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Fog of War: The New War Front in Town

The town of Stillwater, New York, just outside Saratoga Springs, is often called the ‘turning point of the American Revolution.’ It was there that one of the critical battles in the Battle of Saratoga was won and so it is fitting that the new stallion in town, standing at Barry Ostrager’s Questroyal North, is Fog of War (War Front–Say {Ire}, Galileo {Ire}). This son of War Front and winner of the GI Summer Stakes at Woodbine at two will stand as the property of Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm Inc. and Three C Stables, LLC with a stud fee set at $7,000 LFSN.

A $400,000 Keeneland September yearling, Fog of War was purchased by White Birch Farm and raced for his entire career with Chad Brown in Brant’s colors.

“Fog of War has been a horse we’ve been following since early on in his career,” said Christopher Bernhard, general manager at Questroyal and advisor to Three C Stables. “He was a maiden special weight winner here in Saratoga and shipped up to Woodbine for a second start [in the GI Summer S.] and looked pretty hopeless at the top of the stretch. Ultimately, he got free and got ahead of Preakness winner War of Will (War Front) at the wire. He won by about a length and a half. Just to have all that traffic in just his second race and then when he finally got free, he just kind of shook loose. He probably would have been one of the favorites for the Breeders’ Cup that year if he didn’t come out of the race with some sore shins. And, so they put him away for a little while.”

Brant, speaking to the TDN on Nov. 17, said he was impressed with Fog of War’s two-year-old season as well.

“Fog of War’s win first time out at Saratoga and his Grade I victory in the “Win and You’re In” Summer S. at Woodbine beating War of Will showed us that he was our best colt of that crop and marked him as one of the clear favorites for the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf,” said Brant. “Unfortunately, Fog bucked his shins and would not make the race but his undefeated 2-year-old campaign managed to show everyone his brilliant turn of foot and class.”

Said Bernhard, “Fog of War, to me, is probably the nicest pedigree of any horse that’s come to the state. War Front has established himself as a very good sire of sires at this point. His son Declaration of War had a Breeders’ Cup winner with Fire at Will. The Factor has also had numerous Grade I stakes horses. War Front also has several young sons that are at stud now like Omaha Beach who was an incredibly popular horse last year. And, then Claiborne Farm will be standing War of Will for his first season this coming breeding season.”

“Fog of War’s, dam, Say, was a Group Stakes winner, Group 1 Stakes-placed over in Europe,” Bernhard continued. “She had three foals of racing age. All three of them are stakes winners by War Front. The second dam was an incredible race filly here named Riskaverse, who made a little over $2 million dollars and danced every dance here. She was a $5 million broodmare prospect. The female family includes Havre de Grace, who was a $10 million broodmare prospect several years ago and sold to Mandy Pope. And Toll Fee, the third dam, is a brilliant female family with countless number of Group and Graded stakes winners.”

Chris Larsen, founder of Three C Stables, named for himself, his wife Colleen and his son Conner, became interested in horse racing after a serious motorcycle accident. He invested with West Point Thoroughbreds

“I was lucky enough to start off as a partner in Saratoga Russell (Trippi) and Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union),” said Larsen. “They were both outstanding runners and it was great working with West Point and Terry Finley.”

When Larsen decided try his hand at breeding racehorses, he started with the fillies then racing with West Point.

“Instead of selling them all at auction, we would have them appraised and I would decide whether or not to buy them. For instance, I bought and still have Fitz Just Right,” said Larsen. “I enjoy the idea of trying to create something. When you breed a horse that goes on to win a race, it puts you on top of the world.”

Larsen met Bernhard a decade or so ago when he was looking for someone to oversee his mares and advise him on breeding decisions.

“I’ve been doing this for close to a decade with Chris’s help,” said Larsen. “He has been looking for a stallion prospect for New York and when he mentioned Fog of War, I was like ‘that’s the horse.'”

“I am huge believer in the Galileo mare and you can’t take anything away from War Front,” said Larsen. “You have two great sire lines in Fog of War. He could be the horse that really carries on the Danzig line. I feel that strongly about him. I like him so much I decided to invest a lot more in mares and become more of a commercial breeder.”

“It was made even better when we found out we could partner with Peter,” said Larsen. “It’s the right horse with the right guy, with the right partner, and he’s got the right support. I’m really looking forward to it.”

In speaking to the TDN in November, Larsen added: “This will give breeders access to the world’s most successful sire lines… as well as taking advantage of the lucrative New York State breeder awards and restricted racing programs. We think Fog of War is destined to be New York State’s great sire.”

Adjusting to life on the farm at Questroyal seems to be no problem for Fog of War.

