Hanzly Albina | Horse Racing Free Tips

Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: Newtownanner Stud

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Hanzly Albina of Newtownanner Stud.

“I don't take this lightly at all,” said Albina, who is both general manager of Newtownanner's Kentucky farm and North American bloodstock manager of the operation. “It's a ton of fun when it works out. For me, the physical is what I'm shooting for as I can't predict performance. We want to produce what we would buy in a sales ring, want to produce as nice a horse as we can, whether it's to sell or to race. We raise them all as if we were going to race them all, then if we sell, we're confident we're selling the best product we can.

“Some people are traditionalists and breed to race or breed to sell, but there's not really a difference anymore. At the end of the day, everyone is technically a seller–unless you keep every single foal, you're going to see the marketplace, and that goes for either a filly or a colt. You'll eventually either breed your mare or market your stallion, so you must consider these things. I find there's a lot of commonality among the guys who do the best with this.”

Wamathaat (8, Speightstown–Special Me, by Unbridled's Song), to be bred to Into Mischief

We bought her from Tattersalls (220,000gns) in 2019 and brought her over here. At the time we bought her, I thought it was a family that was on the uptake and it has rewarded us. She's a half to Gina Romantica, Gift Box, Stonetastic, Special Forces. It looked like a family that was exploding. She's a very good-looking mare. She has a 2-year-old Twirling Candy filly we sold to Mike Akers last year (FTSAUG, $385,000) and a Candy Ride (Arg) colt that is very nice.

She went to Into Mischief last year and this year is going to go back to him. It's hard to go wrong with Into Mischief. (MGISW) Gina Romantica obviously has continued to run very well and so we kind of wanted to bring that out of her. We tried the Candy Ride with her and there will probably be more of him in her future, maybe some Gun Runner in there, but for right now we went to Into Mischief and we'll see what happens.

Toni Tools (10, Roaring Fever–Patine, by Smart Strike), to be bred to Gun Runner

We bought her for $330,000 at the (2023) Fasig-Tipton Mixed Sale. She is the dam of Candied, a Grade I winner of the Alcibiades. She's going to Gun Runner. It's a natural inclination from a body perspective, plus we get a little more consistency from Gun Runner than Candy Ride (sire of Candied). She's a young mare and deserves to be bred to the best sire out there; she warrants the money. This is her time.

Toni Tools as a 2-year-old on the track | Sarah Andrew

Flourish (17, Distorted Humor–Viviana, by Nureyev), to be bred to Into Mischief

She's the dam of (MGSW & GISP) Fulsome, an Into Mischief millionaire. She's going back to him for obvious reasons. She has an Into Mischief sister to Fulsome on the ground and basically this is the third year in a row we've gone to him with her.

Kosmo's Buddy (19, Outflanker–Vaulted, by Allen's Prospect), to be bred to Gun Runner

She's the dam of (Horse of the Year) Knicks Go. She recently had a Paynter colt and will be going back to Gun Runner. It was more of a physical match for us. She's not the biggest mare in the world, but she transfers a lot of the stallion through. I think if you breed her to a strong stallion, that is pretty bulletproof for her. Gun Runner is the horse for me and is the hot stallion right now. This mating was more of a physical one than from a pedigree perspective. In the past we'd bred her to Justify and Ghostzapper, trying to follow the Awesome Again, but we think Gun Runner makes a lot of sense as she brings out a lot of the stallion. We all try to figure it out; you develop your theories and see what has validity or not.

Kadira (19, Kafwain–Raw Gold, by Rahy), to be bred to Tapit

This is the dam of Paola Queen, winner of the Test. She is going to Tapit. We loved Flatter (sire of Paola Queen) and he was very generous to us, but he's gone. We sold one Flatter filly out of Kadira and retained another. She's in foal to Tapit and going back to him, because of the Pulpit/A.P. Indy factor. She has very beautiful foals and he will be a good match. When the mare has already proven herself, it makes my job easy.

