SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2020 THIS SIDE UP: ARC OF JACKIE=S WARRIOR LOOMS LARGE IN CHAMPAGNE ACHIEVEMENT UNITES Undefeated Jackie=s Warrior (Maclean=s Music) looks to continue his domination of the 2-year-old colt division as the BRANT AND MELLON headliner in Belmont=s GI Champagne S. Saturday, a AWin and You=re In@ for the Breeders= Cup. A debut winner at Churchill June 19, the bay scored a decisive win in the GII Saratoga Special S. Aug. 7 and was an impressive victor of the GI Runhappy Hopeful S. at Saratoga Sept. 7, earning a 95 Beyer Speed Figure. "He handles everything well," said trainer Steve Asmussen's Belmont Park-based assistant trainer Toby Sheets. "Just like his races are, that's how he is. He's done everything very professionally and he's very straightforward. I don't see the mile being an issue at all." Asmussen also saddles Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) in this event. Earning his diploma by 5 1/2 lengths at second asking at Ellis Aug. 22, the bay was second in the GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill Sept. 5. Cont. p7 Sottsass won the Arc for Brant Sunday | Scoop Dyga IN TDN EUROPE TODAY by Chris McGrath PRETTY GORGEOUS RISES IN FILLIES’ MILE When Ettore Sottsass was asked which of his many diverse In the battle of the TDN Rising Stars, it was Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) achievements had given him most satisfaction, he gave a shrug. that bested Indigo Girl (GB) in Friday’s G1 Fillies’ Mile at "I don't know," he said. "Life is a permanent project. It's a Newmarket. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. passage from one thing to another." The Italian designer and architect transcended disciplines in a fashion not dissimilar to his compatriot Federico Tesio, whose singular genius was as stimulated by his furniture workshop as by his breed-shaping stud farm. And there's a corresponding breadth of engagement to the man who wrote to the widow of Sottsass, asking permission to honor his memory with a Siyouni (Fr) yearling he had bought at Deauville in 2017. Peter Brant has assembled his stable with the same curator's eye as he has his art collection; and the same quixotic awareness that no masterpiece can ever achieve perfection, can ever fully requite the yearnings that sustain his twin passions. The success of Sottsass (Fr) in the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Sunday was certainly a masterpiece, in the technical craft of his trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. And it belongs in the same gallery as Brant's unique achievement in breeding a GI Kentucky Derby winner, Thunder Gulch (Gulch), as well as his sire and dam. 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For just as the work of Renaissance masters has far outlasted the span of any human life--creators, preservers, collectors--so our own humble endeavors, from one generation of horsemen to the next, will endure in the genetic complexion of the breed, as recorded across the centuries in the Stud Book. Brant is rightly proud that Thunder Gulch, winner of the It was 25 years ago that the Brant-bred Thunder Gulch won the Kentucky Derby | Horsephotos definitive test in dirt racing, was delivered by a mare imported from Europe. The obvious, reciprocal challenge would now be to breed a dirt champion by his Arc winner. Asked this week whether that is something he'd like to attempt, someday, Brant gave a chuckle. "Someday?" he said. "Try, like, three or four months from now. I mean, sure. That doesn't mean I have to be right. I was right once, doesn't mean I'll be right doing it again. But I'm certainly going to try." With the far-sightedness that has sustained his business empire--not least in adapting to the wild societal changes eroding demand for its original base, newsprint--Brant absolutely grasps the vitality available in dismantling perceived barriers between the transatlantic gene pools. Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 15 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • OCTOBER 10, 2020 This Side Up cont. It's often been done before, after all, not least in the transformative impact of Northern Dancer's speed-carrying dirt blood on European Classic racing. Brant bought Shoot a Line (GB) (High Line {GB}) after seeing her finish a plucky second to the great Ardross (Ire) in the 1981 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, over two and a half miles, and had her covered by Northern Dancer's son Storm Bird. The resulting filly, Line of Thunder, was sent to Luca Cumani in Newmarket. "She was a classic-looking, old Thoroughbred type," Brant recalled. "And what happened is history. I bred her to Gulch, who won the Met Mile twice and the Breeders' Cup Sprint. He could carry his speed, he was third in the Belmont Stakes and ran second to Personal Ensign in the Whitney, but going a mile-and-a-quarter, mile-and-a-half, was really not his thing. He was a very fast, very sturdy horse. And from Line of Thunder he got Thunder Gulch." Mill Reef and Paul Mellon in 1971 | Getty Images On the same basis, Brant made sure that his White Birch Farm recruited staying females from the Weinstock dispersal and also the Wildenstein sale. "A lot of times you'll go to sales in Kentucky and they'll say: 'That's a grass horse, you don't want that, we want to win dirt races,'" he remarked. "But I believe that staying blood is very important, if you want to win any of those Classic-type races, from a mile up to a mile-and-a-half. You definitely need speed as well, because often they are a product of pace: sometimes no pace, sometimes too great a pace. It's the ability to quicken that is so important. Cont. p5 BORN TO RUN NOVEMBER 6 & 7 KEENELAND IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO START PLANNING A VICTORY SPEECH FOAL NOMINATIONS CLOSE OCTOBER 15, 2020 Nothing demonstrates the quality of your foal like a Breeders’ Cup nomination. Your investment today pays off with over $31 million in prizes and awards each year. And your support provides our industry with its year end showcase, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. All 2020 foals nominated on or before October 15, 2020 pay a nomination fee of $400 and remain nominated for their entire racing career. Breeders’ Cup World Championships 14 Championship Races • $31 million in Purses & Awards November 6-7, 2020 • Keeneland, KY | November 5-6, 2021 • Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, CA November 4-5, 2022 • Keeneland, KY For further information or to nominate online: [email protected] • 859•514•9423 MEMBERS.BREEDERSCUP.COM TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 15 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • OCTOBER 10, 2020 "But so many stallions had great speed--horses like War Front, maybe a horse like Constitution--and if you breed speed to them you're going to have trouble in those middle-distance races.