2021 first-crop yearling sires | Horse Racing Free Tips

Justify Yearlings Primed for the Saratoga Spotlight

The energy seems to be building by the hour now that the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale yearlings are in place as buyers sift through the barns surrounding the famed Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion. There's much to look forward to in this 100^th edition of the auction, including a sample of the highly-anticipated first crop of yearlings from Triple Crown champion Justify (Scat Daddy – Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper).

With 10 sons and daughters of Justify currently slated to go through the sales ring, these youngsters represent the first book of mares the undefeated champion filled during his introductory year at Ashford Stud. The son of Scat Daddy bred 474 mares in his first two seasons with a $150,000 stud fee.

“The quality of mares that Justify has covered has been second to none,” Coolmore's Adrian Wallace said. “He covered over 70 Grade I winners or producers in his first book and the quality really hasn't changed in the subsequent two books. He's a horse that was obviously brilliant on the racetrack and he's been brilliant at stud as well. We're now getting ready to see that as the sales start. These pedigrees are replete with quality, which is what you'd expect for a horse of Justify's caliber.”

The hulking chestnut was an easy sell for breeders in his first years at stud, not only because of his accomplishments on the track but also for his eye-catching physical.

“He's a very big, imposing horse,” Wallace said. “He was a $500,000 Keeneland September graduate, so obviously a very good-looking horse. He's very correct, a good mover who stands over a lot of ground, and has a great shoulder and hip. He's very American in the way he looks. He's one of those horses that when you see him, he's captivating.”

Campaigned by China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners LLC, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm, Justify took over the 3-year-old division by storm in 2018. From a nine and a half-length, 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy debut victory to a triumph over dual GISW Bolt d'Oro in the GI Santa Anita Derby to securing his place in the record books with his Triple Crown win, Justify retired after his Horse of the Year campaign with a perfect six-for-six record.

“The thing about Justify was that everything he did was with ease,” Wallace explained. “He was an efficient, fluid mover with a huge turn of foot. He had the stamina to last the one and a half miles of the GI Belmont S., but also a horse that was good just over a mile. He had the speed, the stamina and the quality. He had every single attribute you would hope to have and he's a great embodiment of what Scat Daddy was.”

A member of the second-to-last crop of Scat Daddy, Justify was one of four sons of the brilliant Coolmore sire in the field for the 2018 GI Kentucky Derby and is now one of five sons representing Coolmore at stud both in America and Ireland.

“One of the things I'll always remember is when we were looking at this crop of Scat Daddy that included Mendelssohn and Justify, [Coolmore's] Paul Shanahan said to us that we were only just now beginning to realize how much of a loss Scat Daddy was to us,” Wallace recalled. “The horses in those final two crops were amazing athletes, as that was when he was only just starting to get his really good mares.”

As Wallace has overseen the early development of Justify's first crop, he said he has noticed similar trends with the yearlings from the Triple Crown hero and his sire.

“I won't say that Scat Daddy didn't stamp his horses, but it's a trait of the Scat Daddy line that they're all different,” Wallace said. “We stand three sons of Scat Daddy here and all three are exceptionally different in every way. Justify is 17 hands, stands over an enormous amount of ground and is a big, athletic son. Mendelssohn is more medium-sized, a very good mover and very correct. Then Caravaggio is 15.3 ½ and is much more of a sprinter type. They're all very athletic, good-looking horses, but I don't think you'll find one particular type.”

Justify filly out of Easter Lily (Ire) sells as Hip 83 with Eaton Sales.

The same, he noted, can be said of Justify's yearlings, although there are some consistencies he has noticed.

“A lot of Justify's yearlings are quite different, although they tend to be a very good size, are easy movers and are generally correct. There's no real type yet and that may also stem from the fact that he was tried with a lot of European-line mares. He was bred to American-line mares, but also a lot of daughters of Galileo.”

Two Justify yearlings out of mares by the late Galileo will be offered at the Fasig-Tipton Select Sale.

Hip 10 is a son of the successful Aidan O'Brien-trained Together (Ire), winner of the 2011 GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. The mare is responsible for two stakes-placed horses, as well as an Uncle Mo filly named Thrilling who broke her maiden at Santa Anita in May this year. The colt will be consigned by Hill 'n' Dale Sales.

