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Keeneland January Book 1 Goes Out With a Bang

by Christie DeBernardis & Jessica Martini

LEXINGTON, KY–Keeneland saved the best for last during Wednesday's second Book 1 session of their January Horses of All Ages Sale with the 3-year-old colt Belgrade (Hard Spun), a debut winner at Fair Grounds, topping the day's action at $700,000.

A total of 263 head changed hands Wednesday for $18,859,500 with an average of $71,709 and a median of $40,000. Sixty-four horses left the ring unsold for an RNA rate of 19.57%. During the equivalent 2021 session, which was boosted by the Paul Pompa and Sam-Son dispersals, 247 horses sold for $23,319,400 with an average of $94,411 and median of $40,000. There were 71 RNAs that day for a buy-back rate of 22.33%.

“On this day last year, we had Paul Pompa's dispersal, as well as the Sam-Son dispersal, so there were big shoes to fill,” said Tony Lacy, Keeneland's Vice President of Sales. “We actually maintained the median at $40,000 and came very close to last year [overall]. Not having those dispersals and just having the core group of horses that we had, it really went well. I think the quality horses were extremely popular. It was strong and solid all the way through. It was great to end with Belgrade for Randy and Sandra Bradshaw.”

Through two Book 1 sessions, 511 Thoroughbreds grossed $36,848,700 with an average of $72,110 and a median of $40,000. There were 150 horses who failed to meet their reserves, making the RNA rate 22.69%. During the first two days of the 2021 renewal, 453 head brought $35,414,800 with an average of $78,178 and median of $37,000. There were 167 horses that went home with their original owners for an RNA rate of 26.94%.

Aside from Belgrade, broodmares dominated the market Wednesday, filling eight of the top 10 slots. Co Cola (Candy Ride {Arg}), dam of GISW Search Results (Flatter), and well-bred, stakes producer Susie's Baby (Giant's Causeway) were the most coveted mares at $600,000 each. The former was purchased by Peter Blum carrying a full-sibling to Search Results and the latter went to Cypress Creek LLC with a Constitution foal in her belly.

The day's top yearling was a $310,000 son of top sire Uncle Mo, purchased by Nick de Meric, who signed under the name Sand Hill Bloodstock. He was the day's leading buyer, taking six yearlings home to Ocala for a total of $1.015 million.

“I'd say it's the old truism of it's very strong on the ones you want,” de Meric said of the January market. “We got three [Tuesday] that we are very happy with, but we were also bridesmaids on a couple of others we really loved. Such is life in the big city.”

Reiley McDonald of Eaton Sales, which led all consignors Wednesday with 18 head bringing $2.291 million, expressed similar sentiments.

“The market for the upper-end stuff is great,” he said. “The market for middle-end mares is very flat. The market for middle-end yearlings is even flat. The upper end is through the roof.”

The late, great Giant's Causeway was the session's top sire with seven offspring grossing $926,000. Thanks to Belgrade, Darley's Hard Spun was the leading sire for Book 1 with nine head bringing $1.128 million. Coolmore's Munnings was not far behind with nine of his progeny summoning $1.094 million.

The Keeneland January Sale continues through Friday with a pair of Book 2 sessions, both starting at 10 a.m.

Belgrade Rewards Bradshaw's Patience

The second day of the Keeneland January sale ended with a bang when impressive maiden winner Belgrade (Hard Spun) (hip 853H), the final horse through the ring, topped the session when attracting a final bid of $700,000 from bloodstock agent Jane Buchanan, acting on behalf of Carl and Yurie Pascarella. The newly turned 3-year-old will be trained by Graham Motion.

“We followed him after his last race,” Buchanan said. “I actually called [owner] Randy [Bradshaw] and [trainer] Brendan [Walsh] and we did try to buy him privately after his last race. We liked how he did it. He ran good numbers. Fingers crossed. It's all up to Graham now.”

While the Pascarellas now have a possible GI Kentucky Derby contender in Belgrade, the California-based already have a taste of Derby success. They were among the Team Valor partners on 2011 Derby winner Animal Kingdom.

“They were looking for a two-turn colt,” Buchanan said. “Brendan is a good friend and he does a great job. So he's a good trainer to buy from.”

Buchanan said there was plenty of competition for horses like Belgrade.

“It is terribly tricky to buy a horse like this,” she said. “We have been trying to buy privately all last year. [The price] was expensive, but that is what these horses are making right now.”

Belgrade was a delayed pinhooking score for Ocala horseman Randy Bradshaw. Bradshaw and his wife Sandra purchased the colt for $45,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase. The youngster had originally been targeted for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, but some baby issues kept him on the sidelines and the Bradshaws rerouted him to the racetrack.

Debuting Dec. 18 at the Fair Grounds, Belgrade romped home a six-length victor and was supplemented to the January sale.

“We are just super excited,” Bradshaw's daughter Ashley Franz, part of the team at Four Star Sales which consigned the colt Wednesday, said. “It was a great result and he was a great colt. We felt confident bringing him with that impressive maiden win.”

