All Category Leading Freshman Sire
LUCKY PULPIT
Only California Freshman Ranked Nationally! 2UNNERS s 7INNERS s 7INS FROM 3TARTS %ARNINGS s !VG %ARNINGS 3TARTER 9/ !VG %ARNINGS 3TARTER 8 STUD FEE 9EARLING !VERAGE OVER 8 STUD FEE FEE: $2,500 LIVE FOAL
0ULPITn,UCKY 3OPH BY #OZZENE s 0ROPERTY OF -R AND -RS ,ARRY $ 7ILLIAMS &EE PAYABLE AT FOALING s .OMINATED TO THE "REEDERS #UP
7 /AKLAND !VE s #OALINGA #! *OHN # (ARRIS 0RESIDENT s $AVID % -C'LOTHLIN (ORSE $IVISION -ANAGER s $R *EANNE "OWERS 2ESIDENT 6ETERINARIAN 4EL OR s &AX s WWW HARRISFARMS COM s % -AIL DAVEMCGLOTHLIN HARRISFARMS COM
A Stellar Group
From the Executive Corner
by DOUG BURGE The latest inductees into the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Hall of Fame include: 1) a long-time California breeder and CTBA Past President; 2) a pioneer in the sales business who introduced juvenile sales to the state; 3) one of the leading sires in the history of California; and 4) a champion three-year-old who was the last California-bred to win a Triple Crown race. There is no doubt that this group of inductees has been instrumental in advancing breeding and racing in the Golden State. Keith Card has been a long-time supporter of the California Thoroughbred industry with his Hi Card Ranch producing many stakes horses and top runners over the years. Although his homebred Linda Card won one of the inaugural California Cup races, his biggest moment was the victory by California Flag in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint in 2009. What I remember most regarding California Flag was the 2008 grade III Morvich Handicap during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting. The morning prior to the race, Keith wanted every CTBA employee to have a $5 win ticket and a miniature flag of the state of California to root home his charge. At 22-1, California Flag stormed home by three lengths with the CTBA staff screaming loudly. That was the beginning of a journey in which “Flag” took Keith, and his wife Barbara, all over the world for top races. As a board member, Keith has always given of his time and continues to attend all association functions. It was his encouragement, less than a decade ago, that initiated the reinstatement of the Hall of Fame. It is only fitting that he is included in this prestigious class. Although I had little interaction with Brian Sweeney, his reputation and success during his 14 years as the CTBA’s General Manager are well documented. Brian was extremely active with the state legislature crafting and successfully lobbying for legislation that would further advance the California-Bred Incentive Program.
www.ctba.com
Not only is he credited for the advancement of the Stallion Awards Program, but under his leadership the breed-back rule was implemented. This allowed for Cal-breds to be conceived out of state as long as the mare was bred back in state. But one of the most notable accomplishments of Brian Sweeney was the introduction of two-year-old sales in California under his guidance. The juvenile sales were widely supported and became the blueprint for the auctions that exist today. His accomplishments are worthy of his placement in the Hall of Fame. Pirate’s Bounty was one of the perennial leading sires in California for two decades. Owned by Marty and Pam Wygod, and standing at their River Edge Farm in Buellton, Pirate’s Bounty was the state’s leading sire three different years in the early to mid-1990s, siring three California champions and more than 60 stakes winners in all. After 19 crops of foals and progeny earnings of nearly $32 million, Pirate’s Bounty passed away in 2006. But his legacy remains as one of the best to ever stand in California. The final inductee into this year’s Hall of Fame class is Snow Chief. The 1986 Eclipse Champion Three-Year-Old Male, and three-time California Horse of the Year (1985-1987), is the last Cal-bred to win a Triple Crown race. Although several have finished second since his victory in the 1986 Preakness Stakes (grade I), Snow Chief still has the honor. As a dual grade I-winning two-year-old, the son of Reflected Glory was the beaten Kentucky Derby favorite after winning the grade I Florida and Santa Anita Derbies. The pride of California bounced back and also went on to win one more grade I as a fouryear-old, retiring with $3,383,210 million in earnings. The Snow Chief Stakes for Cal-bred three-year-olds is offered each spring at Hollywood Park on California Gold Rush Day. One of the highlights of the event was in 2007, when Snow Chief himself led the post parade at the age of 24. Now he heads into the CTBA Hall of Fame.
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 1
C O L U M N
C O L U M N
Managing Editor’s Welcome
A Quick Start
©Marcie Heacox
With the new dirt track at Santa Anita Park producing a couple of track records on the opening day of its 2010-2011 Spring/Summer meet, it was also encouraging to see California-breds also making a quick start to the latest racing season with graded stakes wins by a duo of locally bred fillies during the first few weeks of 2011. These results augur well for another year of quality efforts from the local Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry which will again be honoring a group of its standouts with the induction of Keith Card, Brian Sweeney, Pirate’s Bounty and Snow Chief to the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Hall of Fame in February. Both Card and Sweeney were invaluable to the CTBA during their terms as President and General Manager, respectively, while three-time local champion sire Pirate’s Bounty and the Eclipse Award-winning Preakness Stakes winner Snow Chief also proved their worth during their time in the spotlight. This February 2011 issue of California Thoroughbred pays tribute to these stalwarts of the turf and also features the detailed records of those Cal-breds whose 2010 performances warranted them consideration on the ballot for year-end championship honors in the Golden State. Plus, an in-depth analysis of last year’s leading sires in California, including Unusual Heat—who secured his third consecutive overall money won title—and top freshman sire Lucky Pulpit, is included in this magazine, along with a CTBA Member Profile on Hal Oliver who carved out a great career in the industry and has been a part of this non-profit association since 1964. Another popular and successful member of the Thoroughbred world included this month is Jim Cassidy, the CTBA’s 2010 Trainer of the Year based on his grade I wins with the Cal-bred duo of Evening Jewel and The Usual Q. T. last year. Also featured are the aforementioned wins by California Nectar and Unzip Me in the grade II Santa Ynez Stakes (January 15) and grade III Monrovia Stakes (January 2), respectively. Additionally, the victories by California Nectar and Thirtyfirststreet in the two divisions of the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes at Santa Anita on December 26-27, are reviewed, while local stallion McCann’s Mojave is highlighted in the 45th chapter of the magazine’s Cal-Bred Millionaires’ Row series. Down on the Farm deals with an update on Equine Piroplasmosis, a blood-borne parasitic infection, and the latest Guest Forum titled “A Bad Bet” extols the advantages of gambling on horse racing as opposed to the lottery. There’s also the annual list of California’s leading breeders of the past year, led for the first time by the Harris Farms of John and Carole Harris, while the balance of this current publication includes all our other regular columns, features and departments that we hope will also prove to be both enjoyable and helpful. In the Company of…Jim Cassidy (right), the CTBA’s 2010 Trainer of the Year Until next time, may you breed the best who conditioned the California-bred duo of to the best and not just have to hope for the Evening Jewel and The Usual Q. T. —Rudi Groothedde to three grade I wins last year, at his Santa Anita best! rudi@ctba.com Park Barn #119 in Arcadia on January 8, 2011.
2 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
©California Thoroughbred 2011 (ISSN1092-7328) 201 Colorado Place, Arcadia, California 91007 Telephone: (626) 445-7800 or 1-800-573-CTBA (California residents only) FAX: (626) 445-6981 E-mail address: ctbainfo@ctba.com Owned and published by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to the production of better Thoroughbred horses for better Thoroughbred racing. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect policies of the CTBA or this magazine. Publication of any material originating herein is expressly forbidden without first obtaining written permission from California Thoroughbred. All advertising copy is submitted subject to approval. We reserve the right to reject any copy that is misleading or that does not meet with the standards set by the publication. Acknowledgment: Statistics in this publication relating to results of races in North America are compiled by the Daily Racing Form. Charts by special arrangement with Daily Racing Form Inc., the copyright owners of said charts. Reproduction forbidden. OFFICERS President: LEIGH ANN HOWARD Vice President: PETE PARRELLA Treasurer: JOHN H. BARR Secretary: SUE GREENE Executive Vice President and General Manager: Doug Burge DIRECTORS - John C. Harris, Jeanne L. Canty, Leigh Ann Howard, John H. Barr, Daniel L. Harralson, Keith E. Card, Daniel Q. Schiffer, William H. Nichols, Rosemary A. Neeb, Myron Johnson, William H. de Burgh, Pete Parrella, Sue Greene, Mary Knight Ex Officio: E. W. (Bud) Johnston & Donald J. Valpredo ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Chief Financial Officer: James Murphy Sales Coordinator: Cookie Hackworth Registrar and Incentive Program Manager: Mary Ellen Locke Membership: Rosemary Stringer Assistant Registrar: Dawn Gerber Executive Assistant & Event Coordinator: Christy Chapman Web Site Managing Editor: Ken Gurnick Librarian/Receptionist: Vivian Montoya RACETRACK LIAISON: Scott Henry CALIFORNIA CUP Co-Chairs: Sherwood C. Chillingworth & John H. Barr Coordinator: Cookie Hackworth MAGAZINE STAFF Editor: Doug Burge Managing Editor: Rudi Groothedde Advertising Manager: Loretta Veiga Art Director: John Melanson Production: Charlene Favata Subscriptions: Rosemary Stringer California Thoroughbred is published monthly in Arcadia, Calif. Periodical postage is paid at Arcadia, Calif., and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the California Thoroughbred, P.O. Box 60018, Arcadia, CA 91066-6018 California Thoroughbred is printed by Modern Litho Print Co. SUBSCRIPTIONS-$55.00 per year USA $85.00 per year Canada & Mexico CTBA on the Internet — http://www.ctba.com
www.ctba.com
STORMIN F EVER Storm Cat-Pennant Fever, by Seattle Slew
An Incredible Year with $3,578,137 in Progeny Earnings and 6 Stakes Winners in 2010! Sire of 3 GSW’s on 3 Different Surfaces!
• CHECK THE LABEL ($493,894), winner of the Garden City Stakes (G1) on turf at Belmont. • A LITTLE WARM ($752,280), winner of the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) on dirt at Saratoga. • BIOFUEL ($758,492), winner of 4 stakes in 2010, including the Selene Stakes (G3) on poly at Woodbine. • $58,023 average earnings per starter.
2011 Fee: $6,500 (stands and nurses)
GOLDEN EAGLE FARM Janine McCullough, General Manager • 27236 Highway 78 East Ramona, California 92065-6703 Toll Free: (877) 34-EAGLE • 760-789-2821 • Fax: 760-788-8377 • www.goldeneaglefarm.com
February 2011
Contents VOLUME 134 NO. 2
Cover Story
On This Month’s Cover The 2011 inductees to the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Hall of Fame: CTBA Past President Keith Card, the breeder of 2009 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner California Flag; the late Brian Sweeney, the General Manager of the CTBA from 1968 to 1981; Pirate’s Bounty (1975-2006), California’s leading sire in 1992, 1994 and 1995; and California-bred Snow Chief (1983-2010), winner of the 1989 Preakness Stakes as that year’s Eclipse Champion Two-Year-Old Male. Photos: Brian Sweeney©CTBA; Pirate’s Bounty & Keith Card ©Ron Mesaros; and Snow Chief ©Pimlico
19
CTBA Hall Of Fame: The Class Of 2011 by Emily Shields
Features
30 38 42 44 48 52
California-Bred Champions: The Best Of 2010 by Rudi Groothedde
California Sires: Business As Usual by Rudi Groothedde
California Sires: Lucky Charm by Lisa Groothedde
CTBA Member Profile: Hal Oliver—One Of The Good Guys by Emily Shields
Trainer Of The Year: Jim Cassidy—Double The Fun by Marcie Heacox
The Grade California-Breds: California Nectar—The Dream Ride Continues by Rudi Groothedde
Departments 6 14 16 70 74 75 78 81 82 83 86 87
News Bits The CTBA Working For You California Thoroughbred Foundation (CTF) Notes—January 2011 Leading Sires in California Leading Lifetime Sires in California Leading Two-Year-Old Sires in California Dates in California Leading Breeders in California CTBA Calendar Classified Advertising Index to Advertisers Index to Stallions Advertised
Page 54
Page 52
54 56 60 64
The Grade California-Breds: Unzip Me—Of The Same Ilk by Emily Shields
Racing in Southern California: Cal Breeders’ Editions Unveil Exciting Young Cal-Bred Stars by Emily Shields
Cal-Bred Millionaires’ Row: #45 McCann’s Mojave—Fast, Versatile & Durable by Emily Shields
Down on the Farm: Equine Piroplasmosis—An Update by Heather Smith Thomas
©Marcie Heacox
Columns
The 2010 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Trainer of the Year, Jim Cassidy (second from left), and his barn foreman Rudy Mora with the grade I-winning California-bred championship contenders of last year, The Usual Q. T. (left) and Evening Jewel, at Santa Anita Park’s Barn #119 in Arcadia on Jan. 8, 2011.
4 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
1 2 88
From the Executive Office: A Stellar Group by Doug Burge
Managing Editor’s Welcome—A Quick Start by Rudi Groothedde
Guest Forum: A Bad Bet by Bob Carson
The March 2011 Cover Story
The California-Bred Champions Of 2010
www.ctba.com
D E P A R T M E N T
Harris Farms Heads California Breeders
News Bits
©Mesaros
Following runner-up finishes from 2002 to 2004 and in 2009, the Harris Farms of John and Carole Harris became John & Carole Harris the leading breeders in California for the first time in its 45-year history with $2,488,432 in progeny earnings for 2010. Its group of California-breds was led by Cost of Freedom, a 2008 grade I winner whose numbers for last year included a $290,878 bankroll and four black-type wins, including two in grade III company. The Coalinga Thoroughbred nursery, whose Cal-bred representatives earned more than $22.2 million during the
past 10 years, was followed in Harris Farms in Coalinga the rankings by last year’s leading breeders in the Golden State, Tom and Debi Stull’s Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC (1,830,161), and Martin and Pam Wygod ($1,669,243) who held the top spot from 2006 to 2008. With the addition of the Cal-breds that it bred with its partners, including $462,033-earner Unzip Me in partnership with Donald Valpredo, Harris Farms’ 2010 progeny earnings totaled more than $3.5 million, while last year’s total for all Cal-bred earners was $70,346,968.
California Leads The Way At Eclipse Awards Jerry and Ann Moss, members of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) since 1987, collected their first ever Eclipse Horse of the Year Award when their 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic and 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic winner Zenyatta ($7,304,580), the Champion Older Female for the third consecutive year, was honored with this accolade in Florida on Jan. 17. The exciting night also included trophies for the Golden State-based runners Lookin At Lucky (Champion Three-YearOld Male) and Blind Luck (Champion Three-Year-Old Filly),
while California-bred Evening Jewel ($1,017943)—both a dual grade I and grade II winner of 2010, who was bred by the late Betty Mabee and her son Larry—was one of the three finalists in the latter’s category. Also sporting a California connection was the Champion Two-Year-Old Male, Uncle Mo, whose sire Indian Charlie was the California Champion Three-Year-Old Male of 1998. The Mosses and both their 19-for-20 mare’s trainer John Sherriffs and jockey Mike Smith were also among the group who visited the podium to receive the Special Award for Team Zenyatta.
President Signs Tax Extensions & Other Benefits Into Law In December, President Barack Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. The passage of this legislation avoids tax increases, scheduled to go into effect automatically on Jan. 1, on everyone's individual income, capital gains and dividend income, and on estates. The bill also includes other tax benefits for the horse industry as supported by the American Horse Council (AHC). Under current law, anyone who purchases a horse or other property for his horse business and places it in service in 2010 can deduct up to $500,000 of the cost. This applies to horses, farm equipment and other depreciable property used in a business. This limit will be eliminated for 2011, allowing horse owners and other horse businesses to write off the entire cost of most capital assets when purchased and placed in service. This provision is retroactive and will benefit any business involved in the horse industry that purchases
and places depreciable property in service after Sept. 8, 2010, and through this year. Owners of horse farms and ranches are interested in the tax benefits available to those who contribute property for conservation purposes. Conservation easements are one way that owners can keep their property available for farming, rather than selling it for commercial purposes, while getting a tax benefit. Under legislation passed a number of years ago, a landowner with 50 percent of more of his/her income from agriculture could get a deduction for the contribution of a conservation easement up to his/her full income, with any unused amount carried forward for 15 years. This provision had expired and the deduction was limited to 30 percent of income. The tax bill reinstated the conservation easement benefit for two years, through 2012, for contributions made in taxable years after Dec. 31, 2009.—American Horse Council
Making The Grade The following runner(s), either California-bred or sired by stallions currently based in the Golden State, won or placed in graded stakes races in North America (U. S., Canada & Puerto Rico) from December 20, 2010 to January 23, 2011 inclusive: Caracortado g.3. Cat Dreams—Mons Venus 3rd Grade I Malibu Stakes $250,000 7 f. Santa Anita Park December 26 Breeder: Mike Machowsky The Usual Q. T. g.4. Unusual Heat—Lunge 3rd Grade II San Gabriel Stakes $150,000 1 1/8 m. (T) Santa Anita Park December 27 Breeder: Carlee Van Kempen Quick Enough g.7. High Brite—Donna B. Quick 2nd Grade III Daytona Stakes $100,000 about 6 1/2 f. (T) Santa Anita Park January 1 Breeder: Harris Farms Inc. Unzip Me m.5. City Zip—Escape With Me 1st Grade III Monrovia Stakes $100,000 about 6 1/2 f. (T) Santa Anita Park January 2 Breeders: Harris Farms Inc. & Donald Valpredo California Nectar f.3. Stormy Atlantic—Absolute Nectar 1st Grade II Santa Ynez Stakes $150,000 7 f. Santa Anita Park January 14 Breeders: Pablo & Michelle Suarez Calibrachoa c.4. Southern Image—Fort Lauderdale 1st Grade III Toboggan Stakes $98,000 6 f. Aqueduct January 22 Breeder: N. B. Hunt
Continued on page 8 6 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
D E P A R T M E N T
News Bits Cont’d.
Stallion News
Best Minister This 11-year-old son of Deputy Minister, a stakes winner whose first foals are three-year-olds of 2011, has been relocated to stand at Pacific Coast Thoroughbreds in Hemet. In Excess (Ire) Tales in Excess, a filly whose broodmare sire is this Vessels Stallion Farm veteran, closed out her juvenile campaign on Dec. 31 with a victory in Santa Anita Park’s grassy, $80,300 Blue Norther Stakes. Best Minister
Pious This unplaced, six-year-old son of Forestry will commence his stallion career in 2011 at Sue Hubbard and Associates in San Miguel. Sapphire Cat This unraced, three-year-old son of Bluegrass Cat will stand the 2011 breeding season at Lone Oak Thoroughbred Farm in Santa Ynez. Silic (Fr) Pacific Coast Thoroughbreds in Hemet is the new home for this 16-year-old, dual grade I-winning son of Sillery who is the sire of Gladiatorus, winner of the group I, $5,000,000 Dubai Duty Free in 2009.
California Farms Offer Breeding Incentives Several California farms are offering breeding incentives to their stallions in 2011. Bedford Falls, a multiple winner by Forestry and halfbrother to the prominent Kentucky sire Harlan’s Holiday, will cover two mares for the price of one this season. The eight-year-old stallion stands for $2,500 at Poplar Meadows in Sanger, and also offers a $125,000 bonus program to breeders and owners of Bedford Falls his offspring. Breeders who patronize the stakes winner Cindago may be eligible for owner bonuses of $10,000 or $15,000 for their foals of 2012 who become stakes or maiden winners. The eight-year-old Indian Charlie stallion has two crops of racing age, and stands at Legacy Ranch in Clements. Diamond F Ranch in Grass Valley is offering a $1,000 reduction of the $2,500 stud fee of Del Mar Show to open mares who are bred to the multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire before the end of March. The 14-year-old son of Theatrical (Ire) is a second-crop sire of 2011.
Continued on page 10 8 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
D E P A R T M E N T
News Bits Cont’d.
An ‘Unusual’ Superfecta At Santa Anita
Unusual Heat, California’s leading sire by year-end progeny earnings since 2008, accomplished a rare feat on Jan. 6, when a Santa Anita Park superfecta comprised four of his daughters. Notching the win in the restricted, one-mile maiden special weight race on turf was the 20-1 longshot Phi Beta Heat, who was bred in California by Madeline Auerbach and David Abrams. Trained by David’s brother Barry, the four-year-old filly was followed across the wire by Bitt a Heat, Unknown Heat and Favoloso. Unknown Unusual Heat, a 21-year-old Heat Phi Beta Bitt A Heat Heat Nureyev stallion whose lifetime progeny ©Benoit earnings exceed $27.6 million, stands at Santa Anita Park—January 6, 2011 Harris Farms in Coalinga.
Auction Action The Ballena Vista Farm stallion Sea of Secrets was flattered at the 2011 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale on Jan. 10-11, when his multiple graded stakes-winning daughter Secret Gypsy commanded a session-best price of $540,000 on day two, a figure which ranked as the Kentucky auction’s fourth-highest price overall. Six-year-old Secret Gypsy, a lifetime earner of $596,926, was sold as a broodmare prospect to Shadai Farm of Japan.
CURREN NT CALIFORNIA SIRES OF STAKES WIINNER NNER RS Named Foals of SWs Racing Age
Stallion Salt Lake (1989)† In Excess (Ire) (1987) Bertrando (1989) High Brite (1984)† Beau Genius (1985)† Cee’s Tizzy (1987)† Benchmark (1991) Olympio (1988) Stormin Fever (1994) Memo (Chi) (1987)• Unusual Heat (1990) Swiss Yodeler (1994) Game Plan (1993) Lit de Justice (1990) Formal Gold (1993)• Sea of Secrets (1995) Old Topper (1995) Tribal Rule (1996) Houston (1986)† Redattore (Brz) (1995)• Siberian Summer (1989) Western Fame (1992) Atticus (1992) For Really (1987)† Kafwain (2000) Skimming (1996)•
1,201 897 907 896 735 697 577 491 564 507 455 608 362 385 421 370 402 249 554 342 362 270 392 239 313 272
70 62 50 46 39 39 30 30 30 28 27 23 22 22 19 19 15 14 13 13 13 13 12 12 12 12
† Indicates stallions who have died or have been retired from the stud. • Indicates stallions who have moved out of state but have California-bred two-year-olds of this year. All sires will remain on the list until the year after their last foals are two-year-olds.
PARADISE ROAD RANCH Inquiries to Doreen Spinney 3637 W. Stewart Road, Lathrop, California 95330 (916) 803-5851 e-mail: paradiseranch@wildblue.net
Sold for $200,000 from the first crop of Lion Heart at 2007 Saratoga Yearling Sale. Sold for $320,000 at Barretts March Select Two-Year-Old Sale. By LION HEART, sire of 16 stakes winners, including 2010 performers LINE OF DAVID ($662,000, Arkansas Derby-Gr. I), HEART ASHLEY ($395,895), PRETTY PROLIFIC ($328,051, etc.), undefeated two-year-old KANTHAROS ($185,213, Saratoga Special S.-Gr. II, etc.), also two-year-old grade I stakes-placed Valiant Passion and grade II Winning Lion. His dam, Clever Squaw is by RAHY, broodmare sire of champions GIANT’S CAUSEWAY and RAHY’S ATTORNEY. Second dam is graded stakes winner TRICKY SQUAW, dam of TRICKY SIX, granddam of grade II STANLEY PARK, MO CUISHLE and TURF MELODY. Family of grade Î winner DREAMY MIMI ($585,637).
BRAVE CAT Lion Heart—Clever Squaw, by Rahy
2011 FEE: $500-LIVE FOAL Booking fee $150
Continued on page 12 10 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
D E P A R T M E N T
Square Eddie: From Breeding Shed To Track Record
News Bits Cont’d. Those Grand Cal-Bred Mares Jannas Pride, a gelding out of the winning California-bred mare Janna, by Candi’s Gold, closed out his juvenile campaign on Dec. 30, with his second consecutive stakes victory and fourth win overall in Sunland Park’s $120,000 Red Hedeman Mile Stakes. The winner of $187,350 froom six starts is the second stakes performer out of his dam, who was bred by Ted Aroney and Ron and Fran Stolich.