Hip 83, an Irish-bred filly consigned by Eaton Sales, is the first foal out of stakes-winning mare Easter Lily (Ire), a full-sister to another regally-bred stakes winner Circling (Ire).

“This filly is one-of-a-kind at Saratoga,” said Eaton's Reiley McDonald. “She's a big, strong, beautiful filly with a lot of leg, great scope and a good hip, shoulder and length of back. She looks like a two-turn horse and has all the ingredients that made her father so great.”

McDonald spoke on the rare pedigree the filly has to offer.

“This filly provides American breeders a really unique opportunity to have a daughter of an American sire out of a Galileo mare,” he explained. “We don't get these kind of European families very often in America and that makes this filly really special. I think more American breeders need to capitalize on the Galileo mares. He provides stamina, toughness and heart and to introduce that into our American pedigrees is going to be a really great thing going forward.”

McDonald said he has found a consistency in the Justify yearlings he has worked with thus far.

Justify colt out of Grade I winner and producer Appealing Zophie sells as Hip 41.

“The one thing that I find with all the Justify yearlings is their size and scope,” he said. “They also have the great walk and big shoulder their father has and will really be a great Classic-type horse for American racing.”

Another Justify yearling with a high-profile pedigree at Saratoga is Hip 41, a colt out of Grade I winner and producer Appealing Zophie (Successful Appeal). The half-brother to three stakes winners, including GI Belmont S. winner and first-crop yearling sire Tapwrit, is also consigned by Eaton Sales.

“He's a horse that should be very, very popular at the sales,” Wallace said. “He stands over a lot of ground, is a very good mover and is very athletic. If you look at him move, he really does fill the eye and he's got a great presence about him.”

Justify's Saratoga contingent also includes the second foal from Breeders' Cup champion Bar of Gold (Medaglia d'Oro), as well as a half-sister to 2013 GI Kentucky Oaks victress Princess of Sylmar (Majestic Warrior). View his full Fasig-Tipton Saratoga roster here.

At the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale, a filly out of SP Southern Charmer (Dixie Union) will sell as Hip 571.

At last year's weanling sales, Justify topped his class by average, with 10 of 17 progeny selling to average $394,563. His top lot in the U.S., a half-brother to SW Supreme Aura (Candy Ride {Arg}), brought $600,000 at the Keeneland November Sale.

With first yearlings this year, Justify's colt out of GISW Zipessa (City Zip) brought $1.8 million to Kaneko Makoto Holdings from Shadai Farms at the Japan Racing Horse Association Select Sale. His only yearling at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, a filly out of GISW Emma's Encore (Congrats), sold for $210,000.

“The market is judging them very well,” Wallace said. “He has a very strong group of yearlings going to Saratoga and I think they are very indicative of the horse's quality and the type of mares he bred. Hopefully we'll see some fireworks in the next few weeks.”

For more editions of our 2021 First-Crop Yearling Sire series, click here.

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City of Light Ready to Shine in Saratoga with First Yearlings

First-crop yearling sire City of Light (Quality Road – Paris Notion, by Dehere) was a physical standout long before he joined the Lane's End stallion roster.

In 2015, the son of Quality Road bred by Ann Marie Farm topped the sixth session of the Keeneland September Sale by a landslide when he sold for $710,000 to Mark Reid of Walnut Green. It was the largest ticket price for a Keeneland Book 3 horse since 2007.

Allaire Ryan recalls watching City of Light develop at Lane's End Farm in the days leading up to his purchase.

“Physically, by the time the sale came around, he was a stunning individual,” she said. “He started out with a big, rangy, raw frame and truly blossomed as he came into himself over the course of sales prep. By the time Book 3 rolled around, he was in prime placement to be received by end users and pinhookers. Anybody that looked at him, he was a horse that stayed on your short list.”

A similar thought was had by breeders a few years later when he first began his stud career at Lane's End in 2019. The Breeders' Cup champion and multi-millionaire filled a 146-mare book in his first year off a $35,000 stud fee. When his fee was increased to $40,000 the following season, he bred the same number of mares.

