Upstart lives up to his name with $600,000 OBS sale colt

When the bloodstock market faces times of uncertainty, it tends to trend toward proven stock. That’s why it’s even more impressive that young sires posted solid results at last week’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s March sale of 2-year-olds in training, with Upstart recording the top price for a first-crop juvenile at $600,000.

Of the top 10 juveniles on the leaderboard at OBS March, which posted declines as the market reacts to the long-term uncertainty caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, six were from the first or second crops of their sires. The top price overall at the sale was a $650,000 filly from the second crop of Triple Crown winner and leading freshman sire American Pharoah. Following was the colt by Upstart, who stands at the Jones family’s Airdrie Stud in Midway, Ky. The colt was purchased by bloodstock agent Mike Ryan, on behalf of Jeff Drown.

The Upstart colt, who was consigned by Woodford Thoroughbreds as agent, is out of the winning Bernstein mare Blue Beryl, a half-sister to Grade 2-placed stakes winner Brigand and to New York-bred stakes winner Sky Music. Both of those runners are bred on the same A.P. Indy-line cross as this colt, and Brigand is by the A.P. Indy horse Flatter, the sire of Upstart.

In a statement provided to Airdrie, John Gleason of Woodford called the high-ticket colt “a big, leggy, two-turn type of horse with a quick turn of foot. I expect big things from him.”

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Upstart earned more than $1.7 million over three seasons of racing. A stakes winner against New York-breds, he quickly graduated into high-level open company, finishing second in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes and third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Early the following year, he won the Grade 2 Holy Bull Stakes by 5 1/2 lengths over Frosted, then crossed the line first in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, but was demoted to second for interference. He went on to won the Grade 3 Razorback Handicap as a 4-year-old. Upstart also recorded multiple Grade 1 placings in both his 3- and 4-year-old seasons, finishing second in the Florida Derby, third to American Pharoah and Keen Ice in the Haskell Invitational, and third in both the Metropolitan Handicap and Whitney as an older horse.

Upstart, who raced in the colors of Ralph Evans, was co-owned by WinStar Farm and was trained by the late Rick Violette. He retired to Airdrie for the 2017 season as a partnership among Airdrie, WinStar, and Evans.

“Upstart is an absolutely gorgeous son of a fantastic sire in Flatter,” Brereton Jones said at the time of the horse’s retirement. “We think he’s the best 2-year-old Flatter has ever had and love that he trained on to be a top 3- and 4-year-old. I’ll put his 102 Beyer as a 2-year-old and 108 at 3 up against any first-crop sire in America, and to be right there in six Grade 1’s from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to the Whitney tells you what a top-class racehorse he was. He’ll get our full support at stud, and we couldn’t be more excited or grateful to team with Mr. Evans and WinStar Farm in working to make him a great success.”

Led by a $510,000 yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected sale, Upstart’s first yearlings sold last year averaged $61,527 – more than six times his introductory stud fee of $10,000. He was represented by six juveniles sold from eight sent through the ring at OBS March, for an average of $260,833.

Upstart will be the second son with progeny on the track for Flatter – a stalwart stallion who is the sire of Eclipse Award champion West Coast and Grade 1 winners Flat Out, Paola Queen, and Taris. Flat Out, who moved to Mighty Acres Farm in Oklahoma for 2020, is the sire of six stakes winners from his first three crops, all sired at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky.

Upstart, who will have his first juveniles on the track this season, looks to further establish this branch of the A.P. Indy line. He will be followed in that endeavor by Kobe’s Back, who entered stud in 2018 at Bonita Farm in Maryland, and Lane’s End Farm’s West Coast and Ocala Stud’s Ami’s Flatter, both of whom entered stud last year.

As the first foals for champion West Coast begin arriving, breeders have said that they display characteristics of this sireline.

Jody Huckabay said of the first West Coast filly, born at his Elm Tree Farm: “Very impressed with her eye, and her head, and the quality that she has. Love her hip and shoulders. A lot of the A.P. Indy line, Flatter line. Just looks like what she’s supposed to look like.”