Sid Fernando | Horse Racing Free Tips

Taking Stock: Notes on Medina Spirit and Breeders Hertrich lll and Fielding

As I sat down to write this column Monday, I got a text from a bloodstock agent that said, “Heard Medina Spirit broke down at Santa Anita a little while ago. Gonna be a shit storm.” I checked Twitter right away, but there was nothing yet about Medina Spirit (Protonico). I didn't have to wait long. Some minutes later, the “I heard Medina Spirit…” tweets started trickling out, and then the dam burst. Everyone had something to say, and most of it was derogatory or innuendo about his trainer, Bob Baffert, who's been a lightning rod for controversy, including for a post-race betamethasone positive on Medina Spirit after the colt had surprised many with a gutty win in the Gl Kentucky Derby this spring.

The negative response was expected, because Baffert went through a tough period some years back when a number of his trainees died of apparent “sudden-death” heart attacks, which was the immediate speculation about Medina Spirit. Although Baffert was mostly cleared of wrongdoing and never sanctioned in the prior deaths, they left a black mark that's never been erased. His recent medication violations have only infuriated his detractors and heightened tensions, creating the climate that was a tinderbox for the “shit storm” that hit after the news broke Monday morning.

Ironically, Medina Spirit had been in the news Friday evening, when Baffert's attorney had triumphantly released a statement that said that a lab had determined the betamethasone in the Derby positive had been from an ointment and not an injection.

It's always a gut punch for anyone in this business when a horse dies, especially the connections. I sent condolences via texts to both Baffert and Amr Zedan, the owner, and both responded, Zedan with the praying symbol and Baffert with one word, “Devastated.” When the Derby winner and a high-profile horse like Medina Spirit dies, emotions are understandably amplified, but because it was a Baffert horse, the angst and anger surrounding the death was at another decibel level altogether on social media, where he's positively toxic. Unfortunately, lost in all this were Medina Spirit's accomplishments, some of which were minimized by folks while he was alive because of the betamethasone positive and because he was trained by Baffert. That's too bad, because he was a Classic winner and also a rare type of horse.

Bred by Gail Rice in Florida in a “backyard” breeding program, Medina Spirit exceeded all expectations and was an inspiration to small breeders everywhere. A $1,000 yearling, he was purchased for $30,000 as a 2-year-old in training by Zedan Racing Stable but steadily climbed the ladder in Baffert's elite barn, stepping over high-priced yearlings one at a time to become the third-best 3-year-old for Baffert behind Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Concert Tour (Street Sense), two Gary and Mary West-bred colts. But when those two failed to make the Churchill Classic, Medina Spirit stepped up to the plate off the bench and delivered the ultimate pinch hit, succeeding at 12-1. His win appeared to surprise even his trainer.

Medina Spirit's road to Louisville had included some tough races, notably two against the stable star, the handsome and brilliantly fast Life Is Good. In the Glll Sham S., Medina Spirit immediately caught the eye for closing the distance when Life Is Good had looked like was going to blow open the race. At the finish, less than a length separated the two horses, but it was Medina Spirit's “try” that caught the eye–he simply wouldn't give up, despite the excuses that were made for his stablemate's lack of focus in the race. That try is the characteristic that most defined Medina Spirit, and it was evident in all 10 of his starts, five of which he won. He placed in the other five races, and it's notable that he never let the popular Godolphin runner and Gl Belmont S. and Travers S. winner Essential Quality (Tapit), the champion 2-year-old colt last year who's touted as the favorite to win the Eclipse as champion 3-year-old colt, finish ahead of him in two meetings.

Medina Spirit wasn't particularly attractive, he wasn't a big horse, and he didn't appear to be a physically athletic standout unlike most in Baffert's barn, but that will to win and the will to never give up that he repeatedly exhibited is the rarest and most sought-after characteristic in racehorses.

Aidan O'Brien once told me that his G1 2000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) “would absolutely kill himself stone dead for you,” meaning he'd generously empty the tank and run on fumes if he had to.

