Tranquility Lake Farms continues legacy of the late Marty Wygod

 

• Tranquility Lake Farms continues legacy of the late Marty Wygod
• Ottinho one to watch in Listed $200K Withers
• Green sends out Two Bits and Ivy Girl in $135K Ruthless

The life’s work of prominent breeder and owner Marty Wygod, who died in April of 2024, is not just celebrated, but furthered each day as his daughter, Emily Bushnell, has taken the reins and formed Tranquility Lake Farms to continue racing and breeding descendants of the Wygods’ prized racing families.

“The horses are doing so well, and I’m so proud of them,” said Bushnell, who will be represented by Victory Way in Saturday’s Listed $150,000 Toboggan at Aqueduct Racetrack. “I’m trying to make an emphasis on knowing the horses very well, as well as the people handling them and understanding their opinions and perspectives. It’s something we’ve always done as a family, and now that I’m the one running the farm, it’s something I put a lot of pride and emphasis on.”

Tranquility Lake Farms is named for the beloved mare who provided a foundation for the farm’s success, producing lucrative foals both commercially and on the racetrack. A daughter of Rahy, Marty and his wife Pam bought Tranquility Lake for $250,000 as a yearling at the 1996 Keeneland July Selected Yearlings Sale, and campaigned her through seven graded wins, two of them Grade 1s.

As successful as Tranquility Lake was as a racehorse, her accomplishments as a broodmare almost eclipse her racetrack accolades. She began her breeding career in 2003, and produced five consecutive colts by Storm Cat.

The first, After Market, was subsequently a dual Grade 1-winner, but before he even stepped foot on a racetrack, the mare’s foals were already in high demand. Her second foal, eventually named Jalil, hammered for $9.7 million at the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Tranquility Lake went on to produce Grade 1-winning millionaire and productive sire Courageous Cat, and finally delivered a filly in 2014 named Meadowsweet, dam of 2024 Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino-winner Resilience.

“I could talk about her forever,” Bushnell said of Tranquility Lake. “Russell Drake was our farm manager, and he passed away a few years ago. He picked Tranquility Lake out as a weanling, and that speaks to the amount of care and how talented of a horseman he was in picking her out. She was a strong female racehorse, and then an incredible broodmare. She created a legacy for us.”

Beyond Tranquility Lake, the Wygods’ breeding successes include full-sisters Sweet Catomine and Life Is Sweet, the former the Champion 2-Year-Old filly in 2004 and the latter the winner of the 2009 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic. Their female line, which the Wygods became involved in with the Flying Paster mare Symbolically, has continued to produce quality racing prospects to this day.

Among them is Victory Way, who is entered in the seven-furlong Toboggan for Hall of Fame trainer and 2025 Eclipse Award-winner Bill Mott. The 6-year-old City of Light gelding makes his first stakes start since finishing off-the-board in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones in August 2023, and enters from a tidy 1 3/4-length optional claiming victory sprinting six furlongs on December 11 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The win, which came with a prominent trip under Jose Lezcano, was awarded a 96 Beyer Speed Figure, one point shy of when he matched his career-best number earned for a half-length third in a similar tilt in August at Saratoga Race Course won by Acoustic Ave, who won an optional claimer on Friday at the Big A.

“He shows up every time and he always tries,” Bushnell said. “He’s been putting up good numbers, so hopefully it warms up on Saturday and we’ll see what he can do.”

The bay is out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Sweet Way, a half-sister to Life Is Sweet and Sweet Catomine who also produced dual graded stakes-placed Saint Vigeur and Ilsa, dam of Tranquility Lake Farms’ Grade 1-placed Beauty Reigns.

Victory Way won on debut sprinting seven furlongs here in March 2023, and finished third in the Grade 3 Bay Shore in his next start. He was stretched out to 1 1/16 miles for the Smarty Jones before a 16-month respite that ended with a local second in December 2024.

“When we first got him to the track, we had really high hopes for him,” Bushnell said. “When they’re young, you’re always like, ‘are we going to make it to the Derby?’ We ended up gelding him and giving him some time, which was the right thing for him, and he came back to show Bill and his team the right path forward. They’ve done a great job bringing him along and figuring out the right distance and races for him. He really goes to the track and tries hard.”

