That makes this a surprisingly congested zone, ample for separate assessment. And since clinging to a five-figure fee somewhat represents a show of faith, some of these sires tend to have a fair case in their favor. At a time when fees are widely perceived to be challenging, this is a nook that harbors some decent value.

It is broadly populated by three types. First are the veterans who have achieved an honorable viability over the years (and we know how difficult that is) but are now suffering the commercial prejudice in favor of fresher blood. On the other hand, we have a bunch of younger guns, typically riding out the bumps between the vogue of novelty and distrust of racetrack exposure. And then there are a few in between, horses in their prime who have settled into a workable niche that keeps them competitive with the next tier up.

The senior group is headed by a remarkable pair, both about to enter their 20th year at stud, with a body of work behind them that will forever embarrass the vast majority of this lot. And there's plenty of life left in MINESHAFT, judging from seven stakes scorers this year (one for each of his lifetime Grade I winners) at a ratio that Uncle Mo, Medaglia d'Oro and Tapit have barely matched. A 1-2 in the GII Cigar Mile showcased his continued prowess, both Hoist the Gold and Senor Buscador already owning wins at that level earlier in the year. The former is now in the millionaires' club, and will soon be joined there by the latter assuming he perseveres in 2024.

SKY MESA is still more neglected, yet similarly remains in the top 15 active sires by lifetime earnings, with ratios of black-type and graded stakes action that measure up respectably against all but the elite names. Remember that these old boys can draw some venerable influences close: Sky Mesa's first three dams are by Storm Cat, Affirmed and Round Table, yet the continued vigor of his family has been lately evinced by his half-sister's son Maxfield (Street Sense). Mineshaft's first three dams, meanwhile, are by Mr. Prospector, Hoist the Flag and Herbager (Fr)! Both Mineshaft and Sky Mesa have superb families and to be able to access their blood, relatively undiluted by the huge books nowadays flooding the gene pool, is a diminishing opportunity too obvious to any enlightened breeder to require the formal gilding of a place on the Value Podium.

Really I should have them both up there, but they covered 40 mares between them last year and that tide is hardly going to turn at this stage. Happily, we know them to be in good hands and they will remain long cherished once their service is finally over.

Ditto another veteran, MIDNIGHT LUTE, who had a few more mares than that pair last spring but again hardly the numbers commensurate with his five elite winners–including not just Midnight Bisou but more recently Smooth Like Strait, himself now launching a stud career at a bargain fee–and the solid ratios that also keep him inside the top 20 active sires.

At the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, most of the younger sires are awaiting the emergence of their first runners. (By the way, don't forget that we gave the absolute beginners a separate assessment, at the outset of this series, highlighting the claims of one standing at this fee in COUNTRY GRAMMER.)

One of the younger guns that has already tested the water on the racetrack, however, has done so with quite promising results. For while COLLECTED found himself in a very competitive intake, his first sophomores this year included winners of the GII Del Mar Derby, GII Pennine Ridge S. and GII Black-Eyed Susan S.

Drain the Clock | Sara Gordon

Among several only just embarked on their new careers, INDEPENDENCE HALL and especially DRAIN THE CLOCK have some big numbers behind them–unsurprisingly, in view of the 101 Beyer clocked by the former in his record-margin romp in the GIII Nashua S., or the similar precocity displayed by the latter as prelude to his GI Woody Stephens success. TACITUS, HAPPY SAVER and IDOL were contrasting brands, on the margin of the elite around a second turn but amply demonstrating the functionality of their aristocratic genes. Happy Saver, in fact, has none other than Weekend Surprise replicated top and bottom: she's his third dam, while her son A.P. Indy is the damsire of Super Saver.

The latter has another son trading in this bracket in RUNHAPPY, whose fee slips despite producing a GI Hopeful winner in the $12,000 yearling Nutella Fella. We saw another glimpse of the real Smile Happy in the GII Alysheba S., meanwhile, and the stakes are now pretty minimal for those keeping the faith with Runhappy.

A couple of nuggets at this level are the Lane's End pair, THE FACTOR and TONALIST. The former had a quiet year by his very consistent standards, and needed to come down in line with his yearling yield, but there's no knocking a stellar lifetime ratio of two winners to three named foals. As for Tonalist, a single horse has blatantly distorted his earning power but what Country Grammer has represented much more fairly is all the toughness one would hope to inherit from Tapit over Pleasant Colony. It's heartening to see that this was recognized by as many as 115 mare owners last spring, twice as many as Tonalist entertained in 2021.

Another farm that demands a visit for those working to this kind of budget is Spendthrift. Admittedly its $10k trio have all long shed the novelty value prized by its more commercial clients, as was clear when their latest yearlings entered the ring. Continued demand in the breeding shed, however, suggests that people can glimpse a different type of value here.

