August, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Lynn Hancock Builds Upon Family Success at Saratoga

Lynn Hancock breezed through the Fasig-Tipton sales grounds early Tuesday morning last week, heading for Barn 1 wearing a baseball cap and a smile. After a long stretch of days running a successful consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale, Stone Farm's Director of Racing and Sales had enjoyed a night of celebration when her consignment sold the highest-priced yearling of the auction's first session.

“I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, but the horses needed fed,” she said with a grin, nodding toward the pair of stalls that had recently been vacated. The youngsters had shipped out shortly after their morning feed.

There was plenty of cause for Hancock to savor all festivities the Saratoga Sale is known for. The youngest daughter of Stone Farm founder Arthur Boyd Hancock III had successfully sold both yearlings at the first Saratoga consignment she had brought up on her own.

“Dad has always been here,” Hancock said. “This was my first consignment coming up here by myself. Even though my dad was guiding me from afar, it was very rewarding to come up here and put in a lot of work. It's not easy to get these horses to this point from the time they're foals up until now. To bring them up here and get the results that we had, it's exciting.”

When Hancock, alongside a few of her farm's best horsemen and the two sale-bound yearlings, arrived in Saratoga, she knew the colt out of Dame Dorothy (Bernardini) could be something special.

“I wasn't sure what to expect, but we knew it was a nice horse,” she said. “He has done everything right since the day he was born.”

Dame Dorothy has been a special horse for breeder and celebrity chef Bobby Flay, taking him to the winner's circle in five stakes including the GI Humana Distaff and giving him two successful yearling sales already in Spice Is Nice (Curlin), a $1.05 million yearling who went on to earn graded stakes status this year for Robert and Lawana Low, as well as a 2-year-old colt named Principe d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) purchased for $650,000 by Juddmonte, Bridlewood and Winchell Thoroughbreds last September.

Hancock said this third offspring from Dame Dorothy, a May-foaled striking bay colt, excelled from the start.

“He has always been an easy keeper,” she explained. “I would say he was a gate hugger. My dad always said that's a sign of a good horse. When you turned him out, he would turn back around and come hang out at the gate, curious and interested. When you ask him to do something, he does it. Horses like that you keep an eye on because you expect something from them. I've always really liked him.”

Buyers liked the colt as well and when the son of Uncle Mo was the consummate professional in the sales ring, bids flew. The hammer dropped with a $1.6 million winning bid from Jacob West, agent for Spice Is Nice campaigners Robert and Lawana Low.

“He did everything right and when he came up here, he showed well,” Hancock said. “It's fun to bring one that you feel a bit of connection to and get those results. It's very rewarding and it's not easy to do. Breeders will know that you can have a well-bred horse and have all kinds of issues, or things will go right and all the stars align and you can bring them here and have some fun.”

The stars had aligned two years earlier in Saratoga for Stone Farm and Flay when their Curlin colt out of GSW American (A.P. Indy) was the co-topper of the sale, going for $1.5 million. Now known as First Captain, the promising Shug McGaughey trainee took the GIII Dwyer S. in July and is now pointing towards the GI Pennsylvania Derby.

“First Captain was similar in a lot of ways to this Uncle Mo colt,” Hancock said. “He was very laid back. Those well-bred horses, it's really fun to bring them up here and do well with them. You want them to sell well, but the most important thing is that you want them to go on and run. So it's been really fun to watch him become a graded stakes winner. The hype surrounding him has been fun to watch and I think there's more to come.”

While Stone Farm is certainly no stranger to success at the Saratoga Sale, the family behind the legendary surname has been connected with the Fasig-Tipton auction since its inception.

“My great-great-grandfather, Captain Richard Hancock, sold up here in the very early days of Fasig-Tipton,” Hancock noted. “It's been exciting to be up here at the 100^th sale as the fifth generation of Hancocks. Everyone was like, 'Oh, your dad left you to do it yourself,' and I told them he may have misguided faith in me, but it worked out okay.”

When she's not running a sales consignment, Hancock stays busy working alongside her father as Stone Farm's Director of Sales and Racing.

