10/23/09 - McMahon Bloodstock Forms Alliance with Hidden Brook

PARIS, KY-- Lexington-based McMahon Bloodstock and Hidden Brook Farm in Paris, announced today that they are working cooperatively to bolster their individual companies. 

The initial joint venture will be a weanling-to-yearling pin-hooking syndicate that will commence at the upcoming November sales. McMahon Bloodstock is owned by Michael and Natanya McMahon, while Hidden Brook is co-owned by Jack Brothers, Dan Hall, Mark Roberts, Sergio de Sousa, and Danny Vella.

McMahon said, “McMahon Bloodstock has grown significantly since we started in September 2001. Our growth in clientele resulted in increased demand to place horses at premier farms with leading sales consignments at marquee sales.  Hidden Brook is such a farm, offering a premier facility with a management team that in a very brief time has raised and sold dozens of stakes horses and purchased a Derby winner. At the same time, they have maintained a wonderful and honest reputation, combined with a no-nonsense approach to business.  By working together we can effectively grow each others’ businesses without increasing overhead costs.”

Dan Hall added, "This association will allow each of us to better service our existing clientele, while pursuing our common goal of growing our respective businesses.  Simply put, the common denominators of our alliance are the spirit of cooperation and the opportunity to reach out to a broader network within our industry. In the current environment, we both agree it is vital that we continue to recruit and educate new owners that maintain an interest in breeding and racing. Mike is the consummate professional. This union offers us the unique opportunity to align ourselves with a well-respected, highly motivated horseman."

9/17/09 - McMahon Hits One Out of the Park...
Courtesy of the TDN

SEE PEDIGREE

Mike McMahon Bloodstock went to $205,000 to acquire a daughter of Bernardini out of the unraced Storm Bird mare Listen Now (Storm Bird) at last year's Keeneland November sale. Yesterday, he realized a nice return on investment when Elizabeth
Moran's Brushwood Stable purchased hip 744 for $725,000. The dark bay, consigned by Legacy Bloodstock, agent for McMahon's Spruce Lane Farm and Samuel G. Nappiis a half-sister to GII Amsterdam S. and GIII Nashua S. hero Listen Here (Gulch) and a 3/4- sister to Pennsylvania Oaks heroine Indy Bird (A.P. Indy).

"We were very pleased," McMahon said out back after receiving congratulations from
the Legacy team. "She was a filly that we had high hopes for. You just don't know
what to expect in this market though. I thought we brought a good horse; my wife [Natanya McMahon] did a really good job prepping her. We're very happy with what we saw."

Asked what attracted him to the April foal last November, McMahon said, "I had a lot of confidence in Bernardini and the mare. The filly had a great walk when she was a weanling. She really strided out nicely. I thought she had the sort of walk that would sell well." Eugene Melnyk was the underbidder.

7/23/09 - Mexican Ambassador Ruben Beltran Visits Anna House And The Belmont Race Track

Mexican Connection: By Teresa Genero, Board member of the Belmont Child Care Association and Blogger for The Brooklyn Backstretch Board Member on Wednesday morning, Ambassador Rubén Beltrán, Consul General of Mexico, paid a visit to Anna House. Many of the Anna House families hail from Mexico, and the Consul General came to see for himself the services of the Belmont Child Care Association, and to talk to backstretch families about how the consulate could be of service to them. On hand were Donna and Stuart Chenkin, executive and assistant directors of the Belmont Child Care Association; Anna House director Ingrid Gutierriez; BCCA board member Herb Oster, and Jim Gallagher, executive director of New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and advisory council member of Backstretch Employees Service Team (BEST).

The visit began with a tour of Anna House, with stops in several of the classrooms. The children were anticipating Mr. Beltrán’s visit; whenever a stranger appeared in the doorway, a child would rush up and ask eagerly, “Are you the visitor?” The pre-school students (ages 4 – 6) sang to him in Spanish, and were loath to let him to leave as they regaled him with stories and peppered him with questions, slipping naturally between Spanish and English.

