Grade 1 Winner Pinehurst to Stand at Walmac

Pinehurst, winner of the 2021 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (G1) and a millionaire son of Twirling Candy, will stand the 2023 breeding season at Gary Broad's Walmac Farm after being acquired in partnership with Kiki and Louise Courtelis' Town and Country Farms, it was announced Nov. 23. The partnership acquired Pinehurst for an undisclosed amount in a Fasig-Tipton Digital 'Flash Sale' offering that closed Nov. 22. A stud fee will be announced at a later date. After winning a Del Mar maiden special weight in his career debut at 2 in 2021, defeating next-out stakes winner Enbarr and subsequent graded stakes winner Cabo Spirit, Pinehurst made short work of his rivals in the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity to remain unbeaten in his first two appearances for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Pinehurst took control of the seven-furlong affair soon after the start, cleared rivals at the five-sixteenths pole, and padded the margin at will through the lane to score by a convincing 4 1/2 lengths at the finish, defeating future stakes winner Finneus and multiple grade 1-placed Pappacap. GANTZ: Pinehurst Draws Clear in Del Mar Futurity Campaigned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable, and Siena Farm, Pinehurst scored his most lucrative victory far from home, taking down top prize in the $1.5 million Al Rajhi Bank Saudi Derby (G3) at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia in his second start at 3. Pinehurst utilized his early speed in the one-mile Saudi Derby to register a front-running victory over an international field, earning a 5 Thoro-Graph number and adding the $900,000 winner's share of the purse to his coffers. In addition to his impressive stakes victories, Pinehurst finished second to the highly-regarded Forbidden Kingdom in the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park in his 3-year-old bow and concluded his juvenile season in the $2,000,000 TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (G1). According to the release from his new connections, Pinehurst retires sound. His record stands at three wins and a second from seven starts, with earnings of $1,213,500. A $385,000 acquisition by Starlight/Madaket Stables from Woods Edge Farm's consignment to the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Pinehurst was bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III and John Fielding and initially sold as a weanling at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale for $180,000. Bred on a similar cross to standout stallion Gun Runner, Pinehurst is by Twirling Candy, a son of the influential Candy Ride (ARG) and the sire of seven grade 1 winners and four millionaires. He is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Giant Win, a full sister to grade 3 winner First Passage, who is the dam of multiple stakes winner Berned and multiple graded stakes-placed First to Act. He is a half brother to multiple stakes-placed Let's Go Big Blue and hails from the deep and accomplished female family of grade 1 winners Harmony Lodge and Magnum Moon, multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Graeme Hall, and We the People, winner of this year's Peter Pan Stakes (G3).