Tag: catholic boy

Seven Juveniles Supplemented To April TTA Sale

Seven juveniles have been supplemented to the Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, adding to an already record-setting number of horses cataloged.

HIP 187–a filly by Dialed In who is a half to a stakes winner and from the family of MSW Gray Attempt. Consigned by 1880 Bloodstock.

HIP 188–a filly by freshman stallion Catholic Boy who is from the family of MGSW Tax, MGSW Yell, and MGIW Elate. Consigned by 1880 Bloodstock.

HIP 189–a filly by Tapwrit who is a half to two winners and from the family of GSW Doremifasollatido. Consigned by 1880 Bloodstock.

HIP 190–a colt by Lord Nelson who is out of SP Malibu Party. Second dam is G1SW Malibu Mint. Consigned by Oak Creek Thoroughbreds.

HIP 191–a colt by Half Ours out of SW & GSP Moontune Missy. Consigned by Clear Creek Stud.

HIP 192–a filly by Congrats out of the champion imported filly in Mexico. From the family of GSW Governor Charlie and champion Silverbulletday. Consigned by A B Dynamite Racing.

HIP 193–a filly by Nyquist out of MGSP Maria Maria and from the family GSW He's Got Grit. Consigned by Clary Bloodstock.

The sale will take place April 5 at Lone Star Park's Sales Pavilion while the breeze show is April 3.

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Claiborne’s First-Crop Sires Send Strong Contingent to Keeneland

Following the passing of world-renowned international stallion More Than Ready this summer, four of his sons now stand in Kentucky in the hopes of carrying the torch for their accomplished sire.

Among them, Catholic Boy holds the distinction of earning Grade I victories on two surfaces. After collecting six graded wins over his three-year racing campaign, Catholic Boy launched his stud career at Claiborne Farm in 2020. The farm's Walker Hancock said that the $2.1 million earner, who is out a daughter of productive broodmare sire Bernardini, has all the criteria to replicate his sire's success.

“He has turned into a really gorgeous sire,” Hancock said. “He has the perfect mix of More Than Ready and Bernardini, which I think is appealing to breeders. He really fits the mold of a great stallion and we look for him to continue More Than Ready's legacy.”

The picture of versatility on the racetrack, Catholic Boy won the GIII With Anticipation S. at two in his second career start for Jonathan Thomas and then switched to dirt to take the GII Remsen S. As a sophomore, he tallied turf scores in the GIII Pennine Ridge S. and GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. and got his signature dirt Grade I in the 2018 Runhappy Travers S. He returned to the grass at four to take the GII Dixie S.

Launched at a stud fee of $25,000, Catholic Boy bred over 130 mares in his debut at Claiborne. This year his first crop of yearlings will go through the sales ring, but which surface will they ultimately excel on?

“They're kind of across the board,” Hancock explained. “They're a bit like More Than Ready in that you can get bay and chestnut, big and small. You can look at one Catholic Boy and say that this one looks like it's going to be dirt and then you look at the next one and say this one is going to be turf. He's really providing that versatility through his offspring that we saw him have on the track.”

At the breeding stock sales, Catholic Boy's first weanlings averaged over $60,000. With 20 of 24 sold, five youngsters sold for six figures. The Claiborne sire will be represented by nearly 60 yearlings at the Keeneland September Sale. Within that group, Claiborne will offer two in Book 2. Hancock said the pair is an accurate representation of the versatility Catholic Boy seems to be throwing.

Hip 714, a Catholic Boy colt out of Line (War Front) | Sara Gordon

Hip 638 is a filly out of the winning Speightstown mare Fashion Week. The yearling's second dam is Grade I-placed Theyskens' Theory (Bernardini), a half-sister to Breeders' Cup Juvenile champion Stevie Wonderboy (Stephen Got Even).

“We've had buyers come to the farm over the last two weeks and every single one of them seem to really like her,” Hancock said of the filly. “She has a real presence about her. She's a really pretty individual and she looks like she'll hopefully be one of Catholic Boy's highest-priced yearlings.”

