A.P. INDY TRIFECTA AT SOVEREIGN AWARDS

Jan. 28, 2010: Not one but three runners by A.P. INDY walked away with divisional honors at this evening’s 35th Annual Sovereign Awards, held in Toronto, Canada.

In the Three-Year-Old Male category, the regally bred Eye of the Leopard was crowned champion. A son of SMART STRIKE’s champion daughter Eye of the Sphynx, the Sam-Son Farms homebred captured Canada’s premier race, the Queen’s Plate S. at Woodbine, in a thrilling finish of the 10-furlong event. Eye of the Leopard also won the Plate Trial S. and finished third, beaten just 3/4 lengths, in the Prince of Wales S.

Hill ‘n’ Dale homebred Serenading was named Champion Older Female. The daughter of A.P. INDY parlayed a three-length win in the Maple Leaf S. at Woodbine in early November into a career-best victory in the G2 Falls City H. at Churchill. Serenading has finished first or second in 15 of 18 lifetime starts.

A.P. INDY’s third champion on the night was Marchfield, who successfully defended his title in the Older Male division. A major stakes winner in each of the last three seasons, Marchfield won the 2009 renewals of the G2 Sky Classic S. and G3 Dominion Day H. Eugene Melnyk’s homebred as been first or second in 15 of 23 starts and bankrolled $1,040,161 in his career.

Lane’s End congratulates the connections of these homebreds and to all of the Sovereign Award winners!

Return to Stallion News 2010

QUICK START FOR CITY ZIP

Feb. 3, 2010: CITY ZIP, a top five juvenile sire in 2009, has gotten off to a red-hot start to 2010. Currently the second-leading stallion on the General Sire List, CITY ZIP is the co-leading sire in the nation by repeat winners (3), second-leading sire by number of winners (19), and co-third-leading sire by number of stakes winners.

Over the weekend, CITY ZIP was represented by his latest graded stakes winner when the five-year-old Acting Zippy wired the field in the $200,000, G3 John B. Connally Turf H. at Sam Houston.

Previously, the three-year-old Z. I. Zipp kicked the new season off the right way for CITY ZIP when, on Jan. 2, he made all to take the Turfway Prevue S. by a commanding 4 1/4 lengths.

Another pair of black-type three-year-olds, the fillies Cosmo Girl, third in the Dixie Belle S. at Oaklawn, and City to City, third in the Sweet Life S. at Santa Anita, give City Zip four stakes horses thus far in 2010.

Return to Stallion News 2010

CHAMPIONSHIP FORM FROM LANE’S END

Jan. 19, 2010: Yesterday was a big day for Lane’s End, as the Eclipse Awards were handed out in Beverly Hills.

Our two-time leading sire SMART STRIKE, already the sire of two-time Horse of the Year CURLIN and Champion Turf Horse ENGLISH CHANNEL, added yet another Eclipse champion to his resume. SMART STRIKE is the sire of ten champions.

This time, it was the brilliant two-year-old colt Lookin at Lucky who shone on Eclipse night. In a season that included three Grade 1 victories and a narrow runner-up finish in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Lookin at Lucky was a landslide winner as the best two-year-old colt in 2009. Congratulations to breeder Gulf Coast Farms and all the racing connections of Lookin at Lucky!

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SOVEREIGN AWARD NOMINEES

Lane’s End stallions dominated the Sovereign Award nominees. They included:

A.P. INDY: Marchfield, Turf Horse; Eye of the Leopard, Three-Year-Old Male; Serenading, Older Female

CANDY RIDE (ARG): El Brujo, Male Sprinter & Three-Year-Old Colt

KINGMAMBO: Much Obliged, Turf Female

SMART STRIKE: Smart Surprise, Female Sprinter & Older Female

Woodford Racing’s Tasty Temptation also earned a nod in the Three-Year-Old Filly category. The filly was a very good fourth to A.P. INDY’s Eye of the Leopard in the Queen’s Plate, and came back to win the Wonder Where S. in her seasonal finale. Woodford Racing is managed by Lane’s End’s Bill Farish.

We also congratulate Mark Casse, who conditions our Canadian-based horses, on another nomination as Canada’s top trainer. He is the winner of the last three Sovereign Awards for champion Trainer.

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SMART STRIKE: NEW YEAR, FAMILIAR RESULTS

Jan. 19, 2010: Less than three weeks into the new year, and SMART STRIKE is already represented by four stakes horses, including a Grade 2 winner in the top-shelf Papa Clem.

The winner of last year’s G2 Arkansas Derby, who ended his three-year-old campaign with a very good third in the G1 Malibu S., Papa Clem was the 3-2 choice in the Jan. 16, G2 San Fernando S. at Santa Anita. The handsome son of BELONG TO ME’s Grade 1 winner Miss Houdini hooked up with Smart Bid, another son of SMART STRIKE, from the start, and those two battled nearly the entire 1 1/16 miles before Papa Clem asserted by a half-length.

On the same afternoon, SMART STRIKE’s Storm Play ran third in the Evening Attire S. at Aqueduct, while the mare Never Retreat crossed the line first in Fair Grounds’ Jan. 2 Furl Sail H. before being DQ’d to second.

To top it off, SMART STRIKE was recently represented by his tenth individual champion when Lookin at Lucky, the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby, was named Champion Two-Year-Old Colt at the Eclipse Awards.

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2009 WRAP-UP--A.P. INDY: ANOTHER BANNER YEAR

Jan. 1, 2010: Even by A.P. INDY's own high standards, 2009 was particularly noteworthy for the stallion Bill Oppenheim recently called "North America's best sire."

A.P. INDY concluded 2009 as:

• Co-leading sire by Grade 1 winners (4);
• Second-leading sire by graded winners (10);
• Co-second-leading sire by stakes winners (18);
• Second-leading sire by stakes wins (28).

A.P. INDY also added his 10th and 11th champion, respectively, to the fold in 2009. His daughter Serenading, heroine of the G2 Falls City H., was crowned Champion Older Female in Canada, while Eye of the Leopard, winner of the Queen’s Plate S., was honored as the country’s top Three-Year-Old Male. And Marchfield, Champion Older Horse in Canada in 2008, again earned that recognition with a season that included a tally in the G2 Sky Classic S.

Runners by A.P. INDY to star in 2009 include:

• Godolphin's Music Note, who won the G1 Ballerina S. and G1 Beldame S., finished third in the G1 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic and was retired with five Grade 1 victories on her resume;
• Godolphin’s Flashing, who took the G1 Test S. in August, then beat older females in the G1 Gazelle S. at Aqueduct in November;
• Just as Well, winner of the G1 Northern Dancer S. at Woodbine Sept. 20;
• Telling, winner of Saratoga's G1 Sword Dancer Invitational S.;
• Girolamo, the three-year-old who dominated the G2 Jerome H. Oct. 11;
• Kentucky Derby favorite Friesan Fire, one of the premier three-year-olds in the country last spring and winner in succession of the G3 Lecomte S., G3 Risen Star S., and G2 Louisiana Derby;
• Eldaafer, winner of the G2 Brooklyn in June;
• El Crespo, winner of the G3 Palm Beach S. in March.

These runners only serve to underscore what's most impressive about A.P. INDY's stakes horses: their quality. Of his 201 black-type runners, 129 are stakes winners. Of those, an incredible 78 are graded stakes winners and 26 are Grade 1 winners. A.P. INDY's get includes eleven champions, led by Horse of the Year MINESHAFT, the leading third-crop sire in the nation by stakes winners. A.P. INDY concluded 2009 fifth on the General Sire List, and after his 2010 fee was announced, Bill Oppenheim added that he considered A.P. INDY to be priced at the right level:

“A.P. INDY...has twice been Champion Sire in North America, and five times the leading sire by A Runner Index, using the APEX system. Number five on the General Sire List this year, and the sire of [26] Grade I winners in 14 crops of racing age, he’ll be 21 next year. Lane’s End dropped his fee 40 percent, from $250,000 to $150,000. As long as you’re breeding for North American racing, he’s been the number one sire for over a decade.”
The next round of A.P. INDY's stars also made their presence in 2009. The two-year-old filly Protesting was a game second in the G2 Demoiselle S. at Aqueduct, while the juvenile colt Worldly was third in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club S. The pair had the distinction of being A.P. INDY’s 199th and 200th career stakes horses!

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--AFTER MARKET: HIGH EXPECTATIONS

Jan. 1, 2010: With three of his sons among the top 15 on the Leading Sires List in 2009, including Giant’s Causeway, there is no doubting the influence Storm Cat has left on the breed. And few of his sons can match the pedigree or performance of AFTER MARKET, who saw his first weanlings sell in 2009.

AFTER MARKET’s first weanlings didn’t fall far from the paternal tree. Representatives included a colt who sold to Blackwater Farm for $115,000. The colt, bred by the Wygods and consigned by Lane’s End, was produced by a full-sister to Grade 1 winner Silent Sights (Benchmark).

Mares who sold in foal to AFTER MARKET included SW & GISP Yolanda B. Too (Two Punch), who was knocked down to Dixiana Farms for $100,000.

Watch for AFTER MARKET’s first yearlings in 2010! To read more about AFTER MARKET, continue reading:

Lane’s End is home to some of the best stallions in the business, like A.P. INDY, KINGMAMBO, and SMART STRIKE, who are carrying on in the tradition of their own greats sires Seattle Slew and Mr. Prospector. Beginning this spring, a son of another preeminent sire, the great Storm Cat, will be joining the ranks at Lane’s End, and if his pedigree and race record are anything to go by, the accomplished, handsome dual Grade 1 winner AFTER MARKET will have every chance to be a star at stud, aswell.

