Pedigree Stars: See the 9 standouts lining up at Ellis Park

This weekend at Ellis Park starts off with a bang Saturday, offering a robust, maiden special weight event for colts. Race 6 includes runners from the first crops of Gun Runner and Klimt.  

Sunday presents a chance for babies to stretch out on the lawn. A Curlin first-time starter from the family of Malibu Moon is the pedigree highlight.

The little track at Henderson, Ky., has evolved into a mecca for trainers with debuting 2-year-olds. These well-bred youngsters are on par with those debuting at Saratoga and Del Mar.

All statistics are from Stats RaceLens.

Thursday, Race 6, maiden special weight, 5 furlongs

Pedigree-wise, the standout here is Costa Terra (Gun Runner - Teardrop, by Tapit). The Steve Asmussen trainee has a moderate series of breezes, including two standout four-furlong gate works at 47.2 seconds last month.

Pedigree: Leading first-crop sire Gun Runner has four winners from nine starters, including Wicked Halo, who was third in the Debutante Stakes on Churchill's closing day.

Costa Terra's half-brother Pneumatic won the Pegasus Stakes and placed in the Matt Winn (G3). Their stakes-placed dam is a full sister to Silverbulletday (G3) winner War Echo, plus she is a three-quarter sister to Pyro, winner of the Forego (G1), Louisiana Derby (G2) and other graded stakes. Pyro's full brother Longview Drive is a multiple stakes winner. This is the female family of 2014 champion 3-year-old filly Untapable plus sires Tapizar, Cuvee, Olympio, and Early Flyer.

Detroit City (Dialed In - Quality Lass, by Exclusive Quality) was off a beat slow in his debut at Churchill. Tyler Gaffalione guided Detroit City to the rail, where the pair made up ground. They were not going to catch Landsdowne, but they dueled with Buckingham Prince, winning the battle for fourth place. Jack Sisterson gave Detroit City a pre-race, five-furlong, bullet move at Keeneland of 1:01.0.

Pedigree: Detroit City is the third competitor out of Quality Lass, a dual-stakes-winning sprinter over Tapeta and turf. She's a half-sister to two stakes-placed sprinters.

Take a look at Cold City (Liam's Map - Sass and Class, by Harlan's Holiday). John Ortiz has a decent stat of 14 percent winners and 45 percent in the money with debuting 2-year-olds, and Cold City has a steady pattern of 48-and-changefour-furlong works.  

Pedigree: Cold City's half-sister Royal Charlotte won her debut and developed into a multiple graded-stakes-winning sprinter who earned $408,150 in twelve starts. Liam's Map gets only 7 percent first-time winners, but 40 percent hit the board.

Buckingham Prince  (Klimt - Amaroni, by Desert Party) showed decent gate speed in his debut, settling behind pacesetter Landsdowne. He came off the rail in the stretch, opening the hole for Detroit City. Buckingham Prince dueled between horses and bounced off eventual third-place finisher Roger McQueen, likely knocking some of the fight out of Buckingham Prince. Norm Casse gave the son of Klimt a sharp pre-race, bullet, four-furlong 46.8-second breeze.

Pedigree: First-crop sire Klimt was a precocious 2-year-old campaigned first by Bob Baffert and later by Art Sherman. Klimt won the Best Pal (G2), and Del Mar Futurity (G1) then placed in the FrontRunner (G1) before an eighth-place showing in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). The son of Quality Road is off to a slow start at stud. Seventeen of his babies have made 31 starts. One has won; 10 have placed.

There is little black type in Buckingham Prince's pedigree, although his unraced dam's half-brother Cosmic Kris is a multiple stakes-winning turf miler and is Grade 3 placed.

Martini'nmoonshine (Malibu Moon - Maggy's Melody, by Unbridled's Song) debuts with a consistent string of works for Tom Amoss. The trainer gets 22 percent winners and 49 percent in the money with debuting 2-year-olds.

Pedigree: That being said, Martini'nmoonshine might need a few starts, more distance, and a surface switch. Neither half-siblings won until switching to turf, and both were best at 1 to 1 1/16 miles. Their unraced dam Maggy's Melody is a half-sister to champion 3-year-old and sire Afleet Alex and multiple stakes winner Unforgettable Max. Other notable names in Martini'nmoonshine’s second-generation include Grade 1 placed turf router Topic, Grade 3 winner Name Changer, and 2017 Pilgrim Stakes (G3) winner Sebhac.

Friday, Race 4, maiden special weight, mile (turf)

Maidens stretch out to a mile over the lawn.  

Hrothgar (Curlin - Mutually Benefit, by Dynaformer) should love every bit of a mile and eventually stretch to classic distances. The Brad Cox trainee has an unremarkable but consistent breeze pattern over dirt. One notable work was a pre-race breeze at Ellis Park. Cox gets 23 percent winners and 49 percent in the money with turf first-time starters.

Pedigree: Hrothgar earns the star for best pedigree in the field. His half-sister Compelled is a multiple graded-placed sprinter-miler over dirt and turf. She captured Gulfstream's Juvenile Filly Turf Stakes in her fourth start. Their dam Mutually Benefit is a stakes-placed turf router. The big names are in Hrothgar's second generation and include prominent sire Malibu Moon, Temple City, plus Grade 3-winning turf router Worth Repeating, and Moraz, who hit the board in this year's Santa Anita Oaks (G2), Santa Ysabel (G3) and Las Virgenes (G3).

Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb - Tiz the Key, by Tiznow) showed speed and fade in his dirt debut. He pinballed out of the gate, collided with the horse to his outside and then ducked in when Brian Hernandez Jr. straightened him out. Tiz the Bomb has high knee action and was climbing throughout the race. Ken McPeek gave Tiz the Bomb a series of four quick, four-furlong works, including two bullet moves.

Pedigree: Precocious Hit It a Bomb captured all three starts, including the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. So far, the second-crop sire is not passing that trait to his offspring; they tend to be better with maturity.  One of Tiz the Bomb's two half-siblings is a winner. His second dam Cabbage Key is a multiple stakes-placed turf miler, and his dam's half-brother, King of Dreams, is a stakes-placed turf miler.  

Bourbon On Fire (Bernardini - Katniss the Victor, by Midnight Lute) should be ready to roll after two swift gate breezes, including a four-furlong 47.6-second bullet. Ian Wilkes has only 3 percent winners and 10 percent in the money with first-time turf starters, so when he gives his horses sharp works, pay attention.

Pedigree: There's little black type in Bourbon On Fire's distaff line. His dam was a good competitor, hitting the board in all six starts, and placing in three stakes. Her half-sister Inthemidstofbiz is a Grade 2-winning sprinter.

Sacred Midnight (Midnight Storm - Sacred Forest, by Forestry) has logged a series of breezes that were in the top five of the day for Bill Gowan.

Pedigree: First-crop sire Midnight Storm, a son of Pioneerof the Nile, won on dirt and turf at the highest levels. There's not much black type in his pedigree, although his dam is a half-sister to Blue Grass (G1) winner Sinister Minister, and second dam Sweet Minister is a stakes-winning sprinter. His babies will likely be two-turn types, and he has one winner from four starters. Most of Sacred Midnight's half-siblings hit the board within their first few starts.