MARCH 14, 2017 SPECIAL.COM 2YO SALE Heart of a Champion By Chelsea Hackbarth To anyone else, he was just another dark bay racehorse crossing the wire in front on a Friday afternoon at Tampa Bay Downs. The self-assured way he jogged back to the winner s enclosure hinted at something more, suggesting he knew exactly what he d accomplished. It had been 21 months since Captain Genius was seen on a racetrack, and at eight years old, his comeback didn t go unnoticed. An email from Tampa Bay Downs publicity department appeared in my inbox announcing the grand old gelding s triumph, and opening it, I was overcome with emotions at reading his name once again. his legs every morning after training. Captain Genius showed his talent early and granted me the opportunity to travel with him to tracks I d never dreamed of seeing from an insider s perspective. We went to Churchill Downs, Presque Isle, Mountaineer, and even Gulfstream Park. At the end of 2012, Captain Genius trainer Joe Woodard decided to consolidate his stable, and I was suddenly out of a job. Months went by without seeing the horse s name in the entry box anywhere in the country, and I grew worried. It wouldn t be the first time the horse would disappear. Continued on Page 5 This was the first Thoroughbred I ever loved. He was the one that taught me what it meant to offer up every ounce of his heart, reaching beyond the limits of his ability to hit the finish line first. This was the horse that convinced me to pursue a career in racing, and I had nearly given up hope of ever seeing him again. I flashed back to my first memory of the bright-eyed, solidly-built colt. I was a young groom just learning the ropes at Beulah Park when Cap-ee-tahn appeared in one of my stalls. He had recently recovered from what I was told was a hind ankle fracture and was ready to resume training. The 2-year-old was a bit mischievous, but mostly kind; he was also forgiving of my early ineptitude and stood like a statue for me to painstakingly bandage ASK RAY QUESTION: Can you explain to me how important dirt races like the Blue Grass and Wood Memorial were made Grade 2 and a turf race like the Hollywood Derby, run in December and restricted to 3-year-olds, is a Grade 1? ANSWER: In a word, no. It s the dumbest thing the American Graded Stakes Committee has ever done.
Page 2 Stallion Spotlight Animal Kingdom s OBS Offspring By Frank Mitchell Despite the towering influence of the Kentucky Derby in the narrative of each year s racing season, winners of the Run for the Roses don t play an over-sized role in the sales of 2-yearolds in training that present some of the most forward young racing prospects at auction each winter and spring. Two Kentucky Derby winners, however, have a sizable segment of their first crops in the Ocala Breeders Sales Company s March sale of select 2-year-olds. Both Animal Kingdom (by Leroidesanimaux) and Orb (Malibu Moon) went to stud in Kentucky the same year, 2014, and have juveniles in the March sale. 3-year-old colt, and there are pedigree elements that suggest Animal Kingdom could be bred in the direction of speed to get quicker, handier horses that would mature earlier, would be adaptable to 2-year-old racing and preparation. Animal Kingdom is, after all, from the Blushing Groom branch of Nasrullah, and the Kentucky Derby winner s sire earned the Eclipse Award as leading turf horse of 2005 for his high form with trainer Bobby Frankel in races at a mile. Furthermore, Animal Kingdom is inbred 4x4 to the top miler and top international sire Lyphard (Northern Dancer). In the case of Animal Kingdom, 2014 was his second covering season because he initially entered stud at Arrowfield in Australia for the Southern Hemisphere season in 2013, then migrated north to Darley s Jonabell operation. The rangy chestnut son of champion turf horse Leroidesanimaux, therefore, has his first crop of juveniles already racing in Australia, and he recently had a sharp-looking maiden winner, Earth Angel, who won a maiden special last week. Animal Kingdom Such was the reputation of Animal Kingdom s great victories in the 10-furlong Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup that many fans think of him as a pure stayer, but the horse was also a cracking second in the 2012 Breeders Cup Mile behind Horse of the Year Wise Dan, who was essentially invincible at the distance. So there is form at a mile for the 2011 Eclipse champion From the limited evidence of the 2017 sales season, Animal Kingdom may prove quite popular. At the Gulfstream sale two weeks ago, an Animal Kingdom colt bred by Walter Zent, Tony Holmes, and Tim Thornton and sold through the Eddie Woods consignment, went to West Point Thoroughbreds for $300,000. At the OBS March sale, there are nine more juveniles consigned who are sons or daughters of Animal Kingdom. Of these, Hip 19 at Halcyon Hammock is a chestnut colt out of the Sky Mesa mare Mesa Fresca, which makes the juvenile a halfbrother to 2016 G1 stakes winner Harmonize (Scat Daddy), winner of the G1 Del Mar Oaks and second in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland. Both of those races were on turf, and a turf thread is present in several of these precocious young prospects like Hip 227, a chestnut colt from the Eddie Woods consignment and the first foal of a young Street Cry mare who is a half-sister to Mr. Speaker (Pulpit), a G1 winner on turf. PRS SYMPOSIUM MONDAY, APRIL 17 KEENELAND SALES PAVILION Featuring a Roast & Toast honoring Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas and many of his protégés. Also including presentations from Vision 20/20, the Godolphin Flying Start, the TAA, The Jockey Club and Plusvital. Education Integrity Service To reserve tickets visit www.consignorsandbreeders.com or for additional information please call 859.243.0033
