Liz Crow: “I really liked the Improbables at the OBS March breeze show. It's very sad that he passed away. I thought he had, overall, the most impressive breeze show. That doesn't always indicate who's going to be the leading freshman sire, but I have found in the past that it's a good model that tells you the horse is going in the right direction and that they have some 2-year-old speed. Overall, I was very impressed with his horses. Volatile is my sleeper pick. He had, overall, a good breeze show as well. And he bred a lot of mares, something around 180. I landed on quite a few of them that had nice works and he was speedy himself and, being by Violence, comes from a good line of 2 year olds. With the number of mares he had and with the solid breeze show he had I rank him high on the list.”

Phil Hager: “In terms of the quality that I've seen so far it's a toss-up between Authentic and McKinzie. A lot of the Authentics I have seen look really nice. Some look like they could be early, but a lot of them look like horses that can go on and go two turns. The McKinzies look like they might develop a little later in the year, but they seem to have a lot of quality. Both were well supported and will go to a lot of good trainers. My sleeper is Caracaro. That horse could run. I used to work at Crestwood, so I knew the horse's story. He had quite a few that worked really well at the March sale. I don't know if that was a surprise, but they were consistent.”

Mike McMahon: “McKinzie is my pick. I've owned three or four already. Not only were they in demand at the sales but they were all good looking horses. I haven't had a bad one yet. The one we bought to go racing with, if all is right, he will be pretty exceptional. I feel like I have a good group of McKinzies and have a good feel for them. His 2 year olds breezed just as well as they were supposed to.  My sleeper is Vekoma. It's a tough choice because I like several stallions that stand for $10,000 or less and are real bargains. Vekoma has the speed to be a sire, the sire line and the pedigree. I've loved the ones we have been around.”

Jon Green: “I was most impressed with the Improbables. His passing is unfortunate. He had a couple of horses who were on our short list for the 2-year-old sale and last year we saw 10 to 12 of his yearlings that we liked at the yearling sales. I think he will be an outstanding freshman sire. The sleeper is Tom's d'Etat. We bought two of his yearlings and I got outbid on one at the March sale. He won't be a juvenile stallion that throws precocious 2 year olds. Just like him, as they get older. I think you'll see them hitting the winner's circle in graded stakes.They will get better with age.”

Connor Foley: Based on what I saw at the OBS sale, my pick for leading freshman sire would be Tiz the Law.  They breezed well enough as a group and I thought they all had a lot of race-horse characteristics to them. Horses can breeze fast, but you still have to ask yourself the question, are they going to go on to be good race horses? They had that look to me. For my sleeper pick, I was impressed by the horses by Thousand Words.”

Zoe Cadman: “Volatile is my pick for leading freshman sire. Like last year's freshman sire Mitole, Volatile was also brilliantly fast and trained by one of the masters of the game in Steve Asmussen. How he ever paid $20 to win on debut is just beyond me. He was brilliantly fast and being out of an Unbridled's Song mare I see no reason why his babies won't go two turns . They made a great showing at the recently concluded OBS 2-year-old sales showing not only class, which is so important, but also some stretch and athleticism. Marette Farrell, who I work closely with at the sales, scooped one up out of the Lothenbach dispersal who we absolutely love. My under-the-radar pick was going to be Vekoma. But his 2-year-olds are no longer a secret. The were incredibly well received at both the yearling sales and at OBS March. The Farrell team bid on and secured several. So, I'm going with Complexity who stands for $12,500 at Airdrie stud, as my sleeper. He has it all. He was a Grade I winner at two and also the Kelso winner at four. His 2 year olds looked great skipping over the OBS surface and I am looking forward to seeing them hit the racetrack soon.”

Mark Casse: “I have to go with War of Will, who I trained. I have something like 20 of his offspring and they're training very well.  They're going to be very versatile. He was a versatile horse who could run on dirt or grass. My sleeper is Win Win Win. The horses by him have been very impressive on the track.”

David Ingordo: “I have to go with Game Winner. He was 2-year-old champion and he got a good book of mares. They look the part. We got a bunch of them that we bought to race that act precocious, but also high class, not cheap. He's my No. 1 pick. My sleeper is Honor A.P. I don't think they'll win going 4 ½ furlongs by any means, but you have the A.P. Indy line that is not Tapit. He was precocious enough, but I think he'll be a source of Classic type blood. I can see him getting a horse in the Breeders' Cup Classic or, earlier on, him getting a 2-year old in races like the American Pharoah and the Breeders' Futurity.”

Terry Finley: We have a couple of Game Winners we like and I know people liked him in Ocala. The McKinzies look like they have a lot of quality to them. I was very impressed with him at the yearling sales and at Ocala, where they sold well. He's got a good shot to come up with a big one and a horse who is going to slant those stats. I like them both but I'll go with Game Winner as my top pick and McKinzie as my sleeper.

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“Lovely filly. Solid bone,” said Kenny Toye, manager of Waldorf Farm. “Excited for her owners and happy to have some more Smart Strike blood in New York.”

Tom's d'Etat won the 2019 GI Clark S. and 2020 GII Stephen Foster S. On the board in 15 of 20 starts, he won 11 times and earned $1,762,272.

Tom's d'Etat is standing his second season at stud for $12,500 S&N

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Stallions will be available for inspection by appointment from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. during the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale, Oct. 25-28.

“Our 2022 roster is suited for breeders at every level,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. “Speightstown, Constitution, and More Than Ready continue to provide breeders with options from prolific sire lines that American racing thrives on. We have young, exciting Grade 1-winning stallions, including Improbable, Audible, Yoshida, Tom's d'Etat, and Global Campaign who all have the potential to be top sires and lead the new generation of stallions at WinStar. We also have proven sires like Paynter and Take Charge Indy who provide value with the possibility of getting a racehorse at the highest level.”

Perennial leading sire Speightstown, a top three general sire again with progeny earnings of $13,442,775 thus far in 2021, is represented on the track this season by Lexitonian, winner of the $350,000 Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap; Flagstaff, winner of the $500,000 G1 Churchill Downs Stakes and the $200,000 G3 Commonwealth Stakes, and undefeated 3-year-old filly Carribean Caper, winner of five consecutive races, including the $275,000 G3 Dogwood Stakes. Speightstown has sired 22 Grade 1 winners on every surface, from six furlongs to 1 1/4 miles all over the world.

Constitution, sire of last year's Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law from his first crop, is the top-ranked third-crop sire this year with progeny earnings of $8,003,426, 29 black type horses, and four graded stakes winners. He is the sire of 2-year-old stakes winner Major General, winner of the $300,000 G3 Iroquois Stakes; Warrant, winner of the $400,000 G3 Oklahoma Derby; Promise Keeper, winner of the $200,000 G3 Peter Pan Stakes, and multiple stakes winner Americanrevolution, who most recently finished a rallying third in the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby.

The legendary More Than Ready will stand the upcoming breeding season for $50,000 S&N. With 212 black type winners—only Galileo and Sadler's Wells have more—More Than Ready also has more Breeders' Cup wins than any other sire in history with seven.

More Than Ready stands poised to add to that total at this year's Breeders' Cup with four juvenile stakes winners in 2021—Slipstream, winner of the $150,000 G3 Futurity Stakes, Bubble Rock, victorious in the $150,000 G3 Matron Stakes, Consumer Spending, winner of the $150,000 Selima Stakes at Laurel, and Koala Princess, winner of the $500,000 Ainsworth Stakes at Kentucky Downs—all under consideration for racing's championship event. More Than Ready is the only sire to have an Eclipse Award champion each of the last four years, and he added a new Grade 1 winner this year in Hit the Road, winner of the G1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile.

