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First-Crop Yearling Sires: Vino Rosso

The 2022 class of first-crop yearling sires features a diverse batch of Kentucky-based young stallions including a pair of Breeders' Cup champions, two sons of reigning top sire Into Mischief, five graded stakes winners at two and five Grade I winners on turf. Throughout the course of the yearling sales season, we will feature a series of freshman sires as their first crop points toward the sales ring. Check out the first few editions of our series here.

When no less a judge than Kenny McPeek purchases three colts by the same first-crop yearling sire, people take note. Known for his flair for picking out future stars from the sales ring, McPeek took home a trio of youngsters by Breeders' Cup champion Vino Rosso (Curlin – Mythical Bride, by Street Cry) at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

Spendthrift Farm's Mark Toothaker said it was the best stamp they could have asked for to get the young sire's yearling sales season off to a flying start.

“I had a chance to talk to Kenny afterwards and he just told me that they were his kind of horses,” Toothaker relayed. “Anytime you have horses in his barn, you've got a shot because as we've seen lately, he wins races everywhere.”

The three Vino Rosso colts were the highest-priced yearlings among McPeek's eight July Sale purchases, selling for $250,000, $200,000 and $180,000. Overall, the stallion's progeny averaged $135,000 from 11 lots at the one-day sale.

Vino Rosso himself was a $410,000 yearling purchase for Mike Repole and St. Elias in 2016. Now that the young stallion has a few crops on the ground, Toothaker said that his progeny are reflecting their sire's eye-catching physical.

“When we were starting to go out and see all the foals, we saw that he was really stamping them,” he explained. “They're not too coarse and not too heavy. They're more of a refined-looking horse and they're good movers. They've got a really solid hip on them and they seem to be horses that are very correct.”

Toothaker said that he believes the ball is just starting to get rolling for Vino Rosso, explaining that pinhookers who may have been hesitant to get behind the first-crop yearling sire are now joining the bandwagon.

“Talking to my 2-year-old buddies, they've been burned on some sons of Curlin that just weren't fast at the 2-year-old sales. After the [July] sale once they had a chance to watch them move and see who was buying them, I think there's a whole other take now on 'Vino' from the 2-year-old guys. It's a little bit like Bolt d'Oro last year where there was a little bit of hesitancy. Are these going to be fast enough? Then once they saw how they sold at the sales, everybody had to have one.”

Undefeated in two starts as a juvenile for Todd Pletcher, Vino Rosso went on to win the GII Wood Memorial S. as a sophomore. At four, he claimed the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita S., was taken down to second after crossing the wire first in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S., and capped off his career with a memorable victory in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic to earn Eclipse honors as Champion Older Dirt Male.

Vino Rosso colt out of Money Madness sells with Mill Ridge Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale | Sara Gordon

Retired to Spendthrift Farm, Vino Rosso was launched at a stud fee of $30,000 and bred 238 mares in his first year at stud. With fees of $25,000 and $20,000 in his next two years at stud, the son of Curlin bred over 180 mares in 2021 and close to 140 this year.

The stallion ranked third in his class of first-crop weanling sires at last year's breeding stock sales when his progeny averaged $90,595 with 47 of 61 sold. Leading the way was his colt out of Fair Huntress (Tiznow), who brought $340,000 at the Keeneland November Sale.

Five yearlings by Vino Rosso are slated to sell at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. The first to go through the ring is Hip 28, a colt out of Money Madness (Rahy). The Mill Ridge Farm-consigned chestnut was a $100,000 pinhook partnership purchase at the Keeneland November Sale and is a half-brother to LNJ Foxwoods' MGSW Boardroom (Commissioner). Mill Ridge's Price Bell said that the colt is thriving in the final weeks of sales preparation.

“Physically, he looks very fast,” Bell said. “[Our partnership] fell in love with his leg and his attitude when he was a foal and we feel like he has really progressed since that time. He has a really nice, quick look to him and in prep, he has been a workhorse. He has really enjoyed his exercise.”