“I’ve been really impressed with the way Fog of War has handled coming in off of the racetrack,” said Bernhard. “You know, we’ve had quite a few showings and he’s come right into the breeding shed, stands up like he’s been doing this his whole life.”

“He has been a sweetheart to be around in the stall. I picked him up a Jollyball so he can throw that at me every day. And he’s just been a complete gentleman. We’re really excited to get him turned out in big field and let him do his thing and the breeding shed will open in a few weeks.”

“I’m going to say at this point we’ve got seventy-five in-house mares that are going to Fog of War,” said Bernhard. “When we were able to negotiate a deal with Mr. Brant, who’s also going to be sending a significant number of mares from Kentucky to breed to him, we went to Keeneland and Mr. Larsen bought 31 mares at the Keeneland November sale specifically for the horse. I don’t believe there’s been a horse that’s had that opportunity right off the racetrack with that volume of in-house horses.”

“Fog of War has all the makings of a potentially high-class stallion with his conformation, pedigree and speed,” said Brant in November. “I am so thrilled Fog will have the opportunity to be an exciting freshman stallion in New York and also allow White Birch Farm to be a new player in the New York State breeding and racing program.”

The post Fog of War: The New War Front in Town appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Equiano: New And Proven

The dual Group 1-winning sprinter Equiano (Fr) has moved from Newsells Park Stud in England to the Irish National Stud. The stud’s director of sales Gary Swift discusses the sire of Group/Grade 1 winners The Tin Man (GB) and Belvoir Bay (GB) while Patrick Diamond provides an update on the INS Mare Syndicate.

TDN: Gary, you have a new stallion in Equiano, but he’s a proven sire compared to the majority of new stallions in Ireland. Why was he of interest to the Irish National Stud?

GS: Well firstly Equiano was a dual King’s Stand winner and the highest-rated son of Acclamation GB). He is already the sire of 29 stakes horses and four Group/Grade 1 horses. We felt that given the year that is in it, it was better for us to stand a proven sire like him than a new sire that we didn’t know a whole lot about. It is a little bit of a safety measure and the bookings we have taken so far tell us that the Irish breeders have reacted very well to him being in Ireland.

TDN: You mentioned that he has a number of stakes horses and Group 1 horses. Can you highlight some of his best progeny?

GS: One of his more notable horses is The Tin Man (GB) who is an exceptional horse. He is the winner of three Group 1s. Belvoir Bay (GB) is a Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and she is a consistent Group 1 horse. All of his progeny seem to be sound and consistent horses who factor over a number of years, they don’t just appear one afternoon in a Group 1. There seems to be a longevity and a hard-knocking quality to Equiano’s stock.

TDN: Have you noticed any particular nicks that seem to work well with Equiano?

GS: The Acclamation line is well known to crossover great with a range of mares and we think daughters of Invincible Spirit (Ire) will cross into him very well as would anything with Danehill Dancer (Ire). Most recently there are a couple of daughters of Tamayuz (GB) that seem to be doing quite well on the cross and I think, speed on speed, will carry this horse to another 20 stakes horses, and hopefully another couple of Group 1 horses as well.

TDN: What is he like in temperament and conformation?

GS: Julian Dollar, of Newsells Park, was able to tell us that he had an amazing attitude and he passes that on to his stock. They are extraordinarily mild-mannered horses and I think that is why his progeny function at two, three, four and beyond. Nowadays horses can’t be trained for longevity if they don’t have great temperaments. Equiano himself was a very expensive yearling, bred by Lady O’Reilly and throughout his career he was a resilient, robust horse and physically very sound, which he passes on to his stock.

TDN: You mentioned earlier that bookings have been strong for Equiano so far, can you detail what level of support you think he will get in 2021?

GS: Well the Irish National Stud has committed to sending him eight or 10 mares and they are all speed mares. One or two of them are young fillies starting off their breeding careers and we think he is a no-brainer for fillies starting out. With bookings from breeders we are seeing a pattern where breeders have a mare who has had two or three big covers and now they are just sitting back a bit with that mare waiting for those foals to come through. They are now booking in to Equiano as they want a proven horse of value. We are standing him at €3,000 which we think is an incredible price.

TDN: Patrick, how many years has the INS Mare Syndicate been going?

PD: We started our original syndicate in 2018 and off the back of the success we had from it we launched a new syndicate in 2020. The interest in the syndicates has been excellent, so we are just about to launch our 2021 syndicate.

TDN: What are some of the successes the syndicate has had?

