starting May 1.
It was announced March 24 that 2007 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner and 2007 champion 3-year-old filly Rags to Riches has been retired from racing and will head to Ashford Stud where she will be bred to leading sire Giant's Causeway.
Rags to Riches, champion 3-year-old filly of 2007, returned to the work tab March 11 when she breezed three furlongs for trainer Todd Pletcher in :38.40.
Better Than Honour, the dam of Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winners Rags to Riches and Jazil, will be bred back to A.P. Indy after losing an A.P. Indy colt earlier this year, according to Eric Guillot of Southern Equine Stables.
A monster from Japan is heading to America. Casino Drive, a half-brother to Rags to Riches and Jazil, is targeting the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) after destroying his opposition in a 1 1/8-mile maiden race at Kyoto Feb. 23. The son of Mineshaft will attempt to become the third straight Belmont winner produced by his dam, Better Than Honour.
The New York Racing Association has unveiled its logo for the 140th running of the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), the 1 1/2-mile final leg of Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown.
| Trainer | Todd A. Pletcher |
|---|---|
| Jockey | John R. Velazquez |
| Owner | Tabor, Michael, B., Smith, Derrick |
| Breeder | Skara Glen Stables |
| Rags to Riches View Five-Cross Pedigree | A.P. Indy | Seattle Slew |
| Weekend Surprise | ||
| Better Than Honour | Deputy Minister | |
| Blush With Pride |
| Sale / Hip | Type | Buyer | Consignor | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KEESEP2005 Hip 423 |
Yearling | Demi O'Byrne | Lane's End, agent | $1,900,000 |
| Tepin |
| Beholder |
| Nyquist |
| Songbird |
| Arrogate |
| Exaggerator |
| Frosted |
| Steip Amach (IRE) |
| Rainha Da Bateria |
| Dacita (CHI) |
Get the latest insider news, analysis, entries and results on your phone or sent to your email!
Sign up for our free weekly email newsletters and alerts, filled with race previews and results, news of the week, or breaking news.
Sign Up
