Bricks and Mortar among newcomers in Japan
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Bricks and Mortar potentially sealed his title as Horse of the Year with a victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, his fifth Grade 1 win of the year on his fifth different course. By the time the award is presented in late January, he’ll be on the opposite side of the globe preparing to begin his stud career as his travels take him to Shadai Farm in Japan, which struck a deal for his stallion rights over the summer.
Bricks and Mortar will step into a market in Japan that has a massive void after losing leading sires Deep Impact and King Kamehameha in the last year. He also will provide an outcross as he gives Japan a son of European Horse of the Year Giant’s Causeway, a perennial leading sire in North America who died last year at age 21. Giant’s Causeway’s best sons at stud, from his 48 advertised worldwide, stand in Europe, including Shamardal, and have had international success.
“They were very anxious to have the horse, and they had just lost Deep Impact,” said Chad Brown, who trained Bricks and Mortar for Seth Klarman’s Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence. “So they held this horse in high regard and made Seth and Bill a very generous offer, and we’re very comfortable with their farm and how well they’ll take care of him. And so, unfortunately, it will mean going to Japan as far as our ability to see him on a regular basis.”
Bricks and Mortar, a 5-year-old son of Giant’s Causeway, won 11 of 13 career starts and never was worse than third. He was a Grade 2 winner as a 3-year-old in 2017, but was then laid off for more than a year, from October 2017 to December 2018. He won all seven of his starts after returning. That remarkable streak included Grade 1 triumphs in the inaugural Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park, the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, the Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park, the Arlington Million, and, finally, the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita.