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Anchor Down Moves To Iowa State University For 2022

Grade 2 winner Anchor Down will move to Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa for the 2022 breeding season, where he will stand for an advertised fee of $3,000.

The 10-year-old son of Tapit previously stood at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky, where he retired to stud in 2017. His oldest foals are 3-year-olds of 2021.

With two crops of racing age, Anchor Down has sired 22 winners and amassed combined progeny earnings in excess of $1.4 million. His six stakes-placed runners include Zia Park Derby runner-up Tesoro, Gulfstream Park stakes runner-up Lionessofbrittany, and Puerto Rican Group 2-placed Captured Prize.

Dr. Nikki Ferwerda, an associate professor of teaching at Iowa State University and manager of the school's horse farm, said ISU had bred to Anchor Down in the past, and their experience with the stallion and the ensuing foal made him a target to acquire.

“Anchor Down was my choice of the available sons of Tapit because he most closely resembled Tapit in appearance and because he appeared most likely to produce runners specializing in the sprinter/miler distance,” Ferwerda said. “The yearling by Anchor Down that Iowa State University consigned to the 2021 Fall Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association Sale was correct, elegant profiling, and prospective buyers frequently commented on her quality of movement. She reminds me a lot of her sire in terms of quality and stride.”

Bred in Kentucky by Gainesway out of the Grade 3-winning Orientate mare Successful Outlook, Anchor Down is a full-brother to Grade 3 winner Iron Fist and a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Sweet Lulu.

Anchor Down won five of 17 starts during his on-track career, earning $734,254. His resume is highlighted by victories in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap and the G3 Westchester Stakes, along with a runner-up effort in the G1 Metropolitan Handicap.

“Locally, there is a lot of interest in breeding to produce horses that will race in the 6-8 furlong distance on dirt – which is exactly where Anchor Down was successful,” Ferwerda said.

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Air Force Blue Sold To Stand In Korea

Air Force Blue, a European champion and young sire, has been sold to continue his stud career at Peter Hill's Pegasus Farm in Korea, BloodHorse reports.

The 8-year-old son of War Front previously stood at Ashford Stud in Kentucky, where he retired to debut for the 2017 breeding season. His oldest foals are 3-year-olds of 2021.

Leading the way among Air Force Blue's runners is Haddassah, who won this year's Prince of Wales Stakes, a Canadian classic.

Bred in Kentucky by Stone Farm out of the stakes-placed Maria's Mon mare Chatham, Air Force Blue sold to the Coolmore partnership at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. He'd go on to be named Europe's champion 2-year-old male of 2018 after a campaign that featured Group 1 victories in the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes and Phoenix Stakes in Ireland and the Dewhurst Stakes in England.

Air Force Blue retired with nine wins in four starts for earnings of $844,919.

Q&A: Breeder Joe McMahon On Central Banker’s Successful 2021 And The New York Breeding Program

Just two live race days remain in 2021 to complete a remarkable year of racing action on the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) circuit. The NYRA Press Office checked in with a selection of New York-based racing personalities to get their reflections on a memorable year.

Joe McMahon owns McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds along with his wife Anne. Raised in Saratoga Springs, McMahon has been active on the board of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. since its inception and he now serves as an appointed Breeder Member of the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund Board.

McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds is located on Fitch Road just five minutes away from the prestigious Saratoga Race Course and is home to Central Banker, the 2021 leading sire in New York who was also the leading first, second and third crop sires in the previous three years. The farm is also home to Teuflesberg as well as Solomini and Redesdale.

Describe the journey bringing Central Banker to prominence?

McMahon: “When the first 2-year-olds sold, a couple of them sold really well. The pinhookers in Florida just raved about how much they liked him and that they had great mental attitudes and were good looking. They trained well, liked to train and people noticed that.

“In the first year, he had about five winners at Saratoga. He had several stakes winners and that's gone on the same way every year since then.

“He's just a really nice horse. He's been an inexpensive horse to breed to. From the get-go he's shown that he's good value. He's never been over $7,500 and I think breeders recognize the value and take advantage of that. We could have probably raised the fee after the second year, but we didn't. We wanted to keep him at good value for New York breeders and keep him affordable.”

How does Central Banker stamp his offspring?

McMahon: “The conformation of his progeny are pretty much cookie cutters of himself. They're well-made horses. They have good bones, they're straight through their knees, they have good hips and hind ends. They also have a very deep girth, which is very important in a racing prospect.”

