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Spendthrift Welcomes A Third Met Mile Winner

While there’s never one fool-proof indicator for determining stallion potential, Spendthrift Farm has found one race that they feel consistently produces winners who draw their attention.

In the past four years, they’ve welcomed a trio of GI Metropolitan H. victors to their stud barn.

First was Mor Spirit (Eskendereya), the first Grade I-winning two-year-old to later win the Met Mile since Holy Bull in 1994. Then came Mitole, another son of Eskendereya who would go on to be named the 2019 Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter. This year, they welcome a third winner in five-time stakes-winning millionaire Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}).

“The Met Mile, every year, seems to be one of the most competitive races that is run,” said Spendthrift’s Stallion Sales Manager Mark Toothaker. “Everybody seems to point to that race. It just is a race that everybody has circled on their calendars. To have three Met Mile winners here at Spendthrift, they’ve all be supported very well and all have gotten really big books of mares, so now they just have to go do the deal on the racetrack.”

This most recent Met Mile hero was a 2017 $135,000 Keeneland September purchase for R.A. Hill Stable. The late-May foal made his winning debut in September of his 2-year-old year before taking the GIII Nashua S. at Aqueduct for an undefeated juvenile season.

Campaigned by R.A. Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables, Vekoma ran third in his sophomore debut in the GII Fountain of Youth S. behind eventual dual Grade I winner Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}). He became a top consideration on the Derby Trail after taking the GII Blue Grass S. in his next start.

After failing to fire in the GI Kentucky Derby and staying on the sidelines for the remainder of his sophomore year, Vekoma returned for his best season yet in 2020.

The George Weaver trainee first took the Sir Shackleton S. in March, then followed that effort with an overwhelming 7 1/4-length victory in the GI Runhappy Cater H. to register a 110 Beyer in the Belmont slop. One month later, he faced off with fellow Grade I winners Code of Honor, McKinzie (Street Sense) and Hog Creek Hustle (Overanalyze) in the GI Runhappy Metropolitan H.

“He broke well and just sat right there and waited until it was his time,” Toothaker said, recalling the race. “He got his cue in the stretch and opened up and drew off in what was a very, very dominating performance. [The Metropolitan H.] is always a very difficult race to win and this year was no different. It was a very talented field that he was able to beat that day, and he beat them pretty soundly.”

Although Vekoma was set to be a top choice in the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint, a fever days before the raced forced him to scratch.

“It was very unfortunate that Vekoma didn’t get to run in the Sprint,” Toothaker said. “He was going to be the heavy favorite against that field. No knock against anyone, but I feel like Vekoma would have had that bunch over a barrel.”

Over his three-year career, the speedy chestnut was well known for his unique way of going. Toothaker admitted that this delayed Spendthrift’s consideration of the stallion prospect.

“I’ve known George Weaver for a long time and he called me one day and he said ‘Tooth, you’ve got to come see this horse.’ I said, ‘George, he’s got to be really crooked’ but he replied, ‘How many crooked horses do you know that I buy? Listen, he walks really well. We had no idea he did that until we breezed him.'”

Toothaker made the trip to New York to see the prospect and sure enough, he was sold at first sight.

“George picked me up at the airport and we went and looked at him and I loved him,” he recalled. “I thought he looked like a rocket ship. I’m thrilled to death to be able to have him here at Spendthrift.”

Vekoma will be the first son of Candy Ride (Arg) to join the Spendthrift stallion roster.

“Spendthrift has been looking for a son of Candy Ride for a while and we had not been able to land one that we really liked,” Toothaker said. “This horse, when we had a chance to see him, we felt like he was the one we had been looking for. Candy Ride’s sons are doing extremely well and we were very happy to land Vekoma.”

The dual Grade I winner is out of the Speightstown mare Mona de Momma, winner of the 2010 GI Humana Distaff S. and GIII Las Flores H. and a $1.55 million Keeneland November purchase for Vekoma’s breeder, Alpha Delta Stables. While Mona de Momma died soon after foaling Vekoma, his half-sister Bloody Point (War Front) earned over $100,000 and is now a producer. Big names under his third dam include influential sire Mr. Greeley (Gone West), champion juvenile and sire Street Sense (Street Cry {Ire}) and dual Grade I winner Paradise Woods (Union Rags).

Toothaker said that Vekoma’s physical trends strongly towards his female side.

“Vekoma really looks a lot like Speightstown,” he said. “I mean, I’ve had people come out and say they see Candy Ride in him as well, but to me, he looks very much like a lot of the Speightstowns you see out there. He’s got good bone, he’s got a really strong body and a good hip.”

Already, Toothaker is imagining the first foals from Vekoma.

“I can foresee him having just absolutely beautiful, rocket ship-like weanlings down the road. I think he’ll be a very precocious sire- his body looks very precocious. He was so fast and hated to loose. So we’re looking forward to getting mares to him this year and then seeing what the foals look like in 2022.”

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Jan. 17 Insights

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

PRICEY PHAROAH COLT DEBUTS AT BIG A

1st-AQU, $80K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 12:20p.m.

Centennial Farms went to $500,000 at Keeneland September to acquire KHAFRE (American Pharoah) and he debuts in this spot for Jimmy Jerkens. The chestnut fired back-to-back bullets leading up to this test, most recently covering a half-mile in :47 1/5 (1/40) over the Belmont training track. A half-sibling to SW Plentiful (Harlan’s Holiday), Khafre’s second dam is GSW Spring Meadow (Meadowlake). TJCIS PPs

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Mr. Monomoy Brings NY Pedigree to Waldorf Farm

Last year, veterinarian Jerry Bilinski and his wife Darlene celebrated the 25^th anniversary of their purchase of Waldorf Farm, a stately property in North Chatham, New York, with hundreds of acres of rolling horse-friendly pastures and solid well-insulated barns.

