the factor and hansen: contemporaries continue competition as sires

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hansen, sires of stallions, Tapit, the factor, war front

Two competitors on the track, Hansen and The Factor, also have first-crop foals offered for sale at Keeneland November. The pair share some common traits, including a high turn of speed. Both are also gray, but more importantly, they are by two of the most important sires in America: Tapit and War Front.

True dominance in a sire attracts a host of breeders hoping to use him, but most of them cannot get a season, even in today’s exaggerated books. That reality pushes their interest toward the sons of highly favored stallions and makes those sons a stronger proposition for farms to stand.

In each stallion’s first season at stud in 2013, Hansen covered 147 mares who produced 102 foals, and The Factor covered 135 mares who produced 102 foals. In 2014, The Factor covered 151 mares as his second book, but we do not know the number of mares sent to Hansen because he was no longer available in Kentucky.

Both young sires had first-crop weanlings available in Book 1 at Keeneland November – but only a few — as well as a few at Fasig-Tipton. Hansen has two in Book 1, where The Factor has a trio.

Hansen was the first champion son of leading sire Tapit, winning the Eclipse Award as the top juvenile colt in 2011 after a game victory over Union Rags in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Acquired by Coolmore and retired to stud at Ashford in Kentucky, Hansen served only one season in the Bluegrass before he was sold to the Korean Racing Authority as a stallion for their breeding program.

As a result, the Hansen foals are a bit like collector’s items because we won’t be seeing any more after this crop.

The Hansen filly out of Allencat (by Storm Cat), Hip 26, is a half-sister to a pair of stakes horses, and Hip 182 is also a filly, a March 2 foal out of the Vicar mare R Lady Joy. The latter was a classy racehorse, winning the G2 Delaware Oaks and finishing third in the G1 Alabama.

Among Hansen’s appeals to breeders were his early maturity and status as a champion son of a leading sire who is very hard to get to. Likewise, The Factor is by one of the hottest international sires in War Front, and the latter is probably the hardest stallion in the world in which to acquire a season

The Factor’s three hips in Book 1 are also all fillies: Hips 269, 374, and 398. The first is a March 8 foal out of the End Sweep mare Charismatic Lady, and this filly is a half-sister to stakes winner Dad’s Crazy (Langfuhr), winner of the Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont. Hip 374 is out of stakes-placed Pastel Gal (Lemon Drop Kid), and Hip 398 is out of G2 winner Sayedah (Darshaan).

There were further foals by both stallions in later books, and the summary statistics for their first foal sales are below.

Hansen: indicating number through ring, sold, RNA, average, median, gross

Weanling

20

16

4

$45,438

$46,000

$727,000

KEENOV2014 Hip: 26 Weanling	Hansencat f., 2014	Hansen-Allencat, by Storm Cat	Valparaiso Enterprises	Pope McLean	$90,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 182 Weanling	R Lady Hansen f., 2014	Hansen-R Lady Joy, by Vicar		Pope McLean	($140,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 581 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-Dixie Stamp, by Dixie Union		Pope McLean	($55,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 737 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	Hansen-Movie Star Magic, by The Cliff’s Edge	Bobby Flay	Pope McLean	$65,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 781 Weanling	Prince Hansen c., 2014	Hansen-Quickandquietqueen, by Quiet American	Walnut Hill Bloodstock	Pope McLean	$85,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1634 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-S D P Greedisgood, by Gone West	Amy Boulton	Pope McLean	$65,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1744 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-Annie Goodtime, by Honour and Glory	Michelle Redding	Eaton Sales	$50,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 2250 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	Hansen-Elusive Royalty, by Elusive Quality	J and R Bloodstock	Select Sales	$12,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 2334 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-La Riviera, by Affirmed	Dr. Kendall Hansen Racing	Millennium Farms	$20,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 2365 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	Hansen-Missing Miss, by Unaccounted For	Turnley Farms LA	Lane’s End	$25,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 2412 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	Hansen-Que Bonita, by Meadowlake	Dr. Kendall Hansen Racing	Lane’s End	$45,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 2454 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-Slewville, by Petionville	Jim Perrone	Pope McLean	$47,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 2924 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-Turf Club, by Trust N Luck		Select Sales	($22,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 2952 Weanling	Air Hansen c., 2014	Hansen-Airizon, by Boston Harbor	Dr. Kendall Hansen Racing	Taylor Made Sales Agency	$75,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 3036 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-Diamond Donna, by Silver Deputy	Polo Green Stable & David Lashley	Select Sales	$5,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 3051 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	Hansen-Enticing, by Service Stripe	Academy Bloodstock	Pope McLean	$16,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 3179 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-Nault, by Woodman		Pope McLean	($9,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 3603 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	Hansen-Primetime Cat, by Tale of the Cat	Bill & Corinne Heiligbrodt	Equus Farm	$37,000	Sold
FTKNOV2014 Hip: 36 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-Palomanegra, by Grand Slam	Wild Card Bloodstock	Pope McLean	$75,000	Sold
OBSOCT2014 Hip: 99 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	Hansen-Havelsee, by Tiznow	Blue River Bloodstock	Kaizen Sales	$15,000	Sold

