Mike Ryan | Horse Racing Free Tips

Who Will Be This Year’s Leading Freshman Sire?

From a stellar class, which freshman sire will emerge on top? And what sire currently flying under the radar will be the year's biggest surprise? With the first 2-year-old sale of the season, OBS March, now in the books, we thought it would be a good time to ask the experts:

JUSTIN CASSE
Top pick: Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy–Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek). 2022 fee: $35,000, Coolmore America.
“I saw some very athletic two-turn horses by Mendelssohn with size, scope, strength, and balance. They were very athletic types and they breezed fast. I didn't imagine some of them putting in as quick a breeze time as they did, but the fact that they did and are bred and built to go two turns, that would make me excited. They were attractive, athletic types that were scopey. Not all horses built like that have speed, but they showed speed. It was impressive to see what they were capable of.”

Under-the-radar pick: Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music–Quick Temper, by A.P. Indy). 2022 fee: $5,000, Spendthrift Farm
“I think they were well-balanced, solid, with good bone, good substance, size scope and strength. I vetted three or four of them, and they were typically good-moving horses, with little wasted action, and very good walkers. I think what you're seeing is that the yearling market was so strong last year that most of the pinhookers probably needed to step down their choice of the desired freshman sires. They probably couldn't afford most of the ones that everybody wanted, so you had a horse like this who was throwing quality individuals and they were falling into those pinhookers price bracket at the yearling sale. They were a pleasant surprise at the sale. These horses looked more like milers–precocious with a good walk. I'm sure there's a lot of Maclean's Music coming through there.”

DAVID INGORDO
Top Pick: Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro-Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy). 2022 fee: $20,000, Spendthrift Farm.
“I thought Bolt d'Oro was an immensely talented horse. I saw him training in California and always got really good reports on the horse. When I saw his offspring , I thought they were nice horses and very athletic. Then I watched them develop from yearlings into two-year-olds and they all came forward really nicely. We have some going into training that we bought as yearlings that we are pretty high on. Then seeing his sales horses kind of put the exclamation point on it.”

Under-the-radar pick: Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky-Issues, by Awesome Again). 2022 fee: $15,000, Lane's End.
“Disclaimer, I was intimately involved with Accelerate. We bought him as a yearling and we broke him at the Mayberry's. We sent him to John Sadler and he stands at Lane's End. I've been watching him since his yearling year. That's how long he's been part of my life. He's never let us down and he improved from year to year. I'm very high on the ones we have in training and we bought a few more at the sales because we didn't have enough. He's never missed a mark. He's done everything right for us. These ones at the two-year-old sale are showing some speed, which he himself had. The criticism is that he didn't start running until later on. He was a May foal and we took our time with him and let him grow up. The ones with earlier foaling dates are showing precocity and speed. I've been happy with the ones we have at the farm and the ones I've seen at the sale.”

LAUREN CARLISLE
Top Pick: Mendelssohn.
“They have size, scope and the ability to run on turf or dirt.”

Under-the-radar pick: Good Samaritan (Harlan's Holiday-Pull Dancer, by Pulpit). 2022 fee: $7,500. WinStar Farm.
“The March group breezed well and had solid physicals.”

MIKE RYAN
Top Pick: Good Magic (Curlin-Glinda the Good, by Hard Spun). 2022 fee: $30,000, Hill 'n' Dale Farms.
“It's a very strong crop this year. You have the five main sires-Justify, City of Light, Mendelssohn, Good Magic and Bolt d'Oro. It's a loaded generation. Some people will say I am biased, but my pick is Good Magic. People might say he's picking him because he's his own horse. I have seen quite a few training at Stonestreet and at Niall Brennan's and some other places and I was very impressed with what I saw. They are very much like him. Great attitudes. Great demeanors. Great appetite for training and they enjoy what they are doing. They are focused and committed, a trainer's dream. He was like that himself. I like Mendelssohn quite a bit, too. It might be a flip of the coin between Mendelssohn and Good Magic.”

