Peter Bradley | Horse Racing Free Tips

American Peter Bradley Makes His December Debut With a Trio of Broodmare Prospects

The American bloodstock agent and racehorse owner Peter Bradley is a prominent figure at American sales, but makes his debut as a seller at Arqana December with a trio of group quality fillies, including the Group 1-placed La Parisienne (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) at this year's sale.

Bradley purchased 70% percent of La Parisienne after her December 10, 2021 debut at Deauville racecourse when she won by five lengths on the Polytrack. Almost two years later to the date, she sells across the road with Haras du Cadran as lot number 189.

“It was an impressive performance, and I was able to buy a 70% interest with her,” said Bradley. “I left her with Yann and Carlos Lerner, who obviously thought she was a very nice filly, and she proved just that. We were unlucky not to win a group race with her. She ran exceptionally well, second beaten a head in the G1 Prix Diane to Nashwa (GB), John Gosden's filly. After she ran so well there, we thought that she was a filly that we would really like to try and point for the Arc. We gave her a bit of time and she came back and ran in the Prix Vermeille, where she was third in a very troubled trip. She got boxed in, everything went wrong and she really looked like she was the best in the race. But they don't give you a best in show, they give you the win and we just didn't get it that day.”

A try in the Arc wasn't to be. “For the first time ever in the history of the Arc, I believe, she was excluded on the basis of points. She was one of two excluded. We ran in the Opera that day and it was tremendously heavy ground, which she didn't handle. She gave it a go, but just didn't handle it, and I really think that took a bit of life out of her. She came back as a 4-year-old and she ran twice, and she ran flat and I think she just decided that she had given it her all trying to be a racehorse and that was it.”

As it made the most sense to offer La Parisienne here at Deauville, Bradley decided to also offer two of his other fillies who also had good European form.

“La Parisienne was going to be selling here and I thought the other two fillies fit the marketplace, both having been Group winners in Ireland.”

Keeper of Time (left) gets up for the win in the 1000 Guineas Trial | Racingfotos

The first is Keeper of Time (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), an upset winner of the G3 1000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown for trainer John Feane, who had purchased her at Goffs February for €3,000. After that race, Bradley bought her for his racing partnership. She won a handicap race at Gulfstream and had several close finishes in stakes races. Says Bradley, “She was just a very solid usable race filly. We had a lot of fun with her. She had a condylar fracture and at the time she had it, we contemplated bringing her back but just decided to make her a broodmare. While she's 100% sound right now, she's on her way to someone's broodmare band.”

Keeper of Time sells with La Motteraye as lot 219.

Finally, there is Minaun (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who also sells with La Moterraye as lot 165, and who was the winner of the G3 Marble Hill S. over six furlongs against males. “She showed an exceptional turn of foot,” he said. “We brought her over to the States and she started on Oaks day at Belmont and absolutely exploded. It was probably one of the most exciting races I've seen a filly of mine run.” Minaun made a last-to-first move that saw her win by an eased-down three lengths, and ran the final furlong in :11.20 seconds

Minaun runs away with her US debut at Belmont | Joe Labocetta

“Then we tried to stretch her out and she's really a sprinter,” said Bradley. “The mile, mile and a sixteenth was a bit too much. I'm always trying to make these fillies into two-turn fillies, and that was my mistake. She still ran second in the Wild Applause at Saratoga. She turned in a very solid run and had some ankle issues, but by the time we got her turned around and got straightened out, her best times were behind her and while she had a solid racing career, it didn't match up to what she had done over here.

“Both she and Keeper of Time had decent careers in the States but their standout performances were here, so I thought we would showcase that. All three all well-balanced, nicely conformed fillies and I think that based on the number of looks we're getting on all three of them, they're making a lot of lists, and we'll see how they're received.”

Bradley has always been something of a Francophile, he admits.

“I've really enjoyed racing over here and I have been lucky enough to buy some nice fillies and colts out of France, and it's my favourite place to come in Europe. There's no doubt about that.”

And while it isn't the first December sale he has attended, it is the first in a long time.

“I don't think I've been here for 15 years,” he said. “Most of what I buy in Europe I buy privately, and while I've certainly bought some horses at the Arc Sale, but I haven't done a lot of work here, and it's good to be back.”

