David Hanley on Improbable’s Encouraging Start

WinStar will launch four new stallions with first two-year-olds in 2024: Global Campaign, Improbable, Promises Fulfilled, and Tom's d'Etat, and it's Improbable who has come out swinging first at the sales. At OBS March, four of his colts brought six figures, selling for $475,000, $400,000, $300,000, and $250,000 and a first-crop filly fetched $140,000. The $400,000 colt, out of Libby's Tail, who breezed in 9.4 for Eddie Woods-one of three Improbables to hit that mark–was purchased in partnership by David Hanley, the Senior Vice President of Bloodstock Services at WinStar Farm, which stands Improbable. We talked to Hanley about the young sire.

TDN: What has the reaction to Improbable's first two-year-olds been like at the sale this week?

DH: People have liked them. We're extremely bullish on this horse because he was such a sound, top racehorse, having won four Grade Is over three years of training. He was also second in the Arkansas Derby and in the Breeders' Cup Classic. So he was a really exceptional athlete. The thing about him was how sound and how good a mover he was on the racetrack. He ran for three years and had 85 works in between all those races, and he never came back to the farm except to be freshened on one occasion. So he was an extremely sound and tough racehorse. He wasn't the biggest horse. But once we got him under tack, his athleticism on the racetrack was incredible. And when you looked at his works, every one was a carbon copies of the previous one. He worked five furlongs in a minute, and was so consistent. So we were waiting to see if he transferred that athleticism to his two-year-olds. And we're very happy to see that out of the ones he had here, there were four or five of them really showed up as very, very athletic horses. So we're really excited about the future with them.

TDN: You bought one yourself.

DH: We gave $400,000 for one (hip 395) and we were underbidder on another one. This horse was a leggy horse with a lot of scope and his breeze was really, really exceptional. His gallop out was spectacular. I was on the backside and he went by me like he could go around again after going in :9 4/5. And that's really what impressed us. I had seen him at Eddie Woods's and I was impressed with how he breezed out there. He had that tremendous bounce off his back end, and he did his breeze with ease. He wasn't under stress to do it. So, what we felt when we saw him was that he was very, very athletic and looked like he'd go two turns.

TDN: What is Improbable like himself, and is he stamping these two-year-olds?

DH: He wasn't the biggest horse himself in being by City Zip. What is very encouraging is that he seems to be throwing progeny with leg and stretch and with his motion and his athleticism. He got a great book of first mares. On the class performance index, his first book of mares was second only to what Authentic got. So these are the two-year-olds we're seeing now. The way the stallion business is right now, people wait and see. So, at $15,000 (from an initial stud fee of $40,000), I think he's great value right now and based on what his two-year-olds are like, we're really excited about what runners he's going to have. Obviously, he's in that third year and people are just waiting to see what happens.

TDN: He won Grade Is at two and four. What does that say to you?

Improbable (#2) rearing up in the gate before the start of the Whitney | Sarah Andrew

DH: He was a very good, undefeated two-year-old, winning the Los Al Futurity, and also the Street Sense at Churchill on the Breeders' Cup undercard, as well as his maiden. And then at three, quite honestly, he lost his way a little bit. He was second in the Arkansas Derby, but he had an incident in the gate in the previous race, the Rebel. That was in the spring of his three-year-old year. He was always an uptight horse, and after that, he was a little bit tentative in the gate and I think it affected his performance. But then he matured and relaxed and really showed just how good a horse he was as a four-year-old. So I think that was kind of how his career developed. It wasn't through any unsoundness or ability. But then we really saw what he was when he overcame all of that as a four-year-old, winning the Hollywood Gold Cup, Whitney, and Awesome Again and running second in the Breeders' Cup Classic to Authentic. Bob Baffert, the incredible horseman that he is, did such a good job getting him back to his best form.

All the trainers were saying these two-year-olds were beautiful movers. But we had to wait and see if they were going to show you that speed and, and he's answered that question with these :9 4/5 breezers. So that's very encouraging.

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Catching Up with 2004 Breeders’ Cup Sprint Winner Speightstown

Some horses never seem to set a foot wrong. Speightstown is one of those. From $2-million Keeneland July yearling to Breeders' Cup winner to champion to influential sire, he's not only done it all, but done it all extremely well.

When WinStar's David Hanley was asked if he had a few words to say about the remarkable 25-year-old, he said with a laugh:

“I've more than a few words. He's a wonderful horse. I've been very lucky and fortunate to be around him for the past 10 years. He's a magnificent character and a very kind-natured horse. Always looking for treats, but always willing to do what you ask him to do. He has a beautiful head and a sweet nature.

