Tag: Bill Heiligbrodt

Street Boss Colt Tops Texas Sale

A colt by Street Boss (hip 28), one of six to share the furlong bullet of :10 1/5 during the under-tack preview show Monday, topped the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale when bringing a final bid of $265,000 from Tracy Williams Wednesday at Lone Star Park. The Texas-bred juvenile, the first foal out of Gemmizell (Gemologist), was consigned by Pike Racing at Highlander.

“To be honest, when we came here, we thought he would be one of the better ones,” said consignor Al Pike. “You never know if you're going to top the sale or not, but we thought he would be one of the better horses because he's shown that he was a pretty special horse at the farm.”

Of the colt's final price, Pike admitted, “I wasn't expecting that kind of price. At any market, when you bring a horse who looks like he's the real deal, they usually bring some money. So I was very pleased that he showed up and did his job. And there were some very good judges of horseflesh here and they appreciated what we brought.”

The dark bay colt was purchased for $72,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

“[Trainer] Scottie Gelner picked him out as a yearling and he did a great job of picking him out,” Pike said.

Pike Racing, which was bringing its first group of horses to sale from its new base at Highlander Training Center, sent eight horses through the ring Wednesday. The consignment was represented by four of the six horses to work the bullet furlong Monday.

“This is our first year partnering with Highlander Training Center,” Pike said. “The facility has been good to us and, by the breeze show, you can tell they came from a good place. We broke all of these horses there and they came in here and did a good job. I'm very proud of our team at Highlander and all of the people involved there.”

Pike continued, “I am from Texas and we try to bring a nice group here every year because this is home. We try to bring horses who fit this market and we think we did a pretty good job. These are all client horses, but luckily they sent us some nice horses and they performed well. And for the most part, they sold pretty well.”

Hip 28 was one of three at the one-session auction to bring six figures Wednesday. Whispering Oaks Farm, Coteau Grove Farms, Jackpot Farm and Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt teamed up to purchase a filly by Vino Rosso (hip 26) for $170,000 from AsmussenEquine.com and the same partnership returned later in the session to acquire a filly by Cinco Charlie (hip 49) for $100,000 from Asmussen Horse Center.

From a catalogue of 130 horses, 64 horses sold for a total of $2,199,500. The average was $34,367 and the median was $24,500. With 49 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 43.4%.

At last year's Texas sale, 107 head sold for $3,470,500. The average was $32,435 and the median was $17,500. The buy-back rate was 35.9%.

“It's like everything else, it is kind of hit or miss,” Pike said of the market at Lone Star Park Wednesday. “There were some new people here–there was some money for good horses. We were fielding calls from as far away as Kentucky and California on horses and they were watching their breezes. When you've got a good horse, it's hard to keep it a secret.”

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Mitole’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Booth Makes a Splash On Seasonal Debut

3rd-Oaklawn, $140,000, Alw (NW1$X), Opt. Clm ($100,000), 2-11, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.81, sy, 4 1/4 lengths.
BOOTH (c, 3, Mitole–Sophia's Song {SW & GSP, $155,892}, by Bellamy Road) earned the 'TDN Rising Star' badge with a towering 5 1/4-length debut success at Keeneland Oct. 7, good for a 96 Beyer that was a few points faster than the one posted by Locked (Gun Runner) in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity two races earlier, the different distances notwithstanding. The chestnut was accordingly sent off at 62 cents on the dollar to take the next step in the Nov. 25 Ed Brown S. at Churchill, but he dropped away in the final furlong to finish fifth behind Just Steel (Justify). The barn elected to send Booth to the Fair Grounds to train in an effort to avoid the wintry weather that plagued Hot Springs last month, but he was returning here as the 3-5 chalk with Lasix on for the first time. Booth was not the quickest away, but Keith Asmussen was content to take the trail on the back of the pacesetter into the turn. Momentarily short of room in upper stretch, he shifted across heels into the three path at the three-sixteenths and was in a race of his own from there. A half-brother to last year's GI Jockey Club Gold Cup hero Bright Future (Curlin), $836,940; and to Musical Mischief (Into Mischief), $145,384, third in the 2023 GI American Oaks, Booth was a $120,000 KEESEP yearling and $225,000 OBS March breezer. Hailing from the deep female family of two-time Eclipse Award winner Housebuster (Mt. Livermore), Booth has a 2-year-old half-brother by Tiz the Law and a yearling half-brother by Maxfield. Sophia's Song was purchased by Shadai Farm for $1.35 million in foal to Jackie's Warrior at last year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Sales history: $120,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $225,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $147,942. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-L William & Corinne Heiligbrodt, Jackpot Farm & Whispering Oaks Farm LLC; B-Clearsky Farms (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen.

