Breeders Can Pin Their Hopes on a Mighty Oak

The breeding of Thoroughbreds being such a notoriously long game, a dispersal as uncommon as this one offers the most privileged of short cuts. It's as though you can transplant an oak overnight from a mature plantation. Someone else has put in all the necessary, painstaking seasons, years, decades since the acorns were first sown.

So it's a given, absolutely, that the root-and-branch dismantling of Pin Oak Stud into the Lexington lumberyards next week–two dozen mares, fillies and weanlings at Fasig-Tipton on Sunday evening, with 14 yearlings to follow across town at Keeneland–will partly be so coveted simply because of the sheer span of time devoted to its cultivation by Josephine Abercrombie.

But if it is quite remarkable for a breeding program still flourishing in 2021 to have been in the same two hands since the 1950s, then it must be unique for even such longevity to remain secondary–in terms of making Pin Oak Stud what it is–to the flair of its supervision.

Very few human beings are favored both by nearly a full century of vigor, and the material resources to match. But fewer yet can say that they have maximized those twin benedictions as exhaustively as this woman whose true riches, and distinction, abide far deeper than worldly fortune. As it is, her vitality has been able to sustain so many parallel “biographies” that even 95 years seem inadequate to encompass their range. By now too familiar to require reprising, these include colorful careers in boxing promotion, saddlebreds, skiing and ballroom dancing; much philanthropic commitment, notably as founder of The Lexington School; not to mention five marriages–and five divorces! But nothing has ever surpassed the Thoroughbred in her affections.

“Ms. Abercrombie has certainly led an amazing life,” says her long-serving farm manager, Clifford Barry. “But you know what, she'd tell you this, this has been her real love all the way through: being here on the farm, and developing these horses. It was something she really cherished and really took hold of, something she never took for granted. She always felt that if she could bring that passion to it, every day, success would follow. And I know that riding round the farm now, admiring the property, she would wish her dad she could see what she has done here.”

That was Houston oilman J.S. Abercrombie, whose eureka moment came with the blowout preventer, since used on oil wells all round the world. He went into Harry Cameron's toolshop and sketched out his idea on the dirt flooring with a stick. That was the start of Cameron Iron Works, and everything that followed.

Father and daughter shared a love of horses, and a ranch was soon acquired in Texas. He loved pin oaks, and ordered a bunch of them to be planted around the property. Some time later a visitor from New York looked around and told him there wasn't one pin oak on the place. These were all water oaks!

There was more arboreal precision when it came to planting up new land in Kentucky. Josephine made her first yearling purchases in a partnership, including her father, way back in 1949. Three years later they bought 1,348 acres of Woodford County, subsequently birthplace of a series of elite performers including 1976 Preakness winner Elocutionist (Gallant Romeo). But even greater success would attend the development of a new, slightly smaller estate nearby, in the 1980s, with homebred Peaks And Valleys (Mt. Livermore) perhaps the turning point in becoming Canadian Horse of the Year–in the process qualifying Abercrombie as Thoroughbred Breeder of the Year in 1995. Many other decorations and awards have ensued, while the Pin Oak legacy was further secured by such influential sires as Sky Classic (Nijinsky) and Maria's Mon (Wavering Monarch), with two homebred stallions still operating in Broken Vow (Unbridled) and Alternation (Distorted Humor). Though a premature loss at 14, Maria's Mon managed to sire two Kentucky Derby winners in Monarchos and Super Saver.

Impossibly condensed, that's just a snapshot of the genetic duct opening to breeders in Lexington next week. And even though the farm had a commercial function, too, its presiding spirit was that every equine family finds its greatest value in basic racetrack quality.

“This kind of thing is very hard to find anymore,” Barry argues. “Ms. Abercrombie never, ever wavered from where she wanted to be with Pin Oak. It was all about how to produce the best product in the afternoons, and how to get the most out of those mares. She knows every quirk these families present, and how to breed them out. There have been plenty of harsh decisions, when you have to sell young fillies, but there's no doubt overall she has done an amazing job with a very small group of mares, really. It's not like we've had 100 or 200. She's always been very strict on numbers, and I think at any one time it was never much above 30 or 40.”

So what does the Pin Oak brand represent, for those hoping to tap into it now?

“Soundness,” says Barry. “And quality. And just, show up in the afternoon. You can just look at these mares: they were turf, they were dirt, they were short, they were long, but there's always durability in these families, and always great racing minds.”

