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Rachel Alexandra’s Half-Brother Wooderson to Stand in Arkansas

Wooderson (Awesome Again–Lotta Kim, by Roar), a half-brother to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro), will enter stud at Burdette Thoroughbred Farm in Arkansas in 2021. The deal was brokered by Chad Schumer of Schumer Bloodstock.

Bred by Dede McGehee’s Heaven Trees Farm, Wooderson was a $400,000 purchase out of the 2016 Keeneland September Sale, the co-highest priced yearling for his sire in 2016. Trained by Todd Pletcher for Let’s Go Stable, the bay was a three-time winner from 10 starts, including a runner-up effort to future MGISW and Horse of the Year candidate Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike) in the 2019 Alydar S. at Saratoga.

A stud fee will be announced at a later date.

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Cauthen Brings Consistent Blend to Volatile World

Really, nobody can demand respect. It has to be commanded. This business has plenty of people who shout their achievements from the rooftops of social media. They have done their own reckoning, and that doesn’t necessarily incline the rest of us to reinforce their self-esteem. How much more impressive, surely, is the understated, week-by-week accretion of laurels by a man like Doug Cauthen.

He is always reluctant to “claim” credit for a particular horse, knowing that the fulfilment of its potential is always divided between so many different hands. Even so, during the past 12 days alone, Cauthen’s counsel has at least contributed to a second consecutive winner of the GIII Schuylerville S., on opening day at Saratoga; to an outsized afternoon for the boutique program of Peter Blum, who was denied a 30-minute Grade I double by a head when Crystal Ball (Malibu Moon) just failed to add the Coaching Club American Oaks to the TVG.com Haskell success of Authentic (Into Mischief); and then, on Saturday, to a Grade I breakthrough by the explosive Volatile (Violence) in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H.

“It was very exciting,” Cauthen says. “When Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) broke out of the gate, that was a bit of a heart attack–you’re never sure who it is, in the instant that happens, and then you’re anxious that everyone is okay before reloading. But Volatile was amazing, and kept his cool. Yes, it was a pretty manageable first quarter, but for any horse to finish off a Grade I in under :23 is pretty rare. Not many horses can do that, especially on the dirt.”

Characteristically, Cauthen plays down his role in the purchase of the new sprinting sensation. He’s an advisory board member at Three Chimneys, who co-purchased Volatile at the Keeneland September Sale of 2017, along with Phoenix Thoroughbreds. As always, Cauthen had diligently worked the catalog: he has different clients, operating at different levels and with different agendas. If asked about one at the 11th hour, he wants to be prepared. And here was one that came into play a little later that that, even.

“Goncalo [Borges Torrealba, the farm chairman] asked me what I thought about the horse shortly before he was going through,” Cauthen recalls. “Kerri Radcliffe had reached out to him, saying she was keen to get him for Phoenix. I endorsed him pretty strongly to Goncalo. He’s so good-looking, I’d think almost anybody would like him a lot. He was by a hot first-year sire out of a nice mare, and physically he was a wonderful blend of precocity, but with scope: he has length, and leverage and he’s good-sized. And those horses–the great-looking ones, with great pedigree, that move with a purpose–are always going to be expensive.

“I’d hoped he might cost around $600,000-$650,000, but he ended up at $850,000. Actually, getting him bought was mostly about Goncalo being brave and decisive at the sales. He can make a quick decision and go with it and has always seen the sense in partnering with others when you have to go ‘all-in’ to get one. Goncalo believes in quality and backs up his belief with actions. Phoenix was pretty brave too.”

Cauthen says wryly that they had a couple of years to worry about the price, but even the most-expensive son of his sire now turns out to have been well bought.

“Steve Asmussen and his team have shown tremendous patience and confidence,” he says. “As a 2-year-old, the horse had a soft tissue strain, so they never got him until he was three. When he debuted, he was impressive; and he looked special when he won at Churchill in the fall, only to have a minor setback. But through it all, Steve believed; and has handled him like the Hall of Famer that he is.”

The Cauthen Way…

Dealing with trainers, dealing with partners: this horse is typical of the way Cauthen likes to work. For the whole ethos is collaborative. Very often he’ll work in conjunction with managers or other advisers already integral to a program.

And while his surname is itself a virtual guarantee of horsemanship–his brothers Steve and Kerry having likewise carved out reputations in the industry that honor their grounding by parents Tex and Myra–it’s worth remembering that Cauthen trained as a lawyer, and indeed practiced for a while before returning to the world into which he was born. For his various patrons surely see him in a similar mold: as the diligent expert who briefs them on the strategy most likely, come judgment day, to gain a favorable verdict.

Because of the diversity of his client list, and the corresponding spectrum of roles they ask him to perform, Cauthen has a dynamic sense of the way different plates of the industry lock together; and the efficiencies available between them. So where most of us would simply admire a beautiful house, he will see through the stonework to the beams holding it all together.

He operates his consultancy as the equivalent of an asset management company.

“The difference being just that the asset is not a stock, but a horse,” he explains. “My legal background likely helps, as it introduced another layer of analytical thinking to a business that’s sometimes so rich in tradition that we never look for change. Obviously, the primary focus for anyone will be to breed and/or buy top-level horses. But how we get there is individualized, based on the client’s mares, budget and their target goals.”

Ultimately, he can boil it all down to two simple words: “added value”. It’s simply a question of applying business sense, and breadth of experience, to an ever-changing environment.

“We don’t try to reinvent the wheel, or turn operations upside down,” Cauthen says. “We just evaluate current protocols and procedures and, if and when appropriate, make suggestions or tweaks: whether to matings, or horse preparation, or sales placement, or race management, or the purchasing of mares, yearlings and 2-year-olds. But what really helps is that we don’t operate in a silo. Knowing multiple programs allows us to see what works best, and either to borrow ideas or see how different elements might work together in a fresh way.”

A Man Who Wears Many Hats..

Three Chimneys, admittedly, is a client with many different dimensions. And the action, as a result, is across the board: from Volatile to another stellar talent in ‘TDN Rising Star’ Guarana (Ghostzapper), who recently won her third Grade I in the Madison S.; from the breeding of GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Structor, by farm stallion Palace Malice out of a mare Cauthen recommended as a 2-year-old, to Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) himself.