It was a formula that has worked for Bradshaw before.

“He had done this in the past,” Franz said. “He's taken horses on and raced them and then sold them at public auction and he's done very well doing it. So he was really confident coming into the sale.” @JessMartiniTDN

Susie's Baby Proves Popular

Bluewater Sales' Ryder Finney, who was bidding on behalf of Cyprus Creek, won a furious round of bidding late in Wednesday's session to acquire Susie's Baby (Giant's Causeway) (Hip 845) for $600,000. Consigned by Gainesway, the 10-year-old mare is in foal to Constitution.

“We expected her to be popular,” Finney said. “We were hoping to get her for a little bit less, but $600,000 was always a possibility for a mare like this with a pedigree like hers. It is what it is. If you want the good ones you have to pay a little bit extra sometimes.”

Out of SW Mekko Hokte (Holy Bull), Susie's Baby is a half-sister to MG1SW Coolmore stallion Caravaggio (Scat Daddy) and GSW My Jen (Fusaichi Pegasus). Her first foal stakes winner Family Way (Uncle Mo), who was purchased by Godolphin for $775,000 at KEESEP in 2018. The gray's 2018 foal Baby Blythe (American Pharoah), a $325,000 KEESEP buy, broke her maiden at Saratoga last summer. Susie's Baby's 2019 filly Sebago Lake (Tapit) was a $160,000 KEESEP purchase and her 2020 filly by Justify brought $325,000 at FTKOCT. She had an Uncle Mo filly in 2021.

“We just love the pedigree,” said Finney. “We thought it was first class. Physically, she's beautiful and obviously throws nice babies. She has a great sales record. Her first couple of foals can run and we are very big fans of Constitution. We have high hopes for her.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Co Cola a Pleasant Surprise for Blum

Co Cola (Candy Ride {Arg}) (hip 492) will be joining Peter Blum's broodmare band after selling for $600,000 at Keeneland Wednesday. Blum's farm manager Bridie Harrison signed the ticket on the 12-year-old mare, who is already the dam of Search Results (Flatter) and sold carry a full-sibling to that Grade I winner.

“She is a Grade I producer, so when they win those kind of races, it's hard not to look at them,” Blum said.

Search Results was a narrowly beaten second in last year's GI Kentucky Oaks for Klaravich Stables and trainer Chad Brown before earning top-level success in the GI Acorn S. She was also third in the GI Test S. and has recently returned to training with Brown in Florida.

“Search Results is back with Chad Brown, so hopefully she'll have a chance to do some more this year,” Blum said.

Co Cola, graded placed on the racetrack herself, RNA'd for $925,000 at the Fasig-Tipton November sale two months ago.

“It's too soon for that,” Blum said when asked about possible mating plans for the mare. “I frankly didn't think I was going to get her, so I hadn't thought about it, to be honest. But I'll breed her to something good. I thought she was a really nice mare and I am just happy to get her.”

Sandy Willwerth and her daughter and son-in-law Carrie and Craig Brogden co-bred Co Cola and purchased the mare back following her racing career. The family's Machmer Hall bred all of Co Cola's foals, including Search Results and her now 3-year-old full-brother Search Engine who sold for $625,000 at last year's OBS April sale.

“This mare throws nothing but runners,” Carrie Brogden said after selling Co Cola through James Keogh's Grovendale consignment Wednesday. “She was born in our foaling barn. The whole thing has come full circle for us. She has been the giving tree.”

Willwerth said it was a business decision to sell the mare.

“We had to decide to sell the mare or not,” she said. “Craig is always complaining we have too many broodmares. And with her update, this was a good opportunity to sell. It was my decision to sell, knowing that what she was going to bring takes some risk off. And I wish them all the luck with her. We are happy for other people to succeed with our horses and I am thrilled she is as good a producer as she is.”

Willwerth said the team had reevaluated its plan following Co Cola's RNA trip through the Fasig-Tipton sales ring last November.

“We had too high a reserve,” Willwerth explained. “Craig said, 'It's all about the new sports car, the new model.' And I think he hit it spot on. Yes, she is a Grade I producer and she has had a few other foals run well, but it just seems to be right now that it's all about the young stakes mares and mares carrying their first, or maybe second, foal. I'm not sure why the market shifted, but it has. We realized that and that we had overvalued her and it was a choice to make from there. So we came here and lowered the reserve.”

Keogh said Wednesday's result was a reflection of market conditions.

“I thought she would bring a little bit more than that,” Keogh admitted. “It was an excellent buy for Mr. Blum and we wish him the best of luck with her. She is a mare who excelled in the sales ring and clearly her foals are getting it done on the racetrack. The market is what the market is. It rarely gets it wrong. I wouldn't say we're happy with the result, but we accept it.” @JessMartiniTDN

Bella Vita to Return to Training

Bella Vita (Bayern) (hip 462) was purchased by Narvick International's Emmanuel de Seroux, acting on behalf of an undisclosed client, for $500,000 Wednesday at Keeneland. The 5-year-old multiple stakes winner was purchased for her breeding potential, but will be returned to training in the meantime.