Sure enough, on the track JIMMY CREED produced another three graded stakes winners including the evergreen Casa Creed, whose Fourstardave H. win was his fourth at the top level. Jimmy Creed is carving out a very viable place at this level, with his book back up into three figures last spring, and only narrowly misses joining one of his neighbors on the podium.

VALUE PODIUM

Bronze: HONOR A.P.
Honor Code–Hollywood Story (Wild Rush)
Lane's End $10,000

Honor A.P. | Sarah Andrew

This is our clear pick among the many young stallions whose farms are hoping that this kind of fee will prove only a foundation, once some actual runners can attest to their genetic prowess.

That, of course, is the reverse of the usual scenario. As a rule, the commercial market backs away faster and faster, the closer a stallion gets to the unsparing exposure of the racetrack. Everyone knows that most young sires will fail, and tries to ride their fleeting commercial momentum. If you truly believe in a horse, however, this is the time to double down.

Only where could you hope to find a combination of top-class pedigree, physique and performance for just 10 grand? Well, right here at Lane's End–that's where.

Honor A.P. beat the subsequent Horse of the Year at Santa Anita, and did so fair and square. He would surely have gone close to doing so again, but for his nightmare trip in the September “Derby”. The matter was left unresolved by his further misfortune, but nobody could deny that he had ticked the performance box in the little opportunity he had.

Physique? How does $850,000 Saratoga yearling sound?

And as for the genetic package, he's out of a Grade I winner (at both two and five) by a sire from one of the great modern families. True, Honor Code himself has proved a rather disappointing sire, to the extent that he recently became another far-sighted “rescue” by a Japanese industry prepared to play a longer game. Honor Code promptly came up with Honor Marie's GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. as something to remember him by, but his departure is probably good news for his son. It must have been difficult to launch Honor A.P. alongside his own sire, when the latter had failed to pull away into a higher tier of the market.

Honor A.P. now gets a clear run even as he prepares to launch his first runners. He made a perfectly solid sales debut, his 48 yearlings processed at $55,145 highlighted by a $375,000 colt. Just because Honor Code did not prove consistently potent, that doesn't alter the fact that Honor A.P. converted a stellar genetic legacy into something luminously functional on the track. Unsurprisingly he struggled for numbers in his third book, but we've been given every incentive to hang in there with a fee cut from $15,000. With luck, his quality will start to now take his mares past those floundering against the dull tides of quantity.

Silver: FROSTED
Tapit–Fast Cookie (Deputy Minister)
Darley $10,000

Frosted | Darley

Could it be that Frosted has finally reached a point where he becomes a value proposition?

There's no denying that he has been a letdown to this point. The fastest GI Met Mile winner in history retired with his 123 Beyer as the most expensive option of the 2017 intake, at $50,000, and averaged around $225,000 with his first yearlings. And here he is, after 344 starters, still waiting for that breakout Grade I winner.

In the meantime, his fee has slumped consecutively until settling at $10,000 last year. But if we reset our bearings accordingly, we'd have to concede that he has had a quietly productive campaign, his 18 black-type performers including three graded stakes winners (plus one in Australia). True, he's still benefiting from some of the classy mares he received early on: Keeneland Grade III winner Frost Point, for instance, is out of a Grade I-winning millionaire. So we'll have to see whether he can maintain this kind of output with rather lesser raw materials, but it's very striking that last spring Frosted moved his book up from 108 to 154.

Evidently the kind of commercial breeders who could not initially afford him have by no means given up on the gray, and it may be that a different kind of cocktail will shake some fresh flavors–as a sprint influence, for instance, and even as a turf one, as in the case of globetrotting Jasper Krone–out of a horse that once seemed to have the world at his feet. After all, he traded 66 of his latest crop of yearlings at $65,475, which would do very nicely indeed off this kind of fee; while one sold for $50,000 in the previous crop soared to $900,000 at OBS in April.

Frosted is still only on his fourth crop and that leaves ample scope for a market thaw.

Gold: CROSS TRAFFIC
Unbridled's Song–Stop Traffic (Cure The Blues)
Spendthrift $10,000

Cross Traffic | Spendthrift

This horse has endured some dazing fluctuations since being crowned champion freshman by multiple indices in 2018. His reward in 2019 was the attention of 188 mares at $25,000, up from just 60 at $7,500 the previous year. The resulting crop were juveniles of 2022, when 33 individual winners from 79 starters put him second in the all-comers' 2-year-old table, with no fewer than 13 of them earning black-type. And how did they follow through this year? Well, 63 of his 105 sophomore starters won, notably GI Ashland S. winner Defining Purpose. And another 3-year-old filly was on track for a stunning Grade I debut when taking her unbeaten spree of five (Saratoga maiden and stakes at two, another stakes and two graded stakes at three) into the Test S. Her name, you will scarcely need reminding, was Maple Leaf Mel.