“Being part of recommending, negotiating, and helping the Torrealba family secure the Besilu package has proven to be exactly the kind of foundational move we all hoped,” Cauthen says of the transfusion that produced a Horse of the Year. “I’ve really enjoyed helping to build their broodmare band, and the collaboration among the program owner and other advisors–in this case, with Goncalo, with Dr. Steve Jackson, Chris Baker and Case Clay.”

The farm’s willingness to engage with others is not just confined to back-ring deals of the type that landed Volatile. Partnerships also oiled the wheels of stallion recruitment with Will Take Charge (Unbridled’s Song) and Palace Malice (Curlin)–the former with Willis Horton, the latter with Dogwood–and indeed the co-breeding of Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy) or the co-owned Restless Rider (Distorted Humor). Gun Runner, of course, was raced in partnership with Ron Winchell.

But if his association with a top-class stallion farm calls on the same kind of affinity he demonstrated in helping WinStar become an industry leader, during a decade as farm president (2001-2010), Cauthen relishes working with programs at every level; and operating from every perspective.

Peter Blum’s remarkable success the previous Saturday was a perfect example: here’s a program where Cauthen has never viewed himself as more than a helpful extra cog in what was already an intelligently assembled machine. Though Blum himself has publicly thanked Cauthen for recommending the matings that produced both Authentic and Crystal Ball, that esteem is warmly reciprocated. Both men, moreover, emphasize that the backbone remains Bridie Harrison, who has long been involved with raising and selling all Blum’s stock.

“Peter has an abundance of knowledge and a proven feel for the game,” Cauthen says. “And I’ve learned a lot from him. His historical perspective of racing and breeding is so insightful, and I really appreciate and enjoy the opportunity to work with him. Peter has an innate sense of when to ‘go strong’ on a stallion, and breed as many mares as we can get to him. Several times we’ve been fortunate to ride the wave, as up-and-coming sires hit their stride: Candy Ride, Into Mischief, Quality Road, Uncle Mo. We just add eyes and ears, research, and collaboration to the process. Bridie does such a great job. It has become known as an operation that buyers trust to produce runners, because they know they are bred and raised right.”

In the same way, albeit in different directions, Cauthen feels that he has learned much from Anthony Manganaro and his Siena Farm team. Modesty aside, however, it is Cauthen who must accept credit for recommending a $50,000 claim for a 4-year-old filly named Gottahaveadream (Indian Charlie). It was the one and only time she ran for a tag, after failing to break her maiden in nine attempts. She put that straight a couple of starts later, and it was her Into Mischief filly–Dayoutoftheoffice, co-owned by trainer Tim Hamm and Siena–who followed up a debut success at Gulfstream in the Schuylerville.

“Anthony has such a zest for doing things better,” Cauthen says. “When you look at Siena’s success, you can see how he has been rewarded for consistently creating incremental improvements to the program. Again, for a smaller, boutique operation, their results are outstanding. Their motto is ‘where tradition embraces innovation’ and that couldn’t be more true. They are open to ideas, they embrace technology, and I’ve certainly learned as much as I’ve shared there.”

Point Of Honor (Curlin) and Wicked Whisper (Liam’s Map) are just the latest Grade I graduates of a program that has produced far too many stakes winners to list here )though Tesora {Scat Daddy} merits a mention, out of a mare recommended by Cauthen as an $8,000 claim at Golden Gate Fields). Again, Cauthen finds the teamwork especially fulfilling, relishing the breadth and analysis brought to the equation by farm manager Nacho Patino and president David Pope.

“It’s amazing to see the growth and development in their yearling crop from April to September each year,” he marvels. “That shows great horsemanship, great land, and a great blend of tradition and technology. Their results speak for them loud and clear.”

Maintaining and Building Relationships…

Cauthen found the Schuylerville equally enjoyable last year, when Comical (Into Mischief) enriched a long association with her breeder Bill Casner (and his wife Susan). Both men have moved on since their days at WinStar, but Casner still has a dozen mares on a farm he developed in a partnership–dissolved in 2010–with Kenny Troutt; and Cauthen assists with the matings and management of the Casner herd.

“Bill still keeps a couple of homebreds each year to race, but has become more of a commercial breeder recently,” he explains. “He’s another one who is always trying to improve every year. Collaborating with him has been a life lesson of always searching for better ways to do things. For instance, in using new medical knowledge to help horses: Bill helped pioneer the use of progressive therapies like the hyperbaric chamber, stem cells, and vibration plates, now standard across the country.”

Comical was subsequently placed twice at Grade I level, while the same crop yielded a useful colt in Texas Swing (Curlin), last seen placing in the GII Tampa Bay Derby. He was actually also purchased at auction by Cauthen for Harrell Ventures as a yearling, one of several free-lance sale orders that have resulted in graded stakes success.

Another client who goes all the way back to Cauthen’s departure from WinStar is Marie Jones, keeping up the legacy of her late husband, Aaron. Once again, Cauthen dovetails his contribution with her existing stalwarts at Taylor Made Farm, where all the mares and their progeny are boarded and raised. The program routinely produces Book I yearlings such as the Medaglia d’Oro filly out of Gloryzapper (Ghostzapper) who made $1.1 million last September; and graded stakes horses in corresponding volume. Cauthen works closely with Jones and Frank Taylor, on mare selection, matings, evaluations and even sales reserves.

“Mrs. Jones was the first outside person to call me, once Katie and I started our consulting business, and I will be forever grateful for her support over the years,” Cauthen says.

One important dividend came in the very first year of his involvement, when Speightstown’s precious dam Silken Cat (Storm Cat) was in the wars.

“She had not carried a foal the prior year, and was having chronic trouble with her feet due to a prior bout of laminitis,” Cauthen recalls. “I suggested stem cell therapy for her feet, thanks to my Bill Casner connection; Frank concurred, and it was fairly miraculous for the mare. Not only did it help thicken her hoof sole, and give her renewed mobility and great comfort, she also got in foal and produced an exceptional Tiznow filly, who sold for $1.75 million.”

Three years later, moreover, she produced a brother to that filly who became Irap, winner of nearly $1.7 million.

