Stonehaven Steadings | Horse Racing Free Tips

Mating Plans: Stonehaven Steadings

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have Aidan and Leah O'Meara of Stonehaven Steadings.

VENETIAN SONATA (m, 13, Bernardini–Moonlight Sonata, by Carson City), to be bred to Curlin

Bernardini's talents as a broodmare sire have been impressive but his strike rate with Curlin has been hugely impressive with nearly 20% stakes winners to date. That coupled with another stellar year at the track for Curlin made this mating an easy decision. Venetian is not a very big mare but she thankfully will throw to the sire in the size department. She has a very classy physique that she consistently passes on and compliments some of the more robust/powerfully built stallions such as Curlin.

TRUE FEELINGS (m, 13, Latent Heat–Grand Charmer, by Lord Avie), to be bred to Quality Road

True Feelings had a nice touch with Justify in September but had an equally impressive foal by Quality Road this spring and that tipped the balance in Quality Road's favor for next year again. Quality Road is primed for the peak of his career here the next five years with the best-bred crops to date about to hit the track and another outstanding year in the sales ring.

THISSMYTIME (m, 5, Carpe Diem–Seraphic Too, by Southern Halo), to be bred to Quality Road

Thissmytime is a new addition to the broodmare band for us this year. She's a track record setter and Grade II placed. We like to give our younger mares every opportunity to succeed and like to breed them to at least four proven sires to give them a good foundation to build off of. When you breed to these better sires they obviously cost a bit more with the stud fees and you're not always guaranteed success at the sales with that particular offspring. You're not just getting the potential sales success in three years' time from that particular mating, but also hopefully establishing your mare's career as a stakes producer, and that long-term investment in the proven sires can come back to you in spectacular fashion, as it did for us this past year with True feelings and Venetian Sonata. Thissmytime is a medium-sized filly and should benefit from Quality Road's elegant and leggy physique.

BECKLES ROAD (m, 13, Smart Strike–Padmore, by French Deputy), to be bred to Into Mischief

A lot of the time, a particular mating takes a lot of thought and back and forth, but sometimes a previous mating produces such an impressive foal that going back to the same sire is a no-brainer and that's the case this year with Beckles Road. Her yearling Into Mischief filly is one of the best-looking, best-moving and classiest Into Mischief fillies we've come across. The potent combination of both sire lines have produced some of Into Mischief's best runners including Authenthic, Goldencents, Life Is Good, Covfefe and Mia Mischief.

SWEET SAMI D (m, 6, First Samurai–Treaty of Kadesh, by Victory Gallop)/FIGURE OF SPEECH (m, 5, Into Mischief–Starlight Lady, by Elusive Quality), to be bred to Gun Runner

Gun Runner has made the most impressive start of any young sire since Uncle Mo a few years back and looks to have the potential to develop into one of the elite sires of the next decade. He has shown an affinity for the Storm Cat sire line similar to his sire Candy Ride, and both of our fillies hail from similar lines. Sweet Sami D is from the Giant's Causeway line, similar to [GI Hopeful S. winner] Gunite and Figure of Speech is from Harlan, similar to [GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner] Echo Zulu. We like to breed a quicker type filly to the Classic distance sires and both of these fall into that category. Gun Runner is a nice sized horse himself, but we're always cautious about a sire's own sire and what they have produced physically themselves over the years, so we tend to breed a bigger, leggier type of mare to sires on this line, as the sire line can tend to throw individuals who are medium sized in general. Both mares are 16.2 hands and should suit Gun Runner well physically.

BERNIN MIDNIGHT (m, 7, Midnight Lute–Venetian Sonata, by Bernardini), to be bred to Medaglia d'Oro

If a young mare of ours who has been bred to more modest mid-range sires starting out can show us that she can produce the right type of individual with her first couple of foals, then we are not afraid to step up and give her even more opportunity going forward. Bernin Midnight falls into this category; she had a very nice Malibu Moon filly sell this past September [for $225,000 at Keeneland] and has a beautiful Street Sense filly for this year. She also had a nice pedigree update with her half-sister Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) winning the GIII Las Virgenes S. this year.

The family success with Medaglia and her physical match-up with him got her a bump up to the big leagues. Medaglia's stud fee dropping to $100,000 might be the value of the sire ranks this year. While he has lacked the Grade I winners the last couple of years, he still has plenty of graded winners and is still strong commercially.

STUNNING SKY (m, 5, Declaration of War–Sky Walk, by Unbridled's Song), to be bred to Medaglia d'Oro

Stunning Sky is another new addition to the broodmare band. She was a Grade III winner at Keeneland on the turf (in the 2019 Pin Oak Valley View S.). Wasted Tears (Najran), [dam of presumptive champion juvenile Corniche (Quality Road)], showed us this year that a turf filly is not restricted to producing only turf runners herself, and Medaglia himself is a very talented dual-purpose sire. If this mating doesn't produce a dirt runner, Medaglia's stellar record on turf will give every opportunity to produce a runner on the mare's preferred surface.

MIZ KELLA (m, 10, Harlan's Holiday–Steelin', by Orientate)/LIBERTY LADY (m, 8, Bernardini–Steelin', by Orientate) to be bred to Street Sense

These two mares are young sisters to Shanghai Bobby (Harlan's Holiday). Miz Kella can tend to throw foals who are medium sized and maybe lacking a little bit of commercial leg. In spite of that, her foals have sold well, with a $425,000 daughter by Uncle Mo this past September, and they can also run, with her second foal already being the multiple stakes winner Canoodling (Pioneerof the Nile), who just missed out on Grade I black type in the La Brea S. Her yearling filly by Street Sense is physically the nicest she's produced so far and that made the next year's mating decision very straightforward. Street Sense, similar to Curlin, has a very impressive strike rate with Bernardini mares and that made him an easy selection for Liberty Lady. He can be a tricky horse to match a mare to physically and from our experience tends to do better with a smaller, more refined mare similar to Liberty Lady. She had a very nice colt by him for the sales last year that had to be scratched with an X-ray issue, but showed she could produce the right type physically with him and gets another opportunity next year.