 

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The X-Ray Files: Bill Heiligbrodt

The TDN sat down with longtime owner/breeder Bill Heiligbrodt for the next installment in this ongoing series presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders Association (CBA). Through conversations with buyers and sellers, the series looks to contribute to the discussion on radiograph findings and their impact on racetrack success.

Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt have been in the racing game some 30 years and have enjoyed top-level success with Yaupon (Uncle Mo), winner of the 2021 GI Forego S., as well as Eclipse champion sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya). Both Grade I winners were purchased at the 2-year-olds in training sales, a venue which Bill Heiligbrodt said allows him to add another layer of information to the standard vet report.

“When you buy 2-year-olds in training, you have some indication of their ability,” Heiligbrodt said. “I'm not saying it's perfect by any means, but you get a pretty good indication and you eliminate some horses that may not ever run or might run limited in terms of their ability. When we talk about vetting, I think vetting is probably the most important tool that you have out there to use, after you pass conformation on the horse, especially on the weanlings and the yearlings. But on 2-year-olds, I am a little more lenient on the vetting and then I look more at price. I have tended, over the years, to take chances on really fast horses in the 2-year-old sales.”

Heiligbrodt points to both Mitole and Yaupon to prove his point. Mitole was purchased for $140,000 at the 2017 OBS Spring sale and was a four-time Grade I winner who earned over $3 million on the track. Yaupon was purchased for $255,000 at the 2019 OBS June sale and was a three-time graded winner who earned over $700,000.

“With the 2-year-olds, the vetting is just as important, but in the last five years, the two main horses that I have had, Mitole and Yaupon, both had vetting issues and they were mostly known to the public,” he said. “I looked at them and thought, how can I get a horse that fast–what they worked in and what they could do–so I overlooked things. I was willing to take a chance on issues that could possibly not affect the horse in the long run. Maybe it was a longshot, but with management and time and direct attention to those kind of things, you are sometimes able to overcome it. I wouldn't want to tell people to take too many chances. But you are looking at what kind of talent you are dealing with versus price, versus vetting, that comes into play especially on the 2-year-olds. It's a risk assessment according to what you have to pay versus what the vetting actually is versus their talent.”

He continued, “There is no question that a horse like Mitole didn't vet in most people's minds. But in my mind, it was things that were worth the risk and that you can handle. Had Mitole been a $500,000 horse or a $750,000 horse? Then maybe I take it differently, but for a value, to get a horse that can do what he did that fast, I overlooked some of the issues and thought maybe that we could work through them. When you do that, though, you always risk that staying with the horse.”

While he hit it out of the park with Mitole, there have surely been some strike outs along the way?

“That's correct,” Heiligbrodt said. “I have missed, but I haven't missed a lot on that. I tell you, the 2-year-olds are just a different thing to me because I have some assessment of the talent and of the possibility. The vetting is still just as important.”

Heiligbrodt has built up a relationship with his vets, who over the years, have become aware of what issues the owner is comfortable with and what he is not.