Familiarity with the perspectives of farms like WinStar and Three Chimneys has also helped Cauthen in yet another string to his bow: stallion placement. He worked for the Whitham family, for instance, in securing a home for McCraken (Ghostzapper) and Fort Larned (E Dubai); supervised the purchase, placement and syndication of Dialed In (Mineshaft) at Darby Dan, working with his friend (and one-time WinStar colleague) Robert Hammond; and is currently engaged in seeking a platform for Sadler’s Joy (Kitten’s Joy), once the Grade I winner of over $2.5 million retires from racing. (Cauthen also does matings work for owners Rene and Lauren Woolcott of Woodslane Farm.)

There are times, in underpinning parallel operations, when Cauthen finds they can engage quite seamlessly. Dual Grade II winner Rainha Da Bateria (Broken Vow), for instance, was a yearling purchase recommended to Three Chimneys; became a graded stakes winner/Grade I-placed; and was then sold privately, as the farm program prioritized dirt, to another cherished client, the Lael Stable of Roy and Gretchen Jackson. A “win-win”, as such, for both entities: she went on to win two more Grade IIs for Lael.

With Lael, as ever, the approach is holistic: mating advice; evaluation of young stock; a close relationship with trainer Arnaud Delacour; and, likewise, with the team at Denali (where the mares board), including another trusted old WinStar colleague in Gary Bush.

“The focus is on developing homebreds, but they do buy a few yearlings annually,” Cauthen says. “The first horse I ever bought with them was Exaggerated, a very fast Blame filly who won multiple stakes with Arnaud. In her first year as a mare, she went to Divining Rod (Tapit) in Maryland, who the Jacksons bred and raced, and now support at stud. The Pons brothers at Country Life Farm got over 100 mares to him his first year, and I’m looking forward to seeing the resulting yearlings at the sales this year.

“Chalon (Dialed In) has also been a fun one for Lael. She’s such a tenacious mare, always tries, and had the [GI] Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint won just that one jump from the wire. But until they get a few more Grade I winners to their credit, I won’t be satisfied with our efforts for the Jacksons: they are the kind of people you admire, and you only want success after success for them.”

Always A Student of the Business…

And that is Cauthen to the marrow. Fulfilment, satisfaction: these are not filtered through his own ego, but vicariously through his clients. As such, in this game of ups and downs, he remains an even, temperate presence. But that, in itself, does shed some light on what makes this discreet, understated gentleman tick. Just listen to the way Cauthen talks about working so closely with his clients’ various trainers.

“I’ve learned different things from all of them,” he says. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about the many skilled horsemen who break and do early training, or those who do lay-ups and therapy work, or all the Hall of Famers and other great trainers I’ve been fortunate to work with–you can’t help but learn something. Just by watching, and occasionally interjecting an idea or, more importantly, asking a question. You gain so much insight about how different horsemen attack different situations, different problems, in unique ways. There’s so much you can learn by observing, listening, asking relevant questions-rather than doing all the talking.”

And that, in a business where many are inclined to function in quite the reverse fashion, is surely the key to Cauthen’s success. Because from his own upbringing, at home, to his first racetrack experiences, rubbing horses for Laz Barrera and P.G. Johnson, it’s all old-school stuff. Putting the horse first; and working together; and working, period. Similarly, when brother Steve was gaining all those headlines, as the teenage rider of a Triple Crown winner and then taking Europe by storm, he was always able to keep his bearings.

“For sure,” Cauthen says. “Our parents really focused on family, and a strong work ethic. And, always, listen to the horse. What are they trying to tell us? I tend to think a lot about things; some would say, too much. But it’s part of my process. While I always want to improve, I doubt I can or should change that process; maybe I can just speed it up! The rest, I think, is just putting in the work; and taking care of the horse, which often requires patience.

“I think Bill Casner said it best. Once you’ve worked on the racetrack, everything else is easy. That’s really true. Working with horses, you understand how much work goes into every single one of them, and how many different hands touch them, for success to occur; and how lucky we are to be working with these animals we love. So it’s a win-win.”

The industry’s sense of kinship with the whole clan now extends to a day-to-day involvement, in the consultancy, of Cauthen’s wife Katie.

“She has a keen eye for horseflesh, and helps tremendously when we’re trying to look at a lot of horses at the bigger sales,” Cauthen says. “She does a small pinhooking program each year, under the DCTM banner, and picked out King Guillermo (Uncle Mo) at the September Sale last year. She also advised on the private purchase of an interest in Bowies Hero (Artie Schiller) before his first of two Grade I wins, and buys maiden mares for a client with an eye to breeding and reselling them.

“We don’t buy a high volume of horses at auction, but enough to give us reason to look at as many as humanly possible. That works out well, as we’ve said, in a case like Volatile. But it also helps us get better, every year, at identifying runners. We always look back and see what we thought of the graded runners and learn from that. It also particularly helps in doing matings, because we’ve seen so many by each stallion: we understand their strengths and weaknesses, the tendencies they throw towards.”

Just one example, this, of what Cauthen means by “added value”–the nuances and angles gleaned from charting different folds of the overall landscape.

“The cross-pollination of ideas I get and give has its genesis from all the various experiences we get to see,” Cauthen concludes. “And we keep trying to get better. I may learn or see a therapy or technology or a training technique at one operation that can, if approved, be shared with and help another. Working with a cross-section of people, in diverse settings, has sometimes opened our eyes to better ways to do things.

“So hopefully we are viewed as traditional horsemen who seek and embrace new ideas, and better ways to accomplish the ultimate goal of producing and identifying superior athletes. I’ve really enjoyed helping to develop and/or refine different programs, big or small. That’s equally true, whether we’re making every decision or just helping to tweak things with others. When it works, it’s great to celebrate with all the folks involved.”

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Art Collector Puts Sire Back In the Frame

Maybe he was just born too beautiful, and too rich, to be setting the alarm every single morning and riding the same suburban train to work. He can leave the maximisation of income, the humdrum consistency, to lesser creatures. Like some aristocratic dilettante touched by genius, however, Bernardini (A.P. Indy) remains ever capable of producing a masterpiece.

The Darley stallion had lately become so slack–only two graded stakes winners in each of the past two years–that this spring he suffered his third consecutive cut, to just $40,000, having commanded a six-figure fee as recently as 2017. At the same time, however, he was emerging as a priceless option for breeders who might retain a filly for their broodmare band.

In a curious trade-off, the more Bernardini’s own runners lost momentum, the more precocious he has proved as a broodmare sire. But let’s not forget that we are still talking about the sire of 10 domestic Grade I winners (plus three in Australasia and one each in Dubai and Italy); and one who remains younger, at 17, than all 10 active sires who can match or better that tally. And now it might just have taken his fancy to pull a Derby winner out of his hat.