Next stop was the nearby barn of trainer Pastor Mena; as we walked the shedrow, Mr. Beltrán spoke with groom Umberto Hernandez about life on the racetrack. Following our barn visit, we returned to Anna House so that the Consul General could meet with backstretch workers, who had been invited to hear about the consulate’s services and to ask questions. Among the topics discussed were working conditions, health care, and immigration document renewal. In addition to pledging his support where possible, Mr. Beltrán announced that he would donate several collections of books on geography, history, science, and math, along with teachers’ supplementary materials that could be used in the classrooms and library at Anna House.

Official business completed, we headed to the races, where we were joined for lunch by Thoroughbred owners Peter and Eloise Canzone and Mexican-born trainer Ramón Hernandez. The Consul General recalled having attended the track in Mexico, but mostly as a social endeavor; he didn’t appear to have placed a bet on those visits, but immediately perused the program and inquired of our party which of the jockeys might be Mexican. Informed that Jose Espinoza, on the Jimmy Jerkens-trained Queen of Hearts in the second, comes from Mexico, Beltrán made the first bet of his life, and true to racing gods’ form, cashed his first ticket, on a horse that paid $14.20. Not bad for a rookie.

The third race of the day was named the Mexican Consulate; Espinoza was in this race, too, on a hefty longshot. Following a trip to the paddock, Beltrán made a pit stop at the windows before heading upstairs to watch the race named in his honor; on the way to the winners’ circle for the presentation, we learned that he had not put his entire faith in his countryman, supplementing his Espinoza bet with some money on the favorite…who happened to win. Two bets, two wins. On the left, Beltrán with Espinoza and Hernandez.

With time for just one more race before leaving for another engagement, His Honor declared his betting career over…which lasted, oh, about thirty seconds, until he realized that his fellow Mexican and lunch companion Mike Hernandez had a horse in the fourth. Coupled with a John Kimmel trainee, Hernandez’s horse finished fourth…but Kimmel’s finished first. Another bet, another win. Three wins on three bets earns anyone’s respect.

Charmed by the children at Anna House, inspired by the backstretch workers, invigorated by the racing, Beltrán is planning a trip to Saratoga to attend the annual Belmont Child Care Association next month. He’ll continue to work to support the Mexican immigrants who do so much to take care of the horses, and with a little encouragement, maybe he’ll hold a handicapping seminar or two?

7/20/09 - Saratoga Stable IX, LLC purchased hip number 95 for $52,000 at Fasig Tipton July on Monday.  The beautiful filly by freshman sire Congrats is a half sister to graded stakes hopeful Mississippi Hippie who is pointing for the English G1 Middle Park Stakes at the Newmarket Meet.  Click here to see her pedigree and read on below to see trainer Wesley Ward’s comments.

It is also interesting to note that Ward is aiming Crimson Glory (a daughter of Ghostzapper out of our first pinhook to become a Grade 1 winner - - -- -  Buy the Sport!) for the Grade 1 Cheveley Park!!

Ward has three candidates for another British invasion

After winning two races at Royal Ascot last month, trainer Wesley Ward is considering sending another group of two-year-olds to England for Group 1 races on October 2 at Newmarket.  Ward has nominated maiden winner Mississippi Hippie and unraced colt Frankie Cal for the Middle Park Stakes (Eng-G1) and unraced filly Crimson Glory for the Cheveley Park Stakes (Eng-G1). Both are six-furlong contests worth $262,993.

“Good sprint races on grass at that time of year are rare here in the [United States] which is why I have made the entries,” Ward said. “It depends on how they do during the summer. If they do as well as I think they will, then I will have to make a decision on whether to ship them to England.”

Ward originally mentioned the Cheveley Park as a possible target for Jealous Again after her victory in the Queen Mary Stakes (Eng-G2) at Royal Ascot on June 17. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum ended up buying her privately.

