Surprise! Redattore a California stud

INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Redattore, the winner of 10 stakes in Brazil and California, will stand his first season at stud in the United States at Harris Ranch in Coalinga, Calif., in 2005.

Redattore's addition to the California stallion list is a rare instance of a multiple stakes winner on dirt and turf standing in California, and not being sent to another state or country permanently.

Redattore, 9, won 15 of 32 starts and $1,799,883 in a career that began in 1998 in Brazil and concluded with a victory in the Grade 2 San Gabriel Handicap at Santa Anita last December.

Harris Ranch owner John Harris said that Redattore is currently in Brazil, where he has been bred to 80 mares in recent months. He said that Redattore "might continue to shuttle" between California and Brazil in future seasons.

"He should be arriving here this month," he said.

Redattore was campaigned by Luis Alfredo Taunay, who will share ownership with Harris Farms. Redattore will stand for $4,000, live foal.

Redattore's 10 stakes wins came on both turf and dirt. In California, he won such major races as the Grade 1 Eddie Read Handicap over 1 1/8 miles on turf at Del Mar in 2001, the Grade 2 San Antonio Handicap over 1 1/8 miles on dirt at Santa Anita in 2002, and two major turf stakes at Hollywood Park in 2003 - the Grade 1 Shoemaker Breeders' Cup Mile in May and the Grade 2 Citation Handicap over 1 1/16 miles in November.

Trained by Richard Mandella, Redattore did not start in 2004.

There was talk of sending Redattore to stud in 2004, but Taunay and Mandella decided to keep him in training. Persistent injuries prevented him from starting in the major stakes of the late winter and early spring, and his retirement was announced in May.

Harris said that Redattore should fit the state's breeding program because of his success on both surfaces and at one mile.

"The thing I like is he's more of a miler," Harris said. "He won at the top level on the dirt and he looks like a pretty versatile horse."

By Roi Normand, a top stallion in Brazil, Redattore was also effective in longer turf races. In one of his rare trips outside of Southern California, Redattore finished third in the 2001 Arlington Million at 1 1/4 miles on turf.

Harris admits that even though Redattore was a mainstay in top stakes in the past few years, the horse's pedigree could be a difficult sell to American breeders.

"I don't think we want to market him as a turf-only horse," Harris said. "I looked for a horse that was competitive on the dirt. He's by a Brazilian horse that was not a household name, but he [Roi Normand] is the sire of Riboletta."

Riboletta, who was bred in Brazil, won the Eclipse Award as the outstanding older female of 2000.

Harris said Redattore's female family has strong American influences. Redattore's dam, Political Intrigue, is by Deputy Minister. Political Intrigue raced in Brazil. Her dam, Fascinating Trick, was a full sister to Numbered Account, the winner of the Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding 2-year-old filly of 1971.

Record bids at CTBA auction

The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association's 2004 stallion season auction attracted more than $100,000 in bids, a record. The auction was conducted last Tuesday.

Proceeds from the auction of 36 stallion seasons will go to the CTBA's Political Action Committee, which is used to further the organization's legislative goals.

Top stallions represented in the auction included Cee's Tizzy, In Excess, and Souvenir Copy.