Tag: Bloodstock

There's a youth movement taking place inside the Airdrie Stud stallion barn.

Of the 12 stallions advertised on its 2023 roster, six of them enter the year having never sent a runner to the post.

When the auction spotlight shines on the yearling offerings, Grade 1 winner Complexity will be the rookie getting the call from the Airdrie roster, starting with his debut yearlings at this week's Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.

Complexity, a 7-year-old son of Maclean's Music, has eight yearlings cataloged over the course of the four-day Keeneland January sale, following a fall 2022 auction season where he saw 27 weanlings sell for an average of $58,519.

Jocelyn Brooks joined the Airdrie staff as director of sales in July 2021, and in her time with the farm, she said the consumer reaction to Complexity has been exceedingly positive.

“This was the first horse where I've been in the parking lot at Keeneland, and people would stop me and say, 'These Complexities…' and I'd say 'I know,'” Brooks said. “Even early in the foaling season as the foals were coming out, we were thrilled, and we added mares on [to his 2022 book], so we went up to 26 of our own mares. [Airdrie Stud general manager Ben Henley] had said back then, anyone that sees these is going to wish they had a mare in foal to him come November.”

Complexity was one of the more active members of his sire class during his debut breeding season, covering 158 mares in 2021.

The Grade 2-placed Forestry mare Ever Elusive was part of that initial book of mares, sent to Airdrie Stud by breeder Mulholland Springs, and the same operation will consign the ensuing filly late during Tuesday's session of the Keeneland January sale.

“I thought he would add some of that 'square' look; that short-coupled short back, big rear end that she could use,” said John Henry Mulholland. “The dam is a Forestry mare, so she has a lot of length and stretch about her, so I thought we could get a typier looking foal; that whole Distorted Humor, Maclean's Music kind of look.

“We've had five or six on the farm, and I haven't had one that I would knock very much,” Mulholland continued. “They've all had good quality to them, some stretch, good body on them, correct. This one's fairly typical of what we've had. From what I've seen, the horse has a shot.”

That level of consistency in Complexity's foals was something Brooks said she has noticed upon inspection of the stallion's early foals, as well.

“When we looked at all of our foals, right before the holiday, you'd look at a few of the Complexities in a row with these big shoulders and big hind ends, then you switch to a different sire, they just have a different look,” she said. “They're balanced like him, which is nice to see. You want a horse that looks fast and sound at the same time, which is what they're doing. I wrote 'good bone' on a lot of my notes.”

Brooks said she expected the power that Complexity has passed on to his foals to be an appealing feature for potential 2-year-old pinhook buyers when they enter the formal yearling season this summer and fall.

Complexity certainly has the kind of race record that would project early dividends. He won on debut at Saratoga Race Course by 4 1/4 lengths over the likes of Harvey Wallbanger and King for a Day, then he led at every point of call to take the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes by three lengths over future Grade 1 winners Code of Honor and Casa Creed.

Plenty of promising juveniles peak at two, then flame out or disappear once the rest of their crop closes the maturity gap, but Complexity remained a prominent runner from seven furlongs to a mile during his 4-year-old season, winning the G2 Kelso Handicap and running second in the G1 Forego Stakes. He retired with five wins in 10 starts for earnings of $616,350.

While the quickness in both development and one-turn performance can make for an appealing prospect for a breeze show next spring, Brooks said Complexity also offers the pedigree to make his runners appealing to end-users.

A product of the Stonestreet Farm breeding program, Complexity is out of the unraced Yes It's True mare Goldfield, herself a Stonestreet-bred, whose runners of note also include Grade 3 winner and Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Valadorna and stakes-placed King of Glory.

Complexity is part of a growing population of North American stallions by the fast-rising Maclean's Music, another Stonestreet product. Maclean's Music is standing for $50,000 in 2023, and his Eclipse Award-winning son Jackie's Warrior will enter stud at Spendthrift Farm for the same fee.

Brooks said Complexity's advertised fee of $12,500 offers breeders a more accessible option to utilize the sire line with a stallion that displayed a similar level of precociousness and speed.

“I see him in all of these babies,” Brooks said about the first crop of Complexity youngsters. “They've all got his great shoulder, they've got a great hind end, and enough leg. They look fast, and of course, he was very fast. I can't wait to see them as yearlings, and I think they're going to do very well.”

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Spendthrift Farm's Known Agenda, the 2021 Grade 1 Florida Derby winner by Curlin, sired his first reported foal on Jan. 7 when a filly was born at Glendalough Farm in Lexington, Ky.

Bred by Phillips Farm LLC, the flashy chestnut filly is out of the Henny Hughes mare Sunandsea, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Sailors Sunset.

“We are just overjoyed with this filly,” said Joshua Phillips of Phillips Farm. “She's exceptionally well-muscled, has a nice hip and a lot of leg underneath her. Just a physically strong individual like the good Curlins. We looked at a lot of different stallions for this mare and Known Agenda stamped this filly beautifully.”

