A yearling full brother to Free Like a Girl who topped a Texas auction at Lone Star Park late last month will eventually be sent to trainer Bret Calhoun, according to Josh Stevens, the agent who handled the purchase of the horse on behalf of Mansfield Racing.
The yearling, who is by the stallion El Deal, topped the auction at $150,000. Free Like a Girl is a $1.9 million earner who recently became the all-time richest Louisiana-bred. Mansfield Racing is the stable for Landon Jordan, who had an eye on the eventual sales topper long before the catalog was released by the Texas Thoroughbred Association.
“Louisiana puts out every year what mares are bred to what stallions, so you kind of know what’s coming for each crop,” Stevens said. “So Landon had said to me, probably six or eight months ago, that this horse was out there and we need to look out for him and find him. I said if they sell him, he’ll probably end up in the sale in Texas or the sale in Louisiana.”
During the auction last week, Stevens was able to put an eye on the horse and was pleased his physical attributes matched his standout pedigree.
:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.
“He was a top physical in that sale, regardless of what his pedigree was,” Stevens said. “A lot of those El Deals are more sprinter-type physicals, so that’s kind of what I was expecting, kind of a short-backed, short-leg sprinter-type.
“When this horse walked out you could see he still looks very fast, but also looks like he’s going to have some size to him when he matures and is going to have some stretch. And just the way that he moved makes you think that he’s going to be a lot like [Free Like a Girl], where he’s going to be able to run at short distances, but also have a chance to stretch out.”
Stevens said the unnamed colt would have his early training lessons at a farm in Louisiana before joining Calhoun.
Mansfield Racing and Stevens bought the sales topper two years ago at the Texas summer yearling sale and the filly, Too Much Kiki, has developed into a multiple stakes winner.
During this most recent sale, Mansfield Racing also purchased a daughter of El Deal and the multiple stakes-winning mare Mirabeau for $75,000, and a Mr Speaker filly out of the stakes-winning mare Closing Report for $60,000. The latter is a half-sister to Unified Report, a multiple stakes winner of more than $250,000.
Mansfield Racing and Calhoun recently won the D.S. “Shine” Young Memorial Futurity at Evangeline Downs with Louisiana Jess, who is unbeaten in two starts. Stevens said the horse had been considered for the Iroquois at Churchill, but will get a little time with the ultimate goal opportunities this winter at Fair Grounds in his home state of Louisiana.
◗ Silver Prospector, an earner of $1.6 million, meets fellow stakes winners Paluxy and Gold Pilot in the eighth race Friday night at Remington Park. The no-conditions allowance will be run at a mile. Stewart Elliott has the mount on Silver Prospector for trainer Steve Asmussen.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.