A new Santa Anita Park track record of 1:13.11 for 6 1/2 furlongs belongs to the former California stallion Square Eddie, who set the mark in an allowance victory on Jan. 14, in his return to competition following a one-year absence. The five-year-old son of Smart Strike, whose last win came in the 2008 Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (grade I) at Keeneland Race Course, covered a reported 34 mares at
Vessels Stallion Farm in 2010, and was subsequently put back into training by his owner, J. Paul Reddam.
©Benoit Photos
Square Eddie
California Closers Tuesday, Feb. 1, is the deadline for breeders and owners to name their foals of 2009 with The Jockey Club to avoid a $75 late fee...The annual Equine Affaire will be held at Fairplex in Pomona from Thursday, Feb. 3 to Sunday, Feb. 6…On Tuesday, Feb. 15, the California Thoroughbred Farm Managers Association (CTFMA) will next meet at the San Luis Rey Downs Country Club in Bonsall…On Thursday, Feb. 17, the next monthly meeting of the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) will be held at Santa Anita Park in
12 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
Arcadia…The Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) will host free “Conformation Clinic” seminars at both Golden Gate Fields in Albany and Santa Anita on Saturday, Feb. 19…Bob Baffert and Jerry Hollendorfer, both members of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA), were ranked third and fourth, respectively, on the list of leading trainers by money for 2010…The acclaimed work of equine photographer Ron Mesaros can now be viewed at his online website of www.ronmesaros.com.
www.ctba.com
Qualifying Claiming Level s The following claiming levels for California owners premiums and stallion awards are currently in effect:
Santa Anita Park $40,000 Golden Gate Fields $20,000
James Vreeland Former California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) member James Vreeland of Buellton died at the age of 65 on Dec. 20. A successful car dealership owner, he bred 2004 California Cup Distance Handicap winner Test the Waters and campaigned several other stakeswinning racehorses.
10 Years Ago
February 19, 2001
Nick Cafarchia’s homebred six-year-old mare Rare Charmer posted the biggest win of her dual stakes-winning career with a victory in the grade II, $150,000 Buena Vista Handicap at Santa Anita Park on Feb. 19, 2001. After three more starts, including a victory in the $175,000 Fran’s Valentine Stakes in April of 2001, this daughter of Slewpy and the unraced Kennedy Road mare Dancing Road retired with a record of 24-8-5-4 and $540,216 in earnings.
©Benoit
Rare Charmer Grade II Buena Vista Handicap
25 Years Ago
February 12, 1986
On Feb. 12, 1986, the $67,100 Monrovia Handicap at Santa Anita Park was won by the five-year-old mare Water Crystals, by Crystal Water out of Why Four, a two-time winner by Coursing. Bred in California by Louis Rowan, she earned $244,947 from eight wins and nine placings in 24 starts before becoming the dam of Shahrastani’s 1993 stakes winner Track Gossip who since produced the graded stakes winner of 2001 and 2002, Crash Course.
50 Years Ago
©Four Footed Fotos
Water Crystals $67,100 Monrovia Handicap
The winner of the $59,200 San Felipe Handicap at Santa Anita Park on Feb. 18, 1961, was the three-year-old colt Flutterby who was bred and owned in California by Alberta Ranches Ltd. A son of Noor (Ire) and the multiple stakes winner Blue Butterfly (GB), by Blue Train (GB), he raced until he was six when retiring after 43 trips to post that included six wins, 12 seconds, nine thirds and a $143,477 bankroll.
• Graded stakes winner of $553,416, was a versatile performer who won at distances from 6 1/2 furlongs to 1 1/8 miles from the ages of 2 to 6. • Established a new course record at Keeneland in the Gr. III Central Bank Transylvania Stakes. • Finished second in the Grade III Virginia Derby to ENGLISH CHANNEL defeating REBEL REBEL. Finshed third in the Grade I Secretariat Stakes to GUN SALUTE and ENGLISH CHANNEL. • By Breeders’ Cup Mile winner WAR CHANT, sire of 25 stakes winners, including 2010 stakes winners CHAMBERLAIN BRIDGE ($1,045,459) and DONCASTER ROVER. • Out of graded stakes-winning mare BUFFALO BERRY (IRE), who finished third to European champion FASLIYEV the Group I Heinz 57 Phoenix Stakes and winner of the Reeve Schley Jr. Stakes. 2011 FEE: FREE TO APPROVED MARES-LIVE FOAL Property of a Partnership
www.ctba.com
SUE HUBBARD & ASSOCIATES
INQUIRIES TO SUE HUBBARD 76945 INDIAN VALLEY ROAD, SAN MIGUEL, CALIFORNIA 93451 PHONE/FAX (805) 467-3839 • E-MAIL: SUEHUBBARDASSOCIATES@GMAIL.COM
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 13
D E P A R T M E N T
The CTBA Working For You
To further assist the membership of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) and subscribers of its official publication, California Thoroughbred, this monthly editorial page provides readers with updates about the association’s current policies, latest news and upcoming events in the Golden State. What The CTBA PACs Do For You
The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association’s State, Federal and Local Political Action Committees have been responsible for a tremendous amount of positive legislation for racing and breeding Thoroughbred horses both in California, and on a national level.
• The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) and many others successfully lobbied to achieve the passing of a very significant bill for all of racing, SB 1072, which boosted overnight purses through an increase of takeout on exotic wagers of two to three percent. The CTBA was concerned with increasing takeout, and it is important to note that no increases were authorized for win, place and show wagers. The only increases come from exotic wagering (Exactas, Trifectas, Superfectas and other multiple bets). All of the proceeds can only go into overnight purses. Normally, increased revenue is divided up between multiple parties, but due to industry cooperation, all of this incremental revenue goes to purses. The horse industry was very concerned that without increased overnight purses, the overall horse industry would continue to decline in California. • It is estimated that this will add approximately $25 million to $30 million in additional purse money per year. • The CTBA was also successful with AB 2972, which revises the definition of an eligible Thoroughbred stallion as it relates to the Stallion
Awards Program. Previously, an eligible Thoroughbred stallion must have been continually present in the state during certain dates of the calendar year in which the qualifying race was conducted and if the stallion left the state and did not return, all stallion awards were forfeited. Under this new legislation, an eligible Thoroughbred stallion who was present in the state during the calendar year that he stood at stud will now qualify for awards regardless if the stallion subsequently left the state. Only foals conceived in California would be eligible. The CTBA believes this will help ensure that California continues to attract promising stallions. • In 2009, CTBA sponsored AB 1578, which provides for extremely lucrative bonuses for California-bred maidens by re-allocating a small portion of existing incentive award money and an additional matching amount from Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC). The result is a 50 percent increase in the number of maiden special weight winners over the previous year, yielding huge benefits to the owners and breeders of Cal-breds.
All CTBA PAC funds are allocated to campaign contributions, other PACs that benefit the industry and for Legislative advocate expenses.
• No stallion owner, farm owner or breeder receives PAC funds. Some stallion owners may show up as donors to the fund as the seasons they donate are technically political contributions. • Charges to the contrary are untrue.
• PAC Funds are utilized for industry legislative services. • The CTBA contracts with a Legislative Consultant to verify that all PAC contributions comply with the law and that all required reporting takes place.
The CTBA PACs are funded through its Stallion Season Telephone Auction, held annually before the start of the breeding season, through the generosity of owners who donate seasons to their stallions. Plus, individual owners and breeders also contribute to the fund. For more information on the CTBA PACs, e-mail General Manager Doug Burge at dburge@ctba.com or President Leigh Ann Howard at vcfarm@aol.com or call the CTBA office at (626) 445-7800. Dates To Remember Tuesday, February 1, 2011––Names for foals of 2009 must be claimed; after Feb. 1, a naming fee of $75 will be required. Tuesday, February 15, 2011––Annual registration of California stallions is due at a fee of $750 each.
The CTBA Calendar Corner Event
Date(s)
Venue(s)
1st Annual CTBA Golf Tournament CTBA Annual Meeting & Awards Dinner (2010 California-Bred Champions & 2011 California Hall of Fame Inductees)
Monday, February 14 Tuesday, February 15
Coronado Municipal Golf Course, Coronado Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado
For further information, contact the CTBA’s Event Coordinator Christy Chapman at either christy@ctba.com or (800) 573-2822, extension 247. 14 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
Known Quality is Best Value. Count on the Harris Farms Roster for Top Sire and Racetrack Performance Proven in California. "REEDERS #UP WINNER DESERT CODE %NTERED 3TUD IN "ENOIT 0HOTO
"ENOIT 0HOTO
UNUSUAL SUSPECT 4HIRD ' 7INNER OF FOR UNUSUAL HEAT
3AN #ARLOS ' WIN FOR STORMY JACK’s BOB BLACK JACK
"ENOIT 0HOTO
'RADED 7INNER OF LUCKY J. H. HAS &IRST CROP YEARLINGS
6ASSAR 0HOTO
"ENOIT 0HOTO
"ENOIT 0HOTO
HI HO YODELER 3IX lGURE EARNER AT FOR SWISS YODELER
&IRST CROP -ULTIPLE 3TAKES Winner LUCKARACK BY LUCKY PULPIT
UNUSUAL HEAT
SWISS YODELER
LUCKY PULPIT
DESERT CODE
Nureyev-Rossard, by Glacial $20,000 Live Foal
Eastern Echo-Drapeau, by Raja Baba $5,000 Live Foal
Pulpit-Lucky Soph, by Cozzene $2,500 Live Foal
E Dubai-Chatta Code, by Lost Code $2,000 Live Foal
TIZBUD
SINGLETARY
STORMY JACK
LUCKY J. H.
Cee’s Tizzy-Cee’s Song, by Seattle Song $2,500 Live Foal
Sultry Song-Joiski’s Star, by Star de Naskra $1,500 Live Foal
Bertrando-Tiny Kristin, by Steelinctive $1,500 Live Foal
Cee’s Tizzy- Lucky C. H., by A. P. Indy $1,500 Live Foal
3TUD FEE FOR 5NUSUAL (EAT IS DUE .OV OF YEAR BRED s !LL OTHER STUD FEES ARE PAYABLE AT FOALING John C. Harris, President David E. McGlothlin, Horse Division Manager Dr. Jeanne Bowers, Resident Veterinarian 7 /AKLAND !VE s #OALINGA #! 4EL OR s &AX s WWW HARRISFARMS COM s % -AIL DAVEMCGLOTHLIN HARRISFARMS COM
D E P A R T M E N T
Notes — February 2011 California Thoroughbred Foundation 2011 OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS Mrs. Jeanne L. Canty, President Warren Williamson, Vice-President Gregory L. Ferraro, DVM, Treasurer Jane Goldstein, Secretary Peter P. Daily Mrs. Gail Gregson
Gerald F. McMahon Neil O’Dwyer Mrs. Ada Gates Patton Thomas S. Robbins John W. Sadler Peter W. Tunney
Mrs. Kenneth M. Schiffer, Director Emeritus
Foundation Director Ada Gates Patton Elected To Horseshoeing Hall Of Fame California Thoroughbred Foundation (CTF) Director Ada Gates Patton, who in 1978 became the first woman farrier licensed to shoe Thoroughbreds in the United States and Canada, has been elected to the International Horseshoeing Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is sponsored by the American Farriers Journal and the Kentucky Derby Museum. She has been a farrier for 35 years and will join her late husband, Harry Patton, on the Hall of Fame roster—the first time a husband-wife team has been chosen. Mrs. Patton is one of seven inductees for 2011, chosen from 81 nominees, and she was elected—like her husband—the first time she was nominated. She has served on testing boards, given clinics, sponsored educational clinics and appeared in national media as a spokesperson. Since 1971, she has attended every American Farrier’s Association convention and served on boards for local and national farrier organizations. In recognizing Mrs. Patton for this honor, the organization noted her professionalism, driven by the intention always to help the horse. Her kindness and cooperative behavior towards the horse rather than aggressiveness has been influenced by Monty Roberts and his techniques and teaching.
The California Thoroughbred Foundation The California Thoroughbred Foundation (CTF) is dedicated to the advancement of equine research and education. Since 1958, the Foundation has operated as a nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation that can accept tax deductible contributions. For more than four decades, the CTF has sponsored numerous research and educational projects and awarded scholarships to veterinary students at U.C. Davis. The Foundation maintains the Carleton F. Burke Memorial Library, one of the most extensive collections of equine
literature found anywhere. Several generous donations of book collections and artwork form the core of the library, which is housed in the CTBA offices in Arcadia. Among its 10,000 volumes are current veterinary publications, turf histories, sales catalogs, and books spanning a wide range of subjects from equine nutrition and care to fine arts. The latest instructional videos also are available for viewing in the Library. The resources of the CTF’s Carleton F. Burke Memorial Library are available to the public for research and pleasure.
Memorial Donations The CTF accepts donations in memory of relatives and friends, with all such donations allocated to Scholarship Funds of the Foundation and to the Carleton F. Burke Memorial Library. Please remember members of our industry with a donation to the CTF Memorial Fund. Donations may be sent to CTF, P. O. Box 60018, Arcadia, CA 91066-6018.
16 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
POPLAR MEADOWS Sanger, California
(626) 340-8695 • (559) 292-5003 bedfordfalls@poplarmeadows.net Ask about our $125,000 Bedford Falls Bonus Program! For more information, including free eNicks for your mares, visit www.thoroughbredinfo.com/showcase/bedfordfalls.htm
PEDIGREE: A winning half-brother to G1-winning sire HARLAN’S HOLIDAY by STORM CAT’s G1-winning sire of sires FORESTRY PHYSICAL: Sold for $1.1 million as a Keeneland yearling PERFORMANCE: Won or placed in 11 of 15 starts POTENTIAL: HARLAN’S HOLIDAY has sired 19 SWs (8 GSWs) in four crops, including 2010 G1 winner MAJESTICPERFECTION. Progeny earnings of $14 million and counting! PREPOTENCY: Achieved a 97% in-foal rate during his first two breeding seasons
The Class Of 2011 CTBA Hall of Fame by EMILY SHIELDS Former California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) President Keith Card and General Manager Brian Sweeney will join California-bred racing legend Snow Chief and former local champion sire Pirate’s Bounty as the newest members of the CTBA’s California Hall of Fame. The induction will be held during the CTBA’s Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in Coronado, California, on Tuesday, Feb. 15. Priate’s Bounty and Snow Chief will take their place alongside 19 other equines already enshrined in the Hall, including grade I-winning, multi-millionaires Best Pal and Free House, as well as top sires Fleet Nasrullah and Flying Paster. Card and Sweeney will join 35 other legendary racing personalities such as Mervyn LeRoy, Senator Ken Maddy and Dr. Charles H. Strub, all of whom were honored following their impressive contributions to the sport. Incidentally, it was Card who reactivated the Hall in 2005 after a long hiatus. The CTBA’s Board of Directors elects the new inductees each year, and the following four pages pay tribute to this year’s newest members to the CTBA Hall of Fame.
California Hall Of Fame — 1987 to 2011 Horses Alibhai Ancient Title Best Pal Decidedly Determine Emperor of Norfolk Fleet Nasrullah
Flying Continental Flying Paster Free House Gummo Hill Rise Honeymoon Iron Reward
Khaled Melair Morvich Native Diver Pirate’s Bounty Snow Chief Swaps
Fred W. Hooper Charles S. Howard Ellwood B. Johnston John & Betty Mabee Louis B. Mayer
George A. Pope Jr. Kjell H. Qvale Connie M. Ring Robert H. & Barbara Walter
Mervyn LeRoy Senator Ken Maddy Jack K. Robbins DVM
Louis R. Rowan Dr. Charles H. Strub Brian Sweeney
William Molter Mel Stute Meshach Tenny
Charlie Whittingham
Laffit Pincay Jr. Bill Shoemaker Jack Westrope
George Woolf
Owners & Breeders Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin Keith Card Cecilia de Mille Harper Rex Ellsworth John C. Harris Other Individuals Bing Crosby Joe Hernandez Colonel F. W. “Bill” Koester Trainers Farrell W. Jones R. H. “Red” McDaniel M. E. “Buster” Millerick Jockeys Johnny Adams Russell Baze John Longden
Continued on next page www.ctba.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 19
C O V E R S T O R Y
C O V E R S T O R Y
CTBA Hall of Fame Cont’d. Keith Card Former California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (CTBA) President Keith Card will enter the CTBA Hall of Fame this year, six seasons after he reinstated it during his tenure. The Hall of Fame had been defunct since 1988, and Card worked to return it and its 36 members to glory. After this year’s inductions on Feb. 15, 58 humans and equines will now be enshrined. The 83-year-old Card, a native of Montana who served in the Navy during World War II, has been involved in racing since 1957. He and his wife of 21 years, Barbara, own Hi Card Ranch, a diminutive but successful operation in Murrieta. Although the Cards only produce a few foals each year, they have enjoyed time among the leading breeders in the state for decades. After starting with Quarter Horses, Card made the switch to Thoroughbreds in 1964. His first star was homebred Linda Card, who won the inaugural $150,000 California Cup Distaff Handicap in 1990. Linda Card, who was named for Card’s daughter-in-law, won eight of her 33 starts with eight seconds and three thirds while amassing $340,318. The graded stakes-placed daughter of Noble Monk retired with three other stakes wins to her credit. One year after Linda Card’s California Cup win, the Card-bred Shirkee took the $150,000 Cal Cup Mile Handicap. Card lost the gelded son of Tell in a $16,000 claiming event two years prior to the Cal Cup victory, but always remained optimistic that Shirkee was going to go on to be
a standout type of horse. It didn’t take long before Card was back in the winner’s circle; he campaigned Freedom Cry, who gave him his only grade I score to date in the $158,700 Santa Monica Handicap in 1993. The daughter of Wolf Power (SAf) earned $382,500 over four seasons of racing with 10 wins, five seconds and two thirds in 27 starts. Most recently, Hi Card Ranch produced its first Breeders’ Cup winner in the form of a powerful gray gelding named California Flag. The seven-year-old son of Avenue of Flags has earned $1,166,504 so far, and has become something of a globetrotter after competing in group stakes races in both Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. Prior to his $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint victory in 2009, California Flag captured the grade III, $100,000 Morvich Handicap and the $106,100 Green Flash Handicap en route to being named the California Champion Turf Horse and joint Horse of the Year. Due to California Flag’s success, the Cards were honored at the annual Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) awards ceremony in September of 2010. They were named not only National Small Breeder of the Year, but also State Breeder of the Year for California. Card was elected President of the CTBA in 2005. He had previously served on the Board as Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. It is extremely fitting that he will be forever remembered in the Hall of Fame that he helped rejuvenate.
©Benoit
©Mesaros
Keith & Barbara Card
©Benoit
Freedom Cry
©Benoit
Linda Card
Shirkee
©Benoit
California Flag
Continued on page 22 20 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
C O V E R S T O R Y
CTBA Hall of Fame Cont’d. Brian Sweeney Brian Sweeney’s posthumous election to the CTBA Hall of Fame is well deserved, as no one fought harder for the growth and progress of the state’s breeding and racing industry than Sweeney. As the California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association’s General Manager for 14 years, (1968-1981) Sweeney battled for legislation in Sacramento that ultimately satisfied horsemen and improved the quality of the state’s bloodstock. Sweeney was born in Shanghai, China, and remained there with his family until they immigrated back to his father’s native Ireland. An uncle introduced Sweeney to the world of horse racing, first by taking him to the track and then by showing him the horse sales, which immediately captured Sweeney’s interest. He relocated to Canada and, by 1962, was working as the publicity director at the Ontario Jockey Club, but left that position three years later to start an equine sales company called Canadian Bloodstock Agency Ltd. He staged Canada’s first two-year-old in training sale, a concept that he would later bring with him to California. “Brian was instrumental in bringing the juvenile sale to California,” recalled Mary Forney, who worked at the CTBA from 1975 until 1981, and is now the Director of Operations for the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC). The CTBA hosted its first two-year-old sale in 1969, which became wildly popular within a few years and was arguably the premier sale in the country. That was also the year in which Sweeney helped to stop a bill from being introduced into the state legislature, which would have caused a major disruption in purse dis-
tribution and breeder awards. Sweeney always credited then-Governor Ronald Reagan for his help in refusing to sign the bill. It was not the only piece of legislation that Sweeney was involved with: he also introduced a program for stallion awards based on state-bred winners. “He worked tirelessly to raise the breeder and stallion awards,” Forney said. “He really moved up the California-bred program.” Sweeney also redefined the meaning of the designation “Cal-bred.” It used to mean that the mare had to have conceived and foaled in the state, and the foal be weaned here, too. In 1980, it was changed to foals being Cal-bred if they were dropped in the state, even if they are by out-of-state stallions, as long as the mare went back to a California stallion. After stepping down from his position at the CTBA, Sweeney pursued several other facets of the industry. He owned the grade I winners Erins Isle (Ire) and Obraztsovy and served as a North American liaison to the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He took out his trainer’s license in his later years, but died at the age of 63 in 2000. “He was a truly driven person,” Forney remembered. “He worked very hard to bring attention to California racing and sales and bring European horses over here.” Forney remembers one of Sweeney’s great contributions that others have forgotten. “He put on a huge seminar called The Effects of Alternative Forms of Gambling on Pari Mutuel Wagering. It was one of the first big seminars to look at the effect of having slots at racetracks.” Sweeney is sure to be remembered as a tenacious proponent of California racing whose determination helped grow the sport in this state.
©Arlington Park
Brian Sweeney (left) Brian Sweeney, Charlie Whittingham and Erins Isle (Ire) (above) Obraztsovy (right) ©David Mitchell
Continued on page 24 22 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
C O V E R S T O R Y
CTBA Hall of Fame Cont’d. Pirate’s Bounty New CTBA Hall of Fame inductee Pirate’s Bounty had nearly two decades of influence in the state’s gene pool. Unraced until he reached the age of four, Pirate’s Bounty debuted in the colors of his breeder, Martin Wygod. In 1973, Wygod had captured his first stakes win courtesy of the colt’s dam, the Stevward mare Bad Seed. Her mating with Hoist the Flag produced Pirate’s Bounty, who romped home in his maiden by 6 1/2 lengths at Aquaduct in March of 1979. The future looked bright when Pirate’s Bounty won his first black-type race, the $30,450 Milburn Stakes at Meadowlands, in his fifth start, but while he went on to place in the Paumonok and Aqueduct Handicaps as a five-year-old, he was never able to add another stakes victory to his resumé. After competing in New York and New Jersey, he was sent to finish his career in Southern California, competing at Santa Anita Park, Hollywood Park and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club before his retirement. Pirate’s Bounty had earned $95,984 with a record of four wins, three seconds and four third in 15 starts through September of 1980. He entered stud at Wygod’s new River Edge Farm, which had only been operating for four years. Wygod made a concerted effort to support his new stallion, but by the time Pirate’s Bounty’s juveniles hit the track in 1984, he was no longer a secret. His first two stakes winners came 48 hours apart, first Hajji’s Treasure in the $13,150 John Peri Stakes at Stockton, and then Wayward Pirate in the $53,850 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar. Wayward Pirate went on to be Pirate’s Bounty’s first graded stakes winner while taking the grade III, $75,450 Anoakia Stakes by a head over another daughter of
Pirate’s Bounty, Pirate’s Glow; the future Eclipse Horse of the Year and racing legend, Lady’s Secret, finished third. Pirate’s Bounty was California’s leading freshman sire that year, and ranked fourth nationally on the first-crop sire list. In 1985, he picked up right where he left off: Hajji’s Treasure went on to win the grade II, $200,000 California Derby, defeating both future Eclipse Award winner Turkoman and Cal-bred multimillionaire Nostalgia’s Star. In 1989, Pirate’s Bounty had his first $1 million season and then was the state’s leading sire by number of winners in 1990. He went on to be the state’s overall leading sire in 1992, 1994 and 1995, the latter being his career-best year with progeny earnings of $2,801,895. That was the season where he got two grade I winners; the first being his daughter Pirate’s Revenge, who defeated the mighty mare Paseana (Arg) in the $158,500 Milady Handicap, and the second being her stablemate Private Persuasion, who took over for her ailing stablemate and parlayed her third-placed finish in the Milady into a victory over the same rival in the $300,000 Vanity Invitational Handicap. Pirate’s Bounty maintained his status as one of the state’s all-time best stallions throughout his career. He sired such standouts as the grade I-placed graded stakes winners Feverish ($908,983) and Pacificbounty ($577,203). Although he was pensioned in 1999, he has since become a prominent broodmare sire, showing up in the second generation of grade II-winning millionaire Candid Glen and three-time California champion Smooth Player, the later of whom is now the dam of two stakes winners. In all, Pirate’s Bounty produced 524 winners, 63 stakes winners and eight graded stakes winners from 19 crops. His offspring earned $31,948,810. Although he died at the age of 31 on Aug. 21, 2006, Pirate’s Bounty’s influence will be felt in California for generations to come.
