A Brere Jones Remembrance: Letter to the Editor, by Dan Liebman

One of the first horsemen I met when hired to cover the Thoroughbred industry full time in 1984 was Brereton Jones, who with his wife, Libby, owned Airdrie Stud on Old Frankfort Pike.

As journalists, we must always keep a distance from those we cover, in order to remain neutral in our coverage. But when reporting and writing about a specific topic day in and day out, you can't help but become friends with some of those you encounter.

Brere and I instantly became friends.

We had many on-the-record conversations, and, perhaps more importantly, many off-the-record as well. There are others with whom I cultivated similar relationships, but perhaps none whose ear I bent more when needing information or advice about a particular Thoroughbred industry topic.

When I heard a rumor he was considering a run for lieutenant governor, I phoned Brere and he told me, off the record, the rumor was true. I suggested he meet my late father, Herb, an attorney in Frankfort, Ky., who had worked in numerous Kentucky political campaigns, all the way back to Happy Chandler and his second term as Kentucky governor in the 1950s.

We met at the Frankfort Country Club and subsequently raised funds and courted voters for Brere's elections as lieutenant governor in 1987 and governor in 1991.

I have many stories, but a couple come to mind after he passed away Sept. 18 at age 84.

I recommended he hire Larry Jones to train for him and together they won two Kentucky Oaks, with Proud Spell (2008) and Believe You Can (2012). He always thanked me for the suggestion, and I have lilies from the blankets won by both.

One time I was in New Orleans for an important day of races, and walking down Royal Street late morning, I noticed a man getting his shoes shined. No one knew it was the former governor of Kentucky, and we chatted as the shoeshine man never broke stride.

I asked him once about rising stud fees, and he launched into a soliloquy about the “free enterprise system,” one of his favorite topics. I got the same speech when I once broached the topic of limiting books of mares.

It pleases me Airdrie will continue under the direction of Brere and Libbie's son, Bret, who had an excellent mentor and even better father.

I will miss our conversations, whether about horses and politics. And I will say, on the record, I will miss my friend.

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Shannon Castagnola Named Airdrie Stud’s New Director Of Sales

Shannon Castagnola has been named as Airdrie Stud's new director of sales, the Midway nursery said in a release Friday afternoon.

Helping to head up both the stallion nominations and public sales divisions, Castagnola managed the yearling and breeding stock consignments for Woodford Thoroughbreds for the past nine years.

“I am thrilled to be working with the incredible Airdrie Stud team,” said Castagnola. “It's energizing to be working with a farm this diversified and with such a tremendous history of success. From the beautifully bred mares whose families have been developed over the past five decades, to the dedication in raising their horses to be tough and sound, I have always been a great admirer of the Airdrie formula. I believe our stallion roster, led by the success stories of Girvin, Upstart, Cairo Prince and Collected is one of the most exciting in the industry and I couldn't be looking more forward to being part of what I believe is a very bright future at Airdrie.”

Airdrie said she would continue to be a major presence on the sales grounds as she leads the various Airdrie Stud consignments throughout the sales season. An industry veteran of the last twenty-three years, Castagnola also worked with West Point Thoroughbreds and Taylor Made Sales.

“I could not be more grateful to Shannon for joining our team,” said Airdrie's Bret Jones. “Smart, kind and honest is an incredible combination and it's those qualities that make Shannon so widely respected within our sport. Our breeders will absolutely love working with her and her insight and ideas will be a major reason for Airdrie's future success. We are exceptionally lucky to have her.”

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Bill Strauss, Bret Jones Named to DMTC Board of Directors

Bill Strauss and Bret Jones have both been named to the Board of Directors of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. The two, who are the first new members added to the board since three members were added in 2018, bring the total number of current board members to 11.

“We've made ourselves better and stronger with the addition of these two fine gentlemen,” said board member and Del Mar CEO Joe Harper. “When you can pick up a pair of individuals who love racing and have rich histories in the game like they do, it was easy to get a unanimous vote to bring them on.”
Strauss, 65, was originally a New Yorker who had a successful financial career in Manhattan before making a coast-to-coast switch to Del Mar in 1992. There he helped found Provide Commerce, which became one of the nation's top e-commerce companies, including its popular ProFlowers.com and Shari's Berries.

He and his brother, Jeffrey, a master chef, partnered in a hugely popular restaurant they called the Pamplemousse Grille just across the street from Del Mar racetrack. They named their first horse The Pamplemousse and he became a stakes winner. Since then Bill has been a partner in such topline horses as double Breeders' Cup winner Mizdirection and $5.6 million earner Hot Rod Charlie.

“As a long-time Del Mar resident with my wife Margie, and a long time horse owner, I am honored to have been selected to serve on the prestigious Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Board of Directors,” Strauss said. “I am looking forward to working with my fellow board members to carve out a successful future for horse racing in California.”

Jones, 43, is the president of Airdrie Stud. In addition to his new role at Del Mar, he has served on the Breeders' Cup Board of Directors since 2011 and sits on the Keeneland Advisory Board, as well as the Board of Trustees for the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Foundation.

“I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity to work with the incredible leadership team at Del Mar,” Jones said. “Anyone who has ever walked through its gates knows how truly special that racetrack is, and anyone who cares about the future of our sport recognizes how vitally important its continued success is for our industry. California racing is a true lynchpin for our sport and its prosperity should be the business of all of us; whether you're from San Diego County or Woodford County, KY. I look forward to helping in any way I can and am honored to be working with an organization I so deeply respect.”

