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Ned Toffey Talks Into Mischief, Authentic, Monomoy Girl and More On Writers’ Room

Business is booming at Spendthrift Farm. The once-defunct stallion station has enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in the past decade, thanks in large part to a superstar stallion, a deep-pocketed owner and the steady hand of an experienced general manager. Ned Toffey has seen it all since B. Wayne Hughes purchased Spendthrift in 2004, and he joined the TDN Writers’ Room presented by Keeneland Wednesday. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Toffey talked about the explosive growth of the farm, what makes Into Mischief special, likely Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief), the future of recent Spendthrift purchases Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) and Got Stormy (Get Stormy) and much more.

“Once we did some renovations here at Spendthrift, we brought Malibu Moon over and really thought that was going to be our flagship horse. And all the while there was this little son of Harlan’s Holiday we bought for $180,000,” Toffey recalled when asked about Into Mischief. “The first couple of years he was here, he was a very tough sell. One of the programs that we did, ‘Share the Upside’, was actually designed to help sell seasons to Into Mischief. But it turned out to be the opposite. Into Mischief made the program. He gave us credibility and has given us the confidence to start to go after other top horses. He’s done so much. He drives traffic to the farm. We’ll be fortunate if we can ever have another one as good as him. People give us a lot of credit for having ‘made’ Into Mischief. We’re happy to take that credit, but I think the credit goes to Into Mischief.”

Spendthrift made major waves at last week’s Fasig-Tipton November ‘Night of the Stars’, shelling out $9.5 million for champion topper Monomoy Girl, $4.2 million for MGISW Bast (Uncle Mo) and $2.75 million for MGISW Got Stormy.

“We wanted to have some marquee mares to breed Into Mischief, Authentic and even some of the stallions that came in within the last year as well,” Toffey explained. “We generally will move our own mares out of the way if we have clients that really need to get their mares bred. So oftentimes some of the mares that we start out planning to breed to some of these stallions, end up getting bred to somebody else. This year we wanted to have some mares that we just felt were really strong. We may not breed a lot to Into Mischief. Mr. Hughes usually likes to collect the stud fee and make room for our clients. But now we’ve got a handful of mares that will certainly need to go to Into Mischief, Authentic and the likes of those.”

Asked about the reasoning for retiring Authentic as a 3-year-old while bringing Monomoy Girl and Got Stormy back to the racetrack in 2021 as 6-year-olds, Toffey offered, “You’re talking about a little different price point. We were wide open in terms of what we might do, but his racing career just went so well and Bob [Baffert] said, ‘He’s done so much. He’s done everything that he really can.’ And our primary business is breeding. That’s what drives things here and the stallion complex is the epicenter of Spendthrift. That is our primary focus and everything we do revolves around that. He’s such a sound, talented horse, it was very tempting to go on and run next year, but again, this is such a central part of what we do, we felt like it was time for him to come and start his career here.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers debated which Eclipse categories are still to be decided, appreciated strong 2-year-old performances from the weekend and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, broke down the latest developments in the indictments surrounding Jason Servis and Jorge Navarro. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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Churchill Downs President Flanery to Retire at the End of 2020

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced that the Louisville oval’s president of 11 years, T. Kevin Flanery, has decided to retire at the end of 2020.

Flanery’s 15-year tenure at CDI began in December 2005 as vice president of national public affairs. He was named senior vice president of national public affairs and communications in March 2008 before being named the 13th President of Churchill Downs Racetrack and a Senior Vice President of CDI in July 2009. As President of Churchill Downs, Flanery led a number of significant capital investments that greatly improved the live racing experience including permanent track lighting and the Big Board. He also spearheaded major expansion projects including the Paddock Plaza, The Mansion, the Starting Gate Suites and Rooftop Lounge, the Colonnade, the new Infield Gate and, most recently in 2020, the completion of the equine medical center and Matt Winn’s Steakhouse.

“Kevin has been a pivotal leader in the growth and evolution of Churchill Downs,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI, “not only at the racetrack, but across the Company. His focus on bold capital investments and unmatched fan experiences has had a direct and enduring impact on the success of the Kentucky Derby and his leadership has navigated Churchill Downs Racetrack through many unexpected challenges, not the least of which has been the unforeseen circumstances of 2020. Having worked side by side with Kevin over the last 15 years, I offer sincere gratitude for his friendship and his leadership and we wish him all the best in his retirement. His has been an important and impactful chapter in the history of Churchill Downs Racetrack.”

