OCALA, FL – The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training completed its four-day run Friday with a  new record gross and average and a record-tying median in an auction which closely mirrored the 2022 renewal which set high-water marks for all of those metrics.

Through four sessions, 698 horses grossed $90,805,000. A year ago, 705 horses grossed a record $90,723,000. The 2023 average of $129,907 was up fractionally from $128,685. The median remained unchanged at $65,000.

“It was a great day,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “We finished up strong, right to the end of the sale where we sold a horse for $500,000. It was a good day to end with.”

This week's Spring sale had to contend with a more uncertain global backdrop than a year ago, according to OBS President Tom Ventura.

“We're just glad we were able to hold up to a pretty high bar from last year,” Ventura said. “The world has changed since last April. Things have happened that could have impacted the marketplace and it didn't, so that was great to see.”

A colt by Into Mischief topped Friday's session and became the sale's third seven-figure juvenile–and first session topper not purchased by Amr Zedan–when selling for $1.3 million to Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, bidding on behalf of a new partnership headed by Miami music mogul Rich Mendez.

Five horses sold for seven figures a year ago, when 25 juveniles sold for $500,000 or over. With three million-dollar transactions this year, a total of 28 horses sold for over $500,000.

From a catalogue of 1,222, 840 juveniles went through the ring with 142 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 16.9%. A year ago, the catalogue featured 1,231 head and 705 went through the ring with 132 failing to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 15.8%.

Consignors continued to comment on the polarized market.

“It's the most polarized market that I've ever seen,” said Clovis Crane. “Everyone keeps saying that it's polar, but I think it's even more polar than ever.”

There was plenty of demand for horses at the top of the market, according to Sequel Bloodstock's Carlos Manresa.

“Over the week, it became clear that the very high end were very desirable and you were also able to sell horses that were closer to the bottom,” said Manresa. “The middle market was very difficult to place. That seemed to be the consensus among the consignors. I think that a lot of the consignors will be changing strategies going into the yearling season.”

He continued, “The guys that gave a lot of money [as yearlings] on the top end, like Dean [DeRenzo] and Randy [Hartley] were handsomely rewarded. Some of Ciaran [Dunne]'s horses, they had a lot of money in them as well. And Nick de Meric and Tom McCrocklin–those were the horses that really stood out here. They had the sires and they worked very well.”

“There was some forgiveness if you had a less commercially desirable sire if there was a really fast work. Ultimately, the prices were directly related to the works. There is a strong correlation between the works and price. There were horses that we gave $50-150,000 for and they were in no-man's land if they didn't work well.”

Colin Brennan agreed the money for the top-end horses was there, but the middle market struggled.

“I think there was great money here for the right horses; the horses who breezed well and ticked all the boxes. We were fortunate to have a few of those and some solid pinhooks. Of course, the lower market struggled a little bit, especially on this last day. Traditionally you would get a little bit more of a middle market with this sale because there is something for everybody. I felt like that $100-$300,000 range was a little quieter. Anyone and everyone you could ask for attended. I think OBS did a good job getting everyone here. They really stepped up their game with marketing this year, with the podcast sponsors and the vidoes they've done on YouTube. I think they did a great job with that. Everyone was here, I don't know if it was the economy or horse or a combination of both.”

But the results were just more of the same to Off The Hook's Joe Appelbaum.

“It's the same market condition that has persisted for several years,” Appelbaum said. “It's reflected at the racetrack as well. If you have the horses that people want to collect like trinkets, you can sell them for any amount of dollars. And after that, there is not a lot of market depth. So much money is flocking to so few horses, there is less to distribute to the middle market. It's simple economics.”

As consignors bemoaned the lack of strength in the middle market, buyers still found plenty of competition in bidding this week in Ocala.

“I got outbid on a lot of horses,” said bloodstock agent Alistair Roden. “There was some value here, but it was hard work to get that value. It's still a healthy market. I know the consignors are not happy, but I suppose they bought them at the top end of the yearling market.”

Chad Schumer was busying buying at all levels of the market this week.

“I think it's a typical 2-year-old market,” he said. “The really high-end horses stood out and brought huge prices. We bought quite a few in different price ranges. We swung on some of the expensive ones and we didn't get them. I don't think I bought a single horse with many bids left in the tank. Almost everything I bought was right at my budget or within $5,000 or $10,000 of what my budget was. So I think it was a fair market. I think a lot of these pinhookers possibly overpaid for the yearlings in September because the market was so strong. And there is a ceiling. Purses are great and that's wonderful, but there is some uncertainty about the economy. I don't know why, it doesn't seem to be bad to me, but a lot of people I talk to keep saying the economy. I guess that might be a factor.”

Also busy throughout the week, bloodstock agent David Meah saw both sides of the ledger struggling.

“There has been a big difference in the last couple of years,” Meah said. “It's been a lot stronger and the middle market seems to have fallen out a bit. It was hard to find the horses in the range we were looking for. We were looking for horses in that $50-$100,000 range, which in the past few years I found a little bit easier. This year, it just seemed very different. For me it was all or nothing. Consignors are struggling to sell them and buyers were struggling to find them.”

He continued, “We were thinking we would buy anywhere from five to 10 and we ended up on the low end with five. We got a lot less than we wanted to get, but we'll go to Maryland [Fasig-Tipton Midlantic] now and see how that goes.”

Wavertree Stables was the auction's leading consignor with 37 sold for $9,041,000 and with his three purchases for Amr Zedan, Donato Lanni was the leading buyer.

Into Mischief Colt Feels the Beat

A colt by Into Mischief (hip 967) became the third seven-figure juvenile of the week–and the first not purchased by Amr Zedan–when selling for $1.3 million early in Friday's final session of the OBS Spring sale. Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, bidding on behalf of a new partnership of owners, signed for the colt, who was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables.

“We are helping these guys do a couple of different things,” Hartley said. “It's a group of guys, but Rich Mendez is the head of it. They are looking for horses like this, that if this horse hits a graded stakes, he will be a stallion. He went :9 3/5, unbelievable. He's a super fast horse and super good-looking.”

The bay colt is out of multiple stakes winner Singing Kitty (Minister Wildcat) and was purchased by the Red Wings Enterprises pinhooking partnership of Dunne and Paul Reddam for $300,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“Ciaran has talked about this horse all year,” Hartley said. “And I've talked to everyone on the farm that works there. [Wavertree's] Mark [Edmonds] loved him. They just felt like this was the horse.”

Dunne agreed the team had thought highly of the colt all winter.

“We thought he was one of the nicest horses we've ever had our hands on,” Dunne said. “He trained like a good horse. I thought his breeze was magnificent. To be honest, I think they got a bargain.”

Hartley and DeRenzo signed the ticket for the colt as More Play. For the same group, they purchased a colt by Good Magic (hip 323) for $450,000 earlier in the sale.

Hartley admitted the group was among the underbidders on the $2.2-million colt by Gun Runner who sold during Thursday's session of the four-day auction.

“We went to $1.8 million on him,” Hartley said. “I loved him, he was a beautiful horse, but I wanted this horse more. To me, :9 3/5 and :10 1/5, it's just a lot faster. I just felt like this horse is going to be more brilliant. I promise you, first time out, they will not catch this horse. We are hoping for good things.”

While no trainer had been picked out for the youngster, Hartley said he had a guess.

“We're not sure where he will go yet,” he said. “If I had to guess, it would probably be Baffert. This guy loves Baffert. If he has to go to L.A. for anything, the first place he goes is Bob's barn, so I am guessing that's where he will go.”

Mendez, founder of the Rich Music label in Miami, is still a newcomer to the sport.

“He has only ever raced one before,” Hartley said. “But he is so in love and he's so enthusiastic about the game. He comes to Ocala almost everyday. He loves the farm and he loves his horses. He just bought a big farm here in Ocala, not to have horses on. He just bought it for his wife and kids to come up here.”

Mendez has assembled a group of other fans to invest in both racehorse and pinhooking prospects.

“He's a big social media guy, so he's got a lot of people who are involved because they see him involved,” Hartley said. “So he has gathered all of this money. One of the guys, his father owns a racetrack in Ecuador. So it's a bunch of guys that are in a group together.”

Hartley expects to be buying for the group in the fall, as well.

“We are going to be strong at the yearling market, for pinhooking and racing. I look for them to spend $25-30 million.” —@JessMartiniTDN

Mendez is “All In” on Racing

Rich Mendez, who said he built his independent Latin music label Rich Music from the ground up, is starting his racing business roughly the same way. The music mogul made his first 2-year-old purchases this week in Ocala, warming up with the $450,000 purchase of a Good Magic colt Wednesday, before taking home a $1.3-million son of Into Mischief Friday.

“I am in the music business and we were able to start from nothing and to, at least, become relevant in the game,” Mendez said Friday. “I have always loved the sport of horses. So that's the plan here, as well. To slowly and surely build the brand and go from there.”

Mendez is a lifelong fan of racing and has strong family ties to the sport.

“Back in the day, I used to always be around the track,” he said. “My uncle was a jockey back in the day and I always knew that I wanted to eventually race.”

Mendez has partnered with Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, who signed the ticket on the Into Mischief colt Friday.

“I met Randy and Dean a few years ago,” Mendez said. “We've become close friends. And we just decided this last year to partner up on some babies. The guys do very well at picking good horses. I am excited to be part of their team. ”

With Hartley and DeRenzo, Mendez purchased a group of weanlings last year to pinhook this coming fall. In addition to selling, he also expects to be an active buyer at the yearling sales.

“We will do a little bit of everything and try to do it smart. And to do it right, if there is such as thing,” he said.

As for trainers for his new juveniles, Mendez said, “The Good Magic will go to Jose D'Angelo. He's an up-and-coming trainer, everybody is talking about him. And then we are going to see if this colt goes to Bob [Baffert]. I will call him to see if he wants him eventually.”