Ward also won the Windsor Castle Stakes with Strike the Tiger on June 16 at Royal Ascot. Strike the Tiger, a California-bred gelding, is the 9-to-5 favorite for the $50,000 Chenery Stakes on Saturday at Colonial Downs.

“It is pricey to take them over and I will be comparing them to the two-year-olds who did so well at Royal Ascot,” Ward said. “These three are bred better than the Royal Ascot ones.”

Mississippi Hippie, by Dance Master, won a six-furlong maiden race on July 11 at Belmont. Crimson Glory and Frankie Cal are both by freshman sire Ghostzapper. Crimson Glory, out of Grade 1 winner Buy the Sport, by Devil’s Bag, is entered in a maiden race on Friday at Belmont.

Ward said Frankie Cal would probably be renamed Wonderboy Roy prior to his career debut in mid-August.

7/2/09 - More Than Ready Filly Flies at Belmont

MORE TO THE STORY breaks her maiden at Belmont on a firm turf course in 1:07 4/5.

MORE TO THE STORY (f, 3, More Than Ready--Riverboat Miss, by Storm Cat), a $250,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by McMahon Bloodstock, wound up the highest-priced filly at KEEAPR in 2008 when selling for $625,000 to Darley Stable. The chestnut flashed speed in each of her first two outings, a debut third on the Keeneland Poly Apr. 22, and a fade to sixth in a seven-furlong test over this course May 17. Bet down to even-money while cutting back to six panels, More to the Story jumped out quickly from her rail post, turned back a challenge from Out Post (Silver Deputy) after a half in :44.75 and leveled out nicely to defeat that filly by 2 1/4 lengths. She was bred byCorkstown Bloodstock (KY) and is trained by Kiaran P McLaughlin.
Lifetime Record: 3-1-0-1, $30,972.

6/5/09 - QUIET MEADOW in the Eatontown H. (G3)
Courtesy of the Thoroughbred Times Today

Ariege looks for continued success at four in Eatontown Stronach Stables’ Ariege, winner of the 2008 Santa Anita Oaks (G1), will attempt to win her first graded stakes on the turf in the $150,000 Eatontown Handicap (G3) on Sunday at Monmouth Park. The four-year-old Doneraile Court filly was a stakes winner on turf at Saratoga Race Course last summer and also finished third in the Garden City Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park. Ariege is out of Kostroma (Ire), a multiple Grade 1 winner on turf. Ariege has won five of 11 career starts and earned $528,485, tops in the Eatontown field, although at 118 pounds she is not the highweight. That distinction belongs to 2008 Eatontown winner Social Queen, who has been assigned 120 pounds. Richard Santulli’s Social Queen, a five-year-old Dynaformer mare, enters the Eatontown off a head victory over All Is Vanity (Fr) in the Gallorette Handicap (G3) at Pimlico Race Course on May 16. All Is Vanity, a Group 2 winner in France now trained by Christophe Clement, will carry 116 in the Eatontown.

The 11⁄16-mile race for fillies and mares drew a field of eight that also includes Hidden Brook’s Quiet Meadow, winner of the L and D Farm Turf Distaff Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on April 4.

Eatontown H. (G3)
June 7, $150,000, f&m, 3yo & up, 11⁄16mT, Monmouth Park, 4:50 PM ET
P Horse Sire Jockey Wt. Trainer
1. Chestoria Chester House Rajiv Maragh 116 William Badgett Jr.
2. Follow My Dream Freud SD Charles C. Lopez 116 Colum O’Brien
3. Ariege Doneraile Court SD Julien Leparoux 118 Robert J. Frankel
4. All Is Vanity (Fr) Gold Away (Ire) Joe Bravo 116 Christophe Clement
5. Quiet Meadow El Prado (Ire) SD Elvis Trujillo 118 Chad C. Brown
6. Social Queen Dynaformer SD Javier Castellano 120 Alan E. Goldberg
7. Sugar Baby Love (Ger) Second Empire (Ire) Carlos Marquez Jr. 116 Ralph E. Nicks
8. Elusive Lady Van Nistelrooy SD Richard Migliore 116 John C. Kimmel

6/1/09 - PAULICK ENDORSES BREEDERS’ CUP CANDIDATES

MICHAEL McMAHON: One of the individuals running who is completely invested in the Thoroughbred industry and its future, McMahon may lack in national industry organizational experience but more than makes up for it in passion. My instinct is he will add a truly independent voice who takes his responsibilities seriously. In his reply to the Paulick Report questionnaire, McMahon repeatedly spoke of the importance of increasing participation at the grass-roots level among breeders, by adding value to the program for nominators. Recommend for election.

