Mark Mathiesen

The business of buying racehorses is a constant test of balancing risks and opportunities. A month after Kerri Radcliffe signed for a son of Blame for $700,000-the joint highest price for a 2-year-old by the sire at auction-at Fasig-Tipton's Gulfstream Sale last March, one of the investors backed out. That left Radcliffe with an expensive colt on her hands, but an opportunity to put a transatlantic group of clients in on a horse she staunchly believed in. The ownership group of George Bolton, best known for campaigning international stars like...

George Bolton, Arthur Hoyeau, Barry Lipman and Mark Mathiesen's Nadal (Blame) broke slowly as the 6-5 favorite in his Santa Anita unveiling Sunday, but he had no trouble giving his foes a head start, and ultimately proved too much for them to handle en route to being named a 'TDN Rising Star'. A $65,000 KEESEP yearling turned $700,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream grad after a :10 flat breeze, the Bob Baffert pupil had been buzzed about for some time despite a setback over the summer, and finally showed what all the fuss...