2021 first-crop yearling sires | Horse Racing Free Tips

West Coast’s First Yearlings Show Classic Potential

While there are certainly some strong contenders vying for this year's Champion 3-Year-Old Colt title, it's still possible that the future recipient hasn't yet had his breakout win. Perhaps, he wasn't even seen in a Triple Crown race.

In the past 20 years, two colts have managed to earn the crown for Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Male despite having skipped the Triple Crown trail. The first was Arrogate, who did not make his graded stakes debut until his famed 13 1/2-length, record-setting GI Travers.

The second came the following year.

A $425,000 2015 Keeneland September Sale purchase, West Coast (Flatter-Caressing, by Honour and Glory) broke his maiden early in his sophomore year and then came within a head in the GIII Lexington S. before earning five straight wins. After victories in the Easy Goer S. at Belmont and the GIII Los Alamitos Derby, the Gary and Mary West colorbearer got his signature score in the GI Travers. Setting the pace early, the speedy bay was never passed, defeating a field that featured each 2017 Classic winner–Always Dreaming, Cloud Computing and Tapwrit.

“West Coast's Travers was really a coming-out party for him,” Lane's End's Bill Farish said. “He ran all three Classic winners from that year into the ground and the way he did it, pulling away from them, is what was the most impressive thing to me.”

West Coast returned to the winner's circle in his next start with an effortless performance in the GI Pennsylvania Derby.

After a third-place finish in the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Classic, the reigning 3-year-old champ returned at four to run second to Gun Runner in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., earning a 117 Beyer Speed Figure, followed by game second-place efforts in the G1 Dubai World Cup and GI Awesome Again S.

The son of Flatter retired to Lane's End Farm in 2019 with earnings of over $5.8 million as the leading earner for his sire. Out of Caressing, a juvenile Eclipse and Breeders' Cup champion, West Coast is also a half -brother to graded stakes-placed horses Gold Hawk (Empire Maker) and Juan and Bina (Indian Charlie).

“He just showed so much ability,” Farish said. “We love to see a 3-year-old with multiple Grade I wins. They generally have a great chance to make it at stud.”

Off at an initial fee of $35,000, West Coast bred 168 mares in his first year at stud, followed by an additional 103 the following season at the same fee. With first yearlings now preparing to see the sales ring, he stands this year for $20,000.

Lane's End has five West Coast foals on the ground this year including this youngster, a son of four-time stakes horse producer Rehear (Coronado's Quest). | Alys Emson

“West Coast has gotten off to a great start,” Farish said. “He had a full first book, so he has a good representative crop of yearlings this year. We're very optimistic about how they look and how they'll do at the sales.”

Farish explained how their goal from the start was to see West Coast thrive as a Classic-producing sire.

“West Coast is a well-made, good-sized horse with plenty of scope. He looks wonderful. I think people come and see him, and it's what they're hoping to see. With his pedigree in being an A.P. Indy-line horse, the possibilities are that he's going to get you a good Classic-type, two-turn horse.”

Farish confirmed that this first crop of yearlings reflect what they had visualized for West Coast's progeny.

“They really remind you of him,” he said. “They've got size, scope and really look like they're going to be two-turn horses. That's what we've always tried to breed for and that's what he has delivered.”

One West Coast yearling at Lane's End that received high praise from Farish is a filly out of the St. Elias Stable-owned mare Playtime (Street Cry {Ire}). The youngster is a half-sister to this year's GII Appalachian S. winner Jouster (Noble Mission {GB}).

“She's a super filly,” Farish said of the yearling. “She's bred by St. Elias and they're not sure if they're going to sell her or keep her. I think they may be thinking about keeping her. But she's really been a standout from right after she was born.”

Another West Coast yearling foaled at Lane's End has been on Farish's watch list from day one. Out of Irish Jasper, a daughter of First Defence raced to Grade II victory by W.S. Farish and David Mackie, the colt was foaled in March last year.