AFTER MARKET carries with him impeccable credentials for stallion duty. At two and three, the strapping dark bay captured his first four career starts with consummate ease. The skein was capped with a pair of wins in the G3 Lexington S. and the G2 National Museum Racing Hall of Fame S. at Saratoga for trainer Bill Mott.

Things would only get better as a four-year-old of 2007. Moved to John Shirreffs’s barn on the West Coast, AFTER MARKET annexed the G3 Inglewood H. by two lengths, winning the 1 1/16-mile race in a blistering 1:39 3/5. He faced a stiff challenge in the G1 Charles Whittingham Memorial H. when asked to tackle 10 furlongs and the reigning champ Lava Man, but AFTER MARKET came through with flying colors, gamely defeating Lava Man by 1 ½ lengths in 1:58 3/5. It was much of the same in the nine-furlong G1 Eddie Read H., when AFTER MARKET won his third straight, and his seventh race in 11 starts, in 1:47 1/5. In late August AFTER MARKET continued his march to the Breeders' Cup with his fourth consecutive graded stakes win in the Del Mar H. as the heavy favorite.

AFTER MARKET, clearly, would deserve a spot in the stallion barn even if his pedigree was ordinary. But, of course, it isn’t.

With six of the top 36 stallions in the country by Storm Cat, there can be little argument over  the grandson of Northern Dancer’s influence as a sire of sires. Perhaps Storm Cat’s best representative at stud is Giant’s Causeway, the “Iron Horse” who made a name for himself on the turf before going on to become the sire of horses like My Typhoon and Lane’s End’s own dual Grade 1 winner ARAGORN.

Importantly for breeders looking to target the next big stallion, there are several similarities between AFTER MARKET and Giant’s Causeway. Both were produced by top-class, hard-knocking daughters of Rahy, and AFTER MARKET, like his paternal brother, could stretch his miler ’s speed to the Classic distance of 1 1/4 miles with no trouble.

AFTER MARKET is a son of Tranquility Lake, the brilliant racemare who banked over $1.6 million for Marty and Pam Wygod, AFTER MARKET's breeders. Tranquility Lake was a versatile filly whose seven graded victories included a pair of Grade 1 triumphs, the Yellow Ribbon S. and Gamely BC H. on turf, as well as a win in the G2 Clement L. Hirsch H. on dirt.

Tranquility Lake has thus far lived up to her race record in the breeding shed. AFTER MARKET, her first foal, has earned the title as the best turf horse on the West Coast with a sterling 2007 season, while her second foal, a full-brother to AFTER MARKET named Jalil, made headlines before ever stepping onto the track. So impressed was Sheikh Mohammed with Jalil’s conformation and pedigree that he purchased the colt for $9.7 million at the 2005 Keeneland September sale, the highest price paid for a horse at auction that season.

AFTER MARKET’s second dam is the MGSP Danzig mare Winter’s Love, meaning that Tranquility Lake is a half-sister to the very good young stallion Benchmark, the sire of, among others, Brother Derek. Winter’s Love, meanwhile, is a half-sister to G1 Belmont S. winner Caveat.

This combination of speed and stamina in AFTER MARKET’s pedigree, and the combination of turf and dirt influences, makes AFTER MARKET a dynamic prospect, whether you’re breeding for dirt, turf or synthetic surfaces.

Some horses, when retired to stud, need clever marketing to garner attention or a bit of hyperbole to shine a light on their accomplishments. With his sterling race record, good looks, and impeccable pedigree, AFTER MARKET needs neither.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--ARAGORN: UNLIMITED POTENTIAL

Jan. 1, 2010: A multiple Grade 1 winner of over $1.5 million. A course-record holder who excelled at a mile. A grandson of Storm Cat, by his best sire son. An exciting young stallion whose first-crop weanlings made up to $329,000 and whose first yearlings were outstanding. And all for $7,500?

ARAGORN (IRE) is indeed one of the best values around, and in a time where breeders are searching for the next big thing without the big price tag, the striking son of Giant’s Causeway fits all the criteria of a successful stallion in the making.

It also is important to note that Giant’s Causeway has gotten off to a prominent start as a sire of sires. His son Shamardal led the freshman sire lists in England and Ireland by earnings, while Footstepsinthesand (GB) registered 25 first-crop winners.

At the 2009 yearling sales, youngsters by ARAGORN were purchased by Cash Counter Stable ($200,000), Let’s Go Stable ($160,000), Cormac McCormack ($100,000), etc. Keep an eye out for ARAGORN’s runners at this year’s two-year-old in training sales!

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--BELONG TO ME: 10 G1SW AND COUNTING

Jan. 1, 2010: BELONG TO ME has been a consistent source of top-class stakes winners since his early days, and the son of Danzig showed in 2009 why he continues to be one of the best values in the business.

His runners were led by the superlative grass filly Forever Together. The Champion Grass Mare of 2008, heroine of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, had another fine season in 2009. Never off the board in six starts, the George Strawbridge colorbearer successfully defended her title in the G1 Diana S. at Saratoga, won the G2 Jenny Wiley S. at Keeneland and was a close-up third in the latest renewal of the Filly & Mare Turf. Forever Together heads to the breeding shed as an earner of over $2.8 million, with seven graded wins to her credit.

Forever Together’s chances at stud look superb, as BELONG TO ME is garnering a reputation as an up-and-coming broodmare sire. He ranked 31st on the Leading Broodmare Sires list in 2009, with only one sire above him--KINGMAMBO--who is younger in age. The SMART STRIKE/BELONG TO ME cross looks especially fruitful. Both pro tem champion Lookin at Lucky and Grade 2 winner Papa Clem were by SMART STRIKE out of BELONG TO ME mares. Lookin at Lucky’s dam Private Feeling, who also produced dual Grade 2 winner Kensei, elicited a bid of $2 million from Live Oak at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

In Australia, BELONG TO ME’s All Silent (Aus) annexed the A$500,000, six-furlong G1 Patinack Farm Classic in November. The gelding was coming off a tally in the G2 Gilgai S. and won the G1 Emirates S. in 2008.

BELONG TO ME ended 2009 with nine stakes winners, including four graded stakes winners. Over his career, BELONG TO ME has sired the likes of Grade 1 winners Jersey Girl, Circle of Life, Lucky Roberto, Miss Houdini, etc., as well as group/graded winners Jack Sullivan, Ebony Breeze, Ocean Drive, etc.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--CANDY RIDE: THE NEXT BIG THING?

Jan. 1, 2010: CANDY RIDE (ARG) got off to a brilliant start at stud in 2008, and his reputation soared even higher when his first three-year-old group yielded a pair of Grade 1 winners in 2009. At season’s end, CANDY RIDE was a top five sire on the Leading Second Crop Sires list with nine black-type winners to his credit. That includes five at the graded level, which puts him as the co-leading sophomore sire by that measure, along with Medaglia d’Oro, and puts him ahead of Tapit (4), Birdstone (2), etc.

Over the last weekend of 2009, the quality of CANDY RIDE’s runners was once again on display when the superb sprinter Evita Argentina stormed down Santa Anita’s stretch to prevail in the G1 La Brea S. It was the chestnut’s sixth win in 13 starts, including a victory over males in the G2 San Vicente S., as well as tallies in the G2 A Gleam H. and G3 Sorrento S.

CANDY RIDE’s other Grade 1 winner is Capt. Candyman Can, who like Evita Argentina excels at the tricky seven-furlong distance. The gelding landed one of the most prized spoils on the horse racing calendar, the G1 King’s Bishop S., to add to his victories in the G2 Hutcheson S. and G3 Bay Shore S. He is four-for-four going seven furlongs.

CANDY RIDE is also the sire of the progressive Misremembered, who on the same afternoon as Evita Argentina’s La Brea win came flying for second in the G1 Malibu S. at Santa Anita. The Bob Baffert homebred previously won the G2 Indiana Derby and G2 Swaps Breeders' Cup S., ran a game second in the G2 Clark H., and has now finished first or second in seven of nine.

Meanwhile, CANDY RIDE’s son El Brujo won the G3 Kentucky Cup Sprint at Turfway Park in September, then doubled up with a tally in the G3 Perryville S. at Keeneland a month later, while multiple Grade 1-placed Chocolate Candy won the G3 El Camino Real Derby earlier in the year.

CANDY RIDE’s nine 2009 stakes winners puts him in a tie with Speightstown for third-most stakes winners for a sophomore sire, and he has more than double the number of Birdstone (4), etc.

CANDY RIDE’s emergence as a top young sire was recognized in the sales ring. Despite a down market, his yearlings were in top demand, with 35 sold for an average of $60,987. That number is impressive considering it came off a $12,500 stud fee, and was in his third year at stud, often considered a ‘bubble’ year. Leading the way was a colt out of the Heaven’s Gate mare Septieme Ciel who sold to Let’s Go Stable for $630,000. Others sold for $340,000, $185,000, $150,000, etc.

With numbers like these, Bill Oppenheim recently called CANDY RIDE outstanding value at his 2010 fee of $25,000:

“CANDY RIDE, unbeaten on the racecourse and sire of five GSWs in his first crop. He seems to have a new black-type horse every time you open up the paper.”