Hip 714 is a colt out of the winning War Front mare Line, who hails from a long line of Claiborne-bred broodmares. Line's dam Wend (Pulpit) was a three-time graded winner on grass.

“It looks like he'll have a little turf influence in his athletic abilities,” Hancock explained. “We're really pleased with how he has progressed. He has really blossomed with sales prep and I think buyers will be pleased with what they see.”

As the son of a War Front mare, this colt is a result of the matings that Claiborne envisioned when they brought Catholic Boy to the farm with the hope of supporting broodmares by their flagbearing sire.

“One of our draws with Catholic Boy was that we have a lot of War Front mares and More Than Ready crosses really well with Danzig,” Hancock noted. “[The cross] has had a ton of success in Australia especially and I think we'll see it more and more here in America hopefully in the next couple of years. It's a good cross because some of the War Front mares aren't the biggest and leggiest, but Catholic Boy is really providing the kind of size and leg they might need.”

Claiborne will showcase yearlings by a second first-crop sire at Keeneland September with Demarchelier, who has over a dozen youngsters cataloged for the auction.

A regally-bred son of Dubawi–and the only stallion in Kentucky by the globally-successful Darley sire–Demarchelier was a 'TDN Rising Star' on debut for Peter Brant and Chad Brown in his lone juvenile start. At three, he defeated allowance company on the Keeneland turf and then showed an impressive turn of foot to take the GIII Pennine Ridge S. After incurring a career-ending injury in his next start, he retired to Claiborne.

Demarchelier strikes a pose | Sara Gordon

Hancock said their team was not sure how the talented bay would be received by the market with his short-but-impeccable turf resume, but he shared that they were thrilled with how breeders responded to the new stallion, who has stood for a fee of $5,000 in his first three years at stud.

“Demarchelier bred 102 mares in his first crop, which we were more than happy with,” Hancock said. “[Despite] being a horse that was just three for three and with a very European pedigree, he really wasn't that hard of a sell thanks to Dubawi doing so well as an international sire. Peter Brant supported him heavily and he always told us that the horse had a ton of ability.”

While Catholic Boy seems to be throwing an array of types with his progeny, Hancock said that Demarchelier is definitely stamping his offspring.

“Every single one of them looks exactly like him. They're not the biggest, but they're really good movers. They look like they're going to be very turfy. If you've seen Dubawi, Demarchelier has a lot of his characteristics. Obviously Dubawi's sons are really excelling in Europe and we expect Demarchelier to do that here too. We have a lot of really good breeders behind the horse and I think when they hit the racetrack this time next year, they'll speak for themselves.”

For more TDN Features on first-crop yearling sires, click here. 

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Twin Creeks Banner Unfurled at Keeneland September

The Twin Creeks Farm name is a very familiar one in horse racing. Having been associated with a host of big-name horses in the past as both a breeder and owner, the operation will now venture into new terrain, offering it's first draft of yearlings on Day 4 of this season's Keeneland September Sale.

The initial seven-horse draft on offer is highlighted by five yearlings by WinStar sire Constitution.

“Overall, we thought this was a very solid group and these individuals were very similar,” Twin Creeks' Randy Gullatt said. “And they all have a very strong pedigree behind them. I hope we have already proven the point that we can breed and sell great horses, so I think they will be very popular here.”

In a fateful move that would pave the way for the string of successes that would come in the breeding shed and on the racetrack, Twin Creeks teamed up with WinStar Farm to campaign $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select yearling purchase Constitution (Tapit), victorious in the 2014 GI Besilu Florida Derby and 2015 GI Donn H. Standing for an advertised fee of $85,000 in 2022, Constitution currently heads the earning's list of North American fourth crop sires with runners in both North America and Europe.

“He's been so important to us, both in racing him and now as a sire,” he said. “We've raced four graded stakes horses by him that we also bred.”

According to Gullatt, Hip 812 and Hip 888 are likely to garner plenty of attention next week. The former, who is out of Sharp Instinct (Awesome Again), is a half-brother to GSW Send It In (Big Brown). The latter is a half-brother to Grade II-placed Afleet Destiny (Hard Spun). Both yearlings are by Constitution.

