Tag: Justify

Filly From The Lieutenant’s Sole Crop Breezes Bullet at OBS

GSW The Lieutenant (Street Sense), a half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify, had just one crop before his life was tragically cut short and a filly from that lone crop as among the bullet breezers during the seventh and final session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale under-tack show Saturday.

Bred and consigned by Becky Thomas's Sequel New York, which stood The Lieutenant, Hip 1123 covered a quarter-mile in :20 4/5.

“She preps well, is a beautiful mover and always trained like that,” Thomas said. “I felt pretty confident. I wasn't sure what we were going to be [time wise], because you never know what the track is like until you go out there, but I knew she would be very quick.”

Campaigned by Mr. & Mrs. William Warren and trainer Mike McCarthy, The Lieutenant won four of 15 races, topped by the GIII All American S. Retired to Sequel at the end of his half-brother's Horse of the Year season in 2018, the bay covered just one season in New York, resulting in 32 foals, after which he was shuttled to Peru. Sadly, he was one of four stallions killed by intruders at Haras Barlovente in Canete in December of 2019.

“It was a terrible loss,” Thomas said. “Mike [McCarthy] said this horse was training lights out with [MGISW] City of Light. He said, 'I love this horse and he is a really talented horse.” He is also a half to Justify, obviously. He was a Street Sense and a big, beautiful horse. We were very lucky to have him.”

As for what she sees in his sole crop, Thomas said, “They are really speedy. I have a couple going to Maryland that are flat runners too and I feel really good about them.”

Two other fillies worked in :20 4/5 Saturday: a daughter of Uncaptured (Hip 1084) (video) and a Curlin filly (Hip 602) (video). Four more fillies went in :9 4/5: a daughter of Into Mischief (Hip 1097) (video), an Army Mule filly (Hip 1131) (video), a filly by Munnings (Hip 1174) (video) and a Firing Line filly (Hip 1226) (video).

The OBS Spring Sale begins its four-day run Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

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American Bloodlines Aplenty at Inglis Easter Sale

A total of 487 lots are cataloged for the 2022 Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale, which takes place Tuesday and Wednesday, Apr. 5 and 6 at the company's Riverside Stables complex in Sydney. No fewer than 60 of the top Australasian and international dual-hemisphere stallions are represented in the catalog who are the sires of siblings to the likes of G1 Golden Slipper S. winners Estijaab (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) and Mossfun (Aus) (Mossman {Aus}); the outstanding multiple group- and The Everest-winning sprinter Classique Legend (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) and his Hong Kong Group 2-winning and Group 1-placed half-brother Aethero (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}); and former Horse of the Year in the latter jurisdiction, Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock {Aus}), to name only a few. Tuesday's TDNAus/NZ features a Bren O'Brien preview and other interesting sidebars, but here we take a look at a few of the horses on offer with pedigrees top and/or bottom that will be recognizable to an American audience.

Lot 109, f, Into Mischief–Chick Flick, by Tapit
Consigned by Sledmere Stud, Agent

By the sire of five Australian winners, this early foal is a half-sister to the stakes-placed Flowmotion (Warrior's Reward) and to three-time Japanese winner Jasper Win (Jimmy Creed). The filly's third dam Timeleighness (Sir Raleigh) produced GI Santa Monica S. winner Behaving Badly (Pioneering), while the family also includes Eclipse Award winner Ria Antonia (Rockport Harbor), the dam of Japanese MGSW Ria Amelia (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).

Lot 205, f, American Pharoah–Gypsy Robin, by Daaher
Consigned by Kia Ora Stud

Triple Crown winner American Pharoah has gotten off to a positive start as a shuttler, with 23 Southern Hemisphere winners to date, including Group 3 winners Head of State (Aus) and Pretty Amazing (Aus). Dual Grade II winner Gypsy Robin was purchased for $750,000 out of the 2013 Keeneland November Sale and has gone on to breed two winners from three to race, including 2019 Easter sale graduate Wild Ruler (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), winner of the 2021 G1 A J Moir S. and recently retired to stud at Newgate Farm.