“He's been overwhelmingly supported at stud,” Ryan said of the young stallion who was just as popular this year holding a $40,000 stud fee. “As far as getting off to a good start, we couldn't be happier with how he's done thus far.”

And just as City of Light blossomed during sales prep as a yearling, Ryan said the eye-catching bay has bettered himself physically as he's let down as a stallion.

“He's a better-looking version of himself now and I also say quite frequently that he's a better-looking version of his sire,” she said. “He's got Quality Road's size, substance and frame, but he has a lot of style and presence to himself as well. He has really matured into a beautiful-bodied stallion.”

Campaigned by Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren Jr., City of Light captured the GI Malibu S. as a sophomore in his first start against stakes company. The Michael McCarthy pupil returned at four to annex consecutive wins in the GI Triple Bend S. and GII Oaklawn H. After placing in two Grade I competitions in his next starts, he took the 2018 GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and then capped off his career the following January with a 5 3/4-length victory over a sloppy track in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S.

“The fact that he's a Grade I winner at three, four and five is pretty remarkable,” Ryan said. “He was just a classy individual from the get-go. He had the drive, determination and class factor to rise above the competition.”

City of Light's first crop of weanlings were well received last year with 20 of 23 sold to average $190, 875 and place their sire at the top of the first-crop stallion ranks behind only Triple Crown winner Justify in terms of weanling average.

His top lot, a colt out of the Into Mischief mare Breaking Beauty, was the highest-priced weanling of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale when he was purchased by Oxo Equine LLC for $600,000. Larry Best's Oxo Equine purchased another top-priced member of City of Light's first crop at the Keeneland January Sale, going to $400,000 for a filly out of I'll Show Me (Bernardini) from the family of champion Proud Spell (Proud Citizen).

“In last year's market there were a lot uncertainties, but we were certainly encouraged by the support buyers showed for his first-sale yearlings,” Ryan said. “Consistent support from end users and pinhookers is always encouraging, especially for a new stallion, so to receive that kind of support certainly made us feel like we were heading into the right direction coming into the yearling sales season.”

At last month's Fasig-Tipton July Sale, four of five City of Light yearlings sold, fetching $230,000, $180,000, $170,000 and $80,000, with another failing to meet her reserve at $120,000. His top-priced yearling, a filly out of Grand Sofia (Giant's Causeway) from the family of Grade I winners Rail Trip (Jump Start) and Palace Malice (Curlin), was the highest-selling yearling of the auction of any first-crop sire.

City of Light colt out of stakes winner Adorable Miss sells as Hip 33 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. | Lane's End Farm

Ryan said the physicals City of Light is throwing lend to the yearlings' commercial appeal in the sales ring.

“City of Light is a very dominant stallion from a physical standpoint,” she said. “He's extremely consistent in what he's throwing. Like him, they have size and beautifully-balanced frames. They have scope and a bit of style and elegance to them. A City of Light yearling comes out and they have presence. They catch your eye. On top of that, they use themselves beautifully. They have a tremendous range of motion and they cover the ground effortlessly with their stride. So from a commercial aspect, they have everything you want in a yearling prospect.”

The young sire has seven first-crop yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale on Aug. 9 and 10. Lane's End will be representing two of those youngsters.

The first, a colt selling as Hip 33, is a son of dual stakes winner Adorable Miss (Kitten's Joy), a full-sister to GIIISW Noble Beauty.

“He's a homebred here for the farm and has been a forward individual from day one,” Ryan explained. “He's got size, length, scope and a quality frame. He has a handsome head and eye, beautiful length to his neck and a nice range of motion. He carries himself effortlessly for a big, two-turn sort of colt.”

The second Lane's End-consigned City of Light, a filly selling as Hip 154, is out of the A.P. Indy mare Modesty Blaise, a daughter of Group I winner and Grade I producer Chimes of Freedom (Private Account). The filly is a half-sister to stakes winners High Noon Rider (Distorted Humor) and Poupee Flash (Elusive Quality).