Page 3 Honor Roll Funny Guy Brok Follows His Gut To El Areeb By Chelsea Hackbarth very strong, and galloped out well, Brok remembered. He was a big horse and I loved the way he breezed. Sometimes you re right, and sometimes you re not, but this time we got lucky and he turned out to be a nice horse. The other colt commanded nearly double El Areeb s price at $625,000, and the son of Curlin, named Undulated, won a stakes race at Woodbine and has not finished worse than third in four career starts. Brok was quick to credit trainer Cathal Lynch for both colts successes. Lynch was thoroughly involved in the decision and both horses shipped straight from the OBS grounds to his barn. 2014 Gr/Ro C, Exchange Rate Feathered Diamond, by A.P Indy. Consigned by Lane s End to 2015 Keeneland Sept. Sale, purchased by Eisaman Equine for $100,000. Consigned by Eisaman Equine to 2016 OBS March Sale, bought by MMG Stables for $340,000. We couldn t have done it without his hard work and support, said Brok. PRS Glenn Brok has an eye for selecting top young race prospects, and he put it to good use at last year s OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. He purchased a pair of colts for Mohammed Al-Gadhi s MMG Stables for a combined $1 million, and both have turned out to be stakes winners. PRS FEATURED YEARLING I m a funny guy, I like what I like, Brok laughed. We ve had a lot of success, and we ve been very lucky. SESSION As is so often the case in this game, the more inexpensive of his two purchases ($340,000) has shown the most talent on the racetrack. El Areeb (Exchange Rate), from the Arabic word for skillful, has won two of his three starts on the Kentucky Derby trail. I buy horses that I like, and I just loved this El Areeb horse right from the beginning, Brok said. I didn t think we were going to have to give the money we did, but we finally got the horse bought and Mohammed was on the phone he asked, Did we get him? Did we get him? I told him we did, and he responded, Good brother. I m so happy for you, I know you really wanted this horse. With earnings of $364,200, El Areeb has already paid back his purchase price and appears to have much more ahead of him in a promising career. He was very efficient, and finished his work still strong, MIXED SALE HORSES OF ALL AGES OCTOBER 8, 2017 Reasonable Rates Great Facility www.heritageplace.com email: info@heritageplace.com Serving the Equine Industry for 39 Years! 2829 South MacArthur Blvd., Oklahoma City OK 73128 405.682.4551
Page 4 An OTTB And Her Black Sheep By Natalie Voss About For advertising inquiries please call Emily at 859.913.9633 Ray Paulick - Publisher ray@paulickreport.com Emily Alberti - Director of Advertising emily@paulickreport.com Scott Jagow - Editor-in-Chief scott@paulickreport.com Mary Schweitzer - News Editor mary@paulickreport.com Natalie Voss - Features Editor natalie@paulickreport.com Chelsea Hackbarth - Asst Editor chelsea@paulickreport.com Esther Marr - Custom Publishing Editor Frank Mitchell - Contributing Writer COPYRIGHT 2017, BLENHEIM PUBLISHING LLC
Page 5 Continued from Page 1 This horse had given me everything he had to offer, greeting me every day for over a year with a warm nicker and a friendly nibble on my sleeve. He taught me, everso-patiently, how to properly handle a racehorse (he was always sure to let me know when I d put the saddle on a bit too tight, turning around to take the girth in his teeth and unbuckle it). It was in November of 2013, 11 months after I d last seen him in person, when Captain Genius first resurfaced. He was claimed at Churchill that afternoon for $25,000, finishing fourth in the first claiming event of his career. One of my sharpest memories is of an allowance win several months later, in the race just after the 2014 Kentucky Derby. Captain Genius pressed the pacesetter all the way around the far turn, drawing even at the head of the lane. He found the leader could equal his best stride, and the two came streaking down the long Churchill Downs stretch in unison. My heart was in my throat as I watched the horse I d so meticulously cared for provide that crowd with the very definition of the word try, lowering his belly to the dirt and snaking out his neck. Captain Genius laid every ounce of his enormous heart on the line that day, his lips curling with the effort, and he was just able to get in front at the wire. Though he earned his lone graded stake placing later that month, the colt suffered from sore ankles afterward and spent six months recuperating at a nearby farm in Kentucky. Again, I didn t know what had happened to him. To his credit, then-trainer Brad Cox sought me out once Captain Genius had recovered, knowing the horse was a favorite of mine, and offered him to me at no cost. He even offered to have him gelded for free. Unfortunately, I was a poor college student at the time and already supporting one OTTB; I felt it would have been irresponsible to take on the horse, not knowing if I could provide the care he deserved. It was an incredibly hard decision, one I regretted when he vanished once again. Several starts and claims later, trainer Mark Casse took possession of Captain Genius in April, 2015, for a tag of $62,500. But after that race, it was as if the horse simply ceased to exist. I