Midnight Lute to Hill 'n' Dale
Midnight Lute, the only horse to win the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) twice, has been retired from racing and will stand at John Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms near Lexington in 2009. His fee is $20,000.
Midnight Lute, who earned a career total of $2,690,600, posted a 124 Beyer Speed Figure, one of the highest Beyers ever and the highest for a sprinter since 1992, when he defeated Benny the Bull in last year’s Forego Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga. That win set the stage for his victory in the TVG Breeders’ Cup Sprint at six furlongs at Monmouth Park, an effort that secured an Eclipse Award as best sprinter. His second Sprint win, last weekend at Oak Tree at Santa Anita, came in 1:07.08, the fastest in the 25-year history of the race, for Watson and Weitman Performances and Mike Pegram.
"I've never had a horse like him," said trainer Bob Baffert after Midnight Lute's second win in the Sprint, which was sponsored by Sentient Flight Group. "He showed today what a great horse he is. He's a beast; a massive, beautiful horse. The perfect Thoroughbred. He's the best I've ever trained. I can't put into words how good this horse is. All of my client's will be breeding their best mares to him, Silverbulletday and Tough Tiz's Sis for starters."
"Midnight Lute is perfection in his conformation," said John Sikura. "Big, long, beautiful and perfectly correct. He is breathtaking to look at, and we expect him to be a top sire."
During his career, Midnight Lute also won the Perryville Stakes (gr. III) in track-record time at Keeneland and placed in the Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) and Malibu (gr. I) and San Fernando Breeders’ Cup (gr. II) Stakes. The 5-year-old son of Real Quiet retired with six wins from 13 starts.
Bred in Kentucky by Tom Evans, Macon Wilmil Equines, and Marjac Farms, Midnight Lute is out of the Dehere mare Candytuft, a daughter of grade III winner Bolt From the Blue.
Unbridled's highest priced yearling ever, Grade 2 Winner Harlington to Hill ‘n’ Dale
Eugene Melnyk’s Harlington, a $2.8 million son of Unbridled and Champion and 11-time Grade 1 winner Serena’s Song, has been retired from racing and will stand at John G. Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.
Harlington is the most expensive yearling ever sired by Kentucky Derby (G1) winner and Champion Unbridled, and was the second highest-priced yearling colt sold in 2003. He is the fifth foal and fourth stakes winners out of one of the greatest racemares of all-time, Serena’s Song. He is a half-brother to the Group 1-winning mare Sophisticat and to stakes winner Serena¹s Tune, who are both now stakes producers themselves, as well as to 2005 Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap winner Grand Reward, who also stands at Hill n¹ Dale.
On the racetrack, Harlington broke his maiden in New York first time out as a two year old. It was however his next start in an allowance race at Gulfstream that earned him "Rising Star” status from the Thoroughbred Daily News. Harlington captured the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap against a stellar field of older horses which included three millionaires, dual Classic winner Funny Cide among them. His victory earned him the first of three triple digit Beyer Speed Figures. He showcased his brilliance at Belmont with a win over Juddmonte's multiple graded/group stakes winner Art Master where he carved out fractions of 1:09 3/5ths en route to a 3 and a quarter length victory at a mile and a sixteenth in 1:41 flat. A winner of six races in ten starts, the son of Unbridled is one of the last flag bearers to represent his sire in the breeding shed.
“Harlington showed unbelievable potential from day one and he has unlimited potential as a stallion,” said John G. Sikura, President of Hill n¹ Dale Farms. "We stand his half-brother and couldn”t be more pleased with his first foals. Unbridled has not only become a Sire of Sires, but a Sire of important Sires with Unbridled’s Song doing so well, Broken Vow as Leading Third-Crop Sire last year and now Empire Maker. Add in that Eugene Melnyk is supporting Harlington with some of his best mares and the prospects are even more exciting.”
Harlington will stand for a fee of $10,000 Live Foal.
Better Than Honour to Be Sold
Better Than Honour, the 2007 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, will be offered at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November select mixed auction as part of a dispersal of the joint holdings of Southern Equine and Hill 'n' Dale Farms. A 12-year-old daughter of Deputy Minister, Better Than Honour is the dam of back-to-back Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winners Jazil (2006) and Rags to Riches (2007). Her other offspring include 2008 grade II winner Casino Drive, who was scheduled to compete in this year’s Belmont, but was scratched the morning of the race.
In all, eight mares and five weanlings will be offered to dissolve the Southern Equine-Hill 'n' Dale partnership including grade I winner Point Ashley (in foal to Distorted Humor) as well as grade I winner Madcap Escapade (in foal to A.P. Indy), whose first foal by A.P. Indy's son Pulpit was the highest-priced North American weanling of 2007 at $1.7 Million.
"We are proud of the fact that Southern Equine and Hill 'n' Dale were able to assemble one of the best broodmare bands in the world, including Better than Honour, who is clearly one of the most important mares in the history of the breed," Sikura said. "Offering this group at public auction is fair to both sides of the partnership, and I am sure they will be extraordinarily well received. There are truly once in a lifetime opportunities in this group for the private and commercial breeder alike."
BETTER THAN HONOUR
Photo by Z