Lot 208, c, The Autumn Sun (Aus)–Heart Ashley, by Lion Heart
Consigned by Kia Ora Stud

On behalf of Kia Ora Stud, Australian bloodstock agent James Bester paid $500,000 for GSW Heart Ashley at KEENOV in 2010 and the mare's five winners from as many to race include Easter grad Fiano Romano (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), a multiple winner at group level in Japan, and his Easter-sold Group 3-placed full-sister Ameristralia (Aus), whose daughter Ain't Easy (Into Mischief) won last year's GII Chandelier S. and was third in last month's GIII Santa Ysabel S. This is also the family of GISW and Coolmore stallion Cupid (Tapit), GSW Ashley's Kitty (Tale of the Cat) and the undefeated and GI Kentucky Oaks-bound Kathleen O. (Upstart).

Lot 343, f, More Than Ready–Peace Time, by War Front
Consigned by Newgate Farm, Agent

The once-raced Peace Time is a 100% stakes producer from her first three foals, including 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Runhappy Travers S. runner-up Caracaro (Uncle Mo), the late stakes winner Xtremetime (Aus) (Extreme Choice {Aus}) and the stakes-placed Miss Hellfire (Aus) (Hellbent {Aus}). The Aug. 13 foal's second dam is Santa Catarina (Unbridled), three times Grade I-placed at two and runner-up to Bird Town (Cape Town) in the 2003 GI Kentucky Oaks prior to winning the GII Hollywood Breeders' Cup Oaks. More Than Ready is the sire of 854 Australian winners and 75 stakes winners.

Lot 449, c, Justify–Stopshoppingmaria, by More Than Ready
Consigned by Willow Park Stud

A stakes winner and runner-up in the 2011 GI Frizette S., Stopshoppingmaria produced MGSW Always Shopping (Awesome Again) and SW/GSP Mo Shopping (Uncle Mo) before hammering for $290,000 at the 2018 KEENOV sale. A half-sister to MSW and MGSP Sand Ridge (Known Fact) and to the stakes-winning dam of GISW Zipessa (City Zip), Stopshoppingmaria is also the dam of the 2-year-old colt Torque Sensation (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro), who sold for A$110,000 at this event last year.

 

 

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A Pinhook to Justify Parrish Principles

You can do all those other things, if you like: expensive supplements and therapies, scans and samples. But none of it will do the slightest good unless your horse can trust its weight to the soles of its four feet.

Last September, veteran horseman G.W. Parrish was as usual scouting the later books at the Keeneland September sale for yearlings to pinhook through the small farm he operates at High Springs, Florida, along with wife Karen and daughter Kristin.

In the Gainesway consignment, he came across a gray colt by Justify. Lurking as low as Hip 1442, he obviously wasn't considered in the first rank of the Triple Crown winner's debut crop. The colt's dam had certainly appeared deserving of that level of cover, as a daughter of Tapit who had won the GII Pocahontas S. by five lengths. But she had been a disappointing broodmare so far, and her son was frankly lacking in size. Rather more seriously, he also appeared to be afflicted by some kind of deformity on a hoof.

As a result, most people were putting a line straight through his page. But Parrish took a closer look, and realized that it was the result of some adhesive repair treatment and essentially pretty superficial.

“He had some Equilox on the front of one foot, and it did look ugly,” Parrish recalls. “But I've been a blacksmith all my life, and I figured I could fix it. There was some white line, that was all. Most of the horses I get from Kentucky will have a spot of that and you can just grow it out.”

He cast his mind back to the time, a decade or so previously, when he had bought a Roman Ruler colt at the same auction for $4,000.

“With that horse, it looked like he was club footed on one foot,” Parish recalls. “But I thought, this horse just wore his toe off, where the blacksmith had tried to put a shoe on an intorsion. So I got him home and I kept that shoe on him for two months, and when OBS came to select for the February Sale, as it was back then, they said: 'How did you buy this Roman Ruler so cheap?' So I told them about the club foot, and they looked at him and said, 'Which foot was it?' And I said, 'Well I don't remember now!' You really couldn't tell anymore, it had just grown out. And as soon as they left, I took the shoe off, trimmed his feet, and just took care of them the rest of the time through.”

Dogwood Stable bought that colt for $100,000 and he won a maiden special weight at Saratoga on Travers Day.

Karen and G.W. Parrish | Courtesy of the Parrish family

So once again Parrish, 73, called on his decades of experience–for a long time he had trained at places like Atlantic City and Hialeah, getting to understand how to keep cheap horses sound–and took a gamble on the Justify colt. Nonetheless he was astonished when the bidding stopped at $25,000, one-sixth of his sire's opening fee.

