Dilger Scholarship Winners Reflect On Kentucky Experiences

The Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation was established in 2020 in memory of Gerry Dilger, the beloved and well-respected breeder and pinhooker of such horses as GI Kentucky Derby winners Nyquist and Always Dreaming, who passed away on Feb. 24, 2020. The Foundation awarded three scholarships for 2024 for the Kentucky farm experience to Sean Berns and Sara Pepper to go to Springhouse Farm in Lexington, and to Larry Mulvaney, who was placed at Hunter Valley Farm. A pair of 2023 scholarship recipients–Ivanna Dempsey and Elle Sorensen–who did their farm experience at Springhouse and Hunter Valley, respectively, have submitted blogs chronicling their experiences to share with the TDN audience:

Ivanna Dempsey

I was awarded a scholarship with the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation in March 2023. This was a fantastic opportunity to travel to Lexington, Kentucky, to further my education, knowledge, and passion for the horse industry, which was part of my Equine Science placement with UCD. Tara Carroll and I spent the summer at Springhouse Farm, where I had to assist with the concluding phase of the foaling season and the preparation of the yearlings for the upcoming sales.

We felt an integral part of the team throughout our time at Springhouse Farm. Gabriel (Spider) Duignan and farm manager Dermot Joyce provided invaluable guidance that will significantly benefit me in the future. They shared their knowledge on various aspects of horsemanship, including developing an eye for assessing horses, understanding the confirmation of the horse, and handling critical tasks like scanning mares and assisting foals during and after birth. They stressed the importance of meticulous attention to detail with yearling preparation. The entire team at Springhouse were eager to share their knowledge, including the veterinarians and chiropractors.

During the July sale, we had the opportunity to shadow buyers looking at horses. We learned invaluable sales knowledge working with Paramount Sales, and a massive thanks to Pat Costello and the entire team there. We worked the September yearling sale in Keeneland and the Saratoga Yearling sale in New York and also got the opportunity to attend the races in Saratoga.

Our highlight was attending the 149th Kentucky Derby and the Oaks at Churchill Downs. What an incredible experience! On our Sundays off, we traveled to Nashville, Red River Gorge, the Railbird Festival in Lexington, and a Reds baseball game in Cincinnati. We also got the opportunity to ride out on numerous occasions in Keeneland Racetrack with Andrew McKeever, and what an experience that was.

A special thanks to everyone at Springhouse, especially Spider and Aisling Duignan, for their generosity, dedication and support throughout the summer in developing our knowledge of the global Thoroughbred industry and providing a working environment dedicated to excellence in their operation.

I cannot put into words how grateful I am to the Dilger family for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be the recipient of the Gerry Dilger Scholarship. Throughout the summer, Erin, Claire, Grace and Joseph offered support, lots of fun and assistance whenever I needed it. Whenever Gerry's name was mentioned, I could not help but be inspired by the numerous remarkable stories about his generosity and mentorship to young individuals. His legacy lives through his family, who continue to carry forward his commitment to supporting young people in the industry.

Elle Sorenson

The Gerry Dilger Scholarship afforded me the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to undertake my nine-month placement with Hunter Valley Farm in the heart of Kentucky. This experience proved to be transformative, allowing me to significantly expand my knowledge, skills and passion for the Thoroughbred industry.

My time in Hunter Valley was filled with invaluable experience that enriched my understanding and love for this industry. I had the privilege of participating in sales work in Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland in Kentucky and even had the remarkable opportunity to work the Fasig-Tipton Select sales in Saratoga, New York. Additionally, I was fortunate to attend the prestigious Kentucky Oaks, which was truly a highlight of my time.

Working on the farm provided me with a wealth of knowledge and eye-opening experiences. I was involved in various aspects of the industry, including foaling, yearling prep and shed runs during breeding season where I was able to see the most prestigious Thoroughbred stallions.

The memories, experiences and friendships I forged during my time in Kentucky are treasures that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. This incredible journey not only deepened my passion for the Thoroughbred industry but also expanded my horizons in ways I could have never imagined.

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Trio Share Top Billing During Vibrant Saratoga Sale

A trio of weanlings shared top price of $150,000 during a day of vibrant trade at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall Sale Monday in upstate New York. By the close of business, 136 horses had sold for $4,533,200. The average of $33,332 jumped 48.5% from the 2021 auction and the median doubled to $20,000. With 46 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 25.3%. It was 29.7% a year ago when 163 horses grossed $3,657,800 for an average of $22,440 and a median of $10,000.