From his older stock, Cross Traffic also produced homebred Here Mi Song to win the GIII Commonwealth S for a three-horse program that also includes her dam, an apt measure of the type of service he can perform for the smaller breeder.

Ludicrously, however, his 2020 book plunged by two-thirds and he ended up with only 28 live foals, of which a bare dozen started this year, leaving him submerged in the general sires' table despite 14 black-type performers. He must continue to ride out this slump after another couple of quiet years, but his book last spring responded to his 2022 deeds with a rally to 84.

The hope now must be that Cross Traffic can consolidate the second chance he has earned from those fickle breeders. It will assist his cause that the familiar precocity of his stock tends to be fortified with maturity, after the fashion of near-millionaire Ny Traffic who soaked up four campaigns. Cross Traffic himself, remember, raced only as a 4-year-old, when making up for lost time with a GI Met Mile second and GI Whitney success on just his fourth and fifth starts.

His family has some fairly exotic seeding, albeit no more so than the big horse on this farm. And it is full of runners, not least his dual Grade I-winning dam. She has additionally given Unbridled's Song the mother of Gulfport (Uncle Mo), who won the Bashford Manor by a dozen lengths last year before his promotion to replace Forte (Violence) in the GI Hopeful S. There's some real genetic vigor here, then, and Cross Traffic has now shown twice over-with his juveniles of 2018 and 2022-the kind of crop he can produce if only he's given the chance. And, at this kind of money, a proper, sustained chance is just what he deserves.

Sires At $10,000: Breeders Selections

Fabricio Buffolo | Keeneland

Fabricio Buffolo, Buffalo Bloodstock
Gold Medal: Happy Saver
I think he is a nice example of what a true American dirt horse looks like, especially with such an impressive and powerful shoulder. I think it's hard to not think about his name and not associate it with such a solid and sturdy front end. He was a very good racehorse who showed grit and resilience throughout his races against all the best in the country. He is an interesting young stallion.

Silver Medal: Midnight Lute
When considering the group of stallions with runners standing at $10,000, I think that he stands out with a solid percentage of black-type horses and black-type winners to runners, including five Grade I winners which is not usual at this price bracket.
He's quite versatile with his progeny having good performers on different surfaces and distances, and the key lies in finding a mare that can suit him physically.

Bronze Medal: Jimmy Creed
He is another horse that has done fairly well at this stud fee bracket getting a good percentage of black-type horses compared to others, including some with higher price tags. It's evident that the market can be quite tough on horses like him that have had a decent number of crops, but he has received continued support in the last few years attesting to the confidence that breeders have found in him.

The Factor | Lee Thomas

Elgin Hamner, Prime Bloodstock
Gold Medal: The Factor
If The Factor had not left for a couple of years, I believe he would be a constant top 25 sire. He's great value to have a shot at a good runner.

Silver Medal: Frosted
I was really high on him coming out, he's a strong horse with a strong race record. Love the Tapit over Deputy Minister. Now, he has established himself as a racehorse producer.
He's always top two or three of his crop and gets a bigger, stronger horse than The Factor. They seem to run anywhere and are selling ok. He just needed a couple of big horses earlier.

Bronze Medal: Goldencents
It's hard to make it as a sire, but they run early and often. They don't sell as well as they should (can lack size), but each one born could be a runner.

Honorable Mention: Honor A.P.
No runners yet, but the physical when he stamps them is pretty strong. We have to keep that A.P. blood going, it's the best two turn blood of the last 20 years, and he is one of the last of that line with a shot.

The post Value Sires For 2024, Part 3: The $10k Club appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“This is going to be a serious horse,” Leon's bloodstock advisor Fabricio Buffolo said when asked about his reaction to Dai Vernon's 5 1/4-length victory Monday. “He could be a really nice horse.”

Buffolo purchased Dai Vernon on behalf of Besilu Stables for $500,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The colt is out of Charladora (Scat Daddy), a half-sister to Laoban (Uncle Mo). Buffolo was familiar with the pedigree from his days working with the colt's breeder, Don Alberto Corporation.

“What attracted us the most is physically, he is an extremely good-looking horse and well made,” Buffolo said of the yearling's appeal. “He has a good page, the dam is a half to Laoban and I worked for Don Alberto before so I remember he was always a nice horse and the dam, Charladora, was a very good-looking mare. But at the sale, he just looked the part. He looked like such a nice horse.”

Dai Vernon had a few setbacks on his way to the races that delayed his first start until just last month.

“He had a little bit of a stress fracture in his tibia,” Buffolo said. “He went to Margaux and we waited and just gave him the time that he needed. Then he went back to [trainer] Brad [Cox] and then he had a quarter crack, so we had to go easy on him for a good time for that to heal.”