Wind back a month or so, and the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. was only going to confirm his recent direction of travel. Connections had decided that the scintillating Maxfield (Street Sense), who is out of a Bernardini mare, would sit out the GI Belmont S. and instead return to the track where he had last fall produced the standout juvenile performance of the year.

A couple of days later, however, Maxfield suffered the second untimely injury of his career–and hindsight makes it hard to believe he would not have won the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but for the first–and would miss not only the Blue Grass but also the postponed GI Kentucky Derby itself.

In his absence, last Saturday’s race drew a field of 13 including the adventurous filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil). She ran a fine second, but the authoritative winner–by 3 1/2 lengths, with the chasing pack of colts beaten almost another five–was a flourishing son of Bernardini.

Art Collector has really got on a roll since switching to dirt, getting better with experience and clearly thriving in the hands of Thomas Drury, Jr. On his previous start he had thrashed Shared Sense at Churchill and, while Art Collector controlled a light pace that day, the Godolphin colt (himself, like Maxfield, by Street Sense out of a Bernardini mare) reinforced the form three days before the Blue Grass by winning the GIII Indiana Derby.

Home-bred by Bruce Lunsford, Art Collector is the second foal of his GI Flower Bowl S. runner-up Distorted Legacy (Distorted Humor). (She was also beaten barely a length when just missing the podium in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf in 2011.) She is a half-sister to Grade II winner and millionaire Vision And Verse (Storm Cat), who also went close at the elite level, denied both the GI Belmont S. and GI Travers S. only by Lemon Drop Kid (Kingmambo).

Lunsford bred both from a mare he had acquired as a transfusion of noble Greentree blood. Bunting (Private Account) cost $500,000 at Keeneland November as a 3-year-old back in 1994: and little wonder, as she was not only Grade I-placed but also a grand-daughter of the Greentree matriarch Bebopper.

Bebopper was a Tom Fool half-sister to the dam of Buckaroo, the pair out of an imported half-sister to an Epsom Oaks winner. Her 11 winners, headed by Stop The Music and Hatchet Man (consecutive GII Dwyer S. winners, among other distinctions), also included a four-time winner by Hoist The Flag named Flag Waver.

Flag Waver can also be found as fourth dam of multiple Grade I winner Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat)–so ensuring a family echo, Stopchargingmaria being out of a mare by Buckaroo’s son Montbrook–but concerns us here as the dam of Bunting. It’s not hard to see the thinking: by Private Account out of a Hoist The Flag mare, Bunting represented the same model that had produced Hall of Famer Personal Ensign.

Now, as it happens, it was Personal Ensign’s daughter My Flag (Easy Goer) who ran down a daughter of Quiet American named Cara Rafaela to win the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies of 1995. That was one of five occasions on which Cara Rafaela finished second at Grade I level, but she did get the elite score she deserved–narrowly, in her ninth juvenile start–in the Hollywood Starlet S.

Cara Rafaela belonged to what turned out to be remarkably resonant first crop by her sire. Quiet American’s track career had given him limited early traction at stud: after a fruitless start in Europe, the son of Fappiano had got his act together in California too late to make an oversubscribed field for the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic–only to win the GI NYRA Mile H. (now the Cigar Mile) by five lengths in 1:32 4/5 the following weekend. Unfortunately he had to be retired after a single start at five, and dust gathered on his reputation while rival newcomers made their case to breeders over the rest of the year.

So it was quite something for just 32 named foals in his first crop to include three females as accomplished as champion Hidden Lake; Quiet Dance, later dam of one Horse of the Year in Saint Liam (Saint Ballado) and second dam of another in Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}); and Cara Rafaela.

Though her produce record was otherwise insipid, Cara Rafaela’s 2003 foal by A.P. Indy was a stunner. Unraced at two, Bernardini progressed quickly enough to join the Classic fray in the GI Preakness S., where his five-length success was tragically overshadowed by the Barbaro (Dynaformer) disaster. He secured due attention (and the sophomore championship) with processional wins in the GII Jim Dandy S., GI Travers S. and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, by an aggregate of 23 lengths, though was foiled by Invasor (Arg) (Candy Stripes) when bowing out at the Breeders’ Cup.

Bernardini, then, went to stud with a good deal more fanfare than his own sire, having earned $3 million in a career spanning less than a year. He was launched at $100,000, and for a couple of years managed to get up to $150,000 after his opening crops featured the likes of To Honor and Serve, Stay Thirsty and Alpha (the latter pair both emulating his Travers success). With his stock often stamped with his physical beauty, he also punched his weight at the sales. In 2014, his Keeneland September average was behind just Tapit and War Front; and he has always been a big hitter at juvenile auctions.

To be fair, then, any recent decline is from the highest of standards–which he is certainly meeting, meanwhile, as a broodmare sire.

Now we know this to be a sector dominated by veteran, pensioned or deceased stallions; and Bernardini’s daughters only opened his graded stakes account in 2016. (For the record, through Dark Nile (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GIII Delaware Oaks). By 2018, however, he was adding to his Travers resume with Catholic Boy (More Than Ready). And last year, no fewer than five of his daughters assembled Grade I laurels via Serengeti Empress (Alternation), Wicked Whisper (Liam’s Map), Hunter O’Riley (Tiz Wonderful), Dunbar Road (Quality Road) and, as noted, Maxfield. Auspiciously, a couple of these qualify as the best performer by their respective sires.

I’m not sure that anyone knows quite what makes a great broodmare sire. Is there some kind of physiological inheritance, conceivably one as practical as helping the nursing foal to thrive? Or should we sooner seek, paradoxically, some typically ‘masculine’ traits of physical or mental toughness?

Whatever the reason, I am convinced that compounded, proven distaff influences represent a far better foundation for a pedigree than the supposed alchemies flimsily peddled between given sire-lines. As I’m always saying, all pedigrees are a mesh of genetic strands and the only reason I can see for picking out just two, as somehow over-riding the rest, is the credulous hunger for a “formula.” You are surely better off seeking quality across a pedigree, so that it barely matters which strand comes through. And there’s no better way of doing that than through the copper-bottomed distaff “brands.”