“He's one of the best colts we have on the farm,” Farish said. “He's one we're going to keep and race. We're excited to see him on the track, but he really is a nice-looking individual.”

Irish Jasper was bred back to West Coast and has another colt on the ground this year.

At last year's sales, 24 West Coast weanlings sold from 34 offered. As a group, they averaged $53,625. The top lot, a colt out of Joannie (Smart Strike), brought $200,000 at Keeneland November.

Agent Renee Dailey found a weanling by the Lane's End sire at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale that she couldn't leave without. She purchased the filly for $65,000.

West Coast filly out of Fixate sells as Hip 156 with the Four Star Sales consignment at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

“The filly was the second foal out of the young mare Fixate (Bodemeister), who is a half-sister to MGSW and sire Air Support (Smart Strike) and is from the family of MGISW and sire Coronado's Quest,” Dailey explained. “She was a beautiful physical, I loved her walk, she was a good-sized, strong filly and was very straightforward.”

The owner and operator of Dailey Bloodstock purchased the filly for $65,000 and, according to Dailey, the youngster has blossomed this year.

“She has a lot of stretch and she's very racey, but with a powerful hip and shoulder and a lovely head and neck. We put her in the July sale because we thought she would be a good representation of the sire for the first showing of his yearlings.”

Dailey said she has been excited by the prospecting of selling West Coast's progeny since she first saw the horse in person.

“I was a huge fan of West Coast when he was on the track and won impressively in the Pennsylvania Derby and I was so excited to get to see his foals,” she said. “I was impressed with his physical every time I saw him in the paddock and that's how I picked this filly. I thought she looked so much like her daddy. I think he's stamping his foals. The filly, as well as many of the other ones I've seen, have his strong body, big hip and lovely topline.”

Dailey's pinhook prospect will sell as one of seven West Coast yearlings in the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale on July 13. The filly will be offered as Hip 156 with the Four Star Sales consignment.

Other notable pedigrees from West Coast's Fasig-Tipton yearlings include Hip 12, a filly out of GII Adirondack S. winner Designer Legs (Graeme Hall), as well as Hip 77, a filly out of SW Sharp Sally (Posse), a full sister to dual GISW Annals of Time (Temple City). View West Coast's full Fasig-Tipton roster here.

“Buyers are going to appreciate that he's an A.P Indy-line stallion, that he had brilliance and that he's getting good-looking yearlings,” Farish said. “I'm very optimistic.”

Miss one the first four features from our 2021 First-Crop Yearling Sire series? Click here for the full archive.

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Bolt d’Oro Yearlings Predicted to Be in High Demand

Tim Hamlin, owner and operator of Wynnstay Farm, is high on the filly by first-crop yearling sire Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro-Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy) his consignment will be presenting at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

“One word to describe her is athletic,” he said of the youngster that will sell as Hip 94 on July 13. “She's a later filly out of a mare called Wall of Worry (The Cliff's Edge). She's been athletic from the day she was born. She does everything we want her to do and she's been healthy, straightforward, good-minded and everything you could want.”

Hamlin has already had good luck with Bolt d'Oro and his first crop. At last year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale, his Wynnstay Sales consignment sold the co-highest weanling by the Spendthrift sire when a filly out of Clarendon Fancy (Malibu Moon) and from the family of GISW Girvin (Tale of Ekati) and GISP Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) brought $280,000, selling to Spendthrift Farm.

“All three of them that I have had have been super, super athletic,” Hamlin noted. “I wish I could have had more, but they would only let us have so many because everybody wanted them. The ones we have are rock stars. We love them and have more mares bred to him. We think he's going to be a hit.”

Hamlin isn't the only one wishing he had another Bolt d'Oro yearling or two in his barn. According to Spendthrift's Mark Toothaker, demand for the dual Grade I winner was high from the start.

“In his first year, we had twice as many applications as we had spots,” he shared. “We were able to go through and really take our pick of the mares we wanted, so he got an outstanding group.”