“The market up here was very strong and very honest all the way through, from the top to the bottom,” said Stuart Morris, who consigned two of the three co-toppers. “We were fortunate to bring some quality horses in here with good pedigrees and be rewarded by a strong marketplace. We are in a very fortunate cycle in our industry right now where we have a very high purse structure and, obviously the production level isn't what it was in the past, so I think that's feeding it as well.”

Glencrest Farm, with Dailey Bloodstock, as agent, purchased hip 196, a colt from the first crop of multiple Grade I winner Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}) from the Morris consignment for $150,000. The weanling is out of Nice Smile (Smiling Tiger), a half-sister to multiple Grade I-placed Red Vine (Candy Ride {Arg}). The chestnut was bred by Constance Wickes, Amy Rabanal and Highclere, Inc., who purchased Nice Smile with the colt in utero for $70,000 out of this sale last October.

“My father and two of his partners bred him and he's always been a lovely colt,” Morris said. “Our expectations coming up here were strong, but not aggressive and we were very happy with the result on the horse. We thought he would be in that range and we were very happy to be rewarded by the marketplace and that they agreed with our opinion of his quality.”

Morris also consigned hip 167, a filly by Not This Time who sold to trainer Christophe Clement for $150,000. The weanling is out of Lookin Sharp (Lookin at Lucky), a half-sister to stakes winners Malibu Beauty (Buffum), Steady Warrior (Cherokee's Boy) and Steady N Love (Not for Love). She was bred by Drumkenny Farm, Springhouse Farm and Magnolia Mares. Magnolia Mares purchased Lookin Sharp for $53,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton February sale.

“She was a super, quality filly,” said Morris. “We had similar expectations for her and we were also rewarded by the market.”

Glencrest and Dailey Bloodstock also purchased a colt by Complexity (hip 179) for $100,000 Monday.

The trio of co-toppers at the Saratoga auction was rounded out by a filly by Malibu Moon (hip 14), who was purchased by Carolyn and David Cannizzo's Willow Brook Stables. Consigned by Vinery Sales, the weanling is out of graded-placed Stopspendingmaria (Montbrook) and is a half-sister to stakes winner No Mo' Spending (Uncle Mo) and to stakes-placed Blewitt (Uncle Mo). She was bred by Rockridge Stud, Ascendant Farms and Spendthrift Farm. Rockridge Stud purchased Stopspendingmaria for $32,000 at the 2019 Keeneland January sale.

“I thought she was a standout of all the fillies in the sale,” trainer David Cannizzo said of the purchase. “She was the top horse on my short list; she had a good pedigree, great physical and a great walk. She really stood out. I thought she was the sale topper by the end of Saturday morning and it proved to be correct. I was prepared to go a little higher if I had to. I thought she was a special individual.”

Asked for plans for the filly, Cannizzo said, “We will see how she grows and go from there. You might see her in a yearling sale or she might be a racehorse.”

Willow Brook enjoyed pinhooking success buying out of this sale a year ago. The operation acquired a colt by Bolt d'Oro for $120,000 at the Fall sale and resold him for $355,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearling sale in August.

“It could be a very similar move,” Cannizzo said of this year's weanling purchase.

Willow Brook came back later in the session to acquire a colt by Practical Joke (hip 222) for $95,000.

Cannizzo said the strength of the state's racing and breeding program allowed him to buy New York-breds with extra confidence.

“The New York market is always very good because New York racing is at the top of the list with the great purses and great program we have for New York-breds,” he said. “You can always bail a client out, or bail yourself out, with a horse that you might have pushed a little harder to get to with the money you paid for them, but there is always a way out with the way the purses are in the New York breeding program.”

Dean and Patti Reeves, who purchased the 2021 Fall Sale topper, a $195,000 daughter of Catalina Cruiser, were active again Monday in Saratoga, purchasing seven weanlings for $555,000. The group was led by a filly by Maclean's Music (hip 96) who sold for $140,000 and a filly by King for a Day (hip 97).

The Reeveses led a strong contingent of end-users who competed with pinhookers to create a vibrant market in Saratoga.

“There is a very consistent and strong end-user market up here for the weanlings in November,” Morris said. “I sold the Not This Time filly to Christophe [Clement] and some end-users were underbidders on the Vekoma as well. Dean Reeves and Jimmy Gladwell have led that charge and Christophe has some other folks that are doing the same thing. And not just at the higher end, but at all levels. There were some horses I sold for lesser money to racehorse outfits up here as well. So it's becoming a place where there are some end-users sprinkled in every year to buy the weanlings and I think that helps drive the market.”

Morris also consigned the auction's top-priced broodmare, Ventriloquist (Nyquist) (hip 38), who sold in foal to Frosted for $90,000 to MWG, LLC.