That's exactly how I'll remember Medina Spirit. He was that type of warrior, and one of the few horses in recent years that I've admired for his try. He left it all on the track.

Americanrevolution

You've already read in TDN about the notable accomplishment of breeders Ashview Farm and Colts Neck Stables being represented by the juvenile duo of Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and Nest (Curlin), two Todd Pletcher trainees who won the Gll Remsen and Gll Demoiselle, respectively, at Aqueduct Saturday. They can dream about the Derby and the Gl Kentucky Oaks over the winter.

Pletcher also won the Gl Cigar Mile Saturday with CHC Inc. and WinStar's ascendant 3-year-old colt Americanrevolution (Constitution), who was bred by in New York by Fred W. Hertrich lll and John D. Fielding, who've been having a dream of a year. Alone or in partnership, Hertrich, at the least, should be considered for an Eclipse Award as breeder of the year, because he's had a hand in breeding five Grade l winners in 2021–quite an accomplishment, especially for a fairly small breeding entity that's based at Watercress Farm in Lexington.

Aside from Americanrevolution, a winner of five of seven starts, the other Grade l winners are Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy), Juju's Map (Liam's Map), Pinehurst (Twirling Candy), and Maxim Rate (Exchange Rate).

Hertrich and Fielding, along with Robert L. Tribbett, bred Beyond Brilliant, who won the Gl Hollywood Derby for trainer John Shirreffs on Nov. 27.

Hertich alone bred Juju's Map, winner of the Gl Darley Alcibiades at Keeneland on Oct. 8 for trainer Brad Cox.

Hertrich and Fielding bred Pinehurst, who won the Gl Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 6 for Baffert.

Hertrich and Fielding bred Maxim Rate, who won the Gl Gamely at Santa Anita on May 31 for Simon Callaghan.

Hertrich and Fielding are commercial breeders who sell with Taylor Made, and these are the prices they got for these five future Grade l winners: Maxim Rate was a $130,000 weanling; Pinehurst sold for $180,000 as a weanling; Juju's Map was a $190,000 short yearling; Beyond Brilliant sold for $50,000 as a fall yearling; and Americanrevolution was a $275,000 summer yearling.

If I were shopping for young horses, I'd be looking carefully in the Taylor Made consignments for horses bred by Hertrich and Fielding.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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Taking Stock: New Kentucky Stallions at $10,000

Back in March of 2009, in the Werk Thoroughbred Consultants blog, the late Jack Werk recounted a wager we'd made years earlier. This is what he wrote:

“The year that Elusive Quality went to stud, pedigree expert Sid Fernando and I had a small side bet: Who was the best sleeper or long shot from that crop? Sid picked Distorted Humor, standing for $12,500, a pretty astute choice at the time. I, of course, picked Elusive Quality, who also went to stud very cheap–$10,000.

“As it turns out, we both picked wisely! The top two sires by progeny earnings through the first two months of 2009 are Distorted Humor and Elusive Quality, and both have sired a Kentucky Derby winner. For a while it looked like Sid's pick was going to blow my choice away–Distorted Humor is one of the best stallions in the country and stands for $150,000–but Elusive Quality has made a strong 'stretch run' to narrow the gap, much like his son Raven's Pass's amazing move in the Breeders' Cup Classic last fall.”

Distorted Humor and Elusive Quality aren't the only stallions to enter stud for fees of between $10,000 and $15,000 that later ballooned into six-figures. More recent examples include three of the best stallions now at stud: Into Mischief, who began for $12,500 in 2009 at Spendthrift; Tapit, who started for $15,000 at Gainesway in 2005; and War Front, whose initial fee at Claiborne was $12,500 in 2007.

It's never easy predicting sire success, but what these examples illustrate is that some top-tier stallions are not necessarily the best-raced champions, and it could well pay to scrutinize those horses that enter stud for between $10,000 and $15,000.