5/31/09 - TDN Q & A with the Breeders' Cup Board Candidates

If there’s one thing the horse industry needs, its new blood to fuel the sport. The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders’ Association works each year to accomplish just that through its new owner seminars and breeding clinics, the most recent of which took place at Robert N. Clay’s Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky. May 29. The three-day clinic will also visit Craig Bandoroff's Denali Stud near Paris, Ky. to learn about conformation and pedigrees.

Dozens of eager faces were intent upon the Three Chimneys employees as they orientated the newcomers to the business by walking them through the steps of the breeding process from start to finish.

“The neat thing about the horse business and the stallion business is that nobody knows where the next great stallion is going to come from, so we all have a chance,” said Case Clay, whose father, Robert, founded Three Chimneys in 1972. “It’s a lot like a sports franchise…you try and fill your barn with four or five rookies, one or two which will hopefully hit big; your veterans, which are your bread and butter; and your utility players. We have all those types of stallions.”

Anne Peters, Three Chimneys' seasons and matings advisor, explained how Dynaformer  , sire of 2006 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Barbaro, serves well in his role as one of the farm’s veteran sires. He is also one of the most expensive stallions on the market. Initially standing for $5,000, he now commands a fee of $150,000.

“He’s on the far end of the spectrum in terms of size,” Peters said of the strapping son of Roberto, who is also the most aggressive stallion at Three Chimneys and is required to wear a leather muzzle during breeding sessions. “He’s got incredible bone and is just a big, strong horse.”

Peters explained that Dynaformer crosses best with medium-sized mares that need a little more size and bone, as well as stamina and soundness.

After being introduced to the farm’s other stallions and taught the basics of stallion contracts, clinic participants were walked through the process of a mare being prepared for breeding, and were able to view several mating sessions.

Atlanta resident John Taylor, who recently became a TOBA member, was at the breeding clinic to learn more about his new role in the Thoroughbred world.

“We’ve had horses for years, and we just love them, and this is just something I’ve been wanting to do—it’s a passion,” said Taylor, who recently acquired two Thoroughbred broodmares, one of which has a 10-week-old foal named Edmund’s Boy (by Distorted Humor  ). He keeps his new stock at M&M Farm just south of Atlanta.

Taylor, whose goal is to someday campaign his horses at Keeneland, works full time in the propane gas business. “You’ve got to dream big and wish big,” he said. “I love the animal. Winston Churchill once said, ‘There’s something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.’ This is a business, and you have to realize that and treat it like a business, but also have fun too.”

Beth Daly traveled to attend the clinic from her home base in Windsor, Ontario. She became a fan of horse racing after watching Street Sense   capture the Kentucky Derby in 2007, shortly after which she entered a partnership group with bloodstock agent Mike McMahon. Daly now has an interest in three Thoroughbreds in training: Dutch Striker, Dynamic Force, and Katskill Bay, and spends her vacations traveling around the country with her husband to watch them race.

“I became a fan around three years ago, and a part owner last year,” said Daly, a professor at the University of Windsor. “We have long-range plans to buy a farm down here and get our own horses. (Horse ownership) is fun…even though I only own the nose. But all they have to do is stick that nose out and we win.”

SEE POWER POINT PRESENTATION

5/21/09 - TWENTY-FIVE CANDIDATES UP FOR ELECTION TO
BREEDERS’ CUP BOARD OF MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES

Mike McMahon has been working in the thoroughbred industry for 16 years, principally as a breeder and bloodstock consultant.