“I could have doubled my money on the day I bought him,” Parrish admits. “Mark Casse offered me $50,000, but I'd have paid that for him myself. I was so surprised when they knocked him down to me. I just got lucky, because I thought he was a really nice colt, a super mover. Obviously Gainesway are pretty good at putting them in the right spot, and I guess he was a little small. But still with his pedigree, that shouldn't have stopped him. I guess it was just a case of getting the right advice about that foot. You'd think people could see that it could be fixed okay. It was always going to grow out, just like a fingernail would.”

Parrish took the Justify colt back to Florida, removed the shoe and trimmed the foot. “And I just kept him barefoot all winter,” he explains. “The foot grew out fine, wasn't anything wrong with it. Once I got the shoe off, I wasn't too worried. We're lucky, where my farm is: we don't have any rocks, and the track is really good, so I can train all my horses barefoot. I could just let his foot grow back. In fact, when I took him to the sale, that was the first time he'd had shoes on since September.”

Everything the colt had done in the meantime was heartening. He grew taller and stronger, and took to tack like a natural.

“He grew extremely well,” Parrish says. “He made a 16-hand horse, having been barely 15, I'd say, when I bought him. Grew at least four or five inches taller. And he just trained perfect all winter. He was the first horse we trained every morning, and nearly every time the rider would come back and say, 'You know, this is a really nice horse.' He wasn't scared of anything, he'd gallop right on. He had a really good mind, and just seemed to have this extra endurance. He never got tired.”

It was the same at OBS: he was just as sprightly when shown at the end of the day–and, indeed, just as eager to take a nip at Parrish–as he had been first thing in the morning.

Parrish had driven his six-strong draft into the grounds on Mar. 1, as he likes to complete his preparations over the track there.

“So I prepped him, and he went, like, 11 flat; 10-and-three; and the three-eighths in 34-and-2,” Parrish says. “I was on the podium on the backside, chatting with Jimbo Gladwell. And he said, 'I think your rider might need some help!' He was having trouble slowing him down, and they went right by me before I could get out there in front of him. And he ended up going all the way round the track again. He wasn't running off, just didn't want to stop. I knew then that he'd go a quarter! His endurance was just phenomenal.”

Some of the agents and the other consignors had witnessed that unscheduled extra exertion. The word was soon out. Sure enough, the colt clocked :20.4 in his breeze show, and was caught galloping out in :32.2 and :46.1.

“Pretty good for a baby,” Parrish remarks. “And switched leads on his own, like he always has.”

In the end, then, he had turned into just the type of youngster you would hope to get from a mating between Justify and a Tapit mare. And Rosedown Racing Stables/Oracle Bloodstock duly put their name to a $425,000 docket, 17 times more than he had cost six months previously.

At this stage of a long career in the game, Parrish is not one to be carried away. Only last year, after all, he pinhooked a $34,000 Midnight Storm yearling to realize $310,000 at OBS April. (Named India Ink, that colt recently won his maiden at Tampa Bay for Peachtree Stable and trainer Vicki Oliver.) But this was nonetheless a coup that deserves celebrating–based, as it was, on old-fashioned precepts of horsemanship.

For a time Parrish had emulated his father as a trainer of Quarter Horses, and his initial exposure to Thoroughbreds included galloping at $3 a head for Noel Hickey at Irish Acres. Earlier he had also had a formative experience at the Morven Park riding school operated at Leesburg, Virginia, by the ex-cavalry officer and Olympic eventing coach Major John (Joe) Lynch.

“That was 1968,” Parrish recalls. “I was 20-years-old and that was one of the best things I ever did, the year I spent with him. I rode some really good three-day eventers there. I don't gallop the horses much anymore. Used to, for years and years, but not at the age I am now. But I still break them myself, and pony them. We try to start all our babies by ponying them, until they jog well, get a good mouth on them, get used to the pony. We live right here on the farm, it's only 50 acres, so it's all pretty hands-on.”

Parrish and his family quit the racetrack some 15 or 20 years ago, and settled north of Ocala in a district that is, relatively speaking, something of a backwater in the local horse industry. Between their own investments, a few others made in partnership, and pre-training projects for a handful of clients, Parrish Farms will reckon to process only around 25 head of horse every year. But plenty of good performers have shown the benefits of their grounding here.

