Homecoming for Catalina Cruiser at Lane's End

As soon as Catalina Cruiser  reeled off a 6 3/4-length victory in the 2018 San Diego Handicap (G2), the team at Lane's End began angling to get the son of Union Rags  back home for stud duty.

"We have been following him closely because we raised him," said Bill Farish with Lane's End. "He was always very forward and an obviously good horse. Once you saw him rattling off triple-digit Beyer figures, we were anxious to get him back here."

The team at Lane's End celebrated that homecoming Nov. 4 when the scopey, gleaming chestnut and five-time graded stakes winner arrived back on the farm to begin his new role as a fourth-generation stallion.

Bred by Lane's End founder W. S. Farish, Catalina Cruiser is actually a multi-generational homebred on both sides of his pedigree. 

His sire line goes back to Dixieland Band, a Bayard and Mary Sharp homebred son of Northern Dancer that entered stud at Lane's End in 1985. One of the top horses sired by Dixieland Band was multiple grade 1 winner Dixie Union, who retired to Lane's End in 2001 and went on to sire 2012 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Union Rags.

On Catalina Cruiser's dam side, he is out of the winning Mineshaft  daughter Sea Gull. Mineshaft is a four-time grade 1-winning son of Lane's End's marquee sire A.P. Indy, who was pensioned in 2011. Mineshaft won 10 times out of 18 starts and banked more than $2.28 million on his way to earning Horse of the Year and champion older horse titles for 2003.

"We are very excited to have a fourth-generation sire at Lane's End," Farish said. "It is gratifying that Dixieland Band had such successful sons and that Dixie Union was amazing and, especially through his broodmares, is still having a tremendous influence. Now we see from Dixie Union a son as good as Union Rags and hopefully we can keep that going."

Catalina Cruiser was a $370,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, selected for Hronis Racing by bloodstock adviser David Ingordo.

He made one start at 3 when he won his debut at Santa Anita Park by 2 1/4 lengths. Trainer John Sadler then put him away until May of his 4-year-old year when he kicked off his 2018 campaign with a 2 1/4-length allowance win. From then, he would face only graded stakes company. Catalina Cruiser quickly proved his grade-quality mettle by winning the San Diego Handicap in his third career start and followed with a win in the Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2). The colt contested the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) that year but finished unplaced.

Catalina Cruiser bounced right back for 2019 by taking the True North Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park. Mirroring the previous year, he scored consecutive victories in the San Diego Handicap and the Pat O'Brien Stakes. Catalina Cruiser was back in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, this time in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), but again did not hit the board. He retires with seven wins from nine starts and earnings of $711,100.

"I think John felt he was better at a mile, though he had crazy speed, which was a little surprising because he's a big horse," Farish said, noting the horse had Beyer Speed Figures ranging from 100 to 107 in all his graded stakes wins. "He's a big, scopey horse that I think gets most of his looks from Union Rags. People love a stallion that looks like he'll get good-sized commercial yearlings, and he looks like this.

"We would have loved to see him win a Breeders' Cup race, but he already had such a tremendous résumé. You don't see too many going into their last race that have only lost once in their career."