Tag: Chris Baker

Top ‘Gun’ Rewards Chris Baker’s Belief in ‘Run’

On the spectrum of Thoroughbred stallions, you won't find too many either side of Gun Runner and Despot. One, charging $250,000 a dance at Three Chimneys, is the most immediately accomplished sire of recent times. The other was claimed for $350 at Waterford Park, some 50 years ago, before being set to work annually producing a handful of half-breds in rural Maryland.

“Liver chestnut son of Stevward,” says the man whose career unites this unlikely pair. “You should have seen us trying to figure out how to breed mares on our own. 'Grab her tail.' There were no helmets and vests worn, I can guarantee you that.”

Chris Baker, chief operating officer at Three Chimneys for the past decade, chuckles at the memory.

“My father, in essence, thought that no uterus should be empty,” he says. “From cows to horses, to cats, dogs, everything. Breed, breed, breed. An old Catholic thing, I guess! But that's where the whole horse thing started.”

It has been quite an odyssey since. Crucially, in a sector of the industry that often feels culpably divorced from its ostensible purpose, Baker cut his teeth on the racetrack. He started at a barn that then housed A.P. Indy, and for a time was even a trainer himself. Baker went on to adapt those experiences to the challenges of breeding, so well that 11 years as general manager for Ned Evans at Spring Hill Farm yielded over 100 stakes winners, including another Horse of the Year in Saint Liam. During a stint at WinStar, he welcomed into the world yet another that would earn those laurels; and now Gun Runner and Baker have together brought their careers to fulfilment in the service of the Torrealba family at Three Chimneys.

Baker cuts a striking figure, nowadays, silver hair flowing beneath the broad brim of his hat. But the ease of his demeanor and conversation has been fully earned: the insights kindly shared with The TDN remind us that none of these things happen overnight, nor by accident.

Baker's forefathers were themselves achieving pretty high production. Baker himself is sixth of seven children; his father was one of nine kids from McKees Rocks, Pittsburgh; and his grandfather, in turn, was one of nine, seven being boys.

All seven brothers went into the family business: a bakery, inevitably. The one who became Baker's grandfather was charged with the care of 100 carthorses that delivered bread for the Baker Brothers Bakery.

“My dad tells of going with his father in a buckboard wagon at weekends to try out replacements for horses that had been retired, or come up lame,” he recalls. “One time this horse just wouldn't go and, after driving away at him for a mile or so, they turn round to go back. And then the horse just takes off. They can't stop him. He's running through the cobblestone streets like a lunatic, all the way back into the barn, where he comes to a screeching halt, dust flying everywhere.”

The panting driver leaned down to his sons cowering in the bottom of the wagon. His words have since been humorously invoked at any appropriate juncture in Baker family history: “Boys, whatever you do, don't tell your mother.”

It is to this gentleman that Baker traces his affinity for horses-though there were also weekends and summers at the farm owned by his other grandfather, an hour or so from his boyhood home in Washington, DC. This one was an attorney (as was Baker's own father) but also raised cattle and tobacco on 600 acres.

“So really we did a lot of our growing up in the country,” Baker says. “And we were riding before we could walk. There were horses for everybody- buckskins, palominos, Tennessee walkers-just not saddles or bridles for everybody! If you were the last to the tack room, you'd be riding with a halter and rope.”

The most expensive was a Chincoteague pony bought by his father for $45. But then a neighbors' daughter went away to college and gave her hunting mare, a retired Thoroughbred, to the Bakers. Suddenly they had a new sense of what a horse could be. Soon they started claiming the odd Thoroughbred from places like Charles Town and Mountaineer, Despot among them.

“And then somebody told my father that a stallion needs to be exercised,” Baker recalls. “Which is right. But next thing I'm the one, at 10 years old, getting run off with, all over the farm.”

Sometimes he would also be told to ride a mare to a nearby farm that stood Quarter Horse stallions. ([Its owners were raising a boy of their own into the game: the future veterinarian, Steve Allday.] Baker remembers being told to stand his mare uphill, and put his shoulder into her chest so that she might keep still. One way or another, then, it was a pretty seasoned young horseman who went off to read Agriculture and Animal Science at the University of Maryland.

It was during his college years that Baker first sampled racetrack work, at Bowie, and subsequently a three-year grounding at Lane's End included stints at Churchill and Keeneland with the farm's trainer at the time, Neil Howard. Baker had been a sufficiently able high school athlete-football, track, wrestling-to have developed an interest in physiological preparation. First and foremost, however, he had grasped that anybody intending to breed racehorses should understand the requirements of those who trained them.

Baker served as Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella's assistant for several years | Benoit

“I believe my experience on the racetrack makes me a way better farm manager,” Baker acknowledges. “And that was very intentional. It was something deeply ignited in me at that age, my early 20s: how could I breed and raise an athlete without seeing that athlete in training and in competition?”

True, that apprenticeship extended far beyond his expectations. He went to Australia and England, to see how things were done there; and ended up serving four years as assistant trainer to Richard Mandella. His resume by then included a year with Neil Drysdale, on hand when a $2.9 million son of Seattle Slew broke his maiden at Santa Anita. Baker was still very junior, at that time, but A.P. Indy gave him a glimpse of the elite Thoroughbred; and Mandella would now provide a wider perspective.

“Richard was a great teacher,” he recalls. “A great taskmaster, as well! I mean, you were going to learn, or you weren't going to be around at all. So I learned a tremendous amount about hard work and horsemanship, the kind that leaves no stone unturned. But also in terms of character, and approach to life.”

Within months Phone Chatter and Kotashaan (Fr) had won at the Breeders' Cup, while the South American conveyor belt would bring the likes of Siphon (Brz) and Gentlemen (Arg).

“Those horses had to go through a lot of filters to make it here,” Baker reflects. “Some had a lot of stamina in their pedigrees and, especially in California, you had to have speed as well. But most of them had good foot, good bone, some constitution. Watching Richard adapting both South American and French horses to U.S. methods, the acclimatization process, the patience required, was a fantastic education. At the same time, of course, he's getting horses like Afternoon Deelites and Soul of the Matter. At one time we had 40 horses in the barn and eight were Grade I winners. It was just a great environment, a great lab to study in.”

Eventually Baker became so absorbed by the track that he thought he might never leave. He took out a license, trained 11 winners over a couple of years. But then he got married, soon a daughter appeared, and a nomadic and uncertain existence became impractical. He returned to Kentucky and worked on a couple of farms until sounded out by his former employers at Lane's End about their client, Edward P. Evans, who was seeking a manager for his farm in Virginia.

Inauspiciously, Evans was doing so for the fourth time in five years. But it suited Baker, as a young father, to be close to family and he backed himself to forge a relationship with this notoriously demanding employer.

“He was tough but fair,” Baker says. “And he expected results. As his brother Shel told me, 'In Ned's life, nobody avoids the penalty box.' But so long as you were doing what you were supposed to, and helping him achieve his goals, he was a great guy to work for. So I just went in and worked hard, was honest and clear with him. And, as we got to know each other, we built some trust and mutual respect.

“He was a very intelligent guy. He could take what looked like complex situations, and distill them to one simple actionable item that would drive success. He read people well, read business well. And he had a highly developed bullshit monitor!”

Evans had been only 27 when buying the farm back in 1969.

“He'd always bred to good stallions: Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector, Halo,” Baker says. “He'd bred to The Minstrel at Windfields in Maryland and got Minstrella, a champion 2-year-old [in Europe]. But having been operating with 20, 30 mares, the whole scale changed when he sold out of Macmillan [the publishing firm]. That was when he got right up to 90 mares, and his whole intent and focus changed. So when I fell in, it was Year 31 of a 42-year experiment. All the ingredients were there-the physical plant, the bloodstock-and he just needed somebody to help orchestrate things, from an operational standpoint. So, again, it was fortunate timing on my part.”

By that stage Baker had long been absorbed by pedigrees. He was barely 10 when his father would throw him the stallion edition of Maryland Horse to help pick a $1,500 sire. But now he could mix from a much larger palette, including Pleasant Tap-Evans had inherited a third share from his father-and homebreds like Silver Ghost and Stormin Fever.