Malibu Pier (17, Malibu Moon–Blue Moon {Fr}, by Lomitas {GB}), to be bred to Forte

She's the dam of Malibu Stacy, who was Grade II placed, and Coasted, who was Grade-I placed in the Breeders' Cup. She's an older mare, but we bred her to Medaglia d'Oro and got a nice filly. She's in foal to Jackie's Warrior now and is going to be bred back to Forte. I thought the body types matched well. We like the Medaglia d'Oro (yearling) filly very much and with Forte a first-year sire we wanted to breed to and it being a very hard season to get a hold of, we wanted to make sure we used it well.

Meg Fitz (9, Tapit–Meguial {Arg}, by Roy), to be bred to Justify

This is a Tapit mare we bred. She's in foal to Olympiad right now; we'll go back to Justify because she's a half-sister to (GISW) I Want Revenge, more than a half-sister. Her first foal is a Mendelssohn, who was second in the Kentucky Jockey Club (Real Men Violen). We're excited about the Olympiad. She had a Speightstown sell for $600,000 at Saratoga last year and has been very generous to us so far, so we're going to Justify since that's a Scat Daddy line. She brings the best out of every stallion we've bred her to and has beautiful foals.

Kateri (12, Indian Charlie–Sue's Good News, by Woodman), to be bred to Cody's Wish

She's a mare we've had her entire career; again, very generous to us. She's a stunning mare, an Indian Charlie mare. We sold a Tiznow out of her for $420,000 as a 2-year-old, a Curlin for $725,000. Obviously, her best racehorse to date is (GSW & GISP) Souper Sensational (by Curlin). We bred her to Curlin again and are retaining that 2022 colt to race. He's in training with Robbie Medina. She has a yearling filly by Curlin and went back to him again. That would have been four years in a row to Curlin if we went this year, so we're going to Cody's Wish. She puts a great body on a horse and we thought he was a standout physically. If you went to see that horse, you bred to him.

Shopit's 2021 colt in the sales ring | Fasig-Tipton

Shopit (9, Yes It's True–Shop Here, by Dehere), to be bred to Into Mischief

Dam of (SW & MGISP) Shoplifted. It's probably not that interesting, but we just breed her to Into Mischief every year since it already worked. She has amazing foals.

Afleet Maggi (17, Afleet Alex–Mindset, by Coronado's Quest), to be bred to Nyquist

Dam of Grade I winner Dream Tree. We bought her, have an Uncle Mo filly out of her that I was pretty happy with. She went back to Uncle Mo, but aborted. This year, we went to Nyquist. With him taking off last year, we think he's now done enough to warrant being bred to her.

Fancier (13, Bernstein–Princess Pegasus, by Fusaichi Pegasus), to be bred to Flightline

She is the dam of (GISW) Get Her Number by Dialed In, which is the Mineshaft/A.P. Indy line. She has a Tapit colt and is back in foal to Tapit, but this year we'll be breeding her to Flightline. We typically wouldn't breed a mare of this caliber to a second-year sire; we'd go to a proven or a first -year sire, but he's going to defy the odds. He has a lot of buzz, a lot of industry support, and looks exactly what you think a horse of his race record is going to look like. I think he'll defy the trend; I don't think he'll have the usual slump of a second and third year. We're seeing if we can improve the Tapit we have with him. We think he's a good fit for this mare.

Go Go Princess (4, Justify–Kosmo's Buddy, by Outflanker), to be bred to Mage

She's more than a half to Knicks Go and we're going to breed her to Mage. The reasoning is she's a very typical Justify, she's an even leggier version of him. I think from a body perspective, she is a beautiful mare and we had a little flexibility on who to breed to. We're very excited about Mage at Airdrie. A first-year Derby winner is one of the soundest bets in our sport. We're actually sending two to Mage.

