Airdrie Stud has pair of aces: Creative Cause, Cairo Prince

The Jones family’s Airdrie Stud holds two gray aces heading into the fall, with Creative Cause sending up to three foals to the Breeders’ Cup from his first two crops, and Cairo Prince wrapping up a breakout debut yearling season at auction.

In both instances, the stallions benefitted greatly from the extensive support of farm owners Brereton and Elizabeth Jones’s broodmare band. All three of Creative Cause’s Breeders’ Cthat up pre-entries were bred or co-bred by the Midway, Ky.-based operation.

Bret Jones, Airdrie’s director of bloodstock services, said that has been Airdrie’s method of operation and that the farm made a commitment to support Creative Cause when it bought the horse from the Steinmann family.

“We said we’re not only going to stand him, we’re going to get behind him like we’ve never gotten behind, quite honestly, any stallion,” he said.

“We committed some of our best mares, and so far it’s paying off,” he said. “We feel like it’s a big thing for the team. We feel like we held up our end of the bargain, and we hope we get lucky come this weekend.”

Creative Cause, by Giant’s Causeway, debuted at Airdrie Stud in 2013 after becoming a Grade 1 winner and classicplaced runner for owner Heinz Steinmann. His first foals are 3-year-olds of this year, including Breeders’ Cup Classic hopeful Pavel.

Bred in partnership by Brereton Jones and WinStar Farm, Pavel will make his fifth career start in the Breeders’ Cup for owner Reddam Racing. His career trajectory has been a rapid ascent, including a victory in the Grade 3 Smarty Jones in his third start.

“The horse is pretty remarkable, to run in the Jim Dandy in his second race, win a graded race in his third, and run a big race in the Jockey Club Gold Cup in just his fourth start – now going into the Breeders’ Cup Classic,” Bret Jones said. “If he can pull that off, they need to write books about him.”

Creative Cause’s other preentrants are Grade 3-winning Juvenile Fillies Turf contender Significant Form and stakeswinning Juvenile Turf hopeful My Boy Jack. Both were bred by Airdrie and consigned by the farm at auction.

Meanwhile, a rising star in the stallion ranks for Airdrie is Cairo Prince, well-received with his first yearlings at auction, posting an average price of $138,279. The Pioneerof the Nile horse stands at Airdrie in partnership with Darley.

Cairo Prince’s yearlings found themselves on the shortlists of several high-end buyers, including a $500,000 colt that sold to Waves Bloodstock for a record price at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling sale. He had another colt top the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic fall yearling sale, going to Eisaman Equine for $330,000.

However, Cairo Prince’s most expensive yearling of the season was a colt that sold to Shadwell for $900,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

“It’s been incredible,” Bret Jones said. “I’ve never had a first-year stallion do what he’s been doing right now. There was just this seemingly insatiable appetite for anything Cairo Prince, and people would say, ‘I had to get one. I didn’t have one yet, so I had to go a few more bids than what I anticipated.’”

City Zip’s versatility evident

Late sire City Zip’s hallmark versatility will be on display at the upcoming Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar.

The stallion is likely to be represented by Eclipse Award champion Finest City, defending her victory in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint; a dirt router in prominent Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Collected; and a fleet-footed turf-route mare in Filly and Mare Turf hopeful Zipessa. He also has a Juvenile Turf pre-entrant in Snapper Sinclair, who owns a stakes win sprinting on turf.

Finest City can play more than one game, displaying versatility during her own championship season. In addition to her signature win sprinting, she finished third going longer in the Grade 1 Vanity Mile behind champions Beholder and Stellar Wind and started twice on turf with a Grade 2 placing. The mare is one of three Eclipse Award champions for City Zip, joining 2014 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Work All Week and 2014 Filly and Mare Turf winner Dayatthespa, both divisional honorees. He also sired 2015 Canadian Horse of the Year Catch a Glimpse, winner of the Juvenile Fillies Turf.

City Zip was euthanized earlier this year at age 19. The Carson City stallion, who had stood at Lane’s End since relocating from New York for the 2005 season, had suffered from chronic foot problems.

“City Zip’s extraordinarily kind disposition and strong spirit endeared him to all, and he will be greatly missed,” Lane’s End owner Will Farish said.

City Zip won four graded stakes races in New York as a juvenile, winning the Grade 3 Tremont at Belmont before sweeping the Grade 2 Sanford, Grade 2 Saratoga Special, and Grade 1 Hopeful – the latter in a historic dead heat with Yonaguska. He went on to add another quartet of stakes to his resume as a 3-year-old, highlighted by graded sprint victories in the Grade 3 Jersey Shore at Monmouth and the Grade 2 Amsterdam at Saratoga.

City Zip’s other career highlights as a stallion include multiple Grade 1-winning sprinter Palace; millionaire graded stakes winners Alert Bay and Get Serious; Grade 2 winner Reneesgotzip, third in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and second the following year; Grade 3 winner Unzip Me, third in the 2010 Turf Sprint; and the well-traveled City Style, a Group 3 winner in England, a stakes winner in the United States, and Group 1-placed in Dubai.

◗ Another Lane’s End stallion, Lemon Drop Kid, is poised for a big Breeders’ Cup. The 1999 Belmont Stakes winner and 2000 Eclipse Award champion older male, the stallion will be represented in the Breeders’ Cup Turf by Beach Patrol, winner of the Arlington Million and Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational, and in the Distaff by Spinster winner Romantic Vision.

Lemon Drop Kid is also the broodmare sire of champion Finest City and her Filly and Mare Sprint challenger Bar of Gold, and is the broodmare sire of Distaff contender Forever Unbridled.