Structor a Ryan Horse Top and Bottom

To call Structor (Palace Malice) a full-circle horse for Mike Ryan doesn't quite do the story justice. From his pinhooking of Structor's sire Palace Malice to his role developing the colt's female family, Ryan's influence here could be called multifaceted or, if you haven't had your first cup of coffee, convoluted. But really, if there's a word that best describes Mike Ryan's involvement with Structor, it's this: representative.

The bloodstock agent purchased Structor on behalf of Jeff Drown and Don Rachel for $850,000 at this year's OBS March Sale, and the 2-year-old colt is now undefeated in three starts. He won the GIII Pilgrim S. and then rolled home in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf for trainer Chad Brown, boosting his earnings to $709,500. Such is his reputation that, with a potential switch to the dirt in the cards, he's been included in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

So why representative? If Structor underscores Ryan's ability to judge athletic potential, he also exemplifies Ryan's wide-ranging involvement in the industry. It's no secret that, in addition to being an agent, Ryan is also a successful pinhooker, breeder and owner. And in Structor, all of those things come neatly together in three generations. Ryan, it could be said, is an industry Renaissance man, and Structor is the physical culmination of his know-how.

Let's start with Structor's maternal side. Back in 2006, Ryan purchased Structor's second dam Miss Seffens (Dehere) as a broodmare for $310,000 from the Three Chimneys Keeneland November consignment. The five-time stakes winner of over $500,000 was 11 at the time and quickly produced a star for Ryan in the form of More Than Real (More Than Ready). That homebred filly debuted a winner wearing Ryan's colors at Saratoga in 2010 and was sold privately to Bobby Flay. She was moved from young conditioner Chad Brown to Todd Pletcher. Off at 13-1 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, More Than Real won off by two lengths for her new connections.

“She won first time out very easily at Saratoga going long and I sold her a week or two later to Bobby Flay,” said Ryan. “And it was wonderful. She went on and won the Breeders' Cup for him at Churchill and got a huge number. She got a four Ragozin number, whereas Pluck got an eight for winning the colts' [version of the race]. Offspring by More Than Ready actually won both races.”

Ryan then bred another filly by More Than Ready from Miss Seffens, Structor's dam Miss Always Ready. Ryan sold Miss Always Ready-to none other than Three Chimneys-for $400,000 at the 2014 Keeneland April Sale of Two-Year-Olds. (Notably, that sale had been given a nice advertisement the previous year when a graduate named Palace Malice won the GI Belmont S.)

Miss Always Ready showed some promise for Three Chimneys, romping off by 5 3/4 lengths in a Belmont maiden at two, but she failed to train on and was retired to Three Chimneys' broodmare band. Her first cover, naturally, was to the farm's new stallion Palace Malice.

That was a sire that Ryan had plenty of history with. The Irishman first laid eyes on Palace Malice at the 2011 Keeneland September Sale, and loved what he saw.

“He was a beautiful horse,” said Ryan. “He toed in a little touch on one foot, but a magnificent specimen.”

Ryan purchased the colt along with longtime business partner Niall Brennan, and they were encouraged by the colt's progression at Brennan's Florida farm.

“The more we did with him in February and March, the better he got, ” said Ryan. “He was sort of a late bloomer, so we weren't in any hurry, and we felt all along that Keeneland [April] was the right spot for him. He really impressed us at Keeneland, [but] he was in very early tin the sale. [Dogwood Stable's] Cot Campbell, who'd bought some good horses from us over the years, came up to Niall, and Niall said, 'Cot, this is a good horse.'”

Campbell took Brennan's word that the horse vetted perfect, and secured the colt, Hip 36, for $200,000.

Palace Malice was Dogwood's last elite horse. At two, he won a Saratoga maiden by daylight, but was sidelined with sore shins. At three, he placed in the GII Risen Star S. and GI Blue Grass S., then upset Oxbow and Orb in the GI Belmont S. He put together a dynamic four-race winning streak at four capped by a win over Goldencents (Into Mischief) in the GI Met Mile. When Palace Malice retired to stud, trainer Todd Pletcher called him the most versatile horse he'd trained.

“I'm on record-he's one of my all time favorite horses,” said Ryan. “To me, he was just a really classy horse and a very determined, courageous horse. He a top horse at two, three and four and he just so versatile. He could sprint, he could run long, winning a Classic at a mile and a half. And the day he won that Met mile, that was a hell of a race.”

Palace Malice, the first Grade I winner for the then-upstart Curlin, was installed a fee of $20,000 for his first season at Three Chimneys. Structor was from his first crop, and while Ryan missed seeing Structor when he sold for $160,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Sale, he couldn't help but notice him when he tore through a quarter in :21.1 earlier this year at OBS March for the Pick View LLC consignment.

“When I saw him at the 2-year-old sales, it was a two-second decision,” Ryan said. “I said, 'This is a beast.' He worked in :21.1, but it was the way he did it though. There was a lot of horse underneath him and his stride was magnificent. And then when I saw him back at the barn and I said, 'Oh my goodness, this is a serious horse.'”

At $850,000, Structor was March's co-fourth-highest price, and Ryan said he saw a lot of Palace Malice in the colt.

“He's a lot like his dad,” Ryan said. “He's got a lot of leg, a lot of scope, great strength over his back and quarters, and a good shape to him. He's very similar in height, stature and dimension to his dad. Miss Always Ready, his dam, was very big as I recall, but she obviously put some sharpness and speed into him and he was a great physically. [Pick View's] Joe Pickerrell did a great job with him. He wasn't overdone and was sound, which is hard to get it sometimes at the 2-year-old sales. I went back to see him a couple of times and said, 'You're going to bring a lot of money.' But I spoke to Jeff and, luckily, he was onboard.”

Structor was the first Grade I winner for Jeff Drown and Don Rachel, and was the first top-level winner for Palace Malice, who's off to a flying start at stud. In addition to Structor, he's also the sire of the P. G. Johnson S. winner Crystalle and the recent TDN Rising Star Mr. Monomoy, the half-brother to champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar). Palace Malice has seen his fee bumped to $25,000 for 2020.

“I think he's great value,” said Ryan. “I think he was priced very fairly at the outset and is still priced very fairly; he's a horse that can bring a good return on a stud fee at the sales.”

These aren't just hollow words. Ryan has supported Palace Malice heavily at the sales. At Keeneland September, he purchased three colts by the sire for $300,000, $145,000 and $105,000, respectively.

And Ryan thinks the best is yet to come for Palace Malice. “He's getting winners on dirt and grass and, for a horse that won the Belmont, you'd have to expect that they're going to get better,” said Ryan. “Like he did, and like most Curlins and Smart Strikes, they get better with distance and maturity and time.”

With that in mind, Ryan is confident Structor isn't done writing headlines for his sire, and said he's keen to how he handles a potential move to the main track.

He said, “I remember speaking to Chad Brown one day at Saratoga in mid-July, and he said, 'I think I saw my Derby horse. I had a horse come down in the lane this morning like a Derby horse.'”

The horse, of course, was Structor.