The Factor: indicating number through ring, sold, RNA, average, median, gross

Weanling

26

20

6

$87,150

$77,500

$1,743,000

KEENOV2014 Hip: 269 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Charismatic Lady, by End Sweep	Fairwinter Farm	William B. Harrigan	$130,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 374 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Pastel Gal, by Lemon Drop Kid		Warrendale Sales	($140,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 503 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Ba Ba’s Bunch, by El Corredor	Nick de Meric	Select Sales	$130,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 509 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Bet On the Blue, by E Dubai	The Blind Tiger	Taylor Made Sales Agency	$70,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 521 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Broadway Lullaby, by Songandaprayer	JSM Equine	St George Sales	$85,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 617 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Gowestforgold, by Java Gold		Pope McLean	($65,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 669 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Jive Talk, by Kingmambo	Mayor Farm	Hunter Valley Farm	$27,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 699 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Lucky Slevin, by Two Punch	Nick de Meric	Pope McLean	$110,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 802 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Salvar, by Eddington	Springhouse Farm	Lane’s End	$115,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 808 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Seeking Silence, by Seeking the Gold	Bare Stables	Hunter Valley Farm	$67,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 923 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-At Risk, by Dixie Union	Third Street Stable	Clarkland Farm	$65,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1027 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Fun Given, by Point Given		Paramount Sales	($30,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1162 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Once Around, by You and I	Cedar Hall Farm	Warrendale Sales	$200,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1186 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Prevention, by Aptitude	Preston Stables	Paramount Sales	$90,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1390 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Dana Dew, by Fusaichi Pegasus	Blandford Stud	Lisa & Tim Turney	$45,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1448 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Friona, by Allen’s Prospect	Walter Bloodstock	Lane’s End	$75,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1529 Weanling	Smokin Hot Factor c., 2014	The Factor-Love Me Twice, by Not For Love		Sally Thomas	($57,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1560 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Motel Lass, by Bates Motel	Baccari Bloodstock	Hunter Valley Farm	$70,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1694 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Trippi Street, by Trippi	Walter Bloodstock	Burleson Farms	$62,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1787 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Cat Dance, by Forest Wildcat		Taylor Made Sales Agency	($95,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1791 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-Cedar Run’s Emblem, by Our Emblem	Tim Hamlin	James B. Keogh	$80,000	Sold
KEENOV2014 Hip: 1897 Weanling	UNNAMED c., 2014	The Factor-I Am Iron Woman, by Any Given Saturday		Paramount Sales	($19,000)	RNA
KEENOV2014 Hip: 2175 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Bertha Jo, by Banker’s Gold	Falguieres Bloodstock	Susan M. Forrester	$42,000	Sold
FTKNOV2014 Hip: 30 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Mining My Business, by Mining	Stonereath Stud	Darby Dan Farm	$130,000	Sold
FTKNOV2014 Hip: 53 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Super Cub, by Old Trieste	American Equistock	Romans Racing & Sales	$85,000	Sold
FTNMIX2014 Hip: 298 Weanling	UNNAMED f., 2014	The Factor-Divorce Settlement, by Stormin Fever	Palermo Farm	Sequel Stallions New York	$65,000	Sold