“She is a very good racing filly,” de Seroux said. “She's a beautiful type and she has an excellent female line. So altogether, she was very attractive for breeding, but we would like to race her for a little bit before we breed her.”

Bella Vita is out of the unraced Queenie Cat (Storm Cat), a half-sister to champion Vindication (Seattle Slew) and graded winner Scipion (A.P. Indy).

De Seroux said no trainer had been picked out for the mare.

Bella Vita was purchased by bloodstock agent Ben McElroy on behalf of Kaleem Shah for $400,000 at the 2019 OBS April sale.

“She breezed very good at the OBS sale,” McElroy recalled of the mare. “Robby Harris had her and Kaleem loved the video. He raced the sire and won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic with him, so he was partial to the filly. We went back to see her at the barn and she was a lovely filly. We got her and she's lived up to expectations. She has kept on progressing through her 3-year-old and 4-year-old years.”

Bella Vita had her best year on the track in 2021, winning the Spring Fever S. and Betty Grable S. and finishing second in the GII Great Lady M S. on the West Coast for trainer Simon Callaghan. She came into the January sale off a runner-up effort in the Dec. 4 GIII Go For Wand H. at Aqueduct.

“She just turned five and the 2-year-old sales are right around the corner,” McElroy said of the decision to sell the mare. “Hopefully Kaleem is thinking about restocking and hopefully we will find another Bellafina or Donna Veloce.”

Shopping the juvenile sales for Shah, McElroy purchased Bellafina (Quality Road) for $800,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale and acquired Donna Veloce (Uncle Mo) for that same price at that auction in 2019. Bellafina became a three-time Grade I winner and Donna Veloce was second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and GI Starlet S. @JessMartiniTDN

Terrazas Secures Mares for St. George Stables

Eduardo Terrazas of Terrazas Thoroughbreds was active throughout Book 1, buying mares for Mexican billionaire German Larrea's St. George Stables, which made plenty of headlines in 2021 thanks to the exploits of their star mare Letruska (Super Saver). Terrazas's biggest purchase on behalf of that operation came later in Wednesday's session when he went to $390,000 for the Scat Daddy mare Siempre Mia (Hip 752).

Consigned by Eaton Sales, the gray mare sold in foal to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

“She is a beautiful, strong mare,” Terrazas said. “She kind of looks like a bully, which I love. I remember her yearling last year was a really nice horse too, so you can't go wrong. She will definitely fit their program.”

As for the price, he said, “I thought we were going to be around $325,000, but luckily we were able to keep on going.”

Terrazas's KEEJAN purchases on behalf of St. George Stables include $200,000 I'm So Anna (Fast Anna) (Hip 589), $155,000 Santa Rita (Curlin) (Hip 318) and $37,000 Ojai (Verrazano) (Hip 685).

Out of MGSW Shaconage (El Prado {Ire}), Siempre Mia was purchased by Eaton Sales on behalf of Forging Oaks Farm for $185,000 at the 2017 KEENOV sale carrying her first foal by the late Malibu Moon. Her second foal is newly turned 3-year-old Consumer Spending (More Than Ready), who captured the Selima S. last term. She had an Empire Maker colt in 2020, who was purchased by Donato Lanni for $120,000 at KEESEP and is named Baba Voss, and her 2021 filly by More Than Ready brought $240,000 from Cavalier Bloodstock at KEENOV.

“Consumer Spending is probably a better filly than we even got to see last year,” said Eaton Sales' Reiley McDonald. “She has great foals. They bought a really nice, middle-aged commercial mare. She is a great cash cow. She was a great buy. I bought her carrying her first foal and she has done a little better every year.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Goff Builds Broodmare Band

Arkansas businessman Dash Goff continued to build his broodmare band Wednesday at Keeneland, purchasing Actually (Speightstown) (Hip 438) for $330,000. Consigned by Brookdale Sales on behalf of breeder Jack Swain, the chestnut is carrying her first foal by Nyquist.

“I liked her looks and her pedigree,” said Goff, who did his bidding alongside Chris and Bayne Welker. “She has an excellent female family. She is in foal early. I am putting together some more mares. I like the tax situations on them and everything.”

He added, “Bayne and Chris Welker keep my horses [at their Kentucky farm]. We bought one [Tuesday] and we are looking at one more.”

Goff's Tuesday purchase was MSW R Angel Katelyn (High Cotton) (Hip 288), who brought $240,000 carrying a foal from the first crop of champion Improbable. He also picked up I Do Declare (Declaration of War) (Hip 587) for $35,000 later in Wednesday's session carrying a foal by champion Accelerate.