He started his career “hands on” after college in 1993, formed McMahon Bloodstock LLC in 2000, and with his wife Natanya founded Spruce Lane Farm in Versailles KY in 2005.  Currently McMahon serves on the board of the BCCA as Vice President.  He has successfully led the BCCA Scholarship Committee towards a more objective, more efficient scholarship process.  As former President of NYTB (2006-2008), he lobbied effectively for legislation awarding Breeders 1.75% of Slot Revenue in NY.

McMahon is involved with a wide range of Breeders in nearly every region of the US including KY, NY, FL, IL, MI, IN, DE, MA, VA, PA, MD, CA and WA.  His primary role is as a purchasing agent but his involvement with Breeders and Owners is much more than superficial.  McMahon enjoys the debate that surrounds nearly every aspect of our industry.  He believes that nearly every breeder wants the Breeders Cup to grow, but that we all struggle to balance the costs which are inherent with growth.

Personal Statement:
The essential question is, “How do we grow the CUP, but not the COST?”  

The Breeders Cup is a major responsibility that our industry must spend maximum energy on.  I believe that I have input to add to this discussion.  John Gaines’ vision for North America’s Championship Day can’t be lost.  We must strive to improve the Breeders Cup allowing it to develop into a lasting legacy that not only grows more financially stable but that repays the breeders who pay the nominations.  Finally we must allow the Breeders Cup to serve as the vehicle that allows our sport and all of the hundreds of thousands of people involved to prosper.

5/12/09 -The Belmont jockey Maylan Studart visited the Anna House children.  After a morning workout on the backside of Belmont,  Maylan visited with the Anna House Toddlers. 

The Toddlers loved the pink rose on her silks which toddler, Maria thought looked like the rose on her pants.  Before she left the Toddler Room Maylan read a book and the toddlers sang her a welcome song.

Maylan was a big hit in the Anna House Preschool Room. She read, the classic,  Brown Bear and  answered many questions about being a jockey and finally was lucky to spend time drawing with her new friends.

The children loved Maylan and she is welcome anytime and Maylan loved the children and looks forward to returning to Anna House!

5/11/09 - Smart Surprise rallies off strong pace to win Hendrie Stakes

She is the 20th Graded Stakes Horse for McMahon Bloodstock

Smart Surprise was angled six wide into the stretch by jockey Patrick Husbands, grabbed the lead in midstretch, and outbattled runner-up Proud Heiress for a close victory in the $137,982 Hendrie Stakes (Can-G3) on Sunday at Woodbine.

Sent off as the 2.15-to-1 favorite under leading rider Husbands, Smart Surprise was reserved off a swift pace and accelerated into contention with a sweeping bid entering the stretch. The ive-year-old Smart Strike mare held back stakes winner Proud Heiress to win by a neck and earn her first graded stakes victory.

“My filly had an outside draw [post position eight], so I didn’t really have to worry about anybody,” Husbands said. “There was a lot of speed in the race. It unfolded the way we wanted it to unfold.” Bear Lahaina and Verdana Bold dueled through the opening stages, with Bear Lahaina posting quick fractions of :22.77 for the opening quarter and :44.53 for a half-mile. Proud Heiress tracked just behind the favorite in seventh under Julio Felix. Smart Surprise advanced four wide into an ideal striking position on the turn and had an eager response when Husbands urged her rally approaching the lane. Verdana Bold overhauled Bear Lahaina in early stretch and led by a head, but she quickly folded as Smart Surprise streaked by in the final sixteenth with Proud Heiress on her outside flank. Proud Heiress could not overtake Smart Surprise, who crossed the finish in 1:16.01 for 6½ furlongs on the synthetic Polytrack surface.