Under-the-radar pick: Cloud Computing.
“Niall Brennan has a couple that I have seen train and I was most impressed by them. He reminded me a little bit of Upstart from a few years ago. I didn't give Upstart a whole lot of recognition at the yearling sales. But when I saw them train as two-year-olds I was very impressed with them. I think Cloud Computing will prove to be a good value. They're well grown. They've got speed. But I don't think they'll be limited to one turn. ”

LIZ CROW
Top Pick: Bolt d'Oro.
“I have been really impressed with the Bolts overall physically. A bunch of them breezed well at OBS. They were quick and precocious.”

Under-the-radar pick: Cloud Computing.
“We had the Cloud Computing that we sold for $560,000. We bought him as a yearling and he just improved every day since we bought him. We have another one that is going to the April sale that we like as well. The ones I've been around have been really nice horses.”

JARED HUGHES
Top Pick: Good Magic.
“He was a good two-year-old and his offspring have a lot of quality to them. They are very classy. I think they will be forward enough to be around for the big fall races. I don't expect them to be early. I more expect them to start winning in the two-turns races. Like the Connect model.”

Under-the-radar pick: Accelerate.
“They have the right shape and they seem to have really good attitudes. They seem like they could be forward, even though he, as a racehorse, wasn't that forward.”

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Classic Bases Loaded for Sire On The Up

Nobody has missed the explosive impact of Not This Time's second crop of sophomores on the Classic trail this year. But the fact remains that it's actually another stallion in his own intake that we find flirting most plausibly with an elusive distinction, with a chance of joining King Alfonso (1885), McGee (1918), Bull Lea (1952) and Native Dancer (1966) in siring the winners of both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks.

Okay, so we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. With nearly two months to go, it would be quite something just to get Zandon and Kathleen O into the gate with as feasible a chance as they appear to have right now. But whatever happens from here, I think we need to salute the work of their sire in getting that pair even this far, while standing at just $10,000.

His name, of course, is Upstart–and a clever name it is, too, for a son of Flatter out of the Touch Gold mare Party Silks. And now it's proving a very apt one, as well, with Upstart showing a real flair for upward mobility.

His third crop of juveniles, now on the launchpad, graduate from a book of just 38 covers. We all know how childish is the attention span of commercial breeders, but this was still a pretty ridiculous drop after he had opened with 146 mares–which, on a farm as exemplary as Airdrie, absolutely represented full subscription.

From the moment he could be judged on his own merits, however, Upstart has decisively reversed that customary drift. His first yearlings averaged more than six times his fee, promptly renewing traffic to 90 mares the following spring. And then, sure enough, they went out and showed that they can run: initially as a knockout pinhook medium, his first two crops averaging $107,791 and $113,250 at the 2-year-old sales; and after that–as could be anticipated from his own record, dual Grade I-placed in three consecutive campaigns–when permitted to stretch their capacity for a bullet breeze to a more meaningful span.

Kathleen O. herself is a perfect example. She was discarded to Shooting Star Thoroughbreds for just $8,000 as a weanling, having been acquired in utero with a mare whose principal appeal to her purchasers, Gainesway and Bridlewood, was evidently to assist the launch of Tapwrit. The following fall Kathleen O. was back under the hammer, advancing her value to $50,000, sold by Stuart Morris to Aurora Bloodstock at the OBS October Sale. Returning to the same ring last April, however, she had blossomed so athletically (blasted a quarter in 21-and-change) that Shug McGaughey gave $275,000.

“Niall Brennan had told us a month or two before how much he loved his Upstart filly,” recalls Bret Jones of Airdrie. “And then when I saw that Shug had signed the ticket on her–as we know, Shug doesn't sign too many auction tickets–I took that as another very encouraging sign. It's been a lot of fun watching it play out the way we sure hoped.”

Yes, it has. Racing in the silks of debut owner Pat Kearney's Winngate Stables, Kathleen O. retains an immaculate record: pouncing late for an Aqueduct maiden on debut; then romping by over eight in the Cash Run S. at Gulfstream; and now, off a lay-off, wrecking the unbeaten record of Classy Edition (Classic Empire) in the GII Davona Dale S. over the same track last weekend.

Young stallions are under enormous pressure to deliver, in the narrowest of windows, and Upstart has unequivocally seized his chance. From the outset, he has achieved terrific yields at ringside and then shown why on the track. He was admittedly unlucky with his flagship Reinvestment Risk, who made good money for investors twice over as a $140,000 Fasig-Tipton July yearling and then a $280,000 OBS March 2-year-old, duly romping on debut at Saratoga before then finishing second in consecutive Grade Is. After disappointing at the Breeders' Cup, he made a single sophomore start and it was only last month that he resumed with a 103 Beyer on his comeback at Gulfstream–a performance that clearly sets him up for a return to elite company this summer.

“As a 2-year-old Reinvestment Risk had the bad luck to chase Jackie's Warrior through two very fast Grade Is,” Jones remarks. “I think his numbers would have won just about every other early graded 2-year-old race that year. So, while he didn't get that level of win, I think just about everybody shared the opinion that he had that level of talent.”

In his absence, Upstart's debut crop found a new focus in Masqueparade. Having raised $100,000 as a weanling and $180,000 as a yearling, he won the GIII Ohio Derby before finishing a good third to Essential Quality (Tapit) in the GII Jim Dandy S.

“Masquerade is also on the comeback trail,” Jones notes. “I spoke with Al Stall when I was down at the Fair Grounds and they're very bullish on what kind of 4-year-old he could be. He's big, beautiful and always seemed destined to be a good older horse. If you go back to his race on Kentucky Derby day [won optional allowance by a dozen lengths], he ran a very similar if not slightly faster Ragozin number than the best horses in the Derby.”

That renowned judge Mike Ryan had found Reinvestment Risk for the Chad Brown barn and the same pair returned to Upstart's second crop for Zandon, homebred from an unraced Creative Cause mare by Brereton C. Jones/Airdrie, as a $170,000 Keeneland September yearling. Zandon won a Belmont sprint on debut before losing out by a nose in the GII Remsen S., many being perplexed that he was not awarded the prize after being baulked late by Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo). On his return, he shaped really well against the flow of the GII Risen S., rank in the rear after a clumsy start but retaining enough energy to circle the field for third.

So anyone can see that we're already looking at a pretty impressive body of work for a horse standing for this kind of money. But there's something else I want to highlight that really sets Upstart apart. We've seen that he can look after breeders commercially; and we've seen that he can reward investors in the next cycle with real quality on the racetrack. But what I really like is that he's such a cast-iron source of “run”.

By the end of 2021, with a second crop of juveniles up and running, Upstart had managed to put no fewer than 114 of 149 named foals onto the track, including 65 winners. Those respectively represented 77% and 44% of his output. Compare those ratios with the handful who banked more prizemoney last year. Not This Time had 66% starters to named foals, and 35% winners; Nyquist, 61 and 26 %, respectively; Frosted 71 and 30%; Runhappy, 55 and 28%; and the lamented Speightster, 66 and 33%.

Those stats speak for themselves. Yet all bar one of these rivals, Runhappy, were working from books so much bigger than those assembled by Upstart that even their markedly inferior conversion rate–in terms of racetrack action–left them more starters. So his five stakes winners in 2021 stacked up admirably against all bar the freakish 13 assembled by Not This Time: Speightster had three, while Runhappy, Frosted and Nyquist had six apiece. We have meanwhile lost poor Speightster, but the fact remains that Upstart remains a lower fee than all the others.

This evolving trademark makes a lot of sense in a horse that showed up so reliably through three campaigns in the best company. Forward enough for a 102 Beyer at two, surely unique in a son of Flatter, Upstart started out winning a maiden and then a stake at Saratoga before placing in the GI Champagne and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile; he then beat Frosted by five in the GII Holy Bull S.; and matured to a supporting role in races like the GI Haskell, GI Met Mile and GI Whitney.