While Victory Way is the major player this winter for Tranquility Lake Farms, their roster includes several stakes horses that are currently receiving freshenings, including Resilience, whose win in the 2024 Grade 2 Wood Memorial came just days before Wygod’s passing. He went on to finish a game sixth in the Run for the Roses.

The now 5-year-old son of Into Mischief was last seen finishing off-the-board in a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer on November 12 at Churchill Downs for Mott. His best finish of his seven-start campaign last year was a nose second to Bernin Hot in a nine-furlong allowance-level tilt in September at Churchill, where he equaled his career-best 90 Beyer.

“He is having a little bit of a break now and we just backed off him a little bit,” Bushnell said. “We’re hoping he starts back in New York this spring for a 5-year-old campaign. Hopefully, he’ll run back to his previous form. Maybe his 4-year-old campaign wasn’t that great, but he did run some tough races last year.”

Aside from campaigning horses like Victory Way and Resilience, Bushnell said she would like to use her platform as the head of Tranquility Lake Farms to promote the sport of horse racing, while also making aftercare a pillar in the farm’s mission and goals.

“I felt like I really wanted to have a small voice in the industry and highlight all the great things happening and the huge teams behind each horse,” Bushnell said. “In my own way, one person by one person, I’m giving an education about the industry and all the amazing people and work that’s being done.”

On the aftercare side of things, Bushnell said she has always sought to provide each of her horses with proper retirement, but has strengthened her efforts in recent years to track down former color-bearers.

“We have put some formality around it, which has been a top priority. We would always kind of informally track horses and see where everyone was going and make sure everyone has a good landing,” Bushnell said. “Now, I use The Racing Manager app, and went back through our breeding list for the last 10 years and entered everyone in there. I reached out to all of their owners and trainers, and introduced myself to tell them we are happy to take the horses back. We bring them back to Glencrest in Kentucky, give them 30 days and have the vet go over them, and then send them to retraining organizations. We’ve had a lot of luck, and the owners at all levels have been incredible and it’s been a positive experience.”

On the Tranquility Lake Farms website, each of the horses that are currently in their racing roster have detailed biographies, not just of their racing records, but their individual personalities. Victory Way is described as “the kindest boy around.” Beauty Reigns, who is pointing towards a 4-year-old campaign after a freshening, is said to enjoy “a good cuddle and carrot and is all business on the track.”

For Bushnell, the accolades and wins are one part of a larger story, one that she hopes to continue for years to come with Tranquility Lake Farms.

“The horses are basically family to us, and there’s a lot of time and effort that goes into each of them,” said Bushnell. “It’s a huge responsibility and I want to do the right thing by each horse.”

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Ottinho one to watch in Listed $200K Withers

Three Chimneys Farm’s Kentucky homebred Ottinho is an exciting prospect as a half-brother to Hall of Famer Gun Runner in Saturday’s Listed $200,000 Withers, at Aqueduct Racetrack. The nine-furlong route for sophomores provides the top-five finishers 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points, respectively, towards the prestigious Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by five-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, Ottinho is by Quality Road and out of the Grade 2-winning Giant’s Causeway mare Quiet Giant. This makes the bay a half-brother to 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner and a full-brother to the Brown-trained Grade 3-winner Pretty Ana.

“He really is an exciting prospect,” said Doug Cauthen, vice chairman of Three Chimneys Farm. “He is impeccably bred and a really beautiful colt. We are hoping to see progression in each race. We’ll see. He doesn’t have to win, we just hope he runs well and moves forward, and can continue to do that because the family seems to get better with time.”

The Withers, inaugurated in 1874, honors David Dunham Withers, one of the most successful thoroughbred breeders of the 19th century. Withers was one of the founders of Monmouth Park in New Jersey and was also a member of both the New York Jockey Club and the Coney Island Jockey Club. Throughout its rich history, the Withers has been won by 30 horses that have also won an American Classic, including Triple Crown winners Sir Barton [1919] and Count Fleet [1943].