 

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stay thirsty takes travers in campaign to win championship for 3yo colts

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andromeda's hero, bernardini, bernie sams, bloodstock selection, broodmare success, claiborne farm, darley stallions, del mar racetrack, demand for stallion access, jim dandy stakes, jockey club gold cup, john gunther, jonabell, leading sires, marozia, pat o'brien, saratoga racecourse, second-crop sires, speed and sire success, stay thirsty, storm bird, stud fees and demand, successful breeders, superfly, the factor, travers stakes, war front

The following post appeared earlier this week at Paulick Report.

While fans and professionals have been waiting for one 3-year-old colt to establish himself as the dominant force in the division this season, two more colts joined the group that each have won a single Grade 1 race in 2011. On Saturday at Saratoga, Stay Thirsty (by Bernardini) improved off his victory in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy to win the G1 Travers, and the following day, The Factor threw fast fractions at his elders in the G1 Pat O’Brien and took an impressive victory at Del Mar.

Stay Thirsty was bred in Kentucky by John Gunther, who was at Saratoga for the Travers to watch the scopy bay by Preakness and Travers winner Bernardini perform. Gunther was impressed by the condition of Stay Thirsty and said, “He’s filled out and matured a lot since the Derby coming to the Travers. He seems to have more weight through the body and be more mature-looking.”

Stay Thirsty looked like his sire at the Spa. That was important to his breeder, who said that “when I went to see Bernardini at Jonabell, I just loved his looks, and I bred two mares to him the first year, three the second year, and it looks like he’s going to be a good sire.”

According to the current stallion progeny earnings list, Bernardini, an 8-year-old son of A.P. Indy, is the leading second-crop sire, with The Factor’s sire, the 9-year-old Danzig stallion War Front, in second. As a classic winner with a classic pedigree and an elegant physique, Bernardini was notably impressive to breeders, who sent him some outstanding broodmares.

Among the first-crop mates for Bernardini was Gunther’s Storm Bird mare Marozia, who already had produced a pair of stakes winners.

Gunther recalled that he “bought Marozia at the November sale, she was barren at the time, and I paid $50,000 for her.” At the time of sale, the then-9-year-old daughter of Storm Bird had a pair of colts by Fusaichi Pegasus who were a yearling and a weanling. Subsequently named Andromeda’s Hero and Superfly, both became stakes winners. Andromeda’s Hero is a G3 winner who ran second in the Belmont Stakes, and Superfly won a minor stakes and ran third in the Champagne.

Stay Thirsty had made this a trio of G1-placed offspring for Marozia with his seconds in the Hopeful last year and more recently in the Belmont Stakes, but the good-looking bay took the step into the winner’s circle as a G1 winner at Saratoga, which seems to be the colt’s favorite racetrack.

The expectation is that Stay Thirsty will contest the Jockey Club Gold Cup prior to the Breeders’ Cup Classic as part of a program that might make him champion of his division and a Horse of the Year contender. Those races will test both the colt’s apparent maturity and his rise up the class ladder when he tackles older horses for the first time.

One colt who has already put the elders in their place is The Factor, a gray son of Claiborne Farm stallion War Front. A very powerful colt with fluent action, The Factor became one of the favorites for the classics this spring with facile victories at up to a mile and a sixteenth.

According to trainer Bob Baffert, however, the blazing gray does not want any part of rating and will likely be kept to distances of a mile or less. The Factor endorsed that program with his performance in the O’Brien, scorching away in front with G1 winner Smiling Tiger and pulling away to win by a length and three-quarters.

The speed that The Factor uses so effectively is part of the arsenal that sire War Front gives to many of his offspring, and breeders have been so pleased with the results that they are already clamoring about seasons to the stallion for next year.

