No one has missed the explosive impact of Not this timesophomore crop on the Classics trail this year. But the fact remains that it is really another stallion in its own attractiveness that we find most sensible courtship with an elusive distinction, with the opportunity to join King Alfonso (1885) , McGee (1918), Bull meadow (1952) and Native Dancer (1966) in selecting the winners of both the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks.
Okay, so we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. With almost two months to go, getting Zandon and Kathleen O into the gate with a viable chance like they have right now would be pretty exciting. But whatever happens from here, I think we need to honor the male’s credit in getting that pair this far, while only being at $10,000.
His name, of course, is Start up–And a clever name, it is also, for a son of Flatter out of Touch Gold mare Party Silks. And now it is also proving something very relevant to Start up shows a real flair for upward mobility.
His third seedling, now on the launchpad, graduated from a book of just 38 covers. We all know how childish the commercial breeder’s attention span is, but it’s still a pretty ridiculous drop after he opened the door with 146 mares – which in a typical farm like Airdrie, purely represents the full registration.
However, from this point on, he can be judged on his own worth, Start up decisively reversed that customary drift. His first ponies averaged more than six times his fee, immediately extending traffic to 90 mares the following spring. And then, sure enough, they went out and showed that they could run: initially as a knockout pinhook vehicle, his first two hit an average of $107,791 and $113,250 when sold 2 years old; and then – as might be expected from his own record, dual Class Is are placed in three consecutive campaigns – when allowed to extend their capacity for a light breeze to a period of time more meaningful.
Kathleen O. herself is a perfect example. She was dropped for Shooting Star Thoroughbreds for just $8,000 at weaning, after being acquired in utero with a mare that was the main attraction for her buyers, Gainesway and Bridlewood, apparently. is to support the launch Tapwrit. The following fall, Kathleen O. was back under the hammer, raising her value to $50,000, sold by Stuart Morris to Aurora Bloodstock at the OBS October Sale. However, back in that ring last April, she was so athletically blooming (booming a quarter in 21 games and changing) that Shug McGaughey put up $275,000.
“Niall Brennan told us a month or two before he fell in love Start up Bret Jones of Airdrie recalls. “And then when I saw Shug signed her ticket – as we know, Shug didn’t sign too many auction tickets – I took that as another very encouraging sign. It was fun to watch it turn out the way we certainly had hoped. ”
Yes, it has. Racing in silk by debutant owner Pat Kearney’s Winngate Stables, Kathleen O. still holds a more perfect record: winning an Aqueduct maiden late on debut; then rose more than eight in Cash Run S. at Gulfstream; and now, layoffs, breaking the Classy Edition’s undefeated record (Classic Empire) on GII Davona Dale S. on the same track last weekend.
Young stallions are under great pressure to deliver, in the narrowest of windows, and Start up decisively seized his opportunity. From the very beginning, he delivered superb performance in the box and then showed why on the track. He’s admittedly unlucky with his Top Rollover Risk, who doubles well for investors with $140,000 Fasig-Tipton aspirational July and then $280,000 OBS in March at the age of 2, had a leg up when it debuted in Saratoga before finishing second in a row. After disappointing at Breeders’ Cup, he’s had a unique start to his second year and it was only last month that he went on with a 103 Beyer score on his return at Gulfstream – a The performance has clearly helped him return to the elite company this summer.
“As a 2-year-old, Rollover Risk got lucky enough to chase Jackie’s Warrior through two Levels very quickly,” commented Jones. “I think his numbers will win nearly every other early ranked race for 2-year-olds that year. So while he didn’t hit that level of victory, I think everyone is of the same opinion that he has talent at that level. ”
In his absence, Start upThe first crop of the year has found a new focus in the Masqueparade. Having raised $100,000 at weaning and $180,000 in aspiration, he won the GIII Ohio Derby before finishing a good third to Necessary quality (Tapit) in GII Jim Dandy S.
“Masquerade is also on the rise again,” Jones noted. “I spoke to Al Stall while I was at the Fair Grounds and they were very optimistic about how much of a 4-year-old he could be. He was big and handsome and always seemed destined to be a good old horse. If you go back to his race on the day of the Kentucky Derby [won optional allowance by a dozen lengths]he ran a figure very much like Ragozin if not slightly faster than the best horses in the Derby. ”
That famous judge Mike Ryan found the Chad Brown barn Reinvest Risk and the same pair returned Start upZandon’s second crop, bred from an underappreciated species Creative cause mare of Brereton C. Jones/Airdrie, with $170,000 September Keeneland aspiration. Zandon won the Belmont sprint on his debut before narrowly losing at GII Remsen S.Uncle Mo). On his comeback, he performed well against the flow of GII Risen S., trailing behind after a clumsy start but still retaining enough energy to circle around the field for third place. .
