As Big Brown rose to glory last spring, Paul Pompa Jr. was the story behind the story. Pompa had sold majority interest to the IEAH Stables while retaining a quarter-share in the colt.

But as the man who initially recommended that Pompa buy an unraced 2-year-old who eventually was named Big Brown, Jack Brothers is the story behind the story behind the story.

The obvious thread linking Fusaichi Pegasus, Smarty Jones, Afleet Alex, Curlin, and Big Brown is that each horse won one or more Triple Crown races in the past eight years.

The less obvious thread is that Robert Beck, a Lexington, Ky., lawyer who was recently named chairman of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, put together the deals to either sell or syndicate the horses for stallion duty.

Among the stallions who have their first yearlings on sale this fall, a quintet of champions and star performers stands out: Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, champions Afleet Alex and Kitten's Joy, and the major winners Rock Hard Ten and Roman Ruler.

Far and away, Ghostzapper, a Breeders' Cup Classic winner, is the most expensive horse in the group with a $150,000 fee - the highest fee for a horse at stud without foals of racing age.

With 9 victories from 11 starts and earnings of more than $3.4 million, Ghostzapper was a

Displaying the grit that kept him unbeaten in his previous six starts, Tin Cup Chalice repulsed a host of challengers in the Albany Handicap at Saratoga on Aug. 20 to become the first winner of the Big Apple Triple.

In doing so, he collected a $250,000 bonus for Finger Lakes-based trainer Michael Lecesse, who co-owns Tin Cup Chalice with Scott Van Laer.

The bonus was instituted in 1999, and requires the winner to negotiate seven furlongs in the Mike Lee at Belmont Park, 1 1/16 miles in the New York Derby at Finger Lakes, and 1 1/8 miles in the Albany Handicap.

There's more than one way to play the claiming game, as trainer Dale Capuano demonstrates.

In May 2001, Capuano claimed a good-looking, well-bred Marquetry filly for $25,000. Bred by Howard and Sondra Bender's Glade Valley Farms, the 3-year-old filly, named Lux Marquet, was making her first career start in a maiden race at Pimlico. She never raced again.

But last weekend at Laurel, Capuano sent out Lux Marquet's 3-year-old son Seeyouinthecity (by Slew City Slew) to win the $50,000 Humphrey S. Finney Stakes at Laurel Park.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Both of the modern fillies who won the Kentucky Derby died this year: Genuine Risk earlier in the week and Winning Colors in February.

The only other filly to take the classic was Regret in 1915, and when Genuine Risk won the race 65 years later, her success brought such public acclaim and recognition of the accomplishment that others set out to emulate the feat. Only Winning Colors managed to win, but the competition has added color and excitement to the classic. And some fillies (as part of entries) even have gone off favored in the race at Churchill Downs.

A change of venue, date, and catalog size may help to revive the Northern California yearling sale, which is being held Tuesday at the Sonoma County fairgrounds in Santa Rosa.

California's yearling consignors can do with a dose of good news.

Last year's sale, held at the Alameda County fairgrounds in Pleasanton in late September, saw average price drop 29 percent to $5,839. Overall, 154 horses sold for $899,200, down 36 percent from a record 2006 sale. The sale-topper was a Siberian Summer colt that sold for $40,000.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Magical Fantasy's shocking 42-1 victory in the Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 16 vindicated breeder Shack Parrish's long faith in her female family.

Parrish, the president and general manager of Indian Creek Farm in Paris, Ky., first became associated with Magical Fantasy's family back in the late 1980s, when he bought her second dam, Love's Reward, from Irish breeder Mrs. Dare Wigan.

There’s little doubt that Hurricane Faye played a role in this past week’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s yearling sale. Not that the imminent threat of this storm stopped buyers from bidding, rather it likely kept potential buyers away from the scene. These are buyers who could be classified as “impulse buyers.” That is, they did not come to Ocala to buy specific horses, but came to see what’s what, saw a horse they liked, and bought.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Sheikh Hamdan al-Maktoum’s Shadwell Farm picked up the session-topper Saturday at Deauville’s August yearling sale, paying about $837,900 for a Muhtathir filly.