Ned Toffey Joins the TDN Writers’ Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland

[Wandering Eyes]

October has been a month to remember for the team from Spendthrift Farm. Since Oct. 3, Spendthrift has won six stakes, including four graded stakes and two Grade I's. Meanwhile, they've also had three maiden winners, including Further Ado (Gun Runner), who broke his maiden by 20 lengths.

November could be even better as Spendthrift is planning on sending five horses to the Breeders' Cup. To talk about Spendthrift's recent run of success and its hopes for the Breeders' Cup, Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey joined the crew for this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. He was the Gainesway Guest of the Week.

The Spendthrift Line-up is as follows: GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile starter Ted Noffey (Into Mischief): GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies starter Tommy Jo (Into Mischief); GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint starter Tamara (Bolt d'Oro); GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint starter Kopion (Omaha Beach); GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf starter Smart Deb (Authentic).

Toffey said there is some chance that Kopion will takes on males in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“I think we've got five very good shots,” Toffey said of his Breeders' Cup hopefuls. “We're not just going for the weather. It's a really nice group and I think everybody is live.”

But Toffey knows that even a racing operation as loaded as Spendthrift is, can't always produce at such a high level.

“You all know is that racing is a tough game,” he said. “There are plenty of weekends where it did not go like this. So, we really appreciate and are enjoying this run that we've had here lately.

“I think it's one of the things that is most gratifying is that it's coming from a lot of different places. A number of these are homebreds. A number of them are by our own sires. Some of these we bought out of yearling sales. Some of these we bought out of 2-year-olds in training sales. What's nice about that is that through all of those horses, they really encompass every aspect of what we do. It's the coming together of all of what we've been trying to do and what we've been trying to build here over time.”

The run began with Tommy Jo in the GI Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland. After she crushed her opponents in the GI Spinaway at Saratoga, more of the same was expected at Keeneland. She did win the race, but it was through the disqualification of Percy's Bar (Upstart). The brilliance she displayed in the Spinaway was not in evidence on this day.

“It's sort of funny because I think it's not often that you get to win a Grade I and feel a little let down,” Toffey said. “She's been really highly touted from the beginning. Todd [Pletcher] and Johnny [Velazquez] probably held her in higher regard than Ted Noffey early on. I think maybe she just didn't relax quite as well as we would have liked her to. You saw her throw her head a little bit and that was way down the backstretch. That's going to be the trick to her. If Johnny can get her to relax, I think two turns will not be a problem. If she doesn't relax, then she'll probably run a race similar to the one she ran in the Alcibiades. She has to relax.”

And why isn't Further Ado being pointed to the Breeders' Cup after the 20-length runaway victory, which took place in his third lifetime start?

“In talking with Brad [Cox], that would probably be a little bit quick back, especially off that kind of an effort,” Toffey said. “Knock on wood, hopefully, there are lots of bigger and better things on the horizon for this horse. You could maybe cost him some chances at a future by trying to roll him back so quickly.”

Spendthrift has also enjoyed a phenomenal year with its stallions, a group led by Into Mischief. While Into Mischief is a sure thing, several other Spendthrift stallions emerged this year as potential star sires, like Vekoma, Omaha Beach and Yaupon.

“We're very fortunate in that we have Tammy and Eric Gustafson who've done such an incredible job of carrying on the legacy that Wayne [Hughes] built here,” Toffey said. “We have the resources to go after high quality horses. But, as we all know, that's not a guarantee of success. So we've been fortunate to have some sires who have gotten off to a great start. And that's really a credit to the breeders. Our salesmen do such a good job of building relationships with all the breeders in this industry. And that's really what you need. The breeders are the ones that are doing the heavy lifting, causing these horses to have the kind of success that they're having.”

The “Fastest Horse of the Week” was El Grande O (Take Charge Indy). Trained by Linda Rice, he got a 99 Beyer in an allowance win last week at the Belmont-at-Aqueduct meet. The Fastest Horse of the Week segment is sponsored by WinStarFarm.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by 1/st TV, the KTOB, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association and West Point  Thoroughbreds, the team of Bill Finley, Zoe Cadman and Moss talked about the historic contributions made to the sport by the pioneering female jockey Diane Crump and applauded Steve Asmussen for picking up win No. 11,000. There was also a discussion as to why Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map) is passing the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile after his smashing win in the GI Champagne Stakes.

For the video version of the podcast, click here. For the audio version, click here.

 

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