“People ask me what I do on a daily basis a lot and it is kind of ever-changing,” she said. “I look at the horses and I technically do our racing, bloodstock and sales, but a lot of it is just whatever my dad tells me to do. I call him my father boss and what he says, I do.”

While the light-hearted, teasing side of Hancock's relationship with her father is evident, she is also clearly appreciative of the wisdom the renowned horseman has to offer.

“My dad went out on his own and started Stone Farm and it's something that we're all really passionate about because he built it,” she said. “One thing I respect a huge amount about my dad is that he'll tell you what he thinks and he's not afraid to shy away. People might not agree, but he's always going to do what he thinks it the right thing. He always says that all you can do in life is the next best thing.”

She continued, “We're all very proud of him and the work that he has put into a lot of different fronts to better the industry. I think that's what we all want to do is to see the industry continue to grow, try to get young people involved and continue to have the horse racing we all love.”

The Hancock family with Horse of the Year Sunday Silence. | Tony Leonard

Growing up on Stone Farm's stunning acreage in Bourbon County, Hancock and her five elder siblings developed an appreciation for their land and a respect for their horses early on from parents Arthur and Staci.

“It was so much fun growing up on the farm and it was always a little bit of a zoo,” she admitted. “But I think we all have a really strong place association with the farm. Another thing my dad always says is that we're farmers and the product that we grow is Thoroughbred horses. We all love the farm and want to see it thrive and continue to produce runners.”

Today, the business still remains a family affair.

“I love working with my family,” Hancock said. “My dad and I work well together and my mom is very involved with the farm. My sister Alex just had a baby so she's on a hiatus, but she works at the farm and all of my siblings are very involved and interested. I send out alerts so everybody knows what's happening with the horses that come off the farm-not just the ones that we breed and raise, but horses like the Dame Dorothy colt. It's exciting for everybody.”

Lynn Hancock was just a few years old during Sunday Silence's dominating 3-year-old campaign in 1989, but nevertheless, the six-time Grade I-winning son of Halo co-owned by her father is still one of her all-time favorites.

“Sunday Silence was kind of our banner horse and really solidified the future of the farm,” she said. “There's a picture of us kids lined up with him and his story is just amazing. I was two years old so I don't remember, but to go back and watch that Preakness race with Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, that was something that kind of hooked me into the industry and into wanting to do this.”

While Arthur Hancock continues to gradually dole out responsibilities to the next generation of leaders at Stone Farm, his youngest daughter hopes to build on the firm foundation he has already constructed for their farm.

“We're very lucky to have good land, good water and good clients,” she said. “We have large pastures and that has built into how we raise the horses in letting them be horses and develop into the best versions of themselves they can be. We just hope to keep Dad's legacy going. He has had so much success, especially in the '80s and '90s in the early days, that I want to get some graded stakes winners for us too.”

The post Lynn Hancock Builds Upon Family Success at Saratoga appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Taking Stock: Postcard from the Spa

The contrast between NYRA's Saratoga and the Churchill Downs, Inc.-owned Arlington couldn't be greater. While the latter died an ignominious death over the weekend, punctuated by Arlington president Tony Petrillo outrageously booting deadline photographers and writers, including this publication's Alan Carasso, from the press box 90 minutes after the completion of the race formerly known as the Gl Arlington Million, Saratoga–or the Spa, as it's known–is flourishing under solid management. The upstate New York track has been welcoming fans at full capacity since it opened for the season after the pandemic kept them out last year.

I was (literally) at the Spa last week with my wife, Cynthia Colt. Saratoga is a place for top-class racing and is known for its select sale, but if you're a visitor, there's lots to do. Yes, we had a great time at the races and at the Fasig-Tipton selected yearling sale, not to mention several restaurants in and around town. But we also visited the Gideon Putnam's Roosevelt Baths & Spa, for example, where you can soak for 40 minutes in deep bathtubs filled with warm Saratoga mineral water so saturated with salt that your body will feel weightless in it. The rooms are dark, soothing meditative music is piped in, and the overall experience is one heck of a tonic for the body and mind.

