Nakatomi (Firing Line – Applelicious by Flatter) has been a consistent performer in Graded Stakes company since his two-year-old year, and broke through winning the G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga. Nakatomi has successfully competed at the highest level, finishing third in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and the Dubai Golden Shaheen. The six time winner from 18 starts, has finished in the top three in 14 races and accumulated $1,153,776.
Nakatomi was foaled, raised and sold by Crestwood Farm, and bred by Arnold Zetcher, LLC and Crestwood Farm. The G1 win by Nakatomi marks the third G1 winner bred, foaled, raised and sold by Crestwood Farm in the past five years, also including Got Stormy and Bowies Hero.
Two Yearlings from the Pope McLean (Crestwood Farm) consignment sell for $1,050,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Crestwood Farm is one of five sales consignments to sell multiple million dollar yearlings and one of four sales consignments to sell multiple million dollar yearlings on the same day during the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The two million dollar yearlings were both foaled and raised at Crestwood Farm.
SF/Starlight/Madaket Strike Early The powerhouse colt partnership led by SF Bloodstock, Starlight and Madaket Stables made their presence felt early in Wednesday’s Book 2 opener, going to $1.05 million for a colt by young sire standout Gun Runner (Hip 383). The bay was consigned by Pope McLean’s Crestwood Farm on behalf of breeder Ann Fostock.
“He is a beautiful horse raised by really wonderful people,” said SF’s Tom Ryan. “Gun Runner is a sensation. There is no other way to describe him. He has five Grade I winners from his first 120 runners. It is an amazing feat. Bob loved this horse. Donato loved this horse. John Moynihan is part of this horse. Everybody that saw him [liked him]. It was a consensus vote. We are happy to land him.”
Out of Perfect Flute (Pleasantly Perfect), Hip 383 hails from a deep Juddmonte family. His second dam is MGISW and Kentucky Oaks-winning millionaire Flute (Seattle Slew), who is the dam of MGSW & MGISP Filimbi (Mizzen Mast). This is also the female family of GISW Weep No More (Mineshaft) and GSW Current (Curlin).
“He was a special horse,” said Crestwood’s Marc McLean. “He’s a horse we thought could break through and it happened. It was a nice surprise. He was bred by a client, he was foaled and raised at our farm. He has always been a standout. He has such good scope and size and that’s what made him special. We got lucky and got him in the right spot. We were pretty busy this morning; buyers kept coming back, which is a good thing. He was early in the session, which made us nervous, but I believe everybody had done their homework. Hopefully he was one of the standouts on the day, but you don’t know until you get here.”
The SF/Starlight/Madaket team sparked fireworks late in the session, securing a son of Into Mischief (Hip 740) for the same $1.05 million.
“We love Into Mischief. We’ve bought seven of them now [at KEESEP],” Ryan said. “How could you not love Into Mischief? He is out of a very good race mare and is by a very good sire. He is a horse Bob Baffert loved immediately, so we are happy to own him.”
Source: TDN 9/15/22 Christie DeBernardis
Million-Dollar Score for Hancock
Rowland Hancock, who has been breeding Thoroughbreds for over four decades, had his first seven-figure sale when Tom Ryan signed the ticket at $1.05 million on a colt by Quality Road (hip 574) on behalf of the SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership. The dark bay colt is out of Celibataire (Broken Vow), a full-sister to graded winner Interactif and dam of stakes winner Stillwater Cove (Quality Road). Hancock purchased the mare, in foal to Union Rags, for $180,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale.
“I had seen her yearling the year before and I fell in love with the yearling,” Hancock said of the mare’s appeal. “Anybody that could produce something that beautiful, I wanted to own.”
Of his first million-dollar yearling, who was consigned by Crestwood Farm, Hancock said, “This colt was something. He is one of the most balanced, classy horses I’ve ever seen. I’ve bred some fairly good horses, but he was just special. You always read about these classy horses who want to walk and never get mad, keep their demeanor. He exemplified that. He loved to walk. He loved to get out.”
Celibataire’s first foal for Hancock was a $100,000 Keeneland September yearling in 2019. He retained the mare’s Gun Runner filly, Cause Celebre, who ran at Kentucky Downs just after her half-brother lit up the board at Keeneland. Celibataire’s 2-yearold daughter of Justify sold for $215,000 at the 2020 FasigTipton November sale. The mare was bred to Mendelssohn this year.
Hancock has eight mares in his broodmare band.
“I’ve been doing this for 47 years,” he said of his breeding operation. “This is the culmination of doing it for a long time.”
Hip 383 was the second seven-figure purchase of Wednesday’s session for the SF/Starlight/Madaket partnership, which struck early in the day to acquire a Gun Runner colt, also consigned by the McLean family’s Crestwood Farm, for $1.05 million
“We love Quality Road, he’s a great, proven stallion,” Ryan said of the purchase. “It’s a very nice family. He’s a half to a stakes winning filly. He’s a very straightforward colt.”