Mendez's passion with the horse business has extended to the purchase of a farm in Ocala.

“I'm all in,” he said of his involvement in the sport. “When I got into the music business, it was the same, I am all in. But this time I have some good partners and teachers with Dean and Randy.”

He continued, “I am on my way to see the Good Magic colt now,” Mendez said. “And we loved the Into Mischief colt. I am excited about them.”

Nyquist, Half to Oaks Hopeful, to Speedway

A filly by Nyquist (hip 1024), who is a half-sister to GI Kentucky Oaks hopeful Affirmative Lady (Arrogate), will be joining the roster of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's Speedway Stables after bloodstock agent Marette Farrell signed the ticket at $900,000 to acquire the dark bay from the Wavertree Stables consignment.

“We thought she was a tremendous physical, a beautiful, beautiful filly,” Farrell said. “She had an incredible breeze. And it's not just about the speed for us, it's the way she did it and how she galloped out. Tescha [von Bluecher] and Nick loved how she did it. And when we went to the barn, she was a scorpion. She was beautiful and tough. We are excited for Speedway to have her.”

The juvenile, who is out of multiple stakes winner Stiffed (Stephen Got Even), worked a quarter last week in :20 2/5.

The Red Wings Enterprises pinhooking partnership of Ciaran Dunne and Paul Reddam purchased the filly for $170,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“She is a queen,” Dunne said. “They don't breeze like that too often. She's going to a great owner. She's a nice filly with a great future.”

The Red Wings partnership was also responsible for Friday's seven-figure Into Mischief colt, who was a $300,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase. The group also sold a colt by Bolt d'Oro–who had been purchased for $210,000–for $700,000, and a filly by Omaha Beach–who was purchased for $200,000–for $700,000. An Omaha Beach colt purchased for $160,000 last July, sold Friday for $350,000.

Farrell agreed the team would eagerly be watching the filly's 3-year-old half-sister go to the post in the May 5 GI Kentucky Oaks.

“We will be glued to the Oaks,” she said.

Into Mischief Filly Brings $725K at OBS

Early in Friday's session, a juvenile by Into Mischief drew $1.3 million to lead all colts representing the Spendthrift sire at OBS this week, and later in the session, Hip 1036 led the stallion's fillies with a $725,000 final bid from Rich Schermerhorn, Jay Hanley & 30 Year Farm. Handling the bidding duties from the back ring were agents Liz Crow and Lauren Carlisle.

“Lauren's client, Rich Schermerhorn and my client, Jay Hanley and 30 Year Farm, both individually liked the horse,” explained Crow. “Both of our clients teamed up to get her purchased. She will go to Chad Brown.”

The :9.4 breezer was consigned by Eddie Woods.

As to her obvious selling points, Crow added, “She breezed phenomenal. And she came from Eddie Woods, one of the best consignors here. She is a really beautiful filly and has a really athletic walk.”

Added Woods, “She was a spectacular filly all year. She was very mature in the fall and she was a good filly from the first time we worked her. She's just blossomed through that time.”

The Apr. 9 foal is out of the unraced Succeeding (Smart Strike), a daughter of SW Cascading (A.P. Indy). The third dam Teeming– a half-sister to champion Rags to Riches–is also responsible for GI Hollywood Starlet S. winner Streaming.

Bred by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings and Stretch Run Ventures, the filly RNA'd for $245,000 at Keeneland last September.

“We don't buy here based on pedigree, but when you have Eddie Woods plus Into Mischief and that kind of breeze, that's what we're looking for,” said Crow.

Asked about her impression of the juvenile market at OBS this week, Crow echoed the sentiments of many buyers and sellers.

“There is a strong market for the top horses and it's really hard to get those bought,” she said. “You have to really reach, which is why our clients lined up together to get that filly bought. The really good horses it takes a strong budget. It's just really hard to buy what is perceived as a really good horse.”

Schermerhorn, Hanley & 30 Year Farm also teamed up Friday to secure Hip 1093, a filly by Audible for $535,000 from the Richardson Bloodstock consignment. —@CBossTDN

Caliente Hits it Out of the Park in OBS Debut

Saul Marquez had one horse in his first-ever consignment and the colt by Solomini (hip 1109) made it a memorable debut when selling for $700,000 to the bid of bloodstock agent Donato Lanni Friday in Ocala. The colt, who worked in :9 4/5, became the first horse purchased by a group of close friends when they paid $50,000 for him at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“I was selling for myself and a couple of buddies,” Marquez said. “We created a pool together, we all pitched in and he was one of the four we bought. He was actually the first one we bought, so this was very sentimental.”

The chestnut is out of Timberlea (Flatter), a half-sister to graded winner Untrapped (Trappe Shot).

Lanni signed the ticket on the New York-bred colt on behalf of Dr. Ed Allred and Jack Liebau.

“He fit our program,” Lanni said. “We want to buy horses that look like stakes horses. It was very hard to buy yearlings in September. He worked really fast and looks the part. He [breezed well] and then you have to pay for it. He is beautiful and we liked him.”

Marquez, who spent years as a jockey's agent in California before relocating to Ocala in February, admitted to some buyer's remorse after acquiring the yearling.

“Honestly, I thought we overpaid for him,” he said. “We were very anxious. But we loved him since day one. He means everything to me.”

Of the colt's price tag Friday, Marquez shook his head in disbelief.

“Honestly, I was happy with $100,000 two weeks ago,” he said. “And today, I don't even know what is going on. It's mixed emotions. I just want to call my mom.”

Following his one-horse consignment at the Spring sale, Marquez will offer two horses at the OBS June sale.

“I am a fourth-generation horseman,” he said. “I was a jock's agent for a long time. My father was an assistant out in California. A friend of mine invited me to the business and I thought there would be better opportunities here. So here I am. I have been in Ocala since February.”

Crane Soars with Lookin At Lucky Colt

What a difference three years make. Just as COVID-19 was about to upend the world in March 2020, Crane Thoroughbreds experienced one of the worst things that a commercial horse operation could face–a barn fire. Located near Penn National, Crane Thoroughbreds tragically lost 15 juveniles in the blaze. However, with a lot of hard work and perseverance, Clovis Crane and his team rose out of the ashes like a phoenix, culminating with the sale of $500,000 colt by Lookin At Lucky at OBS Friday.

“It is very emotional,” admitted the visibly moved Crane. “This is the first time since that barn fire that we got a drink of water.”

Offered as Hip 942, the bay was secured by West Point Thoroughbreds.

“He's going to the best people and will be in the best hands,” said Crane. “It's really exciting because the horse can really run and it's been obvious for a long time.”

Out of the Forestry mare Shawnee Moon, the Feb. 9 foal caught the eye with a :10 flat breeze last Friday.

“My horse's stride was huge and he did it beautifully,” explained Crane. “But he has been that way that way all winter. Every breeze that he has done had been fabulous. I was just fortunate to be a spoke in the wheel with him.”

A full-brother to GISP Giuseppe the Great, who earned over $500,000 on the racetrack, the juvenile is from the extended family of champions Storm Bird and Northernette.

“The breeze was really over-the-top good,” said West Point's Terry Finley. “These consignors get better every year–you see several sub-:10 times. It's crazy that when you see a :10 flat breeze, you need to really investigate it. But he just did it really well.”

Bred by Buck Pond Farm, the colt was an $80,000 purchase for the partnership of Keep The Ball Rollin at Keeneland last September.

“The Keep The Ball Rollin partnership is with a couple of investors who I can't thank enough for sticking with me through thick smoke and sunny skies,” said Crane of his longtime partners and clients.

Underscoring the seller/buyer connection, Finley made it plainly clear that his respect for Crane and the former jockey and national rodeo champion's horsemanship played a big part of the purchase of the colt.

“He is the type of person that gives you hope for the future because he's such a quality guy,” extolled Finley. “He took as big as a gut punch that anyone can take when he lost all those horses. He just made the best of it.”

He added, “I have the utmost confidence in Clovis when he said he liked this horse all along.”

In addition to Crane, Coolmore's Lookin At Lucky also enjoyed a breakout sale. The two-time champion and Classic winner was represented by a $700,000 colt (Hip 570) sold to Repole Stable on Day 2 of the Spring sale.

In 2022, the sire's top priced juvenile realized $125,000, and he rounded out the season with a juvenile average of $34,714 for 14 head sold. He stands for $10,000 in 2023.

“We always liked him,” said Finley of the son of Smart Strike. “We always thought he punched above his weight. He's had some really good horses [incl. BC Classic hero Accelerate and Kentucky Derby winner Country House]. He's kept at it and people still support him. And most importantly, he produces racehorses. That's what you want.”

Finley continued, “He is the type of sire that really makes this game go. They can't all be $100,000-plus stud fees, you have to have some of those stallions that give people a really good chance to get a really good horse at the sale or on the racetrack [at a reasonable price].”

Added Crane, “No one would have expected Lookin At Lucky to have a breakout year at the sales this year, but all the horses by him that sold well worked lights out.”

Overall, Crane, who brought six head to OBS Spring this year, encountered a mixed bag with his operation's results.

“One horse didn't breeze very well and the owner decided to take him to the races,” he said. “We sold three and one RNA'd.”

In regard to the single RNA, a filly by Kantharos, he added, “I'm not positive why [Hip 619] didn't have more action, honestly. She could have breezed a little better, but she is a nice filly. But that's the way the market has been playing.”

Following the all hits and misses, Crane admits that this week's OBS sale marked a turning point for the operation.

“We lost quite a bit in the barn fire,” he said. “And it's the first time we are coming out with a breath of fresh air.”–@CBossTDN

The post Steady Results as $1.3-Million Into Mischief Colt Stars at OBS Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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It's so extraordinary that Billy Loughnane has even been featured on the evening news by the BBC, a gratifying departure from the indifference of mainstream media to all but the least flattering tales of the Turf.