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‘Grammer’ Lessons–Part II

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — Bloodstock agents are equal parts pedigree analysts, money managers and equine recruiters for those audacious (crazy?) enough to dabble in Thoroughbred ownership.

Few have followed the trajectory of the career of Country Grammer (Tonalist) more closely than the well-respected Peter Bradley, who went to work on behalf of the late Paul Pompa, Jr. at the 2019 OBS April Sale. It was Bradley's name on the docket when the hammer fell in the first 20 minutes of the final day of the auction, having parted with $450,000 for the :21 flat breezer who was bred in Kentucky by Scott and Debbie Pierce.

Not Exactly A Buyer's Market

As it turned out, the record-setting 2019 OBS April Sale proved a sensational market to sell into. The overall sales-topper, a $1.3-million colt by Into Mischief–Dixie Song (Fusaichi Pegasus), sold during that final day of trade in Central Florida and was one of three to fetch seven figures. Colonel Liam was the second-priciest horse, a $1.2-million purchase by Robert and Lawana Low.

“That was one of those years when everything was selling really well, and I was trying to kind of look for a support system where it's slightly under the radar,” Bradley explained. “Colonel Liam had sold like 20 hips before this horse did [during the latter stages of the penultimate session]. And I really liked him, but I also kind of knew that he was going to be out of my price range.”

Still, the Tonalist colt had plenty of action and was unlikely to come cheap.

“I had some money to spend. I mean, I spent $450,000 on this horse, so it wasn't like I was trying to find a bargain-basement horse,” he said. “'Obvious' always stands out and, you know, the two kind of–and they weren't really knocks–but one was his sire was not the hottest thing in the world, and, two, he was a May foal. And even though he did everything right, he was pretty immature. He had a great frame on him, but he was a bit on the narrow side. He worked every bit as well as Colonel Liam if I remember correctly. He really leveled out and I don't remember him being pressed on the gallop out. He looked like he liked his job.”

Country Grammer let down following the sale at WinStar Farm and “the horse pretty much went through his 2-year-old blues,” Bradley reported.

“He was a little wound up, so they took a little more time with him than not, which you know when to do if you've spent time with horses,” Bradley said.

Making Up For Lost Time

Country Grammer was therefore a late-debuting juvenile for Chad Brown, finishing a close fourth on the turf before breaking his maiden when switched to the dirt for the first time in November 2019. Never a factor after losing his footing at the start of the 2020 GII Fountain of Youth S. a short time before COVID-19 changed the entire racing landscape, he was third in a salty Belmont allowance–one spot behind 'TDN Rising Star' and future Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper)–then was up late to win the GIII Peter Pan S., with Mystic Guide back in third. Country Grammer was fifth to GI Belmont S. hero Tiz the Law (Constitution) in the GI Runhappy Travers S. that August and was sidelined before tragedy intervened.

“Chad thought he was a seriously nice horse, thought he might potentially be a Derby horse for him and that didn't quite work out of course,” said Bradley. “He was maturing and he kept going along. He came up with a little problem and we put him on the sideline and went back to WinStar. Then, sadly, in the interim, Mr. Pompa passed away. Eventually WinStar bought him from for a song.”

Part of the Pompa dispersal at the 2021 Keeneland January Sale–a draft topped by the $925,000 future Eclipse Award winner Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom)–Country Grammer was hammered down for a comparatively paltry $110,000.

“We were prepared to go to $250,000 or so for him and were very surprised we got him for $110,000,” WinStar's Elliott Walden said in a pre-World Cup interview this time last year. “We felt he could be a good handicap horse and we bought him with the intention of sending him to Bob Baffert in California because that division out there seemed a little short on numbers and it's worked out well.”

That is possibly the understatement of the century. Country Grammer's runner-up effort in the 2022 G1 Saudi Cup and subsequent World Cup success netted him better than $10 million. He parlayed a dominating victory in the GII San Antonio S. Dec. 26 into yet another $3.5-million payday in Riyadh behind the reopposing Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) last month and would surge past $21 million in earnings with a win this weekend.

Pete Bradley will be watching Saturday's race with keen interest, hoping that the horse he took a chance on nearly four years ago continues to validate his high opinion of him.

“That's what I do for a living–I'm a talent scout when it comes right down to it,” Bradley said.