Bill Mudd, President and Chief Operating Officer of CDI, will act as interim President of Churchill Downs Racetrack until a successor is named.

“It has been an honor to work with a team that constantly strives to protect the legacy of the Kentucky Derby while creating experiences that resonate in our modern world,” said Flanery. “The ability of my Churchill Downs team to listen to our fans and our horsemen has informed every move we have made to enrich the Kentucky Derby for future generations. Having grown up in the area surrounding Churchill Downs Racetrack, I have a deep appreciation for what this place means to so many in our industry and our community. I will forever be grateful to the horsemen, the community and our guests who allowed me the opportunity to impact the rich and vibrant history of Churchill Downs and the unique culture of the neighborhood. I look forward to spending more time with my family and grandchildren and visiting colleagues and friends at Churchill Downs as a fan.”

Flanery came to Churchill Downs following a number of key positions in government and private business, including secretary of the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet, deputy secretary of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and president of Hagan Properties.

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Keeneland November Sale Wraps Up

Despite the upheaval and chaos caused by COVID-19 this year, the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale proceeded during its usual spot on the calendar following the Breeders’ Cup, which was held at the Lexington oval this year. Starting on Nov. 9, the auction concluded its 10-day run Wednesday with nine million-dollar mares, topped by Grade I winner Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy), who sold to Larry Best’s OXO Equine for $1.95 million.

“If I had a takeaway from this whole fall, it’s a word we usually use this time of the year, which is ‘gratitude,'” said Keeneland’s President Elect Shannon Arvin. “This year we’re all feeling gratitude to consignors, breeders, sellers, buyers, media–our whole industry–for being so resilient through tough times. We’re all very pleased with results from our fall.”

Arvin continued, “I think with some of the innovations we’ve had, with the internet bidding and phone bidding, we’ve found creative ways to participate and see the horses when we can’t necessarily be right here in a way we are accustomed to being.”

Throughout the 10-day auction, 2,286 horses sold for a gross of $157,815,300. The average was $69,036 and the median was $25,000. In total, 521 Thoroughbreds left the ring unsold.

“Once you get into Book 3 to the end of the sale these people are more motivated to sell and to move on and to continue trade,” said Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland’s Director of Sales Operations. “We’re fortunate in that we are able to satisfy that market.”

When asked if he thought breeders were holding on to their mares and weanlings given the current economoy, Russell said, “Our numbers were down the same for mares and foals. This is the factory and you don’t have to sell the factory every year. They can hold on for the next year. A weanling you can hold, so those people decided to hold on until the yearling sale which is another viable option.”

Last year’s Keeneland November Sale took place over 12 days with 2,671 horses summoning $200,135,200, with an average of $74,929 and a median of $25,000. Overall, 682 horses failed to meet their reserves. These numbers include post-sale transactions.

The 2019 edition of this auction was topped by champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant’s Causeway), who brought $3.2 million from Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa, while carrying a foal by Justify. There were 14 mares who brought seven-figure price tags last term.

Best bought the sale’s top two lots: the aforementioned Concrete Rose (Hip 216), who brought $1.95 million; and Indian Miss (Indian Charlie) (Hip 32), the dam of champion Mitole (Eskendereya), who hammered for $1.9 million, carrying a foal by the nation’s leading sire, Into Mischief.

Best was the sale’s leading buyer by gross with 17 horses purchased for a total of $7,965,000. Eight of those 17 were mares to add to Best’s burgeoning broodmare band and to support his new stallion Instagrand (Into Mischief), who stands his first year at stud at Taylor Made for 2021. Best’s other nine purchases were weanlings to add to his racing stable.

Taylor Made was the sale’s leading consignor for the fourth straight year and the 24th time since 1987. The consignment sold 208 horses for a total of $18,957,600.

International Participation

International buyers from Japan, the Middle East, Europe and beyond are typically quite active at the Keeneland November Sale. Despite travel restrictions caused by the ongoing pandemic, the foreign contingent was still a heavy presence at Keeneland.

Leopoldo Fernandez Pujals’s Spanish-based Yeguada Centurion was the sale’s third-leading buyer with 22 horses bought for $3,857,000. Japan’s Shadai Farm was number seven on the buyers list with three horses purchased for $2,540,000.