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‘We Were Willing To Work – And To Take A Risk’

Year after year, the thread of his horsemanship snags another big prize in the web of his many different interests. And this spring Gabriel Duignan is back on the GI Kentucky Derby trail—this time as breeder, his Springhouse Farm near Lexington having started Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) along the road that has already taken in two of the big Californian trials, latterly the GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita last weekend. 

Before you ask: disappointingly, there's no real story behind the nickname. When he started as a kid at Airlie Stud, his predecessor had for some reason been known as “Spider”, and the guy in charge just couldn't keep his real name in his head. On the third day he gave up, and announced that Duignan might as well be Spider too. “Though I was a skinny, leggy young guy, so it suited a bit as well,” notes Duignan.

But if that particular line of inquiry turns out to be something of a wild goose chase, then at least we can now formally acclaim Duignan and his wife Aisling as the ultimate such quarry.

Last week they were profoundly touched to return to their native land to be jointly saluted by the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association with the “Wild Geese” Award, made to compatriots who fly the tricolour in exemplary fashion on foreign fields.

They were amused, too, by some of the themes of a video tribute. Repeated reference was made by friends and colleagues, with an air of perplexity, to Duignan's roots in rural Co. Leitrim. (“Okay, so there wasn't a huge horse culture,” he concedes. “But surprisingly enough, there were always a few horses around.”) Paramount's Lesley Campion noted how well the couple complemented each other: “Aisling's smart, hard-working, astute; just a lovely, decent, kind, welcoming person. And, um, Spider is a good dancer. And is tall. And is from Leitrim.”

But the real cornerstone was a contribution from John Magnier, who employs Aisling as Director of Bloodstock at Ashford Stud.

“Spider, I knew you were clever from the time you were working for Tony Ryan and did so well for him,” the Coolmore boss said. “But when you got married to Aisling that confirmed how clever you were.”

Magnier recalled Aisling leading the mares out “as a kid” in all weathers: “Dressed up in rain gear so you could hardly find her. But she always stood out, really, and it's not a surprise to me that she's reached the heights that she has.”

“Those were lovely words he said,” her husband says. “To be fair, I think they've always had a great relationship. Look, it was a beautiful award to receive, the ITBA did a great job putting on the whole night, and the whole thing is very gratifying really. It's always nice to be recognised by your peers.”

Over the years, of course, Kentucky has become something close to a 33rd Irish county. But when Duignan first arrived in 1985, recommended to Bill O'Neill at Circle O Farm, he was only just behind a pioneering wave of migrants led by the likes of the late Gerry Dilger, himself winner of the Wild Geese Award in 2018. It's fitting, as such, that the bursary fund collected in Dilger's memory should be devoted to fresh cycles in that ongoing, transatlantic exchange of enthusiasm and experience, with two young women from Ireland set to arrive for their belated stint at Springhouse.

“Because of lockdown, unfortunately we weren't able to bring them over as planned last year but we're looking forward to the two girls coming over in the spring and that'll kick it off,” Duignan says. “An American student is also being sent to the Irish National Stud. It's a great thing to give young people the kind of experience that we had. Gerry was such a super guy, kind of the godfather to us all over here, and I'd like to think his fund will be around a long time into the future.”

Opportunities like this, and of course the Godolphin Flying Start, were not available when this wild gosling first took wing, and the Irish expatriate community in the Bluegrass duly owes a great deal to the informal impetus provided by John Hughes, in Duignan's own case, and Michael Osborne, in so many others.

“I'll forever be indebted to John Hughes,” Duignan stresses. “He was head vet at Airlie while I was there, and took a personal interest in sending me over here and setting me up with a job at Circle O. He was a great guy. Himself and Dr. Osborne were the two that looked after a lot of young Irish people at the time, and sent us on our way.

“None of us had very many dollars in our back pockets when we got here. But I guess Ireland was in pretty bad shape at the time. We arrived with very little expectations, but we were willing to work and grateful for any opportunities we got. And then there was a little of that entrepreneurial spirit as well. When we did make a few dollars, we were prepared to take a risk and invest in a horse. It's a fantastic community: a great bunch of people, very close, almost like family really. Everybody pulls for each other.”

For all the banter about his upbringing in a relative backwater of the Turf, Duignan came from a farming family and, like so many compatriots, exported an engrained, instinctive stockmanship.

“I was just one of those kids born with a love of horses,” he says. “My brother Cahill was the same, and we were sent to a local guy who broke horses. I started with the ponies and gymkhanas, but figured out pretty early on I wasn't good enough to make a living out of that. So I transferred over to Thoroughbreds at Airlie Stud. I do think a stockman is a stockman, absolutely: if you've an eye for a horse, you'll have an eye for cattle, for any animal really. And that love for the land is very closely related too. You can learn, you can help yourself, but I see American kids that grew up on a farm, and it's just the same: it gives you a little edge.”