By the time Evans died, on the last day of 2010, they had raised Saint Liam [sold as a yearling] and Quality Road, whose stud career has lavishly benefited his late breeder's charitable foundation.

“I didn't know everything about managing a farm,” Baker says. “Still don't. But I knew what I didn't know, and knew people to call to fill in the gaps. Working for Mr. Evans was like getting an MBA. We'd go over the financial statements on a monthly basis, we'd go over the annual budgeting with his controller in New York. To that point, I had focused my entire career on developing my horsemanship. But he opened my eyes to the macro, business level.”

Three Chimneys owner Goncalo Torrealba | Keeneland

In the process Baker also obtained a rare, cradle-to-grave perspective on equine potential. When preparing the Spring Hill dispersal, then, Baker was still presiding over matings and foalings, still liaising with pre-trainers and trainers. The authority with which he did so plainly impressed Benjamin Leon, who bought several of the mares and invited Baker to follow them into his operation. Baker having committed to WinStar, however, Leon said: “Chris, these mares are your handiwork. They should be with you. Will you ask Mr. Troutt if I can board them at WinStar?”

So it was that Baker came to be present when Saint Liam's $3 million half-sister Quiet Giant (Giant's Causeway) delivered a Candy Ride colt on 8 March, 2013. He still has a photo of the foal standing for the first time. A few months later, Baker was hired by the new owners of Three Chimneys-but he would not be parted long from Gun Runner.

By typical horseracing happenstance (Goncalo Torrealba's sister and Leon were both clients of the same Miami hairdresser) Leon invited the Torrealbas to his suite for the 2014 Kentucky Derby. Leon hit it off with Torrealba, and was invited to stay at Three Chimneys next time he was in town. When he did so, they look Baker to see all Leon's stock-and very soon sealed a partnership in everything that had come out of Spring Hill.

“So then all those horses were here with me at Three Chimneys,” marvels Baker. “If that's not luck, I don't know what is. It's fantastic, just makes the whole thing very, very meaningful. Because of the long connections, the multiple generations of multiple families.”

This has allowed Baker an emotionally gratifying stake in the outcomes of his own long diligence. Sure, he has only ever monetized his contribution as a salary; but he has felt privileged, throughout, to participate in his employers' far-sightedness.

“For so many people in our industry, just to make ends meet, the goal is to make a profit every time they can,” he acknowledges. “I've been fortunate to benefit from a completely different mindset: to focus on results, on accomplishing things, and ultimately to make a business profitable that way instead.”

The point being that with adequate resources and patience, this approach will eventually pay off commercially, too.

“I remember sitting down with Mr. Evans one time, and we were deciding between two stallions for this mare,” Baker recalls. “And I said, 'Well Mr. Evans, Pleasant Tap suits her greatly, but it's not really a commercial mating. Commercially, you'd want this one instead.' And he replied, 'Commercial sires? Racehorse sires? Who doesn't want a racehorse?' I mean, he could afford to kind of push that aside. But it was so black and white to him: if you can breed a racehorse, you'll be doing the right thing for your mare, for the family, for the whole thing.”

Of course this all ties in with Baker's grounding on the backside. His whole career has been oriented to finding a runner.

“Plenty of people that haven't had that racetrack experience have raised a lot of good horses,” Baker stresses. “I just know that for me, it makes me significantly better, because I understand what's going to be asked of them. I understand physically, mentally, even socially, things that might set them up to succeed. At the end of the day, as producers, we can't make them faster or better than they're individually hardwired to be. But by doing or especially not doing certain things, we can stay out of the way of them reaching their full potential.”

Gun Runner | Sarah K. Andrew

Gun Runner, as such, could not be better named. He's only top “gun”, after all, because he was all “run”. To Baker, of course, the horse will always have an unusually personal resonance. Knowing him so intimately, how does he account for Gun Runner's genetic prowess?

“Well, I certainly can't attribute it to any one thing,” he replies. “I think he's an alchemy of so many things that just came together. The only extremes of Gun Runner are his athleticism and his temperament, his will to win. Mental constitution, as much as anything. If you look at him, he's not too big, not too small; and his pedigree, also, suits a broad spectrum of mares. There's a melding of so many things: the brilliance of Candy Ride, the stamina and durability of Giant's Causeway. And you can go all the way back to Gallorette [foaled in 1942]. Just read her race record, and then keep tipping up the line!”

With this fulfilment of former patrons' legacy, then, Baker's present employment has brought things full circle. He repeatedly insists that he has been fortunate, “all the way through my career, to be in the right place at the right time.” But you also make your own luck. It was only because three different people-Evans, Leon and Torrealba-all recognized the skills of this “fabulous Baker boy” that a single set of fingerprints has remained, almost the whole way through, over one of the most remarkable Thoroughbreds on the planet.

“The Torrealba family has afforded us the opportunity to work with a lot of great horses, and a lot of great people,” Baker says gratefully. “All the way through my career, accomplishment has come through people having the right goals, the right stock, doing the right work. I do think I've worked hard for everybody who's been willing to employ me, but I also think I've been very fortunate to have people that believed in me, and in the teams that we could put together. It always takes a team effort, backed up with good stock and good facilities, and Three Chimneys is certainly an extension of that. So really the only way of looking at it is probably that I've been spoiled, right?”

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With $3M Into Mischief Topper, Keeneland September Sizzles from Start to Finish Tuesday

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis

LEXINGTON, KY – With the very first horse through the ring bringing $1.3 million, the second session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale was off to the races Tuesday and the action didn't slow down throughout the day as the second-to-last offering brought $1.25 million. In between, 13 other yearlings sold for seven figures, including a colt by Into Mischief who brought top price of $3 million from the partnership of Chuck Sonson, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford.

With eight million-dollar yearlings Monday, the two-session Book 1 section concluded with 23 yearlings bringing $1 million or more.

“It was a great day with lots and lots of different buyers, the partnerships were active, it was active from the domestic side as well as the international side,” said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. “The 15 top prices were bought by 13 different buyers. And there was also a real diversity among the consignors, which was really nice to see. There were a lot of consignors who had a lot of success today.”

Figures for the marathon auction continue to track very closely with its record-setting 2022 renewal. In all, 221 yearlings sold during Book 1 this year for a total of $116,925,000. During last year's Book 1 section, 220 yearlings grossed $113,660,000 as the auction was well on its way to recording its first-ever gross over $400,000,000.

“Going in, I didn't think it would be fair for us to expect that we could replicate last year,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “But I think when you look at the numbers–obviously the median is down a little, the average is up a little bit–but overall the fact that the gross is up over $3.5 million from last year is incredible. When you look at the numbers through the ring that got sold, it's very, very comparable.”

The Book 1 average of $529,072 is up 2.41% from a year ago, while the median dipped 11.11% to $400,000.

From a catalogue of 392 yearlings, 302 went through the ring with 81 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 26.82%. It was 21.99% a year ago.

“A lot of people don't have to sell,” Lacy said. “When you have a purse structure and people are enjoying it so much, they are happy to race.”

Gainesway was the book's leading consignor with 29 horses sold for $20,920,000. The farm sold eight of the book's 23 million-dollar yearlings, with five coming from Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm broodmare band.

“We had high expectations coming in,” Gainesway's Brian Graves said. “I wasn't sure we had as many million-dollar horses to sell as we actually did. The market proved to be really strong. But we knew we had a really good group of horses for our clients. The market is alive and well.”

Mike Repole continued to lead all buyers at the auction. On his own, the New Yorker purchased 21 yearlings for $8,135,000, while in partnership with Spendthrift Partners, he acquired an additional two yearlings for $1.2 million.

In addition to his activity buying, Repole also bred and sold the section's $3-million topper through the Lane's End consignment.

Into Mischief continued to dominate the top of the market. The Spendthrift stallion had 11 seven-figure yearlings and a total of 31 head grossing $27,910,000. Coolmore's Uncle Mo, with four seven-figure yearlings, had 17 Book 1 horses sell for $12,495,000. The duo were represented by nine of the book's top 10 yearlings.