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Last Stop for Yearlings: Fasig-Tipton October Sale Starts Monday

LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale, which has produced back-to-back record-setting renewals, returns Monday morning with the first of 1,605 catalogued yearlings scheduled to go through the ring at Newtown Paddocks at 10 a.m.

As shoppers made the rounds at the sales grounds on a brisk fall morning the Bluegrass Sunday, consignors were expecting to see some familiar trends during the upcoming four-session auction.

“It's going to be interesting to see where the level of quality is here,” said Legacy Bloodstock's Tommy Eastham. “I think [the market] is going to be really good for the horses that are perceived to be above that level and I think it's going to be more of the same for the horses that they perceive to be below that. I think it's going to be tougher on those horses.”

Despite the expected polarization of the market, consignors were pleased with the activity they were seeing around the sales barns.

“It's very refreshing to come into the parking lot early in the day and have it full up from all the way back here in the tents to the front fields,” said Stuart Morris. “I think the traffic, to me, seems to be on par. I'm not going to say it's extra, but it's definitely not weak. All of the faces that you usually see are here.”

For the second year in a row, the October sale set highwater marks for gross, average and median in 2022 with total of 1,100 yearling selling for $55,426,500, an average of $50,388 and a median of $25,000.

“Over the last couple of years, this has become a really strong sale,” said Hanzly Albina of Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services. “It used to definitely be a lower-end horse and now there are 1600 horses here. I think there are people who are pointing horses here who need a little more time and they are more comfortable waiting to sell their horses here because they know there will be money here for them, versus having to put horses in sales they feel they aren't ready for.”

Albina said his 23-horse consignment at the October sale included yearlings who had RNA'd at previous sales, as well as horses pointed specifically to the last yearling sale of the year.

“We have horses in here that have big pedigrees that we wanted to give more time to and we were comfortable waiting until October,” he explained.

The consignment includes a colt by Curlin (hip 691) out of Kateri (Indian Charlie) and a filly by Tapit out of My Bellamy (Bellamy Road) (hip 948) who were both catalogued for the Keeneland September Yearling sale, while a colt by Into Mischief out of Indy Punch (Pulling Punches) (hip 651) will be making his first sales appearance.

“She was offered at Keeneland in Book, but I think she got overlooked,” Albina said of the Tapit filly. “The Curlin was offered in September and I think he needed more time, too, but the Into Mischief we waited on him to mature a little more.”

Eastham said the October sale is a natural place to sell yearlings.

“It's a nice sale to prep a horse for,” he said. “They naturally mature into it. You don't have to push them as much. They keep them outside longer and put a little less pressure on them.

I think you see some of these upper-end buyers that were really active in earlier sales start holding some cash for this sale. Because a lot of good horses come out of this sale.”

Morris agreed the October's impressive list of graduates has attracted buyers' attention, but he also thinks the auction is helped by its position as the final yearlings sale of the season.

“I think a lot of buyers come here because it's the last stop,” Morris said. “So as sellers, we are a little more cautious–what might be considered realistic–and buyers are a little aggressive because they have to fill orders. I think that helps this sale just because of the calendar time that it's the last stop of the year. There are 1,600 head here and a bunch of stakes horses come out of this sale every year, so if you have a big budget of $500,000 or $600,000, you can find horses here for that money. If you've got $50,000 or $10,000 or $5,000, you can find horses. So I think that creates a big buyer base.”

Eastham observed that buyers have been particularly hard on vet issues at the earlier yearling auctions this fall, but he is hopeful the last auction of the season might have them reevaluating that position.

“At Keeneland [the buyers] were strict on vetting,” he said. “A chip that would normally cost you 20% was costing you 70%. Hopefully they will be a little more forgiving on some small, minor vetting issues because we are getting to the end of the year and we can get those horses sold.”

The October sale will be held Monday through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

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Tapit Filly on Top as Vibrant Trade Continues at Fasig-Tipton October

LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale, which produced a day of brisk trade during Monday's first session, saw activity tick up another notch during a vibrant day of trade Tuesday in Lexington.

