David Ingordo | Horse Racing Free Tips

Who Will Be This Year’s Leading Freshman Sire? We’ve Asked the Experts

It's that time again. The first major 2-year-old sale, the March OBS sale, is in the books and the buyers, sellers and bloodstock agents have had their chance to evaluate this year's freshman sires. So who do they like? We asked the experts listed below to give us their pick for leading freshman sire and an under-the-radar stallion they expect will have a big 2024.

Liz Crow: “I really liked the Improbables at the OBS March breeze show. It's very sad that he passed away. I thought he had, overall, the most impressive breeze show. That doesn't always indicate who's going to be the leading freshman sire, but I have found in the past that it's a good model that tells you the horse is going in the right direction and that they have some 2-year-old speed. Overall, I was very impressed with his horses. Volatile is my sleeper pick. He had, overall, a good breeze show as well. And he bred a lot of mares, something around 180. I landed on quite a few of them that had nice works and he was speedy himself and, being by Violence, comes from a good line of 2 year olds. With the number of mares he had and with the solid breeze show he had I rank him high on the list.”

Phil Hager: “In terms of the quality that I've seen so far it's a toss-up between Authentic and McKinzie. A lot of the Authentics I have seen look really nice. Some look like they could be early, but a lot of them look like horses that can go on and go two turns. The McKinzies look like they might develop a little later in the year, but they seem to have a lot of quality. Both were well supported and will go to a lot of good trainers. My sleeper is Caracaro. That horse could run. I used to work at Crestwood, so I knew the horse's story. He had quite a few that worked really well at the March sale. I don't know if that was a surprise, but they were consistent.”

Mike McMahon: “McKinzie is my pick. I've owned three or four already. Not only were they in demand at the sales but they were all good looking horses. I haven't had a bad one yet. The one we bought to go racing with, if all is right, he will be pretty exceptional. I feel like I have a good group of McKinzies and have a good feel for them. His 2 year olds breezed just as well as they were supposed to. My sleeper is Vekoma. It's a tough choice because I like several stallions that stand for $10,000 or less and are real bargains. Vekoma has the speed to be a sire, the sire line and the pedigree. I've loved the ones we have been around.”

Jon Green: “I was most impressed with the Improbables. His passing is unfortunate. He had a couple of horses who were on our short list for the 2-year-old sale and last year we saw 10 to 12 of his yearlings that we liked at the yearling sales. I think he will be an outstanding freshman sire. The sleeper is Tom's d'Etat. We bought two of his yearlings and I got outbid on one at the March sale. He won't be a juvenile stallion that throws precocious 2 year olds. Just like him, as they get older. I think you'll see them hitting the winner's circle in graded stakes.They will get better with age.”

Connor Foley: Based on what I saw at the OBS sale, my pick for leading freshman sire would be Tiz the Law. They breezed well enough as a group and I thought they all had a lot of race-horse characteristics to them. Horses can breeze fast, but you still have to ask yourself the question, are they going to go on to be good race horses? They had that look to me. For my sleeper pick, I was impressed by the horses by Thousand Words.”

Zoe Cadman: “Volatile is my pick for leading freshman sire. Like last year's freshman sire Mitole, Volatile was also brilliantly fast and trained by one of the masters of the game in Steve Asmussen. How he ever paid $20 to win on debut is just beyond me. He was brilliantly fast and being out of an Unbridled's Song mare I see no reason why his babies won't go two turns . They made a great showing at the recently concluded OBS 2-year-old sales showing not only class, which is so important, but also some stretch and athleticism. Marette Farrell, who I work closely with at the sales, scooped one up out of the Lothenbach dispersal who we absolutely love. My under-the-radar pick was going to be Vekoma. But his 2-year-olds are no longer a secret. The were incredibly well received at both the yearling sales and at OBS March. The Farrell team bid on and secured several. So, I'm going with Complexity who stands for $12,500 at Airdrie stud, as my sleeper. He has it all. He was a Grade I winner at two and also the Kelso winner at four. His 2 year olds looked great skipping over the OBS surface and I am looking forward to seeing them hit the racetrack soon.”

Mark Casse: “I have to go with War of Will, who I trained. I have something like 20 of his offspring and they're training very well. They're going to be very versatile. He was a versatile horse who could run on dirt or grass. My sleeper is Win Win Win. The horses by him have been very impressive on the track.”

David Ingordo: “I have to go with Game Winner. He was 2-year-old champion and he got a good book of mares. They look the part. We got a bunch of them that we bought to race that act precocious, but also high class, not cheap. He's my No. 1 pick. My sleeper is Honor A.P. I don't think they'll win going 4 ½ furlongs by any means, but you have the A.P. Indy line that is not Tapit. He was precocious enough, but I think he'll be a source of Classic type blood. I can see him getting a horse in the Breeders' Cup Classic or, earlier on, him getting a 2-year old in races like the American Pharoah and the Breeders' Futurity.”

