As migrations go, one is rather less surprising than the other. On the one hand, over the past two years the synthetic circuit at Turfway has consecutively delivered the winner and runner-up in the definitive test of a dirt Thoroughbred. On the other, the trainer hoping to produce another GI Kentucky Derby horse from the same unlikely platform is only the latest in a perennial line of Irish expatriates to have successfully adapted their skills to a new environment in the Bluegrass.

Most of the compatriots to be featured in this series will do so through their endeavors on horse farms, rather than on the racetrack. But almost of all of them have a similar story to John Ennis, in having crossed the water with little more than a willingness to work for chances in “the land of opportunity” that might never have been found in their homeland.

“No chance,” replies Ennis, asked whether he could have achieved similar things back home. “Absolutely zero. You'd have to go back there with $1 million and probably still fail. That's the long and short of it. I love going jump racing, when I'm back home, love it. But could I do it there? Not a chance.

“When I came over here, I was going absolutely nowhere. Ireland, Newmarket, Dubai, it had all dried up. And I got here with nothing. I'd say I had $500 or $600 to my name, didn't have a phone. But it's amazing how things can snowball over here.”

As it is, continuing the momentum of his best campaign to date in 2023, Ennis has already saddled 11 winners from 33 starters this year and one of those, Epic Ride (Blame), looks the horse to beat for 20 Derby points in the John Battaglia S. at Turfway on Saturday.

Whatever happens, just finding himself with a potential Derby type suggests that Ennis is entering a new phase after laying the foundations of his Stateside career with a pragmatic eye for precocity. Hitherto his modus operandi at the Thoroughbred Center near Lexington has been to showcase speed in early juveniles, in the hope of selling them on. It's almost been like transferring the breeze-up pinhook to racetrack competition.

“And we're still doing the same model,” he stresses. “I've plenty of sharp-looking individuals for the spring. But yes, if we can, going forward hopefully we're trying to get that bigger, maybe classier horse. I'm not trying to change things that are working, but every trainer wants to get up to the Premier League. You don't want to get labeled just with that cheap, early sprinting type. You always want better quality.”

Not that the two are mutually exclusive. As Wesley Ward has shown, you can upgrade while still dealing primarily with speed.

“Correct,” Ennis responds. “There's plenty that do go on from winning early in the spring to become Breeders' Cup horses, and then have a good 3-year-old career as well. So all I'm trying to do is get that better quality, whether it's five furlongs or two turns. Good horses make good trainers. The top trainers will tell you that those horses basically train themselves.”

Up to now, however, necessity has been the mother of invention. Since early, commercial types were more affordable, they became the seed corn. And, in contrast with the breeze-up programs, Ennis could also avoid the artificial deadline of a 2-year-old sale catalogue.

“It's just kind of a win-win situation,” Ennis says. “It was a quick turnover: I could get these horses to run fast, keep them sound, get them to the Keeneland spring meet. And I could make a little money, because I'd own a piece myself. There didn't seem to be many people doing it, and I thought that it could be a way to survive over here.

“For the 2-year-old sales, you get one day where they have to be ready. But if we're not ready for Keeneland opening weekend, we've still got the whole month, and then Churchill. Prize money is good, so if you can win you might get paid twice: you get your purse, and you can sell.”

The foundations were admittedly precarious. Ennis bought his first yearling, a $7,000 colt by Yes It's True, at Fasig-Tipton's October Sale in 2017. Other than dabbling with the odd bit of rehab or pre-training, in the five years since his arrival he had subsisted chiefly on freelance trackwork. Even $7,000, then, was more than he could afford.

“I was getting older, and it was getting harder on the body to be galloping all the time,” he recalls. “But it looked like I would just have to carry on as I was unless I could develop the training side. I remember going over to Fasig and thinking, 'Look, no one is going to give me horses. No one knows me. No one trusts me. So I'll have to buy my own.'”

Erin, meanwhile, his wife and mother to their twins Jack and Eleanor, was supportive as ever. Somehow they scraped the money together, with the help of friends, and Weiland showed a bit of dash before fading into fifth on debut at Keeneland. Ennis rolled the dice immediately, entering the colt for a stakes at Churchill, and was rewarded when Weiland just prevailed after a tense stretch drive.

“So after that we got him sold, and it just snowballed from there,” Ennis says. “And I just kept reinvesting, kept doing it, again and again.”

Deep in the Keeneland September Sale of 2019, for instance, he found an Oxbow colt for $9,500. The following July, as a Churchill debut winner and GIII Bashford Manor S. runner-up, County Final topped Fasig-Tipton's Horses of Racing Age auction at $475,000.

But now Epic Ride is threatening to elevate Ennis to new heights. He already did that, in fairness, simply by walking into the barn as a $160,000 yearling. He had been found at the Keeneland September Sale by Welch Racing, who were recommended to Ennis by his friend and client Martha Jane Mulholland of Mulholland Springs Farm.