Dai Vernon made his first start going 1 1/16 miles over the turf at Ellis Park June 22.

“We knew he was slow at the break, he didn't like to be involved too much at the beginning,” Buffolo explained. “It's hard to do that on dirt, so we thought maybe we would start him first time on turf just to see how it goes. Maybe he will be closer and near the pack or in the pack. Before the race, Brad said, 'The horse is well, I think he's going to run well, I expect a good race.'”

Dai Vernon followed at least part of the script in that debut. He was slow at the start, but little else went to plan that day.

“We were baffled about it,” Buffolo said of the debut. “I think it was probably the turf. He was never in it. Brad said afterwards, 'I have no idea. I was not expecting that.' He thought the horse was going to run well because he was working well. And then suddenly he had no part in the race whatsoever.”

Perhaps it was just a touch of cosmic revenge for a horse named after the magician who marketed himself as 'The man who fooled Houdini,' that while Dai Vernon was toiling home in last, his debut race was won by a horse named Harry Hood.

After the lackluster debut, Dai Vernon was adding blinkers, while moving to the dirt and shortening up to one mile for his second start Sunday. Following another slow start, the colt was well back in last and Buffolo was fearing another disappointing effort.

“When I was watching it on the backstretch, I was like, 'Oh, this is embarrassing. We are going to be last or second last,'” he admitted. “I wanted to dig a hole and just put my head into it. But then he started picking it up and I thought that was interesting.”

Dai Vernon began closing with long, steady strides on the far turn as the half went up in :46.42 and he turned for home four wide and just off the leaders.

“Midturn, I said, 'OK, now he's going to get tired. Now it's over and now he's going to get tired,'” Buffolo recalled. “And then he kept coming.”

Dai Vernon collared Smile Mon (Runhappy) with a furlong to run and just glided clear to the wire to win by daylight.

“The gallop out was quite strong,” Buffolo added. “He galloped out really well. Now the question is, is he going to repeat that. I don't know what was in his head yesterday, but whatever it was, it was good.”

As for next starts for the promising 3-year-old, Buffolo said, “We will talk with Brad and see. He will most likely go back to an allowance and we will see how he does. It was a mile and definitely what he showed is that it won't be a problem going a bit more distance.”

One thing seems for certain, there will be no tinkering with the colt's slow-starting tendencies.

“I talked to Brad after the race yesterday, and we said let's not go against it,” Buffolo said. “That's what he likes, that's what he does. So we don't need the jockey trying to get him closer. If he does what he did, we are pretty happy.”

Buffolo said the effort had impressed Leon, who is excited to see what the future holds for the colt.

“Mr. Leon is very excited about him,” Buffolo said. “He is enjoying it now, having a horse that might have some ability.”

Leon's Besilu Stables burst onto the racing and sales scene in 2011. Highest of the stables' high-profile purchases that year was Royal Delta (Empire Maker), who was acquired for $8.5 million. Named champion 3-year-old filly that year, Royal Delta returned to the track in the Besilu colors and was named champion older mare of 2012 and 2013. The mare died in 2017, leaving just one foal, a filly named Delta's Royalty (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who is now part of Besilu's boutique broodmare band. Delta's Royalty has a yearling colt by Dubawi (Ire) foaled in Ireland and was repatriated to the U.S. where she produced a colt by Kingman (GB) this year.

At the same Keeneland November sale at which he purchased Royal Delta, Leon also acquired the champion's weanling half-sister, Crown Queen (Smart Strike), for $1.6 million. Winner of the 2014 GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S., she has a 2-year-old colt by Frankel (GB) and a yearling filly by Kingman (GB) and is currently back in the U.S. and in foal to champion Flightline, according to Buffolo.

While Besilu Stables is small on numbers, the operation is focused on quality and, after having mares boarded in Europe for the last few seasons, the plan is now to be based mainly in the U.S.

“We have a Dubawi colt running in Europe and a Frankel 2-year-old,” Buffolo said. “And we have a couple of more there that are going to come here. We are probably going to keep a couple [in Europe], but focus a little bit more here [in the U.S.], since Mr. Leon is here and most of the horses are here. He enjoys having the quality horses.”

Besilu Stables currently has about six horses in training in the U.S. and, while Buffolo said the focus will be mostly on breeding to race, he did not rule out the odd yearling purchase at the upcoming sales.

“I would say that it's likely we might buy one or two yearlings, but I don't see him buying many,” he said. “We are just breeding his own mares and then racing them.”

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CARA MARIE (m, 10, Unbridled's Song — Miss Kilroy, by A. P. Indy) to be bred to Uncle Mo

This mare is a beautiful individual from a European female family that was developed by the late Stonerside operation. They raced her second dam Miss Caerleona (FR) (Caerleon).