©Benoit
Pirate’s Bounty (left) Pirate’s Revenge (above) Private Persuasion (right)
©Mesaros
©Benoit
Continued on page 26 24 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
C O V E R S T O R Y
CTBA Hall of Fame Cont’d. Snow Chief For three years, Carl Grinstead and Ben Rochelle’s California-bred colt Snow Chief was a tremendous force on the national racing scene. The popular dark bay son of Reflected Glory was not only a six-time California Champion, but he also won the Eclipse Award as Champion ThreeYear-Old Male in 1986. Snow Chief remains one of only two horses, the other being Best Pal ($5,668,245), to win the California Horse of the Year title three times, garnering the honor every year that he raced. As a two-year-old, Snow Chief won five of nine starts and four stakes, including two grade I races, the $283,400 Norfolk Stakes and $1,072,000 Hollywood Futurity. Those effortless, open-length victories, in addition to his $935,740 in earnings, stamped him as the West Coast’s leading candidate for the 1986 Triple Crown. Snow Chief had what would now be an unheard of three-year-old campaign. He won all four of his Kentucky Derby prep races, first taking the $115,800 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes before traveling north to win the grade III, $259,000 El Camino Real Derby. Trainer Mel Stute then shipped the colt to Florida for the grade I, $500,000 Florida Derby. Snow Chief annexed that by 1 3/4 lengths before traveling back to California to demolish the grade I, $500,000 Santa Anita Derby by six lengths. Although favored in the grade I, $784,400 Kentucky Derby, Snow Chief could do no better than 11th behind the victorious Ferdinand. Under regular rider Alex Solis, Snow Chief rebounded to win the grade I, $534,400 Preakness Stakes by four lengths on May 17, becoming the
fourth Cal-bred to win the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Instead of heading to New York to contest the Belmont Stakes, Stute ran Snow Chief back nine days later in the grade II, $1 million Jersey Derby. Snow Chief won again, sealing his bid for the Eclipse Award and yearend California state championship awards, but the season had finally taken its toll. He would not win again until February of 1987. It took Snow Chief three starts off a lengthy layoff to return to form in 1987, but he did, getting redemption over Ferdinand in the grade I, $516,750 Charles H. Strub Stakes. After finishing fifth in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap, Snow Chief went back on the road, first finishing third in the grade I, $242,500 Gulfstream Park Handicap before heading to Oaklawn Park for the Oaklawn Handicap. Snow Chief broke the track record in this grade II, $271,700 race, which would be his final victory. Injury terminated his career upon his return to California, and Snow Chief was retired with a record of 13 wins, three seconds and five thirds in 24 starts. He had earned $3,383,210. Snow Chief stood at both Mira Loma Thoroughbred Farm and then Eagle Oak Ranch before his death on Preakness Day, May 15, 2010. He sired the dual graded stakes-winning California champion College Town among is earners of more than $5.5 million to date. Snow Chief is also the broodmare sire of Cal-bred millionaire Grey Memo. His induction into the Hall of Fame was never in doubt, it was only a matter of time.
Snow Chief (above) College Town (right) ©Benoit
26 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
16.2 hands
• Exceptionally quick, talented gray son of leading California sire BENCHMARK, retired with earnings of $245,000. • Broke his maiden in the NTRA Stakes running 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:13 4/5, three-fifths off the track record, earning a 100 Beyers defeating M ONE RIFLE, winner of the Grade I Malibu Stakes. • Won the Grade III Affirmed Handicap by 2 1/2 lengths going gate-to-wire in 1:41 2/5, earning a 103 Beyers defeating Grade II Swaps winner MISREMEMBERED, winner of the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap. • Won the El Cajon Stakes defeating graded stakes winner and Grade I stakes-placed CHOCOLATE CANDY. • By Graded stakes winner BENCHMARK, among leading sires in California with 29 stakes winners, including California champions BROTHER DEREK and IDIOT PROOF. Out of stakes-placed Hazen ($200,188), from stakes-winning family of PRIZED ($2,262,555, Breeders’ Cup Turf-Gr. I, etc.) and UNTAMED SPIRIT.
F E A T U R E
The Best Of 2010 California-Bred Champions by RUDI GROOTHEDDE California’s 2010 champions will be honored during this year’s Annual Awards Dinner of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) being held at the Loews Coronado Bay Resort in Coronado on Tuesday, Feb. 15, starting at 7:00 p.m. The association will also hold its Annual Business Meeting at 4:00 p.m., followed by a Cocktail Party two hours later, while the 1st Annual CTBA Golf Tournament will take place at the Coronado Municipal Golf Course the previous day. Trophies are up for grabs in nine divisions, including the prestigious California Horse of the Year accolade, and the next few pages of this magazine provides the overall records
of the leading contenders for these honors which were also included on the official ballot mailed out to the CTBA membership last month. Among the leading nominees vying for silverware are the 17 graded stakes-winning California-breds of 2010, including dual grade I and grade II winner Evening Jewel and the three grade I winners sired by California’s leading sire of the last three years, Unusual Heat; Acclamation, The Usual Q. T. and Unusual Suspect. However, all the Cal-breds listed can be applauded for once again ensuring that the Golden State remains a major force in the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry nationwide.
OLDER MALES
California Flag g. 6. Avenue of Flags—Ultrafleet Breeder: Hi Card Ranch 2010 Record: 4-1-0-1 & $161,908 including Green Flash Handicap Compari g. 4. Redattore (Brz)—Southern Charm Breeders: Harris Farms Inc., Donald Valpredo & John Nicoletti 2010 Record: 5-3-0-0 & $220,000 including Arcadia Handicap (GII), Crystal Water Handicap & Sensational Star Handicap Cost of Freedom g. 7. Cee’s Tizzy—Freedom Dance Breeder: Harris Farms Inc. 2010 Record: 8-5-0-0 & $290,878 including Vernon O. Underwood Stakes (GIII), Los Angeles Handicap (GIII), California Cup Sprint Stakes & Miles Tyson Stakes Enriched g. 5 High Brite—Li’l Ms. Leonard Breeder: Carol Lingenfelter 2010 Record: 12-3-2-4 & $329,496 including Del Mar Mile Handicap (GII) Fantasy Free g. 5. Free House—Cat Ballado Breeder: Katy Cowan 2010 Record: 9-2-1-1 & $145,511 including Tiznow Stakes
©Benoit
Acclamation c. 4. Unusual Heat—Winning in Style Breeder: Old English Rancho 2010 Record: 9-2-0-2 & $302,488 including Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap (GI) & Jim Murray Handicap (GII) Bob Black Jack h. 5. Stormy Jack—Molly’s Prospector Breeders: Gary & Marlene Howard & Bruce Dunmore 2010 Record: 1-1-0-0 & $90,000 including San Carlos Handicap (GII) Bold Chieftain dk.b./br. h. 7. Chief Seattle—Hooked On Music Breeders: Ernest L. Langbein, William Morey, Kenneth Robinson & Dwaine Hall 2010 Record: 6-3-1-0 & $419,740 including San Francisco Mile Stakes (GII) & Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes Bruce’s Dream g. 4. Atticus—Remember Dorothy Breeder: Bruce Corwin 2010 Record: 5-3-0-1 & $176,880 including California Cup Mile Stakes & California Dreamin’ Handicap
Acclamation
Continued on page 32
30 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
Šphotobysparks
F E A T U R E
California-Bred Champions Cont’d. Liberian Freighter g. 5. Bertrando—Anachristina Breeder: King Edward Racing Stable 2010 Record: 8-2-0-1 & $173,744 including Oak Tree Mile Stakes (GII) & Harry F. Brubaker Stakes My Summer Slew g. 5. Siberian Summer—My Bouquet Breeder: Nick Cafarchia 2010 Record: 10-2-1-3 & $137,194 including Robert K. Kerlan Memorial Handicap Quick Enough g. 6. High Brite—Donna B. Quick Breeder: Harris Farms Inc. 2010 Record: 6-3-2-0 & $155,380 including Morvich Handicap (GIII) Soul Candy g. 4. Birdonthewire—Just Satisfaction Breeder: Madera Thoroughbreds 2010 Record: 10-4-1-1 & $215,020 including California Cup Classic Stakes Tap It Light g. 6. General Meeting—Popular Opinion Breeders: Paula Capestro & Rick Taylor 2010 Record: 4-2-1-0 & $104,720 including Tokyo City Cup Handicap (GIII) The Usual Q. T. g. 4. Unusual Heat—Lunge Breeder: Carlee Van Kempen 2010 Record: 8-2-1-2 & $906,570 including Eddie Read Stakes (GI) Unusual Suspect h. 6. Unusual Heat—Penpont (NZ) Breeder: David Abrams 2010 Record: 14-1-4-2 & $299,071 including Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (GI) OLDER FEMALES
THREE-YEAR-OLD MALES Alphie’s Bet c. 3. Tribal Rule—Miss Alphie Breeders: Teresa McWilliams & Peter & Ellen Johnson 2010 Record: 8-3-0-2 & $279,000 including Sham Stakes (GIII) & Snow Chief Stakes Caracortado g. 3. Cat Dreams—Mons Venus Breeder: Mike Machowsky 2010 Record: 6-2-0-2 & $217,320 including Robert B. Lewis Stakes (GII) Excessive Passion c. 3. Vronsky—Ms Hearts N Arrows Breeders: Old English Rancho & Berumen 2010 Record: 2-1-0-0 & $51,720 including Harry Henson Stakes Goggles McCoy g. 3. In Excess (Ire) —Swahili Song Breeders: Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Shapiro 2010 Record: 6-4-0- & $128,160 including Real Good Deal Stakes No Hesitation c. 3. Siberian Summer—Fancee Bargain Breeder: Leland G. Garner 2010 Record: 7-5-1-0 & $295,658 including Canadian Derby (GIII), Count Lathum Handicap, Ky Alta Handicap & Western Canada Handicap Tizsosexy g. 3. Tizbud—Zero to Sexy Breeder: Pamela Ziebarth 2010 Record: 5-3-0-1 & $97,280 including San Juan County Commissioners Handicap & SunRay Park and Casino Handicap
©Benoit
Alywyn f. 4. Benchmark—Renaissance Woman Breeders: Pam & Martin Wygod 2010 Record: 6-4-2-0 & $112,891 including City of Edmonton Distaff Handicap & Duchess of York Handicap Bran Jammas m. 5. In Excess (Ire) —Do You Mind Breeders: Frank Alesia, Greg Vela, Joe Ciaglia & Bran Jam Stable 2010 Record: 8-3-1-0 & $136,860 including Solana Beach Handicap Catsalot f. 4. Momentum—Clerical Error Breeder: J. Paul Reddam 2010 Record: 11-2-2-1 & $106,801 including Pacific Heights Stakes Dotsy Jean m. 5. Lit de Justice—Grandjean Breeder: Ed DeJoy 2010 Record: 7-3-0-2 & $169,948 including Culver City Stakes
Pretty Unusual f. 4. Unusual Heat—Sci Fi Kin Breeders: David Abrams & Madeline Auerbach 2010 Record: 6-1-2-1 &$157,000 including El Encino Stakes (GII) Quisisana m. 5. Decarchy—Mink Kiss Breeder: Todd Gerbovaz 2010 Record: 2-2-0-0 & $151,340 including Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint Stakes Ultra Blend f. 4. Richly Blended—Ankha Breeders: BnD Chase Thoroughbreds & Elven Adams 2010 Record: 6-3-1-2 & $187,824 including California Cup Matron Handicap, Cat’s Cradle Handicap & California State Fair Sprint Handicap Unzip Me f. 4. City Zip—Escape With Me Breeders: Harris Farms Inc. & Donald Valpredo 2010 Record: 8-6-0-2 & $462,033 including Royal North Stakes (GIII), Las Cienegas Handicap (GIII), Senator Ken Maddy Handicap (GIII), Irish O’Brien Stakes & Great Lady M. Stakes U R All That I Am f. 4. Valid Wager—Fort Silver Breeder: Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC 2010 Record: 12-3-2-3 & $235,409 including B. Thoughtful Stakes, Fran’s Valentine Stakes & E. B. Johnston Stakes You Lift Me Up m. 5. Lord Carson—Up On Her Toes Breeder: Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC 2010 Record: 10-2-1-1 & $133,902 including Work The Crowd Stakes
The Usual Q. T.
Continued on page 34 32 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
F E A T U R E
Slammer Time c. 2. Grand Slam—Excessively Wicked Breeder: Vessels Stallion Farm LLC 2010 Record: 5-2-0-1 & $83,152 including California Cup Juvenile Stakes Thirtyfirststreet c. 2. Good Journey—Avian Breeders: Doug O’Neill & Mark Gorman 2010 Record: 3-2-10 & $90,400 including California Breeders’ Champion Stakes
California-Bred Champions Cont’d. THREE-YEAR-OLD FEMALES Antares World f. 3. Decarchy—Alashir’s World Breeders: Mr. & Mrs. Larry D. Williams 2010 Record: 10-4-2-1 & $236,480 including Golden Poppy Stakes Camille c f. 3. Roman Dancer—Paris Operetta Breeders: Rod & Lorraine Rodriguez 2010 Record: 8-1-1-1 & $146,030 including Melair Stakes Evening Jewel f. 3. Northern Afleet—Jewel of the Night Breeders: Betty L. Mabee & Larry Mabee 2010 Record: 9-4-3-2 & $915,343 including Ashland Stakes (GI), Del Mar Oaks (GI), Honeymoon Handicap (GII) & San Clemente Handicap (GII) Hayley’s Halo f. 3. Sea of Secrets—Hilo Halo Breeder: Lathrop G. Hoffman 2010 Record: 6-4-1-0 & $148,800 including Chaves County Stakes & Zia Park Distaff Stakes La Nez f. 3. Storm Creek—Iza Bay Breeder: J. Chance Kruljac 2010 Record: 6-2-1-1 & $158,400 including California Cup Distaff Stakes & Fleet Treat Stakes Tornado Betty f. 3. Comic Strip—Joyously Breeders: Dr. & Mrs. William T. Gray 2010 Record: 10-2-2-3 & $100,120 including Goldfinch Stakes & Arizona Oaks Warren’s Jitterbug f. 3. Affirmative—Jitterbug Jan Breeder: Benjamin C. Warren 2010 Record: 9-3-0-2 & $152,670 including Sandy Blue Handicap TWO-YEAR-OLD MALES
California Nectar f. 2. Stormy Atlantic—Absolute Nectar Breeders: Pablo & Michelle Suarez 2010 Record: 6-2-3-0 & $123,800 including California Breeders’ Champion Stakes Faisca f. 2. A.P. Warrior—High Warning Breeders: Mr. & Mrs. Peter A. Walski 2010 Record: 5-2-0-1 & $63,320 including Phil D. Shepherd Stakes Hi Ho Yodeler f. 2. Swiss Yodeler—Calamity June Breeders: Todd Marshall & Andrew Molasky 2010 Record: 8-2-1-0 & $118,912 including Generous Portion Stakes Perfect Curls f. 2. Perfect Mandate—Curves ‘n Curls Breeder: Old English Rancho 2010 Record: 5-3-1-0 & $109,700 including Juan Gonzalez Memorial Stakes & Wine Country Debutante Stakes Swiss Wild Cat f. 2. Ministers Wild Cat—I Can Yodele Breeder: Heinz Steinmann 2010 Record: 10-3-3-1 & $189,552 including California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Stakes & California Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes SPRINTERS Bob Black Jack h. 5. Stormy Jack—Molly’s Prospector Breeders: Gary & Marlene Howard & Bruce Dunmore 2010 Record: 1-1-0-0 & $90,000 including San Carlos Handicap (GII) California Flag g. 6. Avenue of Flags—Ultrafleet Breeder: Hi Card Ranch 2010 Record: 4-1-0-1 & $161,908 including Green Flash Handicap Cost of Freedom g. 7. Cee’s Tizzy—Freedom Dance Breeder: Harris Farms Inc. 2010 Record: 8-5-0-0 & $290,878 including Vernon O. Underwood Stakes (GIII), Los Angeles Handicap (GIII), California Cup Sprint Stakes & Miles Tyson Stakes Fantasy Free g. 5. Free House—Cat Ballado Breeder: Katy Cowan 2010 Record: 9-2-1-1 & $145,511 including Tiznow Stakes
©Benoit
Bench Points g. 2. Benchmark—Mo Chuisle Breeder: Gary Rocks 2010 Record: 3-3-0-0 & $144,600 including Graduation Stakes & I’m Smokin Stakes El Rancho g. 2. Singletary—Wildcat O’Malley Breeder: Liberty Road Stables 2010 Record: 5-4-0-0 & $52,370 including ATBA Fall Sales Stakes Luckarack c. 2. Lucky Pulpit—Tamarack Bay Breeders: Mr. & Mrs. Larry D. Williams 2010 Record: 6-3-0-0 & $87,700 including Cavonnier Juvenile Stakes & Everett Nevin Alameda County Stakes
TWO-YEAR-OLD FEMALES
Evening Jewel
Continued on page 36 34 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
• Multiple graded stakes-placed winner of $158,556, won from 7 furlongs to 1 mile, including third place finish in the $500.000 Super Derby (G2) and the Ack Ack H. (G3). • By Classic winner MONARCHOS ($1,720,830), sire of Champion Sprinter INFORMED DECISION ($1,954,426, G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint). • Out of multiple graded stakes winner FOREST SECRETS ($604,453), including Acorn Stakes (GI), Rampart H. (G2), Fall City H. (G3), 2nd Churchill Downs Distaff H. (G2), Sabin H. (G3). • From the family of champion 2 and 3 year-old filly SILVERBULLETDAY ($3,093,207).
F E A T U R E
California-Bred Champions Cont’d. SPRINTERS Continued La Nez f. 3. Storm Creek—Iza Bay Breeder: J. Chance Kruljac 2010 Record: 6-2-1-1 & $158,400 including California Cup Distaff Stakes & Fleet Treat Stakes Quick Enough g. 6. High Brite—Donna B. Quick Breeder: Harris Farms Inc. 2010 Record: 6-3-2-0 & $155,380 including Morvich Handicap (GIII) Quisisana m. 5. Decarchy—Mink Kiss Breeder: Todd Gerbovaz 2010 Record: 2-2-0-0 & $151,340 including Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Sprint Stakes Ultra Blend f. 4. Richly Blended—Ankha Breeders: BnD Chase Thoroughbreds & Elven Adams 2010 Record: 6-3-1-2 & $187,824 including California Cup Matron Handicap, Cat’s Cradle Handicap & California State Fair Sprint Handicap Unzip Me f. 4. City Zip—Escape With Me Breeders: Harris Farms Inc. & Donald Valpredo 2010 Record: 8-6-0-2 & $462,033 including Royal North Stakes (GIII), Las Cienegas Handicap (GIII), Senator Ken Maddy Handicap (GIII), Irish O’Brien Stakes & Great Lady M. Stakes U R All That I Am f. 4. Valid Wager—Fort Silver Breeder: Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC 2010 Record: 12-3-2-3 & $235,409 including B. Thoughtful Stakes, Fran’s Valentine Stakes & E. B. Johnston Stakes TURF HORSES
©Benoit
Acclamation c. 4. Unusual Heat—Winning in Style Breeder: Old English Rancho 2010 Record: 9-2-0-2 & $302,488 including Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap (GI) & Jim Murray Handicap (GII) Bold Chieftain dk.b./br. h. 7. Chief Seattle—Hooked On Music Breeders: Ernest L. Langbein, William Morey, Kenneth Robinson & Dwaine Hall 2010 Record: 6-3-1-0 & $419,740 including San Francisco Mile Stakes (GII) & Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes
Bruce’s Dream g. 4. Atticus—Remember Dorothy Breeder: Bruce Corwin 2010 Record: 5-3-0-1 & $176,880 including California Cup Mile Stakes & California Dreamin’ Handicap California Flag g. 6. Avenue of Flags—Ultrafleet Breeder: Hi Card Ranch 2010 Record: 4-1-0-1 & $161,908 including Green Flash Handicap Compari g. 4. Redattore (Brz)—Southern Charm Breeders: Harris Farms Inc., Donald Valpredo & John Nicoletti 2010 Record: 5-3-0-0 & $220,000 including Arcadia Handicap (GII), Crystal Water Handicap & Sensational Star Handicap Enriched g. 5 High Brite—Li’l Ms. Leonard Breeder: Carol Lingenfelter 2010 Record: 12-3-2-4 & $329,496 including Del Mar Mile Handicap (GII) Evening Jewel f. 3. Northern Afleet—Jewel of the Night Breeders: Betty L. Mabee & Larry Mabee 2010 Record: 9-4-3-2 & $915,343 including Ashland Stakes (GI), Del Mar Oaks (GI), Honeymoon Handicap (GII) & San Clemente Handicap (GII) Liberian Freighter g. 5. Bertrando—Anachristina Breeder: King Edward Racing Stable 2010 Record: 8-2-0-1 & $173,744 including Oak Tree Mile Stakes (GII) & Harry F. Brubaker Stakes Quick Enough g. 6. High Brite—Donna B. Quick Breeder: Harris Farms Inc. 2010 Record: 6-3-2-0 & $155,380 including Morvich Handicap (GIII) The Usual Q. T. g. 4. Unusual Heat—Lunge Breeder: Carlee Van Kempen 2010 Record: 8-2-1-2 & $906,570 including Eddie Read Stakes (GI) Unusual Suspect h. 6. Unusual Heat—Penpont (NZ) Breeder: David Abrams 2010 Record: 14-1-4-2 & $299,071 including Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (GI) Unzip Me f. 4. City Zip—Escape With Me Breeders: Harris Farms Inc. & Donald Valpredo 2010 Record: 8-6-0-2 & $462,033 including Royal North Stakes (GIII), Las Cienegas Handicap (GIII), Senator Ken Maddy Handicap (GIII), Irish O’Brien Stakes & Great Lady M. Stakes
Unusual Suspect
36 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
©BENOIT
Business As Usual
F E A T U R E
California Sires
by RUDI GROOTHEDDE Q. T. (Eddie Read Stakes), Unusual Suspect (Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes) and Acclamation (Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap) joined his prior grade I-winning daughter Golden Doc A with a win at this highest level. The Usual Q. T. was Unusual Heat’s leading earner of last year, with a $906,570 bankroll, while his other three stakes winners tied him for first spot with Benchmark and Stormin Fever in that category. Nationally, Unusual Heat ranked among the top 50 sires and his increased stud fee for 2011 will be by far the highest in California at $20,000 – Live Foal. Runner-up in the local standings was Golden Eagle Farm’s Stormin Fever with $3,361,145 in 2010 progeny earnings, led by the grade I and grade II winner Check the Label, grade II winner A Little Warm, group II winner Tobrita (Chi) and grade III winner Biofuel. Plus, his turf earnings of $672,130 were good enough for fourth place on that table. Relocated from Kentucky for the 2009 breeding season, this dual grade I-placed, graded stakes-winning son of Storm Cat again stands for $6,500 - Live Foal this year. Occupying the third spot in the money won standings was Benchmark, who boasted a total of $2,936,487 during the year in which he also moved; from River Edge Farm to Ballena Vista Farm. By Alydar, the multiple grade II winner showed his versatility by siring three dual stakes winners in the unbeaten two-year-old Bench Points, the four-year-old filly Alywyn and the eight-year-old gelding Ducky Drake.