So far, in 2022 there will be at least eight new stallions in Kentucky in that price range (they are all entering stud for $10,000), and perhaps one or two of them will turn into a top-class stallion like those mentioned above. Below are some brief notes on each, listed alphabetically.

Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}–Reunited, by Dixie Union) at Lane's End: Bred and raced by Lane's End's W.S. Farish, Code of Honor was sired by an exported ex-Lane's End son of Galileo (Ire) who is a full brother to Frankel (GB). Code of Honor is an anomaly as a Grade l winner on dirt for a sire line known for high performance on turf. The great Galileo, for instance, has yet to sire a top-level winner on dirt, and neither has Frankel, his heir apparent. Perhaps Code of Honor will be the conduit for dirt success for the Galileo branch of Sadler's Wells, just as El Prado (Ire) was for Sadler's Wells himself? A $70,000 RNA at Keeneland September, Code of Honor is trained by Shug McGaughey and has won seven of 19 starts, earning almost $3 million, and he may yet make another start before he starts stud duty. He won his debut at two and was forward enough to finish second next out to Complexity in the Gl Champagne S. At three, he was second in the Gl Kentucky Derby and won both the Gl Travers and Gl Jockey Club Gold Cup at 10 furlongs–his metier. His dam was a Grade lll winner by the deceased Lane's End sire Dixie Union, and she produced the Grade ll-placed Big League (Speightstown) in addition to Code of Honor. The extended family includes Grade or Group 1 winners Juno, Fiesta Lady, Thorn Song, and Ali Bey, as well as the current Grade lll winner Dr. Post (Quality Road).

The skinny: A Grade l winner with lots of classic-distance form for the fee, plus the Galileo-sire line.

Independence Hall (Constitution–Kalahari Cat, by Cape Town) at WinStar: Bred by Woodford Thoroughbreds, Independence Hall was a $100,000 Keeneland September yearling. Racing for a partnership including Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Twin Creeks, and WinStar among others, Independence Hall most recently won the Gll Hagyard Fayette S. at Keeneland Oct. 30 for trainer Michael McCarthy, and altogether he's a winner of five of 13 starts and has earnings of $874,000. He'd won both his starts at two, including the Glll Nashua, and was once considered a highly promising Classics prospect for trainer Michael Trombetta but never lived up to that initial hype, and after a fifth-place finish in the Gl Florida Derby, the colt was transferred to McCarthy on the west coast with the year-end Gl Malibu S. as a target–a race in which he also finished fifth. At four this year, the colt did run third to Knicks Go in the Gl Pegasus World Cup Invitational, but he was subsequently unplaced in both the Gl Santa Anita H. and the Gl TVG Pacific Classic before his most recent win. He's from a dam who has two other black-type winners to her credit, including a Grade lll winner. His extended family has had plenty of top-level success, including White Moonstone, Desert Stormer, Better Lucky, Speedy Dollar, Tidal Light, Camp David, Media Sensation, Dorabella, and Insouciant.

The skinny: A Grade ll winner by a top son of Tapit, which makes him ideal for American dirt racing. Has plenty of pedigree, too.

Known Agenda (Curlin–Byrama {GB}, by Byron {GB}) at Spendthrift: Bred and raced by St. Elias Stable and trained by Todd Pletcher–who has trained a boatload of successful stallions–Known Agenda was put through the ring at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga but was a $135,000 RNA. He won three of eight starts, earning $640,000, most of that from winning the Gl Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa–the farm where Curlin, one of the best stallions in the country, stands. Known Agenda's dam is a Grade l winner, and the extended family includes a number of Group 1 or Grade l winners, including Commander Collins, Lit de Justice, North America, Gourmet Girl, Trebrook, Paradisus, Soviet Star, The Very One, Right Con, Fly Till Dawn and Melyno.

The skinny: He's by a top-Classic sire who has already had two sons sire Grade l winners in their first crops, his dam is a Grade l winner, his trainer has a knack for making stallions, and he won the Grade l race that's become the best indicator for future sire success.

