Honor Roll Presented By Kentucky-Breds: Kentucky Downs Stakes Winner Private Creed ‘A Gentleman Of A Horse’ For Mason Springs

Private Creed has quickly emerged as one of North America's leading 2-year-old turf sprinters, including a breakthrough victory in the listed Global Tote Juvenile Sprint Stakes at Kentucky Downs in September and a third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

A year earlier, he caught the eyes of Marcus and Crystal Ryan in the back ring of the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, setting into motion the series of events that made him one of the young stars of the turf.

Based in Aiken, S.C., the Mason Springs operation has seen its reputation grow by leaps and bounds in recent years as a breaking and 2-year-old sales operation, and the horses they bought at last year's September sale have had a big hand in continuing that upwarougrd trend.

The Ryans met Private Creed at the Keeneland September sale when he was known only as Hip 3347, selling late in the marathon auction. Bred in Kentucky and consigned at the sale by Sierra Farm, the Jimmy Creed colt is out of the stakes-winning Sky Mesa mare South Andros.

“He was just a big, strong looking horse in the back ring,” Marcus Ryan said. “A little excited, but he looked like he was fast, and he looked like he could go long. He looked like a perfect buy on the day, in our price range, of course.”

The Ryans purchased the colt for $45,000, and made him part of the roughly 25 horses they'd have in training to start racing the following year, between horses destined for the sales and those headed straight to the track for clients.

Ryan said Private Creed had a colic surgery on his record prior to the sale that might have scared off potential buyers at a higher price bracket, but they were willing to take the chance after getting a passing grade from their veterinarian.

“He came down to the farm, and he was the same as everyone else,” Ryan said. “He just worked along with him, did a lot of field and hill work with him. My dad came over in the spring and complimented him, and said he was a beautiful horse. Everybody that rode him loved him.”

Mason Springs sent 11 horses to this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which was the most they'd ever brought to the May auction. Private Creed wasn't necessarily a standout among the group heading into the sale, but he generated some buzz after the under-tack show, where he covered an eighth of a mile in 10 3/5 seconds.

The Mason Springs team at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

“Did we think he was going to win first time out, and do what he's been doing? Probably not at the time,” Ryan said. “We didn't drill on him real fast, but we did give him a lot of galloping. When he was at the sales and he had a good gallop-out, and everyone came to see him, we knew we were going to do well.”

Private Creed went to Mike McCarty for $115,000, which was the second-biggest price for the consignment at that year's Midlantic sale. The colt was put in the barn of trainer Steve Asmussen for his on-track career.

The colt debuted at Ellis Park on July 30, and he took a 5 1/2-furlong turf race by 1 1/4 lengths. He followed up that effort with a third-place finish in the Skidmore Stakes on Aug. 19 in Saratoga.

Private Creed then shipped to Kentucky Downs for the $500,000 Global Tote Juvenile Sprint Stakes, where he was the second betting choice behind heavy favorite Sharp Aza Tack.

Under jockey Joel Rosario, Private Creed sat a couple lengths off the leaders from four paths wide in the 6 1/2-furlong race, then they staged a bold move to the inside once they entered the long straightaway. He split between foes and engaged in a stretch duel with Sharp Aza Tack before drawing away by three-quarters of a length at the wire.

Private Creed had a similar trip in his next start, the listed Indian Summer Stakes on Oct. 9 at Keeneland, which he also won by three-quarters of a length, establishing the colt as one of the top contenders for the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at the same track.

Though he has achieved national-level prominence on the grass, Private Creed's success on the surface came as something of a surprise to Ryan from where the colt started.

“When we had him, I thought he was going to be more of a dirt horse, but he moved really easy,” Ryan said. “You have to try it, and he did well on it.”

The surface preference might have been a surprise, but Ryan said Private Creed handled himself like a horse that could do important things, and he was grateful for what the colt has achieved.

“He was a gentleman of a horse,” Ryan said. “He was a big, kind horse that was willing to please. He's taken us places we cannot go on our own.”

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Honor Roll Presented By Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund: Turnerloose Was An Under-The-Radar Star From Sales Ring To Kentucky Downs Winner’s Circle

For owners looking to make a quick return on investment from a horse they purchased at auction, few options stand above Kentucky Downs when it comes to the depth of opportunities and the size of the purses up for grabs.

Ike and Dawn Thrash experienced this first-hand in 2021 when Turnerloose, a $50,000 purchase at the previous year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale, won the $500,000 Aristrocrat Juvenile Stakes at Kentucky Downs in just her second start.

For the Thrashes, owners of the Mississippi-based real estate development company The Thrash Group, the dividend was a hands-on success. The couple shops the sales on their own, and aside from a thumbs-up or thumbs-down from veterinarian Scott Hay after physical inspections, they make the final calls on which horses to pursue and buy once they hit the auction ring.

Over the course of three decades in the Thoroughbred industry, the Thrashes have had several big hits on the racetrack, including Grade 1 winners Line of David, Tell a Kelly, and Her Emmynency.

Their entry into racing was not the big splash at auction that many high-level owners start with, but a quartet of free horses they received as payment instead of cash to settle a debt in the early 1990s. Those horses were nothing spectacular, but it confirmed their long-term interest and commitment to the sport.

“If this were truly the sport of kings, I doubt they would let me into it,” Ike Thrash said. “We have been very fortunate with the horses we've had, but we have always played with a reasonable budget. When we get the predictable phone call that a horse is sick or hurt, or simply can't run, we just turn the page. We don't believe that a horse has to cost $1 million to compete.”