The Keeneland September sale continues with Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday beginning at 11 a.m. Following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 23 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

$3M Into Mischief Colt Heads Day 2

Continuing to underscore the sheer sire power of Into Mischief on this year's yearling market, Hip 261, a colt by the Spendthrift sire out GISP Nonna Mia (Empire Maker) landed a $3-million final bid from the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds, Woodford Racing and Chuck Sonson.

“This is a beautiful colt. This is a young family [and] with Into Mischief, you don't have to say much. He was always in the hands of Lane's End, so we knew a little about his upbringing,” said Terry Finley, who handled the signing duties from inside the pavilion. “We are really excited and have a new group of partners who are in on him. We will try to get to the Derby in 2025.”

Terry Finley & Chuck Sonson | Keeneland

Of the session-topping yearling, Finley added, “I thought he'd bring a significant amount of money. You never know. After they bring $1.5-$2 million, you never really know where you're going to stop. I was just glad that we got to a point where I thought it was a 'reasonable' amount of money, if you can in fact call $3 million reasonable for a racehorse that has never had a saddle on his back.”

The buying partnership also combined to purchase Hip 220 and Hip 225, a pair of $800,000 colts by Candy Ride (Arg) and Quality Road.

The Feb. 11 foal was consigned by agent, Lane's End.

“When you bring an individual like him to this sale, you hope to be rewarded and that's what happened today,” said Lane's End's Allaire Ryan. “Over the past decade, of the horses we've raised at the farm, he is right up there. He's always been a forward individual from Day 1. He's been a special horse for us.”

She continued, “All the top players you think would be interested in a future stallion prospect like him. I'm just thrilled for everybody on the farm. To be entrusted to a mare like this for Mr. Repole means a lot in and of itself but to be able to raise a horse and bring him to an auction is rewarding for everybody.”

While showing moderate ability on the track, Nonna Mia has already proved her mettle in the breeding shed, producing GI Wood Memorial winner Outwork (Uncle Mo), in addition to SP Nonna's Boy (Distorted Humor).

Day 1 Leading Buyer Repole Returns Tuesday with Breeding Score

Mike Repole was busy spending through Book 1, purchasing 11 yearlings, alone or in partnership, for just a tick under $3.945 million. Recouping some of that cash during Tuesday's session, Repole sat front and center with his team when a homebred colt out of a horse he campaigned, Nonna Mia, lit up the board.

“She was named after my grandmother,” he said. “I named the horse in 2009. My grandmother passed away in 2020. So she's very special to me.”

A half-sister to MGSW Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile), Nonna Mia was a $200,000 purchase by Repole from the Mill Ridge consignment at the 2008 renewal of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

According to Repole, the 16-year-old mare currently resides at Lane's End.

“Nonna Mia is getting up in age, maybe she has one more in her, maybe not,” he said.

The pedigree received a significant bump at Saratoga when Repole homebred Fierceness (City of Light), a son out of Nonna Mia's daughter Nonna Bella (Stay Thirsty), blew the doors off to earn 'TDN Rising Star' status Aug. 25.

“She also gave me Outwork and a horse I think is the best 2-year-old, Fierceness, who is going to the GI Champagne S.,” he confirmed. “So, we're lucky to have her.”

Underscoring the importance of the recent update to the colt's catalog page, Finley added, “I was up at Saratoga when Fierceness ran. I was awestruck by that performance.”

During Tuesday's session, Repole was also an active buyer, securing an additional 12 yearlings, 11 alone and one in partnership, for a gross of $5,390,000.

“I want to be the leading buyer and leading seller one day,” he quipped. “But I am passionate about all aspects of this game. Stallions, stallion shares, broodmares, buying, selling, weanlings, yearlings, even claiming horses for $12,500.

“I just enjoy the game. I like to play it at every single level I can and try to as well as we can do. I enjoy winning.”

Asked whether he will be back for Book 2 and 3, Repole laughed, “We'll be buying today, tomorrow, and the next day. Don't forget, we bought [juvenile champion] Forte in [Keeneland's] Book 4. Winners can come from anywhere.”–@CbossTDN

Stewart Strikes for Uncle Mo Filly

John Stewart, who made a big splash during Monday's first session of the Keeneland September sale, took his biggest swing of the week when going to $2.5 million to acquire a filly by Uncle Mo (hip 337). While Stewart was at the sale in person during the first session, he left bidding Tuesday to agent Gavin O'Connor and farm manager Chelsey Stone.

“She's an unbelievable filly,” O'Connor said after signing the ticket on the yearling who was consigned by Denali Stud as agent for breeder, WinStar Farm. “Uncle Mo is the sire of incredible fillies.”

The yearling is out of Starship Warpspeed (Congrats) and is a half-sister to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil).

“I know the family personally,” O'Connor said. “I used to work for WinStar. I spent five years under Dave [Hanley] and Elliott [Walden]. So I have had babies out of the mare. They have a full-brother in training and he looks very promising as well.”

O'Connor, who was on the phone with Stewart during the bidding, admitted they had to stretch to get the filly.

“It was a little bit more than we wanted to go, but like we've said, John is a buyer,” he said. “I thought we were going to have her at $2.2 there, and then it went 3, 4, 5, and I thought, 'How far can we go here?'”

He added, “She's just an unbelievable broodmare prospect. She's an incredible filly. And the residual value is there. We just feel we have a safe asset at that price.”

Stewart purchased 10 yearlings during Book 1 for a total of $7,750,000. In addition to his $2.5-million acquisition, the Lexington financier also paid $1 million for a colt by Into Mischief (hip 147), a colt by Constitution (hip 135) for $850,000 and another son of Into Mischief (hip 83) for $800,000.

“We are done now,” O'Connor said. “We've got a really exciting stable of horses to go on with.” @JessMartiniTDN

Into Mischief Colt Rewards St George Team

Archie and Michelle St George, along with pinhooking partners Tony and Roger O'Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud, hit a home run Tuesday at Keeneland when selling a colt by Into Mischief (hip 283) for $1.8 million to Coolmore's M.V. Magnier. The team had acquired the dark bay for $550,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“I'm kind of speechless at the moment,” Archie St George admitted as Magnier signed the ticket on the yearling. “We're just very fortunate to have a horse as good as him. It's a huge team effort, with everyone at home, Roger and his dad and my wife Michelle and all the lads. A lot of work has gone into the horse and this is a huge thrill.”

Arthur St George | Keeneland

The yearling is out of Princess Haya (Street Cry {Ire}) and is a half-brother to stakes winner and Grade I placed Lady Kate (Bernardini).

Asked about the nerves associated with buying a pinhook prospect for $550,000, St George said, “It's nerve-wracking, but it's high risk-high reward. It's the quality of the horse. It's a huge team effort. I'd like to thank Coolmore and their partners and wish them the best of luck.”

Magnier, who purchased a son of Uncle Mo for $1.35 million Monday, was making his second purchase of the Keeneland sale. Magnier later added a $1.25-million Gun Runner colt late in the session.

“He is a very good mover and Into Mischief is a very good sire and [his son] Practical Joke is doing really well [as a sire] at the moment,” Magnier said of hip 283. @JessMartiniTDN

$1.35M Not This Time Colt Gives Airdrie Sentimental Score

Offering a small but select group of yearlings in this year's Book 1, Airdrie Stud once again showed quality over quantity often wins the day when it comes to the sales. Underscoring that point this week, Hip 344, a colt by Not This Time, drew a tidy $1.35 million final bid from Jacob West, who was bidding on behalf of Robert and Lawana Low. Over the course of two days, Airdrie sold all three of the yearlings it offered, amassing $2,475,000 in gross receipts while averaging $825,000. Airdrie also sold a Nyquist filly (Hip 31) for $750,000 on Day 1 and a $375,000 colt (Hip 356) by Complexity Tuesday.

After selling its priciest yearling so far this season, Airdrie's Bret Jones, who also bred the colt, said, “Special is the right word. A little overwhelming. I'm feeling a little sentimental right now, thinking about dad [Brereton C. Jones] and thinking how many memories we get from these great horses, these horse sales, horse races.”