“Up until a year a year ago, we used to ride him every day and he would bow his neck and swell up like he was going to the racetrack. He was a wonderful racehorse and is now a great stallion with 26 Grade I winners in his career. At the age of 25, he has Prince of Monaco, the highest rated 2-year-old in America right now, and several young sons at stud, which is amazing. He's also one of the best broodmare sires right now. He's just a wonderful horse, an amazing horse. It's been a privilege to have him.”

Speightstown (1998 chestnut horse, Gone West–Silken Cat, by Storm Cat)

Lifetime record: Ch. sprinter, GISW, 16-10-2-2, $1,258,256

Breeders' Cup connections: B-Aaron U. and Marie Jones (KY); O-Eugene and Laura Melnyk; T-Todd Pletcher; J-John Velazquez.

Current location: WinStar Farm, Versailles, Ky.

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Hanley Transitions To Senior Bloodstock Consultant As WinStar Farm Makes Key Personnel Changes For 2024

WinStar's David Hanley will transition to Senior Bloodstock Consultant along with several other key personnel moves by the end of the year, the farm said in a press release Thursday morning.
Dr. Natanya Nieman will take on the role of General Manager while she continues her duties as Resident Vet.

“I am excited for Natanya to expand her opportunities here at WinStar. She is a very good horsewoman and having David as a mentor for the foreseeable future will give her the expertise needed to continue to grow here at WinStar,” said Walden. “While she has always been responsible for our horses through her expert veterinary care, Natanya can grow into a top General Manager while learning from one of the best.”

Hanley's new role will focus mainly on bloodstock, matings, and the development of young horses.

“David is a critical part of our team that helps us with developing our bloodstock, and the purchasing of our equine athletes at sales,” said Elliott Walden, CEO of WinStar. “This role will give David the opportunity to see more horses off the farm, while still keeping his eye on our young stock at home.”

Serving as General Manager since 2013, Hanley has helped the farm expand its band to over 150 broodmares and 18 stallions with Eclipse Awards for Breeding coming in 2016 and 2020.

On the administrative team, Jack Mullikin will be retiring as CFO at the end of 2023 and Michael Holmes will replace him. Mullikin came to work at WinStar in the first year after a stellar career at Castleton Lyons Farm. He has seen WinStar grow from 415 to 2400 acres.

“We will miss Jack tremendously here at the farm. His loyalty and dedication to WinStar has helped make the farm what it is today,” said Walden. “He has mentored Michael over the last nine years and we are blessed to welcome Michael onto our executive team. He will hit the ground running and do a great job. The future is bright here at WinStar.”

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Eighty WinStar-Breds Head to Keeneland; `A Spectacular Crop,’ Says Hanley

With just around 100 homebred yearlings every year, WinStar Farm puts a particular importance on the Keeneland September Sale, this year selling four-fifths of their annual crop over 12 days starting on Monday, September 11. That importance could be about to pay off, as by all accounts the 80-strong WinStar-breds entered in the sale are a particularly strong group this year.
“For us, it's the most important sale,” concedes WinStar's general manager David Hanley. “It's the sale that really represents the market for yearlings. You've got the biggest amount of buyers. We send a few horses to July. We try to send usually three to five horses to Saratoga. We like to support that sale, and then the majority of our horses go to Keeneland. That's really the market.”

Hanley was asked why this particular group was getting early buzz as a top group.

“In general, we keep trying to increase the quality of our mares that we buy and we try to cull some every year and try and bring in new blood,” he said. “Also, in the last few years, we have bred to more to outside stallions as well as our own. Obviously, we have some of our stallions here, but we have spread it a bit more, whereas in the last number of years, sometimes we've bred a lot of mares to young stallions to try and get them started. And if one of them hits, great. But if he doesn't, it can hurt you in the sales ring. So, we're increasing the quality of our mares, which means you breed them to a higher-quality stallion.”

Six of the 80 expected to draw some attention at the sale demonstrate just that, with three of them by WinStar stalwarts Distorted Humor, Speightstown, and Constitution; the other three, by top outside stallions.

As an example, he points out hip 87, by Curlin and the third foal out of the GIII Delaware Oaks winner Dark Nile (Pioneerof the Nile), who died giving birth to this colt. He is consigned by Warrandale Sales.

“We raced Dark Nile,” he said. “She was a Grade III winner trained by Arnaud Delacour, and this is just a lovely horse. He's a typical Curlin, very powerful, very good mover.”

