Brickyard Ride won his stakes debut in the California Cup Sprint at Santa Anita way back in January 2021. The race became an annual stop in his prolific career, which ended earlier this year with 13 wins in 31 starts.
Brickyard Ride won the 2022 California Cup Sprint and was second in the 2024 running.
Overall, Brickyard Ride won eight stakes and earned $925,477.
The success leaves Brickyard Ride as one of the most high-profile new stallions in California for the 2025 breeding season. Brickyard Ride, who will be 8 in 2025, will stand for $4,000 at Rancho San Miguel in San Miguel, Calif.
Bred and raced by Sonny Pais and trained by Craig Lewis, Brickyard Ride won at distances ranging from 5 1/2 furlongs to seven furlongs and was second in his only two stakes appearances at 1 1/16 miles, both in Grade 2 races – the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar in July 2023 and San Antonio Stakes at Santa Anita last December.
“He did everything you hope a horse could do,” Lewis said in February when Brickyard Ride’s retirement was announced.
By Clubhouse Ride, currently one of California’s leading stallions, Brickyard Ride is out of Brickyard Helen, a four-time winner by Southern Image.
Brickyard Ride is by far her most successful foal.
At his peak, Brickyard Ride was a tough sprinter to beat in California, and he stayed at a high level of competition for most of his six-year career. Of his eight stakes wins, three were in graded stakes at Santa Anita – the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at seven furlongs in 2021, and consecutive wins in the Grade 3 Kona Gold Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs in 2022 and 2023.
Brickyard Ride is one of several new stallions in the state for 2025, a group that includes Storm the Court, winner of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita; the multiple stakes winner Forbidden Kingdom; and Catholic Boy, a prominent 3-year-old in 2018 who previously stood in Kentucky.
Here’s a glance at the new stallions in the state.
Catholic Boy
More Than Ready – Song of Bernadette, by Bernardini
Farm: Harris Farms
Fee: $6,000
Catholic Boy, a stakes winner in each of his three years on the track in the late 2010s, arrived at Harris Farms in Coalinga, Calif., in the fall, having stood previously for $10,000 at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky.
Catholic Boy was bred to 11 mares earlier this year, according to Jockey Club records. Through Dec. 16, Catholic Boy ranked 12th on the list of second-crop stallions with progeny earnings of more than $2.29 million.
His leading foal is Rock’n a Halo, who finished third in the Black Gold Stakes at Fair Grounds in March.
Catholic Boy, a six-time stakes winner, won 7 of 13 starts and earned $2,134,000. Catholic Boy won consecutive Grade 1 races at 1 1/4 miles – the $1.2 million Belmont Derby on turf at Belmont Park in July 2018 and the $1.25 million Travers Stakes on dirt at Saratoga the following month.
Trained by Jonathan Thomas, Catholic Boy won his debut in a maiden race for 2-year-olds at 7 1/2 furlongs on turf at Gulfstream Park in July 2017. He won his stakes debut in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf at Saratoga a month later.
After finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar in November 2017, Catholic Boy ended his 2-year-old season with a win in the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on dirt at Aqueduct.
By More Than Ready, Catholic Boy is out of Song of Bernadette, by Bernardini. He is the most prolific runner for Song of Bernadette, who was winless in five starts.
Corporal
Gun Runner – Kathballu, by Bluegrass Cat
Farm: Dehesa Farm
Fee: $5,000
Corporal was purchased for $1.15 million at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale and ran twice for the Coolmore syndicate and John Oxley.
Trained by Brad Cox, Corporal finished seventh in his debut in a six-furlong maiden race at Fair Grounds last March and won a maiden race for 3-year-olds at a mile at Oaklawn Park last April in his final start. He had two workouts at Turfway Park in October before his retirement was announced in November.
Corporal is by Gun Runner, the nation’s second-leading stallion in progeny earnings with more than $22 million through Dec. 16, a career-best for the 11-year-old stallion.