Retired to stud in 2019 with a $25,000 initial fee, Bolt d'Oro bred 214 mares in his first book. Held steady at the same stud fee the following year after shuttling to Spendthrift Australia for a season, he bred an additional 146 mare. Toothaker said the smaller book size was due in no part to decreased demand.

“We started trying to control it to where we were only breeding him a couple times a day. We found that to be a little bit better fit for him.”

This year, Bolt d'Oro's stud fee was adjusted to $15,000 with across-the-board fee cuts at Spendthrift due to Covid-induced uncertainties for breeders.

Bolt d'Oro filly out of Wall of Worry sells as Hip 94 at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

At last year's weanling sales, Bolt d'Oro ranked amongst the top five first-crop stallions in North America by average when 30 of 36 of his progeny sold to average $76,966. Along with Wynnstay's $280,000 filly at Fasig-Tipton's sale, another Bolt d'Oro weanling brought the same price days later at the Keeneland November Sale. The colt out of stakes winner C. S. Incharge (Take Charge Indy) from Clarkland Farm sold to Sand Hill Stables.

“The pinhookers were really wanting to buy them,” Toothaker said. “Anytime you have the pinhookers talking about how, 'We need to land a Bolt,' or 'We chased a couple of Bolts but weren't able to have enough money to get it done,' that's what you're looking to hear on the sales ground. He's a very exciting horse. He's got the looks, he's got the pedigree and I look for him to be a serious sire for us.”

A WinStar Farm-bred half-brother to GISW Global Campaign (Curlin) and SW Sonic Mule (Distorted Humor), Bolt d'Oro was a $630,000 2016 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase for Mick and Wendy Ruis. Originally trained by Ruis, the son of Medaglia d'Oro broke his maiden on debut before taking the GI Del Mar Futurity and GI Frontrunner S.

“The Frontrunner was just an unbelievable race,” Toothaker recalled. “He absolutely demolished that field and I thought that was his best race. This horse was just so brilliant with his stride; he was able to leap. It was so amazing how much ground he could cover.”

Bolt d'Oro ended his juvenile season with a third-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and came back at three in the GII San Felipe S. After a stretch battle with fellow GISW McKinzie, he was awarded the win via disqualification. He then ran second to future Triple Crown winner Justify in the GI Santa Anita Derby and, after unplaced finishes in his next two Grade I starts, retired with earnings of over $1 million.

Toothaker recalled a story of watching the horse train at Keeneland, “The kid that was on him, I don't want to say he messed up, but he broke off too far behind. Mick had put a rabbit in there as a workmate and when they broke, you're thinking he's never going to be able to catch that horse because they had separated themselves too much. But not only did he catch him, it was one of the most unbelievable works I had every seen. He worked :1.10 and change, at Keeneland, and I mean I can count on one hand how many horses I've seen ever work that fast. It was an amazing morning and one of those that I'll never forget.”

Bolt d'Oro's effortless speed combined with a Classic pedigree has Toothaker excited for the stallion's first progeny to hit the track.

“The thing about Bolt is, we just haven't seen many horses by Medaglia d'Oro out of A.P. Indy mares that are so good as 2-year-olds,” he explained. “Here's a horse that is bred to run all day long and has two Grade I wins at two. With his pedigree, it's kind of freakish. You feel like with his progeny, he'll have every chance to sire a Derby horse. He's got the pedigree to get the Classic distances, no doubt.”

Taylor Made Sales has four Bolt d'Oro yearlings pointing towards the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

Bolt d'Oro filly out of Moment of Speight (Ire) sells as Hip 227 at Fasig-Tipton July.

Mark Taylor agreed that based on the yearlings he has seen, they should be able to stretch out with ease.

“These Bolts to me look like they'll be fast, but they don't look like one-dimensional horses that are going to be done early in their 2-year-old year,” Taylor said. “I think you're going to see plenty of Bolts run early, but I think they're going to be more Classic-type horses at the end of the day.”

Taylor said that one of Taylor Made's July-bound yearlings, a filly out of the Speightstown mare Moment of Speight (Ire) selling as Hip 227, fits the description.

