Mayer Subs Mare, Gets $850K Foal

These days, getting a season to War Front is a little like finding a golden ticket in a chocolate bar. Rare, but potentially lucrative. So when one of the best mares from John Mayer’s Nursery Place hemorrhaged while foaling and was unable to make a date with the Claiborne stallion last spring, it could have been a big blow to his Lexington-based operation. Luckily, however, the folks at Claiborne were amenable to switching out mares, and Mayer substituted Stone Hope(Grindstone), a half-sister to the promising but star-crossed MSW & GSP Street Life (Street Sense). 

Yesterday, the resulting produce from that mating, a striking dark bay colt by War Front, topped the third session of the Keeneland November Sale, eliciting a bid of $850,000 from Brian Graves. Graves outlasted Taylor Made’s Jacob West, who stood in a pavilion doorway on the phone. West said he couldn’t reveal the client for whom he was bidding. The colt sold near the end of the session as Hip 842 from Nursery Place’s draft. 

Graves, who signed the ticket under Clear Ridge Stables, said the colt was purchased for an undisclosed partnership, and added that the colt might be resold as a yearling. 

“War Front had the highest-priced horse [at Keeneland September] at $2.2 million, so there’s a chance you’ll see him back at auction,” said Graves. 

At $800,000, the colt would likely be one of the most ambitious pinhooks in history, but considering the fact that War Front sons have topped the last two editions of September–the ‘13 sale was topped by the $2.5 million Treaty of Rome–it’s not an outlandish proposition by any stretch. 

Graves said the price was no surprise. “Nice horses with that kind of stallion average–I could see having to pay that much,” he said. “He was one of the nicest horses in the sale and by a very good stallion. They cost money.” 

Graves added, “He’s very light on his feet and very well-balanced. He’s a very muscular horse that you just expect to get better and better.” 

Graves has a reputation as one of the more astute weanling-to-yearling pinhookers in the business, but said the job’s been made tough at November. 

“It’s been very strong,” he commented. “I’ve tried to be good and set limits, but it hasn’t worked out too well for me. There’s a lot of competition in the marketplace from [both] end users and pinhookers.” 

The first person to congratulate Graves was John Mayer’s son Griffin, who was overseeing the Nursery Place draft and “pacing all day” in anticipation of his star colt’s 7:45 post time in the ring. 

“I’m just very happy for my dad,” said Griffin. “He owned 100% of him, and just really deserved this.” 

Nursery Place purchased Stone Hope for $75,000 at the 2013 Keeneland January Sale, just a few months before she visited War Front. Griffin said her colt was a great representation of the sire. 

“He’s one of the better War Fronts I’ve seen,” he commented. “We knew he was really special to be around from Day 1. All the guys at the farm know he’s a smart, smart horse.” 

Griffin admitted there are plenty of nervous moments when you own a top prospect from one of the world’s most commercial sires. 

“It’s kind of out of our league, so we were really careful with him,” he laughed. “We just kind of bubble wrapped him up until this point. But I talked day into bringing him here and giving it a shot; we thought we could get a yearling price for him. Brian Graves bought him, and he’s a great judge of a horse, and he’ll go to a good home.” -L Marquardt