War of Will | Horse Racing Free Tips

The X-Ray Files: Norman Williamson

The TDN sat down with Irish pinhooker Norman Williamson for this last installment in the series presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders Association (CBA). Through conversations with buyers and sellers, the series looks to contribute to the discussion on radiograph findings and their impact on racetrack success.

The Oak Tree Farm of retired National Hunt jockey Norman Williamson and his wife Janet is responsible for Classic-winning graduates on both sides of the Atlantic. The operation sold future 2019 GI Preakness S. winner War of Will (War Front) and 2022 Irish 2000 Guineas winner Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) at Arqana Breeze-Up Sales. The Williamsons' search for pinhooking prospects encompasses the international stage, as well.

“The world has become a smaller place,” Norman Williamson said. “I've been doing this for 19 years or so and when I first went to America, there were a huge amount of horses that you wouldn't bother looking at, especially the dirt-bred horses. But now, your list tends to be a lot longer. The past couple of years, we've had a sale in Dubai. We are selling horses around the world basically, to Saudi and back to America. I suppose the best example was War of Will. He was pinhooked by an Irishman, he sold in France and he gets back to America to run in the Kentucky Derby and win the Preakness. That wouldn't have happened 20 years ago, I don't think, because people were thinking, 'We will go to America and just buy the turf-bred horses.' Now I think we can look at most horses.”

For Williamson, the vet report goes hand-in-hand with consideration of a yearling's potential price tag.

“We go through the full vetting,” he said. “Sometimes it will depend on the price range, as in what you can forgive and what you can't forgive. I can't forgive bad knees or if the X-rays of his knees aren't great. For breezing, it tends not to work. They get knee pain and you're in trouble from an early stage. So there are certain things that you can put up with, but the price also has to come into account. If you are going to give what we call good money for a horse, well you need to have a clean set of X-rays because it's very important at the other end.”

Williamson said buying horses to resell automatically eliminates some horses with vetting issues.

“I would have put up with plenty of things, only when I am re-selling, those people won't,” he said. “I have a horse that is breezing well and he's 100% sound, but if his X-rays aren't clean they are going to say, 'Well he's going to go lame at some point.' Most of the breeze-up people know if you get a horse to a breeze and he's very sound, whatever his issues are, they are probably not going to come against him if he can take all of that early. We put up with a bit, but because of the other end–for instance, if you are selling to Hong Kong, they have to be absolutely squeaky clean and also if it's a big-money horse, they have to be clean. But it's not necessarily the answer to soundness, in my opinion.”

He continued, “There are quite a few things that wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Sesamoiditis, for me, is just a bit of time. I have never had any trouble with it. And every single horse seems to have had sesamoiditis. Everyone mentions sesamoiditis, but if the joints and legs handle well and they are tight and they look good, I don't tend to have any problems with them. You can't just go galloping tomorrow morning. You've got to take your time. But I haven't had any trouble with it.”

And vet issues are always subjective.

“As we all know, some vets are more critical than others,” Williamson said. “It is the same process, but you tend to find the racehorse vets, as in people who are going in and out of trainers' yards every morning, tend to accept a lot more because they are seeing it every day. If you just have a vet who is sent there to make the horse squeaky clean, well he won't pass much. But the guys that really see these 2-year-olds and see what they can put up with and they don't tend to go lame on things, they will pass them. You'll be passed with a comment. So it does depend quite a bit on the vet. But again going back to it, if you're looking for a big result and big money, you need to have them pretty good.”

When he returns to sell juveniles in the spring, Williamson acknowledged there are some buyers who will take his assessment of his horses into consideration, in addition to the vet report.

“You can certainly talk to trainers and to some of the agents,” he said of discussing the impact, or non-impact, of perceived vet issues in horses he has been training all winter. “But you've also got to realize that some of these agents are employed by some wealthy businessmen and if the horse does go wrong, they have to go back and say whatever. So you do build up a rapport with your trainers and with your customers. And yes, they do start to believe you, because if you don't tell the truth, you're not going to be in business for very long. The trainers can put up with a certain amount, and will say, 'that doesn't bother me' or 'that doesn't bother me.' But it's a tricky one, the agent might understand you and might totally believe you, but he's got to go to a businessman who is investing his money. So I can see where they are coming from as well. They want everything squeaky clean from their point of view. If you stand there and tell somebody we think this is a good horse and he has probably breezed five times and he hasn't been made to go very fast and I really like him, in time, if the horse is a good horse, they will be back to you.”

