Category: Clear Creek Stud

Leading Owner Brittlyn Stables Ends Season with a Bang

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Evelyn Benoit & trainer Jose Camejo win two stakes on closing day

(New Orleans, Louisiana – Sunday, March 27, 2022) – In a banner season that saw her top the owner’s standings with 22 wins, eight more than her closest pursuer Allied Racing Stables, Evelyn Benoit’s Brittlyn Stables won a pair of $75,000 stakes on closing day at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. She took the Page Cortez Memorial with Ova Charged, and fittingly, the Star Guitar with a son of that stallion, Behemah Star. Both horses are trained by Jose Camejo.

All 22 of Benoit’s meet wins were by horses sired by Star Guitar, whom she stands at Clear Creek Stud in Louisiana for $7,500 per live foal. With 27 wins from 100 starts, Camejo finished seventh in the trainer’s standings.

In the Page Cortez, which is named for the longtime Louisiana senator, the .60-1 favorite Ova Charged, dominated from start to finish. In what was her turf debut and first start since her Louisiana Champions Day victory in the Ladies Sprint on December 11, the 4-year-old daughter of Star Guitar was pressed early by Offspring through early fractions of 22.47 and 46.46. She put that foe away at the top of the stretch and was not menaced thereafter, stopping the timer in 1:04.44 for 5 ½ furlongs on firm turf with the rails down, even jumping a shadow in the stretch along the way. Defeated by seven lengths, Offspring held off Snowball by a nose for second.

It was the third consecutive win and fifth in six starts for Ova Charged, with her only defeat coming behind Super Sensational in the Victory Ride (G3) last summer at Belmont. The career bankroll now stands a $219,600.

One race later, Behemah Star scored a mild upset at 9.30-1 in the Star Guitar for Brittlyn Stables and Camejo, defeating a pair of Allied Racing Stable runners in Highland Creek and .90-1 favorite Who Took the Money. Earlier in the day, Chester Thomas (Allied Racing Stable) scored a stakes win of his own with trainer Bret Calhoun, taking the $75,000 Shantel Lanerie Memorial with his homebred Winning Romance.

Clear Creek Stud Offers Scholarship for Students from Within the Louisiana Horse Industry

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With an eye toward the future of our industry, Clear Creek Stud will once again be making a $5000 Scholarship Donation in the name of their clients to a college student with Louisiana based connections to the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Breeding and Racing Industry.

Clear Creek Stud recognizes that for many of the people who perform the hard work of this industry day in and day out, the rewards are often not financial. “We want to help the children who come from these families who put in the long hours and hard work that are essential to keep our industry in operation,” says Val Murrell, general manager of Clear Creek Stud. 

The scholarship recipient will be chosen by the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (LaHBPA) and based on their opinion and evaluation of need and merit.

Interested students should send a letter and resume to Eddie Fenasci at the La.H.B.P.A. office by Friday, March 4, 2022. Letters can be mailed to La.H.B.P.A. attention to Eddie Fenasci 1535 Gentilly Blvd. New Orleans, La. 70119 or email to efenasci@lahbpa.org.

The recipient will be named on the final day of the Fair Grounds meet, Sunday, March 27, 2022.

First Foals Arrive by Imperial Hint

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Clear Creek Stud announces arrival of two foals by the son of Imperialism.

 

An Imperial Hint colt out of the Artie Schiller mare Silent Brigade, bred by Kevin Atwood's Colonel Thoroughbreds
An Imperial Hint colt out of the Artie Schiller mare Silent Brigade, bred by Kevin Atwood’s Colonel ThoroughbredsCourtesy Clear Creek Stud

 

2022 filly; Imperial Hint - Brushfirefairytale<br> bred by Tommy Hewett’s Coulee Croche Thoroughbreds and Tracie Crochet
Photo: Courtesy Clear Creek Stud

An Imperial Hint filly out of Brushfirefairytale, bred by Tommy Hewett’s Coulee Croche Thoroughbreds and Tracie Crochet

 

The first reported foals by multiple grade 1 winner Imperial Hint   have arrived, according to Clear Creek Stud.

Kevin Atwood’s Colonel Thoroughbreds bred a bay colt, which is the third foal out of the Artie Schiller  mare Silent Brigade, whose first foal just turned 2.

Tommy Hewett’s Coulee Croche Thoroughbreds and Tracie Crochet bred a gray filly (that appears black) out of the Najran mare Brushfirefairytale , a winner of $118,632 and the dam of Jolie Gris, who scored on debut in September.

