Turned Aside, Country Grammer Set to Sell at Keeneland

Buying horses at auction is typically all about potential—but when it comes to a pair of 4-year-old colts to be offered Jan. 14 in the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, it's about the potential to do more.

Offered by consignor Lane's End as part of the complete dispersal of the estate of Paul Pompa Jr., Turned Aside and Country Grammer are both graded stakes-winning sons of classic winners with race records that strongly suggest they could achieve additional success on the track. 

Offered as Hip 1563, Turned Aside is a son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah . Bred in Kentucky by Pompa, he is out of the grade 3-placed War Front  mare Sustained, who sold for $320,000 to agent Phil Schoenthal on behalf of Determined Stud during Tuesday's session at Keeneland.

Racing for Pompa and trained by Linda Rice, Turned Aside has enjoyed success in turf sprints, where seemingly by the day there are more opportunities and more purse money. A maiden winner at 2, he also took on stakes company in his first season of racing when he finished unplaced in the Atlantic Beach Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Turned Aside took things to another level as a 3-year-old, closing out the 2020 season with two stakes wins in his final three starts. In the 5 1/2-furlong Quick Call Stakes (G3T) July 24 on the turf at Saratoga Race Course, Turned Aside tracked early before delivering a quick burst in the stretch to post a clear victory in his first try at a graded stakes. He replicated that performance in his final start of the season going six furlongs in the $100,000 Aqueduct Turf Sprint Championship Stakes Nov. 28 at Aqueduct and earned a 1 1/4-length victory.

Offered as Hip 1568, Country Grammer is a son of 2014 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Tonalist . Campaigned by Pompa after being purchased for $450,000 by Bradley Thoroughbreds from the Wavertree Stables consignment at the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, Country Grammer was bred in Kentucky by Scott and Debbie Pierce.

Country Grammer is one of three winners out of the winning Forestry mare Arabian Song, who is a daughter of Prima Centauri, a half sister to 2003 Prix de la Foret (G1) winner Etoile Montante.

Country Grammer won a maiden race as a 2-year-old in the second start of his career and was so well thought of that his next start, and 3-year-old debut, would be in the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (G2) in late February at Gulfstream Park. When he was last seen on the track, he was competing in one of his division's major races for multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown. That most recent effort was a fifth-place finish in the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) in August, where he tracked the early leaders.

Country Grammer earned that Travers opportunity after rallying from fourth to win the Peter Pan Stakes (G3) July 16 at Saratoga.

He is lightly raced with two wins from six starts and earnings of $157,320.