Trained by Josie Carroll for owner Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings, the half sister to Grade 1 winner Court Vision posted her fifth win and third stakes victory in 18 career starts.
Stablemate Authenicat finished third, two lengths behind Proud Heiress. Smart Surprise powered to a 6¼-length romp in the Chou Croute Handicap on February 14 at Fair Grounds but came up empty in her subsequent start, finishing fifth in the Azeri Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park on March 8. She entered Sunday’s race off a runner-up finish to Hendrie fourth-place finisher Dancing Allstar in the Whimsical Stakes (Can-G3) on April 18 at Woodbine, a race in which Proud Heiress finished third.

Bred by William S. Farish and Kilroy Thoroughbred Partnership, Smart Surprise is out of the unraced Storm Bird mare Weekend Storm, a half sister to champion, classic winner, and two-time leading sire A.P. Indy as well as classic winner and sire Summer Squall

3/27/09- A Long Way From Home, Moving at Great Speed

COURTESY OF THE NY TIMES: By CARA BUCKLEY

The first race at Aqueduct on Thursday unfolded under moody skies and a blanket of mist. It was hard, at the beginning, to discern the jockey in green and white silks astride the chestnut filly Spa Princess in the middle of the thundering pack, until the final turn.

Spa Princess shot forward, overtaking two horses to get neck and neck with the front-runner — and then became the front-runner. She won the six-furlong sprint by three-quarters of a length, nabbing a $22, 000 purse.

The jockey in the green and white silks pulled the horse up and circled back, an ear-to-ear smile on her mud-splattered face.

For fans, it was just one of nine races on a dreary day at the Queens race track, paying $4.60 on a $2 bet. But for the jockey, Maylan Studart, a 20-year-old Brazilian who moved to Queens last fall to compete in a male-dominated sport and send part of her earnings home to her fractured family, it was the culmination of an unlikely, often lonely, journey. It was her 40th win, the one that turned her from an apprentice into a full-fledged jockey.

“The pressure’s over, the pressure’s over!” she yelled, eyes wide, as her horse was led from the track. “I can’t believe it. I’m overwhelmed.”

Ms. Studart has adored horses for as long as she can remember, ever since her father first sat her on one when she was a toddler. Over the years, as her family’s fortunes and relations grew unstable and fraught, horses would become her constant, her solace and eventually her escape.

Her parents split up when she was 3, and when she was 7 she moved from Rio to Los Angeles with her mother, stepfather and older brother, who has fragile X syndrome, a cause of mental retardation. Ms. Studart’s stepfather died four years later, so the family returned to Rio, where her father had bought her a horse, Thunderbolt.

She threw herself into riding, racing through mountain trails, taking lessons and show jumping. But by the time she turned 14, Thunderbolt had died, and her mother, who was not working, told her that the family could not afford to pay for her riding activities.

That year, Ms. Studart attended her first horse race, and was transfixed, her heart pounding, as she watched the jockeys compete. “I fell in love,” she recalled. “I wanted to be part of it.”

There was an apprentice school for jockeys near her home, but it would not take anyone younger than 16, and had dorms for only male jockeys. So Ms. Studart waited for two years, pressing to be allowed to commute, and when officials gave in, she rode whatever mount she could. “I was given no opportunity,” she recalled, “and the worst horses to ride.”

Still, she won a few times and caught attention by posing for a magazine in a bikini. “In Brazil,” she said, “sensual publicity is good for you. It’s the culture.”

John DaSilva, who covers horse racing for The New York Post and did some work connected to horse racing in Brazil, became acquainted with her, and became something of a mentor, too. A trainer friend of Mr. DaSilva’s sponsored a visa to bring Ms. Studart to the United States. She arrived in Miami in April 2008, and was tutored in the nuances of American racing by Manuel Cruz, a Brazilian jockey at the Calder Race Course there.

Her first race was in July 2008, her first win in August. In October, after 10 victories at Calder, she moved to New York, staying at first with her agent and his wife, then renting an apartment with a roommate near Belmont Park.

She was deeply apprehensive about the cold. “I had never seen snow,” she said. “But you know what the secret is? Layers.”

