Bill Farish Talks About “The Fab Four”

[Wandering Eyes]

Storied Lane’s End Farm has four first-crop yearling sires among the 2018 class, and a remarkable three–Honor Code, Liam’s Map and Tonalist–ended up in the top 10 of first-year weanling sires of 2017. In the latest installment of an ongoing feature about first-crop yearling sires, Lane’s End’s Bill Farish sat down to talk about the “Fab Four,” which also includes Mr. Speaker (click here to read “A Long Road Home for Mr. Speaker”), with the TDN‘s Lucas Marquardt.

LM: Let’s start with Honor Code. He was such an exciting race horse because he was bred for the Classics and had a physical for the Classics. He came out with one of the most impressive maiden races that I’ve seen sprinting at Saratoga. Is that part of what you makes him an exciting stud prospect as well?

BF: I think so. Honor Code, from the time we bought him as a short yearling, privately–he just was one of those very exciting prospects. They obviously don’t always pan out. Usually, they don’t. When he came out at Saratoga, we were high on him, but until they do it on the track you never know. He ran such an impressive race sprinting with the way he came from behind and won. So often you see a horse that maybe comes from behind but doesn’t quite get up and you’re very encouraged by that first start. With him, the way he made up all the ground and still won and then went on and had a very, very good 2-year-old season, it really does give him a great chance to have precocious 2-year-olds as well.

LM: As an older horse, he had several spectacular races and was a multiple Grade I winner. Is there a race or two races that really stick out to you that just perfectly exemplified the type of horse that he was?

BF: The race that was the most visually astounding was the Met Mile when he came from behind and not only went by the horses, but left them in the dust. That was really visually his most pleasing race. The Whitney was probably his biggest win, but both I think are tremendous stallion-making races, and really set him up with breeders to have a heck of a chance.

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LM: What kind of mares have visited Honor Code at the farm? Do you have homebreds for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale?

BF: Interestingly enough, we don’t have a Saratoga yearling by him. We have quite a few in [Keeneland] September, but we’ve heard from various sources that there are quite a few good ones going to Saratoga. We have bred quite a few mares here at the farm to him. Obviously, support has been pretty broad-based. It’s very encouraging. I think he’s got as good a group of mares as anybody in the first season crop. It’s going to be interesting having American Pharaoh in that same crop. While I’m sure average-wise and stuff, American Pharaoh will be number one in the crop, I think Honor Code will be right behind him.

LM: I’d be remiss not to ask you about Honor Code as the last successful son of A.P. Indy to go to stud. What does it mean for the farm to have him as a potential torchbearer for all of his sire’s success?

BF: It’s very important for the farm. It’s nothing short of miraculous that really one of his best sons–or maybe his best son–came out of his last crop. We’re very excited about it. We’ve had a lot of luck with sons of former stallions. Of course, Dixieland Band produced Dixie Union. Dixie Union has now produced Union Rags. We love that tie. Obviously A.P. Indy is the best stallion we’ve ever had, and to have a top son of his from the late stages of his career is amazing.

LM: Moving on to Liam’s Map, at what point in his career did you think, “This is a horse with really unique talent?”

BF: He was a very, very good racehorse and we had never had a son of Unbridled’s Song–we were looking for the right one, and I think we really have the right one in him. This was, of course, before Arrogate, but Liam certainly has plenty of qualifications in his own right, and I think he’s had three very good groups of mares so far and a lot of support from [owners] Vinnie and Teresa Viola. We’re very excited about him. The interesting thing with him has been that his weanlings really have done well from their weanling year to their yearling year, and I think we’re seeing them fill out and mature quite a bit, and I think they’re going to be very well-received at the yearling sales.

LM: He’s a bit of a unique Unbridled’s Song, but he looks a lot like his sire in terms of being a well-balanced, beautiful, gray horse–but he’s much more of a medium-sized Unbridled’s Song. Is that something you agree with, and was that something breeders were attracted to?

BF: Absolutely. I think his size, not being a big stretchy Unbridled’s Song, but more of a medium sized, well-balanced, sound-looking Unbridled’s Song is a big attraction to breeders, and really is why he’s had such good support.

LM: His pedigree’s an interesting mix of Classic-type horse and the dam was all speed and has thrown some very fast horses. Are you seeing that in his yearlings, and, taking it a step further, do you expect him to be the kind of horse who is popular at the boutique 2-year-old sales next year?

BF: I think he should be very popular at the 2-year-old sales. I hope not too many of them go that route, but he should have tremendous appeal–as most sons of Unbridled’s Song have. But as you point out, being out of a Trippi mare, they could be speedier and more precocious, and thus suit those sales, but I hope a lot of them get into end-users’ hands and we see them next summer at the races.

LM: Let’s go into Tonalist. When I think of him, I think of a true Classic mile and-a-quarter-horse. Is that something you agree with and what are you seeing from his foals?

BF: With Tonalist, I think most people think of him as a mile-and-a-quarter horse. But, in actual fact, two of his best races were at a mile. So, he had tremendous speed. He is a Tapit out of Pleasant Colony mare, so that would lead one to think mile and a quarter, but I think that’s nothing but a positive that a horse would be able to carry his mile speed to a mile and a quarter. And again, he has had tremendous support from Shel Evans for three years and also broad-based support from breeders. So, I think he’s got a heck of a chance to make it and his weanlings certainly were the buzz of the weanling sales last year.

LM: What kind of pedigree pages can we expect to see in the sale catalogs this year?

BF: I think we’ll see a real cross-section of mares. He got a fair amount of speed bred to him as well as sort of middle distance- type pedigrees. We’re just very excited about his chances. It’s funny, when you have four the same year, everybody sort of jumps into a different camp.

LM: Any farm having four exciting prospects with their first yearlings in one season is very unique. Can you talk about the challenges and opportunities it presents?

BF: These four stallions, Honor Code, Tonalist, Liam’s Map and Mr. Speaker all present breeders with a completely different set of variables, and so I think none of them really compete with each other, pedigree-wise or even race record-wise. So even though Honor Code and Liam’s Map did meet on the track in a great renewal of the Whitney, other than that, they’ve really all blazed their own way and all done well so far at stud. I’d say probably the biggest differentiator was Mr. Speaker going down to Chile and having to spend two years down there and not being able to come back for his second year in the Northern Hemisphere. That’s put him at a bit of a disadvantage, but he had a great first book of 119 mares, I believe. So I think that will represent him well–at least starting out. But Honor Code, Liam’s Map and Tonalist have all had three really nice-sized books of mares and we’re excited for all three of them as well.

 

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