PD: The first foal we took to the ring, from the mares, was an Awtaad (Ire) colt that we sold for €95,000, so naturally the syndicate was delighted with that. Our star mare, from the original syndicate, sold an Invincible Spirit colt for €330,000 at Goffs in 2019 and he has gone to Charlie Appleby now, so we are really excited to see what he could do in his two-year-old career. This year we sold an Invincible Spirit colt yearling for €120,000 to James Ferguson. In its short history we have had a great success and we are looking forward to building on that.

TDN: Is there a particular criteria the mares need to meet to become part of the syndicate?

PD: I suppose we try to tick all the boxes and buy premium mares but at a value that we think makes sense, ideally young mares, carrying good covers and with nice deep families. We have seen in recent years that there is a little bit of value to be found in buying the slightly more proven mares who are a little older.

TDN: What mares have you got for the 2021 syndicate so far?

PD: We bought our first mare in England, Millicent Fawcett (GB), who is a daughter of Kingman (GB). She is a winner and was trained by John Gosden. She is very well related, being a half-sister to a Group 2 and Group 3 winner. She is in foal to Showcasing (GB) who has done extremely well. This is her first cover so we are looking forward to seeing her first foal in 2021.

We bought another mare in Arqana, a Sea The Stars (Ire) in foal to Wootton Bassett (GB). She is a sister to a Group 1 winner and has a really good, strong family. She has a Siyouni (Fr) and a Frankel (GB) to run for her. As I said, she is currently in foal to Wootton Bassett and we managed to purchase her for half of his 2021 nomination so we feel like we got a really good bargain.

TDN: Is there a sense of community forming among the syndicate members now that the syndicate has been running a few years?

PD: Definitely, and it is growing. 2020 has been a tough year and people haven’t been able to get to see each other but we did a lot of Zoom calls and there has been a lot more content on the WhatsApp group. There’s definitely a great relationship building between our members. There are a lot of people from all walks of life. Some people were breeders before that scaled back or have had small operations and are looking to invest into a slightly higher-quality animal. Other people are new to breeding, which is great, and it is great to have people coming in with different angles and different viewpoints. We get the syndicate members involved in the mating plans and our selection process so they are involved from the word go. Quite often our syndicate members have come up with great ideas which have proved successful.

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After Near-Fatal Experience With Black Widow, Mulhall’s Miracle Horse Catemaco Wins Racing Debut

The Catemaco story reads like a chapter right out of “Frankenstein,” Mary Shelley's classic 1818 horror novel of a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific experiment.

But Catemaco's tale has a happy ending.

A 4-year-old colt bred in California on March 23, 2017, Catemaco won his first start Friday by a widening four lengths at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., leading throughout six furlongs in a sprightly 1:09.08, paying $30.60 to his scattered backers and earning $36,000 for owners Twilight Racing LLC and Steve Taub, all pretty remarkable facts in their own right.

But truth be told, it's a miracle Catemaco is even alive.

He swallowed a black widow spider when he was four months old, had a reaction that put him near death and would have died if it hadn't been for the diligent response of his trainer and breeder, Kristin Mulhall. She has the distressing details committed to memory.

After completing training at Santa Anita one morning, Mulhall arrived at her home in Covina Hills where she keeps some horses on her two-acre spread, only to find Catemaco lying down, “struggling to breathe.”

“The horse couldn't breathe at all,” Kristin said. “There was froth coming out of his nose, his eyes were bloodshot and cloudy. He was seconds away from dying.”

Mulhall's passion and persistence prevented his death even though she had only rudimentary tools at her disposal.

“I called my vet, Melinda Blue. We were on FaceTime and she was having her hair done. She said find anything, and I found a box blade. Fortunately, my tack room was right next to where the horse was. She told me to feel the ridges in his throat to find his trachea and slice a hole all the way through it, and he started breathing through that.

“Then I said, 'Now what?” and she said, 'Find any kind of tube,' and I found a syringe casing, cut the end of it and shoved it in, but I only had a couple minutes before the hole would plug up with foam and stuff.

“I tried to shove it in but the hole closed and he was flailing around really bad like a fish out of water, I tried to cut it again but couldn't.

“At that point, Humberto Gomez (Bob Baffert's exercise rider, known as Beto to friends) had returned and he held the horse's feet and head and I got it through the trachea the third time I tried, made a bigger hole which I was able to open with my finger to insert the casing.

“Then I called Melinda back and asked how the casing would stay in … I had to find dental floss and the largest needle I could, tie the dental floss to the needle and try to suture the hole the best way I could.

“I said I don't know how to do that. She said just tie a knot. Put it through the hole, through the skin and tie a knot on both sides, and that will hold it in until you get him to the hospital.

“Beto was holding Catemaco until I found everything I needed, we got it all done but then we didn't know if he was going to get up, if he was brain-dead or what.