Larkin Armstrong purchased Actually on Swain's behalf for $250,000 at Keeneland September and she was winless in four starts. A half-sister to MGSW Campaign (Curlin), the 4-year-old filly is out of the unraced Dynaformer mare Arania, who is a half to Grade I winners Acoma (Empire Maker) and Arch (Kris S.). This is also the family of dual champion Covfefe (Into Mischief).

“I wasn't surprised by the price because she is the perfect combination of Speightstown and Dynaformer,” said Brookdale's Joe Seitz. “She is elegant and has a lot of leg. She is from a good Helen Alexander family, so she really stuck out here. We are running out of time to get these really good broodmares before the breeding season, so I thought she stood out. She had a lot of interest.”

When asked why Swain chose to sell this mare, Seitz said, “He told me he needed to manage his numbers a bit. He hated to see her go, but he has to run it as a business, as do we all.”

—@CDeBernardisTDN

De Meric Stays Active at KEEJAN

Ocala horseman Nick de Meric was quite busy during Book 1 of Keeneland January, securing a trio of yearlings on the first day and making his biggest splash on day two when purchasing a $310,000 colt by leading sire Uncle Mo (Hip 472). De Meric bought the colt on behalf of an undisclosed client and signed the ticket under his usual nom de course, Sand Hill Bloodstock.

“I bought him for a client that pinhooks and races, so to be determined,” de Meric said of future plans for the colt.

As for the price, he said, “We were stretched out there. My initial appraisal was a little lower than that, but every time I went to see him, we bumped it up a notch. We just had enough to get the job done.”

Consigned by Stuart Morris, the dark bay colt was bred in New York by Dr. Jerry Bilinski's Waldorf Farm. He is the second foal out of the unraced Smart Strike mare Canadian River, who Bilinski acquired for $27,000 in foal to West Coast at the 2019 KEENOV sale. Hip 472 hails from the family of GSW & G1SP Montgomery's Arch (Arch) and stakes winner Welcome Inn (Orientate).

“I have to say, I liked pretty much everything,” de Meric said. “I love the sire, but I love the colt. He is very mature. I liked his attitude every time I watched him show. He had a progressive, forward kind of attitude to his showing. He is beautifully balanced with a lot of size and substance. I have a hard time finding anything I didn't like about him.”

During the opening session of KEEJAN, de Meric purchased a $200,000 son of Street Sense (Hip 376), a $150,000 Ghostzapper colt (Hip 276) and a $100,000 colt by Upstart (Hip 397). The pinhooker was not done after buying Hip 472 Wednesday. He also secured a $210,000 colt by Vino Rosso (Hip 689), a $160,000 daughter of Twirling Candy (Hip 644), a $110,000 colt by Mineshaft (Hip 704) and a $75,000 Classic Empire filly (Hip 518). –@CDeBernardisTDN

Sacre Scores with Gun Runner Colt

Former Los Angeles Lakers player Robert Sacre enjoyed a career high in the racing game when he sold a short yearling by Gun Runner (hip 822) for $275,000 to the bid Peter Pugh, agent for Cherry Knoll Farm. Sacre co-bred the colt with Carl Grether, of Tom Grether Farms out of the only mare he currently owns, Usrah (Tiznow). The bay was consigned by Mulholland Springs.

“I knew Carl from college and he's been excellent at picking horses,” Sacre said. “I told him, 'Whatever you're doing, I want to be a part of it.' We sat down and made a plan and we executed it and it worked out great for us. I'm grateful to have Carl helping me and mentoring me through this whole process.”

Grether purchased Usrah for $25,000 at the 2010 Keeneland November sale and this is the second foal out of the mare the two men co-bred. The first, a filly by Collected RNA'd for $27,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale before selling for $40,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“It felt like when I was drafted by the Lakers,” Sacre said of watching the colt go through the ring Wednesday. “It was the closest thing to a draft pick. It felt like the NBA draft. You don't know what to expect. Everything is unknown. But it worked.”

Asked if Wednesday's success made him want to get more involved in the sport, Sacre smiled broadly and said, “Absolutely. I am not trying to get more involved today, hopefully, but you never know.”

Grether, the son of the late racehorse owner Tom Grether, campaigned multiple Grade I winner Intangaroo (Orientate). @JessMartiniTDN

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Green Light Go, The Sound Take Different Paths To Jerkens Barn

Stronach Stables' Green Light Go will be making his 5-year-old debut Thursday at Aqueduct in Ozone Park, N.Y., contesting a one-turn mile optional claimer in Race 8.

The bay son of Hard Spun will be making his first appearance since a runner-up effort in the Big A's six-furlong Grade 3 Fall Highweight on Nov. 28.

Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, Green Light Go enjoyed a successful juvenile campaign, breaking his maiden at first asking with a wire-to-wire win sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs at Belmont Park. Stretching out to 6 1/2 furlongs in his next outing, Green Light Go captured the Grade 2 Saratoga Special at Saratoga Race Course by a convincing 3 3/4 lengths in his stakes debut.

