Competitive Edge Relocated To Valor Farm In Texas

Competitive Edge, a Grade 1 winner and nationally ranked first- and second-crop sire over the past two years, was purchased by Douglas Scharbauer to stand at Valor Farm in Pilot Point, Texas.

The son of Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver previously stood at Ashford Stud in Kentucky. His 2021 fee will be $5,000. 

Bred by WinStar Farm LLC and sold for $750,000 as a 2-year-old, Competitive Edge broke his maiden at first asking by more than 10 lengths at Saratoga Race Course. Then in just his second career start, he romped to a 5 3/4-length win in the historic Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes, also at Saratoga.  

His win streak continued as a 3-year-old, when in consecutive starts he won the Tamarac Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the G3 Pat Day Mile Stakes at Churchill Downs, stopping the timer at 1:34.18. All told, he earned $519,280 on the track. 

Competitive Edge, who also covered mares in the Southern Hemisphere while with Ashford, was North America's sixth-ranked first-crop sire with more than $1.3 million in progeny earnings in 2019. He is currently ranked among the top 15 second-crop sires, with total progeny earnings of nearly $3.6 million thorough early December.

He is represented by 12 stakes horses, including Saratoga stakes winners Fierce Lady and My Italian Rabbi, Grade 2- and Grade 3-placed Reagan's Edge and Grade 3-placed Edgeway. 

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Keeneland Catalogs 1,588 Horses For 2021 January Sale

Keeneland has cataloged 1,588 horses for its 2021 January Horses of All Ages Sale, which will include dispersals of Sam-Son Farm, Paul Pompa Jr. and Spry Family Farm during the four sessions of the sale, to be held Jan. 11-14.

Keeneland will continue to offer online and phone bidding to enable buyers to participate in the January Sale remotely while employing onsite COVID-19 protocols similar to those used during its two recent auctions.

January Sale catalogs are available online at Keeneland.com. Print catalogs are scheduled to be delivered by Dec. 22.

The catalog consists of 808 broodmares and broodmare prospects, 697 newly turned yearlings, 78 horses of racing age and five stallions or stallion prospects.

Sam-Son Farm, a multiple Eclipse Award- and Sovereign Award-winning breed-to-race operation based in Ontario, will offer 21 broodmares in foal to Accelerate, American Pharoah, Bernardini, Candy Ride (ARG), City of Light, Distorted Humor, Hard Spun, Into Mischief, Kantharos, Kitten's Joy, Lookin At Lucky, Malibu Moon, Munnings, Omaha Beach, Speightstown, Street Sense, Twirling Candy, Uncle Mo and War Front. They include:

  • Danceforthecause, a daughter of Giant's Causeway who is the dam of Grade 1 winner Say the Word and Grade 2 winner Rideforthecause and is in foal to Twirling Candy;
  • Deceptive Vision, a Grade 2-winning, Grade 1-placed mare out of Canadian champion Eye of the Sphynx and a full sister to Canadian champion Eye of the Leopard who is in foal to War Front;
  • Fun in the Desert, a Distorted Humor mare who is a half-sister to Deceptive Vision and Eye of the Leopard and is the dam of Canadian champion Desert Ride, by Candy Ride (ARG). She is carrying a full sibling to Desert Ride; and
  • Southern Ring, a Grade 3-winning, Grade 2-placed daughter of Speightstown in foal to Into Mischief.

Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency, agent, will handle 46 horses cataloged in the Dispersal of Spry Family Farm. They include:

  • 11 mares, including seven in foal to Ghostzapper, Speightstown, Maclean's Music, Midshipman and Take Charge Indy;
  • 10 foals of 2020 by Creative Cause, Ghostzapper, Maclean's Music and Tapiture;
  • Nine foals of 2019 by Lea, Maclean's Music and Temple City; and
  • 16 racing or broodmare prospects by such sires as Uncle Mo, Frankel (GB), Invincible Spirit (IRE), Medaglia d'Oro and Kodiac (GB).

As previously announced, the 39 horses in the Complete Dispersal of the late Paul P. Pompa Jr., Lane's End, agent, are broodmares, foals of 2020, horses of racing age and broodmare or stallion prospects. Click here for more information.

“This year's January Sale is especially deep because of the Sam-Son, Paul Pompa and Spry Family Farm dispersals, which offer one-of-a-kind opportunities to obtain breeding and racing stock from established, successful operations,” Keeneland President-Elect and Interim Head of Sales Shannon Arvin said. “These dispersals further enhance the January Sale's reputation for being a source of quality broodmares prior to breeding season and a popular market for newly turned yearlings and horses of racing age.”

Each session of the January Sale will begin at 10 a.m. ET. The auction will be streamed live on Keeneland.com.

TVG2 will feature live coverage of the first two days of the sale from 10 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. The entire sale will be shown on the Watch TVG App.