Jones is duly unsurprised by Upstart's excellence in literally getting you a runner. “He was a very sound horse himself,” he stresses. “He was an early-developing 2-year-old of Grade I caliber, even though his pedigree may not have screamed that. Then as a 3-year-old, he was one of the best Derby hopes on the East Coast before training on to be right there in very big races at four. With that stout Flatter-A.P. Indy blood behind him, there were a lot of reasons to hope that he could get sound horses that would keep getting better with age. And that does seem to be the case.”

This profile is underpinned by a pedigree that has plainly imparted both precocity and refinement to the kind of rangy, two-turn physique associated with the sire-line. Touch Gold is indeed gold as a broodmare sire, combining Deputy Minister and another legendary distaff brand in Buckpasser; and Upstart's third dam is by another copper-bottomed such influence in Drone. Beyond that, the family was cultivated through four generations by Federico Tesio himself, rooted in his foundation mare Tofanella (GB) (to whom Upstart's fifth dam is inbred 3 x 3).

Though Upstart's dam was unraced, her half-sister won the

GII Raven Run S. during an 8-for-27 career spread seamlessly across four campaigns. And his third dam, herself a graded stakes-placed half-sister to a multiple Grade I performer, also produced a graded stakes winner plus the mother of a top-class Japanese sprinter in Nobo Jack (French Deputy).

Despite his name, then, it seems as though Upstart has been an aristocrat all along. Both Zandon and Kathleen O., remember, are the very first foals out of their respective dams to make the racetrack–and Upstart, straight off the bat, is moving them right up in the world.

“We love that these Upstarts can make money for their breeders, then can handle the 2-year-old sales and go on to be early horses that train on,” Jones observes. “That's not an easy combination to pull off, but he's giving us a lot of reasons to believe that he can. He has a chance to be that great blend: the stallion that can get you a runner, as well as an expensive sales horse. Hopefully, he will now keep developing that commercial profile, as these horses continue to run fast.”

Certainly Jones expects Upstart to be back to a full book this year, a vivid measure of the way he has seized the fleeting chances he was given. Those who can get aboard this spring, then, will surely be ahead of the game by the time they come to sell the resulting foals. After all, he has come up with Zandon and Kathleen O. from a phase when he was, relatively speaking, marking time. And pending the next cycle we can expect his stock, thriving with maturity, to keep his name in lights.

“We got 86 mares to him the second year,” Jones says. “And from those 86 mares bred, he has these two really outstanding 3-year-olds. So, he's shown that he doesn't need the big numbers to have success. And now that he's finally going to have that opportunity again, now that you can add the kind of quality and numbers we think are in his future, then there's a real pipeline taking shape behind him. To us, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about Upstart.”

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Early Voting In Good Order Following Withers Triumph

Early Voting provided trainer Chad Brown and owner Klaravich Stables with their second straight victory in Saturday's Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct Racetrack, picking up 10 points toward the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs.

Piloted gate-to-wire by Jose Ortiz, the son of 2021 leading freshman stallion Gun Runner built on his advantage down the backstretch several paths from the rail and glided home to a 4 1/2-length score, registering a 78 Beyer Speed Figure over the muddy going.

“He cooled out well this morning. He seems to have come out of it the right way,” said Brown's Belmont-based assistant Dan Stupp. “We weren't quite expecting that much speed from him. I know Chad wanted him to break well from that post, get a good forward position and he broke so well that I think Jose didn't want to take anything away from him. He ended up doing it pretty comfortably on the backside there. He and Jose did the rest from there.”

Stupp spoke highly of the ride from Ortiz, who shipped up from Florida for the mount.

“The day before, it seemed like everyone was in the middle of the track closing and it played out that way yesterday as well,” Stupp said. “Jose wanted to steer him to the outside. Down the stretch, he said the horse wanted to just stay to the rail and he was trying to school him a little bit. He went to the left hand to get him out in the middle of the track and teach him a little bit.”

Early Voting arrived at Brown's Saratoga division in late September from Niall Brennan Stables in Ocala, before shipping to Belmont in November. He displayed talent on debut going a one-turn mile on December 18 at the Big A.

Stupp said Early Voting improved exceedingly out of his maiden score.

