Cameo Hills looks to build on 2024 Lexington success
by James Platz
Last fall, Cameo Hills Farm ranked third in sale average among Lexington consignors, selling 32 yearlings for an average of $112,469. Farm owner Steve Jones believes the Montgomery, NY breeding operation can build upon that success with an expanded consignment. This year, the Cameo Hills roster features 44 babies.
“We’ve got a pretty sizable consignment and a pretty strong consignment,” said Jones. “We had 13 agent horses last year and we had 19 that were farm owned, and I think those 19 averaged $157,000 and change, and I think we’ll do that again.”
Of the 44 consigned, 26 are owned by the farm, and this year’s offering includes first foals from a trio of trotting mares Cameo Hills purchased to bolster their broodmare ranks. The nursery added Dan Patch and O’Brien Award winner Venerable, winner of the 2021 Mohawk Million, Jim Doherty Memorial and Peaceful Way. The farm also added Brickhouse Babe and Delilah Hanover, runner-up and third-place finisher in that same contest.
“We’re bringing the first foals of all three of those fillies to the sale this year,” Jones said. “So, they’re all tremendous pedigrees and beautiful individuals. So we’ve got a bunch of pretty nice trotting pages. They’re not hard to get as long as you don’t mind paying a lot of money for the broodmares and we’ve done that and got those to sell.”
Nearly a third of the Cameo Hills consignment will pass through the sales ring Monday night (Sept. 29). Cataloging 12 in the first session is unprecedented for the farm, and Jones explained that the opening session can be tough if you don’t have the right yearling.
“That is more than we normally have on the first day, of course the sale company makes that decision,” Jones said. “I’m usually more concerned about first day instead of being excited to be on first day. If you’re not putting the right horses on Day 1, it’s usually the wrong place to be. If it’s an okay horse, those buyers really aren’t looking yet, and if it’s an okay horse the guys that are wanting to spend a fortune aren’t interested in it. But I do think we’ve got horses on Day 1 that deserve to be there. We should have a busy first night, I’ll put it that way.”
Valorous, the first foal from Venerable, is cataloged as Hip #50. The New Jersey eligible colt is by Alrajah One IT out of the aforementioned millionaire mare. Second dam Jolene Jolene has produced top talent including Crucial, dam of last season’s top freshman trotting colt Maryland.
“[Valorous is] beautiful and it’s a great page,” Jones said.
Delilah Hanover’s first foal will sell as Hip #60. Day One Dandy is a Walner filly from the graded stakes winner.
“Pretty much all the fillies from that page were nice horses, are nice horses,” Jones said. “Delaney Hanover’s a very good 3-year-old and Darlene Hanover won the Jim Doherty, so that’s a desirable page. I mean Delilah herself was the highest price yearling sold the year they had the sale at Timonium. Delilah Hanover was a $440,000 yearling.”
Brickhouse Babe’s first foal, Slave To Fashion, sells on Tuesday. The Pennsylvania eligible Greenshoe filly is cataloged as Hip #220 and will enter the sale ring closer to the midway point of the second session.
“That’s a very nice filly, but the market is off Greenshoe a little bit so she sells second night,” he said.
Joining Valorous on Monday night are a pair of trotting colts that Jones highlighted. Hip #27 Tony Pro is a son of Chapter Seven out Check Out Trixie. The New York eligible colt is a full brother to graded stakes winner Instagram Model 2, 1:53; BT1:51 ($548,086). The other is Hip #51 Free Scottie. The Walner colt is the second foal and first colt from graded stakes winner You Ato Dream.
“If you’re asking me my strength, certainly opening night would be those three trotting colts,” Jones said. “They kind of jumped out at me, and we’ve also got trotting fillies the first night. We’ve got the Walner filly out of Check Me Out.”
Temple Of Trot, Hip #59, is out of two-time Dan Patch Award winner, Check Me Out, dam of Dan Patch 2-year-old champion King Of The North.
“The Check Me Out filly is a beautiful filly,” Jones said. “The fillies out of that mare have already produced. Check Me Out has a daughter named I’m Really Special, she’s only got two foals of racing age and they’re both pretty good horses. So, I think you know from a bloodlines point of view that that page couldn’t really be much better.”
A few other notable trotters from the Cameo Hills consignment include Fly Like A Dove and Dave The Bartender. Fly Like A Dove, Hip #79, is a Chapter Seven first foal from Bluebird Dove, world champion on a half-mile track. The filly is New York eligible. Dave The Bartender, Hip #101, is a Chapter Seven colt from Image Of Bee, dam of NYSS final winner AI 2, 1:56.3h-’25 ($333,716).
Jones said he is bullish on a couple of yearlings Cameo Hills is consigning for Hot Lead Farm, as well as six from the second crop of Bulldog Hanover. Of note are Hip #14 Sky Blue Lou, selling on Day 1, and Beachside Caroline, Hip #141, which will sell early on Day 2. Sky Blue Lou is a Captaintreacherous colt and second foal from Sweet Lucy Lou. Beachside Caroline is a Papi Rob Hanover filly from Shady Caroline.
“I think those will sell well,” Jones said.
Money Carlo leads the Bulldog Hanover contingent. Cataloged as Hip #84, the filly is out of Shes Some Treasure, a 100-per cent producing sister to the great Captaintreacherous.
“She’s a beautiful filly with a lot of pedigree,” Jones said. “I think that that filly could do very well for us, and I think that Bulldog has done well enough. The Bulldogs are nice looking horses for sure.”