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2009 WRAP-UP--CITY ZIP: A PREMIER JUVENILE SIRE

Jan. 1, 2010: As the second-leading sire in the nation by juvenile winners (36) and fifth-leading sire by juvenile earnings in 2009, CITY ZIP again showed why he’s one of the premier sires of two-year-olds in the nation. Carson City’s heir apparent, who ended 2008 as the co-leading sire by number of juvenile stakes winners, was represented by three black-type babies in final month of the year alone. On the first weekend of the month at Aqueduct, his son City Trooper ran second in the $70,000 Damon Runyon S., while daughter Spirit of Rose was second in the $70,000 East View S. Then on Dec. 28, the exciting two-year-old filly Romantic Getaway notched the first black-type victory of her career with a driving two-length tally in Philly Park’s $75,000 Brandywine S. It was Romantic Getaway’s third win in four starts and pushed her earnings past the $100,000 mark.

A top 35 stallion on the General Sire List, CITY ZIP has proven he can get horses that train on, as well. That was in evidence at Monmouth Park over the summer of 2009, where his five-year-old son Get Serious dominated the local turf events...and some of the main-track events, too. Get Serious won four black-type races on the shore and lowered the track record for a mile not once but twice. His get included the G3 Red Bank S., the off-the-turf Listed Oceanport S., and the grassy Battlefield S., which he won in a blistering 1:32.70. Get Serious has now banked $541,191.

Other horses by CITY ZIP to star in 2009 include:

• Turf sprint ace Canadian Ballet, who collected her fifth overall stakes victory when she determinedly made all to prevail in the $200,000 Turf Amazon H. at Philly Park in late September. Tried in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint facing males, she was an excellent fifth, beaten just four lengths;
• Gleam of Hope, a two-year-old colt who romped by 2 1/4 lengths in the Cradle S. at River Downs Sept. 7. The victory improved Gleam of Hope's record to three wins in four starts and boosted his earnings to over $150,000. On the same day, CITY ZIP's three-year-old son Rooster City was beaten just a head when second in the nine-furlong Emerald Downs Derby;
• Zip Quik, the two-year-old colt who was runner-up in the G2 Saratoga Special S. and G3 Hollywood Juvenile Championship S.;
• Acting Zippy, the four-year-old who won the $100,000, 1 1/6-mile R. R. M. Carpenter Jr. Memorial S. at Delaware Park;
• Citizen, who captured the Mountain Valley S. at Oaklawn Park;
• Silver Cup, who won the Golden Gull Chris Brown Memorial S. at Charles Town, etc.

As a sire who's had to do it the hard way, proving his mettle first in New York before moving to Kentucky, CITY ZIP has seen his books improve in recent years, and those resulting foals are showing their talent on the track. From two-year-olds to older horses, going short or long, and on dirt, synthetics and turf, CITY ZIP is gaining the reputation as one of the country’s most versatile sires. And at a fee of $10,000 for 2010, one of the best value sires, too. That, at least, is according to industry expert Bill Oppenheim, who said in the Thoroughbred Daily News:

“Lane's End's CITY ZIP had 18 two-year-old winners [and] four black-type winners, including unbeaten Run Away and Hide, in his first Kentucky crop in 2008. This year, in his second Kentucky crop, CITY ZIP's had no fewer than 35 two-year-old winners and ranks number four on the national Two-Year-Old Sire List. Yet he drops 20 percent, from $12,500; that has to qualify as good value.”

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--CURLIN LEADING COVERING SIRE...BY A LONG WAY

Jan. 1, 2010: The buzz is already starting to build around two-time Horse of the Year CURLIN’s first foals, which are due this spring. Last fall, CURLIN was easily the leading covering sire among first-crop stallions, with 11 of the 15 mares in foal to CURLIN selling for a $231,545 average. That’s over three times his initial $75,000 fee. Only two other freshman sires had mares average above six figures, and Curlin was well ahead of both. They were Henrythenavigator ($151,062 average for 12 sold, $65,000 fee) and Big Brown ($105,714 average for seven sold, $65,000 fee).

Mares in foal to CURLIN who sold in 2009 included Tears I Cry (Chester House), knocked down to Vin Cox Bloodstock for $735,000; as well as Reverently (Pulpit), a half-sister to SMART STRIKE’s Grade 1 winner Square Eddie, who sold to Royal Oak Farm, agent, for $390,000.

Despite the success of these mares, CURLIN’s fee has been reduced to $60,000, offering continued value to breeders seeking to breed to this very exciting prospect.

To read more about CURLIN, continue reading:

One measure of a great horse is what he was able to accomplish against the odds. Put another way, did he do something horses aren’t supposed to do? For instance, are horses supposed to win at first asking by 12 3/4 lengths? Are horses supposed to place in the Kentucky Derby in their fourth career start? Are they supposed to re-rally to beat the Derby winner in the Preakness in their fifth? Are they supposed to romp over one of the deepest fields in Breeders’ Cup Classic history with relative ease? To come back at four, fly 7,000 miles and win the world’s richest race without turning a hair?

SETTING NEW STANDARDS

Not generally, they’re not. Yet, that’s what CURLIN did in two historic seasons on the track. He set a new standard as to what it means to be a World Champion in the modern-day era. He was fast. He was durable. He danced every dance and he never backed down from a challenge. He was a truly unique horse on the racetrack, and there’s every reason to think the son of SMART STRIKE will be a truly unique sire now that he has retired to Lane’s End to stand stud.

TDN “RISING STAR”

It took CURLIN exactly one minute, 22 and one-fifth seconds to announce himself as a potential superstar. That’s the amount of time it took him to cover seven furlongs in his debut at Gulfstream Park in February of 2007. CURLIN won the race by a pole despite racing greenly and drifting very wide in the stretch. The Thoroughbred Daily News tabbed him a “TDN Rising Star.” Track announcer Larry Colmus exclaimed simply “Curlin--wow!”

STEPPING UP IN CLASS

The victory caught the eye of Stonestreet Stables’ Jess Jackson and his bloodstock advisor, John Moynihan. Stonestreet and partners purchased a majority interest in the colt, who was then transferred from the barn of Helen Pitts to trainer Steve Asmussen. Asmussen knew the caliber of horse he had, and asked the big chestnut to take the steep step up in class in the G3 Rebel S. at Oaklawn. In just his second career start and his first race around two turns, CURLIN captured the Rebel by a professional 5 1/4 lengths. In his next, the GII Arkansas Derby, he simply toyed with the competition, bounding home by a 10 1/2-length margin.


THE CLASSICS

Asmussen now asked even more of the colt, sending him into the toughest challenge a young horse can face: the rough-and-tumble mile and a quarter of the G1 Kentucky Derby. CURLIN lost little in defeat, overcoming a rough start with a rallying third-place effort to Juvenile Champion Street Sense and the tough-as-nails Hard Spun. It wouldn’t take long for CURLIN to settle the score.

In the G1 Preakness S. next out, CURLIN was commencing a rally on the far turn when Street Sense came flying past on his inside. With a furlong left to run, few gave him a chance against the Derby hero, who had opened up by a length. But CURLIN showed his grit, re-breaking under regular jockey Robby Albarado, and in the final jump he got up to defeat Street Sense by a head, with Hard Spun back in third.

CURLIN’s next race was one for the ages. In the third leg of the Triple Crown, the G1 Belmont S., CURLIN engaged with A.P. INDY’s superlative daughter and Lane’s End sales grad Rags to Riches and battled the length of Belmont’s long stretch. In the end it was Rags to Riches by a head, but it was a defeat that took little sheen off what CURLIN had accomplished in just six career starts.

JOCKEY CLUB GOLD CUP

Given a bit of time off, CURLIN returned in the G1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth, where he finished third to Any Given Saturday and his old rival Hard Spun. But CURLIN was back to his best in his next, the historic G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. It was his first start against older horses, and in the field was the menacing presence of LANGFUHR’s son Lawyer Ron, who was coming off a pair of huge wins in Grade 1 company at Saratoga. It was another battle for the ages, with each horse fighting for every inch of ground. CURLIN proved too good, though, asserting by a quarter length in deep stretch to the approval of a thrilled Belmont crowd.

BREEDERS’ CUP CHAMPION

If CURLIN showed the fight of a bulldog in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, he displayed the brilliance of an unqualified champion in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic four weeks later. The race had drawn arguably the best field ever assembled for the Classic. Street Sense. Hard Spun. Any Given Saturday. Lawyer Ron. George Washington (Ire). Tiago. All Grade 1 winners, all top-notch race horses. But over the soupy mud at Monmouth, it was all CURLIN. With dusk approaching and the crowd huddled together, CURLIN unleashed a dazzling display, powering to the fore nearing the quarter pole and splashing home 4 1/2 lengths clear of Hard Spun.

ECLIPSING THE COMPETITION

“Curlin, who had not raced before February, completed a sensational, ambitious campaign...at Monmouth Park with an emphatic victory in the $5-million Breeders' Cup Classic,” enthused Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman. CURLIN was an overwhelming choice for Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Colt, and was surely one of the most coveted stud prospects of the year.

SPORTING GESTURE AND A TICKET TO FLY

But Jess Jackson, in a sporting gesture rare in racing these days, kept CURLIN in training at four. Following in the hoofsteps of brilliant Breeders’ Cup Classic winners like Cigar and PLEASANTLY PERFECT, CURLIN made the trip to deserts of Dubai to contest the world’s richest race, the $6-million G1 Dubai World Cup. First sent out to an easy handicap win at Nad Al Sheba in February, CURLIN was the overwhelming choice in the World Cup, which had also attracted the good horses Asiatic Boy (Arg) and Well Armed, among others. CURLIN lived up to advance billing, swooping to the front in upper stretch and striding home with authority to the delight of the crowd. “It was as comprehensive a win of the world’s most valuable race as you expect to see and confirmed CURLIN’s status as the world’s best Thoroughbred,” wrote The Blood-Horse magazine.