Bell added that with the Vino Rosso yearlings they have had at Mill Ridge, he has been consistently impressed by their attitudes.

Also at the Saratoga Sale, a Vino Rosso colt out of the winning Pulpit mare War Relic sells with Denali Stud as Hip 115. The yearling was foaled and raised at Elm Tree Farm. Farm owner Jody Huckabay said that the colt has been special from the start.

Vino Rosso's Fasig-Tipton-bound colt out of War Relic was bred and raised at Elm Tree Farm. | Sara Gordon

“He came looking honestly very similar to what he looks like now,” Huckabay said. “He's just developed and he does everything we've asked him to do through the prepping process. You hear that all the time, but he's a horse that has been a joy to be around. We're very proud of him. He's very athletic. We think he's a special horse.”

Other Vino Rosso yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale include Hip 71, a filly out of GIISP Shaken (Uncle Mo) with Gainesway; Hip 133, a half-brother to GIIISP Aurelia Garland (Constitution) with Warrendale Sales; and Hip 172, a colt out of the stakes-placed mare Divergent View (Congrats) with Machmer Hall Sales.

An additional 10 sons and daughters of Vino Rosso are cataloged for the New York-bred Sale.

Toothaker indicated that Vino Rosso will have a strong backing from his ownership group as the yearling sales progress.

“[At the Fasig-Tipton July Sale] Mike Repole was in there bidding and they didn't end up getting anything, but they made sure everything got vetted and wound up selling very well,” he said. “There will be some yearlings that land in his lap as we go forward and it's exciting to know that there are going to be some in those orange and blue colors.”

Once Vino Rosso's progeny get to the racetrack, Toothaker said he believes the athleticism they display now will become even more apparent.

“I feel like they're going to be very efficient on the track with the way they move,” he said. “If they have any of that Curlin blood running through them, which they do, every time you look up you see something from the sire line having success, so we're excited about what the future holds for Vino Rosso.”

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Mill Ridge Farm Sets Oscar Performance’s Fee For 2022

Mill Ridge Farm is pleased to announce the 2022 stud fee for homebred turf star Oscar Performance at $12,500 LFSN for first time breeders, and $10,000 for repeat breeders or multiple mares.

The best son of leading North American sire Kitten's Joy, Oscar Performance was bred and raced by Jerry and John Amerman. As a 2-year-old, Oscar Performance won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, winning Grade 1 stakes at two, three, and four, and breaking a 20-year track record at Belmont Park in 1:31.23, all with no Lasix.

Described by trainer Brian Lynch as “brilliant,” while jockey Jose Ortiz said, “Without a doubt an absolute favorite,” the swagger and confidence of Oscar Performance along with his 'Who's Who' list of syndicate supporters, has given him every chance to be a breed shaping stallion.

Oscar Performance has proven outstanding fertility with 90 percent of 118 mares bred his first year, 116 his second, and 85 mares in his third year.

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Return To The Ring: Keeneland September’s RNA Re-Offer Sparks Trade In Different Ways

The catalog order was out of sorts at the end of Tuesday's session at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky.

Hip 399 was followed by Hip 399A and 399C, as one would expect when the main catalog turns into the supplemental catalog. Then, Hip 6 entered the ring, followed by Hips 72, 111 and 179.

The four horses causing the catalog detour were the inaugural class of Keeneland's RNA Re-offer program, which allowed sellers of horses that finished under their reserve during the auction's first session the opportunity to run them the ring a second time at the end of Tuesday's second day of trade.

Though each of the RNA Re-offer horses had a common touching point, each one took a unique path to and from it.

The quartet that went through the ring on Tuesday evening was narrowed down from an original group of seven yearlings that were announced by Keeneland at the end of Monday's session. Consignors had to notify Keeneland Sales officials of their intentions to run their horses through again within 30 minutes of the close of Monday's session. Buyers were then made aware of the horses to be offered through Keeneland's social media channels and advertising.

For a few of the horses, that little extra boost of promotion was all they needed to make a sale happen. Mill Ridge Sales had two horses entered in the RNA Re-offer, but neither made it to the ring.

“The one that was early, Hip 70, was for a partnership, and we thought we had action, but didn't have enough,” said Price Bell of Mill Ridge. “We RNA'd it for $125,000 and we wanted to support new ideas. Keeneland promoted it last night, and they promoted it today, and it probably let people know we wanted to sell these horses, that they weren't RNAs to race. This morning, we had three people ask us about her, and we got it done.

Hip 70, a First Samurai filly, sold privately to Madras Bloodstock on Tuesday morning for $90,000.

Bell said the other Mill Ridge horse set to go through again, Hip 195, an Uncle Mo filly who was a $140,000 buyback, was offered late on Monday, and was entered for the second chance mostly to hold the spot until the consignor could talk it over with the breeder, who elected to keep the filly to race. Still, Bell said the filly had an inquiry from a potential buyer on Tuesday morning after the initial list was revealed.

“It was effective to get more eyes on them, and positions them to be buyable,” he said. “It's not Plan A, but this late in the yearling season, sometimes you don't have a Plan B. For this to be a Plan B for that draw and that day, is great.”

Ramsey Farm also had a potential re-offer turn into a private sale, with Hip 197, a Nyquist colt, go to Daniel Pita for $70,000 after hammering for $80,000 in the ring.

For the remaining four horses, it was a slightly different pre-sale experience than their first go-around. Book 1 of Keeneland September is often filled with all-shows and extensive vetting, as high-level buyers attempt to leave no stone unturned. By Tuesday, however, most shoppers have moved on with their inspections to the horses in Book 2.

It was largely business as usual for Taylor Made Sales Agency, which had two horses entered in the re-offer: Hip 72 by Justify (RNA at $200,000), and Hip 179 by American Pharoah (RNA at $140,000). The consignment regularly keeps its buybacks from the first session of Book 1 on the property for an extra day in an attempt to woo a private sale before taking them home. Taylor Made's Mark Taylor said the discussion with the sellers to re-offer was not much different than it would be for any other RNA situation.

“It's the same conversation you would have if this re-offer wasn't in existence,” he said. “We always sit back and say, 'Okay, we've got the horse back. Have you reevaluated what you would take for the horse, and if so, where do you think that is?' Then, we go and start calling people that were interested. A lot of times, those people seek you out, too. In this case, I would say there's no downside for putting them in. If someone calls you at noon and gives you the hammer price, and you want to go ahead and sell it, Keeneland's going to allow you to do that.”

For both horses, Taylor said he expected them to bring more the first time around. He theorized that buyers might have thought that as well, which might have made them think the horses were out of their budget and look elsewhere. Multiple potential buyers made private offers in about the same price range, but all of them were slightly lower than the what seller was looking for, prompting the decision to let the hammer sort it out.

Catalog placement came into play for Hip 6, an Into Mischief colt who was bought back on Monday with a final bid of $340,000. It can take a while for a buyer's bench to build up momentum, and the colt was re-entered with the hopes of catching the market once it's warmed up.

“It's been busy enough,” consignor Pat Costello of Paramount Sales said about an hour before the colt's second trip through the ring. “He's been out five or six times today. Hopefully, we'll get something done.”

Though the shoppers had largely moved on to horses later in the sale, Kerry Cauthen of Four Star Sales said he worked on getting the minds of potential customers back to day one for a moment. Cauthen had Hip 111, a More Than Ready colt who was bought back at $145,000 after his first trip through the ring on Monday.

“People have obviously moved on to the next spot,” Cauthen said. “We mentioned it to everyone at Barn 42 (Four Star's Book 2 barn), letting them know the horse was going to be offered again. A lot of people would have seen him, and it gets back in their head, and we had three or four people say, 'I'm gonna watch him.' I don't know if it'll work or won't work, but there's no harm in letting them have a look.”

Cauthen's strategy was successful. Of the four horses that went through the ring for a second time on Tuesday, the More Than Ready colt was the only one to change hands at the fall of the hammer, improving his price from $145,000 on Monday to $150,000 on Tuesday.

The remaining three horses hammered for less the second time around, with Paramount's Hip 6 getting the closest at $335,000 after initially bringing $340,000.

One of the caveats of the re-offered section was that reserves had to be set with 15 percent above or below the initial reserve on Monday, which could have affected the sale status of some of the horses that hammered for less. As horses clearly marked to sell, it is likely they will find buyers privately before the sale is through.

Tony Lacy, Keeneland's vice president of sales, said he was pleased with what he saw with the re-offer program, between the private and public sales.

“I think there was a little bit of uncertainty over what it really was, but now that we're at the stage of the day where you had a few people that felt the market didn't treat them the way they expected, they can come back, and hopefully there will be better reception,” he said.

“There was anxiety amongst a group of sellers about being early in the sale, and as a former consignor, it definitely felt there was a lack of safety net in certain parts if you had a horse that may be perceived as having less marketability, or less appeal,” he continued. “Quite frankly, I think it really helped, and it helped solidify people's confidence that if they didn't get one sold early, that they had options.”

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Oscar Performance Yearlings Exhibit Sire’s Best Qualities

With the Keeneland September Sale fast approaching, Gray Lyster of Ashview Farm is looking forward to showcasing his colt by Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy-Devine Actress, by Theatrical {Ire}). Bred by Colts Neck Stables, the bay catalogued as Hip 892 is a half-brother to the talented MGSW Venetian Harbor (Munnings). The sibling duo is out of the stakes-placed mare Sounds of the City (Street Cry {Ire}), who hails from the family of champion sprinter Safely Kept (Horatius).

“He's actually the fifth generation of the family that we've raised here at Ashview,” Lyster said. “He's a really nice medium size and an unbelievable mover. You can see the Oscar Performance in him, but you can also see the mare and the half-sister Venetian Harbor. They all kind of come together. He looks really racey and his walk is smooth and powerful at the same time.”

But Lyster continued in saying that the yearling's best characteristic is his eye-catching balance, a factor Lyster puts heavy weight upon when determining a yearling's probability of future success.

“His whole body moves together and he's fluid,” he explained. “Everything matches. His hip matches his shoulder, which matches his neck. It's all tied in well together. For me, balance is the most important thing. I think that's what you see in the paddock of these big races. You see all different shapes and sizes, but you always see a balance of the whole horse tied together in front of you.”

Champion Oscar Performance is represented by his first crop at this year's yearling sales. When Price Bell of Mill Ridge Farm was asked to explain some of the qualities he has noticed in the multi-millionaire's first few crops, their consistent balance was the first factor he noted.

“The yearlings and foals that we have on the farm have all had great balance,” he said. “They're nice movers and they really get their hind leg under them well. The way their neck ties into their shoulders, they look like really good racehorses. Time will tell until they get into the gate, but at this stage they certainly exhibit the qualities that we really hoped for.”

Oscar Performance colt out of Sounds of the City will sell as Hip 892 with the Ashview Farm consignment. | Katie Ritz

Bred and owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Amerman, Oscar Performance was foaled and raised at Mill Ridge Farm. Bell said the son of Kitten's Joy was well-regarded physically as a youngster and that those traits came to fruition when Oscar Performance went on to prove himself on the racetrack.

“Physically, he's a very imposing horse, especially for a turf horse,” he said. “Oftentimes we don't think of [turf horses] to be very physical, but to stand into him, he's over 16.1 hands. Because he's so well proportioned, you have to really stand into him to see just how big he is. He has a very straight hind leg, which I think helped him accelerate quickly and I think that's a little atypical of some turf horses.”

Campaigned by Amerman Racing, Oscar Performance broke his maiden at second asking as a juvenile. That 10 1/4-length win at Saratoga gave him the 'TDN Rising Star' nod. From there, the Brian Lynch trainee took the GIII Pilgrim S. by six lengths followed by a winning, front-running effort in the 2016 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

“His win in the Breeders' Cup was really something to marvel,” Bell said. “He broke from the 13 hole, beat everyone to the turn, dictated a quick pace and then accelerated down the stretch to really put a good group of horses away. In fact, Channel Maker (English Channel) was in that field and could now be one of the best turf horses in the division today.”

