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Bodenheimer Named 2020 Washington Horse Of The Year

The 2020 Washington Annual Awards celebration was held via Zoom Saturday evening, February 27. Many industry members tuned in via their phones or other devices to be part of the ceremonies.

Kristin Boice and Marylou Holden's talented juvenile Bodenheimer was named horse of the year. This year the award honored the late Washington horseman Richard Wright. The son of 2020 leading sire Atta Boy Roy was a stakes winner at both Keeneland and Prairie Meadows last year. He is trained, as was his sire, by now Kentucky resident Valerie Lund. In addition Bodenheimer, who is the second stakes winner Larry Romaine bred out of the stakes-winning A. P. Indy mare Beautiful Daniele, was named champion turf horse and shared co-champion two-year-old honors with undefeated Dutton.

Dutton, who races for Rising Star Stable VIII and is trained by Howard Belvoir – who received one of three special racing achievement awards – is from the first and only crop of the late Washington champion Noosito, who was not only Washington's leading freshman sire, but also the second leading 2020 freshman sire on the West Coast.

Champion two-year-old filly honors went to Chad and Josh's Time for Gold, who was victorious in two Emerald Downs stakes. Her owners, Chad Christensen and Josh McKee, were also the state's leading owners of Washington-breds. Time for Gold was one of three progeny of Harbor the Gold who won stakes victories for the successful partnership.

2019 Washington horse of the year Baja Sur, by Smiling Tiger, added two more championship titles to his impressive total: champion older horse or gelding and champion sprinter. He races for Auburn residents John and Janene Maryanski and Gerry and Gail Schneider.

Warlock Stables, Kelly Dougan and trainer Roddina Barrett's Alittlesstalk encored her 2019 champion title with an even more impressive record in 2020 when the four-year-old daughter of Demon Warlock won two stakes and placed in two more in her seven-race skein.

Tawnja Elison's Unmachable, by Macho Uno, also took off where he had in 2019. The state's champion two-year-old added two more stakes wins, one over older runners, to earn the champion three-year-old title. His trainer, Jack McCartney, was also honored with a special training achievement award.

Glen Todd-owned and -trained Miss Prospector gave her sire Harbor the Gold his 24th state champion runner when she took champion sophomore filly honors.

Other horse honors went to Omache Kid (plater), Fortune's Freude (most improved plater), Melba Jewel (broodmare) and Winter Knight (OTTB).

The WTBOA/WHPBA Special Recognition Award was warmly given to Washington Horse Racing Commission executive secretary Doug Moore for all the work he put into getting approval for racing at Emerald Downs and holding the WTBOA August horse sale amid complex COVID-19 restrictions and protocols.

Other awards were given to Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Pabst, who took their sixth leading breeder title; and to jockey Juan Gutierrez for gaining a record number of wins at Emerald Downs.

The program for the event is posted on the WTBOA website at www.washingtonthoroughbred,com.

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Their New Kentucky Homes: When Veteran Stallions Move To The Bluegrass State

Sooner or later, just about every important North American stallion ends up in Kentucky. Some just take longer to get there than others.

For some, moving to a Kentucky farm from a regional or international market is akin to a minor league prospect being called up to the majors after proving he can improve the mares in his state to produce important national runners. For others, the relocation is more transactional, with stallions moving to and from different outposts residing under the same umbrella.

Names as influential as Mr. Prospector, Fappiano, and Saint Ballado got their starts in Florida, while City Zip entered stud in New York before moving to Lane's End in Kentucky, and Malibu Moon saw his first breakthrough as a Maryland resident.

Today's stallion landscape is dotted with plenty of horses who earned their places on Kentucky rosters by proving themselves elsewhere.

Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa has a couple transplants in Kantharos, who stood his first six seasons in Florida; and Stormy Atlantic, who started his career at Florida's Bridlewood Farm. WinStar Farm has Congrats, who moved to the Bluegrass State after his first Florida-sired 2-year-olds hit the track. Buck Pond Farm brought young New York stallion V. E. Day south in 2018, while Taylor Made Stallions brought Daddy Long Legs north from Chile in 2019 after he was named that country's leading juvenile sire.

This year's class of notable incoming transfer sires is an eclectic one, both in terms of background and the reason why they were brought to the state, but the goal remains unflinching: Take advantage of Kentucky's unparalleled broodmare reserves to further improve their stock at stud.

The highest-profile transfer for 2021 is Laoban, a son of Uncle Mo who began his career at Sequel New York, and had three juveniles from his first crop enter Breeders' Cup races, including Grade 1 winner Simply Ravishing. He was moved to WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., for the 2021 breeding season, where he will stand for an advertised fee of $25,000.

“It's a new venture,” said WinStar Farm's Elliott Walden. We're extremely excited about Laoban, and feel like the kind of success he's had out of the mare quality in New York, and what you'd typically get in a regional market, would bode well for his future here in Kentucky. I know the mares that we've got marked for him so far…speaking with Becky Thomas (of Sequel New York), she said they were all better than anything he's ever bred in his career. He's going to get a big move up in mares, and it's going to hopefully be a real positive for him.”