A GRADE 1 CAMPAIGN

While many a talented runner falter after the long trip to and from Dubai, CURLIN was as good as ever upon return. He captured the G1 Stephen Foster H. in June of 2008, ran second to Breeders’ Cup champ Red Rocks (Ire) in a grass experiment in the G1 Man O' War S. in July, then took the show on the road to Saratoga, where he annexed the G1 Woodward S. in August.

In his penultimate start, CURLIN was looking to become the first two-time winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup since Skip Away. Favored at 40 cents on the dollar, he joined the esteemed company of five-time hero Kelso with a measured victory over Wanderin Boy, as well as dual Gold Cup winners Nashua, Shuvee, Slew o’Gold, and Creme Fraiche.

NORTH AMERICA’S RICHEST HORSE

The win was historic for other reasons, too. With the purse earnings of $450,000, CURLIN became racing’s first $10-million earner, pushing past Cigar’s previous record of $9,999,815. Sent off the chalk to take his second renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, too, CURLIN made an eye-catching move on the far turn to take command in upper stretch. His early exertions appeared to take its toll, however, and he came home fourth in a game effort. It wasn’t the win his connections had hoped for, but it was yet another example of CURLIN giving it his all, even in defeat.

Consider this: in the span of 13 short months, CURLIN went from an unraced maiden to a Classic winner, to a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, to a Dubai World Cup hero. Over his full 20-month career campaign, CURLIN won 11 of 16 starts and missed the frame just once while earning $10,501,800. He registered huge Beyers, and in August of 2008 was honored as Timeform Global Rankings’ best horse in the world with a rating of 134.

MIND AND BODY

One of CURLIN’s biggest attributes, of course, was his mind. He took everything in stride, didn’t get excited by the screaming crowds, didn’t lose his composure as foes around him became unglued. Trainer Asmussen had this to say about his star performer, “CURLIN made his mark in the history books in so many ways: as a classic winner, as a colt who traveled to Dubai and captured the World Cup and who returned to take three more Grade 1 races and tally record earnings. His physical and mental attitude is unparalleled and he retires perfectly sound.”

THE REAL DEAL

CURLIN’s professionalism was matched only by his impeccable good looks. He had the heavily muscling of a sprinter, with the scope, range and bone of a true route horse. In a recent Daily Racing Form column titled “It’s always tough to see great ones go,” Jay Hovdey wrote this tribute to CURLIN, “It must be hard to let go, to climb down from the giddy heights of campaigning America’s best, most consistent racehorse for two solid seasons. And let there be no doubt . . . in an era of one-hit wonders, this horse was the real deal . . . CURLIN laid his big, gorgeous body down every time he ran, under all manner of circumstance, leaving behind a trail of loyal admirers to go along with an impressive pile of beaten opposition.”

BREED APART - FAST, STRONG, DURABLE

Even hardened rail birds readily admitted that this indeed was a special horse, a throwback to the days of Secretariat, Dr. Fager and Buckpasser. In short, if one were asked to compose a sketch of the perfect race horse, the result, in all probability, would look a lot like CURLIN. Majority owner Jess Jackson said, “After a stellar racing career, CURLIN is now in a position to carry on his iron horse bloodlines at Lane’s End, the premier stallion farm in the nation. He is one of the best examples of the breed - fast, strong, and durable. I predict he will make a substantial contribution to our sport through his gene pool and I am looking forward to seeing his foals compete and possibly exceed his unequaled race record.”

Will Farish said “The Jacksons are due great credit for allowing our sport to enjoy this great champion as a four-year-old. Many would have retired him after winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Horse of the Year honors as a three-year-old. CURLIN’s performance on the track, his pedigree, and his conformation make him the most exciting sire prospect to retire in many years. We are honored to have him join his champion sire SMART STRIKE at Lane’s End.”

HE’S GOT OUR VOTE!

Perhaps Steven Crist, Chairman and Publisher of the Daily Racing Form, summed CURLIN up best with this comment, “CURLIN is a first-ballot cinch for the Hall of Fame in 2014.”

ECLIPSE AWARD #4

At the January 26 ceremony, CURLIN cinched Champion Older Horse and Horse of the Year with an overwhelming number of votes!

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP: DIXIE UNION, THE QUANTITY OF QUALITY

Jan. 1, 2010: DIXIE UNION has garnered a reputation as a sire who consistently gets quality, and for good reason. Consider this: the son of Dixieland Band ended 2009 with seven graded stakes winners to his credit. Only seven stallions had more, and only one of those stood for less that $60,000, underscoring DIXIE UNION’s 2010 fee of $35,000 as superb value. The best example of DIXIE UNION’s prowess can be found in one of the nation’s premier juvenile fillies in 2009, Grace Stable’s Hot Dixie Chick.

Hot Dixie Chick finished second in her career debut at Churchill Downs in May, than proceeded to lower the historic track’s five-furlong track record when tearing through the distance in :56.48. Favored in the GIII Schuylerville S. at Saratoga in late August, she turned the race into a procession, winning off by 6 1/4 lengths. The winning margin of her next victory, the G1 Spinaway S. at the Spa, was “just” 1 3/4 lengths, but the manner in which she accomplished the victory was just as impressive, easily defeating for the second straight time the eventual G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Beautician.

DIXIE UNION also could boast the three-year-old filly star Justwhistledixie, who dominated the proceedings at Gulfstream early in the year. The West Point Thoroughbreds colorbearer recorded five straight wins from late 2008 to the spring of 2009, including the G2 Davona Dale S. and G2 Bonnie Miss S. at the Hallendale oval. Sent off the choice in the G1 Acorn S., she ran a game second, then came back from a respite to run Sara Louise to a half-length in the G2 Top Flight S. at Aqueduct in late November.

Among DIXIE UNION’s males, Phipps Stable star Gone Astray helped lead the way. The three-year-old colt won or placed in seven of nine in 2009, with his victories including the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby and the G2 Ohio Derby.

Other runners by DIXIE UNION to star in 2009 were:

• Homebound, winner of the G2 Prix de Sandringham at Chantilly;
• Bold Union, heroine of the G3 Endine S. and a track-record-setter in 2009;
• Dixie Band, the up-and-coming winner of the G3 Arlington-Washington Futurity and Spectacular Bid S.;
• Dixie Chatter, the Grade 1-winning juvenile who secured victory in the G2 Arcadia H. and was third in the G1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile H.;
• Strike Again, a son of the SMART STRIKE mare Strike It Up who captured Saratoga s Tap the Admiral S.

Return 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--ENGLISH CHANNEL: CHANNELING GREATNESS

Jan. 1, 2010: Champion and six-time Grade 1 winner ENGLISH CHANNEL stands his first season at Lane’s End in 2010, and we are excited to be associated with this promising young sire.

During his first two years at stud, ENGLISH CHANNEL covered a superb book of mares, and his first weanlings were well received by the buying public at the 2009 bloodstock sales. They included a filly who was knocked down to Donarra Thoroughbreds LLC for $85,000 at Keeneland November. The filly was produced by the stakes-winning Storm Cat mare Flashy Four, dam of the graded horse Savoy Special and a half to the good sprinter Good and Tough.

Keep an eye out for ENGLISH CHANNEL’s yearlings in 2010! To read more about ENGLISH CHANNEL, continue reading:

By the time he retired to stud, ENGLISH CHANNEL had become one of the most accomplished U.S.-based turf champions of all time. Not since the great John Henry ruled the scene in the early 1980s had a grass horse been as consistent, year in and year out, in high-level competition as ENGLISH CHANNEL. His resume includes six Grade 1 victories, including back-to-back wins in both Belmont’s G1 Turf Classic Invitational and Monmouth’s G1 United Nations H. ENGLISH CHANNEL won the $1 million Virginia Derby at three, the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill at four, and, in his final career effort at five, dominated the $3 million G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf by seven lengths.

When all was said and done, ENGLISH CHANNEL had amassed a bankroll of over $5.3 million and earned the admiration of race fans and the respect of rival trainers.

Bred by Keene Ridge Farm in Kentucky, ENGLISH CHANNEL caught the eye of top horseman J.J. Pletcher at the 2003 Keeneland September Sale. The chestnut was perfectly proportioned--good shoulder, nice hip, a beautiful way of going--and Pletcher immediately gauged, correctly, that the horse was destined to be a runner.

Purchased by Pletcher on behalf of James Scatuorchio and turned over to his son Todd, ENGLISH CHANNEL showed himself to be something special from the outset. He won a two-turn Saratoga maiden in his lone start at two, then went on a four-race winning tear in the spring of his three-year-old year. He racked up tallies in Churchill’s Woodlawn S., the inaugural $500,000 Colonial Turf Cup, and the G3 Virginia Derby. In his first try in Grade 1 competition, ENGLISH CHANNEL was a head runner-up in the G1 Secretariat S. over a yielding Arlington course in August, then just lost the bob to older horse Shakespeare in Belmont’s G1 Turf Classic that fall.