Bret Jones | Keeneland

The Mar. 8 foal is out of Street Mate (Street Cry {Ire}), dam of Grade I winner Bell's The One (Majesticperfection) and GSW King Cause (Creative Cause). The 15-year-old mare, who was a $35,000 purchase at Keeneland November in 2012, is a half-sister to GSW and GISP Tap Day (Pleasant Tap)

Jones continued, “The colt has always been beautiful. He is by the right stallion. And the mare has been incredible to us. It's a really special family. He has always lived up to that family. He is just so good looking and makes you think he can be a special horse on the racetrack. The horse vetted perfectly clean which is always nice.”

When asked about the reserve, Jones didn't miss a beat.

“[The bidding] went past his reserve as fast as I hope he passes horses in a Grade I.”–@CbossTDN

Best Packs $1.3M Punch to Land Constitution Colt

The name Into Mischief seemed to be on nearly everyone's lips following a buying blitz of the sire's offspring during the first two days of selling. And while not generating the same headlines, at least not by sheer volume, WinStar's Constitution paved a slightly more subtle road while still packing a punch with five yearlings realizing $2,980,000, yielding a robust $596,000 average on Day 2. Leading the fray Tuesday was Hip 324, a bay colt who realized a $1.3 million final bid from Larry Best's OXO Equine. The purchase was Best's sole purchase on the afternoon.

“I thought he was one of the best colts in the sale,” said Best. “I paid more than I would want to. This particular auction I've never seen one quite this strong. I knew he was going be around $1 million to get him. But he's a beautiful specimen of a Constitution. He looks very racey, very athletic.”

Bred by Kindred Stables, the Mar. 26 foal was consigned by Indian Creek. The bay is out of the unraced Solo Uno (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-sister to MGSW and GISP Tom's Ready (More Than Ready).

“When you buy colts it's a high risk game,” Best said. “And when you saw some of the other colts that I liked in the sale they went for $2-million plus. There is only so much money I want to invest in a colt. This was a good shot. We'll see how it works out.”

@CbossTDN

Serengeti Empress's First Foal in Demand

The first foal out of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress (Alternation), a son of the omnipresent Into Mischief, was scooped up by the partnership of WinStar Farm's Maverick Racing, Siena Farm and CHC, Inc. for $1.2 million Tuesday at Keeneland.

“If he didn't break his ribs as a foal, he might have topped the sale,” said WinStar Farm's Elliott Walden. “We saw him on the farm and David [Hanley] and I both loved him. He's out of an Oaks winner on a Distorted Humor cross. Hopefully he can do some great things on the racetrack.”

Serengeti Empress was one of the first yearlings Joel Politi purchased when he decided to purchase young fillies with the goal of raising his own broodmare band from scratch. Politi and trainer Todd Amoss purchased the future Oaks winner for $70,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale.

After watching the mare's first foal go through the ring Tuesday, Politi admitted, “It was emotional watching him go through the ring. I had a lot of second thoughts in the back ring. I was thinking, 'My goodness, he is so good-looking.' But we set a price that we would be ok with him moving on. I am being practical about the whole thing. So you can't argue with it really. He's going to a great place. WinStar is a first-class operation. They will take good care of him and they will have him here in Kentucky and we can come visit him, so it's a win-win.” @JessMartiniTDN

A Racing Prospect for Hartley/DeRenzo

Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo are typically active in the pinhooking sphere, but with new partner Rich Mendez expanding his footprint in the industry, the Ocala horsemen acquired a racing prospect in a $1.2-million daughter of Into Mischief (hip 316). Also partnering on the yearling is John Bellinger and Brian Coelho's BC Stables.

Bred and consigned by Gainesway, the gray filly is out of Silver Colors (Mr. Greeley) and is a half to GI Alabama S. winner Eskimo Kisses (To Honor and Serve) and a granddaughter of GI Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors.

Hip 316 Into Mischief–Silver Colors filly | ThoroStride

“For us, she was the pick filly of this book,” Hartley said. “It's just such a great female family and we just felt like if we put enough guys together, we could get her. To have a half-sister to a Grade I Alabama winner and the grandmother a Kentucky Derby winner, you just don't get those pedigrees that often. So she was a filly we thought we really needed to have in the barn.”

A Miami music titan, Mendez has been on both sides of seven-figure transactions this year. He purchased an Into Mischief colt for $1.3 million at the OBS April Sale. Now named Urban Legend, the juvenile is in training out west with Bob Baffert. Mendez was also involved in seven-figure pinhooks with Hartley/DeRenzo at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale and at last month's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

Asked if the purchase of this well-bred filly indicated Mendez would consider getting into the breeding side of the business, Hartley said, “We are thinking about it for sure. This would obviously be one you'd want in your barn. My favorite saying is black cats have black kittens and she's a beautiful filly, so I think she would definitely have beautiful babies. It was just a pedigree that you very rarely get and we felt like we really had to stretch to get her. But we were taking her home.” @JessMartiniTDN

All Into Mischief, All The Time

Continuing the feeding frenzy for colts, specifically those by Into Mischief, a son of the Spendthrift sire joined the millionaire's club when reeling in a $1.2-million final bid from Team Coolmore at Keeneland Tuesday. Led by M.V. Magnier, the group held their customary spot out back, picking up their fourth purchase, also the fourth seven-figure buy, of Book 1. Offered as Hip 331, the flashy grey was consigned by Machmer Hall, who also bred the colt.

“I'm overwhelmed,” said Carrie Brogden, standing alongside her mother, Sandy Fubini. “I had no idea he was going to bring that much money. Personally, that is our most expensive yearling. We've sold 2-year-olds for more, but that is our most expensive yearling. We are overjoyed.”

Commenting on the price, she admitted, “Our reserve was well below $500,000. We're sellers and breeders. We're here to sell our horses.”

Sandy Fubini & Carrie Brogden | Keeneland

The Feb. 26 foal is out of Special Me (Unbridled's Song), who failed to distinguish herself on the racetrack, allowing Craig and Carrie Brogden to swoop in to secure the mare for a mere $6,000 at Keeneland January in 2009. Subsequent to that most fortuitous purchase, the mare produced GI Santa Anita H. winner Gift Box (Twirling Candy), MGSW and GISP Stonetastic and MGSW Special Forces. She is also responsible for GI QEII Challenge Cup S. heroine Gina Romantica (Into Mischief), herself a $1.025 million purchase at Keeneland September in 2020.

“We're never going to get another mare like her,” Brogden said. “We have a Twirling Candy filly for 2023 and it'll be a hard decision whether she comes up here or not because we can buy a lot of new broodmares for a million dollars. She is tough as nails. She is in foal to Flightline right now, but we might have to send her back to Into Mischief after this.”

Armed with both top-class runners on both the dirt and turf, Brogden admitted she doesn't see any limitations to what this colt will be able to do.

“I wouldn't be surprised if he is a great dirt horse or if he is a great turf horse,” she said.

Seeming to have the knack for coming up with pricey sales prospects out of inexpensive mares, Brogden explained Machmer Hall's overall breeding philosophy.

“We just try to go with the families we like and understand what we can afford,” she explained. “For example, I bought Stonetastic's daughter for $400,000 because I can afford that. I can't afford Stonetastic even though we bred her. You have to know the families you are dealing with.”

“And I have to thank Unbridled's Song once again. [Monday] we sold six yearlings, three of them out of Unbridled's Song mares.”

While the Machmer Hall team can credit hard work, commitment and diligence to much of their success, Brogden is quick to point out that sometimes the intangibles can also come into play.

“We had two yearlings struck and killed this year and [the Into Mischief colt] was in the same field with them,” she said. “And there were only 14 of them. We got lucky it wasn't him.”–@CbossTDN

Volatile Filly Sparks Three Chimneys' Day 

Three Chimneys Farm, which hit it out of the park with the fast-starting stallion career of Gun Runner, could have another stallion success in the making after a first-crop daughter of Volatile (hip 215) sold for $1.15 million to the bid of Mike Rutherford Tuesday at Keeneland.