Lexitonian (Speightstown–Riviera Romper, by Tapit) at Lane's End: Bred and raced by Calumet and trained by Jack Sisterson, Lexitonian was a late developer like many top-level sons and daughters of his sire. A winner of five of 21 starts and almost $720,000, Lexitonian won the Gl Alfred G. Vanderbilt this year at five, though he gave notice last year that he was a legit high-level sprinter when he wanted to run, with narrow seconds in the Gl Bing Crosby (by a nose) and Gl Churchill Downs S. (by a head). His winning dam was produced from Grade l winner Swap Fliparoo. The pedigree isn't particularly strong, though fourth dam Flip's Pleasure was a Grade l winner, and the extended family also includes top-level winner Big Macher.

The skinny: A Grade l winner by Speightstown, whose son Munnings, a Grade ll winner of four of 14 starts, began for $12,500 and will stand for $85,000 in 2022.

Modernist (Uncle Mo–Symbolic Gesture, by Bernardini) at Darby Dan: Bred and raced by Pam and Marty Wygod and trained by Bill Mott, Modernist was on the Triple Crown trail after winning the Gll Risen Star S., but after a third-place finish in his next start, in the Gll Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby, the colt was held out of the Kentucky Derby and Gl Preakness for the Gl Belmont S., a race in which he finished seventh of 10. He won the Glll Excelsior S. earlier this year at four and enters stud with a record of three wins from 11 starts and earnings of almost $600,000. What he lacks in top-class race form, he makes up in pedigree. His sire is one of the best young stallions in the country, and his dam is by the best young broodmare sire in N. America. The immediate family includes Grade l winner and champion Sweet Catomine as well as Grade l winner Life Is Sweet–both by Storm Cat–and the extended family includes such as Grade l winners Pirate's Revenge, Cherokee Run, and champion Midnight Bisou.

The skinny: A Grade ll winner, he's by a stallion whose first sons at stud–Nyquist, Laoban, and Outwork–are making an impact, and he's got a family and broodmare sire that add to his resume appeal. He will also appeal to Storm Cat-line mares, with whom both his sire and family have succeeded.

Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}–Rosa Bonheur, by Mr. Greeley) at Gainesway: Bred by the Wildenstein family's Dayton Investments and raced by Peter Brant with trainer Chad Brown, Raging Bull sold for the equivalent of $101,000 as a yearling at Goffs Orby. He's been part of a trend of European-sourced yearling purchases to make good for Brown in N. America, winning Grade l turf races at three, five, and six (this year), and all told, he has a record of seven wins from 22 starts and earnings of $1.7 million. Brant is introducing vibrant European sire lines to N. America with him and Demarchelier (GB) at Claiborne, but Demarchelier is by Dubawi (Ire), whose Seeking the Gold sire line is more familiar to American breeders. Raging Bull is from the European-based Northern Dancer line that's known for its specialist sprinter attributes through the sequence Royal Applause (GB)/Acclamation (GB)/Dark Angel, and this could be an important reintroduction of a branch of Northern Dancer to N. America that's been specific to Europe for decades. Raging Bull stayed farther here than typical members of this line do in Europe, but at the end of the day, the line is all about speed. The immediate pedigree isn't particularly strong, but the extended family includes such as top-level winners Shahtoush, Declan's Moon, Montmartre, Kalaglow, Thundering Star, Flying Duel, Dancing Duel, Ramonti, Zabrasive, and Kings Island.

Watch Raging Bull at Gainesway:

The skinny: Grade l winner and a member of an excellent sire line based on a foundation of speed that will introduce some diversity to the breed.

Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}–Charm the Maker, by Empire Maker) at Spendthrift: Bred by Ron and Deborah McAnally and raced by Hronis Racing and Talla Racing with trainer John Sadler, Rock Your World was by far the most expensive yearling of this group, selling for $650,000 at Keeneland September. A winner of three of seven starts and $600,000, he thrust himself into the Triple Crown picture earlier this spring with an impressive front-running score in the Gl Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, defeating eventual Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit by four-plus lengths. I discussed his pedigree in depth in April in this space, and you can read it here.