This year she goes back to Uncle Mo, which will be the same cross that produced her second foal GIIISW and GISP Girl Daddy. She also has a top-class yearling filly by Uncle Mo, so it's a cross that has been working.

COZZE UP LADY (m, 13, Cozzene — The White Lady, by Johannesburg) to be bred to Charlatan

This is a very nice, straightforward mare. We couldn't have been happier with such a nice comeback to the races this month for her second foal Kimari (Munnings) after selling for $2.7 million last November. Fingers crossed she defends her title in the GI Madison S. at Keeneland this spring.

This mare has a very nice Constitution yearling colt. Cozze Up Lady has proven herself already and now we can try something new. She goes to Charlatan–a horse with plenty of speed that proved to be popular amongst breeders. This cross has a similar characteristic to the cross that produced Kimari, as both Munnings and Charlatan are sons of Speightstown.

EMBELLISH THE LACE (m, 10, Super Saver — Expanse, by Distant View) to be bred to Quality Road

Embellish the Lace is a good-looking mare. You look at her and it's one of those cases where it makes sense that she was a top racehorse, winning a Grade I with just a few starts. She has produced two seven-figure yearlings at the sales, one filly by Tapit called Tap the Faith that won first time out and was fifth in a Grade II as a 2-year-old last year and another filly by Into Mischief that is currently a 2-year-old.

She was already covered by Quality Road this year; it was tried last year but unfortunately, she didn't get pregnant.

MOONLIGHT SKY (m, 9, Sky Mesa — Vargas Girl, by Deputy Minister) to be bred to Curlin

This mare is a stakes-placed half-sister to the great Abel Tasman (Quality Road), who gave so much joy to China Horse Club. We are excited about her, as her first foal Urban (Quality Road) was second in a Grade III already in her 3-year-old campaign. She could be a special mare for sure as the family is live with many updates.

This year she is in foal to Tiz the Law and is going to Curlin. His record with some specific A. P. Indy-line mares is impressive. With A. P. Indy mares, he has had 20% stakes winners to runners, including three Grade I winners. Looking at Bernardini mares, he has had 21 runners and eight stakes winners including five at the graded level. It's worth trying with a Sky Mesa mare as long as both physicals fit together.

YELLOW AGATE (m, 8, Gemologist– Lemon Sorbet, by Lemon Drop Kid) to be bred to Constitution

This mare gave China Horse Club a fantastic thrill by winning the 2016 GI Frizette S. in the red and yellow colors.

She is in foal to Quality Road and will be visiting Constitution this year. Constitution is a sire that has been doing well and should reach new heights with his progeny, having bred fantastic books of mares lately. Tiznow, the sire of Gemologist, has had 11 runners when his daughters crossed with Constitution and the mating has produced GISW Tiz the Law as well as MSW and GISP Never Surprised.

LAST FULL MEASURE (m, 14, Empire Maker — Lazy Slusan, by Slewvescent) to be bred to Quality Road

I think that Last Full Measure is what every breeder aspires to have. She is the daughter of a Grade I winner and she herself is a Grade I winner and producer as the dam of  Valiance (Tapit).

This year she is in foal to Constitution. A stoutly-made mare and quite strong overall, she could use some scope and Quality Road seem to be a good fit physically.

SAMBUCA CLASSICA (m, 18 Cat Thief– In Her Glory, by Miswaki) to be bred to Quality Road

This is the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile S. winner and sire Classic Empire. She has produced several other stakes horses in Uptown Twirl (Twirling Candy), Anytime Magic (Fusaichi Pegasus) and Exclamation Point (Concord Point). In partnership with WinStar, we have a full-brother to Classic Empire called Harvard (Pioneerof the Nile) who could be another stakes horse on her resume.

She is currently in foal to Improbable and will be covered this year by Quality Road. Quality Road has had plenty of opportunities with Storm Cat-line broodmare sires and has produced 11 stakes winners. She is a neater type and should benefit from his scope.

IOTAPA (m, 12, Afleet Alex– Concinnous, by El Corredor) to be bred to Not This Time

This mare was quite versatile at the track having won Grade I races over the dirt and synthetic. On the breeding side, she has always produced good-sized foals like herself.

She went to Improbable last year and is close to foaling. This year she is visiting Not This Time, who has had six graded winners so far and five of those are out of Mr. Prospector-line mares.

Let us know who you're breeding your mares to in 2022, and why. We will print a selection of your responses in TDN over the coming weeks. Please send details to: garyking@thetdn.com.