“I don't think you could write it out any better than to have a $1.15-million filly in the first crop, but those are the kind of mares that we bred to him,” said Three Chimneys' Chris Baker. “That's the kind of confidence that we have in him.”

The filly, consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, was bred by Three Chimneys and is out of multiple Grade I winner Love and Pride (A.P. Indy).

“She was a spectacular filly,” Baker said of the yearling. “She deserved that kind of recognition. She is that special. We wish Mr. Rutherford all the luck in the world with her.”

Three Chimneys purchased Volatile (Violence) in partnership for $850,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale. The gray won the 2020 GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. and stood this season at Three Chimneys for $12,500.

“Volatile has consistently produced great physicals, horses with scope and substance that look fast,” Baker said. “And he was fast. It's really been pleasant to see how consistently he has race horse physical types. So we are as excited as we can be right now.”

Of the stallion's first seven-figure yearling, Baker said, “With a horse that started at his initial stud fee, it is a pleasant surprise–it's not shocking, but it's a pleasant surprise.”

Three Chimneys came right back with another seven-figure yearling when a colt by Into Mischief (hip 218), co-bred with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, sold for $1.1 million to the SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership.

Consigned by Gainesway, the yearling is out of Magical World (Distorted Humor) and is a half-brother to multiple Grade I winner Guarana (Ghostzapper). Guarana's Into Mischief colt sold for $1.4 million during Monday's first session of the September sale.

“Nothing would have surprised me with him,” Baker said. “I think he is an exceptional colt. He's a great-moving colt with a great pedigree–by a top sire out of a top mare. So I think he is well sold and I expect to hear more about him in the future.”

Also Tuesday, Three Chimneys sold a filly by Munnings (hip 280) for $700,000 to Shadwell. The yearling is out of Princesa Carolina (Tapit). @JessMartiniTDN

Gun Runner Filly to Speedway

Marette Farrell, bidding on behalf of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's Speedway Stable, went to $1.2 million to acquire a filly by Gun Runner (hip 222) from Jody and Michelle Huckabay's Elm Tree Farm consignment. The Huckabays were selling the youngster on behalf of Dell Ennis, who purchased the filly for $625,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale.

“She is so athletic and so light on her feet and has an amazing demeanor,” Farrell said. “I believe she is a runner and I hope Peter and K.C. are lucky with her.”

The bay is out of Mama Yay (Mineshaft), an unraced full-sister to Dialed In and a half to Broadway Gold (Seeking the Gold). The yearling is a half-sister to stakes winner Empire House (Empire Maker).

“It is a pedigree that Peter Fluor himself loved,” Farrell said. “We now have three stallions–Collected, Roadster and Corniche–so we are trying to do things with a view towards buying fillies [to breed to them]. We were the underbidder on this filly when she sold as a weanling. So we followed her and saw her here.”

Ennis said the filly's pedigree was what attracted him to her at Fasig-Tipton last November.

“I loved her,” Ennis said. “I loved the pedigree. I love Miss Doolittle and I love Mama Yay.”

The filly was Ennis's lone pinhook of the year and the Virginian admitted to some pre-sale jitters.

“I woke up at 2:22 this morning and couldn't sleep,” he said. “She is so classy and confident in herself. You are going to be writing about her again.”

Tuesday's seven-figure transaction was an emotional one for veteran horseman Jody Huckabay.

“I've been doing this for 35 years and this was my first million-dollar horse,” a visibly moved Huckabay said after watching the filly sell. “We thought she was a very, very good filly and obviously a lot of people thought she was nice. But you never know.”

Huckabay and Ennis were enjoying their first collaboration at the Keeneland sale.

“Dell bought this filly and called me and said, 'I hear you raise a good horse,' and he sent her to me. I met him yesterday [for the first time]. So I didn't know him. But things worked out. It's a very exciting day.”

Of the decision to send the weanling to Elm Tree last November, Ennis said, “I interviewed several farms and at the time, [Huckabay] checked the boxes for us. He could take the filly right from the sale, so he checked the boxes. I have a very good rapport with several other farms in Kentucky and I love them as well. Jody and Michelle are very hands on and they pay attention to detail. And that's what it takes to get a horse in that ring from a weanling.”

This is not the first time the bay filly has rewarded her connections in the sales ring. She was bred by Mark Erlandson, who purchased Mama Yay for $20,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Erlandson sent the Gun Runner filly through the sales ring at Fasig-Tipton last year through the New Hill Farm consignment. @JessMartiniTDN

Into Mischief Continues Powerful Run Into Day 2

Picking up where he left off Monday, Into Mischief was represented by his first seven-figure yearling of the session when Hip 218 reeled in $1.1 million from agent Donato Lanni. Tom Ryan signed the ticket on behalf of prolific partnership of SF Bloodstock, Starlight and Madaket.

“There is no mystery about the stallion,” Ryan said. “It's a very unique pedigree. Just a fantastic piece of paper. And it's rare you have the opportunity to buy into that sort of bloodline. So we're glad to be involved.”

According to Ryan, the colt will go to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

“Donato loved him and so did Bob. Our own team, John Moynihan was involved too. We're excited to have him.”

Whisper Hill Farm and Three Chimneys Farm bred the colt in partnership. The Apr. 20 foal is out of Magical World (Distorted Humor), most notably the dam of GI Acorn S. winner Guarana (Ghostzapper). The colt is also half to SW Beatbox (Pioneerof the Nile) and SW and GSP Magic Dance (More Than Ready). The family includes GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold).

Following a lucrative streak, Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill, in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm, extended to $5.2 million to secure Magic World while carrying this foal at Fasig-Tipton November in 2021. Last term, the partnership dipped into the family again to purchase Magical World's colt by Quality Road for $1.1 million. Guarana herself was a $4.4-million purchase at Fasig-Tipton November in 2021.

The family had its desirability in full display Monday when a son of Guarana, also by Into Mischief, brought $1.4 million.

During Tuesday's session, Lanni also secured Hip 207, a colt by Into Mischief out of Late Night Pow Wow (Fiber Sonde) for $900,000 and Hip 243, a colt by Justify ($625,000) for the same partnership. —@CbossTDN

Seven-Figure Book 1 Parade for Pope

Mandy Pope, who has steadily been building a high-octane broodmare band, reaped the benefits of her investments during Book 1, selling five seven-figure yearlings over the two sessions. Leading the way was a $1.7-million son of Into Mischief (hip 162) who sold Monday. Pope got Tuesday's second session of the auction off to a quick start when the first horse through the ring, a daughter of Tapit (hip 202), sold for $1.3 million to the internet bid of Sinandigan Stable. Also Tuesday, Pope, in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm, sold a colt by Into Mischief (hip 218) for $1.1 million to the SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership; and a colt by Curlin out of champion Songbird (hip 325) for $1 million to Grandview Equine.

Mandy Pope | Keeneland

“It's been a lot of hard working buying the right mares,” Pope said. “We worked hard buying excellent race mares and trying to reproduce them. This has been an awesome day for us.”

Asked how the results in the sales ring matched up to her expectations, Pope said, “We thought a couple of them would sell that well. A couple of them were surprises for the better and one or two were not. The usual thing.”

Pope's Book 1 yearlings were at the forefront of a big two days for the Gainesway consignment.

“Mandy has invested a lot of time and a lot of money and it's starting to yield dividends,” said Gainesway's Brian Graves. @JessMartiniTDN

The post With $3M Into Mischief Topper, Keeneland September Sizzles from Start to Finish Tuesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Trailblazer Sandy Hatfield Passes Torch at Three Chimneys

Veronica Reed had just graduated high school when she met Sandy Hatfield, but that short introduction left a life-alerting impact.

Born and raised in Colorado, Reed moved to Lexington to pursue a career in the Thoroughbred industry. While working in the yearling division at Three Chimneys Farm, she was sent to pick something up from the stallion barn. Peeking into the breeding shed to scope out who was in charge, she quickly noticed that a woman was in command. She was petite–at least, compared to the powerful studs she handled–with a blond braid and a sharp eye that took in every detail of the session.