“So it was great to be given that opportunity,” Ennis says gratefully. “It's a group round Jennifer and Mark Welch from Tennessee, lovely people and kind of new in the game. I think it was Mark's dad that always wanted to have a Derby horse, and for his ambition to be carried on, so that's why they named him Epic Ride.

“He's a beautiful, scopey horse; big but not too big, if you know what I mean. On looks he certainly wouldn't be out of place in the Derby paddock. And he's fast, but he carries it. The thing I really like is that he's uber professional, just settles so well. He probably should have won first time, sprinting, but it actually probably worked out better that he just got beat, as it got that extra race into him and he was able to win his maiden impressively. And then he came back for the Leonatus S. I didn't think he was quite ready, physically, but he won easy, didn't get a smack or anything and galloped out strong.”

Ennis is too familiar with the challenging margins of his profession to be getting carried away, but the reality is that a similar performance against a deeper field on Saturday could not fail to evoke the recent examples of Two Phil's and Rich Strike. The latter was probably not as effective on a synthetic track, but Two Phil's turned out to be one of those horses that are simply more adaptable than people tend to expect.

“And before those you've obviously had others, like Animal Kingdom, that switched between surfaces,” Ennis muses. “And you know what, one thing about Turfway, they come out of their races really good. They don't have the grueling, punishing races that they sometimes do on the dirt. These horses that have been coming out of the Jeff Ruby [the Grade III climax of the Turfway series], they've bounced out of it and they've run well in the Derby. So, look, we'll see if he can get the points, and then we can start thinking about the Ruby or the [GI] Blue Grass.”

Long before he started training on this scale, Ennis had always noticed the different effects of different surfaces in conditioning a horse.

“For years, I was riding a lot of nice horses for some of the bigger trainers,” he notes. “And when you're riding that many horses, every day, you'd get to feel how some of them were getting tired and labored underneath you. So I never want to empty a horse on the dirt, because it can bottom them fairly fast. At the Thoroughbred Center, it's a heavy enough dirt, it takes a bit of getting. You could easily overcook a horse if you trained them too much. So, yeah, less can be more.”

That earlier experience riding trackwork also introduced Ennis to what elevates the best horses from the herd. For he was once the regular exercise partner of a future dual Horse of the Year in Wise Dan (Wiseman's Ferry).

“He was just a different gear, a freak,” he says with enthusiasm. “He was your American Frankel (GB), he was that good. He'd have been quick enough to go six furlongs, his cruising speed was that fast. And he'd probably have stayed a mile and a half, too.”

Ennis has never attended the Derby and nor does he intend to do so–unless he meets one condition.

“It's only down the road, obviously, but I've always said that I'd never go until I have a runner,” he says. “If this horse doesn't make it, I won't go. But it would be a dream, just to be part of it. The Derby's not the be-all and end-all, but it would be huge just to do that walk over, with 130,000 people screaming at you. That stuff doesn't happen. It would be madness.”

In the meantime, Ennis is keeping his feet on the ground and sticking to the process. Here, after all, is a man who started with nothing. The first to support him was Allen Greathouse, now an investor in nearly every yearling project.

“I've got some great clients now, but he was the first,” Ennis says. “He trusts me, and he's doing well with it. We bought a Collected yearling off Stone Farm at Keeneland for $2,500, Gewurztraminer, and after he won easy at Churchill we sold him for $250,000. And actually I was out at Stone Farm the other day, and hopefully they'll be sending me his siblings.

“I've now got Three Diamonds Farm, Cheyenne Stables, Dixiana. Bourbon Lane are sending me some. It's building up crazily; really, I need more room. When I started out, I was subleasing a couple of stalls. Then I might have had two horses in this barn, four in that one, all spread out. Now I've got a whole barn of 40, plus 10 in another one. And 30 of them are 2-year-olds. Thank God, they've been running consistently well for quite a while now. Maybe it's the better horses, maybe I'm placing them better, maybe it's a combination. But momentum is key, isn't it? So, yeah, just keep the foot down.”

It's a world apart, certainly, from the cul-de-sac he had reached at the end of his 20s back in the Old World. Unlike so many Irishmen who have preceded him here, Ennis was by no means born into the game. His dad, a truck driver, would take him from their home in Co. Meath to the old Phoenix Park, and the boy would gaze in awe at Steve Cauthen riding out of the parade ring in the old Sheikh Mohammed silks. He left school at 15 and entered the apprentice academy at the Curragh with little sense of vocation. By the time he boarded that plane, his path with horses appeared to be fading. All he knew was that he had a friend to stay with, and hoped to pick up some trackwork. Within two or three months he was riding through to mid-afternoon daily, making good money, already beginning to sense that this was a place where a striver could make things happen.

“And let me tell you this, the Irish expat community in Lexington is the best in the world, bar none,” he says. “If something goes wrong, or someone's in trouble, they all come together and look after you. I've seen it time and again. Everyone will get together to get you out of a hole. It's amazing. We're all competing, all trying to buy and sell horses, all trying to make money–but we're all in it together.”

