This is the fourth installment in what will be an ongoing series, presented by Hagyard, in which we catch up with the connections behind TDN Rising Stars. We'll go beyond the flashy performances to uncover the decisions that helped shape these future stars.About the same time that Hullabaloo Ray Ray (Jackie's Warrior) was preparing for a maiden race Saturday at Belmont Park, owner Craig Bernick was suffering as his beloved Tulane football team was losing again, this time to Army, which would go on to win, 20-17. That dropped the Green Wave's record to 2-3 on the year, and they didn't exactly lose to Powerhouse State.“They stink,” Bernick said of Tulane's football team.But, despite his team's slow start to the 2026 season, Bernick would have something to smile about that day. The colt he named with Tulane in mind won that race, which was his second career start, to earn 'TDN Rising Star, Presented by Hagyard' honors. Hullabaloo Ray Ray is the name of Tulane's fight song.“We saw him run first time out and we thought he ran a huge race,” said Fergus Galvin,” the managing partner of Hunter Valley Farm, which bred the colt. “Obviously, he stepped right up in his second start and he looks like he's going to be a force for these end-of-the-season two-year-old races and obviously into his three-year-old campaign.”Hullabaloo Ray Ray was bought by Bernick's Glen Hill Farm for $250,000 as a weanling at the 2024 Keeneland November sale. Bernick noticed that Hullabaloo Ray Ray's dam, Applauding (Congrats), was also a TDN Rising Star after she broke her maiden on debut at Keeneland in 2011. He was also of the opinion that with prices for yearlings and two-year-olds soaring, it was more practical to shop for a weanling.“My mom (Carol Lavin Bernick) wanted us to get some colts, and I was really thankful that she said she wanted to do that,” Bernick said. “Just looking at the results at the yearling sales and having participated at the yearling sales, I just found it impossible to buy. Horses were, in 2024, wildly expensive. So I just thought we'd buy foals. We have a great farm in Ocala and it's actually in some ways an advantage buying a foal because they're in your program much longer than if you buy them as a yearling.”He was also bullish on sire Jackie's Warrior and had high hopes for his first crop.“At one point (Jackie's Warrior) was the winter book favorite for the Derby,” Bernick said. “So there was a lot of talent in the pedigree. Her mother's full sister had produced She Dares the Devil at the time. So there was plenty of pedigree there on the female side, so I wasn't that worried about choosing a horse by a freshman sire. I quite liked the horse and that's why we bought him.”Bernick bought five weanlings at that sale and has two TDN Rising Stars to show for it. The other is Nola Soul (Justify). He was awarded Rising Star status after winning the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Leopardstown in May.After finishing second in his debut, Hullabaloo Ray Ray was an easy winner Saturday at odds of 45-100. Bernick's not sure where he will run the colt next. His original thought was to go in the Nashua Stakes but discovered that that race has been discontinued. He's now hoping to find an allowance race for the colt, who is trained by Tom Proctor.Applauding foaled a full-sister to Hullabaloo Ray Ray Mar. 1. The weanling is cataloged as hip 2421 at the upcoming Keeneland November Sale and was served by Golden Pal this term.Hunter Valley Farm bought Applauding, who was in foal to Curlin at the time, for $360,000 at the 2020 Keeneland January sale. They sold her at Keeneland November last year for $55,000 to Meredith Krupp's Pine Branch Farm.“Of course, I wish we still had her,” Galvin said. “But Meredith Krupp bought her and we're happy for her. We're happy that she's certainly gone to good friends of ours and we keep in touch with them on her.”As for Tulane, they will face Memphis Friday night and the Green Wave are 6 1/2-point underdogs and likely to slip to 2-4. At least Bernick has Hullabaloo Ray Ray to get excited about. Since our last installment of 'The Making of a TDN Rising Star', featuring Jaded, a further 20 horses have earned the coveted designation. Baaeed leads the way with three new Rising Stars: Moneefa at Saint-Cloud, Claudette at Great Yarmouth and Curracloe at Gowran Park. The remaining 17 are Global Unrest (Flameaway) at Keeneland, Hullabaloo Ray Ray (Jackie's Warrior) at Belmont Park, Spartan (Too Darn Hot) at Kempton Park, Foxiest (Gun Runner) at Churchill Downs, Collado Hueco (Into Mischief) at Belmont Park, Card Man (Life Is Good) at Belmont Park, Noble Exhibit (Frankel) at Punchestown, High Speed Reed (Upstart) at Churchill Downs, Coach Pope (Tapit) at Churchill Downs, Endrush (Curlin) at Churchill Downs, Lex Victoria (Sioux Nation) at Kempton Park, Imperial Honor (Honor A. P.) at Del Mar, Sucre Nabat (Sea The Stars) at Saint-Cloud, Quattro Passi (Girvin) at Del Mar, Pharocity (American Pharoah) and U. S. S. Valor (War of Will) at Saratoga, and Sharadd (Dark Angel) at Haydock Park.The post Hullabaloo Ray Ray: The Making of a ‘TDN Rising Star, Presented by Hagyard’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.