Stonestreet Gold Again a Rising Star…
The famous silks have done it once more, this time with Marsalis (Curlin) adding another 'TDN Rising Star' accolade to GISW Hot Dixie Chick's already impressive tally as a broodmare. Full-brother and New York's Leading Second Crop sire Union Jackson also claimed Rising Stardom in his racing days; while half-sister Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) added a victory in the GIII Houston Ladies Classic S. and a second in the GII Azeri S. to her million-dollar resume. Considering the dam also earned the TDN seal of approval, this female family really seems to enamor us in all the best ways and what's better than a Rising Star producing more Rising Stars?

A Titan Among Us…
With freaky-fast Olympiad (Speightstown) either breaking track-records or just missing them two races in a row en route to graded stakes victories, LNJ Foxwood's 'breeding stars' momentum doesn't look to be going away any time soon. The brilliant colt is one of his sire's 63 graded winners, and 128  black-type earners. The $700,000 KEESEP grad is bred on the same cross as MGISW Rock Fall (Speightstown), who tore through five victories in a row in 2015 including the GI Vosburgh and Alfred G. Vanderbilt S. in the Empire State.

It's Not This Time all the time…
The 2022 racing season is still young, but Not This Time has already begun to stake his claim as one of the most exciting young sires in the States. Counting GII Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter, Melody of Colors S. winner Last Leaf, and Midnight Stroll waltzing home in the Stonehedge Farm South Sophomore Fillies S. this past weekend, the stallion has 18 black-type winners. Taking into account his 144 lifetime starters as of calculation Mar. 28, he's hitting 17.36% stakes horses (25), 12.5% stakes winners (18), and 4.17% graded winners (6).

Where does the time go?
American Pharoah is about to enter a new stage of his breeding career…being a broodmare sire. And so, the ever elusive construct thus continues to move ever forward. With the retirements of As Time Goes By and Merneith, the ranks of blue-blooded broodmare prospects with him in the pedigree grow: the former in particular bred for success being out of Broodmare of the Year Take Charge Lady (Dehere) and a half to sires Will Take Charge (Unbridled's Song) and Take Charge Indy (A. P. Indy). As Time Goes By is expected to visit Into Mischief. Merneith ends her career Grade I placed and a multiple graded-stakes winner with no immediate stallion plans announced.

Japan takes over the world one race at a time…
Anyone who has tracked November auctions the past several years was not surprised when Japanese horses either won or hit the board in five of six open stakes on the Saudi Cup card bar one…the main event. We were even less surprised when they parlayed those incredible results into an even bigger Dubai World Cup night: winning, dead-heating, or placing in every single race minus the G1 Al Quoz Sprint and the Dubai Kahayla Classic, the latter they had no entries. Japanese connections have been scooping up quality American bloodlines for decades including, perhaps most famously, Sunday Silence, who went on to be 10-time Champion Sire in the country. Now the Land of the Rising Sun could set their eyes once again on the GI Kentucky Derby with Crown Pride (Jpn) (Reach the Crown {Jpn}), a great-grandson of the aforementioned legend through his sire. His trainer already willing after his G2 UAE Derby victory secured a spot in the gate, should the ownership group agree, a Japanese-bred descendant of Seattle Slew and Kingmambo will be in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May. As an added note on the American influence here, Crown Pride's dam was recently bred to Nadal (Blame).

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Chichakly spent several years as an assistant to Gary Contessa, a longtime fixture on the New York circuit. When Contessa announced his retirement from public training in March 2020, he made it clear his departure was not the result of disillusion with the horses, but the headaches of running the business. Recent investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor have put a number of high-profile New York trainers in the crosshairs, adding time-keeping and record-keeping practices on top of the mountain of paperwork it takes to navigate a constricting federal visa program and recruiting skilled help.

“When I had 100 horses, I could absorb this, but when I have 40 horses and 20 of them are so-so, it's not enough to overcome what the Department of Labor is expecting of us,” Contessa said at the time. “There was a time when I was a 'super trainer' and I did very well. When you had the occasional owner who defaulted on you, you had the horses you got stuck with, you had Department of Labor audits, winning would overcome all of that stuff. But when you have a smaller stable — unless you do everything yourself — I don't see how you can do this.”

Into these woes walked Chichakly, who had long pondered putting out her own shingle.

