Clubhouse Ride heating up as sire

By the time of his retirement in late winter 2015, Clubhouse Ride was a three-time stakes winner and a millionaire. For all that went right for him on the racetrack through an accomplished six-year career, Clubhouse Ride had a bumpy start as a stallion.

Clubhouse Ride was retired at a difficult time, reaching Harris Farms in Coalinga, Calif., in March 2015, a month after the start of the breeding season. By then, many breeders had advanced plans for their mares.

“We sent him to Harris Farm, with the idea of standing him the following year,” trainer Craig Lewis recalled in mid-December.

“They liked him so much they wanted to breed him.”

Lewis, who has retained an ownership share in the stallion, recalls that Clubhouse Ride was bred to “less than a dozen” horses in 2015. In 2016, Clubhouse Ride was bred to a much larger group of mares, which, in a sense, was his first crop. Those foals reached the races this year, and they made quite an impression, leaving Clubhouse Ride among the leaders of California-based stallions ranked by progeny earnings for 2-year-olds as of mid-December.

As the 2020 breeding season approaches, Clubhouse Ride is expected to be in demand and will stand at a different farm. In October, Clubhouse Ride was transferred to Legacy Ranch in Clements, Calif., where his fee will be $3,500, up from $2,500 this year.

Clubhouse Ride, 11, was bred to 16 mares in the 2019 breeding season, according to Jockey Club statistics. Lewis, whose family co-owns Clubhouse Ride with Murrey, Sue, and Rick Seidner, expects that number to soar in coming months.

“The feedback has been overwhelmingly good,” Lewis said. “Quite a few trainers at Santa Anita have recommended some of their people to breed to him. We anticipate a big breeding year for him.”

There is a possibility Clubhouse Ride will have a high double-digit book of mares.

“We’ve had a lot of people asking,” said Rick Seidner, the son of Murrey and Sue Seidner.

“We’re hoping to get 75 to 100. We’ve got 40 locked up. People in California tend to wait to book mares.”

At Legacy Ranch, Clubhouse Ride is one of four stallions. Harris Farms has a roster of 12 stallions, according to its website.

“We’ll step up and breed some horses to him,” said Pete Parrella, who owns Legacy Ranch. “He’s good for California. That’s what we need right now.”

While the stallion’s fee has increased, it was deliberately kept at a relatively low price.

“We talked about it,” Parrella said. “We don’t want to get too aggressive. We want to get some nice mares and see what happens and look at it next year. I think that’s a fair number.

“There is a lot of competition out there.”

Through Dec. 15, Clubhouse Ride’s 2-year-olds had earned $586,646 this year. He ranked first among California sires in progeny earnings by 2-year-olds, closely followed by Square Eddie ($520,823) and Empire Way ($519,632).

Clubhouse’s Ride’s runners are led by Warren’s Showtime, a filly who won the Surfer Girl Stakes against open company at a mile on turf on Oct. 6 at Santa Anita and was more recently third in the Golden State Juvenile Fillies at seven furlongs for statebreds on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita, and Club Aspen, winner of the King Glorious Stakes on Dec. 15 at Los Alamitos.

Trained by Lewis for owners and breeders Ben and Sally Warren, Warren’s Showtime is a candidate for the $200,000 California Cup Oaks for statebred fillies at a mile on turf on Jan. 18 at Santa Anita. Club Aspen, trained by Lewis for his brother Larry, may run in the $200,000 California Cup Derby at 1 1/16 miles on Jan. 18.

“It’s really exciting,” Rick Seidner said. “It’s what we were hoping for. We’re off to an amazing start.”

Clubhouse Ride has had 20 2-year-old runners this year through Dec. 15, 13 of which have won.

“There are a lot of up-and-coming horses that are just getting started,” Rick Seidner said.

Lewis estimates Clubhouse Ride’s 2020 crop of 2-year-olds to number about 50.

“It should be an interesting crop,” he said.

Clubhouse Ride won 5 of 43 starts and earned $1,341,132 for Nikolas Petralia and the Seidner family’s Six-S Racing Stable. Clubhouse Ride won the Barretts Juvenile at Fairplex Park in 2010 and consecutive runnings of the Grade 2 Californian Stakes at Hollywood Park in 2013 and at Santa Anita in 2014.

“He was a unique horse,” Lewis said. “He could do a lot of different things. He could run five furlongs to a mile and a quarter. He had the misfortune of running when Game On Dude was probably the best horse in the world. He had to chase him.”

Clubhouse Ride was second to Game On Dude in three consecutive starts in early 2013 – the Grade 2 San Antonio Stakes, Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, and Grade 2 Charles Town Classic.

By Candy Ride, Clubhouse Ride is out of Seeking Results, by Seeking the Gold. Seeking Results is a half-sister to River Keen, a four-time stakes winner and millionaire best known for winning the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes and Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in consecutive starts in 1999.

Clubhouse Ride was a stakes winner at 2, but thrived around two turns in his later years. If his foals duplicate that form, the stallion could have important runners in leading distance races for statebreds in 2020.

“It looks like he’ll have some awful interesting 3-year-olds,” Lewis said. “I think at Del Mar last summer he started to make his mark and it continued at Santa Anita. He’s been very productive.

“If past performances are any indicator, we’re very optimistic.”