“She's a long, stretchy filly that looks like she can run two turns,” he said. “She's got a good hip to her and is very well balanced with a lot of strength over her top line.”

Of the trends he's seeing in Bolt d'Oro's progeny overall, Taylor added, “I've seen consistently good horses popping up at the different farms I go to. I think he's a prepotent stallion. He seems to be dominating his mares a little bit and he's throwing a lot of length with plenty of strength behind, which is a great tandem to have in the market and on the racetrack. I'm very bullish on what I've seen so far.”

Toothaker said that many breeders have honed in on Bolt d'Oro's physical to best compliment their mares.

“The breeders are so smart and they want to breed a really strong-hipped mare with a good hind leg to him,” he noted. ” We were happy to see him getting strong-hipped horses, but with Bolt's leg and they stand over some ground. The breeders are very happy with what they got, the response has been great so far and I think they are going to be rewarded very well.”

Bolt d'Oro has six yearlings cataloged in the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale including Hip 43, a colt out of a winning half-sister to GISW Yellow Agate (Gemologist), as well as a filly selling as Hip 161, the first foal out a half-sister to dual GISW Mind Control (Stay Thirsty). View Bolt d'Oro's full Fasig-Tipton July roster here.

“I look for him to have an absolutely great sales season,” Toothaker said. “Most everyone we run into is very excited about these Bolts. This July sale will be a great start for him. We're very excited to kick off sales season and then head to Saratoga with a great group.”

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Collected’s First Crop Reflecting His Pedigree’s Sire Power

Carrie Brogden wasn't planning on purchasing many pinhook prospects for Machmer Hall at last year's Keeneland November Sale. She was busy inspecting the stock on her clients' shopping lists, plus her farm already had a plethora of weanlings back home that would need to be prepped come summertime.

But on the fourth day of the sale, a colt entered the ring that she couldn't pass up. The February-foaled weanling came from the James B. Keogh consignment and was a son of first-crop weanling sire Collected (City Zip-Helena Bay (GB), by Johannesburg). The youngster was out of the winning Arch mare Androeah, a full sister to GISW Archarcharch.

“I just fell in love with this guy,” Brogden said. “We bought him off David Anderson, who is well known for raising top horses. He was a big, strong, strapping, uncomplicated type with lots of bone and was correct.”

Brogden purchased the colt for $65,000 and is now preparing the chestnut for his return to the sales ring at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, where he will sell as Hip 340.

Machmer Hall will be represented by a second Collected yearling at the same auction. Hip 279, a homebred for the farm, is the first foal out of Shawklit Cake (Majesticperfection).

“We've had really good luck with this whole female family,” Brogden explained. “It's a big, raw, lengthy family so I was thinking that if City Zip were still alive, he would be the perfect type of stallion to breed to this mare.”

Brogden turned to City Zip's Grade I-winning son Collected and is now pleased with the resulting filly.

“We're shareholders in Collected and have been big fans of the stallion and of Marette Farrell, who purchased him as a 2-year-old. I feel like we got what we were looking for [in the yearling] with the size and stretch from the female family but with a big hip. There are a lot of qualities of City Zip that I see in her, which I love.”

Machmer Hall has been a strong supporter of Collected since he joined Airdrie Stud in 2019. Based on the progeny Brogden has seen in Collected's first two crops, she has noticed a strong resemblance to the late perennial leading sire City Zip.

“I did think he was going to throw back to City Zip, so I'm very pleased with what we've seen,” she noted. “I love the fact that they're colored like City Zip. I love to see, like with Into Mischief, when they stamp them in their colors. With these guys, the City Zip shines through and I think Collected might be able to walk in his sire's footsteps based on what I'm seeing. They're athletic and uncomplicated with great minds and they're easy keepers. They're what you'd like to see as they're progressing towards the racetrack.”

Airdrie Stud's Bret Jones agreed that Collected's first few crops seem to reflect the best in both the young stallion and his sire.