Gun Runner’s leading foal this year is Sierra Leone, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
Corporal is out of Kathballu, by Bluegrass Cat. An eight-time winner in 32 starts, Kathballu won three stakes for sprinters at Delta Downs, Fair Grounds, and Oaklawn in 2016 and 2017. Kathballu is a full sister to Kathmanblu, a four-time stakes winner who was third in the Grade 1 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland in 2011. Kathmanblu’s most prestigious stakes win came in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs in 2010, three weeks after she finished third there in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
Flavius
War Front – Starformer, by Dynaformer
Farm: Daehling Ranch
Fee: $2,500
A three-time stakes winner with victories in Ireland, Kentucky, and New York, Flavius enters stud after an accomplished career on turf that included seven wins in 28 starts and earnings of $851,264.
Flavius began his career in Ireland, where he won the minor Trigo Stakes at 1 1/4 miles as a 3-year-old in 2018. For New York-based trainer Chad Brown, Flavius won the Tourist Stakes at a mile at Kentucky Downs in a then-track record of 1:32.21 in 2020 and the restricted Lure Stakes at a mile the following year at Saratoga.
Flavius won three claiming races at a mile on turf at Santa Anita in early 2024 and had his final start in June. His retirement was announced in the autumn.
A Kentucky-bred by War Front, Flavius is out of Starformer, a four-time graded stakes winner who won 6 of 18 starts and earned $543,126.
Forbidden Kingdom
American Pharoah – Just Louise, by Five Star Day
Farm: Legacy Ranch
Fee: $5,000
Forbidden Kingdom won 4 of 14 starts and earned $683,660 in a four-year career that included four stakes wins. The highlights were wins in two of the leading wintertime races for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita in 2022 – the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs and the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.
Forbidden Kingdom was last of six in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby as the even-money favorite in April 2022, but was later found to be suffering from a swollen throat.
Later that year, Forbidden Kingdom was second in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs. In December 2023, Forbidden Kingdom won for the first time on turf in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez Stakes at 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita.
Earlier this year, Forbidden Kingdom was sold for $310,000 at a Fasig-Tipton digital sale to Legacy Ranch. He had one more start in October, finishing last of four in an allowance race at Del Mar.
Forbidden Kingdom, by American Pharoah, is out of Just Louise, a daughter of Five Star Day who was unbeaten in two starts as a 2-year-old at Churchill in 2010 – a maiden race and the Grade 3 Debutante Stakes.
Forbidden Kingdom won his debut in a maiden race for 2-year-olds at 5 1/2 furlongs in August 2021.
Henry Adams
No Nay Never – Jigsaw, by Galileo
Farm: Eclipse Thoroughbreds
Fee: $4,000
Henry Adams, an Irish-bred 3-year-old colt who won his first two starts in Ireland in 2023 for trainer Aidan O’Brien, including a Group 3 sprint, is one of three new stallions in 2025 at Mike and Angie Scully’s Eclipse Thoroughbreds in Solvang, Calif.
Henry Adams won 2 of 6 starts while racing in England, Dubai, France, and Ireland. Racing for the Coolmore syndicate, Henry Adams won a seven-furlong maiden race at Naas and the Group 3 Tyros Stakes at seven furlongs at Leopardstown in a three-week period in July 2023.
Later that year, Henry Adams was fourth in two Group 1 races at seven furlongs – the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp in Paris and the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in England. Henry Adams was beaten in two starts this year, a last-place finish in the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby in Dubai and a fifth-place finish of six in the Gladness Stakes in Ireland in April in his final start.
Henry Adams, by No Nay Never, is a half-brother to Expanded, a highly promising 2-year-old this year for O’Brien. Expanded won his debut in a maiden race at The Curragh in Ireland on Oct. 5 and a week later was second in the Dewhurst Stakes, losing by a neck to the equally well-regarded Shadow of Light.
Henry Adams is out of Jigsaw, a mare by the prolific late stallion Galileo.