Of the colt’s final price tag, Ryan said, “The market is very strong, it’s carried through from Book 1 to Book 2 very nicely. But he’s a big, strong Quality Road colt who was well-raised and with a proper pedigree. It’s not that surprising.”
Enjoying the dual $1.05-million sales, Marc McLean said, “It’s been a great day; unbelievable really.”
He added of the Quality Road colt, “He was not a huge colt, but just a beautiful mover. We wouldn’t dream he would go that high. It was a good job by the sales team. Both of these were for clients and were raised and foaled at our farm. It is rewarding.”
Crestwood Farm will host their annual Stallion open house for breeders on Sunday, January 9th, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the stallion barn at 3758 Spurr Road in Lexington, Ky.
Breeders are encouraged to register in person for the 2022 FREE season raffle for each stallion. Food and drinks will be served in a heated tent. If you are unable to attend the Stallion open house, please feel free to call the office at 859-252-3770 to schedule a stallion inspection.
GET STORMY is off to a terrific start in 2021 with proven stakes winners continuing their winning form while also adding a new Graded Stakes horse.
GOT STORMY (GET STORMY) is a multiple Grade 1 Winner with earnings of over $2 Million and began her 6YO campaign with a win in the Honey Fox S. (G3) at Gulfstream Park. GOT STORMY sat a length off the pace and drove past the leader around the turn to pull clear in the stretch and then hold off a rush of closers to win the one mile stake in 1:35.52.
GOT STORMY, bred by Mt. Joy Stables and Crestwood Farm, increased her career earnings to $2,096,553 for her new owners My Racehorse and Spendthrift Farm.
I Get It (GET STORMY) ran an incredible race to earn a 3rd place finish in the Herecomesthebride (G3) at Gulfstream Park. I GET IT made a move to get within a length on the backstretch and was bumped and shuffled back by a rival losing considerable ground. In the stretch, I GET IT proved determined and rerallied inside the final furlong.
The Crestwood Farm foaled and raised Fancy Liquor, scored his second consecutive stakes victory winning the G2 American Turf Stakes at Churchill Down on the Derby Day undercard. Previously two times G3 placed, Fancy Liquor is now a G2 stakes winner and has earnings of $465,050 in 6 career starts.
Congratulations to his connections,Breeder: Hot Pink Stable, and Skychai Racing LLC Owner: Skychai Racing, LLC and Sand Dollar Stables, LLC Trainer: Mike Maker
JOLTING JOE breaks his maiden in the Cab Calloway New York Stallion Series Stakes, pulling away at the end to win by 1 3/4 lengths. After stalking the pace and angling three wide, he was able to produce a strong finishing kick to win clear.
JOLTING JOE is a half brother to the G2 Winner of the Bernard Baruch, SOMELIKEITHOTBROWN.
The 4YO son of Big Brown, SOMELIKEITHOTBROWN, wins the G2 Bernard Baruch in wire to wire fashion at Saratoga. SOMELIKEITHOTBROWN, was raised at Crestwood Farm and is now a MGSW of over $500K.
DOWN ON DA BAYOU was a dominating winner of the Grade 3 UAE Oaks by 18 1/2 lengths at Meydan on February 20th. DOWN ON DA BAYOU was bred by McCann Bloodstock, Mark Kelder, & Doug Richards.
DOWN ON DA BAYOU was raised and sold by Crestwood Farm. The
daughter of Super Saver earned 50 points towards the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks.
DOWN ON DA BAYOU is the second G3 UAE Oaks winner out of the
Empire Maker mare, Bayou Tortuga. In 2016, POLAR RIVER won the G3 UAE Oaks and
later finished 2nd in the G2 UAE Derby.
Watch the Grade 3 UAE Oaks: https://youtu.be/y6RzRZLT584
Pope McLean’s Crestwood Farm is introducing a new breeders’ incentive plan that offers a different spin on plans allowing breeding fees to be paid out of sale proceeds.
Called “Breed Risk Free,” the Crestwood plan allows a breeder to waive the entire cost of a breeding fee if the resulting foal does not meet certain thresholds at auction. In the case of a foal offered as a yearling, a breeder would only pay the breeding fee if the foal brings a fall-of-hammer price of $20,000 plus the contact breeding fee or more. For example, if a mare was bred on a $5,000 fee, then the breeder would pay the breeding fee if the fall-of-the hammer price is $25,000 or more. If the final price is less, then the breeding fee is waived.
“This unique program is straightforward and offers an extremely robust incentive to breeders,” said Robert Keck with Crestwood Farm, located in Lexington, Ky. “We’ve had an enthusiastic initial response and look forward to discussing the program in more detail with breeders.”
“Breed Risk Free” will be available to approved mares.
Crestwood has six stallions on its roster for the 2019 season: Get Stormy, a co-fifth-ranked third-crop sire of 2018 by number of black-type winners; first-year sire The Player; second-year sire Tu Brutus; third-year sires Firing Line and Texas Red; and freshman sire Jack Milton.