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Steeplechase Fixtures Cancelled

The Aiken Steeplechase Association has cancelled the Spring Steeplechase, held annually at Bruce’s Field in Aiken, S.C., due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s edition was to be held Saturday, Mar. 20. Aiken’s Holiday Cup in October is currently still scheduled. For more information, visit aikensteeplechase.com.

Officials at the Foxfield Races have also been forced to cancel its spring races, scheduled for Apr. 24. According to a release, they will focus their efforts on the Fall Races, tentatively set to take place Oct. 3.

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Rising Star Headed To Stakes Company

‘TDN Rising Star‘ Caddo River (Hard Spun), who broke his maiden by 9 1/2 lengths over Churchill’s one-turn mile Nov. 15, is being pointed for a sophomore debut in the $150,000 Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park Jan. 22.

Bred and raced by John Ed Anthony’s Shortleaf Stable and trained by Brad Cox, the son of Pangburn (Congrats) made his first two career starts going seven furlongs on the New York circuit, finishing a debut second at Saratoga Sept. 5 before filling the same spot at Belmont Park Nov. 11. He made all the running last time, stopping the clock in a very strong 1:35.22.

Cox believes the best is yet to come.

“He’s a very good colt,” Cox told the Oaklawn notes team. “He ran against two really good colts in New York. He was able to break his maiden, one turn at Churchill. He’s big, tall, rangy, leggy colt. I really do think that he’s going to be better around two turns. He’s got what I think it takes to be a serious horse. He’s got speed and he can carry it.”

Since shipping in from Kentucky, Caddo River has logged a pair of breezes over the Oaklawn main track, including a half-mile drill that was timed in :48 flat (3/87) Jan. 3.

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Baldwin Bloodstock Debuts at Keeneland January

The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale will mark the inaugural consignment of Amy Bunt and John Barton’s Baldwin Bloodstock, which will offer 21 horses during the four-day auction next week. Bunt, who was a partner in the now-disbanded Select Sales Agency and a principal in Machmer Hall Sales which debuted at the yearling sales last fall, brings a wealth of international experience to the new endeavor.

“When we sat down earlier in the spring and talked about Machmer Hall Sales and the direction they wanted to go in, Carrie [Brogden] just wanted to concentrate on the yearlings, so she could buy more mares and be more proactive with helping her clients purchase horses, rather than selling horses at the mixed sales,” Bunt said of her decision to launch the new consignment. “And it just kind of popped into my head. ‘What about me? In January the sales are kind of small, would you mind if I did my own consignment?’ And graciously, she and her mother [Sandy Fubini] said yes and they are supporting me, as well as some of our clients. It was just a happy accident.”

Bunt traces her love of horses to a trip to the park when she was just a toddler.

“I am literally the only horse person in my family,” Bunt said with a laugh. “My dad took me to a park when I was a little kid, I think I was about three years old, and these people had pulled up to go trail riding with their horses. I probably had never even seen a horse before and I just had a temper tantrum until he let me go over and they kindly let me sit on one of their horses. So somehow I was just born with a desire to be around them.”

Bunt grew up riding horses and graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Animal Sciences before finding her way to the Bluegrass as part of the Kentucky Equine Management Internship.

“I really just wanted to learn how to breed horses,” Bunt said. “I thought I might breed riding horses. But when you get to Central Kentucky and it’s so beautiful, you just kind of get the bug.”

Bunt spent a year working for Coolmore in Australia and returned to Kentucky where she initially worked as a veterinary technician at Hagyard Davison McGee. She also served as sales coordinator for Van Meter Sales, Niall Brennan Stables and Eaton Sales and served international stints in Ireland and in England with Ted Voute before joining Select Sales in 2013. She became a partner in that operation in 2016.

“When Select disbanded last year, Carrie maintained a small number of clients,” Bunt said. “She has worked really hard and was trying to take a step back and enjoy life a little bit more and enjoy their success. She downsized and focused on quality over quantity. So a lot of the clients that stayed with Machmer Hall Sales are selling with us [at Baldwin Bloodstock] and then I have acquired a couple new clients.”

She also acquired a partner for the new venture in John Barton, who is a cousin of bloodstock agent Bob Feld.

