The Player Adds to Legend by Siring First Winner

The Player  started rewarding the faith put in him as a stallion prospect by breeder/owner/trainer Buff Bradley when he sired his first winner May 18 at Evangeline Downs.

Rosie's Angus , a 3-year-old out of the Stormy Atlantic daughter Lightning Rosie, won her third career start in an about 7 1/2-furlong maiden claiming race on turf against eight other challengers. The filly is a homebred for J. Verland Prather and is trained by Samuel Breaux.

Bradley bred and raced The Player with Carl Hurst. The 10-year-old son of Street Hero  out of the Gilded Time winner Hour Queen raced from 2 to 5 and won or placed in four graded stakes. His best wins came in the 2017 Fayette Stakes (G2) and the 2018 Mineshaft Handicap (G3). He got injured in the 2018 New Orleans Handicap (G2) where he fractured two sesamoid bones in his right front ankle. Dr. Charles McCauley at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine repaired the ankle with a plate and 16 screws, and The Player recovered.

Named The Player because of his playful behavior as a foal, the young colt grabbed attention early while growing up at the Bradley family's Indian Ridge Farm by regularly sitting out in the pasture on his hocks like a dog. The colt nicknamed "Angus" would continue to be a favorite in the training barn due to his quirky, laid-back disposition and sharp mind, and he developed a following among racing fans. After he had recovered from surgery, Bradley decided to give him a chance as a stallion without any big expectations.

"We are going to try it with Angus for a few years and see if it works. We believe in him because we've raced the whole family," Bradley told BloodHorse in 2019.

"He is doing great now," Bradley said May 19. "He is out running around in the pasture. No limitations."

The Player's first crop of six foals includes four starters as of May 19. Two of these starters have placed—Wing and a Player , a Marian Pearcy homebred who ran second in a March 23 maiden claimer at Turfway Park, and Que Barbaro, who debuted with a third in an April 7 maiden special weight at Hipodromo de las Americas in Mexico City. His first foal, First Player, has been working steadily at Churchill Downs since April 11 and is expected to make his debut May 27 at Churchill for Bradley and Hurst and trainer Neil Howard. The stallion has sired 13 other foals so far, which include eight 2-year-olds.

"Carl and I are very proud of him and thrilled because he is our first stallion to stand," Bradley said. "He is a good-looking horse that deserved a shot and was a remarkable racehorse with a genuine, unique personality."

The Player stands at Crestwood Farm near Lexington for $2,500.