The 2021 October sale was a barnburner, setting new records for gross, average and median, and consignors are hoping this year's edition continues a string of strong results this season.

“The market has been very strong throughout the year,” said Zach Madden, who will be presenting 28 yearlings in his first October consignment as sole proprietor of Buckland Sales. “[Keeneland] September was insane. And we had one in Saratoga that went over really well. I think, with the foal crop being down a tick and the purse structure up, it seems like people are just really going after it this year. I came into the business when it was really tough, so I do remember those times, but I think it's going to keep clicking along and hopefully it spills over into the breeding stock sales and the foal market. It's been good timing for a first year being out on my own, too. I definitely don't take that for granted. Hopefully it keeps humming along.”

Hunter Simms of Warrendale Sales agreed with Madden's assessment of the 2022 yearling market.

“I think it will be a good sale based off of what we had in September,” Simms said. “That was a strong market. There was a lot of demand for horses throughout, all the way from the beginning of the sale to the end. Fasig-Tipton had their New York sale last Monday and all indications coming out of that were positive with people still wanting horses. So I do think at the end, it should be a good sale overall.”

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale, which was held in the midst of a multi-day rain storm at the beginning of the month, suffered slight declines following a strong renewal in 2021.

“I think September was incredibly strong at Keeneland with a record-breaking sale,” said Carl McEntee of Ballysax Bloodstock. “I think the wind came out of the sails a little bit–I thought the Timonium sale was an average horse sale, to be quite frank, with the median and average down. People maybe didn't travel out of town because they knew they had 1600 yearlings right here in Lexington. Maybe they liked one or two up there and didn't want to get rained on for four days and then probably get outbid on the one you liked because you valued it at $75,000 and it brought $125,000, it just didn't make sense to people. I think they just said, 'Listen the weather is bad, we will stay in Kentucky.' But the New York sale they just had looked very strong again and the median was up. I know everyone is coming into town [for the October sale] and I think it's going to be a very spirited market.”

During last year's October sale, 1,153 yearlings sold for $52,607,500. The average of $45,672 was up 33.9% from 2020 and bettered the sales previous record figure of $37,955 set in 2019. The median of $25,000 was up 66.7% from 2020 and bettered the previous record of $18,500 set in 2014. With just 205 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was a sparkling 15.1%–the lowest since 2013.

The days of October yearlings coming into the sales ring with a disadvantage are over, Simms agreed.

“I think Fasig has worked very hard to change that stigma,” Simms said. “It used to be this was your last-stop shop. It still is, but it was kind of like re-tread horses that didn't get sold or horses that people deemed weren't commercially valuable, they'd just put them in October. Now you are seeing horses bring high six figures over the years, and that's kind of gotten this sale to take off.”

Recent graduates of the October sale include 2022 Grade I winners Taiba, Goodnight Olive, and Jack Christopher. Results like those are another reason buyers have added the October sale to their calendars, according to Madden.

“I can remember a time where October was kind of the red-headed stepchild to September,” Madden said. “I think they've done a great job in compiling enough horses to make it a must-stop for the majority of buyers. It started with [Fasig president] Boyd [Browning] and the guys over there being flexible and taking later entries. That I think has really sparked the sale being so big.

“And then their results [on the racetrack] have been crazy. We were fortunate enough to sell Taiba over there two years ago. That horse just needed a little time. For a consignor, if you don't have a super precocious horse or if there is an issue that needs time to resolve, it's an awesome sale. And people work this sale hard. They have circled it on the map and the results keep coming out. Year after year, there is just horse after horse where you say, 'Man that horse came out of there, too.'”

Bloodstock agent Jacob West, bidding on behalf of the power-partnership of Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, made the highest bid at last year's October sale, going to $925,000 to acquire a colt by Street Sense. Donato Lanni was also in action at the top of the market for the stallion-making partnership of SF/Starlight/Madaket. Those high-end buyers are joined by pinhookers and end-users to make up the traditional October buying bench.

“You are getting pinhookers and end-users,” Simms said of the buying bench. “I know [trainer] Kenny McPeek is a big fan of this sale, Jacob West was over there shopping a lot, St. Elias was shopping and Donato was shopping. You get a lot of these guys who are continually at the top of the sheets still shopping for horses. With the purses being good and the foal crop decreasing, the demand is still there, so there aren't that many opportunities coming. Supply and demand is going to make those prices jump. And those guys still need horses to finish out their buying for the year.”

In addition to the high-end buyers, October also attracts a strong middle market, according to McEntee.

“It's been a vibrant sale these last two or three years, big horses in there bringing $700,000 or $800,000, so I think it's a very reputable sale,” McEntee said. “We always used to say Timonium was a trainer's sale because there are so many racetracks around there. The reality is, so is the October sale. Trainers are in town, especially with the Breeders' Cup, everyone is in town. You have trainers that come in from regional markets–Canada or West Coast, East Coast or Ohio, Indiana and Illinois–all of these guys are coming in. So I do think it's a trainer's sale and I do think horses that perhaps weren't quite the Book 4 Keeneland horse, but were still a nice horse, I think there is a real strong market for them at October. Obviously, there are some top-class horses there, too, but those solid Book 4 horses who are true racehorses, with good X-rays, good scopes, good substance and size, that sort of fit pinhookers and racehorse buyers, I think those horses really have a good home in this sale.”

There are 1,594 yearlings catalogued for the four-day October sale. Hips 1-398 will go through the ring during Monday's first session of the auction and will be followed by hips 399-796 Tuesday; hips 797-1194 Wednesday; and hips 1195-1594 Thursday.

The post Fasig-Tipton October Brings Curtain Down on Yearling Sales Season appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Vino Rosso has five weanlings cataloged for this year's Fasig-Tipton November sale, tied for the second most among first-year stallions.

We caught up with a couple of Vino Rosso's debut yearlings at Fasig-Tipton to find out more about their backgrounds and discuss them with their consignors.

Hip 106 – Colt out of Silk Road, by Giant's Causeway

Hip 106, a first-crop Vino Rosso colt out of Silk Road, at the Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Dam Silk Road has gotten off to a fast start as a broodmare, producing two winners from three foals to race, including the Grade 3-placed Seve's Road.

Silk Road is herself a sibling to three other black type producers, including the Grade 1 winner Summer Colony. The page includes a strong Japanese influence in the form of champion Still In Love and seven-figure earner Shonan Rise. Panamanian Horse of the Year Smart D N A is also in the extended family.

The colt was bred in Texas by Paul Pruett, who purchased the dam pregnant with this colt at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“The one we have here is exceptional,” said Jay Goodwin of consignor Eaton Sales. “He's got a great body, and a lot of leg and some stretch, but he still looks fast, a lot like his father looks. He's just what you'd be thinking to get and hoping to get. I'm glad we've got this one, and I think he'll be one of the best ones in the sale.”

Hip 114 – Colt out of Storm Raven, by Bodemeister

The second foal out of Storm Raven, who was a winner at age two.

The page under this colt is filled with black type. Stakes-winning second dam Crystal Current has produced three stakes-placed runners, including Grade 3-placed Crystal Glacier.

His third and fourth dams are both Grade 1 winners, with third dam Dream Supreme producing Grade 1 winner Majestic Warrior and Grade 3 winner Evolutionist. The colt's fourth dam is the Grade 1 winner Spinning Round, who is the pivot point for runners including Argentine Derby winner Kung Fu Mambo and Argentine Group 1 winner Sweet Sorrel.

The colt was bred in Ohio by Smokin C LLC.

“He's a really nice colt, very well balanced,” said Carl McEntee of consignor Ballysax Bloodstock. “He's got plenty of leg underneath him. The mare is good-sized herself, and a winner at two. He's obviously from a very good family. He covers the ground very nicely, he's got a good step and good stride to him. He's a very mentally sound horse, and we're delighted for the owner that he has him.”

Vino Rosso, a 6-year-old son of Curlin, stands at Spendthrift Farm for an advertised fee of $25,000.

Vino Rosso won six of 15 starts and earned $4,803,125 on the racetrack. In addition to his signature Breeders' Cup Classic score, the stallion picked up victories in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes, and the G2 Wood Memorial Stakes.

The post Toast To Vino Rosso Presented By Spendthrift Farm: First Weanlings Break Ground At Fasig-Tipton November appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Owner Cem Sevim purchased Light of Darkness at Keeneland's 2018 November Breeding Stock Sale and watched her score a 1 1/2-length victory in the $130,000 Turkish 1000 Guineas, the nation's biggest race for the division, on May 16 at Veliefendi racecourse in Istanbul. (Click here for a video of the race.)

The Kentucky-bred daughter of Red Rocks has won five consecutive group stakes during her undefeated season.

“She did a great job, and she is the most popular horse in Turkey,” said Sevim, a former professional soccer player who lives in Washington, D.C., where he is a developer and has a construction company. “We have a plan to take her to a couple of European tracks for racing and hopefully to Dubai next year. Of course, my big dream is returning home with her and have few races in Kentucky. After all, she is from there.”

Light of Darkness was bred by Calumet Farm, where Red Rocks – a member of the first crop by Galileo who won the 2006 John Deere Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs and the 2008 Grade 1 Man o' War at Belmont – stood until his death in 2018.

The filly is out of the Grade 2-placed winning Danehill mare Charming Legacy and is from the family of G1 Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World, a candidate for the June 5 Belmont Stakes, and Grade 2 winner Liam the Charmer. Charming Legacy is the dam of seven starters with seven winners.

Ballysax Bloodstock, agent, consigned Light of Darkness to the November Sale. (Click here for a video of her as Hip 3593 in the sales ring.) She sold for $1,000.

“Moment I see her, I loved her,” Sevim said. “Honestly, I was ready to pay much more.”

In fact, he was the lone bidder.

“Back then I couldn't believe that nobody (bid) on her and still can't,” he said. “I understand more and more how blessed I was.”

Sevim, who said he returns to Turkey “10 times a year, at least” and has attended all nine of Light of Darkness' career races, owns breeding stock and racehorses both in Turkey and the U.S. His brother Ozgur Sevim handles paperwork related to the operation, and he named the filly.

Cem Sevim said he became interested in horses as a boy and fondly remembers how his late mother encouraged him to take a noontime nap each day.

“(At the time) TV programs were very limited and my favorite show was 'Bonanza,' ” he said. “(She'd tell me) if I take a nap, when I wake up (a man named) Hans is going to bring his white horse and tie him to the tree in front of our house and I can feed and pet him.

“I was a child with lots of imagination, so I didn't know the horse belonged to the guy who sells milk to the neighborhood. Back then, those vendors used horses to carry the milk gallons. My mother knew his delivery time was the same as when I woke up, and she also knew how much I loved that show. She put two and two together and started my career.

“I fed that horse couple of years and said 'hi' to the guy, thinking he was Hans 'Cartwright.' He was so similar (to a character on 'Bonanza.') He had white hat; he was big and had a very nice smile. She used to wake me up by saying, 'Hans and his horse arrived.' Now I am telling her, 'Mom, my horses have arrived.'

“I am sure she hears me, and I am pretty sure she has a big part in all my winnings.”

Sevim, who first attended a Keeneland sale in 2016, is among the large group of Turkish horsemen who annually buys horses at the November Sale, but they usually concentrate on broodmares. The purchase of Light of Darkness as a weanling represents a new opportunity for them and for Keeneland.

“I think she is (Keeneland's) best promoter in Turkey now,” Sevim said. “People are asking left and right about her relatives and all about her. (Keeneland will) probably see lots of interested buyers this year. It is like a fashion: One goes, the rest follow.”

The post Keeneland November Weanling Purchase Light Of Darkness Captures Turkey’s 1000 Guineas appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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It's not often that I feel compelled to write, but in this case the sensitivity and poise by which Chris McGrath addressed the passing of Sheihk Hamdan was truly skillful. The world of horse racing, and for that matter, breeding, has been dealt a huge blow with the passing of both Sheikh Hamdan and Prince Khalid.

As Chris so poignantly mentioned, we have taken for granted the impact both men had on our industry on a global scale, and the thought of a world in which racing will no longer enjoy the support of both is tenuous at best. Of course, I am now situated in America and have been for the past 20 years. My brother Phillip, however, trains in Newmarket and has done so since my father's passing in 1998. British racing has been the bastion of our industry since its inception. It is there I fell in love with the sport.

However, as discussed by many over the past several years, the program in the UK is somewhat a house of cards. Since the arrival of Sheikh Mohammed, Sheikh Hamdan and Prince Khalid Abdullah, the sport has been supported by foreign investment for the past 40 years. Foreign investment that cared solely for the success of the horses and did not require the financial support from purse money, which, as we all are well aware in the UK, is awful at best, and ludicrous at worst. The continuation of the “Sport Of Kings” could not be more accurate or unnerving.

The denial of a tote monopoly in the late 70's almost certainly is to blame, with the bookmakers continually reaping the rewards of the second largest gambling market in the UK, and up until now, showing little concern for reinvestment in the form of purse money. How? Why?

Indeed both fair and valid questions and one that must be addressed immediately as “The House of Cards” has been dealt a cold and relentless wind over the last 12 months. It would be foolish to believe that racing will remain unaffected by the loss of two of its biggest supporters. For the average or small trainer, with owners that are already feeling the pressure from the affects of Covid on their primary businesses, yards are shrinking and an exodus of trainers has already begun. How can one expect an owner to pay training fees when the ROI is non existent, when they are not truly independently wealthy.

Even though I have long since emigrated, my heart still remains within European racing. I watch intently every day and am sadden by the fact that in most cases the winner's purse is less than 1500 pounds. That doesn't even cover a month's worth of training fees, let alone a year.

“The wise man built his house upon the rocks”….. The sport I love has its foundation on the sand in more ways than one. The tide is coming in and the foundation is under severe pressure, and without action from the governing body soon will be swept away.

It is my hope that this situation resolves, but to continue with the same reckless abandon and expecting that the status quo will remain the same is truly unwise.

Carl McEntee

Ballysax Bloodstock

The post Letters to the Editor: Carl McEntee appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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In Thoroughbred racing, a strong debut victory can be the springboard into stakes competition that can last for the rest of a horse's career, and potentially into the breeding shed. The sport is built on catching lightning in a bottle, and when the world sees what it thinks is a flash, it can be potentially life-changing.

On this edition of INQUIRY, we ask the folks on the sales grounds to recall a rookie sensation with the question, “What is the most impressive debut win you've ever seen?”

Chris Knehr – WinStar Farm

“The one that sticks out is probably Maclean's Music. That was a freakish performance.”

Carl McEntee – Ballysax Bloodstock

“Maclean's Music. That first out of his, running the 106 Beyer was insane. That was something special.”

Scott Mallory – Mallory Farm

“A filly named Promise Me More. She was entered in a stakes race for her very first race, and she ended up winning by five when she trailed the field the whole time. That was pretty impressive, and it gave me my first win as a breeder.”

Tom Hinkle – Hinkle Farms

“Back in the early '80s, we owned a filly named Romper, and she won here at Keeneland. It was the first race we won at Keeneland, and she won by 15 lengths in 1:09 and change.”

Marc McLean – Crestwood Farm

“We bred Xtra Heat, so to us, that was a big deal when she won her first start.”

The post INQUIRY Presented By Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders And Owners Association: Most Impressive Debut Victory? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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“I found myself 40 to 50 years older than the people I was managing and I realized at some point I wasn’t going to be able to work at the level required for these positions,” Nothhaft said. “I thought I better find something to do before I retire. I did some research and I decided to pick horse racing and breeding. I had no background in the industry, no friends in the industry. But I was a very casual fan, we used to go to Bay Meadows in San Mateo for family outings once or twice a year. We enjoyed that immensely.”

Nothhaft teamed up with bloodstock agent Carl McEntee and the two decided there would be value in purchasing race fillies in England and relocating them to the U.S., particularly to take advantage of the Ship-and-Win Bonus which rewarded out-of-state horses who competed at Del Mar. Nothhaft acquired Halljoy (Ire) (Halling), already group-placed in England, who went right on to score at Del Mar, as well as Living the Life who was a maiden winner when she was purchased privately as a 3-year-old in 2013.

“When we started buying these horses in England, one part of this plan was Del Mar’s Ship-In bonus,” Nothhaft said. “So we would try to buy them at the right time and get them to the United States so that Gary Mandella could get them prepared and run them first time down at Del Mar. Living the Life came available way early and once we had acquired her Carl said, ‘You know I have a brother who is a trainer in the UK. What do you think about keeping her there for a while before we send her to the States?”

To Nothhaft, whose business had taken him to England numerous times and who was a lover of Dick Francis novels, as well as a confessed Anglophile, the suggestion was a light bulb moment.

“I said, ‘Oh, we can do that?” he recalled. “I was like a little kid in a candy store. So I got licensed and I joined the Racehorse Owners Association. I got my account at Weatherbys, I got a bookkeeper over there and so on. And I hired Carl’s brother Phil to train her.”

Living the Life was soon exceeding initial expectations for her new connections.

“Living the Life was a horse that we bought relatively inexpensively and once we bought her, she was race fit and she quarantined with my brother,” McEntee recalled. “Phil got a hold of her and her career moved forward in leaps and bounds. She won two races for him relatively quickly and then he came up with the idea to send her to the inaugural running of the All-Weather Championship at Lingfield. With her two wins, she was eligible to run in the filly sprint division and Phil said we had a real chance of hitting the board in the race. The purse money was $250,000, so we said we would give it a shot. Adam Kirby, who was the leading all-weather rider that year, agreed to ride her and not only did she grab a piece of it, but she won by 7 1/2. That was the biggest race that my brother Phil has ever won in his training career. That was lovely to share in.”

That day at Lingfield was a dream come true for Nothhaft as well.

“Just as he came around the corner, Kirby took off and got the jump on them, kind of like a Formula One race on a restart, and suddenly they had a seven-length lead,” Nothhaft said. “She had gotten run down before, but she not only didn’t get run down that day, they didn’t gain any ground on her at all. So we won a $250,000 race with a filly we paid less than $50,000 for. She won $200,000 before we switched her to the States. We were in seventh heaven. There was a tremendous crowd, I was an American–a Yank–and they knew it. It was like being feted for the rest of the day and just soaking in all this energy and all the excitement. So that’s the highlight of everything that’s happened to me since I’ve been involved in racing. I called my wife and told her I didn’t need an airplane to get home from England, I would just take wing and fly.”

Things only got better when Living the Life was transferred to the Southern California barn of trainer Gary Mandella. She opened her Stateside campaign with an allowance victory over the all-weather surface at Del Mar and was soon tackling graded stakes company across the country at Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle Downs for the 2014 GII Presque Isle Downs Masters S. It was homecoming for Nothhaft, who is now based in Texas.

“I was born and raised within spitting distance from the track up there, so now she not only fulfilled this latent desire to be the British race horse owner from the novels, now I can go back to my roots,” Nothhaft said. “I am a son of German immigrants and ended up lucky enough to go to the Naval Academy and I was able to get ahead in life. But I have deep, blue-collar roots in Western PA. So this was really a kick for me, just going back.”

Nothhaft continued, “We got Mike Smith to ride her and just to make it a good story, we won the race. I get excited about winning any race, but that really was a thrill. So the value of Living the Life went from $43,000 that we paid for her, and now she’s won half a million by then and was worth high six or seven figures.”

Living the Life would go on to finish second in the 2015 GII Great Lady M S. before successfully defending her title at Presque Isle that fall. In 2016, she was third in the GII Santa Maria S. and the GI Santa Margarita S. before defeating the boys in the GIII All American S. at Golden Gate Fields. She ended her career with a narrow defeat in her third Presque Isle Masters.

“If they had Tapeta or synthetic in this country, she would have been a very difficult filly to come up against for anyone,” McEntee said. “She didn’t love the dirt, but this is a filly who is graded stakes placed on dirt, turf and synthetic and obviously was pretty unbelievable on the synthetic in this country. She came back for a three-peat in the Masters and, if you go back and watch the race, she got stuck in traffic and couldn’t get out and she got beat about a half-inch to win it again. She was a filly who, once you got her out, her turn of foot was spectacular.”

Retired to Nothhaft’s broodmare band, Living the Life’s first foal is a now 2-year-old colt by Pioneerof the Nile. Retained by his breeder, the bay is currently in training with Ben Colebrook at Keeneland. The colt’s name is a throwback to his dam’s success at Presque Isle, as well as Nothhaft’s Naval background.

“I named her first foal Commodore Perry because in the War of 1812, when we defeated the British, the commodore up there on Lake Erie was Commodore Perry. If you go to the Naval Academy and see Memorial Hall, where they honor all the graduates who have given their lives fighting for the country, they have this 200-year old battle flag that says, ‘Don’t give up the ship.’ That’s Commodore Perry’s flag from the War of 1812.”

Nothhaft is getting positive reports on Commodore Perry, who is expected to make his debut during Keeneland’s fall meet.

“He is a big, rangy Pioneerof the Nile colt,” Nothhaft said of the juvenile. “We don’t want to rush him. We think he’s a two-turn horse, so we don’t want to jump into some of these really short early 2-year-old races. There are 6 1/2 and seven-furlong dirt races in the book for 2-year-old maidens at Keeneland, so that’s what we are looking at. I am quite excited about him.”

Living the Life’s second foal, the yearling colt by Tapit, is also drawing positive reviews ahead of his engagement at Fasig-Tipton.

“Expectations are pretty high,” McEntee said of the yearling’s impending sale. “He’s a very well-balanced colt with good size and very correct. He has all the qualities of the good Tapits and obviously he is out of an exceptional race mare in Living the Life.”

Living the Life, currently in foal to Triple Crown winner Justify, is one of 14 broodmares in Nothhaft’s band. The group also includes multiple graded stakes placed Kindle (Indian Charlie), who was purchased by Nothhaft for $50,000 at the 2009 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The 12-year-old mare has already produced an American Pharoah colt who sold for $400,000 as a Keeneland November weanling before reselling for $2.2 million at Keeneland September in 2018.

The band also includes Be Envied (Lemon Drop Kid), the dam of Finest City (City Zip), whom Nothhaft purchased with the future GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint winner in utero for $37,000 at the 2011 Keeneland November sale, as well as Randie’s Legend (Benchmark), dam of multiple graded stakes winner Daddy is a Legend (Scat Daddy).

“Probably my comfort level is around 10 to 12 really good commercial mares. That would be a good place for me to be in the long run,” Nothhaft said. “I’ve been trying to upgrade the broodmare band as we go along. I got involved in racing just in time to get hit by the decline in the stock market and the great recession and it was clear that the only thing that sustained itself at all was the upper end of the market. And I think that’s even clearer today than it was in 2008. To the degree that there is any stability in the market, it is at the high end.”

Nothhaft’s plan is to sell most of his foals, while retaining a few to race.

“I have a predetermined plan to sell a certain number of foals every year and then keep a few to race, with the idea of financial outcome being positive,” he said. “With Randie’s Legend, Living the Life or Kindle or some others, I would keep a female member of the family. Oddly, as we sit here today, I don’t have one from any one of those horses. Kindle has produced four colts and she is in foal with another [American Pharoah] colt. So that’s the problem there. Randie’s Legend has been a timing issue there. Living the Life is in foal with a filly by Justify and I am keeping her. I already have a name picked out.”

While most of Nothhaft’s broodmare band consists of homebreds or fillies he purchased to race, he and McEntee did add to the group with some acquisitions from last year’s Keeneland November sale. The new additions included Laseen (Ire) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) (hip 6), in foal to Uncle Mo, for $200,000; Prado’s Sweet Ride (Fort Prado) (hip 54), in foal to Speightstown for $285,000; and Miss Mahalia (Uncle Mo) (hip 319), in foal to Gun Runner, for $170,000.

“We bought three very special broodmares and they were in foal to Uncle Mo, Speightstown and Gun Runner,” McEntee said. “We will be selling two of the mares and foals in November and they are in foal to American Pharoah and Justify and the foals look very, very good. The one mare who was in foal to Uncle Mo, she is in foal to Justify and we will be keeping her.”

McEntee continued, “As the quality of his broodmares improved, we started keeping some fillies from the families because they warranted being supported at the racetrack by ourselves with the hope to bringing them into the broodmare band. [Nothhaft] has two half-sisters to Finest City, both of which are in the broodmare band. [Stakes winner] Grand Prix (Tale of the Cat) has got her first foal on the ground, which is a Mendelssohn, who is very, very nice and then Move (Silver Train) has a really good Cairo Prince on the ground. It’s always fun to have mares in that mid-range, but the reality is the safest part of the market is the upper end of the market. We have been very conscientious of moving on the lower-end mares and taking the money we get from those and reinvesting it in the top. It’s that sort of continuous growth that, as the mares get better, they sell for more and then you have more to invest in the higher end.”

Nothhaft has been working with McEntee since almost the very beginning of his time in racing.

“I met Hank the first time in 2010 when I was the general manager at Ghost Ridge Farms in Pennsylvania,” McEntee said. “Hank is from Sharon, so Pennsylvania is important to him. We had just purchased Smarty Jones at the farm and he ended up buying a share. We bought one mare to send to him and he sent in a mare called Randie’s Legend that he owned on the racetrack.”

McEntee continued, “Hank and I have been friends and colleagues for almost 12 years. He knows my family very well. When his racehorses are broken, they end up going to my brother Mark at Miacomet Farm and he still talks to my brother Phil and he has horses in training with Ben Colebrook. Ben and I have been friends for 20 years and it was at Ben’s house that I met my wife. So this is a huge circle of people who have been involved in my life. Hank is a client, but to be quite frank, he is a mentor and a friend.”

The feeling is obviously mutual.

“He is the age of my sons, so we’re not contemporaries, but we are very good friends,” Nothhaft said of McEntee. “And I think he considers me something of a mentor, not in a horse racing sense, but in how to conduct business.”

Of the mare who helped bring them together, McEntee said, “It’s funny she is called Living the Life. It was a real sort of wonderful moment for myself and Hank. We put the filly in training with my brother Phil and it really is a family story.”

Nothhaft is clearly still relishing the achievements of his graded stakes-winning mare, even as he prepares to send her yearling through the ring at Fasig-Tipton.

“She ran 35 times and won 10 times and she won $1,028,394,” Nothhaft said. “And she gave me more enjoyment and more thrills than you can ever imagine. I still have her and she has produced Commodore Perry, who I think looks phenomenal, and she has this tremendous Tapit on the ground. And then we have a Justify filly [she is carrying]. The story goes on. I couldn’t make it up–and a lot of it was even planned. In horse racing, when you make a plan and it actually works out–which is usually not the case–it’s so exciting. But everything fell into place.”

The Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase will be held at the company’s Newtown Paddocks Sept. 9 and 10 with each session beginning at 10 a.m.

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