There has, moreover, been a reciprocal stickability between the boss, known universally on the farm as “Ms. A.,” and her people. Barry has himself been at Pin Oak since 1988; nor has there been any inconstancy in the racetrack roster. Donnie Von Hemel has been training for Pin Oak for three decades, Graham Motion isn't far behind, while Mike Stidham ranks as a relative newcomer at around 15 years. That's a testament not just to Abercrombie's loyalty, but also to her belief that working with a family, generation by generation, helps horsemen to read the run of the genetic grain.

“Donnie Von Hemel had a 2-year-old filly win first time out at Remington last Friday,” Barry says. “She's by Broken Vow out of a homebred mare called Bedanken (Geri), who Donnie trained [to win 11 of 19 starts]. He was saying he had to go back and look up the mare afterwards just to refresh his memory on what she was like. Getting the feedback from those guys on a yearly basis, before you do matings, has always been a huge help. If you look, Ms. Abercrombie often has horses where she has bred three or four generations on both sides. There are very few operations like that nowadays, outside maybe a Coolmore or a Juddmonte, or the Wertheimer freres. I think that's an art that's gone from American breeding.”

Whatever the practical advantages of these recurring cycles, fidelity comes naturally between the Pin Oak owner and her staff.

“She was loyal enough to hire me at 24 years of age, and give a young guy a chance,” Barry notes. “We've got one member of our staff who is coming up to 50 years here. And that just gives you an idea of what Mrs. Abercrombie is about. She was never afraid to roll up her sleeves and get out on the farm. She pushed you to be the best you could be, every day. Not one day a week: every day. Once Mrs. Abercrombie puts her faith in you, you know you have very high standards to meet. She definitely expected no stone left unturned in the care of those horses. But I think in return she took care of the staff the very same way.

“She has such a love and passion for the game. And that has not faded one bit over the years, whether here on the farm or going to the races, whether good days or bad days–and there have been plenty of both. She's about as competitive a person as you could come across, but there'd never be a finger pointed. It would always be just, 'We got outrun today and we'll do better tomorrow.' So while it was always straight back to the grindstone, to see how we could do better, it made my life and job so much easier whenever I had to give the bad news. Because you never had to hesitate to tell it like it is. That's what she expected, and from the trainers too: tell it like it is, and keep moving forward.”

Poignantly, however, there will now be no more moving forward. Barry admits the unorthodoxy of dispersing mares and weanlings on the eve of the September Sale, rather than in November, but credits Boyd Browning, Bayne Welker and the rest of the Fasig-Tipton team for a convincing case that the concept would dovetail well, with so many people in town.

“Hopefully it gives us the chance to showcase some really nice mares and offer some reverence to what Mrs. Abercrombie has done in this game for 60 years,” Barry says. “It's an amazing opportunity for the marketplace, to get into these families. I mean, these don't just pop up every November Sale. You've got Gold Medal Dancer (Medaglia d'Oro) [in foal to Munnings, Hip 23], you've got Don't Leave Me (Lemon Drop Kid) [in foal to Authentic, Hip 18]. These are families that Mrs. Abercrombie has held very tightly these last 30 years, plus.”

As for the stallions: Alternation is still young enough to come up with another Serengeti Express, whether in Kentucky or elsewhere, and options are under review; at rising 25, however, Broken Vow has probably earned a place among the pensioned stock that will remain on the farm, guaranteed diligent care in the years left to them.

Barry, for his part, is not dwelling on his own future. He will keep his head down; keep going in to work for Mrs. Abercrombie, same as always.

“I think I'll be doing that tomorrow like I did today,” he says. “I made a promise a few years ago to do everything in my power to see this through to the end. Ms. Abercrombie has been awful good to me, and my family. Deep down, it's going to be tough to see some of these horses go. But nothing in life stays the same forever, so I want us all to go out and represent as best we can Pin Oak and everything Ms. Abercrombie has put into this game.

“She's about as hands-on an owner as you could ever come across: she's lived here on the farm and watched these horses every day of their lives. Going to the races in the afternoons, too, she has loved that. There hasn't been any part of this thing she missed, from the matings all the way to the racetrack. And she was still out on the farm with me yesterday afternoon, riding around [on the golfcart], and then we went in and watched the replay of the 2-year-old at Remington.”

Barry and his team have doubtless been usefully distracted by maintaining their usual, exacting standards in the preparation of the draft, before handing over to Denali Stud for the sale.