On the track, Known Agenda broke his maiden as a 2-year-old before going on to capture his biggest victory in the prestigious Florida Derby by 2 3/4 lengths at Gulfstream as a 3-year-old.

An earner of $641,700, Known Agenda became the first Florida Derby winner for his sire Curlin. He is also a Grade One winner by a Grade One winner and out of a Grade One winner, as his dam Byrama captured the 2013 G1 Vanity Stakes on the main track at Hollywood Park.

Known Agenda is set to stand his second season at stud for a fee of $10,000 S&N.

The post ‘We Are Just Overjoyed’: First Foal Is A Filly For Spendthrift Farm’s Known Agenda appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Thoroughbred world is mourning the death of Sir Patrick Hogan, who has passed away in Waikato Hospital after a period of ill health.

From humble beginnings and with a determination shared by his wife Justine, in 1976 Sir Patrick founded Cambridge Stud, a nursery that was to reshape the bloodstock industry and draw unprecedented international attention to New Zealand.

In a masterstroke that was to reap huge accolades and rewards for Cambridge Stud, Hogan selected Sir Tristram as his foundation stallion.

With just two wins from 17 starts, Sir Tristram had a modest race record, but his new owner's implicit faith in the Irish-bred stallion's bloodlines – franked by his own Irish heritage – set the platform that would see Cambridge Stud become the dominant force through subsequent decades.

Long-time associate Joe Walls, both a friend and business associate in his role as Chairman of New Zealand Bloodstock, spoke on behalf of many when describing Patrick Hogan's contribution to New Zealand's proud heritage.

“I have been fortunate enough to have known Patrick and Justine for more than 50 years and my association was more than just a client, salesman one. They have been amazing friends to both Wendy and myself,” Walls said.

“Two such great horses in Sir Tristram and his son Zabeel couldn't have been placed in better hands. His dedication to the industry, his marketing skills, his flair and his professional fairness put the New Zealand industry and the national sales on the map internationally.”

Even as a boy growing up on the family farm where horses and cattle shared the paddocks, Hogan's special talents shone through.

Ribbon-winning dairy calves provided the springboard to parading Fencourt Stud yearlings at the annual Trentham sales as a teenager, and once he had his own draft under the Cambridge Stud shingle, he brought a new standard to promotion and marketing.

What was to become a legion of Cambridge Stud staff quickly learnt the Hogan way of impeccable personal presentation and the expectations of the man known respectfully as The Boss.

Not only did they follow his example of preparing and showing off stud graduates to their best advantage, but so did rival breeders take note as the bar was continually raised through the influence of one man possessed with passion and vision par excellence.

“For me personally and for so many other people who were mentored by Patrick it's a very sad day,” said Marcus Corban, whose association with Hogan spanned four decades in a career that grew to becoming Cambridge Stud general manager.

“He was a great mentor and to me he was like a father; he was a perfectionist, a great thinker, he was passionate, so methodical with his matings and everything he did.

“When I think back on Patrick's life and what he achieved, that also includes his rock, Mrs H (Lady Justine), who was with him from the very start. It's a terribly sad time for the family.”

Hogan was to freely admit in subsequent years that the best thing that ever happened to him and Cambridge Stud was Sir Tristram, but the contemporaneous point raised by others is whether anyone else could have achieved so much in moulding the stallion into the breed-shaping champion of the late 20^th Century.

Sir Tristram sired top class racehorses of virtually every description, from a Golden Slipper winner to a multitude of classic and cup winners, not forgetting numerous leading jumpers.

All up he left 45 individual Group 1 winners, a figure that surpassed legendary North American stallion Northern Dancer's record. Amongst them was the horse that, through another inspirational Hogan call, was to continue his sire's legacy.

Australian Guineas winner Zabeel took up duties at Cambridge Stud in 1991, initially alongside Sir Tristram, who was to die aged 26 in 1997.

In a graphic illustration of the Hogan guile, Zabeel stood out amongst Sir Tristram's sire sons, quite incredibly surpassing his tally of Group 1 winners by one with 46 to his name, as well as notching a raft of stallion premierships.

The legacy founded by Sir Tristram has continued to the present day, as witnessed by the number of class performers with his blood in their veins and now headed by his grandson Savabeel, New Zealand's dominant sire of the past decade.

“In my lifetime there has been no greater influence in the New Zealand breeding industry than Patrick Hogan,” commented Sir Peter Vela, principal of New Zealand Bloodstock.

“This country was so fortunate to have someone like him; he was a great horseman, his knowledge, what stallions to develop and how to grow the industry, so from every point of view his passing is just so sad.

“He was a hugely significant man for the things we can see and also for his generosity which was perhaps less well known, whether it was someone in need or the many people he shared his knowledge with.

“His name and persona was, and always will be, synonymous with the New Zealand thoroughbred breeding industry and his massive contribution to putting this country on the world stage.”

