By Jessica Martini
Last fall, his homebred filly Slammed (Marking) took Brad King to the Breeders' Cup, and in just over a week, another filly will bring the Texan to Saratoga for the first time when he offers a yearling daughter of red-hot sire Good Magic as hip 32 with the Legacy Bloodstock consignment at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.
“We've pinhooked off and on for probably 10-15 years,” King said. “But this is our first one that we are taking up there. When we bought her, that was the plan the whole time, we were trying to look for a young stallion that would be on the upper end and we just got really lucky with Good Magic. She has the pedigree to get in up there, for sure.”
The filly is out of graded stakes winner Devious Intent (Dixie Union), who is a half-sister to millionaire Pioneer Spirit (Malibu Moon). King purchased the bay for $150,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.
“We like to pick horses that are really powerful and there is a lot of substance to them,” King said of the weanling's appeal. “The horses that we keep and run are the same way. That's just kind of what we do. When we saw her as a foal, we were like that's the kind that we want right there.”
Of the filly's six-figure price tag, King admitted, “We did stretch a little bit last year. We had had a good year at the races and we had a good sale year last year.”
Since purchasing the filly last November, her sire has been hitting on all cylinders on the racetrack. In addition to GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage, Good Magic has also been represented recently by stakes winners Scotland, How Did He Do That, Reincarnate, and Miss New York, as well as 'TDN Rising Star' and $2-million OBS March graduate Muth.
“That part couldn't have worked out any better,” King said of the sire's hot streak. “Every weekend there are three new wins. They just keep coming. And that's just dumb luck there. That's what a lot of this game is, you've just got to get lucky every now and then.”
King has been happy with what he has seen from the filly over the winter.
“Luckily, she has basically kept the same great shape and just grown up,” he said. “For a Good Magic, she is big enough. They are not the biggest horses, but she is definitely big enough.”
King traditionally has plenty of company when his horses make it to the winner's circle, owning most of his runners in partnerships.
“I love it when they come in and have instant success because then they are in the business forever,” he said.
But hip 32 is a rare one that King owns all on his own.
“Usually, I have partners on all of my horses,” he explained. “I just didn't have anybody who was really asking to get in, so we just bought that one ourselves. The only reason she is going to the sale is because we do own her by ourselves. If we had owned her as a group, we probably would have just kept her and run her. But I definitely don't need to own her by myself.”
King, who is the owner of Clear Vu Auto Glass in Lubbock, Texas, followed his father into the racing game.
“When Texas got pari-mutuel racing in the mid-80s, my dad got in it here in Texas,” King recalled. “We bought a few mares at that time. We had never owned a horse before that. I was probably 14 or 15 at that time. And I got immersed into it quickly from that point.”
From a limited stable, King has enjoyed plenty of success recently on the racetrack. In addition to Slammed, who earned her way into the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint with a win in the GII Thoroughbred Club of America S. last fall at Keeneland, he is also co-owner of Flying Connection (Nyquist), who took her owners to the GI Kentucky Oaks this year thanks to a win in the Sunland Oaks; and Olivia Twist (Mshawish), who was third in the GIII Fantasy S. at Oaklawn in April.
“We have probably eight to 10 in training,” King said. “We are a small stable for sure. And I've got about 15 mares between Kentucky and New Mexico.”
The broodmare band includes Hennesey Smash (Roll Hennessy Roll), dam of Slammed, as well as stakes winner and graded placed Smash Ticket (Midnight Lute) and multiple stakes winner Roll on Diabolical (Diabolical). The 14-year-old mare produced a colt by City of Light this year and was bred back to superstar Flightline.
Smash Ticket joined the band this year and was bred to Jackie's Warrior.
The recently retired Slammed, meanwhile, will be offered at auction this November.
“At the end of the day, you have to treat it like a business,” King said of the decision to sell the graded stakes winner. “And that's probably the smart thing to do. I don't have any mares who are worth what she is. And it's not just her–then you have to breed her the way she needs to be bred and it's just a three-year process of that much more [in] stud fees and all of that. And some of the partners that are in her are not into the breeding that much. I have a sister to her and we still have her dam.”
Asked if the trip Slammed took him and his partners on last year made him eager to increase his stable's numbers, King said, “It gives you a taste for the top end of the game, that's for sure. And you definitely strive to stay at that. With Slammed, it was extra special just because she was a homebred and New Mexico-bred and I had had her her whole life. I had her dam and her granddam. So it was extra special because we had had the family for so long.”
Bringing a yearling to Fasig-Tipton's boutique Saratoga sale can offer King that same racetrack experience in the sales ring.
“You know you are playing at the top end of the game when you make it to Saratoga, that's for sure,” King said.
He added, “Going up there to the sale will be the first time I've ever been to Saratoga. I've been to nearly all of the other tracks, but not to that one, so that will be fun. We were in Del Mar for a week last week. And I thought, you can get used to going to Del Mar for a week and Saratoga for a week. That's the life.”
The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale will be held Aug. 7 and 8 with bidding beginning each day at 6:30 p.m.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