Collected bests champion Arrogate in the 2017 GI Pacific Classic S. | Horsephotos

“These foals are very much in Collected's image,” Jones said. “They've got that City Zip kind of look, but with a little more leg, a little more size, and I'd have to say they're a little more correct.”

While Collected's progeny have been likened to their grandsire, Jones said that the stallion himself has often been compared to the internationally influential sire Blushing Groom, a prominent member of Collected's female family.

“Collected's pedigree is fabulous and so many people who have come out to see him have said that he really is the spitting image of Blushing Groom,” he said. “The similarities are striking. You think of what an important stallion Blushing Groom has been and this horse has the same beautiful look with that medium size that fits the different kinds of mares that come his way. He's that wonderfully good-balanced type with the big walk that everybody loves. He really moves like an athlete ”

Bred by Runnymede Farm and Peter J. Callahan, the son of the winning Johannesburg mare Helena Bay (GB) was a $170,000 OBS March purchase by Marette Farrell for Speedway Stables in 2015.

While Airdrie had their eye on Collected ever since he was a promising debut-winning juvenile, it wasn't easy for them to get him to their stud barn.

“Collected is very special to us because it really was a long process to bring him here to Airdrie,” Jones explained. “He had shown a lot of talent as a 2-year-old and was really coming into his own as a 3-year-old. That's when we first reached out to Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner at Speedway, who along the way have become very good friends.”

At three, Collected took the GIII Sham S. and GIII Lexington S., winning three of his five starts that year.

At four, he blossomed. After easy wins in the Santana Mile S. and GII Californian S., he made headlines with a 14-length blowout victory in the GIII Precisionist S. followed by his signature win in the 2017 GI Pacific Classic S. over champions Arrogate and Accelerate. He ran second in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic after dueling eventual Horse of the Year Gun Runner and then retired the following year with earnings of nearly $3 million.

“He was absolutely one of the best horses in training that 4-year-old year when he won the Pacific Classic and was second in the Breeders' Cup Classic,” Jones said. “Thankfully at the end of the day, we were given the opportunity to stand the horse and it's been everything we could have asked for.”

One of the commitments Airdrie made when taking Collected on, according to Jones, was to support the young stallion with the best their farm had to offer.

Machmer Hall's Collected colt out of Androeah sells as Hip 340 at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

“That meant breeding our Kentucky Oaks winner [Believe You Can (Proud Citizen)] as well as multiple Grade I producers. It meant never slowing down on the support that we would give him. In his third year, we've bred another 20 mares to him and we'll do the same thing next year. We really believe in the horse and so we want to give him that opportunity.”

Jones said that Collected has received strong support from off the farm as well. He bred 156 mares in his first year at stud and an additional 155 last year.

“We've been unbelievably lucky with Collected. He has been very well received really from the start. He was booked full each of his first two years and we've got a wonderful syndicate behind the horse that made sure he has gotten not only the quantity, but the quality of mares. In his first year, the Comparable Index was a 2.25, which is the highest than I can ever remember us having for a first-year stallion and much higher than what the stud fee would generally reflect.”

Collected's fee has held steady at $17,500 in his first three years and Jones said that the stallion will end up seeing over 100 mares in his third book as well.

“Because of this horse's popularity and because of the syndicate behind him, he's really been able to get that support. There will be no small crops. No one has backed down. David Anderson is breeding 12 mares to the horse and Fred Hertrich III is breeding six. The Brogdens are great partners and Speedway Stable is sending some of their top fillies from off the track, so there's no shortage of support and it's really going to be up to him.”

At last year's weanling sales, Collected's first crop averaged $52,454 with 11 of 28 sold. His top lot, a filly out of the Giant's Causeway mare Mamasez, brought $135,000 at Keeneland November.

At the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale on July 13, Collected will be represented by 13 yearlings with notable pedigrees including Hip 19, a filly out a Bernardini half-sister to GISW and two-time GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf runner-up Film Maker (Dynaformer), as well as Hip 78, a filly out of a daughter of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and Eclipse Champion She Be Wild (Offlee Wild). View Collected's full Fasig-Tipton roster here.