Hogan's achievements earned induction to both the New Zealand and Australian Racing Hall of Fame, while Sir Tristram, Zabeel, iconic Cambridge Stud broodmare Eight Carat and her Zabeel son Octagonal are also members of racing's most elite pantheon.

Other high points in Hogan's life centered on the many international visitors to Cambridge Stud; indeed he rated the 1990 visit by Queen Elizabeth ll – herself an expert in thoroughbred matters – as the standout highlight of his life.

The following year Hogan was awarded the CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for services to racing and the community, and that was followed in 2000 by the ultimate Royal Honour, a knighthood.

In author Dianne Haworth's landmark biography “Give a Man a Horse,” Hogan reflected on Her Majesty's visit with the following words: 'We hosted the Queen for lunch at our home, and from time to time I still think, “Was she sitting at our table or not?” That to me is the greatest award.'

Sir Tristram and Zabeel were instrumental in Cambridge Stud's 31-year reign as the leading vendor at the National Yearling Sale, while Hogan's two-tone green (and very Irish) racing colors became a familiar and successful sight at racecourses on both sides of the Tasman.

With no heir apparent to take over the reins at Cambridge Stud, several years ago Hogan was faced with the very real likelihood that the nursery that defined his life's work would pass into foreign ownership.

His quandary was solved when Brendan and Jo Lindsay, with whom Patrick and Justine Hogan could draw familiar parallels as a self-made Kiwi couple, entered the picture and in 2016 bought Cambridge Stud as a going concern.

While the name Hogan would no longer be directly involved in the iconic nursery, it will forever be recognised that none of what has been achieved over nearly half a century would have been possible without the indelible imprint of one of our greatest visionaries.

Sir Patrick Hogan, who was aged 83, is survived by his wife Lady Justine, daughters Erin and Nicola, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The post Cornerstone New Zealand Breeder Sir Patrick Hogan Dies At Age 83 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Multiple graded stakes winner and Grade 1-placed Sacred Life (FR) has been retired from racing and will stand the upcoming breeding season at Buck Pond Farm, it was announced today. The accomplished and well-traveled French-bred son of Siyouni (FR) will stand the 2023 season for $2,000 S&N.

A fixture in the top turf races since his arrival in the U.S., Sacred Life won the 2022 Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes, the 2021 G3 Knickerbocker Stakes, and burst on the scene at two in his native France with a victory in the 2017 G3 Prix Thomas Bryon Stakes at Saint Cloud. In addition to his graded stakes success, Sacred Life overwhelmed his opposition in the Oceanport Stakes at Monmouth in 2020, defeating graded stakes winners Synchrony, Hawkish, Eons, and Thread of Blue, and in his final career start in August, he finished third behind Grade 1 winners and millionaires Santin and Smooth Like Strait in the in the $1 million G1 Arlington Million, run in 2022 at Churchill Downs.

“We are very excited to have Sacred Life standing at Buck Pond for the 2023 breeding season,” said Doug Arnold Jr. “With 27 starts under his belt, Sacred Life proved to be an iron horse miler who was good at two and even better as he progressed.

“Turf racing has established a foothold in the United States and predominantly turf sires have seen increased popularity in the sales ring,” he continued. “With precocity and grit on the track, a fashionable pedigree, and an affordable stud fee, we believe Sacred Life will prove interesting to a wide array of breeders around the country.”

In the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Stakes, Sacred Life settled in mid-pack early. He overcame a controlled pace over a course that had been favorable to frontrunners and with a quick turn of foot advanced on the pacesetters three-wide around the far turn. He tore past rivals in the stretch to post a 1 ¼-length victory, covering the distance in 1:47.70 and earning a 111 Timeform rating in a resounding performance.

In the Knickerbocker, Sacred Life once again closed with a rush to defeat a competitive group in the 1 1/8-mile test at Belmont Park. Allowed to settle early, he was roused at the quarter-pole and rallied strongly in the final furlong to beat multiple graded stakes winner Field Pass and Graded stakes winner Temple in 1:47.27 with a 109 Timeform.

Prior to his U.S. success, Sacred Left proved his precocity at two in France, impressively winning the Prix Thomas Bryon S. at Saint Cloud with a 113+ Timeform rating. Campaigned in the U.S. by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Caruso and trained by Chad Brown, Sacred Life retires having won eight of 27 lifetime starts. He also placed in 11 others en route to amassing career earnings of $920,768.

The only son of two-time leading French sire and Grade 1 winner Siyouni in the U.S., Sacred Life is the first foal out of the Montjeu (IRE) mare Knyazhna (IRE), who subsequently produced French Group-placed Khagan (IRE). Sacred Life's second dam is a half-sister to Group 1 stakes winner Rule of Law.

Sacred Life will stand with a Black-Type Bonus incentive, where breeders will receive $1,000 for breeding a black-type performing mare to Sacred Life; $1,000 for a black-type-producing mare; or $2,000 if the mare is both.

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