Last year his father came over and found himself being photographed with Cauthen in the Keeneland paddock–a barn client, in his role with Dixiana–and watching races from the farm's box.

“I trained a Dixiana homebred filly [Icicles (Frosted)] to win a stakes at Turfway at the start of the year,” Ennis says proudly. “They're all so easy to deal with, Steve, Rob Tillyer, everyone.

“I'm 42 now and have still never had money. But the reason I don't have money now is because I keep buying horses! And at least I can provide for my family. I would definitely encourage other guys to come over. There's so many good people in Ireland and England, just wasting away. Come over here and give it five years. If you don't like it, go home. But give it a go.”

Of course, a spirit of adventure brings no guarantees. If Ennis has earned unusual success, he evidently has aptitudes that are no less common.

“American Dream, that's basically what it is,” he says with a shrug. “But it is all about hard work. You get over here, and you work. Look after whatever dollars or cents you can get, try to keep things together–and always invest in yourself.”

The post ‘Shamrocks in the Bluegrass’: John Ennis Enjoying the Ride appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A common refrain from consignors heading into the one-session auction was timeliness, as the sale's place on the calendar puts it right in front of a busy summer of racing, both regionally and at boutique meets on both coasts at Saratoga and Del Mar.

“I think this sale is an extremely useful sale on the calendar because of the timing,” said Conrad Bandoroff of Denali Stud, which will offer 11 horses Monday afternoon. “It gives both buyers and sellers the option to bring in-form horses to the market and to really help to satisfy the demand for horses that have form and are running well. It is also potentially an avenue for horses that don't quite fit that mold–horses that need to be moved on and go to maybe a more regional or a softer circuit.”

The Seitz family's Brookdale Sales has been represented at every July Horses of Racing Age sale since its inaugural edition in 2013 and the consignment returns with 14 head on offer this year.

“It's a great outlet for people,” said Joe Seitz. “It is like two worlds coming together with people maybe offloading a horse that is still very raceable  and that gives people the opportunity to take advantage of this regional circuit which is so hot right now. It's a great opportunity for buying and selling.”

The horses of racing age sale can provide buyers with immediate access to success on the track.

“It's about as turnkey as you can get,” Seitz said. “When you bring a horse out here that is fit and has good form and with all the X-rays and physical information someone might need when they are trying to pick out a horse, what you're doing is presenting them something they can turn around with immediately and try to have some fun with, especially with these purses.”

Nowhere in the catalogue is that current form more noticeable than in the last offering in the catalogue, Crypto Mo (Mohaymen) (hip 645). Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, the 3-year-old filly captured the GIII Iowa Oaks Saturday and comes into the auction on a three-race win streak.

“Crypto Mo is a very exciting addition to the catalogue,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “She is a ready-to-go graded stakes-winning 3-year-old filly with a lot of racing opportunities ahead of her. She has a similar profile to Stiletto Boy, who came into this sale off a win in the Iowa Derby a couple years back and is now a Grade I winner of $1.8 million.”

Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) sold for $420,000 at the 2021 July Horses of Racing Age sale and went on to capture this year's GI Santa Anita H. and has hit the board in five additional Grade I races.

John Ennis has made a habit of bringing in-form juveniles to the July Horses of Racing Age sale. The trainer topped the 2020 auction with County Final (Oxbow), who came into the auction off a runner-up effort in the GIII Bashford Manor S. and sold for $475,000. Ennis brings five juveniles into the 2023 auction and all are coming off maiden special weight victories.

“I usually bring 2-year-olds with form that are pretty commercial to the buyer,” Ennis said. “And the timing is great. Being in July, they can take them anywhere, Saratoga or Del Mar.”

Buying inexpensive yearlings and getting them success on the racetrack before re-offering them in July provides clients with the thrill of racing and potential profit in the sales ring, according to Ennis.

“It's enjoyable to the owners to get to go racing and hopefully be in the winner's circle and then come to the sale and hopefully make a profit,” Ennis said. “Everybody is looking for horses at the moment, so the timing is perfect. All of the horses have been really well-received so far and all of the right people have come to see them.”

Monday's Horses of Racing Age sale will be followed by the Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings, which will be held Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m.

The post With Time on its Side, Fasig-Tipton Horses of Racing Age Sale to be Held Monday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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With so many horses going through the ring, and limited time and travel budgets to roam the barns inspecting horses at each consignment, many horsemen in the later books of the marathon sale will elect to find a spot in the back walking ring and inspect the horses as they come through, often standing shoulder-to-shoulder with several others doing the same thing. If they find one that meets their criteria, they'll follow the horse up to the ring to place a bid. Then, once the paperwork is complete, they'll often go back to the same spot and start the process over again.