Perhaps our spa rejuvenation added to our appreciation for the total Saratoga experience, but there were no surly Tony Petrillos from NYRA management to spoil the visit, either.

Matter of fact, just the opposite; direct from Saratoga's press box, NYRA communications manager Keith McCalmont and his fiancée Bailey Gallison, who works production for NYRA's broadcasting programs, had us over one night for a barbeque at their quaint rental on Lincoln Avenue. If you can wrangle an invitation, do so. We had grilled steaks, vegetables, and corn, a meal as good as any we had on our visit, which also included a pretty good one downtown on the back patio of the Adelphi Hotel on Broadway next door to the more celebrated Salt & Char steakhouse–also a part of the Adelphi.

The Adelphi is co-owned by Larry Roth of LNJ Foxwoods, a prominent stable shared with Roth's wife Nanci and daughter Jaime that's done quite a bit in its short existence since 2012. Among other stakes winners of note, LNJ Foxwoods owned part of 2019 Gl Kentucky Derby winner Country House (Lookin At Lucky) and campaigned the brilliantly fast Eclipse Award winner Covfefe (Into Mischief), who was the champion 3-year-old filly and champion female sprinter of 2019.

We dined at the Adelphi after a Sunday of racing, and it was the place to be seen and noted. In fact, we saw Jaime Roth and some friends breeze through the patio next to our table as if they were late for their next destination. Roth is one of the more active and outspoken owners on Twitter, and she doesn't hide or mince her liberal leanings–Covfefe is named after a Donald Trump gaffe–making her somewhat of an anomaly as a member of the staid The Jockey Club, which has more than a few right-wingers on its bench, including two older women who don't hide their politics on Twitter, either. Good on the TJC, however, for recruiting for membership a young person fairly new to the game and without the typical views and gender. That's progress, right?

Speaking of being politically outspoken, trainer Graham Motion, who's been repeatedly admonished by the Twitterati to “stick to racing,” was at the Adelphi, and I stopped him as he walked by our table with Eclipse Throughbreds' Aron Wellman. I've been a longtime admirer of Motion, both for his skills as a Derby-winning trainer and for his convictions, and it was a pleasure to finally meet him. Motion greeted us warmly, and he looked the part of a cool customer, too, a tall, lanky figure casually attired in an untucked long-sleeved dress shirt and jeans, a contrast to Wellman, who was buttoned up in a dark business suit.

Wellman was dressed as he was because earlier that day Eclipse, a successful racing partnership comprised of many owners, had won the Glll Saratoga Oaks Invitational with Texas-bred Con Lima (Commissioner). Trained by Todd Pletcher, who'd been inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame a few days earlier, Con Lima is also owned by several other partners in addition to the Eclipse partners, and it looked like they'd all descended into a private area at the far end of the patio for a victory get-together that Wellman appeared to be hosting. We saw a bunch of racing personalities headed there, including Johnny Velazquez, the legendary Angel Cordero Jr., and NYRA reporter/analyst Acacia Courtney.

Barry Weisbord, the former publisher of this publication, said he wasn't headed to the Eclipse gathering, as I greeted him walking in that direction. I told Cynthia that we'd probably see celebrity chef Bobby Flay soon, as Weisbord and Flay are good friends and are frequently in the same orbit when in the same town, and presto, there came Flay on cue from the opposite direction.

I don't know what Flay thinks of the food at the Adelphi, but the small Duxbury oysters were excellent, as was the crème brulee. The filet mignon was a fine cut and it was good, but it was served a tad overdone. Cynthia, a vegetarian, had the ravioli with sweet pea filling and a watermelon, heirloom tomato, and asparagus salad that she enjoyed. And both of us thought the specialty cocktail called Equinox, a mixture of tequila, habanero-hibiscus syrup, grapefruit, and lime, was excellent.

