Chandtrue: A good investment

Racing lore is full of tales about broodmares, foals, and yearlings who, their breeders would later lament, were sold too soon. W. Ed Waltrip the Osprey, Fla., doctor who decided to divest his Thoroughbred holdings in the fall of 2002, is no doubt one of those who has a tinge of regret.

A former Kentucky resident and modest commercial breeder, Waltrip hired Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck's Summerfield Sales to sell him out at the 2002 Keeneland November sales.

"Doc is retired," said Francis Vanlangendonck, "and when he got hammered in the stock market, he decided to bail out of the Thoroughbred business and asked us to sell his remaining mare and her weanling colt. He hoped he'd average $25,000 apiece for them. Well, the mare sold for $42,000 and her baby by Yes It's True went for $115,000. Doc was so pleased that he told me to get him another mare, since he could now feel comfortable about getting back into the game."

The $115,000 Yes It's True-Chandelle weanling was sold the following year for $130,000 at the Keeneland September sales to Californian Hal Greene. Named Chandtrue, the Florida-bred colt is now 2 for 2, including last Sunday's easy score in the Willard L. Proctor Stakes at Hollywood Park.

It is true: Another good one

Chandtrue is not the only noteworthy get of Padua Stable's resident stallion Yes It's True to make his mark last week.

Last February, Ocala Stud's consignment to the OBS Calder sale of 2-year-olds in training included a colt by Yes It's True-Bold Juana, by John Alden. The colt worked a respectable 22.40 seconds for two furlongs in the under-tack show and caught the attention of trainer Eddie Plesa, who bid $150,000 for him on behalf of client Bea Oxenberg and Plesa's wife, Laurie.

Named B.B. Best, the dark brown colt made his debut at Calder Race Course last week in maiden-special company. Word of the colt's promise preceded him, as he was sent off at odds-on. B.B. Best won off by nearly 15 lengths.

B.B. Best shares commonalities with Chandtrue in that he was also bred by a family with medical connections and by a breeder who owns but one mare. Bold Juana, dam of B.B. Best, is the only broodmare of Mary Ann Feldman, spouse of an Ocala cardiologist. Feldman is also the sister of Diane Dudley, daughter-in-law of the late Jack Dudley, who with his partner Bonnie Heath, raced Needles, Florida's first national champion.

"Mary Ann, like myself, grew up around horses," said Diane Dudley. "Five years ago, we had a client who was selling a mare in foal to Lost Soldier at the OBS fall mixed sales. I recommended the mare, Bold Juana, to my sister and she bought her for $35,000, and that's how she got into the one-mare breeding business."

Now 16 years old, Bold Juana has eight foals of racing age. All eight have won. Bold Juana has not had a foal for the past two years but she is believed in foal for '05 to the cover of Outofthebox (Ocala Stud).

* As noted last week, Hartley/DeRenzo Walmac South's Successful Appeal was quickest off the mark among the state's freshman sires with three winners, two of whom are stakes winners. After this past week it would appear that Yes It's True is not going to let that rival have an uncontested lead. Meanwhile, at Signature Stallions freshman sire Straight Man has two winners from five starters and is in the chase to become Florida's leading freshman sire.