What's Going On Here : Sheikh Mohammed

Special Moments - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:19:00 GMT

The recent passing of Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winners Lil E. Tee and Alysheba and Well Armed’s major victory have caused memories to come flooding back, from the world’s richest race in Dubai to the world’s most famous race in Louisville, Ky. Not only that, but of publications worked for in a life of covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding.

My pick in the 1987 Derby was Bet Twice, who, had he finished first in the race, assuredly would not have been declared the winner. Bet Twice bumped Alysheba in the stretch and by all accounts would have been disqualified had Alysheba not gone on to win.

That night a large group from Daily Racing Form was discussing the race while settling down for dinner at a well-known Louisville restaurant. Another large table sat unoccupied a few feet away, but after just a few minutes, in walked the group that was to dine adjacent to us.

Leading the way was Alysheba’s trainer, Jack Van Berg, who was followed closely by Clarence, Dorothy, and Pam Scharbauer, the latter two the mother/daughter team that raced the son of Alydar. Ken Carson and Jay Pumphrey, who advised the Scharbauers, were also in the mix, and took pleasure in discussing the pedigree and recalling the Keene-land sale where the colt was purchased.

Winding up seated next to the winning connections of a Kentucky Derby winner makes for a special evening with special memories.

I have always considered myself the tiniest of footnotes in the story of the horse that won the Derby five years later. The Racing Times was short-lived, but a highlight for this editor was the day trainer Lynn Whiting called to inquire about obtaining the speed figure of a colt that just moments earlier had broken his maiden impressively at Calder Race Course.

“You should call Chuck Streva,” I told Whiting. “Chuck does his own speed figures.”

Whiting did call Streva, and did buy the colt. And about 20 minutes after Lil E. Tee won the 1992 Derby, Whiting had his hand outstretched and recalled that conversation seven months earlier.

I picked Lil E. Tee to win that day, but not just because I happened to answer the phone the day his trainer called seeking information. Rather because in a year in which the Derby seemed to be wide open, Lil E. Tee could not only put Whiting in the winner’s circle, but do the same for the jockey who had won more races than any other at the track, except for the feature race on the first Saturday in May.

As a longtime handicapper of the Kentucky circuit, I found it hard not to appreciate the talents of Pat Day. Watching him glide under the wire first on Lil E. Tee was another memorable occasion.

In March 2000, a trip for The Blood-Horse sent this writer across the world for the fifth running of the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I). A pair of friendly faces appeared in the desert in the form of Eoin and Kathy Harty, who showed me where to eat, where to shop, and where to sightsee.

Eoin Harty, formerly an assistant to Bob Baffert, was living in Dubai and working for Sheikh Mohammed, the man who conceived the race in his native land.

The day prior to the race, Sheikh Mohammed invited the media to a press conference where he sounded quite certain his colt Dubai Millennium would win the World Cup.

“This is a very special horse,” Sheikh Mohammed said. And, he was right.

Dubai Millennium toyed with his competition in the World Cup much the same way this year’s winner, Well Armed, did. Well Armed just happens to be trained by Eoin Harty, who now has a public stable based in Southern California.

This game leaves one with special memories.

Pass Play - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:45:00 GMT

Money doesn’t guarantee success in the horse business (or any other business, for that matter). Many have invested huge amounts in the industry, some with great success, yet others have realized only limited return on investment.

No one really knows which mating will work best, or which hip number in a sale will pan out to be the top runner.

But money doesn’t hurt, either.

Bob McNair is a billionaire, so he certainly qualified as having enough money to become a serious player in the Thoroughbred business.

Sadly, because the demands of running a professional football franchise are taking more and more of his time, McNair and his wife, Janice, have announced they are selling their Stonerside horses and farm to the richest man in the game, Sheikh Mohammed.

The McNairs bought their first horse, Southern Truce, in 1993, and in the ensuing 15 years, have bred more than 40 stakes winners solely or in partnership, including six grade/group I winners—Bob and John, Congaree, Country Star, Fusaichi Pegasus, No Matter What, and The Cliff’s Edge.

In addition to breeding grade I winners, the McNairs have experienced other highs in the game, from winner’s circles to sale rings. They raced 10 grade I winners, including champion Chilukki, and in partnership, classic winner Touch Gold. With Arthur Hancock III, they twice sold the highest-priced yearling, at the 1998 Keeneland July sale ($4-million Fusaichi Pegasus) and 2003 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale ($2.7-million War Cry).

Bob McNair had the money but not the expertise. For that, he primarily turned to two men: Hancock, who sold them the property adjacent to his Stone Farm that became the foundation for the McNairs’ Stonerside Farm; and John Adger, who managed the couple’s extensive breeding and racing operation and made the fortuitous decision in 1997 to purchase for them the 35 broodmares owned at the time by Elmendorf Farm.