“It'll be a tough couple of days,” says Barry. “I'd be lying if I said we won't feel it deep in the pit in the stomach. But at the same time, we're here to do a job as professionally as we can. These are Ms. Abercrombie's wishes at this stage of her life, we're going to respect that and do everything we can to get it done right. She never does anything on the spur of the moment: she wants to be in control of her legacy, and we've known for a while that we were on a kind of wind-down, and would ultimately get to this point.

“Since the news broke, I guess we've had time to reflect on it a little more. But I don't think I can put into words what Mrs. Abercrombie has meant, let alone to me, to everyone on the farm. You know, she didn't inherit any of these mares. She has built this on her own, from the ground up, and we all know that's a very hard thing to do. So you're talking about somebody that has all the passion, all the patience, and all the perseverance that this game requires. It's been an amazing ride for Ms. Abercrombie, and an amazing ride for all of us–and I feel very, very blessed to have been just a cog in that wheel.”

The post Breeders Can Pin Their Hopes on a Mighty Oak appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Constitution, Daredevil Join Exclusive Fraternity Of First-Crop Classic Sires

Whether they stand in Kentucky's finest stallion station or a remote outpost in Alaska, the best-case scenario for any North American sire involves having a runner from his first crop win a Triple Crown race.

History has proven this to be easier said than done, but a young sire that manages to achieve the feat is more often than not set up for a long, bountiful stud career.

This year's Triple Crown series saw Constitution become the 10th horse to sire a North American classic winner in his first crop since 1995, when Tiz the Law won the Belmont Stakes in June. In October, Daredevil became the 11th stallion to join the club when his daughter Swiss Skydiver shocked the Preakness Stakes.

It was the first time two first-crop sires were represented by classic winners since 2017, when Always Dreaming won the Kentucky Derby for Bodemeister and Cloud Computing upset the Preakness Stakes for Maclean's Music.

Of course, there are no sure-fire indicators of future success or failure in a young stallion. There are plenty of examples of one-hit wonders whose Triple Crown race winner was their only upper-crust runner of note. Some of them just have their time in the sun earlier than others.

The market has proven, though, that a stallion that hits early will get more chances to succeed, and many of the 11 horses in the “First-Crop Club” took advantage of that trend and continued to do well.

The debate over the club member with the most successful stud career depends on the metric one wants to use.

For those counting by earnings, the winner is Street Cry, who saw champion Street Sense take the 2007 Derby. Street Cry currently sits with progeny earnings in excess of $170 million.

The late resident of Darley's Jonabell Farm became an international star at stud, siring arguably the best fillies of this century on both sides of the world: Hall of Famer Zenyatta in the Northern Hemisphere, and Australian superstar Winx in the Southern Hemisphere. He's also responsible for another top filly, Australian-born Oh Susanna, who was named South Africa's Horse of Year in 2018.

Street Cry's four progeny Breeders' Cup victories tied him with fellow Darley stallion Medaglia d'Oro for the most among the club members.

Medaglia d'Oro can also stake a claim for producing the top Northern Hemisphere filly of the century, in Rachel Alexandra, who won the 2009 Preakness as part of her sire's first crop.

Like Street Cry, Medaglia d'Oro has fashioned himself into an international sire, capable of getting a winner over any ground put before his foals. His runners have made 34 starts in Breeders' Cup races, giving him the most in the club, and his 78 graded or group stakes winners is highly likely to pass leader Street Cry's 82 before long.

Currently one of North America's most reliable high-level commercial sires, Medaglia d'Oro is also responsible for two-time champion Songbird, Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot, and Breeders' Cup winners Talismanic, Bar of Gold, and New Money Honey.

Looking at the overall body of work, Unbridled has a case for being named the most successful member of the club, as well. He became the first member of the club to post a first- crop classic winner after 1995, when Grindstone won the 1996 Derby.

Since then, Unbridled rests as the club's leader by Eclipse Award winners (four) and classic winners (three) and co-leader by classic starters. This made all the more impressive considering he did it with just 10 crops – less than five of his contemporaries.

In the years that followed Grindstone's Derby victory, Unbridled added 2000 Preakness winner Red Bullet and 2003 Belmont winner Empire Maker. He had a pair of champion 3-year-old fillies in Banshee Breeze and Smuggler, and a pair of 2-year-old Breeders' Cup winners who won their respective Eclipse Award categories in Half- bridled and Anees.