THE ENGLISH RESOLVE

At four, ENGLISH CHANNEL won five of his eight starts. He beat subsequent champion and Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Miesque’s Approval in his seasonal debut in the Canadian Turf H., which put him on track for his first Grade 1 victory. Up against the top horse Cacique (Ire) in the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill, ENGLISH CHANNEL rallied four wide and was all heart to best that rival by a half-length. Two months later, the two met up again, this time in the G1 United Nations at Monmouth. Again, ENGLISH CHANNEL’s heart was on display. Rank early, he moved three wide in the stretch and staved off Cacique for the win, which earned him a big 111 BRIS Speed Figure.

Looking to avenge his loss to Shakespeare as the heavy 3-5 pick in his second go at Belmont’s Turf Classic, ENGLISH CHANNEL won in stylish fashion, earning a 108 BRIS fig and cruising home by nearly five lengths. He concluded his year with a good third in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf, but his best racing days were ahead.

ENGLISH CHANNEL kicked off his championship season with a gaudy performance at Gulfstream. Heavily favored in a nine-furlong turf allowance in his five-year-old bow in February, ENGLISH CHANNEL attended a wicked mile in 1:32 3/5, then powered home to win the race in a blistering, track-record 1:44 2/5. ENGLISH CHANNEL missed the nine-furlong world record by a mere .59.

After finishing a head adrift of Better Talk Now in the G1 Manhattan H. in June, ENGLISH CHANNEL went on to collect another edition of the G1 United Nations, this time breaking the 11-furlong track record after going 2:12 4/5. It was more of the same later that fall, when he registered yet another comprehensive victory in the Turf Classic, winning the 1 1/2-mile race in 1:25 3/5.

That set the stage for an appropriate career finale, to come in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Monmouth Park, where ENGLISH CHANNEL put in an effort for the ages. In front of an appreciative crowd rooting for their hometown hero, ENGLISH CHANNEL stalked early, then unleashed a dazzling turn of foot in the lane that left the others toiling for minor placings. His winning margin of seven lengths remains the largest in Breeders’ Cup Turf history, and he beat, among others, the very good Dylan Thomas (Ire), as well as previous Turf winners Better Talk Now and Red Rocks (Ire).

“He delivered big-time today,” said Todd Pletcher after the race. “He dominated some really good horses; he ran an unbelievable race.”

CHANNELING GREATNESS

As a stallion, ENGLISH CHANNEL offers to breeders credentials all too rare in today’s industry: he was fast, setting two course records and nearly lowering a world record; he was durable, starting 21 times from ages three to five; and he was classy, banking $1.1 million at three, $1.5 million at four, and $2.6 million at five.

Just as importantly, ENGLISH CHANNEL boasts the pedigree to be a top stallion. His sire is the two-time leading sire SMART STRIKE, whose versatility and consistency have earned him the reputation as one of the premier stallions in North America. Notably, ENGLISH CHANNEL was part of the memorable trifecta SMART STRIKE earned in October of 2007, when on the same afternoon at Belmont Park, Fabulous Strike won the G1 Vosburgh, ENGLISH CHANNEL won the G1 Turf Classic, and CURLIN captured the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup. No one could remember a sire registering three Grade 1 victories on the same afternoon, let alone at the same racecourse.

ENGLISH CHANNEL’s female family is also remarkably strong. His second dam was the five-time champion Committed, who beat males not once but twice in the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp. ENGLISH CHANNEL’s dam, the Theatrical (Ire) mare Belva, is a full-sister to Grade 1 winner Pharma and MGSW Hap, while ENGLISH CHANNEL is himself a full-brother to MGSP Sedgefield.

Important, too, is the support ENGLISH CHANNEL has received in his early days at stud. Scatuorchio and Brad Kelley, who purchased a major interest in ENGLISH CHANNEL, have been busy at the bloodstock sales in recent years, stocking ENGLISH CHANNEL’s book with the best mares to give the young stallion a chance to succeed. ENGLISH CHANNEL’s first foals arrived this year so watch for those weanlings at this year’s mixed sales.

To read Alan Porter’s mating analysis, click here.

Return 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP: KINGMAMBO, STILL THE KING

Jan. 1, 2010: He was represented by just 113 runners in 2009, but with eight black-type winners to his credit, KINGMAMBO continues to show why he’s one of the most important global stallions in the game. His 2009 runners included the G1SW Archipenko, who added to his impressive resume when annexing the G3 Zabeel Mile in Dubai. The previous year, Archipenko won the important G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup in Hong Kong.

Also winning in Dubai was Snaffy, who took the G3 Intidab Burj Nahaar at Nad Al Sheba. In England, son Campanolgist won the G3 Totepool Winter Hill S., while Alexandros beat, among others, the talented Twice Over (GB), when second in the G1 Juddmonte Lockinge S.

But it could be KINGMAMBO’s daughters who made the biggest impact in 2009. Among others, they produced the likes of Midday (GB), who defeated her elders in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf; Gozzip Girl, winner of the G1 American Oaks; Wiener Walzer (Ger), winner of the G1 Deutsches Derby; and Miss World, winner of the G1 Garden City Breeders' Cup S.

KINGMAMBO is also the broodmare sire of horses of champions and/or Grade 1 winners like Duke of Marmalade (Ire), Maids Causeway (Ire), Red Giant, Gallica (Aus), etc. Ranked 19th on the Leading Broodmare Sires List, he is the youngest member on the list by several years.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--LANGFUHR: TOP 15 SIRE SEVEN YEARS STRAIGHT!

Jan. 1, 2010: Since 2003, only three sires have made the Top 15 on the General Sires List each and every year. Unbridled’s Song? Storm Cat? Elusive Quality? No. Need a hint? All three stand at Lane’s End. The first two, leading sires A.P. INDY and SMART STRIKE, are easily guessed. But the third--LANGFUHR--might be a surprise to some. That is, until you review his career achievements as a stallion.

LANGFUHR is the sire of five champions, including Canadian Triple Crown winner WANDO, multiple Grade 1 winner Lawyer Ron, $1.8 million earner Mobil, and Three-Year-Old Champion Filly Kimchi. He is also the sire of G1 Arlington Million hero Jambalaya, Grade 1 winners like Imperial Gesture and Lang Field, and graded winners like Imperialism, Sister Star, Marlang and Last Answer.

In all, LANGFUHR has sired 62 black-type winners, 19 of whom have won at the graded level. He is well over the century mark with stakes horses, with 115 to his credit, with his runners earning a whopping $66,918,004.

In 2009, LANGFUHR continued to show why he’s one of the best values in the business. His veteran son Interpatation became his fifth Grade 1 winner when taking the G1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational S. over pro-tem divisional champ Gio Ponti. His 11 stakes winners last term included the two-year-old filly Dad's Crazy, as well as Akilina, Arganil, Cassique Lady (Ire), Euroears, Gangbuster, and Woodsmoke, while his graded performers include Yield Bogey, Absolutelyfabulous (Aus), and the MG1SP Casanova Move.

And considering that only two sires on the Top 30 General Sires List stand for less, LANGFUHR, at a 2010 fee of $17,500, offers breeders a chance at the home-run horse, without the big-league stud fee.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--LEMON DROP KID: 18 STAKES WINNERS IN ‘09!

Jan. 1, 2010: LEMON DROP KID finished the 2008 season as a top 15 sire with a remarkable 21 stakes winners to his credit, and the son of KINGMAMBO recently put the wraps on an equally impressive 2009. Again a top 15 Kentucky sire, LEMON DROP KID ended the year with 18 black-type winners to his credit. That put him as the co-second-leading sire by stakes winners, on par with compatriot A.P. INDY, and ahead of Distorted Humor, Dynaformer, Elusive Quality, etc.

What’s most impressive about LEMON DROP KID’s number of stakes winners is that they hailed from a relatively small group of runners. LEMON DROP KID had 159 individual starters in 2009, meaning that 11.3 percent of those went on to black-type success. By way of comparison, Giant’s Causeway, who led all sires with 24 stakes winners, had a strike rate of 6.6 percent with his runners.

End-of-year figures also confirmed the versatility of LEMON DROP KID’s runners, as he was ranked sixth among Kentucky sires on the Leading Turf Sires list, and 16th on the All-Weather Sire list among active Kentucky stallions.

LEMON DROP KID is the sire of five Grade 1 winners, including a pair in 2009. Santa Teresita won the G1 Santa Maria H. early in the year, while the progressive Richard’s Kid stamped himself as a top handicap horse with a victory in the G1 Pacific Classic and a fast-closing third in the G1 Goodwood Breeders’ Cup S.

Other LEMON DROP KID runners to start in 2009 include:

• The three-year-old Charitable Man, winner of the G2 Peter Pan S. in impressive fashion;
• Bronze Cannon, who captured the G2 Hardwicke S. and G2 Jockey Club S. in England;
• Cosmonaut, winner of the G3 Fort Marcy S.;
• Kiss the Kid, hero of the G3 Appleton S.;
• Citrus Kid, the up-and-coming juvenile colt who won the Dover S. at Delaware and finished third to SAINT LIAM’s Buddy’s Saint in the G2 Remsen S. at Aqueduct Nov. 28.
In a 2009 update to his APEX rankings in the Thoroughbred Daily News, Bill Oppenheim gave high marks to LEMON DROP KID in nearly all categories. From sires standing from 1996 through 2005, LEMON DROP KID is the fourth-leading stallion in Kentucky by A runner index, behind only stablemate SMART STRIKE, Street Cry (Ire) and Unbridled's Song. His ABC runner index is even better--he is second among Kentucky stallions--prompting Oppenheim to comment:

"Of the more ‘mainstream' among these 534 stallions, Distorted Humor and Galileo are tied with a 2.48 ABC Index--just under 20 percent of their runners. LEMON DROP KID is just a tick behind with a 2.45 index--he is definitely one of the most consistent sires around of horses that pay their way." And with a fee of $35,000 for 2010, Bill Oppenheim recently extolled the value of LEMON DROP KID. Oppenheim commented:

“LEMON DROP KID ($35,000, from $50,000) is a model of consistency: he was 10th on the General Sire List in 2007, 14th in 2008, and is 14th again this year. He is short on Grade 1 winners (has five), perhaps, but he is so solid at all other levels that for $35,000 it’s easily worth the gamble that more Grade 1 winners are in the pipeline.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--MINESHAFT: LEADING THIRD-CROP SIRE

Oct. 25, 2009: In a tough sire class that includes Empire Maker, Sky Mesa, Harlan’s Holiday, etc., no third-crop stallion has more stakes winners in 2009 than MINESHAFT’s nine.