“He got up after an hour. His eyes were still bloodshot and cloudy but he was up and walking. We put him in the back of the trailer with his mom and Humberto stayed with them, holding the tube in place.

“We took them to Chino Hills Equine Hospital and Dr. (Andreas) Klohnen, the head vet there, was absolutely shocked at what he saw. The horse would have been dead if we didn't do what we did, so the doctor was able to administer the correct implements for about two days before the swelling went down enough that they were comfortable to remove it.

“The horse was in the hospital about a week before I brought him back home and he's been fine ever since. It didn't affect him at all.”

Catemaco is named for a horse by the same name that Gomez said was 'a freak' when he rode him as a jockey in Mexico City. “It was the favorite horse he ever rode and he asked me to name my foal Catemaco, so I did,” Mulhall said. Catemaco also is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz.

Kristin, 38, is the daughter of the late Richard Mulhall, who managed the late Prince Ahmed Salman's The Thoroughbred Corp. after a lengthy training career in Southern California. But her experience in horsemanship extends well beyond learning from Dad.

She was an Olympic-caliber equestrian rider through her teens before being grounded by a serious arm injury. She obtained her trainer's license in 2002 after working for trainer John Shirreffs.

Presently she has 23 head at Santa Anita and some horses for trainer Jonathan Wong at her Covina Hills location. Her emotions understandably flooded forth after watching Catemaco win on Friday.

“I couldn't hold the tears back,” Kristin said. “That's the first time I cried after a race. That horse means so much to me, he's so special. The fact that he lived through that and he had the heart to fight through that is pretty unbelievable.

“I grew up with War Emblem, Point Given, Spain and all those good horses at their farm. I was around some special ones.”

But none as special as Catemaco.

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Heavy Favorite Life Is Good Wins Sham But Baffert Stablemate Medina Spirit Made It Close

Sent from his outside post position, heavily favored Life Is Good was running easily throughout but survived a mild scare late from stablemate Medina Spirit to prevail by three quarters of a length in Saturday's Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., thus stamping his ticket for the early trail to the Kentucky Derby on May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Bob Baffert, who won last year's Sham with eventual Derby winner Authentic, Life Is Good, a striking bay colt by Into Mischief, got a flat mile in 1:36.63 and despite the fact the winning margin was evaporating late, held sway on the gallop-out around the Club House turn as he seemed to re-focus while not letting Medina Spirit pass him at any point.

“It was his first time around two turns,” said Smith, who had been aboard for a sensational 9 ½ length maiden win going 6 ½ furlongs on Nov. 22 at Del Mar. “He got away just a little slow, but he got up and of course he's naturally so quick, he was just up underneath himself. Just as we were heading for home, he was doing things all by himself so easy out there.

“He didn't know what he was doing going twice around, and he just got the lead and was looking out at the Infield on the big screen. He could see himself, and he got to looking, but I was watching as well so I saw the horse coming on the outside. I didn't want to panic, I just showed it (the stick) to him a little bit. What I liked really was after the race, when I stood up and the (other) horse got next to me, he jumped back in the bridle and I mean I had to pull him up.

“He's just very, very talented. We don't know yet how talented. We haven't gotten close yet.”

Off at 1-5 in a field of five sophomores, Life Is Good paid $2.40, $2.10 and $2.10.

“Medina is a nice horse, he's a good horse and I could tell that Mike was just cruising out there,” said Baffert, who has now won a record seven Sham Stakes. “I always feel that the second race is most important. You're going up against winners. I think Mike did a great job, just sort of cruising out there and it was just the kind of race we were looking for. They ran pretty fast…It is so exciting he passed the two turn test.”

Owned by CHC Inc. and Winstar Farm, Life Is Good, who was bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West and is out of the Distorted Humor mare Beach Walk, picked up 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, along with $60,000 for the win, which increased his earnings to $94,200.

Medina Spirit, who broke his maiden first time out going 5 ½ furlongs at Los Alamitos, sat second the entire trip and finished some 13 lengths clear of Parnelli. Ridden by Abel Cedillo, Medina Spirit was off at 9-1 and paid $3.60 and $2.20.

The second choice at 9-2 with Drayden Van Dyke, Parnelli paid $2.10 to show.

Fractions on the race were 23.56, 46.67, 1:10.66 and 1:23.24.

Medina Spirit picked up four Derby qualifying points, Parnelli two and fourth place finisher Waspirant will receive one point.

Updated Kentucky Derby points leaderboard

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 12:30 p.m. All of Santa Anita's races are available free of charge at santaanita.com/live and fans can watch and wager via 1^st.com/Bet.

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