April 20, 2008

Owner keeps an eye on one that got away
By STEVE ANDERSEN
Bob Bone will have an interesting perspective on the $250,000 Snow Chief Stakes at Hollywood Park next Sunday.

When he stands in the paddock, Bone will be focused on Overland, a Harlan's Holiday colt that will be his starter in the race for 3-year-old California-breds.

Do not be surprised if Bone peeks across the paddock occasionally to check on Bamaha Breeze, a colt he bred and saw claimed away for $20,000 in January.

Bamaha Breeze is unbeaten in four starts, three of which have come for trainer Steve Miyadi, who took him from Bone.

Bone thought he was getting away with sneaky move when he put Bamaha Breeze into a low-priced claimer for his career debut. But he got caught.

"I thought we were taking a little edge," he said. "I wouldn't have entered him for maiden 20 if I thought he'd be like this. It's disappointing but it's part of the game. If I enter him for $20,000, it's my own deal. I don't get upset or cry about it. I've claimed some good ones and some bad ones."

Bone, of Shingle Springs, Calif., has been active claiming horses for years. He is well-known for claiming Choctaw Nation for $40,000 in 2004 and watching the horse develop into a multiple stakes winner and millionaire.

Bone thinks Overland can be a factor in the Snow Chief Stakes, the richest race on the California Gold Rush program, which includes 10 stakes for statebreds.

So far, Overland has been a successful acquisition for Bone and partner Jim Vlahos. They claimed Overland for $32,000 at Golden Gate Fields last November and have watched him earn $29,320 since.

Overland, trained by Steve Sherman, has won 2 of 7 starts and $40,420. For Bone and Vlahos, Overland has won a starter allowance, finished eighth in the $150,000 California Derby, and second in two optional claiming races around two turns.

The second-place finishes were a disappointment to Bone, even though Overland was closing late.

"I think we made a good claim," Bone said. "I really expected him to win both times, but he got behind a slow pace. In the California Derby, he was a little disappointing. I think he's one of those horses that the further he goes, the better.

"He'll be a little outmatched, class-wise," Bone said of the Snow Chief, which is run over 1 1/8 miles. "I think a lot of them won't get the distance, but he'll get the distance for sure. He'll come running and pick up horses. I don't know if he's talented enough."

Bone was attracted to Overland because of his breeding. The colt is out of Lookn at a Blurr, by Murrtheblurr. Lookn at a Blurr is the dam of Lookn Mighty Fine, another remarkable claim for Bone earlier this decade.

Bone claimed Lookn Mighty Fine in Fresno in October 2000 for $6,250 and watched her develop into the winner of the Sun City Handicap at Turf Paradise in 2001 before losing her for $62,500 in summer 2001. A year later, Bone claimed Lookn Mighty Fine again, this time for $50,000. She later won the 2002 Las Madrinas Handicap at Fairplex Park before Bone lost her in an $80,000 claiming race.

Overland is by Harlan's Holiday, who stands in Kentucky. Overland was registered as a California-bred after Lookn at a Blurr was bred back to a California stallion.

As for Bamaha Breeze, he still generates breeders awards for Bone.

"When people claim from me, I wish them great luck, except when I run against them," he said. "Then, I wish them good luck."

April 13, 2008

Moscow Ballet leaves behind decades of success
By STEVE ANDERSEN
Moscow Ballet, who was euthanized at Harris Farms in Coalinga, Calif., on April 4 at the age of 26, had a significant impact on California racing throughout his more than two decades at stud.

The stallion was euthanized because of degeneration in his hind end, Harris said.

"He couldn't get up and couldn't get down," Harris said. "He had a good life. He looked really good until the last three or four weeks."

Moscow Ballet stood his first season in 1986, as a 4-year-old, and his first crop included Dominant Dancer, the winner of the Grade 1 Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita in 1989. In 2006, two of his females - Dancing Edie and Moscow Burning - finished first and second in the Grade 1 John Mabee Handicap at Del Mar. Moscow Burning had been named California-bred horse of the year two years earlier.

Through his stallion career, Moscow Ballet had one home - at Harris Farms.

"It's unusual to stand a stallion as long as we did, for more than 20 years," owner John Harris said.

It was Harris who walked out of the winner's circle after the 2006 John Mabee and said, "He's still got it," about Moscow Ballet.

Moscow Ballet was a stakes winner in Ireland as a 2-year-old in 1984, winning the Group 3 Railway Stakes. He made one start at 3, but was unplaced.

At stud, he sired more than 750 foals with progeny earnings of more than $20 million. Moscow Ballet was by Nijinsky out of the Cornish Prince mare Millicent, who did not start. Millicent was a half-sister to Mill Reef, the star European 3-year-old of 1971.

Moscow Ballet ranked 13th on the 1989 juvenile sire list, helped by Dominant Dancer's major win. She was the first of three Grade 1 winners for the stallion. The others were Dancing Edie and Golden Ballet, who rose from the lowly two-furlong maiden special weight races at Santa Anita in 2000 to win the Grade 1 Las Virgenes Stakes and Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks in 2001.

Moscow Ballet had six California-bred champions: Dominant Dancer, Golden Ballet, Moscow Burning, Moscow Changes, Soviet Problem, and Teresa Mc. It was Soviet Problem who came closest to giving Moscow Ballet a Breeders' Cup winner, finishing second by a head in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs after leading by a length in the stretch. She was named the California-bred horse of the year that season.

While Golden Ballet was the champion state bred 3-year-old filly of 2001, Moscow Ballet's other statebred champions came in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Dominant Dancer was the top 2-year-old filly of 1989, Teresa Mc was the champion 3-year-old filly of 1991, and Moscow Changes was the leading 2-year-old male of 1992.

Moscow Ballet stood for as much as $15,000, Harris said. In 2007, his final full season at stud, he stood for $3,000.

"It's hard to stand one for a whole lot in California," Harris said. "He got fairly good mares."

This year, Moscow Ballet was bred to "a few mares, but we didn't get any mares in foal," Harris said.

The stallion is the broodmare sire of 11 stakes winners, including Leave Me Alone, the winner of the Grade 1 Test Stakes at Saratoga in 2005; Spot the Diplomat, the winner of two stakes for California-bred males at Del Mar in 2006; and Stage Luck, the winner of the 2008 Affectionately Handicap at Aqueduct.

Stage Luck is by Unbridled's Song out of Golden Ballet, and was purchased by Darley Stable for $1.6 million at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale.

"I think he'll be a good broodmare sire," Harris said of Moscow Ballet. "We've got several Moscow Ballet mares."

April 6, 2008

Insurance program to aid farms
By STEVE ANDERSEN
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bud Johnston does not need a reminder about the exorbitant costs that California horse farm owners pay for worker's compensation. The figure for his Old English Rancho in Sanger, Calif., is easy to remember.

"It's $1,000 a day, and that's before we open the door or buy a bale of hay," he said Friday morning at Santa Anita.

For Johnston's operation, and other California Thoroughbred farms, relief could be on the way. A captive insurance program developed by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association and modeled after an existing program for Thoroughbred trainers in the state is nearing completion and could be put in place later this spring, according to CTBA executive director Doug Burge.

Burge said Friday that farms could have savings of "15 to 20" percent off current policies, many of which are purchased through the government-backed State Fund insurance system.

For Johnston, and other farm owners, the savings cannot occur fast enough.

"It's ridiculous," Johnston said of the cost. "I hope it accomplishes what they believe it will."

The program will be limited to farms that are CTBA members and will be brokered by MOC Insurance Services of San Francisco, which developed the program for trainers.

Scoop Vessels, former president of the CTBA and the owner of Vessels Stallion Farm in Bonsall, Calif., said the new program will benefit his operation.

"Once it comes rolling out, we'll take a hard look at it," Vessels said. "For a majority of the people, it could be [a savings of] 10 to 15 percent daily, which is quite a bit in today's market. That's a pretty good deal. Anything we can do to help the farm nowadays, it's tough out there."

Burge said the program could be in place within 30 days and could offset increases in labor, fuel, and hay costs that currently burden farms.

"It's our goal and intention to offer the farms a competitive alternative to the current situation, which basically has the State Fund as the only entity that has written worker's compensation insurance," he said.

Filly gives Momentum his first winner

The freshman stallion Momentum was represented by his first winner when Aromatica won a two-furlong race for 2-year-olds at Santa Anita on March 28.

A filly racing against males, Aromatica was timed in 21.01 seconds, winning by a length. Owned and bred by Francoise Dupuis, Diane Keith, and Michael Neumann, Aromatica is trained by Jean-Pierre Dupuis. The filly is out of Doman's Magic, by Magical Mile.

Momentum is by Nureyev out of the Foolish Pleasure mare Imprudent Love. Momentum raced in England and the United States, winning 4 of 17 starts and $664,817. A two-time stakes winner, Momentum ran second in the Pacific Classic and Hollywood Gold Cup in 2002.

Owned by Paul Reddam, Momentum stands for $5,000 at Vessels and had more than 100 foals in his last two crops, Vessels said.

As part of a promotion to attract mares to the stallion, Reddam offered a deal to breeders that yearlings could be sold back to the farm this year for $15,000 without obligation, or three times the $5,000 stud fee. Vessels said that there have been "quite a few" breeders who had taken advantage of the promotion.

The promotion is no longer being offered, Vessels said.

"We do have a lot of interest in him," Vessels said. "It was pretty forward thinking on [Reddam's] part, along with the horse doing his part of being a nice stallion. Paul stepped out of the box in regards to deal making. We had a couple years of 100 mares, that's pretty good."

March 30, 2008

Barretts sets up new auction
By STEVE ANDERSEN
Taking advantage of the Breeders' Cup being run in Southern California, Barretts unveiled plans on Friday to host a sale of selected horses of racing age in Pomona, Calif., on Sunday, Oct. 26.

The evening sale will be held a day after the second and final day of the Breeders' Cup at the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita.

"We expect it to be a fairly small sale," said Jerry McMahon, president of Barretts. "Somewhere around 50 to 75 horses would be a decent target for us. We're looking for high-quality horses that need to be marketed at that time of year."

The newly formed sale, which will be called Barretts Classic, will be the first of as many as three days of sales at Barretts that week. The annual fall mixed sale will be held on Oct. 27 and possibly Oct. 28, if there are sufficient horses available, McMahon said.

The Barretts Classic sale could become an annual event, since the 2009 Breeders' Cup is also scheduled for the Oak Tree meeting, McMahon said.

"We have to get out and tell the story and hope that enough like people like the concept," McMahon said. "Our early discussions with a few industry people seem very supportive. We have to get out and sell the horses."

The Barretts Classic sale will have a nomination deadline of Sept. 5.

McMahon said the upcoming May sale of 2-year-olds in training on May 13 will include approximately 330 horses.

Tommy Town adds Buck to roster

Buck, a winner of 2 of 5 starts, including the final race of his career, has entered stud during the current breeding season at Tommy Town Thoroughbreds in Santa Ynez, Calif., the farm announced earlier this month.

Buck, who is by Unbridled's Song out of the Wild Again mare Kate Again, will stand for $2,500. Buck ended his career last December, winning an allowance race over 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita. A $375,000 purchased at the 2003 Keeneland September yearling sale, Buck raced in California, making two starts in 2005 and three starts last year.

He joins a stallion roster at Tommy Town that includes Cat Dreams, Hold for Gold, Mambo Train, Ministers Wild Cat, Old Topper, Proud Tower Too, and Uncle Denny.

Sale's top-price statebred turned out

A California-bred Victory Gallop filly bought for $170,000 at the Barretts March sale of selected 2-year-olds in training earlier this month has been turned out and will be pointed to a campaign in the second half of the year, according to new trainer Bob Baffert.

The filly was purchased by David and Elia Sivage's D and E Racing, Baffert said. She was the most expensive California-bred purchased at the one-day sale on March 12.

"She doesn't look like a sprinter," Baffert said. "She moves nice. We liked her at the sale, but she's been turned out. I hope she can run."

Consigned by Kirkwood Stable, agent, the Victory Gallop filly is out of the 18-year-old mare Devil's Nell, who was stakes-placed at Santa Anita. The Victory Gallop filly is a half-sister to Kiss the Devil, a two-time stakes winner who earned $381,629.

The filly was purchased for $62,000 at the California October yearling sale last year by Thor-Bred Stables.

