MyRacehorse representatives arrived at the 2022 renewal of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale ready for anything but expecting nothing. With the sale's two-day average closing out at $468,217 for 143 select yearlings sold, not to mention the healthy median of $375,000, it was clear that all the stars would have to align perfectly for the team to walk away with any one of the yearlings on their shortlist. Whether it could be chalked up to diligence, fate or even chance, team members haltered a pair of yearlings, a colt by Arrogate and a filly by Audible. While the latter–a $320,000 purchase who was subsequently named Lady Blitz–has yet to stand out, the former, a colt out of Smart Shopping (Smart Strike) and later named Seize the Grey would give the group a memorable Classic run, culminating with a GI Preakness Stakes victory under the tutelage of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas.

“We are always looking for the top athlete that we think we can afford,” explained Joe Moran, MyRacehorse's racing manager. “Seize the Grey was a little bit on the immature side [as a yearling]. But he was very well balanced and was made extremely well. We kind of thought that would be to our benefit down the road.”

Moran, aided by bloodstock agent Roderick Wachman on the purchase, explained that the colt's position in the catalog also seemed to prove a fortuitous stroke for the team.

“We learned at Saratoga over the last two years, Day 2 seems to get a little bit harder after people get shut out on Day 1, so the second day becomes more competitive,” he opined. “So we went there ready to strike early. Fortunately, he sold on Day 1.”

According to Moran, Saratoga can be a challenging place to get what you want, especially when operating on a budget. Despite the obstacles, however, everything seemed to fall into place which allowed the team to secure the grey for $300,000 from the Mill Ridge Sales' consignment. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Jamm Ltd.

“He really just fell in line with exactly what we were looking for. At MyRacehorse, we have to have 'sellability' of pedigree and you have Arrogate on the side,” he explained, pointing out the obvious attraction to the colt. “I really wasn't sure we were going to be able to acquire him for the price we did, but he fell into our lap. We were at the right place and at the right time. Everything really went according to plan.”

When asked if they had considered extending higher to secure the colt, Moran admitted, “We probably could have gone up a little bit further, but we were looking for 'value' especially at a sale where they bring millions.”

He added, “We always say we are never going to go there just to buy a horse. We want to love the horse we are going to buy and it was a short and selective list. In this case, it really worked out for us to get one of the ones we really wanted.”

The morning following the colt's Preakness victory, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert stopped by Lukas's barn to see the Classic winner up close. Baffert, who also trained champion Arrogate, had jokingly asked why the colt hadn't been snapped up by his own bloodstock team.

Moran offered a possible answer.

“At Saratoga, you can pretty much pull any horses out of the stall and you are going to be happy with what you are seeing,” he explained. “It's hard to refine your list at a sale like that. I just think that one thing that maybe didn't attract a ton of people to him is he didn't give you that instant gratification look. It doesn't always work out in your favor, but in this case, he developed into a beautiful and strapping colt.”

He continued, “But even then, he was extremely well balanced, and you see that today. He has beautiful conformation, and he really has all the right pieces. I think that has played into his favor.”

Asked whether the team will make it back upstate to take a shot at unearthing another potential star like Seize the Grey, Moran left little room for doubt.

“We will definitely be back at Saratoga,” he said. “We will also shop Keeneland [September] and Fasig-Tipton October [yearlings] Sale. We try to put ourselves in a position to be at every sale, depending on all of our other offerings and how much we did in the 2-year-old sales leading up to that. And that will help us determine our plan for the yearlings.”

Patience Pays Off for MyRacehorse

The winner of one of five starts at two, recorded in a Saratoga maiden where he defeated subsequent GI Belmont Stakes and GI Haskell winner Dornoch, Seize the Grey launched his sophomore season with an optional claiming score at Oaklawn in February before finishing third in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks the following month. Seventh behind $2.3-million Saratoga yearling topper Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) in Keeneland's GI Blue Grass Stakes Apr. 6, he failed to draw into this year's Kentucky Derby field, forcing his team to redirect him to the GII Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard. Let got at 9-1, he rewarded his backers with a confident 1 1/4-length score over the stakes winning Nash (Medaglia d'Oro).

Sent off at similar odds for the second jewel of the Triple Crown two weeks later, Seize the Grey went wire to wire, leaving the Derby hero Mystik Dan (Goldencents) 2 1/4 lengths in his wake.

Wilting to seventh in the June 8 GI Belmont Stakes held in Saratoga for the first time, he came home an even fourth in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes July 27.

In the week leading up to the Jim Dandy, the breeding rights to the colt were acquired by Gainesway Farm, where the grey will enter stud at the conclusion of his career.