“The first horse through the ring this morning brought six figures and the last horse through the ring brought six figures,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “There was brisk activity and great trade, literally from start to finish today. It was very similar to yesterday.”

Midway through the four-day auction, 524 yearlings have sold for $28,232,900. The average of $53,880 is up 19.5% from the same point a year ago and the median is up 25% to $25,000. The 2021 auction produced records for gross, average and median and, through two days, the 2022 renewal remains well ahead of those marks.

“Quality sells,” Browning said. “There is a great demand for quality and there is great competition for what are perceived to be the quality offerings. But you are also seeing depth of the market. I thought today was a little bit stronger in the middle market than yesterday. It was a very, very vibrant marketplace and great participation, not only from American buyers, but international purchasers as well. It was a very, very healthy marketplace today.”

The day's top 10 yearlings were purchased by 10 different buyers and were sold by 10 different consignors.

The Green family's DJ Stable made the biggest purchase of Tuesday's session, going to $600,000 to acquire a filly by Tapit from the Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services consignment.

The two-day results continued a season of strong returns at the yearling auctions, according to Hanzly Albina.

“I think all of the yearling sales this year have been super strong,” Albina said. “They have exceeded expectations on all fronts. If you had the right horse in the right sale, you got more money than you would have estimated if you put reasonable estimates on your horses. I think Maryland was terrific, Keeneland was terrific and July was great. The mixed sale they just had up in Saratoga was unbelievable. And then this sale has been great as well.”

The Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale continues through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

DJ Stable Strikes Again

The Green family's DJ Stable, which purchased three yearlings during the first session of the Fasig-Tipton October Sale, was back in action again Tuesday in Lexington, going to $600,000 to acquire a filly by Tapit (hip 629) from the Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services consignment.

“Between Kim Valerio and Mark Casse, we looked at almost every single horse in the sale,” Len Green said. “If you have faith in your trainer, like we do with Mark Casse, and you beat the bushes, then all you have to do is put your money where your mouth is. And that's what this basically is.”

The gray filly is out of multiple graded-stakes winner Carolyn's Cat (Forestry) and is a full-sister to graded winner Mufajaah. She was bred by Newtown Anner Stud, which purchased the mare for $210,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November sale.

The yearling was making her second trip through the sales ring this fall after RNA'ing for $425,000 at last month's Keeneland September sale.

“We couldn't be happier with that result,” said Hanzly Albina. “We really thought a lot of her. That's why we didn't let her go the first time. I think she is a beautiful Tapit filly with pedigree. The mare has been very generous to us. I think she warranted the $600,000 and we are very happy that she is in good hands. Mr. Green has a great racing operation and it's good for us because hopefully our mare will get another stakes winner.”

Asked about the difference in sales results, Albina said, “It's hard to say–maybe a month of growth. You can't say the buyers weren't there. The buyers were there. So I don't know why she was overlooked. Maybe she just needed a little more time to grow.”

McCrocklin Swings for Into Mischief Colt

Tom McCrocklin took a big swing to acquire a colt by Into Mischief (hip 752) for $560,000 on behalf of a pinhooking partnership late in Tuesday's second session of the Fasig-Tipton October sale. The bay yearling was bred by John Oxley, who campaigned his dam, Canadian champion Delightful Mary (Limehouse). He was consigned by Gainesway.

“He's a beautiful, beautiful horse,” McCrocklin said. “All the usuals: a beautiful horse, athletic, by Into Mischief, out of a really good female family. He was bought for a partnership and is going to go to a 2-year-old sale. We are going to do the high wire act and we will see how it works out. Check with me in the spring.”

It was the second time of the yearling sales season that McCrocklin stretched to acquire a pinhooking prospect. He went to a sales-topping $700,000 to purchase a colt by Arrogate on behalf of Michael Sucher's Champion Equine at the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale just days after the yearling's 2-year-old full-brother Cave Rock broke his maiden at Del Mar. Since then, Cave Rock solidified his position at the top of his division with wins in the GI Del Mar Futurity and GI American Pharoah S.