Terry Finley: We have a couple of Game Winners we like and I know people liked him in Ocala. The McKinzies look like they have a lot of quality to them. I was very impressed with him at the yearling sales and at Ocala, where they sold well. He's got a good shot to come up with a big one and a horse who is going to slant those stats. I like them both but I'll go with Game Winner as my top pick and McKinzie as my sleeper.

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Newly Crowned Champ Takes the Stage at Lane’s End

Owner Jon Ebbert was adamant that Arcangelo (Arrogate) was not for sale after the 3-year-old put in a hard-fought victory in the GIII Peter Pan S. The story didn't waver as the striking gray reeled off wins in the GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. and it still didn't change when Ebbert was selecting a stallion farm for the star of his Blue Rose Farm.

At Lane's End, Ebbert found a team that was experienced with and even enthusiastic about his desire to be involved in the next chapter of the dual Grade I winner's career.

“John had a tremendous experience with the horse and really the ride of a lifetime, as he's said, but the fact that he wants to keep the whole horse and stay involved to that degree is pretty rare,” said Lane's End Farm's Bill Farish. “You don't see people doing that very much anymore and it's great to see. The last horse that we had that was kind of similar was Curlin, but there have been others over the years where the owner has stayed in. It's fun to work with him. He's involved in the mares we've selected and he just loves the horse. He wants to give him every chance at stud.”

Newly crowned as the 2023 Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Male, Arcangelo has fully recovered from a surgery to repair a condylar fracture and all systems are go ahead of the 2024 breeding season.

On the racetrack, Arcangelo made history for trainer Jena Antonucci. Now as a stallion, he looks to do the same for his late sire Arrogate, who has produced five Grade I winners from just three crops. Three of those top-class performers were fillies and the other was Cave Rock, who passed away from laminitis, and while the ill-fated stallion's final crop has only just turned three, for now it appears as though Arcangelo may provide the only opportunity for breeders to access a Grade I-winning son of champion Arrogate.

“[Arcangelo] being a son of Arrogate is pretty exciting for us,” said Farish. “There's no telling how good of a sire he would have been and he's certainly showing through this horse and others how good he could have been. So a son of his out of this female family–it just doesn't get much better than that.”

Arcangelo's dam Modeling (Tapit), a $2.85 million purchase for Don Alberto Corporation, is a half-sister to GISW Streaming (Smart Strike) and SWs Treasuring (Smart Strike) and Cascading (A. P. Indy). Another generation back in the family shows broodmare of the year Better Than Honour, whose produce records features Belmont-winning siblings Rags to Riches and Jazil.

Lane's End's bloodstock agent David Ingordo explained just how influential he believes this pedigree to be.

“It's one of the best families in the stud book,” he said. “It's one of those pedigrees that if you're in the breeding business, you want to have access to it. There are so many matriarchs in there. You can do a lot of creative things in breeding with him and because Arrogate is gone now, where are you going to find another one? We are so lucky to have him here.”

Arcangelo secures his position as the top 3-year-old colt of 2023 in the GI Travers S. | Sarah Andrew

Ingordo said he considers Arcangelo to be a better version of his sire physically.

“I'm a balance person and he's exceptionally well-balanced. He's got great proportions and a lovely shoulder. When you see him standing from the side, he's got all these great qualities and is even improved on what his sire had. When you look at his hip and how his hind leg sits, he's an improvement on his sire.”

Both Farish and Ingordo made a point of noting that based on the requests coming in from breeders, Arcangelo's first book is shaping up to include some intriguing matings.

“Arcangelo's book of mares includes a lot of the best-producing mares that went to Arrogate himself because those mares probably would have been bred back to Arrogate had he been here,” explained Ingordo. “So we're getting a lot of graded stakes winners and producers, including some mares that have horses on the upswing on the Derby trail.”

“I think he represents a very interesting mating for people because he's pure dirt and that appeals to a lot of people,” added Farish. “The fact that he had the speed and precocity that he did and then the ability to carry it a distance also is really appealing to a lot of breeders.”

With a stud fee set at $35,000, Arcangelo joins Up to the Mark (Not This Time), who also brought home an Eclipse Award as champion turf male and is profiled by Chris McGrath here, as the newcomers to the Lane's End stud barn for 2024.

“I think Arcangelo could end up with a pretty tight, nice book of mares when this is all over because of the quality he's getting at the price point that he's at,” said Ingordo. “We think we stood him very reasonably and breeders are sending mares that would go to a horse double his stud fee. All of the right people are breeding to him and that's so important when you're trying to curate these stallion books. The right people bring the right mares and then do the right job with those offspring. That's what helps these horses make it as stallions.”