2018 Flower Bowl winner Fourstar Crook was a Parrish grad | Sarah Andrew

Fourstar Crook (Freud), whose GI Flower Bowl S. success crowned a $1.6-million career for Chad Brown, was sent here as a $55,000 Saratoga New York yearling purchase by Allied Bloodstock (sold on for $110,000). Stormy Embrace (Circular Quay) was broken here for Matalona Thoroughbreds before winning the GII Princess Rooney S. twice. And Hull (Holy Bull) for a time looked one of the best sophomores of 2009 in winning his first three, including the GIII Derby Trial at Churchill.

Horses on this farm tend to have been dredged from the lower reaches of the market. But Parrish's work with the Justify colt shows what can be done, if you go beyond the superficial judgements reached by people in a hurry, and then apply tried-and-tested principles of husbandry.

“I think when you've trained Quarter Horses, you'll always like them to have a good hip and hind leg,” Parrish says. “A nice 'V' in the chest, some muscle under the belly, and a good, deep shoulder. They've got to be pretty correct, and I like them to have a big walk. Those are the horses I try to buy, at least. They won't all work out, but it averages out okay.”

The idea being to lay a sustainable foundation, Parrish doesn't always feel comfortable with the industry's addiction to the bullet breeze.

“I do think we push them too much,” he says. “Back in '78, we sold horses in Hialeah just galloping. We didn't breeze them then, though of course they didn't bring the kind of money they do now. All the same, I like to put a lot of bottom and condition in these horses. I feed them well and try to start them very slowly, build up the bone. And last week [at OBS] they all did it no problem, came back good, no shins or anything.

“Most of our horses don't need any time off after the sale, people can go right on with them. They do tend to give horses time off, but that's when things can go wrong, when they're turned out. Mine can mostly go right on training: their mind is good, they gallop well, they're not hot, fiery horses. And that's because we try to do a slow process over the winter.”

But let's not forget one last, vital element. “They've got to have good feet, for sure!” Parrish says with a chuckle. “But while you can't fix a crooked leg, you can fix a foot.”

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Demand Strong at the Top of the Gulfstream Market

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL – A diverse buying bench vied for a select offering of juveniles during a rapid-fire three hours under the sunshine at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale Wednesday afternoon. A filly from the first crop of Bolt d'Oro brought the day's highest bid when selling for $1.2 million to Spendthrift Farm. Consigned by Tom McCrocklin, the youngster was one of two to bring seven figures during the auction. Jamie McCalmont, bidding on behalf of Coolmore's M.V. Magnier, went to $1.1 million to acquire a colt by Justify from the Wavertree Stables consignment.

“We have been doing this a long time and today was indicative of a typical 2-year-old sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “The horses that worked well and vetted well, sold really, really well. There was a lot of interest in them. There was a diverse buying group. For the horses that missed the mark on one of those elements, it wasn't an easy day.”

Of the 103 juveniles catalogued to the boutique auction, 52 went through the sales ring Wednesday and 35 sold for a gross of $13,155,000. The average was $375,857 and the median was $300,000.

Spendthrift Farm purchased three of the day's top 10 lots and Magnier acquired another two. A strong domestic buying bench included the partnership of West Point Thoroughbreds and Lane's End Farm, as well as Frank Fletcher, Zedan Racing, Robert and Lawana Low and Repole Stable.

“I was pleased with the group of buyers that was in attendance and the level of activity,” Browning said. “It is no secret that we wish we had more horses here. We will work really hard to try and remedy that going forward.”

Last year, 67 juveniles sold for $25,360,000, an average of $378,507 and a median of $300,000.

“Overall, the market was very similar to what we experienced in 2021, which is healthy,” Browning said. “I think if we could lock in this market across the Thoroughbred industry through the rest of 2022, we would all say yes. It is a solid market with no real surprises.”

McCalmont agreed demand for the top offerings was high in Hallandale Wednesday.

“I think the right horses are making the right money,” he said. “There aren't as many horses as there normally are here, but if you've got the right horse, it brings plenty of money. I hope the sale will be here next year because Miami is a great destination for people to come to in the horse business, especially this time of year.”

The Fasig-Tipton team remained busy with post-sale transactions even as the auction stand in the Gulfstream paddock was being disassembled Wednesday.