McCrocklin confirmed that colt remains on track for the 2-year-old sales.

“Obviously, we are on the Cave Rock bandwagon,” the Ocala horseman said.

Asked the value of purchasing high-priced pinhook prospects, McCrocklin laughed and said, “There is zero value in buying these horses to resell, but there is a continued desire for people to have the best and we are trying to acquire those horses to resell. It's up to me to get the job done for people that are very eager to try to hit the home run.”

McCrocklin added there are options for the partnership if the pinhooking route doesn't prove successful.

“We're not opposed to keeping horses to race,” he said. “It's not like they are on a one-way ticket and we have no other options. We certainly have the option to race. We understand the more a horse costs, the more the market shrinks on the other end. So it's not like we are going into it uninformed, but it's a conscious decision to try and sell some of the very best horses that go to auction. So we will give it a go.”

Through two sessions, McCrocklin has signed for six yearlings. He went to $190,000 to acquire a filly by Good Magic (hip 283) and went to $145,000 to take home a son of Maclean's Music (hip 23).

Of the market in Lexington this week, McCrocklin said, “Selective and strong, as usual. Very little middle and almost no bottom. So it's difficult. These people I am competing with are very smart and they are very experienced and very saavy. It's a lot of fun competing with them.”

He paused and added with a smile, “You just want to beat their ass every chance you get.”

Another Gun Runner for Winchell

Looking to continue the success it is having with offspring of Gun Runner, Winchell Thoroughbreds acquired a son of the operation's champion (hip 685) for $550,000 during Tuesday's second session of the Fasig-Tipton October sale. Out of the stakes-placed Classy Dancer (Speightstown) and from the family of Paynter, the yearling was bred by Andrew Warren and was consigned by Lane's End.

“We have obviously enjoyed the run that Gun Runner has put us on and the only the way to continue that is to get more of them,” trainer Steve Asmussen said after signing the ticket on the yearling. “We felt this one was as similar to [Grade I winner] Gunite as anything that we've seen in a public auction.”

Of the wide variety of successful racehorses by the sire, Asmussen said, “I am extremely pleased with the variety of types that have a good amount of success. We felt [with this yearling] the cross was along the lines and that we could compare this one to Gunite. Obviously, with Wicked Halo and Echo Zulu and several of the others, he has other physical types and crosses that work extremely well as well.”

Winchell Thoroughbred pre-entered four horses in the upcoming Breeders' Cup, led by Epicenter (Not This Time) in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and including a trio by Gun Runner: Wicked Halo, Echo Zulu and Gunite.

After adding another yearling by the stallion to the roster Tuesday, Winchell manager David Fiske said, “There is nothing like it, but more of it.”

Of the operation's four Breeders' Cup pre-entries, Fiske said, “The two that worked Sunday came out of the works well. And now we just cross our fingers.”

Speedway Makes Some Late Magic

Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's Speedway Stables made its lone yearling purchase of the season when bloodstock agent Marette Farrell went to $400,000 to acquire a colt by Good Magic (hip 778) from the Hunter Valley Farm consignment Tuesday in Lexington.

“He was a stunning physical,” Farrell said. “We thought he was the most athletic horse we'd seen in a long time. What struck me the most about him was, the very first time we saw him, he came out and he moved like a cat. And every time I came back to see him, it was like he was bigger and he was more horse. And he was so composed. I love to see a horse that has class like that because the horses you see in stakes races act like that and move like that.”

The chestnut colt is out of Divine Escapade (A.P. Indy) and is a half to stakes winner King of the Court (Speightstown). His second dam is Grade I winner Madcap Escapade (Hennessy).

He was bred by Sun Valley Farm and was acquired by Hunter Valley Farm for $150,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

Tuesday's positive return was the result of good timing, according to Hunter Valley's Fergus Galvin.

