Tag: Case Clay

Gandharvi Adds Case Clay To Its Team As Business Consultant

Amid the speed-filled tempo of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale this week, it's all about equine and human partnerships for Gandharvi Racing as they add Case Clay as a Business Consultant to their team.

Mind you, this isn't about making a splash or just putting together some haphazard deal. No, the intent behind this organization's latest move tunnels much deeper into the recesses of history.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day. Neither was a racing stable. Like city-planning in the ancient world or otherwise, success just doesn't come easy. When it comes to competing in international racing circles, it takes a multipolar pivot across continents.

The underpinnings of such a capital venture were stabilized for Gandharvi founder Kuldeep Singh Rajput the moment he found out that he had deep family ties to racing's past in India.

“I have the horse racing and breeding bug, which was probably given to me by my great-grandparents, who were breeders,” said Rajput.

Though he is based in Boston, Massachusetts, Rajput is just such an internationalist. He built a successful career in biotech, and now he's parlaying his good business sense by carefully assembling a team with the intent to draw in more fans into the world of bloodstock and racing partnerships.

Gandharvi, which invested in its first horse in 2021, has aspirations to build a very strong broodmare band and has made no bones that it will focus its operations on developing fillies, which could yield a farm in the future. For now, the tailwinds are behind Rajput. Considering the current equine climate across the poles of this sport, holding your line in this game becomes a tall order for a solo yachtsman, but he isn't going alone.

To get there, the outfit's vessel is fitted with a strong frame of experience. Led by the Lexington, Kentucky-based Kiwi, Mick Wallace as their full-time Chief Operating Officer and Godolphin Flying Start grad Caitlin Smith, who anchors several of their operations from her base in Sydney, Australia, they are lending a hand in the growth department.

As the team assembled this week in Saratoga Springs, Gandharvi is expanding their roster by announcing Clay would be coming on as a blue chip adviser.

“I want Gandharvi to be around for the long term, and Case [Clay] will help us with that, beginning with the development of our five-year-plan,” said Rajput. “Also, he has relationships all over the world in this business and we respect that he will service them as well.”

With his diverse background, which was honed while working for his family at the fabled Three Chimneys Farm and even after it was sold to the Torrealba Family as their Chief Commercial Officer, Clay made the move last year to go out on his own as the principal of Case Clay Thoroughbred Management, LLC. For Gandharvi, part of Clay's specialty will be to focus on building toward the future.

“I'm excited about the opportunity to lend a hand to Gandharvi with their strategic plan and advice from a business standpoint. My current clients and business relationships are very important to me, so I'm glad that Kuldeep and I could arrange it so my current Case Clay Thoroughbred Management will run as business as usual, while still being able to help his organization in whatever way I can.”

With the addition of Clay, Gandharvi is continuing to pursue expanding global partnerships. Rajput himself has connections who regularly reach out with interest, but they might not have the foggiest how they can participate. He knows that if you make racing fun for everyone, including friends, family, etc., you can offer them a high-quality experience with both racing and breeding. Gandharvi will be searching for partnerships with the more well-established Thoroughbred operations to share in this journey.

They've already accrued progress along the way down under and in North America. In New Zealand, Ulanova (Santos {Aus}), a 2-year-old chestnut filly who won a Group 3 back in February at New Plymouth before running second in the G1 Sistema S. at Pukekohe Park, is continuing to make a name for herself. She is a finalist for the Champion 2-year-old category for New Zealand's Horse of the Year Awards.

The stable also established part-ownership in Australia's MG1SW Forbidden Love (All Too Hard {Aus}). Also of note, at the Magic Millions National Broodmare sale, Gandharvi purchased Nomothaj (Snitzel) for $1.1 million. The Listed winner has produced only one foal so far, a colt by Exceed And Excel, who sold at this year's Magic Millions National Yearling sale for $575,000.