His get included a trio of talented runners for Robert LaPenta and trainer Nick Zito. Coal Play took down the G3 Salvator Mile H., while 2008 GII Fountain of Youth S. winner Cool Coal Man, a Lane’s End Sales grad, continued to be a top performer, with his victories including the Albert the Great S. and Lord of the Night S. in New York. Meanwhile, the three-year-old colt Miner's Escape won the $100,000 Federico Tesio S. at Pimlico.

The $1.75-million juvenile Patricia's Gem emerged as a talented turfer in California, running Tuscan Evening (Ire) to a nose in a thrilling renewal of the G2 Royal Heroine Mile S. and finishing third, beaten 1 1/2 lengths by Magical Fantasy, in the G1 John C. Mabee S.

MINESHAFT has some exciting juvenile, too. His son Discreetly Mine, an E. Paul Robsham Stables homebred, was a dead-game second in the prestigious G1 Champagne S. at Belmont Park Oct. 10. The bay, a half-brother to Discreet Cat, romped by six lengths in a Saratoga maiden Aug. 22 and was second in the G2 Futurity S. at Belmont Sept. 19.

Mineralogist, a Chester and Mary Broman homebred out of Grade 2 winner Seeking the Ante (Seeking the Gold),won the $108,500 Joseph A. Gimma S. by daylight and the Maid of the Mist S. at Belmont in remarkable fashion. In the latter, she was off slowly and dead last in the early going. Some 10 lengths back after the first quarter, the 3-5 pick began picking off foes with a dazzling move rounding the turn and, after opening a clear lead, held well in what announcer Tom Durkin called a “remarkable win.”

Among MINESHAFT’s 2009 stakes winners are his promising daughter Platinum, who captured Saratoga’s Mollie Wilmot S. near the close of the meet. Hammered down to 1-2 favoritism coming off a pair of daylight victories in maiden and allowance company, the three-year-old Platinum didn’t let her backers down, laying down all the leading fractions and cruising home a facile 3 3/4-length winner in what was her stakes debut. Platinum is a Peter Blum homebred.

Donald and Mary Zuckerman's homebred three-year-old Platinum Girl, meanwhile, won Monmouth’s Little Silver S. in a wicked 1:33 3/5; Strut the Canary won Laurel's Marshua S.; and Rock Candy took Tampa Bay's Gasparilla S.

In all, MINESHAFT had no fewer than 19 stakes horses in 2009, including last year's star three-year-old Casino Drive.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP: MINGUN, A FAMILY TRADITION

Jan. 1, 2010: When Coo Cachoo stormed out of the gate and flew home a popular winner in a two-furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita last April, some may have been surprised that the two-year-old hailed from the first crop of the impeccably bred MINGUN, whose offspring always figured to get better as they matured.

But considering MINGUN counts Miesque as his dam and KINGMAMBO as his half-brother, who could really be surprised by any achievement secured by a relation?

By year’s end, MINGUN had six individual winners from his modestly sized initial crop. All, impressively, broke their maidens in special weight company.

Mingun Bell won well at Warwick in July, a few weeks before Helloagainmyfriend aired by 2 1/2 lengths in a five-furlong MSW at Arlington Park. Mingun Miss got her nose down at 3-5 odds to take a six-furlong event over Woodbine’s Polytrack in August, while Paijin and Gunner each graduated from the maiden ranks in the month of September.

By A.P. INDY and out of one of the best racemares of all time, MINGUN offers outstanding value to breeders at a fee of $5,000 for 2010.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--PLEASANT TAP: RACEHORSE SIRE

Jan. 1, 2010: Veteran sire PLEASANT TAP, long considered a prominent source of top-class, durable race horses, eclipsed the half-century mark for black-type winners during the 2009 season. The sire of Grade 1 winners like Tiago, Premium Tap and David Junior registered his latest stakes winner at Remington Park, when Pleasant Storm kept his record perfect in the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile S. Nov. 22. The colt opened his account with a debut victory at the track Oct. 17 and looked sharp in a two-length tally in the Juvenile S. Pleasant Storm was PLEASANT TAP’S 52nd career stakes winner.

Earlier in the fall, the four-year-old filly Leamington led every step and came home a sharp winner of Saratoga’s grassy Voodoo Dancer S. It was the first stakes victory for the Hickory Tree Stable colorbearer, who has been first or second in eight of 12.

On Sept. 7, daughter Pleasantly Blessed launched a strong bid to secure her own initial--and well-deserved--black-type score. Previously second in four stakes events, she won the one-mile Ricks Memorial S. at Remington by a length. The consistent performer has been first or second in 13 of 16.

PLEASANT TAP’s five-year-old mare Indescribable capped off another strong season. The Courtlandt Farms homebred was a convincing 3 1/2-length winner of the G3 Kentucky Cup Distaff S. in September. Indescribable won the G3 Doubledogdare S. earlier in the season, and in 2008 captured the G3 Arlington Matron H. and G3 Cardinal H. and was third in the GI Go For Wand H. She has seven victories to her credit and has banked $476,159.

PLEASANT TAP is the sire of seven percent stakes winners to foals, and has 20 graded stakes winners to his credit, including Grade 1 winners David Junior, Premium Tap, Tap Dance City, Tiago, Tap to Music, Pt's Grey Eagle, and I Believe In You.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--PLEASANTLY PERFECT: 10 BLACK-TYPE HORSES

Jan. 10, 2010: Top 15 second-crop sire PLEASANTLY PERFECT registered an impressive 10th black-type runner from his first crop when son Pitched Perfectly finished a close second in Aqueduct’s one-mile Monarch's Maze S. in late November, helping to close out a successful season for this exciting young stallion.

According to the chart, the colt, “dropped back soon after the start, trailed to the turn, circled five wide into the stretch and closed strongly in the middle of the track to gain the place.” Pitched Perfectly is owned by Lael Stables and trained by Barclay Tagg.

PLEASANTLY PERFECT was responsible for one of the better three-year-old turf fillies in the nation in 2009 in the form of Shared Account. The Sagamore Farm colorbearer registered a powerful victory in the G2 Lake Placid S. at Saratoga in August, then was easily second best in the G1 Garden City S. at Belmont. In the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland in October, Shared Account assumed command from the outset, turned back the challenge of favored Gozzip Girl and ran on gamely to be second to Hot Cha Cha. The bay, a $170,000 KEESEP Lane’s End Sales graduate, was bred by William Carl. She was produced by the SMART STRIKE mare Silk n' Sapphire and had earlier finished second in the G3 Virginia Oaks.

PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s other stakes horses included Ned Evans’s very talented homebred Light Green, who notched her first stakes win in Belmont’s Fall Aspen S., which she won by eight lengths and for which she was awarded a gaudy 109 Beyer Figure. Light Green then came back to be second to Cat Moves in July’s G1 Prioress S., where she was beaten just 3/4 lengths by her rallying stablemate despite having already battled through wicked :21 2/5 and :44 flat fractions. Light Green, sidelined by a minor injury, is scheduled to return to action at Gulfstream.

Evans also bred PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s three-year-old colt Silverside, who in May captured the Premio Cimera Paras las Carreras at Hipodromo La Zarzuela-2,000 Guineas, the first leg of Spain’s Triple Crown, by 2 1/4 lengths in Madrid. Unfortunately, Spain is a Part III country in the International Cataloguing Standards so this race does not receive black type.

Another PLEASANTLY PERFECT sophomore to make an impact in Europe is Edmund Gann’s up-and-coming filly Pearlescence, a €140,000 DEAAUG yearling who was third in the G3 Prix Minerve at Deauville in August.

Return to 2009 Year-End

2009 WRAP-UP--ROCK HARD TEN: A STAR ON THE RISE

Jan. 1, 2010: With three stakes winners from his initial crop in 2009, including a pair of graded stakes winners,ROCK HARD TEN confirmed why he is one of the most exciting young stallions in the country.

The son of Kris S. got off to an auspicious start early in the summer when his daughter Long Lashes debuted in the Listed Ballygallon Stud S. at The Curragh and promptly strolled home a convincing winner. Sold to Team Godolphin, the strapping bay later added the G3 Sweet Solara S. to become ROCK HARD TEN’s initial graded/group winner.

In November, The Mailet became ROCK HARD TEN’s second graded stakes winner. At Hollywood Park, The Mailet took the G3 Miesque S. in late-running fashion. Owned by J.W. Singer LLC, The Mailet was well off the leaders as she settled into a smooth stride early, then parlayed a powerful move on the turn into a comfortable half-length win. The New York invader was coming off a victory in her grass debut at Belmont.