“When I first got him, he was a little bit far away from a race, unfit and was difficult to train. As each work progressed and as we got closer to his debut, I saw glimpses of a good horse,” Stupp recalled. “When we ran him first time, we knew he wanted to run longer. We needed him to run once from both a conditioning and a maturity standpoint. This horse was just a totally different horse after his first race. There were small things with him. You had to lead him to the track with a lip chain, he just wanted to act up on the track a little bit. He was just so much better after that first start and I think there's more room for improvement.”

Stupp oversaw the winter campaign of last year's Withers winner Risk Taking, who also trained at Belmont through the winter.

“Risk Taking and him were totally different,” Stupp said. “Risk Taking was straight forward and was what he was. This horse is a late-developing horse. He needs experience, he needs each race to move him forward from a conditioning standpoint.”

The two remaining Kentucky Derby preps at Aqueduct are the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham at a one-turn mile on March 5 [50-20-10-5] and the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino at nine furlongs [100-40-20-10] on April 9. Last year, Risk Taking skipped the Gotham in favor of staying around two turns for the Wood Memorial, where he finished seventh.

“Chad and Seth [Klarman] will figure that out. It's a long way from now until the Wood,” Stupp said.

Purchased by Mike Ryan for $200,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Early Voting is out of the unraced Tiznow mare Amour d'Ete – a half-sister to 2004 Champion Sprinter and influential stallion Speightstown.

Early Voting secured the double for Brown and Klaravich one race after Southern District defeated winners going a one-turn mile. Racing with blinkers off, he posted a 6 3/4-length romp under Manny Franco, garnering a career-best 100 Beyer Speed Figure.

“He did it ears pricked and comfortably,” Stupp said.

The 4-year-old son of Union Rags made up for his previous effort when a troubled third going nine furlongs on January 9 at the Big A, finishing four lengths back of runner-up and stablemate Winter Pool.

“Down on the inside, he couldn't get a clean outside run, which is what he wants,” Stupp said of the nine-furlong effort. “He didn't run a bad race. He was just a little keen and Chad decided to take the blinkers off. He was training so well we decided to throw him in there. I wasn't expecting him to win that comfortably, but I would have been surprised if he didn't run well.”

Peter M. Brant and Three Chimneys Farm's Mystic Night successfully sought redemption on Friday when earning his third career victory in a nine-furlong allowance optional claimer. The 5-year-old Into Mischief gelding entered off a distant sixth in his stakes debut – the Queens County on December 19 at Aqueduct.

Mystic Night was a third-out winner last January at Aqueduct before defeating winners in March at the same oval. He returned to action two months later Belmont Park when second beaten 1 1/2 lengths and did not run again until September, finishing second at Saratoga.

“We thought about the Pimlico Special and we actually considered the Stephen Foster, but we had a virus run through the barn. We missed about a month of training which set him back quite a bit,” Stupp said. “He was probably a touch short on fitness when we ran him at Saratoga. He ran a credible race for a horse that might have been short on fitness. We ran him back in the stake and didn't perform but he came well out of it. We still have high hopes for him. Not sure where we go with him, but he came out of it well and we'll evaluate our options.”

Withers runner-up Un Ojo to continue at route distance
Cypress Creek Equine's New York-bred Un Ojo finished up well to be second in the Withers in his first start at nine furlongs for trainer Tony Dutrow.

A gelded son of Laoban, Un Ojo made up ground late under Trevor McCarthy to secure place honors by a head over Gilded Age, earning four qualifying points towards the Kentucky Derby for his effort.

Un Ojo had entered the Withers off a game runner-up finish to Geno in the seven-furlong NYSSS Great White Way, beaten just a neck after coming from off the pace and bumping with Geno down the stretch.

Dutrow said he was hoping the extra two furlongs in the Withers would be helpful to the dark bay gelding.

“We believed that the mile and an eighth would be good,” Dutrow said. “We were very happy with his effort. He's a little New York-bred with one eye. He's over-accomplishing every time he runs. Horses coming from last have been doing good over the track there, so I told Trevor to run late and get out in the middle of the track. I'm proud of our horse's effort.”