For one thing, you often find that good broodmare sires are out of mares by good broodmares sires. The sires of Urban Sea and Toussaud, for instance, are both out of Buckpasser mares.

And while entire sire-lines are always being credited with a character that seldom bears coherent explanation, broodmare power is one strength that does seem to repeat between generations.

So you get clusters like Princequillo; his daughter Somethingroyal; her sons Secretariat and Sir Gaylord; and the latter’s sons Sir Ivor, Habitat and Drone. Or the Deputy Minister dynasty: sons to extend his distaff influence include Dehere, Touch Gold and Awesome Again, whose son Ghostzapper has a growing reputation in this sphere.

Of course, many top broodmare sires are top sires, period, like Storm Cat. But it is striking how often this dimension of their legacy comes into a different type of focus, as when American Pharoah emerged from a Yankee Gentleman mare.

Bernardini’s flying start as a broodmare sire is a classic example of entwined influences. His sire A.P. Indy, whose recent obituaries celebrated his own record as a broodmare sire, is out of a storied mare, Weekend Surprise, who combined the ultimate distaff brands of the era: she was by Secretariat out of a Buckpasser mare whose own dam was by Secretariat’s half-brother Sir Gaylord.

As for Quiet American, he was famously not only by a son of a Dr Fager mare out of a Dr Fager mare; both these mares were also grand-daughters of Princequillo’s daughter Cequillo. For what it may be worth, moreover, Cara Rafaela traces to the matriarch Fast Line through one of her daughters by Princequillo’s son Prince John. (The other, incidentally, was dam of Northern Trick).

Lest we forget, of course, we are celebrating a revival in Bernardini’s primary role as a sire of runners. But if Art Collector earns a place at stud, you couldn’t be surprised if he, too, were to prove an effective broodmare sire.

We’ve seen that his first three dams are by a resonant trio: Distorted Humor, Private Account, Hoist The Flag. Private Account was out of a Buckpasser mare, like Weekend Surprise in the top half of Art Collector’s pedigree; while Hoist The Flag is by the excellent broodmare sire Tom Rolfe, just like the dam of Distorted Humor’s sire Forty Niner.

Overall this is a genetic “stairwell,” top to bottom, that barely misses a step in terms of Classic caliber. And a Derby colt is no less than his connections deserve. Colleague Bill Finley last week highlighted how patiently trainer Drury has paid his dues; while Art Collector’s owner-breeder has now exorcised a sad experience in the 2006 Blue Grass, when First Samurai (Giant’s Causeway)–a dual Grade I winner he owned in partnership–ended his career with a gate injury.

Perhaps the $100,000 required in 2016 to cover Distorted Legacy had begun to feel like a questionable investment, with Bernardini’s fee plunging in the meantime. But it’s looking good business now. Form is temporary, they say, and class permanent. In a business as uneven as this, any stallion can endure a bumpy spell.

Last Saturday also reiterated Bernardini’s ascendant stature as broodmare sire, through the latest success of Dunbar Road (GII Delaware H.). But in measuring him only against all those ageing or dead stallions, we run the risk of prematurely treating him as an old master. For anyone who pins their faith in beauty, class and genes, then, how wonderful to see Art Collector restore his sire to the avant garde.

The post Art Collector Puts Sire Back In the Frame appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Pair of Million-Dollar Juveniles Highlight OBS Spring Finale

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, an auction most people seemed happy could even be held following all of the uncertainties of the global pandemic, concluded its four-day run in Central Florida with a pair of seven-figure transactions book-ending the session. Early in the day, Kaleem Shah purchased a son of Quality Road for $1.25 million from the Wavertree Stables consignment and, with only a handful of lots left to offer, Larry Best secured a colt by Speighster for $1.1 million from Tom McCrocklin’s consignment. A filly by Not This Time topped the four-day sale when bringing a final bid of $1.35 million from bloodstock agent Gary Young during Tuesday’s second session. The sale’s three million-dollar juveniles were on par with the 2019 sale.

The April sale had set records for gross, average and median in each of the last three years, but with international travel restrictions and uncertain economic conditions, expectations for the 2020 renewal were tempered. At the close of business Friday, 630 head had sold for $58,701,000. A year ago, 674 horses grossed $72,945,000. The average of $93,176 fell 13.9% from 2019, while the median was down 16.7%.

“Considering what we’ve all had to deal with and where we were two months ago, I think it was a solid sale,” said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. “We saw a lot of the same things we’ve been seeing in recent times. The top end of the market takes care of itself, but it gets a little dicey in the middle. But we finished up strong today. I think it’s just a continuing move of the industry in trying to get back to normal.”

With 149 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate for the sale was just 19.1%, but the catalogue was whittled down with only 779 offered and 536 withdrawn.

Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables was the auction’s leading consignor for the second year in a row with 47 juveniles sold for $6,402,000, but the consignor admitted it was a tough week.

“It’s really difficult,” Dunne said of the market. “If you sell one that is not in the elite level, that top 10%, you are going to have to call in a lot of favors and make a lot of phone calls, drag people back to the barn and temper your expectations. I felt pretty good about the sale coming in. We’ve had a lot of traffic at the farm, there has been a hunger for horses. I thought it would be OK, but I think it’s been less than that. It’s been hard work.”

The April sale’s traditional deep buying bench was decimated by the absence of international buyers.

“If you don’t have the goods, it’s over,” said consignor Eddie Woods. “The Koreans were sorely missed, not only on what they buy, but on the ones they bid on that they don’t get. The horses that were bringing $10,000 or $15,000 would normally bring $40,000 or $50,000 and everything has to go above that. That is what creates that good market. We didn’t have that this time. There was all the money there for the top horses, like usual, and the rest of them suffered greatly. There were a lot of scratches. People wanted to bring their horses up, but if you didn’t have a perfect vetting, you were basically dead. But, at the same time, it was good to see a lot of horses bring a lot of money.”

Eight of the top 10 lots at the April sale had been catalogued for Fasig-Tipton’s canceled boutique Gulfstream sale.

“A lot of the horses in this addendum were scheduled to go to the Fasig-Tipton Miami Sale and they ended up here,” said bloodstock agent Jacob West. “They were big, strong horses that got piled in at the end of these days. It is an extremely polarized market, more than any other sale we have been around. Two-year-old sales are always polarizing. There are so many rungs on the ladder they have to climb. When they do, it normally results in high-dollar horses. There were a lot of horses in the addendum that did that.”