Though Laoban is the first transfer stallion WinStar has picked up in recent memory (Congrats spent time at Vinery's Kentucky base before moving to WinStar), Walden said his team makes an annual scan of the regional stallion markets to see if anyone's stock is rising too quickly to deny.

“It's not something new,” he said. “You're always looking for the next stallion that moves up his mares, and Laoban has done that.”

Ashford Stud reached out even further to add a new member to its roster for 2021, moving Group 1 winner Caravaggio from its Irish base. He will stand for $25,000.

“He was raised here at Ashford Stud, and he was such an exceptional horse,” said Ashford's Charlie O'Connor. “Being by Scat Daddy out of an American mare (Mekko Hokte, by Holy Bull), we just thought it would be a good move to bring him back and give the American breeders a chance to breed to him. So far, he's been very well-received.”

This is a familiar move for the Coolmore operation, which also started Giant's Causeway and Declaration of War in Ireland before moving them stateside. Caravaggio stood his first two seasons in Ireland, putting him in the unique position of having yearlings to show potential breeders in his new locale, but no racetrack results.

O'Connor said Caravaggio's case was advanced by a strong performance at this year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The stallion had seven yearlings go through the ring at the sale for an average price of $212,833, led by a $400,000 filly.

“They showcased themselves at the September sales,” O'Connor said. “There was a number of them on the grounds, so a number of American breeders saw them, and liked what they saw. Wesley Ward was one in particular who bought one.”

Also moving to Kentucky in 2021 is leading Washington sire Atta Boy Roy, who will stand at War Horse Place in Lexington for a fee of $7,500. The 15-year-old Tribunal horse sent Bodenheimer to this year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint and he's seen national success with the well-traveled Mr. Jagermeister.

Both horses are trained by Valorie Lund, who also conditioned Grade 2 winner Atta Boy Roy during his own on-track career. Lund recently purchased her former star runner with her sister, prompting the move.

In the past, War Horse Place brought in Kitalpha, a full-brother to Kingmambo, after standing his first six seasons in Zimbabwe, where he became the country's perennial leading sire.

War Horse Place's Dana Aschinger said comparing a stallion with runners in Zimbabwe and South Africa might seem like apples to oranges when stacked against American runners, but talent and speed are universal.

“When Kitalpha had the first four finishers in [the G3 Zimbabwe Guineas], my husband (the late Gerry Aschinger) always said 'There's still 60 seconds in a minute,'” Dana Aschinger said. “They're running the same times there that they are here.”

Kitalpha sired multiple graded stakes winner Martini Glass after moving stateside. He died of cancer at age 13.

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Atta Boy Roy Moves From Native Washington To War Horse Place In Kentucky For 2021

Atta Boy Roy, a Grade 2 winner and sire of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint contender Bodenheimer, will relocate to War Horse Place in Lexington, Ky., for the 2021 breeding season, where he will stand for an advertised fee of $7,500.

The 15-year-old son of Tribunal previously resided at Blue Ribbon Farm in Buckley, Wash., where he has sired five crops of racing age with 47 winners. He was Washington's leading sire in 2018 and 2019.

Washington-bred Bodenheimer will contest this Friday's Juvenile Turf Sprint off victories in the Prairie Gold Juvenile Stakes at Prairie Meadows, and most recently a gate-to-wire triumph in the Indian Summer Stakes at Keeneland.

Atta Boy Roy first gained national notice at stud through Mr. Jagermeister, a winner in 11 of 25 starts and earner of over $500,000. The well-traveled horse is an eight-time stakes winner at Canterbury Park, Colonial Downs, and Turf Paradise, with runner-up efforts in stakes at Oaklawn Park and Prairie Meadows.

Locally, Atta Boy Roy's top runner is Risque's Legacy, who was named Washington's champion 2-year-old and 3-year-old filly during those respective campaigns.

Valorie Lund trains both Bodenheimer and Mr. Jagermeister, and she also conditioned Atta Boy Roy during his own racing career and recently purchased the stallion with her sister, Kristin Boice. With so much hands-on experience with the sire and his runners, Lund said she noticed a unique genetic advantage that Atta Boy Roy has passed on to his offspring that could explain why he's gotten several solid runners from a relative small group of Washington-sired foals.

“Atta Boy Roy has a very large spleen – and I don't mean enlarged, I mean large, and I believe he's passing that on to his offspring,” Lund said. “We did a heart and spleen scan on Bodenheimer the other day, and the gals that did it said he was off the charts for a 2-year-old for the size of his spleen.

“That's natural blood doping for a horse,” Lund continued. “They store a tremendous amount of red blood cells in their spleen, so if they have a bigger spleen, they're storing more, so when they release them, they have a better oxygen-carrying capacity. I think that's where they're getting that huge speed, and the ability to hang on to it.”