On the face of it, he has risen without trace. But actually this implausibly compressed breakout has been a long time in the making–and not merely in terms of the proportion of Billy's young life fanatically dedicated to a precocious sense of vocation. Because before Mark Loughnane suddenly found himself being described as Billy's father, Billy was Mark Loughnane's son. And you can be certain of one thing: whatever Billy's future may hold, his prospects are immeasurably enhanced by the decades of unsung daily endeavour that have taken a whole family to this point.

Naturally Mark is proud to see the blossoming of a talent he has long known to be out of the ordinary. But it has not just been Billy's apprentice claim that has driven the stable's prolific start to 2023, with 17 winners already from only 76 runners. (Other jockeys have ridden seven of those, from 41 starters.) To put that in context, Mark's best campaign to date comprised 41 wins in 2021.

And if you come and visit Rock Farm Stables, in a glorious bowl of undulating Worcestershire countryside, it all stands to reason. After a long education in old-school jumping yards, both sides of the Irish Sea, Mark has had to make several fresh starts since going solo in 2002. And it is only in coming to this sumptuous, purpose-built facility, five years ago, that he has finally been able to give full rein to the talent and passion so immediately apparent in his adolescent son.

Mark Loughnane | Liz Vanegas de Quickenden

“It's taken me 30, 40 years in the industry to get to where I am today,” Mark acknowledges. “This place is a five-star hotel for these horses and we're very, very lucky. We've got everything here and in the last couple of years we're just starting to build to a better grade of a horse.

“It's a slow burn. I wish I had all this 20 years ago. But when you start with zero, and have to make your own way, you can only build gradually. When the recession hit, I was coming over from Ireland to Wolverhampton with a 50% strike-rate, win and place. And Clare said, 'Why don't we come over?' So we started again. That was just 10 years ago. We got in the truck, there were 10 horses, an Alsatian and our two boys.”

Mark had five years in Staffordshire but the game-changer was the chance to move into a yard established by Steve and Anita Mares. Every facility was tailormade in consultation with Mark–including uphill and round gallops, and copious turnout paddocks–and now 60 heads peer from stalls in the American barn. Mark has been in the game too long to think that he will have the Guineas favourite this time next year, but nor should his climbing graph-lines be neglected as incidental to the explosive start made by Billy to his own career.

“People kind of put me down as an all-weather trainer,” Mark says with a shrug. “That doesn't annoy me or anything. But you have to cut your cloth according to the horses you get. It's very hard to get to the next level, but hopefully we'll have a few more grass horses this year. We've a very loyal bunch of owners, I have a lot of good people around me, and I'm sure a good one will come in the door. You just have to say to yourself that every horse that comes into this yard could be the one.”

Father and son could not have taken more contrasting routes into the racing game. Billy is the ultimate example of nature and nurture combining to make his career feel inevitable from boyhood. Mark, however, had no background whatsoever in the sport, beyond his father replacing flattened hurdles and treading down turf at their local track, Thurles.

“And we'd go up the next day and muck out all the boxes and put back all the divots,” Mark recalls. “Then I went into a stable one day and rubbed one on the head, and that was it. I never went back to school. I had my first job with Tommy Stack when I was 15 and have never been away from them since.”

For Billy to prove such a natural, presumably there was always something latent in Mark too. After all, his wife Clare knew nothing at all about horses albeit they happened to meet at Cheltenham races (and he now credits her with a huge role in the operation of the yard). But it's hard to identify the nature or source of that flair for the horse, somehow discovered by Mark and so obviously inherited by Billy.

“Since Billy was born he was on my heels and, for him, there was no way out,” Mark reflects. “He always wanted it. For me, when I was young, I suppose it was that no matter what sport I tried, I'd try to be the best. If I was no good, I'd try something else. I was lucky enough to ride a few winners, not many, but also to work for a lot of good men. And back in the day, if you were interested, you'd learn. Every yard I went into, I went in as an ordinary lad and most of the time ended up probably running it, or assistant.”

The farm's uphill gallop | Liz Vanegas de Quickenden

He had a key role, for instance, in Terry Casey's preparation of 1996 Grand National winner Rough Quest. Casey had his troubles in too short a life, but Mark learned a lot from him, as from other mentors Edward O'Grady, Enda Bolger and, above all, Pat Doyle.

“Pat's attention to detail was unreal,” he says. “I did three and a half years with him. If you got something wrong, he let you know! Those days are gone now. The kids coming into it now, I don't think it's the same. So I feel I've very lucky in that sphere, and I'm still very friendly with a lot of the trainers I worked for.”

When setting up on his own, Mark had two winners at the Galway Festival in his first week. If that instant success proved rather a mirage, nor was it an obvious turning point when, sitting in Ron Harris's kitchen 19 years ago, one of his fellow trainer's owners drove up. When Mark moved over the water, Steve Mares supported him with a couple of horses before one day approaching him, out of the blue, about running a new stable.

After rejecting another site, they drove into a farm in the hamlet of Rock and Mark was immediately excited by its potential.

“I was able to come in and design the whole place,” Mark says gratefully. “Steve took a year out of work and oversaw the whole thing. When you've been in different yards all your life, you see good things and bad things everywhere. And I've tried to take the best points and this is the result.”

Now Billy is helping to put the place on the map, too. But all his father's experience certainly told in the seasoned decision to put the brakes on a runaway train: his claim is already down to 5lbs, and needed conserving for the turf season.  Already, after all, their careful strategy has required constant revision.

“We just planned that he'd get his license in October and move him into the all-weather season with me, because that's when my horses have tended to thrive,” Mark explains. “We thought he could ride eight or 10 winners through the winter and tip away, nice and steady, and then we'd get him onto the grass.

“But then it just took off. We were going to stop him after 15 but then two days later he was at 20. So we said, okay, 25. But then in that week he rode nine winners. So I rang Rodi and his agent [Sashi Righton] and said, 'Lads, that's it, we have to stop.' I'm glad we did keep him going, because that meant he could ride a winner for Mr. Appleby in the Godolphin colours.

“But [otherwise] it has all happened very quickly, too quickly. And that's why we decided to stop. And instead of Billy being here, grafting and being driven mad watching horses he could be winning on, to send him over to America.”

Though Billy always stood out on the pony circuit, crucially he was first obliged to master principles of equitation in the show ring. He was always eager for the next step; Mark was always making him wait. Naturally there are benefits and burdens for both, when your principal counsellor and critic is also your father. Mark does remember shouting at Billy after he let one up the inside in a pony race at Nottingham, but Clare and Billy's brother Jack (himself a gifted footballer) ensure they all remain family first. And if Billy were to win the Derby itself, that won't beat the feeling they shared when he won his first pony race at Cocklebarrow point-to-point, in the mud, the little pony led in proudly by Mark's long-serving assistant Steve Davies.

“You couldn't buy that feeling for millions,” Mark says. “All along, I knew his talent. And I kept saying to Clare, 'I'm not letting him do it until he's ready.' But when we did start, we hit the ground running: he stood out from the first day.”

Now Billy has completed another valuable module in his education with this stint in Florida, riding trackwork at Palm Meadows for Anna Meah–whose husband David, the bloodstock agent, is an old collaborator of Mark's.

“A massive learning experience,” Billy confirms. “The way they do everything out there is completely different. So it was an amazing opportunity and I feel like I've learned loads. Obviously dirt's completely different to work on, and they probably don't do as much as we would, here, because it's a much more tiring surface.”

He admits that riding against the clock was a challenge. “For the first couple of days anyway!” he says. “The first day I was able to watch their riders doing it for an hour but then David [Meah] just fired me straight on a horse. But I think I got the hang of it in the end…”

Rock Farm from the air | Liz Vanegas de Quickenden

Mark doesn't allow that modesty to pass, revealing that Billy's services were soon being requested by several other barns. On the day of our visit, the family had only just got back from their trip to Miami to collect Billy. Despite the long flight, Billy had leaped from the car to work five horses and now, following a gym session, here he was on the equicizer, taking remote tuition from instructor Rodi Greene.

Such is his dedication. But that's standard to the whole environment. Greene himself, for instance, recently drove from Devon to set up the simulator in the Wolverhampton car park, so that they could have a session before the meeting–before naturally staying to observe his protégé to the last race.

“To be the best, you need to be all that, don't you?” he says. “But it's the same for us trainers, down the yard at six every morning. And my head man's there before me, feeding. And at midnight you're coming back from Newcastle without a winner. Then up again. Eat, sleep, race, repeat.

“But with Billy, this is 16 years in the making. He's been watching his weight since he's 13. You ask a kid not to eat chocolate at 13! I'd say, 'Go on, have a milkshake.' But no, he doesn't want it. So he's not pushed into it. He was just hungry for it. He's a million times better than I was, at that age. And he's hungrier, too.”

Which is saying plenty, because here is a man whose ambition is undiminished by all the familiar ups and downs of his calling.

“We've grafted, me and my wife, and there'd be days we had nothing,” Mark says. “But the minute we get a winner, be it a seller at Wolverhampton, we come back on cloud nine. And then we're back into it next day, hungry to do it again. It's been a long slog. But looking at what we're reaping now–where we live, and the place we're in, and watching Billy–makes all the struggles feel worthwhile.”

But nobody will be complacent, nor losing perspective.

“When there's an ambulance following you around every day, everything can change very quickly,” Mark says. “So we just take each day as it comes. Listen, I've been very lucky and I've met good people on my way. And Billy is lucky now that he's got my contacts, and a lot of people supporting him. Obviously, he has to be talented as well. So it's one step at a time. But yes, at the minute, we're living the dream.”