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Arc Bid “Not Out Of The Question” For French Oaks Runner-Up

Plans for G1 Prix de Diane runner-up La Parisienne (Fr) (Zarak {Ire}) to race in America are on hold with connections opening the door to a tilt at the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after their star filly went down fighting behind Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) at Chantilly on Sunday.

It had been suggested that La Parisienne would be trained in America at some point in her career but part-owner Peter Bradley revealed on Monday that the filly will remain in the care of the father and son team of Carlos and Yann Lerner.

Reflecting on Sunday's race, Bradley told TDN Europe, “It was a bit gut-wrenching but, when you lose to a filly like Nashwa, you know it represented a huge step up from La Parisienne.”

He added, “It was amazing how Gérald Mosse rode her and, when he asked her to quicken, she produced a huge run. You really can't ask much more than for horse and rider to do their best and that they did.”

Bradley thinks La Parisienne possesses a lot of the key attributes needed to excel in America but admitted that the lure of some of the top races in France, including the Arc, is enough for connections to leave the star filly in training there.

Kentucky-based Bradley said, “Most of the time when I buy a horse, the plan is for them to come to America in the relatively near future and, judging by her first race, after which we bought her, she certainly looked like she had the turn of foot you love to see in American turf racing.

“In America, you absolutely need a turn of foot because of our short straights, but in Europe, the straights are much bigger and a horse who grinds it out can get there.”

He added, “She looks like she would be a good fit for America and the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. would have been a good race for her but the timeframe rules that out because there is only three weeks until that race.

“Coming into the French Oaks, the way she had been training, I really felt that she'd finish top six or seven and, with the talent in the race, said that, if she ran a top three finish, I'd be exceedingly happy. Given the way she ran, finishing a short neck behind one of the best fillies in Europe, she stamped herself as a filly who needs to stay in France.”

La Parisienne will be aimed at the Prix Vermeille at ParisLongchamp next with Bradley revealing that her trainers believe the best is yet to come from the filly.

He said, “We will give her an easy summer and maybe look at the Prix Vermeille then we'll see what October holds. We'll look at the Prix de l'Opéra and the Arc wouldn't be out of the question.

“Team Lerner think she will be better with cut in the ground. They all think that soft ground is what she needs and, if that is the call, the autumn could be exciting.”

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Bradley Buys Majority Of La Parisienne

Promising filly La Parisienne (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}) will be taking some new owners along for the ride during her 3-year-old campaign, with the Kentucky-based Peter Bradley having purchased 70% of the Yann and Carlos Lerner-trained filly on behalf of a racing partnership. The news was first reported by Jour De Galop. The remainder of the filly, who won her lone start at Deauville on Dec. 10 by five lengths, is owned by Marc Leonetti, JML Racing and Meridian International.

“La Parisienne broke her maiden exceptionally well, so we think she has potential,” said Bradley. “The next couple of races will tell us how much potential she has. She's running in a conditions race on Apr. 5 at Saint-Cloud over 2100 metres, and we'll look at the [G3] Prix Cleopatre if she runs well there and the [G1] Saint-Alary and [G1] Prix de Diane if she is that calibre. She's by a hot freshman sire in Zarak and she looks to have quite a bit of quality. Her time in her maiden race [1:57.55 for 1900 metres] was exceptional and we're cautiously optimistic that she might have a lot of quality.”

Bradley said that the current plan is for La Parisienne, who cost the Lerners €65,000 at Arqana's Deauville Select Yearling Sale in 2020, to join Chad Brown in the U.S. later this year. If she proves to be among the best of her generation, however, those plans may have to be reconsidered.

“Our group would like to run her over here [in the U.S.] through the remainder of the year,” he said. “If you happened to be the best filly in France, which is somewhat delusional at this point, you'd have to look at your options over there. She's bred to go 10 to 12 furlongs and we all know the weight allowances those fillies get in races like the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe are exceptional. But I'd hate to even dream like that right now.”

Bradley is no stranger to trading in European bloodstock, but he said La Parisienne is currently the only horse he has in training in France.

“We're branching out,” he said. “We have a great group of people and it was an opportunity to have a horse over there and maybe have a trip or two to France if it all comes together. Racing is about having fun and she's one that could give us that opportunity.”

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