Complexity Share Brings $510,000 at Saratoga Sale

The first offering on night two of Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale Aug. 6 saw bloodstock agent David Lanigan, bidding on behalf of Heider Family Stables, go to $510,000 for a 2.5% share in leading freshman sire Complexity  .

The 8-year-old grade 1-winning son of Maclean's Music   who stands at Airdrie Stud near Midway, Ky., is off to a scintillating start to his stud career. Through Aug. 5, Complexity leads all North American first-crop sires and all sires of 2-year-olds in earnings ($874,588), black-type winners (three), and group/graded winners (two). His 13 individual winners are tied with Vekoma  , though Complexity has done it with 11 fewer starters (22).

"I think the price is reflective of what the stallion is doing right now, and obviously you have to be thrilled when the market tells you that this horse has a tremendous value right now," said Airdrie Stud's Bret Jones. "To have Scott Heider come on board with this horse is a big-time victory for the Complexity syndicate.

"I know the quality of his program will be an important part of Complexity's future. Scott Heider is exactly the type of breeder and person we want to be associated with, and we couldn't be happier to have him on board."

Heider family principal Scott Heider is from Omaha, Neb., but his stable races in America and Europe, where he has horses with trainer Joseph O'Brien. Lanigan said Complexity's son Black Forza  winning the Richmond Stakes (G2) at Goodwood Racecourse in England added to the appeal.

"The 2-year-old race at Goodwood is a very big 2-year-old race," Lanigan said. "The world has become a smaller place, and we have horses on both sides of the Atlantic in training. It's an investment and Mr. Heider felt it was the right thing, and hopefully we'll use (the share) on some of our own mares as well."

In addition to the Goodwood winner on turf, Complexity's son Mensa  won the Victoria Stakes on the all-weather track at Woodbine, and his son Mo Plex  won the Sanford Stakes (G3) on the dirt at Saratoga Race Course.

He also had an impressive winner in Japan when Susumu Fujita's Shin Forever, trained by Hideyuki Mori, won on debut Aug. 3 at Niigata going a mile on turf.

"The implications are potentially massive if he can continue on and have that international appeal. The doors that could open is a dream scenario," Jones said. "To have three stakes winners on three different surfaces and good winners in four different countries by this point in his 2-year-old year, that's certainly unprecedented by Airdrie's and almost all standards.

"The hope is that we regret selling the share, and regret it for a long time, because I really do think that Complexity's best days are ahead of him. The best way that we could promote a stallion that we're really proud of is to bring this share to market in front of a crowd as important as the Saratoga yearling crowd. The fact that we've been able to have people talking about what he is doing is invaluable promotion for the horse and our shareholders."