“This filly oozes class and quality,” Ryan noted. “She has the residual value in her female family to back her up so I think heading into the sale, she'll be very well-received.”

Full brother to dual graded stakes winner Travel Column sells as Hip 209 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. | Chris Welker

Chris Welker has been on the ride of a lifetime over the past year as the co-breeder of dual graded stakes winner Travel Column (Frosted). The filly's half-brother by American Pharoah, now named Corton Charlemagne, brought $1.25 million at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. This year, Welker is looking forward to offering their half-brother by City of Light as Hip 209 at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

“What don't I like about him?” Welker asked about the colt that will be consigned with Denali Stud. “As he's gotten older, he reminds me a lot of City of Light. This colt has a very good mind, a beautiful walk and he's very smooth. He has a beautiful head on him and is everything I had hoped he would be.”

In addition to producing MGSW Travel Column, the colt's dam Swingit (Victory Gallop) is also responsible for MGISP millionaire Neolithic (Harlan's Holiday).

Regarding the decision to send Swingit to City of Light, Welker said, “We loved the way he was bred and the races he won were brilliant. He was a brilliant horse. The first time we saw him run, I got really excited about how beautiful he was. At that time Swingit wasn't what she is now so the timing was perfect that when he went to stud, her offspring had done what they've done and we were able to [breed to him].

With just one week until her colt is set to go through the ring in Saratoga, Welker is growing more and more excited to find out how he will be received by the market.

“I feel really, really good but at the same time I want to be realistic because you can't start thinking crazy,” she said. “He's a little bit of Travel Column, a little bit of the American Pharoah colt and a lot of City of Light. You just see more and more of the City of Light in him, which to me is really, really exciting. I think City of Light is such an exciting stallion prospect and it will be fun to see what his babies will do.”

City of Light's other yearlings at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale include a half-brother to GISP Mr. Crow (Tapizar), a half-brother to GIISW Merneith (American Pharoah) out of SW Flattermewithroses (Flatter), a half-sister to GIIISW Share the Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) out of three-time stakes winner Belle of the Hall (Graeme Hall), as well as a son of stakes-placed Sca Doodle (Scat Daddy).

View City of Light's full Saratoga Select Sale roster here.

The Lane's End sire also has three yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Sale. View their pedigrees here.

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Mendelssohn’s Popularity Passes On to First Yearlings

When regally-bred Grade I winner Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy-Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek) joined the stallion roster at Ashford Stud in 2019, his half-brother Into Mischief had just received a bump in stud fee from $100,000 to $150,000 at nearby Spendthrift Farm. The next year, as Mendelssohn's first foals were hitting the ground, Into Mischief was represented by GI Kentucky Derby hero and eventual Horse of the Year Authentic. Today, as Into Mischief is now widely regarded as the leading stallion in the world, Mendelssohn awaits the day when his first crop reaches the starting gate to find out if he can replicate the same extraordinary success as his older brother.

“I think there's no doubt that Into Mischief is the best stallion in the world now that Galileo (Ire) has unfortunately passed away,” Coolmore's Adrian Wallace said. “Every single Saturday he's represented across the country and around the world by graded stakes horses. It will be very fitting if his half-brother by the late, great Scat Daddy could be somewhat as good.”

The breeders strongly agreed with this hypothesis, sending close to 500 mares to the Grade I winner in his first two years at stud off a $35,000 stud fee.

“We're lucky at Ashford to have stood some very popular stallions, but none have ever been as popular as Mendelssohn,” Wallace explained. “He really captured the imagination. It was no surprise that everyone was after him given the fact that he's a brother to Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Into Mischief, given his physique and that he was able to transform that on the racetrack. He became a really, really hot commodity. If he were able to cover 400 mares a year, the demand would have been there.”

A $3 million yearling purchase, Mendelssohn had all the physical appeal to attract the Coolmore buying group at the Keeneland September Sale in 2016 as well as potential breeders a few years later.

“He's an absolute picture,” Wallace said. “He's one of the best-looking horses we've ever had and we've had the privilege to have had some beautiful horses here. But he also has great balance and a wonderful temperament. He was able to get on a plane seven different times to come to the U.S. and run with credit each time.”

Trained in Europe by Aidan O'Brien, Mendelssohn was runner-up to U.S. Navy Flag (War Front) in the G1 Darley Dewhurst S. before taking the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. He returned as a sophomore with a win in the Patton S. at Dundalk in March followed by a track record-breaking score in the G2 UAE Derby. Raced exclusively over the main track from then on, the bay placed third in the GIII Dwyer S., second to Catholic Boy (More Than Ready) in the GI Runhappy Travers S. and third in the GI Jockey Gold Cup S. before retiring with earnings of over $2.5 million.

“It's been a long time since we've had a Grade I winner on dirt in this country that was trained in Europe,” Wallace said. “I think Johannesburg was the last to do it in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Mendelssohn mixed with the best 3-year-olds of his generation, both in Europe and here. His most emblematic victory was in the UAE Derby when he won by 18 ½ lengths. He broke very, very well, went to the lead and pretty much galloped out in front of the TV.”

Wallace explained the trends he has seen in Mendelssohn's first few crops.

“They're very athletic, well-conformed horses,” he said. “They've got immense quality and they're very good movers. If you watch him walk, he moves like a cat. He's got a long, fluid walk and I think he's passing that on. They're generally very well-built, well put-together horses.”

The first crop from the son of Scat Daddy made a splash in the sales ring last year as weanlings, with 28 of 36 sold to average $82,589 and name their sire as one of the top three first-crop weanling sires.

Mendelssohn colt out of Tessie Flip sells as Hip 6 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

Two colts brought $300,000 as weanlings. A son of MSW American Sugar (Harlan's Holiday) sold to Amerman Racing LLC at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale and a colt out of Abuntia (Olmodavor) went to Oxo Equine LLC at Keeneland November.

At the first major yearling sale this summer, the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, two Mendelssohn yearlings brought $185,000 and a third sold for $85,000.

“It's very early days, but the fact that two of his yearlings have gone through the sales ring already and sold for $185,000 a piece is a very good start,” Wallace said. “But there's a lot of very nice ones to come, both in Saratoga and at Keeneland September.”

Mendelssohn will be represented by seven yearlings at the fast-approaching Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale, with an additional nine hips cataloged for the New York-bred sale the following week.

A colt out of the winning Grand Slam mare Tessie Flip will sell as Hip 6 at the select sale with the Paramount Sales consignment. The April-foaled bay is a closely-related brother to stakes winner and GIIISP Jo Jo Air (Scat Daddy) and his dam is a half-sister to two-time Grade I winner Switch (Quiet American).

“This colt has great balance, is very athletic and has a great walk,” Paramount's Gabriel Duignan said. “I think he's an extremely nice colt. What makes him stand apart from his older siblings is that they were also very good looking and very fast, but he's got more size, strength and scope I think. So he's a bigger model than they were, but has all the good qualitites that they do. He's an extremely fast-looking horse with a huge hip on him.”

Another Mendelssohn youngster heading to Saratoga is a filly out of SP Simply Confection (Candy Ride {Arg}). Selling as Hip 195, the Indian Creek-consigned yearling is from the family of GIIISP Inflexibility (Scat Daddy), champion Ashado (Saint Ballado) and GISW Sunriver (Saint Ballado).

Hip 195, a filly out of stakes-placed mare Simply Confection, sells with the Indian Creek consignment.

“We've had the filly here on the farm and are very excited to take her up to the sale,” said Indian Creek's Sarah Sutherland. “She's a very elegant, strong, confident and intelligent filly and a beautiful mover. She's very efficient and covers the ground with no wasted action. She has handled the prep and everything coming in just as well as we could have hoped.”

Both Duignan and Sutherland spoke highly of the Mendelssohn progeny they have worked with already.

“I'm a huge fan of Mendelssohn and have been into him all along,” Duignan said. “I'm seeing the trend that a lot of the Mendelssohns I have [look like] the best the mare has thrown. He was an extremely good racehorse and we all know about his pedigree, which couldn't be better. So I think he's got a huge shot.”