“I pretty much got the choice of, I could take Gary's offer to take things on or be jobless,” she said. “Nobody was hiring anybody at the time. I don't like sitting idle, so I decided I was going full steam into this.”

When Chichakly got the call from Contessa, she had just learned she was pregnant with her daughter, though she wasn't yet sharing that publicly. The timing probably could not have been more challenging, but it also wasn't a good time to suddenly become unemployed. She had decided some time before that she needed at least eight horses to make a profit, and with Contessa's offer to transition previous owners over to her, she had 11.

In her time working for Contessa and Wayne Catalano, she had seen the glories of being a trainer but also the headaches. It seemed there were an awful lot of headaches, but like many people in this business, the lure of the horse made it seem worth it.

“Looking at it I thought, it's not so glorious to be a trainer,” she said. “But I do love figuring out horses, putting the pieces together and figuring out what works for them. I like to be able to find the best parts of the horse and making sure they're happy, too.”

Chichakly multi-tasks in the barn aisle

Chichakly has galloped for many years and still gets on her own string as often as she can, having discovered she can often feel little changes she doesn't always see from the ground. Her dressage training enables her to not only pick up on weaknesses and asymmetry, but also to work in stretching and bending to help correct those issues before they turn into big problems.

In addition to the usual woes of struggling to hire reliable help and get each the day's work done, Chichakly also believes there's a sense of jealousy toward new trainers on the backstretch.

“I think that's true for any young trainer starting out,” she said. “There's always doubters, people who are waiting for someone to fail. I don't think that's specific to me, I see it with other people too. Being a female trainer, too. There are people out there that say we can't do it. Number one word out there is 'crazy.' People love saying that word … I know another female trainer right now who's going through that. She feels like people are actively rooting against her and I don't think she's wrong, because I hear people talking about her or other young trainers. 'Oh they'll never make it,' 'Oh they don't know what they're doing,' or 'They won't last that long.' And it's sad, because we need small trainers for racing to survive. They don't understand their competition is not the person who's got five horses, it's the person who has 500 horses.

“If someone's passionate enough to be here every day, you should be rooting for them. Because there aren't that many left.”

A year and a half later though, things are coming together. Chichakly has saddled 11 winners and is already graded stakes-placed, thanks to Limonite, who picked up third in the Grade 3 Excelsior and second in the Stymie earlier this year. Now, her hopes are high for 2-year-old Our Tiny Dancer, who broke her maiden at Delaware Park Sept. 9 and is entered in the Joseph A. Gimma Stakes at Belmont on Sept. 24. The New York-bred filly was the first winner for sire Union Jackson.

“Because of COVID-19 and being pregnant, then a new mother and a new business owner with little help, I really couldn't get to the sales early on,” Chichakly recalled. “Something I had been so excited for as a trainer, I had to miss. This year, I was getting really frustrated missing OBS and not having 2-year-olds and I knew I had to go to Maryland myself. I'm sure everyone was laughing at the dog and baby in tow but I brought them both to all the under tack shows.

“Right away the Union Jacksons stood out to me, despite not knowing him as a racehorse.”

Chichakly had her eye on several, but found herself either priced out or outbid. Contessa was also at the sale and tipped her off to the chestnut filly, ultimately acting as agent for the purchase as Chichakly signed her first sales ticket. Owned by a partnership including John Moirano, Pines Stables, John Irwin and Sallie P Thoroughbred Racing, Chichakly took a few starts to figure out exactly what the filly needed – soft turf wasn't her thing, and she missed her break in her first dirt start. She took a small string to Delaware Park for a week – with no staff – expecting there would be a place for the filly that would be a little friendlier.

“She delivered above and beyond my hopes for that start,” said Chichakly. “She's not magically a Breeders' Cup-type horse, but she packs quite a punch and should be quite capable in New York fields moving forward.”

One of Chichakly's watercolors

Never one to sit idly, Chichakly still does much of the hot walking, stall cleaning, and grooming herself in addition to the usual training responsibilities of setting schedules, reading condition books, dealing with the books. When she isn't doing the job of several people, she also dabbles in the visual arts. She sometimes helps photograph major race days for the New York Racing Association if she's not running horses, and paints watercolors – all while juggling care of her young daughter. On Whitney Day, she was marching up and down the track with a 9-month-old baby in a pack on her back.