“Post sales have been very active,” Browning said. “It is so hard to judge the value, particularly of a 2-year-old. It is not easy to set reserves. Sometimes sellers are optimistic, then reality sets in. Sometimes buyers get shut out and then circle back around to buy a horse. So there were no real surprises. No euphoria, no despair. We are looking forward to our next 2-year-old sale at Timonium with a 600-horse catalogue and a different feel. It will be the best catalogue we've had there.”

Bolt Filly Electrifies Fasig Gulfstream

For the second time this week, a filly from the first-crop of red- hot freshman sire Bolt d'Oro (hip 48) wowed the crowd at Gulfstream Park when bringing a final bid of $1.2 million from Spendthrift Farm. The sale-topping result came just two days after the filly zipped a quarter-mile in :20 2/5 during the auction's under-tack preview Monday.

“We have been hearing about this filly for a while,” Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey said after signing the ticket on the juvenile. “She prepped beautifully for the sale and Tom McCrocklin, we've already bought one from him, and he does a great job.”

The filly's bullet work was not a complete shock to the Spendthrift team.

“We'd been hearing good things and on game day she delivered,” Toffey said. “That was as good a breeze as we've seen in quite some time.”

The bay filly is out of Rich Love (Not For Love), a daughter of multiple stakes winner Richetta (Polis Numbers) and a half-sister to stakes winners Concealed Identity (Smarty Jones) and Peach of a Gal (Curlin).

“She's a big, imposing filly,” Toffey said. “She's classy and athletic looking and good minded. Nothing ruffled her feathers. She got shown constantly and never seemed to turn a hair and her energy level stayed good the whole time. So she had all the intangibles that you want to see, as well as the obvious things that she showed everybody.”

The sale topper continued a strong sales season for Spendthrift's Grade I-winning Bolt d'Oro, whose standout results at the OBS March sale included a $900,000 colt.

“I think they tend to look like the sire, which isn't necessarily important, but I think is a good thing in general,” Toffey said of his early impressions of the stallion's offspring. “They are just athletic and very good minded. We spent a lot of time looking at his first crop as weanlings and we were impressed right away. We got great feedback from breeders and we saw for ourselves–we bought a couple privately. In terms of what we've seen of his offspring from day one, it's just been really encouraging. I know that [Spendthrift founder] Mr. [B. Wayne] Hughes was really keen on landing some Bolts. So that is going to clearly continue.”

Spendthrift purchased three juveniles Wednesday at Gulfstream, going to $800,000 for a colt by Uncle Mo (hip 21) and $475,000 for a son of Curlin (hip 57).

The sale topper was consigned by Tom McCrocklin on behalf of Solana Beach Sales. Solana Beach, the pinhooking division of Little Red Feather Racing, purchased Rich Love, with the filly in utero, for $70,000 at the 2020 Keeneland January sale. Part of a foal share, the filly was sold for $80,000 as a weanling at that year's Keeneland November sale, but Solana Beach got her back when paying $85,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale.

“We bred the horse, we sold her as a weanling as part of another partnership,” explained Solana Beach's Gary Fenton. “Tom called us from Keeneland in September and said he wanted to buy her back. We said, 'If you want to buy her back, buy her back.”

McCrocklin was high on the filly all winter, according to Fenton.

“Tom did a fantastic job,” Fenton said. “He called us in late December and said, 'You have a really special horse.' This horse has not turned a hair and showed she was a special horse for a long time. And she went through all the progressions.”

Of the filly's lights-out work Monday, Fenton said, “It was the second work of the day and you could just hear everybody stop. We knew she was going to be fast, but we weren't expecting that fast. It was pretty great.” @JessMartiniTDN

Coolmore Secures Regally Bred Justify Colt

With undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify as his sire and GISW and producer Appealing Zophie (Successful Appeal) as his dam, it was no surprise when Hip 84 summoned $1.1 million in Gulfstream's paddock Wednesday. It was also no surprise to see bloodstock agent Jamie McCalmont signing the ticket on the striking bay on behalf of Coolmore's M.V. Magnier.

When asked what the Coolmore team liked about Hip 84, McCalmont said, “Everything.”