Harris Farms’ Unusual Heat
Ballena Vista Farm’s Benchmark
©Mesaros
It was business as usual atop the sire standings in California during 2010, when Unusual Heat became the Golden State’s champion by money won for the third consecutive year. In the process, he joined such legendary local sires as Pirate’s Bounty (1992, 1994 & 1995), Flying Paster (1986-1991), Windy Sands (1970, 1976-1977 & 19811983), Gummo (1974-1975, 1978-1980 & 1985), My Host (1966-1968), Khaled (GB) (1952-1964) and Alibhai (Eng) (1947-1951) to have won this sire championship on three or more occasions. However, last year did provide something new for the 1990 son of Nureyev when he was relocated to Harris Farms after covering 83 mares in his 12th season at Old English Rancho. Nevertheless, the performances of Unusual Heat’s progeny remained uninterrupted in 2010, when 123 of them earned $4,342,128 from 62 winners of 109 races. He also became California’s leading turf sire for the sixth time in seven years, following his runner-up finish in 2009, producing a total of $2,684,826 in earnings with 23 winners of 37 races from 74 runners on the grass. This group III-placed dual stakes winner also occupied the top spots in the categories of both average earnings per runner ($35,302) and average earnings per start ($5,073), the titles for which he last held in 2008. With only one prior grade I winner to his name, Unusual Heat had a breakout year in this category last year, when his three sons The Usual
38 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
winners of last year included the two-time stakes winner Luckarack. By Pulpit, Lucky Pulpit’s fee remains at $2,500 Live Foal for 2011. On the subject of juvenile sires, it was Tommy Town’s Kafwain who led all Golden State sires in this category with $524,412 in progeny earnings for 2010. Among his 16 twoyear-old winners of last year, where stakes winner Ximmy (Mex) and stakes-placed Top Pit Boss and the fee for this dual grade I-placed, multiple graded stakes-winning son of Cherokee Run remains unchanged from 2010 at $5,000 – Live Foal. Ballena Vista’s Tribal Rule led the juvenile number of winners table with a total of 18 that included the stakes-placed duo Joy Boy and Miles Rules, and this two-time winner by Storm Cat will again stand for $6,000 – Live Foal this year, after recording $474,658 in two-year-old progeny earnings. Other sires to feature prominently in the juvenile standings were: Tommy Town’s Ministers Wild Cat, with a dozen winners and $444,541 earned; Old English Rancho’s Perfect Mandate, with $18,280 in average earnings per runner; and Swiss Yodeler, with 10 winners and $424,489 in earnings that was just a little more than $50,000 shy of the runner-up spot by money won. As the broodmare sire of Unrivaled Belle, winner of the grade I, $1,818,000 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic in 2010, Bertrando was California’s leader in this category with more than $4.5 million, while closing out last year with the highest Average Earnings Index (AEI) rating was Unusual Heat at a number of 2.16, followed by In Excess (1.74) and Tribal Rule (1.51). In terms of graded stakes winners, Unusual Heat’s Acclamation was also a grade II winner in 2010, along with his daughter Pretty Unusual, while other active California sires with winners at this level were Bertrando (grade II winner Liberian Freighter), Harris Farms’ Stormy Jack (grade II winner Bob Black Jack), Tribal Rule (grade III winner Alphie’s Bet) and Siberian Summer (grade III winner No Hesitation).
Tommy Town Thoroughbreds’ Kafwain
Ballena Vista Farm’s Tribal Rule
©Mesaros
For the second year in a row, Benchmark was the leading sire in California by number of winners, 103, and number of races won, 177, while his progeny’s more than $1.2 million in earnings on all-weather surfaces also made him the top local sire in that category. On the two-year-old front, he ranked third by average earnings per runner ($18,260), joint third by number of winners (12) and fourth by money won ($438,241), while his fee of $4,000 – Live Foal remains unchanged from 2010. Completing the top five positions by money won were Salt Lake ($2,402,845), who was euthanized at Golden Eagle in July of last year, and Vessels Stallion Farm’s In Excess (Ire) whose overall progeny earnings of $2,213,435 included $740,790 on the grass which gained him the second-placed spot in this regard, ahead of Ballena Vista’s Bertrando with $729,455. Of the 17 other California sires who saw their runners earn more than $1 million each as a group in 2010, were the following who remain active in the Golden State for the 2011 breeding season: the Tommy Town Thoroughbreds duo of Kafwain ($2,076,125) and Old Topper ($1,952,600); Bertrando ($2,057,747) and his Ballena Vista stall mates Tribal Rule ($1,870,920) and Sea of Secrets ($1,603,700); Harris Farms’ Swiss Yodeler ($1,914,742); the Rancho San Miguel duo of Southern Image ($1,552,502) and Marino Marini ($1,285,236), last year’s leading second-crop and third-crop sires, respectively; the Magali Farms duo of Decarchy ($1,494,734) and Atticus ($1,104,340); and Victory Rose Thoroughbreds’ Siberian Summer ($1,436,231). The only other sire to lead one of California’s overall categories for 2010, was last year’s top freshman sire Lucky Pulpit with $19,400 in median earnings per runner. The Harris Farms resident’s eight winners of 13 races came from just 10 runners who earned $275,371 for sixth place on the two-year-old money won table. Also the leader among juveniles with average earnings per starter of $27,537, this dual graded stakes-placed stakes winner’s two black-type
F E A T U R E
www.ctba.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 39
COMMITTED TO BREEDING QUALITY
Rancho San Miguel
2011 STALLION ROSTER
Storm Wolf
SPEED
THAT SIZZLES!
STORMIN FEVER – EXCLUSIVE ROSETTE, BY ECLIPTICAL
California Graded Stakes Winner by California Leading Sire STORMIN FEVER! N Won 3 of 5 lifetime starts, including a 6-length score in the Grade 2 Lazaro Barrera Memorial S. in 1:22 1/5.
N Broke his maiden in his second start by 7 lengths at Santa Anita, posting a 104 Beyer! By STORM CAT’s #1 leading sire son in California with 2010 earnings of $3.5 million+ and three 2010 Graded stakes winners, STORM WOLF is a full brother to G1-performing, G3 SW MISTY ROSETTE. His dam is record-setting SW EXCLUSIVE ROSETTE. Graded stakes family of MIAMI SUN, CONTACT GAME, etc. His attractive first foals are yearlings in 2011. N Fee: $2,500 Live Foal
please visit www.ranchosanmiguel.net for more details on our stallions
BENOIT & ASSOCIATES
N Won a Santa Anita allowance by 7 1/2 lengths, setting fractions of :22, :44 4/5, : 56 4/5, and 1:09 flat for a 101 Beyer!
One of the Leading Thoroughbred Farms in California BOARDING, BREEDING & FOALING / SALES PREP & REPRESENTATION / LAY-UPS & REHABILITATION
Marino Marini STORM CAT — HALO AMERICA, BY WAQUOIT
#1 Leading California Third-Crop Sire by 2010 Winners With 2010 progeny earnings of $1.2-million+, sire of three 2010 stakes winners headed by SW MONEY LOVER (1st $60,400 Alphabet Kisses S.), MSW HOT FUSION (5 wins in 8 starts), and undefeated 2-year-old SILVER SENSATION. Total progeny earnings $2.2 million+! O Fee: $2,500 Live Foal
McCann’s Mojave MEMO – JONI U. BAR, BY NORDIC PRINCE
Record-Setting, Multiple Graded Stakes Winner of $1.5 Million All surface stakes winner including graded victories at 6 1/2F, 1 1/16 miles, and 1 1/8 miles (NTR). Defeated 15 Grade 1 winners including CONGAREE, HEATSEEKER, PERFECT DRIFT, SILVER WAGON, TIAGO, TASTE OF PARADISE and UNFURL THE FLAG. Outstanding first foals are 2011 yearlings! O Fee: $3,000 Live Foal (Consideration to approved mares)
Sought After SEEKING THE GOLD – SMOLENSK, BY DANZIG
Royally-Bred Stakes Sire From BEST IN SHOW’s Family 18 winners, 3 stakes horses, including Del Mar stakes performer Control Seeker ($149,094) and 2010 SP Mom’s Intuition. Proven sire line. Exceptional female family of BLUSH WITH PRIDE (g’dam of RAGS TO RICHES, etc.) and Broodmare of the Year BEST IN SHOW. O Fee: $2,500 Live Foal
Southern Image HALO’S IMAGE – PLEASANT DIXIE, BY DIXIELAND BAND
California’s #1 Leading Second-Crop Sire by money and winners $1.6 million+ in 2010 progeny earnings and 51 winners Six 2010 stakes horses headed by NYRA SW CALIBRACHOA ($220,540), his sire’s first Graded SW capturing the 2011 G3 Toboggan S. on 1/22! Also sire in 2010 of record-setting SW SOUTHERN FIREBALL, Privilaged (3rd Swale S.-G2), Mallory Square (3rd Florida Oaks-G3), and Southern Ridge (3rd $175,000 Long Branch S., etc.) O Fee: $4,000 Live Foal
ALSO STANDING
Comic Strip / Onebadshark / The Pamplemousse
No Booking Fees for 2011 Seasons / Stud Fees are payable Oct. 1 of year bred
Inquiries to Clay Murdock / P.O. Box 741, San Miguel, CA 93451 PH: (805) 467-3847 / FX: (805) 467-3919 / EM: ransanmig@tcsn.net / www.ranchosanmiguel.net
F E A T U R E
California Sires
Lucky Charm
by LISA GROOTHEDDE Although he is no longer competing on the track, the California stallion Lucky Pulpit embodies the racing adage “much the best.” With year-end progeny earnings more than 12 times the amount of his closest competitor, he concluded 2010 as the runaway leader on the state’s freshman sire list. The 10-year-old son of the emerging sire of sires Pulpit entered stud at Harris Farms in 2007, and was represented by his resulting first crop of runners last year. This group of 25 juveniles yielded eight winners from 10 starters, including two stakes horses, and cumulative earnings of $275,371. Bred in Kentucky by California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) members Larry and Marianne Williams, Lucky Pulpit showed immediate ability as an athlete, and challenged the best of his generation in some of the West Coast’s elite races for youngsters throughout 2003 and 2004. He placed in four black-type events in Southern California, including the grade II Santa Catalina Stakes on the dirt at Santa Anita Park and the grade III Generous Stakes on the turf at Hollywood Park, then continued to campaign as an older homebred for the Williamses at several Eastern tracks and in Canada. Lucky Pulpit ended his career with a lifetime record of three wins and 10 placings from 22 starts and earnings of $209,928, topped by a 2005 victory in Arlington Park’s Smile Stakes, a turf sprint. He also retired with high expectations for his potential in the breeding shed. “He was a very credible racehorse and graded stakes-placed at two and three and looked to be on the Derby trail early on,” said John Harris, owner of the Coalinga farm where Lucky Pulpit commands a $2,500 fee. “His performance at the track showed he was multi-talented short and long and could also handle different surfaces.” Lucky Pulpit is still owned by the Williamses, and the couple was rewarded for their faith with a pair of homebred stakes horses from his first crop. Their colt Luckarack crafted a sterling 2010 campaign, with victories in the $63,100 Cavonnier Juve-
Harris Farms’ Lucky Pulpit, by Pulpit, the Leading Freshman Sire in California for 2010
42 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
nile Stakes and $51,950 Everett Nevin Alameda County Stakes in Northern California, while his winning cropmate Woodmans Luck finished third in the $75,000 Bob Benoit California Cup Juvenile Stakes at Hollywood Park. “I am very proud to have been involved with Lucky Pulpit early on,” said Dan Kiser, who manages the Williamses’ racing and breeding program from their picturesque Tree Top Ranches in Parma, Idaho. “We raised him and started him at the farm in Idaho, and he seemed like a special individual from the onset: very easy to work with and very intelligent. He passes this to his offspring, and I think this is why they seem to be such good two-year-olds.” Larry Williams believes his stallion’s environment is key to his success. “The Harris Farms crew has provided a first-class and professional operation to get Lucky Pulpit off to such a great start,” he said. Produced by a winning half-sister to the dam of the major sire Unbridled’s Song, Lucky Pulpit is expected to cover more than 70 mares in 2011. Three other California stallions were represented by one winner each during their initial year of eligibility in 2010. California-bred Crown the King, a two-time winner who ran second to the grade I-winning state champion Officer in the 2001 Graduation Stakes at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, achieved a 100 percent strike rate as a sire when the sole member of his inaugural foal crop, Leon Ayala, won his April debut in a two-furlong maiden special weight event for twoyear-olds at Santa Anita. The 12-year-old Gilded Time stallion stands at Willow Tree Farm, and concluded the year with $22,760 in progeny earnings. A winner of all three of his starts at two in 2004, including Santa Anita’s $138,625 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes, Cal-bred Uncle Denny passed on his precocity to his first-crop colt I’lbeamonkeysuncle, a maiden special weight winner at Portland Meadows last November. The nine-year-old son of In Excess (Ire) won the grade III, $200,000 El Camino Real Derby in 2005, and currently stands at Oak Hill Farm. Checking in fourth on the 2010 California freshman sires list was the eight-year-old Legacy Ranch Inc. stallion Cindago, by Cal-bred champion Indian Charlie. Last September, his gelding Courtside defeated eight rival juveniles at Del Mar, the site of Cindago’s $106,300 El Cajon Stakes victory in 2006. Also succeeding with his first crop of Cal-breds in 2010 was Magali Farms’ grade I-winning resident Good Journey, a shuttle stallion who counts a group I winner and a dual group II winner among his earlier crops sired in Australia, and who commenced Northern Hemisphere stud duties in 2007. The 15-year-old Nureyev sire made a splash locally with his son Thirtyfirststreet, the winner of Santa Anita’s $100,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes on Dec. 26. www.ctba.com
COMMITTED TO BREEDING QUALITY
Rancho San Miguel
STANDING HIS FIRST SEASON IN 2011
Graded Stakes-Winning Miler
The Pamplemousse KAFWAIN – COMFORT ZONE, BY RUBIANO
N 3 wins in 5 starts, including TWO Graded Stakes at Santa Anita 1st Grade 3 Sham S. by six lengths, posting a 107 Beyer! 1st Grade 3 San Rafael S., at one mile, wire to wire N Odds-on Favorite for the G1 Santa Anita Derby before sustaining a career-ending injury.
N Precocious female family of G2 ArlingtonWashington Lassie S. winner SPECIAL WARMTH. N 2011 Fee: $3,500 Live Foal (No booking fee) N Owned by: A Syndicate
BENOIT & ASSOCIATES
N By California’s leading 2YO sire KAFWAIN. Out of a juvenile-winning half-sister to the dam of G1 Hollywood Futurity winner STORMELLO ($700,100).
“The Pamplemousse had more raw ability than any horse I ever trained. Not only was he fast, but he could carry his speed a long way. I really believed he had Classic potential, it was a travesty that he never had a chance to prove it.” – TRAINER JULIO CANANI
Comic Strip / Marino Marini / McCann’s Mojave Onebadshark / Sought After / Southern Image / Storm Wolf
ALSO STANDING
No Booking Fees for 2011 Seasons / Stud Fees are payable Oct. 1 of year bred
Inquiries to Clay Murdock / P.O. Box 741, San Miguel, CA 93451 PH: (805) 467-3847 / FX: (805) 467-3919 / EM: ransanmig@tcsn.net / www.ranchosanmiguel.net
please visit www.ranchosanmiguel.net for more details on our stallions
F E A T U R E
CTBA Member Profile
Hal Oliver: One Of The Good Guys
by EMILY SHIELDS Hal Oliver believes in surrounding himself with the very best of people, a practice that has resulted in a lifetime of success in the Thoroughbred industry. While he became known as a trustworthy bloodstock agent and successful breeder, the modest, soon-to-be 85-year-old is always willing to give credit to those who shaped his experience from the start. In turn, he has been able to influence some of California’s current top consignors. Oliver moved to California in 1930, at age five. He got his start with horses while spending summers at a family farm in New York, learning both to ride and also how to care for equines. He served in the United States Navy and attended Texas A&M University before graduating with a degree in marketing and commerce from a business college. He joined the clothing industry, working in both men’s and women’s wear, then married his wife, Fran, in 1960. “We bought a house near the beach, and I thought I was set for life,” Oliver mused, “but my brother and I bought out first racehorse, and soon the stable grew to a dozen.” In 1967, Oliver sold his business to try his hand as a bloodstock agent. He took real estate classes to learn the nuances of contracts and transferring of property, while at the same time studying Thoroughbred appraisal and conformation. Although he poured his heart into the game and worked tirelessly to start his bloodstock business, Oliver
states firmly that he never could have done it alone. One of the first people to help him was Frank “Jimmy” Kilroe, the racing secretary at Santa Anita during the 1960s and 70s. “He emphasized to me that you need reliable and talented trainers. He showed me how to develop racing stars and make them important to the fans.” Kilroe suggested that Oliver try to sell a certain newly retired stallion to a California farm. “He taught me the importance of breeding farms to the racetrack, and he always wanted better stallions in California,” Oliver recalled. “The stallion was Boldnesian, and I failed to convince anyone to stand him. The results are history.” Boldnesian stood in Florida, and was the grandsire of Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Kilroe’s assistance wasn’t the only help that Oliver received. He became associated with John A. Bell III, owner of Cromwell Bloodstock Agency and Jonabell Farm in Kentucky. “Mr. Bell was truly an industry leader,” Oliver said. “Being at his side while he conducted business with his clients and riding with him during inspections and personnel meetings gave me information and maturity I could not have obtained anywhere else.” Although the list of influences is too long to name, Oliver credits several other horsemen in Kentucky as well. “I established a relationship with the ‘old-time’ farm managers in Kentucky.
L A
©Benoit photos
F E M I N N
Allowance Win By 7 1/2 Lengths–January 12, 2000
44 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
$150,000 B. Thoughtful Stakes–April 30, 2000
www.ctba.com
©Hollywood Park Photo
These were the gentlemen who raised most of the champions from the 1930s until the 1960s and managed farms with the blue hen foundation mares of our industry. Their willingness to talk to me and show me how they operated was a godsend to my future.” Oliver soon partnered with auction mogul Leigh Ann Howard. “To this day, I believe she is the mother of auction sales consignors,” Oliver said. “When you go to sales in Kentucky today, you will see the basic Howard trademark at the consignments.” As consignors, Oliver and Howard were unstoppable. “We showed our group of well-schooled horses faster than any other consignor, and our consignments increased in size every year,” Oliver said. “We even received yearlings from other parts of the country, including Kentucky.” Consignors Sam Hendricks and Tat Yakutis came up under Oliver and took over his business upon his retirement. Oliver modestly believes, “They’re both doing a better job than I did!” Oliver was also a fruitful as a breeder. “Almost every horse I’ve owned, I bred myself,” he said. “It’s much more exciting to breed your own successful horse, rather than buying one.” Oliver’s mare Women’s Wear became a top producer, first foaling the $280,075-earner and grade III winner Menswear, followed by Poley, a grade I winner of $623,275. Her third foal, a grade II and grade III winner, was Mamaison, who first stood at Jonabell Farm before moving to California from 1990 until 2002. He sired the grade I-placed, seven-time stakes winner Mama Simba, and his progeny earned more than $5.25 million. Oliver also bred a filly named Uptown Lady. While she never made it to the track, she went on to produce five winners. Her final foal, a daughter of Mamaison named Lila Finn, was mated to Memo (Chi) to get the $366,430earner La Feminn. That wickedlyfast California-bred filly outran some of the best of her generation,
including the like of Gourmet Girl, Feverish and Theresa’s Tizzy. She won three local black-type races in her eight lifetime starts, and finished second behind the grade Iwinning millionaire Dream Supreme in the grade II, $165,000 Humana Distaff Handicap at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. Lila Finn also threw Le Mans, a stakeswinning full brother to La Feminn. “One thing that Mr. Kilroe taught me is that good people make the business,” Oliver said. Richard Mandella exemplifies Oliver’s idea of a good horseman, and he has been his trainer for more than 30 years. “We have had alot of up-days, and, of course a few downers. But if you love racing, it has been one helluva ride. Besides his conditioning talents, Mr. Mandella has volunteered a great deal of time to industry studies of racehorse injuries and safety. It has been a pleasure to be associated with him and his family. “The biggest change to the industry during my career would have to be the growth of auction sales. Previously, foals from day one were raised to qualify for a racing career. Farm managers were with their horses from sunup to sundown. The desk work would come after the sun went down. Their farm help was generational and there was great repect for the horse. Starting in the 70’s, the romance of racing brought many new investors to the industry, and auction sales proved to be the easiest way in. Today, horses can have two or three owners before they reach racing age. All that I learned earlier began to slowly change, and bloodstocking had to adapt to attract the new investor. Today, the industry may be changing once more. To be successful, we must stay aware and adapt.” Although Oliver is retired from sales, he is still a consultant and operates an insurance business. He and Fran live in Pacific Palisades.
Hal Oliver’s Homebred Graded Stakes Winners of the 1980s; Poley (above), Mamaison ©Four Footed Fotos
(left),
www.ctba.com
and Menswear (right).
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 45
F E A T U R E
F E A T U R E
Trainer of the Year
Jim Cassidy: Double The Fun
by MARCIE HEACOX Evening Jewel win the grade I, $400,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes, grade I, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks, grade II, $150,000 Honeymoon Handicap and grade II, $150,000 San Clemente Handicap and place in four other grade I events while earning $915,343 under Cassidy’s tutelage during 2010. The Braly’s have become close friends with Cassidy since they met on a horse-buying trip in England and their daughter, Marianne Braly, became his travel agent. They’ve owned more than 15 horses in the span of 11 years with him, mostly in partnership with other owners. “I think the best thing is I know he’d never do anything to hurt a horse,” Marilyn Braly said. “He can be a bit gruff on the exterior, but he’s truly a loving man.” When Tom Braly succumbed to cancer on Sept. 3, Cassidy was there within a couple of hours. “Jim’s a very dear friend. Tom said, ‘You don’t need to worry when I’m gone. You’ll have Jim.’ He’s there whenever I need him, and that’s a great feeling to have,” Marilyn Braly said. Familiar clients Don Van Kempen of Don Van Racing, Michael Nentwig, George Saadeh and Jeffrey Byer also experienced success with Cas-
©Marcie Heacox photos
Trainer Jim Cassidy was born in New York City, mere blocks from Yankee Stadium. He reminds you of it every morning when he wears his trademark Yankees hat. When it rains, he breaks out his Tattersalls umbrella, a reminder of where he’s bought many a bargain horse in the United Kingdom and turned it into an American success. But Cassidy didn’t have to look far to find his two most successful horses of 2010, two runners who propelled the 65-year-old veteran to the title of California Thoroughbred Breeders Association (CTBA) Trainer of the Year. Cassidy sent out California-bred stars Evening Jewel ($1,017,943) and The Usual Q. T. ($1,429,320) to a combined three grade I wins and $1,827,993 in earnings last year. It was the second most lucrative year of his career—his charges earned $2,232,470 overall, just short of his personal best of $2,580,222 in 2004. “When he won the Eddie Read and she won the Ashland, I was in tears both times,” Cassidy said. “It’s been fabulous. I’m glad I didn't have a third one ‘cause I would’ve been a wreck. Two at a time is plenty.” Owner Marilyn Braly and her late husband Tom Braly saw their three-year-old filly
Trainer Jim Cassidy with his 2010 stars, the California-bred grade I-winning duo of The Usual Q. T. (left) and Evening Jewel, at Santa Anita Park’s Barn #119 in Arcadia on January 8, 2011.
48 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
©Benoit
©Benoit
Evening Jewel
www.ctba.com
developed 2005 Del Mar Oaks (grade I) winner Singhalese (GB) and 2006 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Handicap (grade I) winner Milk It Mick (GB). Perhaps the biggest bargain Cassidy ever found at Tattersalls, though, was Katdogawn (GB), whom he scooped up for $16,336. She went on to victory in multiple grade II’s and earned $827,553. Cassidy’s other stakes-winning imports include Bahama Mama (Ire), Diamond Diva (GB), Golden Balls (Ire), Moth Ball (GB), Pasar Silbano (Ire), Passified (GB), Star Vega (GB), Steelaninch (GB), Unrivalled (GB) and Wrekin Pilot (GB). Though he has a penchant for buying from across the pond, Cassidy has also had his share of homegrown success stories. In 2003, Cassidy claimed Cal-bred Moscow Burning for $25,000 on behalf of a partnership including Van Kempen. She won six stakes races and banked $1,417,800 to become the richest Cal-bred female of all time, a record that still stands today. Her exploits garnered her the title of both 2004 California Horse of the Year and Champion Turf Horse, and the trophies for 2004 and 2006 Champion Older Female. Cassidy, Van Kempen and company also claimed The Usual Q. T.’s Cal-bred dam, Lunge, for $20,000 in 2004. For Southern Nevada Racing Stables, Cassidy steered Cal-breds Cable Ready, Jamaican Rum and He’s The Rage to stakes wins. The latter two runners each earned more than $400,000. Aside from training, Cassidy also served as the President of the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT). “He was one of the hardest working CTT presidents ever,” fellow trainer and New York City native Howard Zucker said. “He had a lot of energy. He was always trying to do the best for the common good.” Cassidy has two sons, Jonathan and Christopher, and lives with his wife, Melanie, in Monrovia. It’s a short drive from Barn 119 at Santa Anita Park where he and his foreman Rudy Mora oversee 32 horses. Cassidy has no intentions of stopping anytime soon. He said he has some promising two-year-olds and imports waiting in the wings. “It’s something to get excited about,” Cassidy said. “I get up at about 2 a.m. every morning and I get here at 4:30 a.m., 5 a.m. I don’t want to stop doing it.”
