Month: February 2023

Ocala Stud Offers Intriguing New Trio to Florida Breeders

As three newcomers acclimate to their surroundings in the historic stallion barn at Ocala Stud while the latest crop of 2-year-olds steadily progresses at the adjacent training facility, it's a time of hope and anticipation at Ocala Stud.

David O'Farrell is outspoken in his belief that their Grade I-winning trio of new stallions makes for a special group. Two-time GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. winner Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) recently joined the roster alongside newcomers Roadster (Quality Road), another eye-catching dappled gray who did his best work on dirt, as well as  Gretzky the Great, a precocious son of leading fourth-crop sire Nyquist.

“I think these are three of the most exciting stallion prospects that we've stood for a really long time,” O'Farrell stated. “I think there is a really nice variety to offer Florida breeders with sire power, good race records and very good physicals. They all have the qualities to be leading sires and I think it's a great opportunity for everybody here in Florida.”

Roadster, a 'TDN Rising Star' as a debuting juvenile and the winner of the 2019 GI Santa Anita Derby, makes for an interesting stallion prospect in part because of the powerhouse group of supporters already backing the new sire. His breeder Stone Farm and campaigner Speedway Stable will both be supporting the son of Quality Road, as will Rustlewood Farm and Airdrie Stud.

Ocala Stud and Airdrie already have a promising track record with partnering on stallions. Last year's fast-starting freshman sire Girvin launched his career at Ocala Stud and relocated to Airdrie this year with five stakes winners already to his credit.

Roadster bests juvenile champion Game Winner in the 2019 GI Santa Anita Derby | Benoit

“We had been competing with Airdrie for years on the same stallion prospects and we kind of have the same mentality when it comes to picking stallions,” O'Farrell explained. “So rather than competing with one another, we've started to partner up on certain stallions. We had Girvin, and now we have Win Win Win (Hat Trick {Jpn}) and we're adding Roadster. We both support the horses with nice mares and it's been a great partnership. We couldn't be more excited to partner with this group with Roadster and get him off to a really good start.”

During his career, Roadster came just short of reaching one million in earnings, defeating juvenile champion Game Winner in the Santa Anita Derby and coming home with additional Grade I placings in the Del Mar Futurity at two and the Malibu S. behind Omaha Beach at three.

“To have a top-level son of Roadster is really exciting,” said O'Farrell. “He has a lot of pedigree, was a tremendous racehorse and has a very good physical. He's a typical Quality Road–kind of long and lean, but with a lot of quality. He's very athletic and well-balanced.”

Roadster is out of stakes winner Ghost Dancing (Silver Ghost), who is also the dam of GI Manhattan S. victor Ascend (Candy Ride {Arg}).

O'Farrell said that Roadster, who launches his career at $7,500, has been received enthusiastically by Florida breeders and will be booked full in just a few weeks.

Colonel Liam's retirement was announced just three weeks ago, but the millionaire has brought a steady stream of interested breeders since his arrival.

“The Colonel Liam deal came together really quickly for us right at the start of the breeding season,” O'Farrell explained. “It's giving us a boost coming into the season. A lot of breeders in Florida book their mares a little later, but we've had a lot of traffic and a lot of good feedback. People are really excited about him standing here in Florida.”

Colonel Liam did his best work in the Sunshine State, winning his first start on the Gulfstream dirt before switching to the turf and taking the Tropical Park Derby and back-to-back editions of the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf. His resume also includes victories in the 2021 GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. and the GII Muniz Memorial Classic S.

Gretzky the Great takes the 2020 GI Summer S. | Michael Burns

“I think that he's probably the best racehorse that we've stood at stud as far as accomplishments in a really long time,” O'Farrell said. “He's a three-time grade I winner on the turf, but he has a dirt pedigree. He's by champion dirt miler Liam's Map and is out of a Bernardini mare, so it gives you confidence that he could throw top-level runners on any surface. Even though he didn't run at two, he did have speed. He worked :20 4/5 at the OBS April Sale, so we have confidence that he could sire 2-year-olds and a lot of quality dirt runners.”

A $1.2 million juvenile for Robert and Lawana Low, Colonel Liam's second dam Wonder Again (Silver Hawk) was also a millionaire and multiple Grade I winner.

O'Farrell reported that the Lows are busy buying mares to support their new stallion, who will launch his stud career at a fee of $6,500.

The third member of Ocala Stud's new roster, Gretzky the Great, is another Grade I-winning turfer with a dirt pedigree. The 5-year-old is the first son of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and leading fourth-crop sire Nyquist to go to stud. He is out of the stakes-placed Bernardini mare Pearl Turn.

Campaigned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber, Gretzky the Great won the Soaring Free S. and GI Summer S. at two, earning the Sovereign Award for champion 2-year-old male in 2020. He went on to further stakes success in the Greenwood S. at three.

“He was a precocious, very classy individual,” O'Farrell said. “He has a dirt pedigree, which leads us to believe that he could be a very good sire of runners on either surfaces. He's a really good-looking horse and is by a sire line that I believe in. I think he's a really neat prospect for Florida breeders.”

The post Ocala Stud Offers Intriguing New Trio to Florida Breeders appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘More In The Pipeline’ After Monomoy Girl

Near the conclusion of two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl's career, the following suggestion was made to breeder Brendan Gallagher: “You want to enjoy it while it's happening, because it's never going to happen again.”

“Well, I said to that person, 'If I really thought it would never happen again, I'm not so sure I'd keep doing this.'”