He continued, “We have seen a lot of Justifys. The word seems to be getting very strong on them. This one looks like more of a precocious type than some of them look, so you'd hope he'd be running in the summer. I have watched him train here for the last week and he hasn't put a hair wrong. He stood up to the sale well and we wanted to buy the horse.”

Bred by Barronstown Stud, hip 84 RNA'd for $290,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale last summer. The colt breezed in :10 flat for consignor Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables despite a few antics.

“He jumped two shadows and still managed to go :10 flat and stay on his feet. That shows a lot of athleticism,” McCalmont said.

Len Riggio's My Meadowview purchased Grade I winner Appealing Zophie for $1.1 million at the 2007 FTKNOV sale. Her first black-type winner was Tapwrit (Tapit), who summoned $1.2 million at the Saratoga Sale and went on to win the 2017 GI Belmont S. The following year she produced MGSW & GISP Ride a Comet (Candy Ride (Arg), a $375,000 OBSAPR purchase. Two years later came SW & GSP 'TDN Rising Star' Inject (Frosted), $390,000 KEESEP buy. Sent back through the ring at FTKNOV in 2018, Appealing Zophie brought $1.2 million from Barronstown Stud, carrying a full-sister to Tapwrit now named Teasing, who was most recently third in a Gulfstream maiden special weight Mar. 13.

Towards the end of Wednesday's sale, McCalmont went to $575,000 on behalf of Magnier for hip 96, a son of Ashford Stud's Uncle Mo that was also offered by Wavertree. The bay, produced by a winning half-sister to leading sire Tapit, breezed an eighth of a mile in :9 3/5 Monday.

Acting as agent for Magnier, McCalmont signed the ticket at a sales-topping $2.6 million for a Wavertree-consigned son of Nyquist at last year's Gulfstream sale. —@CDeBernardisTDN

West Point, Lane's End Team Up Again

Always on the lookout for future stallion prospects, West Point Thoroughbreds and the Farish family's Lane's End Farm teamed up to purchase a strapping son of Medaglia d'Oro (hip 88) for $900,000 from the Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds consignment at Gulfstream Wednesday.

“He is by Medaglia and has a super pedigree, being a half to Constitution,” Bill Farish said of the juvenile's appeal as West Point's Terry Finley signed the ticket. “We saw him as a yearling on the farm and we graded him highly there. We were surprised he didn't bring more as a yearling, but he's a May 11 foal, so he has a lot of maturing to do. Terry and I loved him. It's exciting to get him.”

The dark bay colt was bred by Don Alberto Corporation, which bought out partner Bridlewood Farm on Baffled (Distorted Humor) with him in utero for $1.8 million at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

Baffled is the dam of GI Florida Derby and GI Donn H. winner Constitution, as well as multiple group winner Boynton (More Than Ready).

“Absolutely,” Farish said when asked if the colt was bought for his stallion potential. “And he certainly fits that bill with his pedigree and his conformation. It's a fun partnership that we have on him. We'll see. Hopefully he will be a runner.”

The colt, who worked a furlong in :10 flat, was purchased by Hoby and Layna Kight for $225,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September sale on behalf of Marvin Boyd and Charlie Allen.

“That's getting up there for me,” Hoby Kight said Tuesday of the colt's yearling price. “That's a lot for me. And they have to have all the right parts when I stretch.”

The youngster will be trained by Shug McGaughey. @JessMartiniTDN

Spendthrift Strikes Early for Uncle Mo Colt

Spendthrift Farm is typically seen among the list of top buyers at auctions of all types throughout the year and the Kentucky-based operation made its presence felt early at Gulfstream, going to $800,000 for a colt by Uncle Mo (Hip 21).

“He is a nice colt and did everything right,” said Spendthrift's Ned Toffey after signing the ticket. “He is tremendously talented and looked the part. [Consignor] Tom [McCrocklin] does a great job getting them ready. He will go back to Spendthrift and get 30 days and go from there.”

The bay colt breezed in a snappy :20 3/5 for McCrocklin during the under-tack show.

“He is obviously very fast and he carried it well past the wire,” Toffey said. “He is a good mover and was well within himself.