Asked for his assessment of the April market, McCrocklin said, “Overall it was brutal. It was a horrible sale. I think it’s all the uncertainty. People don’t like that. They get scared when they don’t know what’s going on.”

Bloodstock agent Joe Brocklebank is hopeful the Spring sale is just a first step into a return to normal.

“Obviously the top end of the market is very strong, but the middle and lower end need some life support,” he said. “Hopefully when the confidence is back in the business, things will be a lot better.”

Shah Seeks More Quality

Kaleem Shah has already bought a pair of 2-year-olds by Quality Road who went on to Grade I victories in his colors and the owner is hoping there will be more of the same after he purchased a son of the Lane’s End stallion for $1.25 million during Friday’s final session of the OBS Spring sale. Shah had been in Ocala earlier in the week, but was gone by the time hip 1018 strode into the sales ring at OBS. He was on the phone as bloodstock agent Ben McElroy made the winning bid on the juvenile who was consigned by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables.

“Ben McElroy and [trainer] Simon Callaghan selected the horse,” Shah said. “He is a beautiful horse and well put together. I am not at Ocala today, so I was on the phone with Ben. But I’ve seen the horse and he looks just like Bellafina.”

Shah purchased Bellafina (Quality Road) from the Wavertree consignment for $800,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale. The filly won that year’s GI Chandelier S. and GI Del Mar Debutante and added last year’s GI Santa Anita Oaks. She was also second in the 2019 GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint.

Shah also purchased Klimt (Quality Road) for $435,000 at the 2016 OBS March Sale. The colt went on to win that year’s GI Del Mar Futurity.

“I have been lucky with that sire with Bellafina and Klimt in the past,” Shah said. “So with this third one, we had to swing for the fences to get him, and we hope he is the best of the Quality Roads to come my way.”

The Quality Road colt was the second horse to make seven figures at the OBS Spring Sale.

“I was surprised to have to go that high,” Shah agreed. “But once again I was bidding against the Baffert contingent–that is what I was told–so I had to step up a whole lot more than what I wanted to.”

The colt was Shah’s third purchase of the Spring Sale. With bidding assistance from his son Arman, he also acquired a colt by Ghostzapper (hip 1250) for $750,000 and a filly by Empire Maker (hip 468) for $350,000.

Bred by KatieRich Farms, hip 1018 is out of False Impression (A.P. Indy) and is a half-brother to multiple Grade I placed Standard Deviation (Curlin). He worked a quarter-mile during last week’s under-tack preview in :20 3/5. @JessMartiniTDN

A Hole in One for Partners

Ciaran Dunne was shopping for a long-time group of pinhooking partners at last year’s Fasig-Tipton October sale, but was finding it tough to find horses in the partners’ normal price range, so he got a budget extension and came home to Ocala with a colt by Quality Road purchased under the name Golf 19/20 for $240,000. The decision paid off Friday at OBS when the colt (hip 1018) sold for $1.25 million.

“Mike Wickham was originally the driving force behind the partnership,” Dunne explained. “He always wanted to be involved in the horse business. He kind of pushed the other two guys, John Wilkinson and David Miley, to do the pinhooking with us. Unfortunately Mike passed the first year we were doing it. Scott Ford of Westrock Stables came in and took his place and we’ve been doing it for more years than I’d like to think. They just get a lot of enjoyment out of it. John and David come to the farm and watch them grow up and watch them train. They don’t do it as an investment. They do it just for a love of the game. They have been very lucky.”

One of the group’s early successes was Tom’s Tribute (Lion Heart) who was purchased for $60,000 and sold for $310,000 at the 2012 OBS March sale and went on to win the 2014 GI Eddie Read S.

The partners have even had success on the racetrack with Leinster (Majestic Warrior), who RNA’d at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale and won last year’s GIII Troy S. in their names.

“They probably get more fun out of [Leinster] than they will this,” Dunne said. “They do it for the love of the game, love of the horses, so it’s nice to see guys like that do something like this. For them it won’t be dollar and cents, it will just be pride that their horse did it.”

Purchasing the son of Quality Road for the group was an easy decision for Dunne last October.

“Quality Road has been good to us,” Dunne said. “He’s my favorite stallion, bar none. We had Blofeld in his first crop, Bellafina and Diamond King. I think we’ve had at least five graded stakes winners that we’ve sold by him. So Quality Road is always a no-brainer for us, the only problem is affording them. This is the most that we’ve ever paid in that group for a horse. I called the guys and said, ‘We’re getting shut out in everything we want in the range that we normally buy in,’ which is $100,000. I said, ‘I want to go a little deep here,’ and they all said, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ There was no hesitation. Luckily enough, the colt didn’t give us many nervous moments during the winter. He grew like we wanted him to grow, he trained like a good horse, he acted like a professional around the barn. We were really excited to bring him in here and he rewarded us.”

Of his expectations leading hip 1018 into the sales ring Friday, Dunne said, “We were trying to keep our feet on the ground, but it was hard to do. We had everybody who was anybody on him. He showed himself great. We knew he had the work (:20 3/5), we knew he vetted good. So we were trying to temper our expectations, but I was hoping for them that he could bring seven figures.”

The partners aim to pinhook three to four yearlings each year.

“We had one in March that we took a haircut on and then we had one yesterday that we sold for what we had in him or maybe a little bit less,” Dunne said of the group’s other 2020 results.

Another pinhooking partnership had success selling with Wavertree Friday in Ocala when a colt by Shackleford sold for $550,000 to bloodstock agent Justin Casse. The chestnut colt (hip 982) worked a quarter in :20 3/5 during last week’s under-tack show and is a half-sister to champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar). The chestnut was purchased for $230,000 at Fasig-Tipton last October.

“He was bought by Paul Brodsky’s group [last October],” Dunne said of the colt. “He was a lovely horse. I am never going to say you’re disappointed when you double your money, but with his pedigree and his work and his physical appearance, you would have hoped that he could have kicked on. I think at the end of the day, the Shackleford got him. But he’s a very, very talented horse. He always has been. I think he’s going to be a top racehorse.”