EARLYBIRD ROAD (m, 18, Cherokee Run–Kiss N Make Up, by Private Terms), to be bred to Essential Quality

Earlybird Road is a good case study for not giving up on a mare too quickly if her first foals don't look the part. She's also a good example of the importance of diversifying breeding lines in the early years of a mare's career to give her every opportunity to succeed. Her first two foals bred on the Storm Cat line were very disappointing and could easily convince someone to move her on, but she was a stakes winner and well built and we decided to give her a few more tries on different lines, notably Mr. Prospector and A.P. Indy. She is now a multiple stakes producer and her last four foals are the most physically impressive she's had. We like to breed our mid-range proven mares to young incoming sires and Essential Quality is hands down the most exciting and physically impressive sire of the incoming class this year. She had already produced stakes winner and Grade III-placed Strongconstitution on that line and is a beautiful match physically.

Let us know who you're breeding your mares to in 2022, and why. We will print a selection of your responses in TDN over the coming weeks. Please send details to: garyking@thetdn.com.

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Corniche Puts Stonehaven on Ascending Road

We've all seen those old thrillers where the sports car is twisting along a road cut into a coastal cliff, and suddenly one of the wheels is spinning over the sea far below. Well, that's pretty much how it feels when a commercial breeder decides to bring home a Book 1 yearling at $385,000. In both cases, you're putting an awful lot of trust in horsepower, admittedly in its sleekest form, getting you back on the road. Unlike Cary Grant in North By Northwest, however, you don't even have the excuse that someone has first poured a bottle of bourbon down your throat.

In the case of a Quality Road colt offered by Stonehaven Steadings at the 2020 September Sale, on behalf of co-breeder Bart Evans, the road was not just regained, but has opened up a spectacular new vista.

First the team got the de Meric family behind the wheel: Nick de Meric loved the horse, took 30%, thought he'd flourish in their program. Eight months later, after a :10 flat breeze, the September reject topped OBS April at $1.5 million, sold to Speedway Stables (with the ever-sage counsel of Marette Farrell).

Then, a month or so ago, even as the Stonehaven team was preparing their next September consignment, the Quality Road colt made his debut for Bob Baffert at Del Mar. He romped to the crop's highest Beyer to date, an automatic 'TDN Rising Star.'

It was a timely showcase for a farm owned by Jeff and Chiquita Reddoch, and run with the help of their daughter Leah and her husband Aidan O'Meara. The Reddochs had made a flying start at Stonehaven, previously part of Saxony Farm, as breeders of 2012 champion juvenile Shanghai Bobby (Harlan's Holiday). Now here was confirmation that Stonehaven could raise a horse not just to sell for big money, but to run for it too. That can only have encouraged a Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds partnership when, just nine days later, they signed a very similar docket–at $1.55 million–for a Justify colt out of True Feelings (Latent Heat).

All parties could take heart, then, when, last week, Baffert bumped the star graduate of the farm's previous cycle straight into Grade I company for the American Pharoah S. For this colt, of course, is none other than Corniche: cleverly named for precisely those giddy coastal routes, with the elements of engineering and water respectively suggested by Quality Road and the 16-year-old dam Wasted Tears (Najran), who was bred, owned and trained by Evans to win half a dozen graded stakes.

“It's been a long process, since that cold February morning when you had a hold of his front legs pulling him out of his mamma,” reflects O'Meara. “When you've been through that whole process, raising them on the farm, it's always a bittersweet moment when you get back from the sale and see their paddocks standing empty. Yes, you know they've gone into good hands. But even bringing $1.5 million at a 2-year-old sale gives you no guarantee of success. So the way this horse has stood up to every question he's been asked–first going through our program, and then the de Merics', and then to breeze like he did, and now to come through as the kind of racehorse he's turning into–has just been phenomenal to see.”

The problem, last September, had been drawing Hip 10 in a sale so exposed to the unprecedented uncertainties of the pandemic. The partners had to choose: roll with the punches, or hold their ground and fight back?

“Obviously we're biased,” Leah O'Meara accepts. “But we thought we knew what we had. And, honestly, that ended up giving us an opportunity out of what was potentially a pretty bad situation. We're just so thankful that the de Merics had faith in the horse. They did a fantastic job with him, and then Marette and her clients appreciated him for what he was. We did everything we could, but after that there's been a whole group of people that has brought him to where he is now.”

“In some ways, it was a no-brainer,” Aidan O'Meara says. “But at the same time, it was tough to RNA one of your best yearlings, at that kind of money, when you couldn't know what was coming round the corner. So seeing the whole vibe surrounding the horse, when we went down to the sale [in Ocala], was a special moment. Anyone who'd ever bought a serious 2-year-old was vetting him. So of course you start to get excited, but nobody could ever have expected him to go to the point he did.”

For Corniche to vindicate both his price and his upbringing, either side of the auction, vividly compounded the momentum achieved by the farm at the September Sale-when in the top 10 consignors by average, and as high as third among those trading 10 or more yearlings. A gross of $5.6 million for 19 hips sold (of 20 offered) generated an average yield of $294,737.

Besides their big score, they also sold another Justify colt (out of the Bernardini mare Venetian Sonata) in Book 1 for $600,000, and fillies by City Of Light and Uncle Mo for $500,000 and $425,000. And then there was the next yearling out of Corniche's dam, a filly by Mendelssohn, a $750,000 buyout by Evans–a cherished partner since being introduced to the farm by manager Colby Marks.

“I said to Bart, 'You might want to think about buying this one, because you might not get another shot at a filly,'” recalls Jeff Reddoch. “Bart's a legendary horseman himself and has been so great to work with. This was a fantastic filly and we're so proud and happy that he bought her.”

But the headlines went to the colt that brought Justify his first seven-figure sale in the U.S., despite having lurked in Book 2.

“We had these two beautiful Justify colts and really it was a toss of a coin which would go in Book 1,” Aidan O'Meara recalls. “But book placement is a very important part of our decision-making process, and the two of them had dams that were very close alphabetically, T and V, so it was conceivable that we might have found ourselves in the first 20 hips with our two best colts.”

He continued, “So we were very happy to put him in Book 2. I suppose as a little bit the bigger and stronger of the two, he just really blossomed those last two and a half months. And he did show like a beast out there: just this magnificent powerhouse of a walk to him, everybody hanging onto the big beautiful presence. And just got better and better, you could see the class coming out more every day. You never know until you get out there, how they're going to react, especially colts being with a bunch of fillies. But he just thrived on the whole environment.”