Bred by Parks Investment Group, hip 21 was purchased by McCrocklin, who was acting on behalf of Champion Equine, for $250,000 at the the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale. His GSP dam Lady Tapit (Tapit) is a half to GISW Gozzip Girl (Dynaformer), as well as the dam of Argentinian Group 3 winners Gallileo's Town (Speightstown) and Gianella (Lizard Island). The deeper female family also includes Lotus Land (Point of Entry), a two-time winner at group level in Japan and narrowly runner-up in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen Mar. 27. —@CDeBernardisTDN

Zedan Returns to the Well for Nyquist Colt

During last year's renewal of this auction, bloodstock agent Gary Young went to $1.7 million to secure a colt from the first crop of Gun Runner for Amr Zedan's Zedan Racing. Now named Taiba, that colt earned the 'TDN Rising Star' nod for his ultra-impressive debut at Santa Anita Mar. 5.

Young and Zedan were back in action at Gulfstream this year, going to $700,000 for a colt by Nyquist (hip 62). The colt will go to trainer Bob Baffert, who conditions Saturday's G1 Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer (Tonalist) for Zedan, WinStar and Commonwealth Thoroughbreds, as well as Zedan's late GISW Medina Spirit (Protonico).

“I thought we'd have to give more for him than we did,” Young said. “I hope I feel the same way about six months from now.”

Classic Bloodstock bought the bay colt for $275,000, the third-highest price at Fasig's California Fall Yearlings and Horse of All Ages Sale, on behalf of Sasulito and Breckenridge. He breezed an eighth in :9 4/5 Monday at Gulfstream.

“I really liked his work,” Young said. “His push off behind and extension with his front legs was pretty faultless.”

Bred in California by Bud Petrosian, hip 62 is a half to stakes-placed There Goes Harvard (Will Take Charge). His dam Soul Crusader (Fusaichi Pegasus) is a half to Turkish champion Hakeem (Harlan's Holiday) and the dam of GISW Killer Graces (Congaree) and MGSW Chocolate Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}).

“I like this horse a lot,” Young said. “I don't think what you see right now is a finished product. We will give him time to fill out and I think he will fill out and become a beautiful horse.”

He continued, “We will discuss it with Mr. Zedan and Bob Baffert. He is the kind of horse that if everything went right, you'd want to get him to the races towards the end of the Del Mar meet or during the Santa Anita fall meet.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Sharp Far From Unhappy

George Sharp refuses to call himself a pinhooker, but the owner was able to enjoy a profitable resale Wednesday at Gulfstream when selling a colt by Runhappy (hip 64) for $700,000 to the bid of bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, acting on behalf of Frank Fletcher. Sharp purchased the colt for $125,000 during a 12-yearling buying spree at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“There's nothing wrong with pinhooking, but for me this was just paying off the ones I am keeping,” Sharp, who entered 2022 with a class of 23 juveniles, explained. “I am ecstatic with this result and I would do this again next year where I buy a bunch and then try to sell a few off to pay for the ones I am keeping.”

While the $700,000 didn't complete Sharp's quest to pay off the 2-year-olds he is keeping this year, he still has more opportunities at upcoming sales.

“This was a nice sale, but it hasn't paid for the all the ones I've bought yet,” he said. “But I am selling a couple at OBS and probably at Timonium.”

The colt, who worked a furlong in :10 1/5 Monday, is out of Sue's Good News (Woodman) and is a half to Grade I winner Tiz Miz Sue (Tiznow). He was consigned by Niall Brennan.

“We were seriously considering pulling him from the sale,” Sharp admitted. [Trainer] Caio Caramori absolutely loved the horse. He actually asked me not to sell him. But part of this is a business and to achieve the goal of selling enough to pay for the other ones, we needed to sell.”

Lanni said the colt jumped through all the hoops this week in Florida.

“It's a 2-year-olds in training sale and these horses are under so much pressure to perform and come back and act like nothing happened,” Lanni said. “He had a really great breeze visually. He looked like a pretty laid back horse and he came back from the breeze really well.”

Lanni purchased maiden winner Happy Boy Rocket (Runhappy) for $490,000 at last year's OBS April sale on behalf of Fletcher.

“I like the sire,” Lanni said. “I think he's going to be really good. We bought a Runhappy for Frank last year that turned out to be a nice horse.”

Lanni continued, “When we try to buy one for Frank, Frank is the best. He is so game. He is an amazing guy to work for. He loves the action. He's game. He puts his money up and never complains. Not a lot of people know him, but he's an amazing human and he helps a lot of people out.” @JessMartiniTDN

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