LEXINGTON, Ky. - John Gunther's Glennwood Farm is having the kind of season Thoroughbred breeders dream about. But it hasn't come without the occasional twinge of regret.
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Four Horsemen's Ranch in Anthony, Fla., does not have the cachet that, say, Ocala Stud has, or Bridlewood Farm. But in its own way the 170-acre working farm has been a success story for almost a quarter-century. So it came as a surprise that Four Horsemen's Ranch is shutting down. Jeff Schwietert, part-owner and manager of this family operation, seeks a change of lifestyle.
"Time to move on," said Schwietert.
Breeding horses can often be a venture of hard luck and broken promises. Kelly and Wayne Bailey can provide a list of could-have-beens and what-ifs when discussing the family of their new stable star, Saay Mi Name, a two-time stakes winner in August.
"We've believed in the family all along," said Kelly Bailey. "But they have been the most unlucky group of horses."
Local horsepeople got into the yearling sales mood a week before Canada's biggest auction was to get under way when consignor Richard Hogan paraded many of his youngsters at a barbecue last Tuesday on his farm in Nashville, Ontario.
Almost 100 people, including top trainers Reade Baker, Roger Attfield, and Mike Doyle, got an early preview of some of the offerings at the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society's annual sale of Canadian-bred yearlings.
Best of Luck, a multiple graded stakes winner on the New York Racing Association circuit during his racing days, will stand the 2006 breeding season at Highcliff Farm in Delanson.
A stud fee for the 9-year-old son of Broad Brush will be decided in the future.
Best of Luck, who stood previously at Dell Ridge Farm in Lexington, Ky., was acquired by Elisabeth Jerkens, who has boarded her mares at Highcliff Farm for many years.
DEL MAR, Calif. - There will not be many starters in Monday's $100,000 I'm Smokin Stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds at Del Mar. But the runners that will appear have given hints that they could have promising careers, and not just in statebred races.
With a substantial portion of its buyer base in nearby Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi hurt by Hurricane Katrina, Fasig-Tipton's Texas summer yearling sale at Lone Star Park ended its two-day run Tuesday evening with declines across the board.
Offlee Wild, winner of the Suburban Handicap in July at Belmont Park, has been retired from racing.
retirement comes less than a month after Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum's Darley organization purchased the 5-year-old Wild Again horse to stand as a stallion at its Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Ky. Offlee Wild's racing career had been in doubt since he finished last of five in the Aug. 21 Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap and exited the race with ankle trouble.
The five-day Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s August yearling sale, which ended Friday, failed to match last year's strong results.
The 2005 auction opened with a one-day select session that could not keep pace with last year's record-setting select day.