The all-important clock dominates the under-tack shows at 2-year-old sales in the U.S. and, while a :9 3/5 furlong work might turn heads in Ocala, there is no official timing at the European breeze-up sales. The difference reflects the different nature of racing in Europe versus America, according to Williamson.

“I think, from a horseman's point of view–and I used to ride myself–European racing is very different from American racing,” Williamson said. “They tend to start off slow and they tend to quicken up–American turf racing is now like it, they quicken off the bend. But dirt racing looks to me like it's the horses that go the fastest for the longest. They break from the gate and they go very quick. Breezing probably doesn't make much difference to that type of horse, but if you have a horse here and you want him to go a mile or a mile and a quarter, and you train him to be a clock horse like America, you'd end up with nothing. You'd spend the next 12 months trying to get him to settle. You can't jump off in a turf race here and have the horse run keen with you because he's not going to finish out. So we tend to do it a bit slower and a bit more gradual. But of course there are unofficial timings now and we still have to do a certain time. You won't get away with a slow horse. But I don't think official times will ever work in Europe.”

Without the reliance on the clock, nuance becomes more important at European breeze-up sales.

“There are people who read it very different,” Williamson said. “Some people say, 'Oh, he did a good time,' and some people will say, 'I didn't like his stride.' Whereas in America, it seems to be the fastest is the best, the fastest makes the most money. I don't think any of us breeze-up people in Europe want a professional clock because we tend to train them like that. And you have a huge amount of horses in America breezing in blinkers. I don't think any horse has ever breezed in blinkers in Europe. Straight away, it would be like a red rag, they'd say 'What's wrong with him?' Which tells you the difference. They don't need to see them go that fast here, but once they have nice action and they do it well at a nice dial, I think it's better than trying to break the clock.”

Not trying to beat the clock also allows European pinhookers added time to allow yearlings to overcome issues that their American counterparts might not have the luxury of waiting out.

“I suppose the one thing you can take out of it, you can slightly, as a pinhooker, buy a horse that's a little more backward maybe as a yearling,” Williamson said. “I don't mean necessarily backward, but maybe a big horse. And you can gradually take your time and then if he has natural ability, well he's going to breeze well anyway. In America, they seem to be the big strong horses with big backsides that people buy for breezing. But here, you can buy a horse that looks like a 1 1/4-mile horse to go breezing and give him that little bit of time. I don't really know anything about the American set-up, but here you can [give them extra time]. You still put them into the routine and get them going into the system, but they don't have to be galloping to break a clock. So you can actually give them a week off here or there and a few days off and maybe have a trot out tomorrow rather than go off cantering or galloping again. So you can forgive a little.”

Asked what changes he might like to see in the yearling sales in America, Williamson said, “You need to keep the horsemanship in it. There are certain things–like every single vendor in America mentions sesamoiditis. Well, it's up to yourself to take a chance. We've all bought horses over the years that had moderate X-rays and have been perfect through their racing careers. So, it's not the end of the world, but you are taking a risk.”

Check out previous installments of The X-Ray Files: with Tom McCrocklin, David Ingordo, Liz Crow, Ciaran Dunne, Bill Heiligbrodt, Wesley Ward, and Elliott Walden.

The post The X-Ray Files: Norman Williamson appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Value Sires, Part 3: First Yearlings in ’23

The stallions we assess today find themselves at the first major crossroads of their new career. Poor fellows, they're still a long way from having the chance to demonstrate whether they can actually produce runners. But that seems a pretty incidental consideration in the current marketplace, which has created a self-fulfilling cycle. Like it or not, stallions nowadays do indeed have their best chance of producing a good one from their first crop, as these typically emerge from the biggest and best books they will ever get. That, in turn, only reinforces demand for new sires-and it has become extremely hard to break that circle.