Upon their purchase of the property, they also brought back its original name, Waldorf Farm, and began standing stallions and boarding broodmares.

Today, Bilinski foals between 105 to 110 mares each year.

This year, when Mr. Monomoy (Palace Malice) begins his new career at stud, he will join Bustin Stones (City Zip) at Waldorf Farm. Mr. Monomoy will stand as the property of Climax Stallions, LLC, Michael Dubb and Madaket Stables. His initial stud fee has been announced as $5,000.

When Climax Stallions set out to find a prospect to stand in New York, Mr. Monomoy checked all of the boxes as the half-brother to a two-time Distaff winner in seven-time Grade I-winning champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar).

Mr. Monomoy’s sire Palace Malice (Curlin) won more than $2.6 million, raced until age five, and his titles include winner of both the GI Metropolitan H. and GI Belmont S. The Grade I-producing third-crop sire stands at Three Chimneys Farm.

A member of his sire’s first crop to hit the track, Mr. Monomoy broke his maiden under trainer Brad Cox in his second start as a two-year-old at Churchill Downs going 6 1/2 furlongs and winning by 5 1/2 lengths. After finishing in the money in his next two starts, including a third-place effort in the GIII Lecomte S. behind Enforceable (Tapit) and Silver State (Hard Spun), he culminated his career with a 2 1/2-length wire-to-wire victory in the GII Risen Star S., defeating those same rivals he had finished behind in his previous start.

“We are very excited to have such a high-caliber stallion here in New York,” said Jerry Bilinski. “This is a top-notch stallion for this region. We had talked to Sean Feld of Climax Stallions about eventually having a horse that we could stand here at Waldorf. We were just holding our breath that someday, that would happen. A month or two ago, he called, and the rest is history.”

Bilinski said that Mr. Monomoy has a physical that should easily attract breeders.

“He’s got great size to him and he’s got a great stride,” he said. “If you look at his conformation photos, you’ll see exactly what we mean–that he does have what it’s going to take to be a sire.”

Sean Feld, managing partner of Climax Stallions, said that the intention was always to stand the Grade II winner in New York.

“We bought Mr. Monomoy specifically for the New York breeding program,” said Feld. “Mr. Monomoy had speed and he had speed on dirt. In New York, horses race on only dirt for almost half the year. He won going short and long. He broke his maiden going 6 1/2 furlongs and then won a Grade II going nine furlongs.”

He added that both Mr. Monomoy’s sire and his half-sister Monomoy Girl have great name recognition in New York.

“His sire Palace Malice was a monster in New York,” said Feld. “He won the Met Mile and the Belmont S., and his start at stud has been good. He throws stone-cold runners and his crop of mares last year is going to be great after he had Structor win the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Mr. Monomoy will be the first of many sons out there.”

“Our business model has turned into buying siblings of really good horses,” he continued. “We started with Bullet Train (GB) (Sadler’s Wells), a half to Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), then had Curlin to Mischief (Curlin), a half to Into Mischief and Beholder, as well as Editorial (War Front), a half to Uncle Mo, and St Patrick’s Day (Pioneerof the Nile), a full-brother to American Pharoah.”

But Feld said that Mr. Monomoy offers unique appeal compared to most stallions that begin their stud career in the program.

“One difference is that Mr. Monomoy has a really good race record,” he said. “He was able to win going short and then win a major Kentucky Derby prep by carrying his speed around two turns at a mile-and-an-eighth.”

“Those are two major check marks that make a top sire in my opinion,” added Brad Cox, who spoke with the TDN last December.

Feld pointed to the correlation of success at stud for half-brothers of two-time Distaff winners.

“There have only been four two-time Distaff winners,” he said. “The first was Bayakoa (Arg) (Consultant’s Bid), then Royal Delta (Empire Maker), whose half-brother Khozan (Distorted Humor) stands in Florida, next came Beholder (Henny Hughes), who is a half to Into Mischief and Mendelssohn and then the fourth one is Monomoy Girl. It has definitely correlated into stallion success.”

As owners, Feld said, Climax Stallions takes its marketing responsibility seriously for breeding and then later when the stallion’s foals hit the sales.

“Our main source of supporting the stallions we own is our marketing,” he said. “We throw a lot of money into really branding the horse. Success comes not just in breeding. We need people to like him at all points. We will also support him at the yearling sales. Mr. Dubb kept a piece of him as did Mr. Kumin. His team can’t wait for the foals.”

Bilinski reported that Mr. Monomoy has settled in easily at the sprawling upstate Waldorf Farm.

“He arrived approximately at seven in the morning and came off the van happy,” he said. “We put him in the stall. He looked around and started eating hay and it didn’t faze him a bit. He has an excellent mental attitude. My farm manager Kenny Toye says he’s been nothing but a gentle giant. And so, we’re very happy with that.”

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OBS Continues Health and Safety Protocols

The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company will continue the health and safety protocols instituted at its 2020 sales this year when it opens its 2021 calendar with the Winter Mixed Sale Jan. 26 and 27. Face coverings are now mandatory in the sale pavilion, under the covered walking ring and in the back walking ring. Attendance at sales and breeze shows will be restricted to sale participants only, with social distancing encouraged in all areas. Employees will wear masks when interacting with the public.

The food court will offer limited service, while the Inside Bar will be closed and the Tiki Bar will be limited to take away service.

OBS will again offer buyers the opportunity to bid online. Buyers can register at the company’s website obssales.com.

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