With first foals on the way in 2022, Improbable, the 2020 Eclipse champion older male, will stand his second season at stud for $35,000 S&N. Undefeated at two and a spectacular five-length winner of the G1 Los Alamitos Futurity, Improbable rattled off three consecutive Grade 1 victories in 2020, winning the G1 Awesome Again Stakes with a 108 Beyer Speed Figure, the G1 Whitney Stakes in a 106 Beyer, and the G1 Hollywood Gold Cup with a 105 Beyer. By City Zip, Improbable is from the immediate female family of Hard Spun.

Audible, WinStar's most popular first-year sire ever having bred more than 400 mares in his first two years at stud, will stand for $22,500 S&N. The handsome son of Into Mischief was a dominant three-length winner of the $1 million G1 Florida Derby and was a 5 1/2-length winner of the $350,000 G2 Holy Bull Stakes in his stakes debut and with a final time of 1:41.92, he was the fastest winner of the race in the last eight years. Audible will have first yearlings in 2022.

Paynter, who is currently ranked eighth on the general sires list with progeny earnings of $9,679,227, will stand for $7,500. That fee, however, is only guaranteed through the Breeders' Cup where Paynter's son, Knicks Go, the top-ranked horse on the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll and a four-time Grade 1 winner, is the likely favorite for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 2022 roster of stallions and fees (subject to change) for WinStar Farm are as follows:

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Among notable changes on the 18-horse roster, More Than Ready gets a trim from $65,000 to $50,000.

“Our 2022 roster is suited for breeders at every level,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. “Speightstown, Constitution, and More Than Ready continue to provide breeders with options from prolific sire lines that American racing thrives on. We have young, exciting Grade I-winning stallions, including Improbable, Audible, Yoshida (Jpn), Tom's d'Etat, and Global Campaign, who all have the potential to be top sires and lead the new generation of stallions at WinStar. We also have proven sires like Paynter and Take Charge Indy, who provide value with the possibility of getting a racehorse at the highest level.”

Speightstown, currently the third-leading general sire on the TDN sire list with progeny earnings of $13,443,275 thus far in 2021, has been represented on the track this season by Lexitonian, winner of the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H.; Flagstaff, winner of the GI Churchill Downs S. and the GIII Commonwealth S.; and undefeated 3-year-old filly and 'TDN Rising Star' Carribean Caper, winner of five consecutive races, including the GIII Dogwood S. Speightstown has sired 21 Grade I Northern Hemisphere-foaled winners on every surface, from six furlongs to 1 1/4 miles all over the world, and one Southern Hemisphere-foaled Grade I winner.

Constitution, sire of last year's GI Belmont S. winner Tiz the Law from his first crop, is the second-leading third-crop sire in North America this year on the TDN sire list with progeny earnings of $8,282,355, 29 black-type horses, and four graded stakes winners.

More Than Ready will stand the upcoming breeding season for $50,000 S&N. From his Northern and Southern Hemisphere crops, More Than Ready has sired 212 black-type winners, is the only sire to have an Eclipse Award Champion each of the last four years, and he added a new Grade I winner this year in Hit the Road, winner of the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile.

With first foals on the way in 2022, Improbable, the 2020 Eclipse Champion Older Male, will stand his second season at stud for $35,000 S&N, down from $40,000 last year. Undefeated at two and a five-length winner of the GI Los Alamitos Futurity, Improbable rattled off three consecutive Grade I victories in 2020.

Florida Derby winner Audible, who bred over 400 mares his first two years at stud–more than any WinStar stallion in history–will remain at $22,500 S&N. He has his first yearlings in 2022.

Paynter, who is currently ranked eighth on the general sires list with progeny earnings of $9,687,843, will stand for $7,500. That fee is only guaranteed through the Breeders' Cup where Paynter's son, Knicks Go, a four-time Grade I winner, is the likely favorite for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

Stallions will be available for inspection by appointment from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. during the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale, Oct. 25-28.

The entire 2022 roster of stallions and fees (subject to change) for WinStar Farm are as follows:

Stallion, S&N Fee

Always Dreaming–$12,500

Audible–$22,500

Carpe Diem–$5,000

Constitution–$85,000

Exaggerator–$7,500

Global Campaign–$12,500

Good Samaritan–$7,500

Improbable–$35,000

More Than Ready–$50,000

Outwork–$10,000

Paynter–$7,500

Promises Fulfilled–$5,000

Speightster–$7,500

Speightstown–$90,000

Take Charge Indy–$12,500

Tom's d'Etat–$12,500

Tourist–$5,000

Yoshida (Jpn)–$12,500

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Jockey Miguel Mena knows that truth all too well. A serious ankle injury in early 2018, complicated by fracture blistering which prevented surgical repair, kept him out of the saddle for a long, arduous eight months of physical therapy.

“It has changed my schedule a lot, because I have a crooked foot that is painful all the time,” Mena explained. “I can't run anymore, and even if I do too much walking, it hurts. I have to ride my bike all the time on the backstretch, so I can save my foot for the races. Thankfully it doesn't hurt when I'm on the horses, but it totally changed my routine.”

The 34-year-old native of Peru had been an avid runner, utilizing the exercise to maintain his weight and fitness for his riding career. Now, with running off the table, Mena uses a stationary bike and other low-impact forms of cardio to achieve that goal.

None of those challenges have stopped Mena. In the past several weeks, he's traveled out of state to win both the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown with Masqueparade and the G3 Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park with Dalika. Both horses are trained by Al Stall, Jr., one of the first individuals to give Mena a big shot after his ankle injury.

Mena had a strong 2019 season that earned him the honor of the inaugural Randy Romero “Pure Courage” Award for his comeback, presented in February of 2020. Last June, Stall gave Mena the leg up on his stable star Tom's d'Etat for a win in the G2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs.

Tom's d'Etat and Miguel Mena win the 2020 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs.

“He had been letting me work Tom's d'Etat in the mornings, and he always told me that if (regular rider Joel) Rosario couldn't ride him, I was gonna be the guy,” Mena relayed. “I'm so grateful for the opportunity to ride that horse. Mr. Stall, he gives me a lot of confidence, he trusts my work, and lets me get on the horses from when they're very young.”

That trust and teamwork has led to another exciting opportunity with improving sophomore colt Masqueparade (Upstart). A winner in his last three starts, including his graded stakes debut in the Ohio Derby, Masqueparade will now head to Saratoga for the G3 Jim Dandy on July 31.

“That colt, we got him as a 2-year-old here, and we were always very high on him,” Mena said. “He showed a lot of talent from day one, but he was kind of a slow learner. He was such a big colt, we knew the talent was there but we had to take our time.

“My boss Al Stall, he's a very patient trainer and he takes his time. Now, in his last two starts, he's really improving and getting better and better.”

Masqueparade wins at Churchill Downs on May 1, 2021

The Jim Dandy will be a significant test for Masqueparade, as the race is expected to draw Juvenile Champion and Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality. 

“I think we have the horse to beat him,” Mena said. “Between working him and getting him to the races, I've just never seen the horse get tired. He was always getting better slowly, and we just haven't seen the best of him yet. I'm so excited to see the future from him. With his maturity and more races, I think he can beat the top horse in the country.”