The skinny: A spring 3-year-old Grade l winner, he's by Candy Ride, whose son Gun Runner is carving up all freshman sires this year. That alone adds heft to his profile, but he's got speed, racing class, and pedigree, too.

Tacitus (Tapit–Close Hatches, by First Defence) at Taylor Made: A Juddmonte homebred trained by Bill Mott, Tacitus has the best pedigree of this group by a mile. His sire is one of the best in the country and has a top-class son in Constitution, and his dam is champion and Grade l winner Close Hatches, who descends from blue hen Best in Show–one of the most influential mares in the Stud Book and the ancestress of too many high-class winners to name here. A winner of four of 17 starts and $3.7 million, Tacitus began his career as if he'd become one of the most expensive young horses to enter stud, winning three of his first four starts, including the Gll Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and the Gll Wood Memorial S. Presented by NYRA Bets. In fact, he was the favorite in the 2019 Kentucky Derby, but he ran third, and soon thereafter the pattern emerged that he was never quite good or lucky enough to get that Grade l race on his resume, though he tried mightily, hitting the board in such Grade l races as the Belmont S., Travers, Jockey Club Gold Cup (twice), and Woodward.

The skinny: Grade ll winner by the sire of Constitution with so much family that his good-enough race record takes a back seat.

Watch Tacitus at Taylor Made:

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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Taking Stock: Misbranding Case Doomed By Fed Error

Expeditiously I be on my Grizzly
Feds try to creep me somehow always miss me
–Mr. Fantastik, from the MF DOOM song “Anti-Matter” on the King Geedorah album “Take Me To Your Leader”

If you're not hip to the slang in the lyrics above, Mr. Fantastik is essentially saying that the Feds are after him while he's on his grind, but they can't quite get him. There's an implication in there that the Feds are incompetent, but that's more evident from Mr. Fantastik's delivery.

Trainer Murray Rojas can probably relate to that sentiment now, after a Supreme Court decision was handed down in her favor last week on the Monday before the Breeders' Cup races. It didn't get much publicity in the racing press, perhaps because of the anticipation of the Breeders' Cup, but it should have, because the decision may have ramifications for horse racing-related misbranding cases working their way through the judicial system. Also, the larger issues of “federal overreach” addressed in an amicus brief filed in support of her petition are in the playbook of conservative federal judges, and some of them may hear cases challenging the constitutionality of HISA (the federal Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, which was signed into law almost a year ago and is meant to oversee the sport at a federally mandated level but is being challenged by the attorneys general of several red states and the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association {NHBPA}).

A Penn National-based trainer, Rojas had been convicted on 14 felony charges by a jury in federal court on June 30, 2017, for misbranding drugs and conspiracy to misbrand in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), relating to the administering of drugs to horses in her care within 24 hours of races. That act alone was against the rules of racing in Pennsylvania.

The FBI had led a sweeping law enforcement investigation of trainers and personnel at Penn National, and others were prosecuted as well by the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, but Rojas's case was the icing on the cake. On May 16, 2019, Rojas was sentenced to 27 months in prison and two years of supervised release, plus a fine of $5,000–the most severe sentence handed down in this roundup.

Rojas convinced the sentencing judge to grant bail while mounting an appeal, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, on January 11 of this year, affirmed the district court conviction and sentence. Things looked bleak for Rojas at that point.

Rojas, however, fired off a Hail Mary pass. On May 13, she filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, or a hearing in the Supreme Court. The highest court grants only about 1% of petitioners a hearing, but Rojas got two important briefs of support to get hers.

Coady photo

One was the aforementioned amicus brief filed on June 17 by the American Conservative Union Foundation (ACUF), which bills itself as an organization that “opposes the increasing application of federal law to matters that are more appropriately addressed by state and local authorities.” ACUF, a nonprofit, is the fundraiser for the American Conservative Union (ACU), which hosts the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Joining the ACUF on the brief was The Cato Institute, another organization advocating limited government.