Of course, any conversation about the impact of Unbridled on the racetrack and beyond can't take place without Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and leading sire Unbridled's Song, as well.

Unbridled is one of three sires in the club to have another classic winner after their initial success. Maria's Mon punched his ticket when Monarchos won the 2001 Derby, then Super Saver won the same race nine years later.

Distorted Humor saw Funny Cide claim the Derby and Preakness in 2003, making him the only first-crop sire since 1995 to take two legs of the Triple Crown with the same runner. In 2010, Drosselmeyer scored the upset in the Belmont Stakes to give him another classic triumph. A year later, Drosselmeyer shocked the world once again winning the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Distorted Humor is the most experienced member of the club, with 19 crops of racing age through 2020, and more to come. The WinStar Farm resident's 167 stakes winners is the most of the horses in this group, and his 30 Breeders' Cup starts is second. He is also tied for the club's most classic starters, with nine.

Birdstone's admission into the club was unique, being the only sire in the group to punch his ticket with two different classic winners. In 2009, Mine That Bird skimmed the rail to upset the Kentucky Derby, then Summer Bird won the Belmont Stakes en route to securing that year's champion 3-year-old male honors.

Getting two classic winners and a champion out of a first crop seems like it ought to project to a massive stallion career, but Birdstone was never quite able to follow up on that early momentum. Noble Bird became a Grade 1 winner for his sire, and Swipe finished second in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile by just half a length, but Birdstone never had another classic starter after his first crop. Though he had a stud career that many stallions could only strive to attain, it lagged behind his breed-shaping contemporaries who entered the club around the same time.

After Birdstone and Medaglia d'Oro punched their tickets into the club, there was a seven-year gap before another stallion joined them, but that newcomer proved to be worth the wait.

With just six crops of racing age, Ashford Stud's Uncle Mo is on pace to compete for the mantle as the club's most successful member. After his first crop of juveniles set the earnings record for a freshman sire, led by champion 2-year-old male and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Nyquist, the same horse won the 2016 Derby.

Uncle Mo is already tied for the group's most classic starters, with nine, including three in his first Derby. His 69 stakes winners is the fourth-most among his contemporaries, and his 41 graded/group stakes winners is in the top four. With blazing speed, Uncle Mo proved himself as a sire of the highest-quality runners, and his reward was a place in the upper echelon of today's commercial sires.

A year after Uncle Mo punched his ticket, Bodemeister joined the group with Always Dreaming in the Derby, and Maclean's Music earned his place with Cloud Computing in the Preakness.

Despite entering stud as one the more lauded prospects in his class, Bodemeister never caught the same spark after Always Dreaming's high-level run in the spring of 2017. He has no Breeders' Cup starters through his first four crops of racing age. The grandson of Unbridled through sire Empire Maker was sold to stand in Turkey at the end of the 2019 breeding season, which means time is running out for him to sire another significant top-shelf U.S. runner.

Maclean's Music, a resident of Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, has high-level results almost in lockstep with Bodemeister, with about half the starters. The son of fellow club member Distorted Humor has been on the upswing heading into this year's Breeders' Cup, with multiple Grade 1 winner Jackie's Warrior pointing toward the Juvenile and Grade 1 winner Complexity contending for the Dirt Mile.

Much like the last two stallions to accomplish the feat in the same year, Constitution and Daredevil are on different trajectories, even though they started in the same place at WinStar Farm.

Constitution, a son of Tapit, appears destined for stardom at stud. In one of the deepest sire classes in recent memory – one including Triple Crown winner American Pharoah – Constitution has stood out as the kind of stallion that will aim to compete for a spot on the top shelf as a sire of runners and top-dollar horses. He had several buzzed-about runners on this year's Triple Crown trail, including Grade 3 winner Independence Hall and multiple Grade 1-placed Gouverneur Morris. He's also responsible for a pair of Group 1 winners in Chile.

Like Bodemeister, Daredevil was sent to Turkey after the 2019 breeding season. Because the pipeline of new foals was already at a trickle before he was exported, the son of More Than Ready's mission to carry on the momentum set by Preakness winner Swiss Skydiver and Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil will be more of an uphill climb than his contemporary. However, that positive momentum on the racetrack earned Daredevil a ticket back stateside, following the announcement that he'll stand at Lane's End in 2021 as property of the Turkish Jockey Club. The race, it appears, is far from over.

The post Constitution, Daredevil Join Exclusive Fraternity Of First-Crop Classic Sires appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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