The post An Overnight Sensation Built On Rock appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A total of 431 horses changed hands during the two-day auction for a gross of $17,245,500 with an average of $40,013 and median of $16,000. There were 56 horses led from the ring unsold for a very low RNA rate of 11.5%.

That was a significant increase over last year's auction, where 425 Thoroughbreds grossed $12,506,700 over two sessions with an average of $29,428 and a median of $10,000. There were 99 horses who did not meet their reserves last term for a RNA rate of 18.9%.

“Tremendous horse sale,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said. “There was great activity on all types and levels of horses, unlike a few years ago when it was all or nothing at the top. The encouraging thing was the depth of the marketplace for yearlings, racing/broodmare prospects and mares in foal. People had money to spend and orders to fill. There was a tremendous clearance rate. From our perspective, February has clearly established itself as a meaningful sale on the calendar that people should point horses to the in the future.”

During Wednesday's session, 233 head brought $10,646,700 with an average of $45,694 and median of $18,000. With just 18 horses failing to sell, the RNA rate was 7.2%.

In the equivalent session last year, 218 horses summoned $8,550,400 with an average of $39,222 and median of $11,000. Forty-two horses missed their marks for an RNA rate of 16.2%.

In addition to the sale-topping Brilliant Cut, Japanese buyers also took home Tuesday's top purchase, and the second highest-priced offering of the sale, Bodhicitta (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), who brought $450,000 from K I Farm.

Fred Hertrich, John Fielding and City of Light were responsible for the session-topping yearling for the second day in a row, selling a $180,000 colt by that young Lane's End stallion. Rob Tribbett was also a co-breeder on hip 337, who was purchased by Four Star Sales. The breeders sold a $260,000 colt by that sire Tuesday, who was the auction's top-priced yearling.

Champion freshman sire Gun Runner continued to make a strong showing at Fasig, with two more mares in foal to the Horse of the Year bringing six-figures. The Three Chimneys resident was represented by three other six-figure sellers Tuesday, one yearling and two in-foal mares, all of which were sold by Pennsylvania-based owner/breeder Christian Black.

There was a deep buying bench at the February sale, with the top 12 horses all going to different buyers. On the seller end, Taylor Made accounted for seven of those 12.

“It's tough,” bloodstock agent David Meah said of the February market. “I think this is the new normal and we all have to just get used to it. Realistically, if you think a horse is worth $250,000, you better have $300,000 or $325,000. If you think it is worth $50,000, you better have $75,000. I don't think it is just a now market. I strongly believe it is the new normal. This is the way it is going to be moving forward and I think it has been that way for the last 12 months now.”

Jacob West–whose new outfit with partner Jill Gordon known as Highgate Sales sold topper Brilliant Cut in their inaugural consignment–echoed Meah's thoughts on the market.

“It is strong,” West said. “I had orders to try to buy everything from yearlings to maidens to pregnant mares and I bought one horse. There are quality horses in here and they have been selling well across the board. The results speak for themselves with the median and average from [Tuesday] and the gross total. Today I am sure they are blowing it out of the water. Quality products are bringing quality money and it looks like it is going to be that way for the foreseeable future.”

The Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale marks the end of the breeding stock sales season and the auction scene will transition to Florida with the OBS March Sale, which is quickly followed by Fasig-Tipton's Gulfstream Sale.

Highgate Sales Off to 'Brilliant' Start

Jill Gordon and Jacob West's Highgate Sales came out of the gate running with their inaugural consignment, selling all 10 of its mares, including $750,000 sale topper Brilliant Cut (Speightstown) (hip 541). The GI La Brea S. runner-up was purchased by Japan's Katsumi Yoshida, who did his bidding online.

“To roll out our banner for the first time and be able to have a sale topper here at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale, it's hard to put into words,” said Gordon, the emotion clear in her voice. “We have the utmost gratitude to this ownership group. They have been very good to me and I can't possibly say thank you enough for what they've done for us. This filly has been a class act from the day she got to the sales grounds. She was out over 150 times and gave the exact same show every time she was out of her stall. We are so proud to have represented her and followed her up to the ring.”

Brilliant Cut was claimed by trainer Doug O'Neill and owners Boom Racing, ERJ Racing, Dave Kenney and William Strauss for $50,000 out of her fourth-out graduation at Del Mar in November of 2020. The chestnut was third behind La Brea heroine Kalypso (Brody's Cause) in last term's GII Santa Ynez S. and checked in fourth in the GIII Las Virgenes S. Switched to the grass, she completed the exacta in an Arcadia optional claimer last March, after which she was sent to the sidelines.

Resurfacing in the Unzip Me S. on the Santa Anita lawn in October, Brilliant Cut checked in fourth that day and was sent back to the main track, where she returned to winning ways in an Oct. 30 starter optional claimer. Dismissed at 20-1 when jumping up the class ladder for the Dec. 26 La Brea, Brilliant Cut pressed from second most of the way and stayed on to fill the place spot.

Brilliant Cut has the pedigree to back up her track record, starting with her year-younger half-sister Lemeiux (Nyquist), who won a stakes last year at two and is back in training. Her dam is a half to MGISW Diamondrella (GB) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}), who is the dam of GSW Spectropscope (Medaglia d'Oro); SW Highest Honors (Tapit); and SW & MGISP Bonnie Blue Flag (Mineshaft), who is the second dam of GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile romper and impressive GI Pegasus World Cup winner Life is Good (Into Mischief).

“Given the interest that we had in here both pre-sale and on the sales grounds, we were hoping she might get to $500,000 or a little more,” Gordon said. “To walk up and have a result like this, especially off of a $50,000 claim, it's hard to describe.”

Highgate's initial consignment consisted of a mix of 10 in-foal mares and racing/broodmare prospects. They had a 100% clearance rate with a gross of $1.216 million and an average of $121,600.

“We are pleased to report that we went 10-for-10 at our inaugural sale,” Gordon said. “We had a great group of clients supporting us and we can't thank them enough. It couldn't be a better way to start and we are both very excited.”

West added, “Jill has really taken the bull by the horns here. We wanted to come in here with some quality product and make our presence felt. She spearheaded all of that and I couldn't be happier for her. I know how much blood, sweat and tears went into this. I am happy for her and our whole team. The guys at the barn were incredible. We wouldn't be anything without our clients and the horses they gave us.”

Meah Strikes for Lady Edith

Bloodstock agent David Meah had two fillies in mind for the partnership of Bing Bush's Abbondanza Racing and Omar Aldabbagh. He decided to focus his efforts on recent stakes winner Lady Edith (Street Boss) (hip 350) and that paid off early in Wednesday's session when he secured the 4-year-old filly for $370,000. She will be sent to California-based conditioner and Meah's former boss Richard Baltas.

“This was the one filly that we knew we could probably afford,” Meah said. “The other one [we were looking at] was [GISP] Brilliant Cut (Speightstown), but we know she is probably going to go for a lot of money. So, we focused in on this filly. With Santa Anita racing from five to 6 1/2 furlongs on the grass now, it gives us a lot of options. We think she can go over there and probably pick up some graded stakes wins, hopefully. She will run all year and then they will decide whether they want to bring her back here in November to sell again or, since she just turned four, they may run her for a couple of years.”

Bred by the late J. David Richardson and Sandra New, Lady Edith was consigned by Hermitage Farm, acting as agent for Richardson's estate. Out of stakes winner Lady Grantham (Yankee Gentleman), she captured the Mamzelle S. sprinting on turf at Churchill Downs in May and came from the clouds to take the Wishing Well S. on synthetic at Turfway Jan. 29 for trainer Tom Drury.

“She has the pedigree where she is worth quite a bit of money as she stands, even if she never ran again,” Meah said of the filly's appeal. “She just turned four and just won a stakes race at Turfway. Horses don't generally come from off the pace there and she was 14 lengths back after about 25 jumps, so she did it really well. She swung five or six wide in the stretch, mowed them down and galloped out pretty well. That last race sealed the deal for us. It showed she has a big turn of foot. They just don't come from that far back at Turfway. We are excited to get her on the grass in California. Horses with a turn of foot like that really do well there.”

Black & Gun Runner Continue to Succeed

Owner/breeder Christian Black has enjoyed plenty of success in the sales ring over the past six months thanks to leading freshman sire Gun Runner. The principal of Blackstone Farm and Forgotten Land Investments sold a colt by that Horse of the Year for $550,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga sale. The duo continued to succeed at the February sale when Black sold a Gun Runner filly for $225,000 (hip 38) and a pair of six-figure mares in foal to the Three Chimneys stallion during Tuesday's session.

The fun didn't stop there. Black traded two more mares in foal to Gun Runner Wednesday, selling one for $330,000 to Gracie Bloodstock (hip 369) and one for $205,000 to Imaginary Stable and Glen Ellis (hip 377).

“I have always been a big fan of Gun Runner,” Black said. “I have been breeding to him from the first year. Three Chimneys has been very, very nice to me and always let me do what I thought was the right thing to do. They have been very supportive and I am very appreciative of that.”

The first of the two to go through the ring Wednesday was Lucky Draw (Lookin At Lucky) (hip 369), who never made the races, but is a half to stakes winner Killer Bird (Summer Bird). Black picked up the now 7-year-old mare for just $10,000 at the 2018 KEEJAN sale. He kept her first foal, the recently turned 3-year-old filly You Look Cold (Frosted), and races her in partnership with Kinsman Stable. She has won two of her four starts, including the Finest City S. at Presque Isle in September, with lifetime earnings just shy of $100,000 thus far. Black sold her 2020 filly by More Than Ready for $100,000 at FTKOCT and she had a More Than Ready colt last April.

“We were lucky enough that the first foal out of her became a stakes winner,” Black said. “That filly just turned three. She will go on and be a stakes horse this year hopefully, and maybe even a graded stakes horse. She is a young mare with a lot of upside to her, so I think people saw that and were willing to put a value on her that reflected that.”