Stall echoed Mena's belief in the colt earlier this week.

“He's on a wickedly improving curve, which is good,” Stall told the Daily Racing Form. “We ought to give him a chance to see how far he can take himself.”

It's been 10 years since Mena has ridden at Saratoga, and it's also the site of a dark spot in his career. At age 22, having just arrived at Saratoga as a promising young jockey, Mena developed a drinking problem that threatened to derail his promising career.

Mena took responsibility for his actions and entered Alcoholics Anonymous.

“AA is like another family I have now,” Mena told the Post-Star in 2010. “I never thought I'd meet people who would listen to me the way they do. It's very good. It's a family that supports me. I don't have my family here in the states and AA is a big part of my life now.”

The biggest turning point came when he married his wife April in 2011. The couple subsequently had two daughters, Naelah and Montserrat.

“They're daddy's girls,” Mena said of the 7 and 8-year-old. “They always look for where to spend time with me, going swimming or to the park.”

Thanks to his family's unwavering support, Mena never felt tempted to turn to alcohol during the process of healing from his ankle injury and the difficult eight months of physical therapy.

“I've got a strong support system now, with my family and friends,” Mena explained. “It feels good, you know. It's been a long road, 17 years in the United States with a lot of ups and downs.”

The son and brother of jockeys, Mena remembers following his father to the track in Peru as often as he could, beginning at just six years of age. By age 11 he was grooming horses, and at 14 Mena started at the Jorge Bernardini Yori Jockey School in Peru, which also produced Rafael Bejarano and Hall of Famer Edgar Prado.

He moved to the United States at age 17, and the Midwest-based jockey has now won 2,071 races from just over 16,000 career starts.

“I'm so excited to keep showing up to the track in the mornings, getting on young horses, because those are the ones to take you to the big races,” Mena said. “But really, I just want to win races, whether it's a $5,000 claimer or the Kentucky Derby.

“I came here with a lot of dreams. I came very hungry to work my butt off. I'm so grateful to this country. It has given me a better life, not only for me but for my family in Peru as well. I'm very thankful.”

The 2-1 favorite Masqueparade is victorious in the G3 Ohio Derby @JACKThistledown under Miguel Mena for trainer Al Stall Jr! pic.twitter.com/xDTI12RiSr

— TVG (@TVG) June 26, 2021

Tremendous ride by @_miguelmena_, for trainer Al Stall Jr., as Dalika (Ger) could not be denied @DelParkRacing in the G3 Robert G. Dick Memorial!@ChristinaBlackr & @ScottTVG are guiding us through the coast to coast action now! Get to https://t.co/nBYFHj6ufh to get involved! pic.twitter.com/l3GHxwCAg2

— TVG (@TVG) July 10, 2021

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Mena’s ‘Pure Courage’ Grants Him Another Chance In Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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“It's funny how things come together,” Stall said, his voice brimming with emotion. “We've given the trophy here for the last few years, patting Billy Mott on the back, Joe Sharp. You know, it was great, both friends of mine…”

The poignant moment overwhelmed Stall, and he dropped his eyes for several moments, wiping away a stray tear before he continued.

“Then we were lucky enough to have a filly to be live in this race, and (the turf) came up soft, which is her thing, and everything went our way,” he said. “We'll take it.”

Reflecting on the interview several days later, Stall said he felt grateful for that unguarded moment.

“It makes you feel like you've got a heartbeat, instead of just going through the motions,” Stall explained. “It was definitely special.”

A fitting victory, as #AlStallJr trainee, #Dalika, rolls in the Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes from @fairgroundsnola. @JoeyDaKRacing chats with jockey @_MIGUELMENA_ and an emotional Stall Jr. following the 5yo mare's win on the lawn. pic.twitter.com/chsxuy8yfY

— TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) February 13, 2021

Stall grew up attending races alongside his father in New Orleans, and the pair traveled all around the country to watch the horses run. As an owner, Stall Sr. won the 1970 Kentucky Oaks with Lady Vi-E, and he served on the Louisiana State Racing Commission for 28 years, including nine years as chairman. 

A member of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association Hall of Fame and the Fair Grounds Race Course Hall of Fame, Stall Sr. passed away in 2017 at the age of 85.

“He's the person that got not only me, but the rest of my family, as well as Tom Amoss and a few others to go the track, because he was always interested in racing from the time he was in high School in NOLA,” Stall said. “There are win photographs and pictures around the barn from when I was seven years old, and you can almost plot the chronological photos of my life from the late 60's to the present.”

In high school, Stall's love of racing grew as he took a job on the backstretch in the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg, working under his assistant trainer and future Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Frankie Brothers. Stall kept up with Brothers through his time at Louisiana State University, earning a degree in geology just like his father. 

Though Stall briefly followed his father into the oil industry after graduation, it was at the racetrack that he found his true calling. Stall spent five years as an assistant to Brothers, by then training his own string.

“It was basically a Harvard education,” Stall mused. “At that time we had horses at Louisiana Downs, Fair Grounds, everywhere, and they were all kinds of horses: cheap ones, middle ones, stakes horses, so you saw a lot of everything. (Brothers) was a working machine, so you saw what hard work would produce. If you couldn't learn being around that program, you weren't trying very hard.”

Perhaps the most important lesson he learned from Brothers was patience.

“Just to stay the course,” Stall clarified. “If your horses aren't running that well, if things aren't going that well, don't make wholesale changes; just stick with the program that's got you there. Be a little patient with how things are going.”

By 1991, Stall was ready to go out on his own as a trainer. He started with just one horse at Arlington Park, but built up his stable over the past 30 years and has now won nearly 1,700 races. 

That patience he learned from Brothers has more than paid off over the course of Stall's career, leading to highlights like his 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic win with Blame, defeating the great mare Zenyatta.

“He's the best horse I've ever trained,” Stall said. “Blame made it all the way to the mountaintop. That race, we were paying attention to our horse for the most part, so the Zenyatta phenomenon affected us a little more after the race than leading up to. We had our own little pocket of excitement, so we didn't really notice the quiet crowd.”

Trainer Al Stall, Jr. leads Blame into the winner's circle following the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic

More recently, Stall trainee Tom's d'Etat made headlines at the age of six with a Grade 1 win in the 2019 Clark Handicap, and retired to stud after a solid 2020 campaign with two wins and a third from four starts.

“Tom got us really close, and it's quite fulfilling that those types of horses get to go somewhere nice like WinStar,” Stall said. “You know, he may be retired, but I'm an optimistic type of person. With the type of clients that I have, there's always something good around the corner.”

Trainer Al Stall Jr. with Tom's d'Etat at WinStar Farm.

For example, Stall sent out the talented 3-year-old filly named Carribean Caper to win her debut by eight lengths at the Fair Grounds last Saturday, just a few hours before he saddled Dalika to win the Memorial race. 

The daughter of Speightstown will likely appear next in an allowance race at Keeneland, Stall said; he doesn't like to rush his trainees into big races.

“I like to keep horses around as long as I can; it just makes sense to me,” he explained. “I wouldn't feel comfortable gutting one out trying to make a certain goal. I want to give them a chance to be what they can possibly be, whenever that time can be.”

Perhaps some of Stall's most treasured memories, however, are the races he won with cheaper Louisiana-breds owned by his father and grandfather. Following a win in the 1991 Fair Grounds Sales Futurity with the filly Irish Gray, Stall Sr. talked about his son in the winner's circle.