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Due to this rapid growth and plethora of achievements, the organization has been restructured to better suit the needs of its board, members and partners. Instead of a singular COO, a position previously filled by the U.S.-based Michael Wallace, the China Horse Club now has key representatives in each of its three major regions. The heads of Australasia, Michael Smith, and Europe, Matt Holdsworth, were promoted from within the company, but their U.S. representative is a new hire, Fabricio Buffolo.

“Over the last two years, the world has been heavily impacted by the pandemic and we, quite fluidly, moved our management team around the world,” said Eden Harrington, China Horse Club's Vice President. “One thing we realized in this post-Covid world we are in, is that we do see a heightened importance in having dedicated people in each region to assist our members and partners there, as well as, address and adapt to regional opportunities and issues. We have shifted our structure slightly so we have that focus.”

He continued, “The other component is with the addition of Mr. Fabricio Buffolo, we actually expanded our focus from just the U.S. to all of the Americas because of his background and connections in the Caribbean, Latin America, Central and South America.”

Buffolo started his career in the U.S. with Godolphin. He then served as General Manager of Besilu Stables and most recently held the position of Executive Director of Don Alberto Corporation.

“We reached out to a number of our key partners and people who we respect for opinions and Fabricio was widely promoted,” Harrington said. “The respect that he has held within the industry is very important. Having someone we can tap into of that caliber is not only important for running our operations, but also for maintaining relationships with our partners and our members. To have someone of Fabricio's excellence in not only understanding different markets, but being able to handle high-level relationships is paramount to what we do. Having someone who understands the rich history of Latin America and has relationships down there is also important.”

Buffolo will be responsible for the management of China Horse Club's equine portfolio, including selecting new stock, working with trainers on race plans, matings, accessing which stock should be sold at which sales and managing the growing broodmare band. He will also be tasked with maintaining and growing relationships with the organization's members, partners and vendors.

“The racing and breeding arms have grown and it does require somebody there who is exceedingly talented and vigilant and we certainly believe we have somebody who meets our requirements to that end,” Harrington said. “We also need someone who will access new opportunities. We always want to be on the look out and ahead of the curve.”

Buffolo will represent the China Horse Club for the first time at this weekend's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational, where their GI Breeders' Cup Dirt mile winner Life is Good (Into Mischief) is set to face off with likely Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter).

“Life is Good will run in the China Horse Club silks this weekend which is fantastic,” said Harrington, who will join Buffolo at Gulfstream, while Teo remains in Australia for the upcoming sale. “We hope he performs at his absolute best and if that allows him to win that is above and beyond. The current plan is he will proceed to the [G1] Dubai World Cup if he comes out in good order. One of our companies Teo Ah Khing Design Consultants designed and built the Meydan grandstand. So to have a lead runner compete in the Dubai World Cup at a facility our group was so instrumental in designing and building would have great meaning.”

Harrington also provided an update on one of the China Horse Club's other key runners Americanrevolution (Constitution). The flashy chestnut concluded a stellar 2021 with a victory in the GI Cigar Mile and is currently getting some R&R before gearing up for his 2022 campaign.

“Americanrevolution went from winning a maiden to being a Grade I winner at the end of the year, so that was exceptional,” Harrington said. “Looking ahead, we would love to have two runners on Breeders' Cup day in 2022 with Life is Good and Americanrevolution. A lot has to go right between now and then, but we believe they are two horses worthy of those aspirations.”

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With over 100 broodmares, Don Alberto, which is based in Lexington, Ky., was a top 15 breeder nationally last year.

Timm succeeds Fabricio Buffolo who has been the executive director for the past four years. Buffolo, originally from Brazil, will return to his home country to be closer to his family while continuing his career in the Thoroughbred industry.

“I look forward to Chance leading our progression as one of the top breeding and racing organizations in North America. Although I am sad to see Fabricio go, I am very thankful for his hard work which has led us to where we are today,” said Carlos Heller on behalf of the Heller Solari family.

Beginning with the purchase of the former Vinery Stud in 2013, Don Alberto has subsequently expanded to occupy 1,300 acres and has positioned itself as an active breeder at the top of the bloodstock market. In addition to racing two-time champion Unique Bella among other graded stakes winners, Don Alberto has bred and sold multiple million-dollar yearlings.

“I want to personally thank Carlos and Ms. Liliana for this incredible opportunity and for understanding my desire to be closer to my family. I'm very proud of what we've accomplished and have no doubt Don Alberto will continue to ascend the ranks of the industry,” said Fabricio Buffolo.

Originally from Murray, Utah, Timm has over 14 years experience in the Thoroughbred industry. He has been with Lane's End Farm since 2014 as the director of stallion seasons and shares, where he has also had an active role in their sales consignment.

“Don Alberto has established itself as a major force in the worldwide Thoroughbred industry,” said Chance Timm. “I am confident that our team will further that success in the coming years and am very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it. I'd like to thank Bill Farish and everyone at Lane's End; it has been a privilege to work at such a distinguished farm.”