The second mare is a Blackstone Farm homebred, Malibu Surprise (Malibu Moon) (hip 377). Out of the Ghostzapper mare I'm Surprised, she is a half to stakes winner She's a Big Winner (Bellamy Road). The 7-year-old mare's first foal is a now-yearling colt by Distorted Humor.

“She was born on a Southern Hemisphere season,” Black said. “I always liked the mare. We raised her and she was a decent racehorse. The Gun Runner was in her and I thought that was a good physical match, so we brought her to market and were rewarded. Gun Runner and Three Chimneys have been very good to us. That's for sure.”

The post Brilliant Cut Shines at Fasig-Tipton February Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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As one of North America's elite racing venues, hosting the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar made perfect sense, and the on-track product lived up to expectations, with plenty of strong winners and exciting finishes.

Ahead of this year's return to Del Mar, we asked some participants in this year's Breeders' Cup to recall what memory stuck out to them the most from the last time the event was held where the turf meets the surf.

Nick Hines – Jockey Agent, Bloodstock Agent, TVG Host

“In regards to the gambling, it really came down to Good Magic (in the Juvenile). He pretty much saved the day for me, because he came in heralded enough, but still considered under the radar, which is kind of surprising for a Chad Brown horse, but it was the turning point for me cashing a pretty sizable return. All the money was in on Bolt d'Oro, Good Magic was a maiden coming in for Chad Brown, and it made me wonder why he'd take a chance with a maiden in the Breeders' Cup. With his pedigree, and coming out of the Breeders' Cup, I thought this horse was going to adore two turns.”

Kate Hunter – Breeders' Cup Japanese Field Representative

“Back in 2017, I unfortunately had the recruit fall through, but I attended anyway for the experience. What I remember most, though, is walking around the grandstand gawking at the photos of Bing Crosby, my all-time favorite singer. Walking in his shoes and being at his track felt really special. It was a feeling I was able to linger in since I was just there as a spectator. I wallowed in it.”

David Meah – Meah/Lloyd Bloodstock, Anna Meah Racing Stables

“My memory of that Breeders' Cup was being there with Anna, who I had recently married back in August that year, and sharing the weekend with good friends from around the globe. Breeders' Cup for me is a fantastic occasion, being from England and living in America for such a long time (16 years at that time). It's fantastic when lots of my old friends come into town and we all catch up.

“Beyond that, I remember the weather being perfect, especially for the horses. I think It was around 69 degrees and it wasn't to hot at all. It was heavenly. We were spoiled, as per usual, with these world championship races and one horse that stood out to me was the amazingly handsome Talismanic (in the Turf). When he walked by me in the paddock, I knew where my $2 (maybe a little more) was going, and at 14-1, you'd better believe the drinks were flowing that evening.”

Walker Hancock – Claiborne Farm

“My cousin Lynn talking us out of including Talismanic in our Pick 6, costing us $388,423.”

Aron Wellman – Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

“For me, it was a selfish memory of Eclipse's colt Destin winning the Marathon Stakes (on the Breeders' Cup undercard). It was on my home track, and Todd Pletcher's first ever win at Del Mar.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Buzz: Remembering The Previous Del Mar Breeders’ Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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On the one hand, she has always been a woman in a hurry: however crammed the automobile she drove south from Washington in December 2012, her heart set on finding a backstretch job in California, the years since have been no less packed with experience. Indeed, the veteran trainer of a small string at Hollywood Park who hired Meah as assistant the following April also launched another career that very same month: a Cal-bred chestnut by Lucky Pulpit, name of California Chrome.

Even since starting to train, however, Meah has been through enough–a terrifying trackwork smash, for one thing, not to mention a barn reboot in Kentucky on the very eve of a global pandemic–to view the success of Abby Hatcher (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the GIII Chicago S. at Arlington as a boost to the morale of her small, dedicated team, but otherwise only as a first milestone on what remains a long and challenging road ahead.

“When I started training, I had some funny luck,” she says. “I don't want to say bad luck, because I know things can always be worse. But, yeah, funny luck. I thought I had my first winner in a stakes race at Del Mar. What a fairytale that would have been! But he was disqualified. It was one of those that could have gone either way, depending who you asked, but they took him down.

“Between starting out that October, and the end of the year, I had 16 runners. Eight finished second. I was thinking, 'Man, this horse-training business is not all I was hoping… Am I ever going to win a race?' That was a humbling experience–but it's also how this whole game is. So, yes, winning my first graded stakes felt amazing, and nothing will take that away. But at the same time, it's a reminder to stay humble. There's still so much to be done, so many goals to accomplish.”

As such, Meah has found nearly as much satisfaction in the less conspicuous breakthroughs that assure her, in quiet increments, that she's heading the right way.

Jungle Juice (right) winning at Churchill last week | Coady

“I don't know what it was about June, but we hit a ton of milestones,” she notes. “We finally won first time off a claim, having bumped up from $30,000 claimer to maiden special weight; then the following week we won with a first-time starter, also for the first time; and I believe Jungle Juice (Ire) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) [a Churchill optional allowance winner last week] is the first to win three times for me. And then of course the graded stakes. So we had a huge month. We're not a huge crew but the staff work so hard, some of them traveled across the country to stay with me, and I'm so thankful to them. It's been really rewarding for everyone.”

That migration from California, early last year, was a huge decision so early in Meah's training career. Logically, there was no point bringing her Cal-breds. Leaving them behind, however, reduced the string to 11. But she now has 27 in the barn, and was able to build up support even after the shock that awaited her in Lexington.

“I have a lot of clients along the East Coast that were very supportive of the idea,” she explains. “California was undergoing a bit of scrutiny at the time, and not many people wanted to send horses there. That was sad to see, I'd had a great run out there, but for a young trainer getting started, it was really hard to give it an honest go. You could enter a horse and if the race didn't fill you might be looking at another month. We have so many more options here.

“But yes, it was a bit alarming to move our stable from Santa Anita to Keeneland and be told, after our first day training, that they were cancelling the meet. 'What have I done?' I said. 'I've shipped my horses all this way for one day of training!' Obviously I soon saw that this wasn't a Kentucky problem but a global one. And we made do with what we had. We shipped over to Oklahoma and won a race, for instance. But even during the pandemic I was given a chance by a lot of new people, which just goes to show how Kentucky has helped my business thrive.”

That Oklahoma winner, at Will Rogers Downs, was very dear to Meah. For it was Vallestina (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) she was riding round Santa Anita one morning in June 2019 when the pair of them were badly lacerated in a freak accident. The vets candidly doubted whether Vallestina would make it.

Meah with Vallestina and her Midnight Storm foal | Courtesy David Meah

“But long story short, she ended up pulling through,” Meah says. “And she not only came back and won at Santa Anita but also became the first to win for me after we moved out here. It's been a bit of a fairy tale–she has just had her first foal by Midnight Storm, and the plan would be to bring him into training someday–so let's hope it keeps panning out that way.”

After that horrible drama, Meah reluctantly acknowledged that it was neither sensible nor necessary to continue riding trackwork herself. So began a new chapter in her relationship with the horse, which had first evolved in a backwater of Thoroughbred racing–Meah was born in Oregon and raised in Washington–and initially devoted her to rodeos. Her ultimate vocation would only gradually come into focus.

In adolescence, she began shadowing Dr. Solomon Benneroch, the veterinarian who tended her rodeo mounts but also had clients with a Quarter Horse barn. “I begged them for a job for two years,” Meah recalls. “I just bugged them until they finally called and said, okay, this summer.” She went on to study Animal Science at Montana State but her real education would come in grooming and exercising at places like Portland Meadows, Emerald Downs and Grants Pass. A world away from Keeneland–her current base, though she's excited to be moving back into a renovated barn at Kentucky's Thoroughbred Center in October–but a perfect environment to learn the nuances of equine care.

“Working at those smaller racetracks, you learned a lot about what you can and can't do with horses,” she says. “It was exciting to be a part of it, and I'm glad I was. You could really build a foundation that way, and I feel that's so important for everything in life.”

The graduation ceremony awaited in the new, life-changing journey Meah began in tandem with California Chrome. Her four years with Art Sherman would span two Horse of the Year campaigns.

“Honestly, I have been so blessed,” she reflects. “Coming into this game, and landing that job with Art, and becoming part of Chrome's entire career. The Shermans are still like family to me, to this day. They were the first people to really take me under their wing. And Art is one special horseman. Chrome wasn't a difficult horse–very sound, great mind–but Art is such a wonderful person, and loves his horses so much, I know he did everything right by that horse and gave him the very best opportunity to succeed. Maybe in some bigger barns, little things may have been overlooked. Every small detail needs to come together to make big things happen.”

California Chrome | Horsephotos

Just as when she had first cut her teeth on the racetrack, however, Meah feels that she learned as much from the lesser horses.

“Art trusted me to run the barn when he wasn't there,” she explains. “At the time, I felt I was missing out on the fun a little, like when Chrome went out to Dubai for three months. But with a 12-hour time difference I couldn't call about every little issue. I had to figure things out.”

Nonetheless Meah was also privileged to have a regular, hands-on connection with the champion.

“I breezed Chrome all the way into most of his races, unless of course Victor [Espinoza] was out for it,” she says. “That was quite an adrenaline rush. It's not anything I could put into words. I just let him do his thing, he knew what he needed to do and how to do it, but the way he traveled, the way he covered the ground, he just had so much class about him. And it's not like his pedigree was outstanding: he just had such a big heart.”

That elusive grail, so hard to identify, remains ever in mind when stocking her own barn from limited resources. Likewise for husband David, as a bloodstock agent whose transatlantic partnership with Jamie Lloyd often targets horses off the track in Ireland or his native Britain. David has also had a fertile association with Richard Baltas, with whom Meah rounded off her apprenticeship after the retirement of California Chrome.

