By Bill Finley
When graded stakes winner Wit (Practical Joke–Numero d'Oro, by Medaglia d'Oro) went through the ring at 2024 Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale, Andrew Cary, the bloodstock advisor for Keith and Ginger Myers' Coteau Grove Farm in Sunset, Louisiana, knew he wanted the horse, but not as a racing prospect. Cary's client and partner Whispering Oaks Farm in Carencro, Louisiana, saw the 'TDN Rising Star' as a perfect fit for the Louisiana breeding program. For the purchase price of just $100,000 they brought home a horse they believe will fit in nicely in the Pelican State, which is one of the sport's healthiest regional markets.
“They decided to sell him in April,” Cary said. “It was good timing for us because it was too late for the breeding season and we weren't looking to run him. The timing was a bit odd. Maybe they were hoping that a South American farm would buy him. There was some interest there, but luckily for us, he kind of fell into our laps and we were very happy to get him.”
Cary is always on the lookout for quality stallion prospects that are a good fit in Louisiana. Coteau Grove also owns No Parole (Violence) in partnership with Whispering Oaks, which stands the team's stallions. No Parole was a nice coup for the partnership as he is a rare Grade I winner to stand in Louisiana. No Parole won the 2020 GI Woody Stephens Stakes.
In Wit they saw another horse with an impressive record on the track. Trained by Todd Pletcher, he won the GIII Sanford Stakes by eight lengths at Saratoga before finishing second in the GI Hopeful Stakes. Subsequent to winning the GIII Bay Shore Stakes on the dirt in the spring of 2022, Wit made a successful transition to the turf, winning the Better Talk Now Stakes at Saratoga, finishing runner-up in the GII Hall of Fame Stakes and GIII Bryan Station Stakes and a close third in the GI Hollywood Derby.
“We have a high-quality broodmare band and we thought it was the right time to invest in a new stallion,” Cary said. “Not only would that give our mares a good option in the state, but also one that we have ownership in and can develop the horse. We already own No Parole in partnership with Whispering Oaks, so this is the same partnership. We just thought he was a very high-caliber horse with Grade I talent and a big profile that was a prominent 2-year-old. It's pretty rare to get that kind of horse here. When we saw the opportunity in April to do it, we took a shot. It made a lot of sense.”
Cary has high hopes for Wit, in part because he and his partners will provide him with a quality broodmare band.
“We've been pretty active,” Cary said. “We bought eight mares at Keeneland in November and we also moved quite a few mares that were based in Kentucky. They're now going to be foaled in Louisiana. He will have an incredible group of mares. A nice bunch of stakes mares, young mares, ones with quality pedigrees. He's going to get every shot.”
Wit will–from Coteau Grove broodmare band alone–be bred to 30 mares. Cary said he envisions that Wit will be bred to about 60 mares in his first year at stud.
Louisiana may not be Kentucky, but it is among the best regional breeding markets in the business. Stars on the racetrack this year include 18-time stakes winner Free Like a Girl (El Deal), who has made over $2 million, and Touchuponastar (Star Guitar), whose nine career stakes wins include four victories against open company. Louisiana-bred Tumbarumba (Oscar Performance) finished fourth in this year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, having won the GIII Fred Hooper S. at Gulfstream Park. They are always finding ways of beefing up the state's racing and breeding programs.
“There is a new governor in office, Jeff Landry, and he is pro-racing and pro-breeding,” Cary said. “He understands that you have to have incentives for people to breed and race in the state. Our breeders awards are very competitive with the best states in the country. Not just for stakes horses, but for allowance horses, maidens, even claimers. It definitely helps when it comes to rewarding breeders on the back end for all the investment they've put in. Purses are going the right way, going up every year and, hopefully, they will continue to so for years to come.
“Wit is a big beautiful horse,” Cary added “He was the highest-priced Practical Joke yearling of his year. (He sold for $575,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale). He has a nice female family, won first time out at Belmont, then won the Sanford and was second in the Hopeful to Gunite (Gun Runner). He was a very high-level horse and we're thrilled to get a chance to stand a horse like that right off the track.”
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