by Debbie Little

Even though they started out with pacers, it was trotters that brought fame to Cane Run Farm. The historic Georgetown, KY, farm established in 1982 is co-managed by Elizabeth Caldwell, a third-generation horsewoman descended from the Van Lenneps of Castleton fame.

“We had Nan’s Catch and we bred Moni Maker, so that kind of put us on the map as a trotting farm and we’re kind of stuck with that,” Caldwell said. “And then with Danae, we bred Propulsion and we had Bar Slide that we owned. She won the Oaks.”

With that sort of a history, it is perhaps no surprise that all 15 yearlings in this year’s Cane Run consignment at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale are trotters.

“It seems to be a pretty good group this year,” Caldwell said. “I’m happy with all of them physically. They’re pretty correct overall and they all had good videos, so that’s something to be happy about.

“And, obviously the two headliners on Day 1, [Hip #27] Wukong, his brother’s been pretty active this year racing, Winner’s Bet [recent winner of the $200,000 Caesars Trotting Classic]. So, that’s exciting that we have a three-quarter brother to him to sell and the Muscle Hill filly [Hip #87 Calyx], she’s nice too.”

Calyx is a daughter of the Donato Hanover mare Creature Of Habit.

“It’s a nice group Day 1 and 2,” she said. “They’re all pretty good horses that could be interchangeable and we have good horses on every day [1 through 4], so that’s nice.

“I think it is good to have nice horses each day because not everyone can afford a Day 1 or 2 horse, but they could still get a nice racehorse. Like, Oasis Dream or the Fortunes Of Fables [both with foal on Day 4]. Those mares have produced several racehorses that have won quite a bit of money, but maybe just aren’t like Grand Circuit type horses that they’ve had so far.

“So, we keep hoping for a big one out of both of them. But that’s kind of how they end up further back in the catalog. So, they have the back pedigree, but, they don’t give them a whole lot of chances if they don’t hit right away.”

Hip #609 Sliders is the colt out of Oasis Dream that’s selling on Day 4.

“He had a nice video but he might not bring a whole lot of money,” she said. “He’s by Tactical Landing, so he’s nicely gaited, has a good attitude and everything. He’s just kind of immature a little bit being a May foal, but videoed really well. So that was good.

“And there’s a nice Muscle Hill colt also on that same day [Hip #770 Underground]. I think he’s the last one to go through the ring for us.

“And we’re selling our last Cantab Hall foal that we have that we bred Fly Thru Time is [Hip #] 748.”

Caldwell said she’s excited about the Gimpanzees, which is a good thing since they comprise a third of her consignment.

“I think that he’s shown enough so far [as a sire],” she said. “I think they’ve done well from such a small crop of horses to be out there racing. I think we have five we’re selling.”

On Day 3, Caldwell mentioned Hip #392 Grace In Heaven a daughter of Chapter Seven out of the Muscle Hill mare Oblivion who is New York eligible.

“They usually sell really well, and it’s so hard to get to Chapter Seven and get a foal and she’s a nice size, she’s not small,” Caldwell said. “Some of them can be a little small, but she’s a nice individual.

“She’s been popular. I think people are interested for the program obviously, and she’s a nice looking individual too, so she kind of ticks all the boxes. So far, we’re going in the right direction there and hopefully she’ll sell well for her owner and they’ll be happy, but she looks good and I think that program is exciting.

“It’s so strong and it keeps getting stronger each year and they’re adding more money. She’s not dual eligible, but she doesn’t really need to be I don’t think. If that program kinda stays like it does, she should be fine.”

Caldwell also has a soft spot for Hip #337 Football Is Life a Gimpanzee colt out of Habit’s Best that she said is the Americanized version of Ted Lasso’s Futbol is Life.

“She’s getting older so we retired her, that was her last foal and we were hoping it would be a filly, but it’s a colt, so he’s in the sale,” Caldwell said with laugh. “We own a half-sister [Creature Of Habit] to him that we’re selling a foal out of her on Day 1. So that’s fine.

“It’s just been fun watching [Football Is Life] grow up to see how he’ll end up being for somebody and hopefully he gets a good home.”

When asked if she thought that there would once again be a strong sale in Lexington, Caldwell was cautiously optimistic.

“Well, you never know with the economy, but it seems like there’s a lot of money out there that people have to spend and we kind of try to base our sale based on how Keeneland’s going and their book one, book two have been really strong,” Caldwell said. “I think they had the highest price colt they’ve had since, I don’t know, 2006, maybe. So, yeah, it was a $5 million yearling. So somebody wanted that one for a lot of money.

“The catalog is very strong, so I think the buyers are going to be there and looking to be spending money and hopefully everything will line up and that will continue.”