Bass Family Picks Up Bridlewood Cat for Annapolis

Situated inside the Keeneland pavilion with owner/breeder Ramona Bass, agent Steven Young kept chipping away Jan. 8, bidding to $750,000 to secure the well-connected mare Bridlewood Cat  during the January Horses of All Ages Sale for the Bass family's new sire Annapolis  . Denali Stud consigned the 8-year-old mare in foal to Tapit   as Hip 267.

"She was purchased with the intention to give Annapolis the best mare support he can get," Young said. "She's a talented horse who won her first two races with mid-90 Beyers. She had grade-1 talent and is a beautiful horse on her own. She's probably one of the fastest Street Sense fillies there ever was, breaking her maiden in 1:09 1/5. She is the type of mare the family is going to support Annapolis with."

The Street Sense   mare made 10 starts in three years, placing in 2021 in the What A Summer Stakes at Laurel Park for Bridlewood Farm. In her second start, she blew the doors off a six-furlong dirt test at Belmont Park , putting 11 1/4 lengths between her and the competition.

During the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, John Malone's operation initially picked the filly up as a yearling for $750,000 from her breeder, Ashview Farm and Colts Neck Stables. Out of the stakes-placed Bluegrass Cat  mare Ithinkisawapudycat , a producer of Spinaway Stakes (G1) winner Sweet Loretta , by Tapit, and Bold Connection , a stakes-placed Uncle Mo   filly. The immediate family also includes Canadian champion 2-year-old filly Spring in the Air  under Bridlewood Cat's second dam, Unbridled Run .

"She's from a highly talented 2-year-old family; her half sister is a grade 1 winner on the dirt at Saratoga as a 2-year-old," Young said. "Under the second dam is the 2-year-old Canadian champion, and we will breed her to an undefeated 2-year-old stakes winner in Annapolis. It's not just the precocity, but it's everything; he will throw a lot of quality 2-year-olds. We never got a chance to try him on the dirt, but he always trained tremendously, and this is the type of mare he deserves."

Bass Stables bred and campaigned Annapolis, seeing the son of War Front   win both of his juvenile races, the second being the Pilgrim Stakes (G2T). The following year, he won the Manila Stakes, was second in the Saratoga Derby Invitational (G1T), won the Saranac Stakes (G3T) by 5 1/2 lengths, and followed up with a win in the Turf Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland.

At 4, he collected a win in the Opening Verse Stakes and was second best in the Kelso Stakes (G3T) and Fourstardave Handicap (G1T). He entered stud this year at Claiborne Farm for an introductory fee of $12,500, after collecting earnings of $1,581,770 with a record of 6-4-0 in 13 starts exclusively on the grass.

Later during Monday's session, Young signed for Kaling , Hip 387, the Practical Joke   mare sold as a racing or broodmare prospect from Bluewater Sales for $650,000. At 2 the Eclipse Partners-owned filly ran third in the Spinaway Stakes (G1) in her second start. 

The final purchase of the evening came during the supplement in Hip 419, Juniper's Moon. The 4-year-old Galileo filly out of grade-1 winning I'm A Chatterbox sold for $625,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency draft. Last year at 3 the chestnut came home third in the Florida Oaks (G3T) for Team Spoor, which campaigned the filly with Anthony Dutrow.