“When you first get the stallion, you're excited about their chances,” Jones explained. “Then the next thing is what sort of individuals are they getting. I couldn't be more excited to show off exactly what kind of foals this horse is getting in the July Sale and the fall sales as well.”

From there, Jones said he believes Collected's progeny will excel on all aspects once they hit the track.

“Collected, like City Zip, has the chance to throw a lot of different types. City Zip could certainly get your early horses and your sprinters, but he could also get you a horse like Collected or Improbable that can stretch out and win a Grade I at a mile and a quarter. There's no reason why Collected can't have a similar type of success. I think they'll be diverse on the track and that he's got an opportunity to have a lot of success with a lot of different types.”

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Champion Accelerate Stamping His First Crop of Yearlings

David Ingordo has undoubtedly inspected thousands of yearlings, many of whom went on to become Ingordo-purchased success stories, since he saw Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky) at the 2014 Keeneland September Sale. Nevertheless, the well-respected agent has a vivid memory of seeing Hip 1162 at the Bluewater Sales consignment, a May-foaled son of the stakes-placed Awesome Again mare Issues.

“When a horse first walks out, you get an impression–at least, that's what it is for me,” Ingordo said. “And he was an extremely well- balanced horse, plenty of substance to him. He caught my attention. He was a beautiful chestnut color and was really well prepared. When you see them, you project what they're going to turn into. What he looked like to me there is what I hoped he would grow up to be, which is this beautifully well-balanced older horse now.”

Flash forward seven years after Ingordo purchased the yearling colt for $380,000, and Accelerate is now an Eclipse-earning, Breeders' Cup Classic-winning Lane's End sire with first yearlings hitting the market this summer.

Aside from the quality physical Ingordo recognized in Accelerate as a yearling, there was one intangible trait, according to Ingordo, that made the son of Lookin at Lucky such a success on the track.

“The thing you can't see is his heart,” he explained. “We buy these horses and they're all balanced, they have the pedigrees, they're good walkers and they vet clean. You put them in training and put them in company and they move forward each week. But what you never know is when they get hooked in a race, how bad do they want it? And Accelerate, he wanted it badly every time.”

That competitive energy led the Hronis Racing colorbearer to 10 career victories, from an 8 3/4-length maiden score as a sophomore to a win two years later in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Between those bookend wins, the John Sadler trainee also brought home Grade I scores in the Santa Anita H., Gold Cup at Santa Anita S., Pacific Classic S. and Awesome Again S. during his championship 5-year-old season.

“The thing I remember about Accelerate's 5-year-old campaign was just how dominant he was,” Ingordo said. “When John led him over [in the Breeders' Cup Classic], there wasn't any doubt we were going to run well. But the way he did it, he drew outside and delivered with a powerful performance.”

Retiring to Lane's End with over $6.6 million in earnings, Accelerate served 167 mares in his first year at stud at a $20,000 fee. He held the same stud fee in 2020 and bred 137 mares in his second book. This year, his fee was adjusted to $17,500.

Look closely to see Accelerate's eventual purchaser inspecting the colt at the Bluewater consignment. | Lucas Marquardt

Ingordo has been busy visiting Accelerate's first crop of foals slated for the approaching yearling sales.

“When I go around looking at the offspring of a stallion, I expect to see the stallion in that foal,” he said. “So a lot of times before I go out looking at a crop of horses, I like to go see the stallion. So I'll come look at Accelerate and refresh myself about what I like about the horse. He's exceptionally well balanced, he's got a great shoulder, is very powerful behind, wide across his hips and has great bone.”

This physical description, Ingordo says, also fits the trends he's seeing in Accelerate's yearlings.

“They look like miniature versions of him. He's kind of throwing back to the Smart Strike part of his pedigree, which I think is an important element of what made Accelerate so good and I think that's going to help his offspring as they get to the track,” he said.