The last Withers winner to capture an American Classic was the Brown-trained Early Voting, who prevailed in the 2022 Grade 1 Preakness.

“This race is a great steppingstone,” said Cauthen. “It happens to be at the right time and distance to take a shot. I think all the prep races across the country are well-placed and important, this is no different.”

Ottinho has shown ability to go along with his pedigree, graduating at second asking over course and distance last out on December 31. There, he led through three quarters in 1:14.87 under returning rider Flavien Prat after breaking from the rail, and was headed by $1.3 million stablemate Hadrian’s Wall in the stretch, but Ottinho gamely battled back to the inside and prevailed by a head in a final time of 1:54.07.

“He was extremely game,” Cauthen said. “I think he gained a lot of fitness from that. He certainly gained a lot of experience, too. I know they [Chad Brown barn] liked both colts going into the race. The competition keeps getting better, but that was a nice effort, he moved forward.”

Ottinho was previously a rallying third to next-out stakes-placed Enforced Agenda in his one-turn mile debut in November here after hitting the gate at the start and traveling 7th-of-8 through the half-mile. While he didn’t graduate as a first time starter, Cauthen said Ottinho has caught eyes since Day One.

“He was always ‘the man,’” Cauthen said. “He was a beautiful foal, weanling, yearling, and a great looking 2-year-old. He is pretty impressive to look at.”

Ottinho’s full-sister Pretty Ana made nine career starts, all in 2024, her final two efforts over nine furlongs at Aqueduct. She was a closing neck third in the Grade 2 Mother Goose ahead of a game pacesetting head score to make the grade in the Grade 3 Comely, where she won in strikingly similar fashion to Ottinho’s last effort.

“She is in the broodmare band now,” Cauthen said. “She is obviously an important mare for the farm. She was bred to Into Mischief and is expecting her first foal. She improved with time. We all want to make the big dance, but we’ll let Ottinho decide when he’s ready.”

Ottinho drew post 6 in the Withers, which goes as Race 9 on Saturday’s 10-race card that also includes the Listed $150,000 Toboggan [Race 2], the $135,000 Ruthless [Race 4] and the re-scheduled $135,000 Ladies [Race 6]. First post is 12:10 p.m. Eastern.

Brown, who also entered Schoolyardsuperman among the eight-horse field, seeks his third Withers victory to go along with Risk Taking [2021] and the aforementioned Early Voting [2022].

Igniter, another sophomore Three Chimneys Farm Kentucky homebred colt, was the 4-5 favorite in Wednesday’s seven-furlong opener at Aqueduct before the card was cancelled due to arctic temperatures. Trained by Rick Dutrow, Jr., the Volatile chestnut last ran an unmenacing sixth in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Remsen on December 6 here, which followed a second-out graduation over the local one-turn mile in September.

“We hope for more from him. He was always a fan favorite around here also,” said Cauthen. “Maybe he didn’t like two turns, we will find out, but he definitely didn’t like all the dirt he caught. He just didn’t fire. Sometimes you have to step back, which is what Rick is doing. We’ll let him hopefully lead him forward from here.”

Igniter, a full-brother to last year’s Prairie Mile-winner Mickswagger, is out of the dual graded stakes-winning Malibu Moon mare Malibu Prayer, who won the 2010 Grade 1 Ruffian Invitational Handicap at the Spa in frontrunning fashion over that year’s eventual Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic-winner Unrivaled Belle. Malibu Prayer is a full-sister to multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Valid.

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Green sends out Two Bits and Ivy Girl in $135K Ruthless

Trainer Amelia Green will look to secure her first stakes win of 2026 when she sends out a pair of contenders in Two Bits and Ivy Girl in Saturday’s $135,000 Ruthless, a seven-furlong sprint for sophomore fillies, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Green, a 32-year-old native of Nottingham, England, enjoyed her first full season of training in 2025, posting a record of 152-18-24-19, hitting the board at a 40 percent clip while banking in excess of $1.4 million in purse earnings.

“All in all, I was proud of the effort and the barn growing. I'm very lucky I have good help from just setting up. It's something I'm very proud of,” Green said. “I learned it’s a lot harder to train 2-year-olds than older horses. That's something I'm still figuring out, but I enjoy the challenge. You learn every day, and you keep learning - figuring out what surface they want to run on is part of the fun of being a trainer.”