“I use two vets,” he explained. “One in Kentucky helps me with weanlings and yearlings and he knows what I look for and what's important. The other one is in Florida where the 2-year-old sales are and it's almost the same. He knows what I've allowed in the past, so we have a good relationship. In terms of vetting, I take it in the whole grain of the complete horse. You have to be cognizant of things like, for me, OCDs in certain places, mainly stifles, anywhere in the knees or front joints, I am very careful of. Cysts are very hard to overcome anywhere. If I had a horse that had problems with knees, for example, that is never going to go away. You have to be more careful with that, if that's what you're dealing with, but if it's other things involved in the horse, sometimes it's worth it.”

In addition to his success buying at auction, Heiligbrodt has also enjoyed success as a breeder, particularly in the regional markets.

“The issues are the same,” he said when asked to compare buying versus breeding runners. “I vet them all before either we sell them or start breaking them, to make sure what I am dealing with. I approach the issues that they have the same way I approach a decision I made on buying a horse.”

Over the years, Heiligbrodt has learned that a vet issue today may not be a vet issue tomorrow and everything needs to be considered within the context of the complete horse.

“I have a horse today for example, I know he failed the scope test as a weanling,” he said. “I talked to my vet in Kentucky and we went over it because it was a Mitole baby that I liked that somebody else owned and that horse was very young–maybe four or five months old–and by the time the horse was seven months old, the horse had a Grade I throat. So babies tend to change a little bit on things like throats and stuff like that, or at least they have for me.”

Still, the Texan acknowledged how valuable the information available on the vet report can be.

“I think vetting is the most important thing you can do,” he said. “I think you have to do it. I really recognize the vets. I do think there are a lot of issues on vet reports that I won't even look at, but anything involving chips, fractures, OCDs or cysts or scope, I take into measure.”

He concluded, “If you are trying to find athletes in today's racing industry, you are coming up against more competition in these races. If you are up in Saratoga, you are up against the better horses in the market. And the market for the really top horses is a lot. So it's a situation where you have to balance all of those balls at one time; vetting, talent and price.”

Check out previous installments of The X-Ray Files: with Tom McCrocklin, David Ingordo, Liz Crow, and Ciaran Dunne.

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Munny Spunt Brings $340K To Top Solid Fasig February Opener

LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale got off to a solid start Monday in Lexington, with graded-stakes winner Munny Spunt (Munnings), in foal to Triple Crown winner Justify, bringing the day's top price of $340,000. In all, 182 horses sold during the day for a gross of $5,524,300. The average of $30,353 dipped 8.9% from last year's opening session, while the median of $10,500 was down 27.6%. The buy-back rate was 20.5%. It was 16.1% a year ago.

“I thought there was fair trade and there was lots of activity, certainly on the short yearlings,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “There was lots of vetting and activity on those that were perceived to be of higher quality. The mares in foal and the broodmare prospects that you would turn down the page when you went through the catalogue sold well.”

Still there remained a fall-off for offerings that did not meet the criteria of the buyers.

“There are some horses that the marketplace is extremely critical of,” Browning said. “It is not as robust as some people would like, but that's a sign and a trend that we've seen for many, many years. I think we've seen a continuation of the marketplace that we saw for much of 2022. It's healthy, it's not exuberant, it's rational, but you better also have an understanding of what you're offering and how the market is going to receive your horse.”

That polarization was also evident to Matt Bowling, who was active both as a buyer and as a seller through his Vinery Sales.

“We are getting a ton of views,” Bowling said. “The people are here. I think if you are bringing the right stuff over, they are paying you a fair value for it. But if you've got some dings or you don't have the pedigree, or a bad produce record, it's definitely a lonely place. But the right horses are bringing the right money.”

A total of 13 horses sold for six figures Monday, compared to 15 hitting that mark during the opening session in 2022. Leading the way was Munny Spunt, who was purchased by Nebraska native Judy Pryor from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment.

Browning expects activity to pick up during Tuesday's second session of the auction, which will feature an offering of supplemental entries with plenty of current form.

“The quality and composition of the catalogue in a sale like this changes from year to year,” he said. “And I think we've got a little stronger catalogue tomorrow as opposed to today just the way it flows with the supplemental entries in the addendum.”

