Hartwell Farm

During the 11th session of the 2021 Keeneland September Sale, Kazakhstan-based bloodstock agent Nadir Khassanov paid $12,000 for a colt by California Chrome--Little Emily (Castledale {Ire}). After nearly running the table in Kazakhstan and Russia, the colt that came to be called Kabirkhan took his show on the road to Dubai over the winter, where he won the G1 Al Maktoum Classic in his second start for trainer Doug Watson. Khassanov was back in Lexington on the hunt for his next diamond in the rough during Friday's opening Book 6...

He has been here longer than just about any of them, albeit he arrived in 1978 presuming himself to be only breaking a longer journey. One breeding season in Kentucky, and then it would be off to Australia. Having instead become a pioneer of a remarkable Irish diaspora, Robbie Lyons is a perfect template for the many compatriots who have meanwhile flourished in the Bluegrass: an innate flair for trading, a fierce work ethic, and the willingness to take a gamble. He wasn't particularly raised to the horse game--his father...

Shane and Josh Hennessy grew up in an Ohio family whose only connection to horse racing was a yearly tradition of watching the Kentucky Derby on television, but the two brothers are more than making up for lost time. Both now serve as managers at Kentucky farms which enjoyed strong results at the recently concluded Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Josh is in his third year at the Knelman family's Farfellow Farms, while Shane joined forces with Robbie and Susie Lyons's Hartwell Farm last December. "I came down to University of...