“John knows Mr. [B. Wayne] Hughes from Spendthrift really well–I think it goes back to his uncle and Mr. Hughes who were best friends growing up in Temple City, California. And he is close with our family as well. I met him through the Felds. He came to the sales spending some time with Spendthrift and he was part of the MyRacehorse team that had Authentic. He was interested in shadowing me around the sales, so he came and hung out with me at the sales for a little bit. And as it turned out, he was looking to make a career change.

Bunt continued, “He got the bug coming here and it just kind of happened. I said, ‘I am starting my own small consignment, I’m looking for someone to help me out with it because I pretty much have a full-time job with Machmer Hall. It would be nice to have someone there to take over some of the duties, so I’m not doing it all myself.’ He kind of jumped at the chance and it’s been a really happy partnership so far. He is super enthusiastic and super positive. I don’t ever see him being in a bad mood and that’s the kind of personality that you want to bring in.”

The name Baldwin Bloodstock is a nod, both to the entrepreneurial spirit of Santa Anita founder E J “Lucky” Baldwin, and a personal tribute to a spunky horse near and dear to Bunt’s heart.

“I have an old retired Thoroughbred named after [Baldwin],” Bunt explained. “The horse has been–he’s just a brat, to be honest with you. He is the coolest horse and I think his attitude is what made him a successful racehorse and he was a successful show horse for me. He raced over 70 times and earned almost $300,000 the hard way. When I got him, I didn’t even know if he was going to be sound enough to do anything. He’s just one of those really awesome hard-knocking horses. I showed him up through the preliminary level eventing, which is a more extensive level than I thought I would personally ever do and definitely more than I thought he was going to be able to do.”

The now 23-year-old Lucky Baldwin (Crafty Prospector) won 10 times in 74 starts and earned $255,468 before embarking on his show career with Bunt.

“He’s still terrorizing the farrier and everyone and he still goes foxhunting and I ride him a couple times a week just to keep his joints limber,” Bunt said. “I thought it would be nice to honor him [with the consignment’s name] because he’s kind of what we are all here for and what we are all working for. Just to have happy endings for horses like that that provide a living for us.”

She added, “And then the story of Lucky Baldwin himself, he was a famous prospector in California and obviously started Santa Anita and had a lot of entrepreneurial success. I just thought it would bring some luck to us.”

Bunt is excited about Baldwin Bloodstock’s first consignment at the Keeneland January sale.

“Physically, I think we have a really, really super group,” she said. “And we have some great sire power.”

The Baldwin Bloodstock consignment features a pair of yearling fillies by Union Rags (hip 324 and hip 376), as well as a yearling filly by Brody’s Cause (hip 984)–both stallions who have been in the news lately.

“Union Rags has been on fire lately,” Bunt said. “He’s had [Jan. 1 Cash Run S. winner] Gulf Coast, [GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner] Spielberg and [Fair Grounds maiden winner] Defeater, who won so impressively they already think he’s a Derby-type horse. And Brody’s Cause has Kalypso, who just won the GII Santa Ynez and was second in a Grade I.”

Bunt continued, “We also have a mare in foal to Outwork (hip 882) and he’s number four on the freshman sire list and second by number of winners. And our Tapiture colt (hip 1079) is really nice–Tapiture is third on the second crop sire list and first by number of winners.”

Bunt will bring a vast array of knowledge to the new consignment, but her philosophy is simple and straightforward.

“I just really want to focus on accurately representing my clients and the horses and being really forthcoming with buyers,” she said. “There is so much information and it’s such a close-knit network, I just want everyone who sells with me to be as happy as they can be and everyone who buys off me to be as happy as they can. And just hopefully do the best job for everyone. Some people are more focused on the selling part, some people are more focused on the buyers. I want to accommodate everyone as well as I can and just present a product that people can trust.”

Baldwin Bloodstock will also have consignments at the upcoming Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s Winter Mixed Sale, Jan. 26 and 27, and the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale, Feb. 8 and 9.

“I really want to focus on the winter sales,” Bunt said. “I think January and February are great times to sell horses who have good conformation. A lot of times in November they can get overlooked.”