Their brief essentially agreed with the Rojas petition that the lower courts in this case had blurred long-held distinctions in case law between the “dispensing” and “administering” of drugs. Rojas had been convicted by a jury that was instructed that both dispensing and administering amounted to the same thing, and this line of thought had been affirmed in the Third Circuit appeal that she'd lost. The dispensing or sale of drugs is federally regulated in interstate commerce in the FDCA, the brief noted, but the administering of drugs by a veterinarian or medical practitioner in the course of his practice is not. This is what Rojas, who wasn't dispensing drugs, had been arguing all along in fighting the federal charges against her, and it was the centerpiece of her petition.

The brief was a classic conservative treatise on federalism. It disparaged “the aggressive federal criminal prosecution…that historically has been left to state and local regulatory enforcement,” because the alleged crimes that took place were infractions of state law. The Feds, however, had tried to pigeonhole them through a “liberal” reading of FDCA, according to the brief, to fit federal felony laws.

Believe it or not, the second brief supporting Rojas came from the respondent, The United States, in a filing Sept. 17 by the Acting Solicitor General, an Acting Assistant Attorney General, and two Deptartment of Justice attorneys. Perhaps they were convinced by some of the arguments in the ACUF and Cato Institute brief, because they also agreed that misbranding did not occur in this case and Rojas's conviction should be vacated. All said and done, it was a stunning defeat for the Feds, although their brief appears to be constructed in a narrow manner applicable only to this case–perhaps because of the larger Southern District of New York (SDNY) case of misbranding pending against trainer Jason Servis.

Rojas filed a reply Oct. 6 addressing some of these specific concerns, plus larger conservative issues of federalism and states' rights. On Nov. 1, the Supreme Court granted the petition, vacated the judgment against Rojas, and remanded the case “for further consideration in light of the confession of error by the Solicitor General.”

Conservatives vs. Conservatives

Conservatives and libertarians came to Rojas's defense and flexed ideologies that resonated with a conservative court. Someone tweeted recently that racing is a right-wing industry, which may be going a bit too far, but it's probably safe to say that most of the stakeholders in the game are conservatives who would support concepts of federalism and states' rights, as well as vote for the same type of people advocated by organizations like ACUF and the Cato Institute. Yet two notable conservative factions, one led by The Jockey Club (TJC) and the other by the NHBPA, are on opposite sides of HISA, which brings federal heft into racing like never before.

This anomaly is essentially pitting racing people of the same overall political philosophy against each other at the same time as they're probably supporting the same people in political office or in the voting booths.

Both factions, for instance, likely would have supported Donald Trump's three appointments to the Supreme Court that have shifted it to the right.

It's only a matter of time before there's a collision between conservative principles of federalism and HISA. Those that support HISA are likely to end up at odds with high-powered and influential conservative intellectuals outside of racing like those that came to support the Rojas petition. And if a challenge to HISA were to get to the Supreme Court, opponents of it could possibly prevail. For instance, even before two of Trump's three appointees were on the Supreme Court, it ruled in its May 2018 decision that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was unconstitutional because the “anti-commandeering principle” of the 10th Amendment recognizes limitations of congressional authority over state governments, and there are parts to this that could possibly apply to HISA as well.

A few years ago, while writing in this space about one of the earlier versions of the bill that eventually became HISA, I wrote: “But if it did somehow become law, the constitutional challenges to it in court–certainly in the way it's now written–could set off another round of battles, and in the end, the industry would probably find itself exactly where it is now: battling itself.”

More specifically, I should have warned that it would be a battle of conservatives versus conservatives, and that's something to think about, because mostly liberal lawmakers supported the passage of HISA–it was co-sponsored by 206 Democrats in the House versus 55 Republicans–and liberal and progressive-minded people are mostly the ones behind groups that generally don't support racing.

