Sam-Son dispersal parade marks end of an era

Outfitted in hats and scarves and winter coats, patrons of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale braced themselves against chilly temperatures on Saturday to attend a special kind of spectacle known only to horsemen: the broodmare parade.

Stationed between barns 12 and 14 on the sales grounds in Lexington, mares offered as part of the dispersal of Sam-Son Farm, one of Ontario's leading breeding and racing outfits, drew an enthusiastic crowd of buyers and curious onlookers on Saturday morning.

One by one, the dispersal's 21 mares made their way up and back across the parade ring, their movements captured and broadcast on Keeneland's livestream feed. In reality, little enticement is likely needed to interest buyers in breeding stock from the illustrious Sam-Son Farm.

Founded in 1972 by Ernest Samuel, the farm spans two properties, one in Milton, Ontario, and the other in Ocala. In the last half-century, the operation has built an enviable legacy of success that includes a staggering 84 Sovereign Awards, dozens of graded stakes winners, 37 Canadian Classic winners, and four Eclipse Awards.

In what came as a surprise to many in the industry, the Samuel family announced in late 2020 that over the course of the coming 12-18 months, they would disperse their breeding and racing stock with the intent to exit the business. All of the mares are consigned in foal to some of North America's leading and most popular stallions.

"I've been with Sam-Son for 18 years," said farm manager David Whitford.

"I have many on staff who have been with the farm as long as me and a couple who have been there even longer. They've seen generations of these families and they get emotional when our babies ship out every fall to our Florida farm. You can imagine how it was when the mares were leaving yesterday morning. It was very emotional."

While it would be near impossible to rank the dispersal's mares based on quality alone, among the standouts is hip 587, Danceforthecause, an unraced daughter of the late Giant's Causeway offered in foal to Lane's End's Twirling Candy. The nine-year-old bay is out of another Sam-Son Farm homebred in Dancethruthestorm (Thunder Gulch) and a full sister to stakes winner Grand Style.

Danceforthecause's second dam is Sam-Son Farm's illustrious mare Dance Smartly, a winner of the 1991 Canadian Triple Crown and multiple champion. The late Dance Smartly was also a half sister to Grade 1 winner Smart Strike, who twice earned the leading sire title in the US during his 18-year tenure as a Lane's End stallion.

The dam of four foals, Danceforthecause hit the ground running as a broodmare. Her first foal, Say the Word (More Than Ready), won the 2020 renewal of the Northern Dancer Turf Stakes at Woodbine and has been stakes placed on the turf on four other occasions. Her second foal, Rideforthecause (Candy Ride ), won the 2020 Canadian Stakes at Woodbine. The mare also has a Distorted Humor two-year-old filly and a Street Sense yearling filly.

Also in the dispersal draft is hip 637, Fun in the Desert, a nine-year-old daughter of WinStar Farm's Distorted Humor out of the Smart Strike mare and Canadian champion, Eye of the Sphynx. Fun in the Desert is a half sister to four stakes winners: Canadian champion Eye of the Leopard, Deceptive Vision, Hotep, and Desert Isle.

She is the dam of three foals, the first of which is multiple stakes winner and 2019 Canadian champion three-year-old filly Desert Ride (Candy Ride). Fun in the Desert is offered back in foal to Lane's End's Candy Ride.

Sam-Son will leave an outstanding bloodstock legacyCredit: Keeneland photo

Deceptive Vision will also be offered as part of the dispersal as hip 598. A Grade 2 winner of just over $500,000 in purses, the mare is offered in foal to Claiborne Farm's War Front .

While several of the mares in the dispersal are half siblings, the farm will also offer a unique quartet of half sisters each out of the Miswaki mare Misty Mission, a stakes winner and half sister to another Canadian champion in Comet Shine.

With the Covid-19 pandemic still having an adverse effect on the global economy and many buyers unable to travel to shop the sales in person, Whitford said he's hopeful that buyers will find the kind of value they've been looking for this season in the farm's dispersal.

As the breeding season prepares to ramp up once more, really any of the farm's mares - whose pedigrees have been carefully curated nurtured by the Sam-Son family - would be a welcome addition to any budding or established breeding program.

"We had concerns about the market. We weren't sure it was the right time to do it, but it's never a good time to get out of the business," said Whitford. "But a decision was made and to buy into these families now could represent value even in a down market.

"Always in a dispersal situation there are no reserves and people aren't going to let many slip through the cracks. That's what we're hoping for. There are no guarantees, but we're here to sell come as it may."

All 21 Sam-Son Farm mares will be offered during the Tuesday's second session of Book 1 at the Keeneland January sale.

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