The bay's first go at a one-turn mile came with a runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Champagne to wrap up his juvenile year, finishing four lengths behind eventual Belmont and Travers winner Tiz the Law. Green Light Go then hit the board in both of his sophomore starts, finishing third in the Grade 3 Swale and second in the Roar, both at Gulfstream Park.

After an eight-month layoff, Green Light Go was transferred to the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer to run the first part of his 2021 season at Oaklawn Park. Green Light Go won 1-of-4 starts for Hollendorfer before moving to Woodbine and making his lone start for trainer Michael Doyle, finishing off the board in the Grade 3 Vigil in August.

Now back in Jerkens' barn at Belmont, Green Light Go appears to be the same horse he was before the move.

“He hasn't changed a whole lot since he was two,” Jerkens said. “He doesn't quite look the same as then because he's gotten more races into him, but that's OK.”

Competing off a nearly four-month layoff in the Fall Highweight in his return race for Jerkens, Green Light Go made up ground late from off the pace under strong urging from Dylan Davis, losing by a head to Hopeful Treasure in a final time of 1:11.19.

Jerkens believes that despite the flying finish, a mile still may not be the perfect distance for Green Light Go.

“It's not always the case that they want more ground,” Jerkens said. “He did win going a mile at Oaklawn, but just because they're closing in a sprint doesn't mean they want to go further. Seven furlongs would probably be ideal for him. He's done good and has a lot of good works in between [the last race and this one].”

In his final drill for his start on Thursday, Green Light Go posted a bullet five furlongs January 4 in 1:01 flat over Belmont's dirt training track. Though listed as fast, Jerkens noted the track had taken some precipitation the night before.

“He worked really good on a pretty slow track,” Jerkens said. “He went by himself and did well.”

Along with Green Light Go, Jerkens will also send out The Sound in Race 8 on Thursday in his first start since transferring from the barn of trainer Brad Cox.

Also a 5-year-old son of Hard Spun, The Sound won 3-of-7 starts for Cox, was last seen finishing a well-beaten sixth in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs in April. The Sound was transferred to Jerkens' care when owner Shortleaf Stable decided to keep the horse in New York for the winter.

“They didn't want to take him to Oaklawn even though he won there,” said Jerkens. “He was already here for a race that didn't fill and Brad didn't want to leave any horses here for the winter. I've had a couple of Shortleaf horses anyways, so they left him with me.”

The Sound has a mile win at the Big A under his belt, earning a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure for his 4 3/4-length optional claiming victory in November 2020.

Jerkens said he has yet to see that kind of speed in the mornings from the dark bay, who most recently breezed five-eighths in 1:02.90 over Belmont's training track.

“He hasn't really been showing anything like that in his works,” Jerkens said. “Maybe he's just gotten wiser in his old age, but he hasn't really given us what we want to see in the mornings. Some horses do that when they get older. When you get them over [to the races] and they pop out of the gate, it can be a different story. I hope that's the case.”

The Sound's start on Thursday may prove to be a tune-up race after being away from the races for nearly eight months.

“I always thought he was the kind of horse who would run good right from the get-go, but I don't know him very well and he's turned out to be a different horse than I thought he was,” Jerkens said. “I thought he was a real eager work horse but he's not, so we'll have to run him and see.”

Green Light Go will exit post 2 under Davis, while Eric Cancel will guide The Sound from the inside post. The five-horse field includes nine-time winner Lil Commisioner [post 3, Kendrick Carmouche], Hanalei's Houdini [post 4, Jose Lezcano] and graded-stakes winner Majestic Dunhill [post 5, Manny Franco].

Chiefswood Stables' Grade 3 Gotham winner Weyburn is currently stabled at Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida and is gearing up for his 4-year-old campaign after his sophomore season ended in September with an eighth in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing.

The dark bay Ontario-bred son of Pioneerof the Nile most recently breezed five furlongs over the grass in 1:03.45.

“They worked him on the turf down there and weren't really thrilled with it,” Jerkens said. “We're backing off him a little bit and regrouping.”

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Oaklawn: Cox Looking For Big Things From Caddo River, Little Sister Como Square

Officially, he wasn't the winner. But, Caddo River accomplished something for the first time in his racing career Dec. 19 at Oaklawn, reaching the finish line first after not controlling a race on the front end.

Trainer Brad Cox said he hopes that performance is something Caddo River can build on during his 4-year-old campaign at the 2021-'22 Oaklawn meeting. Caddo River was a promising Kentucky Derby prospect last winter in Hot Springs after consecutive gate-to-wire blowout victories at a mile, including a record-setting 10 ¼-length score in the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn.

After Caddo River was withdrawn from Kentucky Derby consideration because of a minor illness, Cox and breeder/owner John Ed Anthony of Hot Springs pulled the plug following the Hard Spun's colt sixth-place finish in the $400,000 Woody Stephens Stakes (G1) June 5 at Belmont Park.