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Over the past seven years, the Don Alberto Corporation has meticulously analyzed each foal produced on their growing Kentucky-based farm and has endeavored to make each mating more successful that the last as they continue to learn from their elite broodmare band.

“The engine has started working,” Don Alberto’s Executive Director Fabricio Buffolo said. “We know the mares and know more about how they are producing. We are getting better matings because we know what we can do with them.”

Buffolo said that this year, two crosses in particular have proven to be successful–the mating of Chilean-bred millionaire Dacita with Quality Road, and of Grade I-winning maiden mare Salty with Tapit.

Dacita is a daughter of Scat Daddy, and is the leading earner for her dam Daja (Chi) (Seeker’s Reward). She was a dual champion in Chile before moving to the United States and into the barn of top turf trainer Chad Brown as a 4-year-old. She raced for three years in the States, claiming four graded stakes including two Grade I races in the Diana S. and Beverly D. S.

As fellow Chilean natives, the Don Alberto team had a strong attraction to the millionaire earner.

“Dacita is very dear for all of us because she raced in Chile,” Buffolo said. “She won Grade I races there, including the Chilean Oaks, and when she came here she had a long campaign, running until she was six years old.”

The chestnut mare was purchased by Don Alberto at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November Sale for $1.85 million. Last year, Dacita had her first foal, a colt by Uncle Mo and was bred back to Quality Road. The resulting filly was born in January of this year, and Buffolo said their team is very happy with the result of the mating.

“We really like the scope that Quality Road gave her,” he said. “Size is really important for Dacita, because she’s a nice, medium-sized mare. Quality Road gave her the scope she needs.”

Buffolo also added that they had picked the mating in hopes that the offspring could be competitive on dirt or turf.

“Quality Road is a horse that could go either way,” he said. “He can have good runners on the grass and the dirt. And although Dacita was a turf runner, we know that Scat Daddy could do it all.”

Don Alberto liked Dacita’s second foal so well that the mare is now back in foal to Quality Road for next year.

A year after they purchased Dacita, they found another Grade I winner up for grabs in the Fasig-Tipton sales ring in Salty.

Produced by the stakes-placed Dixie Union mare Theycallmeladyluck, Salty broke her maiden second time out as a 3-year-old, and then won the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks when making her stakes debut in her next start for trainer Mark Casse. She placed in three Grade Is later that year before claiming her first Grade I in the 2018 La Troienne S. in her final career start. Among those behind her was Eclipse champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road).

Buffolo said he can easily recall initially seeing her at the sale.

“I remember very well the day that I first saw her there,” he said. “I was standing beside Leif Aaron from Juddmonte, and when we saw her, I was just like, ‘Wow.’ She was a beautiful individual, just gorgeous.”

Buffolo passed on his findings to Don Alberto’s Carlos Heller Solari, who also fell in love with the imposing bay filly.

They purchased Salty for an even $3 million, and bred their new addition to champion sire Tapit in 2019.

After the resulting filly was born in January of this year, Buffolo said that Salty was well worth the hefty price tag.

“We have an outstanding Tapit filly,” he said. “She’s just class. She’s very pretty, very feminine. She’s refined, and has almost an Arab-like head, but is a really good size. We were rewarded; Salty gave us a very pretty filly.”

Buffolo reported that the youngster has a sweet charm to go along with her quality physical.

“She has an incredible personality,” he said. “Every time somebody comes here to take pictures, she’s always the first one to come to you. She’s very inquisitive and has a curious mind. She wants to be with you. Even if you’re trying to take pictures of the other foals, she comes up behind you and is always trying to be with people.”

As the auspicious young fillies continue to develop, plans are formulated as to where they could end up.

“We will enter all of them [into a sale] as yearlings,” Buffolo said. “We will assess them one by one as we get closer to the deadlines. We’re not sure yet, but some we might retain.”

While the number of horses on the farm continues to grow, so too does the farm’s acreage. Since the original purchase of Vinery, they’ve added 400 acres from the adjoining Crestwood Farm, and recently, they also bought a portion of the nearby Hill ‘n’ Dale property, and look to receive more acreage later this year.

“We’ve grown a lot in the last few years,” Buffolo said. “For us, three, four, or five years seems like a lot of time, but in this industry it’s not. It takes a long time to get to know the good mares, to know how they are producing, especially when we bought a lot of maiden mares. You really need to learn what they are producing and adjust your matings accordingly so that you can make a plan for the future.”

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Three years ago, Don Alberto Corporation continued their traditional annual shopping spree at the fall breeding stock sales, spending a combined $8.3 million at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton, plus an additional $3.35 million in partnership purchases at the Keeneland November Sale.