It's a pressure cooker for buyers and sellers alike, as they weave between nervous horses and each other in a crowded, enclosed area, trying to get the best sightline for a yearling on the walk or hunting down the consignor to glance at the vet report.

The horses purchased in these books are crucial to filling the ranks for pinhookers and trainers around the country, and while the prices might not turn heads the way a seven-figure star might earlier in the sale, the buyers still shoulder a significant risk relative to their initial capital. To succeed in the long-term, their quick-twitch judgement with back ring horses has to be right more often than not.

So, what do keen judges lean on during the bloodstock realm's version of speed dating? For most, it comes down to the walk, the mind, and the budget.

“You can pick apart the book by pedigree at this point as much as you want, but honestly, we just look at individuals, and if we see something that catches our eye, we kind of go from there,” said Delaware Park-based trainer Chelsey Moysey. “You see the horse, see the page, and go on to vet reports and all of that. At this stage in the game, it moves fast, and that's what works for us.

“The biggest thing for me is the walk,” Moysey continued. “I want a good walker, a good shoulder, and a good hip. I can work with anything from the knees down, give or take, but I want to see a horse with a good shoulder and a good hip.”

In addition to how the young horses move, buyers often judged prospects on how they handled their surroundings. A yearling that could handle the sensory overload of the auction process was more likely to warrant a longer look than one hanging on to its composure by a thread.

“They've got to be smart-looking to me,” said Eric Foster, a trainer based in Kentucky and Indiana. “I haven't had a lot of luck with horses that weren't smart. I want to hang around with smart people and smart horses. And never back in the knee. A lot of my rules I make, I wind up having to break them a little bit, so it's hard for me to say, 'I'll never do this,' because then I'll be right there doing it.”

Foster said he comes to the sale with a number in his head in terms of setting a budget, but he allows some wiggle room if he feels he'd be getting adequate value at a higher price.

Moysey also said the horse will dictate the price in her eyes, but her goal was to come back with as many prospects within her overall budget as she could.

“We're still on the lower end of racing, so for us to spend $50,000 on an individual is a lot, but for us to spend $50,000 on two is great,” she said We try to look between the $20,000 to $30,000 range, and if we get something cheaper, great. That isn't happening right now, but we're trying.”

The intent of the buyer can also swing the type of horse they're looking for in the back ring. As buyers looking to race, Foster and Moysey said they were able to forgive certain conditions found on a vet report. Pinhook buyers, on the other hand, will need their horses to stand up to veterinary scrutiny when they're offered again in the spring, and it's hard to have a clean vet report as a 2-year-old if they didn't start with one as a yearling.

Crystal Ryan of South Carolina-based pinhook operation Mason Springs said she prefers to do her homework back at the barns, but the volume of horses in the catalog sometimes makes back ring buying a necessity. When it does, due diligence has to be done quickly, and juggling prospects can be a challenge.

“It all happens so fast, and it's so easy to lose track of one, when you get on one and you have to check on all those things,” she said. “It can be really hard, because one you like might not pass the vet, and then you look and the next horse you like is already going to the ring, and there's not enough time to call it in to the vet.”

Whereas Moysey was willing to forgive anything below the legs on a horse, Ryan's checklist was the exact opposite.

“First off, I try to look from the legs up, because if I look from the side, I will tend to like something that I probably shouldn't, so I really try to watch that walk, and see how correct they are,” she said. “Of course, there's no perfect horse, so they'll have a little deviation and you have to be a little forgiving.”

Buying to pinhook also means Ryan was not necessarily shopping for the horses she'd like, but the ones she expects potential buyers will like during the 2-year-old sales, both from a physical and pedigree standpoint. She admitted this has taken some fine-tuning of her critical eye.

“It does knock a lot of horses out that I would otherwise really like,” Ryan said. “I have an affinity for a turf horse and that doesn't really fit the bill, so I have to be really careful about that.”

What a back ring buyer does when they fall on a potential purchase can differ wildly, as well. Querying the consignor for the vet report is standard procedure, but how much conversation they have with the agent about the horse and the economics around it depends on the buyer.

“I really kind of keep myself to myself and just do my own thing,” said Midwest trainer John Ennis. “I just paddle my own canoe, really.

“It's a big investment that you're buying, so you want to make sure you're buying something with no soundness issues,” he continued. “Starting out on the right foot is the main thing.”

Book 5 of this year's Keeneland September sale has been unusually robust, and that has given the traditional back ring buyers more competition than they might have expected. Because buyers in the higher books have gotten pushed down into the later sessions, prices have been driven up, and buyers on a tighter budget have had to be even more shrewd than before about picking their spots.

Just because it's later in the sale and the average price has gone down, that doesn't mean it's gotten any easier to buy a horse than it was on the auction's opening day.

“It's hard to have a stone plan for it,” Foster said. “You need to be a little bit lucky.”

The post Buying From The Back Ring: High-Stakes Snap Judgments At Thoroughbred Auctions appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The trainer remembers trembling as he signed a $7,000 docket for a Yes It's True colt at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale in 2017.

