Robert Clay

War Chant (Danzig), the winner of the 2000 GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Churchill Downs, passed away on Thursday, Apr. 11. Housed at Yarradale Stud in Western Australia, the 27-year-old stallion succumbed to old age at the Gidgegannup nursery that he had called home for over a decade, the breeder said in a Thursday release. War Chant was bred and raced by Marge and Irving Cowan, and trained by Neil Drysdale. Out of MGISW Hollywood Wildcat (Kris S.), the homebred finished ninth in the GI Kentucky Derby and ended his...

He'd given himself five years to make it onto Saturday Night Live. But it had now been six years, and Case Clay could see where he might be headed if he wasn't careful. Stick around too much longer, and he could end up like the guy in the comedy club, sitting there on his own every night with a drink at the end of the bar. "He was a fixture, and a beloved fixture," Clay stresses. "Sometimes he'd be on stage with you, performing, but the rest of the time...

Puca (Big Brown), the dam of GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic), was originally reported as unsold at $2.8 million, but Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin told members of the press in the post-session debrief that John Stewart, who made a giant splash at Fasig-Tipton Tuesday evening, had acquired the 11-year-old mare for $2.9 million post-RNA. Arvin told the press that the sale would not be included in the Book 1 statistics. Consigned by Case Clay Thoroughbred Management and offered carrying a full-sibling to Mage, former 'TDN Rising...

Coolmore's Lookin At Lucky was responsible for the top-selling colt and priciest filly as the Keeneland September Sale reached its second-last day of trade Friday afternoon in Lexington. Robert Clay's Grandview Equine signed for a pair of seven-figure yearlings--colts by Into Mischief and Curlin--during the select Book 1 and 2 sessions early last week, and the operation remained focused on the task at hand all the way through Book 6, going to $120,000 for hip 3910. The Apr. 27 foal was consigned to the sale by Hill 'n' Dale at...

The connections of Mage (Good Magic) will be on-hand at Churchill Downs on Saturday, Sept. 16 to receive their engraved Kentucky Derby 149 trophies after the GIII Iroquois S., the track said in a release Friday. The group includes: owners OGMA Investments (Gustavo Delgado), Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing (Sam Herzberg) and CMNWLTH (Brian Doxtator and Chase Chamberlain); trainer Gustavo Delgado; and breeder Grandview Equine (Robert Clay). Jockey Javier Castellano is unable to attend due to riding commitments elsewhere. Engraved Oaks trophies will be presented to the connections of Pretty Mischievous...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis The Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened with a packed pavilion and plenty of bidding from a diverse buying bench ultimately producing eight seven-figure sales led by a $2.3-million daughter of Into Mischief. At the end of the session, numbers were largely in line with the figures from the opening session of last year's record-breaking auction. "We were all biting our nails a little bit thinking about being measured up to last year's sale which was so phenomenal," said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. "But the...

Robert Clay's Grandview Equine emerged victorious after a protracted bidding battle on the Gainesway-consigned hip 18, a colt by leading sire Into Mischief, who fetched $1.1 million in the early stages of Monday's opening session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington. The Mar. 31 foal is the second out of 2017 GI Test S. heroine American Gal (Concord Point), who was first purchased by Don Alberto Corp. for $2.2 million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2017 before selling to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm in foal to Tapit for...

With barely a dozen race days to be eked out of its remaining two years, the Steve Pini Memorial S. of September 2017 formed part of a pretty low-key bookend to the history of Suffolk Downs. The Boston track's opening era, after all, had been propped up by Seabiscuit himself. But it turns out that this race, honoring the late track superintendent, deserves a rather lengthier footnote than anyone might have imagined at the time. Over an extended mile of turf, a 5-year-old daughter of Big Brown overtook Queen Caroline...

For a sales company, selling the dam of a future Classic winner at your mixed sale is about as good a marketing tool as there is. Imagine selling two of them, three hips and 10 minutes apart, at the same sale. After the dust cleared from Derby weekend, a closer look at the results revealed just that: Pretty City Dancer, the dam of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Pretty Mischievous, sold as hip 122 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale; and Puca, the dam of the Kentucky Derby winner Mage, sold...

Mage. It's not a word you come across too often, though its roots are obviously entwined with those of "magus"--as in the three magi, the wise men who followed the star from the east-and indeed "magician." It denotes one of deep learning, sometimes to an occult degree. And if the horse bearing that name (a son of Good Magic, it hardly needs adding) should happen to win the GI Kentucky Derby, then perhaps we should view the man responsible for bringing him into the world as aptly honored. Because just...

by Jessica Owers and Oz Wedmore, TDNAusNZ Case Clay was in the headlines last month with his announcement that, after 20 years with Three Chimneys Farm, he was going solo. This week he finds himself on the Gold Coast, and we caught up with him to learn a little more about the next chapter of his career. Nearly 20 years ago, American bloodstock agent Case Clay did an interview with a local Kentucky newspaper. He said that succession, complicated as it was when it came to family business, didn't always...

After 20 years at Three Chimneys Farm, Case Clay is shifting his focus full-time to his company, Case Clay Thoroughbred Management, according to a press release from Clay Tuesday morning. His services will continue to include bloodstock auction and private purchases, portfolio management and equine insurance. "I am grateful to the Torrealba Family for allowing me to add outside clients of my own over the past several years, in addition to my role at Three Chimneys," said Clay. "As my business and clients have grown, it feels like the right...