New York Thoroughbred Breeders

MAY 2017

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24 New York Breeder | nytbreeders.org | May 2017 Jon Clay strikes with RNA Long Haul Bay OWNER/BREEDER JON CLAY got into Thoroughbred breeding with a clear ob- jective—to produce horses to sell, not to race. The market, however, has not always agreed with Clay regarding what his home - breds are worth, and in those incidences the New York native won't hesitate to prove his horses on the racetrack. "When Mr. Clay came into the business, his plan was to be a commercial breeder. He buys his mares with the intent of selling what they produce, and he's executed on that plan," said Reynolds Bell Jr., who is Clay's adviser on bloodstock purchases and matings. "He values them realistically, but if they don't bring that price, then he is happy to race them." So far, Clay's Plan "B" has been working extraordinarily well. His most recent success with a homebred buy-back came in the Bay Shore Stakes (G3) April 8 at Aqueduct where New York-bred Long Haul Bay earned the mantle of graded stakes winner in his second lifetime start. Clay offered Long Haul Bay through the Mill Ridge Sales consignment at Fasig- Tipton's 2015 Saratoga select yearling sale where he bought him back for $120,000. Clay tried again to sell the colt the following year at the Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-year-olds sale where Long Haul Bay got a lot of attention but developed a chip in a knee after his pre-sale work and had to be scratched from the sale. After the chip had been removed, Clay sent the colt to New York-based trainer Chad Brown. Clay has had even better luck with a Kentucky-bred daughter of Bernardini— Summer Raven, by Summer Squall, named Lewis Bay, who was a $170,000 buy- back at the 2014 Keeneland September sale. She had a reserve of $200,000. Racing for Clay's Alpha Delta Stables, Lewis Bay went on to win the Demoiselle Stakes (G2), Gazelle Stakes (G2), and the Turnback the Alarm Handicap (G3). She placed in the Longines Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose Stakes (both G1) and was off the board only once in 10 starts and earned $805,600. 'Long' on State-Breds B Y E R I C M I T C H E L L "It doesn't always work out this way, but you are going to be a much better commercial breeder if you can afford to race a few," Bell said. "It keeps you in control of your broodmares' destinies in a lot of ways." Clay also has raced New York-bred Ancient Secret, winner of last summer's Lake George Stakes (G2T) at Saratoga. Bred by Lambholm, she was a $225,000 purchase at the 2015 OBS spring sale. The daughter of Kantharos has been training steadily at Palm Meadows Training Center in South Florida for her 2017 debut. Long Haul Bay, by Lane's End's Qual - ity Road, is the sixth foal Clay has bred out of the French Deputy daughter and grade 3 winner French Satin, whom he bought for $400,000 in foal to Hard Spun out of the 2008 Keeneland No - vember breeding stock sale. The mare, a half sister to multiple grade 1 winner Lion Heart, was consigned by Black - burn Farm. Good luck with French Satin came early as her in utero Hard Spun colt grew up to be graded-placed, black-type stakes winner Midnight Transfer. She has produced four additional winners including Long Haul Bay. Clay, now a Florida resident, has more often than not sent French Satin to Kentucky to be bred but has her foals drop in New York to take advantage of the state-bred incentives. She delivered an April 7 colt by WinStar Farm's Fed Biz and will be bred back to Quality Road. Bell described French Satin as a nice, neat, and correct mare who doesn't pro - duce a horse of appreciable size, despite the best efforts to infuse some size. "When we've bred her to size, it hasn't seemed to make much of a difference, so we have learned to accept that," Bell said. "At this point we just try to match her up with a sire that will help her get a racehorse. We got that with Long Haul Bay, who is not overly big but he is well balanced and strong." ADAM COGLIANESE/NYRA Homebred Long Haul Bay was a $120,000 buy-back at the 2015 Fasig- Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale

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