So anyone can see that we’re reviewing a pretty impressive piece for a stand-for-money horse like this. But there’s something else I want to highlight that really sets off Start up individual. We have seen that he can take care of breeders commercially; and we see that he can reward investors in the next cycle with real quality on the track. But what I really like is that he is such a “running” source.
By the end of 2021, with the second fry up and running, Start up managed to put no less than 114 of the 149 named ponies on the track, including 65 winners. These numbers represent 77% and 44% of his output, respectively. Compare these rates with a handful of people who made more money last year. Not this time there are 66% starters for named ponies and 35% winners; Nyquist61 and 26% respectively; Frosted 71 and 30%; Runhappy, 55 and 28%; and Speightster lamented, 66 and 33%.
These stats speak for themselves. However, they all block one of these opponents, Runhappyare working from books that are much larger than those gathered by Start up even their markedly lower conversion rates – in terms of action on the track – give them more of a head start. So his five stake winners for 2021 stack up admirably against all of the monstrous number 13 bar put together by Not this time: Speightster has three, while Runhappy, Frosted and Nyquist there are six per person. Meanwhile, we’ve lost poor Speightster, but the fact remains Start up still a lower fee than all others.
This burgeoning brand makes a lot of sense for a pony that has reliably appeared across three campaigns at the best company. Forward enough for a 102 Beyer in two, certainly unique in a son of Flatter, Start up began winning a maiden and then a stake in Saratoga before placing in GI Champagne and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile; then he beat Frosted by year in GII Holy Bull S.; and matured in supporting roles in races such as the GI Haskell, GI Met Mile and GI Whitney.
Jones really wasn’t surprised by Start upExcellence in making you a literal runner. “He himself is a very strong horse,” he insisted. “He’s a precocious 2-year-old of grade-I stature, although his pedigree may not scream that. Then at just three years old, he was one of Derby’s best hopes on the East Coast before training to get right into the big races at the age of four. With that dark beer Flatter-There are many reasons to hope that he may obtain healthy horses that will get better and better with age. And that seems to be the case. ”
This profile is bolstered by a clear pedigree that imparts both preparation and refinement to the male-related, bipedal type. Touch Gold is truly gold as an emperor, a combination of Vice Minister and another legendary distaff brand in Buckpasser; and Start upThe third dam of another dam with a copper bottom has such an effect on the Drone. In addition, the family was raised over four generations by Federico Tesio himself, descended from his foundation mare Tofanella (GB) (whom Start upIts fifth dam is a 3 x 3 hybrid.
In spite of Start upThe beat of the unappreciated, her half-sister won
GII Raven Run S.’s 8 for 27 career spans seamlessly across four campaigns. And his third dam, himself a ranked half-sister to a Level I performer, also produced a graded bet winner plus an athlete’s mother. Japan’s first-class sprinter in Nobo Jack (France Vice Captain).
Despite his name, then, it seems to be Start up was once a noble until now. Both Zandon and Kathleen O., remember, were the first ponies to come off their respective dams for the track – and Start upimmediately, is putting them right up in the world.
“We like that these Start upThey can make money for their breeders, can then handle the 2-year-old sales and go on to be early trained horses,” commented Jones. “It was not an easy combination to succeed, but he gave us a lot of reason to believe he could do it. He has a chance to be that great mix: a stallion that can make you a runner, as well as a prized sales horse. Hopefully he’ll keep growing that commercial profile for now, as these horses continue to run fast. ”
Certainly Jones expected Start up returns with a full book this year, a vivid measure of how he seized the fleeting opportunities he was presented with. Then those who can get on board this spring will surely be at the top of the game when they come to sell the resulting ponies. After all, he came to Zandon and Kathleen O. from a period that he, relatively speaking, marks in time. And while we wait for the next cycle, we can expect his stock, which thrives in time of maturity, to keep his name bright.
“We got 86 mares for him in the second year,” says Jones. “And from those 86 bred mares, he has two really excellent 3-year-olds. So he showed that he doesn’t need big numbers to be successful. And now he’s finally getting that chance again, now you can add the kind of qualities and numbers we think are in his future, then there’s a real pipeline in the works. formed behind him. For us, there are many reasons to be excited about Start up. ”
