In conjunction with New York Thoroughbred Breeders', Inc., Wanamaker's has released the catalog for the second annual New York-Bred Horses of Racing Age Sale.
The sale seeks to provide buyers with the opportunity to secure high quality, New York-bred horses for the end of the Belmont Park Spring/Summer Meet and the Saratoga Summer Meet.
Bidding will open Thursday, June 8 at 8 a.m. ET, with the first listing set to close at 5 p.m. Subsequent listings will close in three-minute increments. Detailed information on the buying process can be found at wanamakers.com/buy.
Last year's catalog featured Cairo Sugar, who went on to win the Maddie May Stakes at Aqueduct in February 2023. Also offered was Be the Boss, who won at the 2022 Saratoga Summer Meet after being sold for $35,000 through Wanamaker's and recently won a starter allowance at Belmont Park.
Highlights of the catalog include:
– Cinderella's Cause, a 5-year-old daughter of Congrats offered as a racing/broodmare prospect. She most recently won a first-level, state-bred allowance at Belmont Park and is entered to run on Thursday, June 1.
– Liberty Flame, a 4-year-old daughter of Bellamy Road. She is a two-time winner, most recently ran second to Cinderella's Cause in an allowance at Belmont Park, and is eligible for allowance and starter conditions.
– Slant, an unraced 2-year-old colt by Union Rags. He is a half-brother to stakes winner and Grade 3-placed runner, Conquest Hardcandy.
– Stewie, an unraced 2-year-old colt by Exaggerator. His dam is a half-sister to the multiple-graded stakes winner, Nikki's Sandcastle.
For more information on those being offered in the 2023 Wanamaker's New York-Bred Horses of Racing Age Sale, see wanamakers.com. Prospective buyers may browse the website to view pedigrees, pictures, and videos of each hip offered. In-person inspections may be scheduled by contacting sellers with the information provided in the catalog.
Loggins, who finished a close second to eventual champion Forte in last year's Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland, has been retired from racing with stud plans to be determined, Thoroughbred Daily News reports.
The 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper raced twice, winning on debut at Churchill Downs by 8 1/2 lengths over a field that included future G3 Gotham Stakes winner Raise Cain. He then finished second by a neck to Forte in the Breeders' Futurity.
Trainer Brad Cox told the TDN that the colt was being pointed for the classics following his Breeders' Futurity victory, but “a setback he could not come back from” kept him from returning to the races.
Cox trained Loggins for the partnership of Spendthrift Farm, Steve Landers Racing, Martin S. Schwartz, Michael Dubb, Ten Strike Racing, Jim Bakke, Titletown Racing Stables, Kueber Racing, Big Easy Racing, and Winners Win.
Bred in Kentucky by Popatop LLC, Loggins is out of the Grade 3-winning Blame mare Beyond Blame.
Perched in time, as we are, between the second and third classics of the American Triple Crown, and within sneezing distance of the Derby at Epsom, racing fans can look back in wonder at one of the greatest broodmares in the breed, Maggie B.B. (by Australian), who produced a winner of each of these races.
A chestnut foal of 1867, Maggie B.B. is the dam of 1879 Preakness winner Harold (Leamington) and of the 1884 Belmont Stakes winner Panique (Alarm).
In between those U.S. classic winners, Maggie B.B. achieved her greatest fame from her sixth foal, Harold's full brother Iroquois. He became the first American-bred winner of the Derby Stakes at Epsom and the St. Leger at Doncaster in 1881. Winner also of the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Ascot and of the St. James's Palace Stakes, Iroquois was a versatile and high-class racer owned by Pierre Lorillard.
The proud owner brought his star racer back to his homeland, and Iroquois stood initially at Lorillard's Rancocas Stud in New Jersey. Then, in 1886, Lorillard dispersed most of his bloodstock, and for $20,000, Iroquois was sold to William H. Jackson and moved to his Belle Meade Stud in Tennessee. There, Iroquois achieved his greatest successes at stud and became leading general sire in 1892; the stallion died there in 1899 at age 21 and was buried at Belle Meade.
Iroquois's dam was foaled in Kentucky, and Maggie B.B. was bred by James B. Clay Jr., a grandson of Kentucky statesman Henry Clay. The filly was a stakes winner at two and three. At the close of her racing career, she was sold for $1,800 to Aristides Welch in 1870 and moved to live at his Erdenheim Stud, located at Chestnut Hills near Philadelphia. There, Welch bred each of Maggie B.B.'s three classic winners, and the first two were sired by Leamington, whom Welch had purchased in the fall of 1869 and moved to Erdenheim. There, Leamington became the leading general sire in America in 1875, 1877, 1879, and 1881.
The mare's first foal of note was Harold, owned by George Lorillard, Pierre's brother. Harold's trainer Wyndham Walden said the colt was the most talented racehorse he ever had. Harold was a fast and precocious juvenile, winning multiple stakes at two, then training on to win the Preakness at three. Afterward, however, Harold began to bleed when he raced and won only once more, although he was second in the Lorillard Stakes and third in the Travers.
Sent to stud, Harold died in 1881 at age five after only one full season at stud.