Gullatt explained, “These colts in particular have a really special look to them. They both have that special physical that most of these buyers seem to be attracted to. I think being by Constitution and having that look, I would think they'd be very popular.”

Hoping to catch lightning in a bottle again, Twin Creeks has already tasted top-level success with another son of Constitution. Consigned on behalf of breeder Twin Creeks by Becky Thomas's Sequel New York in 2018 renewal of the Saratoga Preferred New York bred Yearling Sale, Tiz the Law–out of Tizfiz (Tiznow)–was purchased for $110,000 by Jack Knowlton's Sackatoga Stable. Trained by Barclay Tagg, the colt went on to win the GI Belmont S. In addition to the GI Runhappy Travers S., GI Curlin Florida Derby and GI Champagne S.

“Tiz the Law is a very different type of horse from the colts we are offering at Keeneland September,” explained Gullatt. “He was a smaller sort of horse and had an exceptional mind, but he wasn't a [physical] standout as a yearling. And Constitution was a relatively unknown stallion at the time that Tiz the Law sold.”

He continued, “But I think these colts are a step above [physically] than Tiz the Law was as a yearling. Obviously, Constitution's stature as a stallion has also grown since Tiz the Law sold.”

Another member of the Constitution brigade received a timely boost her page. Hip 1019–out of a half-sister to GISW Celestine (Scat Daddy) named Haunted Heroine (Ghostzapper)–is a full-sister to Law Professor, winner of the Sept. 1 Tapit S. at Kentucky Downs. Trained by Rob Atras, the Twin Creeks homebred is also responsible for a win in last season's GII Santa Anita Mathis Mile.

“I think he's going to be an exciting fall horse for us,” Gullat said of Law Professor. “We're quite high on him.”

Of his full sister, he added, “She should make an incredible racehorse, and hopefully, as a broodmare for someone one day.”

Among the Twin Creeks offerings not by Constitution, Hip 906 is by the recently deceased More Than Ready out of Baffling (Graydar)–a homebred, half-sister to Constitution out of Baffled (Distorted Humor). The immediate family also boasts Group 2 winner Boynton (More Than Ready) and Grade III scorer Jacaranda (Congrats).

“We had the mare Baffled for some time and sold a More Than Ready out of her named Boynton for $750,000 [at Keeneland September in 2015]. So, we know that the niche works.”

He added, “She is a big, strong, two-turn, classy filly. I think she can be a tremendous broodmare for someone someday.”

According to Gullatt, Hip 1093, by Catholic Boy (More Than Ready) out of May Night (Gulch), has been withdrawn from the sale and will be retained by Twin Creeks to race. Twin Creeks also campaigned the GI Travers S. and GI Belmont Derby winner with Bob LaPenta, Madaket Stables and Siena Farm.

“She's the only Catholic Boy that we have,” he said, explaining the decision to scratch. “It looks like it might be [dam Song of Bernadette]'s last foal, so we decided we want to keep that family.”

 

Planting the Seed

According to Twin Creek's Randy Gullatt, the addition of farm manager Ryan Bardin to the team was instrumental in facilitating the move to sell its own product at public sale.

“We have done occasionally in the past, but nothing to this degree,” explained Gullatt. “This year, I have a new farm manager to help out and we had a nice group of horses and we thought we could sell them all on the same day. And we thought, 'why not this year be the year we start selling our own in September'.”

Expanding upon the decision to assume selling duties at Keeneland September, Gullatt continued, “Sequel New York sells all of our New York breds, and Taylor Made sells our Kentucky horses. And we're still going to use them. Taylor Made sold a horse for us in July and they will sell something for us in October and November as well. Sequel sold a horse for us at Saratoga in August. September is just such a unique place. It's close to home and its something that we can do on our own now. We also thought the horses were all of similar quality and, being able to sell them on the same day, that played a role in the decision as well.”