“He's a good horseman, a better one than I am,” Stall Sr. said. “Since they were old enough to walk, we've had them out here, so this is just following through with what he really has always loved. Even though he's got a degree in geology from LSU, and you can't find a lot of oil out here in the infield, but he hit a little pay dirt today.”

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“Trying to fill the shoes of horses like Blame and Tom's d'Etat are awfully tough,” said Stall, who trained the former to a heart-stopping victory over Zenyatta in the 2010 GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

“When horses like that leave the barn to go to Claiborne Farm and WinStar Farm, you're very happy for the horse that they're going to such a nice place with a potentially good career ahead of them. As far as the void goes, you just keep on getting up every morning and hope that one of the younger horses steps up or an older horse develops late. Hopefully, these two or some others can help fill the void that was left in the barn.”

One of “these two”–Carribean Caper (f, 3, Speightstown–Checkupfromzneckup, by Dixie Union)–kicked off Saturday's loaded, 13-race GII Risen Star S. program at Fair Grounds with a geared-down, eight-length, tour-de-force to earn the 'TDN Rising Star' nod at first asking in the six-furlong opener (video).

The Columbine Stable colorbearer, a $250,000 Keeneland September graduate, was always traveling smartly pressing the early leader after breaking on top, took over as they straightened for home and ran up the score under confident handling in the stretch to win for fun. She earned a very strong 87 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

Breeder WinStar Farm paid $825,000 for the stakes-placed Checkupfromzneckup carrying Carribean Caper in utero at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale.

Carribean Caper hails from the extended female family of Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise, the dam of the legendary A.P. Indy, Classic winner Summer Squall, et al.

“We always liked her,” Stall said. “She had a respiratory issue at the end of 2020–she was ready to run a month and a half ago or so–but we had to back off and just really try to maintain her. She was really ready to run Saturday and broke so sharp and just laid perfectly and galloped away from them. She was pretty professional, which didn't surprise us because she acted that way all along.”

A first-level allowance contest for straight 3-year-old fillies going seven furlongs on Keeneland's opening day program Apr. 2 could be next.

“She ran awfully fast and we'll give her some time to get over that,” Stall said. “Nothing too dramatic like a stakes race [for her next start]. She's very smart and does everything right. First, we'll just get a little bit more of a foundation underneath her, with hopefully another sprint with a gradual stretchout. Then, we'll see where things land after that.”

He continued, “There's a chance she'll carry her speed. She reminded me of grass from the beginning–I was actually thinking of 5 1/2 [furlongs on grass for her debut]–but I figured she had a really good chance to win on dirt, too. There's a lot of things to look forward to with her.”

The future also looks bright for He's In Charge (c, 3, Candy Ride–Brazen Persuasion, by Indian Charlie), who lit up the tote board at 28-1 with a 91 Beyer Speed Figure at second asking in New Orleans Jan. 30 (video).

Campaigned in partnership by Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch, Parkland Thoroughbreds and Newport Stables, the $180,000 Keeneland September yearling showed some early interest and faded to eighth–beaten 20 3/4 lengths–in one start at two for trainer Ethan West over the all-weather at Turfway Dec. 11. He's In Charge lived up to his name while adding Lasix in his six-furlong dirt debut for Stall.

The rail-drawn Florida-bred sat just off a hot pace in fourth, was locked and loaded awaiting racing room on the far turn and scraped paint in the stretch with a smart inside run to win going away by 3 1/4 expanding lengths.

His speedy dam Brazen Persuasion, winner of the 2013 GIII Schuylerville S. at Saratoga and a half-sister to recent Ladies H. victress Thankful (American Pharoah) for Todd Pletcher, brought $700,000 from breeder Bridlewood Farm at the 2015 Keeneland November sale.

“He got down to us and he was in good shape–I'm guessing that he just didn't like the Tapeta,” Stall said.

“When we got him, he looked like a nice horse all the way around on dirt. The first couple of breezes, he was all there, and the last couple of breezes, he was really all there. We gave him a little chance in that race–we didn't think 91 Beyer and 1:09 and change [final time] and all that. But we thought he would run a pretty good race.

Stall continued, “His mother was a fast mare that Steve Asmussen had early in her career and I also trained her later. He's also a good athlete, so hopefully the top side will take him a little further. We'd like to find a one other than here at Fair Grounds in the next book for him. He came out of the race in good shape and he's going to have a little breeze this weekend.”

“We're excited about both of them,” Stall said of Carribean Caper and He's In Charge.

It hit awfully close to home as the Stall-trained 5-year-old mare Dalika (Ger) (Pastorius {Ger}) delivered in Saturday's Albert M. Stall Memorial S.

The race, of course, is named in honor of Stall's father, the former longtime chairman of the Louisiana Racing Commission and member of the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame who passed away in 2017.

There were few dry eyes in the winner's circle after the result was finally declared official following a stewards' inquiry and a jockey's objection.

“It was great, and being from here, we had the whole family in town,” Stall said.

“We took the picture, then when [Fair Grounds analyst] Joe Kristufek put that camera in front of me, that's when the emotions just exploded. That makes you feel like you're alive though, rather than just being a robot getting up every day training horses. It was really nice and couldn't have been better. Fairytale as it gets, right?”

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Today, we speak with WinStar’s General Manager Dave Hanley on Global Campaign (Curlin) and Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike), who round out the list of new additions and who both rank among the top earners for their respective trainers.

Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike), $17,500

While it would be difficult to top the career of Horse of the Year Blame, Tom’s d’Etat comes close as trainer Al Stall Jr.’s next-highest earning Grade I winner.

“You could tell by listening to Al that he had really high regard for Tom’s d’Etat,” Hanley said. “He’s the coolest horse to be around. Really laid back with the most beautiful head and demeanor about him. I think he’s got a lot of class. You know, Al had trained Blame, but you could tell Al really loved this horse.”

Tom’s d’Etat was a $330,000 Keeneland September buy for Gayle Benson’s G M B Racing. From the family of top sire Candy Ride (Arg), the SF Bloodstock-bred son of Smart Strike is out of stakes winner and Grade III-placed Julia Tuttle (Giant’s Causeway).

“Being by a sire that’s a proven sire of sires and having a sire like Candy Ride in his pedigree is quite extraordinary,” Hanley said. “What’s interesting about his pedigree is his dam is by Giant’s Causeway, who was out of a Rahy mare. Rahy is by Blushing Groom (Fr) and Candy Ride’s broodmare sire is also by Blushing Groom. Northern Dancer on top of Blushing Groom gives you sires like Awesome Again, who is out of a Blushing Groom mare. Carson City was also out of a Blushing Groom mare and was obviously the sire of City Zip. So it’s a very strong sire-making cross.”

Hanley said that in terms of conformation, Tom’s d’Etat is a reflection of both Smart Strike and Candy Ride.

“He’s put together much like his sire and also has a little bit of Candy Ride in his make and shape,” he said. “He’s a beautifully balanced horse in that everything works for him. He’s got great use of his shoulders and carries his head and neck in a good position. He’s a beautiful mover and really opens his shoulder when he moves. His mechanics work really well and when he’s galloping, you can see what good use he has of himself.”

On the track, Tom’s d’Etat broke his maiden at Saratoga as a sophomore before adding four more wins in optional claimers at four and five. Stepping up into stakes company, he won the Tenacious S. at Fair Grounds to cap off his 5-year-old season.

After running second to four-time Grade I winner McKinzie (Street Sense) in the GII Alysheba S., the fleet-footed bay added the Alydar S. at Saratoga to his resume last summer as he reached top form. WinStar started to take notice of the stallion prospect.

“From May of 2019 to August of 2020 he ran nine-straight triple digit Beyers,” Hanley said. “He was such a dominant racehorse and was so talented, he really took our attention.”

His next win came in the GII Hagyard Fayette S. at Keeneland, his first graded stakes success, followed by his signature Grade I victory in the Clark S.

“His win in the Clark was another example of one of his dominating performances,” Hanley said. “He sat mid-division and then made an unbelievable move. He didn’t just go to the front, he flew.”

After defeating Improbable (City Zip) in the Oaklawn Mile S., Tom’s d’Etat added another win in the GII Stephen Foster S. where he earned a career-best 109 Beyer and just missed the track record by 0.02 seconds.

“It was quite a brilliant performance,” Hanley recalled. “Actually, he was eased down that day. Had they ridden him to the line, he might have even broken the track record.”

After two troubled trips in the latter half of his 2020 season in the GI Whitney S., where he still fought to finish third, and the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, Tom’s d’Etat retired with earnings of over $1.76 million, having run in the money in all but five of his 20 starts.

Hanley said that their team is not at all phased that Tom’s d’Etat retires at the age of seven. It’s not their first time retiring older horses to stud.

“Some people are against that or think it’s a disadvantage to him,” Hanley said. “But you know, we’ve had two very good horses go through our stud barn here in Speightstown and Distorted Humor that both came to stud at age six and stood their first year as 7-year-olds. So, it doesn’t bother us at all. I think he’s going to be a good stallion regardless. Tom’s d’Etat’s pedigree is really stacked with sire-making potential. We’re going to support him really well together with our shareholders like Fred Hertrich, Siena Farm and Taylor Made. We really believe in his chance of becoming a top stallion.”

Global Campaign (Curlin), $12,500

Big names jumped off Global Campaign’s pedigree from the start with the likes of his half-brother, dual Grade I winner Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro),  as well as another stakes-winning half-brother in Sonic Mule (Distorted Humor). His family also includes ‘TDN Rising Star’ Recruiting Ready (Algorithms), plus three-time Grade I winner and sire Zensational (Unbridled’s Song).

“Global Campaign is probably the best-bred son of Curlin,” Hanley said. “He’s a very good-looking horse for his sire line. He has very clean lines and is a smooth horse. He’s beautifully made, very well proportioned and is a really good mover. It’s hard to fault him. He’s a really exceptional physical.”

The WinStar-bred was a $250,000 Keeneland September purchase for Sagamore Farm and was given to trainer Stanley Hough to race in partnership with WinStar.

“About a month before the September Sale, he got a bang on his knee that fired up physitis in the knee,” Hanley said. “So going into the sale, I think that took a number of people off him. But we really liked him and were anxious to stay in for a piece. Stanley Hough and Hunter Rankin were very gracious to allow us to do that.”

Global Campaign was sent to Ocala Stud to undergo training, and Hanley said he remembers visiting the youngster.

“Elliott [Walden] and I went down in the spring of his 2-year-old year and they were already excited about him,” he said. “He was starting to separate himself from the others and they thought he was one of the nicest horses they had down there. He was a beautiful mover, a very positive horse in his work, and looked like he was going to be something.”

In January of his sophomore season, the colt turned heads on debut when he broke his maiden by almost six lengths and then earned ‘Rising Star’ status in his next start. Later in the season, he defeated eventual GI Belmont S. winner Sir Winston (Awesome Again) in the GIII Peter Pan S. followed by a third-place effort in the GII Jim Dandy S.

“Unfortunately in that race, he grabbed himself coming out of the gate and took a chunk out of his heel,” Hanley relayed.

After a nine-month layoff, the bay returned with a victory at four in a Gulfstream optional claimer before stepping back into graded stakes company and taking the GIII Monmouth Cup S.

“He made the running and had his ears pricked in front,” Hanley recalled. “The other horse, Bal Harbour (First Samurai), went to go by him and he just rallied and put the race away. He was the kind of horse that I think always ran with a bit more in the tank than you saw. He’s a horse that liked to get on the front end, relax, and could finish up really well.”

Global Campaign made his Grade I debut this summer in the Woodward H., breaking first and never looking back to defeat the likes of Grade I winner Math Wizard (Algorithms) and multiple graded stakes winner Tacitus (Tapit).

He earned a career-best 106 Beyer in his final start this year, fighting to place third after a troubled start in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic behind Horse of the Year favorite Authentic (Into Mischief) and fellow WinStar studmate Improbable.

Hanley spoke about the meaning the horse had for his connections in taking co-owner Sagamore Farm on their probable final trip to the Breeders’ Cup as they phase out of racing and becoming trainer Stanley Hough’s leading earner.

“It was really nice for Sagamore to have a really good horse like him as they get out of the business,” he said. “Both Hunter Rankin and Stanley Hough did a marvelous job managing the horse. Stanley is a real all-time horseman and you could tell being around him how excited he was about this horse.”

While WinStar had initially announced that they were considering pointing the Grade I winner towards the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., they later decided that he would not resume training following the Breeders’ Cup.

“When we took him back to the farm, he was going down so well with the breeders and looked so good,” Hanley said. “We’re very happy that he’s here. He’s been very, very popular. I think he’s already booked to 80 mares and people really like him.”

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Precocity may not be the first thing you’d have in mind from TOM’S D’ETAT (Smart Strike–Julia Tuttle, by Giant’s Causeway), who enters service at WinStar at $17,500 after only really seizing our attention at the age of seven. Nonetheless, he represents one of the most promising prospects of the intake.

For a start, he’s by a sire of sires out of a graded stakes-placed Giant’s Causeway mare whose own dam was a full-sister to Candy Ride (Arg). And nine consecutive triple-digit Beyers attest to the tough and consistent way in which, having initially required much patience of connections, Tom’s d’Etat ultimately reached his pomp.

His four-win streak from the GII Fayette S. permitted no doubt as to his Grade I caliber, albeit that was formally sealed only in the Clark S. Though geared down in the GII Stephen Foster S., his 1:47.30 barely missed the 1:47.28 track record set by Victory Gallop (Cryptoclearance) in 1999. He had beaten Improbable (City Zip) in Hot Springs on their resumption and was unlucky when that horse turned things round in the GI Whitney S., having stumbled out of the gate and been caught behind a dawdling pace. Their opening fees suggest we take that form at face value, but I remain convinced that Tom’s d’Etat had as much class on his day as any older horse operating round two turns this year. Despite maturing into a big, powerful physique, his mechanics were always very smooth and balanced.

It will be fascinating to see the WinStar system, which so reliably loads the engine for a young commercial prospect, helping a horse who will surely appeal as good value to any breeder possessed by the quaint notion that the object of a mating might be to produce a runner. Okay, so maybe he won’t be champion freshman. But with the right material, he is as eligible as any horse in this intake to sire a Classic Thoroughbred, which to me is kind of the point of what we’re all doing.

Honor A. P. | Benoit

As it happens, you could say much the same of one starting out at Lane’s End–except you might just say it a little louder, given a fee as tempting as $15,000. In terms of value, that makes HONOR A. P. (Honor Code–Hollywood Story, by Wild Rush) the neon standout among the new sires for 2021.