Bernie Sams of Claiborne Farm said the syndicated stallion covered 103 mares this year and got 97 in foal. With more stakes winners to date than any other second-crop stallion, War Front will be in high demand, and the stud fee for the horse will rise for the 2012 season, although the fee has not yet been decided.

valerio found a gem in the factor

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barretts may sale, barry eisaman, bob baffert, claiborne farm, classic candidates, danzig, developing 3yos, early training of thoroughbreds, fasig-tipton sales, fog city stable, fountain of youth stakes, george bolton, h & w thoroughbreds, keeneland sales, kim valerio, michael shustek, Oaklawn Park, physique as a guide to selection of racing prospects, psychology and sales, rebel stakes, sales of 2yos in training, selecting horses at auction, soldat, stockplace, the factor, tom van meter, war front

The following post appeared earlier this week at Paulick Report.

With his powerful victory in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, The Factor put the spotlight on himself in the run-up to the Kentucky Derby. The colt’s success is further gratification for trainer Bob Baffert and owners George Bolton and Fog City Stable.

The good-looking gray is also the second son of the Claiborne Farm stallion War Front who has won a major Kentucky Derby prep and is highly ranked by most Derby handicappers. (The other is G2 Fountain of Youth winner Soldat.)

And all the people who have had a share in the breeding and development of The Factor also are basking in the reflected glory of the colt’s achievements.

The Factor was bred in Kentucky by H & W Thoroughbreds. Their sale of first the colt at the 2008 Keeneland November sale for $50,000 and then the dam in a private transaction was chronicled in an earlier column.

Between the November sale and the following year’s July sale of selected yearlings at Fasig-Tipton, the sales market slumped even further, and The Factor resold as a yearling for only $40,000 in 2009.

The buyer was show horse veteran Kim Valerio, acting for Mike Shustek. Valerio said, “Until last year, I bought only two to four yearlings a year. In 2009, I bought three, including The Factor.”

Part of the reason she was drawn to the colt by the good but not famous Danzig stallion War Front was physique. Valerio said, “I come from a horse show background, where a lot of the best horses have Northern Dancer in them, and I love the Danzig line and the long, curvy look those horses get from Northern Dancer. At the time of the sale, his neck was longer in proportion to his body, but as he’s matured, his shoulder has filled in more.”

Another of the trio of yearlings that Valerio bought in 2009 is a Dynaformer colt named Wegner, who won a good maiden at Santa Anita earlier this year, then was unplaced to Anthony’s Cross and Tapizar in the G2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February.

Valerio said, “Both colts were purchased for a gentleman (Shustek) who puts up the money and then decides what to do with the horses. Typically, they are bought to race.”

But in this case, Shustek chose to retain Wegner and sell The Factor. The gray went through the ring at the 2010 Barretts May sale of 2-year-olds in training and brought $250,000.

The process from yearling sale to in-training auction was not a hurried one for The Factor, however. Valerio said, “After the July sale, he was turned out at Tom Van Meter’s farm outside Lexington in a field with a group of yearlings. They didn’t go to Florida till January, and Barry Eisaman broke both of them and put them into early training.”

Both the Dynaformer colt and his War Front companion progressed so well that “they never missed a beat, and we didn’t even breeze them until March. That’s what decided us on sending The Factor to the (May) Barretts sale.”

“I loved that colt,” Valerio admitted. “He was the only colt I bid on at the July sale, and I wanted him to go into the right hands. So I kind of nagged Bob Baffert about buying him. We went to breakfast and he was asking, ‘Who is War Front?’ That guy is such a bluffer. Not two seconds after the hammer falls at the sale, he calls me and says, ‘I bought your horse! I bought your horse!’

“And I told him ‘You’re such a bluffer. If I’d known you were on him, I’d have set the reserve higher,’” Valerio concluded.

Valerio has never regretted the sale because Baffert has gotten so much out of the colt. Now the winner of three consecutive races in fast time, The Factor would become the fourth Kentucky Derby horse that Valerio has been connected with in the last eight years.

She selected Magna Graduate, who was eligible on earnings for the Churchill Downs classic, but the colt’s connections opted not to rush their horse into the Derby. Valerio “selected Scat Daddy and privately bought Joininthedance,” who led the 2009 Kentucky Derby won by Mine That Bird.