When it comes to their North American activities, Gandharvi Racing bought into GI Breeders' Cup Sprint hero Aloha West (Hard Spun) through a partnership with Eclipse Thoroughbreds, and in conjunction with Michael Dubb, they campaigned GSW Battle Bling (Vancouver {Aus}). The stable made news last year when they purchased 18 yearlings during the Keeneland September sale for $7.605 million.

Back at the Saratoga Yearling Sale on Monday evening, in the spirit of budding partnerships, Gandharvi got on the board with Brook Smith's Rocket Ship Racing to land for $900,000 a filly by Constitution (hip 118).

“Gandharvi is all about bringing partners together and having fun racing,” said Rajput to TDN's Jessica Martini after the ticket was signed. “And I think it's a match made in heaven. We agreed on the same filly. It's all about partnerships and we are looking forward to it.”

Hopeful that North American success will come with a budding equine portfolio that will likely include a boutique broodmare band, Gandharvi will look to continue to add fillies and colts to race within a bevy of expanding partnerships. Now with Case Clay's assistance, the future is looking even more bright, but Gandharvi is always mindful that a racing stable isn't built in a day.

The post Gandharvi Adds Case Clay To Its Team As Business Consultant appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Case Clay at Magic Millions

by Jessica Owers and Oz Wedmore, TDNAusNZ

Case Clay was in the headlines last month with his announcement that, after 20 years with Three Chimneys Farm, he was going solo. This week he finds himself on the Gold Coast, and we caught up with him to learn a little more about the next chapter of his career.

Nearly 20 years ago, American bloodstock agent Case Clay did an interview with a local Kentucky newspaper. He said that succession, complicated as it was when it came to family business, didn't always go to plan.

Succession was something Clay knew all about as a young man and native of Midway, Kentucky, because his father, Robert Clay, founded Three Chimneys Farm in the early 1970s, which stood among its pastures the likes of Seattle Slew and Dynaformer.

In that 2004 interview, Clay said his father had never asked him to join him at Three Chimneys Farm, but the more the pair talked, the more the younger Clay learned about the racing and breeding industry.

By the time 2013 came along, and the Goncalo Torrealba family bought a controlling interest in Three Chimneys Farm, Case Clay was well on his way in a brilliant industry career of his own.

This week, the American finds himself ensconced on the Gold Coast, with its palm trees, stiff sunshine and Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale.

“There aren't many industries that would allow me to go swimming the surf in the morning, then go straight to work,” Case said, speaking to TDN AusNZ. “This is a global business and it's taking us to places we may not otherwise get to go.”

Arrowfield Years…

Clay's bloodstock duties are just one feather in his cap these days.

In America, he is the racing manager for Willis Horton Racing, he has an equine insurance business and buys horses for various clients and, in Australia, he is the American representative for Arrowfield Stud. He manages about 20 mares on this side of the world for clients, but his relationship with Arrowfield goes back a long way.

“I worked for Arrowfield about 20 years ago and John Messara has been a mentor for me,” Clay said. “So, about five years ago, I started working for Arrowfield again, this time as an American representative. We recruited some mares down here to Australia, and there are few of their offspring selling at this very sale this week.”

In those early years that Clay was at Arrowfield, Redoute's Choice (Aus) had his first crop to the track and Not A Single Doubt (Aus), his white-socked son, won the Strawberry Hill Slipper at Wyong, leading home Oratorio (Aus).

That was in 2003 and Clay was trackside at Wyong that afternoon with Messara. One start later, Not A Single Doubt won the Listed Canonbury S.

“John and his partners were very encouraged about what Redoute's might do, so it was very exciting to see how it's developed,” Clay said.

One of Clay's interesting sidenotes this week is his association with the American stallion Gun Runner, which, given Gun Runner has no yearlings on the Gold Coast this week, isn't as odd as it first sounds.

The Three Chimneys stallion was announced in 2022 as being offered to Southern Hemisphere time.

“Gun Runner has got off to a really great start in America, and the goal is to see what he can do in Australia and Japan,” Clay said. “He's already had some in the pipeline from his third and fourth crop, and there's some breeding this year in 2023, and they're trying to expand that in the Japanese and Australian markets.”