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Partnerships, Presented by Taylor Made Partnerships: Belladonna Racing

It is often espoused at business management seminars that having access to people smarter than you is a blessing and not a threat. We also know that having access to communities that share a common interest fosters social collaboration and belonging. But did you know having access to a guy affectionately nicknamed the “Italian Yoda” can lead to a graded stakes victory as a racehorse owner?

This type of access has been thoughtfully curated by the powerhouse team at Belladonna Racing Partnership, which includes Paul Manganaro (the Italian Yoda), David Ingordo, trainer Cherie DeVaux and recent addition Casey Klein. This team, along with their inaugural partners, launched Belladonna in 2019 with the purchase of over $1.5 million in 2-year-olds, who happened to all be fillies. Belladonna, which means “pretty woman” in Italian, set out in 2019 to foster a partnership approach that provides the opportunity to buy, race, and network at the highest levels of the Thoroughbred industry.

“We wanted to bring people into the industry, people who would enjoy the journey, learn, and share the experience with us,” said Manganaro.

The partnership calling card is simple.

“We want to provide action at a high level while also spreading the risk,” explained Ingordo. “We are all involved in each partnership group and thus have skin in the game. Providing hands-on concierge-level attention and opportunities is unique to Belladonna.”

David Ingordo | Keeneland photo

Creating this type of access for new owners is made easier when you already operate in the top echelon, not only in Equibase statistics but in the relationships built throughout the racing world. Paul Manganaro is one of those people. A third-generation horse owner who grew up in the New England area, Manganaro was raised in a proud Italian-American family where hard work, loyalty, and intelligence were cornerstones. View TDN profile on Paul Manganaro.

It was in the summer of 1986, when Manganaro and his college roommate decided they would spend their break in Kentucky. Reflectively, it was a trip that sealed the fate for both UMass undergrads, as Manganaro and roommate Ned Toffey, now General Manager of Spendthrift Farm, manifestly found their futures in Thoroughbred horseracing. The Manganaro family took root in Kentucky in 2007 when Paul's uncle Anthony Manganaro founded Siena Farm in Paris, Kentucky along with Ignacio Patino and David Pope. Siena Farm, in partnerships, campaigned superstars Flightline, Always Dreaming, and Catholic Boy, among others.

Though Manganaro's football days are behind him, competitiveness is something that remains in his veins today. His admiration for Coach John Wooden's pyramid of success, and his own experience being coached on the field, branded him with the knowledge that building a team of professionals who exhibit intentness, integrity, and clarity of thought was to be the foundation of his pyramid of success for Belladonna.

Manganaro couldn't find a more professional and experienced first partner than David Ingordo (Read Taking Stock–David Ingordo) who has become integral to the success of Belladonna's selection of 2-year-olds.

The son of jockey agent Jerry Ingordo, who managed Hall of Fame riders Laffit Pincay Jr., Sandy Hawley, and Patrick Valenzuela, and mother Dottie, who was the racing manager for Jerry Moss, young David always knew he wanted to be around horses. He started out in none other than Bobby Frankel's barn at age 14 and within four years was one of his assistant trainers.

As a bloodstock agent, Ingordo is well known for his selection of the Horse of the Year Zenyatta in the 2005 Keeneland September Yearling sale for $60,000. Zenyatta went on to win over $7.3 million for Jerry and Ann Moss. He added to his resume with the purchase of a second GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner in Accelerate for $380,000 for the Hronis Family at the 2014 Keeneland September Sale. Ingordo scored a Breeders' Cup Classic hattrick and Horse of the Year double when Flightline crossed the finish line first at Keeneland in 2022. Ingordo was an instrumental part of the purchasing team that bought Flightline for $1,000,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale for Hronis, West Point, Woodford Racing, et.al.

Ingordo's top draft picks for Belladonna include standouts Bayerness, Coastana, and Grade II winner Vahva. Belladonna partner and professional physician recruiter Kelly Bownes understands what it takes to find talent.

“Seeking out talent isn't just using your gut instinct,” said Bownes. “It takes experience and deep research, something Ingordo and the Belladonna team employs.”

The University of Kentucky graduate's resume reads like a who's who of top-tier bloodstock professionals and his eye for exceptional individuals extends beyond the sale ring. In 2018, he selected trainer Cherie DeVaux to be his wife, or as his “David DeVaux” embroidered vest implies, maybe she selected him.

Cherie DeVaux | Adam Coglianese

Regardless of who made the final bid, the team at Belladonna added another hard-working, experienced, and talented professional to their team in trainer DeVaux. DeVaux, who has amassed over $12 million in purse earnings since graduating from the Chad Brown barn in 2018, has already conditioned a Grade I winner in She Feels Pretty. She also has trained multiple graded stakes runners for Belladonna, including the 3-year-old filly Vahva who won the GII Lexus Raven Run S. back in October and Legalize who recently scored a black-type victory in the Sugar Bowl S. at the Fair Grounds.