If The Factor goes in the Derby, he is almost certain to lead part of the race. The exciting question is, “Which part?”

produce record of the factor’s dam

Tags

broodmare success, danzig, greyciousness, the factor, uncertainty of breeding, war front

Although a daughter of the eminent broodmare sire Miswaki (1978 Mr Prospector x Hopespringseternal, by Buckpasser), Greyciousness was a pretty middling sort of producer.

To the cover of important sires like Seattle Slew and Kris S, she had produced winners but nothing important.

But the potential gelled when the mare was mated to first-crop sire War Front, a larger and very powerful version of his famous sire Danzig. The result was The Factor, now a winner in his last three starts and one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby after a powerful victory in the G2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn on Saturday.

His dam’s record reads:

Greyciousness, gr/ro, 1995. Bred by Atwood Richards, Incorporated (KY). Raced 2 yrs in NA, 14 sts, 2 wins, $64,680 (ssi = 2.19). ($48,000, 1996, keesep, yrlg; $775,000, 2000, keenov, brdmr; $47,000, 2007, keejan, brdmr)

2001:	Slewcious, b c, by Seattle Slew. Raced 3 yrs in NA, 6 sts, 1 win, $21,257 (ssi = 1.29). ($15,000, 2004, keejan, rac age)
2002:	Slipped.
2003:	S. S. Kris, gr/ro g, by Kris S. Raced 3 yrs in NA, 22 sts, 3 wins, $26,020 (ssi = 0.42).
2004:	Delicias, gr/ro f, by Deputy Minister. Raced 1 yr in NA, 1 st, 0 wins, $400. ($360,000, 2005, keesep, yrlg; $20,000, 2008, keenov, brdmr)
2005:	Gone Grand, gr/ro c, by Grand Slam. Raced 4 yrs in NA, 36 sts, 4 wins, $82,949 (ssi = 0.72). ($55,000, 2006, keesep, yrlg; $120,000, 2007, besmar, 2yo)
2006:	Kutanga, dkbbr f, by Deputy Commander. Raced 1 yr in Eng, 3 sts, 0 wins, $0. ($30,000, 2007, keesep, yrlg; $1,374, 2008, tathit, 2yo)
2007:	Atlantic Vision, b c, by Stormy Atlantic. Unraced in NA, Eng, and Fr. ($22,000, 2008, keesep, yrlg)
2008:	THE FACTOR. ($50,000, 2008, keenov, wnlg; $40,000, 2009, ftkjul, yrlg; $250,000, 2010, besmay, 2yo)
	At 3: Won Rebel S. (gr. 2), San Vicente S. (gr. 2).
2009:	Fifty Five South, b c, by Cuvee. Unraced in NA, Eng, and Fr. ($2,000, 2009, keenov, wnlg)
2010:	Unnamed foal, dk b/ f, by Run Away And Hide.

 

colts from danzig line light up weekend stakes

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bernardini, boundary, breeding in south africa, congrats, danzig, end sweep, flashpoint, forty niner, fountain of youth stakes, gourmet dinner, johann and gaynor rupert, mike o'farrell, ocala stud, pomeroy, r heat lightning, soldat, speed and stallion success, sprinters as stallions, Tapit, the factor, trippi, two punch lil, vinery, war front

The following post appeared earlier this week at Paulick Report.

A pair of Florida stallions took turns in the spotlight at Gulfstream Park this weekend. Pomeroy’s son Flashpoint won the Grade 2 Hutcheson Stakes impressively by 6 1/2 lengths from the Trippi colt Travelin Man. And the Trippi filly R Heat Lightning won the G2 Davona Dale Stakes by 7 1/4  lengths from the Tapit filly Dancinginherdreams, with the Pomeroy filly Pomeroys Pistol in third.

Trippi’s son Gourmet Dinner was a good second in the G2 Fountain of Youth behind Soldat (a son of the Danzig stallion War Front, whose other son, The Factor, won the San Vicente last weekend at Santa Anita).

