Thoroughbred pedigree expert and columnist Sid Fernando has a front-page story in the July 6th edition of Thoroughbred Daily News on the influence of the Phipps family’s breeding program.
He writes about the success that horses from Phipps female families are having this year, noting that “[t]hrough Saturday, there were 225 graded races contested… [T]he winners of 20, or almost 9%, descend from families developed or bred by the Phippses. That’s significant influence.“
Detailing how such widespread influence has occurred at the highest levels of racing, Mr. Fernando writes “The Phippses emphasized quality over quantity and developed a limited number of deep families from mares they’d acquired, and through the years there have been many beneficiaries of Phipps breeding who got into these families as the principals culled them. These families have given past and present breeders a deep foundation on which to build upon and create their own top-class horses, and that is one of the important legacies of the Phippses.“
Dynamic One lived up to his name in the $200,000 Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 4th, earning his second career stakes victory and setting him up for a major Breeders’ Cup prep race in either the G2 Stephen S. Foster at Churchill or the G2 Suburban Stakes at Belmont Park.
Covering a mile and an eighth over the dirt, he was settled off the pace by jockey Tyler Gaffalione. He went to the four path around the far turn and inched closer to the leader before spinning five wide into the stretch. He took the lead in the final furlong to win by a length.
Dynamic One’s previous stakes win came in 2021 in the $120,000 Curlin Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. His career earnings now total $479,950.
The four-year-old Union Rags colt has finished on the board in three graded stakes races. As a three-year-old, he was a close runner-up in the G2 Wood Memorial in April at Aqueduct. As a four-year-old, he took third in the G3 Challenger Stakes in March at Tampa and second in the G3 Ben Ali Stakes in April at Keeneland.
Bred by Phipps Stable, Dynamic One was purchased by Repole Stable and St. Elias Sable for $725,000 at the Keeneland 2019 September Yearling Sale. After the purchase, Phipps Stable accepted an offer to buy back into him and join his new owners as partners.
Dynamic One comes from one of the most elite families in the sales book, including second, third, and fourth dams Storm Flag Flying, My Flag, and Personal Ensign, all Breeders’ Cup champions bred and owned by the Phipps family.
Photo: Breeder and co-owner Daisy Phipps Pulito in the Churchill Downs winners’ circle with Blame Stakes winner Dynamic One and jockey Tyler Gaffalione.
The Phipps broodmare band has resided at the Hancock family’s Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky for generations, producing champions, classic winners, and dozens of Grade 1 winners. The band includes 20 well-bred mares, producing some of the most sought-after bloodlines in Thoroughbred racing. Below are photos of some of the beautiful foals born this year.
Phipps Stable had a strong racing year in 2021, with four stakes wins (two graded) and total earnings of $1.37 million (including partnership-owned horses), an amount that ranks among the top 50 earnings among owners in North America. From 68 starts, the stable’s win rate was 22 percent and 47 percent of finishes were among the top three.
The stable’s graded stakes wins included four-year-old colt Performer capturing the G3 Fred W. Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park and four-year-old filly Vigilantes Way winning the G3 Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth. Phipps Stable also won two non-graded stakes, with three-year-old colt Dynamic One, owned in partnership with Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, winning the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga and Vigilantes Way winning the Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth.
Stakes-placed honors were earned by four-year-old colt Dreams of Tomorrow who finished third in the Henry S. Clark Stakes at Pimlico. Also, Dynamic One, a Kentucky Derby contender, finished second in the G2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct and Vigilantes Way took second in the G3 Gallorette Stakes and third in the Dahlia Stakes, both a Pimlico.
Horses in training sired by Phipps-bred stallions or out of Phipps-bred broodmares did well on the track in 2021, winning an impressive 34 stakes races, 11 of which were graded and one a Grade 1. The graded stakes wins included the following:
G1 Bruce D Stakes (3/c Point Me By, by Point of Entry)
G2 Appalachian S. (3/f Jouster, o/o dam Playtime, granddam Storm Flag Flying)
G2 San Clemente S. (3/f Madone, o/o Indian Love Call, granddam Mood Music)
G3 Discovery S. (3/c Miles D, o/o Sound the Trumpets, granddam My Flag)
G3 Eatontown S. (4/f Vigilantes Way, o/o Salute, granddam Personal Ensign)
G3 Fred W. Hooper S. (4/c Performer, o/o Protesting, granddam On Parade)
G3 Louisiana S. (6/h Title Ready, o/o Title Seeker, granddam Personal Ensign)
G3 Matchmaker S. (5/m Great Island, o/o Voyage, granddam Matlacha Pass)
G3 Noble Damsel S (5/f Shifty She, by Gone Astray)
G3 Singspiel S. (6/g Corelli, by Point of Entry)
G3 Suwannee River S. (5/m Great Island, o/o Voyage, granddam Matlacha Pass)
In the sales ring, seven Phipps-bred broodmares were offered, with six of them selling for a gross of $5,997,000 (ranking third in North America among breeders), an average of $999,500 each. The Keeneland November breeding stock sale saw previously sold Phipps-bred broodmare Magical World and her three-time Grade 1-winning daughter Guarana, both covered by Into Mischief, selling for $5.2 million and $4.4 million respectively.
95 years after Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother Ogden Mills established Wheatley Stable, the Phipps family’s private breeding and racing stable continues operating among the highest levels in thoroughbred racing.
Photo: Phipps Stable’s homebred five-year-old multiple graded-stakes winner Performer after winning the G3 Fred W. Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park.