At three, Oscar Performance reeled off consecutive victories in the GIII Pennine Ridge S., GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. and GI Secretariat S. while also placing in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. The following year, he shortened back to a mile in the GIII Poker S. and broke a 20-year-old track record to win by 1 ½ lengths in a final time of 1:31.23. He made it to the winner's circle again at four in the GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile S. and retired later that year with earnings of over $2.3 million.

“Oscar Performance was a brilliant racehorse–arguably Kitten's Joy's most brilliant racehorse,” Bell said. “He happened to also be running when Roaring Lion was running and I think the two of them would compete for that title. He competed in all of his races without Lasix or race-day medication and as the standards of racing adjust to medication-free on race day, it will be interesting to see if that has an effect on his offspring.”

Oscar Performance began his career at stud in 2019 with a $20,000 initial fee. He held the same fee the following year and bred 234 mares in his first two seasons.

Bell said the Mill Ridge team did not shy away from the fact that Oscar Performance was a top performer on the grass when promoting their new stallion to breeders, noting that he believes the buying market is finally beginning to seek out turf runners.

“I think the investment that America is making in turf racing attracts buyers to him,” Bell explained. “You no longer have to make excuses for turf horses. If nearly 50% of races are run on turf and the current turf stallions in America are aging, Oscar Performance is a great opportunity to take advantage of the shift into turf racing.”

With eight youngsters sold from 12 offered at last year's weanling sales, Oscar Performance's first crop averaged $52,000 and placed their sire among the top 10 first-crop weanlings sires by average. His top lot, a closely-related half-sister to MGSW Kitten's Point (Kitten's Joy), brought $140,000 at the Keeneland November Sale.

Hip 801, a filly out of Maya Princess, sells with the Mill Ridge consignment at the Keeneland September Sale. | Katie Ritz

This summer, Mill Ridge consigned a filly at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale that sold for $180,000 to agent Bo Bromagen. The yearling is out of the Street Sense mare Wild Silk, who hails from the family of GISW Joking (Distorted Humor) and MGSW Fed Biz (Giant's Causeway), as well as blue hen mare Yarn (Mr. Prospector).

“She was an outstanding physical,” Bell noted. “She wasn't the biggest filly, but she had such a presence and such an athletic move to her that she really picked up momentum the longer people had to look at her.”

Oscar Performance will be represented by 33 yearlings at the upcoming Keeneland September Sale. Bell said he is especially looking forward to presenting Hip 801, a filly bred on the same cross as their aforementioned star Saratoga yearling. This September-bound youngster is a daughter of Maya Princess (Street Sense), who has already produced the stakes-placed filly Mariah's Princess (Ghostzapper).

“This filly has always had a nice presence about her,” Bell explained. “Physically, she's very smooth and she's a really flashy kind of filly. She's correct and moves with an athletic, cat-like walk. She's light on her feet and she's always willing to do something new. If she's getting on a van or going into a new barn, she is willing to just drop her head and take it in.”

Bell continued in saying that many of the Oscar Performance yearlings at their farm have that same easygoing temperament.

“They all have really great presence of mind and they're confident horses,” he said. “They kind of take a deep breath, take it all in and then go to the task at hand. They have a very nice, laid-back temperament that oozes confidence and class.”

Bell said he has high hopes for Oscar Performance and his yearlings heading into the Keeneland September Sale and is confident that the strong support from breeders in the early days of the Mill Ridge stallion's career will lead to his offspring's success in the auction ring.

“It's an outstanding group [going to Keeneland September] representing a lot of top breeders,” he said. “Two of the last three Eclipse award-winning breeders are shareholders in Oscar Performance in George Strawbridge and John and Tanya Gunther. It's a diverse group of breeders and they've been raised at great farms, so they should be given every chance.”

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