“He was a really good-looking, good-moving colt,” Galvin said. “We had him in the Keeneleand [September] sale, but we took the view early on that he would mature a lot for this sale. And he has really matured in the last six weeks. We had a lot of faith in the stallion and he's come on a lot in the last month as well. That was a big help.”

This fall, Good Magic has been represented by Blazing Sevens, winner of the Oct. 1 GI Champagne S., as well as Curly Jack, winner of the Sept. 17 GIII Iroquois S. His daughter Vegas Magic won the GII Sorrento S. in August.

Uncle Mo Joins BSW/Crow Colts Group

The BSW/Crow Colts Group and partners Spendthrift Farm and Gandharvi continued to add to its 2022 roster with the purchase of an Uncle Mo colt (hip 425) for $350,000 Tuesday in Lexington.

“Obviously, the sire power is there,” Jake Memolo said after signing the ticket on the yearling. “Uncle Mo is as good a sire as you could ask for. And this yearling is a strong, fast-looking horse. We were happy to get him at that price.”

Out of stakes-placed Adore You (Tactical Cat), the yearling is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner and multiple Grade I-placed Piedi Bianchi (Overanalzye). The gray colt, who RNA'd for $320,000 as a weanling at last year's Keeneland November sale, was bred by Deann and Greg Baer and was consigned by Wynnstay Sales.

During Monday's first session of the sale, the group purchased a colt by City of Light (hip 249) for $260,000.

“We maybe will add a couple more throughout the week,” Memolo said. “We are at 15 now, so we will be hoping to add maybe two or three more and see where we go.”

The BSW/Crow Colts Group purchased 11 yearlings for $4,840,000 at the Keeneland September sale.

Liz Crow's long history of success buying out of the Fasig-Tipton October sale has continued this year with Grade I winners Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) and Jack Christopher (Munnings) and the plan was always to shop for colts for the group at the last yearling auction of the year, according to Memolo.

“Liz has done so well at this sale and it's a sale she likes to target,” Memolo said. “This sale presents a lot of quality, so it's always nice to come here with a little bit of money to spend.”

Main Line Finds Some Fillies

Trainer John Servis and his partners in Main Line Racing worked the barns at Newtown Paddocks en masse over the weekend and enjoyed the fruits of their labors when securing three fillies during the first two sessions of the Fasig-Tipton October Sale. The group made its biggest purchase Tuesday when going to $300,000 to acquire a filly by City of Light (hip 578) out of Boodles (Mr. Greeley) from the Eaton Sales consignment.

“I just thought she looked awesome,” Servis said of the filly. “We chased a couple of other fillies that we didn't get, but we were really saving for this filly.”

The Main Line team got off to a quick start Monday morning when going to $220,000 for a daughter of first-crop sire Audible (hip 6). Consigned by Eaton Sales, the dark bay filly is out of Safwah (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-sister to GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) and to Grade I winner Hot Dixie Chick (Dixie Union).

“I always try to look at the younger stallions because we are breeding some now, so I pay attention to who the up-and-coming stallions might be and try to get lucky and get to them before they get too popular. I've seen quite a few Audibles that I really liked,” Servis said of the young WinStar stallion who has been popular in the sales ring all fall. “He seems to put a really good hip on all of them. But they all look athletic. I don't know that I've seen one that hasn't looked athletic.”

Rounding out the Main Line trio of October purchases was a filly by Not This Time (hip 203) purchased for $125,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.

The group intentionally focuses on purchasing fillies.

“It's just for residual value,” Servis explained. “Hopefully, if they do some good, we have a shot to get our money back.”

Of the partnership, Servis said, “We have been together since, I'm going to say, 2005. It's Dr. Louis Bucky out of Philadelphia, William Schwartz, who owned a construction company that he sold a few years ago, and his son Drew, who lives in D.C. and does commercial real estate and myself. It's the four of us.”