Pomeroy (by the Danzig stallion Boundary) has first-crop 3-year-olds this year, like War Front. They are part of a deep and successful group of young sires that also includes last year’s freshman sire leader Congrats (also formerly in Florida and now in Kentucky at Vinery) and Preakness winner and champion Bernardini. The latter was selected as the first mate for Horse of the Year Zenyatta and is the sire of Fountain of Youth third To Honor and Serve.

As a racehorse, Pomeroy was a sprinting fool, much like his sire Boundary, and the blaze-faced Pomeroy won the G1 Forego and King’s Bishop, as well as the G2 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at his beloved Saratoga.

Retired to stud in Florida, the medium-sized and powerfully made Pomeroy has been popular with breeders and buyers.

From his earliest returns at stud, however, he wasn’t the hottest sire on the block. As a powerful horse with tons of speed, breeders expected the stallion’s stock to race and win early and often. But the Pomeroys seemed to surprise everyone by acting like they wanted a little time, and some of them may also want a bit more distance than their sire did.

Purely on pedigree, there was no reason for Pomeroy to prefer sprinting. His sire Boundary was by Danzig, who got more milers than pure sprinters, and was out of a Damascus mare, which would tend to give a mile or more. Then Pomeroy is out of a mare by Seeking the Gold, one of the best sons of Mr. Prospector for getting quality performers at a mile and up.

But then, if breeding worked by a set formula, we would not have half the fun. The sophistication required for breeding with consistent success and the variability of results obtained by breeders with great experience or little are reasons for great humility. But when a mating works, what greater elation is there?

Surely among the most elated at present are the South African breeders who purchased Trippi in July 2008. Johann and Gaynor Rupert bought the handsome bay son of End Sweep to stand at their L’Ormarins Stud. The Ruperts purchased Trippi from a partnership that had stood the horse for his entire career at Ocala Stud in Ocala, Fla., and exported Trippi to the Southern Hemisphere.

The final Northern Hemisphere crop by Trippi are now 2-year-olds, and the stallion has been on fire. R Heat Lightning won the G1 Spinaway and ran second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies last year, and Gourmet Dinner has been a model of consistency.

Part of the reason for consistency in a sire’s production is the quality of his mares. Year after year, stallion managers have to work to maintain the quality of their stallions’ books, and the success of that is seen in the stallions’ progeny on the track.

Trippi had made a name for himself as a leading stallion in Florida at the time of his sale, standing for $12,500, and Pomeroy was one of the most popular young sires in the state when he retired.

As he had done with Congrats, Brent Fernung brought Pomeroy to Florida, where the horse initially stood at Cloverleaf Farms, then moved to Vinery Florida after Cloverleaf closed its operations in Florida.

Although Pomeroy was already doing well with his book this year, a Vinery representative confirmed that the stallion’s book doubled to more than 120 mares over the weekend.

One of the good mares that Fernung enlisted for Pomeroy’s first book was the stakes winner Two Punch Lil (by Two Punch). A big, ruggedly made gray mare, Two Punch Lil was already the dam of stakes winner Uncle Sam Lee and a stakes-placed runner when breeder Silverleaf Farms sent her to Pomeroy.

The resulting colt was Flashpoint, who was nice enough as a short yearling to fetch $115,000 at the Keeneland January sale in 2009. Just two months earlier, his dam had gone through the Keeneland November sale, barren to Pomeroy. She brought $1,200. For her new owners, the mare has a yearling filly by Congaree.

 

war front is a red hot sire with the factor

Tags

adrian regan, claiborne farm, eisaman equine, fast horses, fast racetracks, fergus galvin, fog city stables, george bolton, gulfstream park, h & w thoroughbreds, horse breeders, hunter valley thoroughbreds, iroquois bloodstock, jerry bailey sales, john wade, keeneland sales, kim valerio, san vicente, Santa Anita, soldat, the factor, tony hegarty, track records, twirling candy, war front

The following post appeared earlier this week at Paulick Report.

When the first crop of yearlings by the Danzig stallion War Front came to the sales in 2009, the response was very warm, with young prospects bringing up to $180,000. And with the results from his first crop of runners, which turned 3 at the New Year, War Front has some salty performers spread across the continent.