Clay has complete faith that Gun Runner, a six-time Grade I winner, will work in Australia. The horse is an ideal outcross, which will suit so much of the local broodmare band that is heavily Danehill-influenced.

Additionally, Gun Runner is from a Giant's Causeway mare, and that's a sire line that has worked in these waters in the past.

So how does Clay think breeders should access Gun Runner in Kentucky?

“I would think the most logical way in, to keep expenses down in not sending a mare up and then back, would be to purchase a mare either privately or in the November sales in Kentucky,” Clay said. “Then either breed on Southern Hemisphere time and ship down, or, if the mare is already pregnant, foal down and then breed to southern time before shipping down.”

It's a routine that Australasian breeders are getting used to, especially in the last few years with the popularity of Frankel (GB) and that horse's brilliant strike rate in Australia. At Banstead Manor, Frankel is likely to cover around 50 mares in the European off-season, meaning plenty of breeders have committed.

“I think you get what you pay for,” Clay said. “It's a quality exercise.”

Friends in High Places…

Just before Christmas, Clay announced his departure from Three Chimneys Farm. He'd done a lot of things in his life, like graduating with an economics degree from DePauw University, and even working in advertising for a time, but for 20 years professionally, he'd been with Three Chimneys in Kentucky.

It was a farm he knew all about, right from his parents' tenure through to the Torrealba era, and he was critical in recent years to its client relationships, both domestically and abroad.

Somewhere in the middle, he had started Case Clay Thoroughbred Management, a bloodstock agency of sorts. It negotiates private and auction purchases, manages portfolios and makes representations, among other services, all the while with Clay in his role at Three Chimneys Farm.

But the time came to go it alone and he kept the farm on as a vital client, which will only work in Gun Runner's favour.

Case isn't a stranger to sire power, growing up, as he did, on Three Chimneys. The property has been home to Seattle Slew and Dynaformer, as mentioned, but also to the likes of Rahy, among others.

“I feel lucky to have grown up at Three Chimneys who, by way of Seattle Slew, had a lot of top-end breeder clients,” Clay said. “Some of those clients have become generational, lifelong friends, from Kentucky to Europe, Australia and Japan. And we just happen to buy and sell horses to and from each other, which has been mutually beneficial. My other clients have found it valuable as well because they have private access to top stock.”

A good example of this symbiosis is the German-bred mare Dalika (Ger) (Pastorius {Ger}).

As a 2-year-old, she caught the eye of Bal Mar Equine's Paul Varga, who was keen to buy her from Germany. The filly's then owner, Gestut Ammerland, was a long-time client of Three Chimneys and, via good friend Crispin de Moubray, Clay helped to make the purchase happen. Dalika went on to be a Grade I winner.

Another example was the Distorted Humor mare Magical World, whose private sale from Daisy Phipps Pulito to Three Chimneys was brokered by Clay. The mare has since produced three stakes winners and she sold for a staggering $5.2 million at Fasig Tipton's 2021 Lexington November Sale.

Her multiple Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star' daughter, Guarana (Ghostzapper), sold at the same sale for $4.4 million.

Case also brokered the deal that sold Ivanavinalot, a daughter of West Acre to John Antonelli. The mare later became the dam of multiple champion Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro).

As such, this American is right at home in the palm-fringed, sun-soaked environment of Magic Millions. It's a long way removed from his other hobby–skiing–but if his popularity on-complex is anything to go by this week, the father of three is well-liked and well-known.

It's early in the piece for him as a solo agent, but he's most looking forward to the people in his job because people are what it's all about in this line of work.

“I'm really looking forward to continuing to build my bloodstock management/insurance business, and providing clients access to quality via relationships,” he said. “And hopefully get to the winner's circle in the process.”

The post Case Clay at Magic Millions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Taking Stock: Dr. Settle’s Dream is a Winner

Was it divine intervention?

