By Christie DeBernardis
Steve Spielman and his partners in Nice Guys Stables seem to have the Midas touch in the horse racing industry. Their first horse, Piedi Bianchi (Overanalyze), took them to one of racing's biggest stages in 2017, the Breeders' Cup. Also, this year, in just their second year pinhooking yearlings to juveniles, the group had an Arrogate filly they purchased for just $150,000 at Keeneland September sell for $1-million at OBS April.
“I grew up in New York and have been going to the track since I was a kid,” said Spielman. “In 2016, we got out first horse, Piedi Bianchi, and she took us to the Breeders' Cup. From there on, we just started getting into different aspects of the business and expanding. We do it all.”
Spielman's group branched out into breeding and they will offer three yearlings from their program at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale with Burleson Farm, where all their mares are boarded.
Nice Guys Stables purchased History Supreme (Speightstown) privately carrying a foal from the first crop of champion Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky) after she RNA'd for $95,000 at Keeneland January. The resulting colt is catalogued as Hip 181.
“He is pretty forward,” Spielman said. “He has very good size and is powerful. I loved Accelerate as a racehorse. He looks forward enough to be a good colt for July.”
Their next colt to go through the ring will be Hip 192, a son of the late Arrogate, who the group has already had tremendous luck with during the juvenile sales season. His dam Jazaalah (Hard Spun) hails from a Shadwell family that includes Grade I winner Takaful (Bernardini) and GSW Haikal (Daaher). Nice Guys purchased her for $190,000 at Keeneland November with the Arrogate colt in utero.
“We are hoping for a repeat with Arrogate,” Spielman said. “We knew the OBS filly would be high up. She was perfect and the timing was right. We are very selective with our pinhooks and will get into weanling-to-yearling pinhooks this year.”
Rounding out the Nice Guys trio is a well-bred son of Street Sense (Hip 212). His dam Lucky Cover, a $195,000 KEENOV buy in 2018, is a daughter of MGSW & MGISP Teammate (A.P. Indy), who is a half-sister to GISW and top sire War Front (Danzig).
“He's a big, powerful horse by a good sire,” Spielman said. “He should fair well.”
Off the back of a strong juvenile sales season, Spielman is hopeful heading into the first yearling auction of the season.
“I think people will be excited to get out there,” he said. “The business seems to be doing well and COVID seems to be calming down. I think things will get going quickly in July.”
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