Meanwhile, their $400,000 2015 Keeneland September purchase Unique Bella shone bright as a 3-year-old with four consecutive graded stakes wins and a later victory in the GI La Brea S., earning Don Alberto Stable their first Grade I win in the U.S., as well as an Eclipse Award for champion female sprinter.

No matter who stole the show, Don Alberto has defined itself as a force both at the sales and on the track in the United States, and Unique Bella played a major role in establishing this reputation.

“It’s very obvious that Unique Bella was the one that put Don Alberto on the map and put our silks out there,” Don Alberto’s Executive Director Fabricio Buffolo said. “She won the La Brea S. as a 3-year-old, and then coming back at four, the Beholder Mile S. and the Clement Hirsch S. So three Grade Is, including the first Grade I for Don Alberto.”

The daughter of champion sire Tapit retired in the summer of 2018 as a millionaire with eight graded stakes wins and two Eclipse awards to her credit. The towering gray filly was a fan favorite throughout her career and a top earner for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. She was sent to Don Alberto’s new farm in Lexington upon retirement. The former 440-acre Vinery Farm was purchased by Don Alberto in 2013.

The next year, she was bred to top Darley stallion Medaglia d’Oro, the sire of 25 individual Grade I winners including Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, dual Eclipse winner Songbird and Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot.

This January, the 6-year-old mare delivered her first foal.

Buffolo said that the foaling went perfectly and that their team is now ecstatic with the bright young filly.

“Her foaling was good, and Unique Bella was nice and kind to the foal,” he said. “We think she’s an outstanding filly. She has plenty of scope and she’s definitely growing the right way.”

The youngster comes from a family of powerhouse mares, and Buffolo said this one looks to fit that mold.

“She’s a pretty tall filly already,” he said. “She has plenty of leg. Soon we’re going to be looking to wean her. So it’s another step for her, but she’s a really good filly with a good temperament and we expect great things from her.”

The foal has been named, but where she might end up is still unknown.

“We named her Una Bella d’Oro,” Buffolo said. “We’ll see, she might go to the sale and she might not.”

The filly, who’s name translates to ‘a beautiful golden one’ in Italian, won’t live up to the “golden” part of her name in respect to her coat color, as she is developing her mother’s bright dapple gray coat more every day.

Buffolo reflected upon Unique Bella’s racing career and how her personality has changed as she transitioned into motherhood.

“On the track, you could see from her workouts…she wanted to go fast and there was no holding her back,” he said. “She just wanted to go and go and go. And that’s definitely a trait that is good to see on the good horses, right? They want to go no matter what.”

He continued, “I was involved with Royal Delta as well, and you see that with some of those mares, sometimes they want their own way and it’s whatever they want and you need to adjust to it. So Unique Bella is like that, but to be honest, she has settled quite a bit as a mom. She’s really quiet and gets along with her peers. She’s been pretty easy as a broodmare.”

Unique Bella has checked back in foal to two-time Horse of the Year Curlin for next year.

It’s an exciting time for the Don Alberto Corporation. Since their first expansion to the States in 2013, they are now starting to see some of the first products of their hard work.

“The engine has started working,” Buffolo said. “We know the mares and know more about how they are producing. We are getting better at matings because we know what we can do with them.”

While Don Alberto is still a relatively new name in the U.S., the corporation has been an international powerhouse for many years.

Their Chilean location, Haras Don Alberto, was founded in 1987. Liliana Solari and her son Carlos Heller Solari are the driving forces behind the business.

“Miss Liliana has a passion for horses and always loved the breeding,” Buffolo said. “She had a few good mares from her father, Alberto, and she started breeding on her own in Chile. It’s a long tradition there for them and it’s a big operation nowadays.”

Haras Don Alberto has leased a number of stallions for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season including Bluegrass Cat, Fusaichi Pegasus, Stevie Wonderboy, and Proud Citizen. They are also involved with WinStar’s Tourist (Tiznow) and the red-hot Constitution (Tapit).

Don Alberto Corporation is a subsidiary of Bethia Holdings, which holds interests in retail, television, health care, agriculture, and a variety of other businesses. They also own the local Chilean racetrack Club Hipico de Santiago.

The expansion to their United States location was all in pursuit of Don Alberto’s ultimate goal.

“The goal is to have successful horses in Chile, and then hopefully in the U.S.,” Buffolo said. “[The goal is] that they can be competitive anywhere.”

Their first U.S. Grade I winner in Unique Bella was one of the first fulfillments of that goal, and she will always be a favorite for the Solari family.

“Miss Liliana’s favorite thing is to bring carrots to Unique Bella,” Buffolo said. “They have a very strong emotional connection to the horses. They’re passionate not only about the breeding and racing, but about the animals as a whole.”

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