Green graduated from the British Racing School, where she worked as an exercise rider for Sir Henry Cecil before moving to America in 2013 and began working for George Papaprodromou. Green won nine races as a jockey through 148 mounts from 2013-15 but struggled with her weight. In 2017, she became an assistant trainer and exercise rider for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, continuing for seven years before going out on her own.

Green, who oversees a bustling stable of 30 horses, is off to a hot start in 2026 with a 12-3-4-3 record, winning with 25 percent of her starters while hitting the board at an 83 percent clip. She will look to add to those impressive totals with three starters on Saturday’s Big A card.

EGL-One Racing’s Two Bits [post 6, Jaime Rodriguez], by 2015 Triple Crown-winner American Pharoah, was initially considered for the turf but has improved markedly through her last three outings on dirt.

Two Bits was a deceptively good six-length fourth to the victorious Dazzling Dame in the one-mile White Clay Creek around two turns in October at Delaware Park where she was off a step slow and got in tight behind rivals in the first turn. She followed that effort by graduating with a stalking trip in a one-turn mile maiden on November 29 here, besting next-out maiden winner Three Sixty by 1 3/4-lengths.

Last out, the improving bay again took on multiple stakes-winner Dazzling Dame in the one-mile Busanda on January 3 here, making a strong move through the turn and settling for an 11 1/2-length second to her familiar foe, picking up 10 Kentucky Oaks points in defeat.

Green said Two Bits should handle turning back in distance while facing a compact, but talented group, that includes Listed stakes winner Shilling.

“I was very proud of her effort last time,” Green said. “I don't think the cutback to seven [furlongs] is going to be an issue, she's shown speed before. Obviously, Shilling is the one to beat and I think will be on the lead, but I like our chances in the race.”

Two Bits breezed back a swift half-mile in 48.50 seconds on January 23 over the Belmont Park dirt training track in company with 3-year-old maiden colt Buntus Foclora.

“It was a good work. She's always been a very good workhorse,” Green said. “She'll out breeze anything I put her with, it's when her works aren't impressive that I need to be worried because her standard works are always very impressive.”

Two Bits was selected by Green, who saddled her first starter in December 2024, and Amanda Gillman for $75,000 at that year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Bred in Kentucky by Don Alberto Corporation, Two Bits is out of the winning Bernardini mare Spare Change, while her second dam is dual Grade 1-winner Finder’s Fee.

Lucky Hat Racing’s Ivy Girl [post 5, Jose Gomez], by Maxfield, cuts back sharply in distance from an off-the-board effort in the nine-furlong Grade 2 Demoiselle on December 6 here.

Ivy Girl debuted in a $40,000 two-turn claiming mile in October at Parx Racing where she landed third, 11 1/2-lengths back of runner-up and returning Ruthless rival Courage On Tap. She improved significantly at second asking with a 3 1/4-length score in a one-turn mile maiden on November 15 here that garnered a career-best 62 Beyer ahead of her Demoiselle try.

“She was always one, with the way she trained, that seemed to want a route of ground. She's kind of one-paced and we knew she would be OK debuting around two turns at Parx,” Green said. “It's [the Ruthless] an ambitious spot. We were pointing for a starter last week and they didn't use it, so we were waiting for another race. We're looking to get a stakes-placing and improve her value as a broodmare.”

She has worked back four times over the Belmont dirt training track, including a half-mile in 50.22 on January 22.

Ivy Girl, a half-sister to the graded stakes-placed duo of Bajan and Virtual Machine, is out of the stakes-placed Aptitude mare Critikal Reason – a half-sister to 2006 Kentucky Oaks-winner Lemons Forever.

Green will also send out John Penn and John Buckley, Jr.’s Reynolds Channel [post 11, Jaime Rodriguez] in Race 7 here Saturday, a seven-furlong open allowance sprint for older horses. The stacked field includes Moe Eighty Eight, who earned a lofty 109 Beyer for a last-out optional-claiming score versus fellow New York-breds.