From that moment, Reed had a goal. She too would be a stallion manager one day.

This year, that dream came to fruition as Reed has taken over as stallion manager at Three Chimneys. As stallion manager emeritus, Hatfield is still a fixture in the barn–at least for this year's breeding season–but Reed is now at the helm.

When Reed first approached Hatfield about working for her almost 20 years ago, Hatfield told her to gain a bit more hands-on experience and come back. Reed did just that, working with the yearlings at Three Chimneys while attending Midway University, before eventually joining the stallion team. When Reed graduated college in 2008, Hatfield asked her to escort Point Given to Brazil.

The job came with many challenges, but Reed enjoyed the adventure of going to a new country where the only thing familiar to her was the stallion on the other end of the shank. She spent several years shuttling stallions between hemispheres, including a five-year stint going back and forth between the U.S. and Darley Australia.

Of course, whenever she arrived at a farm, she was not exactly what her new co-workers were expecting.

“The first time I moved to a Southern Hemisphere location was Argentina,” Reed recalled. “It was not only a new culture, but it was a new language and new people. So when they saw a girl come off the airplane, they were as confused as I was. But the best part about it was after working sessions and showing that I was there every day, I earned their trust in the shed. I think you just have to give people time to realize that, yes she's a girl, but she can do it too. I think it was a lot of just being a good person and working hard, and in the end they don't care what gender you are.”

Reed's predecessor was a pioneer of the industry as she pursued a career in a very male-dominated stallion business in the 1980s.

Sandy and Will Take Charge at Three Chimneys | Sarah Andrew

“When I first came to town, there were a lot of breeding sheds that wouldn't let a woman in the breeding shed to watch,” Hatfield recalled. “I mean if you took your mare to the breeding shed, they made you stand outside. There were a lot of times that people came and walked right past me and went to the first guy they saw. Once people realized that I knew what I was doing and could take care of their mares in the breeding shed and make sure they got a good cover, I think they understood.”

Hatfield acquired a love of horses from her father while working on their ranch and racing Quarter Horses in Oklahoma. She moved to Kentucky when she received a scholarship from Murray State University's equine program. She spent a summer prepping yearlings at Spendthrift Farm and instantly fell in love with the industry. After graduating, Hatfield moved back to Lexington to pursue a career as a yearling manager. She was working at North Ridge Farm when the farm's general manager Dan Elliott asked her to go to the stallion barn and pull manes. It wasn't long before she was back in the stud barn for every breeding session and Elliott was asking her if she would be the farm's stallion manager.

“I had asked him, 'Are you sure? You're going to catch a lot of flak for this.' But he told me that they knew I could do it. So they gave me a great opportunity and I was stallion manager there for two years.”

Hatfield would go on to be the yearling and broodmare manager at Calumet Farm and the stallion manager at Gainsborough Farm. In 2000, she was offered the opportunity to move to Three Chimneys.

“It was just the most magnificent place I could have thought of,” Hatfield explained. “Dan Rosenberg was a great manager and horseman and Robert Clay and his family were all great. It was just the epitome of what I wanted to do and it was the best decision I ever made.”

From her early days with Seattle Slew, Dynaformer, Rahy and Wild Again, then later to Big Brown and Smarty Jones, and on to today's headliner Gun Runner, Hatfield has been at Three Chimneys for them all.

Hatfield hesitates to pick an all-time favorite stallion, but ultimately coins Silver Charm as a special one. She even adopted one of his offspring, Silver Indy, who resides at her own farm today.

“I've been here long enough that I've had a few gravestones go out there,” Hatfield reflected. “There are so many of them that you make friends with, especially as they get older and you spend more time with them. You get to know them and appreciate them.”

Hatfield has always made a point to participate in many of the tours at Three Chimneys. While most visitors have little idea of just how unique Hatfield and her prominent position might be, or the significance of her contributions to the breeding industry, Hatfield said her goal is to leave them with a positive impression of the business.

“People have a different perspective when they first come here and you try to explain to them about how much we really love our horses and how we take care of them. I think I've changed some attitudes about the horse industry.”

The horses are the easy part, according to Hatfield. Where stallions are black and white, she said that humans' personalities can be every shade of grey. But the horsewoman who was named 2011 Kentucky Farm Manager of the Year excels at overseeing every type of charge, both human and equine.

“I've never asked anyone to do anything that I haven't done or wouldn't do,” she said. “I think that's important. Treating people like people. I remember when I was a groom, the manager would pull up in his truck and honk the horn and expect us to drop what we were doing and come outside. That always made me a little irritable, that they couldn't take the time to come inside and talk to us. So I've always tried to remember that and remember how excited I was the first time I got to lead a yearling to the sale ring or the first time I got to bring a stallion into the breeding shed.”

Sandy's own small farm is home to a pony named Sugar and Silver Indy, a doppelganger of his sire Silver Charm | photo courtesy Sandy Hatfield

Hatfield has mentored countless young people who have gone on to succeed in the industry, including several women who now work in stallion barns throughout Kentucky.

“I have two-legged kids and four-legged kids down there,” she said, pointing toward the stud barn. “I've watched a lot of people grow up and do great things in this business. It's a feeling of accomplishment that I've watched those people go on to run their own divisions or become farm managers. I mean look at Veronica. She was a young girl, just going to college, and now she's managing stallions at Three Chimneys Farm.”

“She's a good horsewoman,” Hatfield said of her mentee. “She is also good with people and she speaks fluent Spanish. She knows her horses, which I think is one of the most important things.”

Reed, who served as assistant stallion manager at WinStar Farm for four years before joining Hatfield back at Three Chimneys, speaks just as highly of her mentor. She said that no matter the continent, whenever Hatfield's name is mentioned, “basically the red carpet is rolled out.”

“Her reputation in this industry is amazing,” Reed said. “Not only is she a great horsewoman and very dedicated to what she does, but she also gives a great voice to the industry–a voice for everybody, not just females.”

Hatfield's incredible attention to detail, Reed said, is something that she could not have learned from anyone else.

“I've never seen a stallion manager the way that she writes on her sheet. This mare did this or this mare was like that. When you go back to breeding that same mare the next year, you've got tons of information from all the years that she's been here so you can warn the guys that this mare is difficult or this mare is really sweet. Her horses receive some of the best management I've ever seen around the world.”

Yet even today, Hatfield and Reed face opposition from people who doubt their abilities in a male-dominated profession.

“There are a lot of people I talk to today who tell me that women can't work with stallions,” Hatfield said. “I've been managing stallions for 35 years, so I know women can do it.”

Asked about her greatest accomplishments, Hatfield said that she is proud to serve as an example for young women in the industry and that she enjoys following the achievements of the people she has mentored.

“Those are great accomplishments,” she reflected. “And being around a horse like Gun Runner is a great accomplishment. To be able to watch him grow and develop and become a great stallion is pretty spectacular.”

Sandy welcomes Palace Malice to Three Chimneys | Gayle Ewadinger

Hatfield was present for many of the 2017 Horse of the Year's shining moments on the racetrack, including his career finale in the GI Pegasus World Cup where she flew home to Kentucky with him afterwards.

“He's very smart and personable,” she said of the young sire sensation. “He's not a mean horse, but he will let you know that he is the man. He loves to go out and show off when we have tours. He's a magnificent horse, to think about what he did on the racetrack and see what he's doing as a stallion. He's going to be one of the ones that people will remember his name.”

It was Gun Runner's auspicious start at stud that led to the careful changing of the guard in the Three Chimneys stallion barn.

“With Gun Runner's presence and who he is making himself out to be as an important stallion, we really felt a responsibility to him to make this transition as smooth as possible,” explained the farm's COO Chris Baker. “In 2023, we have the benefit of both Sandy and Veronica here. How that changes or when it's 100% Veronica, time will tell. That's up to Sandy. She has earned the right to plot her own course through this.”

“Sandy has done a fantastic job over decades, operating at a very high standard and retiring champions from the racetrack and introducing them to the breeding shed,” he continued. “Three Chimneys has been the beneficiary of Sandy's professionalism and experience. Both Sandy and Veronica are driven by a passion for and a love of the horse. That's really what makes them so good at what they do.”

