Bret Jones

Offered as the final hip at Friday's Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale in Lexington, a share (2.5% fractional interest) in Airdrie Stud's Upstart (Flatter--Party Silks, by Touch Gold) was hammered down for $450,000 to Mike Freeny, who operates Dunquin Farm in nearby Paris, Kentucky, with his wife Pat. A Grade II winner and placed no fewer than six times in Grade I company at distances between eight and nine furlongs, Upstart has been represented by three winners at the graded level, with two representatives from his second crop...

Nobody has missed the explosive impact of Not This Time's second crop of sophomores on the Classic trail this year. But the fact remains that it's actually another stallion in his own intake that we find flirting most plausibly with an elusive distinction, with a chance of joining King Alfonso (1885), McGee (1918), Bull Lea (1952) and Native Dancer (1966) in siring the winners of both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks. Okay, so we're getting way ahead of ourselves here. With nearly two months to go, it...

Cairo Prince (Pioneerof the Nile) and Collected (City Zip) top Airdrie's 2022 roster, each standing for $15,000. Cairo Prince, who stood for the same price last year, has the most 2-year-old winners of any stallion this year and has a Breeders' Cup contender in Cairo Memories. Offered for a fee of $17,500 last term, Collected was represented by his first yearlings this season with several six-figure sellers. GI Champagne S. winner Complexity (Maclean's Music) remains at $12,500 for his second season at stud. Divisidero (Kitten's Joy) and Preservationist (Arch) are...

Keeneland has four new additions to its Advisory Board of Directors: prominent horsewoman Julie Cauthen, Three Chimneys Farm Chief Commercial Officer Case Clay, Airdrie Stud Vice President Bret Jones and LNJ Foxwoods' Jaime Roth. Longtime Directors Seth Hancock of Claiborne Farm and Will Farish of Lane's End will move to Emeritus roles on the Advisory Board. All four new Directors will begin their service at the Advisory Board meeting in October. "Each of our new directors--Julie, Case, Bret and Jaime--bring a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective on the...

Jocelyn Brooks, the former Chief of Staff for Sagamore Racing, will become the new Director of Sales for Brereton C. Jones's Airdrie Stud, the Midway, Kentucky nursery announced Friday morning. She will fill the role formerly held by Cormac Breathnach, who was recently named Keeneland's Director of Sales. The farm said that in her new role, Jocelyn will work directly with Airdrie's breeders and clients in helping with all aspects of their mating plans as well as being a leading presence for the Brereton C. Jones consignments at the major...

Carrie Brogden wasn't planning on purchasing many pinhook prospects for Machmer Hall at last year's Keeneland November Sale. She was busy inspecting the stock on her clients' shopping lists, plus her farm already had a plethora of weanlings back home that would need to be prepped come summertime. But on the fourth day of the sale, a colt entered the ring that she couldn't pass up. The February-foaled weanling came from the James B. Keogh consignment and was a son of first-crop weanling sire Collected (City Zip-Helena Bay (GB), by...

  "He was one of those horses that there was a buzz about before he ever stepped foot on a racetrack," Airdrie Stud's Bret Jones said of their new addition, Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Complexity (Maclean's Music--Goldfield, Yes It's True). A Stonestreet-bred half-brother to a Breeders' Cup runner-up and a $375,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by Mike Ryan, Complexity was the talk of the Saratoga backstretch in the summer of his juvenile season. Horseplayers anticipated the Chad Brown pupil's unveiling after a stretch of speedy breezes, including a five-furlong move...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency PRICEY INTO MISCHIEF DEBUTS IN NOLA 8th-FG, $50K, Msw, 3yo, 5 1/2fT, 5:23p.m. Tom Amoss unveils an expensive daughter of red hot sire Into Mischief in NATALIE WOULD, a $500,000 EASMAY purchase following a :21 3/5 breeze. The bay is a daughter of GSP Global Hottie (Dixie Chatter). Bret Jones homebred Quality of Mercy (Summer Front) also debuts in this spot. The bay is a half-sister to GISW Summer Soiree (War Front) and her dam is a half-sister to MGSW & GISP Mil Kilates (Gold...

9th-Churchill Downs, $87,145, Msw, 10-25, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45.25, ft, 4 lengths. CAMP HOPE (c, 2, Summer Front--Praising, by Pulpit), overlooked at 10-1 for his debut, stalked the early pace from fourth as a pair of longshots slugged it out through moderate opening splits. Eagerly closing on the leaders on the far turn, the dark bay poked his head in front approaching the quarter pole, and despite veering out wide into the home turn, he kicked clear late to win by an impressive four-length margin over 31-1 chance Leblon (Broken...

Kelly McDaniel, a long-time and beloved stallion manager at Airdrie Stud, passed away Sunday at the age of 56. Known for his affable character and great love of the history of the land on which Airdrie was built, Kelly dutifully looked after the Airdrie stallions for more than 32 years before his retirement in 2017. "Kelly was one of the all-time originals," said Airdrie's Bret Jones. "He, of course, took wonderful care of his horses, but I think Kelly's incredible storytelling is how he impacted so many people. He loved...

Klaravich Stables, Inc.'s Complexity (Maclean's Music--Goldfield, by Yes It's True) will stand stud at Brereton and Elizabeth Jones's Airdrie Stud upon his retirement from racing, the farm announced Thursday. Trained throughout his career by Chad Brown, Complexity was a convincing winner of his most recent start, the GII Kelso H. at Belmont, where he defeated multiple Grade I winner Code of Honor (Noble Mission) by two lengths in a time of 1:33.82, earning a 110 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest number earned by any horse at a mile or longer...

6th-Ellis, $46,200, Msw, 8-30, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:16.52, ft. UPSTRIKER (c, 2, Upstart--Casanova Striker, by Smart Strike) opened with the money on but drifted up to a generous 11-1 at the off while looking to become his first-crop sire's fifth winner and second in as many days after the impressive unveiling Saturday at Saratoga of pricey Founder. Showing good speed to chase in second, the dark bay confronted pacesetter Bluegrass Pharoah (American Pharoah) after a :45.98 half. He went by willingly at the top of the lane, and widened at...