“Baltas probably had over 100 horses,” she recalls. “So it was a totally different experience, and more demanding, both physically and in terms of time. More runners, more problems. Again, he trusted me, for instance to travel east with horses like Gas Station Sushi (Into Mischief). She was such a star to deal with, and that was also how I really fell in love with Kentucky as Horse Country.”

Abby Hatcher, winner of the June 26 GIII Chicago S. | Coady

David–who bought that filly, winner of the GIII Beaumont S., as a 2-year-old–can these days sometimes encourage clientele toward his wife's barn and indeed heads up the partnership that races Abby Hatcher, herself an Irish import.

“We'd actually been eyeing that race for a long time,” Meah says. “As you know, in horseracing things rarely go to plan, but for once everything worked out. We thought we'd be happy just to get her some black type, but to actually go up there and win was unbelievable. When she first came over here, I put some works into her and knew she had ability. But then I turned her out, gave her a bit of time to adjust and be a horse for a while. And that has really paid off. David has provided me with a bunch of horses from Europe that I've had success with, so it's really nice to have his support and his eye.”

Her first debt, however, remains to parents with zero horse connection who nonetheless indulged their daughter's obsession. “Rodeo was obviously very different, though maybe suggested that I have a very strong competitive edge!” Meah says. “It was every weekend, so I'm very thankful that I was sometimes allowed out of school early, or to miss a day for traveling. I always knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with horses. But I didn't come into this business with the mentality that I wanted to be trainer. It's just how the stepping stones laid out until it became a no-brainer not to give it a try.

“I did try to make sure I had that foundation before branching out. I didn't want to start out with two or three horses, with me as owner, and piece things together as I went along. I had people ready to give me a chance. I don't run into too many young trainers, male or female, and I feel there are plenty of people out there who want a trainer that's young and hungry. I have put in a ton of work, but a lot of people do the same without having a graded success so early in their career. So when all that work pays off like this, I do feel very blessed.”

The post Meah Adding Horsepower to Chrome Finish appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Trained by Anna Meah and owned by her husband David Meah, Abby Hatcher covered seven furlongs on a wet synthetic surface rated fast in 1:22.27. The 4-year-old Irish-bred filly by Acclamation finished  a half-length clear of Club Car, the 5-2 second choice, with 11-10 favorite Dreamalildreamofu another half-length back in third in the field of nine fillies and mares.

Abby Hatcher paid $40 to win. The Chicago Stakes was her first added-money victory and third over from nine starts in a career that began in Ireland in 2019. This was her second win from six starts in the U.S.

She Can't Sing set the early fractions, going the opening quarter mile in :23.39 and the half in :45.93. Club Car took over at the furlong grounds, the six furlongs clocked in 1:09.66, with Dreamalildreamofu applying pressure. But Achard had all the momentum aboard Abby Hatcher and moved to the lead in the final yards.

The post Abby Hatcher Springs 19-1 Upset In Chicago Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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LEXINGTON, KY–OXO Equine’s Larry Best took home the top two lots Monday during the lone Book 1 session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Early in the day he went to $1.9 million for Indian Miss (Indian Charlie) (hip 32), the dam of champion sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya) and last Friday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), in foal to Into Mischief and from the Hill ‘n’ Dale consignment; and towards the end of the session he paid $1.95 million for GISW turfer Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy), offered as hip 216 by Lane’s End on behalf of Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing.

With a smaller Book 1 catalog and overall sale compared to last year, 128 head changed hands Monday for $49,775,000 in gross receipts–last year’s Book 1 gross was $70,449,500 from 163 sold. The average was $388,867 (down 10% from $432,206 12 months ago), and median was $280,000 (down 6.7%). The RNA rate was 27.68% compared to 24.54% for 2019’s Book 1 session.

“We had a solid day of trade,” said Keeneland’s President-elect Shannon Arvin. “We had eight horses who sold for a million dollars or more and we were really happy with the participation. There was broad domestic and international participation. We had a lot of Japanese participation today–three of those top sellers were purchased by the Japanese. So overall, we were really happy with how the day went.”

Keeneland continues to offer the expanded bidding options it introduced for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale brought about by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and 62 bids were made over the internet Monday with over $6 million in purchases made online for nine horses.

“One of the benefits we’ve learned from internet bidding is that while the agents can go out and evaluate the horses, it’s the principal who then does the bidding,” noted Keeeneland Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell. “I think that has helped both the principal and the agent. The principal might go a little bit further than the agent might have been authorized to go to. So he’s back in control. I think that’s great. It’s a great benefit of the internet. It’s a different way of doing commerce in 2020, but I think we’re all learning how to play with technology and get the best benefit out of it. Consignors were very good about providing photographs and information and videos direct to Japanese buyers who aren’t here.”

Emmanuel de Seroux, who purchased $1.85-million Cherokee Maiden (Distorted Humor) (hip 212) on behalf of Japan’s Grand Farm, said of trade Monday coming off a strong Fasig-Tipton November Night of the Stars: “The market is strong. It is difficult to get the good pedigrees. I think yesterday was very strong and today again is very strong. I thought the quality would sell because privately the horses were selling very well the last couple of months. So there was no reason for the top of the market to dip. But I think it is going to be more difficult for the average horse. But at the top of the market there are a lot of people who are ready to play. They are at home and have plenty of time to study and bid.”

The day’s top weanling was a $600,000 Justify colt purchased by agent Donato Lanni and consigned by Hunter Valley Farm as hip 21.

“It’s just like everything else; the ones they all land on seem to light up the board,” said Russell of a weanling market that seemed slightly soft. “I think the pinhookers you’ll see as they go further on into the sale will get more and more into it, and I think you’d have to expect that they will play at a little bit lower level than they have played at in the past based on the results of this year.”

Keeneland November will continue on with four more books, including Book 2 sessions Tuesday and Wednesday.

“In September, I think there was trepidation after the first two books were over where we would go and we went all the way through the sale with a very strong and vibrant market. Yes, at a lower level, but the horses were trading and moving on,” said Russell of expectations heading into the less select portions of the sale. “That’s what we hope and expect will continue here. I know they are very busy in Book 2, consignors are saying there are plenty of buyers at the barns, so let’s hope that continues.”

A Bittersweet Goodbye For Bromagen

The moments after the hammer dropped at a session-topping $1.95-million for Grade I winner Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy) (Hip 216) were bittersweet for part-owner Ashbrook Farm’s Bo Bromagen.

“I know Larry [Best] bought her, but she is still my filly as far as I’m concerned,” an emotional Bromagen said. “It is bittersweet.”

He continued, “The biggest thing for us is she is going to a good home. Larry Best treats his horses better than anybody. They live better than I do, that’s for sure. I wish him the best of luck with whatever he wants to do with her.”

Bromagen picked out Concrete Rose for just $61,000 after she breezed in :10 2/5 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale and campaigned her in partnership with BBN Racing. The Rusty Arnold pupil captured her first two starts, including the GII JP Morgan Chase Jessamine S. and suffered her only loss when eighth behind a freakish performance from Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the 2018 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies S.

Concrete Rose was a perfect four-for-four in 2019, starting with a win in the GIII Florida Oaks. She followed suit with victories in the GIII Edgewood S., GI Belmont Oaks–in which Best’s Cambier Parc (Medaglia d’Oro) finished third–and Saratoga Oaks, earning over $1.2-million.

“Obviously it’s a thrill, but nobody gets here by themselves,” Bromagen said. “I have to thank Rusty Arnold, who did such a great job with her. I am just happy that she can represent the team so well.”

Concrete Rose was consigned by Lane’s End. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Best Buys Filly Who Beat His

They say “If you can’t beat them, join them,” but in Larry Best’s case Monday it was “If you can’t beat them, buy them.” Best went to a session and likely sale-topping $1.95 million late in the day at Keeneland to secure last year’s GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. and Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. heroine Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy) as hip 216.

Consigned by Lane’s End on behalf of Ashbrook Farm and BBN Racing, Concrete Rose had twice defeated Best’s $1.25-million KEESEP buy Cambier Parc (Medaglia d’Oro): when she took the GIII Edgewood S. last May and again in the Belmont Oaks. Cambier Parc, who was fourth and third, respectively, in those two heats, reached the highest level herself in both the GI Del Mar Oaks Presented by The Jockey Club and GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. Presented by Lane’s End in 2019.

“I didn’t want to go quite that high, but honestly I didn’t think I’d touch her below $2 million,” said Best after exchanging pleasantries with Concrete Rose’s trainer Rusty Arnold and BBN’s Braxton Lynch. “She’s a beautiful horse and you can’t take away that record from her. I’m just thrilled to have her. I have admired Concrete Rose for a long time. I have a multiple Grade I winner, Cambier Parc, and Concrete Rose beat her and I said, ‘Wow, what a horse.'” (Click for an interview with Larry Best)

While Concrete Rose was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect, Best said she would not race again. He had been shopping during the session for mares to send to his recently retired Instagrand (see below), but said he was not sure yet who Concrete Rose would visit this upcoming season. She may have a future date, however, with Best’s $1.05-million OBSMAR acquisition Instilled Regard (Arch), who was last seen annexing the GI Manhattan S. on July 4.

“I’d love to breed Instilled Regard to her [in 2022]–I think I’m going to race Instilled Regard one more year, but those two horses I think would meld together very well,” said Best. “She’s just an outstanding horse.”

—@BDiDonatoTDN

Best Adds to Band for Instagrand

OXO Equine’s Larry Best acquired the early Monday topper, going to $1.9 million to take home 11-year-old mare Indian Miss (Indian Charlie) (hip 32). The dam of last year’s champion sprinter and GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint hero Mitole (Eskendereya) saw her value increase again at the World Championships on Friday when her 2-year-old son Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) belied 94-1 odds to complete the exacta in the GI TVG Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales Agency, Indian Miss was offered in foal to Best’s favorite sire Into Mischief–he had previously acquired her yearling daughter by the nation’s leading sire for $525,000 at Keeneland September.

