By T. D. Thornton
Denali Stud of Paris, Kentucky, has had a hand in shaping the futures of nine horses that have been pre-entered for next week's Breeders' Cup World Championships, ranging from a five-figure auction bargain to a seven-figure sales grad.
“Nine is by far a high-water mark for us,” said Denali's founder, Craig Bandoroff. “We always hope to have one, two, a few rooting interests. But we've never had anything like this before, both from the combination of horses that were foaled, raised and sold here, along with horses that we sold for various clients.”
GI Breeders' Cup Classic candidate Melatonin (Kodiak Kowboy) will aim to be Denali's poster horse for striking it big with a modest consignment.
“Melatonin is why everybody's in the game, right?” Bandoroff said. “He was a $20,000 yearling [at Keeneland September 2012] by a nondescript stallion, and low and behold, he turns into a Grade I stakes winner. He was foaled and raised here by one of our oldest, original clients at Denali Stud, Steve and Diana Holland, so that makes it a little more special.”
At the other end of the price spectrum is Photo Call (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a $3 million Denali consignment at the 2015 Keeneland November mixed sale, who is pre-entered in both the GI Breeders' Cup Mile and GI Breeders' Cup F/M Turf.
“Photo Call is another great story,” said Bandoroff. “Mr. [Vincent] Viola stepped up last year and paid $3 million for her. That's putting a lot of opinion on the line. She's had a hit or miss year, a little trouble kind of finding her best distance and best style of running, but she sure put it all together the other day at Keeneland [winning the GI First Lady S.]. You want to see everybody do well, but when a guy like Vinnie Viola steps up and spends that kind of money, how can you not be happy for him?”
Bandoroff said GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile pre-entrants Ticonderoga (Tapit), an $850,000 Denali yearling consignment at Keeneland September in 2015, and Made You Look (More Than Ready), a $360,000 consignment at the same sale, both caught his eye as they developed early on at Denali.
“We're really excited about them because it's a neat story,” said Bandoroff. “They were raised on the same farm; in separate barns and in separate fields here, although they may have shared a field together at one point in their life. They were two very good-looking horses that we were always high on. Both of them were just two very special horses from the get-go, so it's sort of the opposite of Melatonin. With a horse like Melatonin, you raise him and he's nondescript and you don't expect a lot. Whereas these two, they had the looks, they had the pedigree, everything, and now they get a chance to dance at the big dance.”
GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint pre-entrant Holy Lute (Midnight Lute) went through the Denali yearling sales program in 2011.
“Holy Lute's a funny story,” Bandoroff said. “We actually RNA'd him [for $115,000] when he went through the ring at Keeneland. And immediately after, the trainer Jim Cassidy tracked me down and said, 'You know, I missed the horse. I want to buy him.' There was no negotiation. We told him the price and he said 'fine.' We walked up to the office and signed him over.”
Other Breeders' Cup pre-entrants with ties to Denali are Curalina (Curlin) in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, Noholdingback Bear (Put It Back) in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, Champagne Room (Broken Vow) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, and Calgary Cat (Cowtown Cat) in the Turf Sprint.
“You know, we have this slogan in our advertising, 'We sell Saturday afternoon horses,'” Bandoroff said. “And what could be better representation for that than to have this group of horses going to the biggest days of racing that we have in this country? We're very proud of it. I think it's a great reflection on the people who work here, the program, the land, and the type of people that we're fortunate enough to work for.”
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