Hip 337, a filly by Uncle Mo-Starship Warpspeed, is “one of the best we've had on the farm in several years,” says David Hanley | Thorostride photo

Hip 337 is a filly by Uncle Mo out of Starship Warpspeed, responsible for producing the multiple Grade I winner Shedaresthedevil. She will be offered through Denali.

“She's a beautiful filly,” said Hanley. “She's been a standout foal from the moment she was a week old and she's continued to grow and develop like we hoped she would. She's a good-sized filly with plenty of leg and stretch to her, but she's full of quality and a very light, easy-moving filly who seems to be all class. She's absolutely beautiful when you see her standing up there. She's got such a beautiful neck, shoulder, head, and beautiful hip on her and she's got the class and presence to go with it. I think she's a really special filly, one of the best fillies we've had on the farm in several years.”

Hip 125 is by Justify, and is the second foal from the WinStar-raced First Hour (Speightstown). Her very deep page features the multiple graded stakes winner Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union), GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner New Year's Day (Street Cry {Ire}), and GII Remsen and Fountain of Youth winner Mohaymen (Tapit), among others.

“This is the first foal out of a Speightstown mare,” said Hanley. “We bought her mother as a foal and we raced her. She had some issues as a yearling and didn't really get to show her potential on the racetrack. She was not a very big filly, but a beautifully balanced quality filly. It's an incredible family, with some very talented horses on the page. And when we saw her as a foal, we decided to buy her and race her, mostly for her broodmare potential. his first foal is a big, strapping, powerful Justify filly. She's gorgeous standing there, with a great neck, beautiful shoulder, and great attitude as well. She carries herself with great poise and great class. A really exciting filly by Justify.”

Hanley also points out three top prospects by WinStar stallions.

Hip 125, by <a href=Justify | Thorostride photo" width="1024" height="768" />Hip 282 is a filly by Distorted Humor out of Princess Ash (Indian Charlie), and is a full-sister to Quip, the GII Oaklawn H. and Tampa Bay Derby winner who was second in the GI Arkansas Derby. She sells with Denali Stud.

“For a Distorted Humor, she's got a lot of size, and being out of an Indian Charlie mare she's got leg and stretch to her,” he said. “She's a very, very good physical for a Distorted Humor. She's a really easy mover, hits the ground very lightly, and has great limbs on her. She has a beautiful neck and head and is full of quality. It's the last available crop of Distorted Humor yearlings and being as good a broodmare sire as he is and her being a half to a Group I-level horse, I think she's a unique package.”

Hip 442 is a filly by Speightstown, selling with Machmer Hall, out of Ballykiss (Street Boss), who produced the fast multiple stakes winner Miss J McKay (Hangover Kid).

“She's a beautiful physical and she's got a lot of leg under her for Speightstown. She's got a lot of stretch, but yet she's got that body of the Speightstowns, with muscle structure and scope, but yet looks like she could be fast. She's a beautiful mover. Very correct and very classy. We're very excited about her. We expect her to sell well.”

Hip 779, consigned by Elite, is a colt by Constitution out of the young mare America's Tale (Gio Ponti), and is her second foal.

“This is a horse that we loved all along,” said Hanley. “He's a medium-sized horse, not overly heavy, very athletic. He's out of a Gio Ponti mare and obviously, the Storm Cat on Tapit is attractive. But the best thing about him is he moves like a cat, very balanced, lovely level top line, great neck set and head carriage. He's a real athlete when you see him move.”

Hanley's prediction for the overall market is one we've heard a lot in recent years.

“For the people buying top-end bloodstock, I think they're going to be strong as ever. The colt market that we play in a lot is strong. There are a number of groups that are buying colts to try and make stallions over the last number of years, and I think they're all going to be doing it again, which makes it a very strong market for a selective group of horses that have the pedigree and the physical conformation.”

WinStar-breds are spread about with 10 different consignors throughout the sale, a diversity WinStar finds beneficial.

“There are several advantages to it,” he said. “First, your horses are not competing against each other. We will have several yearlings by, say, Constitution, and we don't put them all standing against each other in one consignment where it's human nature to come in and pick the one you like. And we're buying horses so it's difficult for us to try to run a consignment and buy horses. And, we like to support our breeders and I think giving horses to consignors who breed mares with us is nice a nice way to give them back something.”

Hanley gave a shout-out to the team back at the farm for this year's crop.

“Our team here on the farm, our yearling crew led by Donnie Preston, I think they do an exceptional job in raising these horses. We try to raise them naturally. They're out in big pastures that are never overused. They come up in the morning, get fed and checked, and go back out. We try to raise racehorses and I'd like to compliment our team on the job they've done at presenting these horses because I think they all look spectacular.”

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