“My heart was racing,” he recalls. “The first yearling I ever bought. Combined, me and my wife probably didn't have $3,500 in our account. 'God, how am I going to pay for this?' We were still only going out then, and Erin knew nothing about the horse industry when I met her. But she's always been super supportive. And we found a way. I was able to borrow maybe $1,000 off a friend, and we had no kids then, no real responsibilities. So we just worked, just did all the extra hours we could.”

Ennis, who arrived in Kentucky a decade ago after riding as an apprentice and amateur in his native Ireland and then Britain, was at that stage still freelancing: riding trackwork, pre-training, lay-ups. But in trying to assemble a small barn in his own name, this would prove the game-changing moment.

He got the colt rolling early, starting him at the Keeneland spring meet where he showed bright speed before flattening into fifth. By starting him next in the Kentucky Juvenile Stakes, Ennis looked naïve, a dreamer. But Weiland (a name he had carried into the catalog) won a grueling stretch duel in a photo.

“So eight or nine months after we bought him, he had won a $100,000 stakes in Derby week,” Ennis says. “There were probably 60,000 people there, and I was being interviewed on NBC. It was just overnight stuff, and I ended up being able to sell the horse. So I thought to myself, 'Maybe I can make this work.' And it just snowballed from there.”

By sheer “happenstance”, as he puts it, Ennis had discovered a niche in the market that played to his instinct for a precocious horse. And each new cycle has generated extra horsepower for the next. So much so, that Ennis has three candidates to divide between the two big juvenile races on the card that closes the Churchill meet on Saturday. All three have begun their careers with the same branding: an exceptionally alert, forward style and an abundance of speed.

Mollie Kate (Tapizar) showed so much dash in her maiden over the track that Ennis is considering taking on the colts in the GIII Bashford Manor S; while Shesgotattitude (Tiznow), who beat a subsequent Royal Ascot runner-up on debut at Keeneland before struggling in the slop next time, could stay with the fillies in the Debutante S. However their trainer deploys those two, Whatstheconnection (Connect) will contest the Bashford Manor after giving his sire a first success at Indiana Grand last month.

“I actually wasn't expecting Shesgotattitude to win first time out,” Ennis says. “She was a breeze short and I thought, 'Ah, look, if she finishes in the first three I'll be happy.' But she went and won, showing a lot of heart. Mollie Kate was very impressive winning in Derby week. I think you're going to see big things from this filly, especially going two turns. Towards the end of the year, I'd hope she can maybe be looking at something like the [GI] Alcibiades. She's that good. Both fillies breezed a half in 46-and-change at the Kentucky Thoroughbred Center [Sunday], that's a really good move on a deep track, so they're sitting on 'go' for Saturday.”

For all the pace shown by Whatstheconnection on debut, this $27,000 September RNA was another who actually exceeded expectations. “I felt he was still soft, mentally and physically, that the penny hadn't dropped yet,” Ennis recalls. “And probably it still hasn't. But the second came back and won by seven next time, and this horse has improved a hell of a lot. He's a big, imposing horse, stands about 16.2hh, 16.3hh, a great mover with a great mind. He'll make them run a bit.”

The big ladder between Weiland and horses of this caliber was a $9,500 Oxbow colt Ennis found at the 2019 September Sale, deep in the second week. By this point, he had begun to find partners; but while it naturally makes sense to spread the risk, his policy is always to retain at least a leg. Apart from anything else, that manifests to potential investors his own belief and commitment; and if his judgement happens to be vindicated, then he can upgrade his restocking. Sure enough, this colt–named County Final–won on debut, finished second in the Bashford Manor, and then made $475,000 to top the Horses-of-Racing-Age catalog at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

“So, yes, I was able to invest a good bit more this year,” Ennis acknowledges. “And I've a real nice group. We have about 16 or 17 in the barn now, and had some good success in the spring. Hopefully we can keep going, keep buying better individuals every year.”

His work has also been noticed by breeders reluctant to send their RNAs through some Florida factory for the 2-year-old sales. In instead trying to add value on the track, Ennis is not tied down to a specific date for a specific breeze show.

“Well, I get them going the same way and the precocity shines through,” Ennis reasons. “The plan has always been: 'Opening day' [at Keeneland]. But if one of them takes a step back, I can say, 'No problem, let's wait, let's recharge.' There's nothing wrong with a [2-year-old] sale, it's great for buyers and sellers. But you have to get the horse ready to go 10 flat on that one day, and that's not easy.”

Sure enough, neither of the fillies entered for stakes on Saturday ever went through the ring. “Shesgotattitude was a small yearling, and with her nice pedigree they didn't want to end up giving her away cheaply,” Ennis explained. “They asked me to get involved and so we organized a plan, and it's worked out great for everybody. If not this Saturday, then I'm sure she'll win a stake down the road. Mollie Kate, I loved from the moment I went and looked at her last October. She's pleasing enough to look at, when you stand beside her in the barn. But I remember then sitting up on her back the first time, and just being wowed by her.”