One way or another, then, the stars have certainly aligned over Stonehaven this past month. And while the team is far too seasoned to be tempted into any complacency, it does feel like something of a turning point–even if those must be negotiated with care when driving along a corniche!

“It does feel like it's been a watershed month,” concedes Aidan O'Meara. “It's been fantastic, and obviously we're very proud of the crew here. We do try to do things in a particular way, so it feels like a great validation for our program.”

And that's just what is so interesting, whenever things come together for one of many operations all striving to achieve much the same ends. Because everyone, no matter how respectful of the opposition, must believe that they are placing a worthwhile emphasis on something that sets them apart.

Aidan O'Meara responds: “Well, I think the foundation we're working on here is the land, which has a tremendous history. Four champions were raised here before we ever came on the scene, and then we got lucky right out of the gate with Shanghai Bobby. And we're also trying to blend old school horsemanship with the best of what medicine and technology has to offer. At the end of the day, you're trying to raise a racehorse. With the way the sales environment is nowadays, I think people tend to get a little bit paranoid about what might show up on x-rays. Maybe they don't let young horses do what they need to do, living that rough-n-tumble life in the paddocks. We try to do that as much as we can. Okay, so sometimes there might be a little bit of price to pay on an x-ray or two. But that's one worth paying, in the long term, if you want the reputation of a farm that will give you the best possible opportunity of coming out the other end with a racehorse.”

That same priority, “run”, also governs broodmare recruitment.

“We like a filly that has shown stakes caliber on the racetrack,” Aidan O'Meara explains. “Sometimes it won't be super obvious. Like Venetian Sonata, she was a sneaky-good filly: didn't have black-type, but had been right on top of the placings in stakes races, with a huge female family backing her up.”

She was recruited for $170,000 at the 2013 Keeneland January Sale, just a few weeks after True Feelings, runner-up in the GIII Schuylerville S. in her youth, had entered the fold for $210,000 at the November Sale.

“We'll be forgiving enough on a broodmare sire if there's depth to the family, and if the mare had quality on the track herself,” Aidan O'Meara reasons. “And even be fairly forgiving on physique. There's a lot of good mares out there that don't have a particularly pretty front end on them, and we've a couple here that might scare you in the sales ring, but they have thrown fantastic-looking babies.”

Nobody, equally, will be more heedful than Aidan O'Meara of the sire part of the equation. For the Irishman spent 20 years as stallion manager at Hill 'n' Dale before transferring to his in-laws' operation in 2017.

“In some ways it's the biggest factor that comes into it, where the sire is in his career and what he can bring to the table,” he acknowledges. “We like to use higher-end sires to help the younger mares, but also, like everybody else, try to identify the up-and-coming stallions. We bred to Quality Road when he was still $35,000, and Corniche himself was bred off a $70,000 stud fee, and that has obviously skyrocketed since.”

That didn't stop the Lane's End sire being favored as the 2019 mate for Steelin' (Orientate), the dam of Shanghai Bobby. Following the tragic loss of the mare to colic this year, their daughter was deemed far too precious to keep her engagement at the September Sale.

“It was very hard for us all, losing Steelin',” Aidan O'Meara admits. “She was a sweetheart to be around, all class, and basically the foundation mare for the farm. But she's left a huge legacy for us through her daughters and thankfully Miz Kella, her first to have runners, is already a stakes producer.”

Of course, the loss or pensioning of mares in the initial Stonehaven cycle does create scope to upgrade a broodmare band that will be confined, in quantity, to a couple of dozen.

“With a small batch of mares, they've been very good at improving their producing record,” says Jeff Reddoch, applauding his team. “And that improves what you get from the offspring as well. We have nearly 20% stakes horses to runners in our racehorse program.”

Not every graduate will hit the bull's-eye, naturally, and the Stonehaven team goes to exemplary lengths to monitor those that do miss; and to secure their future care, whether on their own farm or via retraining.

“We really want to see the horses taken care of,” Chiquita reddoch insists. “So I always say a prayer when they're on the bid block, 'Please go to someone who'll take good care of them.' Because at the end of the day–at the end of anyone's lives–it's what we did on earth that's important. And these are animals, they do have feelings, and they can't fend for themselves.”

By the same token, Leah O'Meara is a director at TCA; and urging friends and associates to move the Stonehaven team up the Hagyard “Race To Give” chart. As she says: “We have to thank these horses, because they give us everything we have.”

So there's no mistaking this firm's grasp of the mutual dependence of our industry, from their repeated appreciations for their staff to their conviction that if you do the right thing by the horse, everything else falls into place.

Yet this kind of immersion was never remotely in mind for the Reddochs, during their days running an oilfield service business. But luckily their horse-mad daughter chose Midway University, Jeff and Chiquita Reddoch started visiting from Louisiana, and the Bluegrass enchantment gradually did its work.

“We bought a farm and started learning from the bottom up,” says Chiquita Reddoch. “I'm a registered nurse, my husband's an engineer, we really didn't know much about it. But it just kind of snowballed. We didn't plan anything. We worked hard, the way we always have in all our businesses, and put our best foot forward. And now we're just very thankful to have Leah and Aidan and Colby and the boys on the farm, because they're doing a great job and we're so proud and happy to be involved.”

Leah O'Meara can't quite believe how things have unfolded. She has seen so many ventures capsize in this most precarious of industries, and yet now they can dare to sense the possibility of a tangible legacy in the breed. Certainly the left-field pedigree of Wasted Tears has been vindicated afresh, as in her racing days; and Corniche looks eligible to extend her family's influence into future generations.

“I've always said it was about little growth, little growth,” Leah O'Meara says. “And just hoping to keep some progressive momentum. So it almost feels harder to tell my parents. 'Okay, we'll try to do all this again!' They've been part of this business since 2005. They've put a lot into it. So I'm just really thankful they've stuck around, and we've had an opportunity to give them a little payback.”

Jeff Reddoch gives a laugh. “Truth is,” he says, “we don't know how to quit!” But then, more seriously, he stresses the sheer breadth of the team effort, from farriers to feed suppliers to the people who buy their horses. Those, increasingly, can sign their dockets with a firmer hand. But the Reddochs raised Leah O'Meara to that vital compromise between accepting the unknowable workings of destiny, on the one hand, and doing everything within your own compass, on the other.

