Final A.P. Indy Crop Offered At Keeneland September Sale

Final A.P. Indy Crop Offered At Keeneland September Sale

After piling up accolades on the racetrack and in the breeding shed, A.P. Indy will take a bow for his stallion career with his 18th and final crop in the Keeneland September yearling sale writes Joe Nevills of Thoroughbredtimes.com.

The A.P Indy influence has gripped KZN, and we have three sons of this handsome stallion standing in KZN, all very good looking individuals.

A.P. Arrow is a big chestnut (16.2h) who stands at Summerhill Stud, with a beautiful pedigree to match his looks – being out of a Mr Prospector mare. A five-time winner (including a Gr 1 and 3 win) with a Timeform Rating of 125, his oldest progeny sold at this year’s National Yearling Sale, with his top priced colt bred and consigned by Summerhill Stud, a horse named Piper Arrow (out of Crescent Star by National Assembly) who sold for R220 000.

The other young sire we have is A.P. Answer residing at Peter and Jenny Blyth’s Clifton Stud, a strong bay stallion who saw his first crop of foals on the ground last year – and what outstanding youngsters they are – very correct with plenty of bone and enthusiastic reports from the breeders of their quality. Peter Blyth recalls a trip to Lane’s End farm in 1998 and being totally ‘blown away’ by A.P. Indy, describing the stallion as ‘absolutely beautiful’. A.P. Answer had two wins in the USA before his career was cut short by a knee injury. Another outstanding pedigree, he is out of Danzig mare Pas de Reponse (a Gr 1 champion two year old filly), in turn out of a Mr Prospector mare named Soundings – the damline of Storm Bird.

The last is Just As Well, imported by Greg Royden-Turner of Roski Stud and Anton Proctor, who stands at Spring Valley Stud. Another exciting stallion with very good looks, a good length of rein and a handsome head that is the splitting image of his sire, this international Gr 1 and 3 winner has his first foal crop arriving this season – with what seems to be a strong A.P. Indy influence also passed down by the above stallions, reports are that his foals are big, strong individuals with plenty of bone to match. Just As Well is out of Gr 1 winner No Matter What by Nureyev.

The 23-year-old Seattle Slew horse has 15 yearlings catalogued throughout the 11-session sale, with nine slated to go through the ring during Monday’s opening session.

     

The yearlings will be among the last offered at public auction from the two-time North American leading sire, who is responsible for 11 champions, including 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft; 2003 champion three-year-old male Bernardini; 2007 champion three-year-old filly Rags to Riches; 2001 U.A.E. Horse of Year Festival of Light; and Canadian champions Marchfield and Serenading.

In his 17 crops of racing age, A.P. Indy has sired 636 winners through September 7, including 85 graded stakes winners, for earnings totaling $119,823,029. His final crop consists of 36 yearlings.

A.P. Indy was retired from stud duty in 2011 due to declining fertility. At the time of his pensioning, he was one of three stallions standing for a North American-topping stud fee of $150,000.

A.P. Indy has been a sterling flag-bearer throughout his life for Lane’s End, whose owner, William S. Farish III, co-bred the horse with William Kilroy. Farish and Kilroy sold by A.P. Indy for $2.9-million at the 1990 Keeneland July sale of selected yearlings to British Bloodstock Agency (Ireland), agent for Tomonori Tsurumaki.

He lived up to his lofty sale price when he hit the racetrack, wrapping up his two-year-old campaign with a win in the 1991 Hollywood Futurity (G1). That would only be a precursor, though, to the success he would enjoy as a three-year-old.

A.P. Indy entered the 1992 Kentucky Derby (G1) as one of the race’s favorites after wins in the San Rafael Stakes (G2) and the Santa Anita Derby (G1). However, a bruised foot forced his scratch just hours before post time. He rebounded from the injury to win three graded stakes races during the remainder of 1992, including the Belmont Stakes (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) to wrap up Horse of the Year honours.

A.P. Indy retired to stud at Lane’s End with eight wins from 11 starts for earnings of $2,979,815. He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 2000.

     

“From dad’s perspective, he was the culmination of everything he was trying to do in the horse business all wrapped up in one horse,” said Bill Farish, general manager of Lane’s End and son of the elder Farish. “He was the top yearling of his year at $2.9-million, a Grade 1 winner at two and three and a champion at three, then to go on to be the stallion that he’s been and the sire of sires he’s become, it’s just an amazing feat for any horse. I just don’t think there’s another horse that embodies all those things in one package.”

Lane’s End, agent, has four A.P. Indy yearlings consigned to the Keeneland September yearling sale, including two in book one.

“It’s certainly bittersweet.” Farish said. “We’ve got some nice ones yet again this year, and I’m sure they’ll do just fine.” Other consignors with A.P. Indy yearlings in the first book of this year’s sale also felt mixed emotions about having one from the sire’s final crop.

“I saw a very good article that was written a couple years ago and it said ‘The perfect horse’ and it talked about A.P. Indy,” said Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Sales Agency. “For the commercial market, he did everything. To see him pensioned was sad for buyers and sellers alike.”

While the opportunities to buy and sell A.P. Indy yearlings are quickly dwindling, those with ones to offer said they were happy to take advantage of those opportunities while they last.

“He’s a great stallion and he’s the kind of stallion Kentucky and America needs, so it’s a big void to fill,” said Craig Bandoroff of Denali Stud, “but if there’s only so many of them in here, we’re happy to have one, especially one that’s a good one.”

Read more about A.P Indy in his ‘Influential Stallions’ profile at the following link.

View the stallion profiles for:

A.P Arrow(USA)
A.P. Answer(USA)
Just As Well(USA)

Information source courtesy of www.thoroughbredtimes.com