Essence of Dubai's book is full up for next year

"Book full" is an ambiguous statement these days, for it can mean that a stallion has been booked to anywhere from 40 to 200 mares.

For the Darley-owned stallion Essence of Dubai, who stands at Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds in Ocala, a full book is about 80 mares, according to Dean DeRenzo of Hartley/DeRenzo.

Essence of Dubai has reached that point.

"As the season goes along, and assuming that everything goes right and the horse is not busy, we could breed him to an additional mare or two, but we're not soliciting mares," DeRenzo said.

Essence of Dubai is from the first crop of the A.P. Indy sire Pulpit, out of Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and champion 2-year-old filly Epitome. Essence of Dubai is a half-brother to Faltaat (by Mr. Prospector), champion in the United Arab Emirates, and to Danjur (Dayjur), who won the Churchill Downs Turf Sprint.

Winner of the Grade 2 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita as a 2-year-old in 2001, Essence of Dubai won the UAE 2000 Guineas and the UAE Derby, a $2 million race, as a 3-year-old. He returned to the U.S. and won the Grade 2 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs, and placed in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park. He earned just over $2 million.

"Breeders like everything about him," said DeRenzo. "Within a couple of weeks of the announcement that he would stand at our farm, we had well over 200 requests at $7,500 live foal, and a third of the requests for a contract were from Kentucky breeders."

For Snuck In, who stands at Clover Leaf Farms in Reddick, the term, "book full," meant he was bred to 111 mares, according to Ken Breitenbecker, the stallion manager for Clover Leaf.

Clover Leaf has changed its stallion line-up for this year. Retiring to stud are Repent and Smooth Jazz, who will join recent transfers Flame Thrower and Classic Cat. Honor Glide remains at the farm, while Outflanker has moved to Maryland.

Breitenbecker said that Repent, who is going to stand for $5,000 live foal, is attracting plenty of interest. Breitenbecker also said Repent is a handsome, well-made horse, standing 16-1 hands, jet black in color, and endowed with great bone. Repent earned $1.25 million. He won the Grade 2 Kentucky Club Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill at 2 and finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. At 3, Repent won the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby and Grade 3 Risen Star, both at Fair Grounds, and placed in the Grade 1 Travers and Grade 2 Illinois Derby. He is by Louis Quatorze out of the Argentine import Baby Grace, by Cipayo. The family is a mix of prime French and Anglo-Irish bloodlines.

Dollar Bill, with a fee $3,500 live foal, is another newcomer to the Florida stallion ranks. A son of Peaks and Valleys out of Saratoga Dame, by Saratoga Six, Dollar Bill joins Cohiba, Middlesex Drive, Straight Man, Texas Glitter, The Silver Move, and Unbridled Time at Signature Stallions near Ocala.

Dollar Bill and Repent have much in common. Both won the Kentucky Jockey Club and the Risen Star, both placed in the Travers, and both are millionaires whose earnings are within a few thousand dollars of each other.

Regarding pedigree, both stallions are from the tail-male line of Nearco - Repent through Northern Dancer and Dollar Bill through Blushing Groom. Repent and Dollar Bill also have five more crosses of Nearco in their pedigrees.