The program offers the same flexibility to the sales recruits. So even a filly like Bohemian Frost (Frosted), a $42,000 filly who showed blistering speed to thwart another Wesley Ward flyer on the opening day at Keeneland, can be afforded time to regroup after finishing third (a place ahead of Shesgotattitude) in the slop next time.

“We turned her out,” Ennis explains. “This is an extremely fast filly, I can't speak highly enough of her. She was just a bit quiet in herself going into the last race and I probably shouldn't have run her. But she's come back now and looks amazing. I think the grass is going to move her up and she'll go for the Colleen S. at Monmouth.”

Every day of the September Sale, he spends eight straight hours at the back ring. “You might look at 60, 70 horses and not see one you like,” he says. “Then all of a sudden three or four come through one after the other: boom, boom, boom. 'Okay, now that looks like a real 2-year-old.' They have to walk well, like they're going somewhere. And a bit of presence, that's big. But it's just an instant thing. I see them, and say either 'yes' or 'no' straightaway.”

Since he's simply looking for functionality, for a horse that can add value by running fast, less commercial stallions can actually open up the profit margins. So long as the physical specimen clicks, in its build and outlook, the sire will only be a factor in determining the necessary budget. Ennis likes a Klimt, for instance: feels they typically stand over a lot of ground, and are built to run. Last September he gave $10,000 for a Klimt filly out of a Bernardini mare.

Her half-brother by Temple City was then unraced, but has meanwhile rapidly developed into one of the most exciting grass sophomores in the land as Du Jour, winner of the GII American Turf S. Given that their dam is out of a half-sister to Ghostzapper and City Zip, the Klimt filly–named Royal County–is already sensationally well bought even before running third when switched to turf in a Churchill maiden a few days ago.

“I'd seen that Bob Baffert had paid $280,000 for the Temple City [as a 2-year-old],” Ennis recalls. “And Peter O'Callaghan from Woods Edge Farm said, 'John, you need to look at this filly.' I liked her, and I was lucky: I didn't think I'd get her for $10,000. She's a big, beautiful filly so if Du Jour can win a Grade I, then she'll be a valuable broodmare down the road.”

Whatever their provenance, Ennis draws on the same assets in his young charges. First and foremost, he's looking for a quick learner. “They obviously need the physical, to go with it,” he says. “But then it's basically routine, routine, routine. Like they would be in the army. They're herd animals, so I do the same thing day in, day out, and then look to just steadily increase it. Knowing when to do that, and when not, is key to keeping them mentally fresh.”

That's a flair imported to the Bluegrass by many an Irishman, albeit Ennis himself had no background in the game and only attended the Racing School at the Curragh because he had the right build and no better inspiration on leaving school. But he was mentored by some special horsemen, notably Christy Roche, and was emboldened to try his luck here by the example of Simon Callaghan, for whom he rode in Newmarket. And his new home has certainly lived up to its billing as a land of opportunity.

“I came over here with maybe $500 to my name,” Ennis says. “I wanted to do better for myself, take myself as high as I could. And it really has been the American dream. You just have to be prepared to work hard, and keep learning. Obviously you need a bit of luck, but you also have to make your own. So I'm never afraid to invest in myself.”

He's firmly rooted here now: indeed, he and Erin now have 2-year-old twins to feed, Jack and Eleanor. But Ennis does still retain one particular yearning to venture back over the water.

“I texted Wesley [Ward] after he won with Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) the other day,” he says. “Wesley's a good friend; a super, humble fella. And I said that I'd love to get over there to Royal Ascot myself someday. And he said, 'Keep doing what you're doing, and you'll be over here in a couple of years.' To hear that from him was huge, and just inspires me to keep trying. Maybe not next year, but down the road sometime. The dream is there.”

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“There was lots of activity at all price ranges and a lot of horses got moved and found new opportunities with new buyers,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “The sale was well-attended. Veterinary activity, which is one of the things that I always look at to kind of evaluate pre-sale interest, was higher this year than last year. We have now had two sales in a row that should provide some confidence in the marketplace.”

The 2-year-old County Final (Oxbow), coming off a runner-up effort in the GIII Bashford Manor S., achieved the night’s highest bid when selling to West Point Thoroughbreds for $475,000. The gray colt was one of six to sell for $200,000 or over on the night.

“It’s rational, but it’s a legitimate marketplace,” Browning said. “It is a balanced market that is equitable for buyers and sellers alike.”

From 182 catalogued lots, 81 sold for a total of $5,072,000. The average was $62,617 and the median was $30,000. There were 38 horses reported not sold for a buy-back rate of 31.9%.

Monday’s auction, coupled with positive results from Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale two weeks ago, should help to stabilize the market ahead of the fall yearling sales, according to Browning.