The leading California-bred male at the sale, a colt by Include, was purchased for $100,000 by WinStar Farm. Consigned by NexStar, agent, the colt was purchased at the California October yearling sale for $50,000 by Oakmont Thoroughbreds.

Yearling sale changing location

The Northern California yearling sale will be held on Aug. 26 at the Sonoma County fairgrounds in Santa Rosa. The sale had been previously held at the Alameda County fairgrounds in Pleasanton.

Nominations for the sale, which is administered by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, close on June 2

March 23, 2008

Idiot Proof extends Wygods' empire globally
By STEVE ANDERSEN
The breeding operation of Marty and Pam Wygod stretches from California to Kentucky, and it includes River Edge Farm in Buellton, Calif., the ownership of Kentucky-based stallions After Market and Yankee Gentleman, and numerous top-level mares in that state.

In the next week, the Wygods' racing stable will go global when Idiot Proof starts in the $2 million Golden Shaheen for sprinters in Dubai.

For the Wygods, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the California-bred Idiot Proof is the leading horse in a stable that in recent years has included the Grade 1 winner After Market, the 2004 champion 2-year-old filly Sweet Catomine, and other major stakes winners in this decade such as Silent Sighs, Smooth Player, and Tranquility Lake.

Last year, their stable had two finalists for Eclipse Awards - Idiot Proof as outstanding sprinter and After Market as outstanding turf male.

Idiot Proof, the runner-up to Midnight Lute in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Monmouth Park last October, will enter the Golden Shaheen on a three-race losing streak. His last win came in the Grade 1 Ancient Title Stakes at Santa Anita last fall. Trained by Clifford Sise, Idiot Proof, 4, has lost twice this year, finishing third in the El Conejo Handicap at Santa Anita on Jan. 1 and second in the Phoenix Gold Cup at Turf Paradise on Feb. 16.

In the Golden Shaheen, Idiot Proof will try to become the second California-bred to win the six-furlong dirt straightaway race, joining Proud Tower Too, the 2006 winner.

"I think he'll run very big," Marty Wygod said. "He's a funny horse. There are tracks that he likes and tracks that he doesn't like. He prefers plain dirt. It depends on how he ships and how he reacts. I think he's just coming into his own."

The Wygods bred Idiot Proof at River Edge Farm. He is by their homebred stallion Benchmark, one of three River Edge stallions that have thrived in recent years. Bertrando, the champion older male of 1993, led California stallions in progeny earnings in 2007 with $4,235,168. At the age of 19, he remains in high demand among California breeders.

The upstart has been Tribal Rule, 12, whose racing career was cut short by injuries. A winner of 2 of 4 starts and the leading freshman sire in California in 2006, Tribal Rule stood for no breeding fee for his first three years at stud. A breeding season now costs $5,000. Wygod said there has been interest from Kentucky farms about relocating the Storm Cat horse.

Wygod said that River Edge farm manager Russell Drake "can't understand why all the owners of Kentucky farms are so friendly to him."

Speaking of Tribal Rule, Wygod said, "What he's been able to accomplish has shocked me. I didn't have the same confidence as Russell did."

For now, Tribal Rule is not leaving the state, though Wygod wonders if California can support such a promising stallion.

"I think I'd like to keep him here if I can stand him at a price close to what he would stand for in Kentucky," he said. "I think $10,000 is about as high as California will go."

Wygod said he will breed 20 of his mares to Tribal Rule and that the stallion will have a book of more than 140 mares this year, a large number for a California stallion.

The Wygods bred Tribal Rule as well as his dam, Sown, a half-sister to the late stallion Pirate's Bounty, who stood at River Edge and was a leading sire in California.

After Market and Yankee Gentleman were bred by the Wygods.

After Market, who stands for $30,000 at Lane's End in Versailles, Ky., is by Storm Cat out of Tranquility Lake, a half-sister to Benchmark. Tranquility Lake's full-brother Jalil was sold by the Wygods for $9.7 million at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale to Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai and is a probable starter in the $6 million Dubai World Cup next Saturday.

Yankee Gentleman, who stands for $7,500 at Airdrie Stud in Midway, Ky., is by Storm Cat out of the Gradeo1 winner Key Phrase, who is a half-sister to Tribal Rule.

"All the families come back to claiming horses we had 30 years ago," Wygod said. "It's all come together with the old families."

February 17, 2008

Drop in foal crop raises field size worries in California
By STEVE ANDERSEN
ARCADIA, Calif. - The 3,223 California-breds registered with the Jockey Club from the 2006 crop marked an 11 percent decline from the 2005 crop and the lowest number of foals registered in the state in nearly a decade.

Earlier this week, the Jockey Club released its online fact book, which included state-by-state foal crops for 2006, the most recent available. California ranked third in number of foals behind Kentucky (10,346) and Florida (4,296), a position it has held annually since relinquishing second to Florida in 1994.

The 2005 California-bred foal crop reached 3,636. There were 3,783 foals in the 2004 crop, according to Jockey Club statistics.

The sharp drop in California-bred foals in 2006 has the attention of California Thoroughbred Breeders Association executive director Doug Burge, who acknowledges that the economic climate in California has contributed to the decrease.

Burge said the loss of some farms to development and the high cost of operating a breeding farm in California have taken a toll at a time when purses are not growing substantially. At the same time, purses in New Mexico, where some of the lesser mares from California have been sent, are booming because of growth in purses from racetracks aided by slot machines.

"If you look at the mares bred, the one thing that is a little concerning is that we've taken 1,000 mares out of production in the last two to three years," Burge said. "There is a good argument that most of that is a shuffling off from the bottom end, a culling from an economic standpoint.

"It costs more now than ever to raise and develop a young horse. If it's not making it from an economic standpoint, you will see a demise."

"A lot of the regional markets are experiencing similar trends as we are. It's not just a major issue here in California. It does get down to the economics."

Since 1968, according to records available on the Jockey Club's website, California's annual foal crop has ranged from a low of 3,128 in the 1997 crop to a high of 6,061 in 1985. As recently as the 2003 crop, there were 3,865 foals registered in the state.

Burge said the development of an incentive awards program for owners of California-breds in the late 1990s spurred growth through the first half of this decade, but that the advantages from that program have dissipated.

Along with the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the racetracks, the CTBA has held discussions on ways to increase ownership of statebreds, Burge said. Field size at the state's racetracks could be at risk. Burge said that 50 percent of starters on both the Northern and Southern California circuits are California-breds.

"What we're looking at are ways to stimulate the production of not only better horses but to reverse that trend [of smaller foal crops] and get back to where we need to be," Burge said.

"I think the optimum number, with the amount of racing dates we have and the dependency we have in California on the local horse, is probably 3,500-plus."

Burge said that farm operation costs have hurt foal crops. One way to help alleviate those costs is to help farms band together for issues such as workers' compensation insurance policies.

"We've lost a number of farms to development and horses to other states that are subsidized by slot machine money," Burge said. "We're looking for ways to assist here."

Burge said that the preliminary figures for the 2007 foal crop are more encouraging. In conversations with the Jockey Club, he said he found the foal crop could reach 3,300.

February 10, 2008

Lava Man targets unprecedented feat
By STEVE ANDERSEN
ARCADIA, Calif. – When Lava Man makes his expected return to racing this spring after a layoff of nearly six months, he will begin a campaign that could lead to an unprecedented fourth consecutive title as outstanding California-bred older male.

Last week, as Lava Man returned to trainer Doug O’Neill’s stable at Hollywood Park, he was named the champion California-bred older male of 2007, a title he won in 2005 and 2006. He joins Ancient Title (1974-76) and Best Pal (1992, 1994-95) as three-time winners. In addition, Lava Man is a finalist for the horse of the year title, along with the champion sprinter Idiot Proof and the outstanding older female Nashoba’s Key.

Lava Man won the California-bred horse of the year title in 2005-06. The only three-time winners of that award are Snow Chief (1985-87) and Best Pal (1990-92). The award will be announced at the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association’s awards dinner in Pasadena on Feb. 18. CTBA members vote on the year-end champions.

Lava Man has not started since finishing sixth in the California Cup Classic on Nov. 3. The loss was his third straight, a disappointing end to an otherwise outstanding campaign. Early in the year, Lava Man successfully defended his title in the Santa Anita Handicap and won a record-equaling third Hollywood Gold Cup in June. But as the year progressed, his form tailed off and he was sent to a local farm for a break in the fall.

O’Neill said that Lava Man has shown signs of enthusiasm since returning to the stable.

“He looks fantastic,” O’Neill said. “I’m very happy with the time off, what it’s done for him. We’re seeing all the signs of a champion Thoroughbred on the comeback trail.”

Owned by the Kenly family’s STD Racing and Jason Wood, Lava Man is expected to return to racing at the Hollywood Park spring-summer meeting. The long-term goal is the Hollywood Gold Cup, with a possible start to the campaign in the Khaled Stakes for statebreds on turf in late April. Lava Man won the 2006 Khaled.

“That’s got our name written all over it,” O’Neill said. “We’ve been lucky, with other horses, of using a grass route as a prep. That might weigh into it. I’d definitely say Santa Anita is out.”

The six horses that accounted for the eight divisional titles are expected to race again this year.

Georgie Boy, the champion 2-year-old male, starts in Sunday’s $150,000 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita.

Spring Awakening, the champion 2-year-old filly, and Romance Is Diane, the champion 3-year-old filly, have been turned out for the winter, with plans to return at Hollywood Park in the summer, according to Mike Mitchell, who trains both fillies.

Idiot Proof, who was also named champion 3-year-old male, will start in the Phoenix Gold Cup at Turf Paradise next weekend.

Nashoba’s Key, also named champion turf horse, is being considered for the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap at Santa Anita in March.

At the Feb. 18 ceremony, three breeder awards will be presented to Marty and Pam Wygod, who own River Edge Farm in Buellton, Calif. Their stallion Bertrando led the general progeny earnings list, while Tribal Rule was the leading sire of 2-year-olds by earnings. The Wygods were leading breeders in money earned.

In other awards, Ed Moger Jr. will be honored as outstanding trainer, the stallion Decarchy will be recognized as leading freshman sire, and the stallion Swiss Yodeler will be honored as the sire of the most winners.

The CTBA’s Hall of Fame will induct breeder John Harris, trainer Mel Stute, jockey Russell Baze, and the champions Flying Paster and Decidedly.

January 19, 2008

Barretts starts year with realistic mind-set
By STEVE ANDERSEN
ARCADIA, Calif. - Barretts conducts the first of its six sales for 2008 with the two-day mixed sale in Pomona, Calif., on Tuesday and Wednesday, an event that will be hard-pressed to repeat the success of 2007, according to the sale company's president, Gerald McMahon.

Last year, boosted by the dispersal of Granja Vista del Rio Stable, the sale's average price grew 21 percent, to $9,544, and the $560,000 price paid for the stakes-winning mare Selvatica set a sale record.

This year's sale, which features 524 horses, does not feature a dispersal of the same strength.

"I don't think we have a dispersal that will ring the bell," McMahon said. "This is more normal."

The sale is dominated by 224 broodmares and 145 yearlings. The broodmares include Delta Belle, by Mr. Prospector, who is being sold in foal to Good Journey. Delta Belle is out of Without Feathers, the winner of the Grade 1 Monmouth Oaks in 1987. The yearlings include Ministers Power, a half-brother to the multiple stakes winner Epic Power, who is by Ministers Wild Cat.

Barretts offers two mixed sales each year, in January and October; two sales of 2-year-olds in training, in March and May; a horses of racing age and 2-year-olds in training sale in June; and a yearling sale in the fall.

In 2007, five of the six sales at Barretts showed an increase in average. The May sale had a record average of $62,604, while the June sale, boosted by a small dispersal from Meadow Creek Farm, had a record average of $18,879.

"We've been kind of lucky to have some good dispersals," McMahon said. "It seemed like last year every sale had a component that was pretty exotic."

The only declining market in 2007 was the yearling sale, held in conjunction with the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association. The average price fell 21 percent from 2006, to $19,909.

The sale calendar ended with a strong October mixed sale, which had an average price of $9,740, an increase of 74 percent over 2006. The sale was boosted by a reduction of Golden Eagle Farm horses and a dispersal of holdings from prominent owner Stan Fulton.

McMahon said that the first sale of 2-year-olds in training, on March 12, will have a catalog of approximately 190 horses, down about 10 from last year. He said that is a reflection on the number of top-class horses available for that sale.