Caddo River resurfaced in the 1-mile allowance race late last month and had an eventful trip under regular rider Florent Geroux. Caddo River was rank early and bottled up in fifth along the inside on the second turn. Swung five-wide turning for home, Caddo River ran down Atoka to win by a neck in 1:38.28 over a fast track. But following a claim of foul by Luis Contreras, the rider of Atoka, and a stewards' inquiry, Caddo River was disqualified and placed second for lugging in and bumping Atoka near the finish line, according to footnotes from the official race chart.

“Big race,” Cox said Thursday morning. “It was good to see him pass horses as opposed to going to the front and holding on. A talented horse. I thought it was an extremely good race off the layoff – passed some good horses. I think for him to be what we want him to be, a horse that can compete at the graded stake level, he's going to have to be able to pass horses and relax a little bit. He didn't relax as well as we would have liked to have seen him, but I think once he gets a couple of runs under him, hopefully, he'll figure out that he's going to have to shut it off early to have a little bit better closing kick.”

Although Caddo River has plenty of stakes experience – he also finished fifth in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) and second in the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) last year at Oaklawn – Cox said another conditioned allowance “is probably the logical spot” for a second start off a long layoff.

“Trying to develop the horse and have a good winter with him and a good 2022, it probably makes the most sense,” Cox said.

Cox, Anthony and Caddo River's dam, Pangburn, nearly pulled off a double Dec. 19 at Oaklawn.

About an hour before Caddo River was disqualified from his victory, half-sibling Como Square, won an entry-level allowance sprint for 2-year-old fillies.

Como Square, by super sire Into Mischief, is unbeaten in two lifetime starts and probably headed to the $200,000 Martha Washington Stakes Jan. 29, Cox said. The 1 1/16-mile Martha Washington, which would mark Como Square's first start around two turns, is Oaklawn's first of three Kentucky Oaks points races.

“It's really the logical spot moving forward, trying to stretch her a little bit,” Cox said. “She's a half to Caddo, but she really doesn't look anything like him physically. She's real strong and stout, where he's got a lot more leg and looks like a two-turn horse, where she looks like she might be a little limited on distance.”

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Pangburn, a daughter of Congrats, was an allowance winner in 2015 at Oaklawn for Anthony and trainer Kenny McPeek. Pangburn then finished third in the $150,000 Honeybee Stakes (G3) and fourth in the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3). The Honeybee and Fantasy are Oaklawn's final two Kentucky Oaks points races.

Anthony boards Pangburn at famed Stone Farm in Kentucky. Pangburn also has a 2-year-old colt by champion Nyquist and is booked back to Hard Spun, said John Gasper, who is Anthony's racing manager.

The post Oaklawn: Cox Looking For Big Things From Caddo River, Little Sister Como Square appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Value Sires for ’22: Part VIII: Established Stallions

And so we reach the final leg of our journey hunting out value among Kentucky sires in 2022. It's been a rather more focused exercise this time round, and if that means plenty of stallions (and indeed some farms) have been overlooked, so be it. It's only ever the subjective view of a single bystander. You'll know what works for your own mare, and for your own agenda, too, whether you're an end user, say, or first and foremost need to anticipate commercial demand.

We've often complained that a market so perilously tilted towards unproven sires is driven by ringside investors, that many breeders feel obliged to choose their matings accordingly, like it or not and that the system works least well for the stallion farms themselves. It's a lose-lose scenario. On the one hand, an awful lot of sires with marginal eligibility weaken the gene pool with hundreds of mediocre foals. On the other, since almost all have exhausted their commercial usefulness within a couple of years, some will be discarded while retaining valid potential, but having simply required a little patience.

I do accept that stallions must nowadays expect to be judged pretty early, in that debut books are the biggest and best most will ever muster. So it's only right to celebrate those that do make a breakthrough. But that doesn't mean, as you often hear, that freshmen are the only pragmatic option for most investors because the proven operators have all priced themselves out of reach.

The object today is to refute that theory. To give examples of the affordable stallions out there, besides your Into Mischiefs and Tapits and Curlins, with a body of work that will only ever be matched by a tiny percentage of the dozens of rookies starting up every spring.

Those featured in the previous instalment, “Through The Crossroads,” already verge on this status. Now we move onto the real veterans, who have carved out a sustainable niche for themselves despite perennial competition, not least on their own farms, from lavishly promoted new rivals.

The nature of this particular beast, along with the compression of the format this year, means that we will inevitably be rounding up some of the usual suspects. No apologies for that. If we reckoned a horse to be both proven and well-priced last year, then something pretty dramatic will need to have happened to alter that perception, whether for better or worse.

Tragically, the most dramatic change of all has claimed English Channel, Malibu Moon and Bernardini since we included them, last year, in a wider survey of those who had contributed more to the breed than was implied by their fees. Their loss reminds us, however, how very precious are those stallions that do replicate their prowess and how very irresponsible it is to neglect them in favor of smooth-talking freshmen, almost invariably here today and gone tomorrow.