Just over two years later, Gallagher was delighted to watch another graduate of Frankfort Park Farm breeding program reach graded success on the racetrack: despite a disastrous break, 3-year-old filly Cairo Consort rallied hard to win the Grade 3 Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

The filly hasn't quite reached the same dizzying levels of success as Monomoy Girl, but her gallant win lent credence to Gallagher's strong optimism for the future.

“It's good to see that on a Saturday afternoon; that's why we do what we do,” Gallagher said. “To see a horse that you raise and can race to that level, it's really something. We've been lucky enough to breed some good ones, but I honestly believe there are more in the pipeline. I can't say where they're going to come from, but I truly believe that. All you can do is go with your hunches and do the best you can.”

Gallagher, 58, and his wife Olive have owned and operated Frankfort Park Farm off Old Frankfort Pike in Lexington, Ky., full-time since 2010. They are co-breeders of Monomoy Girl, , alongside Michael Hernon's Highfield Ranch, as well as graded stakes winners Take Charge Paula, The Tabulator, and Yuvetsi.

After graduating from the Irish National Stud Program, Gallagher made his first trip to the United States in 1983, continuing his education at the University of Kentucky and working at Gainesway Farm. Upon his return to Ireland, Gallagher spent the next eight years as the assistant manager at Coolmore's Kilsheelan Stud.

In 1993, Gallagher and his wife launched Emerald Bloodstock Services Limited, which soon grew into one of the leading bloodstock agencies in Europe.

“It was a good education,” Gallagher said. “[Coolmore] wasn't as big in my time there, you know. In fairness, John Magnier has changed the industry worldwide. For me, with the agency and everything, I'm just happier doing what I'm doing now, being hands on every day. I'm not so sure I'd be doing what I'm doing if I wasn't hands on.”

They purchased Frankfort Park Farm with a few partners in 2006, utilizing the location to quarantine horses before shipping them overseas, but quickly discovered how difficult it was to properly run a farm from across the ocean.

By 2010, the Gallaghers had sold their bloodstock agency and bought out their partners in Frankfort Park Farm. 

“Where we are situated now is, I believe, the best place in the world to raise Thoroughbreds,” said Gallagher. “Right where we are, within four or five miles, are the biggest, most successful farms in the world.”

Jorje Abrego, left, gives Monomoy Girl a kiss after her victory in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Distaff

Monomoy Girl certainly put the farm on the map very quickly. Gallagher spotted her dam, Drumette (Henny Hughes) at the 2014 Keeneland November sale. The mare's $75,000 price tag has more than paid dividends.

Drumette was in foal to Tapizar at the sale, and foaled out the chestnut filly who would become Monomoy Girl on March 26, 2015. Beautifully proportioned, the filly was “highly strung” and required careful handling during her formative years.

Monomoy Girl sold for $100,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland September sale, and built a resume of 14 wins and three seconds from 17 starts, with earnings of $4,776,818. Highlights included a pair of Eclipse Awards and two Breeders' Cup victories, the second coming after a return from a lengthy layoff.

Drumette produced three more foals for Gallagher before she was sold in foal to Mastery at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed sale for a whopping $1.85 million.

Meanwhile, Cairo Consort's dam, Absolutely Awesome (Street Cry), was a $200,000 purchase from the Robsham dispersal and consignor Lane's End at the 2013 Keeneland November sale. 

“I mean it's a massive pedigree,” Gallagher explained. “She's out of a half-sister to (millionaire) Awesome Maria, her second dam produced Discreet Cat. We were delighted to have her.”

Cairo Consort and Irad Ortiz Jr. winning the Sweetest Chant

Cairo Consort is the mare's third foal, and sold for $95,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling sale. Just over a month into her sophomore season, the filly has already won four of her eight career starts for earnings of $430,449. The highlight of her resume may be a third-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall at 19-1 odds, when conditioned by young trainer Nathan Squires. 

After the Breeders' Cup, Cairo Consort sold for $875,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall sale to Repole Stable and Town & Country Racing. Now conditioned by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, the filly is undefeated through two starts in 2023.

Absolutely Awesome lost a foal last year, but is booked to Constitution during the 2023 breeding season. Gallagher has attempted to hold on to much of the family, including buying into Cairo Consort's half-sister, Tayef.

Watching the success of his program on the racetrack is a big thrill for Gallagher, who said it's afternoons like Saturday that make those frosty 3 a.m. problem foalings worth every minute. At age 58, Gallagher has been asked several times when he'll be ready to slow down.

“Well, I need to be under a bit of pressure to be really motivated,” he joked. “We foal around 35 mares, of which we own nearly 27 or 28 of them ourselves. There are around 70 horses on the farm, and it'll be just over 100 after foaling out. Of those, 75 percent or 80 percent are ours.”

Beyond late-night foaling calls, Gallagher spends most of his days working with the reproduction vet on the mares or with the blacksmith, keeping the yearlings and foals on the right track.

“It's really all the little things that make the difference,” Gallagher said. “I believe nature wants to give you its best and sometimes we do a very good job of messing it up. 

“There are definitely some things in breeding horses that are overlooked. Horses need to be happy and the lads need to love them. I know that sounds crazy, but it's really true.

“We've been lucky enough we bought mares with little issues, and you never know what you might get; they can throw very good foals. I'm hoping there's more in the pipeline.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘More In The Pipeline’ After Monomoy Girl appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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