With Steve Venosa, Brodsky pinhooked a colt by Into Mischief for $1 million at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale. @JessMartiniTDN

Best for Almost Last

Late in the day in the supplement to the supplemental catalogue, the OBS Spring sale got its third seven-figure transaction when bloodstock agent Christina Jelm, bidding on behalf of Larry Best, went to $1.1-million to acquire a colt from the first crop of Speightster (hip 1312).

“Larry and I are friends and he gave me a call just before the

horse went through the ring and asked if I could help him out,” Jelm said after signing the ticket on the colt. “I was here and available and I helped him get his horse bought.”

Out of multiple stakes placed Auspicious (Indian Charlie), the chestnut worked a quarter-mile last week in :20 4/5.

“He’s a big beautiful horse that checked every box,” Jelm said.

Hip 1312 was consigned by Tom McCrocklin and his sale Friday was another stellar result for Solana Beach Sales, the pinhooking division of Billy Koch and Gary Fenton’s Little Red Feather Racing. McCrocklin purchased the colt on behalf of Solana Beach for $110,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale.

“I’ve got to tell you, I’ve been asked a lot here, ‘How did you buy that horse for $110,000?’ He was always beautiful and at the end of the day, I don’t know how I got him bought,” McCrocklin said. “He’s the only one I have by Speighster, but I started singing his praises as soon as this horse showed the ability he has.”

Now in its fifth year of operation, Solana Beach has recorded some notable scores. Best purchased Instilled Regard (Arch) from the partnership for $1.05 million at the 2017 OBS March Sale and Solana Beach sold Der Lu (Orb) for $900,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale after purchasing her for $130,000 at Saratoga the previous August. The partnership had back-to-back scores at OBS April in 2016 and 2017, turning a $105,000 Broken Vow yearling into a $1.2-million sale topper in 2016 and a $100,000 Creative Cause filly into a $850,000 juvenile in 2017.

Hip 1312 was originally intended to sell at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, but once that auction was cancelled, McCrocklin hoped to ship him to Maryland for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale.

“He was a Miami horse and obviously that was canceled and he was redirected to Maryland,” McCrocklin said. “To be honest with you, I am fiercely loyal to Fasig-Tipton and I wanted to sell him there, but we got so late in the game and they were in a position where they couldn’t make any announcements because they were waiting for the state of Maryland and the governor of Maryland and the Department of Agriculture. And the horse was doing so well, I had to tell the guys at Fasig, ‘I’m so sorry, but I’ve got to go. Because I’m going to go out of business a lot faster than you are going to go out of business. I need to sell this horse.'”

Of the colt’s seven-figure price tag, McCrocklin added, “I was not surprised at the price. When you get up in that stratosphere, those horses can bring $750,000 and they can bring $1.5 million. I do my best to not get exact numbers in my head, but I knew he was going to sell very well.” @JessMartiniTDN

Liam’s Map Filly Scores for Berkelhammer

Richard Rigney’s Rigney Racing struck in the waning stages of the OBS Spring sale to acquire a filly by Liam’s Map (hip 1299) for $700,000. The juvenile was consigned by Cary Frommer and is one of only a few foals bred by Frommer’s pinhooking partner Barry Berkelhammer.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled with the person who bought her,” Berkelhammer said. “They are just great guys. And I am thrilled that she is going to a quality home that will hopefully have a big winner.”

The dark bay filly is out of the unraced Ebony Moment (Smart Strike), a daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Ebony Breeze (Belong to Me). Berkelhammer purchased the then 5-year-old Ebony Moment for $18,000 at the 2016 OBS Winter sale.

“I really don’t have a lot of mares, but I dabble a little bit,” Berkelhammer said. “I just love Smart Strike and I loved her pedigree. She was a good-looking mare with a nice shape to her. And she was young and really hadn’t gotten a chance yet. I thought she would potentially make a nice broodmare.”

The filly put buyers on notice with a :9 4/5 work during last week’s under-tack preview, but the lights-out drill was no surprise to Berkelhammer.

“She had been working really well at the farm,” Berkelhammer said. “All of us on the farm were excited every time she breezed. But until they come over and prove it, you never know. She definitely stepped up and did what we expected. And she jumped through every hoop.”

He continued, “The filly has been the star of the crop the whole season and we had very high hopes for her. I am glad she showed herself when she got here and the buyers recognized her quality.”

Ebony Moment RNA’d for $16,000 at this year’s OBS Winter sale. She has a yearling filly by Kantharos and produced a filly by Girvin this year. She was bred back to Outwork.

Of his broodmare band, Berkelhammer said, “I have six mares. And I’ll sell some foals as yearlings and some as 2-year-olds–just depending on how the stallion is doing and where I think the baby fits.” @JessMartiniTDN

West Wins Out on Chrome Colt

Jacob West hit the ground running in Ocala, purchasing four juveniles by the end of the OBS Spring Sale, but he saved the best for last Friday in a $725,000 colt from the first crop of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome (Hip 1298). The bloodstock agent purchased the gray, who will be trained by Todd Pletcher, on behalf of Mike Repole’s Repole Stable and Vinnie Viola’s St. Elias Stable.

“He is a fast horse, who breezed well [:20 3/5] and galloped out good,” West said. “He is big and strong and had good mechanics down the lane. We went back to the barn and looked at him and he is a big, pretty horse with some pedigree behind him. He is out of an Unbridled’s Song mare and he looks more like Unbridled’s Song than California Chrome. He vetted well and here we are, $725,000 later.”

West added, “We were kind of getting to the end of our rope on him as far as our evaluation was, but that is about what we thought he would bring. It is a team effort when buying horses for Repole and Viola. Eddie Rosen, Jim Martin and Rory Babich all play a big part.”

Four-time Eclipse winner and dual Classic winner California Chrome stood his first three seasons at Taylor Made and was sold to Japan at the end of 2019.

“I have a lot of respect for that horse,” West said. “He was born into obscurity and made a name for himself. I have a lot of respect for Art Sherman and his operation, getting the horse to those races and almost winning the Triple Crown. You’ve got to respect that horse. He did it the hard way and hopefully he passed that on to his progeny, especially this one.”