As it is, one or two of our favorites have actually seen their fees come down again for the coming season. If they have for once lacked the kind of headline horse that can cover a multitude of sins, especially among sires with more industrial books, then they have made no such descent in our esteem. After all, if there's one thing we all find hard to mend, it's obstinacy!

Good luck to you all in '22.

Bubbling under: It has been inevitable for a long time now and Lookin at Lucky must finally accept that his Ashford buddy Munnings has disappeared over the horizon. They started out together, a decade ago, but somehow Munnings was always credited with a glamor that nobody would ever grant to poor old Lookin at Lucky. That has steadily told in both the size and quality of their books, which last spring weighed in at 217 and 80, respectively, to the point that one has now soared to $85,000, while the other dwindles to $15,000.

Lookin at Lucky has long been burdened with a self-fulfilling reputation as supposedly not being a “sales horse.” Even way back when he was champion freshman by winners, at a stunning 29 from 44 starters, it was Munnings who doubled his next book to enter the national top six, while Lookin at Lucky trod water at 115 (from 121). Since then, of course, Lookin at Lucky has sired winners of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic (with only Monomoy Girl {Tapizar} denying Grade I winner Wow Cat {Chi} the double in the GI Distaff on the same card). But nothing he does ever seems to make any difference. He'd be an annual podium lock, strictly for end-users, but they have enough sense to accept that we can't keep using up a step for a horse whose commercial treatment is so stubbornly short-sighted.

Suffice to say that while the relative volume and quality of their support has gradually told in black-type action, even a stallion as avowedly splendid as Munnings still can't separate himself from Lookin at Lucky by their Grade I/overall graded stakes ratios. His fee now, if an insult to the horse himself and a rebuke to the marketplace, is conversely a gift to anyone in the business of breeding a runner. You couldn't prove a mare more economically.

Another we've long admired is Midnight Lute, who retains a fee of $15,000 after producing a fourth Grade I winner in 2020 and a fifth in 2021. Smooth Like Strait, moreover, was only caught by half a length when trying to add the GI Breeders' Cup Mile. The Hill 'n' Dale sire has long made plain that there's far more to him than Midnight Bisou, with 38 graded stakes performers overall, and one-in-10 of his named foals making the grade as stakes horses.

Sky Mesa beats even that lifetime clip. The Three Chimneys veteran had a quiet year by his standards, but those are ridiculously high for a $12,500 cover.

Bronze: MIDSHIPMAN (Unbridled's Song–Fleet Lady, by Avenue Of Flags), $10,000, Darley

What an incredible nugget of a horse this is. After eight years, his fee has finally inched back up (from $7,500) in some small testament to his metronomic production of stakes horses from basement covers. All he needs is that breakout Grade I success, but he's getting ever closer–Royal Ship (Brz) having been foiled by a head in the Hollywood Gold Cup and Special Reserve by half a length in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt.

That pair featured among 21 stakes performers for Midshipman in 2021, contributing to a lifetime percentage of 13.5% of named foals, a match for Medaglia d'Oro among many others. Okay, so he can't reach the higher grades quite as often, but that's hardly surprising when his studmate is getting mares deserving of a six-figure cover.

This is a great example of one of the game's mighty empires really looking after the little guy. Midshipman, reliably ticking over three-figure books deep in his career, is a half-brother to the dam of Frosted but their mother is out of a Roberto half-sister to a very good horse in Europe. Remember Midshipman was a top-class juvenile on synthetics, and with his mixed pedigree he can get you any kind.

This year, moreover, he moved up his yearlings to $48,671 from $33,236. Midshipman will never let you down, and it's only a matter of time before a small breeder in Kentucky gratefully pulls that first Grade I winner out of the pack.

Silver: BLAME (Arch–Liable, by Seeking The Gold)

$20,000, Claiborne

Oh, will somebody please give this guy a break! I feel sorry for the horse and sorry for the farm. How is it that a stallion who has rallied so well from tough times, elevating his ninth crop of yearlings to an average of $124,402 (from $57,884 in 2020), must take a cut from $30,000?

A year ago even that fee looked the best value around to me, based on his overall body of work, so what are we to make of this new tag? Sure, Blame had a pretty quiet year by his standards, with only a couple of graded stakes winners. But that's no surprise, given that his available footprint was so narrow. His current sophomores graduate from the book that represented his nadir, when he slumped to just 48 mares (from 105) in 2017. That crisis required his fee to be halved from $25,000 to $12,500, and breeders took their cue by promptly restoring him to 112 mares in 2018.

In the myopic world we live in, doubtless there were limits to how much encouragement they had found in the fact that his breakout first Classic success, the previous year, should have been over in France. But he promptly added two Grade I winners on dirt from the same crop, only his third. Since then Blame has mustered two more elite winners from the book preceding his 2017 blip: the brilliant but luckless Nadal, a millionaire in just four starts and alertly picked up by Shadai for a stud career; as well as another turf filly in Abscond.