In contrast, we now come to that awkward bubble for stallions between the market testing of first weanlings (and soon first yearlings) and the racetrack testing of first juveniles. Even that, of course, will scarcely be a fair measure of those that might need two turns and maturity to show their full hand. There's nothing like having a strong third and fourth book behind you, then, if a stallion actually starts delivering on the track. But this is instead typically a time when book numbers begin to slide, and farms often start dangling lower fees to keep these horses in the game.

Fee cuts are duly one of the “value” factors we must weigh now, alongside the initial vibes from the weanling marketplace. As a result, we can't just replicate our previous choices among this intake. The sands are shifting. On the other hand, we do need to persevere somewhat. If you truly believe in a horse, you will expect him to make an impact on the track even if he has meanwhile endured a tepid reception at market. And, if he does indeed vindicate your belief, there might actually be a commercial dividend for those who keep the faith now.

That makes this is a devilish group to sieve down to a “podium.” We want to respect the professional verdict of horsemen, presented with the first flesh-and-blood evidence of a stallion's genetic imprint. But we also want to respect those horses that will have to ride out diminishing books pending any racetrack impact. We all know of great stallions who were clinging to the precipice around this point. Yet we also know that many who find themselves in that kind of early pickle will indeed just keep slithering into the abyss.

So let's hit and hope, and see if we can strike a balance between these conflicting forces.

Bubbling Under:

We've often noted that those directing ringside investment tend to be pretty obedient, in that sale averages broadly tend to align with the order suggested by sires' opening fees. This intake, however, actually featured one or two that dropped out of that sequence, with their weanlings, and who will duly be under pressure to raise their game at the yearling sales next year.

Among those who did best behind Authentic-who topped the averages, as required by his fee-were Game Winner and McKinzie, who both duly maintain their $30,000 tags.

Of those who have been processing “mega” books, VEKOMA appeals as a valid play right now. He has taken another friendly clip to $15,000 at Spendthrift (started at $20,000) which should help to maintain momentum pending a remarkable stampede of runners. (First books of 222 and 196!) While the sheer volume of his stock will ensure a wide range of experiences for vendors, a $92,222 average is highly respectable in view of the fact that he sold no fewer than 27 of 29 offered. A Grade I winner at seven, eight and nine furlongs, Vekoma is from a stallion-producing family and channels a lot of speed by the standards of his sire of sires.

It is only with extreme reluctance that we ask HONOR A.P. to dismount the podium, as I remain certain that he was extremely close to the summit of his generation, in ability and looks alike. I suspect it may have been a little difficult for him to start out alongside his own sire, who would ideally have elevated himself into a different commercial tier by now. In the round, however, Honor A.P. has ample pedigree to convert his inherent gifts into an awful lot of “run” for your money.

He should have an adequate foothold with opening books of 110 and 81, and we will be keeping the faith at $15,000 at Lane's End. With that tremendous frame of his, I wouldn't be at all surprised if one or two of his foals mature into major pinhook scores from a median touching $45,000.

Complexity | Sarah Andrew

We gave COMPLEXITY high rank in this group last year and he made a very solid auction debut, finding a home for 27 of 33 weanlings at $58,518. But while his yields are basically in step with the other $12,500 start-up in the intake, he cedes the podium purely because the rival in question-as we'll see in a moment-has taken a fee cut even as his family tree had been elevated.

Everything remains in place for Complexity, however, not least after covering as many as 282 mares across his first two years at Airdrie. He was the most expensive yearling of his crop by a stallion who has since elevated himself to a much less accessible fee; and, for such a fast horse, you might have expected him to spend a rather larger portion of his career in sprints. I'm confident Complexity will have a say in the freshman sires' championship-and, if he does, obviously those who support him now will be well ahead of the curve.

Bronze: WAR OF WILL (War Front-Visions Of Clarity by Sadler's Wells)
$25,000 Claiborne

This series is not about finding stallions who are simply the most credentialed to succeed. That said, I do feel that this guy may have the best prospects of this group of turning himself into an important stallion. For a dirt Classic winner to combine Northern Dancer's parallel breed-shapers Danzig and Sadler's Wells as closely as he does-they respectively account for his sire and dam-feels like a fairly historic opportunity to reconcile the culpably separated gene pools of North America and Europe.

And, in those terms, he looks value as well. Certainly the early signs are that War of Will is getting the commercial traction he needs, with 255 mares across his first two books and a highly promising ring debut, processing 21 of 28 weanlings offered at $102,761.