Though they are still something of a rarity, female jockeys have been riding in the United States since 1969; three of the seven jockeys Ms. Studart beat on Thursday were women.

Ms. Studart starts most days at Belmont by 7 a.m. She spends mornings “breezing” — racing parlance for galloping at top speed — horses for various trainers, her braided hair flying behind her. She races most afternoons, and typically hits the gym twice a day.

Rodrigo Ubillo, who trains Spa Princess, said he hired Ms. Studart for her single-mindedness and because she connects with horses. “The most important thing is the horses run for her,” he said.

Aside from Mr. DaSilva, Ms. Studart said she does not have many friends; she had married her longtime boyfriend before leaving Brazil, but the relationship was crippled by the distance. She has not seen her family in a year, though she helps support her mother, who does not work.

Asked whom she felt close to, Ms. Studart named Catskill Bay, a stallion also trained by Mr. Ubillo. “We have a silent conversation,” she said. “I just understand him so much.”

Now that Ms. Studart is no longer an apprentice, her prospects for rides are unclear, especially with more experienced jockeys coming to New York for the summer season. Trainers tend to favor apprentices — nicknamed “bugs” for the asterisks that follow their names on programs — because they get to carry less weight. (Some horses are required to carry additional weight, to make races more competitive.)

Until now, Ms. Studart, who is 5-foot-1 and hovers around 113 pounds, had a 7-pound allowance, meaning she rode 7 pounds lighter than journeymen jockeys .

“It’s like graduating high school,” said Mr. DaSilva, still beaming after seeing Ms. Studart’s win Thursday. “She’s going into the real world now.”

3/18/09 - Macho Uno Filly Nice Score for McMahon...
COURTESY OF THE TDN

The sale of the Macho Uno filly for $360,000 represented a nice pinhook for the versatile horseman Mike McMahon, who had acquired her as a yearling for $160,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga sale and sold her at March through regular partner Eddie Woods.

"She was gorgeous as a yearling," McMahon explained after the sale. "The other thing was that she was at Saratoga, where the majority of buyers are shopping for fillies who can be broodmare prospects, and there has to be black-type under the first dam. She was up there because of her physical, not because of her pedigree, so she was a little soft there. We brought her here to stand out."

Mission accomplished, it turns out, especially after the filly put forth an eye-catching breeze in a bullet 9 4/5 for an eighth. "She was enormously popular at the barn," added McMahon. "We knew she was going to sell well. But we were scared of the market, just like everybody else. The first four results sheets had me thinking we were going to get a lot less. We were more confident when we saw a bunch of people lined up to look at her in the back walking ring. It's just a matter of getting those
guys into the pavilion and waving their hands at the auctioneers. But those guys buy nice fillies--both the bidder and the underbidder."

A self-described "farm kid," McMahon took a bit of an atypical route to Lexington--where he now lives--in that he wasn't involved in the Kentucky or Florida scenes.
Instead, McMahon's family runs one of the most-respected stallion farms in New York, McMahon Thoroughbreds of Saratoga. "My parents bought that farm in 1971, and so I grew up working on the farm," explained McMahon. "I've been pretty much a farm kid my whole life."

After completing the program at Irish National Stud and also spending time at Cornell University in Upstate New York, McMahon moved to Kentucky in 1994. AI worked for Equix Biomechanics until 1999 and then started my own company in 2000," said McMahon, whose wife Natanya is the resident vet at WinStar Farm. McMahon does a little bit of everything at his company, McMahon Bloodstock, including yearling-to-juvenile pinhooking, buying racing prospects for clients and advising on matings.

"We have an awful lot of mares for clients--50 or 60-- that we do matings on," he said. "We work very hard to research and do the best we can on each horse we
manage. I particularly like buying fillies and mares--I like the upside. But I think everybody dreams of getting a client to buy Derby horses for, and I expect that someday I'll do that."

The Macho Uno filly was one of just four yearlings that McMahon purchased last year to pinhook. "This is our lightest year ever, mostly because in July I was nervous about where the economy was," he explained.