Online, Telephone Bidding Available

Remote bidding options at Keeneland sales integrate directly with the live auction experience in real time, just as if a buyer were standing in the Sales Pavilion.

Buyers who plan to attend the January Sale or participate in the auction remotely should register for an account and establish credit within the Keeneland Sales Portal. Keeneland recommends doing so two weeks before the sale.

Online bidding: Buyers may watch a real-time video view of the live sale and bid simultaneously from Keeneland's online bidding platform accessible through their accounts in the Keeneland Sales Portal.

Phone bidding: Buyers can use the Keeneland Sales Portal to participate in bidding on horses in the January Sale by phone. Please notify Keeneland at least 24 hours prior to bidding. A Keeneland representative will call back prior to the bidding.

The Keeneland Sales team is available to answer any questions about expanded bidding options and the January Sale. Please contact Director of Sales Accounting Brent Hacker at 859 288-4231 or bhacker@keeneland.com.

Sire power represented

The 2021 January Sale features broodmares in foal to a number of established sires and promising young stallions, including American Pharoah, Bernardini, Candy Ride (ARG), City of Light, Constitution, Distorted Humor, Ghostzapper, Gun Runner, Into Mischief, Justify, Kitten's Joy, Malibu Moon, Mastery, Medaglia d'Oro, More Than Ready, Not This Time, Nyquist, Quality Road, Speightstown, Twirling Candy, Uncle Mo and War Front.

The auction also offers opportunities to purchase the first yearlings by such sires as Accelerate, Always Dreaming, Bolt d'Oro, City of Light, Collected, Good Magic, Good Samaritan, Justify, Mendelssohn, Mo Town, Oscar Performance, Tapwrit and West Coast.

Additional yearlings in the catalog are by American Pharoah, Arrogate, Bernardini, Candy Ride, Constitution, Distorted Humor, Empire Maker, Frosted, Ghostzapper, Gun Runner, Into Mischief, Kitten's Joy, Malibu Moon, Medaglia d'Oro, More Than Ready, Not This Time, Nyquist, Practical Joke, Speightstown, Tapit and Uncle Mo, among others.

Graduates perform well in 2020

Leading the 2020 stakes winners who were cataloged as yearlings at the January Sale are Grade 1 winners Dr. Schivel (Runhappy Del Mar Futurity) and Mucho Gusto (Pegasus World Cup Invitational Presented by Runhappy), Grade 2 winners Skywire (Eclipse and Autumn), Wells Bayou (Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby) and Weston (Best Pal) and Grade 3 winner Toinette (Wilshire).

Beau Recall (IRE), who won the 2020 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G2), was offered at the January Sale as a horse of racing age.

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Keeneland December Digital Sale Catalog Now Online

The catalog for the 2020 Keeneland December Digital Sale is now online, featuring 76 entries.

The sale will take place Tuesday, Dec. 15, starting at 10 a.m. Eastern. Information on registering to buy can be found on Keeneland's Digital Sales Ring website.

Among the offerings in the catalog are 33 broodmares, 12 yearlings, eight weanlings, seven horses of racing age, five broodmare prospects, five stallions, and a share in a stallion.

Pregnant mares in the sale are offered in-foal to Blame, Catalina Cruiser, Catholic Boy, City of Light, Flameaway, Keen Ice, Mitole, Mshawish, Not This Time, Nyquist, Practical Joke, Real Solution, Saxon Warrior, Twirling Candy, Vino Rosso, Yoshida, and Zoffany.

The offering of stallions includes five residents of Calumet Farm who stood privately or regionally in 2020.

  • Behesht, a 9-year-old son of Sea The Stars whose first foals are yearlings of 2020. The product of The Aga Khan's breeding program was a stakes winner in France.
  • Grey Swallow, a 19-year-old Daylami horse best known as the winner of winner of the Group 1 Irish Derby and Tattersalls Gold Cup in his home country.
  • Lentenor, a 13-year-old full-brother to ill-fated Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. The stakes winner stood the 2020 breeding season at Indiana Stallion Station.
  • Musketier, an 18-year-old German-bred son of Acatenango who was a Group 3 winner in France before coming stateside and winning six graded stakes races.
  • Snapy Halo, an Argentine-born 16-year-old son of Southern Halo who was a Group 1 winner in his home country.

The sale also features one share in the 50-share syndicate for WinStar Farm resident Paynter, belonging to Zayat Stables and offered as part of the ongoing liquidation of Ahmed Zayat's equine assets. Paynter is the sire of Breeders' Cup Dirt mile winner Knicks Go.

To view the full online catalog, click here.

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California Memory: The Little Horse That Could…And Did

A good horse can come from anywhere, can come in all shapes and sizes. Perhaps no horse in the history of the Hong Kong turf embodies that idea more than the diminutive, but wildly talented California Memory (Highest Honor {Fr}–Kalpita, by Spinning World).

