Drefong's Win a Boost for Machmer Hall

The Machmer Hall Farm of Carrie and Craig Brogden had a strong presence on the Aug. 27 racing programs at Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar as two horses they bred finished second in graded stakes and another placed fourth in the Travers Stakes (gr. I).

Money Multiplier, bred by Machmer Hall and Haymarket Farm, finished second to Flintshire in the Longines Sword Dancer Stakes (gr. IT) at Saratoga and Machmer Hall-bred Vyjack finished second to Masochistic in the Pat O’Brien Stakes (gr. II) at Del Mar. In addition, Gift Box was part of the cast of Arrogate’s record-breaking Travers romp with a fourth-place finish.

While seeing the results of their hard work perform so well on the big stage was thrilling for the Machmer Hall connections, it was the victory by Drefong in the Ketel One King’s Bishop Stakes (gr. I) by 3 1/4 lengths that was the most exciting and one from which the Brogdens could reap the largest reward.

Though Drefong wasn't bred by Machmer Hall, the farm now owns his dam, Eltimaas, from the first crop of Ghostzapper  , and has the King’s Bishop winner’s half sister consigned early in the marathon Keeneland September yearling sale. A product of the first Northern Hemisphere crop sired by Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Animal Kingdom  , the yearling filly is consigned by Select Sales as Hip 325.

Fred Allor, Michael T. Barnett, and Anthony M. Warrender bred Drefong, a son of Gio Ponti  .

“It was a very, very exciting weekend,” Carrie Brogden said Aug. 29. “The Travers was incredible, but from everything we were involved with Drefong was the most exciting because we have his mother and his half sister.”

For Brogden, the timing of the King’s Bishop and the fall sale couldn’t have been better. The Animal Kingdom filly was entered in the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected sale but withdrawn just prior to the catalog being printed when she cut herself after knocking the stall door off the hinges.

“It was a blessing,” Brogden said, especially considering that Drefong had only a maiden and two allowance wins to his credit by the time the Fasig-Tipton sale took place earlier in August.

Eltimaas, acquired by Machmer Hall for $77,000 from agent Blackburn Farm at the Keeneland November 2013 breeding stock sale, is in foal to Candy Ride   and is scheduled to be offered in this year’s Fasig-Tipton November sale. Bred in Kentucky by the Jaime Carrion Trust, Eltimaas, who is a half sister to champion 2-year-old male Action This Day, was initially sold for $300,000 as a short yearling at the Keeneland January sale and later in the year fetched $600,000 from Shadwell Estate at the Keeneland September auction.

The filly never started and was shipped to England, where she brought $32,748 at the 2010 Tattersalls December sale. In the Keeneland November sale the following year, the mare was bought by Fred Allor for $90,000 and didn't meet her reserve when offered at Keeneland in November 2012 prior to her purchase by Machmer Hall.