Payson Stud

A weanling filly by Justify got the nicest sort of update Breeders' Cup Saturday: her half-sister She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) finished second in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She Feels Pretty has been making headlines for a long time as a multiple Grade I winner, but Monday during the weanling portion of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, it was her half-sister's turn. Sold as Hip 54 through the Gainesway consignment, the chestnut filly hammered for $800,000 to Hugo Lascelles, agent. Born May 16, the $800,000 filly is...

When She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) first burst onto the scene, Christian Erickson received several substantial offers for her dam, Summer Sweet (More Than Ready). The first calls came in after She Feels Pretty's debut win and the numbers grew after her victory in the GI Natalma Stakes. Still relatively new to the sport, having taken on the role of trustee for the Virginia Kraft Payson Children's Trust earlier that year, Erickson reached out to his new acquaintance Brian Graves of Gainesway Farm for advice. "We were being offered basically...

Etobicoke, Ontario--Crossing the border into the Great White North boasting a resume laced with a trio of Grade I victories, She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) annexed her fourth at the highest level when winning taking a nail-biting renewal of the GI E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine, a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in November. Heavily fancied by the crowd at 2-5 come post time, the chestnut broke evenly under John Velazquez to place herself in a forward position as Godolphin representative, Diamond...

Items from the estate of the late Virginia Kraft Payson, proprietor of Payson Stud in Lexington and Payson Park Training Center in Florida, will be offered over the course of five auctions via Bluegrass Auction, Appraisal & Realty in June. Showcasing Payson's extensive collections of fine jewelry, rare antiques, and numerous paintings and prints--some numbered and from limited runs--over 1,200 items will be put on offer June 15-22. Said works are by renown sporting artists like Henry Stull, Jenness Cortez, Fred Stone, and Peter Howell, and include topics such as...

The 2025 Spring Meet Gala, presented by Payson Stud, Inc. benefitting Stable Recovery will be held Saturday, April 19 at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, KY, the organization announced Tuesday. The evening will celebrate the power of philanthropy, recovery and the transformative work Stable Recovery does in helping individuals rebuild their lives. "We're honored to sponsor the Stable Recovery Gala this year," said Payson Stud's Christian Erickson. "Their approach to recovery, especially their work with horses and the Thoroughbred industry, gives individuals a sense of purpose and helps them find lasting employment....

After a pair of near-misses in graded company this summer, Lael Stables' She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) left nothing to chance Saturday at Keeneland, skipping home the easiest of winners in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes. The King's Plate winner Caitlinhergrtness (Omaha Beach) broke sharply and went right to the lead in the nine-furlong event, while She Feels Pretty, adding blinkers for this effort, sat just off the pacesetter and in cover along the rail. Caitlinhergrtness was clear through a quarter in :23.45 and a half in...

A Gainesway-consigned Ghostzapper filly out of winning Seeking the Blue (Arch) hammered to John Stewart's Resolute Bloodstock for $1.2 million at Tuesday's session of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. The half-sister to MGSP Janis Joplin (California Chrome) and MSP Vino Rouge (Vino Rosso) was bred in Kentucky by Payson Stud and went through the ring as Hip 147. The May 5 filly joins another Ghostzapper purchase in the Resolute portfolio--Stewart purchased champion Goodnight Olive at Fasig-Tipton's November sale for $6 million.         ⚡ GHOSTZAPPER (@HillnDaleFarm) filly sells for...

Virginia Kraft Payson, a pioneer with a buoyant spirit who often referred to her life as "a magic carpet ride" woven from a whirlwind of adventure travel, a passion for outdoors journalism, and a mid-life immersion into the world of Thoroughbred racing and breeding, died Jan. 9 at age 92 at her Payson Stud farm in Lexington, Kentucky. The cause of death was complications from Parkinson's disease, as confirmed by Christian Erickson, a decades-long family friend and the trustee of the Payson estate. Payson's entry into Thoroughbred ownership was the...