That raw material couldn't have been better shaped than by O'Neill, who had managed Bwamazon Farm for Millard Waldheim before taking on Circle O.

“He was a great mentor to me,” Duignan recalls. “He was a proper, old-fashioned Kentucky hardboot. It was hard work, no messing around, but I learned a lot off him. And actually I've just been lucky through life, working with a lot of good people. Like David Garvin, who gave me the opportunity to start buying horses for him at Ironwood, a beautiful farm I managed for him at Bowling Green. And then Dr. Ryan took me on [as president of Castleton-Lyons]. Another great man: he pushed you, he had great foresight. I learned a lot of the business part of things through him.”

And that element would be critical to Duignan's development of such a diverse portfolio: farm owner, breeder, pinhooker and, in 2001, founding partner of Paramount with Pat Costello. They had already been the core investors, along with Ted Campion, in a pinhooking partnership they called The Lads.

“I've always been lucky to have great partners,” Duignan says. “Gerry. Ted and Pat. Charlie O'Connor. Back then, I guess a good bit of it was trial and error. But we all learned a lot from each other. And our timing was good. The market had been a bit more closed before, but as things became more commercial you had more opportunities for striking out and selling on your own.”

His association with Costello now goes back some 30 years. He suspects that they first met in a pub.

“Believe it or not!” he says with a chuckle. “Yeah, we met shortly after coming here and just hit it off and have been friends ever since. Obviously we think a lot alike, as far as a horse is concerned. You do need to have give and take, if you're going to do partnerships, but to be honest we've never had any differences.”

The ultimate partnership, however, is naturally that with Aisling herself. Duignan submits willingly to all the facetious inferences of their friends in the ITBA video.

“She's been huge help,” he says. “It's lovely to have somebody you can bounce things off that's smarter than yourself. She has unbelievable energy, has to juggle lot of balls in the air, and I don't know how she does it: she's a very sharp businesswoman, but also a wonderful mother and just a fantastic person.”

All ribbing aside, however, everyone acknowledges Duignan himself as an outstanding horseman. Wearing his various hats, he has processed too many good horses for there to be any doubt about that. During his time at Castleton-Lyons, Duignan assisted in the rise of Malibu Moon, while young stallions No Nay Never and Gormley are among the graduates of the Paramount consignment. If forced to identify one dimension of his portfolio that gives him most pride, however, it would probably be the mares that have found their way to various farms under his supervision.

When Point Given (Thunder Gulch) was a weanling, for instance, Duignan brought his dam to Ironwood for $160,000; she was sold for $2 million in the same ring five years later. He bought the dam of Gio Ponti (Tale of the Cat) for Castleton Lyons. Then there was dual Grade I winner Brody's Cause, co-bred with William Arvin Jr. and Petaluma Bloodstock after the $130,000 acquisition of his dam.

Just last year two juveniles to have been through Duignan's hands scored at the elite level: GI Starlet S. winner Eda (Munnings) was sold by Paramount as a Keeneland September yearling for $240,000, while GI Breeders' Futurity S. winner Rattle N Roll (Connect), pinhooked as a $55,000 weanling via Rexy Bloodstock, was sold in the same consignment for $210,000. And now, from the same crop, Forbidden Kingdom is advertising the alert recruitment of his dam Just Louise (Five Star Day) for just $150,000, despite her GIII Debutante S. success in a light career.

“That's what it's all about, at the end of the day,” Duignan says. “The buzz of good horses. I think the biggest thing, looking back, was the day I started investing in the game rather than just working in it. In life, you always need luck and thank God I've had my share of that too. But there are always risks involved, so you do need the mentality to take the ups and downs. If things go wrong, you have to be able to take it and move on; you don't look back, only forward.”

In raising a horse, equally, he feels you have to let things flow; to expose horses to the challenges that help them mature into fighters on the track—very much, he suggests, part of a culture shared by his fellow “wild geese”.

“I do think we try to let them be horses,” he says. “They're kept outdoors as much as possible, kept in the herd as much as possible. I think it's very important you don't hothouse horses, because I think it's been proven through the years that you just make a softer individual that way. I think probably all the Irish guys are a bit like that.”

Duignan rejects the pessimism expressed by many for the American industry. Purses in some states are very strong, he notes, while that even the pandemic yielded reasons to be cheerful in increased handle, and a remarkably robust bloodstock market.