Fasig-Tipton Sale

Flay had a good sale at Fasig-Tipton. We'd arrived at the sales grounds in time to see his Uncle Mo son from Dame Dorothy hit the million-dollar mark, and from there the bids moved up until West Bloodstock, as agent for Robert and Lawana Low, secured the colt for $1.6 million–a price that would make him the second-highest yearling at the sale behind the $2.6 million that M.V. Magnier of Coolmore paid for the Into Mischief colt out of Paola Queen.

The nighttime atmosphere at the sale was electric, and for Cynthia, who isn't a sales goer, it had a carnival-like feel to it, with the auctioneers barking, bid spotters gesturing, and bidders discreetly messaging their intents. Fasig president Boyd Browning strolled around the grounds like the master of ceremonies, greeting buyers and sellers alike with a smile.

With long hair and a cowboy hat, I wasn't instantly recognizable to most of the people I knew. Claiborne's Walker Hancock walked straight past me without a blink of recognition, but his consigliere, Bernie Sams, did see me. “Get a haircut,” he said, as he briefly shook my hand and scurried by.

Bob Baffert, wearing a trademark crisp white shirt and pressed jeans, was with his wife and son and looked hard before recognizing me, and then he blurted that I looked like Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. We spoke of his situation briefly, and he informed me that “I've got a lot of support from a lot of people.”

As we turned away from Baffert, I was greeted by the outstretched hand of Lane's End's bloodstock advisor/agent David Ingordo and his wife, trainer Cherie DeVaux. Ingordo is one of the sharpest judges of bloodstock in the game, and he's an overall smart guy who can discuss a variety of subjects intelligently. He's assisting with his wife's string at Saratoga, and the next morning he gave us a tour of their barn, which is stacked with fillies and mares by Ingordo's design. While there's a frenzy among buyers at auctions for colts that can potentially become stallions, Ingordo plays the reverse game, buying fillies. His strategy–a good one–is to get them graded black type and then sell, and judging by what I saw, it's succeeding.

Who else did we see at the sale or the track? Trainer Wesley Ward, looking trim, greeted us warmly but briefly before heading to the back ring to bid on a horse. Lesley Campion of consignor Paramount said they were having a good sale, which included the sale of an American Pharoah filly from Funfair for $700,000. Donato Lanni, who buys for Baffert and the group known as “The Avengers” among other high-profile clients, stopped to say hello. Lanni, Ingordo, Kerry Cauthen of Four Star, and WTC bloodstock editor Frances J. Karon were “graduates” of the same “class” at Walmac under the guidance of that legendary cowboy Johnny T. L. Jones Jr., whose approach to teaching young people in the business how to succeed was probably more colorful than the techniques being taught nowadays at Darley's elite Flying Start program.

The day after the sale, I did Steve Byk's “At the Races” radio show live from his setup next to the shoeshine stand outside the racing office at the track. Byk is as sharp as a tack, and it's always a pleasure to do the show live with him, particularly so this year as we'd missed the 2020 season. Plus, he always attracts some interesting and likeable guests, such as Jimmy Ventura, handicapper Michael Beychok, Oaklawn and Kentucky Downs's Rick Hammerle, and Capital OTB's Seth Merrow. I also got a chance to finally meet the excellent journalist Mike MacAdam, who I'd known only from interactions on Twitter.

MacAdam duly noted my “scorched-earth exit” from Twitter, a turn-of-phrase that only someone with his talent could conjure to hit the mark squarely between the eyes.

Another highlight of the trip was meeting an extremely polite woman at the hotel elevator who could have taught Arlington's Tony Petrillo a lesson or two in manners. “Good afternoon, sir,” she said. We struck up a pleasant conversation, and when she said she was from Ocala, I asked her if she was in the racing business. “Yes, sir. I'm Todd Pletcher's mother, and he just got inducted in the Hall of Fame,” she said with parental pride. I asked her to give my congratulations to her son, and she promised she would.