Ingordo also said he finds Accelerate's presence and demeanor reflected in his progeny.

“Accelerate is very regal. He's all class. I've noticed that same trait in his offspring. You can't teach that; they either have it or they don't, and they've definitely got his head and his eye, that presence,” he said.

One big boost to Accelerate's appeal to both breeders and buyers, according to Ingordo, is the support he received in his first books.

“What was great for the stallion, the syndicate and then for me as a buyer of the Accelerates this year is how solid of a book of mares people presented to the horse. We've also gotten some really good updates. I just saw a colt that's going to one of the later sales and is a half to [2021 GII San Pasqual S. winner] Express Train (Union Rags) and he is a killer. I looked at several others around town and they're all really, really nice. They remind me of him at that stage of his life.”

Accelerate, a late-blooming May foal, did not see the starting gate until his sophomore year.

“He was broke and trained at Mayberry Farm and he always did everything right, but we had to remind ourselves that he was almost a June foal,” Ingordo said. “He hit another growth spurt once he went out to California so we weren't able to really run him as a 2-year-old. Our program is not to force them. We could have gotten Accelerate there faster if we wanted to, but that didn't make any sense for the horse.”

Accelerate's belated start makes Ingordo all the more excited to see his first runners begin their career earlier than their sire was able.

“I think they're going to be Classic types,” he said. “We missed that opportunity with Accelerate just because of his age, but I see these foals and they're a little more mature than he was. I could see him getting the Classic horse that every breeder and owner wants to get to the Derby or even some of the earlier 2-year-old races.”

At last year's weanling sales, Accelerate's offspring averaged $46,159 with 22 of 30 sold. His top lot, a filly out of Grade III-placed Mystic Mama (Scat Daddy), sold for $140,000 to Buena Madera at the Keeneland November Sale. Two Accelerate colts, one out of Aspiring (Seeking the Gold) and another out of Onestaratatime (Cape Canaveral), brought $110,000 at Keeneland November.

Accelerate yearling out of West Coast Chick sells as Hip 95 at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

Accelerate has 11 yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale on July 13.

Hip 95, a colt out of West Coast Chick (Malibu Moon), will sell with the Lane's End consignment. The youngster is the second foal from his winning dam, who was runner-up to GISW Paulassilverlining (Ghostzapper) in the 2016 GIII Vagrancy H. and is a half-sister to GISW and sire Klimt (Quality Road).

“The cross is very good,” Ingordo noted. I like the Accelerate, Lookin at Lucky, Smart Strike line bred over Malibu Moon. The colt is a bay version of his sire. He's an excellent mover, a good athletic type, and has the head, eye and shape that we've been talking about. I wish I owned him.”

Other Accelerate yearlings heading for the Fasig-Tipton July Sale include Hip 13, a colt out of a daughter of GISW and graded producer Harmony Lodge (Hennessy), Hip 61, a filly out of a full-sister to champion Trinniberg (Teuflesberg) as well as Hip 98, a filly out of a daughter of Grade III winner Win Crafty Lady (Crafty Prospector), the dam of three graded winners, including Harmony Lodge. See Accelerate's full Fasig-Tipton July roster here.

Ingordo said he has high hopes for this first crop of yearlings as they take on the sales, but added that he believes Accelerate and his progeny will find even greater success in coming years.

“I'm going to say this is the cheapest they're ever going be is out of this first crop,” he said. “I think they're going to be horses that are bought on the high end of a reasonable price. I'm pretty excited about them. I plan on every customer of mine that has an order is going to have one, because I'm a believer. Everybody has their own horses and they can get barn blind, but we like to put our money where our mouth is on this and this is a horse that I'm going to support at the sales, my clients want to support him at the sales, and hopefully we will help him then on the racetrack.”

Click here for the first feature in our 2021 First-Crop Yearling Sire series on Gainesway's Tapwrit.

The post Champion Accelerate Stamping His First Crop of Yearlings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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