The love of the horse is where it starts and ends for Hatfield. Even now, as she is supposedly in the early stages of retirement, Hatfield is up before the sun every morning, layering on coats for another breeding session. After 24 years at Three Chimneys, her love for the stallions she cares for and her passion for the industry keeps her coming back.

“I mean, it's what I love,” she said. “I love getting to know the horses. I love the excitement of the breeding shed. I love talking to people about our industry and explaining to people what we do, how much we love our horses and how good of care we give all of them. It has been a great opportunity, a great learning experience, and hopefully I've done a good job.”

The post Trailblazer Sandy Hatfield Passes Torch at Three Chimneys appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Keeneland Book 2 Strong to the Finish With Pair of $1M Yearlings

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland September Yearling Sale continued to churn out strong results straight through to the conclusion of its Book 2 section Thursday night in Lexington with an additional two yearlings selling for seven figures, led by a $1.7-million son of Quality Road, bringing the four-day total for the auction to 30 seven-figure yearlings. Fifteen reached that mark last year.

“It was an incredible week,” said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy.

Over the two Book 2 sessions, Keeneland sold 449 horses in the ring for a gross of $123,330,000. The book average was $274,677–up 6% from the 2021 Book 2 average and the median of $225,000 was up 12.5% from a year ago.

The Book 2 section produced the auction's highest-priced yearling in 2021 when a colt by City of Light sold for $1.7 million. The yearling was one of four million-dollar yearlings in the section. Eight reached that mark in the 2022 Book 2 section.

“This session last year was extremely strong and was up quite a bit from the previous year,” Lacy said at the close of business Thursday. “So, the fact that we are just ticked up slightly over last year is really encouraging. I think it is holding steady. The clearance rate is ticked up a little bit as well, but again, it is probably a little higher than we'd like. We are up to 30 million-dollar plus yearlings over the four days and that is, in any metrics, really strong. That is a lot of different sellers, different breeders, large to small. I think the competitiveness among the buyers was really energetic. We were pleased overall. It is never perfect and we are trying to analyze carefully how it can be better going forward.”

Mike Repole, part of last year's leading buyer partnership with Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stable, remained front and center in the pavilion through the first week of the auction. Repole and Viola were the leading buyers through four sessions of the 12-day sale with 30 yearlings purchased for $12.54 million. In his own name, Repole is the fourth-leading buyer with 23 head purchased for $6.765 million. And in total, Repole, with various partners and by himself, purchased 60 yearlings for a total of $23.49 million.

“Having Mike Repole and his team here in person has really given the sale a lift,” said Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach. “Todd Pletcher has been here and I think they have spent 90% of their time in their seats in the pavilion and buying so much quality. With Mick Wallace and Rory Babich working so hard on behalf of Vinnie Viola as well, both in partnership and individually, it is creating the energy around the sale we really strive for.”

The SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership was the second leading buyer through four sessions, with 15 yearlings purchased for $10.58 million. Don Adam's Courtlandt was the third-leading buyer with 11 purchased for $8.235 million.

Through four sessions, 898 yearlings have grossed $236,990,000. The average is up 9.59% to $354,245 and the median is up 10% to $275,000. The buy-back rate is 25.50%. It was 30.18% at this point a year ago.

The strength of the market this week at Keeneland is no surprise to Chris Baker of Three Chimneys Farm, which sold Thursday's second million-dollar yearling, a colt by Gun Runner, for $1.2 million.

“I'm not surprised because of the way [Fasig-Tipton] Saratoga was and the way things have been recently,” Baker said. “I anticipated it being very strong. There are a lot of good things happening. Even though racing is smaller and a little more concentrated, there are a handful of tracks that you can run a maiden for $100,000 and maybe win a race and pay your training bills for a year. There are just so many positives going on in racing in general and in Kentucky in particular. It's an exciting time and the principals are excited and optimistic.”

The Keeneland September sale will have an off-day Friday and the action will resume with the first of two Book 3 sessions Saturday with bidding beginning at 10 a.m. The auction continues through Sept. 24.

Lanni Wins Out On Quality Road Colt

A colt by Quality Road (Hip 886) shook things up about halfway through Thursday's session, igniting a spirited bidding war that came down to Mike Repole, bidding from the left side of the pavilion besides trainer Todd Pletcher, and Donato Lanni, who was bidding over the phone. Repole was in up until $1.65 million, but gave an emphatic no after Lanni upped his bid to $1.7 million and the hammer fell. Lanni did not disclose his client when signing the ticket, but Amr Zedan's Zedan Racing Stable announced on Twitter that the session topper had been purchased on Zedan's behalf.

“Bob [Baffert] Loved him,” Lanni said. “We all loved him. Everybody loved him it looks like. Everybody was waiting for him. All of the usual suspects were visible.”

Lanni continued, “He is a beautiful horse. He is just super athletic, a really laid back, good-looking Quality Road. He is made really well. He is the right kind.”

Consigned by Nardelli Sales, Hip 886 was bred by Kim and Rodney Nardelli, William Werner and W.S. Farish. Werner purchased the colt's dam Act Now (Street Sense) for $150,000 at the 2020 KEEJAN sale carrying a foal by Kitten's Joy. The resulting foal brought just $70,000 last year. Hip 886 hails from the femail family of MGSW & MGISP Fed Biz and GISW Joking.

“He's a lovely horse we bred and raised,” said Rodney Nardelli. “He's got everything. He's beautiful, he's correct, he vets. He's been nice all his life. We're appreciative of Keeneland's format and the support of the buyers.”

Quality Road has had a sensational September Sale so far. He is responsible for the current $2.5-million topper and seven of his foals have brought seven figures through the first four days. The Lane's End stalwart has had 29 yearlings sell so far for a total of $18.75 million and average of $646,552. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Late Fireworks for Gun Runner Colt

A colt by Gun Runner (hip 1086) set off late fireworks as the fourth session of the Keeneland September sale began to wind down Thursday night, ultimately selling for $1.2 million to bloodstock agent Mike Ryan. The yearling is out of Grade I winner Malibu Prayer (Malibu Moon) and was consigned by Four Star Sales, as agent for her breeder, Three Chimneys Farm.

“Obviously, he's a Gun Runner,” Ryan, who did his bidding out back alongside trainer Chad Brown, said of the yearling's appeal. “He reminded me quite a bit of Early Voting. He's from one of Ned Evans's best pedigrees. He was a big, impressive, imposing horse that moved like a cheetah. I said to Chad, 'Can you imagine Flavien Prat or Irad Ortiz on his back right now?' He was a magnificent horse with a lot of class and quality. He's bred to get 1 1/8 miles, 1 1/4 miles.”

Early Voting (Gun Runner), a $200,000 Keeneland September yearling, won this year's GI Preakness S. for Klaravich Stables and Brown.

“He's been bought for a partnership–he'll got to Chad and hopefully we can win a Preakness with him,” Ryan said of the yearling.

Three Chimneys Farm's Chris Baker said the million-dollar sale exceeded expectations.

“It was outstanding,” Baker said of the result. “Gun Runner will do that for you. And the female family didn't hurt any either.”

Baker, who served as racing manager to the late Ned Evans, is plenty familiar with the yearling's female family.

Malibu Prayer sold for $2 million out of the Evans dispersal at the 2011 Keeneland November sale, a year after she had won the GI Ruffian Invitational S. The mare is a daughter of Grand Prayer (Grand Slam).

“I'm always partial to ones we bred and raised,” Baker said. “That's a family I've known generations back to when I was in Virginia. It's always hard to part with them. But the colt will have a great opportunity and we are excited to see what he does. We were well paid for our efforts.”

Three Chimneys stallion Gun Runner, who continues to produce on the racetrack, has been represented by five seven-figure yearlings during the first four days of the Keeneland September sale.

