Three Horses Share Co-Fastest Breeze at Lone Star Under-Tack Show

Texas Splendor set the morning's top mark at Lone Star Park's under-tack show when the Texas-bred filly clocked :10 1/5 for a furlong, a time two other juveniles from the 74-horse catalog would ultimately match ahead of Wednesday's Texas Thoroughbred Association 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Grand Prairie.

All three performances at the March 30 session came into a headwind that started at about 10 mph and increased to around 15 mph. That resistance matters when reading any individual clocking: wind of that strength can suppress raw times and understate ability that might surface under calmer conditions.

Hip 6 was the first to reach :10 1/5. Consigned by Colin Brennan Bloodstock at Highlander Training Center, agent, Texas Splendor is a daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Tapiture out of the winning City Zip mare Run to Glory, whose only other foal of racing age has yet to start. Her Texas-bred status adds a layer of regional appeal for buyers targeting state-bred programs.

Bryan Ford Training Stable supplied both horses that matched that top clocking. Hip 11, an unnamed Kentucky-bred colt from the second crop of Grade 1 Florida Derby winner Known Agenda, is out of Skinner Box, a Grade 2-placed Freud mare who has produced four winners, including a stakes winner. Every winner out of Skinner Box has earned in excess of $120,000, giving the colt a maternal family that carries weight well beyond the regional market.

The stable's second co-fastest runner was Hip 27, the Arkansas-bred gelding named Bling on the Beast. By Grade 1 winner The Big Beast, he is out of Vivian Da Bling, a multiple stakes-winning Too Much Bling mare who has produced three winners, including the stakes-placed Landlord.

Seven additional juveniles breezed in :10 2/5, including two colts by first-crop stallions Early Voting and Epicenter. Among them, Hip 13, a colt by 2022 Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting, is out of Snap Cat, a Tale of the Cat mare who is a half sister to stakes winners March X Press and Harlan's Honor. He is consigned by 1880 Bloodstock.

TTA sales director Foster Bridewell pointed to strong pre-sale momentum heading into Wednesday's session. "We had plenty of solid works on the track and have had strong interest from buyers both here at Lone Star and those looking to bid online," Bridewell said. "We have a mix of horses bred in states all over the Southwest region, and of course from Kentucky, so Wednesday's sale should have something for everyone."

The auction begins at 10 a.m. CDT on April 1, with video replays of each breeze available through the TTA's interactive catalog for buyers unable to attend in person.