“All in all, I am certainly much more encouraged today than I was three weeks ago because we’ve demonstrated with these two sales that there is a viable, legitimate marketplace that exists,” Browning said.

Ennis Scores by a County Mile

Trainer John Ennis heads into the yearling sales each fall working on a strict budget and hoping to take home a yearling who will have success at the track before returning to a horses of racing age auction. The Irishman worked his plan to perfection with County Final (Oxbow) (hip 166), purchasing the colt for just $9,500 at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale and selling him Monday at Fasig-Tipton for $475,000 to West Point Thoroughbreds. In between sales, the gray colt broke his maiden over the turf at Churchill Downs and finished second over the main track in the June 27 GIII Bashford Manor S.

“It was easy to like him really,” Ennis said after watching County Final go through the sales ring Monday. “He looked like a smaller version of what he looked like today. He was a top physical with a professional look to him and a great walk. I’m sad to see him go, but it’s something we’ve got to do.”

Asked about the colt’s bargain basement price last year, Ennis said, “Oxbow, unfortunately, is not that commercial and in the sales ring, especially with yearlings, they want to buy commercial sires. With my budget, buying inexpensive yearlings, I have to go on physicals.”

Ennis was happy to see the colt sell, but he and his partners were prepared to take him home if the price wasn’t right.

“I had a couple of other partners on him and they didn’t mind if we kept him,” he explained. “They would have happily taken him home and taken him to Saratoga and places like that because he’s a runner. They put a high reserve on him and we thought we probably wouldn’t get that because the market didn’t seem that strong. But it was fantastic. I’m over the moon.”

Ennis said the yearling sales-to racetrack-to sales ring route can sometimes be more profitable than pinhooking yearlings to the 2-year-old sales.

“It’s very hard to pinhook yearlings to 2-year-old sales,” Ennis said. “You only get one shot at going a furlong in :10 flat or whatever you need to do and the X-rays have to be super correct at the sales. I feel like, if you buy an inexpensive yearling who looks like a runner and if you win a maiden special weight at some place like Churchill or Keeneland and improve on the next run, no matter who he’s by, they will come and buy him. For me, with my budget, that’s the only way I can do it. I’d love to keep the horse, but this is what I do every year. I love the horse and he’s a fantastic horse. But now it’s back on to September.”

Country Mile will be transferred to the barn of trainer George Weaver with plans to run at Saratoga, according to West Point’s Terry Finley.

“I hope he ends up as a runner, but he’s shown he has a lot of talent,” Finley said. “Everything just fell into place with him and he vetted well. We are going to take a shot. We find that our partners are very open to horses like this that have shown a good bit of ability. It’s very exciting that he ran so well on dirt and turf. We didn’t think he’d bring that much in the ring, but it is what it is.”

Per Capita Joins Red Oak Roster

Recent maiden winner Per Capita (Tapit) (hip 85) will join the Brunetti family’s Red Oak Stable after the operation’s racing manager Rick Sacco went to $325,000 to secure the strapping chestnut from the Gainesway consignment Monday at Fasig-Tipton. The 4-year-old, bred by Gainesway and racing for Gainesway and Peter Brant, graduated in his fourth lifetime start at Churchill May 24 for trainer Chad Brown. He is out of Successful Outlook (Orientate) and is a full-brother to multiple graded stakes winner Anchor Down and graded winner Iron Fist, as well as a half to Grade I winner Sweet Lulu (Mr. Greeley).

“It’s a beautiful page, a very good family and Tapit jumps out at you,” Sacco said of the colt’s appeal. “His race at Churchill was very impressive, not in only in the way he did it, but he ran a 5 3/4s on the sheets, which is kind of extraordinary for a maiden winner, even though he is four.”

Per Capita joins an operation already stocked with older graded stakes performers, led by multiple Grade I winner Mind Control (Stay Thirsty), Grade I placed Bal Harbour (First Samurai), and graded placed King for a Day (Uncle Mo).

“We are trying to buy some racing horses to fill some gaps in our stable,” Sacco said. “We have some good older horses and we are just trying to fill some gaps. This horse came up with all of the curb appeal of the pedigree and then, when I dug into it a little bit more, with the sheet figure that he ran and his physical–he’s a very powerful-looking horse.”

As for where the colt may start next, Sacco said, “I would say we will most likely come back in an a-other-than at Saratoga as the next progression. We haven’t decided who is going to train the horse yet. We wanted to get our hands on him first and then we will figure it out.”

Bradley Strikes for Impeccable Style

Bloodstock agent Pete Bradley, bidding over the phone while in Ocala for the OBS July Sale, went to $275,000 to acquire the graded-placed Impeccable Style (Uncle Mo) (hip 53) on behalf of an undisclosed client. The 3-year-old filly was second behind Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil) in the July 8 GIII Indiana Oaks for the partnership of Gainesway, Catalyst Stable, Paul McInnis, Patty Slevin, LLC and Magdalena Racing and for trainer Ken McPeek.