Also on offer, next week are a pair of Constitutions–a filly, Hip 779 out of Grade II winner Pure Silver (Mission Impazible) and Hip 792, another colt by Constitution out of Remedy (Creative Cause) from the family of champion Beholder and Into Mischief. Rounding out the consignment is Hip 799, a daughter of freshman sire City of Light.

Underscoring the relevance of the younger sires, not only to Twin Creeks program, but also to the industry as a whole, Gullatt said, “Especially with the fillies, having these current horses on the track adds that 'sexy' value to these yearlings. I think this market always enjoys that fresh face. The first-year stallion, new horse or an up-and-coming stars like Constitution. Big names mean a lot to pedigrees. Having that current horse just gives you a family that people want to invest into. Those are the ones we want to bring here.”

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Record-Setting International Sire More Than Ready Dies

More Than Ready (Southern Halo–Woodman's Girl, by Woodman), whose 216 worldwide stakes winners is the fourth highest total of all time, was euthanized the morning of Aug. 26 at WinStar Farm due to the cumulative effects of old age. He was 25 years old.

“More Than Ready was an amazing horse who touched everyone he came in contact with,” said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. “He may not have been the biggest horse in the barn, but he more than made up for it in class, balance, and character. His expressions said it all. We will greatly miss him at the farm.”

Larry McGinnis, longtime stallion manager at WinStar Farm, said of the legend's passing, “To me, he was more than a great stallion, he was a great friend. It was an honor to take care of such a remarkable horse. I will miss him.”

Bred in Kentucky by Woodlynn Farm Inc., More Than Ready was purchased by Edward Rosen, agent for owner Jim Scatuorchio, for $187,000 at the 1998 Keeneland September sale and won his first five starts for trainer Todd Pletcher, including the GIII Tremont S. and GII Sanford S. before tasting defeat for the first time when stretched to a mile in the GI Champagne S. Dead-heat winner of the GII Hutcheson S. in his sophomore debut, More Than Ready was second in the GII Louisiana Derby and was beaten a head when runner-up in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. ahead of a meritorious fourth to Fusaichi Pegasus in the GI Kentucky Derby. Focusing on one-turn races for the balance of the season, More Than Ready earned Grade I laurels in Saratoga's King's Bishop S. and was second to stablemate Trippi (End Sweep) in the GI Vosburgh S. He retired to Vinery Kentucky for the 2001 breeding season with seven wins from 17 starts and earnings of $1,026,229, and was one of several Vinery stallions that moved to WinStar upon the closure of that nursery.

 

 

 

A Dual-Hemisphere Sensation…

A stallion blessed with tremendous fertility, More Than Ready is the sire of an eye-popping and record-setting 2118 winners to date (72.4% winners to starters), making him the world's most prolific sire of individual winners. With a victory in the GII Wonder Again S. in June 2022, Klaravich Stables' Consumer Spending provided the stallion with his 100th worldwide winner at the group/graded level and the victory occurred on the same Belmont program where Morethanreadyeddie–named in honor of the aforementioned Rosen–won his maiden at first asking over five furlongs. Of his black-type winners (only Galileo {Ire}, Danehill and Sadler's Wells have more), some 26 have struck at the top level in seven racing jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and South Africa. The sire of 17 winners and three stakes winners from his first American crop in 2004, More Than Ready was an instant hit in Australia, where he shuttled to Vinery Stud to serve mares Southern Hemisphere time. To date, he has sired 971 winners in the U.S. and Canada and 905 in Australia and New Zealand. His progeny earnings are in excess of $219 million.