“We know how tough this business can be,” Leah O'Meara says. “And for these things to happen in such a short time, we know it's pie-in-the-sky. We do just feel incredibly thankful and blessed. We're firm believers that things happen for a reason. All we can do is try to show up every day, do our job, do our part. And just pray that the rest happens. All this is very fulfilling, but we won't be patting ourselves on the back. We just want to be consistent, to keep showing up.”

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Keeneland September’s Third Session Sees $1.7 Million City Of Light Colt New Sale Topper

Enthusiastic bidding for Thoroughbred racing prospects continued Wednesday during the third day of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky., when yearlings by young sires lit up the bid board with colts from the first crops of multiple Grade 1 winner City of Light and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify fetching $1.7 million and $1.55 million, respectively. Young sires were represented by eight of the 10 highest prices of the session.

Woodford Racing, Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds bought the $1.7 million City of Light colt, who is the highest-priced yearling so far in the sale. Talla Racing and West Point teamed to purchase the Justify colt for $1.55 million.

A total of 13 yearlings have sold for $1 million or more during the first three days of the September Sale.

Strong demand fueled healthy results on Wednesday, the first day of the Book 2 catalog. Keeneland recorded gross sales of $60,996,000 for 211 yearlings, for an average of $289,081 and a median of $230,000. Through the first three sessions of the September Sale, a total of 419 yearlings have sold through the ring for $151,618,000, for an average of $361,857 and a median of $290,000.

Wednesday's gross sales were up by 49.3% from the comparable session in 2020, with the average up by 30.9% and median increased by 27.8%. Buybacks declined from 34.4% on day three last year to 25.4% on Wednesday.

“That was amazing – one of the best sale days we have seen in a while,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “Every time you picked your head up, it was another $500,000, $600,000 yearling. There was a lot of optimism and a diverse group of buyers. We had a lot of end users and new money. It was really positive with a great vibe around the grounds. Today should lead to an exciting day tomorrow.

“We found a lot of consistency where the momentum of Book 1 flowed into Book 2 – a confluence of positive things happening all the way through,” Lacy continued. “A lot of people have not been able to buy a horse yet. There is a pent-up demand. They are not going to go home until they fill their orders.

“We call the September Sale the world's yearling sale and it really is. Everybody has been in play.”

“The highlight today was the depth of the market,” Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “Apart from the two million dollar-plus horses, we had 26 others that brought over half a million and they went to a broad base of buyers, particularly domestic demand in today's case. We've seen the new money that we saw in credit applications go to work today. People are excited about what they're buying and they're excited about sticking around. It's a tremendous day.”

Rosilyn Polan's Sunday Morning Farm of Woodford County, Kentucky, consigned the $1.7 million colt, who is out of the Tapit mare Anchorage.

“I have always loved this colt,” said Polan, who bred 2021 Sanford (G3) winner and Hopeful (G1) runner-up Wit and sold him for $575,000 at last year's September Sale. “I have always known he was special, and I knew that people would like him, but usually people like a horse for a certain price. Nobody can ever dream of a million dollars.

“I am so proud of my horse and my crew,” added Polan, who consigned three horses to this year's September Sale. “The mare is my favorite mare – of course anybody would say that now. (This colt) is just a fabulous horse.”

Asked how she would celebrate the achievement, Polan said, “Clean stalls, turn out yearlings, clip ears, feed, go to bed early, get up and ship (my horses) tomorrow (to Keeneland). That's the best part of it, is that it keeps you real.”

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Bill Farish of Woodford Racing said he likes City of Light “a lot. (The yearling colt) is a stunning individual, very strong, good bone colt. A rare type individual. It was a full price, but I knew we were going to have to stretch to get him.”

The colt is the first acquisition for the Woodford, Talla, West Point partnership. On Tuesday, Woodford and West Point purchased the $1.6 million session topper, a Quality Road colt who is a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Girvin and classic-placed Midnight Bourbon.

Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds acquired the $1.55 million Justify colt who is from the family of champion Wait a While. A half-sister to stakes winner Feeling Mischief, he is out of the stakes-winning Latent Heat mare True Feelings.

“We have a team together: (trainer) John Sadler, (agent) David Ingordo and West Point Thoroughbreds,” Mike Talla said. “We had had our eye on two or three of them and kept getting outbid. So finally, we had to make a stand somewhere. We really liked this one, so we went in for him. We'll know next year if we made a mistake or not. Let's talk next summer.”

The purchases were especially memorable to Terry Finley, West Point's Founder and President.

“After 30 years, I think about when I first came here, and I thought it was the best thing in the world when we bought a horse for $12,000,” Finley said. “And now, we get a shot to buy horses like this with great partners and great people. It's just incredible. We've worked hard to evolve, and we're just part of a team. We like to think we're good partners, and we bring on good partners. We all do our own thing, and it's a special thing. These horses are very hard to buy, and I just couldn't do it without an immense amount of support and people who are in a position to take chunks.

“You just start dreaming with these kind of horses, and just hope you get lucky.”

Stonehaven Steadings consigned the $1.55 million Justify colt and 10 hips later sold a $750,000 filly from the first crop of Grade 1 winner Mendelssohn out of Grade 2 winner Wasted Tears, by Najran, as agent for Bart Evans and Stonehaven Steadings.

B.B.E. purchased the $750,000 filly, whose 2-year-old half-brother, Corniche, won his Sept. 4 debut at Del Mar by 4¼ lengths. Her 4-year-old half-sister, Look Me Over, scored a 3½-length win in an allowance race at Ellis Park on July 25.

“Probably the most exciting thing I have experienced in this business,” Stonehaven Steadings Director of Bloodstock and Client Development Aidan O'Meara said about the sales. “We were high on them all along. There was a huge update for the filly. The (Justify) colt has been one of our top two colts all along, but he really blossomed in the last two months. He was a class act all the way through. He improved every day and you could feel the momentum building with the serious players getting involved.”

“(Right now) I am flabbergasted and shocked and overwhelmed about the whole thing. We certainly weren't expecting those kinds of results. We had aggressive reserves but they blew past them by 200 percent. You dream of a day like this with two quality horses back to back.”

