Spendthrift Farm

Welcome to our annual winter survey of Kentucky stallion options--with the difference, this time round, that the emphasis will be far more strictly and succinctly on value. Over the past couple of years, acknowledging of the brevity of commercial momentum for so many sires once losing their freshman luster, we've got into the habit of granting some attention (more or less courteous!) to just about every stallion in the Bluegrass. But such an exhaustive approach has doubtless proved still more exhausting for the reader than for the compiler. So, we've...

7th-Fair Grounds, $45,000, Msw, 11-26, 2yo, 6f, 1:10.57, ft, 3/4 length. UNDERHILL'S TAB (c, 2, Unified--Mykindasaint {MSW, $171,228}, by Saint Ballado), looking to become the 15th winner for his freshman sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}), was half of the 4-5 favored entry. The dark bay colt tracked pacesetting entrymate Prather (Into Mischief) from third while racing along the rail through fractions of :22.41 and :45.99. He ranged up three wide at the top of the stretch and collared a determined Boss' Dialin In (Dialed In) late despite drifting out to...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency PRICEY UNIFIED DEBUTS IN NOLA 7th-FG, $45K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 5:11 p.m. Spendthrift Farm's $400,000 OBSMAR purchase UNDERHILL'S TAB (Unified) makes his career bow in this spot for trainer Al Stall. A $10,000 KEENOV weanling and $19,000 FTKOCT yearling, the dark bay breezed in a snappy :9 4/5 at OBS. Out of MSW Mykindasaint (Saint Ballado), the colt is a half to SW Malibu Saint (Malibu Moon). Spendthrift and partners William and Corinne Heiligbrodt will be represented by second timer Prather (Into Mischief). The...

Back in March of 2009, in the Werk Thoroughbred Consultants blog, the late Jack Werk recounted a wager we'd made years earlier. This is what he wrote: "The year that Elusive Quality went to stud, pedigree expert Sid Fernando and I had a small side bet: Who was the best sleeper or long shot from that crop? Sid picked Distorted Humor, standing for $12,500, a pretty astute choice at the time. I, of course, picked Elusive Quality, who also went to stud very cheap--$10,000. "As it turns out, we both picked wisely! The top two...

The seasonal foliage was about the only thing falling at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which concluded a wildly successful run in Lexington Friday afternoon. Over the course of 10 days of trade, sales officials reported gross receipts of $203,585,500 for 2470 horses sold, good for an average of $82,423. Further demonstrating the strength of middle market, the median price of $37,000 established a new November record, eclipsing the previous mark of $35,000 set on five previous occasions, but most recently in 2014. The buyback rate closed at a...

As both prototype and paragon for a whole new era in commercial breeding, Into Mischief can increasingly be measured only against himself. Last year, in retaining the general sires' championship he had won for the first time in 2019, the Spendthrift phenomenon became the first North American stallion to break the $20-million barrier in progeny earnings. He ended up on $22,507,940, bulldozing Tapit's 2016 haul of $19,914,317. Now, as an overlooked consequence of Breeders' Cup success for his latest star Life Is Good, Into Mischief has surged past his own...

J. Kirk and Judy Robison's talented sprinter/miler Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) underwent surgery last week to remove a bone chip in his left knee, Daily Racing Form reports. The procedure was performed by Dr. Larry Bramlage last Friday. "He is going to do rehab at Becky Maker's farm in Lexington," trainer Steve Asmussen told DRF. "We do plan on a 2022 campaign." A two-time Grade I winner at two, Jackie's Warrior annexed the GII Pat Day Mile S. in May and was second by a neck in the GI Woody...

Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}--Charm the Maker, by Empire Maker), who defeated GI Kentucky Derby winner and GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up Medina Spirit (Protonico) in the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby in his first start on the dirt, has been retired from racing and will enter stud in 2022 at Spendthrift Farm. The nursery had previous announced the acquisition in last April. The handy winner of a six-furlong turf sprint on career debut at Santa Anita Jan. 1, the $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase took the one-mile...

Bidding on behalf of Spendthrift Farm, Ned Toffey went to a session-topping $3.1 million to acquire Paris Lights (Curlin--Paris Bikini, by Bernardini) as the third-last horse through the ring as part of the supplemental catalog on the opening day of the Keeneland November Sale in Lexington. The 4-year-old filly, who was consigned to the sale by ELiTE, agent, went three-for-four as during her sophomore season, capping the campaign with a hard-fought head defeat of fellow WinStar Stablemates Racing colorbearer Crystal Ball (Malibu Moon) in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks...

The second Eclipse winner to be offered in the space of eight hips, Vequist (Nyquist--Vero Amore, by Mineshaft) fetched a final bid of $3.4 million from Spendthrift Farm as the Fasig-Tipton November Sale marched towards its conclusion. Consigned by Bluewater Sales, agent, as hip 253, the dark bay filly shipped up to Saratoga off a narrow debut second at Parx and romped to a 9 1/2-length victory in last year's GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga. Beaten by Dayoutoftheoffice in the GI Frizette S., Vequist turned the tables on the biggest...

Allied Racing's MGSW By My Standards (Goldencents--A Jealous Woman, by Muqtarib) has been retired from racing and will enter stud at Spendthrift Farm, standing the 2022 breeding season for a fee of $7,500 S&N. "By My Standards came up with a quarter crack that was going to force us to miss the rest of our goals before the breeding season, so the decision was made for him to retire," explained Chester Thomas, owner and manager of Allied Racing Stable. "It's a bittersweet day because this is a special horse who...

The Jockey Club has released its annual Report of Mares bred for 2021 and there's a new name atop the leader board. The Spendthrift Farm stallion Goldencents led all sires, having been bred to 230 mares. He was bred to 204 in 2020. His ascension to the top spot came after Spendthrift cut his stud fee from $25,000 to $15,000 and after a strong showing by his progeny in 2020. Goldencents was the leading third-crop sire in 2020 with $6,653,183 in earnings. His top performer during the year was By...