It’s a Knockout for Barry Family

by Jessica Martini
   Clifford Barry has already enjoyed success as breeder of graded stakes-winning sophomores Soldat (War Front) and High Limit (Maria’s Mon) and the longtime general manager at Josephine Abercrombie’s Pin Oak Stud has another promising graduate in Sunday’s first-out winner Itsaknockout (Lemon Drop Kid). Itsaknockout was bred under the Brookfield Stud banner of Barry and his wife Elizabeth. 

    “It’s nice to get lucky every now and then, let me tell you,” Barry said after watching Itsaknockout gamely hold off stablemate Old Mountain Lane (War Front) for a dramatic victory at Gulfstream. “I’ve been following him in his works a little bit and then, when I saw him entered, Elizabeth and I were sitting on the couch watching him. We were rooting him pretty hard that last 50 yards, I can promise you. He was pretty impressive for a first-time starter. He looked a little green, but still nice to get the W.” 
 
    Itsaknockout is the third foal–and third winner–out of Stormy B (Cherokee Run). Barry purchased the now 9-year-old mare, in foal to Tiz Wonderful, for $67,000 under the names of daughters Audrey and Emily out of the 2009 Keeneland November sale. 
  
    “It was the back end of the sale and we’d been searching for a mare with a little family,” Barry recalled. “I’d known the family quite a bit. The filly herself, when she was in training, was with Donnie Von Hemel and we had some horses with him, so I had kept an eye on her. She’s a very, very attractive mare.” 
 
    “I paid a little more than I needed to for her, I’ll be honest with you,” Barry added. “I didn’t go in there intending to pay that much for her, but she’s been very good to me. She’s had three winners this year and she’s rewarded me in the sales ring. Everything out of her is good-looking.” 
 
    Stormy B very quickly rewarded Barry’s investment. The mare’s Tiz Wonderful colt sold for $200,000 at the 2010 Keeneland November sale. Named Storm Power, the now 4-year-old was a two-time stakes winner at Turf Paradise this year. The mare’s second foal, Equilateral (Arch), was led out unsold at $95,000 at the 2011 Keeneland September sale, but she was a first-out winner at Belmont in May for Marc Keller. 

    Barry sold Itsaknockout for $130,000 at the 2012 Keeneland November sale and, returned to the sale’s ring by Gerry Dilger’s Dromoland Farm the following year, the colt brought $350,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga August sale. 

   “Gerry Dilger made me look bad on this one,” Barry laughed. “I sold the colt as a baby and then he turned around and sold him as a yearling for $350,000 or so. Every time you run one through the ring, you know that could happen. But I was glad to see him do well and we’ve still got the mare.” 

    Barry said it was an easy decision to breed Stormy B to Lemon Drop Kid. 

    “It’s a really good mating,” he said. “I’m a big Lemon Drop Kid fan. I have been for a really long time. We’ve had a lot of them at Pin Oak and they are just very, very nice individuals and they are always correct. I just think he suited this mare–on paper it had worked before. He was a really really nice baby.” 

    Stormy B is currently in foal to a stallion Barry has plenty of experience with, the Pin Oak-homebred Alternation (Distorted Humor), winner of the 2011 GII Peter Pan S. 

    “I’m pretty excited [about the Alternation foal],” said Barry. “Physically, that’s a nice cross for her and hopefully we’ll get another nice baby. That would be great.” 

    The mare will be bred back to Mineshaft next year. 

    Barry is quick to give Pin Oak owner Josephine Abercrombie credit for his success as a breeder. 

    “I’ve worked for Mrs. Abercrombie for going on 28 years,” Barry explained. “So all of this is things I’ve learned from her. She’s a true breeder at heart and she’s taught me a lot over the years.” 

Brookfield Stud, which consists of some three to five broodmares, is all in the family for Barry, his wife and two daughters. 

    “When we bought this mare, I signed the ticket for my kids,” Barry said. “It’s a little bit of a family thing. The girls, Audrey and Emily, they help us prep the foals and feed and do all that stuff. It’s a bit of a family project. We were all watching the race and everybody was screaming and shouting and the dogs were barking. Everybody was jumping up and down. It’s always exciting.” 

    When the Brookfield foals head through the sales ring depends on the individual, according to Barry. 

    “We treat them all differently,” he explained. “If they are very forward and very precocious and look the part as babies, sometimes I just feel like you can get your money when they are babies and not have to wait until they are yearlings.” 
  
    The Brookfield-bred Soldat won the 2011 GII Fountain of Youth S. before finishing 11th in Animal Kingdom’s GI Kentucky Derby., while High Limit won the 2005 GII Louisiana Derby and was second in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. before running 20th in the Kentucky Derby. 

    Barry admitted it was easy to start dreaming after watching a promising juvenile debut winner like Itsaknockout. 

    “You always keep your fingers crossed,” Barry said. “Any time you see a 2-year-old jump up and win like that, in what I thought was a pretty hot maiden race at Gulfstream today, it gets you pretty excited. That’s what we get up early for every day. And he is in great hands with Todd Pletcher and with the Starlight people.”