“We had a couple clients breed to him last year and have several very nice weanlings on the ground,” Sutherland said. “They're predominantly out of turf mares and we're very excited about them. They have great size, natural scope and substance, and are all very correct, nice-moving horses.”

Of the five other Mendelssohn yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Saratoga Sale, the list includes a filly out of SP Auction (Ire) (Mr. Greeley), a son of GIIISW Dogwood Trail (Awesome of Course), a colt out of SP Ghost Flower (Ghostzapper), a filly hailing from the extended family of Grade/Group I winner and producer Chimes of Freedom (Private Account) and a filly out of SW Singing Kitty (Ministers Wild Cat). View the full pedigrees here.

“I think [the fact that] there are seven nominated to Fasig-Tipton's sale in Saratoga is indicative of the quality of mares he bred and the look they have,” Wallace said. “He covered a stellar book of mares in the last three years. A horse with his pedigree, look and race record deserves that support, so now the rest is up to them.”

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Good Magic Yearlings Look to Have Sire’s Precocity

Curlin is in the midst of an exceptional year. He's the only North American sire with three Grade I winners already in 2021 with undefeated Kentucky Oaks heroine Malathaat, Florida Derby winner Known Agenda and Santa Anita H. victor Idol. He's also responsible for the buzz horse of the week in undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' and GIII Dwyer S. winner First Captain.

As expected from Curlin, a sire known for his Classic-producing abilities, all four of these current stars broke through to stardom as sophomores or older. And while two did break their maidens as juveniles, only Malathaat was a stakes winner at two.

So while it is not unheard of for Curlin to have a top-performing juvenile, it is a rarity. According to John Moynihan, that's what makes 2017 Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Good Magic special.

“The most unique thing with Good Magic is that he was so precocious,” the Stonestreet bloodstock advisor noted. “People expect Curlin to get durability and ruggedness, horses that run far, Classic-type horses. But a lot of times those Classic-type horses don't also come in the form of early, precocious horses and I think that's what sets Good Magic apart.”

Of the seven sons of Curlin standing in Kentucky today, just two are graded stakes winners as 2-year-olds and Good Magic is the only GI-winning juvenile of the pair.

Retired to stud in 2019, the champion bred 164 mares off a $35,000 fee. He filled a book of 142 mares at the same fee the following year. Standing for $30,000 in 2021, the Hill 'n' Dale resident will soon see his first yearlings go through the sales ring.

Moynihan said the youngsters are showing every indication that they will soon display the same precocity as their sire.

“The Good Magic yearlings that we have here at the farm, as a group, are physically outstanding. They appear that they're going to be very early and precocious like he was. They look like they'll be very, very sound horses. Robert Turner, our yearling manager, said they are all great minded like he was. A lot of the traits that made him such a good horse, physically and mentally, he seems to be throwing to the offspring that we have here at the farm.”

Good Magic is out of the dual stakes-winning Stonestreet-bred Glinda the Good (Hard Spun), a daughter of Magical Flash (Miswaki), who produced six stakes winners from 14 winners.

“The family produces very hard-knocking, rugged racehorses,” Moynihan noted. “I can remember when Magical Flash was older, there was a year where three or four of her foals won a stakes race all within one year.”

Moynihan vividly recalls watching Good Magic, a homebred for Stonestreet, grow and develop in the same paddocks where some of his first progeny now reside.

“He was one of those rare horses that was always a standout from the time he was born to when you looked at him three months later to the time he was a weanling and on to a yearling,” he explained. “He was always a horse you looked at out in the paddock and said, 'Oh, who is that?' He had that kind of presence about him.”

Moynihan said that as Good Magic matured into a yearling, the colt impressed him more and more by the day.

“He improved and got better every day that he was here at the farm. Some horses go through phases where they're not as good physically one month and they get better the next, but this horse was outstanding physically every day we had him.”

The chestnut developed into a $1 million yearling at the 2016 Keeneland September Sale, where he was purchased by e5 Racing.

Stonestreet stayed in for a piece of the promising youngster, and after going through his initial training at Stonestreet's training center, Good Magic made his debut at Saratoga, coming up a length short to run a game second. Trainer Chad Brown was encouraged by the colt's performance and bumped him up in class to the GI Champagne S., where he ran second to eventual MGSW Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior).