“This one has an Into Mischief, and then I’m going to breed the mare back to Instagrand,” said Best, referring to his $1.2-million FTFMAR buy, 2018 GII Best Pal S. winner and ‘TDN Rising Star‘, who will stand his first year at stud in 2021 at Taylor Made. “That’s my strategy–try to get Instagrand going, and hopefully we’ll get a nice Into Mischief foal.”

The Into Mischief–Indian Charlie cross has been a potent one, having produced this year’s GI Frizette S. runner-up and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Dayoutoftheoffice as well as speedy three-time GSW and MGISP Frank’s Rockette.

“I really want to give Instagrand a shot,” said Best. “Indian Charlie is a beautiful cross with Into Mischief. Hopefully the mare is good for three or four more… I’m betting big on Instagrand; going to give it a shot anyway. You know how that is.”

Indian Miss was acquired by WinStar Farm for $240,000 out of the Edward A. Cox, Jr. dispersal at KEENOV ’18 while carrying the aforementioned Into Mischief filly. Out of stakes-winning juvenile Glacken’s Gal (Smoke Glacken), she’s a half to Grade II winner Live Lively (Medaglia d’Oro).

Best didn’t waste much time buying another high-dollar mare in foal to Into Mischief–he paid $430,000 for hip 49, Lady Tamra (Cross Traffic), who is a half to another standout Steve Asmussen sprinter in Mia Mischief (Into Mischief). Hip 49 was consigned by ELiTE. —@BDiDonatoTDN

Cherokee Maiden a Grand Purchase

Bloodstock agent Emmanuel de Seroux, bidding in the back show ring, made a final bid of $1.85 million to secure Cherokee Maiden (Distorted Humor) (hip 212) on behalf of Yoshiyuki Ito’s Grand Farm Monday at Keeneland. The racing or broodmare prospect, who was consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock, comes from an active family. She is a daughter of champion Folklore (Tiznow), who is a half-sister to the dam of Friday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Essential Quality (Tapit), and she is a half-sister to the dam of recent Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).

“Friday made a big difference, but she is a very nice broodmare prospect for us,” de Seroux said when asked what impact the Breeders’ Cup had on the purchase. “The pedigree is improving so much after Friday and there is more action in the family every day. We think she is a fantastic broodmare prospect. She is going to go to Japan, probably, it’s not finalized. But we will decide in the next few days.” (Click for more from Narvick’s Emmanuel de Seroux)

De Seroux, bidding on behalf of Ito’s Grand Farm, purchased GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Caledonia Road (Quality Road) for $2.3 million at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Michael Stinson purchased Cherokee Maiden for $410,000 as a yearling at the 2018 Keeneland September sale. She was most recently third in a Monmouth Park allowance while racing for the SF Racing Group in July. She has one win in 11 starts and turned in a four-furlong work in :49.20 at Keeneland Oct. 12.

Grand Farm Family is also well-represented on the racetrack in the United States with the promising Himiko (American Pharoah) who aired by 6 1/2 lengths in a Del Mar allowance for trainer Bob Baffert Sunday. That filly, a half-sister to Bodemeister, was purchased by de Seroux on behalf of the farm for $1 million at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

“They don’t buy many, but they buy quality,” de Seroux said.

@JessMartiniTDN

Ollie’s Candy Headed to Japan

Originally scheduled to sell at last year’s Keeneland November Sale, GISW Ollie’s Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) (Hip 83) was scratched by her connections, who chose to race her another year. She made it through the ring this year, however, and rewarded her owner/breeders Paul and Karen Eggert by bringing $1.65 million from Japan’s K I Farm, which bid online.

The Eggerts bought Ollie’s Candy’s GSW dam Afternoon Stroll (Stroll) for $85,000 at the 2015 Keeneland January Sale with this mare in utero. She won four of her 16 starts, topped by the 2019 GI Clement L. Hirsch S., and earned $930,151.

“I thought she would bring that with the way the market has been going on high-end mares,” said Taylor Made’s Mark Taylor. “My appraisal was $1.5 to $2 million and she was in that range. She is worth every penny. She still looks good after all the races she has run. In my mind she was only about three lengths off winning three additional three Grade Is. If she had won a couple more that she had rough trips in, she could have brought twice that.”

Ollie’s Candy was winless in 2020, but placed in five Grade I events, including a head second in the GI Apple Blossom H., a half-length second in the Clement Hirsch and another close second to GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff runner-up Valiance (Tapit) in the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Lady Prancealot Also Bound for Japan

Grade I winner Lady Prancealot (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) (hip 48), who was a close-up fourth in Saturday’s GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Turf, will be heading to Japan after Naohiro Hosoda signed the ticket on the 4-year-old filly at $1.6 million on behalf of Shadai Farm at Keeneland Monday.

“She is a Grade I winner on the turf and our main racing in Japan is on the grass,” Hosoda said of the filly’s appeal. “And of course her pedigree is suitable for mating with Japan’s main sire lines–Sunday Silence, King Kamehameha. So there are many options.”

Bloodstock agents David Meah and Jamie Lloyd acquired Lady Prancealot privately on behalf of partners Jerry McClanahan, Christopher Dunn and Jeremy Peskoff in 2018. The agents were looking for fillies racing in Europe to transfer to the U.S. with hopes of gaining black-type before selling at auction.

“This was one that the plan worked out perfectly,” Meah said. “We found her in England. She was exactly what we always try to find in Europe, something that has a bit of speed that in time will stretch out and wants fast ground. We bought her after her third start–a good friend of mine, John Egan, had ridden her and when we found out she was for sale, we called him and he highly recommended her. We kept her in England for a couple of races because we tried to go the Royal Ascot route. It didn’t pan out, we didn’t make it to Ascot, but she ran well in a couple other races. And then we brought her to America and she got into [trainer] Richard [Baltas]’s program, who has done a brilliant job with a lot of horses we’ve bought. She just went from strength to strength.”

Lady Prancealot, who eventually added partners Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Craig and Josie Arntz, Donald Durando and Jules and Michael Iavarone, won the 2019 GI American Oaks, GIII Honeymoon S. and GIII Pin Oak Valley View S. On the board in 14 of 23 starts, Lady Prancealot retires with five wins and earnings of $740,841. McClanahan and Peskoff had maintained their interests in the filly up until Monday’s sale.

Asked if the filly had exceeded expectations, Meah said, “One hundred percent. Anytime you buy a horse for under $100,000 and they go on to win a Grade I, they’ve definitely exceeded expectations.”

Lady Prancealot ran a bang-up race to be fourth on championship Saturday at Keeneland.

“I thought it was her best race to date,” Meah said of her Breeders’ Cup effort. “And I think that probably enhanced buyers’ expectations. She’s proved it in California and she’s had a big win at Keeneland, but to do it against the world’s best, I think that probably pushed the needle a little bit for the buyers.”

Phillip Shelton, of Taylor Made’s Medallion Racing partnership, agreed the filly’s seven-figure price tag was likely a nod to her Breeders’ Cup performance.

“If you had asked me two days ago, I would have been surprised,” Shelton said of the filly’s final price. “But after the way she ran in the Breeders’ Cup, the strength of the market last night [at Fasig-Tipton]–anytime you have a strong market and there is a dominant buying force, it means a lot of people are not getting horses bought. I think we were expecting a strong showing today and $1.6 million was a great result for everybody. She’s a 4-year-old and there is blue sky ahead. They are going to breed her. If we couldn’t get it done we were happy to take her back and run her. We have to thank all of our [Medallion Racing] partners for putting their faith in us.”

Hosoda doubled up on mares for Shadai just a few hips later, going to $660,000 to acquire Layla Noor (Midnight Lute) (hip 51) and then went to $280,000 to purchase Olendon (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) (hip 82). @JessMartiniTDN

Spendthrift Picks Up Where It Left Off

After a night of heavy bidding across town at Fasig-Tipton and a morning welcoming GI Breeders’ Cup Classic and GI Kentucky Derby winner Authentic (Into Mischief) into retirement at the farm, Spendthrift Farm General Manager Ned Toffey was back in action at the first session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Bidding on behalf of B. Wayne Hughes’s operation, Toffey went to $1.5 million to acquire Queen’s Plate winner Holy Helena (Ghostzapper) (hip 28) from the Hidden Brook consignment. The 6-year-old mare sold in foal to Quality Road.

“She’s a nice mare with a lot of ability and a lot of pedigree, so we’re excited to have her,” Toffey said. “We will sit down and have a conversation on [mating plans] and go from there.”

Bred and campaigned by Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs, Holy Helena won the 2017 Queen’s Plate and Woodbine Oaks and was named Canada’s champion 3-year-old filly. She added wins in the 2018 GII Sheepshead Bay S. and the 2019 GII Dance Smartly S., as well as the 2018 and 2019 editions of the GIII The Very One S.

Out of Holy Grace (Holy Bull), Holy Helena is a half-sister to multiple Grade I placed Holy Boss (Street Boss). Holy Grace is a half-sister to graded winners Rookie Sensation (Unbridled’s Song) and Mark One (Alphabet Soup).

“She was a very good race mare and she’s a standout in the market here,” said Hidden Brook managing partner Sergio de Sousa. “We felt confident she would get that price. It was a little over what we thought.”