A colt by Gun Runner from the family of champion Untapable sold for $975,000 to West Bloodstock, agent for Repole Stable and St. Elias. Consigned by Gainesway, agent, the colt is out of Untapable's full sister Time to Tap, by Tapit. The family also includes Grade 1 winner and sire Paddy O'Prado, Grade 2 winner Fun House and Grade 3 winner Majestic Eagle.

“He's by Gun Runner – probably can't name a hotter stallion or a stallion that's gotten off to a hotter start than him,” Jacob West said. “And (this colt) looks a lot like his dad. The whole team loved him.

“He was kind of the 'talking horse.' We had a pretty good idea that he was going to cost a lot of money, but that was right about what we thought he would bring. We knew we were going to have to fight off some pretty serious competition, and I'm just glad we got him.”

West said the colt would go to trainer Todd Pletcher.

Gainesway was the session's leading consignor, selling 21 horses for $7.9 million. They included three of the day's 10 highest-priced yearlings.

Gainesway, agent, sold a $900,000 filly from the first crop of Mendelssohn whose dam, the Discreet Cat mare Acrobatique is a half-sister to champion Covfefe and Japanese Group 2 winner Albiano. She sold to Solis/Litt, agent.

Another notable sale for Gainesway occurred when Maverick Racing paid $800,000 for a colt by Quality Road who is the first foal of Grade 1-placed stakes winner Cherry Lodge, by Bernardini. The colt's family includes Canadian champion Curlin's Voyage, Grade 1 winner Stormello, Grade 2 winner My Best Brother and Grade 3 winner Gala Award.

Courtlandt Farm purchased a colt by Gun Runner out of Grade 2 winner Broadway's Alibi, by Vindication for $875,000. He was consigned by Lane's End, agent.

Agent Donato Lanni signed the tickets for two high-priced horses offered consecutively in the ring.

For SF Bloodstock/Starlight/Madaket, he paid $850,000 for a colt by Curlin whose 2-year-old half-brother, My Prankster, won his career debut by 10 lengths at Saratoga on Aug. 21. Consigned by Summerfield, agent for Stonestreet Bred & Raised, the colt is out of Grade 2 winner My Wandy's Girl, by Flower Alley.

“Very well-bred horse,” Tom Ryan of SF Bloodstock said. “By Curlin, a stallion we really admire, out of a mare that looks like she has a chance to be a very good mare at this point. My Prankster looks like a good colt.

“We definitely noticed the 2-year-old winning as well as he did. We admired him at last year's yearling sale. This colt looks like a very nice two-turn colt.”

For Charles and Susan Chu's Baoma Corp., Lanni paid $825,000 for the yearling that preceded the Curlin colt, a filly by Quality Road who is the first foal of stakes winner My Miss Chiff, by Into Mischief. She was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Town & Country Horse Farms.

“Beautiful,” Lanni said. “She was just a real quiet filly, really well-made, like a good runner.”

Lanni, agent for SF Bloodstock/Starlight/Madaket also paid $775,000 for a colt from the first crop of champion Good Magic consigned by Woods Edge Farm, agent; $675,000 for a son of Uncle Mo consigned by Gainesway, agent, and $440,000 for a Twirling Candy colt consigned by Clearsky Farms, agent.

By spending $2.74 million for the four yearlings, Lanni, agent for SF Bloodstock/Starlight/Madaket, was the session's leading buyer.

The fourth session of the September Sale, which marks the conclusion of the two-day Book 2, begins tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET. TVG2 will have live coverage of the session from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The entire sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.

The September Sale runs through Sept. 24.

The post Keeneland September’s Third Session Sees $1.7 Million City Of Light Colt New Sale Topper appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Fireworks As Keeneland Book 2 Opens

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis

LEXINGTON, KY – Bidding was fast and frenetic when the first of two Book 2 sessions of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened Wednesday in Lexington, producing the auction's highest-priced offering yet when a colt by City of Light (hip 612) sold for $1.7 million to the partnership of Woodford Racing, Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds.

“That was amazing,” an ebullient Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said at the close of business Wednesday. “That was one of the best sale days we've seen in a while. Every time you picked up your head, there was a horse selling for $500,000 or $600,000.”

During the session, 211 yearlings sold for $60,996,000. The session average was $289,081–up 30.88% from the corresponding 2020 session–and the median was up 27.78% to $230,000. Of the 350 catalogued lots, 283 went through the ring and, with just 72 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 25.44%.

Through three sessions, 419 yearlings have sold for $151,618,000 for an average of $361,857 and a median of $290,000.

A year ago at this point in the sale, 394 yearlings had sold for $126,076,000. The cumulative average was $319,990 and the median was $250,000.

The September Sale results sheets continued to be punctuated by a diverse buying bench, with seven different buyers purchasing the day's top 10 lots from seven different consignors.

“I think the highlight for me is the depth of the market,” said Keeneland's director of sales operations Cormac Breathnach. “Aside from the million-dollar horses, we had 26 bring over half a million. They went to a very broad base of buyers, particularly domestic demand in today's case. We saw the new money go to work today. People are excited about what they are buying and are sticking around.”

The $1.7-million yearling, who could become the first from Book 2 and the first by a first-crop sire to top the September Sale in at least the last decade, was one of two to bring seven figures during the session. Mike Talla and West Point Thoroughbreds also teamed up to purchase the first North American million-dollar colt by Triple Crown winner Justify for $1.55 million. Woodford Racing and West Point had made the auction's previous top bid of $1.6 million when purchasing a son of City of Light's sire Quality Road Tuesday.

First-crop sire City of Light has been on fire at Keeneland September, accounting for a pair of million-dollar colts. Through the first three sessions, 19 yearlings by that Lane's End stallion sold for a gross of $9,315,000 and an average of $490,263. City of Light's sire and fellow Lane's End resident Quality Road was also responsible for a pair of seven-figure colts. Overall, 25 Quality Road yearlings have sold for $13.47 million with an average of $538,800.

Seven of the top 10 sellers Wednesday were from the first or second crops of their young sires and the top two lots were rewarding smaller breeders. Rosilyn Polan's Sunday Morning Farm was responsible for the $1.7-million colt and Jeff and Chiquita Reddoch's Stonehaven Steadings sold the $1.55-million colt.