Despite his aristocratic pedigree and exemplary record, on and off the track, in his whole stud career Blame has never received more than 119 mares. No doubt people have been diffident, albeit childishly so, about a son of Arch who reached his peak in his third campaign. Unsurprisingly, as such, his latest fee cut presumably reflects the fact that last spring his book suffered one of its sporadic dips, to 69. But his superb performance at the yearling sales suggests that he has really seized the chance he created for himself in turning round his 2017 crisis. It also suggests that those who stick with him now can expect his upgrading stock to renew his momentum, on the racetrack, by the time foals conceived this coming spring reach the sales ring.

So he's actually a feasible commercial proposition, at this fee–quite apart from the fact that his lifetime output identifies him as outstanding value for any persisting in so quaint a pursuit as trying to breed a runner.

Even in what we know was always going to be a limited year, Blame has had eight stakes winners. He's had a juvenile filly beaten barely half a length for a Grade I, his tiny sophomore group still included a group winner who flew into fourth of 19 in the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club, and his black-type and graded-stakes action has maintained a ratio that measures up to, well, Uncle Mo for a start! (And beats many other expensive stallions.)

That's just what we know to expect of Blame, whose output across all indices is as consistent as many a more expensive stallion. To sample just a few established names too excellent to be embarrassed by the comparison, across-the-board Blame can match or surpass the ratios for stakes winners/performers, graded stakes winners/performers and Grade I winners/performers of Candy Ride (Arg), More Than Ready, Munnings, Twirling Candy, Street Sense and Kitten's Joy. In individual categories, moreover, he can match even more expensive and prestigious stallions.

I don't really know what else he's supposed to do. Remember that this was a nine-for-13 winner of nearly $4.4 million, with nine consecutive triple-figure Beyers, whose grand-dam is a half-sister to Nureyev and Fairy Bridge. He presents Thong and Courtly Dee opposite each other as third dams of his respective parents.

Maybe that's not enough for you, but anyone who wants to breed a runner–as well, of course, as anyone who might be inclined to retain a filly–will remain extremely happy to take the Blame.

Gold: HARD SPUN (Danzig—Turkish Tryst by Turkoman)

$35,000, Darley

Okay, so Knicks Go has put Paynter in there, too. But this is going to be Hard Spun's third consecutive year in the top 10 of the general sires' list, which is otherwise populated by stallions available in 2022 at $250,000, $75,000, $175,000, $100,000, $90,000, $185,000 and $160,000. He's the parting gift of a breed-changing patriarch, and this year sired his 11th and 12th domestic Grade I winners (to add to three in Australia) in races as resonant as the GI Met Mile and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.

So how is Hard Spun still available at a fraction of the cost of his peers? Well, as usual, fees must refer to the market and a yearling average of $80,353 limits how far Hard Spun can be elevated in line with his achievements. While that's a perfectly respectable yield, and he has never missed a beat in terms of subscription, I guess that the fact he doesn't get the most precocious stock will always make some commercial breeders nervous.

Yet to add to his resume the fastest horse at a Breeders' Cup staged round the dizzy turns of Del Mar just confirms his versatility. Short, long; dirt, turf, and everything in between. His top earner is a turf sprinter in Australia, and he's had a winner of the sharpest group test in Europe, down the five-furlong ramp at Goodwood. He's had two-turn dirt machines like Questing (GB) and Smooth Roller. Spun To Run made all in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, Hard Not To Love scythed them down in the GI La Brea. Already, moreover, he's showing huge promise as an international broodmare sire. His daughters have so far given us the likes of Good Magic (Curlin), Japanese sprint star Danon Smash (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and, in Europe this year, dual Group 1 miler Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never).

It all stands to reason. Though he later landed the GI King's Bishop over seven, Hard Spun held out for second in the GI Kentucky Derby after setting a pace that left the eventual winner, third and fourth, respectively, in 19th, 13th and 20th after half a mile. He complements Danzig with Darby Dan royalty down the bottom line. His granddam was a Roberto half-sister to Little Current (Sea-Bird {Fr}), while the fourth dam produced two farm legends (both by Swaps) in Chateaugay and Primonetta. True, his damsire offers little more than substance, but that hasn't stopped his stakes-winning half-sister from freshening up the page as second dam of multiple Grade I winner Improbable (City Zip).

Hard Spun was standing at $60,000 before he took a year in Hokkaido, and has somehow never quite recovered from being nearly halved in fee for his Kentucky relaunch despite dominating the fourth-crop sires' table during his absence (ahead of Street Sense, English Channel and Scat Daddy). He's always been class, always been value. And anyone who prefers to spend this kind of money on an unproven sire might as well wear a baseball hat bearing the words: Gimme Fast Bucks, Not Fast Horses.

The post Value Sires for ’22: Part VIII: Established Stallions appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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