As quoted in the TDN, consignor Randy Hartley (of Hartley/deRenzo) said, “Bernardini is my number one stallion. I love them, they’re so easy to train. They’re happy to do what you want. We’ve been very lucky with the Bernardini colts. When we bought him he was slightly small, but he had a great walk. I told Dean, “He’s a bit small and maybe not everyone will go for him because of his size, but he walked so good that we still had to pay $350,000. He grew well and he’s got a lot of leg under him. And he just had a beautiful way of moving, just tremendous.”
The “he” Hartley was referring to was hip number 194 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale of yearlings in August last year. At that time, the colt's mother, Winner, boasted a growing blacktype pedigree with the assistance of another son, Ocho Ocho Ocho (by Street Sense), who had won G3 Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes as a juvenile. And if you take a look a little farther down her catalog page, you’ll find the strong Phipps family of G1 winners Personal Ensign, Personal Flag, My Flag, Storm Flag Flying, Miner’s Mark and many more.
The colt represents the fourth million-dollar juvenile for Bernardini over the past five years. No stallion in the U.S. has more and only Nyquist's sire, Uncle Mo, has as many:
Bernardini - 4
Uncle Mo - 4
Tapit - 3
Malibu Moon - 3
Smart Strike - 3
Look for more of the Bernardinis at the upcoming Ocala Breeders' Sale Company two-year-olds in-training sale on March 14th and 15th.
