August Newsletter

(G1) WORLD BEATER # 41 and more

In our July Mill Ridge Newsletter we celebrated Jerry and John Amerman and their breeding/racing (G1) winner TEST SCORE of the Belmont Derby. The Amermans make it look easier than it is for only .18% of all Thoroughbreds go on to win a Grade 1 race. Yet, this was back-to-back Belmont Derby wins for them, last year TRIKARI, a son of OSCAR PERFORMANCE that they bought as a yearling with assistance of Bob Feld. And in 2017, the Amermans raced another homebred to win their first Belmont Derby in OSCAR PERFORMANCE himself, one of his four Grade 1 wins!

But that was the story in July and now for August and more of Saratoga, we celebrate WORLD BEATER who made a powerful run to win the (G1) Saratoga Derby and turning the tide on TEST SCORE where he finished second in the Belmont Derby. A son of OSCAR PERFORMANCE, WORLD BEATER has the deepest of Mill Ridge roots as he was bred by Dr. John Chandler from his mare Dabinett and sold to Pin Oak Stud as a Keeneland September yearling in 2023 for $105k.

Dr. Chandler has been a loyal supporter of OSCAR PERFORMANCE, breeding Dabinett every year to him and now he reaps the reward for his insight and loyalty as he will race the yearling filly and likely retain the weanling filly to race, all by OSCAR PERFORMANCE.

And for Pin Oak Stud, the thread too runs deep for Dana and Jim Bernhard recognized the history and essence of Josephine Abercrombie and her beloved Pin Oak after her passing and purchased the property in 2022. They too have a love of the horse and are on a plan to celebrate this history and continue growing their own foundation for the future of Pin Oak Stud.

Within this thread, you turn to our mother/grandmother, Alice Chandler and her love and friendship with Josephine Abercrombie that goes back to the 1950’s when our family lived in Houston. They both were generational thoroughbred owner/breeders with a love of their fathers and a love of the horse. They were raised with the belief that there was nothing too large for them to accomplish. And accomplish they did with Mom recognized like her father in the ‘Racing Hall of Fame-as a Pillar of the Turf.’ Coincidentally, Mom and Josephine were born on the same day, January 15, 1926!

And in this glorious (G1) Saratoga Derby win, Mill Ridge celebrates its 41st (G1) winner raised/sold just since 2000 (36 raised)! We chose the year 2000 to track for it is a natural ‘starting point’ with the turn of the century. Mill Ridge started in 1962 with the passing of our grandfather/great grandfather, Hal Price Headley, on 280 undeveloped acres of land furthest away from town on his historic Beaumont Farm.

There have been many outstanding racehorses in the life of Mill Ridge including Champion and Horse of the Year, SIR IVOR in 1968, the cornerstone for Mill Ridge. Yet, our feeling is we wanted to celebrate more the current generation, ones more relevant to our friends/clients and team and believe starting in 2000 accomplishes this objective.

And celebrating this current generation, we celebrate Audie Otto and her mom Tolie. Their family goes back to the 1980’s when Tolie and Mom grew a lasting love for each other through the horse. This was passed on to her daughter Audie who would breed from their foundation mare, SHOP AGAIN, a daughter of SMART STRIKE that they raced and retired to their broodmare mare, named SMART SHOPPING. In 2021, she produced a son of Arrogate that we raised on Mill Ridge and took to Saratoga Sales as a yearling where he sold for $300k and was purchased by MyRacehorse.

He would go on to be named SEIZE THE GREY and be trained by D. Wayne Lukas and become his last Classic winner, the 2024 (G1) Preakness Stakes and our 38th (G1) winner raised/sold at Mill Ridge. This August for the Saratoga Yearling Sale, Audie presented a yearling daughter of SMART SHOPPING by LIFE IS GOOD that was hugely popular at the sale and sold to Mike Repole for $1,025m.

Together we celebrate this success and continue with the dream that this filly might just be the one that takes Mike and his family to the winner’s circle on the first Friday in May of 2027 in the (G1) Kentucky Oaks!

Headley and Price