©Coglianese
sidy last year, as their four-year-old gelding The Usual Q. T. won the grade I, $300,000 Eddie Read Stakes and banked $912,650. The 2009 California Champion Three-Year-Old Male, as the winner of the grade I, $300,000 Hollywood Derby, also won an allowance race and hit the board in the Dubai Duty Free (group I) in Dubai, Woodbine Mile Stakes (grade I) in Canada, TVG Breeders’ Cup Mile (grade I) in Kentucky and San Gabriel Stakes (grade II) in California. The Usual Q. T. has traveled far and wide in his career and so, too, has Cassidy. He was born Aug. 21, 1945, in New York City and has gained plenty of experience in his path to become one of California’s most respected trainers. “I used to ride when I was a kid, and that’s a tough thing to say in the Bronx,” Cassidy said. After high school, he rode and gave lessons with hunter-jumpers at a Long Island riding academy. Noted veterinarian Dr. Jim Prendergast suggested he take lay-ups from the track, and that's how he got started with Thoroughbreds. Cassidy’s first job at a racetrack was rubbing horses for trainer Joe Cantey. Next, he worked with trainer Frank Whiteley during the time he campaigned Ruffian, who he says is the best horse he’s ever seen. Then, for seven years, he worked the New Jersey-Florida circuit with Charlie Sanborn. Cassidy said he picked up something from all of them. From Cantey, he learned to keep everything in the barn pristine. Whiteley taught him how to train with patience and to work with every little problem each horse may have. Sanborn emphasized the importance of details. In 1981, Cassidy moved to California where he briefly assisted trainers Sid Martin and Darrell Vienna. He considered moving back east but trainer Brian Mayberry encouraged him to stay. After working for Mayberry, Cassidy worked as a vet’s assistant for nine years until he took out his own trainer’s license in 1993. Cal-breds formed the bulk of his stable when he first began, thanks in large part to his first major client, John Elardi’s Southern Nevada Racing Stables. Soon Cassidy began supplementing his barn with imports from Tattersalls, where he’s found many a diamond in the rough. Cassidy has picked out three grade I winners from there, including his first such winner, Ticker Tape (GB), who won the grade I American Oaks Invitational and Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes in 2004. He also
Moscow Burning
The Usual Q. T.
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 49
F E A T U R E
GRADE-CalifNectr1-24 a.qxd:SunshineMillion 44-45.qxd
The Grade California-Breds
10:45 AM
Page 1
California Nectar: The Dream Ride Continues
by RUDI GROOTHEDDE It was a good 2010 for California Nectar, but it is already a great 2011 for this California-bred filly with her win in the grade II, $150,000 Santa Ynez Stakes exactly two weeks after she officially turned three. Bred and owned in the Golden State by Pablo Suarez and his wife Michelle, California Nectar’s six-race campaign of last year ended with a victory in the $100,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes when she defeated half a dozen state-bred rivals at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia on Dec. 27. Her 2010 record of two wins, three seconds and $123,800 in earnings placed her firmly among the contenders for California’s year-end two-year-old honors. On Jan. 15, the same dirt track and seven-furlong distance again proved successful for this daughter of Stormy Atlantic who parlayed a 1 1/2-length triumph over the Cal-bred Warren’s Flyer into a neck victory over Kentucky-bred Zazu, both stakes-placed winners of last year. Returning $2 win payouts of $10.80 and $8.00, respectively, California Nectar rewarded her bettors well and has also brought $213,800 overall into the coffers of her connections, including trainer Doug O’Neill. A runner-up twice on the all-weather Polytrack surface at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in August, California Nectar’s debut on Hollywood Park’s synthetic Cushion Track in another maiden special weight sprint—held during the Inglewood track’s first-ever Oak Tree Racing Association meeting—resulted in a 1 1/4-length win as the 3-5 favorite in a field of 11. In her fourth consecutive start both among Cal-breds and with Rafael Bejarano in the irons, the bay filly then suffered a heartbreaking nose loss
in the $75,000 California Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes on Oct. 30, when stretching out to 1 1/16 miles. Back at Hollywood Park for its 2010 Autumn meet, California Nectar tried something else new when she contested the grade III, $100,000 Miesque Stakes at one mile on the turf. After trying to go gate-to-wire, as she had done racing six furlongs in her lone career victory to date, she faded to finish fourth in the Nov. 28 contest, when ridden for the first time by Patrick Valenzuela. In the Cal Breeders, California Nectar was rated in second before taking command in the stretch to win in a final time of 1:21.66, but in the Santa Ynez she was never headed while setting fractions of :22.02, :44.34 and 1:08.52 before stopping the clock in 1:21.34. Still sporting Suarez Racing Inc.’s blue, red and yellow silks featuring the Superman logo, Valenzuela’s appropriate response was, “She broke really well, and down the backside, I felt like Superman, because she felt like super girl—she was flying.” Out of the multiple stakes-placed winner Absolute Nectar, by Carson City, California Nectar has now usurped 2004 winner Yearly Report (2004) as the most recent of 21 Cal-breds to have won the Santa Ynez in 60 editions to date that began with a victory by Cal-bred Last Greetings in 1952. Valencia residents Pablo and Michelle Suarez will now be hoping that O’Neill’s assistant Leandro Mora is on the money with his post-race comments of, “Right now, there are no plans, because we’ll go race by race, step by step. She’s won two races at seven furlongs. We’re going to try and stretch her out. She’s only three, and everybody has Kentucky Oaks dreams.”
52 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
©Benoit photo
Grade II Santa Ynez Stakes Santa Anita Park—January 15, 2011
©Katey Barrett photo
F E A T U R E
1/28/11
www.ctba.com
Unzip Me: Of The Same Ilk
The Grade California-Breds
by EMILY SHIELDS The adage “breed the best to the best and hope for the best” is as old as the sport of horse racing itself, but “the best” is not always what results. However, in the case of Soviet Problem and her granddaughter Unzip Me, it has worked out perfectly. The careers of these California-bred mares are nearly mirror images of each other; from their blazing, front-running speed, to their outstanding four-year-old campaigns and their tenacious battles against males in the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs. They also both won their fiveyear-old debuts; most recently, Unzip Me took the grade III, $100,000 Monrovia Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Jan. 2. John Harris and Don Valpredo bred and campaigned both mares, as well as Unzip Me’s dam Escape With Me, who is out of Soviet Problem. While Escape With Me took three tries to break her maiden in 2001, both Soviet Problem and Unzip Me won first out. Soviet Problem’s debut came at Bay Meadows Racecourse in October of 1992, while Unzip Me was first unveiled at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club on Aug. 23, 2008. Both wins came over six furlongs on the main track, but while Soviet Problem did her best running on either surface, Unzip Me would move to the turf for her major wins. Both mares missed part of their three-year-old seasons, but by the time they turned four, Soviet Problem was a three-time stakes winner while Unzip Me was struggling to find her niche. This is where their careers become closer, as Unzip Me went six for eight in 2010, losing only to males, while Soviet Problem won nine of 13 starts with three seconds. They both traveled internationally; Soviet Problem finished seventh of 14 runners in the group I Sprinters Stakes at Nakayama Racecourse in Japan, while Unzip Me
won the grade III, $153,072 Royal North Stakes at Woodbine in Canada. Soviet Problem went to the post as the 3-1 second choice in the grade I, $916,000 Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Nov. 5, 1994, and after dueling throughout and holding the lead at the top of the stretch, missed by a head to favored Cherokee Run. She did defeat the 1993 Sprint winner and Eclipse champion Cardmania that day, as well as future star sires Harlan, End Sweep and Birdonthewire. Flash forward 16 years and one day to Nov. 6, 2010, when Unzip Me was taken out of her usual front-running game to chase in mid pack early, then closed willingly to be third as a 9-1 outsider in the grade II, $909,000 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. She defeated the defending champion, Cal-bred California Flag, as well as the 3-1 favorite, fivetime graded stakes winner Silver Timber. Unzip Me’s victory in the 6 1/2-furlong Monrovia was her 10th in 17 lifetime starts with two seconds and three thirds. Under jockey Rafael Bejarano, the Martin Jonestrainee outlasted a field of five rivals, including the dual grade I-winning Cal-bred Evening Jewel. Unzip Me scored by 1 1/4 engths as the 3-5 favorite, completing the distance on the downhill turf course in 1:12.72. It was a great start to what could be another long and brilliant season. Unfortunately, Soviet Problem never ran again after taking the $107,500 Valkyr Handicap in her five-year-old bow during June of 1995. She retired with 15 wins and three seconds in 20 starts, having earned $905,546. Unzip Me now has $645,988 in the bank, and she will look to break her grandmother’s earnings mark and win record this year.
Grade III Monrovia Stakes Santa Anita Park—January 2, 2011
©Benoit photos
F E A T U R E
54 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
Multiple graded stakes winner of $1,032,400, including the prestigious Gr. II Bernard Baruch Hcp. defeating Breeders’ Cup Classic winner VOLPONI. Won 13 races from 2 to 9, earning Triple Digit Beyers in 11 races. He won or placed in 12 graded stakes races at 10 major race tracks, including Hialeah, Saratoga and Pimlilco. Son of champion THEATRICAL (IRE) ($2,840,500), among the leading turf sires with 84 stakes winners, including champions HISHI AMAZON, ZAGREB, THEORETICALLY and TULLAMORE. Out of 100% producer, stakes winners PRANKSTRESS, dam of stakes winner, Gr. I stakes-placed ADEL, and Gr. III-placed Striesen. Granddam of Grade II WALKSLIKEADUCK ($418,354) and FORESTRY TYPE (at 3, 2010, $87,912).
DIAMOND F RANCH
Inquiries to Dave Ferguson Cell: (530) 205-7650 or Ingrid Elizabeth Truman Cell: (702) 885-7444 13561 McCourtney Road, Grass Valley, California 95949 PHONE (530) 272-3781/FAX (530) 272-3776 e-mail: diamond-f-ranch@hotmail.com
F E A T U R E
Racing In Southern California
Cal Breeders’ Editions Unveil Exciting Young Cal-Bred Stars
by EMILY SHIELDS Home Alone “We’ve always been really high on him, so we were thrilled that he validated our hopes,” conditioner Doug O’Neill said of Thirtyfirststreet. He has a particularly strong interest in the colt; not only does O’Neill train the son of Good Journey, but he also bred him in partnership with Mark Gorman. In addition to that, Thirtyfirststreet is named after 31st Street in Santa Monica, where O’Neill resides. On paper, the $100,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes at Santa Anita Park on Dec. 26, appeared practically a walkover. Arresting Officer, who dazzled with a 5 3/4-length romp in his debut at Hollywood Park on Oct. 30, was made the 4-5 favorite. He was expected to use his tactical speed to run away with the race and move to the head of the California-bred class of 2008. Instead, he dueled with three other rivals from the start, racing four-wide into the far turn. The blistering pace of :22.38 and :44.39 set it up for Thirtyfirststreet and jockey Rafael Bejarano to make a strong move while weaving in between rivals. Arresting Officer showed heart by kicking clear of the other front-runners, and for an instant it looked as if he was going to live up to his favoritism, but he couldn’t withstand Thirtyfirststreet’s rally along the rail. The bay colt, who was the 5-1 third choice in the wagering, caught Arresting Officer by surprise and scored by a halflength. Contemplated finished another half a length back in third in the seven-furlong contest, which was timed in 1:22.20. Thirtyfirststreet, who is owned by Kevin Bogart’s Sterling Stable, Neil Haymes and Gorman, was winning his second consecutive race after breaking his maiden by
©Benoit photos
The California Breeders’ Champion Stakes has a long history of producing some of the state’s most accomplished runners. Top racehorses and sires such as Flying Paster, Gummo, Hill Rise and Snow Chief all won the race, a staple on the annual stakes schedule for state-breds since 1935. More recently, promising young sire Da Stoops and world record-setter Bob Black Jack have brought home the trophy. Although the history of the fillies’ division is 45 years younger, having first been run in 1980, its subsequent host of grade I winners include the 1995 California Horse of the Year, Cat’s Cradle. Unfortunately for Thirtyfirststreet and California Nectar, the Doug O’Neill-trained winners of the 2010 editions, they will have a tough act to follow. The 2009 editions produced Caracortado and Evening Jewel, two of the classiest winners in memory. Caracortado went on to be a force on the 2010 Triple Crown trail, winning the grade II, $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes and recently returning from a layoff to score a freakish victory in a grassy comeback race. Evening Jewel became a finalist for Eclipse Champion Three-Year-Old Filly last year, after winning two grade I races and four graded stakes overall. She finished third in the grade I, $909,000 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in her first try going short since winning the Cal Breeders’ nearly a year earlier, and is already poised for a big 2011 season. Fortunately, both Thirtyfirststreet and California Nectar appear ready to rise to the challenge. Twenty days after her victory against state-breds, California Nectar stepped up to defeat open company in the grade II, $150,000 Santa Ynez Stakes, and Thirtyfirststreet is being pointed towards a graded stakes race in February.
Thirtyfirststreet—$100,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes—December 26, 2010
56 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
1 1/2 lengths at Hollywood Park on Nov. 20. He now has a record of two wins and a second in three starts with earnings of $90,400. Thrityfirststreet is the third foal out of the winning Sky Classic mare Avian, who won six of her 27 starts for $124,960. She is a half-sister to the Patton colt Augustan, whose three carreer victories include the $15,000 Yavapai Downs Handicap. Avian’s first foal is the winner Avanza Paloma, a filly by Avanzado (Arg), and her second is Forthreeforeuclid, who has earned $55,288 while winning twice in 2010. Her 2009 filly by Decarchy died, but Avian was bred back to Good Journey for the 2011 season. Grade I winner Good Journey, a son of Nureyev out of European champion Chimes of Freedom, is a half-brother to Eclipse Champion Sprinter, Aldebaran, and retired with $1,733,058 in earnings. Good Journey stands the Northern Hemisphere season at Magali Farms in Santa Ynez for $5,000 – Live Foal. In his first Southern Hemisphere crop, Good Journey sired Australian Derby (group I) winner Grand Journey (Aus) and dual group II winner Sound Journey (Aus). His first Californiaconceived crop, which includes Thirtyfirststreet, are three-year-olds of 2011. Sweet Victory California Nectar’s victory in the $100,000 filly’s version of the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes on Dec. 27, proved to be a mere extension of the holiday season for owner Pablo Suarez and his family. “We had family in town, so we brought the kids and the in-laws to the track,” Suarez said. “When everyone gets together like that, you just hope the horse runs well, so I was delighted when we won.” Valencia resident Suarez and his wife, Michelle, bred the filly as well, making the win even sweeter. She is by the Kentucky stallion Stormy Atlantic, who stands at Hill N’ Dale Farms for $30,000, and is out of the Carson City mare Absolute Nectar, a multiple stakes-placed winner whose first foal Kentucky Nectar won once in nine starts.
California Nectar is her second foal, and Absolute Nectar has an unnamed two-year-old filly and a yearling colt, both by Atticus. California Nectar had been knocking on the door for a stakes win. After easily breaking her maiden in her third try, following two runner-up finishes, she went to post as the even money favorite in the $75,000 California Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes on Oct. 30. After a tenacious performance during a thrilling three-way finish, California Nectar finished second by a nose. She switched to the grass for her open company debut in November’s grade III, $100,000 Miesque Stakes, but faded to fourth after setting the early pace. After the two losses, California Nectar entered the Cal Breeders’ as the 4-1 second choice behind oddson Teddy’s Promise, a recent impressive allowance winner. Under jockey Patrick Valenzuela, California Nectar was hustled out to the lead early but then relaxed off Teddy’s Promise’s rapid pace. Coming off the turn into the stretch, California Nectar passed Teddy’s Promise with ease and bounded home in the clear to win by 1 1/2 lengths, outlasting the closing Warren’s Flyer who finished second while Bathing Beauty finished a further 3 1/4 lengths back in third. Although the internal fractions of :22.28 and :44.50 were on par with those in the colt’s race a day earlier, the fillies finished up in a significantly quicker final time of 1:21.66. “I was overjoyed with the way she won,” Suarez said. “No one was pressuring that horse on the lead (Teddy’s Promise), and our horse just moved up alongside and ran right on by. I’m most happy that it looks like she likes the dirt.” Following the race, California Nectar’s record stood at two wins and three seconds in six starts with earnings of $123,800. The next morning, Suarez cited the grade II, $150,000 Santa Ynez Stakes on Jan. 15, as California Nectar’s next target, and after her victory in that spot, California Nectar is now squarely on the grade I, $1 million Kentucky Oaks trail.
California Nectar—$100,000 California Breeders’ Champion Stakes—December 27, 2010
www.ctba.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 57
F E A T U R E
I. A $20,000 bonus made available for owners of registered California-Bred or Sired maidens in Maiden Special races at the Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar meetings in Southern California; and a $10,000 bonus for owners of registered California-Bred or Sired maidens in Maiden Special races in Northern California and at all Fair meetings throughout the state. Begining in 2011, only races at 4 1/2-furlongs or longer will qualify. *Paid directly to the owner within 45 racing days after the win. II. Significant eligibility changes for California-breds.
California Thoroughbred Breeders Association 201 Colorado Place, P.O. Box 60018, Arcadia, CA 91066-6018 • (626) 445-7800 • www.ctba.com
GI SIRE OF GI MULTIMILLIONAIRE
$3,387,900 GLADIATORUS Sillery—Balletomane, by Sadler’s Wells booking fee 2011 INTRODUCTORY SPECIAL $1,500 $500 $1,000 stands and nurses
• Breeders Cup Champion Turf Mile GI • Shoemaker Breeders Cup Mile GI
STAKES WINNER OF
$254,220 FAMILY OF GI WINNER
Deputy Minister—Best Of Memories, by Halo
2011 FEE $2,500 Due When Stands & Nurses
/
Consideration To Approved Mares
MEMORIES OF SILVER www.bestminister.com
Contact: Nadine Anderson 32081 Sage Road, Hemet, California 92544 • 951.490.2055 • Fax: 951.789.1413 • email: atican2000@hotmail.com
F E A T U R E
Cal-Bred Millionaires’ Row
#45 McCann’s Mojave: Fast, Versatile & Durable
by EMILY SHIELDS McCann’s Mojave was an unlikely candidate to become the 45th California-bred millionaire. Not only did he nearly die as a three-month-old, but his dam also cheated death prior to foaling her most famous offspring. Undeterred, the robust bay McCann’s Mojave became something of a rebel against the odds and grew up to be a three-time graded stakes winner who captured several of the state’s major racing prizes in his seven-year career. The saga starts with the career of Joni U. Bar, a daughter of Nordic Prince who won 16 of her 37 starts while being campaigned later in her career by Dr. Rick Arthur. The dual stakes winner earned $320,050 before retiring to a productive life as a broodmare, with her first six named foals winning a combined 15 races. The best of those was Big Find, a stakes-placed, two-time winner by Geiger Counter. Joni U. Bar came up barren as a 17-year-old in 1998, and Dr. Arthur sold her to Santa Anita Park’s publicity director Mike Willman. Willman had been a longtime admirer of the mare’s breeder, Frank Cozza, who passed away before Joni U. Bar made it to the track. Willman bred his new mare to Memo (Chi), but before foaling, Joni U. Bar colicked. “I went to bed believing that she would be euthanized,” Will-
man recalled. “The next morning, she was up but she’d lost the foal. Long story short, I only got one baby out of her.” That foal was McCann’s Mojave, bred in partnership with Alix Nikki Hunt and born in 2000, when Joni U. Bar was 20. What seemed a joyous event was quickly marred when the flashy youngster fell ill and was rushed to an equine hospital. “He was deathly sick,” Willman explained, “and they had to wean him at only three months old. But he survived.” After the ordeal, Willman outlined a simple goal for his colt’s career; he wanted McCann’s Mojave to break his maiden. The colt was turned over to trainer Leonard Dorfman, who had also conditioned Joni U. Bar. While still a yearling, both Dorfman and Willman could tell that McCann’s Mojave had an excellent way of moving, and after he outworked an older stakes winner in his first gate work, they knew they were sitting on dynamite. “I’d talked to Nikki (Hunt) when the time came to pay the fee for the Breeders’ Cup nomination, and we both agreed that after all he’d been through, we just wanted him to break his maiden, so we didn’t make the payment,” Willman explained. “But when a horse works like that, you just get this feeling believing that you have something very special.”
McCann’s Mojave at Tom and Nancy Clark’s Rancho San Miguel in San Miguel, California.