“I don't remember a stallion like him,” Baker said. “I am a little close to the fire, so it's easy for me to be biased. But it's just remarkable what his offspring are doing on the racetrack and what he's doing at the sale with a wide variety of mares, physically and on pedigree. He just suits so many. It's great. We are just very fortunate to be a part of it.”

Asked what he is seeing in the young stallion's offspring, Baker said, “Mentally it's the train ability and willingness. And physically, it's athleticism and movement and just how they carry themselves. To get the two of those together like he had, and he conveys to so much of his offspring, is why we are getting the exceptional results we are.” @JessMartiniTDN

Gun Runner Filly Continues Big Week for Stoneway

Jim Stone's Stoneway Farm, which had its first million-dollar sale during the first session of the Keeneland September sale, just missed having a second seven-figure yearling when a filly by Gun Runner (hip 833) sold for $925,000 Thursday in Lexington. Bloodstock agent David Ingordo, standing alongside CRK Stables' Lee Searing, made the winning bid on the filly who was consigned by Paramount Sales.

“I am pretty dang excited,” Stone's racing manager and partner Terri Burch said after watching the filly sell Thursday. “I am thrilled and over the moon.”

Hip 833 is a chestnut filly out of Stonetastic (Mizzen Mast), a mare purchased by the Stoneway team for $77,000 as a Keeneland September yearling in 2012 who went on to win the 2014 GII Prioress S. and 2016 GII Inside Information S.

“We were expecting about what she brought,” Burch said of the filly. “She was very popular here. We loved her and she looked so much like Gun Runner with the pretty head of Stonetastic.”

During Monday's first session of the Keeneland sale, Stoneway sold a filly by Into Mischief for $1.25 million (hip 52) to Frank Fletcher. The yearling is out of Song of Spring (Spring at Last), who was purchased by Stoneway for $80,000 as a yearling at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton October sale. She won the 2018 GIII Allaire du Pont Distaff S.

“She looks so much like Malathaat,” Burch said of the yearling who is from the family of the GI Kentucky Oaks winner's dam Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy). “I had the pleasure to see Malathaat over at Churchill. And that family sells really well. And again that was one that we would have raced, but again too expensive for our farm to leave that money on the table.”

“It is bittersweet,” Burch admitted of the decision to sell the prized fillies. “We love them. I am a horseperson and I see them born and I see them develop, but I also know that the farm has to have an income so that I can breed again to Into Mischief and Gun Runner. If I don't sell, then we are not going to breed up there.”

Stoneway has about 20 broodmares and the group includes Stonetastic's unraced first foal Stonetonic (Candy Ride {Arg}).

“We actually have another daughter of Stonetastic who wasn't able to race and she is in the November sale and she looks dead on like Stonetastic,” Burch said. “She is a Candy Ride and is just gorgeous.”

Both Stoneway fillies were out of mares who were acquired inexpensively before going on to graded stakes-winning careers. Now the challenge for the team is to reinvest in fillies who will carry on that tradition.

“$77,000 and $80,000, you can't do better than that,” Burch said of the two purchases.

Burch continued, “This is our best crop of babies from top to bottom that we have ever raised. We had a good July sale with the three horses that we sold there, as well.”

Later in Thursday's session, Stoneway sold a Vino Rosso half-sister to multiple graded winner Ahh Chocolate (Candy Ride {Arg}) (hip 891) for $235,000 and a Liam's Map half-brother to Instagrand (hip 902) for $200,000. @JessMartiniTDN

 

SF/Starlight/Madaket Still Going Strong

The powerhouse colt-buying partnership lead by SF, Starlight and Madaket Stables did not slow during Thursday's session, buying a $700,000 Uncle Mo colt (Hip 832) early in the day. He was consigned by Taylor Made Sales.

“Uncle Mo is a proven stallion,” said SF's Tom Ryan. “The colt is a beautiful horse out of a good racemare with a deep family. Donato [Lanni] and Bob [Baffert] really love this horse. We are happy to land him. He will make his way to Eddie Woods for the winter and hopefully find his way to California next spring.”

Breeder PTK purchased Hip 832's dam Still There (Union Rags) for $160,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale in 2015. She went on to win a stake at Laurel and finish second in Saratoga's GI Ballerina S. This is her first foal.

The SF, Starlight and Madaket-led group purchased X more colts Thursday, adding to the 14 they acquired during the first three sessions. —@CDeBernardisTDN

 

West Signs for New Partnership

Bloodstock agent Jacob West left his seat in the pavilion next to owner Mike Repole to head out back where he went to $600,000 to acquire a colt by Uncle Mo (hip 828) for $600,000 from the St George Sales consignment. The yearling, who is out of stakes-placed Spring Eclipse (Unbridled's Song) and is a half-brother to stakes winner Bet She Wins (First Samurai), was purchased for new clients.

“He's for a new partnership, some new guys who are getting into the business,” West said. “And like everyone else in this game, they want to win the Kentucky Derby. We just figured a son of Uncle Mo, with his physique and pedigree, he might be a horse for the future. We will keep our fingers crossed.”

While declining to name the new clients, West said, “There are two guys from the East Coast and two guys from the West Coast, so it's four guys all together. We've been trying to spot some horses and it's been tough. They've actually gotten outbid on three or four other horses earlier in Book 1 and one earlier today. I think they are going to be guys that are going to stick around for a long time.”

West said the colt could be trained by Todd Pletcher on the East Coast or Michael McCarthy if he heads west. @JessMartiniTDN

Rigney Secures Pair of Pricey Fillies

Richard Rigney's Rigney Racing came to Keeneland looking for fillies that would one day join their broodmare band. With trainer Phil Bauer signing the tickets, the operation acquired a pair of pricey fillies during Book 2, going to $925,000 for a Twirling Candy filly (Hip 621) Wednesday and taking home a daughter of the late Arrogate Thursday (Hip 805) for $590,000.

Bred and consigned by Peter O'Callaghan's Woods Edge Farm, Hip 621 is out of the Distorted Humor mare Double Sharp, who is a daughter of MGSW & MGISP Bsharpsonata (Pulpit).

“She was a standout for us,” said Bauer. “We stretched further than we anticipated, but we are thrilled we got her. Hopefully, we can get some black-type. Everything is geared towards the long term with the broodmare program. We will race them first and hopefully turn out some blue hen mares.”

Hip 805 was bred and consigned by the Bell family's Mill Ridge Farm. They acquired her dam Scarlet Love (Not For Love), who hails from an accomplished Stonestreet family, for $130,000 in foal to Indian Charlie at the 2011 Keeneland November Sale. Already the dam of SP Cursor (Quality Road), Scarlet Love is a half-sister to Grade I winners Tara's Tango (Unbridled's Song) and Visionaire (Grand Slam), as well as GSW & GISP Scarlet Strike (Smart Strike) and GSW Madison's Luna (Tapit).

“She's got all the right parts,” said Bauer. “She has a nice physical. We know the family. We've had two out of the second dam, so we are really big fans. There is enough page there that she can be a nice broodmare for us and, hopefully, a nice racehorse before. She looks early. Hopefully, she will be a good one.”

“That was well beyond our hopes and dreams,” said Price Bell Jr., General Manager of Mill Ridge Farm “She was a very special filly and was a standout on the day.  She is lovely. Some very good judges were all around her. The dam has one ovary. We bought her from our friends at Airdrie Stud and she has been really good to us. The buyers Richard Rigney and Phil Bauer bought a filly from us several years ago named Mariah's Princess that turned out well. They are good people and take good care of their horses. When Arrogate went to $50,000 we felt like it was good value and the mare deserved a shot.”

Champion Arrogate passed away in 2021 after producing only three crops. A filly from his first crop, Secret Oath, took the GI Kentucky Oaks this year and he had a phenomenal weekend at Del Mar with And Tell Me Nolies winning the GI Del Mar Debutante Saturday and 'TDN Rising Star' Cave Rock capturing the GI Del Mar Futurity Sunday.

“It is a shame we lost him,” Bauer said. We have a nice 3-year-old filly by him, so we are a fan of the stallion.”

Arrogate had 22 yearlings sell during the first two books for a gross of $6.17 million and average of $280,455.

—@CDeBernardisTDN

 

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