Bred by JSM Equine, Hip 1298 is out of the unraced Diva Style (Unbridled’s Song), a daughter of GSW Tizfiz (Tiznow) and a half-sister to top GI Kentucky Derby contender and MGISW Tiz the Law (Constitution). The colt RNA’d for $65,000 at Keeneland September and was consigned here by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables. ––@CDeBernardisTDN

Right Place, Right ‘Time’ For Davies

Progeny of Taylor Made’s freshman phenom Not This Time continued to be in high demand on the final day of selling at OBS Spring Friday, with Marc Tacher grabbing hip 953 out of the Julie Davies consignment for $575,000. The May 7 foal turned in a powerful-looking :10 flat work during last week’s preview.

With his first two starters taking maiden special weights on back-to-back days last month, the GSW and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up has found his way on to many buyers’ radars in Ocala. A $1.25-million Not This Time filly (hip 1254) who worked in :20 1/5 topped Wednesday’s session on a bid from Gary Young; and a $700,000 colt (hip 1283) went to Donato Lanni for Michael Lund Petersen Thursday.

“Between the winners, and the couple of horses that sold really well already, we were pretty confident that he was going to sell well–he still brought a little more than we were expecting, and that’s always a nice surprise,” said Davies.

The chestnut is out of a Tapit daughter of MGSW and MGISP Bending Strings (American Chance). He was an $85,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Davies.

“We bought him on his physical,” she said. “I actually walked into the barn and saw him standing there for somebody else and was like, ‘Who is that?’ So I decided that that was the one I wanted to buy. I spent a little more than I usually spend, but he’s been a really nice horse from Day 1. He’s always trained like a rock star; he’s never given us any trouble. He came over here and did what we thought he would do. He breezed well, and I think they got a really nice horse.”

When asked if she had had any opinion on Not This Time heading into the yearling sales, Davies said, “When I bought him, it was just about him as an individual, but having seen others since then, it seems like he’s stamping them. There are a lot of very pretty ones out there, and the majority of them worked well here and obviously they’re being well received.” —@BDiDonatoTDN

Summer Wind Blows Into Ocala

Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Farm is often seen buying top mares at the November breeding stock sales, but is usually absent from the juvenile market. However, in yet another surprise twist of the roller coaster year that has been 2020, the Summer Wind name made it onto the OBS Spring Sale results when the farm’s manager Bobby Spalding, who did his bidding over the phone from Kentucky, secured a $500,000 daughter of Malibu Moon on behalf of Lyon Friday.

“This COVID-19 thing has me not thinking straight,” Lyon joked when asked about her change in tactics. “We got a tout that this was a good filly from somebody we really trusted [consignor Eddie Woods], so we decided, ‘Well, what the heck.’ I do trust Eddie a lot. We hoped to get her for less because she does have a little chip [in her knee]. Because of that, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to go that high, but it got so crazy in the end there with those addendum horses. Hopefully, Eddie is right about her.”

The top breeder added, “I haven’t even seen her yet, but she looks like a really pretty filly and I am a sucker for beautiful fillies.”

Bred in Florida by Westbury Stables, Hip 1310 was picked up by Woods’s pinhooking partnership Quarter Pole Enterprises for $260,000 at FTKJUL and breezed in a snappy :20 3/5. Her stakes-placed dam Iroquois Girl (Indian Charlie) is a half to MGSW Salty Strike (Smart Strike) and stakes winner Salty Response (Cozzene).

“She was beautiful, spectacular,” Woods said. “Her work was amazing. Her video was amazing. Unfortunately, she had a little damage on x-rays. Even though she brought half a million, you have to think what she would have brought without it.”

The horseman continued, “I didn’t think she would bring that given what she has. She has a little chip in the knee. You know, knees are usually unforgivable in most cases. It is tiny, but it is still there. I thought she might bring $300,000 if everyone showed up. Everyone showed up and they played hard.” ––@CDeBernardisTDN

Empire Maker Filly Proves Popular

A daughter of the late Empire Maker (Hip 1060) summoned $475,000 Friday from bloodstock agent Joe Brocklebank, who was acting on behalf of an disclosed client.

“She is oozing with class,” Brocklebank said. “She is by a wonderful stallion out of a mare by a wonderful stallion. She has tons of speed and she has been well prepared. She vetted perfectly clean and, God willing, she will win some big races.”

Bred in Ontario by Dave Anderson’s Anderson Farms, the :10 flat breezer is the first foal out of Full Tap (Tapit), a half to MGSW Ventana (Toccet). Consignor Hal Hatch bought the filly for $135,000 at Keeneland September.

The late, great Empire Maker was repatriated from Japan to stand at Gainesway in 2016 and stood four seasons there before his untimely passing in January of this year. He has been represented by sensational fillies, such as champion Royal Delta and MGISW Emollient, as well as MGISW Pioneerof the Nile and, more recently, Grade I-winning sophomore Eight Rings. Six juveniles by Empire Maker sold during the OBS Spring Sale for an average of $341,666, topped by a $700,000 colt (Hip 1258). —@CDeBernardisTDN

Eismans Hit a Home Run With Hard Spun Filly

Barry Eisaman snapped up a daughter of Hard Spun for just $50,000 at Keeneland September last year and his faith in the filly was rewarded Friday when she hammered for $440,000. Working in :10 flat, Hip 1149 was purchased by Belladonna Racing.

“She is a wonderful filly and she did so well here,” Eisaman said. “She performed so well and showed herself beautifully for all of those days. We did not anticipate this kind of number, but we knew it would be pretty good. She was very, very popular.”

Bred by Godolphin and Charles Deters, Hip 1149 is out of High Wire Act (Medallist), who is a daughter of Grade III victor Timely Broad (Broad Brush). High Wire Act is a half-sister to MSW & MGSP Not Abroad (Not For Love) and SW Brushed By Love (Not For Love).

“When we bought her, she was a very pretty filly,” Eisaman said. “But she grew and filled out and all of the things you hope will happen between September and the spring of the 2-year-old year. She did everything well. She was very healthy, had very clean veterinary reports and was fast. It worked out for us that she put her whole game together at the right time.”

When asked if he thought the extra time provided by the two-month delay in the sale due to COVID-19 helped his filly, the veterinarian said, “I think it helped every horse in this sale. Two months is a long time in the life of a 2-year-old so it helped all of them mature just a bit more and get just a bit fitter and a bit smarter. It really benefitted my load of horses. Every horse we took through the ring we sold except one. So we had a good sale especially given the current world circumstances.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

The post Pair of Million-Dollar Juveniles Highlight OBS Spring Finale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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