You added some new faces to the stallion roster in Solomini and Redesdale. Talk about what made them both so appealing.

McMahon: “Solomini is a horse who showed brilliance as a 2-year-old. He won the Los Alamitos Futurity in California [but was disqualified and placed third] which was a Grade 1 race, beating McKinzie who now stands for $30,000 in Kentucky. Solomini was disqualified in that race on a very questionable call. I always looked at that as an opportunity for us. Had he won a Grade 1 race, he would likely be in Kentucky. He was an extremely good horse. He was multiple Grade 1-placed and ran against top company. He was placed in two Derby preps in Arkansas and he's by Curlin. The physical of Solomini and his precocity as a 2-year-old gave me the impression that he would fit to New York really well.

“Redesdale is one of the best bred horses to retire in New York state. He's out of a full-sister to Danehill, who was absolutely regarded as one of the best stallions in the world so he's got an impeccable pedigree. He's race record was good. He won three of four starts. His last start, even though he was third, his Beyer was in the 90s. He really indicated that he could be a sire prospect in the same light as horses like Danzig, when I think of comparing horses. Danzig was very lightly raced but extremely effective in his races.

“Redesdale has a good physical and is very correct. We thought he would be a value play for us to bring him to New York and stand him for a reasonable fee. He just happens to be by Speightstown, so now we have two Speightstowns in the same stallion barn with him and Central Banker. One is a proven sire but we think Redesdale will be a very good sire. We anticipate him with coming out with runners early with a high degree of speed. We'll see what happens.”

What do you look for in acquiring a stallion prospect?

McMahon: “I'm a big believer in speed. I think horses have to have some speed to go with a lot of mares. That's not to say that horses who win the Kentucky Derby or Travers won't make good stallions, but if I look at it from the point of view of New York racing and breeding, I know that the majority of races that our stallions' offspring are going to be running in are sprint races. If I look at an Aqueduct card in the wintertime, which runs for almost six months, those races are predominately speed-oriented races. That goes into our thinking when we try to buy a stallion. We want one that fits our program, and speed is a big part of it.

“Central Banker won on the turf and won going one turn, but he's from a sprinting line himself. He's by Speightstown and his profile as a racehorse was the same. That was certainly one of the main attractions to him when we bought him. His balance and his physique told me when I looked at him that he would go with a lot of mares. Horses that are extremely well-balanced like this horse go with a lot of different types of mares. They can overcome a lot of different types of problems if they give their offspring that balance. That's what he did and that's what we hoped he would do when we bought him.”

What is so appealing about the New York program from a breeder's perspective?

McMahon: “Let's face it, this is a difficult business. It's not easy to win races on the NYRA circuit period. If you look at the New York-bred program as a safe haven like a lot of people do, you're going to invest a certain amount of money to buy a racehorse prospect or to raise one. The idea that you gain some protection through the restricted racing program certainly is a huge advantage. I think that's a big part of it – the fact you're on a circuit where you get great exposure year round to the betting population and to the horse people. That's a plus. You can win a race at other tracks for $60,000 but you can win one at Saratoga for $65,000. Which one is going to give you more attraction? You're on a stage which really helps you a whole lot with recruiting owners, and if you're a New Yorker, you focus on year round racing. It's the best program in the world without a doubt.”

This was a record year at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale in Saratoga. Talk about the success you had this year in the sales consignment department.

McMahon: “It was a good year this year. We had nice yearlings on offer. The market was strong. Everything just kind of came together well. We foal about 40 to 50 foals of our own each year and so every once in a while it all comes out right and you get a good physical crop. That's what happened this year. We've been at it for a long time. We focus on mares that are runners themselves, not so much expensive graded winners, but hard-knocking mares to breed to these stallions. This was just a year where everything went right. The majority of the horses we sell are by New York stallions, so you're competing against commercial horses in Kentucky with more opportunity. They get to breed to better mares. It's really remarkable that we're able to compete against those horses and hold our own.”

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Bloodlines Presented by Caracaro: Express Train Helps Write New Chapter For Historic Dixiana Farms

It takes a special kind of filly to win Saratoga's Test Stakes at seven furlongs and then come back two weeks later to score at 1 ¼ miles in the Alabama Stakes, but that's what the H. Allen Jerkens-trained November Snow (Storm Cat out of Princess Alydar, by Alydar) did in 1992. In the 30 years since, only one other filly, Society Selection, achieved this Grade 1 Saratoga double, and she, too, was trained by the late Hall of Famer who has been memorialized with a Grade 1 race named in his honor during the Saratoga meet.