The Kentucky-bred Reynolds Channel, a 5-year-old West Coast gelding, was haltered for $50,000 two starts back from a runner-up effort traveling a one-turn mile on December 11 here. He paid immediate dividends by scoring a 1 1/4-length local allowance win traveling a one-turn mile on New Year’s Day with returning rider Jaime Rodriguez aboard. That effort earned an 88 Beyer.

“Since we've had him, he's been very straightforward and easy to train. He ran good last time, and the numbers came back good to make him competitive in this race - other than the horse that will obviously be favorite,” Green said.

Green noted Reynolds Channel put forth his best-rated effort when graduating in July 2024 sprinting seven furlongs at Saratoga Race Course for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, earning a career-best 90 Beyer.

“He's a very competitive horse. He's never really run a bad race. I'm looking forward to running him at the seven-furlong distance,” Green said.

The former $300,000 acquisition from the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, a half-brother to dual graded stakes-placed Hot Fudge, is out of the winning Into Mischief mare Noelle’s Mischief. His second dam is Grade 3-winner Lady Belsara.

Green picked up her first career training win with a maiden score in December 2024 here by Lucky Hat Racing and V Hop Racing’s On Command, who would also provide the up-and-coming trainer with her first stakes win by taking the six-furlong Listed License Fee over firm turf in May at the Big A.

The now 5-year-old Omaha Beach mare was last seen finishing off-the-board in the 5 1/2-furlong Grade 2 Intercontinental in June during the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga but has posted a steady string of recent works over the Belmont Park dirt training track, including a half-mile in 49.51 this morning.

“She's meant a lot to the barn being the horse that put my name on the map out there to get me going. It's nice to have her back. She's coming along well,” Green said.

Green said On Command has returned in good order from her freshening, which came after 13 starts between March 2024 and her Intercontinental effort in June.

“She'd been going for a long time and was acting like she needed a bit of a break,” Green said. “Obviously, with her winning on the turf, it wasn't ideal timing, but I think she's just as talented on the dirt, so it didn't really bother me. She went to Patty Hogan's farm in New Jersey and was turned out in a field for 90 days.”

On Command made her first eight starts for trainer Rusty Arnold before being purchased for $120,000 at the 2024 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Green indicated On Command has a number of options, including the seven-furlong $135,000 Interborough which was originally scheduled for the canceled Saturday, January 24 program, that has been brought back for Friday, February 6, with entries to be taken on Saturday. Also under consideration is the seven-furlong Listed Barbara Fritchie on February 14 at Laurel Park.

“I thought the Interborough was coming up too soon for her, but since it was canceled and coming back next week, that's back on the table as an option,” Green said. “The option at the top of the list is the Barbara Fritchie at Laurel. There's also an allowance race here the following week.”

Green added a second stakes win to her ledger when New York-bred colt Minorinconvenience captured the Funny Cide last out on August 27 versus fellow state-breds at Saratoga Race Course.

He required time off after a minor issue sustained while training up to the Grade 1 Champagne won by Napoleon Solo on October 4 at Belmont at the Big A.

The now 3-year-old Mendelssohn colt, owned by Green, Gillman and Upland Flats Racing, is also back on the tab with five works this year over the Belmont dirt training track, including a half-mile in 49.25 Thursday.

“We were ambitiously targeting the Champagne with him and the week before he came out of a breeze and I didn't think he looked quite right,” Green said. “We took some x-rays, and he came up with some bone bruising. It didn't require surgery, just time to mature. Since he's come back this year, he looks like a different horse. He's filled out and grown up. I think the time off did him good, too, and we're excited to get him back to the races.”

Minorinconvenenience was an eye-catching 10 1/2-length maiden winner traveling seven furlongs in July in an off-the-turf event contested over a muddy and sealed Spa main track.

Green noted that the promising colt will target the $135,000 Gander, a one-turn mile for state-bred sophomores on March 7 at the Big A.

“The hardest thing with him is trying to keep him in check - he wants to do a little too much. Now, we'll be able to let him do more and that's [the Gander] the next target,” Green said.

Minorinconvenenience was bred by Steve Barberino and purchased for $20,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.