McMahon says predictions are hard to make for the 2-year-old market.

"The market is very selective, and those sales are kind of reflective of that," he said. "The March sale is always a high-wire act. The top performers and top-rated horses always do well.

"May is a middle market and has been pretty strong. It has kind of a little more depth because it doesn't have the expectations" of the March sale.

McMahon said the yearling sale is tentatively set for Sept. 30. The sale has a narrow window for potential dates, between the massive Keeneland September yearling sale and other autumn sales in Florida and Maryland.

"We're looking hard at it and trying to pick a date that makes sense," he said. "The calendar is chock-full. That market is a challenge because of the caliber of competition across the country for buyers.

"It's hard to know what effect Keeneland has on the market. Some people say if you sell before, they'll wait, and if you wait, the money will be gone.

"Racing here is really demanding, and a lot of local owners and trainers chose to buy at other market as opposed to here."

January 11, 2008

Bertrando, Decarchy lead sire lists
By STEVE ANDERSEN
ARCADIA, Calif. - Bertrando has truly become a heavyweight among California stallions.

In 2007, for the second time in three years, he led California stallions in progeny earnings, with $4,235,168.

Lately, at Marty and Pam Wygod's River Edge Farm in Buellton, Calif., where the 19-year-old stallion is based, he has been sporting, well, a larger look.

"He's a little heavier weight-wise than he normally is, but I probably did that to him," farm manager Russell Drake said. "When they get older, I tend to feed them a little more."

Bertrando, who ranked 45th on the 2007 national list, led by Smart Strike ($14,358,570), was the only California stallion to surpass $4 million in progeny earnings in 2007. He was followed on the list by In Excess ($3,797,819), Deputy Commander ($3,692,200), Unusual Heat ($3,542,981), and 2006 leader Swiss Yodeler ($3,403,662).

Bertrando's 2007 earnings were much higher than when he topped California's general list in 2005 with earnings of $3,644,295.

In 2007, Bertrando's leading money winner was Bilo, who earned $327,780 and won the Grade 1 Triple Bend Handicap at Santa Anita and the California Cup Sprint at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting for trainer Marty Jones. Bilo was campaigned by the late Ed Nahem, who was part of the partnership that campaigned Bertrando on the racetrack. Nahem retained an ownership share in Bertrando during the horse's stallion career.

Nahem died in November. Bilo was subsequently sold to the partnership of Scott and Wayne Anastasi and Don Capen and is being pointed for the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic at Santa Anita on Jan. 26, according to new trainer Mike Mitchell.

Bertrando, who stands for $12,500, was bred to "80 to 90 mares" in 2007, according to Drake. He expects a similar number for 2008.

"It seems like everyone's a little slow about booking," he said. "He's got 70-plus right now. A lot of people wait until their mare foals. It's not like you're in Kentucky when if they're going to breed to a good stallion you've got to book in October or November."

Drake thinks that Bertrando's legacy could be his results as a broodmare sire.

"The thing I love about Bertrando is that some of his broodmares are fabulous, and you can breed them to anything and get a decent-looking foal," he said. "I think someday his broodmare part will be a strongest point."

Decarchy top freshman stallion

Decarchy was the leading freshman stallion in California in 2007 with progeny earnings of $289,243. He ranked 30th on the national list, led by Posse, with $1,765,638.

Decarchy stands at Rich and Gaby Sulpizio's Magali Farms in Santa Ynez. His freshman stallion title was a delightful surprise to farm manager Tom Hudson.

"We thought they'd be better later horses, as 3-year-olds," he said. "We didn't think he'd produce a lot of 2-year-olds, so he shocked all of us that he's produced as many runners as he has."

Timehascometoday was Decarchy's leading earner, with $73,998.

The success has led to added interest in the 11-year-old stallion, Hudson said. Decarchy was bred to "60 mares or above every year" since he entered stud in 2004, Hudson said. In 2008, Hudson expects that number to rise.

"Now that they're running, the phone is ringing off the hook," Hudson said. "He'll probably get 80 to 100 mares. He's done very well. We won't go over 100. We're believers in keeping the numbers reasonable."

Decarchy will stand for $5,000.

In 2006, Tribal Rule was the top freshman stallion in the state, with progeny earnings of $344,419, while in 2005 Royal Cat led with progeny earnings of $121,971.

Proud Tower Too stands for $5,000

Proud Tower Too, the winner of the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes in 2005 and the Group 1 Golden Shaheen in Dubai in 2006, will stand at Tommy Town Thoroughbreds for $5,000, the farm announced recently.

Proud Tower Too was retired in late 2007 because of a recurring tendon injury. Owned and bred by Tricar Stable, Proud Tower Too won 7 of 22 starts and $1,735,572. A 6-year-old, Proud Tower Too finished second in the Grade 2 San Carlos Handicap last February in the final start of his career.

* Trickey Trevor, a graded stakes winner, will stand his first season at stud this year at Victory Rose Thoroughbreds in Vacaville, Calif.

A winner of 20 of 47 starts and $701,224, Trickey Trevor, 9, won the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Handicap in 2006 and the Oakland Stakes at Golden Gate Fields in 2007.

Two stallions who previously stood at Windfall Farms, Crafty C.T. and Muqtarib, will relocate to Victory Rose and stand for $3,500.

December 30, 2007

Bob Black Jack's win boosts demand in sire
By STEVE ANDERSEN
ARCADIA, Calif. - Not long after Bob Black Jack walked off the Santa Anita racetrack after winning Wednesday's $138,375 California Breeders' Champion Stakes, the phone began ringing at Harris Farms in Coalinga, Calif.

Callers were inquiring about breeding to Stormy Jack, the sire of Bob Black Jack, who had just zipped seven furlongs in 1:20.37, winning the race for statebreds by 6 1/4 lengths.

"I think we got four or five calls in the hour after the race," farm owner John Harris said.

"He won the stakes about as impressive as any California-bred winner in some time."

Bob Black Jack's win came at an ideal time for Stormy Jack, one of the top freshman stallions in California this year. Bob Black Jack was Stormy Jack's first stakes winner, and pushed his progeny earnings to $190,870. He is second on the state's freshman stallion list to Decarchy, who has progeny earnings of $278,483.

Stormy Jack, 10, stands for $2,500. By Bertrando, Stormy Jack won 8 of 21 starts and $5967,673 in a four-year career from 1999 to 2003.

Campaigned by Jack and Florence Arnold and trained by Bob Baffert, Stormy Jack won four stakes - the 1999 I'm Smokin Stakes, 2000 Real Good Deal and Oceanside Stakes, and 2001 On Trust Handicap. He was second in the Grade 3 Los Angeles Handicap at Hollywood Park in 2001, his best result in a graded stakes.

In his first crop, Stormy Jack has had 34 2-year-olds, with 8 starters and 5 winners. The stallion is owned by Gary and Marlene Howard and Bruce Dunmore, who bred Bob Black Jack. Harris said the Howards and Dunmore approached him about standing Stormy Jack at Harris Farms in 2008.

Stormy Jack had stood at the Howards' Hideaway Farms near San Jacinto, Calif., which was sold to owner-breeder Ben Warren earlier this year. The Howards now operate a training center on that property on behalf of Warren.

Gary Howard is hopeful that the stallion can attract 40 to 60 mares in 2008.

"They've shown a lot of speed and they like synthetics," he said of Stormy Jack's offspring.

Dunmore is fighting bone cancer, which is in remission, Howard said.

"Of all the gratifying things about this, that probably means the most," Howard said.

Bob Black Jack has won 2 of 4 starts and $131,625 for owners Tim Kasparoff and Jeff Harmon. He is the first stakes winner for trainer James Kasparoff, Tim's brother.

The colt made his first start at Del Mar on July 29, finishing second in a six-furlong race for statebred maidens. He returned to win a similar race by 2 3/4 lengths on Aug. 26.

Bob Black Jack made his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue Stakes over seven furlongs on Nov. 22, finishing fourth, five lengths behind the winner, Massive Drama.

He was the 2-1 second choice in the California Breeders' Champion Stakes and led throughout, pulling clear in the final furlong.

"It was pretty exciting for me," James Kasparoff said. "He's a very talented colt. He likes to train. I really thought that if he ran his race, he'd do pretty well against those horses."

Kasparoff said that Bob Black Jack will be pointed for the $250,000 Sunshine Millions Dash over six furlongs for California-breds and Florida-breds at Santa Anita on Jan. 26. To the trainer, the race is an ideal fit for a colt that sometimes can be tough to handle.

"It's here and it's pretty realistic for the horse," Kasparoff said. "We don't have any grandiose ideas of putting him on the Derby trail. He might be better around one turn.

"He's a pleasure to be around when he's not trying to bite you."

December 9, 2007

Proud Tower Too injury leads to his retirement
By STEVE ANDERSEN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Proud Tower Too, the winner of the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes in 2005 and the $2 million Golden Shaheen Sprint in Dubai in 2006, has been retired because of a recurring tendon injury, trainer Sal Gonzalez said Friday.

Owned and bred by Daniel Cardenas's Tricar Stables, Proud Tower Too won 7 of 22 starts and $1,735,572. The 5-year-old horse was in training with Gonzalez at Sunland Park in New Mexico this fall when the injury was detected. Proud Tower Too finished second in the Grade 2 San Carlos Handicap in February in his final start.

The recent setback is a recurrence of a tendon injury first discovered in March. At the time, Gonzalez said that Proud Tower Too would need a six-month break.

"We put him back in training in September," Gonzalez said. "I worked him and he had a filling in the tendon. We decided to just stop on him.

"He gave us the most satisfaction from a racehorse. We're very grateful for him. He was a very good racehorse."

Gonzalez said that negotiations are taking place with a California farm for Proud Tower Too to stand at stud in 2008.

Barretts steroid ban expanded

The Barretts sales company, which announced earlier this week that it will ban anabolic steroids from sale yearlings and weanlings beginning with auctions in 2008, will implement a similar program for its popular 2-year-olds in-training sales in 2009, president and general manager Gerald McMahon said on Friday.

Barretts joins Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, and Ocala Breeders' Sales as major auction companies that are banning the use of steroids in weanlings and yearlings within 45 days of a sale.

McMahon said that Barretts is working with officials from the California Horse Racing Board on details of the testing.

Racing board officials have said they hope to have a steroid ban in place for racehorses by July 2008, well before the Breeders' Cup is held in late October at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting.

The board in late November moved forward with a proposed rule to set threshold limits for four anabolic steroids - nandrolone, boldenone, testosterone, and stanozolol - which will be tested from urine samples.

The 2-year-old sales at Barretts will comply with those rules at the 2009 in-training sales, the first held after the rules go into effect, McMahon said.

"Right now, our plan is to move forward as racing moves forward," McMahon said.

At the recent racing board meeting, chairman Richard Shapiro called for a ban of the use of steroids at 2-year-old in-training sales.

"As quickly as possible, we need to extend the restrictions to the 2-year-olds in-training sales, so that horses being sold are under racetrack conditions and scrutiny," he said. "Buyers can have confidence that horses are being sold with the highest level of integrity."

The use of anabolic steroids in yearlings and weanlings "is not a major issue in California," McMahon said. "In the national context, this is something that everyone is moving forward on and we want to be part of that."

McMahon said the first Barretts sales that will be affected by the steroid rule is the 2008 California October yearling sale.

Barretts has moved the dates of its sales in January and March to accommodate a revamped racing schedule at Santa Anita that includes Monday racing.

The January mixed sale, originally scheduled for Jan. 21 and 22, will be conducted on Jan. 22 and 23.

The March sale of 2-year-olds in-training has been pushed back one day from March 11 to March 12. The sale preview days will be March 4 and 10.

December 2, 2007

Unusual Heat's stock is rising
By STEVE ANDERSEN
Two stakes wins by the outstanding 3-year-old Unusual Suspect in November have helped push his sire, Unusual Heat, higher in California's stallion rankings. The timing could not be better.

As breeders consider what stallions to choose for their mares for the upcoming breeding season, Unusual Heat is in a tight race for second among state stallions ranked by progeny earnings.

Through Thursday, Bertrando led with earnings of $3,962,851, but Deputy Commander ($3,395,944), In Excess ($3,352,458), and Unusual Heat ($3,348,188) were all having excellent seasons.

