Time for NY Breeders to Repent!

By Jack Werk

Well, I’m back in the office after a week in Kentucky at the sales and I’m ready to write again! Scanning through the stakes results this weekend, I noticed that Repent had two stakes winners, which is timely for him because it was just announced last week that the son of Louis Quatorze was moving from Kentucky to New York to stand for $5,000 at the ever-expanding Empire Stud. Repent is, in my opinion, a very underrated young sire. Breeders in New York should do well with this horse, just as breeders did in Florida where Repent began his career at stud. This year he stood his one and only season in Kentucky, but he probably didn’t get the recognition that he deserved because this wasn’t a normal year with the financial crisis and other problems — like no slots — plaguing Kentucky.

Repent’s move to Kentucky was understandable. He had done well in Florida, and in 2008 his first crop of 3yos were running really well. In fact, he had four legitimate Triple Crown candidates, headed by Crown of Thorns (more on him later!) and Atoned – both Graded SWs! And he had done all this on a $5,000 stud fee in Florida!

Besides the early success, another reason why Repent was brought to Kentucky this year was for his race record and the quality of company he kept. At 2, Repent had won the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and the G3 Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes. That same year, he was also 2nd to Johannesburg in the 2001 G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile!

The next year, he was on the Triple Crown trail himself before he got hurt as a one-time Derby favorite. He won the G2 Louisiana Derby (worth $750,000 that year!) and the G3 Risen Star Stakes but was 2nd by 6¼ lengths in the G2 Illinois Derby to War Emblem. It turned out he had a chip in a knee! War Emblem, of course, won the Kentucky Derby that year! Repent came back after surgery for the chip to run 2nd in the G1 Travers to Medaglia d’Oro by only a ½ length, and that was without prep since the Illinois Derby! He then was wheeled back in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup but injured a tendon when unplaced and was retired to stud with a record of 5 wins from 10 starts and $1,255,660 in earnings.

Although he’s a grand-looking individual who sold for $230,000 as a Fasig-Tipton July yearling, Repent is a son of Louis Quatorze out of an Argentinean family. Without a G1 win to his credit, he just didn’t fit as a stallion in Kentucky, so he started out at $5,000 in Florida at Cloverleaf Farm but came out strong with his first crop of runners which included 6 unrestricted SWs from 77 named foals. That punched his ticket to Kentucky.

He got the aforementioned Crown of Thorns from his first crop. Crown of Thorns was unplaced in his only start at 2, but broke his maiden on Jan. 1, 2008, at Santa Anita in spectacular fashion. The Richard Mandella-trained colt won a 7-furlong MSW by 7 lengths and immediately became a “talking horse” for the classics off one win! Well, he backed it up in his next start when he took the G2 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita by 2½ lengths at 1 1/16 miles. Now he was 2 for 3, a G2 winner, and considered at the time one of the top classic candidates on the West Coast! But just like his sire, he got hurt and missed the rest of his 3-year-old season, which was really unfortunate for Repent.

But Repent did have three other classic contenders at the time, too. They were: Atoned, now a G3 winner but 2nd in the G3 Tampa Bay Derby at the time and 2nd at 2 in the G2 Remsen Stakes; Check it Twice, winner of the What a Pleasure Stakes; and SW Prince Cortez. None of them actually made the Kentucky Derby, either.

So, Repent went from looking like he was going to have a huge year, to having a very good but unfortunate year with his first crop.

Because of this, Repent’s stud fee in 2010 will be the same as it was in Florida when he entered stud, which is really great value for what he done to date: 9 stakes winners (7 unrestricted) from 3 crops to race through 2009 and national ranking on the Third-Crop sire list.

Repent’s runners win at 2, they run on all surfaces, they are effective at all distances, and they can stay as far as 1½ miles in stakes company.

Remember Crown of Thorns? Two weeks ago at the Breeders’ Cup, he was beaten only a nose in the G1 sprint on Pro Ride! Just like Repent, Crown of Thorns has been thrown right into the deep end in his comeback campaign. Before the BC, he was 3rd in an allowance sprint at Del Mar, then 2nd to Gayego in the G1 Ancient Title at Santa Anita at 6f. Then, the BC Sprint! I think he’ll be a major sprinter in 2010, and that will keep his sire’s name in the spotlight. So will the two stakes winners from this weekend: the 3yo Repent filly Sweet Repent, who won the $200,000 Elmer Heubeck Distaff H. at Calder against Florida-breds; and the 2yo Beijin, who won the $50,000 Donna Freyer S. at Philadelphia Park for Pa-breds.

The Repents should do very well in the restricted program in New York and I believe he’ll finally be the monster sire he once promised to be in the Empire State, but his sons and daughters won’t be limited to races for New York-breds, judging by the quality of horses such as Crown of Thorns.