“No doubt the business has shrunk over the last 20 years,” he admits. “But it's very resilient. At the end of the day, there is that bond between humans and horses. It's a great game, and I often say that I probably never worked a day in my life. If you love what you do, there's no better way to go through life. So long as you're able to take a few knocks along the way, it's a lovely way to make a living.”

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Forbidden Kingdom One to Celebrate at Springhouse

Foaling season is already underway at Springhouse Farm, where breeder Gabriel “Spider” Duignan says they are expecting to see around 50 new foals on the ground this year.

On Saturday, Duignan enjoyed a brief respite from his work on the farm to celebrate a successful day on the racetrack.

Forbidden Kingdom, a son of American Pharoah bred by Springhouse Farm, stamped himself as one to watch on the Triple Crown trail after he upset a trio of Bob Baffert runners in the GII San Vicente S. at Santa Anita. Trained by Richard Mandella and campaigned by MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, the chestnut colt broke his maiden at Del Mar last summer and placed in the Speakeasy S. and the GIII Bob Hope S. in the fall before his winning sophomore debut in the San Vicente, where he showed the way down the stretch to win by 2 1/4 lengths and earn a 94 Beyer Speed Figure.

Duignan purchased Forbidden Kingdom's dam, Just Louise (Five Star Day), at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton November Sale for $150,000. The mare had been a precocious 2-year-old in 2010, breaking her maiden on debut and then taking the GIII Debutante S., while her half-sister Sara Louise (Malibu Moon) was a three-time graded stakes winner.

“She was a beautiful-looking mare,” Duignan recalled. “She was barren, which made the price better. When we inquired about her, it sounded like she had no fertility problems; it was just something that commonly happens with young mares. She was a very fast 2-year and it was a great family, a very good-looking family.”

While her first foal fetched $300,000 as a weanling and won on debut, the mare's first three foals did not make any major headlines.

When Just Louise was next bred to Malibu Moon, the mare produced a promising filly in 2018, so Duignan decided to send her to American Pharoah.

American Pharoah speaks for himself,” he said of his reasoning behind the mating. “He's a fantastic horse and I'm a big believer. I thought that the fact that there was so much speed in her family would suite him well. Physically, I thought they would match up.”

Forbidden Kingdom as a yearling at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Sale | Photos by Z

The resulting colt, Duignan said, was everything he had hoped for and more.

“Forbidden Kingdom was always a beautiful colt, beautiful-bodied and fast-looking. He was very straightforward with a lot of quality. He was one of those that never had a bad stage. He was just born nice and he stayed that way.”

Duignan thought the colt was impressive enough to send to the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Sale, which was held in Lexington in 2020. Despite an uncertain market due to the pandemic, Forbidden Kingdom brought $300,000, selling to Spendthrift and MyRacehorse as one of the top three highest-priced American Pharoah yearlings of the sale.

Just Louise's Malibu Moon filly, who brought $310,000 as a yearling in 2019 and was named Sianara, broke her maiden at Churchill Downs last year and remains in training with Steve Asmussen. The mare also produced a Bolt d'Oro colt who brought $275,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. She now has a Not This Time yearling filly in the pipeline who Duignan said is one to watch.

When the Not This Time filly was foaled in April, Just Louise was bred once to Tiz the Law, but did not catch. Duignan said mating plans are not yet set for her this year.

Forbidden Kingdom is not Duignan's first potential Kentucky Derby starter. He was represented by GI Blue Grass S. winner Brody's Cause (Giant's Causeway), who he bred in partnership with William Arvin, Jr. and Charlie O'Connor's Petaluma Bloodstock, in the 2016 GI Kentucky Derby.

“It's what you're trying to achieve as a breeder, so it's lovely when it happens,” Duignan said of the experience of having a potential Kentucky Derby starter. “It's really fun and hopefully he stays on the right track. You can never know which ones will be special, but he was definitely one that you could hope for because he was a beautiful horse.”

Duignan is also a founding partner in Paramount Sales. In addition to what was an exciting Saturday for Springhouse Farm, Paramount Sales enjoyed a big day with their sales graduate Life is Good (Into Mischief) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. The gifted 4-year-old was part of Paramount's 2019 Keeneland September Sale consignment and sold to China Horse Club and Maverick Racing for $525,000.

Asked if he remembers the impressive colt from the Keeneland grounds, Duignan responded quickly. “I sure do. He was a beautiful Into Mischief with maybe a little bit more leg than some of them. He was very popular at the sales and brought a good amount of money.”

How does Life is Good compare with the rest of the long list of top-performing Paramount sales graduates?

“He ranks well no matter what company you put him in,” Duignan said, chuckling. “He's a monster.”

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