Unusual Heat, who stands at Old English Rancho in Sanger, is co-owned by trainer Barry Abrams, who has gambled heavily on the success of the stallion in recent years. Many of the horses in Abrams's stable are by Unusual Heat.

The success of Unusual Heat, combined with a conservative approach to book size by the partnership that owns the 17-year-old stallion, is likely to lead to a price increase for the 2008 breeding season. The partnership includes Russell Wolkoff, Madeline Auerbach, and Abrams's brother, David.

Though Abrams was reluctant to state a specific price for 2008 earlier this week, Unusual Heat stood for $15,000 in 2007. The figure could rise to $20,000 for 2008, though Abrams said a "private treaty" negotiation will be offered to some mare owners.

In addition, Abrams said the partnership will limit the stallion to 60 to 70 mares and that few vacancies exist. In 2007, the stallion was bred to approximately 60 mares.

"The book is nearly full," Abrams said. "We don't have many openings left."

Unusual Heat, by Nureyev, is having a particularly strong year as a sire of turf runners. Unusual Suspect won the California Cup Mile at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting on Nov.o3 and the Grade 3 Hollywood Turf Express on Nov. 24. Unusual Heat is also the sire of synthetic-track stakes winners Runforthemoneybaby (California Cup Juvenile) and Golden Doc A (Generous Portion and Anoakia). Golden Doc A is a full sister to Unusual Suspect.

Abrams and his partners will breed 25 of their mares to Unusual Heat this year, he said. He wishes the state had more mares that could support stallions with a stud fee at Unusual Heat's level. Many California breeders ship mares to Kentucky to be bred in that state, leaving California stallion owners to compete against one another for the remaining quality mares.

"In California, there are probably 100 mares that people can breed to a $15,000 or $20,000 stud fee," Abrams said.

While that may be underestimating the depth of California's broodmares, competition can be fierce for stallion owners, particularly with established stallions such as Bertrando, Benchmark, In Excess, and Swiss Yodeler, and the up-and-coming Idiot Proof available.

Unusual Suspect has won 6 of 19 starts and $469,136. He closed from last of nine in the Turf Express to finish a nose in front of the California-bred Bonfante. Unusual Suspect avoided the trouble that plagued several rivals in early stretch, but Abrams is quick to point that his colt had to run the final quarter-mile in approximately 22 seconds to reach the wire first.

Abrams said that Unusual Suspect will be considered for two stakes for 3-year-olds on Santa Anita's opening day - the $250,000 Malibu Stakes over seven furlongs or the $100,000 Sir Beaufort Stakes over a mile on turf.

Auction raises $75K for lobbyists

The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association's stallion season auction has raised more than $75,000 for the organization's political action committee fund, according to a statement on its website.

Seasons were sold to such stallions as Decarchy, Deputy Commander, In Excess, Salt Lake, and Swiss Yodeler.

The political fund is used to support legislation that favors California Thoroughbred breeders.

November 25, 2007

McCann's Mojave on way back to Sunshine Millions
By STEVE ANDERSEN
McCann's Mojave's victory in the $150,000 All American Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on Nov. 17 was not the richest win of the 7-year-old horse's career. The purse was just a fraction of the $1 million Sunshine Millions Classic that McCann's Mojave won in a 33-1 upset at Gulfstream Park last January.

The Grade 3 All American was not his most prestigious victory, a distinction achieved with a victory in the Grade 2 Potrero Grande Breeders' Cup Handicap at Santa Anita in 2004.

But the win had its own significance to owner-breeder Mike Willman. McCann's Mojave not only became a multiple graded stakes winner with the victory, but showed that he has rebounded from a bleeding incident earlier this year that left Willman and trainer Steve Specht concerned about the horse's future.

"I kind of had butterflies," Willman said of his feelings before the race. "Not only did he not bleed, he ran one of the best races of his career."

By Memo, McCann's Mojave, 7, won the All American Handicap at 1 1/8 miles by a neck over Putmeinyourwill. The win was the seventh stakes victory in a career that includes 11 wins in 29 starts and earnings of $1,346,555.

Even though he just won a graded stakes, McCann's Mojave will revert to statebred company for the next few months, Willman said. The next goal is the $100,000 On Trust Handicap for California-breds at 7 1/2 furlongs at Hollywood Park on Dec. 22. Then, Willman and Specht are hopeful that McCann's Mojave can defend his title in the Sunshine Millions Classic for California-breds and Florida-breds at Santa Anita on Jan. 26.

McCann's Mojave will be looked upon as a top hope for the California-bred team in the Sunshine Millions Classic, since the multimillionaire Lava Man is sidelined following a poor run of form.

The All American was McCann's Mojave's second start since a last-place finish in the Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on June 2, the day he bled. He was fourth beaten a length in the Grade 3 Morvich Handicap on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on Oct. 27.

In addition, the All American was McCann's Mojave's first start on a synthetic track. The early indications are that he may like the Cushion Track surface at Santa Anita.

"When he came down for the Morvich, they said that he skipped across the Cushion Track and loved it," Willman said. "I think everything is fine."

Willman said that McCann's Mojave will race through 2008 and is expected to go to stud in California in 2009.

Shaggy Mane to stay in training

Shaggy Mane, the winner of the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint at Gulfstream Park last January, will stay in training in 2008, trainer Don Chatlos said Friday.

Her first goal will be a defense of her Sunshine Millions title at Santa Anita on Jan. 26, Chatlos said.

Owned by a partnership that includes IEAH Stables, Shaggy Mane ended 2007 with an eighth in the Presque Isle Downs Masters in September and seventh in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Monmouth Park on Oct. 26.

A winner of 6 of 13 starts and $391,671, Shaggy Mane is winless in four starts since the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint, but was a game second to fellow California-bred River's Prayer in the Grade 1 Princess Rooney Handicap at Calder in July.

Chatlos said that the 2008 Princess Rooney will be Shaggy Mane's main goal next summer, with the hope that she can gain a Grade 1 stakes win.

October 7, 2007

Sellers concerned by yearling sale dip
By STEVE ANDERSEN
Andy Havens perhaps had a better sale than anyone at Tuesday's California October yearling sale at Barretts in Pomona, Calif.

Havens led all consignors, selling 31 horses for $706,700, including a Friends Lake colt that topped the sale at $150,000.

But even Havens left the sale confused about the California yearling market. Significant declines in average price, median, and gross and an increased buy-back rate left consignors disappointed in the sale results.

In the one-day sale, 169 horses were sold for $3,364,600, an average price of $19,909 and a median of $11,000. The gross fell 22.3opercent, while the average was down 21.3 percent from 2006. The median showed the most significant loss, down 31.2 percent from $16,000 in 2006.

"I had a strong top end, so from that standpoint the horses that were really nice horses brought good value," Havens said. "I experienced pretty much the same level of buy-back as everyone else did, and that was the disturbing part to me.

"I don't like buying back horses. I'm usually pretty good at appraising them. On reflection, I was pretty disturbed. I thought we were reasonable. We didn't have people to pick up the lower end of horses. I don't know the point we could have sold them."

The sale results have left some observers wondering about the overall health of the yearling market in California. As a venue, Barretts certainly had little trouble selling 2-year-olds in training in the spring. The March sale earlier this year had an average of $219,773, a gain of 42 percent over the 2006 sale; while the May sale had an average of $62,604, a gain of 19 percent over 2006.

This was the third year of the California October yearling sale, a joint venture between Barretts and the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

The lower figures on Tuesday alarmed Barretts president Gerald McMahon.

"In our first year in this same concept and dates, we had a lot of enthusiasm and started off well," he said. "We didn't get a lot of return buyers each year, and now we're not seeing a lot of demand for the horses.

"We've got a disconnect except for the cases when [buyers] compete for a horse."

McMahon said Barretts and the CTBA accepted about half of the horses nominated to Tuesday's sale.

"We didn't say this is a select market," he said. "We take the best half of what is offered, and this is the result."

One factor working against the yearling market is the desire of California racehorse owners for immediate action. Claiming activity is very popular in Southern California.

"They're looking for ready-made racehorses, a 2-year-old, claimer, or European or Argentine horse," McMahon said of horse owners. "This has been going on. The only solution is to compete for buyers by upgrading your horses."

That can be frustrating for Havens, who also consigns extensively to Barretts's March and May sales.

"I had some pretty nice horses," he said of Tuesday's sale. "I know what they're worth, and we didn't get them sold."

Havens said yearling buyers may have been suffering from "sales fatigue" after the marathon Keeneland September yearling sale in Kentucky and the less prestigious Northern California yearling sale conducted by the CTBA on Sept. 25. "There are a whole lot at the same time," he said.

Havens said that some of the horses that were bought back Tuesday were later sold privately. The others will be raced by their owners or offered at sales of 2-year-olds in training, he said.

"Some will be 2-year-olds in training, and will be good 2-year-olds in training," he said.

September 30, 2007

Brocklebank ready to buy and sell at Barretts
By STEVE ANDERSEN
By Thursday evening, John Brocklebank had been back to his Utah home for two days, fresh from a two-week stay at the Keeneland yearling sale.

He said he had yet to take his suitcases out of the car. There was little need to. Brocklebank was scheduled to go back on the road this weekend, heading toward Pomona, Calif., for Tuesday's Barretts October yearling sale.

"Life in the fast lane, sometimes," he said jokingly.

Brocklebank will play a prominent role in California's premier yearling sale as a consignor. His B.C.3 Thoroughbreds operation with partner Shane Chipman has 27 yearlings in the sale, some consigned on behalf of outside clients and some being pinhooked.

Plus, Brocklebank plans to be active as a buyer. At the 2006 October yearling sale, he led all buyers, paying $405,000 for seven yearlings. Brocklebank bought the sale topper, a Cape Town filly, for $240,000. She was pinhooked to the Barretts March sale earlier this year and was purchased for $800,000 by John Ferguson, agent for Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum.

As a consignor, Brocklebank sold two horses for $112,000 last October, good enough to rank among the 10 leading consignors, a group led by Andy Havens.

"We tested the water a little bit last year," Brocklebank said of his 2006 consignment.

For this year's sale, Brocklebank said he expects to sell the horses that are being pinhooked.

"Those are going to be sold," he said. "We bought some in January and some privately. They are the sort of horses that I like and hopefully someone else will, too.

"I like Cal-breds, and the yearlings that we're offering are an awful nice group. We want to be as popular selling yearlings as we are with 2-year-olds. We've got some nice outside consignments, too."

Brocklebank nominated two fillies - one by Old Topper (Hip No. 75) and one by Swiss Yodeler (Hip No. 88) - as prominent members of his consignment.

As a buyer, Brocklebank has spent time on the Barretts website, inspecting photographs of yearlings to gain a preliminary opinion of the sale horses. He said he is the sort of buyer that prefers to see yearlings in person and not form an opinion from a pedigree.

"I'm a horse buyer and not so much a catalog guy, but it looks like on paper there are some good horses," Brocklebank said.

Last year's October yearling sale had an average price of $26,362, an increase of $50 from 2005, but showed a 19 percent decline in gross, to $4,336,900, and a 17 percent drop in number sold, from 207 to 171. The number of horses bought back reached 33 percent, or 108 of the 327 yearlings cataloged. In 2005, 26.8 percent of the yearlings offered were listed as not sold.

The sale is a joint operation between Barretts and the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

Last Tuesday, the CTBA conducted its annual Northern California yearling sale, which saw lower-than-expected returns. The average at that sale fell 28.6 percent from 2006, to $5,843, and the gross of $1,351,600 fell 33.4 percent.

Those results, combined with mixed returns at the 2006 October sale, has led Barretts president Gerald McMahon to be cautious regarding Tuesday's sale.

"I don't really have a strong sense of whether we'll grow from last year's numbers," he said last week. "When you look at the overall marketplace, no one is predicting too much growth in yearling prices, especially in the regional market. You start with last year's number and hope you hit those.

"This is the market for a vast number of market breeders in California. Everybody is behind this sale. Trying to get improvement every year, if we can, is what breeders are trying to do and what we're trying to do."

September 23, 2007

Optimism meets reality at sale
By STEVE ANDERSEN
Larry Ullmann had a quick answer when asked to describe the eight horses he is offering in Tuesday's Northern California yearling sale at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.

"I think I have the best consignment in the sale," he said. "I hope it goes well."

Ullmann, and his wife, Sheila, who operate as SLU Inc., have consigned the horses through Old English Rancho in Sanger, Calif. The group includes six yearlings who have stakes-winning half-brothers or sisters or are out of dams who were stakes winners or stakes-placed.