A dark brown colt with a striking blaze, Iroquois was sold privately as part of a group of Erdenheim yearlings to both George and Pierre Lorillard. They divided the yearlings between themselves, and Pierre Lorillard shipped Iroquois and others to England for racing, where he won four of his races at two, then trained on to place second to Peregrine in the 1881 2,000 Guineas. The great jockey Fred Archer got the ride on the Lorillard's colt for the Epsom classic and rode Iroquois to victory in the Derby.
The degree and breadth of fame that Iroquois earned with his victories abroad is difficult to fathom today, when international accomplishments are relatively commonplace. Iroquois was the first; he broke the ground so coveted by others. And the horse was paid with lasting fame.
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There is even an Iroquois Stakes run at Churchill Downs for juveniles. Maggie B.B.'s fame was scarcely less than her famous son's. And when the mare was barren in 1882, she and her yearling son by Alarm (Panique), as well as the entirety of Welch's stud, were sold to the Kittson Brothers, Norman and James.
The Kittsons raced Panique successfully, then sold him to the Dwyer Brothers, Phil and Mike, for $14,000 on the eve of the 1884 Belmont Stakes. The dashing chestnut colt won the race, becoming the third classic winner for his dam. He became increasingly difficult to manage, however, and was retired in 1885. Panique went to stud, but, aside from a reputation for being difficult to handle, he accomplished little.
The same cannot be said for his older full sister, Red and Blue, who was a winner but achieved her true measure of fame as a broodmare. The lovely chestnut mare became the conduit to the future for most of Maggie B.B.'s female line.
From Red and Blue came Sallie McClelland (Alabama Stakes), Handicap Triple Crown winner Whisk Broom, champions Top Flight and Blue Peter, classic winners Crusader (1926 Belmont) and Timber Country (Preakness), as well as more recent international stars Dubai Millennium and Enable.
Welch bred Red and Blue, as well as Maggie B.B.'s classic winners, the Hall of Fame racer Parole (a winner of 53 races and also a son of Leamington), and stood the great sire Leamington. From the latter important sire comes one further piece of the breeder's historic legacy. Welch's fellow sportsman H. Price McGrath named a chestnut son of Leamington for his friend, and in 1875, McGrath's colt Aristides became the winner of the first Kentucky Derby.
We're rounding the turn for home during the 2-year-old auction season of 2023, and things are about to get dirty.
The recently completed Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale was the first multiple-session auction on the calendar to offer a dirt surface during its under-tack show, meaning stallions whose offspring are predisposed to North America's dominant footing got their first opportunity to shine under their perceived ideal conditions. They'll get another chance to rack up some more dirt works next month when Fasig-Tipton returns to Timonium, Md., for its newly-minted Midlantic June sale.
Whether it was the surface, the region, the point on the calendar, or some other unseen factor, the Power Rankings saw a fair bit of upheaval in its upper echelon following the Midlantic May sale, with two new members of the top five.
One of the new members finally cleared all the thresholds to qualify for the list, and he made his presence known in a monumental way. The other let the field come back to him, and found himself in the lead flight.
We're up to 100 qualifying stallions on the list, and there are still two major sales to go in June. Though we have likely moved past the last sale that would be expected to produce a seven-figure offering, the Power Rankings stand to remain competitive as horses keep clocking times in breeze shows and rank-and-file offerings help solidify median sale prices.
As a reminder, here are the requirements to qualify for the Power Rankings. If you notice a sire is missing from the list, it's almost definitely because they didn't hit one of these marks:
1) At least five horses sold during a major 2023 juvenile sale, regardless of distance breezed.
2) At least five horses that breezed an eighth of a mile, whether they sold or not (as much as I love a good quarter-mile breeze, there just aren't enough horses doing them to make a fair average).
Also important to note: For the sake of calculating averages, I stretched out each breeze time from fifths to tenths. If you see a :9.8 time somewhere, do not adjust your stopwatches.
The Justifys have blazed over the track during this season's breeze shows, averaging a best-in-class eighth-mile time of :10.067 seconds through the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale. He entered the sale with an average breeze time of :10 flat, and having a pair of juveniles go in :10.4 seconds (remember, we're working in tenths, not fifths) barely put a dent in that average. That's how fast they're going en masse.
Justify's quartet of workers to go in :9.8 seconds over the season thus far is tied for the third-most among eligible sires, and none of his juveniles to go under the stopwatch to date have gone slower than :10.4 seconds.
This continues a trend Justify established last year with his debut crop, which also finished atop the rankings by average breeze time, at 10.120 seconds.
Justify sits in fifth by median sale price, at $300,000, led by Tennessee, a colt who hammered to Maverick Racing and Siena Farms for $1.2 million at the OBS March sale; the auction's second-highest price.
The dark bay or brown colt, offered as Hip 215, is out of the Grade 3-placed Smart Strike mare Zinzay, whose foals of note includes Grade 1-placed stakes winner Moon Over Miami. He breezed an eighth in :10-flat during the under-tack show for consignor Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds.
