Another Breeders' Cup Success for Mike Ryan

Mike Ryan has been associated with six Breeders’ Cup winners, but the hard-working Kentucky agent says the most recent, New Money Honey’s Nov. 4 victory in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT) at Santa Anita Park, was the most satisfying because of the filly’s ownership.

“Winning a Breeders’ Cup race is the thrill of a lifetime,” said Ryan as he traipsed through the fog on a brisk Nov. 5 morning at the Fasig-Tipton barn area looking at horses that will be offered during the Nov. 7 mixed sale. “But this is the most satisfying because the owner (Bob Edwards) is new to this game and is a great person and a great sportsman. He loves it.”

Edwards, along with his wife Kristine and three adult children, races under the aptly-named e5 Racing banner with trainer Chad Brown. They bought their first horses last year and the 20-horse stable has had four winners this year, all in stakes, highlighted by New Money Honey’s Breeders’ Cup. During the fourth session of this year’s Keeneland September yearling sale Ryan paid $1 million for a Curlin colt on behalf of the Edwardses.

A 2-year-old daughter of Medaglia d'Oro   who was making her third career start, New Money Honey broke her maiden with a 2 3/4-length triumph in the Miss Grillo Stakes (gr. IIIT) over a yielding turf course at Belmont Park after finishing second in her career debut.

While all of her races to date have been on grass, the filly should be equally adept on dirt, Ryan said.

“It is a dirt pedigree, and we think she is a filly who can show a lot on both surfaces,” the agent said. “She has a lot of quality and I think a mile is her minimum distance. I think she is the type that could win the Alabama Stakes (gr. I).”

As to whether he would prefer to be in Southern California rather than Lexington where the 6 a.m. Saturday morning temperature was in the high 30s but gradually warming as the sun rose, Ryan had a quick response. “You can’t play and work at the same time,” the affable and hard-working Ryan said before departing Fasig-Tipton for the Keeneland sales grounds to look at horses for its Nov. 8-20 auction.

New Money Honey was bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm and was purchased by Ryan for $450,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September yearling sale. She is out of the Distorted Humor   mare Weekend Whim, a full sister to grade I winner and sire Any Given Saturday and a half sister to grade III winner Bohemian Lady.

New Money Honey is the 16th lifetime grade I winner for her sire, who will stand the 2017 breeding season at Darley’s Jonabell Farm division near Lexington for a fee of $150,000 live foal, stands and nurses.

“She was one of those horses that had a lot of quality, a lot of class, was well-raised, had the pedigree and sold really well,” said Taylor Made’s Mark Taylor about New Money Honey. “I didn’t specifically look at her as being a grass horse at all. I saw her as a dirt horse and at the end of the day she may be.”

While proud of selling another World Championships winner, Taylor was also complimentary of the breeder and agent who bought the filly.

“You have WinStar who is creating a great product for us to present and then you have somebody like Mike Ryan, who I have been showing horses to literally since I was 6 years old…” Taylor said. “Yesterday he was at our barn twice—out here working non-stop. I can’t say enough about Mike and how diligent he is. Every horse you bring out to show him, he gives them a chance. He doesn’t have any preconceived filters. He’s just a shrewd buyer.”