As the story goes, sometime in late 1923 or early 1924, a Kentucky pastor, Rev. Dr. Thomas Settle, convinced some state legislators in Frankfort not to end legalized gambling in Kentucky by repealing parimutuel wagering, much to the relief of the Kentucky Jockey Club and other concerned horsemen. Most ministers may have taken the opposite tack at the time, but not Dr. Settle, and this made him stand out. A well-travelled Englishman who'd found his way to a small congregation on Main St. and Bell Ct. in Lexington, Dr. Settle had loved horses from youth and worked at a track early in life, and he also had personal and practical experience with gambling (which he regretted). He argued that repealing the law that made wagering at the track legal would lead to the proliferation of unregulated and illegal gambling with bookmakers, which he considered a greater evil.

Apparently his Oscar-like performance swayed enough lawmakers to put the brakes on the Bennett Bill. Dr. Settle's delivery was compelling without being over the top, and it was characterized with such words as “voiced,” “spoken,” “tell it,” “preach,” and “narrate.” For his efforts, grateful horsemen in the state and from across the country who'd heard of his defense raised money to build him a new church in Lexington, and inscribed on a plaque within its tower walls is this poignant acknowledgement: “To the Glory of God This Church Is Given to Him by the Lovers of the Horse From All Over the Country As A Token of Appreciation of Their Father's Goodness to His Children – Man.” It's dated 1926.

Religion, politics, and money have long been historically intertwined in horse racing in Kentucky, and what's actually known nowadays as Historical Horse Racing (HHR), Kentucky's equivalent to the slots that has propped up racing and breeding in other states, is very much a part of the present landscape in a state that's the center of the breeding industry in the U.S. HHR games have fueled purse monies in Kentucky to such an extent that the recent Kentucky Downs meet, for example, featured $150,000 maiden races, $500,000 Listed races, and several $1 million Grade ll and Grade lll events. HHR, to understate it, has been a boon to Kentucky horsemen, but horsemen take nothing for granted now. They know winds can change path in a heartbeat, and they have organized groups like the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) to advocate for Kentucky's most famous industry. Several of the movers and shakers behind the scenes are the younger generation like Case Clay of Three Chimneys, the chairman of KEEP, and Price Bell of Mill Ridge, a board member.

Kentucky, let's face it, is a socially conservative state, and despite its starring role in the racing/breeding industry as the home of the Gl Kentucky Derby–the most famous race in the country–and of such outstanding stallions, among others, as Gainesway's Tapit, sire of the undefeated Flightline, widely considered the best horse in training on the planet at the moment; Spendthrift's Into Mischief, sire of Flightline's chief challenger, Life Is Good; and Three Chimneys's Gun Runner, who is represented so far by a jaw-dropping six Grade l winners from his first crop of 3-year-olds, including two Grade l winners and five overall stakes winners Saturday, there's still plenty of opposition to HHR from those who view it as nothing more than a game of chance that's a contributor to moral and societal decay.

This friction between anti-and pro-gambling forces in Kentucky has existed for more than a hundred years, and horsemen have walked a tightrope protecting their interests for just as long. They're just better organized now than during the time of Dr. Settle, but, ironically, a parimutuel issue was once again at the center of the most recent storm that could have had dire ramifications. In February of 2021, HHR, which has been around for a decade, had to be legally written into law as a parimutuel game by Kentucky legislators after the Kentucky Supreme Court said parts of it were not and were therefore potentially illegal. After heated debate, both the House and the Senate passed legislation that included HHR within the definition of parimutuel betting, and it was signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear on Feb. 22, 2021.

But Case Clay said it “came down to the wire,” and the final score–the votes to pass in both chambers were comfortable enough on the surface–didn't represent the closeness of the game.

“The HHR vote underlined the relevance of KEEP,” said Clay. “Relationship building with legislators is an important function of KEEP, and it's something we work on to advocate for the industry.”

