Lane’s End Welcomes New Sires

Lane’s End welcomed its two new stallions for 2016, “TDN Rising Stars” Honor Code (A.P. Indy) and Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song), to the Versailles, Kentucky farm Sunday, with both 4-year-olds coming off big efforts in the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland.

Liam’s Map was one of the most visually impressive winners of the weekend, adding the GI Las Vegas Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile to his last-out GI Woodward S. romp Friday after stumbling at the start and being forced to check several times along the way. Honor Code, impressive winner of both the GI Metropolitan H. and GI Whitney S. this summer, closed from last to be third behind American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) in Saturday’s GI Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Lane’s End’s Will and Bill Farish were on hand to see the pair arrive at the stallion complex at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.

“This is a big moment for our farm,” Will Farish said. “Both horses are fantastic, as we all know, and to have them come in at the same time is a first for us. We all know what happened yesterday and Friday, and it’s just a very exciting time.”

Honor Code is one of 25 horses from the last crop of Lane’s End’s champion sire A.P. Indy. Lane’s End Racing bought into the handsome dark bay as a yearling and campaigned him in partnership with Dell Ridge Farm. Honor Code earned ‘TDN Rising Star’ status with a 4 1/2-length romp on debut at Saratoga two years ago, won the GII Remsen S. and finished second in the GI Champagne S. in finish off his juvenile season. Making just two allowance starts to bookend his sophomore season due to injury, Honor Code returned to take this year’s GII Gulfstream Park H., Met Mile and Whitney H. The handsome bay retired with a record of 11-6-2-2 and earnings of $2,518,260.

Being out of Serena’s Cat (Storm Cat), a granddaughter of Serena’s Song, Honor Code also boasts plenty of appeal on the pedigree side.

“It goes without saying he has the pedigree on both sides,” said Farish. “It’s an extraordinary pedigree. He’s from the last crop of A.P. Indy so we know he’s going to get an incredible book of mares and we’re looking forward to it.”

“When we first saw him, it was an amazing thing,” he added. “As a weanling and a yearling he was gorgeous. He reminded us so much of A.P. Indy, and of course being from A.P. Indy’s last crop we were particularly taken by him and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a yearling as made, in terms of conformation, as this guy; he was just terrific.”

Lane’s End announced it had bought into Liam’s Map just last week.

“Liam is one of the best-looking horses I think I’ve ever seen in my life,” Farish said of the flashy gray. “With his speed and ability to carry that speed so far, he’s got so many good things going for him.”

Liam’s Map was campaigned by Teresa Viola in partnership with West Point Thoroughbreds and J.J. Crupi, who bought Liam’s Map on behalf of Viola for $800,000 at Keeneland September, were also on-hand to see the horse’s arrival. Crupi spoke about the constitution the horse has displayed throughout his career.

“I think Liam is going to make a heck of a sire,” he noted. “The way he looks now, he’s looked like that all his life. He’s never had a bad day, has never taken a lame step; the only reason he didn’t start as a 2-year-old was he popped a little split and Mrs. Viola said, ‘Give him all the time he needs, I’m in no rush.’ He could have started as a 2-year-old, but he started at three, and you know what he’s done since then.”

Liam’s Map won all but two of his eight starts, finishing second on the other two occasions in his debut at Saratoga last August before romping by 9 1/2 lengths next-out, and behind Honor Code in the Whitney in August. West Point Thoroughbreds’ Terry Finley admitted to feeling a sense of deja-vu seeing the two horses arrive at the farm together.

“When I saw them coming off the van together I remembered the Whitney and I told the ambassador, ‘I think they’ll show that race at Saratoga 50 years from now,’ so I thought it was ironic and it was really cool to see them walking into the stallion barn together,” he said. “I know the Violas are really excited and they’re proud to partner with the Farishes, and I think the sky’s the limit for both these stallions.”

Pedigree expert John Sparkman was also present, and weighed in on the pages of both horses.

“These are clearly the two best older horses in the country this year,” he said. “One of them will be champion older horse, but as far as pedigrees go there’s no better pedigree in the stud book than Honor Code’s. Liam’s Map has a unique pedigree as a son of Unbridled’s Song because of the closely inbred second dam, which is a characteristic of pedigrees of great sires going all the way back to Eclipse, so that’s something that I think is hard to find these days.”

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