His scenic route into fourth in the GI Kentucky Derby was exasperating, his subsequent retirement heart-breaking, and it is the coldest of comforts to reflect that he remains the only colt ever to have beaten the winner. He did so decisively, too, while clocking a 102 Beyer in the GI Santa Anita Derby–no less than he had promised when chasing home the same horse in what proved primarily an educational exercise in the GII San Felipe S. The genius who was training him toward one day certainly wasn’t fazed when Honor A. P. was beaten in his rehearsal, but there was no accounting for the trip he got at Churchill. Hampered at the gate, he already had no chance when preceded by the whole field past the post first time. While the winner was not for catching, left to his own devices in front, the ground made up by Honor A. P. (while going an extra 49 feet) filled his admirers with confidence that he could yet confirm himself the best in the crop at the Breeders’ Cup.

Sadly, it turned out that his Derby effort had also been compromised by injury. But no more beautiful a horse goes to stud this year, as you might glean from his $850,000 tag as a Saratoga yearling. And now that he joins his sire at the farm that also gave us his breed-shaping grandsire, Honor A. P. can also recycle the excellence of a dam who won Grade Is at two and five. That longevity offers comforting reassurance for a horse confined to a light career, while the bottom line of his pedigree–largely seeded by iconic Classic influences–complements the sumptuous family of Honor Code in eventually extending to the great Myrtlewood.

It’s all there, then: perhaps physique above all, but also performance and pedigree. And all for one-fifth of the fee charged for the horse he outgunned fair and square in the Santa Anita Derby.

Global Campaign | Sarah Andrew

Myrtlewood also pegs down the bottom line of GLOBAL CAMPAIGN (Curlin–Globe Trot, by A.P. Indy), who similarly looks plenty of racehorse for $12,500 at WinStar.

A half-brother to Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro), among just three foals delivered by their tragic dam, Global Campaign rounded off with a podium in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic that came as no surprise to those who sat up and took notice when he returned from a nine-month layoff over seven furlongs at Gulfstream in the spring. He had to regroup after disappointing next time but did so in style, notably in making all for his Grade I in the Woodward S.

His second dam is a triple graded stakes winner whose half-sister produced triple Grade I sprint winner Zensational (Unbridled’s Song)–an unusually quick horse, for the sire, and that’s something of a pattern through this family. Myrtlewood speed filters through elsewhere, indeed: through Seattle Slew, as grandsire of Global Campaign’s dam; and through Mr Prospector, who recurs 3×5. I just wonder whether Global Campaign quite lasted home in the Classic, with all this speed packed down behind him (unpressured in the Woodward). Certainly with his half-brother a dual Grade I winner at two, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Global Campaign getting earlier momentum than Curlin-over-A.P. Indy might imply. (He himself was five days into his sophomore year when romping on debut at Gulfstream, his fulfilment ultimately delayed only by bone bruising.)

Complexity | Sarah Andrew

Like Honor A. P. and Volatile (Violence), COMPLEXITY (Maclean’s Music–Goldfield, by Yes It’s True) raised the bar as a yearling, at $375,000 the most expensive yearling in his sire’s third crop. He, too, looks sensibly priced at $12,500 with Airdrie.

The way he stitched everything back together at four, after losing the thread of juvenile promise, left no doubt as to his elite quality and commercial appeal. A ‘TDN Rising Star‘ on debut at Saratoga, he then ran Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}) into the ground in the GI Champagne S. and was duly fancied for the GI Juvenile when bombing out at the Breeders’ Cup. He was really back on song this summer, including when just collared after contributing to molten fractions in the GI Forego S. He then steamrolled Code of Honor once again in the GII Kelso H., earning a 110 Beyer, before a creditable run at the Breeders’ Cup when again pouring coal into the pace out wide.

Complexity is another of those that bring back some retro names–first three dams by Yes It’s True, Digression and Torsion–but it’s obviously working as his unraced mother (half-sister to a GII Demoiselle S. winner) has already produced Valadorna (Curlin) to be runner-up in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. No question about it, this guy had a ton of ability on his day and, with such a good farm behind him, looks a potential player in the freshmen’s championship.

Spun to Run | Breeders’ Cup/Eclipse Sportswire

A third horse introduced at what feels like a market sweet spot of $12,500 is SPUN TO RUN (Hard Spun–Yawkey Way, by Grand Slam) at Gainesway. Few people took his defeat of Omaha Beach (War Front) at the Breeders’ Cup as too literal a guide to their relative merits, given the way the race developed that day, but the 109 Beyer he nonetheless earned was his third consecutive triple-digit. Though unfortunate to be confined to single start when kept in training this year, he confirmed his caliber in beating all bar Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) in the GI Cigar Mile H. His dam won a Saratoga stakes at two, and a paternal grandson of Danzig who showed so much dash at a mile has a good ring to it.

‘TDN Rising Star’ GIFT BOX (Twirling Candy–Special Me, by Unbridled’s Song) didn’t surface at all in 2020, but at $10,000 it’s well worth reminding ourselves what a splendidly old-fashioned campaigner has now joined his sire at Lane’s End. He was better than ever at six, nosing out ‘Rising Star’ McKinzie (Street Sense) for his Grade I success in the Santa Anita H. and then running Vino Rosso (Curlin) to three-parts of a length in the GI Gold Cup at the same course.

I really like the fact that his dam, a half-sister to G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Our New Recruit (Alphabet Soup), has produced an equally hardy and classy daughter in dual Grade II winner Stonetastic (Mizzen Mast). By combining two branches of Fappiano, moreover, Gift Box is exactly what his name suggests for a lot of other blood. He was precocious enough to notch a 93 Beyer breaking his maiden before running third in the GII Remsen S., but longevity and two-turn guts are his trademarks–and heaven knows the breed needs plenty of both.

Gift Box | Benoit

PROMISES FULFILLED (Shackleford–Marquee Delivery, by Marquetry) is in much the same boat, in starting out at WinStar off $10,000, having disappeared this year after establishing toughness and quality through three preceding seasons. He, similarly, got going early enough to win his first two and then make the frame in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S.; after being tempted astray on the Derby trail, he showed his true zip back in trip and won his Grade I in the Allen Jerkens S.; and at four put up a trademark blitz for the GII John A. Nerud S. in 1:21.75. His dam, twice graded stakes-placed, has managed to produce a multiple stakes winner by Cowboy Cal, but his real calling card is pure track speed. Indeed, his farm is highlighting how he won the first call in 15 of 17 starts, and you can easily picture him achieving corresponding early thrust in his new career.

ECHO TOWN (Speightstown–Letgomyecho, by Menifee) is another Allen Jerkens winner, launched at the same fee at Ashford. If you are only going to manage a single season, it helps if you can demonstrate such soundness: he spread 10 starts evenly between Fair Grounds in January and the Breeders’ Cup. And while he presumably owes a Kentucky stud career pretty well entirely to his standout Saratoga success, where the favorite bombed out, he was certainly a stylish winner on the day and does have something to work on genetically. His dam won her first three, including a Grade II, before derailing in her only other start, and has also produced GIII Gotham S. winner J Boys Echo (Mineshaft). And a lot of people are going to like the fact that she is by a grandson of Storm Cat, who recurs as damsire of Speightstown.

