WILLIAM S. FARISH TO RECEIVE ECLIPSE AWARD OF MERIT

William S. Farish
(Painting : David Griffiths)

WILLIAM S. FARISH

William S. Farish will be honoured with the Eclipse Award of Merit for a lifetime of outstanding achievement in Thoroughbred racing, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The Lane’s End Farm head will receive the award at the Eclipse Awards ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 18.

“I am so honored to have been selected for a sport which has given me and my family so much pleasure and enjoyment for the past 35 years,” Farish said. “I am humbled to be chosen to join this list of outstanding people who have received this Award of Merit, many of whom have been longtime friends.”

William S. Farish is currently a steward and vice chairman of The Jockey Club, a director and former chair of the executive committee of the Breeders’ Cup, a member of the board of directors of the Keeneland Association, and a Keeneland trustee. The prominent owner/breeder was also chairman of the board of Churchill Downs from 1992-2001, as well as the U.S. Ambassador to the Court of Saint James between 2001-2004.

“Will Farish is deeply involved in every phase of the Thoroughbred Industry,” said Keeneland President Nick Nicholson. “If you follow the life cycle of the Thoroughbred each stage from mating, breeding, raising, registration, sales, training, racing, and then back to the farm for breeding, Will has positively impacted each step along the way. His knowledge, passion and willingness to give his time for the betterment of the industry and the sport have meant so much for the modern Thoroughbred world. We are grateful to have him serve as a trustee of Keeneland, and appreciate his advice and counsel.”

Earlier this summer, the William Stamps Farish Fund donated $1 million to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. Farish, a member of the PDJF board, is currently working to help raise more than $10 million to provide a continuous fund for disabled riders.

“The more I explored the situation, the more I realized that a sustaining pool of monies was necessary,” Farish commented. “I feel that everyone who is associated with our sport realizes that a permanent source of funding is needed improve the lives of these disabled riders.”

Born in Houston, Texas, Farish purchased his first Thoroughbred in 1963. He is a two-time recipient of the Eclipse Award as leading breeder and has raced no fewer than 150 stakes winners, including 1972 Preakness Stakes hero Bee Bee Bee.

CURLIN to stand at Lane's End

Curlin
(Thoroughbred Photos)

Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, will see the addition of reigning Horse of the Year, Curlin, for the 2009 season. Curlin will be joining his sire, Smart Strike, who currently stands at William S. Farish’s Lane’s End.

The four-year-old colt out of Sherriff’s Deputy, by Deputy Minister, will stand for $75,000.

The Thoroughbred Times reports that Curlin retires as the leading earner in North American racing history with a bankroll of $10,501,800, gleaned primarily from seven Grade or Group 1 wins, including the 2007 Preakness Stakes (Gr1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (Gr1) and 2008 Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-Gr1).

The stud deal was finalized while majority owners Jess Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, await a court ruling whether to approve their private offer to buy out the 20% interest of minority owners Shirley Cunningham and Bill Gallion.

“The Jacksons are due great credit for allowing our sport to enjoy this great champion as a four-year-old,” Farish said. “Many would have retired him after winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Horse of the Year honors as a three-year-old. Curlin’s performance on the track, his pedigree, and his conformation make him the most exciting sire prospect to retire in many years. We are honored to have him join his champion sire, Smart Strike, at Lane’s End.”

Smart Strike was the leading sire in North America last year when Curlin capped his championship season with a four-length victory in the $5 million Classic at Monmouth Park. Curlin’s triumphs in the Dubai World Cup, Stephen Foster Handicap (Gr1), Woodward Stakes (Gr1), and Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (Gr1) have helped push Smart Strike to the top of the general sire’s list again this year.

“After a stellar racing career, Curlin is now in a position to carry on his iron horse bloodlines at Lane’s End, the premier stallion farm in the nation,” Jess Jackson said. “He is one of the best examples of the breed - fast, strong, and durable. I predict he will make a substantial contribution to our sport through his gene pool, and I am looking forward to seeing his foals compete and possibly exceed his unequaled race record.”

Bred by Fares Farm Inc., Curlin will join 1992 Horse of the Year A.P. Indy and 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft on the Lane’s End roster. Curlin, who finished fourth to Raven’s Pass in the Breeders’ Cup Classic on 25 October in his final start, likely will be a top candidate along with Zenyatta in this year’s balloting for Horse of the Year. He would be the first back-to-back winner since Cigar, the 1995 and 1996 Horse of the Year who Curlin surpassed at the top of the all-time earnings list.

“Curlin made his mark in the history books in so many ways: as a classic winner, as a colt who traveled to Dubai and captured the Dubai World Cup, and who returned to take three more Grade 1 races and tally record earnings,” trainer Steve Asmussen said. “His physical and mental attitude is unparalleled and he retires perfectly sound.”

“Watch Curlin winning the 2008 Dubai World Cup”

Stud Fees : At least someone is listening

Storm CatWhile this may not be music to the ears of those of our stallion masters whose horses stand in the R200 000 – R250 000 bracket in the local market, the most expensive stallion in the world, Storm Cat, who has stood for a fee of $500 000 (just short of R3.5 million) since the 2002 season, has had his fee reduced to $300 000 for the forthcoming season, following a significant drop in the average price paid for his yearlings this year. Just a year ago, Storm Cat’s yearlings averaged $1,250,400, and this year, though they were conceived off a half million dollar stud fee, they averaged just $545,038, a drop of more than $700 000 a head.

The reality about seriously high stud fees, particularly in a limited market like ours, is that eventually, they hurt the people that paid them, and until the market is big enough and strong enough to sustain fees at current levels, the truth is, they’re simply not sustainable.

The next result from a drop in fees in the case of a horse like Storm Cat, is that the “backlash” continues to haunt his connections for the foreseeable future, with buyers of services inclined to support those horses whose fees are within reach.

His principal competition, A.P.Indy and Kingmambo, will continue to stand at $300 000, which means the three of them will share top spot in the market. Both A.P.Indy and Kingmambo stand at Will Farrish’s Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, Lexington, where the current leader on the American Sires log, Smart Strike, also stands. Smart Strike’s fee was recently elevated to $150 000, putting him in the top six or seven sires in the United States, and representing a doubling up on his fee of $75 000 earlier this year.