Standing alongside another young grandson of Danzig, Silver State, War of Will similarly has an opportunity to enrich the legacy of a stallion who founded a global dynasty on this same farm. The maternal line, moreover, is regal: extending to matriarch Best In Show (Traffic Judge) through a line decorated by such brilliant Niarchos performers as his dam's sibling Spinning World (Nureyev) and granddam's half-sister Chimes Of Freedom (Private Account), herself dam of Aldebaran (Mr Prospector) among others. The result is a “stairwell” of quality through War of Will's third and fourth generations that makes it irrelevant which genes filter through, because they are uniformly proven to be potent (i.e. not just by the names that bring them into this pedigree).

That's how you end up with a Preakness winner who could then add a Grade I mile on turf at four. We know that the commercial market often betrays a childish dread of any flavor of chlorophyll in a pedigree, but hopefully everyone can see that the grass elements in this horse are all about miler speed and class.

War of Will | Claiborne

Obviously, War of Will remains a far more affordable alternative to his ageing sire. In the next instalment of this series we'll see whether another elite dirt winner by War Front, Omaha Beach, can retain gold in his own class. But for now we note with pleasure that War of Will and Silver State share a chance to take their farm back to the future, lighting a path from the glorious torch that was Danzig.

Silver: GLOBAL CAMPAIGN (Curlin-Globe Trot by A.P. Indy)
$10,000 WinStar

I've been with this fellow throughout and will gladly double down now that he gets a trim in fee, from $12,500, even as his genes have been exalted by a stellar start to his own stud career by half-brother Bolt d'Oro.

With 177 mares in his first book, Global Campaign will have the necessary ammunition for his bid potentially to give their remarkable dam a second consecutive champion freshman from just three foals delivered before her premature loss.

It'll be fun to see whether her only other son, Sonic Mule (Distorted Humor), can thrive in his own stud career, in Uruguay. Even as things stand, however, Globe Trot was clearly a conduit of some very potent genes.

This is a branch of the Myrtlewood dynasty that has conspicuously concentrated speed. Globe Trot's dam was a triple graded stakes winner (including round one turn) whose half-sister produced triple Grade I sprint winner Zensational (Unbridled's Song)-an unusually quick horse, for his sire, just as two juvenile Grade Is hardly made Bolt d'Oro a standard issue Medaglia d'Oro. Sonic Mule was graded stakes-placed at six furlongs. Sure enough, Global Campaign himself was loaded with a good deal more speed than might be expected in a son of Curlin out of an A.P. Indy mare.

Indeed, he outpaced Yorkton (Speightstown) over seven furlongs on his comeback at four. And while he never ran at two, that was pretty marginal: he romped on debut on January 5. I always felt that his slightly uneven development-which didn't stop him clocking four triple-digit Beyers in 10 starts-meant that people never quite recognized the level he had reached once putting it all together. Conceivably, moreover, his outlying family left him unfinished business over slightly shorter distances (unpressured in the GI Woodward H.).

Global Campaign | Sarah Andrew

Global Campaign made a solid debut at the sales, hitting a median of $52,500 for 16 weanlings sold (25 offered). And while his second book halved to 87, the chance presented by his big first crop could really work in favor of those who persevered. The fee cut gives them every incentive to do so again, not least with Bolt d'Oro ($15,000 in 2021, now $35,000) now surging beyond the reach of many operating at this level.

Gold: COUNTRY HOUSE (Lookin At Lucky-Quake Lake by War Chant)
$7,500 Darby Dan

No point undertaking an exercise like this if you're not prepared to stick your neck out from time to time. Quite clearly the odds are steeply against Country House, favored by no more than 89 mares across his first two books, but he deserves someone to stand up and point out what the herd is missing.

He was scandalously underrated as a racehorse, a victim of all the hoopla about the horse he supplanted as Derby winner. He got no credit for beating all the rest of his crop on the day that counted-including horses like Improbable and Game Winner, who were launched at much higher fees-though his performance actually sat very coherently with the way he had been progressing through his rehearsals.