That the McNairs’ 2,000-acre farm near Paris, Ky., training center in Aiken, S.C., approximately 80 horses in training, and 170 broodmares, yearlings, and weanlings were purchased as a package by Darley should come as no surprise. Only a few people have the resources to make such a purchase, and there was already a relationship between the two parties.

Early last year, the McNairs sold their 106-acre farm and training center adjacent to Saratoga racecourse to Darley for $17.4 million. The McNairs purchased the property from the estate of John Hay and Betsey Whitney in the late 1990s and never had horses on it, leasing the property before selling it.

Also last year, the McNairs sold an interest in their juvenile group winner Raven’s Pass to Darley. Raven’s Pass is by Elusive Quality, who stands at Darley, and Darley also stands E Dubai, bred in partnership by Stonerside and out of a full sister to the dam of Raven’s Pass.

This is the second such purchase by Sheikh Mohammed in 2008: he spent more than $400 million to buy the Ingham brothers’ Woodlands Stud operation in Australia that included farms, training centers, and more than 500 horses. No purchase price was released for the Stonerside package, but it is certainly on the same grand scale.

Bob McNair founded Cogen Technologies Energy Group, the largest privately owned cogeneration company in the United States, in 1994. He sold the company to Enron for $1.5 billion in 1999. He bought the NFL Houston Texans the same year for $700 million.

Money also does not guarantee success in major league sports, the largest payroll not always equating to the most trophies.

Under coach Dom Capers, the Texans went 18-46 from 2002 to 2005, after which Gary Kubiak was brought in as coach. He posted the team’s first .500-season last year, 8-8, after going 6-10 his first year at the helm.

Sales Sold - by Dan Liebman

Blood-Horse Staff — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:47:00 GMT

Few have the resources to do anything they want in the Thoroughbred industry. Sheikh Mohammed would be one of the exceptions.

The news of the last few weeks only further validates how much the ruler of Dubai not only loves the Thoroughbred industry, but desires to be its most dominant global player.

On March 24, news arrived that Sheikh Mohammed had closed a blockbuster deal in Australia, purchasing the Ingham brothers’ entire Woodlands Stud operation for approximately $425 million. The deal includes stud farms, training centers, stallions, and more than 500 horses of various ages.

Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley already owned farms and stood stallions in Australia, and Bob Ingham, head of his family’s Thoroughbred interests, said they were not looking to sell. “Once approached by Darley, I decided it was an opportunity I should accept,” Ingham said.

The Hettinger family, majority shareholders in Fasig-Tipton Co., were not actively looking to sell, either. But sell they did when a company controlled by “an associate” of Sheikh Mohammed came calling with an offer to buy the oldest Thoroughbred sale company in the United States.

The April 10 announcement said Synergy Investments, headed by Sheikh Mohammed’s friend Abdulla al Habbai, will purchase the assets in Fasig-Tipton, which conducts auctions in Kentucky, New York, Maryland, Florida, and Texas.

Last year, Sheikh Mohammed made headlines when he purchased Street Sense, Hard Spun, and Any Given Saturday to join the stallion ranks at his Darley near Lexington. Already this year, a deal was announced on Pyro, who will run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) despite a disappointing run in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (gr. I). He will become the farm’s 16th stallion.

When the breeding season begins in Australia this summer, Darley will control more than 30 stallions. Considering there are roughly 21,000 mares in Australia, it is conceivable Darley stallions could cover more than 20% of the mare population.

There are those who feel Sheikh Mohammed’s new determination to stand stallions is part of a rivalry with John Magnier and partners’ Coolmore Stud. And there are those who feel they are wasting their time, and stretching their frustration level, when bidding on a stallion Darley is interested in.

They may be right on both accounts. But this is a game where big deals are made all the time, and Sheikh Mohammed has the funds to make more of them than anyone else.

More interesting than spending freely on stallion prospects, however, is the move by Sheikh Mohammed’s associate to purchase Fasig-Tipton.

Fasig-Tipton grosses more annually than any sale company in the U.S. except for Keeneland, the same Keeneland where Sheikh Mohammed has spent hundreds of millions over the years in pursuit of top racehorses.

There is no reason to think Sheikh Mohammed will stop shopping at Keeneland, or any other sale company for that matter, but the landscape could certainly be different in the future. Coolmore avoiding Fasig-Tipton sales or a price war on commissions would be unsettling.

The announcement of the pending sale of Fasig-Tipton stated that the management team will be kept intact, which is good news. Anyone who has dealt with Boyd Browning, Walt Robertson, Bill Graves, Terence Collier, and the rest of the staff is aware this is a team that not only knows how to put on auctions, but is good to deal with on a personal level.

Also, competition is healthy. Keeneland pushes Fasig-Tipton, which pushes the Ocala Breeders’ Sale Co., which pushes Barretts, etc.

An infusion of new capital into Fasig-Tipton is good for the entire industry: breeders, owners, consignors, and buyers.

And if, as the release stated, the goal of recruiting new buyers is accomplished, the whole industry will benefit.