Complexity

Today we'll consider some of the sires standing between $10,001 and $19,999. For a long time, I called this the Lookin At Lucky zone. But don't worry, we won't be deploring his neglect yet again: he's staying in Chile, where they evidently appreciate him rather more. Plenty of horses in this bracket have recently relinquished their brief window of commercial opportunity, and are now hanging around to discover whether they might join the very small group whose first runners generate a fresh vogue. Even with the newcomers out of the...

Girvin (Tale of Ekati), the sire of three graded stakes winners including Grade I winner Faiza, and Upstart (Flatter), the sire of GI Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Zandon, will both stand for a stud fee of $30,000 at Airdrie Farm in Midway, Kentucky, for the 2024 season, Airdrie announced Wednesday. "We couldn't be looking more forward to the 2024 season as we continue to build momentum in our stallion barn," said Airdrie's Bret Jones. "We believe we have two very special stallions in Girvin and Upstart headlining our roster...

A total of 713 yearlings have been cataloged for the OBS October Sale, which kicks off a two-day run Tuesday morning in Central Florida. Based on the foot traffic on the grounds over the last few days, OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski is confident there will be plenty of demand for what is on offer. "We were very busy Sunday and by Monday afternoon we were busy again, so I feel pretty good about what we've seen traffic-wise," he said. October graduates don't get much important than Crimson Advocate...

A filly by Bolt d'Oro brought $127,000 from Choctaw Racing to lead the way during Thursday's Book 5 finale at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. A son of Frosted was the highest-priced colt on the day and the session's second-highest priced yearling, realizing $110,000 from the Korea Racing Authority. Ten yearlings brought $100,000 or more during the session while 13 hit that mark last year. Keeneland sold a total of 289 yearlings through the ring Thursday for $9,276,500, good for an average of $32,099 and a median of $25,000. The...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland September Yearling Sale continued to match the figures from its blockbuster 2022 renewal with colts by Curlin and Not This Time bringing seven figures during a competitive concluding Book 2 section Thursday. "Today was a very steady, good healthy market," said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. "We were tracking the median all through the day and it never moved at all. It was very, very steady. Overall, I think people were very happy. I think there was...

The stallions we assess today find themselves at the first major crossroads of their new career. Poor fellows, they're still a long way from having the chance to demonstrate whether they can actually produce runners. But that seems a pretty incidental consideration in the current marketplace, which has created a self-fulfilling cycle. Like it or not, stallions nowadays do indeed have their best chance of producing a good one from their first crop, as these typically emerge from the biggest and best books they will ever get. That, in turn,...

6th-Belmont The Big A, $95,000, Msw, 10-22, 2yo, 7f, 1:25.64, ft, 4 1/4 lengths. RUDDER'S MEN (c, 2, Battalion Runner--Unblemished, by Speightstown) was easily the most popular choice at 1-2 for his debut run after working a bullet four furlongs from the gate in :46 2/5 (1/187) Oct. 7. Campaigned by the same connections as his freshman sire (by Unbridled's Song), Rudder's Men hustled to the front shortly after the break and settled nicely a path off the rail through a sharp opening quarter in :22.53. Kept under wraps until...

With the 2022 breeding season right around the corner, we will feature a series of breeders' mating plans over the coming weeks. Today we have Erin Fisher of Harper Ridge Thoroughbreds. "All my horses are crossed with stallions that I feel will throw appealing and sound horses that can provide second and third careers off the track and provide longevity to the breed," said Fisher. "I look for soundness and attitude with the idea that my foals can have long futures in any discipline after racing." APPEALING WAY (m, 8,...

Even last year, when doing so much to fortify breeders through the uncertainties of the pandemic, stallion farms appeared to price their rookies to squeeze the usual juice from the commercial market's greatest addiction. That was fair enough. Nowadays farm accountants can bank only on the most fleeting of vogues in drawing up a business plan for stallion acquisitions. And nor can we sensibly expect any slack now, pending the arrival of first foals and then a debut at the weanling sales next fall. A stallion has to be in...

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...

  "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...

The first mares bred to 'TDN Rising Star' Complexity (Maclean's Music), winner of the GI Champagne S. at two and the GII Kelso H. at four, have been confirmed in foal. The bay retired to Airdrie Stud last fall. He stands for $12,500, stands and nurses. "We have had a terrific response to Complexity, and he has been booked full for some time," said Cormac Breathnach. "He is off to a great start in the shed and we have a lot to look forward to with him." A Klaravich Stables...