He was then unfortunate to be denied any chance of authenticating his breakout (becoming even more of a forgotten horse, sadly, after the decision to keep him in training backfired) and, though sensibly priced and inbred to the Sam-Son matriarch No Class (Nodouble), has evidently remained in the margins of breeders' attention.

What a fabulous achievement, then, to hit a $250,000 home run with one of only four weanlings into the ring from his debut crop. Obviously, the colt he sold at Keeneland in November, buried deep in the catalogue as Hip 2370, could turn out to be a flash in the pan. But the fact is that far more expensive peers had to summon two or three dozen weanlings from enormous books to muster a single sale in that kind of range.

Congratulations to those who banked that dividend off a $7,500 cover. It may be too much to hope others will now sit up and take notice, given how deplorably the market has treated Lookin At Lucky over the years. But that horse has never lost his appeal to those prepared to swim against the tide in pursuit of merit. And perhaps it will also prove true of his son that there's no limit to the kind of runner he might produce, if only he is given a chance.

As we've said, this is an agonizing podium because it permits wildly different interpretations of value, bringing together horses like Vekoma, who have suggested immediate viability on a more industrial model, with others who can overcome early neglect and prove long-term value once they get runners.

Country House, while clearly belonging in the latter category, has also made a resounding commercial statement from tiny opportunity. He's an audacious pick, no doubt, but plenty of less deserving prospects will be receiving far more attention-and we must do the little we can to redress that.

The post Value Sires, Part 3: First Yearlings in ’23 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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American Sires Through a European Lens: Part II

Following the appraisal of some of the more established stallions in America who should be on the radar for European breeders, this second instalment looks at some of the younger horses coming through.

It can be argued that attempts to push the Galileo (Ire) sire-line in Kentucky were not as successful as anticipated, with Noble Mission (GB), the brother of Frankel (GB), emerging the best of a group that included such major disappointments as Cape Blanco (Ire) and Magician (Ire). While Noble Mission now stands in Japan, his Grade I-winning son Code Of Honor ($7,500) is about to embark on his second season at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky.

The desire to establish the Galileo sire-line in the US was easy to comprehend, not just because of his championship stud career in Europe but in light of the success enjoyed by Sadler's Wells's son El Prado (Ire), whose sire-line has thrived via Medaglia d'Oro and Kitten's Joy.

Kitten's Joy's death earlier this year robbed turf-minded breeders of a tried and tested option, making the hunt for an heir suddenly all the more important. Thankfully, he has a number of sons at stud and of those based in Kentucky with runners, much encouragement can be gleaned from the start made by Oscar Performance (Mill Ridge Farm: $20,000). A multiple Grade I winner who raced without Lasix, Oscar Performance's first crop of 2-year-olds includes a Grade II winner on turf in Andthewinneris alongside a dirt stakes winner in Red Carpet Ready. A number of other representatives are bubbling under, as an overall group of six stakes horses attests, and he is poised to end the year as America's top turf sire of 2-year-olds, ahead of such proven names as More Than Ready and Kitten's Joy himself.

Next in line is Grade I scorer Divisidero (Airdrie Stud: $5,000), a seven-time winner over five seasons who possesses exactly the kind of hard-knocking profile that should be aspired to. He doesn't have numbers on his side but in his favour is an interesting pedigree that goes straight back to Almahmoud via Cosmah. The ingredients are there for him to surprise a few people.

Divisidero, a seven-time winner over five seasons, possesses exactly the kind of hard-knocking profile that should be aspired to

Medaglia d'Oro's legacy has various horses working for it, not least Bolt d'Oro (Spendthrift Farm: $35,000), who is currently in a three-way battle for champion first-crop sire honours alongside Good Magic and Justify. Regardless of which way the championship goes, Bolt d'Oro emerges as one of the leaders of his generation however the figures are diced. While a tally of five stakes winners is bettered only by the six fired in by Justify and Good Magic, no horse can come close to his 14 black-type horses, which translates to a highly impressive figure of 18.4% to runners. Members of the stakes-winning quintet range from Instant Coffee, winner of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S., to Major Dude and Bobby O, successful in the GII Pilgrim S. and GIII With Anticipation S. on the turf, respectively. He has had just the one runner in Britain and Ireland but the colt in question is Bold Discovery, a winner on debut at Naas for Jessica Harrington who later ran third in the G3 Killavullan S. With his stock also attracting the attention of the European pinhookers, expect to see more of his progeny over here in due course.

