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Bloodlines Presented By McKenna Thoroughbreds Broodmare Reduction: Geaux Rocket Ride Forges New Paths For Best, Bernhards

When trainer Richard Mandella sent three-time starter Geaux Rocket Ride (by Candy Ride) all the way across the country to Monmouth Park for the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes, perceptive handicappers and racing fans took note. However, with Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) and the unbeaten Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) headlining the race lineup, the wagering public made the once-beaten Geaux Rocket Ride only the sixth choice of eight.

So, he won by 1 3/4 lengths from Mage and paid $27.40, with favored Arabian Knight third, Extra Anejo (Into Mischief) fourth, and classic-placed Tapit Trice (Tapit) fifth.

Now a winner in three of his four starts, Geaux Rocket Ride was bred in Kentucky by Larry Best's OXO Equine LLC and is the second foal from his dam, Beyond Grace (Uncle Mo). The dam was bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, which sold the filly as a foal at the 2015 Keeneland November sale for $50,000 to Nitiosagan Farm.

The buyer resold Beyond Grace as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton July sale for $250,000 to Cary Frommer, and she brought the filly back to the market at the Fasig-Tipton March sale of 2-year-olds in training of 2017 and smacked the ball straight down the fairway for a hole-in-one. Beyond Grace sold to OXO Equine for $1.5 million.

At the races, Beyond Grace was unplaced in a pair of starts at two, then repeated that finish in her final start, a maiden special at Gulfstream in January of her 3-year-old season. The mare was subsequently sent to the farm and bred, then produced her first foal in 2019 and Geaux Rocket Ride in 2020. Beyond Grace is a full-sister to Mighty Mo, who ran second in the Woodhaven Stakes at Aqueduct and third in the Better Talk Now Stakes at Saratoga.

Now as the dam of Geaux Rocket Ride, Beyond Grace is looking more like sum she cost as a juvenile, and she also repaid some of that cost with the sale of Geaux Rocket Ride, who was a $350,000 Fasig-Tipton July yearling two years ago, selling to James Bernhard.

That purchase was part of the Bernhards' initial involvement in the sport, and last fall, James and Dana Bernhard make considerably larger news with the purchase of Pin Oak Farm north of Versailles, Ky.

This historic nursery had been owned by Josephine Abercrombie, who had started breeding and racing in the early 1950s. Pin Oak is a distinguished property that incorporates breeding and training over nearly 900 acres.

Clifford Barry, Pin Oak's general manager for Ms. Abercrombie, remains an adviser to the Bernhards and said that “when the Bernhards looked over the farm last fall, one of the most important things to them was revitalizing Pin Oak for the future.”

Jeff Danford came in as farm manager for the new owners in January, and the program to elevate the farm to its historic best continues apace. Now the Pin Oak Stable has a star of Grade 1 magnitude who has the pedigree and conformation to make a stallion, and “standing stallions,” Barry recalled, “the right kind of stallions, was a key component of the Bernhards' plan to put fresh blood in the farm and energize it for the future.”

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Geaux Rocket Ride seems tailor made for the job. The Haskell winner is by leading sire Candy Ride, who also is the sire of the wildly popular young stallion Gun Runner, a Horse of the Year and the leading sire of his generation with his first, second, and third season of racers.

The broodmare sire of Geaux Rocket Ride is champion Uncle Mo, who likewise was leading freshman sire and sire of champion and Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist from his first crop. Nyquist became the leading freshman sire of his group, and other young sons of Uncle Mo newly at stud include Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Golden Pal, Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal, and G1 winner Yaupon.

The combination of stallion power in Geaux Rocket Ride's pedigree makes him a very appealing prospect and virtually begs for mating to mares by Tapit and other branches of the Nasrullah – Bold Ruler – A.P. Indy clan of sires.

The colt has a race record that would be quite attractive to breeders today, and how he finishes out his racing career will determine the parameters of his stallion career such as stud fee and breadth of demand.

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Paramount Prince Taking Ontario Breeder On Ride Of A Lifetime

Paramount Prince was dominant in the $150,000 Plate Trial on Sunday July 23 at Woodbine Racetrack, one of the last key preps for the King's Plate on August 20, and his victory was thrilling for all the connections, including breeder Ericka Rusnak.

Rusnak, a resident of Stouffville, Ont., has been breeding Thoroughbreds for close to 20 years, and Paramount Prince is the first of her horses that if all goes right will be a major contender in the opening jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown pres. by OLG.

“I'm almost getting emotional thinking about that,” said Rusnak. “I mean how many breeders are there in Ontario, and they only get to compete once as 3-year-olds. It really is astounding. Even the chance to get there is magical and a dream.”

Paramount Prince's story begins in 2017 at the Keeneland January Sale, where Rusnak purchased his dam Platinum Steel from the Denali Stud consignment for $25,000 USD. She liked the look of the mare after seeing her in the back walking ring and went to the limit of her budget to bring her home.

Rusnak brought her back to Ontario, foaled out her Kantharos baby, and bred her to Giant Gizmo in 2018, before sending her to Society's Chairman in 2019. That 2020 Society's Chairman foal was Paramount Prince.

“I was trying to stay away from Storm Bird bloodlines, but I wanted to get Northern Dancer.,” said Rusnak. “I like Society's Chairman, and of course he's had a lot of success as a stallion here in Ontario. I liked his pedigree, and I liked how it crossed with hers.”

From the outset Paramount Prince had a strong temperament. He was the instigator with her only other foal from that year, and was strong willed. He also showed his athleticism early, and Rusnak thought she might have a special one.