Headley Bell, managing partner at Mill Ridge and Price Bell's father, understands relationship building. Mill Ridge threw a party on the Thursday evening after the first four days of selling at Keeneland, and guests included members of the Lexington community outside racing circles, as well as those within it. Linda Gorton, the mayor of Lexington, and Steve Kay, the vice-mayor, were also present, as were representatives of Horse Country Inc., a group of farms and businesses that provides educational tours “dedicated to sharing the stories of Kentucky's Horse Country.” Mill Ridge, with its storied history, is one of many destinations.

Dr. Settle's Dream

Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy) stands at Mill Ridge and occupies the same one-stall stallion barn that once housed the excellent sire Diesis (GB) years ago. Oscar got his 10th first-crop winner Friday when first-time starter Dr. Settle's Dream won a New York-bred maiden special on turf at Belmont-at-Aqueduct for Byron Nimocks's Circle N Thoroughbreds. The win was particularly satisfying for Headley Bell, not only as another winner for the farm's sire, but also because he'd bought the colt for new friend and client Nimocks at OBS June for $30,000 through his Nicoma agency. And how about this? Bell is a longtime member of the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church on Main St. and Bell Ct. that Dr. Settle built, and Bell said that Nimocks's family “is very involved with the church” as well, hence the name of the colt.

Dr. Settle's Dream was bred by Scott Pierce in New York. His first two dams, Voiced, by War Front, and Spoken, by Unbridled's Song, respectively, haven't yet produced any stakes horses, but his Storm Cat third dam Tell It has a stakes winner to her credit, and his fourth dam is Preach, a Grade I winner by Mr. Prospector and the dam of the highly influential stallion Pulpit. The fifth dam is the Honest Pleasure mare Narrate. Not only that, the colt's first seven dams were bred by the Hancocks of Claiborne (the dam was bred by Claiborne in partnership with Adele B. Dilschneider), and Dr. Settle's Dream's seventh dam is Monarchy, a full-sister to Round Table. Bell was no doubt attracted to this long and deep line of Hancock mares, and perhaps their names elicited a smile when he'd zeroed in on the colt.

The gregarious Price Bell is general manager at Mill Ridge and runs the farm's day-to-day operations. I ran into him outside the Mill Ridge consignment on the Sunday before the Keeneland sale began, and we had a conversation about Mill Ridge's past. He reminded me that it was Bull Hancock who'd purchased Sir Ivor for Raymond Guest at the 1966 Keeneland summer sale, paying $42,000 for the future English Derby winner and European champion that Alice Chandler (as Mrs. Reynolds W. Bell), Headley's mother, had bred. Hal Price Headley, Alice Chandler's father, was one of the founders of Keeneland, and Bull Hancock's father, A. B. Hancock Sr., was one of its first trustees.

One thing led to another as we were discussing history and the relationships between the two families, and Price said he had an interesting article for me to read. From his phone he sent it to me right there. It was copy from the Indianapolis Sunday Star from Jan. 16, 1927, and it was about Rev. Dr. Thomas Settle and the church that he built after defending parimutuel wagering in Frankfort. Later that week when I spoke with  Headley and Price Bell at the Mill Ridge party, they convinced me to visit Dr. Settle's church the next day–on Friday, the dark day of selling. This was one week before the horse named after Dr. Settle won in New York.

The Church

Dr. Settle's dream was to build a magnificent church in the English Gothic style, and he realized that dream through the largesse of horsemen, who'd originally offered the minister $50,000 to put toward a house and car after his performance in Frankfort. As the story goes, Dr. Settle demurred and instead asked for donations to build a church for his community, and industry members from Kentucky and across the country responded heartily. One report states that the Thoroughbred Horse Association–Hal Price Headley was the organization's first president–alone raised more than $180,000. A.B. Hancock, Sr. was a big contributor, as were Col. E.R. Bradley of Idle Hour, J.E. Widener of Elmendorf, H.P. Whitney, Max Hirsch, and Charles Berryman (manager of Elmendorf), among many others.