Un Ojo was previously been trained by Ricky Courville in Louisiana up until his debut for Dutrow in the Great White Way. He graduated at second asking in a maiden special weight at Delta Downs before finishing fourth in his stakes debut in Delta Downs' Jean Lafitte.

Dutrow said Un Ojo's effort in the Withers confirmed that he will stay at route distances going forward, ruling out a start in the one-mile Grade 3 Gotham on March 5 at the Big A but leaving the door open for a run in the nine-furlong, Grade 2 Wood Memorial Presented by Resorts World Casino on April 9.

“The owner is very enthusiastic and wanted to talk yesterday about where to go next, but I wasn't ready for that yet,” Dutrow said. “We both agreed that we will not be going to the Gotham. It's possible that we run in a New York-bred allowance going nine furlongs to get him his deserving reward for his efforts. That would give him great confidence if we were to go to the Wood Memorial. That would be the distance he likes at a track he likes.”

Dutrow said 3-year-old maiden colt Predicted is currently taking a winter vacation in Florida after finishing a gritty second in his third career start at Aqueduct on November 12.

Predicted, a son Tapit, is out of the stakes-placed Bluegrass Cat mare Ithinkisawapudycat, who is a half to Grade 1 Alcibiades winner and Canadian Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Spring in the Air. Predicted, the sixth foal from Ithinkisawapudycat, is a full brother to 2016 Grade 1 Spinaway winner Sweet Loretta and a half-brother to stakes-placed mare Bridlewood Cat.

Owned by breeder Mt. Brilliant Stable with Famousstyle Stables and Team D, Predicted made his debut sprinting seven furlongs to a fourth-place finish at Saratoga Race Course in August before stretching out to 1 1/16 miles at Belmont Park in his second start.

A well-beaten sixth in that start behind Grade 2 Remsen winner Mo Donegal, Predicted added blinkers and cut back to a mile in his most recent outing, an off-the-turf maiden special weight at Aqueduct in November where he raced just off the pace in third before taking command at the top of the stretch and just missing by a neck at the wire.

“He's a nice horse and we didn't really have a plan for when he was going to run but he was ready to run at Saratoga,” Dutrow said. “He did everything well and we thought it was a good effort. He ran badly at Belmont and we thought about stopping on him but we decided to put blinkers on him to see what we could see. He ran well and all was positive, so we agreed that we've only seen sixty percent of what this horse could do and decided to stop on something positive.”

Predicted was sent to Mt. Brilliant Stables' Kentucky farm for some downtime before heading to Niall Brennan's training facility in Florida, where his is currently preparing for a return to the races sometime in early spring.

“Niall broke him and now he got him going again a month ago,” Dutrow said. “He'll give him a work or two or whatever he would like to do and he'll come back up to me once the weather gets warmer. Hopefully he'll be a nice summertime 3-year-old and a nice 4-year-old.”

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Into Mischief, Street Sense Colts Hit Million-Dollar Mark In Keeneland’s Fourth Session

Two million-dollar colts – a son of Into Mischief from the family of Grade 1 winner Dunbar Road and a son of Street Sense from the family of champion Forever Unbridled – led Thursday's fourth day of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky. The session marked the final day of a buoyant Week 1 of the auction, which generated gross sales exceeding $200 million and recorded 15 horses sold for $1 million and more.

Keeneland sold 201 yearlings Thursday for $48,801,000, an average of $242,791 and a median of $200,000. Cumulatively, 620 horses sold through the ring brought a total of $200,419,000, for an average of $323,256 and a median of $250,000.

“Excellent,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “The session started strong and finished strong. There were flat spots in the middle when it got a little quiet, but that might be because people were at the barns looking at Book 3 horses. It was a little bit of an anomaly from that standpoint, but the median and average are up. This week has been extremely strong and extremely deep. It has been a powerhouse Week 1.”