“Even with the restrictions in travel, we do have representatives from pretty much all the countries that we have done business with in the past–Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Korea, the Japanese, and the Europeans,” Russell said. “Everybody appreciated the effort they’ve made if they’ve used our technology or actually came here to buy we’re very fortunate we were able to do that. For both sales, we got international waivers for [buyers from] countries that have issues getting in here. As an industry, we worked with the government to try to get international waivers for anybody who wanted to come here.”

Arvin added, “That’s a credit to our public officials as well. We worked with them to overcome what was basically an international travel ban to the United States.”

Keeneland added internet bidding during its September Sale to aid buyers who could not attend the sale due to COVID-19 restrictions and that option remained popular in November. There were 2,993 bids made over the internet throughout the 10-day auction. A total of 245 horses were sold to online bidders for a gross of $16.062 million, or 10.2% of the gross.

“Internet bidding was very popular in September, but it seemed to be even more popular in November,” Russell said. “While it was used in the first three days at the top end, we have sold a lot more actual horses each day of the second week than we did in the first week. People are comfortable buying a broodmare off the internet. Credit needs to go to the consignors. That provide information to buyers, whether on their websites or sent to them–photographs, videos–directly to these buyers when they made requests. Consignors have been very helpful in marketing their horses to these people who are bidding remotely.”

Triple Crown Progeny Prove Popular

The co-highest priced weanlings of the 2020 November Sale were a pair of babies by Ashford Stud’s resident Triple Crown winners. A colt from the first crop of 2018 Horse of the Year Justify (Hip 21) summoned $600,000 from bloodstock agent Donato Lanni and a son of 2015 Horse of the Year American Pharoah (Hip 244B) brought the same price from Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier. The latter, who was supplemented to the sale, is a half-brother to MGISW juvenile Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music).

American Pharoah was leading sire of weanlings by gross with 11 of his foals selling for $2.44 million. Justify topped that category by average with five of his weanlings selling for an average of $427,000 and a gross of $2.135 million.

Throughout the 10 days of selling, 692 weanlings summoned $39,320,100 with an average of $56,821 and median of $25,000.

Top sire Uncle Mo was the sale’s top covering sire with 13 mares in foal to the Ashford resident, bringing $5.89 million. Into Mischief was second on that list with seven mares carrying foals by the Spendthrift stalwart selling for $4,790,000.

The horses of racing age section of the Keeneland November Sale is always popular and this year that portion was topped by ‘TDN Rising Star’ Hidden Scroll (Hard Spun) (Hip 3295), who brought $525,000 from Fergus Galvin, acting on behalf of Marc Detampel. The 4-year-old racing or stallion prospect was sold by WinStar Racing on behalf of Juddmonte Farms.

“We’ve been working on the racehorse section of the catalog for the last couple of years,” said Russell. “WinStar were the first people to come to us and ask to have a portion of this sale around racehorses. It has grown exponentially since and I think we will be looking at it as we go forward into 2021 and improve on it.”

Final Session

Wednesday’s 10th and final session of the Keeneland November Sale was topped by the 4-year-old colt Mutakaamil (Tapit) (Hip 3753), a racing or stallion prospect, who was purchased by Jeff Engler, acting on behalf of Lea Farms LLC.

A total of 215 horses changed hands for $1,310,600, with an average of $6,096 and a median of $4,000. There were 29 horses who failed to meet their reserves.

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GSW Bravazo to Stand at Calumet in 2021

Calumet Farm’s Bravazo (Awesome Again–Tiz o’ Gold, by Cee’s Tizzy) will be the newest addition to the nursery’s stallion roster in the 2021 season. The 5-year-old will stand for $6,000, with discounts given for multiple mare packages and quality mares.

Trained by Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, the dark bay earned $2,033,195 in career earnings through four seasons on the racetrack. At two, he was second in the GI Claiborne Futurity S. and annexed the GII Risen Star S. early in his sophomore season. A close-up second behind subsequent Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year Justify in the GI Preakness S., Bravazo also finished second in the GI Betfair.com Haskell Invitational S. prior to a third-place effort in the GI Runhappy Travers S. He rounded out that season with a third in the GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile followed by a runner-up effort in the GI Clark H.

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