For the Northern California yearling sale, the Ullmanns' consignment represents an important element of quality.

Sponsored by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, the one-day sale was launched in 2004, and had its highest average price in 2006: $8,192. The 2006 sale grossed $1,351,600, with 165 horses listed as sold and 58 bought back. The 2006 average grew 8.6 percent over 2005. The sale-topper was a Benchmark colt sold for $72,000.

Ullmann is not predicting that he has the sale-topper in his consignment, but he expects his yearlings to greatly surpass the 2006 average.

"I've told a lot of people that I think I should get $120,000 to $130,000 for the horses," Ullmann said. "If it's a good horse, they'll buy it.

"I've supported the sale every year, and I hope it continues to grow," he said.

Like many California breeders, Ullmann is banking on success by those yearlings on the racetrack to help his bottom line. Yearlings may not sell for great sums in this state, but they can go on to earn significant purses, and therefore reward breeders with stallion and breeder awards.

At the 2006 Northern California sale, Ullmann sold the Perfect Mandate colt Run Brother Run for $40,000. So far this year, Run Brother Run has won two stakes - the Beau Brummel Stakes at Fairplex Park and the Everett Nevin Alameda County Futurity - and earned $101,707.

At Tuesday's sale, Ullmann is offering a half-sister to Run Brother Run by Royal Cat, an 11-year-old stallion by Storm Cat who stands for $3,500 at Old English Rancho. Ullmann said he owns a 50 percent stake in Royal Cat. Ullmann raced the yearling filly's dam, Aloha Mangos, by Bold Badgett, who placed in six stakes and earned $194,245.

"I'm betting on the family, and the family produces runners," he said.

Later in the sale, Ullmann is offering a colt by Cahill Road who is a half-brother to Amber Hill, a stakes winner of $261,143. He also is bringing a Royal Cat colt who is out of the stakes winner Takes Two to Mango, the dam of the stakes winner Two to Get Ready.

Ullmann has shifted his emphasis in recent years from breeding and racing to breeding, racing and sales. He owned Bold Roberta, a stakes winner who earned $449,704. She is now in Kentucky, in foal to Borrego, he said.

Ullmann, 74, lives in San Ramon, Calif., not far from Pleasanton. Retired from his former business since the early 1990s, he concentrates on his racing holdings, hoping that the yearlings he sells can be successful.

"I'm trying to breed, race and sell," he said. "If they go with the right people, I'll do all right. That's all you can do right now."

The sale has a catalog of 264 horses, but as of Thursday 21 had been withdrawn. The sale includes the first crop of yearlings by the stallions Cat Dreams, Champali, Islander, Jackpot, Joey Franco, Marino Marini, Momentum, Popular, Sky Terrace, Spinelessjellyfish, Tenpins, and Toccet.

One notable yearling is Hip No. 58, a full sister to the multiple-stakes-winning sprinter Vaca City Flyer, a winner of $460,550. The yearling filly is consigned by Mary Knight, agent.

September 9, 2007

Cal-breds skipping Kentucky for local sales
By STEVE ANDERSEN
The mammoth Keeneland September yearling sale, which runs from Tuesday through Sept. 25 and comprises 5,553 yearlings, will be held largely without California-breds this year.

Last year, 35 California-breds were cataloged, with 20 selling for an average of $32,410. The most expensive yearling among the group was an In Excess filly purchased for $110,000. She has yet to start.

This year, there are only 14 California-breds in the sale and most are sired by stallions that stand in Kentucky. Only four California-based stallions are represented in the yearling group.

The lack of California-bred yearlings can be partially attributed to the schedule of yearling sales in California.

Over the next month, two major yearling sales will be conducted in California - the Northern California yearling sale at Pleasanton Sept. 25 and the California October yearling sale at Barretts in Pomona on Oct. 2.

Both sales showed growth in 2006 and may be prove to be more attractive to yearling owners who do not want their prospects lost in the flurry of activity in a major Kentucky sale. Buyers that attend the California sales are looking, in part, for California-breds. The same cannot be said of buyers at Keeneland.

In addition, the markets are completely different. The Northern California sale caters to buyers unwilling to spend as much as a Keeneland buyer. Some yearlings at the Barretts October sale would fit at Keeneland. The 2006 Barretts October yearling sale had an average of $25,362 and a sale-topper of $240,000, figures that would be suitable to the final days of the Keeneland sale.

At Keeneland, none of the 14 California-breds will be sold this Tuesday or Wednesday, the most prestigious days of the sale. The first California-bred through the ring may turn out to be the most expensive of the group.

An In Excess filly who is a half-sister to the millionaire Brother Derek, the multiple stakes winner Don'tsellmeshort, and the stakes-placed Swissle Stick is Hip No. 1126 and will be sold Thursday.

Consigned by Brookdale Sales, agent for breeder Mary Caldwell, the In Excess filly is also a half-sister to Mike and Leo, a winner of $202,489.

Cris Caldwell, Mary's son and one of Keeneland's auctioneers, said that California breeders should be more active at major sales such as Keeneland in an attempt to improve the statebred program.

"We think it's incumbent for California breeders to breed a horse that can sell back there in Kentucky," he said.

The filly's pedigree will attract attention.

Brother Derek, a winner of 6 of 16 starts and $1,593,458 for Cecil Peacock, was the champion 3-year-old California-bred male of 2006. He won the 2006 Santa Anita Derby and was fourth in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Brother Derek is being pointed for a 2008 campaign. He has not started since finishing third in the Strub Stakes at Santa Anita in February.

The other three California-based stallions with California-breds in the sale are Marino Marini, whose first foals are yearlings this year, and the veteran stallions Event of the Year and Beau Genius.

The Beau Genius colt sells as Hip No. 5382 on Sept. 25 and is out of Miss Lawless, a half-sister to Joey Franco, the 2003 California-bred horse of the year.

The Golden Eagle Farm of Betty Mabee and her son Larry is beginning the first phase of a massive reduction this fall, and is offering four yearlings at Keeneland. The Mabees have one California-bred in that group, a filly by More than Ready out of the unraced 10-year-old mare Jeweled Lady. Jeweled Lady is a full sister to General Challenge and Western Hemisphere. General Challenge earned $2,877,178, won three Grade 1 stakes, and was a two-time statebred champion.

August 31, 2007

Penpont's foals could have big weekend
By STEVE ANDERSEN
DEL MAR, Calif. - Penpont left the racetrack in 1999 as something of a dud. There really is no other way to describe a mare that managed only a victory in a $20,000 claiming race for maidens.

Apparently, she saved her brilliance for her offspring. Penpont's five foals, all sired by Unusual Heat, have earned $600,641.

That bankroll could grow considerably this weekend. Penpont's 3-year-old Unusual Suspect, a winner of $196,136, seeks his first stakes win in Sunday's $400,000 Del Mar Derby. On Monday, the 2-year-old Golden Doc A is entered in the I'm Smokin Stakes for California-breds.

It will be the second start in a week for Golden Doc A, who is co-owned by breeders David, Dyan, and Barry Abrams and Madeline Auerbach, the team behind Unusual Heat. Golden Doc A won Wednesday's Generous Portion Stakes for statebred fillies.

Penpont's other foals include the 4-year-old maiden Rushen Heat, a winner of $18,128; the 5-year-old Solid Fuel, a winner of $168,093; and the 6-year-old Master Heat, who has earned $152,084.

Deciding to mate her to Unusual Heat was something of a gamble, said Barry Abrams, who trained the New Zealand-bred Penpont for his brother David.

"We bred everything we had" to Unusual Heat, Barry Abrams said. "We never checked pedigrees."

Barry Abrams said that Golden Doc A is not a certain runner for the I'm Smokin Stakes because of the quick return.

"I'll wait until Monday and decide," he said.

The success of horses such as Golden Doc A and Unusual Suspect has vaulted Unusual Heat to sixth place among California stallions, with progeny earnings of $2,036,732. The leader is Bertrando with $2,926,435.

With a $15,000 stud fee, Unusual Heat is one of the more expensive stallions in the state. There is a possibility that the fee could rise, according to Auerbach, who co-owns Golden Doc A and is a partner in Unusual Heat.

"I think he's having an awesome season," Auerbach said of the stallion. "He was $15,000 last year and he'll probably go up. We've got the rest of the year to go."

Auerbach said that Unusual Heat, who is by Nureyev, was bred to a full book of mares last year.

"He's got all he can handle," Auerbach said. "We don't go begging."

Statebreds shoot for Debutante

There are three California-bred fillies in Monday's $250,000 Del Mar Debutante - Comical Vacation, Spring Awakening, and Treadmill. One of them could become the fifth California-bred to win a Grade 1 this year in the seven-furlong Debutante.

Comical Vacation, by Comic Strip, was a troubled third in the CTBA Stakes on July 20 and returned to win a maiden race for statebreds by an easy 4 1/4 lengths on Aug. 6. Trained by Jeff Mullins, Comical Vacation was purchased for $50,000 at the Barretts May sale of 2-year-olds in training.

Spring Awakening, by In Excess, is making her stakes debut in the Debutante. Trained by Mike Mitchell for a partnership that includes breeder Jerry Frankel, Spring Awakening has one victory in two starts. She beat statebred maidens by 5 1/2 lengths in a 5 1/2-furlong race on July 23.

Her 3-year-old full-sister, Mary Ellise, won a six-furlong maiden race for statebreds by 2 1/2 lengths in Thursday's first race.

Treadmill leads the group in accomplishments. Owned by breeder Paul Reddam and trained by Craig Dollase, Treadmill has won 2 of 3 starts and $132,000. She beat maidens at Hollywood Park in her debut, finished second to Debutante entrant The Golden Noodle in the Landaluce Stakes, and returned to win the CTBA Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs.

Those fillies are trying to become the first California-bred to win the Debutante since Batroyale in 1995.

August 19, 2007

She's an Eleven back at track
By STEVE ANDERSEN
She’s an Eleven, the winner of the 2006 Melair Stakes, has returned to training after showing no interest in being bred earlier this year, trainer John Sadler said earlier this week.

The 4-year-old filly was sent from Kentucky to Sadler’s stable in late June and has already worked a half-mile for an expected comeback. Owned by Lee and Susan Searing’s CRK Stables, She’s an Eleven has won 2 of 8 starts and $216,954.

A California-bred, She’s an Eleven has not started since finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Hollywood Breeders’ Cup Oaks at Hollywood Park in June 2006. She’s an Eleven was in training earlier this year when the decision was made to retire her.

She was scheduled be bred to Empire Maker at Juddmonte Farms earlier this year, but would not cooperate with the stallion, Sadler said.

“We didn’t get her in foal,” Sadler said. “She was too stubborn in the shed and she was in a good place with good people. We brought her back with the intent of racing this fall.”

Sadler said the $150,000 California Cup Matron over 1 1/16 miles at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting on Nov. 3 is a “short-term goal.”

Jet West retired to stud

Jet West, the winner of 7 of 22 starts and $554,345, has been retired and will stand the 2008 breeding season at Applebite Farms near French Camp, Calif.

A 6-year-old, Jet West won two stakes in his career – the 2005 California Cup Sprint at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting and the 2004 Earlene McCabe Derby at Cal-Expo in Sacramento.

Jet West was third in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen at Nad Al Sheba in 2006 and placed in two stakes at Santa Anita in January 2006 – third in the Grade 3 El Conejo Handicap and second in the Grade 2 Palos Verdes Handicap.

Owned for much of his career by Bruch Hochman and trained by Ted H. West, Jet West battled colic that nearly cost him his life in the fall of 2006. He returned to make two starts this year, finishing sixth in the Sam Whiting Handicap at Pleasanton on July 7 and 10th in a $50,000 claimer at Del Mar on July 30.

Hochman claimed Jet West for $62,500 at Del Mar in 2005.

Jet West is by Western Fame out of the stakes winner Jetinwith Kennedy, the 2005 California broodmare of the year. Jet West is a half-brother to the stakes winners Jetin Excess ($281,950) and Jetinto Houston ($282,885).

318 cataloged for October sale

The California October yearling sale at Barretts in Pomona, Calif., on Oct. 2 will comprise 318 yearlings, Barretts announced earlier this week.

