Pope Holds Strong Hand at Keeneland

Over the past three years, Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm has gone on a much-publicized broodmare buying spree, most notably with the high-profile purchases of Havre de Grace and Plum Pretty just hours apart in November 2012, and sprint champion Groupie Doll in 2013. Pope’s stellar broodmare band will undergo its first commercial test with seven Book 1 offerings during next week’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

“Obviously, having watched them grow through our sales-prep program–which my crew is very good at–it’s been very exciting to watch them grow up and mature,” Pope said. “And they’ve all done really well. It’s very exciting. At the same time, to watch them sell, it’s going to be tearful also.”

“I think the highest I’ve ever sold anything for is probably around $550,000,” Pope continued. “So this is a big year for me–to see what these kind of horses are going to bring.”

Pope’s September offerings, which will be consigned by Wayne and Cathy Sweezey’s Timber Town, include the first foal out of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty (Medaglia d’Oro). The 7-year-old mare was purchased for $4.2 million at the 2012 Keeneland November sale. Her Distorted Humor colt sells as hip 514.

“He’s awesome,” Wayne Sweezey, who also boards Pope’s mares at his Timber Town Farm, commented of the chestnut. “This particular horse is exceptional–he’s probably one of the best horses we’ve raised. He’s just beautifully balanced and a lovely, lovely individual. We’re really excited about bringing him over there.”

Hip 116 is a daughter of War Front out of group-placed Betterbetterbetter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Pope purchased the mare, with this foal in utero, for $5.2 million at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton November sale.

“She’s very well made,” Sweezey said of the bay filly. “She is out of a Galileo mare–there are seven highweighted horses in the first three dams. And she has a great attitude. She a very balanced, great walker. As they say, she ticks all the right boxes. She has all the attributes that you’d want if you are trying to buy a high-priced filly to race. She’s going to be a very exciting horse for us to sell.”

Also at the 2013 Fasig November sale, Pope purchased Speed Succeeds (Gone West), in foal to Street Cry (Ire), for $1 million. The resulting colt is a half-brother to Grade I winner Brilliant Speed (Dynaformer) and to graded stakes placed Souper Speedy (Indian Charlie).

“He is a tremendous Street Cry colt,” Sweezey said of hip 643. “He is a big, pretty chestnut colt with a great big walk. He’s very handsome, has good conformation and is just a lovely horse.”

One noticeable absence from the Keeneland catalogue is the first foal out of Havre de Grace (Saint Liam). Pope purchased the 2011 Horse of the Year for $10 million at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton November sale. The 8-year-old mare produced a filly by Tapit last year.

Pope explained the sex of the foals is a major factor in the decision to race or sell.

“A big part of the decision is colts and fillies,” she confirmed. “We’ll sell more colts and keep the fillies. So you won’t see Havre de Grace’s filly sell. She is extremely lovely and, being a filly, I’m definitely going to keep her. Whereas Plum Pretty’s was a colt, so he is going to the sale. If he was a filly, he might be being kept also.”

A longtime commercial breeder, Pope has become more involved in racing in recent years. Her colors were recently carried to a second-place finish in the GI Spinaway S. by ‘TDN Rising Star’ Tap to It (Tapit).

“I’m having a good time with the racing,” Pope said. “And these horses that are going through the sale will have reasonable reserves on them. Obviously they have value to me as well as to other people as far as being racehorses. But when we do take them, our intent is to sell them.”

Sweezey is looking forward to a big September sale. In addition to the Whisper Hill horses, his consignment also includes hip 155, a colt by Tapit out of Cat Myth (Hennessy), a full-sister to champion Johannesburg. Timber Town is consigning on behalf of Woodslane Farm, breeders of GI Belmont S. winner Tonalist (Tapit).

“He is magnificent,” Sweezey said of the yearling. “He is lovely and he is going to be really popular.”

As excited as he is about this year’s crop, Sweezey thinks 2016 might be even bigger.

“What is in the pipeline for next year is as exciting, if not more,” he commented.

Whisper Hill’s next group of yearlings will include the first foal out of two-time champion female sprinter Groupie Doll. Pope purchased the now 7-year-old mare for $3.1 million at the 2013 Keeneland November sale. Her Tapit colt was born premature, but is now doing well, according to Sweezey.

“Groupie Doll’s baby–Mandy really made a commitment to save that foal early on and he’s grown into a tremendous foal,” Sweezey said. “He’s doing great. He’s cool. So he’s there for next year.

“And we have a War Front out of Havre de Grace we’ll sell,” Sweezey continued. “And Plum Pretty has a War Front that we’ll sell. And there are a couple of Tapits floating around. It’s really super watching them come up and then to have the opportunity to represent them at the sales.”

The Keeneland September sale gets underway Monday at 11 a.m.