“Someone got a picture I think, I had her on my back and one camera on one shoulder and the other camera on the other shoulder,” Chichakly said. “I think when you're a horseman you're a multitasker anyway. When I was assistant trainer for Gary, he'd leave me sometimes with 60 horses at Belmont when they were in Saratoga, and I was on the pony too and sometimes riding. To be able to watch everything and get through the day, to have people not show up you get really used to having one thought here and one thought there, and working it as you're moving. You don't think about how much you actually did until you sit down at the end of the day and realize how tired you are.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Against The Odds And Despite Her Doubters, Chichakly Is On Her Way appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The freaky-fast bay is new for the 2021 season and will be backed by a syndicate led by Sequel, with global powerhouse Juddmonte Farms in support.

New York's perennial leading sire Freud will stand for $5,000. Freud, New York's leading sire by number of black type winners, turf, and AEI is the versatile full brother to Giant's Causeway. He has lifetime progeny earnings over $65 million dollars aptly earning his nom de course as the “King Of New York.”

“It is a very tough climate in the sales market anywhere now, but especially in the regional markets. We want to give our breeders a chance to be profitable,” said Sequel's Becky Thomas. “The recent sales in Kentucky have clearly demonstrated breeding in Kentucky does not guarantee a profit. The lower stallion fees, no transportation or boarding costs coupled with the lucrative purse structure NYRA offers and resulting awards will give our breeders the opportunity to recover from the dismal 2020 season.”

Unbridled's Song's Grade 1-performing millionaire, Mission Impazible has led every crop he has had of racing age with progeny earnings over $9 million dollars with just five crops of racing age and 45 percent winners. Twin Creeks Farm and Sequel continue to provide support secondary to his progeny success on the racetrack.

Multiple stakes winner Union Jackson is the first son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin to stand in New York. He is out of Hot Dixie Chick, a Grade 1-winning half-sister to Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming. Standing in New York for a partnership between Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings and Sequel New York, his gorgeous first crop are looking to be very fast 2-year-olds of 2021.

Track record-setting, multiple graded stakes winner, Destin, a full brother to Grade 1 sire Creative Cause, was nosed in the Belmont Stakes. He is owned by a syndicate and is supported by Gainesway Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Twin Creeks Farm as well as Sequel New York.

The 2021 Sequel New York Roster is:

Destin – $2,500 (Giant's Causeway – Dream Of Summer, by Siberian Summer)
Freud – $5,000 (Storm Cat – Mariah's Storm, by Rahy)
Honest Mischief – $6,500 (Into Mischief – Honest Lady, by Seattle Slew)
Mission Impazible – $2,500 (Unbridled's Song – La Paz, by Hold Your Peace)
Union Jackson – $2,500 (Curlin – Hot Dixie Chick, by Dixie Union)

All fees are Live Foal/Stands & Nurses. Multiple mare discounts are available as well as incentives for repeat breeders.

Due to covid restrictions, it is unlikely there will be a stallion showcase this year. Virtual inspections for all the stallions will be available in the near future.

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As was reported last week, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Honest Mischief (Into Mischief) is new to the Sequel breeding barn and will begin his stud career for an advertised fee of $6,500. He will be backed by a Sequel-led syndicate and his breeder Juddmonte Farm will also support the stallion.

Sequel’s perennial leading New York sire Freud (Storm Cat), the full-brother to Giant’s Causeway whose progeny have earned better than $65 million to date, commands a fee of $5,000, while Mission Impazible (Unbridled’s Song), Destin (Giant’s Causeway) and Union Jackson (Curlin) are each available for $2,500. All fees are Live Foal/Stands & Nurses. Multiple mare discounts are available as well as incentives for repeat breeders.

“It is a very tough climate in the sales market anywhere now, but especially in the regional markets. We want to give our breeders a chance to be profitable. The recent sales in Kentucky have clearly demonstrated breeding in Kentucky does not guarantee a profit. The lower stallion fees, no transportation or boarding costs coupled with the lucrative purse structure NYRA offers and resulting awards will give our breeders the opportunity to recover from the dismal 2020 season,” said Sequel owner Becky Thomas.