“The two top prices today were homebreds from smaller breeders,” Lacy said. “That is a real score.”

While some sellers seem to be eschewing the boutique Book 1 section of the September sale for an increasingly competitive Book 2, Lacy said he thinks the reality is that Book 1 continues to attract top money. Lacy pointed out that the Book 1 median was $350,000, compared to Book 2's current median of $230,000.

“Book 1 is where the money is at,” Lacy said. “It does drop off, but you probably get more consistency through certain parts of [Book 2]. Book 1 gets a bad rap in certain ways. I thought yesterday was amazing, but today the clearance rate probably made it even better.”

Breathnach expects to see competitive bidding continue as Book 2 concludes with its second session Thursday.

“This [momentum] is hopefully going to last for a while because there are a lot of people here who haven't bought a horse yet and there is that whole second week [of buyers], who maybe haven't arrived yet. We are pretty optimistic about how this is going to see through to the end of the sale, but today was a great day for sure.”

The Keeneland September sale continues Thursday at 11 a.m. Following a dark day Friday, the auction runs through Sept. 24 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Polan Hits One Out of the Park

Rosilyn Polan, who sold future graded stakes winner Wit (Practical Joke) for $575,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale, shot past that previous personal best when a colt by City of Light brought a sale-topping final bid of $1.7 million from the partnership of Woodford Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and Mike Talla.

“I can't even imagine how much money that is,” said Polan as she was bombarded by well wishers while walking back to her Barn 37. Larry Best, smiling broadly, bound over to congratulate the petite consignor, while consignor Chris Baccari shouted over, “You're the woman.”

The seven-figure yearling is out of Anchorage (Tapit), a mare Polan purchased privately four years ago.

“She is my favorite,” Polan admitted of Anchorage. “I know I have the dam of Wit, but I love her. And I have always had a lot of confidence in this colt. He was the first foal born on my farm last year and from that minute, I knew he was special.”

Anchorage has a weanling filly by Omaha Beach and was bred back to Game Winner.

Of the decision to send the multiple-stakes placed mare to City of Light, Polan explained, “It was a no-brainer. I booked sight unseen because he wasn't at the farm when I was there. He was at the racetrack. One of the guys said, 'I have a picture of him on the racetrack.' So he showed me on his phone and when I saw that beautiful big rear end, I said that was enough. I actually bred the dam of Wit [Numero d'Oro] back to City of Light.”

Polan has eight mares at her Sunday Morning Farm and credited her two-person team on the farm with preparing the colt for his sales success Wednesday.

Asked how she would celebrate the milestone sale, Polan said, “Clean stalls, turn out yearlings, clip ears, go to bed early and get up and ship tomorrow. I never have a bad day. I don't. My horses… you know there's always challenges. There's always death or sickness … but I'm always looking forward. They just fill me up. I'm still having fun. So now I'm going to have more fun.” @JessMartiniTDN

Talla, West Point Make a Statement

Mike Talla and West Point Thoroughbreds' Terry Finley, bidding out back, created the first fireworks of Wednesday's third session of the Keeneland September sale when going to $1.55 million to secure a son of Justify (hip 580), but the two men were far from done. Joined by Woodford Racing's Bill Farish just about a half-hour later, the duo went to a sale-topping $1.7 million to acquire a colt by City of Light (hip 612). Both colts will be heading west to the barn of John Sadler, who trains GI Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) for Talla and Hronis Racing and undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit) for West Point, Hronis Racing, Summer Wind Equine and Siena Farm.

“It was a full price but I knew we were going to have to stretch to get him,” Farish, whose family's Lane's End stands City of Light, said of the colt. “This horse could have been in Book 1 as easily as he is in Book 2. You can't let that cloud your judgment. He was a Book 1 type, no question about it. One horse doesn't determine the whole market, but he was exceptional.”

Woodford Racing and West Point teamed up to purchase a $1.6-million Quality Road colt during Tuesday's second session of the Keeneland sale.

“There aren't that many horses who give you that truly good feel that you're looking at an extremely good prospect,” said Finley. “There were a couple today that we bought that gave us that feel. It's good to have partners and to be in a position where we could take some swings at really good prospects like this.”

Of the increasing presence of partnerships at the top of the results sheets, Finley said, “These horses are very hard to buy, and I just couldn't do it without an immense amount of support and people who are in a position to take chunks. I don't necessarily abide by the notion that these partnerships are bad for the sellers, because oftentimes, you might get two of these groups [that bid against each other]. So everything evens out. You can't mess with the market. The market is what the market is.”

Talla, who made it to this year's GI Kentucky Derby with Rock Your World, is the co-founder of The Sports Club Company.

“We have a team together, John Sadler, David Ingordo and West Point Thoroughbreds,” Talla said after signing the ticket on the Justify colt. “We had our eye on two or three of them and we kept getting outbid. We had to make a stand somewhere and we really liked this one, so we went in for it. We will know next year if we made a mistake or not. Let's talk next summer and see if we are glad if we bought him or not.”

Talla also teamed with West Point to purchase a City of Light filly (hip 451) for $500,000.

Looking ahead, Finley said, “You just start dreaming with these kind of horses, and just hope you get lucky.” @JessMartiniTDN

Stonehaven Steadings Flexes Its Muscles

Jeff and Chiquita Reddoch's Stonehaven Steadings had its first million-dollar sale when, in partnership with de Meric Sales, it sold a Quality Road filly for a sale-topping $1.5 million at this year's OBS April sale. The operation enjoyed a second million-dollar transaction Wednesday at Keeneland when its homebred colt by Justify (hip 580) sold for $1.55 million to Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds.

“Unreal. Just completely unreal,” Stonehaven Steadings' Leah O'Meara said after the colt left the sales ring. “The de Merics sold that horse down in Florida. While we still owned a large piece of him, they did that. This one was ours. It was really nice for our team. I can't wait to go back to the barn and celebrate with them.”

The bay yearling is out of graded-placed True Feelings (Latent Heat), a mare the Reddochs purchased for $210,000 at the 2012 Keeneland November sale. The mare is the dam of multiple stakes winner Feeling Mischief (Into Mischief) and graded-placed Royal Act (American Pharoah). She produced a Quality Road colt this year.