According to McMahon, McMahon Bloodstock just recently celebrated its 50th stakes winner. McMahon has pinhooked or purchased for clients the likes of Grade I-placed Grace Anatomy (Aldebaran) and graded stakes winner Marcavelly (Johannesburg).
"We've had a really good run so far," said McMahon. "It's been fun."

2/17/2009 - Smart Surprise makes statement

By Abram Himelstein - Fair Grounds

NEW ORLEANS - Smart Surprise became the latest horse in Josie Carroll's barn to prove herself in a recent stakes race as she came home 6 1/4 lengths in front of Rolling Sea in Saturday's Chou Croute Handicap.

Smart Surprise joins Good and Lucky, who finished a strong second in the Mineshaft Handicap on Feb. 7. Carroll is considering her options for each of their next starts.

Smart Surprise has been nothing short of spectacular since coming to Carroll's barn over the summer, with 4 wins and a second from 5 races. Her last two wins have been in stakes, and she has shown improvement in every race.

"She's just a filly that's been steadily growing and improving," Carroll said. "I freshened her up after the summer, and now its time to start gearing her up for next summer."

While Smart Surprise had been impressive in her first four starts for Carroll, all of her races had come over the Woodbine Polytrack and there was some question about how she would take to dirt.

She answered all questions in the Chou Croute with her dominant win, giving Carroll options for her next races.

"We'll see where it takes us," Carroll said. "We're looking at the Azeri at Oaklawn, perhaps."

4/10/08 - McMahon and Partners Ready for More...
McMahon Bloodstock's Mike McMahon says that when it comes to selecting yearlings, he likes to go after the best representative from a given sire's crop. He thought he found the best filly of More Than Ready's 2007 yearling crop at Keeneland September last year, a handsome chestnut with a big walk, and paid $250,000 for her.

Yesterday, he found a few others who might share his opinion on the filly, namely
Jimmy Bell, who last night paid $625,000 for the filly on behalf of Darley.
"She was gorgeous as a yearling," McMahon said after congratulating Bell. "I like to buy the best by a sire, and she was the best More Than Ready. I love More Than Ready--I think he's the greatest."

McMahon originally purchased the filly as a pinhooking prospect for a pair of East Coast-based clients, Henry Mast and Stephen Wigmore. "Henry's been a client of mine for years, actually," said McMahon. "He had Miss Lodi, who sold for $2 million here a couple years back. Steve is a fairly new client. He's from the Boston area."

McMahon added that he was happy with the price, but said he wouldn't have been surprised if she brought even more for a filly who was a standout from the beginning at consignor Eddie Woods's Ocala training center. "She's always been fast, she's always been quick," he said. "She does things normal horses don't do. But give Eddie Woods credit. He did a wonderful job with her."

Dear Mike,

During the last two years, you served with exceptional distinction as the president of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc., and your presence and leadership were missed at the organizational meeting of the 2009 board of directors. I think it is fair to say that during the last two years you devoted an extraordinary amount of productive time toward advancing NYTB’s interests on a wide variety of fronts. You dealt effectively in the political arena, and with the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund, with our membership, with various other constituencies, and with the internal governance of our organization. Despite the geographic distance from your home and NYTB headquarters, you were physically present at every event for which the NYTB president should have been present as well as a large number of other meetings and events at which it was helpful for you to be in attendance. In short, you were a very committed and effective NYTB president and will be a tough act to follow.

You and I haven’t been particularly close, but I want you and all the other members of the board to know that I sincerely respect the dedication and commitment to the NYTB that you exhibited during your tenure as president of the NYTB.

The entire NYTB organization owes you a debt of gratitude, and on behalf of myself, the board members, and the breeders of New York, I want to thank you for all of your efforts on behalf of the NYTB.
This coming year may be the most challenging year our membership has confronted in decades, and we certainly welcome any suggestions you may have about how we can best navigate our organization through this difficult period.

Best wishes,
Barry Ostrager and the New York Thoroughbred Breeders board of directors