By Alan Carasso
Purchased by John Greathouse Bloodstock for $50,000 as a weanling at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November Sale, Haveyougoneaway (Congrats) fetched a final bid of $105,000 from the partnership of Dan Tayloe and David Greathouse as a yearling at that auction house's New York-bred sale the following summer. Led out unsold on a bid of $100,000 at the 2013 OBS June Sale, Haveyougoneaway found herself at Keeneland November five months later and just a handful of weeks after the untimely and sad passing of David Greathouse. After paying slightly more than the upset price in Lexington, Champion Racing Stable hit a home run with the New York-bred, winning eight races, including three stakes, and the better part of $400,000.
Not bad, by any metric.
Haveyougoneaway came to the attention of Sequel New York's Becky Thomas through bloodstock agent Mark Toothaker and a deal was struck to bring the 5-year-old back to her birthplace. Tom Morley learned he would be training Haveyougoneaway while in the inter-track wagering facility on the grounds of OBS during the April sale of 2-year-olds in training.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history.
“She had potential to be a broodmare for us and because she was a New York-bred and because I know the benefits of the program, she was very appealing to our group [of four],” Thomas said Wednesday afternoon. “She vetted quite good for a 5-year-old and had been taken care of very well. We bought her and decided to send her to New York and [Wednesday's result] is what we were after.
The noted horsewoman continued, “It's been very exciting. She's incredibly professional, very smart and relaxed. She's a class act and we're really excited and we're always excited that we'll be on Tom Morley's radar for giving him his first graded stakes winner. We feel blessed.”
Thomas indicated that Haveyougoneaway was bought with no particular stallion in mind and that plans are fluid.
“Our immediate goal was to do what we did today and see where it goes from here. We're really excited for the breeders, it's a win-win for everyone,” she said.
Thomas also paid tribute to the much-beloved former Glencrest Farm stalwart.
“The fact that David Greathouse was involved makes it an even better story. He was a great horseman and always had an eye for a good horse.”
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