Michael Langlois purchased Paramount Prince at the 2021 Canadian Premier Yearling Sale, after he didn't meet his $24,900 reserve price. Rusnak was worried about having to take care of the big strong colt all by herself and they settled on a price of $21,000 CAD.

For many breeders, the direct financial gain from a horse ends at the sale, but thanks to Ontario Racing's Thoroughbred Improvement Program's Breeders Awards Rusnak has continued to profit from Paramount Prince's on-track achievements. His Plate Trial win was worth $14,400 CAD.

“With his success he's paying it forward constantly, and every time he's picking up a cheque it helps,” said Rusnak. “That aside, the black type is a huge benefit for the mare. It makes her pedigree so much stronger. Her half-brother is very successful in Kentucky, but to see her producing black type that'll never go away and will help all of the siblings it's fantastic.”

With two previous on the board finishes in stakes races, Paramount Prince had already put black type on his dam's page, but the Plate Trial was his first stakes win, and Rusnak didn't truly process the meaning of the victory until she was driving home from Woodbine Racetrack on Sunday evening.

“It really hit me what he had achieved and all the emotions that really run through you,” said Rusnak. “It brought me to tears truly. It's magical. It's what everyone wants. Everyone in the industry that is associated with these amazing animals wants to be a part of a horse that is this good.”

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$400 Early Breeders’ Cup Foal Nomination Deadline Closes Aug. 1

The Breeders' Cup issued a reminder today that Wednesday, Aug. 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET is the deadline to nominate weanlings of 2023 to the Breeders' Cup program at the one-time regular nomination fee of $400 USD. Any foal entered in a fall or winter breeding stock sale must be nominated by the early foal deadline in order for the Breeders' Cup Nominated engagement to be included on the catalog page.

The $400 nomination entitles each foal with lifetime racing eligibility to the Breeders' Cup World Championships and the Breeders' Cup racing programs. All foals sired by a fully nominated North American Breeders' Cup stallion are eligible for nomination to the Breeders' Cup program in their year of birth at the weanling rate.

If not nominated by the Aug. 1 early deadline, standard foal nominations may still be made in the foal's year of birth with a one-time payment of a $400 USD nomination fee due Oct. 15, 2023.

Breeders' Cup Limited has been Thoroughbred racing's most significant international program for over 39 years. During this time, Breeders' Cup has allocated purses and awards of nearly $900 million to owners, foal nominators, and stallion nominators through its programs, including the annual $31 million Breeders' Cup World Championships showcasing the best Thoroughbreds, owners, trainers, and jockeys to a global audience.

Breeders' Cup foal nominators will earn $10,000 USD for every victory in the worldwide Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In and every horse that starts in a Breeders' Cup World Championship race will earn a nominator award. The individual nominating the foal receives these nominator awards even though the horse may change hands throughout its racing career.

For more information and to nominate online visit members.breederscup.com.

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Monmouth Oaks: Kelly Breen Handling Trainer Duties For West Coast Shipper Vegas Magic

Trainer Kelly Breen isn't sure how much longer he will have Vegas Magic in his barn but he intends to make the most of the opportunity that he has with the Grade 2-winning 3-year-old filly.

Trained by California-based Doug O'Neill for her first six career starts, Vegas Magic was shipped from the West Coast to Monmouth Park 10 days ago, settling into Breen's barn under an arrangement the two conditioners – and friends – have worked out.

She will make her East Coast debut in Saturday's $250,000, Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks, and will do so with Breen listed as the trainer.

“She kind of has dual citizenship now,” said Breen. “She's doing great. I talked to Doug about her when she first got here and found out as much as I could about her. She has been training very well.

“What happens to her after this race I don't know. That's up to Doug.”

O'Neill said he and Breen have had a solid working relationship for arrangements such as this for a while now.

“I've known Kelly for years,” said O'Neill, who won the 2012 Kentucky Derby with I'll Have Another and repeated with Nyquist in 2016. “He's a great guy. I try to help him any time I can when he comes to the West Coast and he has been a godsend to me with horses I send East.”

A Kentucky-bred daughter of Good Magic, Vegas Magic comes in off a sixth-place finish in the Grade 2 Lady M Stakes at Los Alamitos on July 4 in her seasonal debut. She started her career with three straight wins at 2, which included a victory in the Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar, before stepping up to company that proved to be a little too steep.

She was fourth in the Grade 1 TVG.com Debutante at Del Mar before ending her 2022 campaign with an off-the-board finish in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. To this point, that was her only start outside of California.

“We're just trying to run her against 3-year-olds now for as long as we can,” said O'Neill. “She's kind of average size but a very athletic filly who is an easy keeper. Kelly said he was happy with the breeze.”

“You can tell she is a classy filly,” said Breen, a three-time leading trainer at Monmouth Park.

The 99^th edition of the Monmouth Oaks, contested at a mile and a sixteenth, will offer Vegas Magic another test. Foggy Night, the recent winner of the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks; Occult, third in the Grade 1 Acorn Stakes on June 9; Promiseher America, the winner of the Grade 3 Gazelle Stakes; Miss New York, the winner of the Boiling Springs at Monmouth Park on July 2, and Boiling Springs runner-up Shidabhuti are among the runners expected in the field.

O'Neill said having just one start this year – and trying two turns for just the second time; the other being in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies – are both concerns, adding that “in this business you're concerned with everything.”

“We have a lot of concerns going into this race but we're excited and optimistic,” O'Neill said. “She's doing well and it would be good to see her have some success around two turns, especially on the road, so we'll see how that goes.”

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