In Sharper Focus: Sage Hall

The journey back to upstate New York tuned out to be a particularly sweet one for owner-breeder Brant Laue, who got his first debut winner Sunday with homebred Sage Hall (Cape Blanco {Ire}). The 11-1 shot, who is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, graduated by four lengths Sunday afternoon.

“Sometimes lightning just strikes,” Laue said of the filly. “She has been training very well and we were looking for a good effort. I don't know that we were necessarily looking for that good of an effort, but we were hopeful that she was going to perform well. This is my very first first-out winner, so that was an exciting experience.”

The Kansan is a third-generation cattle rancher. The family ranch in Hanover is one of the oldest and largest producers of purebred Charlois cattle in the Midwest. Laue is quite familiar with upstate New York, having attended Cornell Law School in Ithaca, New York before practicing law at a firm in Kansas City for 25 years. He now serves as Chief Counsel to the Governor of Kansas.

Laue had always been interested in Thoroughbred racing, dabbling in partnerships before purchasing his first broodmare in 1999.

“Breeding cattle and breeding Thoroughbred horses does have some similarities,” Laue explained. “We had always followed and been interested in Thoroughbred breeding. About 15 years ago, I decided to expand our interests into that area. Initially, we did some partnerships with the wonderful folks at Centennial Farms and then went out on my own.”

That initial broodmare purchase was Hail Roberta (Roberto), who would produce GI Secretariat S. winner Gun Salute (Military). Laue said he was encouraged to buy another horse to join Gun Salute in training. He purchased Cayuga's Waters as a $45,000 yearling at the 2003 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Sale.

“The very first broodmare I bought was an Allen Paulson mare named Hail Roberta,” Laue explained. “The first foal I mated out of her became a horse named Gun Salute, who became a Grade I winner for me. He was the only horse I was going to have in training and I thought 'That's silly. I should have at least two.' So I came up to Saratoga and bought this mare, Cayuga's Waters, as a yearling filly–the first yearling I ever bought. She and Gun Salute both went to Mott. Cayuga's Waters won the Pebbles S. at Belmont, placed in several other stakes, had a great 3-year-old year and won a race here at Saratoga by 10 1/2 lengths. She became my next broodmare, along with the dam of Gun Salute, and she's done a tremendous job for us.”

Cayuga's Waters' first two foals were stakes winner Cascadilla Falls (E Dubai) and GII Vagrancy H. victress Glorious View (Pleasant Tap), who were both campaigned by Laue. She also produced Lemon Drop Kid colt Highball who fetched $250,000 from Gary and Mary West at the 2012 Keeneland September Sale. He went on to become multiple graded stakes placed.

Laue currently has five broodmares in his band, including Cayuga's Waters, and three horses in training with Mott and Tom Albertrani.

“We've become largely a breed-to-race operation and occasionally sell yearlings,” Laue offered.

One of those yearlings going to market will be Sage Hall's yearling half-sister. The Quality Road filly will enter the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale's ring as hip 50 Aug. 10. She will be consigned by Hurstland Farm.

Laue attributes the success of his small, but accomplished operation to the trainers and horsemen he works alongside.

“We work very hard at the matings and working with good people,” he said. “Alfred Nucklos at Hurstland Farm handles all the mares and the young horses for us and Tony Everard at New Episodes Training Center breaks all the 2-year-olds. I know everyone in this business works very hard at it and I chalk a lot of it to being lucky and being at the right place at the right time.”

Laue noted that a lifetime breeding and raising cattle, as well as stock horses, has given him an advantage when it comes to Thoroughbred breeding.

“We're very serious about trying to do it right,” Laue commented. “Some of my friends joke that they shouldn't let cattle guys into the horse business because we come with a little advantage from having studied genetics and animal husbandry. I grew up on the ranch and, of course, that was part of our daily life, so I think some of that has carried over and has been helpful in making the right decisions on matings and how to bring horses along.”

Laue's interest in pedigrees led him to freshman sire Cape Blanco (Ire), who stood at Ashford.

“I'm always looking for some value and something a little different,” Laue said of his pairing decisions. “I typically haven't used a lot of first-crop stallions. I found the opportunity to get to a Galileo horse interesting–that's probably what helped me make the decision. He was, I believe, the first accomplished Galileo son to stand over here. You look at what Galileo and his sons have done in Europe, they've done very well over those Danzig lines, particularly Danehill mares. My mare is a Langfuhr by Danzig and I thought that might be something worth trying. I enjoy racing on the grass and there are a lot of opportunities on the grass. We've also got another shot of Rough Shod and the Moccasin-Special family in my mare and that also comes through in Sadler's Wells and Galileo.”

Between purchasing Cayuga's Waters in Saratoga, seeing her allowance romp at the Spa and now watching her filly Sunday, Laue has had a good deal of success in New York. Which is fitting since all of her offspring have been named after his alma matter.

“When I bought Cayuga's Waters, she needed a name,” Laue stated. “She's a New York-bred and I had no previous connections to the state of New York except I went to law school here. So Cayuga's Waters is from the Cornell Law School song and the foals have all somehow been related to Cornell. Cascadilla Falls is the waterfall outside of my dorm room, Glorious View is from the second line of the song, and this filly, Sage Hall, is named after an incredibly elaborate Victorian building on the campus which was the first women's dormitory at Cornell.”

As for Sage Hall, Laue noted, “We'll get a feel for what happened today and see how she comes out of it and see where we go next.”

For now though, the connections will “probably stop at the Reading Room and have a cocktail”–a celebratory cocktail a decade in the making.