“We had two Justifys and we decided to split them up and put one in Book 1 and one in Book 2,” O'Meara said. “They were different types, both nice stretchy colts, but two different types. We thought highly of both of them, but you never know when you come out here who is going to be received the best. [Hip 580] was an absolute monster at the farm and he showed like a complete professional through every show. He never got tired. The colt we had in Book 1 [hip 224 who sold for $600,000] was lovely, but there were a lot of big-priced Justifys, so maybe it helped to be in Book 2. But I think this colt would have stood out anyway.”

The OBS April topper, now named Corniche, was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following a debut victory at Del Mar for Speedway Stables and trainer Bob Baffert. Ten hips after selling the $1.55-million son of Justify, Stonehaven Steadings sold that filly's half-sister by Mendelssohn (hip 590) for $750,000 to her co-breeder Bart Evans.

“It was probably the most exciting thing I have experienced in this business,” Stonehaven Steadings' Aidan O'Meara said after watching the two yearlings go through the ring. “We are excited for everybody on the [farm and sales] team. It is a credit to them and their horsemanship. It might be one of the best crews in Kentucky for a farm of our size.”

Of the yearlings, O'Meara said, “We were high on them all along. There was a huge update for the filly. The colt has been one of our top two colts all along, but he really blossomed in the last two months. When you get here to the sale, some horses go in the opposite direction and some of them bloom and thrive and change. He is a big magnificent-striding horse. He was a class act all the way through. He improved every day and you could feel the momentum building with the serious players and the [veterinarians] getting involved.”

Stonehaven Steadings completed a highly profitable day at Keeneland Wednesday with a filly by City of Light (hip 645) who sold for $500,000 to West Point Thoroughbreds, Robert Masiello and Scarlet Oak Racing. The bay yearling is out of Canny (Big Brown), who was claimed for $15,000 at Fair Grounds in 2019. @JessMartiniTDN

Gun Runner, the Gift That Keeps on Giving for Winchell

Gun Runner carried the Winchell Thoroughbred colors to 12 victories and just shy of $16 million in earnings and has proven equally talented in the breeding shed. The chestnut shot to the top of the freshman sire rankings with a pair of Grade I winners at Saratoga, both of whom are owned and bred or co-owned by Winchell.

The Three Chimneys stallion provided his part-owner with another success Wednesday when a Winchell-bred son of Gun Runner (hip 574) summoned $975,000 from Jacob West, acting on behalf of Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable.

“He was a really nice colt,” said Winchell. “I wanted to stay in on him. That probably won't happen at this point. I like to support our horses.”

Winchell was quick to thank West, who pointed to trainer Todd Pletcher and said, “You need to thank that guy right there.”

“You probably can't name a hotter stallion or a stallion that has gotten off to a hotter start than him,” West said of Gun Runner. “The colt looks like his dad. The whole team loved him. He is by Gun Runner and out of a Tapit mare and that is a pretty good combo, we hope. You can't get any hotter with the stallion or the broodmare sire. We are excited to get him.”

As for the price, West said, “He was kind of the talking horse around. So, we knew he'd bring good money. That was right about what we thought he would bring. We knew we were going to have to fight off some pretty serious competition.”

Hip 574 is out of the unraced Time to Tap (Tapit), who is a full-sister to Winchell's champion filly and GI Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable. A half to Grade I-winning stallion Paddy O'Prado (El Prado {Ire}), Untapable is a daughter of GSW Fun House (Prized).

Fourteen Gun Runners yearlings have sold through the first three days for a total of $5.845 million and average of $417,500.

—@CDeBernardisTDN

Mendelssohn Filly to LNJ Foxwoods

A filly from the first crop of Grade I winner Mendelssohn (hip 603) will be joining the roster of the Roth family's LNJ Foxwoods after selling for $900,000 to the bid of bloodstock agents Jason Litt and Alex Solis Wednesday at Keeneland.

The filly is out of the unraced Acrobatique (Discreet Cat), who is a half-sister to LNJ Foxwoods' champion Covfefe (Into Mischief). She was consigned by Gainesway on behalf of breeder Alexander-Groves Thoroughreds.

“Of course the pedigree is there, but the physical is there too and she was awesome the whole time,” Solis said. “She stands up conformationally. She has a great walk on her and a lot of body. She looks fast.”

Of the power-packed opening session of Book 2, Solis said, “It's been really strong. We loved the Quality Road filly that Donato bought earlier in the day and when she brought $850,000, I knew this was probably going to be more.” @JessMartiniTDN

Courtlandt Strikes for Gun Runner

Don and Donna Adam's Courtlandt Farm was very active in Book 1 and made their presence known late in the opening session of Book 2 when going to $875,000 for a colt by leading freshman sire Gun Runner (hip 679). Lane's End consigned the filly for Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stables.

“We liked everything about that colt,” said Courtlandt Farm manager Ernie Retamoza, while seated alongside former Lane's End farm manager Mike Cline, who was also sporting a Courtlandt Farm hat. “He was a great physical. The way the Gun Runners are coming out running, they are tough to buy. You saw what we had to give for him, but we are glad we got it done.”

Reynolds Bell went to $2.15 million to secure hip 679's second dam, MGSW & GISP Broadway's Alibi (Vindication), on Clay's behalf, carrying a foal by Smart Strike at the 2013 Keeneland November Sale. The resulting foal was the colt's dam, the unraced Distorted Lies (Smart Strike). Broadway's Alibi is a half-sister to MGSW Golden Lad (Medaglia d'Oro) and MSW & GISP R Gypsy Gold (Bernardini). This is also the family of GISW sire Dialed In.

Courtlandt Farm has purchased a total of 10 yearlings through the first three sessions for $6.175 million. —@CDeBernardisTDN

SF/Starlight/Madaket Partners Stay Busy

The stallion-making partnership of SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables continued its busy buying pace during Wednesday's third session of the Keeneland September sale, going to $850,000 to acquire a colt by Curlin (hip 466). The yearling was consigned by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck's Summerfield on behalf of breeder Stonestreet.

“He's a very well-bred horse. He's by Curlin, a stallion we really admire and out of a mare that looks like she has the potential to be a very good mare at this point,” said SF's Tom Ryan.