The Main Line team won the 2019 GIII Dr. James Penny Memorial S. with Notapradaprice (Paddy o'Prado) and has been represented this year by stakes winner Love in the Air (Constitution).

Servis agreed competition at the October sale remained strong.

“I think we got lucky with the Audible filly on the first day because she was so early in the sale,” he said. “I knew it was going to be a strong sale because the pinhookers didn't get a lot accomplished at the September sale, so I knew a lot of those guys would be there, which they were. And I think we got really lucky. I think we did really well.”

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Kateri Proving a ‘Souper’ Purchase for Newtown Anner

In his early days in the Thoroughbred business, Hanzly Albina served the Foustok family's Buckram Oak Farm as assistant farm manager and later managed Four Roses Thoroughbreds for the same operation.

“As a young person in the business, you don't get to do a lot, but you get to study a lot,” Albina recollects.

The horseman is now applying that and other knowledge he's acquired over the years as an advisor to Maurice and Samantha Regan's Newtown Anner Stud, the breeders of 'TDN Rising Star' and GII Rachel Alexandra S. presented by Fasig-Tipton hopeful Souper Sensational (Curlin).

The broodmare band at Newtown Anner numbers around 65, split between their Versailles, Kentucky, farm on a little more than 1000 acres that once belonged to Standardbred operation Brittany Farm on Pisgah Pike. The couple also maintains a farm in Millbrook, New York, as well as a farm in Ireland.

On behalf of Newtown Anner, Albina and partner Nick Sallusto went to $167,000 for then 4-year-old Kateri (Indian Charlie), in foal to Paynter, at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton February Sale. In signing for the mare, Albina was drawing upon the lessons he gleaned from one of Thoroughbred breeding's legends.

“I am big fan of John Nerud and I try to learn about everything he did and how his thought process worked. This is a family that connects to him–Cozzene is down the page,” Albina explained, referring to the 1985 Eclipse Award-winning turf male that was campaigned by Nerud. “Now, I'm not one of these guys that is going to breed mares based on sixth and seventh generation, but the short answer is, there was a lot going on in the first dam [Sue's Good News] and it was a beautiful first dam. There was a lot of beauty in the family and I thought I could work with that. She was a beautiful Indian Charlie mare. I loved the fact that it was Indian Charlie, because it goes back to Caro (Ire),” sire of the aforementioned Cozzene.

Albina was well-acquainted with the Caro-line, as Buckram Oak raced the sire's son Siberian Express, a $320,000 purchase out of the 1984 Keeneland July Sale by Mahmoud Foustok. Siberian Express was, in turn, the sire of In Excess (Ire), who was bred and raced through part of his career by Mahmoud Foustok's brother, Ahmed.

“It's been proven time and time again that this European influence of Caro coming through, for whatever reasons, has been very good for American racing and keeps on coming up.”

Kateri foaled a colt by Paynter the day after her purchase and Albina was pleased with what he saw.

“I thought the Paynter was a pretty good horse,” he said. “I kind of gave her a pass being her first foal, she wasn't a spectacular sort of specimen. Then we went to Tiznow and that was a magnificent horse. We took it to auction and no one wanted the horse. Nick and I decided we weren't going to let this beautiful horse go, Tiznow was a little cold. So we tried to sell him again and the same thing happened, we didn't get the money we wanted. Nick took the horse down to Florida and started prepping him. He went to the sale and that's when Red Oak bought in and we raced it together.”

Bought back for $275,000 at Keeneland September in 2018, the Tiznow colt was led out unsold on a bid of $175,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale. Connections' faith in the colt was rewarded when he fetched $420,000 at the OBS April Sale in early 2019.

“He was a stunning horse and the money we got from the 2-year-old sale kind of validated what we thought about the mare,” Albina said. “Since I held the Tiznow in high regard, I said, 'Now it's time to make a move with this mare' and overbreed her a touch. We made a jump to Curlin, he was a stallion we really liked at the time. He was much cheaper than he is now and physically, we loved him.