Brookdale Farm’s Fred Seitz acquired Kalpita privately after she was led out unsold on a bid of 48,000gns at Tattersalls December in 2005 and the mare foaled a grey colt Mar. 2, 2006. Hailing from the female family of champions Bosra Sham (Woodman) and Hector Protector (Woodman), the colt was consigned by Seitz’s Brookdale Sales to the 2007 Keeneland September and was off to Europe following a winning bid of $65,000. In an ironic twist, his third dam has come to include Gaudeamus (Distorted Humor), whose son Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d’Oro) is the early favorite for Sunday’s G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile.

Placed in his first two career starts in Madrid, Portus Blendium won his maiden at third asking at Dax in extreme southwestern France. He acquitted himself nicely at metropolitan tracks in early 2009, and it was a conditions victory at Chantilly that May that caught the attention of many, including Marie Yoshida.

“A good friend of mine, Francois Dupuis, contacted me and at the same time, my loyal and longtime Hong Kong client Dr. Thomas T.S. Liang was in search of a promising young racehorse. We contacted trainer Carlos Laffon-Parias, but it was only after his third-place finish in the Listed Prix Matchem that we were able to secure him.”

Ahead of Portus Blendium in the Matchem were future Godolphin star Cavalryman (GB) (Halling) and a future legend by the name of Cirrus des Aigles (Fr) (Even Top {Ire}). It would not be the final time the rivals met.

Portus Blendium made one final start in France, a third in the Listed Prix Tourgeville in August 2009, but tragedy struck a short time thereafter, as Dr. Liang passed away suddenly the following month. His final purchase was renamed California Memory by his family, who crossed their fingers that they might have a Derby runner on their hands.

Derby Dreams Dashed…

Under normal circumstances, it is tough to prepare a European import for a Classics season (for 4-year-olds in Hong Kong), but it was not straight-forward for California Memory. Having raced in France as a ridgling, he underwent gelding surgery once he got to Hong Kong, and made his local debut in February 2010, finishing 11th at long odds in the Hong Kong Classic Cup just one month prior to the Derby. It wasn’t meant to be. He returned a better horse that latter half of that season and would go on to win a pair of Class 1 handicaps, but he was no better than a 30-1 shot against the likes of veterans Irian (Ger) (Tertullian) and Viva Pataca (GB) (Marju {Ire}) in the 2011 G1 Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m). Racing for Dr. Liang’s son Howard and with homegrown rider Matt Chadwick aboard, California Memory–all 981 pounds of him–got well back, but kicked hard in the final 200 meters to cause the boilover (see below), prompting commentator Darren Flindell to anoint California Memory a champion stayer of the future. A prescient comment, indeed.

“I vividly remember receiving a phone call from Howard Liang and there was so much emotion. I could not stop smiling and crying at the same time,” recollected Yoshida. “We could feel that something very special had just happened, as if Dr. Liang was there with us.”

 

WATCH: California Memory announces his arrival in the 2011 Hong Kong Gold Cup

 

A History Maker…

California Memory won the 2011 Sha Tin Trophy H. over an insufficient 1600-meter trip off a five-month layoff with 130 pounds on his back and was fourth at odds on in the G2 Jockey Club Cup ahead of that year’s Hong Kong Cup. Forced to race handier to a slow pace while facing true international competition for the first time, he was short of room at a crucial stage, but bulled his way through to defeat Irian, with his old mate Cirrus des Aigles fifth (video).

“We were so proud that this horse could represent Hong Kong and that Matthew Chadwick, who attended the Hong Kong Jockey Club jockeys’ school, would have such success,” Yoshida said.

If anything, California Memory was in even better form heading into the internationals of 2012. Having won the Jockey Club Cup this time around, he was the 17-10 favorite on the big day and it was an easy watch for his backers, as he ran to daylight after saving ground throughout and powered home easily best to become the first–and only–two-time winner of the richest of the HKIR (see below).

“Frankly, we were hoping California Memory could do it, but we did not 100% believe he could,” Yoshida reflected. “Tony Cruz had him in peak form and it was such a big honor for Howard Liang and his family to be there and race for Hong Kong. Everything happened in slow motion that day, it was surreal. It was a celebration of Dr. Liang’s life and the family’s long-term racing accomplishment in Hong Kong. Mrs. Liang and several grandchildren were there. It was just perfect.”

California Memory made the 2013 G1 Champions and Chater Cup (2400m) the last of his 12 career victories and earned him champion stayer honors that season. He retired from racing in 2015 with earnings of $6,687,501 and lives out his days at Living Legends just outside of Melbourne, where he shares space with other HKIR winners Silent Witness (Aus), Good Ba Ba, Peniaphobia (Ire), Mr Stunning (Aus), Beauty Only (Ire) and Designs On Rome (Ire).

Japan’s Win Bright (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) could equal California Memory’s achievement when he goes out in defense of his title in Sunday’s Hong Kong Cup.

 

WATCH: California Memory goes back-to-back in the Cup

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