The team that brought us Gift Box has meanwhile housed HIGHER POWER (Medaglia d’Oro–Alternate, by Seattle Slew) at Darby Dan, where he, too, opens at $10,000. And he’s in a similar mold, a hardy old stager round two turns who matured through four seasons, the highlights being a five-length rout in the GI Pacific Classic (107 Beyer) and a podium in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. He has a solid-enough page, too, as a half-brother to Alternation (Distorted Humor), sire of Serengeti Empress, out of a multiple graded stakes-placed sibling to Canadian Horse of the Year Peaks and Valleys (Mt. Livermore).

Country House | Coady

Mind you, he will do very well to match the value available about his new neighbor ‘TDN Rising Star’ COUNTRY HOUSE (Lookin At Lucky–Quake Lake, by War Chant). To be fair, at $7,500, newcomers right across the Bluegrass will be embarrassed by the contrast.

True, Country House has to be led out to the crossroads to remind everyone of his existence, having unfortunately failed to get back onto the track when kept in training at four. You can see why that felt like an imperative, the horse having been given so little credit for the merit of his own Kentucky Derby performance while everyone debated the disqualification of the first past the post. But let’s take a step back and remind ourselves that he overcame a rough trip from gate 19 to beat 18 rivals including several–including Improbable, Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and War of Will (War Front)–who are being launched at much higher fees. Forget his long odds on the day: he had been brought skillfully to the boil by his trainer, taught to pass horses behind War of Will in the GII Risen Star S. and Omaha Beach and Improbable in the GI Arkansas Derby.

Yes, we know that a son of such an underrated sire will likely be undervalued himself. But Country House not only doubles up Danzig–responsible both for his own damsire and for that of Lookin At Lucky–but has a complementary mirror of No Class, the Sam-Son matriarch who belied her name as dam of four champions. Her celebrated daughter Classy ‘n Smart (Smarten) produced Lookin At Lucky’s sire Smart Strike, while her son Sky Classic is the sire of Country House’s Grade I-placed granddam.

Promises Fulfilled | Sarah Andrew

From just four foals and three starters, Country House’s dam has also produced graded stakes winner Mitchell Road (English Channel); while her half-brother (also by Lookin At Lucky) is multiple Grade I-placed Breaking Lucky. Country House himself obviously came into his own with a proper test round two turns, but his dam and third dam were both sprinters so there’s more latent speed to draw out than you might assume. Bottom line is that Country House, given the right material, would be perfectly entitled to sire a colt able finally to secure him overdue credit under the Twin Spires. The only barrier is whether people with the fast, well-bred mares that he deserves are smart enough to save so much money on a cover fee, or view a $7,500 stallion as beneath their dignity.

Many a commercial breeder, you suspect, will need less persuasion to roll the dice at the same fee on a very different type in INSTAGRAND (Into Mischief–Assets of War, by Lawyer Ron) at Taylor Made.

Here’s a thought that tells you a lot about our industry. Had he happened to retire after the GII Best Pal S., there would have been a stampede of breeders ready to use him at nearly any money. At that point he was a $1.2 million Gulfstream 2-year-old bullet who had then won by 10 lengths both on debut (in :56 flat) and now in a Grade II. But the flame has dwindled through two campaigns since, meaning that he must start at a fee feasible for a gamble. Bearing in mind that second and third dams were both graded stakes winners, you can be sure that plenty of pinhookers will be keeping an eye on his first crop.

Two of the three stallions in the bargain basement of this intake have been recruited at Crestwood, itself an immediate recommendation. This farm deserves much respect for the way it fights its corner, against much bigger rivals, with a roster always full of interest.

Caracaro | Ryan Thompson

CARACARO (Uncle Mo–Peace Time, by War Front) only managed four starts but shaped very well, six months after his dashing ‘Rising Star‘ maiden win, when beaten a neck in the GIII Peter Pan S., before proving least embarrassed among the pursuers of Tiz the Law (Constitution) in the GI Travers S.

His first three dams are by War Front, Unbridled and Storm Cat, the middle one being the very smart Santa Catarina, a Grade II winner who was placed three times in Grade I company as a juvenile. And their line traces to the Phipps matriarch Lady Be Good, via the branch that also gave us top-class European milers Zilzal (Nureyev), Polish Precedent (Danzig) and Culture Vulture (Timeless Moment).

We know to expect this kind of thing at a farm that understands how aristocratic lineage can elevate a stallion past the perceived track limitations that keep them affordable. Sure enough, YORKTON (Speightstown–Sunday Affair, by A.P. Indy) is backed up by a terrific family–and, in contrast with Caracaro, also bears another farm trademark in having thrived through five seasons of racing. Albeit he did not win beyond Grade III level, he was as committed as ever at the age of six and showed his form on three surfaces.

But what makes him well worth a punt at $5,000, not least in view of a $1-million breeders’ incentive program, is one of the very best families in the book–and one that has been seeded accordingly: first four dams, this time, by A.P. Indy, Sunday Silence, Nijinsky II and Mr. Prospector. The third dam, in fact, is Gold Beauty’s daughter Maplejinsky, the half-sister to Dayjur (Danzig) who herself produced Sky Beauty (Blushing Groom {Fr}). This dynasty just keeps on giving, with Violence (Medaglia d’Oro) and Guarana (Ghostzapper) among its recent adornments, and Yorkton has the build to support the farm motto: “We raise runners.”

We round off our survey with BRAVAZO (Awesome Again–Tiz o’ Gold, by Cee’s Tizzy) at Calumet, standing at $6,000. There were times when it felt as though a race could only be accorded Grade I status if he were in the gate and, if he couldn’t always show why, he certainly had his moments in banking $2 million–notably when within half a length of derailing the Triple Crown express of Justify (Scat Daddy) in the Preakness. And you have to admire a horse that can miss the Clark by just a neck on his 11th sophomore start, the last eight at elite level.

Instilled Regard | Susie Raisher

Ducking under the wire in time for inclusion in this review is INSTILLED REGARD (Arch–Enhancing, by Forestry), whose name has just been added to the roll call of rookies. He has been announced at $12,500 by Taylor Made.

If he’s last, he’s certainly not least–having maintained high standards in different environments through four seasons: he was Grade I-placed on dirt at two, fourth in Justify (Scat Daddy)’s Derby and rounded off with a :22.31 split to notch his Grade I on grass in the Manhattan S. That longevity augurs extremely well for a $1.05-million 2-year-old, and it’s all backed up by a top-class Phipps pedigree.

For his second dam is champion Heavenly Prize (Seeking the Gold), who herself produced a Manhattan winner in Good Reward (Storm Cat), as well as the dam of Grade I winner Persistently (Smoke Glacken); while fourth dam is the blue-hen Blitey (Riva Ridge), mother of three Grade I winners plus another at Grade II level.

I love matching Blitey against a name as resonant as Courtly Dee in the bottom line of Arch, himself such a wholesome influence. In fact, Instilled Regard offers as good a “stairwell” up and down the fourth generation as you can find anywhere in this intake. Having finished so strongly in both his starts at 10 furlongs, in the Derby and the Manhattan, arguably his stamina was never fully tapped: had he made the gig, he might well have given the Euros a run for their money in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf.

If that won’t be received as the most commercial of recommendations in this myopic marketplace, then don’t forget the way Instilled Regard got himself rolling on the winter Triple Crown trail. This looks a really interesting new option for any breeder far-sighted enough to seek a Classic horse for any theater.

CHRIS McGRATH’S VALUE PODIUM

Gold:

Honor A. P. ($15,000, Lane’s End)

Staggering physical, and the only colt to beat the champ

Silver:

Country House ($7,500, Darby Dan)

The least credited Derby performance ever gets a corresponding fee

Bronze:

Global Campaign ($12,500, WinStar)

A family that loads up the speed

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For his two fellow passengers, a future at WinStar Farm was practically guaranteed as soon as they jumped through the proper hoops to warrant a stud career. Improbable and Global Campaign, second and third respectively in the Classic, both had run under the WinStar colors, so standing at the farm was the next logical step. For Tom's d'Etat, a future at WinStar marks an incredible reversal of fortune from one that could have seen him begin his stud career in relative obscurity.

Looking back at his full body of work, a major Kentucky farm seems like a logical destination for Tom's d'Etat. An earner of more than $1.7 million, he established himself as one of the top runners of the older male division in 2020, and he carried over the momentum from a win in the Grade 1 Clark Stakes last year. Being what will likely be the final top-level son by his late sire Smart Strike to enter stud certainly doesn't hurt, either, joining the likes of Curlin, English Channel, Lookin At Lucky, and Dominus among Kentucky's stallion ranks.

In the summer of 2017, Tom's d'Etat was none of those things, besides a son of Smart Strike. He was a dependable 4-year-old allowance-level runner for the Benson family's G M B Racing and trainer Al Stall, Jr., but after missing his juvenile season due to injury and needing a few tries to break his maiden in the fall of his 3-year-old campaign, a future as a serious Kentucky stallion prospect seemed like a pipe dream.

Tom's d'Etat was trending in the right direction during that year's Saratoga meet, and he was being pointed toward the G1 Woodward Stakes after winning an optional claiming race by nine lengths.

That optional claimer would be the final race of Tom's d'Etat's 2017 campaign. An emerging cannon bone fracture derailed a planned graded stakes debut in the G1 Woodward Stakes, and he went dormant for 15 months after having two screws put in his right front leg.

When his future as an on-track competitor was still murky, Stall and his team wanted to make sure their well-blooded loyal soldier had a future lined up for him after the races.

“There was a time when I was going to give him to the starter at Churchill and Keeneland, Scott Jordan, who has a farm in Indiana [Breakway Farm in Dillsboro, Ind.] – give him to him – and he said, 'I'll hustle up some mares. We don't have any Smart Strike blood in Indiana,'” Stall said. “Then, for whatever reason, everything started staying together on him, and he finally got to prove the kind of talent we always thought he was.”

He'd have been a solid addition to the Breakway Farm roster, but far from its most proven member on the racetrack. In 2020, Grade 1 winners Calculator and Turbo Compressor, Grade 3 winner Charming Kitten, and Grade 1-placed Greeley's Conquest resided in their stud barn.

Tara Mathias, manager of Breakway Farm and Jordan's daughter, said the arrangement never got further than conversations as a contingency plan if Tom's d'Etat couldn't make it back from his injury, and ink was never put to paper over it. There were no hard feelings when the horse went on to achieve what he did and move higher up ladder as a stallion prospect, though having a horse with Grade 1 talent in him slip away from the farm's grasp was a downer.

“Al's exercise rider at the time said he was a really nice horse, and was probably going to retire, and he'd be a good fit in Indiana,” Mathias said, “Then, he just kept winning and winning, and got better and better. They just didn't know how he was going to come back from it, and he didn't have enough under his belt to make him a huge hit in Kentucky. He'd be big in our small pond.”

Normally, a layoff of that duration is enough to retire an older horse, but Tom's d'Etat rewarded the patience of his connections by retaining his up-and-coming form when he returned. Horse racing is a sport full of diverging paths, and the decision to keep Tom's d'Etat in training ultimately created a seven-figure swing in on-track earnings, with the added ripple effects tied to all the graded black type that would have gone to someone else, the money spent and earned in a major Kentucky stud deal, and all the mares he will see in 2021 and beyond.

Tom's d'Etat raced twice at five, culminating in his first stakes triumph in the Tenacious Stakes at the Fair Grounds. He was overmatched in his first try against graded stakes competition in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, but he came back after a spring freshening to finish second in the G2 Alysheba Stakes and third in the G2 Stephen Foster Stakes.

From that point on, Tom's d'Etat was in the mix against the best in his division – often as the oldest horse in the field. He finished his 6-year-old campaign with victories in the G2 Fayette Stakes and G1 Clark Stakes, then he racked up wins this year in the Oaklawn Mile Stakes and G2 Stephen Foster Stakes this year at age seven.

In July, following his 4 1/4-length Stephen Foster victory, WinStar Farm revealed it had secured Tom's d'Etat's breeding rights when he retired to stud. From a horse that was perhaps one relapsed injury away from going to stud as a giveaway, Tom's d'Etat had become a blue-chip prospect recruited by one of Kentucky's top stallion operations.

Tom's d'Etat came up empty in his swan song, finishing out of the money in the Breeders' Cup Classic, but Stall said there was never a doubt that he belonged in the race, and amongst the best in his division.

“I'm very, very biased, but I thought he was the best looking horse in the field in the Classic,” he said. “He was moving really well. I just think those two races this summer back-to-back, the Foster and the Whitney, maybe were just enough for him at this age. That would just be my guess, because he was giving us every indication he was going fine, but he's a smart old boy, and maybe that was one of the contributing factors.”

So now, three years after his future looked to be in Indiana, Tom's d'Etat could realistically fit nearly half the Hoosier State's broodmare population into his projected debut book at stud. He'll stand for $17,500 in his debut season, and in addition to his graded-level success, WinStar Farm's Elliott Walden was quick to note that he's got a stallion's family under him.

“Being by Smart Strike, from the family of Candy Ride, that's two proven stallions,” Walden said. “He moves with a very lengthy stride, full of quality. He has the length of a Candy Ride, Smart Strike kind of look to him; similar to Lookin At Lucky, just a long, two-turn type horse.”

Plenty of words have been written at this point about the “win now” mentality of the commercial stallion market, and a prospect that didn't race at two and didn't win until the fall of his 3-year-old season might give some pause about what kind of precociousness Tom's d'Etat may or may not pass on to his foals.

Stall said the horse's slow start was more about bad luck and bad timing than him not being ready for the races.

“He would have have probably broken his maiden in his second start during the Keeneland fall meet, like Blame did as a 2-year-old,” Stall said, projecting his talent had he stayed healthy. “I just breezed him one day at Churchill Downs, and everything was fine with him, then something just flaked off and cost us a year. It wasn't like he was some big horse that didn't know what he was doing. A few things just started adding up. It wouldn't surprise me if he got a typier, smaller horse that would be a decent fall 2-year-old. That's the fun of it. It takes a bit of patience, but that's okay.”

Sunday's transition from the racetrack to the stud barn was a familiar one for Stall, who sent Blame on a van from Churchill Downs to Claiborne Farm ten years earlier after the colt shocked the world to best Zenyatta and win the Breeders' Cup Classic.

In the time between, Stall said he has been fascinated seeing what types of mares worked and didn't work when matched with Blame. Now, he's got another stallion to watch and theorize on matings, and based on the page under Tom's d'Etat and the multi-surface success of Smart Strike, he has at least one outside-the-box idea before the breeding season begins.

“Theoretically, there should be some grass there, even though we tried him on grass, and he did literally everything but stop and graze the day we ran him on it,” he said. “Blame's a good grass sire and he never set foot on the grass.”

The post Tom’s D’Etat And The Stud Deal That Could Have Changed Everything appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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