The sale is co-sponsored by Barretts and the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Catalogs are available online at Barretts.com. This will be the third year of the sale, which replaced the Del Mar yearling sale on the California calendar in 2005.

This year’s one-day sale has a slightly smaller catalog than in 2006, when 327 yearlings were offered. At that sale, 171 yearlings were sold for an average of $25,362, a figure that increased $51 from the 2005 sale.

The 2006 sale-topper was a California-bred Cape Town filly that sold for $240,000. She was purchased for $800,000 at the Barretts March sale of 2-year-olds in training by John Ferguson, acting on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed. The filly has yet to start.

This year’s sale includes yearlings by many of the state’s leading stallions as well as stallions based in other states.

August 12, 2007

Smaller Golden Eagle to focus on breeding
By STEVE ANDERSEN
DEL MAR, Calif. - Golden Eagle Farm, a mainstay in California racing since the late 1950s, is being downsized over the next year and will sell its flagship farm in Ramona, Calif.

But Larry Mabee, the son of the late founder of the farm, John Mabee, insists Golden Eagle is not abandoning horse racing. Earlier this week, Larry Mabee and his mother, Betty, announced the farm's future plans, which include an eventual relocation to a 29-acre farm in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., not far from Del Mar.

Golden Eagle, which has bred more than 150 stakes winners, will keep a small number of broodmares, focus on quality, and will have a small stallion roster, Larry Mabee said.

"I look at it as a new era and a continuation of being in the horse business, but on a different scale," he said earlier this week.

The plan is a massive change from the days when Golden Eagle Farm was among the nation's top breeders. Golden Eagle won Eclipse Awards as champion breeder in 1991, 1997, and 1998. Golden Eagle campaigned such popular horses as Best Pal, Dramatic Gold, Excellent Meeting, General Challenge, General Meeting, and many others.

Since John Mabee's death in 2002, Golden Eagle's presence as a racing entity has shrunk significantly.

"Dad had an agenda and he raced lots and lots of horses," Larry Mabee said. "If he bought a stallion, he'd buy some mares. Mother and I have talked on and off - why can't we have a few nice mares and not all the headaches?"

Mabee said he and his mother recently reached the decision to downsize the Golden Eagle holdings.

"I sat down with her and said, 'It's time,'" Mabee said. "She had a big grin on her face.

"It's not the end of an era. The Golden Eagle banner will still be out there. It's my desire to buy quality mares and quality stallions. If I can find another stallion, I'd look at that."

Mabee was at Del Mar on Aug. 4 to present the trophy for the Grade 1 John Mabee Handicap, won by Precious Kitten. He carried a digital camera and snapped pictures of friends and acquaintances to show to his mother, who did not attend.

"Mom is a little 86-year-old lady and I'd like to see her do better," he said. "We have 24-hour day care but she doesn't have the stamina to go to the races anymore."

The Ramona farm, in eastern San Diego county, covers 568 acres and was home to three stallions earlier this year. Last week, Golden Eagle announced that High Demand and Souvenir Copy had been sold, leaving Salt Lake as the family's only stallion. Salt Lake will relocate to the Rancho Santa Fe farm.

Mabee said the new property will have space to accommodate three stallions.

"You have to have the right one," Mabee said. "Just to have a stallion to have it, I'm not interested in that. I want to have quality breeding. It's a five-year program to prove one."

The Mabees purchased the new property in May and it includes a two-story house, a 21-stall barn, and housing for staff, Mabee said. It has not been occupied since the early 1990s.

"It's one of those things that come along once in a lifetime," Larry Mabee said. "I saw it and thought, 'I need to do this,' and I did."

The farm will sell 160 horses at various sales in California and Kentucky this fall, and more next year. The family will retain approximately 25 broodmares.

"This is not a dispersal, just a reduction," Mabee said. "I've said in the past, I'd rather be breeding than racing."

August 5, 2007

Small ranch bred a star in 'Laura'
By STEVE ANDERSEN
Allan Lilley admits that he and his wife, Antoinette, had more enthusiasm than expertise when they decided to become Thoroughbred breeders in the early 1990s.

The couple had a few mares retired from racing, and the intricacies of breeding initially escaped Allan Lilley.

"I didn't look at their pedigrees," he said earlier this week. "That's how we got our feet wet. I wouldn't think of doing that now."

Today, the stakes are much higher for their still small operation. The Lilleys, who live in Tracy, Calif., are on the verge of becoming the breeders of a millionaire in Somethinaboutlaura, who is entered in Sunday's $300,000 Clement Hirsch Handicap at Del Mar.

A winner of 15 of 27 starts and $913,315, Somethinaboutlaura would become the seventh California-bred female millionaire if she pulls an upset win in the Grade 2 Clement Hirsch, which is run at 1 1/16 miles.

The Lilleys have minimal ties with Somethinaboutlaura, occasionally attending her races when she starts in Northern California. They no longer own her dam, Crystals of Ice, who was one of their first racehorses when they launched a small stable in the late 1980s. Crystals of Ice died after the Lilleys sold her, Allan Lilley said.

The couple claimed Crystals of Ice at the county fair in Vallejo, Calif. Today, the couple has three broodmares boarded at Woodbridge Farm and a few runners based in Northern California.

There is no longer a Lilley Ranch. Allan Lilley underwent open heart surgery in 2004, and the couple decided that the physical work involved in raising horses would be too much of a burden.

They sold their farm on the outskirts of Tracy and moved into the town, Allan Lilley said.

"I have a mechanical aorta valve that works just fine," Allan Lilley said of his health. "It sounds scary, but they say it will last 50 years. That means it will work until I'm 110."

Lilley, 63, is retired from a job as the manager of a Wal-Mart and spends time focusing on the couple's horses.

"We just bought a filly that we're racing," he said. "When she retires, we'll turn her into a broodmare. We breed basically to sell. We don't breed to race."

Somethinaboutlaura was sold by the Lilleys as a weanling. By Dance Floor, she seemed to be anything but a millionaire candidate at the start of her career. After finishing 11th in a maiden claimer at Del Mar in 2004 in her debut, she won 5 of 6 starts in 2005, a sequence that ended with her first stakes win in the Palo Alto Handicap at Bay Meadows.

In early 2006, she was purchased for $375,000 by a partnership that includes trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Since joining his stable, she has run in 17 consecutive stakes, won nine of them, and never been worse than fifth.

Somethinaboutlaura has won her last three starts, a streak that includes a defense of her title in the Grade 2 A Gleam Handicap at seven furlongs at Hollywood Park on July 6.

Sunday's race is tougher, with the presence of fellow California-bred Nashoba's Key, who is unbeaten in five starts, and the three-time Grade 1 stakes winner Balance.

"She's in pretty tough," Lilley said. "That Balance will be tough to beat."

Somethinaboutlaura "is just something else," he said. "She's very, very competitive. They could see that when they were breaking her because of her competitive nature. That's exactly the way the mother was. She had a few physical problems, but she had the desire.

"I think 1 1/16 miles is a shade longer than she likes. She's won 1 1/16 miles, but not at this level. I don't sell her short."

July 22, 2007

With each generation, family's success grows
By STEVE ANDERSEN
DEL MAR, Calif. - Lewis Cenicola has found a way to keep a steady supply of top California-breds for his small stable.

Grow your own.

In Sunday's $100,000 Fleet Treat Stakes at Del Mar, Cenicola starts Cathrine's Hope, a 3-year-old filly who represents the fourth generation of his involvement in the family.

Cenicola trained Cathrine's Hope's third dam, Charmarita; her second dam, Dad's Penelope; and her dam, the graded stakes-placed Cookin Vickie. He even recalls riding Charmarita at the end of his jockey days in the late 1970s.

As the generations have passed, the results have gotten better for Cenicola and his wife, Donna.

Cookin Vickie, a winner of 4 of 28 starts and $232,627, was second in the Grade 2 Lady's Secret Breeders' Cup Handicap at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting in 1999. Owned by Cenicola and his wife, Cookin Vickie has produced two foals to race - Dark Nose, a winner of $111,940, and Cathrine's Hope, who has earned $115,660.

Cathrine's Hope is by In Excess and is seeking her first stakes win in the seven-furlong Fleet Treat Stakes for statebred fillies. She won her last start, an allowance race for statebreds at Hollywood Park on June 15.

"The only two bad races she's run was when she ran around two turns," Cenicola said. "She looks like a come-from-behind sprinter."

Cookin Vickie, who is by Far Out East, has a yearling full brother to Cathrine's Hope that Cenicola will have in training next year, and a weanling filly by Bertrando who is a full brother to Dark Nose. "She's a fantastic filly," Cenicola said of the weanling.

Cookin Vickie has been bred to Benchmark.

With Cookin Vickie, Lewis and Donna Cenicola have a foal-sharing agreement with clients Larry and Ann Jett. Lewis Cenicola said that Larry Jett, a commercial real estate developer, pays for the stallion fees and that the Cenicolas and Jetts share the ensuing costs.

Because of Cookin Vickie's success with her first two foals, the partners are considering sending her to Kentucky to be bred next year.

"We're going to Kentucky in September and we'll look at some farms," Cenicola said.

Cookin Vickie is one of three foals out of Dad's Penelope who have earned more than $100,000, including Two Times Won ($174,352) and Ruthie Jane ($104,200).

Cenicola trained all of them. He said that Two Times Won, who finished second in the Pro or Con Handicap at Santa Anita earlier this year, may be retired and bred next year, adding yet another broodmare to his small band.

Dad's Penelope, 21, has a weanling filly by Jackpot and has been bred back to Quick Action. Cenicola was pleasantly surprised that she was pronounced in foal earlier this year despite her advanced age.

Dad's Penelope is the dam of Won More Penny, a 3-year-old filly who was second in the 2006 CTBA Stakes at Del Mar for the Cenicolas. Won More Penny has been sidelined since finishing fifth in the Generous Portion Stakes at Del Mar last summer, but is nearing a return to training, Cenicola said.

Cenicola said he has been offered significant money for members of the family, but has not felt the urge to sell.

"I would sell if the price is right," Cenicola said. "You can't fall in love with a horse. I have nothing to lose. I own the family. People say you can go broke breeding horses, but I've been pretty lucky."

Cookin Vickie and her latest foals are continuing that trend.

July 15, 2007

Cal-breds keep piling up Grade 1 wins
By STEVE ANDERSEN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - In 2006, seven California-breds combined to win a record 10 Grade 1 stakes. The year proved to be a showcase for the state's breeding program. Judging from recent events, it may only have been the prologue.

Throughout the nation on July 7, California-breds won three Grade 1 stakes, a single-day record for the statebred program. At Hollywood Park, Nashoba's Key won the Vanity Handicap and Bilo won the Triple Bend Handicap. At Calder, River's Prayer won the Princess Rooney Handicap. River's Prayer was fully extended to beat another California-bred in Shaggy Mane, who finished second.

Add the Grade 1 wins by Lava Man in the Santa Anita Handicap in March and Hollywood Gold Cup in June, and four statebreds have combined to win five Grade 1 races this year.

The figure may grow by the end of this month. The Del Mar meeting, which runs from Wednesday through Sept. 5, features seven Grade 1 races, and statebreds are top contenders in several of them.

Lava Man, the top older male in California, will attempt to defend his title in the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 19, a Grade 1 race and the richest of the meeting.

The California-breds Bordonaro and Greg's Gold are among the probable starters in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Handicap at six furlongs on July 29. Greg's Gold won the race in 2005, while Bordonaro was second last year.

The wildly fast filly One Hot Wish, who set a world record of 48.87 seconds for 4 1/2 furlongs in her debut at Keeneland in April, is expected to start in Friday's $125,000 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association Stakes for statebred fillies as a prep to the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs on Sept. 3.

Dancing Edie may defend her title in the $400,000 John Mabee Handicap on Aug. 4, a Grade 1 for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

The races below the top tier will also be influenced by California-breds.

The Aug. 5 running of the Grade 2 Clement Hirsch Handicap for fillies and mares may feature the statebreds Nashoba's Key or Somethinaboutlaura, who won the Grade 2 A Gleam Handicap at Hollywood Park on July 6. Nashoba's Key is a possible for the Mabee or the Grade 2 Palomar Handicap on Sept. 1.

With the Breeders' Cup looming in October, some top California-breds may skip Del Mar entirely. The meeting's top sprint for females, the $200,000 Rancho Bernardo Handicap on Aug. 17, may not include River's Prayer or Shaggy Mane.

Trainer and co-owner Paula Capestro said River's Prayer may wait for the Sen. Ken Maddy Handicap on the hillside turf course at Santa Anita in late September as a prep to the newly created $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Monmouth Park on Oct. 26.

"The other option is the Rancho Bernardo," Capestro said. "We're giving her a couple of weeks off. She pulled up great. She's not stressed at all."

Shaggy Mane is likely to skip Del Mar in favor of the $400,000 Northwestern Pennsylvania Stakes at the new Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania on Sept. 15, trainer Don Chatlos said.

"I really want more time between this race and the next race," Chatlos said. "That will give us six or seven weeks to the Breeders' Cup. We don't want to knock her out."

Aside from the CTBA Stakes on Friday, there are seven other stakes for statebreds at the Del Mar meeting.

Idiot Proof, the winner of the Grade 3 Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 4 in track-record time, is a candidate for the $100,000 Real Good Deal Stakes at seven furlongs on Aug. 10.

His 2-year-old full brother, High Intellect, is a leading candidate in the $125,000 Graduation Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on July 25.

June 22, 2007

Meadow Creek horses on block
By STEVE ANDERSEN
A dispersal of Meadow Creek Farm's holdings, including a 2006 Royal Ascot winner, will be part of Tuesday's Barretts summer sale of horses of racing age and 2-year-olds in training in Pomona, Calif.

The Meadow Creek dispersal is part of a 21-horse supplement to the main catalog of 141 horses. The main catalog comprises 23 horses of racing age and 118 2-year-olds in training.

The one-day sale, which will be held on the Los Angeles County Fair grounds, begins at 1 p.m.

The four-horse Meadow Creek dispersal, consigned by Andy Havens, agent, includes Gilded, a 3-year-old filly who won the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2006; Bodes Galaxy, the runner-up in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York, England, last August; and Laddies Poker, a sharp maiden winner on turf at Santa Anita in April.

Laddies Poker was the morning-line favorite for the Will Rogers Stakes at Hollywood Park in May, but was scratched on the morning of the race because of illness, trainer Vladimir Cerin said at the time.

At the time, Cerin described Laddies Poker as "an important horse." Earlier this week, Cerin declined to say if he would bid for Laddies Poker.

"I'll see what the price is," Cerin said, smiling. "I'm not divulging my plans.

"He got sick and we missed the last race. Once they decided to sell the horse, I backed off on his training. We've just been jogging."

A training preview, which will extensively showcase the 2-year-olds for sale, is scheduled for Monday at the Fairplex Park racetrack, which is adjacent to the sale grounds.

The 2006 Barretts summer sale saw 120 horses sell for an average of $9,453, a decline of 13.1 percent in average over the 2005 sale. The 2006 sale-topper was a 2-year-old Comic Strip filly purchased for $67,000.

Dancing General retired due to injury

Dancing General, winner of the Pro or Con Handicap for statebred females at Santa Anita in April, has been retired after injuring a leg in a bizarre accident at Hollywood Park on May 31.

In her final start, an allowance race, Dancing General finished second by a nose, but struck the inside rail and nearly fell on the first turn of a two-turn turf race. The incident occurred when Dancing General was unable to avoid a section of temporary turf course rail that was placed farther out onto the course than other sections to cover a wet portion on the course, track officials said at the time.

Trainer Rafael Becerra initially said Dancing General did not suffer an injury, but a few days later said that she needed to be retired.

"She's got a little damage there in the pastern," Becerra said. "It would take six months to heal. What's done is done. She never had a pimple on her."

Owned by Stan Fulton, Dancing General, 5, ended her career with 4 wins in 12 starts and earnings of $324,800. Becerra was hoping to start Dancing General in stakes for state-bred fillies and mares on turf this summer. Bred by Golden Eagle Farm, Dancing General is by General Meeting, out of the Nureyev mare Dance with Shadows.

Dancing General may be offered at auction in the fall.

Stravinsky filly runs at Ascot

Waveline, a California-bred 2-year-old filly by Stravinsky, finished seventh in the Group 2 Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot on Friday. Her chances were hampered in the six-furlong race for 2-year-old fillies when jockey Jimmy Fortune lost an iron after the start.

Owned and bred by Paul Reddam, Waveline is out of Teresa Ann, who was subsequently bred back to California-based stallion Momentum, Reddam said. Reddam owns Momentum, who stands at Vessels Stallion Farm in Bonsall, Calif.

June 10, 2007

Lucky J. H. nearly back
By STEVE ANDERSEN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - One indication that Lucky J. H. is nearing a comeback after a yearlong layoff occurred on Thursday after a half-mile workout at Hollywood Park.

The 5-year-old horse was feeling so good that he tried to bite his workmate after breezing a half-mile in 48.60 seconds, trainer Carla Gaines said.

Gaines and owner-breeder John Harris are hoping that Lucky J. H.'s enthusiasm continues when he returns to racing later this summer.

The Harris-Gaines team has two promising California-breds on the verge of comebacks this year. The other is Spot the Diplomat, the winner of two stakes for 2-year-old statebreds last year, who also worked on Thursday.

"We're hoping to make the first part of Del Mar," Harris said of when the two will race. "It's taken a little longer than we thought to get them back to a race. What they had were not super-serious injuries, but they had problems that took time to resolve. We're excited to have them both back."

Spot the Diplomat worked a half-mile on Thursday but was not given an official time by clockers.

"They both had beautiful works," Gaines said.

If Lucky J. H. and Spot the Diplomat return to their previous form, they will add depth to their respective divisions among statebreds and possibly race against open company.

Lucky J. H. was sidelined last summer with an injury to the joint above his ankle, Harris said. The injury curtailed his best season. He was unbeaten in three starts, including two stakes.

"There were no chips or fractures or anything," Gaines said. "He just needed a break."

Lucky J. H. won the Tiznow Stakes for statebreds and the Grade 3 Ack Ack Handicap last spring. He was under consideration for the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar when he was taken out of training.

"He's been pretty conservatively managed," Harris said. "He's won his last three outs but he hasn't been in many races. You always worry if they can come back at the same level."

A winner of 5 of 11 starts and $330,435, Lucky J. H. has been a stakes winner or stakes-placed in every season of his career.

At 2, he was third in the California Breeders' Champion Stakes at Santa Anita. As a 3-year-old in 2005, he finished second in the Snow Chief Stakes for 3-year-old statebreds at Hollywood Park.

By Cee's Tizzy, Lucky J. H. returned to Gaines's stable May 23, having undergone preliminary training at Harris Farms.

While a race has not been picked for Lucky J. H., Harris and Gaines have an obvious target for Spot the Diplomat - the $100,000 Real Good Deal Stakes for 3-year-old statebreds over seven furlongs on Aug. 10. Later in his career he may start on turf.

"I think he's a versatile horse and he should like the turf," Harris said. "If I would pick a distance, I would think that seven furlongs would be his niche."

Spot the Diplomat, by Worldly Manner, won 3 of 6 starts and $206,280 last year. He won three consecutive races last year - a maiden race, the Graduation Stakes over 5o1/2 furlongs, and the I'm Smokin Stakes over six furlongs. The stakes were run at Del Mar and restricted to statebreds.

Last fall at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting, Spot the Diplomat finished third in the Grade 2 Norfolk Breeders' Cup Stakes and seventh in the California Cup Juvenile as the 9-5 favorite.

"After that race, it was as if he said, 'Guys, I'm tired,' " Gaines said. "He has no major physical issues. He was just a tired 2-year-old."

June 3, 2007

Suit Yourself's breeder gets third-generation thrill
By STEVE ANDERSEN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The boisterous lady watching the sixth race in the turf club restaurant at Hollywood Park on Wednesday had a good excuse for cutting loose.

Judith Carmel admits she was too proud to stay quiet while watching Suit Yourself top a field of California-bred 2-year-old maidens over five furlongs.

"I was the only one yelling in the whole turf club," she said.

Carmel has a right to be a vocal supporter. Suit Yourself traces back to Carmel's start in horse racing in the late 1980s, to her granddam Aurora Winners, one of Carmel's first horses. Carmel bred Suit Yourself's dam, Amawfe, and also bred Suit Yourself, a colt by Tribal Rule.

"Three generations - that's pretty rare in California," she said.

Suit Yourself's victory has left Carmel and trainer Mike Puype with a decision on which stakes to try in coming weeks. The options include the $100,000 Hollywood Juvenile Championship over six furlongs on July 4 or the $125,000 Graduation Stakes for statebreds over 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on July 25, or both.

Puype will make the call. "That why he's paid to be the trainer," Carmel said.

Puype said he will wait a few weeks before deciding.

"You have to be careful with them," Puype said of promising 2-year-olds. "They're young horses."

Having a juvenile such as Suit Yourself in the stable is something of a change for Carmel, who co-owns Suit Yourself with her son Brad. Over the years, Judith Carmel has had numerous claimers and many high-priced runners, and has kept a few broodmares.

Carmel is best known as the owner of Flick, who raced until he was 10. Carmel retired Flick earlier in his life, but she said he was unhappy on a farm and was sent back into training. After winning as a 10-year-old, Flick was retired again.

"I couldn't take a chance that something would happen," Carmel said.

Flick resides at Rancho Cuidar in Santa Ynez, Calif., where he is a riding horse, Carmel said.

A Los Angeles resident, Carmel travels to the major farms in Santa Ynez regularly to check on the progress of her mares and young foals. Amawfe, by Man from Eldorado, is at Magali Farms where she has been bred back to Good Journey after foaling a filly by Atticus earlier this year.

"I go once a month and stay on top of everything in every regard," Carmel said. "I'm very excited about Suit Yourself."

Suit Yourself's granddam, Aurora Winners, is 19. She has a Bertrando filly by her side and was bred back to Tribal Rule, Carmel said. Aurora Winners resides at River Edge Farm in Buellton, Calif.

Tribal Rule is one of the top young stallions in the state. He led the state's freshman stallions in 2006 with progeny earnings of $344,419. Carmel watched Tribal Rule during his career earlier this decade, and wanted to breed her mares to him. "He had heart and talent," Carmel said.

The retirement of Aurora Winners because of a leg injury prompted Carmel to become a breeder.

"I didn't know what to do," she said. "I got into breeding."

Amawfe made only two starts, winning her second time out at Del Mar. She has produced three foals, all winners.

Suit Yourself made his second start in Wednesday's race after running third in his debut on May 2. Suit Yourself drew the rail Wednesday and led throughout, even though Puype and Carmel believe that is not the colt's best style.

"He hasn't trained to be on the lead," Carmel said. "It's nice that he's flexible at his age."

June 3, 2007

Lava Man gets back to work
By STEVE ANDERSEN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Lava Man and Obrigado left for Dubai in mid-March as early season major stakes winners seeking international glory. They will start in Saturday's $300,000 Charles Whittingham Handicap at Hollywood Park in an effort to restore their reputations.

Lava Man, winner of the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap in March, finished last of 16 in the $5 million Dubai Duty Free over about 1 1/8 miles on turf on March 31. Obrigado, winner of the Grade 2 San Luis Obispo Handicap in February, finished 13th in the $5 million Dubai Sheema Classic over about 1 1/2 miles on turf.

They are two of the leading contenders in the Grade 1 Whittingham, which is run over 1 1/4 miles on turf. The other probable starters are After Market, Lang Field, On the Acorn, and Red Fort. On the Acorn won the San Juan Capistrano and Jim Murray handicaps this spring.

Lava Man worked six furlongs in 1:14 on Friday, the second fastest of 15 recorded works at the distance.

"He galloped out a mile and a quarter in a pretty good clip," trainer Doug O'Neill said.

Lava Man won the Whittingham and three other Grade 1 races last year. O'Neill is optimistic that the Whittingham will not tax Lava Man in his comeback.

"The one thing about the turf races, especially the turf marathons, is that they turn it into a half-mile dash," O'Neill said. "It's not like you have to be involved gate to wire, all the way around."

Obrigado was considered for the Murray last month until trainer Neil Drysdale decided to give him more time between starts.

"He was quite stiff after the trip" to Dubai, Drysdale said. "In the last 10 days, he started to do well."

Dancing General hits temporary rail

A section of temporary turf course rail that was placed farther out onto the course than other sections to cover a wet portion of the course nearly caused an accident in Thursday's first race when favorite Dancing General struck the inside rail and nearly fell.

The temporary rail sections were placed at uneven positions from the permanent inside rail because of a "damp spot" on the first turn, according to track vice president Eual Wyatt. He said the rail was moved out "to guide horses around" the area. Wyatt said he was not sure if a faulty sprinkler had caused the damp spot. No rain has fallen here in weeks.

The rail was adjusted after the race and did not pose a problem to the runners in the seventh race, the only other turf route on the program.

Dancing General recovered to finish second, a nose behind Nakaba, but the incident angered trainer Rafael Becerra, who said Dancing General could have been injured.

Dancing General was racing in fourth along the rail on the first turn when she struck the rail and stumbled badly. The two fillies racing in front of Dancing General - Sweet Belle and Velvet Moonlite - did not hit the rail.

After the race, two turf course employees were seen adjusting the temporary rails, which were 20 feet from their permanent inside position.

"It wasn't the way it was supposed to be," Becerra said. "The whole thing was messed up."

Dancing General, who was ridden by Richard Migliore, raced in last down the backstretch and rallied to reach contention in the final quarter-mile. As of Friday, the 5-year-old mare showed no problems.

"She walked fine," Becerra said. "She's not lame or anything. That's a good sign."

Don'tsellmeshort back from layoff

Don'tsellmeshort, a three-time stakes winner in 2003, makes his first start since January 2005 in Sunday's first race, an allowance over 6 1/2 furlongs.

A winner of 4 of 18 starts and $402,365, Don'tsellmeshort has been sidelined by two injuries, trainer Dan Hendricks said. A 6-year-old, Don'tsellmeshort was initially sidelined with a saucer fracture and was nearly ready for a return to racing when he suffered a strained ligament.

The lengthy layoff has left Hendricks unsure what to expect from the normally speedy Don'tsellmeshort.

"The track hasn't been real kind to front-runners," he said. "He's always been a front-runner and how the track will play is anyone's guess."

Owned by Cecil Peacock, Don'tsellmeshort was considered for stud duty while he was away from racing, Hendricks said.

"He didn't get enough interest at stud, so we decided to give him a comeback," Hendricks said.

Sunday's field includes Gotaghostofachance, winner of the Grade 3 Sport Page Handicap at Belmont Park in 2005, and Bold Chieftain, a stakes winner at Golden Gate Fields last October.

Crossing the Line targets American

Crossing the Line, winner of his U.S. debut in a six-furlong optional claimer on turf Thursday, may return in the $250,000 American Handicap over 1 1/8 miles on turf on June 30, trainer John Sadler said.

Bred in New Zealand, Crossing the Line ($6) showed an impressive rally to win Thursday's fifth race in 1:07.98, closing from last in the final quarter-mile to win by 2 1/4 lengths.

Crossing the Line has been in the United States for three months. He has won 3 of 4 starts. He arrived at the same time as the Australian import Parmar Day, who won his U.S. debut in the Bullet Stakes last month.

"He worked with Parmar Day and he was always going the better of the two," Sadler said of Crossing the Line. "I thought [Thursday's race] might be a little too short for him. He's a middle-distance horse."

Later on the program, Andrea, another New Zealand-bred making her first start in this country, won a one-mile allowance race on turf. Andrea, a 6-year-old mare trained by Roger Stein, has won 6 of 38 starts.

Michael Baze extends jockey lead

Jockey Michael Baze won four races Thursday, extending his lead in the jockey standings as the meeting neared the halfway point.

Baze has won 35 races, and through Thursday had a six-race lead on 17-year-old Joe Talamo. David Flores is third with 20.

Thursday, Baze won the second aboard Deputy Lad ($6), the third aboard Lady in Love ($11.20), the fourth on Bullysima ($14), and the eighth on Livia La Vida Loca ($14.60). None of them was favored.

Baze is seeking his first riding title. The meeting concludes July 15.

Trainer Patterson dies at 67

William F. Patterson, who trained in California and Mexico until the mid-1980s, died of natural causes in Harbor City, Calif., on May 26, according to his son Billy Patterson. He was 67.

A native of Tampa, Fla., Patterson moved to California during childhood, his son said. Patterson began training at Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico, and later moved to California, where he trained throughout the state. He retired in 1986.

Funeral services are pending.

May 27, 2007

Unusual Heat hits triple; book limited to 60 mares
By STEVE ANDERSEN
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - The stallion Unusual Heat was the key to finding winners at Hollywood Park on Thursday.

Unusual Heat was the sire of three winners on the eight-race program - Spenditallbaby in an optional claimer over six furlongs on turf, Unusual Beauty in an allowance race over six furlongs, and Sararah Jr. in a maiden claimer over 5 1/2 furlongs.

Such milestones are rare in Thoroughbred racing and will be even more unusual for Unusual Heat in the future. The stallion is being limited to a book of 60 mares this year, a small number in the current marketplace.

The decision to limit Unusual Heat's book was made by the stallion's owners, David and Barry Abrams, Madeline Auerbach, and Russell Wolkoff. They stand Unusual Heat at Old English Rancho in Sanger, Calif., for a fee of $15,000.

"We're being conservative," Auerbach said of Unusual Heat's book size. "I've never had a stallion before and I listen to everybody. This happens to make sense to me."

Unusual Heat's stud fee is one of the highest among the state's Thoroughbred stallions. In Excess leads the list at $25,000. In 1998, when Unusual Heat stood his first season, the fee was waived.

"The fee was please," Auerbach recalled a few years ago.

The fee was $5,000 in 2004 and has risen in recent years. Through Thursday, Unusual Heat ranked 13th on the state's stallion progeny earnings list with $887,584. Bertrando leads the list at $1,597,606.

In 2006, Unusual Heat ranked 14th on the state's stallion progeny earnings list with $1,882,879, well behind leader Swiss Yodeler, at $4,880,827.

Unusual Heat, 17, has had the support of the Abrams brothers and Auerbach through his stallion career. They raced him at the end of his career after claiming him for $80,000 in 1996. Earlier in his career, Unusual Heat, who is by Nureyev, won three stakes in Ireland.

This year, the Abrams and Auerbach sent 10 mares to the stallion, Auerbach said.

"We went outside with the others," Auerbach said.

Thursday's milestone was nearly a day of four winners. In the first race, Powerofvoodoo, trained by Barry Abrams, finished second by 1 1/4 lengths in a maiden race on turf.

"It should have been four" winners, Abrams said.

"We'll settle for three," Auerbach said.

Idiot Proof set for Carry Back

Idiot Proof, the winner of a $60,384 allowance race for 3-year-olds against open company Wednesday at Hollywood Park, will make his next start in the $300,000 Carry Back Stakes over six furlongs at Calder on July 7, trainer Clifford Sise said.

Owned by breeders Marty and Pam Wygod, Idiot Proof has yet to win a stakes. By Benchmark, Idiot Proof has won 3 of 5 starts and $147,272. He was second in the $250,000 Sunshine Millions Dash at Gulfstream Park in January in his stakes debut and fifth in the San Pedro Stakes at Santa Anita in April. In both races, he contended for the early lead and faded in the final furlong.

"I thought he ran against a couple of pretty good horses in the San Pedro," Sise said.

In Wednesday's race, Idiot Proof stalked pacesetter Jack the Duffer for the first quarter-mile while racing on the inside, took the lead on the rail, and pulled away under jockey David Flores to win by 2 3/4 lengths without being asked.

"At least we knows he's versatile," Sise said.

Sise would like to see what the colt could do if he would draw an outside post.

"Going three-quarters, if he can get an outside post, he can rate a little better," Sise said. "He's always been drawn where he has to go early."

May 20, 2007

May sale has second solid year
By STEVE ANDERSEN
After two consecutive successful years, the Barretts May sale of 2-year-olds in training, held last Tuesday in Pomona, appears to be gaining momentum on the roster of juvenile sales.

In 2006, the sale-topper was a surprising $2.5 million Red Bullet colt. The average that year reached a record $52,573.

This year's sale had a different complexion in that one horse did not dominate the event. The sale-topper brought $650,000, but the sale set records for gross and average ($62,604). There were 13 horses that sold for $250,000 or more, compared to four in 2006.

"Sellers are getting more comfortable that you can bring a horse here," said Barretts president Gerald McMahon. "The colt we sold last year for the sale-topper illustrated that."

This year, McMahon said, "we pretty much knew we had a lot more horses at the top of this market than we had before. The question was would we have buyers for them."

There were buyers, and many were California-based owners, including Dennis and Michael Narlinger's JMJ Racing, which bought the $650,000 Sky Mesa colt which topped the sale; Michael Moreno's Southern Equine Racing Stable of Louisiana, which has a presence in California; Marsha Naify, the president of the Thoroughbred Owners of California; and bloodstock agent Dennis O'Neill, the brother of leading trainer Doug O'Neill.

"California has been driving the whole [2-year-old] market this year," McMahon said. "Californians have been prominent at every market. We were concerned they would get their orders filled everywhere else."

Naify bought the sale's leading California-bred, a Tribal Rule colt, for $430,000. He was the lone California-bred among the 13 that sold for $250,000 or more. The unraced Red Bullet colt that topped the 2006 sale is a California-bred.

The Tribal Rule colt was consigned by Excel Bloodstock and had been purchased for $60,000 at the California October yearling sale at Barretts by consignor Bruno DeBerdt.

Barretts officials asked DeBerdt to put the colt in the more prestigious March sale, "but I didn't want him to be overshadowed," DeBerdt said.

Naify was advised on the purchase by trainer Bruce Headley, who described the colt as "the perfectly made horse that has the classic look."

"He has the correct conformation," Headley said. "I looked at him about five times."

The sale included scores of pinhooked yearlings, some of which did not sell.

Owner Brett Kelly bought back a Street Cry colt for $450,000 that he bought as a yearling for $18,000. Kelly later talked with trainer Neil Drysdale and said that the colt will be trained by Drysdale.

"I probably should have had him in the March sale, but the March sale didn't give him enough time," Kelly said.

A Booklet colt that was purchased for $500,000 last September was withdrawn in the hours before it was scheduled to be sold, according to consignor John Brocklebank. Brocklebank said it was unclear who would train the colt.

"There were a couple of little issues that were unclear on the horse's vet report," Brocklebank said. "They decided to withdraw him."

Brocklebank's B.C.3 Thoroughbreds led all consignors, selling 27 horses for $1,434,500.

The sale's success from the last two years is not likely to lead to a significant expansion for 2008, McMahon said. This year, there were 406 horses in the catalog, but 140 were withdrawn. There were 94 horses bought back, or 31.7 percent of the ones that went through the ring. Last year, 27.5 percent were bought back.

"It probably doesn't need to be expanded," he said. "The format is really good in terms of what it takes to market a horse after you get the breezes done."

McMahon said that some of the withdrawn horses could appear in the summer sale of horses of racing age and 2-year-olds in training on June 26.

May 13, 2007

Flying First Class a miracle colt
By STEVE ANDERSEN
Flying First Class will be a longshot in Saturday's $1 million Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. Considering the injuries that his sire and dam have overcome in recent years, it is a wonder that Flying First Class even exists to run in a classic race.

A California-bred, Flying First Class represents the first Preakness starter for California owner and breeder Bud Johnston, who owns Old English Rancho in Sanger.

Even Johnston admits that getting to the Preakness with a colt by the stallion Perfect Mandate out of the broodmare Flying in Style is just short of an equine miracle.

Flying in Style is lucky to be alive. She suffered a broken hip in a 2001 race, and was tied to a stall wall for three months before she recovered sufficiently to be able to lay down, Johnston said.

"Just out of stubbornness, I tried to save her, and she's the dam of Flying First Class," Johnston said.

Her 2003 mating to Perfect Mandate came after the stallion had missed a year of stud duty after being kicked. He later missed the 2005 breeding season after suffering a badly broken ankle while exercising, an injury so severe that a full year passed before Johnston believed the now 11-year-old stallion would survive.

"It's an amazing story that she's made it as a broodmare and he's making it as a sire," Johnston said.

But they have, and Flying First Class is already a stakes winner, having won the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs on April 28. He will be an outsider in a Preakness field led by Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense.

Perfect Mandate did not amount to much as a racehorse. He made two starts, never won, and finished second in the Sunny Slope Stakes at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meeting in 1998.

When he went to stud at Old English Rancho in 2000, Perfect Mandate was part of Johnston's effort to find "young stallions" to fit his farm, which had relocated from Southern California to central California.