by J.M. Severni
Regis Racing had something of a coming-out party this past week, with sophomore fillies Seduire (Elusive Quality) taking the GII Santa Ynez S. Jan. 3 (video) and Shook Up (Tapit) becoming a “TDN Rising Star” with her impressive graduation at the Fair Grounds that same day (video). Regis Farm, which is owned by lifelong horseman Nat Rea, began purchasing Thoroughbreds in 2012 and is now starting to reap the benefits of those investments.
Regis Farms and Racing President Kieran Lalor noted that the operation is both excited about the recent success and grateful for all the support. “We've been overwhelmed,” he said. “I've received hundreds of phone calls and text messages from both industry professional and fans of the animals congratulating us. We're so thankful for everyone who has reached out to us.”
Lalor, a Kildare native, has been with Regis since the fall of 2013. He previously served as the Broodmare Manager at WinStar and Assistant Manager at Castleton Lyons.
Seduire was one of the first Regis Farm purchases when she was bought for $130,000 as a weanling at the 2012 Keeneland November Sale. A first-out winner in May under the care of Jerry Hollendorfer, Seduire has since annexed the Wine Country Debutante S. and Golden Gate Debutante before earning the first graded win for Regis Farm in the Santa Ynez. Of last weekend's victory, Lalor said, “It has been the highlight for our budding company so far. She has given us some great thrills and we are very excited for her future. Jerry and his team have done an amazing job with her. She is all heart and we are very lucky and proud to have her.”
However, that victory was nearly overshadowed by the 13 1/2-length domination from the Steve Asmussen-trained Shook Up. The gray filly was a solid second at first asking over the Churchill slop Nov. 23, but made her way onto the national stage with Saturday's win, in which she earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure. Shook Up was bred by SF Bloodstock and is out of GI Santa Maria H. winner Sugar Shake. Regis Farm purchased her privately from the breeder as a yearling.
As to what attracted Regis Farm to the filly, Lalor explained, “She's by Tapit and is out of a Grade I-winning mare Sugar Shake. She's a knockout physically–she's got lots of size, scope and bone, which compliments her great attitude. Nat uses the term 'magical' when around her and I think that sums it up.”
The team at Regis had always though highly of the filly; “She started out with Ian Brennan, who is based at Stonestreet in Florida,” Lalor said. “Ian loved her from the beginning and always thought she would be special. Steve, who has had her since July, has been very high on her. She was immature and needed time to develop, but he and his team have done a tremendous job with her and I have to give them credit. We started her out at Churchill Down knowing she would need a race and her best days would be around two turns, but in fairness, she ran a terrific race as green as she was, and was narrowly beaten by a good Juddmonte filly. We had high hopes she would win Saturday, but the way she did it absolutely floored us. She has a huge stride and looked like she was out for a stroll in the park. Jockey Robby Albarado was fantastic in how he handled her. I still have goosebumps.”
Although connections are waiting to see how Shook Up exits the race and returns to training before making plans for the future, they're hopeful that she'll continue along the same path as other notable sophomore fillies from the Asmussen stable.
“I'd imagine that Steve will want to go the same path that he went with Rachel Alexandra and Untapable,” Lalor speculated. “This is a game of peaks and valleys, so we try not to get too far ahead of ourselves, but is very exciting to have a horse of her caliber in the stable
and we are very fortunate to even be in the in the Kentucky Oaks discussion. It's four months away though, and there are a lot more hoops to jump through to get there. I also feel that this year's crop of 3-year-old fillies is one of the strongest I've ever seen, so it will be a great competitive year for the industry and its fan base.”
Regis Farm is located on the former Hopewell Farm property in Woodford County and currently boasts 26 horses in training. They have 11 3-year-old fillies, seven 3-year-old colts and eight 4-year-old fillies dispersed between the barns of Christophe Clement, Graham Motion, Brian Lynch, Hollendorfer and Asmussen. Regis Farm also has 14 broodmares and is looking to eventually expand the band to 30-40 or so mares.
“The majority of the stable is female,” Lalor continued. “Obviously, there is a safety net with a good pedigreed filly, as you always have that residual value as a broodmare. We have some really good colts in the racing stable, too–some have yet to start and some are on the improve. You have to have a lot of patience in this game and we give them the time that they need.”
Regis Farm has certainly made a splash so far at auctions, with a number of expensive purchases in the three years they've been acquiring bloodstock. In 2013, Regis purchased the Keeneland January sales topper when they reached to $1.45 million for a Street Sense filly (who sold as hip 517). The filly, who has been named Bijou, will be sent to Clement in the coming weeks.
“She's exciting. She's taking a bit of time, but that's to be expected,” Lalor explained.
The operation took home six yearlings from the 2013 Keeneland September sale, including Iron Fist (Tapit), who they purchased, in partnership with Stonestreet Stables, for $1.55 million. The colt was third in the
GI Del Mar Futurity this past fall. The farm also scooped up an unraced colt (hip 110) named War Ride (Unbridled's Song). Regis' most recent million-dollar purchase was a Tapit filly (hip 69) from the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.
“She is a stunner,” Lalor said of the sale's third-highest priced hip. “She had a super attitude about her and was professional about everything she did. Nat makes the final decision on our equine purchases and, thankfully, he had her at the top of this list too.”
“Nat, Ted Campion, and myself start each sale scanning through the books and looking for the pedigrees and bloodlines that make sense to us,” Lalor said of Regis' approach to sales. “Then, we'll go out there and look at all of those horses and shorten it down. We like athletic looking horses with good attitude and some depth in their page.”
Up to this point, the operation has mostly been on the bidding side of the sales, but they've dipped their toes into the selling side as well and will continue to do so. At this past Keeneland September sale, Regis sold a Distorted Humor filly out of their mare Sealy Hill (hip 231) for $500,000 to Dixiana Farms.
“We're a business, at the end of the day,” Lalor commented. “The farm and racing stable costs a lot of money to operate and we'll make tough decisions, like selling the Sealy Hill yearling back in September. A lot of people were wondering why we were doing that, but it basically comes down to business and we are open. Of course, It makes it easier when you have the mare and they are producing good-quality stock year after year. We breed to race and sell and also buy to race and sell.”
Lalor believes this recent success is just the beginning for the up-and-coming operation.
“We're extremely excited about Shook Up and Seduire and feel like they've got very bright futures,” he explained. “We also have Une Cherise (Curlin), who is being targeted to the GII La Canada S. at Santa Anita on the 17th, and several other good fillies like Zindaya (More Than Ready), Empress Maker (Empire Maker) and Jolene (Malibu Moon), amongst others. Everything is a team effort with us, I feel like every decision affects the team, so everybody gets a say in what we do and how we accomplish our goals. We're slowly growing and taking our time and learning a few lessons ourselves along the way. Nat is very passionate about the game and is a great sportsman. He has provided us the tools we need and allows us to take gambles as opposed to taking the easier path. Our focus is quality, and that applies to both who we are purchasing and racing and how we raise them.”
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