Hopkins
Quality Road – Hot Spell, by Salt Lake
Farm: Lovacres Ranch
Fee: $5,000
The blazingly quick horse Hopkins was announced as retired earlier this month after a four-year career that included three wins in 11 starts and earnings of $379,700.
Purchased for $900,000 as a yearling and raced by a partnership, Hopkins’s career was highlighted by a commanding win in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes at six furlongs at Santa Anita in February 2023. In his following start, Hopkins finished fourth by a length in the Group 1 Golden Shaheen, a $2 million race at six furlongs at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
Earlier this year, Hopkins was second in an allowance race at Santa Anita in January and second by a nose to Big City Lights in the Palos Verdes Stakes in February before finishing 12th of 14 in the Golden Shaheen in his final start.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Hopkins won consecutive starts in fall 2022 – a maiden race at seven furlongs at Santa Anita and an allowance race at six furlongs at Del Mar.
Hopkins is by Quality Road and out of Hot Spell, by Salt Lake. Hot Spell won 2 of 3 starts, all at six furlongs, in Northern California in 2007 for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. Hot Spell won a maiden race and an allowance race in her first two starts and was second in her stakes debut, and final start, in the minor Dipsea Trail Stakes for 3-year-olds fillies at Golden Gate Fields.
Hopkins will stand for $5,000. In a statement issued earlier this month, Lovacres Ranch said special consideration will be granted to approved mares, year-round boarders, and breeders who have previously supported the farm.
Joey Freshwater
Jimmy Creed – Lake Turkana, by More Than Ready
Farm: Eclipse Thoroughbreds
Fee: $2,500
Claimed for $50,000 at Churchill in November 2022, Joey Freshwater later won two Grade 3 sprints in a 16-race career that included six wins and earnings of $480,780.
Trained in New York by Linda Rice, Joey Freshwater was retired in September, months after he won his final start in the Grade 3 Runhappy Stakes at six furlongs at Aqueduct in May. The field included Straight No Chaser, who stumbled at the start and finished fourth. Straight No Chaser won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita last month.
Joey Freshwater won 3 of 4 starts earlier this year, including two allowance races for sprinters at Aqueduct.
On April 4, Joey Freshwater won an allowance race by 3 3/4 lengths at six furlongs, finishing in 1:09.57. For the win, Joey Freshwater earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 105.
Joey Freshwater was kept at sprints through his career. After winning his second start in 2022, he won the Grade 3 Bay Shore Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs at Aqueduct in April 2023.
Joey Freshwater is by Jimmy Creed and out of Turkana, a More Than Ready mare who was a three-time winner in 20 starts. Joey Freshwater is Lady Turkana’s only foal to race.
Lady Turkana is a half-sister to Crewman, who won the Grade 3 Hanshin Stakes at a mile at Arlington Park in 2017.
Storm the Court
Court Vision – My Tejana Storm, by Tejano Run
Farm: Eclipse Thoroughbreds
Fee: $2,500
Storm the Court stunned the racing world with his 45-1 win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Ridden by Flavien Prat, Storm the Court led throughout and prevailed by a head in a performance that was the highlight of his six-year career, which ended in November.
Storm the Court, trained for a majority of his career by Peter Eurton, won 2 of 30 starts and earned $1,426,503. Both wins came during his 2-year-old season.
Storm the Court won his debut in a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar. Prior to the BC Juvenile, Storm the Court finished third of nine in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita.
In the pandemic-affected 2020 season, Storm the Court was sixth in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill when the race was run on Labor Day weekend. Earlier that year, Storm the Court was third in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on dirt at Santa Anita.
Later in his career, Storm the Court finished second to the multiple stakes winner Smooth Like Strait in the Grade 2 Mathis Brothers Mile for 3-year-olds on turf at Santa Anita.
Storm the Court is by Court Vision and out of My Tejana Storm, by Tejano Run. Storm the Court is by far the most successful foal out of My Tejana Storm, a three-time winner in 12 starts.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.