Tickle the Ivories

Why We Bought This Horse

Tickle the Ivories is an unraced daughter of the undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify, the runaway leading juvenile sire of 2023 by all black-type metrics, including no fewer than four G1 winning 2YOs (namely Eclipse Champion Just F Y I, European champions City of Troy and Ramatuelle, and BC Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Hard To Justify).  He was also the leading first crop sire in Australia after shuttling there, and his subsequent seasons have included European classic winners Ruling Court (2,000 Guineas) and Scandinavia (St. Leger) and multiple G1W Opera Singer.  Justify's other US foals include the G1W dirt sprinter Arabian Lion.

Tickle the Ivories is out of the multiple French G3W and multiple classic-placed Gagnoa, a 3/4-sister to the G1 Epsom Derby winner Pour Moi, and to the G3W Dawn Patrol and BTW Kissed.  She is also a half-sister to White Hot, the dam of G1 BC Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Pizza Bianca and G3W West Hollywood.

Gagnoa's other foals include the multiple G3W and multiple G1P Ancient Rome, the G3W Etoile (dam of BTW No Nay Mets), and BTP Galateia.  Gagnoa also has a two-time winning full-sister to Tickle the Ivories named Just Before, and her 2024 and 2025 colts are both by Justify as well.  She was bred back to Justify again for her foal of '26.

Tickle the Ivories was bought carrying her first foal, on a February 24th cover, by the leading sire Munnings.  A $1.7 million 2YO in-training purchase by Demi O'Byrne, Munnings was a G2W for Todd Pletcher during his racing days, and is now the sire of 85 BTWs in his career as a stallion.  His best include G1Ws Jack Christopher, I'm a Chatterbox, Kimari, Eda, El Deal, Howard Wolowitz, and his 2026 2YO crop was conceived off a $100k stud fee.  The foal from this mating will be bred on the same cross as Eclipse Champion and G1 BC Sprint winner Straight No Chaser.

We bought Tickle the Ivories specifically to breed her to multiple G1W Mindframe, with whom she matches well on pedigree (the cross has already produced a G1W by Constitution) and also on physical, since both are big, strapping individuals, and hopefully we'll get a nice, big, early foal from that pairing in '27!