60 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
McCann’s Mojave was unveiled on Dec. 29, 2002, in a six-furlong maiden special weight race against state-bred company. Kent Desormeaux was in the irons, and entering the far turn, Willman realized that, “Kent had the horse well within himself.” McCann’s Mojave pulled clear to win by two lengths. Only one start into his career, and the colt had met Willman’s initial goal. McCann’s Mojave went on to win both of his three-yearold starts as well, first winning by three lengths in an allowance dash and then stretching out to a mile to prevail by a head. He went to the sidelines until January of 2004, and although he lost his undefeated streak in his comeback race, he rebounded off of that one prep to win two straight stakes races. The first was the $109,900 Sensational Star Handicap, a turf sprint in which he defeated such Cal-bred stars as Lennyfromalibu and Grey Memo, followed by a score in the grade II, $122,488 Potrero Grande Breeders’ Cup Handicap, defeating 2003 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (grade I) runner-up Bluesthestandard and subsequent 2005 grade I winner Unfurl the Flag. After finishing second behind that year’s eventual Breeders’ Cup Sprint (grade I) winner and Eclipse Award champion Speightstown at Churchill Downs, McCann’s Mojave was again sent to the sidelines. “Of the races he didn’t win, he ran an unbelievable race at Churchill,” Willman said. “Just a week before, he’d worked in 1:08 flat, then went back
RACE RECORD
Age
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Totals
Starts
1 2 4 9 7 7 5 35
1st (SW)
1 2 2 2 2 2 1 12
(2) (2) (1) (2) (1) (8)
there and ran hard.” Thanks to his strong effort and two prior stakes wins, McCann’s Mojave was named the 2004 California Champion Older Male. Upon his return to the racetrack as a five-year-old, McCann’s Mojave ran poorly three times before changing barns. In the hands of trainer Patrick “Paddy” Gallagher, he went to the post in the $91,350 Ack Ack Handicap as an 8-1 outsider against such top horses as grade II winners Congrats and St Averil. McCann’s Mojave ignored his odds and ran away to a 1 1/2-length victory. “We beat probably the best sprint field assembled in California all year that day,” Willman said. Just 22 days later, McCann’s Mojave finished in a dead heat for second in the grade I, $350,000 Triple Bend Invitational Handicap. After two disappointing efforts sprinting that summer, the decision was made to enter the $250,000 California Cup Classic Handicap. The race, contested over 1 1/8 miles, would be the horse’s first try past a mile and first attempt at two turns in nearly three years. As usual, McCann’s Mojave bucked the elements and instead led throughout, scoring by a length over favored Desert Boom. Unfortunately for McCann’s Mojave, he happened to be doing his best running at the same time as Cal-bred superContinued on next page 2nd
3rd
0 0 1 (1) 1 (1) 0 1 (1) 1 (1) 4 (4)
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
McCANN’S MOJAVE
Bay Colt, February 29, 2000— Bred in California by Alix Nikki Hunt & Mike Willman
Good Manners Mocito Guapo (Arg) La Chiflada (Arg) Memo (Chi) Chairman Walker Chardona (Chi) Ana Frank (Chi) Nearctic Nordic Prince Year Around Joni U. Bar Grey Eagle Edes Ilona Tomato Miss
www.ctba.com
Earnings
$28,800 $74,880 $177,140 $274,560 $69,575 $736,600 $152,010 $1,513,565 Nashua Fun House Right of Way (GB) La Maleva (Arg) Buckpasser Swansea Faubourg (Arg) Sayula (Chi) Nearco (Ity) Lady Angela (GB) Hill Prince Royal Society Heliopolis (GB) Beauty Spot Admiral Lea Tayeh
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 61
F E A T U R E
Cal-Bred Millionaires’ Row Cont’d. star Lava Man, which excluded him from any year-end championships. McCann’s Mojave had a rough 2006, going unplaced in four straight starts before another barn switch; he took up residence with trainer Steven Specht in Northern California. “He just wasn’t cutting it down South,” Specht said of the colt. “When I got him, he was pretty anxious. I had to move him to a stall where he couldn’t look out, and I had to gradually settle him down so that he wouldn’t fly in his workouts. Once he relaxed mentally and became a manageable horse, he became the best horse I ever trained.” Specht’s influence was immediately apparent; by the end of the year, McCann’s Mojave had returned to the winner’s circle twice. He took the $60,400 Union Square Stakes by two lengths, striding away well to the wire. The performance was strong enough for Willman and Specht to ship the horse to Gulfstream Park in Florida for the Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes. The $1 million event brought together some of the country’s best horses, including grade I winner Silver Wagon and grade II winner Sweetnorthernsaint, the post time favorite for the 2006 Kentucky Derby. McCann’s Mojave was dismissed at 33-1, but with his usual disregard for the circumstances, he won anyway. “Winning the Sunshine Millions changed my life,” Willman said of the 45th Cal-bred millionaire. “I felt incredibly privileged to be his owner and breeder.” The triumphant Cal-bred returned to California to finish fourth in the $1 million Santa Anita Handicap, then went back on the road while finishing fifth in the grade II, $500,000 Oaklawn Handicap at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. He didn’t find the winner’s circle again until November, in the grade III, $150,000 All American Stakes, a race that still stands out in Willman’s memory. “It was so foggy you could barely see the horses,” he
recalled. “’McCann came through on the rail and was headed, so we thought he’d be second. He kept battling back, and then won by a neck.” The race also happened to be McCann’s Mojave’s first start on an all-weather track, making him one of the few horses to win stakes races on all three surfaces. In 2008, a five-race campaign for the eight-year-old McCann’s Mojave yielded one final graded stakes victory, this time in May’s grade III, $150,000 Berkeley Stakes. The white-faced bay floated home by 3 1/2 lengths in an effort so flawless that Willman and Specht decided to tempt history one more time. They sent their star to the post in the grade I, $750,000 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes on June 28, which resulted in a fourth-place finish. It would be McCann’s Mojave’s final start; he was scratched on the morning of August’s $1 million Pacific Classic (grade I). McCann’s Mojave entered stud at Rancho San Miguel with a record of 35-12-4-0 and earnings of $1,513,565. His first foals are yearlings of 2011, and he will stand the upcoming breeding season for $3,000 – Live Foal. Clay Murdock, the Farm Manager at Rancho San Miguel, has high hopes for McCann’s Mojave’s offspring. “He’s a big horse, and he’s stamped them very well,” Murdock reported. “He was versatile with an outcross pedigree, and we are very happy with the foals. He has a lot of potential and I feel that he’ll pass along both his precociousness and his longevity.” Willman has a yearling colt by McCann’s Mojave out of Dreamy Meeting, a four-time winner by General Meeting. The colt, named Mojave Mandate, looks the part. “He’s flashy and has a lot of bone,” Willman said. “Everyone is raving about their babies.” In all, McCann’s Mojave defeated 15 different grade I winners, including millionaires Congaree, Heatseeker (Ire), Taste of Paradise and Tiago. His tactical speed earned him 11 triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures, and he captured graded stakes events at 6 1/2 furlongs and 1 1/16 and 1 1/8 miles. He is a true representative of the qualities of a Cal-bred millionaire; fast, versatile and durable.
Co-breeders Mike Willman (third from left) and Nikki Hunt (fourth from right) in the winner’s circle after McCann’s Mojave passed the $500,000 in earnings mark with a victory in the $250,000 Caliornia Cup Classic Handicap at Santa Anita Park on November 6, 2005.
62 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
©Equiphoto
©Benooit
F E A T U R E
McCann’s Mojave became the 45th California-bred millionaire when the seven-year-old son of Memo (Chi) won the $1,000,000 Sunshine Millions Classic Stakes at Gulfstream Park in Florida on January 27, 2007.
www.ctba.com
F E A T U R E
Down on the Farm
Equine Piroplasmosis: An Update
by HEATHER SMITH THOMAS Equine Piroplasmosis (EP), or babesiosis, is a bloodborne parasitic infection in horses transmitted primarily by ticks and caused by two protozoa that live in red blood cells. It affects horses, donkeys, mules and zebras. The protozoa that can cause EP are Babesia equi and B. caballi. Infected animals can be carriers of the disease agent for
64 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEDBRUARY 2011
long periods of time, probably for life, and thus act as a source of infection to other equines. The protozoa in the blood of an infected animal can be transmitted by competent ticks or by transfer of blood to a non-infected animal. This disease is endemic in many regions around the world, such as the Caribbean, South and Central America, Mexico, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia. At the present time it is not endemic in Canada, Australia, Japan, England, Ireland or the U.S., so efforts have been made to try to keep it out of these countries. Horses imported into the U.S. go through quarantine and testing, to try to determine their infection status (and whether they might appear healthy but still be carriers of the disease agents that cause piroplasmosis) before allowing them to enter the country. The test method originally developed to detect infected horses, called a Complement Fixation (CF) test, was used for many years. It was one of the few tests approved for use in testing of horses who moved internationally. Unfortunately, that test yielded false negatives, especially in chronically infected horses. The CF test is highly accurate for positives; a test-positive horse is usually infected. But a chronic carrier may not always show up positive. There is some speculation that recent treatment with corticosteroids and/or some of the treatments for piroplasmosis might affect the results of the test. Thus some horses imported before 2005—when a newer test was implemented—may have been infected and yet were negative on the CF test. This is one of the reasons that a recently developed and validated test called the cELISA (Competitive Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay) test became the official import test in August of 2005, for horses entering the U.S. This test has a high sensitivity and specificity for determining which horses are infected.
www.ctba.com
The piroplasmosis sub-committee (U.S. Animal Health Association) has been concerned about how many seropositive horses are in the U.S. and wanted to make sure that this disease does not become endemic here. There is currently no effective way to trace and follow up on all the horses who were previously imported. The horses move around, and some have left the country. Prior to 2005, these horses entered the country legally, under the “official” CF test, but some of them may carry the causative agent of piroplasmosis. The sub-committee proposed and organized a national survey, in which banked residual Equine Infectious Anemia serum from National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) laboratories throughout the nation would be sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) for testing using the licensed c-ELISA kit for equine piroplasmosis. The NAHLN had residue banked serum after running the EIA (Coggin’s) tests. In 2007, two million EIA tests were performed on U.S. horses at all the various laboratories (not just the NAHLN laboratories). For the EP testing, 35 NAHLN laboratories located in 34 states (accounting for 630,000 or about 31.5 percent of that year’s EIA tests) contributed a systematic random sampling (every third to fifth sample) for the EP tests, resulting in 15,300 serum samples for the survey. Some positive horses were found, but the survey indicated a very low prevalence—an estimate of 54 horses per 100,000 for B. caballi and an estimate of seven horses per 100,000 for B. equi. To put this in perspective, this can be compared with the current rate of EIA positives, which is about six horses out of every 100,000 horses tested annually in the U.S. The results of this study can be seen in an information sheet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal _health/nahms/equine/downloads/EP_ info_sheet.pdf Current Efforts To Deal With Piroplasmosis Josie Traub-Dargatz, DVM, MS, DACVIM, Professor of Equine Medicine at Colorado State University, says that for equine owners, trainers and others involved in our industry, the key message is that the infections detected from 2008 to the present are within three segments of the industry. “These include the horses imported to the U.S. prior to 2005 (before the import test method changed to the new test that is
www.ctba.com
more able to detect the chronic carrier state). Now some of the previously imported horses are being found to be positive when tested for movement purposes using the newer test. This became a licensed test kit which has been used for regulatory response, and for import testing in recent years,” she says. Another segment is comprised of the horses who originated at or are still residing at a certain location in southern Texas (an index premises and surrounding area). Some horses originating from this location have been traced to other areas of the country and upon testing were found to be positive. “It is important to note that there was no evidence of spread of the disease agent from these traced positive horses Continued on next page
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 65
F E A T U R E
F E A T U R E
Down on the Farm Cont’d. outside of the southern Texas location. Once they were found and tested, there was no evidence that any of their herdmates (in the new locations) became infected,” says Traub-Dargatz. “All of these positive horses are now in quarantine, or have been euthanized or are contributing to our further understanding of the disease through research projects. The positive horses who are still on the index premises are working ranch horses, and under state animal health supervision. The transmission in the southern Texas location appears to be via ticks, including a type of tick that previously was not recognized as competent in transmitting B. equi, but has now been discovered to be capable of transmitting this disease agent. The good news is that even though some horses have been traced from that premises to multiple other states, there has been no evidence of transmission to their herdmates,” she says. This area in southern Texas seems to be the only place tick transmission of B. equi appears to have occurred in recent times. “We should not become complacent, however, since environmental factors could change the distribution and competency of ticks,” she says. The third segment where EP infected horses have been detected is the racehorse population. “The infection had been detected primarily in Quarter Horses involved in racing. In those animals it doesn’t appear that transmission is occurring via ticks, but via less-than-optimal hygiene practices such as using the same needles and syringes on more than one horse, or using the same needle in a multi-use vial of product. Some of the people interviewed as part of the regulatory response during a recent outbreak also admitted to taking blood from one horse and giving it to another horse in an attempt to enhance performance, a procedure called blood doping,” she says. “We don’t know specifically whether the transmission was due to use of blood-contaminated equipment such as syringes, needles, dental equipment, tattoo equipment or blood-doping. Any equipment used from horse to horse that could get blood or tissue on it should be cleaned and sanitized between horses. This would include surgical instruments, dental and tattoo equipment, etc. The key thing for owners, if they are not the one directly managing the animals, is to know the practices of the people who are managing the animals,” says Traub-Dargatz. Horse owners also need to realize that an infected horse can look perfectly normal and healthy. “Some people might take more precautions if a horse looked sick, but many of these infected horses look normal,” she explains. “Horse owners should be aware that poor hygiene (such as reusing needles) can pose a risk for either piroplasmosis or EIA transmission. These are both blood-borne diseases. Neither of them are transmitted from nose-to-nose contact or sharing a horse trailer or pen. Close proximity is only a
66 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED •FEBRUARY 2011
problem if the horses are in an area where insect vectors may be an issue for EIA, or certain competent ticks might spread piroplasmosis. Casual contact is not a concern,” she explains. Risk of spread can be reduced if you avoid use of non-tested blood donors, or unclean equipment. “We had a panel discussion on piroplasmosis at the AAEP meeting in early December of 2010, giving background and overview of this disease. Then Dr. Mike Short, from the State Veterinarian’s office in Florida, talked about the EP outbreak in Florida in 2008. Dr. Angela Pelzel, a Western Region Epidemiologist from USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services gave an update on the current situation, numbers of animals tested (and the number of positives from the index ranch), and the trace-out from Texas, and the number of animals detected based on movement testing that has been implemented in the past year,” says TraubDargatz. “Dr. Tracy Norman talked about what they are doing related to EP in Texas. They have a piroplasmosis working group in that state and have developed plans for what to do when moving positive horses for veterinary care, or due to a need to evacuate for weather-related emergencies, while complying with the guidelines regarding the movement of these horses.” Dr. Don Knowles (USDA, ARS) talked about research with the genome of one of the EP agents. “For now he advocates using the term Babesia equi, but he believes that eventually the taxonomy will indicate it should be named something other than Babesia or Theileria,” says TraubDargatz. Knowles also spoke about recent findings related to treatment of positive horses who have been enrolled in a research program. The current options, once a horse is detected as infected with either Babesia caballi or B. equi in the U.S., is that either the horse is euthanized, or managed in a life-long quarantine, or is exported from the U.S. or is enrolled into a research program. “There are two arms in the research program. One option is that the owner can request the horse be a donation to ongoing research on EP. If the research team agrees, then the horse is donated, no strings attached, to be enrolled in a research project—and it’s no longer their horse. The other option is to maintain ownership and request to have the horse enrolled in a treatment research program that was recently begun. To do that, the owner needs to make the request through their state animal health official, to get the details worked out. The horse would remain on the owner’s property, quarantined. Their own veterinarian would do the treatment. This requires pre-testing and sequential testing, with the horse officially enrolled in the treatment program,” she says. “The whole concept of treatment that people sometimes have a hard time understanding is that most of the reports of treatment in the veterinary literature describe treating the clinical signs, rather than clearing the parasites from the horse. In regions where the disease is endemic, all you want to do is get the horse well, rather than remove the risk he poses to other horses (as a source of the disease agent in the
www.ctba.com
carrier state).” In the U.S., however, we want to eliminate the disease agent, and thus eliminate all transmission risk. The challenge has been to find a test that is more userfriendly than the live animal challenge, to prove that the horse has cleared the infection. “As part of the treatment research project, blood from a treated horse is injected into a splenectomized research horse or pony to prove there has been no transmission. Dr. Knowles presented preliminary data at the AAEP (American Association of Equine Practitioners) meeting that looks promising. Some of the horses enrolled in the research treatment program from the index premises in Texas do appear to have cleared the disease agent. However,
if we get to where we need to treat larger numbers of horses and prove they have cleared the disease agent, it may not be practical to continue to have to do the blood transfer to research horses, and the tick feeding under experimental conditions. This gets very involved and expensive.” But unlike EIA, where there is no treatment option (and the horse will never clear the infection), even though the horses infected with Babesia agents will not clear it on their own, there may be hope for future treatment. “We may have some hope to eventually eliminate the blood parasite. “This is very early, preliminary work, and there needs to be more study done on this,” says Traub-Dargatz.
To prevent the spread of Anaplasmosis, a new, sterile needle should be used when giving a horse an injection.
The Disease Piroplasmosis in horses can be caused by two species of protozoa (Babesia equi and B. caballi), transmitted from an infected horse to a susceptible horse via competent ticks. The protozoa that cause disease in horses are part of the same genus of protozoa that cause cattle tick fever (a totally different disease, often called Texas Fever) which the U.S. worked hard to eradicate during the early 1900’s, and must keep vigilant efforts to prevent re-entrance via cattle and wildlife from Mexico. The protozoa are present in the bloodstream of animals in the active stages of infection, but may also persist in and spend part of their life cycle in the tick vector. B. caballi, for instance, may persist through several generations of ticks. Contaminated needles, syringes and surgical instruments may also transmit the infection physically from an infected horse to a susceptible horse. Incubation period in horses is 10 to 30 days for B. caballi and 12 to 19 days for B.equi. Clinical signs vary from mild to severe. In mild forms of the disease the animal may appear weak or show lack of appetite. In acute and more
severe cases, the horse suddenly becomes very ill with fever, anemia, labored breathing, sweating, lack of appetite, reluctance to move, blood in the urine, conjunctival hemorrhages, posterior weakness and edema in the legs (and sometimes on the underline of the abdomen). Some horses may be unable to get up, and die within 24 to 48 hours after becoming sick. Colic may occur in some individuals, and fecal balls may be covered with thick mucus. Gums may be pale, or slightly jaundiced (yellow). The horse may be sick for eight to 10 days and then gradually recover. Chronic cases may survive for months. Some individuals never appear to be sick, but are carriers. They may appear normal and may even be able to continue their usual work. Infected horses may act as carriers for variable periods, up to several years, or even for life. An owner information fact sheet (in English and Spanish) is available in hard copy from the USDA, or can be downloaded from the USDA website: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/pi roplasmosis/downloads/ep_protect_your_horses_en_sp.pdf. Continued on next page
www.ctba.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 67
F E A T U R E
F E A T U R E
Down on the Farm Cont’d. Equine Piroplasmosis In The U.S. Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) was recognized in the southeastern portion of the U.S. many decades ago. In 1962, a joint Veterinary Services and State of Florida control program for B. caballi was begun in south Florida, to try to eradicate this disease. The program included quarantine and treatment of infected animals, spray treatment (to kill ticks) for infected and exposed animals, along with movement controls to prevent spread of this disease. As a result of this diligent program, the U.S. was declared free of EP in 1988. To reduce the risk of reintroducing this disease, all imported horses must be tested for the presence of antibodies to B. equi and B. caballi before entering the U.S. The import testing is conducted by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. In August of 2005, the official import test was changed from the CFT to the c-ELISA test, which is more sensitive in detecting chronically infected animals. Periodic cases in which animals were found serologically positive for EP disease agents (but without clinical signs of the disease) have been found in the U.S. Most of these infected animals have been linked to previous imports from countries where EP is endemic—animals imported prior to the test change in 2005.
Then in late 2008 and early 2009, two outbreaks of the disease occurred—in Florida and Missouri, respectively— that included horses with clinical signs due to infection with B. equi. The disease agent was found to have been transmitted through less than optimal hygiene practices, including re-use of the same needles on multiple horses, and blood doping among horses involved in unsanctioned racing. Regulatory actions resolved both outbreaks. An EP outbreak in Kleberg County, Texas was detected in October of 2009, among working ranch horses/cutting horses on one ranch. Those horses, and others traced from that location have now been quarantined. Some are being treated in a research program. States that currently have EP-positive horses under quarantine include Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Several states and racetracks have recently modified their entry requirements to include a negative EP test. Some states are requiring original copies of negative tests within 14 days, along with a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection, while for others the negative test is valid for up to 12 months. Any horse testing positive must be reported to animal health officials.
Proudly Standing:
Brave Cat
(PVT)Lion Heart-Clever Squaw (Rahy)
EZ Warrior (PVT) Exploit-Carson Jen (Carson City)
Western Fame (PVT) Gone West Fariedah (Topsider)
Call Doreen Spinney (916) 803-5851 3637 W. Stewart Rd., Lathrop paradiseranch@wildblue.net Located just outside of Tracy Only 30 minutes to Pleasanton and one hour to Golden Gate Fields (Free pick-up from Pleasanton/GGF)
68 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED •FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
D E P A R T M E N T
Leading Sires in California
Available Statistics Through December 31, 2010 Leading Sires by Number of Races Won
Leading Sires by Money Won Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
Runners
Unusual Heat . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Stormin Fever . . . . . . . . . . 122 Benchmark . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Salt Lake* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 In Excess (Ire) . . . . . . . . . . . .131 Kafwain# . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Bertrando . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Deputy Commander* . . . . . 128 Old Topper . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Swiss Yodeler . . . . . . . . . . 142 Tribal Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Cee's Tizzy† . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Sea of Secrets . . . . . . . . . . 114 Southern Image# . . . . . . . . 92 Decarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Siberian Summer . . . . . . . . 66 High Brite* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Redattore (Brz)• . . . . . . . . . . 64 Marino Marini . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Skimming• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Atticus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Formal Gold• . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Olmodavor‡ . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Freespool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Ministers Wild Cat . . . . . . . 60 Lit de Justice . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Valid Wager* . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Comic Strip . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Ten Most Wanted . . . . . . . . 72 Souvenir Copy• . . . . . . . . . 54 Momentum . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Roar* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Gotham City . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Western Fame . . . . . . . . . . 46 One Man Army . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Beau Genius† . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Perfect Mandate . . . . . . . . 45 Game Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Muqtarib† . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Rio Verde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 High Demand• . . . . . . . . . . 44 Flame Thrower . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Globalize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Birdonthewire . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Crafty C. T.• . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Memo (Chi) • . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Silic (Fr) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Tizbud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Mud Route . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Vronsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Starts 856 855 1110 760 746 896 705 956 1027 972 544 476 756 561 557 463 626 335 537 599 479 543 462 517 351 526 441 380 508 372 371 354 231 299 169 446 284 344 317 295 255 226 281 169 168 239 172 114 241 100
70 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
Races Won
Earnings
109 $4,342,128 107 3,361,145 177 2,936,487 124 2,402,845 121 2,213,435 130 2,076,125 99 2,057,747 120 1,977,715 152 1,952,600 134 1,914,742 84 1,870,920 89 1,753,169 80 1,603,700 80 1,552,502 82 1,494,734 78 1,436,231 82 1,411,415 60 1,397,902 84 1,285,236 92 1,201,139 55 1,104,340 76 1,011,745 65 945,056 65 911,243 49 885,296 62 809,578 65 776,015 55 737,943 52 732,520 49 661,341 39 616,991 51 616,083 44 585,574 49 576,255 19 565,962 44 554,183 38 544,017 50 533,518 53 510,890 38 497,491 34 456,598 26 453,811 35 433,501 24 428,550 28 407,620 28 396,687 21 378,490 16 376,259 34 374,729 14 361,889
Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 15. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Runners
Benchmark . . . . . . . . . . .168 Old Topper . . . . . . . . . . .149 Swiss Yodeler . . . . . . . . 142 Kafwain# . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Salt Lake* . . . . . . . . . . . .120 In Excess (Ire) . . . . . . . . 131 Deputy Commander* . . 128 Unusual Heat . . . . . . . . 123 Stormin Fever . . . . . . . .122 Bertrando . . . . . . . . . . . .119 Skimming• . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Cee's Tizzy† . . . . . . . . . . .80 Tribal Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Marino Marini . . . . . . . .. 83 Decarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 High Brite* . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Sea of Secrets . . . . . . . .114 Southern Image# . . . . . . 92 Siberian Summer . . . . . . 66 Formal Gold• . . . . . . . . . 89
Starts 1110 1027 971 896 760 746 955 856 855 704 599 476 544 537 556 626 755 559 463 543
Races Won 177 152 134 130 124 121 120 109 107 99 92 89 84 84 82 82 80 79 78 76
Earnings $2,936,487 1,952,600 1,911,863 2,076,125 2,402,845 2,213,435 1,977,715 4,342,128 3,361,145 2,057,747 1,201,139 1,753,169 1,870,920 1,285,236 1,494,082 1,411,415 1,602,180 1,547,316 1,436,231 1,011,745
Leading Sires by Average Earnings Per Runner (Minimum 10 Runners)
Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 21. 22.
Runners
Unusual Heat . . . . . . . . . . .123 Affirmative† . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Stormin Fever . . . . . . . . . .122 Lucky Pulpit . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Cee's Tizzy† . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Redattore (Brz)• . . . . . . . . . 64 One Man Army . . . . . . . . . .26 Siberian Summer . . . . . . ... 66 Vronsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Tribal Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Birdonthewire . . . . . . . . . . 21 Salt Lake* . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Unbridled Native* . . . . . . . 15 Good Journey . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Tizbud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Soul of the Matter . . . . . . . 15 Decarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Benchmark . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Bertrando . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 Score Quick† . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Races Won 109 12 107 13 89 60 19 78 14 84 24 124 9 6 16 14 82 177 99 16
Average Earnings/ Earnings Runner $4,342,128 298,472 3,361,145 275,371 1,753,169 1,397,902 565,962 1,436,231 361,889 1,870,920 428,550 2,402,845 287,336 301,960 376,259 269,849 1,494,734 2,936,487 2,057,747 204,289
$35,302 29,847 27,550 27,537 21,915 21,842 21,768 21,761 21,288 20,560 20,407 20,024 19,156 18,873 18,813 17,990 17,794 17,479 17,148 17,024
www.ctba.com
Leading Sires by Turf Earnings
Leading Sires by Number of Winners
(Minimum 100 Starts Lifetime)
Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 10. 11. 12. 13. 15. 16. 18. 19. 20.
