Weanling Topper Keeps Ball Rolling for Robinsons

Yesterday’s session-topping weanling, a colt by Haynesfield–Cape North who made $130,000 to the bid of Unicorn Racing, rewarded the faith and patience of the men who bred her, the father-and-son team of Don and Ferran Robinson. 
Don Robinson owns the Lexington-based Winter Quarter Farm, and the 
38-year-old Ferran, now its manager, grew up on a 277-acre spread that has been in the family for over 60 years. Ferran was there when the likes of Zenyatta and her sister Balance were born and raised at Winter Quarter, as well as stars including the graded/group winners Midnight Interlude, Always a Princess, Gabby’s Golden Gal, Overarching and Vicar. 
But Winter Quarter primarily boards client mares, and so five years ago, Ferran decided to strike out and purchase his own bloodstock. He secured his first-ever mare at the 2009 Keeneland November Sale, paying $42,000 for the Capote mare Cape North. The mare had some age on her–she was 16—but was a proven stakes producer, with the stakes winners Spirited Away (Awesome Again) and Fufty Too (Speightstown) to her credit. 
(The former would later become the dam of MGSW Prospective.) Cape North had some pedigree, too: her dam was champion North Sider (Topsider), and the Grade II winner and sire Storm Creek was close up. 
“My dad actually went in with me to help get her,” explained Ferran. “She was decent sized and had a lot of bone for a Capote. We bought her with one from Big Brown’s first crop in her belly, and did all right.” 
The Robinsons sold that Big Brown, a filly, as a weanling for $80,000 at the 2010 Keeneland November Sale, quickly getting into the black on Cape North. Because of her age, they gave her the next year off before sending her to Summer Bird, and they sold that foal–a filly now named Pink Bubble–for $16,000 at the ‘12 November Sale. 
“She was nice, but we sold her on the day it was announced that Summer Bird was going to Japan, and I’m not sure that helped,” said Ferran. 
Pink Bubble went through the ring twice more in the next 11 months, bringing $35,000 at the ‘13 OBSJAN sale and $100,000 at the ‘13 FTKOCT sale. She’s as yet unraced. 
The Robinsons then bred Cape North to the Grade I winner Haynesfield (Speightstown) in his first year at stud in 2012, but the mare didn’t catch. Undeterred, they sent her back to the Airdrie stallion in 2013, and this spring got yesterday’s session topper. 
“We’re big fans of Haynesfield,” said Ferran. “He’s abeautiful stallion and was a terrific racehorse. This foal has always been nice and he looked the part for November, but honestly, until he got here, I was thinking mid-$30,000’s. Sometimes you need to get them away from the farm to give you perspective on them. And of course, you really know you’ve got something nice once the action gets on them.” 
Yearlings from Haynesfield’s first crop, from a $10,000 stud, averaged $57,243 this year. At Keeneland November thus far, he’s had five sell for an average of $51,600. 
Sadly, Cape North died a few days after foaling yesterday’s topper this spring. “She had one eye, and wasn’t all that nice to be around, but when she died, I definitely had a tear in my eye,” said Ferran. 
It’s worth noting Ferran’s second venture at breeding, as it relates to the recent GI Breeders’ Cup Classic hero Bayern (Offlee Wild). Back in December of 2012, a client of Robinson’s purchased a half-sister to Bayern named Don’t Surprise Me (Macho Uno). 
“She’s two years older than Bayern, and he was a yearling when she injured an ankle in a race at Turfway,” Ferran explained. “The folks that had her just wanted their money back from the surgery she’d had, and we bought her $4,000.” 
Ferran had recently won a season to the young Darby Dan stallion American Lion (Tiznow), and took a 25% interest in Don’t Surprise Me in exchange for the season. 
That started to look like a pretty good deal when Bayern sold for $320,000 at the 2013 FTMMAY sale, and especially so after reports started rolling in from trainer Bob Baffert’s barn. 
“He hadn’t started yet, but I started hearing he was Baffert’s favorite Derby horse,” said Ferran. 
Ferran and his partner decided to cash out on Don’t Surprise Me and sold her privately for $150,000. It looks like it was a good deal all around; the new buyers sold that American Lion foal–a Hill ‘n’ Dale-consigned filly–for $75,000 earlier at this sale, while Don’t Surprise Me herself was bought back for $375,000. 
“So far in my short breeding career I’ve done well,” said Ferran. “But my friends tell me to stop smiling so much, ‘cause I’m going to be crying someday [laughs].” 
Ferran said he and his father made their latest purchase here at November, going to $80,000 to purchase the 13-year-old Saint Ballado mare Evangelizer, dam of GSP Worship the Moon (Malibu Moon). Stay tuned…