Toffey returned a few hips later to purchase Kelly’s Humor (Midnight Lute) (hip 41) for $800,000. Also Monday, Spendthrift also purchased Secret Message (Hat Trick {Jpn}) (hip 112) for $625,000 Monday at Keeneland. @JessMartiniTDN

Stonestreet Scoops Up Aussie Mare in Foal to Familiar Stallion

Barbara Banke’s Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings went to $1.5-million to secure talented Australian runner Houtzen (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) (Hip 31), who is carrying a foal by Stonestreet’s very own Curlin.

“She won the Magic Millions [2YO Classic], which is a hard race to win,” said Banke, standing alongside Stonestreet advisor John Moynihan. “She was a really brilliant 2-year-old in Australia–

super fast. She was in foal to my favorite stallion, so what is not to like?”

As for future matings, Banke said, “She’s by I Am Invincible, so we could send her anywhere.”

In addition to her stakes win at two, Houtzen was a multiple Group 3 winner in her native land, earning over $1.5-million. Peter O’Callaghan’s Woods Edge Farm consigned the filly for Australian owner and breeder Aquis Farm.

“We expected her to do very well,” O’Callaghan said. “She was a really talented race mare. She was a Grade I mare that didn’t win a Grade I. She was just so good looking and by a really top international sire and in foal to a top international sire. I think her looks really got her over the line. It was easy to say she was worth $800,000 to $1 million on paper, but when you looked at her, you knew she’d be better. There aren’t quite that many mares here quite as good looking as her.”

O’Callaghan said he was thrilled that she would be joining Banke’s star-studded broodmare band.

“A long-term wonderful breeder bought her and we’re very grateful for that,” he said. “It’s great for that mare to go there. They do a wonderful job and she’ll be taken care of and she deserves that. That was mare was a pleasure to have for us and a bit of a prize for us to have on the farm. We’re grateful for Aquis to have entrusted her to us and allowed us to sell her.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Sams Strikes Early For Quality Mare

After a fury of seven-figure mares at Sunday night’s Fasig-Tipton sale, it did not take long for Keeneland to get their first $1-million dollar transaction of the November Sale with Claiborne’s Bernie Sams hitting the mark for Gingham (Quality Road) just 12 hips into the day’s action.

“It is an Arthur Hancock family,” said Sams, who was bidding on behalf of an undisclosed Claiborne client. “We like the Pulpit [broodmare sire], obviously, and the Quality Road. She was raised closed to us. She was a picture and she could run. She fills all the bills.”

Gingham was catalogued as a racing or broodmare prospect, but Sams said she would likely go right to the breeding shed.

As for the price, Sams said, “I would have loved to have been a little less. We tried to buy a couple of mares last night and got outrun pretty good, so I wasn’t sure where it would be today.”

Bred by Hancock’s Stone Farm, Gingham was purchased by Sarah Kelly for $420,000 at KEESEP. The bay captured three of 10 starts, including the Angels Flight S., and placed in a pair of graded events for trainer Bob Baffert.

Gingham’s second dam is MGSW Owsley (Harlan), who is also the dam of SW & GSP Senada (Pulpit). Senada’s daughter, GSP Layla Noor (Midnight Lute) (Hip 51), sold later in Monday’s session, bringing $660,000 from Shadai Farm. Gingham’s full-brother summoned $620,000 at the recent Keeneland September sale from the group known as “The Avengers” and is now named Blackadder.

“She was graded stakes-placed in August,” said Brookdale Sales’ Joe Seitz. “She’s gorgeous and she’s by a terrific sire [Quality Road], so that really helps. That was a great price, but she was so beautiful I wasn’t surprised.”  —@CDeBernardisTDN

Holmes Hits a Home Run With Veronique

When Veronique (Mizzen Mast) (Hip 244D) went through the ring at last year’s Keeneland November Sale, she was led out unsold at $22,000. Marula Park Stud’s Tony Holmes secured the mare privately after the fact and partnered with one of his employees of 22 years.

It turned out to be a very shrewd purchase. Thanks to the exploits of her undefeated son Nashville (Speightstown), the mare–who was a late supplement to this catalogue–was very popular at Keeneland this time around, bringing $800,000 from bloodstock agent James Delahooke.

“We thought it could happen because [Nashville] did it so naturally [when winning the Perryville S. Saturday],” Holmes said after shaking hands with consignors Spider Duignan and Pat Costello of Paramount Sales. “It is just special for me. [His partner] Benedicto started working for me when he was 22 and 22 years later, he is still with us. He is the nicest, most loyal man you could ever meet. The special part is, it’s not all about us, it’s more about him. This is the American dream.”

When Holmes picked out the unraced Veronique, none of her foals had made the races. Fast forward to Sept. 2 of this year and her 3-year-old colt Nashville, a $460,000 KEESEP purchase by WinStar and China Horse Club, bursts onto the scene, earning the ‘TDN Rising Star’ nod after an 11 1/2-length demolition of his Saratoga debut.

The bay followed suit with an equally jaw-dropping, 9 3/4-length romp at Keeneland next out Oct. 10. His connections briefly considered the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint, but opted for a softer spot on the undercard for their lightly raced colt. Nashville made a mockery of the Perryville S., blazing through splits of :21.54 and :43.87 and stopping the clock for six furlongs in a track record-time of 1:07.89, all while appearing to be out for a morning gallop. In comparison, hard-knocking veteran Whitmore’s (Pleasantly Perfect) final time for the six-panel BC Sprint later in the day was 1:08.61.

Veronique’s 2-year-old colt Market Cap (Candy Ride {Arg}) broke his maiden at Laurel Oct. 30, providing another timely update for his dam. She produced a Mastery colt in 2019 and a filly by that sire in 2020. The 9-year-old mare is currently in foal to Collected. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Lanni Lands Justify Foal Early

Agent Donato Lanni struck early at Keeneland November Monday to land a $600,0000 colt (hip 21) from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify out of the Hunter Valley Farm consignment.

“He’s pretty cool; he looked just like Justify,” said Lanni, who declined to reveal who he had made the purchase for. “We bought him to race… I wanted to buy a nice Justify. He was an amazing racehorse–[this colt] looked just like him.”

Bred by David Fennelly’s Mountmellick Farm, the Feb. 21 foal is a half to SW Supreme Aura (Candy Ride {Arg}) and out of a Mr. Greeley mare, just like GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief), who Lanni had a hand in selecting. Dam Groton Circle, who hails from the female family of GSW dirt routers Miss Isella and Sir Cherokee, was acquired for $155,000 at this sale in 2016 while in foal to Liam’s Map.

“I haven’t seen many Justifys, but if they all look like that, it’ll be pretty good,” Lanni said. “He was a cool dude back there; laid back.”

As far as his read on the market coming off a somewhat surprisingly strong sale at Fasig-Tipton the night before, he said: “It was strong yesterday, it’s strong so far today. I don’t know what’s going on… I have no idea what horses are worth anymore. I’m just trying to adapt and figure things out, like we’re all doing.”

—@BDiDonatoTDN

Coolmore Strikes for American Pharoah Colt

The Coolmore team struck late in Monday’s first session of the Keeneland November sale to take home a half-brother to multiple Grade I-winning juvenile Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music) by the farm’s Triple Crown-winning sire American Pharoah (hip 244B) for $600,000.

“He looks fast, he looks really, really fast,” Coolmore’s Adrian Wallace said of the weanling. “Obviously we love Pharoah, we love what he’s done so far. Then you add in that he’s a half to Jackie’s Warrior, who looks like he’s one of the top 2-year-olds in the country. It certainly takes the mystery out of it. But he’s a lovely horse, very well prepared by Beau Lane and his daughter J. B. They do a wonderful job and he looked a picture.”

The weanling was consigned by Beau Lane Bloodstock on behalf of breeders Carlo Vaccarezza and J&J Stables, LLC. He is out of Unicorn Girl, whom the partners claimed for $16,000 in 2013. The 15-year-old mare, in foal to Into Mischief, followed the foal into the sales ring and sold for $850,000 to Arthur Hoyeau. Unicorn Girl’s yearling filly by Candy Ride (Arg) was bought back for $675,000 at last month’s Fasig-Tipton October sale. @JessMartiniTDN

Nice Sale for Hicks on Top Filly

Breeder Judy Hicks celebrated a successful result Monday as her American Pharoah half-sister to GISW Fault (Blame) brought $525,000 from Phil Schoenthal on behalf of Matt Dorman’s Determined Stud. The Feb. 14 foal was consigned by James Keogh’s Grovendale, Agent XVIII, as hip 210.

Hicks had acquired stakes-winning dam Charming N Lovable (Horse Chestnut {SAf}) as a 14-year-old in foal to Runhappy after she RNA’d for $70,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale. Fault took the GI Santa Margarita S. the follow season, and Charming N Lovable’s Runhappy colt sold for $230,000 at Fasig-Tipton October last season.

“She was an absolutely fabulous filly to be around,” said Hicks. “She’s out of a very good producing mare who’s back in foal with a full sister to this filly. I really was reluctant to sell her, but I’m not stupid. I’m going to miss her–I get attached to my horses.”

Also half to GSP Betweenhereandcool (Unbridled’s Song) and SP Congenial (Pulpit), hip 210 hails from the female family of this year’s GI Kentucky Derby contestant South Bend (Algorithms) as well as MGISW Bast (Uncle Mo), who sold for $4.2 million in foal to Justify Sunday night at Fasig-Tipton.

“I bought her from Claiborne in foal to Runhappy, and that colt made $230,00,” Hicks confirmed. “Then I bred her to Tapit on a late June cover. She had never missed a year, but she slipped, but that was probably a good thing, as she’s getting quite a bit of age on her now. This is her first filly back, and it’s an early foal. We’re probably going to breed her back to Nyquist.”

Determined Stud was involved with four purchases for $2,125,000 at Fasig, and picked up another seven head Monday (four mares, three weanling fillies) for a combined $2,260,000. For more, see Dorman Broodmare Band Off to Fast Start.  —@BDiDonatoTDN

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