Benchmark . . . . . . . . . . . .168 Old Topper . . . . . . . . . . . . .149 Kafwain# . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 In Excess (Ire) . . . . . . . . . . 131 Deputy Commander* . . . . 128 Swiss Yodeler . . . . . . . . . . 142 Salt Lake* . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 Unusual Heat . . . . . . . . . . .123 Stormin Fever . . . . . . . . . .122 Bertrando . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 Skimming• . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Tribal Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Sea of Secrets . . . . . . . . . .114 High Brite* . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Decarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Formal Gold• . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Southern Image# . . . . . . . . 92 Marino Marini . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Siberian Summer . . . . . . . . 66 Cee's Tizzy† . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 17. 18. 19. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Runners
Winners 103 86 79 69 66 65 63 62 62 59 53 48 47 47 45 44 43 43 41 40
Races Won 177 152 130 121 120 134 124 109 107 99 92 84 80 82 82 76 80 84 78 89
Earnings $2,936,487 1,952,600 2,076,125 2,213,435 1,977,715 1,911,863 2,402,845 4,342,128 3,361,145 2,057,747 1,201,139 1,870,920 1,603,700 1,411,415 1,494,734 1,011,745 1,552,502 1,285,236 1,436,231 1,753,169
Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Races Runners Starts Winners Won
Unusual Heat.............. 74 In Excess (Ire) ............. 46 Bertrando.................. 36 Stormin Fever ............. 35 Cee's Tizzy† ................20 Atticus....................... 31 High Brite*................. 14 Redattore (Brz)• ........ 25 Tribal Rule ................. 25 Benchmark................ 35 Siberian Summer ..... 23 Deputy Commander* ..46 Skimming• ................. 26 Decarchy.................. 28 Kafwain# ................... 36 Freespool ................... 16 Old Topper ................. 29 Southern Image# ..... 38 Comic Strip.............. 17 Swiss Yodeler............ 22
281 138 100 113 67 85 44 64 64 97 78 139 63 75 75 40 65 86 49 60
23 16 8 8 10 11 5 8 7 13 12 11 11 6 8 3 8 5 5 4
Leading Sires by Median Earnings Per Runner
Leading Sires by Average Earnings Per Start
(Minimum 10 Runners)
(Minimum 100 Starts)
Runners
Lucky Pulpit . . . . . . . . . .10 Score Quick† . . . . . . . . . .12 Affirmative† . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Vronsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Siberian Summer . . . . . . 66 Birdonthewire . . . . . . . . . 21 Unusual Heat . . . . . . . . 123 Marino Marini . . . . . . . . . 83 Tribal Rule . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Gotham City . . . . . . . . . . 43 Grey Memo . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Ministers Wild Cat . . . . . . 60 Sought After . . . . . . . . . . 16 Terrell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Roar* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 In Excess (Ire) . . . . . . . . .131 Southern Image# . . . . . . 92 One Man Army . . . . . . . . 26 Poteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Stormin Fever . . . . . . . .122
Races Won 13 16 12 14 78 24 109 84 84 44 19 49 9 21 51 121 80 19 18 107
Median Earnings/ Earnings Runner $275,371 204,289 298,472 361,889 1,436,231 428,550 4,342,128 1,285,236 1,870,920 585,574 248,015 885,296 169,501 297,060 616,083 2,213,435 1,552,502 565,962 294,005 3,361,145
$19,400 13,082 12,456 11,960 11,769 11,676 10,800 10,140 9,674 9,573 9,454 9,320 9,011 8,745 8,457 8,376 8,369 8,271 7,965 7,919
Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Runners
Unusual Heat .................123 Redattore (Brz)• .............. 64 Stormin Fever............... 122 Cee's Tizzy†.................... 80 Vronsky ......................... 17 Tribal Rule ....................... 91 One Man Army .............. 26 Tizbud ............................. 20 Salt Lake* ...................... 120 Siberian Summer ............ 66 In Excess (Ire)............... 131 Bertrando ..................... 120 Southern Image# .......... 92 Decarchy ........................ 84 Benchmark................... 168 Birdonthewire................ 21 Gotham City.................. 43 Ministers Wild Cat........... 60 Crafty C. T.• ................... 27 Marino Marini ................. 83
Starts 856 335 855 476 100 544 169 114 760 463 746 705 561 557 1,110 169 231 351 168 537
Earnings
37 $2,684,826 23 740,790 11 729,455 13 672,130 15 546,850 14 508,973 8 500,628 10 494,392 10 400,869 15 394,257 17 389,728 16 366,083 17 363,350 10 323,134 10 251,520 6 240,036 9 237,154 6 223,620 9 190,074 6 185,780
Earnings
Average Earnings/ Start
$4,342,128 1,397,902 3,361,145 1,753,169 361,889 1,870,920 565,962 376,259 2,402,845 1,436,231 2,213,435 2,057,747 1,552,502 1,494,734 2,936,487 428,550 585,574 885,296 407,620 1,285,236
$5,073 4,173 3,931 3,683 3,619 3,439 3,349 3,301 3,162 3,102 2,967 2,919 2,767 2,684 2,645 2,536 2,535 2,522 2,426 2,393
The statistics contained in these rankings are compiled by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. (TJCIS). While every effort is made to prevent errors and omissions, California Thoroughbred cannot guarantee their complete and total accuracy. A dagger (†) indicates that a stallion has been pensioned, an asterisk (*) that he has died, a dot (•) that he is now standing elsewhere, a number sign (#) that he did not stand in California in 2009 but is standing in the state in 2010, a double dagger (‡) that he is not standing in California in 2010 but will stand in the state in 2011 and in bold that he is a freshman sire. In all cases, a sire will remain in the rankings until the year after his last California foals are two-year-olds. Statistics cover racing in North America (U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico), England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates only.
www.ctba.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 71
D E P A R T M E N T
Congratulations to “OLYMPIO” Bachelor Stallion Contest. Sam Lopez’ have an intimate “date” set for this A+++ nicking! Truly Marvelous
+ Olympio
BEHRENS MANY RIVERS Pleasant Colony-Hot Novel by Mari’s Book Fee: $3,500-LF
Storm Cat-Christmas in Aiken by Affirmed Fee: $3,000-LF
COMET SHINE OLYMPIO Fappiano-Hangin On a Star by Vice Regent Fee: $1,500-LF
Naskra-Carols Christmas by Whitesburg Fee: $3,500-LF
GLOBALIZE PURE THRILL Summer Squall-Sugar Hill Chick by Fit To Fight Fee: $3,500-LF
Belong to Me-Swill by Shadeed Fee: $1,500-LF
LATIN AMERICAN SIBERIAN SUMMER Riverman-Clever Dancer by Mr. Prospector Fee: $1,500-LF
Siberian Express—Mis Karina by Icecapade Fee: $3,500-LF
winner of the “Most Eligible mare Truly Marvelous and Olympio spring. This “Love” match rates an Broodmare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .January—June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pasture/Pen . . . . . . . . . . . .$13.00/day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15.00/day Suckling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .With Mare . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3.00/day Lay-Ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$14.00/day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Individual Pen . . . . . . . . . .$12.00/day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Pasture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10.00/day Foaling Out Mares . . . . . . . . . . .Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$250.00 Halter Break . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$21.00/day Sales Preparation . . . . . . . . . . .Stall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$21.00/day Foal Registration . . . . . . . . . . . .Appl., Photo, Etc. . . . . . . .$50.00/horse Breaking/Training . . . . . . . . . . .Racetrack . . . . . . . . . . . . .$50.00/day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$36.00/day Equi-Ciser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$26.00/day
Visitors are always welcome at Victory Rose Thoroughbreds 5144 Allendale Road • Vacaville, CA, 95688 Phone/Fax (707) 678-6580 • ellen@victoryrose.com
D E P A R T M E N T
Leading Lifetime Sires in California Crops of No Stallion, Year Foaled, Sire
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 16. 17. 18. 19.
23. 24. 25. 26. 28. 30. 31. 33.
36. 37. 38.
41. 42. 44. 45.
49.
Available Statistics Through December 31, 2010
Named Crops of Average Foals of Racing Crop Racing Age Size Age
Unusual Heat, 1990, by Nureyev In Excess (Ire), 1987, by Siberian Express Ceeʼs Tizzy †, 1987, by Relaunch Tribal Rule, 1996, by Storm Cat Roar*, 1993, by Forty Niner One Man Army, 1994, by Roman Diplomat Salt Lake*, 1989, by Deputy Minister Good Journey, 1996, by Nureyev Bertrando, 1989, by Skywalker Vronsky, 1999, by Danzig Memo (Chi)•, 1987, by Mocito Guapo (Arg) Birdonthewire, 1989, by Proud Birdie Benchmark, 1991, by Alydar Lit de Justice, 1990, by El Gran Senor Stormin Fever, 1994, by Storm Cat Rhythm*, 1987, by Mr. Prospector Deputy Commander*, 1994, by Deputy Minister Turkoman†, 1982, by Alydar Beau Genius†, 1985, by Bold Ruckus Formal Gold•, 1993, by Black Tie Affair (Ire) Moscow Ballet*, 1982, by Nijinsky II Robannier, 1991, by Batonnier Suggest*, 1992, by Topsider Olympio, 1988, by Naskra Atticus, 1992, by Nureyev Kafwain#, 2000, by Cherokee Run Redattore (Brz)•, 1995, by Roi Normand Kelly Kip†, 1994, by Kipper Kelly Swiss Yodeler, 1994, by Eastern Echo Siberian Summer, 1989, by Siberian Express Decarchy, 1997, by Distant View Snow Chief*, 1983, by Reflected Glory High Brite*, 1984, by Best Turn Souvenir Copy•, 1995, by Mr. Prospector Valid Wager*, 1992, by Valid Appeal Bartok (Ire)†, 1991, by Fairy King Silic (Fr), 1995, by Sillery Huddle Up, 1982, by Sir Ivor Old Topper, 1995, by Gilded Time Stormy Jack, 1997, by Bertrando Perfect Mandate, 1996, by Gone West Lake George, 1992, by Vice Regent Sea of Secrets, 1995, by Storm Cat Tizbud, 1999, by Cee's Tizzy. Michaelʼs Flyer†, 1986, by Flying Paster Tannersmyman, 1998, by Lord Carson Thisnearlywasmine, 1994, by Capote Western Fame, 1992, by Gone West Marino Marini, 2000, by Storm Cat Olmodavor‡, 1999, by A.P. Indy
10 15 17 5 11 6 15 5 14 3 13 13 9 11 8 16 9 21 17 9 22 11 9 15 10 4 4 7 9 10 4 19 19 9 11 11 6 16 7 4 7 11 8 3 15 5 6 9 3 3
46 60 41 50 59 10 80 35 65 17 39 19 64 35 71 60 62 34 43 47 34 8 7 33 39 78 86 15 68 36 44 14 47 49 45 19 21 9 57 19 36 13 46 22 7 11 8 30 47 47
455 897 697 249 649 62 1,201 174 907 51 507 242 577 385 564 966 562 707 735 421 756 92 60 491 392 313 342 105 608 362 177 262 896 439 499 205 124 142 402 76 255 146 370 66 104 57 50 270 140 142
Runners
329-72% 639-71% 483-69% 150-60% 503-78% 42-68% 989-82% 84-48% 664-73% 18-35% 322-64% 176-73% 412-71% 319-83% 422-75% 637-66% 462-82% 542-77% 605-82% 331-79% 545-72% 62-67% 43-72% 378-77% 289-74% 221-71% 205-60% 85-81% 456-75% 271-75% 114-64% 180-69% 695-78% 329-75% 399-80% 155-76% 98-79% 85-60% 305-76% 39-51% 124-49% 92-63% 288-78% 20-30% 48-46% 34-60% 31-62% 177-66% 89-64% 92-65%
Winners
235-52% 469-52% 350-50% 98-39% 388-60% 27-44% 794-66% 43-25% 460-51% 10-20% 226-45% 127-52% 303-53% 249-65% 298-53% 342-35% 306-54% 391-55% 455-62% 258-61% 366-48% 34-37% 37-62% 285-58% 170-43% 141-45% 127-37% 69-66% 322-53% 190-52% 73-41% 111-42% 562-63% 252-57% 313-63% 96-47% 63-51% 60-42% 224-56% 24-32% 74-29% 57-39% 216-58% 10-15% 24-23% 17-30% 21-42% 129-48% 56-40% 61-43%
2-Y-O Winners
25-5% 110-12% 58-8% 45-18% 94-14% 2-3% 238-20% 7-4% 112-12% 1-2% 42-8% 37-15% 86-15% 70-18% 102-18% 39-4% 74-13% 75-11% 138-19% 76-18% 70-9% 8-9% 4-7% 60-12% 38-10% 57-18% 30-9% 16-15% 140-23% 26-7% 24-14% 27-10% 143-16% 72-16% 100-20% 27-13% 11-9% 9-6% 95-24% 7-9% 14-5% 9-6% 69-19% 3-5% 5-5% 5-9% 5-10% 44-16% 18-13% 20-14%
Stakes Winners
27-6% 62-7% 39-6% 14-6% 43-7% 4-6% 70-6% 3-2% 50-6% 1-2% 28-6% 10-4% 30-5% 22-6% 30-5% 25-3% 24-4% 33-5% 39-5% 19-5% 21-3% 3-3% 4-7% 30-6% 12-3% 12-4% 13-4% 2-2% 23-4% 13-4% 5-3% 9-3% 46-5% 12-3% 18-4% 7-3% 1-1% 2-1% 15-4% 1-1% 11-4% 5-3% 19-5% 1-2% 3-3% 1-2% 0-0% 13-5% 4-3% 4-3%
Graded Stakes Winners
9-2% 11-1% 9-1% 2-1% 22-3% 1-2% 23-2% 2-1% 12-1% 0-0% 9-2% 1-0% 7-1% 2-1% 12-2% 11-1% 4-1% 9-1% 5-1% 5-1% 6-1% 0-0% 1-2% 4-1% 5-1% 3-1% 11-3% 1-1% 2-0% 4-1% 0-0% 1-0% 9-1% 2-0% 3-1% 0-0% 1-1% 0-0% 0-0% 1-1% 0-0% 1-1% 2-1% 0-0% 0-0% 1-2% 0-0% 0-0% 0-0% 1-1%
Progeny Earnings
$27,417,002 40,409,790 35,181,266 7,344,646 23,379,446 1,968,957 57,228,141 2,699,519 39,003,310 548,314 17,370,905 11,269,204 21,304,320 20,504,864 23,735,208 38,328,095 27,900,022 25,678,509 34,235,579 17,123,969 20,452,650 2,827,283 2,413,661 18,692,022 11,537,699 7,086,530 3,602,603 4,185,577 21,237,069 11,059,137 3,911,428 5,632,321 34,204,853 14,965,745 18,615,231 6,372,463 6,370,054 2,937,144 11,345,410 1,350,499 4,634,321 4,030,872 15,026,301 403,430 1,841,985 839,341 1,195,034 6,799,478 2,116,158 2,437,965
Average Earnings Index
2.16 1.74 1.72 1.51 1.50 1.46 1.45 1.43 1.42 1.38 1.36 1.32 1.29 1.28 1.28 1.24 1.23 1.22 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.19 1.13 1.11 1.10 1.10 1.09 1.09 1.08 1.07 1.07 1.06 1.06 1.06 1.05 1.04 1.01 1.01 1.01 1.00 0.99 0.99 0.95 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.94 0.93 0.93
Comparable Index
1.11 1.46 1.18 1.21 1.37 0.89 1.42 1.01 1.58 0.78 1.14 1.41 1.21 1.18 1.47 1.18 1.63 1.42 1.17 1.42 1.29 1.13 0.79 1.33 1.54 1.34 1.20 1.03 1.08 0.89 1.01 1.30 1.20 1.24 1.22 0.91 0.95 0.78 0.90 0.73 1.25 1.05 1.11 0.95 0.60 0.78 0.77 0.82 1.07 1.41
These statistics are for active California-based sires with a minimum of 50 foals of racing age, ranked here by lifetime Average Earnings Index (AEI). The statistics contained in these rankings are compiled by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. (TJCIS). While every effort is made to prevent errors and omissions, California Thoroughbred cannot guarantee their complete and total accuracy. A dagger (†) indicates that a stallion has been pensioned, an asterisk (*) that he has died, a dot (•) that he is now standing elsewhere, a number sign (#) that he did not stand in California in 2009 but is standing in the state in 2010, a double dagger (‡) that he is not standing in California in 2010 but will stand in the state in 2011 and In bold that he is a freshman sire. In all cases, a sire will remain in the rankings until the year after his last California foals are two-year-olds. Statistics cover racing in North America (U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico), England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) only. Percentages are based upon number of foals of racing age.
74 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
Available Statistics Through December 31, 2010
Leading Two-Year-Old Sires in California
Leading Sires Of Two-Year-Olds by Money Won Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Runners
Kafwain# . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Tribal Rule . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Ministers Wild Cat . . . . 27 Benchmark . . . . . . . . . . 24 Swiss Yodeler . . . . . . . . 29 Lucky Pulpit . . . . . . . . 10 Salt Lake* . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Old Topper . . . . . . . . . . 21 Marino Marini . . . . . . . . 15 In Excess (Ire) . . . . . . . . 22 Southern Image# . . . . . 25 Good Journey . . . . . . . . 11 Bertrando . . . . . . . . . . 21 Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Stormin Fever . . . . . . . 11 Doc Gus* . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Momentum . . . . . . . . . . 13 Perfect Mandate . . . . . . 7 Cayoke (Fr) . . . . . . . . . . 3 Decarchy . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Starts 124 153 100 82 140 44 62 70 62 58 94 42 66 48 33 31 73 12 21 39
Races Won 23 21 15 19 13 13 11 10 10 7 9 3 6 9 4 4 4 4 2 6
Earnings $524,412 474,658 444,541 438,241 424,489 275,371 243,231 228,534 167,193 162,783 160,675 157,151 155,412 145,485 143,542 142,360 138,657 127,963 124,984 118,869
KAFWAIN (TOMMY TOWN THOROUGHBREDS LLC) Leading Two-Year-Old Sire in California by Money Won through December 31, 2010
Leading Sires Of Two-Year-Olds by Number of Winners
Leading Sires Of Two-Year-Olds by Average Earnings Per Runner (Minimum 5 Runners)
Rank Sire 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Runners
Lucky Pulpit . . . . . . . . 10 Perfect Mandate . . . . . . 7 Benchmark . . . . . . . . . .24 Doc Gus* . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Ministers Wild Cat . . . . 27 Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Nineeleven . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Kafwain# . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Swiss Yodeler . . . . . . . . 29 Good Journey . . . . . . . . 11 Western Fame . . . . . . . . 7 Roar* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Stormin Fever . . . . . . . . 11 Tribal Rule . . . . . . . . . . .37 Rio Verde . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Game Plan . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Marino Marini . . . . . . . . 15 Salt Lake* . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Old Topper . . . . . . . . . . 21 Momentum . . . . . . . . . .13
Races Won Earnings 13 4 19 4 15 9 4 23 13 3 8 5 4 21 5 3 10 11 10 4
275,371 127,963 438,241 142,360 444,541 145,485 78,845 524,412 424,489 157,151 99,920 80,710 143,542 474,658 117,294 103,255 167,193 243,231 228,534 138,657
Average Earnings/ Runner 27,537 18,280 18,260 17,795 16,464 16,165 15,769 14,983 14,638 14,286 14,274 13,452 13,049 12,829 11,729 11,473 11,146 11,056 10,883 10,666
Rank Sire
Runners
1. Tribal Rule ........................ 37 2. Kafwain# .......................... 35 3. Ministers Wild Cat ............27 Benchmark ...................... 24 5. Swiss Yodeler .................. 29 6. Lucky Pulpit .................. 10 7. Salt Lake*........................ 22 In Excess (Ire) .................. 22 Globalize .......................... 12 10. Old Topper ...................... 21 Marino Marini....................15 Southern Image# ............ 25 Formal Gold• .................. 12 14. Bertrando........................ 21 Decarchy ........................ 15 Rio Verde ........................ 10 17. Singletary.......................... 9 Doc Gus* ............................8 Western Fame .................. 7 Roar* ................................ 6 Nineeleven ...................... 5 Flame Thrower..................11
Winners 18 16 12 12 10 8 7 7 7 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4
Races Won
Earnings
21 23 15 19 13 13 11 7 8 10 10 9 6 6 6 5 9 4 8 5 4 4
$474,658 524,412 444,541 438,241 424,489 275,371 243,231 162,783 $98,225 228,534 167,193 160,675 100,774 155,412 118,869 117,294 145,485 142,360 99,920 80,710 78,845 46,846
The statistics contained in these rankings are compiled by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. (TJCIS). While every effort is made to prevent errors and omissions, California Thoroughbred cannot guarantee their complete and total accuracy. A dagger (†) indicates a stallion has been pensioned, an asterisk (*) that he has died, a dot (•) that he is now standing elsewhere, a number sign (#) that he did not stand in California in 2009 but is standing in the state in 2010, a double dagger (‡) that he did not stand in California in 2010 but will stand in the state in 2011 and in bold that he is a freshman sire—in all cases the sire will remain in the rankings until the year after his last California foals are two-year-olds. Statistics cover racing in North America (U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico), England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates only.
www.ctba.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 75
D E P A R T M E N T
Membership Benefits Include: Subscription to California Thoroughbred Magazine Stallion Directory Industry Directory FREE Access To California Tracks Cal-bred Registration Discounts Legislative Updates Educational Seminars & Various Social Activities Advertising Discounts California Thoroughbred Weekly CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION 201 Colorado Place, P.O. Box 60018, Arcadia, CA 91066-6018 • (800) 573-2822 • Fax (626) 445-6981 • www.ctba.com
Introducing for 2011 BONNRITA
Dark Bay or Brown Horse; Feb. 19, 2002
The Only Son of GULCH to stand in California By GULCH (1984), champion sprinter in U. S., Stakes winner of $3,095,521, 1st Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1), etc. Among the leading sires in U. S., sire of 20 crops of racing age, 1,100 foals, 910 starters, 72 stakes winners, 1 champion, 642 winners of 2,304 races and earnings of $86,008,667 U. S., including Thunder Gulch (Champion in U. S., $2,915,086, 1st Kentucky Derby (G1), etc.), Nayef (Hwt. In England and United Arab Emirates, $3,594,157 USA, 1st Juddmonte International S. (G1), etc.), Eagle Cafe ($4,227,985 USA, 1st Japan Cup Dirt, etc.), Brave Tender ($2,708,334 USA, 1st Arlington Cup, etc.), Court Vision (to 5, 2010, $2,606,521 USA, 1st Woodbine Mile S. (G1), etc.), The Cliff's Edge ($1,265,258, 1st Toyota Blue Grass S. (G1), etc.), Wallenda ($1,205,929, 1st Super Derby (G1), etc.), Esteemed Friend ($805,237, 1st General George H. (G2), etc.). First dam is by DEPUTY MINISTER, leading broodmare sire of more than 180 stakes winners, including CURLIN, RAGS TO RICHES, HALFBRIDLED, JAZIL, BOB & JOHN etc. 5 Two-year-old winners out of 7 (71.43%) in 1st dam of Bonnrita. BREED FOR YOUR 2-YR-OLD WINNER!!