Bidding for Tuesday's second and final session of the sale begins at 10 a.m.

Pryor Strikes Late for Munny Spunt

Following the legalization of casino gaming at racetracks in Nebraska in 2020, Nebraska native Judy Pryor is determined to build up the breeding and racing program in the Cornhusker State. She started by acquiring stallions Court Vision and Giant Expectations ahead of the 2021 breeding season and has now turned her focus to acquiring broodmares. She made her biggest splash in the Thoroughbred auction scene Monday at Fasig-Tipton when going to a session-topping $340,000 for Munny Spunt (Munnings) (hip 293). The 9-year-old mare, in foal to Triple Crown winner Justify, was consigned by Hunter Valley Farm on behalf of David Fennelly's Mountmellick Farm.

“I purchased Court Vision and Giant Expectations a couple of years ago,” Pryor said after signing the ticket alongside Martha Jane Mullholand and Lexis Hennings. “We want to help Nebraska grow in racing to get back to the Ak-Sar-Ben days. I am brand new in racing. I don't know what I am doing. But I love a good horse.”

Pryor does have plenty of experience in the Quarter Horse show world and maintains the 400-acre Pryor Ranch.

“In the Quarter Horse world, we have raised many, many world champions,” Pryor said. “This is a brand new thing for me and I am kind of doing it because my aunt and uncle were race trainers and they have always wanted me to do racehorses. But I thought it was for the Sport of Kings, not for peanut butter lovers. So I ate enought peanut butters to do this today.”

Munny Spunt won the GIII Torrey Pines S. during her racing career. Her filly by Mendelssohn sold for $425,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. She also has a yearling colt by Authentic.

“She's a little taller than most Munnings,” Pryor said of the mare's appeal. “She is perfectly smooth and correct for breeding purposes. She has a nice walk and she's in foal to Justify. And I wanted to go home with a famous horse.”

Asked if she thought the in utero foal might become the Triple Crown winner's first Nebraska-bred, Pryor said, “I hope to hell it is.”

With Munny Spunt's expected foaling date fast approaching, the Nebraska-bred designation might have to wait. Pryor purchased Ardita (Bernardini) for $92,000 at the Keeneland January sale. That mare recently foaled at Mulholland Springs.

“Nobody thought I should haul her home because she was due to foal,” Pryor said of Ardita.

Of Monday's session-topping bid, Pryor said, “I have no idea what I was thinking. I was just going to buy that damn horse.”

Of her client, Mulholland said, “Judy has been playing at hte top of the Quarter Horse show industry for decades. We are lucky to have her join us here in the Thoroughbred industry. We are going to have fun. We either going to sell them well or we're going to run them. But we're going to have fun.”

Hunter Valley Farm's Fergus Galvin admitted Munny Spunt's session-topping price exceeded the team's expectations.

“We knew she was probably one of the highlights of the day,” Galvin said. “She's graded stakes winner by Munnings and in foal to the right stallion. And her produce, we're still waiting for that runner, but she's got a good sales history. I think they got a good buy. She's a really good mare.”

Mountmellick Farm purchased Munny Spunt for $325,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

“David Fennelly is just downsizing a little bit,” Galvin said of the decision to sell the mare this year. “He's not getting out of the business, he's just cutting down his numbers. Justify is looking like he's the real deal. So he thought this was just a good opportunity to sell.”

Pryor credits her aunt and uncle, Merle and Marilyn Heldt, who were trainers on the midwest circuit, for her interest in Thoroughbred racing. And she has a goal for the couple's son, Derron Heldt.

“[The Heldts are a huge reason I am doing this,” Pryor said. “They have been doing this their entire lives. Their son, Derron Heldt, is the head racing director at Prairie Meadows. And I want that kid to give me a trophy.”

