BALTIMORE, Md.--Cynthia and Charles McGinnes, as breeders, had two stakes winners in one day, one of which they still own along with Francis Clemens.
Too Many Kisses (Photo by James McCue)It's hard enough to breed a stakes winner, but to have two in one day is quite extraordinary.
Both the McGinnes' winners came from long lines of top mares that go back three or four generations that they have bred at their Thornmar Farm in Chestertown, Md..
Too Many Kisses, owned by the McGinneses and Clemens, bred by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes, ridden by Forest Boyce and trained by Tim Keefe, won the $75,000, 7 furlong Conniver Stakes at Laurel by 1 1/4 lengths on March 16.
"Too Many Kisses is out of Casual Kiss, a mare that we bred," said Cynthia McGinnes. "Casual Kiss is out Bushelandapeck, a daughter of Foolish Kisses. We bred and sold Foolish Kisses as a yearling to Dr. Philip Torsney, who owned Horatius, the first really important stallion that we stood as stud. He sired Breeders Cup winner Safely Kept.
"After she was finished racing, we got Foolish Kisses back and we bred her and got Casual Kiss. We sold her at a sale as a yearling, and Arnold Heft bought her. She showed amazing speed, but she cracked her pelvis in the starting gate. Heft gave her a lot of time off, but she never got sound enough to run. When Heft died, Tim Keefe, who trained her, asked if we'd take her back.
"WE WEREN'T sure she could have a foal, but we bred her to Scipion, a smaller boned stallion, and that was okay, so then we bred her to Old Fashioned. She had a nice colt, and we named him Still Having Fun. We sold him as a yearling and he turned into a super star, winning over $640,000 and the Woody Stephens Stakes. We still had Casual. Kiss, and the owners of Arrogate, who had just been retired, called and said Casual Kiss, who is by Dehere would be a great cross and would we breed her to Arrogate, who is by Unbridled Song. Mares by Dehere cross well with sons of Unbridled Song.
A yearling half brother of Too Many Kisses at Thornmar Fsrm
"We kept the foal, Too Many Kisses, and sent her to Betsy Houghton's to be broken. She was so fast, but she was too immature for racing. She got too nervous,"said McGinnes.
Too Many Kisses ran three times in 2023 before winning a Maiden Special Weight at Laurel on Sept. 30.
"We sent her back to Houghtons, and they gave her the time to mature," said McGinnes. "We brought her back in January and she won an allowance, and then I picked out this race for her. She's still hard to saddle, but Forest Boyce gallops her in the morning and knows her well.
"Now Casual Kiss has had six foals, but the ones sired by sons of Unbridled Song are really good. We have two stakes winners out of Casual Kiss by sons of Unbridled Song," said McGinnes..
Also on March 16, Take a Hint, bred by Mr. and Mrs. Charles McGinnes but owned by 57 Strong, won the $75,000, 6 furlong Not For Love Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths at Laurel.
Daffodils at Thornmar Farm
"He's out of Fancy Diamond, a stakes winning mare that we bred and bought back after she'd finished racing," said McGinnes. "All her foals have been winners.
"It was a great day," said McGinnes. "We go $45,000 for the win and $20,250 in breeders awards.
"We also had a winner on March 9 that we bred and owned."
Joe the Jet, out of Untiltherewasyou, won a $31,245, 1 mile Maiden Claiming race at Laurel.
"We named him for Joe Namath," said McGinnes, who was a devoted Jets fan during the Namath era. "Namath was so long ago, most people thought we named him Joe the Jet because he was fast. He was claimed out of that race, and the man who claimed him told his trainer to claim the horse because he was Jets fan and the horse was named for Namath."
KERI BRION had two winners as well as multiple second and third placed horses that just missed winning over the past month.
Antique Silver (Photo by Adam Coglianese)Western Lane, owned by Rich Spiesman and Second Opinion Stable, won a $51,370, 1 1/16 mile Allowance for fillies and mares 4 and up by 1 1/4 length on Feb. 16 at Laurel.
Antique Silver, owned by Three Diamonds Farm, won a $89,000, 5 furlong Maiden Special Weight for fillies and mares 3 and up by a neck at Gulfstream on March 15.
GRAHAM MOTION had five winners, including one stakes winner, over the past month.
Wertheimer and Frere's homebred Porquerolles won an $89,000, 7 1/2 furlong Maiden Special Weight on the turf by a nose at Gulfsream on Feb. 15, and Alex G. Campbell's homebred Heavenly Appointed won a $54,000, Allowance Optional Claiming race by 3 3/4 lenths at Tampa Bay on Feb. 25.
Augustin Stable and Catherine Parke's Sparkle Blue won the $225,000, 1 1/8 mile, G2 Hillsborough Stakes by 1/2 length at Tampa Bay on March 9.
On March 10, Motion had two winners.
John Davison's She'sarollingstone won a $54,445, 1 1/16 mile Allowance race by1/2 length at Laurel, and Newstead Stables' Royal Wintour won an $89,000, 1 mile and 70 yards Maiden Special Weight for 3-year-old fillies by 2 1/4 length at Gulfstream.
BERNIE HOUGHTON won a $17,000, 6 furlong Maiden Claiming race at Penn National on March 1 with Sporting the Golf, owned by Bold Spirit Racing.
Sporting the Gold won by a nose.
