US Turf Stars
Leading US stallion farms Claiborne and Mill Ridge are always keen to stand stallions who get performers who run on the “lawn” – both have established Turf sires on their rosters, as well as recent new additions
Walker Hancock from Claiborne and Headley Bell of Mill Ridge chat with James Thomas
WEATHERBYS STALLION SCENE
A CULTURAL SHIFT appears to be underway in the US. While top-class Dirt contests such as the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup Classic still, and in all likelihood always will, loom large over the sport, Turf racing is undoubtedly growing in significance.
And, in plenty of instances, the grass really is greener, as a broadening portfolio of races now offer colossal purses.
Nowhere was this more obvious than at Kentucky Downs this year when the European-style Turf-only track hosted its most lucrative meeting ever. The seven-day extravaganza saw prize-money of $41.7 million up for grabs, with substantial bonuses on offer for Kentucky-bred winners.
The highlight was the $3.5m Nashville Derby Invitational. Only one three-year-old only race in the country has a higher purse; the $5m Kentucky Derby.
The home team ultimately came away from the centrepiece event empty handed after trainer James Owen shipped Wimbledon Hawkeye from Newmarket and legged up Frankie Dettori.
The British-bred son of Kameko prevailed by a head.
While American owners and trainers might not have kept the Nashville Derby silverware on home soil, they could still have been encouraged that the winner was sired by a son of their own Kitten’s Joy, a dual champion sire in the US and a six-time leading Turf stallion to boot.
“I think people are starting to become more accustomed to having a Turf horse because there’s so many horses running on that surface now and the purses are so big,” says Walker Hancock, president of Claiborne Farm.
Walker Hancock of Claiborne
Walker Hancock of Claiborne
“When they go to buy horses, people are still primarily seeking out Dirt runners, but I think we’ve come to a point in time where everyone is at least happy to have a Turf horse. In the past, it was almost a dreadful thing to have a bunch of Turf horses. Now we just have to get them to where they actually want to breed one, too. And that’s been a challenge thus far.”
Look no further than Oscar Performance for a Turf specialist
Ramsey Farm’s Kitten’s Joy and English Channel, who stood at Calumet Farm, were champion US Turf sires on multiple occasions, and the search has been on for a stallion to fill the void left by their passing.
Taylor Made Farm’s young gun Not This Time heads this year’s Turf sires’ list by progeny earnings, but has proved equally adept at throwing Dirt runners as well. Instead, those on the lookout for a specialist Turf stallion need look no further than Oscar Performance.
Headley and Price Bell of Mill Ridge Farm
Headley and Price Bell of Mill Ridge Farm
The son of Kitten’s Joy retired to Mill Ridge Farm in 2019 after winning four Grade 1s, namely the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at two, the Belmont Derby and Secretariat Stakes at three, and the Woodbine Mile at four.
He has emerged as a shining light among the US Turf ranks, siring 31 stakes performers with his first four crops of racing age. These include the Grade 1 winners Trikari (Belmont Derby) and World Beater (Saratoga Derby), who have helped their sire’s fee rise from a third year low of $12,500 to $60,000 for 2026.
Oscar Performance’s highest-priced yearling at this year’s Keeneland September Sale rang the bell at $500,000. The youngster, who was signed for by Belladonna Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing, was bred off a fee
of just $20,000.
“We’ve never been shy about standing a horse who we believe in,” says Mill Ridge’s managing partner Headley Bell. “We believed in Oscar Performance and we suggested to the Amermans [Jerry and John, owner-breeders of Oscar Performance] that they keep half the horse and we’d try to syndicate the other half.
“We were fortunate that we found some foundation breeders to do that, including two Eclipse Award winners in John Gunther and George Strawbridge.
“But, truly, it’s all about the horse being able to do it because he’s really been able to move his mares up, and that’s the best signal that you can have.
“We pushed that boulder up the hill and now Oscar Performance is on the other side, and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Changing the viewpoint
The success of a horse such as Oscar Performance has the potential to influence the US commercial market’s “herd mentality” when it comes to the appeal of domestic Turf breeding.
“It feels like the commercial side, the first-year sires, these things are so emphatic today,” says Bell. “It just takes somebody to lead, or to give people an example to follow, that can sway opinion.
“Those that are willing to step out, they’ve been rewarded in that process by a horse such as Oscar Performance.
“Shares have gone from $75,000 to $700,000, his fee has gone from $20,000 to $60,000, and he’s full at that.”
Moreover, Mill Ridge doubled down on their Turf position by adding Casa Creed to the roster in 2025. The son of Jimmy Creed won nine races over seven seasons in training. He also ran in four consecutive renewals of the Grade 1 Fourstardave Stakes, winning back-to-back editions in 2022 and 2023. He also doubled up in the Grade 1 Jaipur Stakes in 2021 and 2022.
Oscar Performance
Oscar Performance
“He showed up every time he ran and was never x-rayed in seven years,” says Bell. “That’s what you’re looking for. I think the reaction has been fair.
“We had 65 mares the first year, that’s a little less than you’d like, but I believe we’ll have 60 in the second year too.
“I think this trend of awareness about Turf racing will be such that people will say, ‘Hey, for that kind of money, with those kinds of credentials, and with that kind of opportunity, it makes sense.’”
Bell’s sentiments about overcoming the challenge of convincing the commercial market are echoed by Hancock.
“These pinhookers, yearling buyers, the folks working the two-year-old sales, you can’t tell people to buy these Turf horses, it has to naturally occur,” he says. “I think we’d like the change to be a little faster than it has been, but it does seem like it’s slowly catching on.
