Papa Clem sold to stand in Turkey

Papa Clem, a Grade 2 winner, has been sold to stand at Karacabey Stud in Turkey for the 2018 breeding season.

The 12-year-old Smart Strike horse previously resided at Legacy Ranch in Clements, Calif., where he was advertised in 2017 for $2,000. He was a top-10 sire in California by progeny earnings in each of the past two years.

Papa Clem has sired six crops of racing age, with 117 winners and earnings in excess of $6.4 million. His top runners include stakes winners Mischief Clem, My Italian Babbo, Tribal Storm, Magic Spot, Hirschy, Mana Strike, Papa’s Flashy Girl, and Squeeze Me.

His top runner in 2017 by Beyer Speed Figure performance was My Italian Babbo, who met or surpassed a 90 Beyer on three occasions. My Italian Babbo earned a 95 when second in a Santa Anita optional claimer to top his sire’s runners and earned a 94 earlier in the season when he won the California Dreamin’ Stakes at Del Mar.

Papa Clem won three of 13 starts and earned $1,121,190, with Grade 2 wins in the Arkansas Derby and San Fernando Stakes. He also finished in the money in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes and the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby and Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, ran fourth in the 2009 Kentucky Derby, and finished sixth in the Preakness Stakes.

Papa Clem was bred in Kentucky by Bo Hirsch and is out of the Grade 1-winning Belong to Me mare Miss Houdini, whose five winners from seven runners also include stakes-placed Magical Victory. His second dam is the multiple Grade 1 winner Magical Maiden, putting Papa Clem in the family of Grade 2 winner Magical Mile, English Group 2 winner Moviesta, and Grade 3 winner Ready Intaglio.