Not long after that at Woodbine, ROCK HARD TEN’s son Bear Hard Ten captured the $155,000 Display S. Off at 5-2 odds in his route and stakes debut, the Bear Stables-owned, Reade Baker-trained colt was hard held in second before closing from between rivals at the quarter pole. Shaken up shortly thereafter, he powered clear with huge strides to register the 3 3/4-length success in what track announcer Dan Loiselle called a “dazzling” display.

Impressively, all of ROCK HARD TEN’s 2009 winners came in special weight company, bar the aformentioned Long Lashes.

Other winners by ROCK HARD TEN include:

• Krypton, who while making his first start at a route and on the green stuff led every step in a Belmont maiden special weight Oct. 3;
• Addahab, another Godolphin representative, who took her second career start at Wolverhampton Oct. 29;
• Octogarian, a good-looking wire-to-wire heroine at Hollywood Park for owner J. Paul Reddam;
• Doubles Partner, the WinStar colorbearer who rallied launched a furious rally over the grass to get up and win by a head at Churchill Nov. 28. Doubles Partner, trained by Todd Pletcher, was a $450,000 FTSAUG yearling and was produced by a full-sister to Serena's Song.

ROCK HARD TEN’s early success has ensured his continued popularity in the sales ring. The 2008 second-leading freshman sire by yearling average concluded 2009 as the leading sire from his crop by average! In all, 27 of his yearlings sold for an average of $115,309. He boasts a better yearling average than Pulpit, Gone West, Tiznow, etc.

ROCK HARD TEN’s 2009 yearlings included a half-sister to PLEASANTLY PERFECT’s SW Pomona Ball who sold to John McCormack for $425,000; a filly out of Incredible Story who went to Mercedes Stable for $350,000; a colt out of Betty Gar who was purchased by Nicoma Bloodstock for $325,000; a colt out of Quiet Dream who went to Silverton Hill for $260,000, etc.

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2009 WRAP-UP--SAINT LIAM: BRILLIANT LEGACY

Jan. 1, 2010: It was a big year for Lane’s End’s late SAINT LIAM, whose son Buddy’s Saint, a top Triple Crown contender, spearheaded a troupe of promising youngsters.

Buddy’s Saint dazzled in the big fall races in New York. After being DQ’d to second in his debut at Belmont in September, he broke his maiden with style in a 12-length romp in the G2 Nashua S. at Aqueduct Nov. 7. Three weeks later, he was hammered down to 3-5 favoritism in the G2 Remsen S., and after settling into a relaxed gallop behind the leaders, launched a wide bid into the lane and strode away with authority to win by 4 3/4 lengths. Track announcer Tom Durkin’s exclamation at the wire--“He is geared down--he absolutely subjugated this field today”--spoke to the ease at which he won. SAINT LIAM led home a 1-2-3 for Lane’s End sire’s, with STEPHEN GOT EVEN’s Peppi Knows in second and LEMON DROP KID’s Citrus Kid third.

A day later, another juvenile by SAINT LIAM earned black-type. Daughter Moment of Majesty, who was produced by the A.P. INDY mare Lady Indy, ran third in the Ontario Lassie S., shortly before Sheltowee, a colt by SAINT LIAM, completed the exacta in the $105,000 Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity at Hawthorne.

SAINT LIAM had four black-type horses from his first crop, with son Coccolo (Mex) capturing the CL Carlos Gomez S.-G1-Mex. The 2005 Horse of the Year and GI Breeders’ Cup Classic hero concluded the year with 14 individual winners and was a top 10 freshman sire.

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2009 WRAP-UP--SMART STRIKE: ANOTHER BRILLIANT YEAR

Jan. 1, 2010: SMART STRIKE, the leading sire in North America in 2007 and 2008, concluded another fine season to cement his status as one of the world’s premier sires. SMART STRIKE was ranked third on the General Sire List when all was said and done, with his runners earning $9,593,731 in 2009. By North American earnings, SMART STRIKE was the leading sire in the nation, edging out A.P. INDY.

SMART STRIKE had 15 black-type winners in 2009-- including a stellar nine at the graded level--who accounted for 25 stakes wins. SMART STRIKE was the third-ranked sire by both number of graded stakes winners and by stakes wins.

Just like in recent years, SMART STRIKE’s runners shone on racing’s biggest day, the Breeders’ Cup. In the G1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, the developing Furthest Land upset a strong field. Though the four-year-old was a big price at 21-1, he had shown he was a talented horse when setting a track record while winning the Golden Bear S. at Indiana Downs before an initial graded stakes win in the G2 Kentucky Cup S. at Turfway Park. Furthest Land won six of nine in 2009 and has earned nearly $870,000.

But for a wide draw, SMART STRIKE may have added another Breeders’ Cup to his resume. The highly regarded Lookin at Lucky, the favorite in the G1 Breeders’ Cup juvenile after putting together an unbeaten record that included wins in the G1 Del Mar Futurity, G1 Norfolk S. and G2 Best Pal S., was always going to have to run a huge race to overcome his 13 post. And run a huge race he did. Forced very wide, the Mike Pegram and partners colorbearer settled toward the back of the pack, then unleashed a furious rally in the stretch only to fall a head short and finish second. Despite the narrow defeat, the colt likely ensured himself an Eclipse as the nation’s top juvenile colt when he accounted for Noble’s Promise, et al, in the G1 CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December.

While Lookin at Lucky has made the case for himself as the best two-year-old colt in the nation, the veteran Fabulous Strike continued to be one of the country’s top sprinters. The six-year-old Grade 1 winner annexed the G2 True North H. in June (111 Beyer), the G2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt in August (112) and was a hard-trying second in the G1 Vosburgh H., contested over a rain-soaked Belmont track in early October.

Other 2009 stars for SMART STRIKE included:

• Smart Bid, who on the Breeders’ Cup Saturday undercard registered his first stakes win in the Damascus S. at Santa Anita; • Daughter Mining My Own, who produced G1 Kentucky Derby hero and G1 Preakness S. runner-up winner Mine That Bird;
• The five-year-old mare Smart Surprise, a Lane's End-bred and -sold mare who has missed the board only once in 22 starts, with her wins including the 2009 G3 Hendrie S. at Woodbine and four other stakes events;
• The two-year-old colt Zanzibari, who carried Sheikh Mohammed's Darley silks to victory in the G3 Prix de Cabourg at Deauville;
• Atomic Rain, who won the Long Branch S. at Monmouth in June and also placed in the G1 Wood Memorial S.
• Papa Clem, who won the G2 Arkansas Derby and who was a very good third in the G1 Malibu S. Like Lookin at Lucky, he was produced by a BELONG TO ME mare;
• Denomination, a three-year-old filly who won Longchamp's G3 Prix Vanteaux-Beachcomber Hotels Le Royal Palm;
• Twilight Meteor, winner of the G3 Canadian Turf S. at Gulfstream.

Notably, SMART STRIKE was ranked third by highest Average Earnings Index (2.67 AEI vs. 2.06 CI) among sires with horses four years old and up.

On the sales scene, SMART STRIKE saw 27 of his 2009 yearlings sell for an average of $211,619 (off a $75,000 stud fee). They included a Lane's End co-bred and sold daughter at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale who elicited a bid of $875,000 from John Ferguson. The chestnut miss was produced by a half to another Lane's End-bred and -sold horse, Dunkirk, and is a granddaughter of Lane's End's G1 Kentucky Oaks heroine Secret Status (A.P. INDY).

His accomplishments--and a 2010 fee of $75,000--prompted Bill Oppenheim to call him one of the best values among North America’s premier sires:

“Lane’s End...dropped two-time leading sire SMART STRIKE by 40 percent, from $125,000 to $75,000. Considering he’s proven at all ages, over all surfaces, and in Europe as well, this is a really righteous price. Both SMART STRIKE (he’ll be 18 next year) and A.P. INDY will be standing in 2010 for half of what they stood for in 2008.”

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2009 WRAP-UP--ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER CLASSIC PROSPECT FOR STEPHEN GOT EVEN

Jan. 1, 2010: With runners like champion Stevie Wonderboy and MGSW Don’t Get Mad to his credit, STEPHEN GOT EVEN has always shown the ability to get precocious horses with Classic potential. And in 2009, the son of A.P. INDY turned out yet another major player on the Triple Crown trail, this time in the form of I Want Revenge.

Considered by some to be the most innately talented colt of his crop, I Want Revenge came into 2009 with big expectations, due to his game nose runner-up finish in the G1 CashCall Futurity in December of 2008. A good third in the G2 Robert B. Lewis S. in sophomore debut at Santa Anita, I Want Revenge really blossomed once moved to the conventional dirt tracks of New York. He coasted home by 8 1/2 lengths in the G3 Gotham S., then overcame a terrible start in the G1 Wood Memorial S. to take that nine-furlong even by daylight. The morning-line favorite heading into the G1 Kentucky Derby, I Want Revenge was unfortunately scratched the morning of the race because of an ankle injury.

In 2009, STEPHEN GOT EVEN was also represented by Mr. Tommy, winner of the G1 Clasico Francisco Aias Paredes y Alberto Arias Espinosa.

If his two-year-olds are anything to go by, 2010 could be a good one for STEPHEN GOT EVEN. Last Labor Day, his daughter Sound of Thunder made as auspicious a debut as a juvenile can make when she rallied to take the $125,000 Muskoka S. at Woodbine in her career opener. Bred by Terra Farms in Ontario and purchased by our own Woodford Racing for $105,000 as a yearling, Sound of Thunder was dismissed as a 41-1 shot in the seven-furlong race, and had a bad draw leaving from the 13 hole. In last through the opening three furlongs, the Mark Casse-trained filly began to mow down rivals with a powerful move rounding the turn and, once straightened for home, closed resolutely to get up in plenty of time and win by a long neck.