He continued, “In [Kateri's] second dam you have Easyfromthegitgo (Dehere), Deputy Minister-line, similar to Curlin on the bottom, and it had worked on the pedigree with Conquest Curlgirl [a daughter of Easyfromthegitgo's GSW half-sister Sue's Good News]. Typically I look for something a little closer, but it was close enough to where I was OK with it and the physical really worked.”

Kateri dropped her Curlin filly Mar. 28, 2018, and she was as straight-forward as could be, Albina remembers, as she grew up and as she was prepped for a date in the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

“What stood out about her was how unremarkable the process was,” he said. “She was always a very good-looking horse, always well-balanced, there were never any issues. She got to the sale and looked beautiful, took it all in stride, never any hiccups. It's not always that way. I don't remember her ever being sick, I don't remember any issue with her. She got to Saratoga and we had a very good sale. She was our highest-priced horse that year.”

The Kateri filly caught the eye of the team at Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Plantation, who were extended to $725,000.

“This was the best horse we had for Newtown Anner that year,” he said. “We thought about keeping her, but we set a line on her and if we get more than our number, we'll let her go and if not, we'll race her. That's kind of the exercise we do with all our horses.”

Albina, who consigns yearlings with Ron Blake as Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services, also sold Peter Brant a Quality Road filly for $525,000 that year. Now named Boston Post Road, that full-sister to MSW & GSP Top Quality was a maiden winner at first asking at Gulfstream Park Feb. 7.

Albina said that the philosophy of Newtown Anner is to “breed the horses we typically don't go out and buy.”

“Then we test the market and we trade,” he explained. “For [Souper Sensational], our reserve would have been very high and if someone paid it, they could have her and if not, then she comes back and we get to keep a nice horse. We aren't going out there and buying million-dollar horses or consistently paying $500,000 and $600,000 for horses. If we can sell the ones that bring in excess of what they're worth, that's kind of the goal. The stuff we don't like, we put little to no reserve on and move them on. We just try to make good decisions and I think offering all our yearlings at auction is a mechanism by which we can keep ourselves sharp and that we're making good business decisions.”

After graduating and earning her 'Rising Star' at first asking, Souper Sensational added a facile success in the Glorious Song S. at Woodbine last October. The chestnut exits a good second when trying two turns and dirt for the first time in the Jan. 16 Silverbulletday S., and Albina believes she'll continue to improve from here.

“I think she's going to get better and better with distance,” he said. “We'll let her show us. I'm not worried about any surface with her, I think her action tells me she can be very good on the dirt. I think she got a little unlucky in her last start, but she finished well. Some people are disappointed when they finish second, but I think the races she has to win are ahead of her. I'm very pleased with everything she's done so far.”

While Souper Sensational has done her part to enhance her page, the family remains live elsewhere. Kateri's Grade I-winning half-sister Tiz Miz Sue (Tiznow) is not only the dam of the Japanese-based, UAE Group 3-placed Serein (Uncle Mo), but also of $2.5-million KEESEP graduate Tatweej (Tapit), a hugely impressive allowance winner at Aqueduct Feb. 4. Another half-sister, Tiz News (Tiznow), is the dam of 2020 Trapeze S. runner-up Tiz Splendid News (Maclean's Music), who has returned to the worktab at Keeneland for trainer Wesley Ward. Tiz News changed hands for $190,000 in foal to Curlin's champion son Good Magic at KEENOV last fall.

Albina reports that Kateri's foal of 2019, a colt by Maclean's Music, was ticketed for last year's Saratoga Sale, but was sadly put down after suffering a freak injury. The agent said that Souper Sensational's yearling full-sister “resembles her sister greatly and we're very excited about her” and will be aimed at one of the major yearling sales later this year. Kateri is currently carrying to American Pharoah on a later cover and is booked back to Curlin for this year.

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