By Sid Fernando
Ben P. Walden Jr. does things on a smaller scale now. Once the master of Vinery during its stallion station heydays in the 1990s, and partner in Hurricane Hall from 2006 to mid-2009, Ben now runs the boutique-ish Pauls Mill on 265 acres in Versailles, Ky. Pauls Mill is home to three stallions: Bellamy Road, Artie Schiller, and US Ranger. The latter is a first-year horse, while the other two, who began their careers at Hurricane Hall, will have first crops racing this year. Both will be represented by 100-plus 2yos in 2010, which gives them an excellent chance to compete for the first-crop sire championship. Artie Schiller, in particular, will be watched closely by horsemen because he’s a G1-winning son of El Prado, who’s come up with two nice young sires in recent years in the elite Medaglia d’Oro and the surprising Kitten’s Joy. Will Artie be next?
Ben said today that Artie Schiller was booked full for 2010 with “around 120” mares, which illustrated just how bullish breeders are in the horse. Most young horses struggle to fill the dreaded fourth-year book, which is usually the year for wild deal making and smallish books. Artie’s advertised stud fee for 2010 is $15,000 live foal and no doubts deals were cut off it, but to put his full book in perspective consider that one of last year’s leading first-crop sires, Roman Ruler, had less than 40 mares presented to him in his fourth year.
Artie Schiller is a good-sized bay who did his racing on turf, like Kitten’s Joy, but was perhaps a little sharper than that rival. In fact, Kitten’s Joy defeated Artie Schiller (2nd) in the G3 $500,000 Virginia Derby over 10f, but over shorter trips of 8f to 9f Artie was at his best. At 4, he won the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile, the pinnacle of his career. The horse also won six other stakes races, including many G2 and G3 races at 8f and 9f. He was well developed enough at 2 to win a Belmont maiden special on turf at 6f and an allowance on turf at 8f; also, he was stakes placed at 2, too. All told, he won 10 of 22 starts, placed an additional 8 times, and earned $2,088,853. By any measure, he was a distinguished racehorse, and in this regard he is much like Medaglia d’Oro, Kitten’s Joy, and Borrego — another G1 winner by El Prado whose first crop will race in 2010.
Artie Schiller is out of G1 winner Hidden Light, a daughter of Majestic Light. This is a family that Howard B. Keck developed at Claiborne Farm and its members include Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand. Both Artie Schiller and Ferdinand trace in tail-female to the Dark Star mare Legato –Artie’s 3rd dam and Ferdinand’s 2nd. This family, known for its stamina — Hidden Light’s brother Prince True won the G1 San Juan Capistrano over 14f — has been dispersed around the world, and its representatives include high-class stakes winners in such places as Japan, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
On pedigree, Artie Schiller is an “outcross” through four generations — a rarity these days — and should suit a wide swath of the broodmare population. He is a member of a branch of the Sadler’s Wells line that has made inroads in North America, and he has an excellent chance to continue the trend.
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