I'm going to end this with another verse from “Anti-Matter,” this one from MF DOOM himself, because the last line is an apt warning:

Yeah, It's neither here nor there, black
Warfare in your ear, clack-clack-clack-clack-clack
What's that? You're hearing things! Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat
Be wearing your thinking hat

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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Taking Stock: Liam’s Map Flying Unbridled’s Song Flag

We've been waiting a long time for a high-class son of Unbridled's Song to make a statement at stud and stick around to carry his name forward in pedigrees, and that horse appears to be Lane's End's Liam's Map, who got his fourth Grade l winner over the weekend. Unbridled's Song was a terrific stallion and his daughters have made him one of the best broodmare sires around, but he's had difficulties finding sons at stud as good as his daughters. He's had some that showed glimmers of talent, and a few that have been useful, but none that have shown the elite promise that Liam's Map is demonstrating with only three crops racing.

The Brad Cox-trained Juju's Map won the Gl Darley Alcibiades S. at Keeneland on Friday, joining Liam's Map's other top-level winners Basin, Wicked Whisper and Colonel Liam. The 2-year-old filly, who was bred by Fred W. Hertrich lll in Kentucky, is one of 13 black-type winners for her sire. She'd sold for $300,000 at Keeneland September to Albaugh Family Stables, which also bred her sire.

Albaugh Family Stables is the racing operation of Iowans Dennis Albaugh and his son-in-law Jason Loutsch. They've been on quite a run since entering the business in the mid-2000s, mostly with colts, but lately they've been buying yearling fillies, with an eye to eventually breeding them to their stallion Not This Time (Giant's Causeway), who's also making quite a name for himself at Taylor Made with only two crops at the races.

It all started with the purchase of another filly, Miss Macy Sue (Trippi), as a 2-year-old at OBS June in 2005. She's the dam of Liam's Map and Not This Time, but before she became a producer, she was an accomplished runner, winning 11 races from 25 starts, including a Grade lll race, and earning $880,915.

“We started out with a small stable, and Miss Macy Sue was the first mare we owned. Once you get lucky with your first horse, you get the bug,” Loutsch said by phone on Sunday. “Miss Macy Sue took us to the Breeders' Cup and to all these wonderful places. It kind of gets in your blood, and you're just like, we want to do this, you know?”

Loutsch acknowledged, however, that “it's a tough business,” and he and his father-in-law run the operation with the bottom line in mind. That's why they sold Liam's Map for $800,000 at Keeneland September in 2012 to Vinnie and Teresa Viola's St. Elias Stable. Trained by Todd Pletcher–who has trained more top stallions than anyone in recent memory–Liam's Map raced in the name of Teresa Viola Racing Stables (except for his last start, after West Point Thoroughbreds had bought into him), winning six of eight starts, including the Gl Woodward S. at Saratoga and the Gl Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland to close out his career.

“We loved the horse, and we wished nothing but the best for Vinnie,” Loutsch said. “It was purely just a business decision at the time. It was a lot of money, and we figured if we sold him for a good number, we could go out and buy three or four other ones and break even. But it probably made us keep Not This Time. When we go to the sales now, we're still primarily buying colts. Dennis has a great time with them, and we've been to the Derby five times and we've got the dream that someday we're going to [win it].”

Nerud Influence

After Miss Macy Sue retired from racing, Loutsch contacted our firm to do the matings for her. (Albaugh Family Stables is a client of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants.) The mare's pedigree is unique and well constructed, with the strong influence of two heavyweights behind it: Leon Rasmussen, the former Bloodlines columnist for Daily Racing Form; and John Nerud, the master horseman and breeder who ran Tartan Farms in Ocala for William McKnight and family. The outstanding owner/breeder Frances Genter also kept her stock at Tartan.

