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Bloodlines: Hancock-Bred Mastery Shows Classic Promise

That man in Bourbon County. The one who bought in Sunday Silence at the Keeneland July sale, discovered that he had bought the colt for himself because the breeder didn’t want to retain him, and then watched the colt win two-thirds of the Triple Crown. Well, that horse-breeding Arthur Hancock is at it again, and he has not misplaced his lucky rabbit’s foot.

Menifee Colt Wins Korean Triple Crown

Menifee raced for the partnership of James Stone and Arthur Hancock and was trained by Elliott Walden, winning the GI Blue Grass S. and GI Haskell Invitational S. in 1999 after finishing runner-up to Charismatic (Summer Squall) in that year’s GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S.

Kentucky Derby Superstitions

Jockey Gary Stevens, who will ride Mor Spirit in the 2016 Kentucky Derby, once told Jennie Rees that he believes in Derby Destiny and the winners were picked a long time ago. Whether it’s luck or superstition, owners and trainers have seen their own signs during the Triple Crown campaign, both good and bad.

Think Picking A Baby Name is Tough? Try Naming a Thoroughbred

“I like the story behind the naming of Sunday Silence, the 1989 Kentucky Derby winner,” Jockey Club registrar Rick Bailey said in an e-mail. “Someone from outside the industry sent a list of names to some Kentucky farms including Stone Farm of Arthur B. Hancock III. Sunday Silence was one of the listed names. The story is Mr. Hancock remembered a song favorite, ‘Sunday Mornin’ Coming Down.’ When Hancock realized the horse’s parents’ names were Halo and Wishing Well, Bailey said, “Sunday Silence was a perfect fit.”

War Front’s European Success Enhances Force of Coolmore

As the flat season kicks into gear in Europe, few events have done more to whet the appetite than Aidan O’Brien’s announcement that he is likely to saddle only one colt in the G1 QIPCO 2,000 Guineas. It is not unusual for O’Brien to run several colts (or fillies) in a Classic, so there is one, and only one, obvious conclusion to draw from his statement: Air Force Blue (War Front) must be streets ahead of his peers within his own stable. If that is indeed the case, then he could be a very special horse indeed, a horse with the potential to light up the season.