Raging Torrent and Carl Spackler “Fit a Good Niche” at Lane’s End

[Wandering Eyes]

Bill Farish recalls how he first met with the Ace Stud team at the 2024 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. More Than Looks, a son of international supersire More Than Ready, had just won the GI Breeders' Cup Mile and was poised to begin his stud career at Lane's End Farm.

“They were interested in standing him in Australia, where More Than Ready had done so much good work at stud, so it was a natural fit,” explained Farish.

After his debut season at Lane's End in 2025, More Than Looks shuttled to the Southern Hemisphere to join the Yulong roster in Mangalore, Victoria. Farish said he was a shining success there, breeding close to 100 mares.

That initial venture established the foundation for a growing partnership between Lane's End and Ace Stud. While Yulong is based primarily in Australia, the entity known as Ace Stud has recently expanded its international reach by purchasing a stud farm in Newmarket, England and increasing its investment in the American market.

In 2026, Ace Stud will stand its first two stallions in Kentucky. Multiple Grade I winners Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and Raging Torrent (Maximus Mischief), who both raced in Yulong's colors, are set to begin their stud careers at Lane's End.

The two new stallions dominated headlines during the fall breeding stock sales as Ace Stud made major plays under the banners of the Raging Torrent Syndicate and Carl Spackler Syndicate. Raging Torrent Syndicate was the leading buyer at the Keeneland November Sale, securing five mares for a combined $5.225 million, and buying Broodmare of the Year Puca (Big Brown) for $5 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

While not all of those purchases will necessarily be going to the two new stallions in their debut season, Farish said that Ace Stud will be sending a strong contingent of mares to anchor the first books of both Raging Torrent and Carl Spackler.

“It was pretty exciting to see the mares Ace Stud purchased,” Farish said. “It gives breeders confidence that these stallions are going to be getting tremendous support from the owners. They're excited about both horses and they're going to be supporting them with very good mares.”

Carl Spackler and Raging Torrent will stand for $15,000 in their debut seasons.

“Both horses represent great value and we think they really fit a good niche for breeders,” noted Farish. “They'll be very popular commercially and we're supporting both of them with a lot of our mares as well.”

RAGING TORRENT (Maximus Mischief — Violent Wave, by Violence)

Raging Torrent

stands at Lane's End Farm" width="1155" height="825" /> Raging Torrent at Lane's End | Linzay Marks

Farish said that Raging Torrent boasts commercial appeal as a winner of the GI Hill 'N' Dale Metropolitan Handicap and the GI Malibu Stakes.

For Lane's End, bringing in another Malibu winner felt like a natural continuation of their program's history. The race has served as a springboard for their current sires Flightline, City of Light, The Factor and Twirling Candy.

“Raging Torrent is a very fast horse, a great-looking horse with a lot of substance to him, and an exciting sire prospect being out of the Into Mischief sire line,” said Farish. “The Malibu and the Metropolitan are two major stallion-making Grade I races and he took those both very impressively.”

Trained by Chief Stipe O'Neill, Raging Torrent was a winner on debut as a juvenile claiming a five-furlong contest in July at Del Mar by over two lengths. He also placed third in the GIII Best Pal Stakes. The bay collected four wins at three, including the GII Pat O'Brien Stakes and the Malibu.

Racing under new owners Yuesheng Zhang and Craig Dado this year at four, he traveled to Dubai to win the G2 Godolphin Mile and made his final career start a winning one in the Metropolitan.

“In that race he beat Fierceness (City of Light), who was one of the best horses of the generation, so that was really a signature achievement for him,” said Farish. “He beat Mystik Dan (Goldencents) in the Malibu. All of his big wins were against quality fields and that's one of the things that was so important for him. He wasn't ducking anyone.”

Farish said that breeders have responded to Raging Torrent's $15,000 price point.

“He is a standout in that price range. It's hard to get a multiple Grade I-winning Into Mischief sireline horse at that price.”

CARL SPACKLER (Ire) (Lope de Vega (Ire)–Zindaya, by More Than Ready)

Carl Spackler

wins the GI Fourstardave Handicap" width="1155" height="840" /> Carl Spackler wins the GI Fourstardave Handicap | Sarah Andrew

Carl Spackler emerged as a stallion prospect for Lane's End last spring after securing a third Grade I win in the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes at Keeneland.

“We were kind of locked in negotiations with the ownership group and thought we had a good chance with him, but just couldn't come up with an acceptable deal,” Farish recalled. “Ace stepped in and bought him and basically we thought we'd lost him. He went off to England to race in 2025. They put him up against the best Group 1 horses in Europe and I think he held his own very well, but after those three races, they knew we were interested and thought the U.S. would be a great place to stand him since he'd done his best work here. We're very excited for him to come back to us a year later.”

Bred by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, Carl Spackler was initially campaigned by e Five Racing and trained by Chad Brown before he went to race for Ace Stud last year.

The flashy chestnut was named a 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard' when he broke his maiden at Gulfstream Park by 8 3/4 lengths in February of his 3-year-old season. Later that summer, he scored back-to-back wins in the GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes and GIII Saranac Stakes. At four, Carl Spackler earned his first Grade I win in the Fourstardave Handicap and followed that with a win in the GI Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes at Keeneland.

Farish said he believes Carl Spackler's best effort came last year in the Maker's Mark Mile, where he bested MGSWs Integration (Quality Road) and Trikari (Oscar Performance) by over four lengths.

“He was dominant that day and really showed he had all the class in the field,” he recalled. “It was a phenomenal effort and one of his many hundred-plus Beyer Speed Figure races. One of Carl's best qualities was his consistency. He won six graded stakes, including three Grade Is, in really dominant fashion.”

Over the last three years, Lane's End has steadily bolstered its turf roster, adding a Grade I winner annually with Up to the Mark, More Than Looks, and now Carl Spackler (IRE). Farish noted that Carl Spackler is a unique addition as the only son of Lope de Vega, Europe's leading sire of winners in 2025, currently standing in the United States.

“We are not allergic to turf horses here at Lane's End,” he said. “It's a niche that is under-appreciated in the U.S. and is really growing in popularity. Carl Spackler is one of the better-looking sons of Lope de Vega that I've seen. He's still letting down, but is a really beautiful horse.”

Carl Spackler is out of 2016 GII Goldikova Stakes victress Zindaya (More Than Ready), a half-sister to GI Jamaica H. winner Western Aristocrat (Mr. Greeley). His full-sister Sandtrap is a Group 3-placed winner in Europe.

“Carl Spackler is out of a More Than Ready mare, which gives him huge international appeal as well as American appeal,” said Farish. “We're excited to see how he's received and so far it has been overwhelmingly positive.”

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