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The first stop on that tour was Wednesday's opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase Sale, which had yearlings bred in the Empire State lead off the proceedings. Looking down the list of offerings, though, the sire ranks represented in the New York portion were almost entirely Kentucky-based.

The biggest exception to that trend came from the stallion roster of Sequel New York, which accounted for every spot among the top five most expensive New York-sired offerings during the New York-bred portion of the Yearling Showcase.

Becky Thomas of Sequel New York described it as a tough marketplace for the handful of horses that were both bred and sired in New York, owing to a variety of factors that were largely out of anyone's control, but became a daunting condition under which to sell horses when stacked on top of each other.

Thomas said the change in venue, well away from New York, affected the types of buyers that were available for horses with full-blooded New York backgrounds, with most instead leaning on the names they recognized more readily. The positioning of the state-bred session on the front end of a marathon few weeks of yearling sales – especially surrounded by national-level offerings on the sales grounds – might have made it harder to stand out, versus how the same offerings might have fared selling in Saratoga Springs with their own kind.

“We're in COVID territory, and unfortunately there's a lot of uncertainty, so the New York-bred, New York-sired horses suffered dramatically,” Thomas said. “New York is under a strong quarantine situation, so we have a fraction of the trainers that are here from New York that would be going to Saratoga to buy these. It was pretty brutal for those sires…It's no one's fault, we were just a victim of circumstances.”

There was a two-way tie amongst the New York-sired offerings for the highest sale price, each bringing $75,000.

Consistent with his position as a perennial leader on the New York sire list, Freud was responsible for one-half of the top duo when Calumet Farm bought Hip 141, a colt named Elusive Freud, for $75,000.

The dark bay or brown colt is out of the winning Elusive Quality mare Follow My Luck, whose first foal to race is a winner by Cross Traffic. Follow My Luck was purchased by breeder Allen Hallett for $24,000 at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Fall Mixed Sale, with Grade 1-winning third dam Strategic Maneuver being the pivot point for runners including Grade/Group 3 winners Ishiguru, Jennifer Lynnette, and Shumoos.

Elusive Freud also has a healthy bit of local flavor on his page in Good Luck Gus, a four-time stakes winner against New York-bred stakes competition.

Vinery Sales consigned Elusive Freud as agent for Hallett.

Freud, a 22-year-old son of Storm Cat, stood the 2020 breeding season for an advertised fee of $6,500.

Completing the exacta was Hip 12, a colt from the second crop of Laoban who sold to Northshore Bloodstock, agent.

The second foal out of the winning Street Cry mare Lapinski is notable for his third dam, the 2006 Broodmare of the Year Cara Rafaela – the dam of champion Bernardini and Grade 1-placed Ile de France. The colt was bred by Milfer Farm Inc., and consigned by Bluewater Sales, agent.

Laoban, New York's leading freshman sire, also sent through Hip 98, a colt out of the unraced Bodemeister mare Anna's Angel, who sold to Steven Young, agent, for $35,000. The dam is a half-sister to Grade 1 winners Spun Sugar and Daaher. Bluewater Sales also handled this colt at the sale.

A 7-year-old son of Uncle Mo, Laoban stood the past season for $5,000.

The Yearling Showcase also marked a coming out party for Union Jackson, who sends his first yearlings through the ring this season.

Leading the way for the 8-year-old son of Curlin was Hip 25, a dark bay or brown filly out of the winning Wildcat Heir mare Mochima who sold to Autrey Bloodstock for $37,000. Bred by Larry Botting, the colt hails from the family of Grade 3 winners Feline Story and Notacatbutallama. Gainesway consigned him, as agent.

Union Jackson was also represented by Hip 152, a colt out of the unraced War Pass mare Hey Wheresmydinner who hammered to Meah/Lloyd Bloodstock, agent for David McCarty, for $30,000.

The colt was bred in partnership by Sequel Stallions NY and Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, the two entities that stand Union Jackson. Sequel New York also consigned the colt on Wednesday.

“People really liked them, and got to appreciate them,” Thomas said about the Union Jackson yearlings. “I think people will go away with a good feeling with what they look like.”

The next opportunity for buyers to shop for New York-breds en masse will come a bit closer to home at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale on Oct. 5-6 in Timonium, Md. About three-quarters of the auction's opening session will be dedicated to New York-breds.

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