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Airdrie-Bred Girvin Fillies Meet Again in Starlet

Born just a day apart in the same foaling barn, two daughters of Girvin once roamed the same Bluegrass fields in their early days at Airdrie Stud. On Saturday, the duo will meet again as 'TDN Rising Star' Faiza and stakes-placed Blessed Touch enter the starting gate for the GI Starlet S. at Los Alamitos Race Course.

The Brereton C. Jones-bred fillies represent two of the 20 winners this year for fast-starting first-crop stallion Girvin, who has relocated from Ocala Stud to Airdrie for the 2023 breeding season. With four stakes winners including GII Saratoga Special-winning 'Rising Star' Damon's Mound already on his list of progeny, a Grade I score on Saturday could be the bow on top of a spectacular season for Girvin as the year comes to a close.

Faiza will be the clear favorite in this weekend's lone graded contest. The Bob Baffert-trained, Michael Lund Petersen-campaigned filly earned 'Rising Star' honors on debut last month at Del Mar going six furlongs.

Out of the Smart Strike mare Sweet Pistol, who is a half to MGSW and Spendthrift sire Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile), Faiza has improved at every step of her career. A shrewd $90,000 purchase for Bet Racing at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, she was sent to Paul Sharp and went on to fetch $725,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale.

“She was a beautiful filly from the start,” Airdrie's Bret Jones recalled. “We always thought she was right at the top of that foal crop and we had her in the July Sale to try and show off what the stallion was producing. Everyone who has ever had the filly has been pretty over-the-top with her. The reports along the way have been a lot of fun to hear about and then to see it all come to fruition in that first race had us really pumped. She has the look of a very special filly.”

Blessed Touch will be another top choice in the Starlet's field of seven. The elder of the two Girvin fillies by one day, she is out of the Street Boss mare Blushing Touch and is from the family of champion Left Bank (French Deputy). A $32,000 Keeneland September purchase for Julie Davies, Blessed Touch went on to sell for $140,000 at the OBS April Sale to Pierre and Leslie Amestoy and Roger Bersley.

Trained by Tim Yakteen, the bay broke her maiden at second asking by nearly nine lengths and then ran second to talented 'Rising Star' Justique (Justify) in the Desi Arnaz S.

“Unfortunately Blessed Touch's dam has passed away, but she left behind a very nice filly,” Jones said. “She ran a winning race in the Desi Arnaz and just ran into a really good filly that day. If she can take a step forward, she has the chance to be really competitive.”

In comparing Faiza and Blessed Touch, Jones said that the two juveniles share their sire's athleticism.

“When Girvin is on the shank, I think it's his athleticism that really stands out,” Jones explained. “Both of these fillies fit that same description when they were with us. They were really athletic types and looked like they could do the job.”

Girvin raced to three graded stakes victories, including the 2017 GI Haskell Invitational S., for Brad Grady before retiring to Ocala Stud. He stood his first four years there as property of Brad and Misty Grady's Grand Oaks Farm in partnership with Airdrie Stud.

“It was a partnership that was very attractive to us,” Jones said. “It was as much about who we were partnering with as it was the horse that we were partnering on. Brad has done everything he can to help the stallion and we have done our part by sending mares down to Florida every year. Ocala Stud did a remarkable job promoting him and making sure the horse had every opportunity.”

Girvin will stand for $25,000 in 2023 | EquiSport

Girvin stood for an introductory fee of $7,500 in Florida and bred 149 mares. When that first crop hit the racetrack this year, Jones said that Girvin didn't give his partnership much of a choice when it came to where he would stand in 2023.

“We've been run over by mare submissions and the horse is essentially full. He's now at a price point of $25,000, so the mare quality that he's getting is fantastic. These are some of the top breeders in the industry that want to send mares to him. We will be breeding some of the absolute best mares in our band and Brad Grady will be doing the same, just as he has from the start.”

Jones credits Girvin's early achievements at stud to the quality of mares his partners have supported him with and the athleticism the son of Tale of Ekati showed on the racetrack that he is now passing on to his offspring.

“He's this beautiful, talented and athletic horse that maybe didn't have the sire power that people perceived as being needed to stand initially in Kentucky,” he explained. “But if you go back now after the horse has had some success, it's not too hard to see why success was always possible.”

Girvin currently ranks a close seventh on the list of leading American first-crop sires by earnings. A productive turnout from his two Starlet-bound fillies could give him an extra boost before the end of the year.

“It's a loaded group of first-crop stallions this year,” Jones said. “When you come in with a $7,500 stallion, it's going to be a tough group to compete with. But if he could put up a Grade I winner and combine that with the body of work he already has, it would be the icing on the cake of a pretty phenomenal freshman season and hopefully a harbinger of some very special days ahead.”

Bob Baffert has won the last five editions of the Starlet, and his 7-5 morning line favorite Faiza will make her two-turn debut alongside stablemates Doinitthehardway (Street Sense), an improving maiden adding distance in her fourth start, and Fast and Shiny (Bernardini). The field also includes Repole Stable's Uncontrollable (Upstart), the runner-up in the GII Chandelier S., and Pride of the Nile (Pioneerof the Nile), who makes her main track debut after three promising starts on turf.

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