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Blue Grass Farms Charities Benefits from UK’s First ‘Equine Week of Service’

Blue Grass Farms Charities (BGFC) was the recipient of the University of Kentucky (UK)’s first “Equine Week of Service,” a chance for equine students, faculty, staff, and alumni from the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment to volunteer and support organizations that align with their studies.

During the week of Sept. 28, faculty, staff, and students from the UK Equine Program assisted BGFC with outreach and fundraising duties. Participants delivered fresh produce, frozen foods, and bread totaling close to 5,000 pounds from Lexington’s God’s Pantry to area farms for the workers. The volunteers visited Juddmonte, Don Alberto, Dixiana, Mt. Brilliant, Mill Ridge, Ramsey Farm, and Gainesway.

“COVID-19 is still with us, and these essential workers are adapting to social distancing and wearing masks while working,” said BGFC’s executive director Julie Berry. “When they go home, they are met by their families who are dealing with online class learning, home isolation, and food insecurities. Their children are not receiving the breakfasts and lunches they normally would receive from school programs, and every bit of food we provide alleviates this burden.”

Among the reasons BGFC was selected by the UK Equine Program was for the students to see there is more than just the horse that is essential to the industry, which cannot operate without its people. UK equine student volunteers also called on horse farms to see if they were interested in the charity’s food distribution program and to remind them of the health screening opportunities the charity has through its partnership with Lexington’s Bluegrass Community Health Center.

Click for more information about BGFC or the UK Equine Program.

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MGISW She’s a Julie Retired; Headed to Fasig-Tipton November

Winner of the June 13 GI Ogden Phipps S., She’s a Julie (Elusive Quality–Kydd Gloves, by Dubai Millennium) has been retired from racing and will be offered as a broodmare prospect at the Nov. 8 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Denali Stud will consign her for the partnership of Bradley Thoroughbreds, Tim and Anna Cambron, Denali Stud, Rigney Racing, and Madaket Stables.

In addition to her win in the Ogden Phipps this year as a 5-year-old, She’s a Julie also captured the GI La Troienne S. last year and three other graded stakes during her career in addition to placings in both the GI Alabama S. and the GI Personal Ensign S. After four years of campaigning, she retires with a record of 21-7-2-4 and earnings of $1,196,380.

“Her talent was obvious with two Grade I wins on top of her other graded stakes wins and Grade I placings,” said Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. “She was the real deal on the racetrack, but you have got to see her in person to understand what a beautiful mare she is. Named after my wife, she is so very special to me and my family. It is really hard for me to let this one go.”

She’s a Julie’s dam is a half-sister to Untouched Talent (Storm Cat), who produced GISW and sire Bodemeister (Empire Maker) and sold for $5 million at Fasig-Tipton’s same sale in 2012.

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Grade 1 Winner She’s A Julie Retired, To Be Offered At Fasig-Tipton November Sale

She's a Julie (2015, mare by Elusive Quality out of Kydd Gloves) has been retired from racing.

“Simply put, 'Julie' is incredible,” said Peter Bradley of Bradley Thoroughbreds, “There are not enough words to express the admiration and gratitude I have for this mare who fiercely laid it down on the track every time we asked her to. With that said, back in the barn she is the sweetest mare in the world. I cannot thank 'Julie' enough for all that she has done for Bradley Thoroughbreds and her co-owners.”

She's a Julie finishes her career with earnings of $1,196,380 claiming two Grade 1's along with winning graded stakes at three, four, and five years of age. Her dam Kydd Gloves has the unique distinction of being one of 56 foals from the only crop of Godolphin's international champion Dubai Millennium.

She's a Julie made her 2-year-old debut a winning one under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs. At three, 'Julie' began showing her true talent with victories in the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks and G3 Remington Park Oaks. Between those two victories was a runner-up effort in the G1 Alabama at Saratoga Race Course.

She kicked off her 4-year-old campaign with an authoritative victory in the G3 Bayakoa at Oaklawn Park before notching her first G1 win in the La Troienne at Churchill Downs. The remainder of 2019 saw her place in three graded stakes including the G1 Personal Ensign.

In her final season, She's a Julie turned in her most gutsy performance getting up in the shadow of the wire to win the prestigious G1 Ogden Phipps at Belmont Park.

When asked about She's a Julie, Steve Asmussen noted, “Her talent was obvious with two Grade 1 wins on top of her other graded stakes wins and Grade 1 placings. She was the real deal on the racetrack, but you have got to see her in person to understand what a beautiful mare she is. Named after my wife, she is so very special to me and my family. It is really hard for me to let this one go.”