“Going forward, I am optimistic,” Lacy added. “There are a lot of people, especially pinhookers, who have not had their hands up yet. When you have buyers getting pushed into the second week that says a lot about the strength of the market. We are encouraged. We think it will incentivize breeders to invest in horses offered at the November Breeding Stock Sale. It is the optimism that the industry needs.”

The September Sale was structured so a critical mass of yearlings would be presented to buyers during four consecutive days that covered Books 1 and 2 before the auction took a one-day hiatus.

“I think a lot of people love the format.” Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “It's speaking for itself in terms of the results. The format has been a part of that, and it has been rewarding. It has kept the buyers in town and kept them engaged. People are really aggressive about trying to fill orders. And there's a wave of buyers that are yet to come in or that are just getting started, so we feel really good about the seven sessions to come.”

Mike Ryan, agent, purchased Thursday's seven-figure Into Mischief colt, who was consigned by Mt. Brilliant Farm. Out of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Secret Someone, by A.P. Indy, he is from the family of the aforementioned Dunbar Road as well as Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Secret Status, Grade 1 winner Fair Maiden and multiple Grade 3 winner Alumni Hall.

Ryan, who said he bought the colt for a partnership, is familiar with the yearling's family. Ryan purchased Dunbar Road's dam, the Bernardini mare Gift List, at Keeneland's 2016 January Horses of All Ages Sale when she was carrying Dunbar Road.

“He reminded me an awful lot of Practical Joke,” Ryan said about the purchase, comparing the colt to the Grade 1-winning son of Into Mischief, “If he runs to his pedigree – top and bottom, sire and female line – he's got terrific stallion potential. He looks like a horse that hopefully would run at Saratoga next summer and strike out from there. I thought he was a special colt. He's got a lot of upside, and hopefully, he'll turn out lucky.”

“We loved his family,” Mt. Brilliant owner Greg Goodman said. “(Second dam) Private Gift is the first really expensive horse I ever bought. I have sold a lot of the family and kept a lot of the daughters. He could not be in better hands, and I am so happy about it.”

The $1 million Street Sense colt sold to BSW/Crow Colts Group, a new partnership for colts to be trained by Brad Cox. Out of the winning Aptitude mare Critikal Reason, he is a half-brother to stakes winner Bajan, and from the family of Forever Unbridled as well as Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Lemons Forever and Grade 1 winner Unbridled Forever.

BSW/Crow Colts Group purchased four yearlings Thursday. In addition to the Street Sense colt the others were Justice, a $450,000 son of Justify consigned by Bridie Harrison, agent for Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds; a $325,000 son of Good Magic consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, and a $250,000 son of Maclean's Music consigned by Paramount Sales, agent.

Altogether in Week 1, BSW/Crow Colts Group has purchased 17 colts for $5.98 million.

“It's a stallion-making group,” Brad Weisbord, speaking for the partnership, said. “We want to have fun along the way, but Brad Cox's goal is to make a stallion to make this whole thing make sense. We want to return some capital to the partners.”

Cox left the sale to saddle a horse at Churchill Downs. Weisbord said the trainer called after watching the Street Sense colt sell.

“He said, 'We didn't get this one.' I said, ''No, buddy, we did.' He was giddy. Everyone's excited. I know Brad was really excited to get this group off the ground. We weren't expecting to spend a million dollars; that wasn't the goal of the venture. But this was the goal horse today and the goal horse of Book 2.”

Farfellow Farms consigned the Street Sense colt.

“He just kept getting better and better,” Kip Knelman of Farfellow said about the consignor's lone offering in Week 1 and the first of seven yearlings Farfellow has consigned to the September Sale.

“Our farm manager and staff at the farm did a marvelous job,” Knelman added. “We handle our horses all the time from the time they are babies. He was a real gentleman the whole time. Our reserve was considerably lower, but we had a pretty good understanding of who was interested. It was all the right people. We felt comfortable our reserve would be met.

“We are very pleased and very blessed. This horse business can be tough so sometimes when you get a little luck like this, it brings it back so we can do it again.”