Dr. Settle's attention to detail is evident in the structure as it stands today. The stained glass windows, for instance, are intricate, ornate, and expensive, and the museum-grade wood carvings are from Oberammergau, Germany, which is noted for its highly skilled craftsmen. (The well-known Oberammergau Passion Play's star at the time was the potter Anton Lang, who played Christ in the 1922 production. Lang toured the U.S. in 1923–he was on the cover of Time magazine that year–and brought with him craftsmen from Oberammergau who exhibited their carvings. It's highly likely that Dr. Settle saw or read about this and commissioned expensive works for Good Shepherd subsequently.)

There's a cautionary aspect to the Dr. Settle story, too. In his quest to realize his dream, Dr. Settle spent more than he had, and by the time he left Good Shepherd in 1929, he left the church so heavily in debt that it took years for the congregation to get clear.

But his dream survives as a magnificent house of worship for newer generations of Lexingtonians, and that's what matters.

It matters, too, that horsemen played a role in realizing Dr. Settle's dream.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: Dr. Settle’s Dream is a Winner appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Keeneland Names Four New Members To Board Of Directors

Keeneland today announced four new additions to its Advisory Board of Directors: prominent horsewoman Julie Cauthen, Three Chimneys Farm Chief Commercial Officer Case Clay, Airdrie Stud Vice President Bret Jones, and LNJ Foxwoods' Jaime Roth.

Longtime Directors Seth Hancock of Claiborne Farm and Will Farish of Lane's End will move to Emeritus roles on the Advisory Board.

All four new Directors will began their service at the Advisory Board meeting in October.

“Each of our new directors – Julie, Case, Bret and Jaime – bring a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on the industry from different vantage points that will be instrumental in guiding Keeneland as we meet the opportunities and challenges of the future,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “We thank them for their service and loyalty to Keeneland.”

Julie Cauthen

Julie Cauthen has served in a variety of positions in the Thoroughbred industry, among them Chief Operating Officer for Donegal Racing, Senior Analyst for EQUIX Biomechanics, Director of Two-Year-Olds in Training Sales for Reynolds Bell Thoroughbred Services and currently as owner of Julia O. Cauthen Bloodstock, specializing in sales selection and purchases, matings and appraisals. At Keeneland, she was Director of Owner and Client Development and is now a member of the September Yearling Sale inspection team. She also serves on the board of Blue Grass Farms Charities. Cauthen grew up in Midway, Kentucky close to Nuckols Farm, which belonged to her grandparents, including former Keeneland Trustee Charlie Nuckols.

Case Clay

Case Clay is Chief Commercial Officer for Three Chimneys Farm, where he works to identify new opportunities for the farm and its customers, and helps to grow its network of relationships and ownership opportunities via joint ventures and partnerships with current and new clients and friends – some for whom he serves as a consultant as well. Clay also worked at both the Irish National Stud and Arrowfield Stud in Australia, and in Chicago at Arlington Park. He currently serves as Board Chairman of KEEP and is a member of the Breeders' Cup.

Bret Jones

Bret Jones is Vice President of Airdrie Stud, and works daily with Airdrie's managerial team and staff to help ensure that Airdrie's legacy will always be that of a farm that does right by its people, horses and clients – a reputation earned by his parents, Brereton and Libby Jones, over the past 50 years. Airdrie is a consignor to the Keeneland sales and stands such stallions as Cairo Prince, Collected and Complexity. A Breeders' Cup Board Director since 2011, Jones served on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission from 2016-2020 and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Markey Cancer Foundation.

Jaime Roth

Jaime Roth races horses under her family's LNJ Foxwoods, which was founded in 2012 after years of her following racing as a fan. Along with her parents, Larry and Nanci Roth, she has campaigned two-time champion Covfefe, 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Country House and Grade 1 winners Nickname and Constellation. Roth is a Member of the Breeders' Cup and The Jockey Club and serves on the Board of Directors for Thoroughbred Charities of America. Because advocacy for horse welfare is integral to the stable, LNJ Foxwoods established the Horses First Fund through the TCA and received the Allaire du Pont Leadership Award in 2019.

The post Keeneland Names Four New Members To Board Of Directors appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights