Busy West Point Gears Up for Future

As busy as Terry Finley may be these days running West Point Thoroughbreds, it's akin to a vacation after spending the previous two months managing the partnership's stable while overseeing a team effort that accounted for the purchase of 31 yearlings at the major summer sales.

"I've been buying horses at the sales for 30 years and this was as difficult and competitive a time as I've ever experienced," Finley said. "It's a fun process, but it's not easy. You're trying to figure out how to allocate your resources the right way. We're not the only industry that has seen prices rise, and either you try to fit into the market and hold your position, or you get out of it. That's not easy to do, but no one ever said it should be easy."

While the sales represent the future for West Point, two of its current stars that sold for seven-figure price tags in 2019—First Captain  and Flightline —will also enjoy some rest while bypassing the Breeders' Cup.

First Captain, a $1.5 million buy as a yearling, seemed ready to join the upper echelon of the 3-year-old division when he won the July 5 Dwyer Stakes (G3). But then he finished third at 6-5 odds in the July 30 Curlin Stakes in what was billed as a prep for the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1). After suffering his first loss in four career starts, First Captain was given some time off after the Curlin and is not expected to rejoin trainer Shug McGaughey until the start of 2022.

"We're giving him a break and I think it will really help him," McGaughey said.

A son of Curlin   bred by B. Flay Thoroughbreds, First Captain was the co-top price of The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale in New York, in 2019 from the Stone Farm consignment and now races for a partnership of West Point, Anthony Manganaro of Siena Farm, Woodford Racing, and Bobby Flay, the renowned celebrity chef.

"There's no need to rush a 3-year-old late in the year. Shug has a good handle on him," said Finley, the president and CEO of West Point Thoroughbreds. "He's with Robbie Medina (at Blackwood Stables) and he's in a good spot. We would have liked to run again this year, but we're hoping everything works out for a reason and we'll be primed for a big 4-year-old season with a good horse. He's in the right program and has a lot of talent, but he has to take a step forward and progress."

Though Flightline has only started twice and is untested in stakes company, those two wins were impressive enough to have trainer John Sadler and the ownership group of Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, West Point, Woodford Racing, and breeder Summer Wind Equine believing the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) was a viable option. But this past week, a decision was made to skip the World Championships and point for the late December Malibu Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita Park in hopes of securing a grade 1 win to enhance his stallion prospects.

"It's the smart thing to do," Finley said.

Flightline, a son of Tapit  , was bought from the Lane's End consignment in 2019 for for $1 million, the highest price on day one of The Saratoga Sale.

With Flightline skipping the Breeders' Cup that leaves West Point's Breeders' Cup hopes on the shoulders of Sequist , a 2-year-old daughter of Nyquist   who was fourth in the Spinaway Stakes (G1). A strong effort in the Oct. 8 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (G1) at Keeneland would make her a candidate for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).

Owned by West Point, Lori Gervais, Charles Pigg, Tom Andres, trainer Dallas Stewart, and Karen Kraft, she was bought for a modest $100,000 from the consignment of her breeder, Clearsky Farm, at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

The large ownership groups attached to those three horses reflect the current business model for West Point at sales. Instead of purchasing a smaller number of horses on their own, enlisting partners before the bidding begins and after the hammer comes down has allowed West Point to dramatically increase both the number and quality of the young horses it buys. All told, the 31 yearlings under the West Point banner cost a combined total of $14,275,000 for the various ownership entities.

"Our bloodstock adviser, David Ingordo, was one of the first agents to bring different partners together on a horse and we'd rather have 25% of 10 horses than 100% of a couple," said Finley, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. "I'm very reluctant any more to buy 100% of a horse. If I can, I'm going to find partners beforehand. You need numbers to succeed in this game."

Among the 31 yearlings West Point bought into at the Keeneland September sale, The Saratoga Sale, and The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale in Lexington, there were three at Keeneland that saw the bidding top the $1 million mark.

Leading the way was a City of Light   colt by the Tapit mare Anchorage consigned by breeder Rosilyn Polan that topped the Keeneland sale with a price tag of $1.7 million paid by Woodford Racing, Talla Racing, and West Point.

West Point also teamed with Woodford Racing on the winning bid of $1.6 million on a Quality Road   colt out of Catch the Moon (Malibu Moon) consigned by Eaton Sales for Stonestreet Bred & Raised, and it joined Talla Racing in paying $1.55 million for a Justify   colt out of True Feelings (Latent Heat ) from the consignment of breeder Stonehaven Steadings.

As the Keeneland sale came to an end Sept. 24, the fruits of the summer labor by Finley and his team was a sparkling package of 31 yearlings.

"This is our biggest class of yearlings," he said.

But it was also a labor of love.

"The market was very strong this year," Finley said. "Every year buyers and sellers get better. I looked at the trade and it was as vibrant in the last three or four days of the Keeneland sale as anyone can ever remember. On the positive side, I love working the sales and it shows how much fun this sport can be and that it really is a cool sport to be involved in."