In 2009 Jay Hanley watched Zenyatta streak across the finish line in the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park, then turned to his buddies and remarked, "Can you imagine being an owner on this stage?"
If a runner named Lady Eli continues her progress as planned, 43-year-old Hanley will come full circle back to Santa Anita on Oct. 31 when he is represented by his first Breeders' Cup starter in the Juvenile Fillies Turf (gr. IT).
"Frankly it feels amazing, to have come this far so quickly," the owner remarked. "It's unbelievable."
Hanley, a Nantucket-based general contractor and real estate developer with a strong professional background in finance, owns 2-year-old Lady Eli in partnership with three friends racing under Sheep Pond Partners, a stable named after an area in Nantucket. The partners own a handful of runners together and some with Michael Dubb, but "the only one that's really running and killing it right now is Lady Eli," Hanley said.
A three-length winner of the Sept. 28 Miss Grillo Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Belmont Park, Lady Eli aced her Aug. 25 debut for trainer Chad Brown with a gutsy effort in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course, pushing her way through horses when seemingly trapped in the stretch and getting to the wire just in time. The 2-year-old Divine Park filly then stepped up in class and cleared her rivals in style to remain undefeated last time out.
"She was training up to her first race in Saratoga lights out, so we had very high hopes for her—even the layperson could watch her train and see she was training better than other horses there," Hanley said. "When she finally got through in her debut, she did she showed her turn of foot and we saw in that last 100 yards what we were seeing in the morning. We knew going into the Miss Grillo that she had that kind of turn of foot, which is very rare—really extraordinary. As long as she stays healthy between now and the Breeders' Cup, we really like our chances."
Lady Eli was a $160,000 purchase by Hanley from the Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in training this year when consigned by Eddie Woods. She had been pinhooked by Bradley Thoroughbreds for the same amount from Runnymede at the 2013 Keeneland September sale.Photo: Coglianese Photos
Lady Eli.
"Pete Bradley was savvy enough to find her as a yearling, and then it was a team effort to find her at the 2-year-old sale," Hanley said. "She comes from a really good female line on the Runnymede side."
The dark bay runner is out of the homebred Saint Ballado mare Sacre Coeur, who is also the dam of grade III winner Bizzy Caroline. A Blame half sister to Lady Eli sold for $360,000 to Pegasus Farm and Herve Barjot at the recent Keeneland September sale and is headed to France. Sacre Coeur also has a weanling Ghostzapper colt. The 14-year-old mare is empty for 2015.
Lady Eli was always quite an independent sort, even as a youngster growing up on the rolling hills of Catesby Clay's Runnymede Farm.
"My daughter and I were just talking about it," said Martin O'Dowd, former vice president and general manager for Runnymede Farm. "She was very independent, but also easy to live with. She was a big, strong filly. As a yearling she was agreeable prepping for the sale; she came out and did what you asked her to do and was very willing and well-behaved. She always had a kind of seriousness about her; she never balked at anything."
Photo: Sherry O'Dowd
Lady Eli as a foal.
Even those who knew her back when are rooting for the striking runner as she heads to the Oct. 31 Juvenile Fillies Turf.
"I've done everything but ride her myself," O'Dowd said of watching Lady Eli's first two races. "She's been very, very exciting. The first race she ran in, she behaved like a very mature filly. What she did was wonderful, like a filly that had run several times. She was very brave and did what was asked of her. The second race, I was so excited. She was going around there in the pack and just had her head down, just bobbing along, and then when he moved her out and asked her to go she just literally took off.
"Those were two very exciting starts to watch, and I think she's going to be tough in the next one as well."
For Hanley, his first Breeders' Cup starter will continue a journey begun as a child at Saratoga, when his grandfather Neil Boucher used to take him to the track.
"He taught me everything from the handicapping angle—I remember how passionate he was about the sport—and then my parents were the same way," Hanley said. "We weren't ever in a position to be owners, so when I got to the point where I could, I bought a little New York-bred filly."
That filly, Wild Grace, was an $85,000 purchase from the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale. She won two races for Hanley Stables when the family was grieving.
"My mother was dying and I got the horse for my dad, basically, just to make sure he had something to do," Hanley said. "Chad had trained her mother, Gracious Living, when he worked for Bobby Frankel. He took her on and we've grown a lot from there. We own about 16 in part or completely."
According to Hanley, the reality of a Breeders' Cup bid is finally beginning to sink in as the World Championships get closer.
"We're just so excited and, if she's actually able to run her race, we're very hopeful," he said.