Looking ahead to the fall, Bunt said, “In November, I still help Machmer Hall, short-listing for them, and I really enjoy that. So I don’t know if we’ll have a November consignment going forward. But Carrie and I have spoken and she was all for me doing the Fasig-Tipton November consignment. She didn’t particularly want to sell at that one anymore and if I wanted to do it, she said she would filter horses my way. So right now, I have a consignment at Keeneland January, OBS January and Fasig-Tipton February. And we’ll look at doing the November sale this fall at Fasig-Tipton.”

With the ongoing global pandemic and political uncertainty, this might be a daunting time to start a new endeavor, but Bunt sees reasons to be optimistic.

“You always worry about the economy and politics can seem to play a part,” she said. “But today I read handle was only down 1% in 2020, so I think that’s super optimistic for our sport. We need all the good news we can get. I thought that was great to know that people are still gambling and still interested even when they couldn’t attend live racing. And the numbers in the economy and the stock market have remained pretty steady compared to what could have happened. So, I am cautiously optimistic. It’s not an ideal time to start this, but if you can get through this, then you should be able to make it through anything.”

The Keeneland January sale begins Monday with bidding commencing at 10 a.m.

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Lane’s End Goes Virtual for Annual Press Pass

The Lane’s End Press Pass event has become increasingly popular over the past few years, and while hosting a large gathering in their stud barn was made impossible for the farm due to the current circumstances, Lane’s End still worked to make the third annual Press Pass a reality.

Through a Zoom meeting, media members joined the virtual get-together to chat with Bill Farish and the rest of the Lane’s End team about the farm’s stallion program.

TVG racing analyst Scott Hazelton hosted the event and led participants through the list of 21 members of the Lane’s End stud roster. Trainers John Shirreffs, Brad Cox, Steve Asmussen, and Kenny McPeek, as well as bloodstock agents John Moynihan and Mike Ryan made appearances to speak on several of the stallions.

Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}), Honor A.P. (Honor Code) and Gift Box (Twirling Candy) will each begin their inaugural season at stud alongside their sires, while the red-hot Daredevil (More Than Ready) returns to the United States to stand under the Turkish Jockey Club banner.

Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}), $30,000

Bill Farish: Game Winner was a very important horse for us to get for a lot of reasons. We sold him as a yearling to Gary and Mary West. He’s by Candy Ride and out of an A.P. Indy mare so it’s almost surprising we didn’t have the honor of having bred him, because he’s bred exactly how we would hope.

To have him go from the yearling sales and run early as a 2-year-old and win three Grade I races and become Champion 2-year-old, we were very keen to get him at that point and unfortunately so was everybody else, so we had quite a negotiation to get him.

But he’s a very exciting young horse and so far the breeders have really responded. He’s got a phenomenal first book so far and he’s closed down already. That’s a great sign for any young horse.

Daredevil (More Than Ready), $25,000

Chance Timm: We’re all aware of Daredevil’s accomplishments, but it’s important to put into perspective just how remarkable they are. When Shedaresthedevil and Swiss Skydiver went one-two in the GI Kentucky Oaks, that has only happened 12 times in history in the past 585 runnings of Classic races where a sire has sired both the first and second-place finishers. He’s the only first-crop sire to ever have an individual winner of the GI Preakness S. and the GI Kentucky Oaks.

This all puts him in rarified air and I think what’s most impressive is that these two fillies are really what make Grade I American dirt racing what it is. They have speed, they press the pace, they don’t stop and they can win these top-class races going long on the dirt and that’s really what American racing is all about.

So this horse is doing something pretty remarkable and we feel very fortunate to have him. We think he’s poised to continue to do that. He’s from a very important sire line and he’s the only proven son of More Than Ready in Central Kentucky. He is in a unique position to carry on a very important sire line for this country and the breed.

Honor A.P. (Honor Code), $15,000

John Shirreffs: Honor A.P. got over the ground really nicely. When he was working, it almost seemed effortless and he hit the ground so lightly and got into his next stride so easily that it was always a little deceiving. As a trainer, you’re watching your horse work and getting a feeling for how he’s doing, and then you look down at the stopwatch and go, ‘Oh my gosh, he actually did that.’ That’s the feeling I got with Honor A.P.