With Australasia's emphasis on speed and precocity, his foals hit the ground running, with six black-type winners among his 17 first-crop winners overall, including G1 Champagne S. heroine Carry On Cutie (Aus). His early Australian crops also featured Benicio (Aus), winner of the 2006 G1 Victoria Derby; Sebring (Aus) and Phelan Ready (Aus), victorious in the prestigious G1 Golden Slipper S. in 2008 and 2009, respectively; G1 Blue Diamond S. hero Samaready (Aus); and G1 Western Australian Derby victress Dreamaway (Aus). More Than Ready has also proven especially potent with Danehill-line mares, resulting in the likes of Group 1 winners More Joyous (Aus), Prized Icon (Aus) and More Than Sacred (Aus) in addition to Benicio (Aus), Sebring (Aus), Perfectly Ready (Aus) and Dreamaway (Aus). More Than Ready's other Southern Hemisphere Group 1 winners include Gimmethegreenlight (Aus) and Entisaar (Aus) in South Africa; and More Than Sacred in New Zealand. His progeny were brilliant enough in the early parts of their careers to score in races like the G1 Golden Slipper and G1 Blue Diamond S., but were equally effective at trips of 2000 meters and beyond in Australian fixtures such as the Queen Elizabeth S., and he accounted for Derby winners in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia. In total, More Than Ready has sired Group 1/Grade I winners in seven countries.

Trainer Todd Pletcher and More Than Ready | Horsephotos

The top-level winners were a bit slower to come at home, but Buster's Ready became More Than Ready's first American Grade I winner in the 2011 Mother Goose S. Verrazano, raced in partnership by Kevin Scatuorchio's Let's Go Stable, became his sire's first male GISW in the 2013 Wood Memorial S. and Daredevil–also raced by Let's Go in partnership–his first Grade I-winning juvenile in the 2014 Champagne S. More Than Ready's son Catholic Boy holds the rare distinction of winning Grade Is on two surfaces–the GI Belmont Derby on turf and the GI Travers S. on the dirt. Catholic Boy is one of four sons of More Than Ready at stud in Kentucky (Copper Bullet, Daredevil, Funtastic), while Verrazano has gone on to become a productive stallion in South America.

More Than Ready is the leading sire of Breeders' Cup winners to date with seven and accounted for multiple Breeders' Cup winners on two separate occasions. He was represented by the winners of the Breeders' Cup juvenile turf events in 2010 (Pluck, More Than Real), while champion Roy H won the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint in 2017 and 2018. 'TDN Rising Star' and future Eclipse Award winner Rushing Fall posted the first of her six career Grade Is in the 2017 GI Juvenile Fillies' Turf. Uni (GB)–another maternal granddaughter of Danehill–beat the boys in the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Mile. More Than Ready has been represented by 13 champions around the world. Among More Than Ready's 16 offspring that earned the 'Rising Star' distinction is the versatile Emmanuel, third in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. and front-running winner of his turf debut in the GII Pennine Ridge S. at Belmont this past June. More Than Ready is the only sire to have an Eclipse Award Champion each year from 2017 to 2020.

A Broodmare Sire of Note…

More Than Ready is the broodmare sire of fully 135 stakes winners, 61 group or graded winners and 15 at the top level, including GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Structor (Palace Malice), top Australian sprinter Bivouac (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), the rags-to-riches Group 1-winning juvenile filly Miracles of Life (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) and Hong Kong champion Wellington (Aus). Other U.S. graded winners from More Than Ready mares include Kauai Katie (Malibu Moon), Breeders' Cup winner Four Wheel Drive (American Pharoah) and 'TDN Rising Star' and leading turf distaffer Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom), whose dam Mary's Follies is also responsible for Japan's top dirt galloper Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) and Night Prowler (Giant's Causeway), a dual graded winner in the U.S. whose success extended to Barbados and that island nation's richest event, the Barbados Gold Cup.

Rosen Remembers 'Life-Changing' Horse…

Eddie Rosen has been involved with any number of successful horses over the course of his bloodstock career, but it's safe to say none left the impression the same way More Than Ready did.

“Most people are aware of all the amazing statistics he compiled as the greatest dual-hemisphere sire in history, his versatility in the ability to sire dirt, turf, long and sprint winners,” he reflected. “Sometimes forgotten is what a great 2-year-old he was, reeling off the first five starts of his career in spectacular fashion. My family and I will always cherish the wonderful memories sharing his career with the Scatuorchio family. For me, he was life-changing. During Derby week this year, I was able to visit with him and give him one last peppermint. I will miss him dearly!”

 

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