 

 

 

Heiligbrodts Go Back-to-Back

Susan Montanye, bidding on behalf of Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt, went to $250,000 to acquire the broodmare Bubala (Candy Ride {Arg}) (hip 61) and wheeled right back to take the mare's short yearling colt by Audible (hip 62) for $200,000 for the same clients Monday in Lexington.

The 7-year-old Bubala, who sold in foal to Not This Time, is a half-sister to stakes-placed Island Reward (Street Boss) and Harmonic (Congrats).

The Colorado-based Scott Issel, vice president of Cherry Creek Mortgage Company, purchased Bubala for $50,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton February sale and Issel's Arapahoe Thoroughbreds bred the yearling. Both were consigned by Tom Evans's Trackside Farm Monday.

“The mare was big and pretty and looked like she had all the parts,” said Montanye. “And of course, she's in foal to Not This Time, who is doing outstanding. She joins Heiligbrodt Racing and will go to Taylor Made and hopefull being successful in the breeding process.”

 

 

 

Montanye said the team's initial interest was in the yearling.

“We looked a the yearling first,” Montanye said. “And credit to Bill, I didn't even pick out that the mare was in the sale. He had me go back and look at the mare. That's what started the whole process.”

On plans for the yearling, Montanye said, “We'll see. There is no rush. We will see what he wants to do with him. They will be both go on to Taylor Made for now. We will take it over from there.”

The Heiligbrodts added another mare to their band a little later in Monday's session, going to $130,000 to acquire Fly on Angel (Palace Malice) (hip 159). The 6-year-old mare, consigned by Bluewater Sales, sold in foal to Yaupon, who won the 2021 GI Forego S. in the couple's colors.

Hits Pricey Legacy to Clearsky Farm

Graded-stakes winner Hits Pricey Legacy (Den's Legacy) (hip 202) will be joining the broodmare band at the Cleary family's Clearsky Farm after selling for $230,000 to the bid of Vinery Sale's Matt Bowling. The 4-year-old, who sold as a racing or broodmare prospect, was consigned by Zach Madden's Buckland Sales on behalf of her owner/breeder and trainer C.R. Trout.

“We bought her for Clearsky Farm, so she'll join their broodmare band,” said Bowling. “We haven't made any mating plans yet, we're just glad to have her. She's a pretty, big-walking filly and a very good racehorse. She's the kind of filly they like to add to the broodmare band there.”

Hits Pricey Legacy is a four-time stakes winner who captured the GIII Remington Park Oaks last September. She hit the board in all but one of her 10 starts and won five times. She retires with earnings of $339,935.

“Any time you get a graded stakes winner on the market, they are hard to find, so we tend to find over them,” Bowling said of the mare's final price tag.

Hits Pricey Legacy is out of High Price Hit (Concord Point), who is a half-sister to multiple stakes winners Imahit (Whywhywhy) and Hallelujah Hit (Mr. Nightlinger), all of whom were also bred, raced and trained by Trout.

“I am just trying to cut back on the amount of broodmares I have,” Trout said. “I breed primarily in Oklahoma and I just thought this was a good time to sell this filly while she was still in good, peak form. She is fit and sound as a dollar.”

Asked if it was an emotional decision to sell the graded stakes winner, Trout said, “It is. But I just turned 78 and it's time to start doing some estate planning.”

This isn't the first time Clearsky has added a member of the family to its broodmare band.

“Clearsky Farm had bought a mare from me before from the same family,” Trout said. “They had called and wanted to buy her privately, but I already had her in the sale.”

High Price Hit, who is one of 12 mares currently in Trout's broodmare band, has produced fillies that last two years, a daughter of Flat Out in 2021 and a daughter of Cloud Computing this year. The 13-year-old mare is in foal to Volatile.

“We will make up our mind whether we will breed [High Price Hit] back in Oklahoma and sell her baby,” Trout said. “We are kind of up in the air right now.”

Of what Monday's results for Oklahoma's breeding industry, Trout said, “It means so much for Oklahoma. We don't have a big breeding program, but it's building.”

 

 

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