would check his page on Equibase for workouts and race entries, but there was no activity listed for months on end. When I took my job with the Paulick Report in November that year, I considered seeking out Casse and asking him about the horse, point-blank. I could never go through with it; I think I was afraid of what the answer might be. Captain Genius seemed lost to the pages of time, and I couldn t help but feel that it was my fault. So that day when his name appeared in my inbox, 21 months after I d last seen it, I cried big messy tears of relief all over my laptop. Not only was he healthy, but he was still able to find the winner s circle. When we claimed him, we found he had a lot of issues, Casse told me. We did surgery to remove chips in both of his front ankles, and a couple of vets actually told us he probably would never run again. Casse went on to explain that Captain Genius had also been gelded, in an effort to decrease the amount of muscle mass on his relatively small frame. The horse had spent an entire year turned out in a field after the surgery, relaxing at Casse s newly-purchased training center in Ocala. Eventually, he had gotten to feeling pretty good, acting up in his paddock, so the help at the farm started treating him in their cold-water therapy spa and swimming him in the conditioning pool. He just kept getting better, Casse said. We started working him again, just to see if he d still be interested in running, and he got tough to keep on the ground. I talked to Gary Barber, who owns him, and we decided that if he wanted to run again, we d let him. It s special because we recently opened the training center, and he was kind of the guinea pig with the spa work and the swimming, Casse added. He became the farm favorite, and everyone there loves him dearly. Getting him to this point is so rewarding and we are all extremely proud of him. As a groom who d fallen in love with this horse, I could understand Casse s reasoning. Captain Genius loved to run more than anything in the world and wouldn t have been satisfied standing around in a field for the rest of his life. His hard-headedness would also have made finding a good partner to introduce him to a second career a particular challenge. On the track, this horse would drag his exercise rider through the morning training sessions, running off with the poor guy more often than not. If he didn t go to the track that day, he d stand at the front of his stall and stare longingly out the corner of the barn, pawing and looking pointedly at me when I would carry the saddle to a different stall. He s such a cool horse to be around, Casse said. This was a horse that, as sore as he was, had won nearly half of his starts. He has more heart than most of the horses in my barn. I can t help but agree. I m incredibly grateful that although Captain Genius was lost to me, Mark Casse and his crew were caring for him. Maybe one day, I ll get another chance to tell him how very grateful I am to have been a part of his life. For now, the horse is exactly where he ought to be, surrounded people who love him and allow him the chance to do what he loves best to run. PRS
Page 6 Five to Watch: A look at some of the sale s top hips By Frank Mitchell Hip 79 Chestnut colt by Speightstown x Pay Lady, by Seeking the Gold: A son of champion sprinter and leading sire Speightstown, this colt is a full brother to G1 winner Lighthouse Bay (Prioress Stakes). They are out of the mare Pay Lady, a daughter of leading sire and broodmare sire Seeking the Gold (Mr. Prospector), making this colt and his sibling inbred 3x3 to the great son of Raise a Native. Hip 123 Bay colt by Bodemeister x Refinement, by Seattle Slew: Winner of the G1 Arkansas Derby and second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Bodemeister sired this colt from his second crop. This well-grown youngster is a half-brother to G1 winner Lilacs and Lace (Flower Alley) out of a daughter of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Second dam is the exceptional miler Stella Madrid (G1 Acorn, Frizette, Matron, Spinaway), by Alydar. Hip 126 Bay colt by War Front x Rehear, by Coronado s Quest: By one of the most popular sons of the great Danzig (Northern Dancer), this colt is a half-brother to three stakes winners, including G1 winner Mani Bhavan (Storm Boot), winner of the Spinaway, and G2 San Felipe winner Hear the Ghost (Ghostzapper). War Front is represented by G1 winners like The Factor, Declaration of War, and Air Force Blue, all now at stud. Hip 287 Dark bay colt by Point of Entry x Voodoo Dancer, by Kingmambo: This colt is one of the first crop by Point of Entry, a five-time G1 winner by the massive Roberto stallion Dynaformer. This May foal is out of G1 winner Voodoo Dancer, a top daughter of leading international sire Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector). The dam has produced stakes winner Voodoo Storm (Storm Cat) and stakes-placed Voodoo Swinge (Unbridled s Song) from seven foals of racing age. Hip 307 Dark brown filly by Run Away and Hide x Yanquee Reign, by Yankee Victor: By the greatly unappreciated stallion Run Away and Hide (City Zip), who won the G2 Saratoga Special as a juvenile, this filly is a half-sister to G1 winner Melatonin (Kodiak Kowboy). In a sterling campaign in 2016, Melatonin won both the G1 Santa Anita Handicap and Gold Cup, now has earnings of more than $1.3 million. Their dam, the stakes-placed Yanquee Reign, also is dam of Yankee Sovereign (Successful Appeal), winner of more than a half-million in Japan. PRS