Turnerloose, a Nyquist filly out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Goaltending, entered the Thrashes field of vision early on in the 2020 Keeneland September sale, offered as Hip 1787 out of the Woodford Thoroughbreds consignment. The filly was bred in Kentucky by William Humphries and Altair Farms.

“We really, especially Dawn, always look at the individual first as to how they're made and how they walk,” Ike Thrash said. “After that, we look at breeding. We thought Nyquist would be a great new sire, and we liked that she was out of an A.P. Indy mare.”

The hammer fell for the Thrashes at $50,000, which at the time, they thought was an incredible bargain. Thrash said he expected he'd have to pay three times that amount to secure the filly.

Turnerloose was placed in the barn of Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, and she was preparing for her debut start with his string at Ellis Park. Her first start was a one-mile maiden special weight victory over the turf at Ellis Park, where she was engaged near the front throughout the race, and drew off to win by a length.

In hindsight, Turnerloose's debut went exactly as they'd drawn it up. At the time, Cox and the Thrashes just needed a race for their filly.

“I would love to say it was a stroke of genius on somebody's part, but it was strictly the way the condition book was written at Ellis Park,” Thrash said. “We either had to run five furlongs on the dirt or a mile on the grass. Brad figured she would at least like the distance.”

The team had a horse that they knew could handle the turf. Ellis Park is a popular place to prep for the turf-only Kentucky Downs meet, and Thrash knew that it takes the right horse getting good at the right time to take advantage of the boutique meet in southern Kentucky.

The Aristrocrat Juvenile Stakes appeared to be a “right place, right time” scenario for Turnerloose.

“You are always aware of a $500,000 race that early,” Thrash said. “We ran in that race twice before, with Cecile's Chapter and Katie's Reward. You really have only one shot to get there. They have to break their maiden in one or two starts.”

It was a small target, and Turnerloose hit it dead-center, drawing away early, and winning the one-mile race by five lengths under jockey Florent Geroux.

Turnerloose followed up that effort with a third-place finish in the G2 Jessamine Stakes at Keeneland, then she ran in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar.

The filly tried racing on dirt for the first time in her 3-year-old debut, and she racked up a victory in the G2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes en route to a start in this year's Kentucky Oaks.

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PR Back Ring Book 1, Keeneland September: Which Stallion-Making Races Make The Best Stallions?

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ISSUE OF THE PR BACK RING

The latest issue of the PR Back Ring is now online, looking ahead to Book 1 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

The PR Back Ring is the Paulick Report's bloodstock newsletter, released ahead of, and during, every major North American Thoroughbred auction. Seeking to expand beyond the usual pdf presentation, the Back Ring offers a dynamic experience for bloodstock content, heavy on visual elements and statistics to appeal to readers on all platforms, especially mobile devices.

Here is what's inside this issue…

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ISSUE OF THE PR BACK RING

  • Lead Feature Presented By Gainesway: Meredith Daugherty polls the decision-makers at major Kentucky stallion operations about which Grade 1 races for 3-year-olds hold the most weight when assessing potential stallion prospects.
  • Stallion Spotlight: Sean Tugel of Gaineseway discusses young sire Karakontie, who is getting notable winners on both surfaces.
  • Honor Roll Presented By Keeneland: Breeder Sabrina Moore reflects on the journey Knicks Go has taken from a $40,000 yearling at the Keeneland September sale to an earner of more than $5.3 million.
  • Ask Your Insurer Presented By Muirfield Insurance: Bryce Burton of Muirfield Insurance goes into the details of covering yearlings, including notable dates and endorsements.
  • Second-Crop Sire Watch: Stallions whose second crops of yearlings are represented in the Keeneland September catalog, including the number of horses cataloged and the farm where the stallion is currently advertised.

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ISSUE OF THE PR BACK RING

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PR Back Ring Keeneland September Preview: Tony Lacy’s Jump Into The Deep End

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ISSUE OF THE PR BACK RING

The latest issue of the PR Back Ring is now online, ahead of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

The PR Back Ring is the Paulick Report's bloodstock newsletter, released ahead of, and during, every major North American Thoroughbred auction. Seeking to expand beyond the usual pdf presentation, the Back Ring offers a dynamic experience for bloodstock content, heavy on visual elements and statistics to appeal to readers on all platforms, especially mobile devices.

Here is what's inside this issue…

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ISSUE OF THE PR BACK RING

  • Lead Feature Presented By Gainesway: An in-depth conversation with Tony Lacy, Keeneland's new vice president of sales, about his duties in the position, his vision for the future of the auction company in the short-term and long-term, and his expectations for the upcoming Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
  • Stallion Spotlight: Claiborne Farm's Walker Hancock discusses Catholic Boy, a dual-surface Grade 1 winner whose first foals are weanlings of 2021.
  • Lesson Horses Presented By John Deere Equine Discount Program: Arapahoe Park announcer Jonathan Horowitz and Ashley Horowitz of Super G Sporthorses each explain the unique ways that the ever-patient Churchita has taught them about life.
  • Honor Roll Presented By Keeneland: It didn't take long for Sheikh Hamdan Al-Maktoum of Shadwell Farm to decide he wanted the $1.05-million Malathaat at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, and the filly has lived up to her late owner's confidence in spades on the racetrack.
  • Ask Your Veterinarian Presented By Kentucky Performance Products: Dr. Scott Fleming of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital explains the causes and issues of flat soles on the Thoroughbred foot, and the different methods of managing them.
  • First-Crop Sire Watch: Stallions whose first crops of yearlings are represented in the Keeneland September catalog, including the number of horses cataloged and the farm where the stallion is currently advertised.

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ISSUE OF THE PR BACK RING

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