Stakes-loaded weekends such as Oct. 3-5 provide ample opportunity for stallions to elevate their commercial standing but few enjoy the rare, pinch-me, remarkable deluge of elite performances seen recently from the progeny of Taylor Made Stallions' marquee sire Not This Time .
The 11-year-old son of Giant's Causeway was represented by 11 winners Oct. 3-5 at Aqueduct Racetrack, Gulfstream Park, Keeneland, Laurel Park, and Woodbine. These wins included five in black-type stakes, of which four were graded. These stakes ranged from 5 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles on turf and dirt.
"We've been comparing the best days we could remember and this tops them all," said Ben Taylor, president of Taylor Made Stallions. "We bought Kris S. in May 1993 and that year he had two Breeders' Cup winners and a horse that placed. Not This Time also had two graded stakes winners at Belmont Park in one day, but what he did this weekend is incredible."
Not This Time's previous big day at Belmont Park was June 10, 2023, when Up to the Mark won the Manhattan Stakes (G1T) and Next won the Brooklyn Stakes (G2).
This past weekend, his stakes winners at Keeneland included Rhetorical in the Turf Mile Stakes (G1T), Imaginationthelady in the Jessamine Stakes (G2T), Final Score in the Bourbon Stakes (G2T), and Schwarzenegger in the Indian Summer Stakes. His fifth stakes winner, Cy Fair, won the Algonquin Stakes at Woodbine.
The Jessamine Stakes results are of particular note because Not This Time sired the top three finishers of the race, with Infinite Sky finishing second and Time to Dream finishing third.
Out of 12,601 graded stakes run in North America since 2000, in only four other races has a stallion been represented by the top three finishers. Kris S. is one of those sires, being represented by the top three in the 2001 Lawrence Realization Handicap (G3T) at Belmont Park—winner Sharp Performance, runner-up Tiger Trap, and third-place Whitmore's Conn. The other sires are:
- Dynaformer in the 2009 Sands Point Stakes (G2T), Belmont Park, first Gozzip Girl, second Warm Shower, and third Bluegrass Princess
- Powerscourt in the 2015 San Marcos Stakes (G2T), Santa Anita Park, first Finnegan's Wake, second Power Ped, and third Power Foot
- Curlin in the 2020 Demoiselle Stakes (G2), Aqueduct, first Malathaat, second Millefeuille, and third Malibu Curl.
Taylor noted that Not This Time has been additionally represented this year by another grade 1 winner in Troubleshooting and six runners that have placed in a grade 1 stakes. Two of these grade 1-placed runners have already won a graded stakes in grade 2 winner Magnitude and grade 3 winner Dazzling Move. Magnitude finished second in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and third in the Travers Stakes (G1), and Dazzling Move was second in the Ogden Phipps Stakes (G1). The others include Blackout Time, who ran second in the Oct. 4 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland; Hot Mash, second in the Natalma Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine; The Grumpy Rabbit, third in the Oct. 3 Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland; and Goal Oriented, third in the Haskell Stakes (G1) and Pennsylvania Derby.
The big weekend raised Not This Time's number of year-to-date black-type winners to 21, which puts him in a tie in this category with Spendthrift Farm's sire Into Mischief , who leads the general sire standings by progeny earnings. Not This Time has sired 59 career black-type winners so far (8.7% from foals of racing age) and 30 graded/group winners.
Not This Time has three runners who have earned automatic berths to the Breeders' Cup World Championships races through the Breeders' Cup Challenge series. They are Final Score in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T), Rhetorical in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T), and Imaginationthelady in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T). The World Championships will be Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Buyers who flocked to Not This Time's progeny during the Keeneland September Yearling Sale are likely feeling even better about their purchases, which were strong enough to make Not This Time the sale's second-leading sire by average price at $701,455 from 55 sold. His top sellers include 14 that sold for seven figures, topped by a $2 million filly named Maranello that Hinkle Farms sold to agents David Lanigan and Ted Durcan on behalf of Cindy Heider. The stallion stood this year for $175,000.
"We count our blessings every day to be sure," Taylor said. "You can do the best job possible in this business and not have any success. But if you have the right horse, they make it to the top despite us."