Looking toward the future is always top of mind as the Belladonna team looks to ascend its Racing Program Goal Pyramid. Recent addition, Casey Klein, who brings a master's degree in Sports Management from the University of Michigan and has worked alongside Ingordo for the last year, brings a fresh prospective to the group. Though young, Klein's roots run deep in Kentucky horse racing. The Klein family, led by Casey's father Richard, have amassed over 110 stakes victories since 1998. When you are in the business of bloodlines, Klein brings profound pedigree to Belladonna.

How does someone looking to get into Thoroughbred racehorse ownership get access to a team such as what Belladonna has assembled? Easier than you might think, and surprisingly without any of the mark-ups you see in similar operations.

Belladonna partner Bruce Fenimore, who met Ingordo at Saratoga, knew this was a well-run team and wanted to be a part of it immediately.

“It became obvious that joining a group with more buying power would give me more ability to be successful at the races. I also wanted to win the big races,” he said.

Each year Belladonna puts together a group that raises the capital needed for what is their equivalent to any professional sports team's draft. By purchasing multiple top tier horses/yearlings, the entire group, which now stands at over 60 individuals, can attain diversity, opportunity, and the dream of finding another Zenyatta.

“The structure itself is partner-friendly and we have created a family with our partners,” said Manganaro. “We go to the races together, we have dinner together, and partners become part of a tight-knit group, just like a family.”

Partner Kelly Bownes agrees.

“Paul Manganaro and the entire team are so down-to-earth and are happy to spend time with you. They have an open-door policy and have an admirable appreciation for the horse,” he said.

Belladonna partner Scott Runnels reflects on his experience with Belladonna.

“The best part I would say is the fellowship I've experienced with other partners. We are all like-minded people who all love horses. When we get together it is an absolute blast,” Runnels said.

The partnership does set aside funds for general administration and professional services to provide for the needed contracts, tax filings, and licensing support. Ingordo collects the standard 5% bloodstock agent fee on horses purchased, but directs 20% of those proceeds back into partner retention and social events for the partners. All expenses related to the training and racing of the partnership are billed at cost.

There are no commissions taken on purse earnings aside from the standard trainer and jockey commissions. Due to the amount of business a group like this brings to the industry, they also benefit their partners by accessing elite services at competitive prices. Belladonna proudly provides aftercare of all their horses via a network of people and farms who also possess the same commitment to the horse as the Belladonna team does while the horses are racing.

“Frequently, partnerships are forced to choose either quantity or quality. We have built a partnership that delivers a quantity of quality,” Ingordo said, with evident pride. “I'm a believer in the process that Paul has developed.”

Belladonna partner Fenimore said he was also confident in what Belladonna could deliver. “We are going to be making a lot of noise over the next few years.”

Making an investment in Belladonna is more sizable than an average punter's bankroll on a Saturday at Keeneland.

“Our partners invest five, six, and even seven figures into our partnerships,” said Ingordo.

Yet Manganaro quickly retorts, “There are ways to gain this type of access to the biggest races and biggest names and that is accomplished by creating a smaller partnership on your own that buys into a 2.5% or 5% stake in one of our offerings. We treat everyone the same, regardless of their investment.”

When you have a partnership that delivers not only access to the best in the Thoroughbred racing industry, but also fellow partners that are doctors, recruiters, and C-suite executives, you are part of a network few can achieve on their own.

Manganaro explains that Belladonna is a partnership not of just horse owners but of good people who have become family.

“We want to grow the industry and get more people involved in the sport we love. Let's have a conversation. We can find a way to get just about anyone involved.”

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Cobb And Tribbett Elected To KEEP’s Board Of Directors

The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) unanimously elected to their board Shannon Cobb to serve as chair and Rob Tribbett to serve as vice chair, the non-profit said in a release Wednesday.

The pair will replace Case Clay and David Ingordo, who will both continue their service on the KEEP Board.

Cobb, the Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Red Mile Racing and Gaming, and Tribbett, Vice President of the Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association in Lexington, Kentucky, and General Manager of Watercress Farm in Paris, Kentucky, bring a wealth of experience to KEEP's strategic direction.

“It's an honor to be entrusted with the position of Chairman at KEEP,” said Cobb. “I am eager to collaborate with our Board of Directors and the entire equine community to drive further growth and prosperity for Kentucky's vibrant equine industry. I am committed to upholding KEEP's mission and ensuring its success.”

Will Glasscock, KEEP's executive director said, “The appointments of Shannon Cobb as Chairman and Rob Tribbett to these roles reinforce KEEP's commitment to fostering industry expertise and leadership within our board. Their combined experience and dedication will undoubtedly steer us toward continued success in promoting and advancing Kentucky's thriving equine economy.”

Click here for more information about KEEP.

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