News and Notes - Nov 6

- Mentioned yesterday about how the Spinster seems to be a productive race; note that Panty Raid, who won that race for the Toddster, is being pointed to Churchill Downs' $300,000-added Falls City Handicap (gr. II) to be run Thanksgiving Day. [Bloodhorse]

- Playful Act, the broodmare purchased for $10.5 million by the Sheikh during the opening day of Keeneland November, is by Sadler's Wells, out of a half-sister to Siberian Summer, who won the G1 Strub Stakes in 1993. It was said by the Form to be just the second head-to-head duel between Coolmore and the Sheikh, with the first being Sunday's disputed bidding for Octave, who went to His Shekhness for $4 million when Coolmore's bidder apparently wasn't quite demonstrative enough with his gesticulating. I'm not really going to waste anymore time on this stuff, because it has little to do with racing, and everything to do with inflated ego, obscene debauchery, and extreme stupidity. More on the absurdity if you're interested at the Form.

Jeff Scott, writing in The Saratogian, notes that the stud fee for Mr. Greeley has been raised from $75,000 to $125,000, presumably because of a couple of recent major runners in Europe.

This seems like a big jump for a stallion who hasn't had a Grade I winner in the U. S. since 2002, and whose career average-earnings index is the lowest of the top 40 stallions on The Blood-Horse's most recent general sire list. Also, Mr. Greeley's average winning distance of 6.70 furlongs is probably the shortest among all major stallions.

If Curlin is retired, there will be considerable disappointment among those who had hoped to see what he could do as a 4-year-old - which is to say virtually every racing fan in the country. But if a stallion with the mediocre record of Mr. Greeley - to use just one example - can command a stud fee of $125,000, who can blame owners for rushing their best horses off to stud as soon as possible? [The Saratogian]

One needs to look no further than the stats on Mr. Greeley's progeny at sale to see why his fee is so high. This year, his yearlings have averaged over $235,000; his two-year olds over $210,000. At Keeneland on Monday, four of his weanlings brought an average of $283,750; and two mares in foal to him brought over a million bucks.

- Add Chatain to the list of prospects for the Cigar Mile after he returned off the foot injury that kept him out of the Forego with a win at The Big M on Saturday. I'd picked him in the Forego before he was scratched....do you think he would have beaten Midnight Lute? You can subtract Sun King from the Cigar possibilities. He's been retired to stud before doing anymore damage to his value, and will stand at Darby Dan for $10,000.