The chestnut colt is out of graded stakes winner My Wandy's Girl (Flower Alley), who won the GII Barbara Fritchie H. before being purchased by Stonestreet for $700,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale.

Her 2-year-old colt My Prankster (Into Mischief), who sold for $600,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase, romped home a 10-length debut winner at Saratoga Aug. 21 for Robert and Lawana Low and was named a 'TDN Rising Star'.

“My Prankster looks like a good colt,” Ryan said. “We definitely noticed the 2-year-old winning as well as he did and we admired him last year at the yearling sale. This colt looks like a very nice two-turn colt. He'll go to California to Bob Baffert.”

The partnership's four purchases Wednesday also included a $775,000 colt by Good Magic (hip 607), a $675,000 son of Uncle Mo (hip 573), and a $440,000 colt by Twirling Candy (hip 560).

Through three days, the group has purchased 10 yearlings for $6,265,000.

Another emerging partnership making a big impact at the September sale is the BSW/Crow Colts Group, which purchased 10 lots Wednesday for $2,605,000. Through three sessions, bloodstock agents Liz Crow and Brad Weisbord, bidding alongside trainer Brad Cox, have purchased 13 yearlings for the partnership for a total of $3,955,000. @JessMartiniTDN

Quality Sale For Town & Country Farms

Town & Country Farms had a strong showing in Book 1 of Keeneland September, selling an $850,000 Into Mischief colt (hip 53) and a $350,000 Quality Road (hip 113), and Louise Courtelis's operation sparked the first fireworks of Book 2 when their homebred filly by Quality Road (Hip 465) summoned $825,000 from Donato Lanni, acting on behalf of Susan and Charlie Chu's Baoma Corp. The filly was consigned by Taylor Made.

“She has been very lucky with fillies,” said Lanni of Susan Chu, who has campaigned Grade I-winning fillies Bast (Uncle Mo) and Varda (Distorted Humor). “She is a very fun owner. She and Charlie are very game. Hopefully she is like the other good fillies that we have had for her. They are really good people to work for.”

He continued, “[Hip 465] is just beautiful. She is a quiet filly, well made and has everything we wanted.”

Hip 465 is the first foal out of MSW & GSP My Miss Chiff (Into Mischief), a half-sister to MSW Silvercents (Goldencents). A $110,000 FTKJUL purchase by King's Equine, she carried the Town & Country silks to four wins from nine starts and just under $200,000 in earnings.

“Shannon [Potter] picked her out and flew all over to see her run and always believed in her,” said Kiki Courtelis, President of Town & Country, referring to the farm's CEO.

“She's a great mama,” said Potter. “She's been very good to us. That filly was really special, especially for a first foal. She checked all the boxes for everyone. She had a big walk to her. We thought breeding her to Quality Road might have been a stretch in stud fee, but she has paid us back tenfold from the time we raced her all the way up to selling the first baby out of her.”

He added, “This baby has gotten better and better. She was always a good foal. It was great.”

Lanni also purchased Town & Country's $850,000 Into Mischief colt for the group known as the Avengers. The colt was out of GSP Majestic Presence (Majestic Warrior).

“We sold another one for $850,000,” Potter said. “That was probably 1 and 1A for the crop that we had going through. I thought the Into Mischief colt was the best colt that we have raised at Town & Country so far. Martine is our yearling guy and he is one of a kind. He has a special hand with horses and whenever he hooks on one and really likes it, we know it is the real deal.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

City of Light's Connections Strike For One of His Daughters

City of Light's trainer Michael McCarthy signed the $750,000 ticket on a filly (hip 636) from his initial crop on behalf of the stallion's owners Mr. & Mrs. William K. Warren. McCarthy was also the underbidder on the $1.7-million City of Light colt who is the current sale topper.

“I loved this filly,” McCarthy said. “I saw her the other day and have been thinking about her for the last 24 hours. We tried earlier on the [sale topper]. We went a fair ways with him. We were unlucky, but he has obviously gone to a good home. This filly reminds me of the filly we purchased in Saratoga.”

The conditioner continued, “[The City of Lights] have plenty of scope, plenty of class. She showed herself wonderfully in the back ring. She took it all in. It's amazing. You are so close to them for so many years and then you try to jump back in. They are in so demand. We are grateful to have to pay a premium. She has good residual value.”

Hip 636 is out of Birdie Birdie (El Prado {Ire}), who breeder and consignor Nursery Place purchased for $160,000 carrying a Twirling Candy foal at the 2016 KEENOV sale. She is also responsible for MGSW Free Rose (Munnings) and SP Sylven Park (Wildcat Heir).

McCarthy has been pleased to see such a high demand for the offspring of City of Light both this week and at last month's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

“It is wonderful to see,” McCarthy said. “It is always nice to play a small part in a horse like him and I am glad to see he is carrying it on in his second career.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Evans Buys Out Partner on Mendelssohn Filly

Bart Evans teamed up with Stonehaven Steadings to breed a Mendolssohn filly out of his MGSW & GISP-placed mare Wasted Tears (Najran) (hip 590). He loved her so much he couldn't part with her, going to $750,000 to buy out his partners.

“I liked the mare,” Evans said. “I raised her, trained her, ran her and bred her. I don't have a filly out of her. She had one we had to put down this year and now she is going to be 17. I want the blood and I liked her. She reminds me of her mother with her attitude and her looks.”

Evans purchased Wasted Tears's dam Wishes and Roses (Greinton {GB}) for just $20,000 at Keeneland September back in 1992. Wasted Tears won 12 of her 22 starts–with half of those wins coming in graded stakes–for her owner/breeder/ trainer and earned $941,463. Wasted Tears is also the dam of $1.5-million OBS April topper Corniche (Quality Road), who romped to 'TDN Rising Star'-dom on debut at Del Mar Sept. 4.

This is the first crop for GISW Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy), who was a $3-million KEESEP topper and is a half-sibling to future Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes) and superstar sire Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday). Another Mendelssohn summoned $900,000 from Solis/Litt just a few hips later (hip 603).

“I like Mendelssohn,” said Evans. “I saw him when they got him and, my God, I think he was the best-looking horse I've ever seen. They took him all over the world. I looked at all the Mendelssohns I could to see how they are, but she showed more of her mother than they did.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

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