Dance With Ravens, a Grade 2 winner and veteran Mid-Atlantic stallion, has been sold to Saudi Arabian interests and will stand in that country for the 2016 breeding season.
The 13-year-old son of A.P. Indy previously stood at Northview Stallion Station in Chesapeake City, Md., for a fee of $3,000.
Sales of 2-year-olds in training long ago shed their initial reputation as strictly a source of precocious, short-running juveniles with no future as classic horses, but given the nature of the beast, speed is still what is always going to sell best when buyers gather to watch immature horses go as fast as they can at juvenile breeze shows. The contrasting results one can get from that exercise – even when highly successful – are evident in the sire and grandsire of recent Grade 3 Mr. Prospector winner X Y Jet.
Like a rising tide lifting all boats, all aspects of the Thoroughbred industry have been touched by its long-awaited Triple Crown winner. American Pharoah’s timing was opportune, as he burst onto the scene in a recovering industry that has seen larger foal crops and improved auction figures indicative of optimism – along with rising stud fees, on which the Triple Crown winner had a direct impact.
Bellamy Road will stand the 2016 breeding season at Duchess Views Farm in Pine Plains, N.Y., moving from WinStar Farm in Kentucky. He will stand for a fee of $7,500.
“I’m excited to see Bellamy Road continue his career in New York, where he’s done special things both as a racehorse and as a sire,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar president and chief executive. “He has a lot of great opportunities in the pipeline, including a couple Grade 1 2-year-old fillies in 2015. WinStar is keeping an interest in Bellamy Road, and we think he is well positioned for the New York market.”
A trio of California-bred colts have spent this season knocking heads in their home state – boosting the profile of their young sire, Square Eddie, and rewarding owner J. Paul Reddam’s faith in his talented but unlucky runner.
Bluegrass Cat began his stud career in Kentucky and stood at two different farms in New York before relocating to Ballena Vista Farm in Ramona, Calif., for the 2015 season. He is California’s leading active resident by progeny earnings – and, judging by his immediate popularity in the Golden State, he may have finally found a long-term home.
The waning days of 2015 may produce a milestone for California owner and breeder Nick Alexander.
With four days of racing remaining at Santa Anita this year, Alexander’s stable is on the verge of reaching a personal best for single-season earnings. The stable’s record of $1,039,634 was set in 2013 and is in jeopardy of falling. Through Dec. 21, Alexander’s runners had earned $980,215.
There is a late Christmas present arriving at Magali Farms in Santa Ynez, Calif., this week.
Einstein, the 13-year-old stallion who won the 2009 Santa Anita Handicap, is scheduled to arrive at the farm on Monday to launch his California stud career in 2016.
“He’s a horse I’ve wanted for a long time,” Magali general manager Tom Hudson said earlier this month. “I thought he’d do well here. He was a great racehorse.”