And that's the rough sketch of how the week went down. Saratoga, it was great seeing you.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: Postcard from the Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Grader School Set for Sept. 13-15 at Keeneland

The Racecourse Manager Certification Program, a continuing education initiative launched in June with an online curriculum focused on educating the next generation of racing surface managers, is now accepting applications for its first in-person course to be held Sept. 13-15 at Keeneland Race Course. Grader School, focusing on combined theory and practice sessions on the grading of racing surfaces, will offer a select number of early career professionals the opportunity to develop highly focused, hands-on expertise that will allow them to adapt and excel to the changing demands of horse racing surfaces.

Grader School will consist of online lectures and examinations in preparation for a two-day intensive workshop at Keeneland. Taught by superintendents of two of the leading racecourses in the United States, Alfredo Laureano and Dennis Moore, the class will include the operation of both a state-of-the-art and an older model grader.

“The most common surfaces used for Thoroughbred racing are dirt and synthetic surfaces. One of the highest priorities and the most difficult part of maintaining a racecourse is the accurate grading of dirt and synthetic racing surfaces,” said Michael “Mick” Peterson, Ph.D., Director of the Racetrack Safety Program at the University of Kentucky and Executive Director of the Racing Surfaces and Testing Laboratory (RSTL).

The post Grader School Set for Sept. 13-15 at Keeneland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Deauville Trade Concludes With V2

Four days of selling in Deauville wrapped up on Tuesday with the single-session v2 Yearling Sale, back from a pandemic-necessitated hiatus in 2020. From 129 offered, 96 yearlings were sold at a clearance rate of 74.4%; it was 79% in 2019. With 14 fewer sold, the aggregate dipped 28.6% to €2,912,500. The average was down 18.2% to €30,339, while the median dropped 20.9% to €24,500.

Nicolas de Watrigant of Mandore International Agency signed for the joint top lots at €140,000, a filly by Toronado (Ire) and a colt by Mehmas (Ire). The former, lot 379, is out of the Desert Style (Ire) mare Ivory Style (GB), whose four foals of racing age include the Listed Prix de la Vallee d'Auge second Ivory Choice (Fr) (Choisir {Aus}) and the G3 Prix d'Arenberg third Over Reacted (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}). De Watrigant secured her on behalf of owner Pierre Pilarski and trainer Didier Guillemin.

“We really wanted her,” said de Watrigant. “She's a lovely filly, very Toronado. Pierre Pilarski and Didier Guillemin saw her this morning and liked her a lot. She was worth fighting for.”

De Watrigant later in the day went to the same price for a Mehmas colt who is the second foal out of the three-time winner Al Shahaniya (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) (lot 470). Champion 2-year-old filly and G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) appears under the third dam of the colt, who was purchased in conjunction with trainer Stephane Wattel. De Watrigant and Wattel also combined for a Kodiac (GB) filly out of the winning Shoot (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}) (lot 438) for €70,000.

The Mehmas colt and Toronado filly were the only six-figure lots of the v2 sale.

Mehmas, who continues to deliver the goods with his first 3-year-olds this season, was also responsible for the third-highest price of the session, a colt out of the five-times placed Jarada (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) (lot 382) who was picked up by Paul Nataf for €77,000. The prolific champion Dylan Thomas (Ire) and his Group 1-winning sisters Queen's Logic (Ire) (Grand Lodge) and Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), as well as G1 Derby winner Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and G1 Moyglare Stud S. victress Shale (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), appear under the third dam. Nataf, who was the sale's leading buyer with nine purchased for €326,000, signed for another of the top prices, an Anodin half-brother to Listed Prix Zeddaan winner Abama (GB) (Alhebayeb {GB}) (lot 377), for €73,000.

The ever-reliable Holy Roman Emperor provided the sale's second-highest priced filly, a February-foaled daughter of the winning Little Sister (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) (lot 392) for €75,000. She was bought by Marco Bozzi Bloodstock.

Following the sale, Arqana President Eric Hoyeau and Executive Director Freddy Powell commented: “After a gap year, the v.2 made a cautious return today. All the indicators were down, partly due to a general lack of buyers in this category of horses, particularly the pinhookers who are usually present on this day. Nevertheless, the profiles that ticked all the boxes sold well and the top prices are in line with those of previous editions.”

The post Deauville Trade Concludes With V2 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post