On his own accord, Atta Boy Roy won 14 of 36 starts for earnings of $602,276. The Washington-bred was a two-time stakes winner at Emerald Downs as a 4-year-old, then rose to national prominence at age five with victories in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes and listed Remington Park Sprint Cup Stakes, along with a runner-up effort in the G3 Aristides Stakes. He finished the season with a start in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs, but his performance was hampered by an injury suffered during the race.

Atta Boy Roy raced for three more seasons, picking up a win in the Shot of Gold Stakes at Canterbury Park and another second-place finish in the G3 Aristides Stakes.

Atta Boy Roy is out of the stakes-placed Synastry mare Irish Toast, whose nine foals to race are all winners, including Grade 3 winner The Great Face.

“I have seen pictures from Valorie of Atta Boy Roy's yearlings, and they look like tremendous horses – great gaskins, huge hips, large girths,” said Dana Aschinger of War Horse Place. “Valorie's obviously a fantastic horsewoman, and she certainly knows what a good horse looks like. I'm frankly pretty honored to have him.”

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Trainer Valorie Lund ‘So Excited’ For Second Breeders’ Cup Starter Bodenheimer

“I'm so excited,” trainer Valorie Lund said about the upcoming Breeders' Cup at Keeneland where her colt Bodenheimer will race in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at five and one-half furlongs.

There are hundreds and hundreds of racehorse trainers in the country but few that make it to North America's biggest thoroughbred event. That is not lost on Lund who will make her second Breeders' Cup start, having run Bodenheimer's sire Atta Boy Roy, a graded stakes winner, in the 2010 BC Sprint.

“It'll be tough,” she said, looking at the competition pre-entered. Twenty-four 2-year-olds were pre-entered, the most in any of the 14 Breeders' Cup races. A field of 14 will be allowed. Bodenheimer is guaranteed a stall in the starting gate through a “Win and You're In” victory at Keeneland in the Oct. 4 Indian Summer Stakes.

Lund expects Golden Pal, one of 10 pre-entered in this race by trainer Wesley Ward, to be the favorite based on his impressive Aug. 21 stakes win at Saratoga. That start was his most recent. Lund has watched the progress of Golden Pal, noting the slow works at Keeneland in September followed by quick works in October over the Keeneland turf signaling the foe will be ready.

She also acknowledges that 2-year-olds can improve dramatically in a short time and that the speedy Bodenheimer is “as good as he can be” and fully expects him to take “a step forward” next Friday. The Juvenile Turf Sprint is the sixth race on the program and the first Breeders' Cup race, with a 1:30 central post time.

“Oh my goodness. [Bodenheimer] wasn't galloping like this into the Indian Summer,” Lund said. “It's amazing to me the way he is training.”

She says he is training so well and aggressively that she waits to take him to the track until later in the morning when there is “less traffic” on the Ashwood Training Center oval, just north of Keeneland, home to Lund's stable. “He is so powerful right now. He's just a tiger,” Lund said.

Bodenheimer, whose career began at Canterbury Park, has won three of four starts. The lone loss, a fifth-place finish at Kentucky Downs over a boggy course, can be forgiven according to Lund. The wet and deep turf was just not for him.

“He was body sore after racing at Kentucky Downs,” she said. “It took a week to 10 days to get him back to normal after trying so hard over that course.”

The Indian Summer win makes Bodenheimer just one of two expected to start Friday with a race over the Keeneland turf.

“That should be to my advantage,” Lund said.

Lund trains the Washington-bred Bodenheimer, a $27,000 yearling purchase, for her mother, Marylou Holden, and sister Kristin Boice. The colt has earned $141,225.

Bodenheimer was supposed to work Thursday at Keeneland on the grass but persistent rain caused a change in plans.

“If the main track is okay I'll work him on main track Friday or Saturday,” she said, expecting that turf workouts might not be allowed.

Breeders' Cup rules require all entrants to arrive at Keeneland no later than Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. Until then Bodenheimer will remain at Ashwood.

“He is comfortable at home,” Lund said.

Entries for the Nov. 6 and 7 Breeders' Cup close Monday with post positions announced that afternoon. Lund is hoping for an inside post draw allowing Bodenheimer to take advantage of his early speed.

Advance wagering at Canterbury Park begins Thursday, Nov. 5 at noon. The BC Advance past performances from Daily Racing Form are on sale now at Canterbury.

Lund made the decision this summer to move her operation to Kentucky, leaving her former base of Turf Paradise in Phoenix where there was uncertainty. The track recently announced a race meet beginning in January but that has come too late for several that called Turf Paradise home for years. Lund has put her Phoenix home up for sale and has shifted everything to Kentucky. She intends to race in Shakopee this summer and currently has run at Keeneland and Churchill as well as Indiana Downs.

Lund also revealed that she reached an agreement to purchase, along with Boice, Atta Boy Roy and will move the stallion to Kentucky where he will stand stud at War Horse Place. She has had success with the sire who produced Minnesota-bred Mr. Jagermeister, stakes winner of $590, 194.

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