Some other very good fillies have won both the Test and Alabama prior to November Snow, including Love Sign (1980), Go for Wand (1990) and Versailles Treaty (1991).

After retiring with eight wins from 22 starts and earnings in excess of $500,000, November Snow did not produce any stakes winners herself, but her daughters have more than made up for that shortcoming. Graded stakes-placed November Slew (by Seattle Slew) produced Hiraboku Wild, a multiple stakes winner in Japan. Arctic Drift (Gone West) produced Australian Group 2 winner Kuroshio. Indian Snow (A. P. Indy) produced G1 Carter Handicap and G2 Pennsylvania Derby winner and sire Morning Line (Tiznow) and listed winner Liam's Pride (Liam's Map).

I'm a Flake, a 2008 foal by Mineshaft, became the latest black-type producer for November Snow earlier this year when Express Train, a 4-year-old colt by classic-winning wire Union Rags, won the G2 San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita for Lee and Susan Searing's C R K Stable and trainer John Shirreffs. He added a second G2 at Del Mar in the San Diego Handicap in August and most recently the G2 San Antonio Stakes on Santa Anita's opening day program on Dec. 26.

While Express Train has yet to hit the jackpot with a G1 victory (finishing second to Charlatan in the 2020 Malibu, second to Idol in the Santa Anita Handicap last March and third in the Gold Cup and Awesome Again during the summer and fall), he has defeated a host of G1 winners, most recently G1 Pennsylvania Derby winner Hot Rod Charlie and G1 American Pharoah winner Eight Rings in the San Antonio. Consistent and determined (he's been 1-2-3 in 12 of 15 starts), Express Train has the ability to score at the highest level.

Unplaced in four starts, I'm a Flake was bred in 2011 to Tiznow and entered in the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, where she was purchased for $290,000 by Dixiana Farms, the historic Thoroughbred nursery purchased in 2004 by Florida businessman William Shively. The resulting foal, Snowbird was unplaced in three starts. Her second foal, Master Magician (also by Tiznow), was unplaced in eight starts.

I'm a Flake's first two foals sold well as yearlings, but Shively opted to keep the next one, a Union Rags filly named Layla. She broke her maiden at first asking, then was unsuccessful in two subsequent starts and is now a member of Dixiana's band of about 50 broodmares.

I'm a Flake had one more foal prior to Express Train, another son of Tiznow who brought $850,000 as a 2-year-old in training at the 2017 OBS March Sale. Named Praetorian, the gelding will soon turn 7 and remains in training, having won six of 36 starts, with 11 second-place finishes, primarily in claiming races.

After a barren year, I'm a Flake produced Express Train, who was purchased for $500,000 by the Mayberry Farm of Jeanne, April and Summer Mayberry on behalf of C R K Stable at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

According to Dixiana farm manager Robert Tillyer, I'm a Flake then had two successive barren years after being bred to Tiznow in 2017 and Gun Runner in 2018. Her 2020 foal, a colt by Accelerate, was purchased by Mayberry Farm on behalf of C R K Stable for $300,000 at Keeneland September.

Tillyer said Dixiana has a Union Rags–I'm a Flake weanling colt on the farm that likely will head to next year's Keeneland September Sale and she is currently in foal to Munnings, with an expected foaling date in late April. “The plan is to go back to Gun Runner,” Tillyer said.

Layla, the full sister to Express Train retained by Shively, has a Liam's Map 2021 colt that Tillyer said “is as nice as a weanling can be.”

This is Tillyer's second go-round at Dixiana, having worked at the farm when it was under different ownership in the late 1990s after arriving from England.

“A lot of good horses have come off that farm,” he said, naming 1997 champion and Group 1 Epsom Derby winner Benny the Dip and 1999 European champion 2-year-old colt Fasliyev, among others.

After spending 18 years working for Kentucky horseman William Betz, Tillyer returned to Dixiana in 2020 and has seen the farm reach new heights, selling its first million-dollar yearling this past year when a Quality Road colt brought $1.15 million.

The farm, located off Russell Cave northeast of Lexington, now encompasses about 840 acres and includes property from the old Domino Stud that once was part of the original Dixiana, whose founding dates back to 1877.

There is a lot of history to Dixiana Farms (you can read about it here), but new chapters continue to be written.

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