On Halloween, the gelding Peppi Knows battled the length of the stretch and asserted to win the Finger Lakes Juvenile S. by a head. Peppi Knows, who previously had been a close third to subsequent Grade 1 winner Noble’s Promise in the Fitz Dixon Jr. Memorial Juvenile S. at Presque Isle, then went on to finish second behind SAINT LIAM’s Buddy’s Saint in the G2 Remsen S. at Aqueduct!

In total, STEPHEN GOT EVEN has 21 career stakes winners to his credit and can boast 10% lifetime stakes horses to starters.

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2009 WRAP-UP--WANDO: THE UP-AND-COMING

Jan. 1, 2010: Freshman sire WANDO got his stud career off the right way with several promising runners from his first crop.

Included is D's Wando, who finished a hard-trying third--beaten just 3/4 lengths--in the $250,000 Coronation Futurity at Woodbine in November. Last of seven, the colt commenced a four-wide rally in the stretch and was full of run late. D’s Wando was coming off a 2 1/2-length, $76,000 allowance victory at the Toronto-area oval.

WANDO is also the sire of Wando Redd, a two-year-old colt who belied his experience when he came within a neck of upsetting the $100,000 John Franks Memorial Sales S. at Evangenline Downs in August. Making just his second career start, Wando Redd pressed the pace four wide, hit the front in the stretch and “gave way grudgingly,” according to the chart, to finish second in a three-horse photo.

WANDO is also the sire of maiden special weight winner Silent Wisper, who captured a 1 1/16-mile test at Woodbine Oct. 10. Owned and bred by Gustav Schickedanz, Silent Wisper forced the issue from a three-wide perch on the backstretch, put a head in front at the top of the lane and kept finding more to take it by 3/4 lengths.

WANDO, by LANGFUHR, was Canada’s Horse of the Year in 2003 after becoming only the country’s seventh Triple Crown winner.

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2009 WRAP-UP--WAR PASS: GET READY FOR “WAR”

Jan. 1, 2010: In November of 2008, we were pleased to announce that Robert LaPenta’s talented three-year-old WAR PASS, undefeated winner of the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and 2007 Champion Two-Year-Old Male, would stand stud at Lane’s End upon his retirement. Our excitement about the chances of this immensely talented son of Cherokee Run has only grown, based in part on the fine mares WAR PASS attracted in his first season at stud.

They included Java (GB), a sister to champion Fiji (GB) and dam of MINESHAFT’s good stakes performer Coffee Bar. The 10-year-old mare was sold by Lane’s End for $350,000 at Keeneland November, with Ryan Norton signing the ticket. Lane’s End also sold the Lemon Drop Kid mare Lemon Souffle, in foal to WAR PASS, to agent Dr. Oscar Benevides for $150,000.

WAR PASS’s appeal as a sire prospect is well-deserved. He is arguably the best son of GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and champion Cherokee Run, who in turn was the best son of the versatile and very good sire Runaway Groom. Cherokee Run has thus far been represented by runners like champion Chilukki (G1), Yonaguska ( G1), Zanjero (G2), Kafwain (G2), Sir Cherokee (G2), etc. And his sire sons have gotten off to a fine start at stud. Yonaguska was a top 30 sire last year with horses like Musket Man to his credit, while Kafwain was represented by The Pamplemousse and Don't Forget Gil.

WAR PASS has a serious female family, too. His first three dams are by some of the very best sires of the past half-century. His third dam Bayou Blue, who was produced by the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Bayou, is by the incomparable Bold Ruler, the eight-time leading North American stallion who sired a remarkable 22 percent stakes winners. Hoist the Flag, sire of WAR PASS’s second dam Harbor Flag, sired 20 percent stakes winners. WAR PASS’s first dam, meanwhile, is by Mr. Prospector--15 percent stakes winners--who helped change the face of American breeding with an infusion of class and speed few other sires can compare to.

That pedigree has shone through on the track for both WAR PASS and his relations. Graded winners like Great Intentions and Country Light can be found under his second dam, while his own dam Vue was a classy stakes runner who has now produced a pair of Grade 1 winners. Vue showed early on what kind of broodmare she was when her daughter Oath, by Known Fact, won the G1 Spinaway S. at two. Oath later sold as a broodmare for $2.7 million and is the dam of the progressive Honest Man, winner of the 2008 G3 Philip H. Iselin S. Another daughter of Vue, Vision of Beauty, by Danzig, was a Grade 2 performer.

Then came WAR PASS. In July of 2007, he burst onto the scene with a rousing 2 1/2-length score sprinting six furlongs at Saratoga. Knowing that Zito rarely gets them cranked up at first asking, horsemen knew well that WAR PASS was a horse to watch. The striking dark bay handled his next with ease, taking an allowance sprint at Saratoga by 5 1/2 lengths a month later, and it was time for a test in deeper waters. Stretched to a mile for his stakes debut, the G1 Champagne S. at Belmont Park, WAR PASS beat some of the best juveniles on the East Coast, cruising home to a clear-cut 1 1/2-length tally over the likes of Grade 1 winner Majestic Warrior and the highly regarded Pyro. The victory earned WAR PASS favoritism in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and, with the Monmouth Park track a sloppy stew of mud and water, WAR PASS turned nary a hair. Put on the lead from the start, he ran grueling fractions of :22 3/5, :45 2/5 and 1:09 3/5, but just kept on running under jockey Cornelio Velasquez, splashing home a 4 3/4-length winner with hardly any mud on LaPenta’s silks. Runner-up was Pyro, who subsequently flattered WAR PASS’s win with a trio of graded wins at three, with eventual Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and MG1SW Kodiak Kowboy back in third.

WAR PASS was rewarded with a 113 Beyer, the highest ever given to a winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. It was the second-highest winning Beyer of the day, behind Curlin’s 119, and ahead of Sprint winner Midnight Lute (108), Distaff winner Ginger Punch (104), Juvenile Fillies winner Indian Blessing (95), etc.

That meant tallying the votes for Champion Juvenile Male was, for all intents and purposes, a mere formality, and at the Eclipse Awards, WAR PASS became the first champion for the deserving LaPenta. WAR PASS received all but three of the 265 votes cast.

At three, WAR PASS opened his sophomore campaign with a facile victory against Gulfstream allowance horses on Feb. 24. In his final start, WAR PASS finished a close second in the G1 Wood Memorial S. He enters stud with five wins and a second in seven starts and earnings of over $1.5 million.

Five wins by a total margin of 22 lengths. Two wins sprinting, three wins routing, including two at a flat mile. A pair of Grade 1 victories. A record Beyer in the toughest race of the year for two-year-olds. A championship. By a tough-as-nails sire, a half to a Grade 1 winner, produced by a daughter of the great Mr. Prospector and a championship.

Maybe now you can see why we might be a little excited . . . about WAR PASS

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2009 SALES WRAP UP

Jan. 1, 2010: Lane’s End has been a leading consignor for over two decades, and Grade 1 winners like Court Vision, Diamondrella (GB), Quality Road, and Mr. Sidney helped carry our banner proudly in 2009. Each of those passed through a Lane’s End consignment as a yearling, and they underscore why buyers have confidence in Lane’s End when it comes to finding quality. Those buyers, in turn, help Lane’s End’s clients realize top dollar on their horses. The was in evidence at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, when a colt by Storm Cat--Onaga who was consigned by Lane’s End realized $2.8 million, the highest price for a yearling in the U.S. in 2009. John Ferguson was the winning bidder.

According to the Blood-Horse, Lane’s End sold a total of 194 yearlings for $23,914,000 in 2009, ranking us third by all consignors by gross. Importantly, the average price for a Lane’s End-sold yearling was $123,268, which put us above gross leader Taylor Made ($95,546 avg.) and runner-up Eaton Sales ($98,396 avg.) by that measure.

In fact, Lane’s End was the only yearling consignor in the nation to have sold more than 100 yearlings and have those yearlings average more than $105,000. Lane’s End was also third-ranked in the nation by weanling gross and by broodmare gross.

Some highlights of our 2009 consignments include:

Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale

• $1 million Bernardini--Crystal Music colt, to Ken McPeek;
• $875,000 SMART STRIKE--Code Book filly, to John Ferguson.

Keeneland September Sale

• $775,000 Dynaformer--Awe That colt, to Brushwood Stable;
• $750,000 Storm Cat--Moon Safari colt, to Westrock Stables;
• $700,000 Dynaformer--Cozzy Corner, to Shadwell Estate Co.

Keeneland November Sale

• $900,000 Loves Me Only (Storm Cat--Monevassia), to Katsumi Yoshida.

Lane’s End would like to sincerely thank all of the breeders, owners and buyers who helped make 2009 another successful year. Best of luck to all in 2010

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ALAN PORTER'S MATING ANALYSIS

Another free addition to the Lane’s End website is a mating analysis on each Lane’s End and Lane’s End Texas stallion written by pedigree expert Alan Porter. To access this free information go to our stallion roster, click on any stallion’s name and follow link on the right.

STAKES SUCCESS

We hope this list of 2010 stakes horses sired by Lane's End and Lane's End Texas stallions, which is updated daily, will be helpful to all of you selling horses sired by or in foal to those stallions.

LANE'S END STALLIONS

A.P. INDY

FRIESAN FIRE (LW)
YOU AND I FOREVER (G3Pl)