“Seeing family farms like Mt. Brilliant and Farfellow do so well makes us proud,” Lacy said. “They are very proud of the product they bring to the market. That is what breeders hope for. People can relate to those good stories this week.”

“For Tony and me, having primarily been sellers for the last 20 or so years each, it's exciting to be able to help provide that platform for people like the Knelmans and Mt. Brilliant over the course of Week 1,” Breathnach said. “They've really had a chance to excel and show their product off and get payed for it so well. It's something that we take a lot of pride in. There are a lot of happy people, and that's our main goal.”

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West Bloodstock, agent for Repole Stable and St. Elias, paid $950,000 for a colt by Violence who is a half-brother to Grade 1-placed stakes winner Standard Deviation. Consigned by KatieRich Farms, he is out of the A.P. Indy mare False Impression and from the family of Grade 1 winner Believe You Can, Grade 2 winner Classic Elegance and Grade 3 winner Chorwon.

Jacob West said trainer Todd Pletcher told him the colt reminded him of Violence. Pletcher trained Violence.

“What's selling well right now is that two-turn dirt horse, and that's what we felt he was,” West said. “He's got family behind him and an incredible physical, and now we just hope he runs as good as he looks. The number that we had thrown out prior was about half of that (the purchase price), but as the sale goes on with momentum it's no shocker.

“We've been the underbidder on plenty today. Today feels very strong. I think for both parties that were bidding on that horse there was a little bit of frustration with not getting what we wanted early in the day. I think they kind of just let their hair down and let it go. That happens in public auctions, and KatieRich benefited from that.”

West Bloodstock, agent for Repole Stable and St. Elias, was the session's leading buyer, spending $2,765,000 for seven yearlings. During Week 1 of the September Sale, the group acquired 24 horses for $11,325,000.

Into Mischief also sired a colt sold to Courtlandt Farm for $850,000. Consigned by Indian Creek, agent, the colt is from the family of Grade 1 winner Off the Tracks and Grade 2 winner Concord Point.

“We loved the colt, felt like he had a lot of stretch to him and looks like a colt that will fit our program,” Courtlandt's Ernie Retamoza said. “We are excited to have him and to get him at that number. He looks like he will go two turns and has a lot of quality.”

Indian Creek owner Shack Parrish praised the colt.

“He did everything right at the farm,” Parrish said. “He is very mild-mannered. He just keeps developing. He's beautiful now, but he will be even more beautiful this time next year.”

Retamoza said the Courtlandt team had its eye on several additional yearlings during the session.

“Everyone is on these horses that have quality,” Retamoza said. “You have to step up if you want to own them.”

Mayberry Farm paid $775,000 for a filly by Quality Road and from the family of champion Abel Tasman also consigned by Mt. Brilliant. Out of Grade 3 winner Sky Girl, by Sky Mesa, she also is from the family of Grade 1 winner Bevo, Grade 2 winners Wilburn and Beethoven and Grade 3 winners Moonlight Sonata and Moonlight d'Oro.

“I've seen a lot of good Quality Road fillies, and she reminds me of all the good ones,” David Ingordo, who signed the ticket,” said. “(She has) plenty of leg, a great shoulder, a beautiful outlook on her. Good Quality Roads tend to be big, scopey and have good bodies. She has a ton of presence.”

Selling two of the day's highest-priced yearlings was gratifying to Goodman.

“(My farm crew) are the ones who do everything,” he said. “I just go around and look. We have a great staff. Ninety percent of the guys on the farm have been there 15 to 20 years. Everything we have done over the 26 years is because we have great people.”

Talla Racing went to $750,000 for a colt by Practical Joke whose dam, Gal Factor, by The Factor, is a half-sister to 2021 Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Super Stock. He was consigned by St George Sales, agent.

Leading all consignors Thursday was Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, which sold 25 yearlings for $5,648,000.

Friday marks a “dark day” at the September Sale when no session will be held. The sale will resume Saturday, Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. ET and continue every day through Sept. 24.

The entire September Sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.

The post Into Mischief, Street Sense Colts Hit Million-Dollar Mark In Keeneland’s Fourth Session appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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