In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how Medaglia d'Oro's GII-winning son Enticed (Jonabell Farm: $5,000), who stands alongside his sire at Darley, fares with his first 2-year-olds next season.

Justifying the hype

As with American Pharoah, fellow Triple Crown winner Justify (Ashford Stud: $100,000) has been afforded chances with a number of high-performing grass mares, many of them daughters of Galileo (Ire) belonging to the Coolmore broodmare band. The bulk of his representation has naturally been in America, where he is the sire of four stakes winners to date, all on dirt. But that push to have him well represented in Europe is also paying off. Ballydoyle, for instance, houses the G2 Balanchine S. winner Statuette as well as the promising maiden winners Dame Kiri and Bertinelli. The Fozzy Stack-trained Aspen Grove (Ire) also won the G3 Flame Of Tara S.

One of Scat Daddy's most effective weapons was his ability to work internationally and although it is early days, Justify is following that example, with a flurry of recent Japanese winners to add to his early success in America and Europe. A total of 28 winners and six black-type winners is an excellent start by any measure. But don't forget, Justify is a big horse who didn't make his debut until February of his 3-year-old year. It stands to reason that his progeny will continue to improve.

Fellow Scat Daddy stallion Mendelssohn (Ashford Stud: $25,000) is another who has not lacked for opportunity, with the combination of a Grade I race record, a $3-million yearling price tag, and having Into Mischief as a half-brother key in attracting 252 mares in his first book and another 242 in his second. Mendelssohn was an accomplished 2-year-old on turf for Aidan O'Brien so it's surprising that so few made back it to Europe this season (only four runners in Europe so far), although the handful to hit the track did include Ballydoyle's listed-placed colt Congo River. He is one of six stakes horses for Mendelssohn in a group led by the GII Jessamine S. winner Delight.

While few sire-lines have the commercial pull of Scat Daddy, it remains dangerous to underestimate that belonging to More Than Ready. Of those with first 2-year-olds, Grade I turf winner Funtastic (Three Chimneys Farm: $5,000)–a relation to Gun Runner no less–might not have the numbers behind him but his trio of winners do at least include the GIII-placed First Peace.

Next in line is Catholic Boy (Claiborne Farm: $15,000), a horse of rare versatility who won the GI Travers S. on dirt and GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. on turf. Also precocious enough to win the GII Remsen S. and GIII With Anticipation S. at two, he has around 110 2-year-olds to run for him in 2023, among them a handful bought to breeze in Europe. It doesn't take too much imagination to envisage him filling the void left by More Than Ready as an effective sire on both sides of the Atlantic.

And perhaps Yoshida (WinStar Farm: $10,000), the sole son of Heart's Cry (Jpn) at stud in North America and Europe, will prove capable of laying the foundations for the Sunday Silence line to take root back in Kentucky. Like Catholic Boy, he was top class on both turf and dirt, in his case as winner of the GI Woodward S. and GI Old Forester Turf Classic S., and has been deservedly well supported, with over 100 2-year-olds set to run for him bred off a first-year fee of $20,000. He boasts all the attributes to be effective over here and with several having headed this way, it will be fascinating to see how he gets on.

Of the other Hail To Reason-line horses, the first yearlings by the Arch horse Preservationist (Airdrie Stud: $10,000) generated plenty of positive chatter, selling for up to $280,000. A series of setbacks prevented him from running until he was four, making it harder to gauge how much precocity he might be capable of imparting, but once he got going, he progressed to land the GI Woodward S. If he remains true to the Arch sire-line, then a number of his progeny will also be effective on turf.

Fans of the Arch line also have his final Grade I winner Instilled Regard (Taylor Made Stallions: $7,500) to choose from. A $1.05 million 2-year-old in training purchase, he was capable of performing to a high level on both surfaces, running Grade I-placed as a 2-year-old on dirt before winning the GI Manhattan S. as an older horse on turf. All in all, this is the kind of profile–longevity and versatility–that served the Roberto sire-line so well for so long. He stands for just $7,500 but does have the backing of his owner, Larry Best of OXO Equine.