He was good because his talent made him good. He was not a particularly mature 2-year-old, but his talent made him seem to be that way. He always got over the ground well. That was one of the first things I noticed about him was how lightly he got over the ground. So just his sheer talent made him a threat as a 2-year-old.

When he got a little older, he got stronger, which is something you look for. He got stronger and bigger, so he was maturing, but he wasn’t maturing quickly. He was just one of those athletes that was ahead of his class.

Honor A.P. is a very intense horse. He’s 100% man as you would say. He’s a big strong guy and his qualities are really amazing, because he has a forearm like Paul Bunyan. You can just see his strength. He’s got a nice long back that gives him a great length of stride and he has hocks that are very clean and large and strong that give him a lot of drive from the hind end. His conformation is perfect for a racehorse.

Gift Box (Twirling Candy), $10,000

Alys Emson: Gift Box is a really nice horse to be around. We did raise him from a weanling to a yearling. Like a lot of the Candy Rides and Twirling Candys, they’re very amenable horses, good-minded, and I think that’s a big part of the equation down the road. I think trainers are able to get the most out of these horses because they’re willing to work and they want to work.

I think he’ll be attractive to a lot of breeders for several reasons. He’s a very consistent, durable horse. He ran 18 times and was only off the board twice. From a physical standpoint, you can see why he’s so durable and consistent. He’s very correct, great through his knees and he’s got a big fluid walk like a lot of the Twirling Candys do.

From a pedigree standpoint, I think at this price point you’ll find a lot of horses that just outran their pedigrees, but this horse is out of an exceptional mare that has had three graded stakes winners. She’s a half-sister to a Grade I winner. So he really ran true to his pedigree and at the price point we have him at, I think he should be really attractive to breeders especially being free from Storm Cat and A.P. Indy lines which have both been very successful with the Twirling Candy and Candy Ride cross.

SF Bloodstock’s Tom Ryan spoke on Gift Box’s sire Twirling Candy, noting that SF Bloodstock has become increasingly invested in the stallion in the past few years.

“Twirling Candy brought himself to our attention,” he said. “Every time you pick up a paper you see, whether it’s a five-furlong turf sprinter or a mile-and-a-sixteenth dirt router, he’s there. His crops have really started to rise to the top. With the fact that he’s got four individual Grade I winners and double-digit stakes horses, he made a great impression on us. He’s a horse that is just making steps in the right direction and we see future growth for him.”

Bill Farish also spoke on Quality Road, who commands the highest stud fee of the roster for 2021 at $150,000. Farish talked on what it means to have the top Grade I-producing stallion in their stud barn.

“Quality Road has been so successful and it’s been an interesting case study to watch his stud fee rise,” Farish said. “This year he had a very good year both in the sales ring and on the race track. The 2020 crop of 2-year-olds were bred at a stud fee of $35,000. He then jumped to $70,000, so the 2-year-olds for this upcoming year will be at a much higher stud fee. Then he went to $150,000 from there and has just had phenomenal mares. So we’re very excited and he has so much in front of him. Having already sired 11 Grade I winners now, he’s a very special horse to us and we look forward to what he has in store in the future.”

Top agent Mike Ryan spoke on City of Light, a son of Quality Road who will be represented by his first crop of yearlings in 2021.

“City of Light is a magnificent physical, an unbelievable equine specimen,” Ryan said.” I think he was one of the most highly-recruited horses of his generation. Every stud farm was trying to get him to stand as a stallion because obviously he was the complete package.

Of his first crop of foals last year, Ryan added, “It wasn’t a surprise to me when his foals looked so good because I have found over the years that these magnificent-looking stallions like Alydar, Secretariat and Deputy Minister have the gene strength to reproduce themselves. When they’re really good physicals, it seems to be pretty common that they transmit that to their offspring and this was no exception in City of Light.”

Bill Farish concluded the event by saying, “I’d like to thank everyone for coming and being on this. I know there’s a lot going on in the world but we really appreciate it. It’s an event that we really love doing and we don’t want to see it die. We really appreciate having the opportunity to highlight our stallions and our roster and we look forward to next year when we can be back and in a newly renovated stallion barn.”

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