“It’s just a matter of time before one of the tracks implements the Turf course as their main course, as opposed to the Dirt. And if so many of these racetracks weren’t also training centres, I think you’d already see that shift because it’s more competitive racing on the Turf”
Hancock is among the stallion masters who have put their money where their mouth is when it comes to Turf breeding, as Johannes has been added to the Claiborne roster for 2026. The son of Nyquist won nine races on Turf, including six in Graded company.
His career highlight came when winning the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile, while he also ran a close second in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Mile.
“We’re pleased with the reception he’s had,” says Hancock. “I think having a Dirt page, being by a Dirt horse in Nyquist, people are a lot more willing to breed to those types than say, a Turf horse that’s by Dubawi.
“We had Demarchelier, by a European stallion and from a European pedigree, and we kind of struggled with him.
“Whereas Johannes is by Nyquist and out of a Congrats mare, so it’s a Dirt, American-oriented family.”
Finding the commercial price point
Johannes’ fee has been set at $10,000, a price point that Hancock says reflects the commercial challenges of introducing Turf stallions to the US.
“Buying Turf horses to stand as stallions in the States is still difficult because the commercial market can be hesitant to breed to them,” he says.
“They’d rather breed to a fast Dirt horse as opposed to a multiple Grade 1-winning stallion on Turf. It’s a little unfair, but that’s the market climate.
“We’re hoping Johannes is going to be popular. If he’d been running on Dirt, he’d be standing for $25,000. As it is, he’s standing for $10,000 because he’s a Turf horse. If we could get 150 mares to him we’d be thrilled.”
Results from Europe this year served a timely reminder that, with the right mare, even out-and-out Dirt runners are more than capable of siring horses that perform on grass.
Ashford Stud’s Justify, the US Triple Crown-winning son of Scat Daddy, came up with the 2,000 Guineas winner Ruling Court, while Coolmore’s homebred Scandinavia landed the Goodwood Cup and St Leger.
Justify has, of course, also sired a Derby winner in City Of Troy.
Claiborne resident Blame also sired this year’s Preis von Europa winner,
the Aga Khan homebred Sibayan. Although Blame famously defeated Zenyatta in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic, he has long proved capable of siring high-class runners on both surfaces. The same is true, if not more so, for his Claiborne barn mate
War Front.
But while breeders may pay lip service to the notion of versatility, Hancock says that a Dirt horse being represented by Turf runners can be more of a hindrance than a help.
“Once you get labelled as a Turf horse, you lose a lot of your potential for what you can stand for,” he says.
“We saw it with War Front; he started out as a Dirt horse, he himself was a Dirt horse and that’s where his first successful runners were. Coolmore and a lot of international breeders got involved and had tremendous success in Europe, but then all of a sudden he was labelled a ‘Turf’ sire.
Blame
Blame
“Once you’re labelled as that, you lose your commerciality at the top level of this market. That’s just the reality. Coolmore were great partners in the horse for a long time and they helped elevate him to an international super sire.
“But, now that he’s older, Tapit and Curlin, they’re still doing well and so is War Front, but he’s kind of just known as this Turf horse now, whereas they’re still primarily Dirt.”
Breeders should get "ahead of the curve"
Both Bell and Hancock suggest that, with the rise of American Turf racing showing no signs of slowing, breeders would be well advised to get ahead of the curve.
“We believe we’re making the industry better,” says Bell. “When you consider all the opportunities with Turf and All-Weather, we’re excited.
“We think it’s an edge, to be honest. Convincing everybody else of it is one thing, but Oscar Performance helps.
“In our promotion this year we’re really going to emphasise to people just how much opportunity there is, and let them ignore it if they so choose. We think those that are smarter than most will see the light.
“Timing wise, if you’re breeding now for three or so years down the road, you can believe that Turf and All-Weather are going to have a greater emphasis by then.”
Should that come to pass, there would seem an opportunity for greater cross pollination between America and Europe, with its proliferation of Turf-centric bloodlines.
However, given the commercial realities at play, neither Bell nor Hancock can foresee Kentucky farms going “back to the future” and recruiting European Classic winners as stallion prospects.
“My grandfather was very instrumental in doing that, and had a lot of success, but that was when you had shareholders and you bred 40 mares to your horses and that was it,” says Hancock, grandson of the legendary Arthur ‘Bull’ Hancock.
“You didn’t go to the September Yearling Sales hoping to sell your offspring for a million dollars, you raced your horse hoping that you’d win the Kentucky Derby.
“We’re going to have to see a horse like Johannes really take off, and if he’s a dominant sire, then he’ll open a door for some other Turf horses to become stallions.”
While independent farms may no longer be in a position to purchase stallion prospects from the other side of the Atlantic, global bloodstock giants such as Coolmore and Godolphin are perfectly placed to bring European-bred and raced horses to stand in the US.
“I’ve been around long enough to have seen the trend,” says Bell. “My mother bred Sir Ivor, who really opened up the awareness of John Magnier, who recognised that the trend was getting ready to cycle back.
“You had the Northern Dancer influence and his impact in Europe, and then all of a sudden US-breds were winning the Derby.
“The difference is from the days of Blushing Groom and Lyphard, you didn’t have the farms, the Coolmores and Godolphins, that are already set up in Europe as well as Kentucky.
“If people become more aware of the opportunities on the Turf, it seems logical that those entities in those situations would lean towards that.
“They’re very professional in what they do and there’s obviously a reason why they haven’t done it yet.
“I do believe that a horse like Oscar Performance does chip away at it, though, and we’re going to continue chipping away at it.”
Instead, it seems the shift towards Turf will continue to be driven from within. The tide may not have turned yet, but a sea change may be on the way.
“Turf racing is going to continue to grow in popularity here,” says Hancock. “I just hope the commercial market will tag along soon. I think at some point the tide is going to turn, and, hopefully, we’ll be on the right end of it.”
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