Three Chimneys Farm is set to welcome a pair of new faces to its stallion roster in 2019 in Grade I winners Sharp Azteca (Freud) and Funtastic (More Than Ready). While Sharp Azteca's brilliant speed over middle distances stands in contrast to Funtastic's staying power over a grassy route of ground, both newcomers bring pedigree power and ample physical appeal to their respective resumes. The TDN sat down with Tom Hamm, who has been serving as the director of stallion seasons at Three Chimneys since July, to discuss his outlook for the two stallions.
TDN: Let's talk about Sharp Azteca. Was there a specific race or races where you think he really started to display his brilliance on a national level?
TH: The [2016 GIII] Pat Day Mile S. was his breakout race as a graded stakes horse, where he came in and ran a very impressive race. He won that, and then went on to run in the Malibu where he faced Mind Your Biscuits (Posse), and had the lead pretty much every step of the way until deep stretch where Mind Your Biscuits was able to just get up at the wire–he beat him less than a half length. It really showed that he was a Grade I stakes horse and had the ability to win a Grade I at that distance.
TDN: We're just a few days removed from the one-year anniversary of his greatest achievement, a victory in the GI Cigar Mile. What did that performance show you in terms of his potential as a stallion?
TH: He went on to run in the Cigar Mile and won by five lengths, again beating really quality horses–Mind Your Biscuits, Practical Joke (Into Mischief), and he ran a negative 2 1/4 Ragozin number, which was the fastest at a mile in 2017 and the co-fastest of the year, so I think those numbers and the level of competition he defeated in that race really says a lot about the horse and his ability at a mile.
TDN: How has he been received by breeders initially? Are there any particular attributes that seem to be standing out?
TH: [The response has been] very positive. I think the way he looks is one of the biggest selling points for him. Just about everybody who has come through here has been very impressed with the way he looks, with his presence, with his depth–you know he's just a big, strong horse…He's very balanced, he's just a good looking horse…The response from breeders has been great. We have him sitting at close to 90 mares right now, and we're getting multiple mares in every day.
TDN: In terms of Sharp Azteca's pedigree, you're obviously tapping into a great sire line through Freud (Storm Cat). Is this something that, in your mind, adds to his appeal?
TH: He's by a full brother of Giant's Causeway. Giant's Causeway has shown to match up well with Mr. Prospector mares and so has Freud, so I think being by that sire line and being as talented as he was, I think is also a draw for the breeders…He's got some depth on his mares pedigree, definitely some quality in there, as well as his sire line.
TDN: Moving on to Funtastic, his victory in the GI United Nations S. was extremely convincing. Can you talk a little about your expectations coming into that race and what he showed you on the track at Monmouth?
TH: He was coming out of an allowance optional claiming race in May where he had run impressively at a mile and a quarter, and I know our team and Mr. Torrealba were confident that he could go and perform well in a graded stake. I don't think they were going to say, “We're gonna win it,” but we thought we were confident that he could go in there and perform at a high level. Chad [Brown] agreed, we put him in the race and, as you know, he went on to win the race in an impression fashion.
TDN: His pedigree has incredible depth and is laced with top-level achievers. Tell us more about that appeal.
TH: I don't think there's a better female page around. He's a half to [2005 Horse of the Year] Saint Liam, he's a half to the dam of Gun Runner–who was Horse of the Year–so obviously it's a very deep pedigree. Being by More Than Ready, who has proven he can run on two surfaces, [it means] his progeny can run on two surfaces. I think it's a great pedigree and it's an attraction to breeders…I don't think that anybody is, per se, breeding turf mares to him. I think that they had the confidence, with this female pedigree and with More Than Ready, that he can produce a dirt horse–and I think there is no reason to doubt that.
TDN: And how about the fact that he is a homebred through your association with Besilu Stables? Does it make it all the more special to see a horse bred and raised at Three Chimneys go on to perform at the Grade I level and, eventually, return home to stand at stud?
TH: That's very rewarding to have a horse that was born and raised here on our farm and raced in our silks be able to retire to our farm as a stallion–that's rewarding for us and the whole team. That is kind of what we do this for, so we're very humbled to be able to have that, and to have a horse like that on our farm. We are going to support this stallion, and we're going to support Sharp Azteca. We've got several mares that we've already got booked to him, and it's the same with Sharp Azteca.
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