#2 – Maclean's Music, Hill 'n' Dale Farms
Maclean's Music
Welcome to the list Maclean's Music, who finally cleared the “five horses sold” threshold after the Midlantic May sale. What a way to make an entrance.
Maclean's Music was part of a quartet of stallions to tie for the fourth-highest average breeze time, in :10.2 seconds (or :10 1/5 seconds if you want to keep it traditional), joining Florida sires Bucchero and The Big Beast, along with another sire we'll discuss momentarily.
That time was propelled by a pair of juveniles who breezed an eighth in :10 flat during the OBS March Sale, and another who achieved the same time a month later at the OBS Spring Sale. Five of his seven horses to breeze have gone in :10.2 seconds or faster, which can do wonders for an average.
He finished eighth by median sale price $240,000.
The clubhouse leader among that group hit their high mark at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May Sale, when Legion Bloodstock, agent, went to $450,000 for Hip 284, a colt out of the winning Yes It's True mare Martini. The Maryland-bred full-brother t0 stakes winner Dirty breezed an eighth in :10.2 seconds, and he was consigned by Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds, agent.
If you're sitting on a Maclean's Music for the upcoming yearling sales, this should all come as wonderful news.
The juveniles of 2023 were conceived at a lull in Maclean's Music's stud book in 2020, when he covered 57 mares. In 2021, he entered the breeding season off big campaigns by his sons Jackie's Warrior and Drain the Clock, and that increase in demand led to North America's biggest year-to-year increase in mares bred, with 221. Though he got a classic winner from his first crop in 2017 (Cloud Computing in the Preakness), it felt like Maclean's Music fully earned the public's trust in the early 2020s, and on top of the bulk numbers, breeders felt comfortable sending the best mares they had to him.
Something is clearly working for Maclean's Music in the 2-year-old market, and next year, he'll see a boost in both quality and quantity. Seeing how hard the pinhook buyers dig in for them when they're restocking this fall should be fun (and profitable) to watch.
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Remember that other sire whose foals averaged an eighth in :10.2 seconds that I said we'd talk about later? It's later.
Remarkably, Medaglia d'Oro climbed from eighth on this list to third without having a single horse go through the Midlantic May sale. He set a strong pace with his youngsters during the two OBS sales earlier in the season, and the ebbs and flows of other sires during the Midlantic May sale settled him here.
His breeze show performers have been incredibly consistent, with five of his eight to clock one furlong doing so in :10.2 seconds. Two more went in :10-flat.
As one of the breed's commercial stalwarts, a high median sale price is practically expected at this point, and he lived up to the billing at $220,000, ranking him ninth.
The star of that group came during the OBS Spring Sale, when MKW Racing and Breeding landed Hip 1170, a filly out of the Grade 2-placed Distorted Humor mare Virginia Key, for $325,000. Consigned by Wavertree Stables, the filly was one of Medaglia d'Oro's two juveniles to clock an eighth in :10-flat.
Medaglia d'Oro finished tied for third in the 2022 Power Rankings, so this is familiar territory for the veteran sire. He has two cataloged in the OBS June sale, and a solid performance there could ensure he stays in this lofty position as the season draws to a close.
#4 (tie) – Speightstown, WinStar Farm
Speightstown (Gone West – Silken Cat)
A top-10 sire in last year's Power Rankings, Speightstown remains hot in 2023.
Speightstown's under-tack horses carried the most weight to this position, with his average of :10.217 seconds ranking him ninth. Among them was a filly who went an eighth in 9.6 seconds at the OBS Spring sale to tie for the fastest time at the distance.
That filly, offered as Hip 1012 from the consignment of Scanlon Training and Sales, agent for Excel Bloodstock, is out of the Grade 3-placed Ghostzapper mare Spooky Woods, and she hails from the family of Arabian Knight. She sold to Bradley Thoroughbreds, agent, for $485,000.
That filly is also Speightstown's most expensive offering of the season so far, helping propel his median sale price to $215,000; 10th-best of the class so far.
The commercial paramount of today's Thoroughbred marketplace holds steady in fourth after the first Midlantic sale.
Into Mischief sits in second by median sale price, at $330,000 (the late Arrogate tops all sires with a median of $342,500, and he ranks 17th overall), led by a $1.3-million dollar colt who sold to More Play at the OBS Spring Sale.
Offered as Hip 967, the colt is out of the Grade 3-placed stakes-winning Ministers Wild Cat mare Singing Kitty. He's one of six horses tied for the fastest time for an eighth this season, stopping the clock in 9.6 seconds. Wavertree Stables consigned the colt, as agent.
Into Mischief's average breeze time of :10.245 seconds ranked him 17th in that category. His seven-figure colt spearheaded a trio of sub-:10 workers, joined by seven more that breezed in :10-flat.
This crop of 2-year-olds was conceived in 2020, on the heels of Into Mischief's first of what's become four straight years as leading general sire by earnings the previous year. He was getting top-shelf books of mares before this crop, but this was his first formal season of breeding the best to the best, in terms of sire list rankings. For as meteoric as Into Mischief's rise has been, it might be ready to enter warp-speed now that we're seeing the foals conceived at the top of the mountain.