Bradley added, “I would be remiss not to thank Carrol and Stacy Castille, the original owners who are responsible for naming her for Steve's wife Julie, for allowing us to jump on this incredible adventure. Under the tutelage of Steve Asmussen, Scott Blasi, Darren Fleming, Ronnie Warner, Toby Sheets and the entire Asmussen team, 'Julie' was able to show her extraordinary talent and was always cared for like the most exceptional individual that she is. The bond she shared with her regular rider Ricardo Santana Jr. is undeniable. When Julie needed a respite to prepare for her five-year-old campaign, we entrusted her care to Becky Maker. To 'Julie's' entire team, thank you. Although her retirement from racing is the end of an era, one thing is for certain, 'Julie' has a big team rooting her on in her next career!”

She's a Julie will be offered as a broodmare prospect with Denali Stud at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton November “Night of the Stars” Sale on Sunday, Nov. 8 in Lexington, Ky.

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Unbridled Class Named Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program’s 2019 Horse Of The Year

Indiana-sired and -bred filly Unbridled Class was named the Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development Program's Horse of the Year for 2019, capping a stellar year that saw the then 4-year-old filly earning $255,695 in 2019 alone.

The award is the pinnacle of the Indiana program for breeders and owners Bernard Flint and Ron Hillerich. Unbridled Class's 2019 earnings also earned her sire, Unbridled Express, the 2019 Stallion of the Year; and Flint the 2019 Stallion Owner of the Year awards.

“We are thrilled. We're humbled,” says Hillerich, a lawyer based in Kentucky. “We're just so happy to be part of the Indiana racing scene. It's quality people, which we enjoy, it's a quality track, and it's a quality experience.”

The gray filly is the product of generations of breeding. Flint and Hillerich bred the dam of Unbridled Express. So it shouldn't be a surprise that because of the banner year for the filly that her dam, Miss Carmelite, would be named the 2019 Broodmare of the Year.

Bred in partnership by Flint's LTB Inc. and Hillerich's Hillerich Racing, LLC, Unbridled Class ranked 63rd by wins in the Top 100 Thoroughbreds racing in North America. Wins included allowance races, stakes placings and black type stakes wins at not only her home base Indiana Grand Racing and Casino, but also at Fair Grounds Race Course, located in New Orleans, La.

Unbridled Class kick-started the year on New Year's Day, winning a $40,000 allowance at Fair Grounds on a sloppy, sealed track. “That race raised my eyebrows,” says Hillerich.

It also was the start of a four-race win streak and she finished no worse than second from February through the end of the year, acquiring a race record of 10 starts, six wins, three seconds and one third in 2019.

The filly's first stakes win came after a stumble at the start in the 2019 Merrillville Stakes at Indiana Grand in September under the expert tutelage of veteran jockey Rodney Prescott, finishing the six furlongs at 1:11.10.

“She (Unbridled Class) is just a really nice, classy mare,” Prescott told media after winning an allowance race earlier this year. “She's done it all, from turf to dirt to different distances. She's won races outside of Indiana, even a stakes race.”

“If you look at her record, she can run on the grass, run on the dirt or slop, she can run short and she can run long,” points out Hillerich.

Off the track, Unbridled Class is all class. Her favorite treats include apples, peppermints and watermelon. According to Hillerich, she has a dream temperament in her stall and on the lead. But, when she steps into the paddock and onto the track, she's all business while staying cool and calm.

“We've been blessed,” he says. “She's beautiful, talented and her disposition is one of those for a lifetime.”

There are no concrete plans for the filly in 2020 and beyond because Flint and Hillerich like to let her do the talking. “The horse tells you what we're going to do,” says Hillerich. “We're just taking it day by day and making sure she stays healthy and sound. I'm looking at the long range for her—when her racing career is over, and I don't know when that'll be, can you imagine what a classic broodmare she will make?”

To date, Unbridled Class has earned almost $400,000, moving her to the top five for Indiana-sired money earners. “She's been so good to us,” says Hillerich in terms of her lifetime earnings. “She's won almost $400,000, and that is before getting the additional 30 percent that Bernie and I get from the Indiana breed development program—10 percent for owning the stallion and 20 percent for breeding the filly.”

The Indiana bred Horse of the Year is determined by the total earnings while racing at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino in Shelbyville. Horses are eligible for the Indiana-bred program if breeders follow registration and residency guidelines for broodmares and their foals. More information can be found on the Indiana Horse Racing Commission website: https://www.in.gov/hrc/tb/

The 2019 Indiana Thoroughbred Breed Development and Indiana Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association award winners will be recognized during the first ever Indiana Breeders Day held at Indiana Grand on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The day is meant to celebrate Indiana's Thoroughbred breeders and stallion owners, and will feature a race card hosting four Indiana sired stakes, including the first running of the Unreachable Star and Lady Fog Horn Stakes, contested at 1 1/16 miles for horses three years and older. The two year olds will battle it out in the Crown Ambassador and Indian Stallion Fillies Stakes over six furlongs.

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