In the mid-1980s, Nerud had contacted Rasmussen about helping him to reinvigorate the Tartan program. Rasmussen suggested that Nerud use some European-bred or -raced sires, which were plentiful in Kentucky at the time, and, most significantly, he suggested inbreeding some mares to Tartan's iconic females. Rasmussen was an advocate of inbreeding to superior females, and this is now widely referred to as the Rasmussen Factor, or RF. Nerud bought into the idea.

Tartan-bred Grade l winner Quiet American, for example, was a foal of 1986 by Nerud's Fappiano from Demure, by Tartan icon Dr. Fager. Underneath this conventional reading of the pedigree, Quiet American was inbred 4×3 to Tartan's influential mare Cequillo–the third dam of Fappiano and second dam of Demure. This was Rasmussen's favorite type of inbreeding, where the duplicated mare is in the direct female line of both the sire and the dam.

Moreover, Quiet American was also closely inbred 3×2 to Dr. Fager–the sire of the dams of both Fappiano and Demure.

Tartan-bred and Frances Genter-raced Unbridled, a foal of 1987 by Fappiano, was inbred 4×4 to Aspidistra–the dam of Dr. Fager and his outstanding half-sister Ta Wee–and 4×5 to Rough'n Tumble, the sire of Dr. Fager. In this case, Aspidistra was the fourth dam of Unbridled, but the duplication to the mare was through Dr. Fager, Fappiano's broodmare sire.

Unbridled's dam, by the way, was by the imported French Derby winner Le Fabuleux, who stood at Claiborne and was a Rasmussen favorite for the stamina he imparted to his offspring.

How does all of this relate to Miss Macy Sue, who was bred by Bryan J. Howlett in Florida? Howlett worked under Nerud at Tartan, and Miss Macy Sue's pedigree is a homage to Nerud and Tartan, because her Great Above dam Yada Yada, who was also bred by Howlett (and H&R Stable), is intensely inbred 2×3 to Ta Wee–perhaps the greatest female sprinter, as well as being Dr. Fager's half-sister. In this case, Ta Wee was Yada Yada's third dam and Great Above's dam.

Rasmussen also advocated the breeding of highly inbred mares, like Yada Yada, to outcrossed stallions to create “hybrid vigor,” and that's what Howlett did when he sent Yada Yada to Trippi to get Miss Macy Sue. Trippi, a son of the Forty Niner stallion End Sweep, has no duplications of ancestors through at least five generations.

There were many reasons why we liked Unbridled's Song for Miss Macy Sue, but one of them was the Rasmussen and Nerud architecture that was in place to recombine a Tartan-bred stallion in Unbridled, who brought in two strains of Aspidistra–the dam of Ta Wee and Dr. Fager–in the background, with the two crosses of Ta Wee in the background of Miss Macy Sue. But close up, Unbridled's Song, like Trippi, had no inbreeding in his pedigree within five generations, making Liam's Map himself relatively outcrossed within five generations (he is 4×5 Mr. Prospector and 5×5 In Reality).

On the surface, Liam's Map is bred similarly to Unbridled's Song's best racing son, the late Arrogate, as each is from a Forty Niner-line mare. Arrogate, who recently had this third winner, will be represented by only three crops, and perhaps he'll come up with a top-class son over the next few seasons. He was long considered the potential savior of this branch of the Unbridled line, but Liam's Map is the one proving to be a revelation. It's notable, also, that three of Liam's Map's four Grade l winners are from A.P. Indy-line mares–two from Bernardini mares and the latest from a Flatter mare. With so much A.P. Indy blood, particularly through Tapit, in the population, this could further benefit the stallion moving forward.

In 2019, Liam's Map was fourth on the first-crop list by progeny earnings behind American Pharoah, Constitution, and Palace Malice, but in the fine print you'll note that he led all freshman sires that year with two Grade l winners–Basin and Wicked Whisper. That's a sign of a stallion with potential.

Since, Nyquist had two juvenile Grade l winners in 2020, and Gun Runner has two already this year. Both are considered high-class stallions in the making.

Add Liam's Map to the list now.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: Liam’s Map Flying Unbridled’s Song Flag appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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