Bred in Florida by Shade Tree Thoroughbreds out of the Lahint  mare Royal Hint and campaigned by Raymond Mamone, Imperial Hint is a four-time grade 1 winner of in excess of $2.2 million. Nicknamed “The Little Rocket,” the son of Imperialism  took the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (G1) at Saratoga Race Course and the Vosburgh Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park in 2018 and defended his title in both races in 2019 for trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. In the 2019 edition of the Alfred G. Vanderbilt, he set a track record for six furlongs in 1:07.92. He retired from racing with a 14-2-4 record from 25 starts.

 

Imperial Hint was bred to both Thoroughbred mares and Quarter Horse mares in 2021. He stands at Clear Creek Stud near Folsom, La. as the property of a syndicate for an advertised fee of $3,000 live foal.

2019 Death of Cigar Mile Winner Lion Tamer Reported

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Lion Tamer, ridden by Jose Santos, shown winning the 2004 Cigar Mile

Lion Tamer, winner of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Racetrack in 2004, died in Jamaica at age 19 on September 3, 2019, due to a heart attack. The chestnut son of Will’s Way had been standing stud at Orange Valley Estates in Trelawny, Jamaica since 2017 after standing for nine seasons at Clear Creek Stud in Louisiana.

Trained by Todd Pletcher and owned by Michael Tabor, Lion Tamer was ridden by Jose Santos to be the upset 12-1 winner of the 2004 Cigar Mile by 1 1/4 lengths over multiple graded stakes-winner Badge of Silver in a final time of 1:33.46.

Lion Tamer earned three other graded victories in his career, taking a trio of Grade 2’s with wins in the Hutcheson at Gulfstream Park as a sophomore and the Richter Scale Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Gulfstream and Commonwealth Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland as a 4-year-old.

Lion Tamer also added two other Grade 1 placings to his resume at 5, finishing third in the Vosburgh and the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, both at Belmont Park. Lion Tamer wrapped up his career with earnings of $1,000,727 and a consistent record of 8-3-2 from 20 lifetime starts.

At the time of his retirement to stud, Lion Tamer was the only millionaire standing in Louisiana, attracting the attention of breeders and covering 34 mares in his first year at Clear Creek. From nine American crops, Lion Tamer’s top progeny include multiple stakes winner Heavy on Themister, stakes winner Win Lion Win, and Grade 3-placed stakes winner Southern Dude.

In January of 2017, Lion Tamer was transferred to Orange Valley Estates where he stood for three seasons prior to his death. His Jamaican crops include 3-year-old filly Golden Wattle, who defeated males to win Jamaica’s richest juvenile race, the Supreme Ventures Jamaica 2-Year-Old [JM $4 million], on December 27.

Lion Tamer bred 20 mares in his final year at stud, producing a handful of foals that are now 2-year-olds working towards their debuts.

Out of the stakes-placed Olympio mare Tippecanoe Creek, Lion Tamer was bred in Kentucky by Paul Smith.

Fan Favorite, Barn Favorite Monte Man Retires

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Monte Man with Adam Beschizza aboard wins the 30th running of the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Lou Hodges, Jr.

 

New Orleans (January 4, 2022) – Over the last four years, one horse has been at the center of Louisiana racing and fans of the local sport – Ivery Sisters Racing’s Monte Man. His trainer and Fair Grounds’ 2021 title-winner, Ron Faucheux has announced that it is time for this 9-year old gelding to step away from the race track and to spend his retirement at Clear Creek Stud, where his sire Custom for Carlos stands.

“Val Murrel who owns Clear Creek, he bred Monte Man and is happy to take him in,” Faucheux said. “Clear Creek is the nicest farm in Louisiana–at this point, being a 9-year old, he’s been so great to us, we’d rather see him have a happy life from this point forward.”

Know that Monte Man is doing fine, but he did not come back from his Friday workout as hoped, giving connections pause about pursuing the plan of running in the Costa Rising Stakes, a race Monte Man won twice and finished 2nd in by a nose.

“He’s sound as can be,” Faucheux said. “Looks great, walks great, legs look good. He just has something a little feint. Something that some trainers would push through, but I’m not going to take any chances.”

Claimed for $25,000 by Ivery Sisters Racing in October of 2017, in his first start for trainer Ron Faucheux Monte Man won a local optional-claimer that December, which was the start of a seven-race winning streak. Monte Man went out in stakes-winning fashion, scoring the ninth and final stakes win of his career in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint on December 11, 2021.

“I was looking at the win pictures last night,” Faucheux said. “He’s beaten some great horses. He hasn’t run worse than fourth since the end of his 4-year old career. Goes to show you how much heart that horse has. He might not run the best numbers as some of the Kentucky sprinters floating around the country, but he has been so consistent throughout the process. That’s all you can ask–they run to their ability.”