Accomplished War Fronts

There are also several War Front horses waiting in the wings including Omaha Beach (Spendthrift Farm: $30,000), his sire's most accomplished dirt horse whose Grade I victories ranged from the Santa Anita Sprint Championship over six furlongs to the Arkansas Derby over nine. He represents a highly appealing package as a seriously talented, well-bred horse with the backing of some powerful connections and the market liked what it saw from his first yearlings, as illustrated by an average close to $200,000. He will be one of the favourites to end 2023 as a leading US first-crop sire but with that War Front connection, he is also worth bearing in mind from a turf perspective too.

The first foals by War Of Will (Claiborne Farm: $15,000) were well received at the winter breeding stock sales, selling for an average of $102,762. This is just the type of horse who should be capable of appealing to a worldwide audience, primarily in light of a race record that included the GI Preakness S. on dirt and GI Maker's Mark Mile on turf. Also Grade I-placed at two on turf, he was a graduate of the Arqana May Breeze-Up Sale and hails from a noted Niarchos family (he is out of a Sadler's Wells half-sister to Spinning World) that has worked well in different parts of the world. Given his own history as an accomplished European breezer, his first yearlings will likely catch the attention of that pinhooking community next autumn.

As far as pedigree goes, they don't come much better bred than Lost Treasure (Ire) (Hill 'n' Dale Farm: $3,500), a stakes-placed War Front son of G2 Rockfel S. winner Wading (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), herself a granddaughter of Urban Sea (Miswaki). He doesn't have huge numbers on his side but his first yearlings sold for up to $65,000 and should he possess even a small measure of the sire talent of his relatives, then a fee of $3,500 could come to look very good value.

The fact that [Peter] Brant and Claiborne Farm elected to give Demarchelier a chance at stud is surely testament to his ability

For all the chat of American-sired horses, however, sometimes it pays just to not overcomplicate matters. To that end, there are two Peter Brant-owned horses standing in Kentucky with strong European connections.

Demarchelier (GB) (Claiborne Farm: $5,000)) is a beautifully-bred son of Dubawi (Ire) who cost 425,000gns as a Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling. He looked to have the world at his feet when winning his first three starts, including the GIII Pennine Ridge S., before an injury suffered in the GI Belmont Derby Invitational S. brought his career to an immediate halt. The fact that Brant and Claiborne Farm elected to give him a chance at stud is surely testament to his ability–indeed, Brant has supported him strongly and the resulting foals are likely to be in the hands of some high-profile trainers. He's an intriguing prospect, especially at $5,000.

Gainesway Farm, meanwhile, is home to Raging Bull (Fr), a Wildenstein-bred son of Dark Angel (Ire) who stands for $10,000. The horse is in fact arguably the most accomplished son of his sire at stud anywhere in the world given he won three Grade I races at three to six years–namely the Hollywood Derby, Shoemaker Mile and Maker's Mark Mile. Another well supported by Brant, mares in foal to him realised $360,000 and $230,000 at the Keeneland November Sale. The lots in question, Editor At Large (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Isle Of Wight (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), were both snapped up by Denis Brosnan's Epona Bloodstock. Gainesway has long fared well out of standing turf milers and Raging Bull has been given every chance by connections to be the next in line.

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Gary Barber Appointed to TOC Board

The Board of Directors of the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) unanimously named Gary Barber to fill the board vacancy created by the recent resignation of Bill Strauss. Barber is a long-time Thoroughbred owner, both on his own and in partnership with others, whose stars include Grade I-stakes winners/champions: War of Will, Got Stormy, Belvoir Bay, Salty, The Deputy, Wonder Gadot, Lexie Lou, Comma to the Top, Tourist, Catch a Glimpse, Becrux, Cost of Freedom, Jack Milton, Channel Maker, Get Her Number, Vequist, and Gretzky the Great. In addition to being an owner, Barber is also a breeder and holds significant interests in several stallions.

Per the bylaws, Barber will be required to run in the 2023 board election, when Strauss' term would have expired.

“My passion for Thoroughbred racing is steadfast,” said Barber. “I look forward to joining the Board of the TOC and hope to make a meaningful contribution to the health and welfare of our sport and help attract a new generation of fans.”

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