“After the race, Chad Brown told me that if Good Magic kept moving forward like he did between his maiden and the Champagne, he was going to want to run him in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile,” Moynihan recalled. “He called me three days later and said the horse acted like he never ran in the Champagne.”

So off they went to Del Mar, where Good Magic became the first horse in history to break his maiden in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

“It takes an extremely talented and extremely good-minded horse to go through those three races in that amount of time and hold up like that,” Moynihan noted.

Following a third-place finish in the GII Fountain of Youth S. and a victory in the GII Blue Grass S., the Eclipse Champion ran in the GI Kentucky Derby where he finished second to eventual Triple Crown champion Justify. Later that summer, he took the GI Haskell Invitational S. before retiring to Hill 'n' Dale with earnings over $2.95 million.

Moynihan said he believes Good Magic's first crop of yearlings represent the quality of mares the young sire saw in his first season at Hill 'n' Dale.

“He had a great book of mares, especially for a horse standing for $35,000,” he explained. “I know in respect to Stonestreet, and I think I'd be speaking on behalf of [Hill 'n' Dale] as well, we bred the caliber of mare that would go to a much higher-priced stallion than one standing for $35,000. That's how much we believed in him.”

Hill 'n' Dale Farm's John Sikura agreed.

“He has bred in excess of 100 mares every year,” Sikura said. “There has been great support from Stonestreet, from us, from SF Bloodstock and other shareholders. He has all the requisites you might look for in a horse in that he's a champion son of Curlin, very well bred, cost a million dollars as a yearling–all the things that a breeder would look for.”

“He represented great, great value [in his first year] at $35,000,” Moynihan said. “We thought he could stand for a little bit more money, but John wanted to be conservative and make sure breeders got the best chance for the first couple of years to make money with the horse.”

At last year's breeding stock sales, Good Magic's weanlings averaged $82,277, placing their sire within the top ranks of first-crop stallions in North America by average with 18 of 31 sold. His top lot, a half-brother to MGSW Lovely Bernadette (Wilburn) out of the winning Bernstein mare Inlovewithlove, sold to OXO Equine for $360,000 at Keeneland November. At the same sale, another colt out of SW Petition the Lady (Petionville) brought $200,000 to Stonehaven Steadings.

Good Magic colt out of Surf Light sells as Hip 303 at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

With the kickoff to the yearling sales approaching with the Fasig-Tipton July Sale on July 13, Good Magic will be represented by six members of his first crop.

Chris Baccari has one Good Magic yearling preparing to go through the ring at the upcoming auction with his Baccari Bloodstock consignment. The colt is out of the stakes-winning Malibu Moon mare Surf Light and will sell as Hip 303.

“He's a very straightforward colt,” Baccari said. “The thing I really like about him is that he has a two-turn pedigree, but he has a sprinter-type body. It looks like it will not take him very long to get ready. He's very sound and it looks like he can take a lot of training. He has a really pretty hind leg and is a really strong colt with a nice scope about him.”

Other notable pedigrees from Good Magic's progeny at Fasig-Tipton July include Hip 30, a half-brother to SW Empire Line (Morning Line) and out of a half to two stakes winners including champion Rushing Fall (More Than Ready), as well as Hip 86, a colt out of a half-sister to Breeders' Cup and Eclipse juvenile champion She Be Wild (Offlee Wild). View Good Magic's full Fasig-Tipton July roster here.

Moynihan said he thinks Good Magic's precocious-looking yearlings will be in high demand with the buyers.

“If buyers are looking to get a fairly quick return on their investment, he was such an early horse and he appears to be getting precocious horses that can get to the races quickly,” Moynihan noted. “He was also a sound horses, winning major races at two and three, so I think that's something buyers will look forward to getting in his offspring.”

“They're well bred, well made and sought after,” Sikura added. “Now the key is to win some races. We're excited for Good Magic's future. Hopefully he can be Curlin's next important son.

Click here for the full archive of our 2021 First-Crop Yearling Sires series.

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