“It’s not often that you get to buy a graded placed filly who has Oaks points,” Bradley said. “She has been very consistent and she appears to be a filly that is getting better and that’s what we look for when we try to buy a race filly. I think she is a beautiful framed filly. She is a little on the light side, but I’d rather have one on the light side than too heavy. She has some quality to her and obviously she can run.”

A maiden winner at Churchill last September, the dark bay filly was fifth in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. and third in the Bourbonette Oaks earlier this year.

“We are going to give her a little bit of a break just because she will go to a new barn and I always think it’s a good idea to give them a couple of weeks before you do too much with them,” Bradley said. “And then we will point her to some races in September and October.”

Of the final price, Bradley said, “I thought in that price range, she was pretty good value. I think it’s a function of our market being off a little bit, I think she might have been a $350,000 filly last year. I wouldn’t say $275,000 is a bargain, but I’d say that it’s good value for what she is.”

Three Diamonds Restocks

The Wycoff family’s Three Diamonds Farm enjoyed a big day at Keeneland Sunday, winning two races including the GIII Transylvania S. with Field Pass (Lemon Drop Kid), and the operation was busy across town at Fasig-Tipton Monday night. Three Diamonds purchased nine horses at the auction for a total of $499,000.

“We thought there were a lot of nice horses there,” Jordan Wycoff said. “The races are definitely getting tougher because there are fewer of them and there are more horses in them, but we felt it was probably a buyer’s market at this time in the world. We love to race and wanted to go in to the sale like we would any other year, which is to try to buy some good horses that we thought were value that we could race with.”

Three Diamonds’ Fasig purchases were led by Journeyman (Animal Kingdom) (hip 56), who was purchased for $85,000 and is coming off a fourth-place effort in the July 4 GII Eclipse S.

“We like to run on the grass with [trainer] Mike Maker,” Wycoff said of the 4-year-old gelding’s appeal.

Wycoff continued, “There was a lot of Kentucky Downs in our mind as we were looking at these horses. And they might not let us on Saratoga, but we still like winning races there. So that all played a part in buying these horses.”

While the July sale started off slowly, it seemed to build momentum as the evening wore on.

“The sale got really strong at the end,” Wycoff agreed. “We were trying to bid on a few more late and got completely outrun, so we were happy we were able to strike a little bit early. Fifty hips into the sale, I think we had bought six at the time, I was shocked we were able to get those horses for that value and I thought we were going to get a few more. But in the last 100, we got outrun like crazy.”

Three Diamonds has had success buying out of the Fasig July Horses of Racing Age Sale in the past. The operation purchased Cross Border (English Channel) for $100,000 in 2018 and that 6-year-old is now graded stakes placed, while Go Noni Go (Get Stormy), purchased for $100,000 in 2017, won the GIII Bourbonette Oaks.

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Also added to the auction is the 3-year-old Salow (Distorted Humor), a debut winner over the Gulfstream turf July 3. The chestnut will offered as hip 172 through the Elite consignment.

The 11 new entries are catalogued as hips 166-176 and can be viewed online.

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will offer an additional $2,000 to its Ship and Win bonus program for any horse purchased at the July Horses of Racing Age Sale who goes on to start at the 2020 Del Mar summer meet. Horses purchased at the sale will receive a day three date from the racing office.

Fasig-Tipton debuted online bidding at its recent Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and will again offer buyers the chance to bid online, as well as by phone, at the Horses of Racing Age sale. To register for online bidding, visit: http://www.fasigtipton.com/online-bidding.

Health and safety protocols will be in place on-site at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky. A complete list may be found here.

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“This horse should absolutely love the slight stretch out in distance,” said jockey James Graham, who was aboard for the colt's four-length maiden victory June 5. “We opened up by three-to-four lengths mid-stretch on everyone but what was really impressive was how he extended his stride past the wire. He's a bigger colt with a really long stride. He's got a great mind, too, which is always nice for a younger horse.”

County Final, trained by Ennis, has been based at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington. The $9,500 Keeneland September Yearling buy by Oxbow drew the outside post No. 7 in the Bashford Manor.

“I really like that we'll be the last horse to load in the gate,” Graham said. “If he breaks well, we'll be able to see what the other horses to our inside are doing in the early stages. He has speed and he trains well on the dirt. So, the switch from the turf to the dirt should be no problem either.”

The Bashford Manor field, which features all first-out maiden winners, from the rail out (with jockey, trainer and morning line odds): Crown and Coke (Miguel Mena, James Lawrence II, 30-1); Hulen (Corey Lanerie, Steve Asmussen, 5-1); Gatsby (Tyler Gaffalione, Juan Alvarado, 4-1); Hyperfocus (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 4-1); Herd Immunity (Brian Hernandez Jr., Peter Miller, 9-2); Cazadero (Ricardo Santana Jr., Asmussen, 8-5); and County Final (Graham, Ennis, 6-1).

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