All told, Monte Man finishes his career 50-18-8-9 with earnings of $794,223.

“I feel honored to have trained him throughout that process,” Faucheux said. “He’s been a barn favorite, a fan favorite, a special horse–you could hear it in John Dooley’s emotional call of his last race.”

“Here comes the gladiator, Monte Man with that battler’s heart for Adam Beschizza. Monte Man now an 18-time winner–well done Monte Man!” — John G. Dooley, Fair Grounds Track Announcer

LTBA Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana 2021 Yearling Sale Results

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The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association’s Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana held its 2021 Yearling Sale followed by Mixed Session, Saturday, October 2nd at the Equine Sales Facility in Opelousas. With 13 outs and 22 RNAs, a total of 87 head sold for $898,000.  The yearling average was $13,027. The weanling average was $3,117, and the mare average was $2,167.

 

Hip number 7,  a Custom For Carlos colt out of Labadeel, a Forest Wildcat mare, was purchased by Ricky Lagrange for $47,000 to top the sale. The bay colt was consigned by Clear Creek Stud, agent.

 

Hip number 54, also out of the Clear Creek Stud consignment, was purchased by Norman Stables for $45,000, the second highest price of the day.  A half sister to stakes placed Raising the Ante, the bay filly is by Midnight Storm out of the Majestic Warrior mare, Ante Up Annie.

 

Look for complete results Monday.

Four Time Leading Louisiana Stallion Half Ours Euthanized After Paddock Accident

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Four time Louisiana Leading Stallion, Half Ours, was euthanized Saturday, July 17, 2021 following a paddock accident at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, Louisiana.

“It is a sad day for us all… Half Ours enriched our breeders program in Louisiana and beyond, having touched many who bred and raced,”  said Val Murrell of Clear Creek Stud. “He was obviously an integral part of Clear Creek Stud’s very existence, like a family member that you saw every day.  His loss will be felt by many and his influence will remain for years to come, defined by progeny that always showed up, held together, running on both dirt or grass.”

The grey son of Unbridled’s Song led the Louisiana Sire list from 2014-2017 and is currently leading the state in 2021. Bred by Brilliant Stables, Half Ours won the Three Chimney’s Juvenile Stakes at Keeneland in his second start and added the Grade II Richter Scale Sprint Championship Handicap at Gulfstream Park as a Four Year Old. Half Ours was initially raced by Aaron and Marie Jones in partnership with B.K. Schwartz and later by the Jones’s. Half Ours is the sire of thirty-eight stakes horses of which twenty-one were stakes winners of forty-one stakes races for lifetime earnings of in excess of Twenty Million Dollars. He initially stood at stud at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky before moving to Clear Creek Stud for the 2011 breeding season.

Pedigree Patterns: Imperial Hint

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Imperial Hint has more Grade 1 sprint wins than any other stallion in Louisiana and twice sizzled six furlongs in less than 1:08.

 

Click to Read Article from the Winter 2021 Louisiana Horse

Clear Creek Stud Offers Scholarship

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With an eye toward the future of our industry, Clear Creek Stud will be making a $5000 Scholarship Donation in the name of their clients to a student with Louisiana based connections to the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse Breeding and Racing Industry.

 

The scholarship recipient will be chosen by the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (LaHBPA) and based on their opinion and evaluation of need and merit.

 

Interested students should send a letter and resume to Eddie Fenasci at the La.H.B.P.A. office by January 31, 2021. Letters can be mailed to La.H.B.P.A. attention to Eddie Fenasci 1535 Gentilly Blvd. New Orleans, La. 70119 or email to efenasci@lahbpa.org.

 

The recipient will be named by March 20, 2021 at the New Orleans Fair Grounds.

 

Givemeaminit Dies Due to EPM

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Clear Creek Stud announced Thursday, October 1st the loss of first year stallion Givemeaminit to EPM (Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis).

“Anyone who has been involved in the thoroughbred breeding business is aware of the heartbreaks that often come with it. That became abundantly clear to us here at Clear Creek Stud this morning when we lost first year stallion Givemeaminit to EPM (Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis).”

The first son of Leading Louisiana Stallion Star Guitar to enter stud, Givemeaminit was second in the Hopeful Stakes (GI) as a Two-Year-Old and fourth in that year’s Breeders Cup Juvenile.  As a Three-Year-Old he won the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint, was third in the Pat Day Mile (GIII) and was the Louisiana Bred Champion Colt or Gelding. The Valene Farms LLC runner was trained throughout his career by Dallas Stewart and had career earnings of $428,580.