Myron Bell and Tony Alagna have done everything they can to set Captaintreacherous up to be a successful sire. With the stallion’s first crop now on the track we will know very soon if their efforts were successful.

by Dave Briggs

Myron Bell has done everything he can to try to ensure Captaintreacherous will be a successful stallion. Now that the stallion’s first crop of 2-year-olds are being prepped for their rookie campaigns, Bell is convinced The Captain’s prowess will show itself on the track.

“I’m prejudiced, but if he’s not a stallion, then I’m going to be working for you delivering your newsletter,” Bell said Friday on The Deck at Sunshine Meadows Training Center in Florida.

“We have confidence because we put him in a position to be successful. We have a great syndicate behind him and we kept the stud fee at a very modest $15,000 so people could breed to him for four years.

“I spoke to numerous trainers and everybody seems to love theirs, but Tony (Alagna) has 18 of them here, 11 colts and seven fillies. I’ve got eight, seven colts and one filly. Let’s just say, we wouldn’t give them up right now… they are pretty precocious.”

Alagna, who trained Captaintreacherous, said he is conditioning 35 rookies at the Sunshine Meadows in Florida and more than half of them are by Captaintreacherous.

“I have 18,” Alagna said. “I really like the American Jewel colt (named U S Captain). I really like the colt out of Fresh Idea (named Shipshape), a filly out of Bodacious Hanover (named Key West), a filly out of Apogee Hanover (named Odds On Clearwater) and a filly out of Take Into Account (Tall Drink Hanover).

“They all have a lot of (Captaintreacherous’) traits. They are laid back, but they are very willing of their work. So far, I’ve been very pleased with them. They have a good work ethic and they don’t get their feelings hurt. They like their job and so far they’ve been solid.”

Bell said Captaintreacherous has been fortunate to have been bred to a long list of talented mares.

“I believe in first-crop sires if they were bred to the right mares and he has… If we would’ve bred those mares to Old Shep we would’ve been okay, but these mares got to Captain, who we feel is going to be an outstanding stallion. He reminds me more of Artsplace than he does Somebeachsomewhere, in his temperament and demeanor. I think he’s going to be very successful,” Bell said.

“Don’t forget that he sold 20 $100,000 yearlings in his first crop. Twenty.”

Alagna also has a few progeny of other first-crop sires in his barn.

“I’ve got a really nice Sweet Lou filly. She just happens to be out of a sister to Captain, so I bought her more so for that, but I’m glad I’ve got a first crop Sweet Lou as well. I like her a lot,” he said. “And then I’ve got three Trixton colts I really like. I didn’t get any Father Patricks bought, I just couldn’t find one I could buy. I was the underbidder on the expensive colt out of Designed To Be, so we bought three Trixtons and they are training well.”

Alagna, who some 80 total horses under his care, also has a number of promising 3-year-olds training back, including the O’Brien Award-winning 2-year-old pacing colt of the year Stay Hungry (Somebeachsomewhere—My Little Dragon) and a fellow sophomore pacing colt named American History (American Ideal—Perfect Touch).

“American History was probably our best trainer down here (last year),” Alagna said, “but he got sore and needed some time. Just immature in the back ankles and we had to wait on him and when he come he made huge steps late in the year from where he came from.

“I think they are both going to be very, very useful horses. I think that either of them could switch back and forth at any time. Stay Hungry’s got the more impressive resume and he’s done it, been there done that, so it’s just a matter of how they both come back and how things shape up.”

Alagna said he’s also happy, so far, with sophomores Babes Dig Me (Somebeachsomewhere—Western Babe), Western Ideal—Worldly Deo colt Odds On Lauderdale and Captaintreacherous’ full-sister, Odds On Stephanie (Somebeachsomewhere—Worldly Treasure).

“We raced her one time at Lexington last year and she paced in :53, but just wasn’t as good as I wanted her to be after that race so we sent her for a nuclear scan and she had some spots that lit up on her and we just shut her down. She’s training back very well and I expect good things out of her,” Alagna said.