A horse for the tens
Judging by the positive response that Bernardini and his offspring have generated from breeders and trainers, the third-generation Eclipse Award winner may well be on course to carry on the traditions of excellence set before him by his predecessors Seattle Slew and A.P. Indy
Darley’s homebred Bernardini accumulated more than $3 million from a single season and is distinguished to be the highest earner for his sire, A.P. Indy - the market-elite Horse of the Year. Bernardini is a sire of great expectations and the intrepid Classic winner has done well to deliver a solid group of attractive and athletic looking colts and fillies.
Congruent with the caliber of his talent as well as his regal pedigree, Bernardini had 40 yearlings, which accounted for less than fifty per-cent of his first crop, sell at auction at an average of $363,838 to set the standard for not only the well-regarded freshman sires, but remarkably he also pushed right past the best average of the active North American stallions catalogued in 2009.
A colt out of Marylou Whitney Stables' champion Bird Town took John Ferguson to $1.3 million to secure. He is a half brother to Classic winner Birdstone, G2-placed Mountain Bird and Listed-placed So Long Birdie. Trainer Kenneth McPeek paid $1 million for Lane's End's colt out of Group One Crystal Music, by Nureyev - a strong turf pedigree.
Eaton Sales has been the leading consignor at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale six of the past eleven years. The management team headed by co-owners Reiley McDonald and Tom VanMeter raised and sold a $1.2 million Bernardini colt out of the half sister to National Sprint Champion Gold Beauty for Brushwood Stable.
McDonald described the colt as, “beautifully balanced, very correct” and he emphasized that he is a “very, very smart horse with a great attitude.”
The colt’s dam, Storm Beauty, a daughter of Storm Cat sold as a yearling for $650,000. She fulfilled all promise by gaining Black type from two Stakes wins including the undercard sprint to the Black-Eyed Susan - the Miss Preakness S.
In reference to what a great individual the colt is, McDonald gave this background, “He was absolutely gorgeous when he was born. A month after he was born, I thought that he was one of the best foals that I have seen and he stayed that way. He really never wavered.”
In all, Bernardini’s offspring averaged $635,000 at Saratoga.
Elizabeth “Betty” Moran, the matriarch of Brushwood Stable, located near Malvern, Pennsylvania, is a devoted supporter of steeplechasing and flat racing. The welfare of her racehorses is paramount. Recognized as a humanitarian, a conservationist, and a philanthropist, Betty was a major contributor to the James M. Moran, Jr. Critical Care Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine named in honor of her late husband.
Among Moran’s accomplished runners is the lone Belmont Stakes-winning gelding Crème Fraiche – a $4 million earner; and English Grand National winner Papillon. She is co-breeder of Bernardini’s barn mate at Darley, the brilliantly fast G1 winner Hard Spun, whom she foal-shared with her son Michael. The younger Moran, owner of AppleStone Farm in the fox-hunting countryside of Unionville, PA, is also the owner of five-time Breeders’ Cup Steeplechase winner McDynamo.
Not only did Betty breed to Bernardini with great success, but also last September, Michael selected and signed the $725,000 ticket of behalf of Brushwood Stable for the compact first-crop Bernardini filly now named Listen Dear. Consigned by Legacy Bloodstock for Spruce Lane Farm and Samuel G. Nappi, the filly out of the Storm Bird mare Listen Now previously sold as a weanling for $205,000. She has four Black type-winning siblings including a Listed winner, her three-quarter-sister Indy Bird (A.P. Indy) and Listen Here - a dual graded winner. Listen Now is a half sister to G1 Hollywood Oaks and G1 Milady BC H. winner Listening and G2 winner Beautiful Noise.
Michael Moran described the petite filly as extremely athletic, smart and very business-like. “There is no nonsense to her. She’s very easy to deal with so far.”
The tumultuous winter weather that Pennsylvania can often deliver makes for a much more casual training schedule until about March. Moran said “We broke her and we gave her from Thanksgiving to the New Year off. She has been just hacking around about five days a week. She will go back to the track in April, I would think. She is doing great.”
He trains his runners at the Fair Hill Training Center located in Maryland.
An exceptional Bernardini colt out of Stakes Winner Pilfer cut a fine figure at Keeneland as far as his connections were concerned. “The potential was there, the conformation, we thought he was the best one in the sale actually,” said Bruce Hill, General Manager of Live Oak Stud in Ocala, FL.
When prospecting young bloodstock, it is not customary for Hill to recommend first-crop sires. “Bernardini has been an exception for me. I was willing to change that philosophy and make an exception for him. I think his race record will stand up to anyone. I like his pedigree and I like Quiet American and if you are breeding racehorses, there is great value.” Bernardini’s dam is G1 Hollywood Starlet Stakes winner Cara Rafaela, a daughter of Quiet American and Oil Fable, by Spectacular Bid.
Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, the striking colt brought a final bid of $575,000. He is just the second foal for the young Deputy Minister mare, a half-sister to multiple graded winner India. “He is outstanding,” said Hill.
“We like what he is doing here on the training center right now. He has a lot of class. He’s got a beautiful way of going. He’s a big ‘growthy’ horse. He’s just a professional. Goes to the track, handles it everyday and physically has not had a bauble.”
Hill added, “I expect the way he is going right now there is no reason for him not to ship out [to a trainer] in April or just after the Derby. He is on target for that right now.”
Named To Honor and Serve, the colt will race in the colors of Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Plantation. A prominent businesswoman and horse lover, Weber was honored with the Penny Chenery ‘Most Distinguished Woman in Racing Award.’ In 2006, her Miesque’s Approval made a comeback campaign that rivals Bret Favre’s against-the-odds season at the ripe old age of 40. At seven, he turned back all rivals in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile and was named Champion Turf Male. Live Oak is consistently among the leading North American owners and breeders.
Another Bernardini at the farm is a homebred named Gallant Dreams – out of Dreams Gallore, a Stakes-winning diva at the highest level. She won the G1 Mother Goose S. and was second to Siverbulletday in the G1 Kentucky Oaks as well as additional placings in six major Stakes.
“He is racehorse good!” Hill confidently described the rough-cut colt that shows a bit more of the Quiet American blood that so complimented Bernardini’s dam-side, as it did with $4.4 million earning Horse of the Year Saint Liam from the same cross.
“For me, I have liked this horse and if I had to pick a racehorse, he would be on the short-short list of the 25 or so that we have. He is balanced with a beautiful neck and shoulder. He’s clean with a straight-forward attitude, again with class.”
“Both of these horses have not given us any soundness issues and we are very pleased with both of them.”
Hill concluded, “I would absolutely consider Bernardini for mares in the future.”
Bernardini, winner of six races in eight starts including the G1 Preakness, Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup plus second in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic at three, has already been bred to G1 winners Ajina, Ginger Punch, Got Koko, Flanders, Windsharp, Hollywood Wildcat, and Musical Chimes among others. We expect that he will indeed influence generations in the next decade.
He will stand the 2010 season for $60,000 stands and nurses.
06 February 2010