Journalists Wandering Eyes Posted January 10 Journalists Share Posted January 10 A turf horse launching his stud career at the age of nine might go against the stallion market grain in Kentucky, but Mill Ridge Farm has already shown a knack for bucking those trends and doing so successfully. After all, it was only three years ago that Oscar Performance was standing for just $12,500 and bred only 63 mares. This year, the 2024 leading third-crop sire of graded stakes winners by percentage of starters has a sold-out book heading into the season as he commands a fee of $45,000. So now it seems that breeders are eager to support Mill Ridge's latest newcomer, four-time Grade I winner and fan-favorite turfer Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed-Achalaya, by Bellamy Road), who made 36 starts over seven seasons of racing and will stand for $10,000 in his debut season. “Casa Creed has been our most popular sires to come back into the stallion shed since maybe Valiant Nature back in the mid-'90s,” said Mill Ridge Farm's Price Bell. “I think horses like Oscar Performance and Karakontie have helped elevate turf, to the point where you can stand a turf sire in America, and also he has such a great story and an inspiring body of work. I genuinely believe that people are breeding and raising horses because they want to perpetuate the breed, leaving it better than how they found it, and so I think a horse like Casa Creed speaks to that desire because he has everything that we would want including durability.” Bell shared how Casa Creed first came onto his stallion radar this past summer when chatting with Fasig-Tipton Sales Associate Ian Bennett, who once rode for Bill Mott. When asked about the best horse he ever galloped, Bennett didn't hesitate before naming Casa Creed. That response got the wheels turning. “Ian was the one who first alerted me to the fact that Casa Creed had come into hand as a juvenile and was ready to go,” Bell explained. “Bill was so excited about running him, but he ran so poorly the first time out that Bill ran him back six days later and he wins, which seems so out of character for Bill, who isn't really known for pushing his 2-year-olds, but at the same time it's sort of like wow, what an impressive horse.” Anyone who can remember way back to the 2018 Saratoga race meet might recall that those first two starts actually came on dirt. Casa Creed continued on the main track through his juvenile season before switching to the grass in his 3-year-old debut in January, claiming the Kitten's Joy Stakes, and from there taking off through a career that would accumulate $2.69 million in earnings. Campaigned by Lee Einsidler and Mike Francesa, Casa Creed's career highlights included two wins and two third-place finishes in the GI Fourstardave Stakes, a pair of GI Jaipur Stakes victories and a narrow third-place effort in the 2023 GI Breeders' Cup Mile. “He puts together a body work where I think he runs in 27 graded stakes, wins four Grade Is, wins nine races and runs nine triple-digit Beyers,” recalled Bell. “So if he's precocious, if that's something that we demand in stallion prospects, and if he is brilliant, which his brilliance was speed but more than anything I think his brilliance was determination, in that regard I think Casa Creed is a great opportunity.” Last year, Mill Ridge launched their Ride Together incentive program, where registered breeders of a live foal earn a free season when that foal wins a maiden race at ages two or three. Casa Creed will qualify for this program, joining fellow Mill Ridge sires Oscar Performance and Aloha West. While Casa Creed's syndication isn't quite yet full, Bell shared that many of the same breeders who purchased initial shares in Oscar Performance were the first to jump on the Casa Creed bandwagon. Casa Creed at Mill Ridge | Katie Petrunyak “Oscar Performance has been just an incredible gift,” said Bell. “I think he has been successful because he has exceeded expectations as opposed to not meeting expectations. I don't think the market believed that a turf horse could stand in America and I don't think the market believed that a horse who never won on dirt could produce really good dirt runners. So we didn't sell him out in his first or second year, but now he's sold out at $45,000.” Bell said he believes that even since Oscar Performance launched his stud career in 2019, the market has responded to the sport's investment in quality turf racing in America. “Putting together a real turf program has been very helpful. I think also there is curiosity with the commitment to synthetic and what will happen there when Belmont starts running on Tapeta in the winter. I think that if you're breeding now, you're putting that in your consideration.” At the same time, Bell noted how if Casa Creed passes on his toughness and durability, those qualities will benefit his progeny no matter what surface they show an affinity towards. “At the end of the day, the horses have to train on the dirt here so I think you do need some physical attributes of dirt somewhere. Casa Creed is a Jimmy Creed out of a Bellamy Road mare. Physically he's tall and long and he's got a straight hind leg, so I attribute that physicality more towards the dirt. I think people are breeding to 'Casa' for the durability.” He continued, “If you were to knock him, you'd say, 'Well, he's now starting his stallion career at nine,' but at the same time if we are looking for more longevity in our horses, then is he not the perfect candidate to be considered? This isn't a horse who was brilliant at six and seven. He was brilliant from two to eight. That's a body of work where if we're trying to promote and breed better, faster, stronger, stouter horses, he should be considered.” The post ‘Brilliant from Two to Eight,’ Mill Ridge Makes a Case for Casa Creed appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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