In addition to an impressive 3-year-old debut at Gulfstream by last year’s graded stakes winner Soldat, a gray colt of War Front named The Factor (pedigree) has been the talking horse of Southern California after setting a new track record at Santa Anita for six furlongs in 1:06.98. The Factor set that mark on the day after Christmas, on the same day that Twirling Candy set a record for seven furlongs in 1:19.70, and despite the impressive nature of both performances, some handicappers wanted the colts to run back and confirm their form.

Earlier in the month, Twirling Candy won the Grade 2 Strub Stakes, and The Factor made his stakes debut in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday. Once again, the colt showed that speed is his forte.

The powerful colt was quickly away from the gate and showed unsettling speed as he kept pace with early leader City Cool and then assumed command of the race through fractions of :22.20, :43.41, and 1:07.31. City Cool faded to last, while Premier Pegasus stayed near the pace and moved into second on the turn before Sway Away displaced him with an eye-catching run from far back. The Factor held Sway Away in second to win the stakes in 1:20.34.

The colt’s victory made him the fourth stakes winner from War Front’s first crop of 76 foals. Out of the Miswaki mare Greyciousness, The Factor was bred in Kentucky by H & W Thoroughbreds and is a foal of March 13. The seventh foal of his dam and her first stakes winner, The Factor came along after the commercial bloom had left the rose for Greyciousness.

The mare, sent through the ring at the Keeneland January sale in 2007 in foal to Stormy Atlantic, fetched $47,000 and produced the colt Atlantic Vision not long thereafter for new owners H & W Thoroughbreds.

Tony Hegarty and John Wade are H & W Thoroughbreds, and they are business partners of Hunter Valley Farm, operated by Adrian Regan and Fergus Galvin. The Factor was bred and raised at Hunter Valley, and Regan said, “We sold him as a foal, and the owners have sold the mare privately since. He was a very, very nice foal, and the Indian Creek guys bought him off us. They thought he would be a very good yearling, and when I saw him the next year, he certainly looked the part.”

Iroquois Bloodstock III purchased The Factor for $50,000 as a weanling at the 2008 Keeneland November sale, then sold him at a loss the next July amid the crumbling bloodstock market. Kim Valerio, as agent, bought the colt for $40,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July select yearling sale, and The Factor went through the program at Eisaman Equine in preparation for his 2-year-old sale, which took place in California at Barretts in May 2010.

There the colt’s athleticism and obvious speed shook off the limitations set on him by other commercial factors, and he sold out of the Jerry Bailey Sales consignment for $250,000, the third-highest price for a juvenile in training by War Front last year. The buyer was George Bolton, who races the colt in partnership with Fog City Stables.

With The Factor and other promising young athletes to advertise his merits as a sire, War Front has been increasingly popular the last six months. This is a welcome turn for the breeding business and for the prospects of competitive racing across the country, as another young sire shows the quality and versatility of his stock.

With War Front priced at $15,000 for a live foal, payable when it stands and nurses, Claiborne has hit a nugget of gold with a young stallion who is appreciating in the marketplace. Claiborne’s Bernie Sams said that “War Front is book full. I don’t have another season left.”

And that, in the dark days of winter reluctantly coming toward spring, is a good feeling for any farm this year.

dam of the factor smelling sweeter

Tags

commercial appeal, greyciousness, miswaki, racehorse breeding, run away and hide, the factor

By the time that Greyciousness (1995 gray mare by Miswaki x Skatingonthinice, by Icecapade) produced G2 San Vicente Stakes winner The Factor in 2008, the broodmare was past her commercial peak.

In foal to a popular and commercial stallion like Stormy Atlantic at the Keeneland January sale in 2007, she brought only $47,000, for example. The Factor, who was a really nice foal, brought $50,000 in 2008, which is quite good for a foal by a $10,000 stallion. Yet her subsequent foal, by the stone-cold Cuvee, sold for $2,000.

And now the mare’s reputation has been reborn. As the dam of the most-watched 3yo sprinter of 2011, Greyciousness is a hot commodity once again. Her foal of 2010? A filly by Run Away and Hide who will be of interest to watch.