2011: Introductory fee: $750 S&N Booking fee $250 For Inquiries please contact Nancy Markwell 818 472 5626
D E P A R T M E N T
Regional Race Meetings, Stakes Races and Sale Dates
Dates in California
2011 REGIONAL RACE MEETINGS Santa Anita Park, Arcadia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dec. 26, 2010-April 17, 2011 Pacific Racing Association, Golden Gate Fields, Albany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Dec. 26, 2010-June 12, 2011 Hollywood Park, Inglewood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .April 20-July 17 San Joaquin County Fair, Stockton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .June 15-19 Alameda County Fair, Pleasanton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .June 22-July 10 California State Fair, Cal Expo, Sacramento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July 13-24 Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Del Mar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July 20-Sept. 7 Sonoma County Fair, Santa Rosa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .July 27-Aug. 14 Humboldt County Fair, Ferndale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aug. 12-21 Pacific Racing Association, Golden Gate Fields, Albany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aug. 19-Oct. 2 Fairplex Park, Pomona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Unknown Oak Tree Racing Association, Hollywood Park, Inglewood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Unknown The Big Fresno Fair, Fresno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oct. 5-16 Pacific Racing Association, Golden Gate Fields, Albany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oct. 19-Dec. 18 Hollywood Park, Inglewood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Unknown
MARCH 2011
FEBRUARY 2011 SUN
MON
TUE
WED
THUR
FRI
SAT
SUN
1
2
3
4
5
MON
TUE
WED
THUR
FRI
SAT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
27
28
29
30
31
FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2011 REGIONAL STAKES RACES Date Feb. 5 Feb. 5 Feb. 5 Feb. 6 Feb. 12 Feb. 12 Feb. 12 Feb. 13 Feb. 19 Feb. 19 Feb. 20 Feb. 21 Feb. 21 Feb. 26 Feb. 27
Track SA SA SA SA SA SA GG SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA
Stakes (Grade)
Conditions
Distance
Added Value
Las Virgenes Stakes (Gr. I) . . . . . . . . . . . .3-y-o f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$250,000g Strub Stakes (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/8 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200,000g Thunder Road (Gr. III) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 m. (T) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100,000g San Antonio Handicap (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/8 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150,000g Robert B. Lewis Stakes (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . .3-y-o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/8 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250,000g Santa Maria Handicap (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up, f. & m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/16 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150,000g El Camino Real Derby (Gr. III) . . . . . . . . . .3-y-o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/8 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200,000g La Cañada Stakes (Gr II) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/8 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150,000g San Carlos Handicap (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150,000g San Luis Obispo Handicap (Gr. II) . . . . . . .4-y-o & up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/2 m. (T) . . . . . . . . . . . . .150,000g San Vicente Stakes (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-y-o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150,000g Buena Vista Handicap (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up, f. & m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 m. (T) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150,000g La Habra Stakes (Gr. III) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-y-o f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .abt. 6 1/2 f. (T) . . . . . . . . . . .100,000g Valentine Dancer Handicap . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up, f. & m, Cal-Bred/Sired . . .1 m. (T) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100,000g Sensational Star Handicap . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up, Cal-Bred/Sired . . . . . . . . .abt. 6 1/2 f. (T) . . . . . . . . . .100,000g
78 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
Date Mar. 5 Mar. 5 Mar. 5 Mar. 12 Mar. 12 Mar. 19 Mar. 19 Mar. 20 Mar. 20 Mar. 26
Track SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA
Stakes (Grade)
Conditions
Distance
Added Value
Santa Anita Handicap (Gr. I) . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/4 m. . . . . . . . . . . . .$750,000g Frank E. Kilroe Mile (Gr. I) . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 m. (T) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300,000g Santa Anita Oaks (Gr. I) . . . . . . . . . . . . .3-y-o f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/16 m. . . . . . . . . . . . .250,000g Santa Margarita Handicap (Gr. I) . . . . . .4-y-o & up, f. & m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/8 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . .300,000g San Felipe Stakes (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . . . .3-y-o . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/16 m. . . . . . . . . . . . .250,000 Santa Ana Stakes (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up, f. & m. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/8 m. (T) . . . . . . . . . .150,000g Irish O’Brien Stakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up, f. & m., Cal-Bred/Sired . .abt. 6 1/2 f. (T) . . . . . . .100,000 San Luis Rey Stakes (Gr. II) . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/2 m. (T) . . . . . . . . . .150,000g Santa Paula Stakes (Gr. III) . . . . . . . . . .3-y-o f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 1/2 f. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100,000 Tokyo City Cup (Gr. III) . . . . . . . . . . . . .4-y-o & up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 1/2 m. . . . . . . . . . . . . .100,000 *Purse includes money from Cal-bred Race Fund **Purse includes money from Breeders’ Cup Fund g-Purse guaranteed +-Added purse
2011 REGIONAL SALE DATES March 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barretts March Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds in Training: Training preview on March 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Nominations closed October 27, 2010) May 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Barretts May Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training: Training preview on May 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Entries close March 25) October 11 & 12 . . . . . . . . .California Cup Yearling Sale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(Nominations close April 22)
California-Bred/California-Sired Stakes Races—February to April SANTA ANITA PARK Saturday, February 26 $100,000 Valentine Dancer Handicap Four-Year-Olds & Up, Fillies & Mares 1 Mile (Turf)
Sunday, February 27 $100,000 Sensational Star Handicap Four-Year-Olds & Up about 6 1/2 Furlongs (Turf)
Saturday, March 19 $100,000 Irish O’Brien Stakes Four-Year-Olds & Up, Fillies & Mares about 6 1/2 Furlongs (Turf)
It Pays To Be Cal-Bred
www.ctba.com
GOLDEN GATE FIELDS Saturday, April 23 $50,000 Work The Crowd Stakes Four-Year-Olds & Up, Fillies & Mares 1 Mile (Turf)
It Pays To Be Cal-Bred
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 79
D E P A R T M E N T
1st Annual CTBA Golf Tournament* February 14, 2011
Coronado Municipal Golf Course 2000 Visalia Row Coronado, CA $89 per player includes: Green Fees, Cart, Range Balls and Lunch. Tee times beginning at 10:30 a.m. Special room rate available for participants at the Loews Coronado Bay. *Held in conjunction with the
CTBA Annual Awards Dinner on February 15, 2011 For more information and to sign up, please contact Christy Chapman (800) 573-2822, Ext 247, or christy@ctba.com Note: On February 12, 2011, the largest Fly Over since WWII will be conducted over Coronado. 150,000 people are expected to congregate on the island to witness this historical event. Reserve your room now, and your place on the island, to be a part of history.
Available Statistics Through December 31, 2010 Ranking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50
Breeder
Total Earnings
Harris Farms Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$2,488,432 Tommy Town Thoroughbreds LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,830,161 Mr. & Mrs. Martin J. Wygod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,669,243 Benjamin C. Warren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,517,972 Mabee Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,468,125 Old English Rancho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,255,046 Terry C. Lovingier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,012,603 Mr. & Mrs. Larry D. Williams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .927,666 Carlee Van Kempen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .906,570 Rancho San Miguel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .547,386 J. Paul Reddam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .526,755 Magali Ventures LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .491,740 Harris Farms Inc. & Donald Valpredo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .487,924 Legacy Ranch Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .462,875 Rod & Lorraine Rodriguez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .454,341 Applebite Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .452,340 Heinz Steinmann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .449,020 Charlotte M. Wrather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .422,829 Ernest L. Langbein, William Morey, Kenneth Robinson & Dwaine Hall . .419,740 Vessels Stallion Farm LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .396,082 David Abrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .378,659 Madera Thoroughbreds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .375,412 Carol A. Lingenfelter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350,096 Leland G. Garner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .348,944 Nick Cafarchia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .340,078 Dr. Mikel C. Harrington & Patricia O. Harrington & Revocable Trust . .333,024 Sutherland Farm Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312,878 Mr. & Mrs. Nick Alexander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302,990 R. Gregg Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .286,318 Harold Phenix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283,825 Teresa McWilliams & Peter & Ellen Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279,000 Milt A. Policzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268,582 David Abrams & Madeline Auerbach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259,534 Geri Forrester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .251,752 Patricia Youngman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250,708 SLU Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250,404 Daehling Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .248,725 Frank Alesia, Greg Vela, Joe Ciaglia & Bran Jam Stable . . . . . . . . . .248,665 Special T Thoroughbreds Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .244,607 Wesley A. Ward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .241,330 Joseph P. Morey Jr. Revocable Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240,449 Dr. & Mrs. William T. Gray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238,233 David M. & Marion K. Christensen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237,670 Old English Rancho & Patsy & Sal Berumen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233,559 Robert H. Walter Family Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232,238 Sunset Stables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231,019 Joseph A. Duffel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220,643 Harris Farms Inc., Donald Valpredo & John Nicoletti . . . . . . . . . . . . .220,400 Dahlberg Farms LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218,576 Mike Machowsky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217,320
Leading Breeders in California
Leading Earner (Sire) Earnings Cost of Freedom (Cee’s Tizzy) $290,878 U R All That I Am (Valid Wager) $235,409 Alywyn (Benchmark) $112,891 Warren’s Jitterbug (Affirmative) $152,670 Evening Jewel (Northern Afleet) $915,343 Acclamation (Unusual Heat) $302,488 Tap Tap I Win (Tapit) $159,850 Antares World (Decarchy) $236,480 The Usual Q. T. (Unusual Heat) $906,570 Money Lover (Marino Marini) $108,680 Catsalot (Momentum) $106,801 Blame the Wine (Decarchy) $116,476 Unzip Me (City Zip) $462,033 Ruffled Feathers (Include) $153,606 Camille C (Roman Dancer) $146,030 Prince of Gotham (Gotham City) $46,440 Swiss Wild Cat (Swiss Yodeler) $189,552 Guiding Hand (Helmsman) $82,870 Bold Chieftain (Chief Seattle) $419,740 Slammer Time (Grand Slam) $83,152 Unusual Suspect (Unusual Heat) $299,071 Soul Candy (Birdonthewire) $215,020 Enriched (High Brite) $349,496 No Hesitation (Siberian Summer) $295,658 My Summer Slew (Siberian Summer) $137,194 Edgewick Road (Swiss Yodeler) $68,088 Melbisha (High Brite) $66,660 Victory Check (Victory Gallop) $35,395 Amazombie (Northern Afleet) $152,578 Killer Bear (Northern Devil) $74,800 Alphie’s Bet (Tribal Rule) $279,000 Crazy Good (Decarchy) $71,760 Pretty Unusual (Unusual Heat) $157,000 Cayambe (Helmsman) $156,374 Doubloon City (Trail City) $29,795 Cahill Country (Cahill Road) $54,414 Blast’em (Siberian Summer) $64,260 Bran Jammas (In Excess (Ire)) $136,860 Raetodandty (Freespool) $85,342 Streamin Heat (Bring the Heat) $76,475 Upstairs Maid (Trapper) $76,856 Tornado Betty (Comic Strip) $100,120 Time to Honor (Honor Grades) $99,560 One Man’s Delight (One Man Army) $55,064 Moon Quist Rose (Malibu Moon) $31,168 The Bat Signal (Gotham City) $85,104 Visionary Vila (Perfect Mandate) $32,161 Compari (Redattore (Brz)) $220,400 Leaving New York (Tribal Rule) $78,200 Caracortado (Cat Dreams) $217,320
GRAND TOTAL OF EARNINGS FOR ALL BREEDERS FOR JANUARY 1 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2010, is $70,346,698 The statistics contained in this ranking are compiled by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. While every effort is made to prevent errors and omissions, California Thoroughbred cannot guarantee their complete and total accuracy. Statistics cover California-bred foals racing in North America (U. S., Canada and Puerto Rico), Argentina, Australia, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates only.
www.ctba.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 81
D E P A R T M E N T
Important Events, Dates and California-Bred Stakes Races
CTBA Calendar
February 2011 SUNDAY
6 13
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
22
23
24
25
26
Valentine’s Day
20
21 President’s Day
27
28 CALIFORNIA-BRED/SIRED STAKES RACES
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26 $100,000 VALENTINE DANCER HANDICAP 4YO & UP, FILLIES & MARES, 1 MILE (TURF) Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27 $100,000 SENSATIONAL STAR HANDICAP 4YO & UP, ABOUT 6 1/2 FURLONGS (TURF) Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif.
IMPORTANT EVENTS & DATES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 THE JOCKEY CLUB DEADLINE FOR NAMING FOALS OF 2009 The Jockey Club Head Office, Lexington, Ky. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION (CTBA) 1ST ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT Coronado Municipal Golf Course, Coronado, Calif.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION (CTBA) ANNUAL MEETING AND AWARDS DINNER Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Coronado, Calif.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION (CTBA) DEADLINE FOR 2011 CALIFORNIA STALLION REGISTRATION CTBA Office, Arcadia, Calif.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED FARM MANAGERS ASSOCIATION (CTFMA) MONTHLY MEETING San Luis Rey Downs Country Club, Bonsall, Calif.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17 CALIFORNIA HORSE RACING BOARD (CHRB) MONTHLY BOARD MEETING Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19 THOROUGHBRED OWNERS OF CALIFORNIA (TOC) FREE “CONFORMATION CLINIC” SEMINARS Santa Anita Park, Arcadia, Calif. & Golden Gate Fields, Albany, Calif.
California Thoroughbred Breeders Association 201 Colorado Place, P.O. Box 60018, Arcadia, CA 91066-6018 • (626) 445-7800 • Fax (626) 574-0852 82 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
www.ctba.com
Cash with order. $1.00 a word. $15.00 minimum. Deadline 1st of preceding month. Additional charges for bordered ads. Include area and zip codes. California Thoroughbred reserves the right to edit all copy.
Classified Advertising
BOARDING
TRAINING
$10.00 A DAY
Lisa Macauley
200 acres irrigated pasture with lots of lush grass, safely divided into 4- to 10-acre pastures. Individual paddocks available. Grain fed daily. Bring us your broodmares, foals, yearlings, lay-ups. Electronic supervised foaling stalls.
Performance Horses Offers:
For more information and pictures call
DAEHLING RANCH 10045 Grant Line Rd. Elk Grove, CA 95624 916/685-4965
High Quality Boarding, Without the High Prices! • Beautiful, safe irrigated pastures • Large 12x20 stalls for foaling and lay-ups • Specializing in year-round broodmares, weanlings and yearling care. • 2 hours from Golden Gate Fields Oakdale, Calif. 209-765-1676 E-mail: lmacauleyreiners@hughes.net
Email: daehlingranch@hotmail.com www.daehlingranch.com
THE COLE RANCH. BOARDING CARE: • Video monitored foaling stalls • Complimentary in-state shipping to/from stud farm • Complete vaccination, hoof care and de-worming program • $15 per day includes nursing foal for four months • Multiple mare discounts FOAL CARE: • Two-acre irrigated Bermuda grass pastures • Best quality alfalfa and fortified grain • Complementary halter breaking • Complementary Jockey Club registration • Breaking and sales prep They Don’t Run Faster Because You Over Pay
559-535-4680 www.thecoleranch.com
RECENTLY WIDOWED. Would like to get back in the horse business. Years of experience with breeding, foaling and dealing with all types of leg injuries. Nothing fancy, large paddocks, good feed with lots of TLC. $185 per month. Contact Gloria Renteria 619-766-4557.
THOROUGHBREDS FOR LEASE LOOKING TO LEASE stakes-winning or stake- producing mare for the 2011 breeding season. 213-700-9799
THOROUGHBREDS FOR SALE QUALITY STRONG BONED TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY by an A.P. Indy-winning son. Dam blacktype family, allowance winner and producer all winners from starters. Ready for training. $7,500. Phone 760-873-8643.
$35 A DAY Breaking and Training the easy and fast way. All-Weather Track • Starting Gate Covered Round Pen • Hot Walker Bring us your young horse! 10 years of track experience DAEHLING RANCH 916-685-4965
D E P A R T M E N T
E-mail: daehlingranch@hotmail.com www.daehlingranch.com
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TRAINER. Great care, communication and experience. Southern Cal Shippers welcome. Eddie Rich 209914-2230.
Who says you can’t get anything for FREE anymore? Call 732-747-8060 for a
FREE WEEK of the THOROUGHBRED DAILY NEWS the only seven-day-a-week newsletter delivered right to your fax machine.
The TDN keeps you up-to-date with: • Racing and breeding news • Stakes previews and results • Allowance and maiden results • European and Japanese results • Feature stories and columns • And much, much more, on a daily basis!
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So call for your
FREE week today!
www.ctba.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 83
D E P A R T M E N T
Classified Advertising Cont’d.
BUSINESS CARDS
Suzanne Cardiff Pedigree Research Consultation 413 W. Camino Real Arcadia, CA 91007-7302 Phone (626) 445-3104 Fax (626) 445-0743 www.thoroughbredinfo.com/showcase/cardiff.htm
www.horselawyers.com EQUINE
Lillian Nichols
SWIFT
JUSTICE
LAW
1 (800) 745-9336 THE LAW OFFICES OF BING I. BUSH JR. APC
Offices in Southern California & Lexington Kentucky Email: b.bush@horselawyers.com
JEANNIE GARR RODDY Broker Associate
626 862-0620 Cell 818 583-1217 Direct Line 818 583-1231 E-Fax jeannie.garr@dicksonpodley.com DRE # 00941946
846 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada, Flintridge, CA 91011
84 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
18200 Yorba Linda Blvd. Suite 207-A Yorba Linda, CA 92886 Office 949-264-1464 Facsimile 949-242-2454 Toll Free 888-403-9444 lisalerch@legalequestrian.com www.legalequestrian.com
www.ctba.com
BUSINESS CARDS
Joyce Canaday Equine Arts
(323) 429-0005 www.JoyceEquineArts.com
Laurel Fowler Insurance Broker, Inc. Tel (800) 700 6263 (805) 473 2227 Fax (805) 473 0202
Lic.# O.B.57610
D E P A R T M E N T
877 Noyes Rd., Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
State Farm® Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710
California Thoroughbred Breeders Association 201 Colorado Place • P.O. Box 60018 • Arcadia, CA 91066-6018 Phone: (626) 445-7800 • Fax: (626) 574-0852 Web: http://www.ctba.com
www.ctba.com
Sue Hubbard Steve Weber Agency License #0D91634 526 Spring Sreet Paso Robles, CA 9346 805-238-6200 Fax 805-238-1516 sue@mypasoagent.com
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 85
D E P A R T M E N T
Index to Advertisers
NOTE: Inside Back Cover, IBC; Outside Back Cover, OBC; Inside Front Cover, IFC
Ballena Vista Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC California-Bred/Sired Stakes Races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79 Cardiff, Suzanne, Pedigree Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 CTBA Annual Golf Tournament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 CTBA Annual Meeting/ Awards Dinner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 CTBA Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76 Daehling Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63,83 Diamond F. Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Dickson Podley Realtors, Jeannie Garr Roddy . . . . . . . . . .84 E.A. Ranches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,31,33 Equineline.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 Gayle Van Leer Thoroughbred Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Golden Eagle Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Harris Farms Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC, 15 Joyce Canaday Equine Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Laurel Fowler Insurance Broker Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Legacy Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9, 11 Legal Equestrian/Lisa Lerch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Lillian Nichols/Halters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Linda Cardenas-Subias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Lisa Macauley Performance Horse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 Lovacres Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Magali Farms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5, 7, 53 Maiden Bonus Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
86 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
NTRA Advantage/John Deere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 NTRA Advantage/John Deere/Sherwin Williams/UPS . . . . .64 Oak Hill Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Oakmont Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IBC Odyssey Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Once Over Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85 Pacific Coast Thoroughbreds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Paradise Road Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 68 Poplar Meadows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Rancho San Miquel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40,41,43 Rancho Temescal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Ridgeley Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Salesring.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 SK Racing Stable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46,47 Special T. Thoroughbreds Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Sue Hubbard & Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Summit General Insurance Agency Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 State Farm/Sue Hubbard/Steve Webber Agency . . . . . . . . .85 The Cole Ranch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 Thoroughbred Daily News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 Tommy Town Thoroughbred LLC . . . . . . . . .21, 23, 25, 27, 29 Victory Rose Thoroughbreds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72, 73 www,horselawyers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
www.ctba.com
This index is provided as a service. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors or ommisions.
Atticus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5, 53 Awesome Gambler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Bedford Falls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Behrens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Benchmark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC Bertrando . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC Best Minister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Bonnrita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Brave cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10, 68 Bushwacker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Calkins Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Chattahoochee War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Cindago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Comet Shine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Comic Strip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Council Member . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Decarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Del Mar Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Desert Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Dixie Chatter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC Drum Major . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 EZ Warrior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Forest command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Game Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 Global Hunter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Globalize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Good Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Grace Upon Grace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Grazen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Grey Memo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Idiot Proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC Kafwain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Latin American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Lucky J.H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Lucky Pulpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IFC, 15 Many Rivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Marino Marini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 McCann's Mojave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
www.ctba.com
Index to Stallions
Ministers Wild Cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Mr. Broad Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Old Topper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Olmodavor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5, 7 Olympio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Onebadshark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Papa Clem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Peppered Cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Pure Thrill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Roi Charmant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Sea of Secrets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC Siberian Summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Silic (Fr) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Singletary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Sought After . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Southern Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Spensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Storm Wolf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Stormin Fever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Stormy Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Suances (GB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Swiss Yodeler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Tale of the Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 Ten Most Wanted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 The Pamplemousse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Thisnearlywasmine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Time to Get Even . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Tizbud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Tribal Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .OBC Unusual Heat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Western Fame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Whatsthescript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
D E P A R T M E N T
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011 87
C O L U M N
A Bad Bet Guest Forum by BOB CARSON Last week, many of you played a small roll in a drama. You spent a dollar or two on the latest mega lottery. You did not win but you enjoyed the pleasurable sensation of taking a risk. This is fine. People enjoy gambling, always have, and always will. I too, enjoy a small wager but I did not invest in the lottery because I enjoy gambling much more when I feel actively involved. Also, the better my odds of winning, the more I enjoy gambling. Gambling on the lottery is not a bad thing, but the lottery is a bad gamble. The odds of winning yesterday’s lottery were not one in a million, they were one in 76 million— odds that are about the same as my becoming supreme ruler of the planet Nebulon in the galaxy Beltron or of the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series. Not only are my odds of winning the lottery beyond astronomical, the entertainment value is negligible (I believe the numbers are selected from a thrilling game of ping pong balls popping out of a tube). The lottery requires no true intellectual process (except perhaps picking numbers based on scientific logic such license plate numbers, children's birth dates or the number of time your poodle thumps his tail against a coffee table). Allow me to offer three simple gambling models for examination: Model # 1: Take five dollars earmarked for the next lottery. Pick a number on a horse race at a local racetrack (you need to know nothing about horseracing). Bet five dollars to win on that number. If there are eight horses in the race, one will win. For scientific purposes, let us use the hypothesis that your racehorse wins and pays at the nice return of 10-1. You will win $50. This is not impossible (even I did this once in the summer of 1979). Take the $50 windfall and bet it all on the next race (this is called a parlay). Following the same hypothesis, a winner at 10-1, your mythical bankroll is now $500. Repeat this twice more. If my math is correct (odds against this are longer than 10-1) you will now have $50,000. If you are insane and parlay this money once again on another horserace, you will now amass over $500,000. It is true that handicapping* four or five winners in a row (and having the chutzpa to parlay) is a difficult task. The odds against winning four consecutive horse races are very long—but compared to playing the lottery, winning four consecutive horse races is a sure thing. Without question, watching magnificent horses gallop is more exciting than watching ping pong balls bounce.
88 CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED • FEBRUARY 2011
Model #2: Let us take a lottery player who spends $10 each week on the lottery gamble. For an entire year, this lottery person places the $10 bill earmarked for weekly lottery confetti into an old sock. Financial advisors refer to this as a sock option. At the end of the year, this lottery player will have saved several days of his or her life that would have been wasted standing in line to purchase lottery tickets. In addition, this lottery player will now have an old sock filled with $520 in cash. Next, remove the cash from the sock. Stand in line one time at a racetrack betting window. Bet all $520 on a horserace. You may even ask a railbird** for advice on selecting a number. Stroll out to the apron, inhale the pungent aromas and mingle with fellow race fans. Watch a thrilling race. Pray, scream, shout, “Come on number RomperStomper, come on number RomperStomper.” If RomperStomper listens, you will win a very tidy sum of money. The chances of RomperStomper winning this horse race are not impossible (unless I have bet on this horse too) because one of the horses (usually less than 10 are entered) will win. Model #3: Stand in a line each week at a 7-Eleven™ Store and purchase lottery tickets where the odds of winning are one in 76,000,000. Purchase tickets. Wait for drawing. View numbers on television or in newspaper. Say, “Gosh I had two of the 10 numbers, I was soooo close.” Throw tickets in trash. Personally, I am not fond of 7-Eleven Stores. Nor do I like wagering on one in 76 million shots. Therefore, I would choose models one or two. Against all odds, most of America does not see things as I do. *Handicapping, the study of horses and racing patterns. Handicapping will improve your odds at winning money in these hypothetical models. However, be forewarned, handicapping requires the ability to read, add, subtract, divide and wear out-of-date clothing. **Railbird, an experienced horse handicapper or bettor. These men are easily recognized by their colorful personalities and average age of 93. The longevity is remarkable because 86 of the years have been spent inhaling cigar smoke. ***Note, standing in lottery lines may lead to purchasing large quantities of cheese doodles, potato chips, beer, cigarettes and beef jerky which will decrease your fiscal assets and cut into your lottery ticket money. Also, consuming the purchases may render you dead. Being dead may slightly decrease your chances of winning the mega lottery.
www.ctba.com