Sneaking Out’s Rancho Bernardo

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Kevin and Kim Nish’s homebred Sneaking Out wins Rancho Bernardo at Del Mar

BY TRACY GANTZ

Up until the $101,500 Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3) at Del Mar Aug. 21, California-bred Sneaking Out hadn’t won twice at a racetrack. Don’t hold that against her, however, because all fve of her previous victories have come at different tracks, from up and down California to as far away as Arkansas.

Sneaking Out’s versatility has allowed her to break her maiden at Del Mar, add an allowance optional claiming win at Golden Gate Fields, and become a stakes winner in the 2019 Evening Jewel Stakes at Santa Anita. Earlier this year she won an allowance race at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas and then completed her collection of major California tracks at Los Alamitos, stepping up to a graded win in the Great Lady M. Stakes (G2).

And when she wasn’t doubling up at a track, Sneaking Out was often fnishing second. Going into the Rancho Bernardo, she had fve wins and four seconds in 11 starts, racing for her breeders, Kevin and Kim Nish’s KMN Racing.

Sneaking Out actually fnished frst once more, in the 2019 Angels Flight Stakes, but she was disqualifed and placed second. Kim Nish ascribes that to her determination.

“She made a beeline for that other horse and bumped her hard,” Kim said.

For most of Sneaking Out’s career, Jerry Hollendorfer has trained her. It is a partnership with the Nishes that has included Eclipse Award champion Shared Belief, trained by Hollendorfer and owned by the partnership of Jim and Janet Rome’s Jungle Racing, the Nishes, Hollendorfer, Jason Litt, Alex Solis II, and George Todaro.

Jockey Umberto Rispoli joined the Sneaking Out team for the Rancho Bernardo.

“Tis is my frst time on her,” Rispoli said. “We can’t work horses here, so we have to watch a lot of videos. I like what I saw.”

Eight older fllies and mares lined up for the 6 1 ⁄2-furlong Rancho Bernardo. One of the few graded handicaps, the Rancho Bernardo required Sneaking Out to carry top weight of 123 pounds, conceding from three to fve pounds to her rivals. Tat was four more than the 119 she had carried in the Great Lady M.

Despite the pickup in weight, Sneaking Out went of as the 9-5 favorite. She broke out of the gate on top, but Artistic Diva and Mother of Dragons took over and vied for the lead. Amuse ranged up, and the four of them battled into the turn.

Artistic Diva and Mother of Dragons left the fght to Sneaking Out and Amuse around the turn. By the stretch, however, Sneaking Out asserted her superiority, eventually drawing out to win by 3 3 ⁄4 lengths in 1:15.57 over Amuse. Gingham closed from last to fnish third.

“I think she was even better today, and my rider told me he was very impressed with her,” said Hollendorfer. “She’s getting good right now. She wins a grade 2 and then puts weight on and still wins.”

Sneaking Out, a 4-year-old daughter of Indian Evening—Maddie’s Odyssey, by Kitten’s Joy, was foaled at Ellen Jackson’s Victory Rose Toroughbreds near Vacaville. Te Nishes, with the help of Solis and Litt, purchased Maddie’s Odyssey in foal to Drosselmeyer for $14,500 at the 2012 Keeneland November sale.

Maddie’s Odyssey has also produced multiple stakes winners Grecian Fire (by Unusual Heat) and Been Studying Her (by Fast Anna). Her 2-year-old full sister to Sneaking Out is named Starlight Stroll and by mid-August was breezing three furlongs at Los Alamitos. Te mare has a 2019 colt by Straight Fire and a 2020 flly by Tapit. She has been bred back to Constitution.

Jim Weigel’s California homebred Dream of Summer scores her grade 1 victory in the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn

BY LENNY SHULMAN

It would take some doing for any other California-bred flly or mare to equal the accomplishments set forth, frst as a racehorse and then as a producer, by Dream of Summer. She came up with her second grade 1-winning progeny when Vexatious defeated champion Midnight Bisou to win the Aug. 1 Personal Ensign Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.

Today, 21-year-old Dream of Summer is still going strong as a broodmare residing at Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky, some 2,200 miles from her birthplace in San Jacinto, Calif. Te one constant in her life has been Jim Weigel, her Valencia, Calif.-based breeder/ owner. Weigel has stuck with Dream of Summer when nobody else valued her, and has held onto her when her substantial value became obvious and prodigious amounts of money were ofered to him to part with her.

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Weigel, now in his late 70s, traveled the world as a young man, working as a sonar engineer for navies from Europe to Australia. He settled in Southern California and became an engineer for the Ford Motor Co. in Orange County. In or around 1970, a co-worker announced he was heading out to Santa Anita one Saturday, and Weigel, who had never been to a horse race, tagged along.

“It was crowded, and we were in the infeld making $2 wagers,” Weigel recalled. “Finally, I cashed a $2 show bet in the Santa Margarita Handicap, and I thought to myself, ‘Tis is going to be easy.’ ”

Shortly thereafter, another co-worker put a partnership together to race a young horse he’d bought. Weigel and 36 others came aboard and had a blast going out mornings to watch the horse train. As the horse’s career progressed unsuccessfully, eventually just Weigel and two others remained in on him. But the experience led to Weigel’s going out on his own.

At the 1996 January mixed sale at Barretts, he parted with $7,000 for the unraced SkyCalifornia by Old English Rancho and Cardif Stud Farms, to Marianne Millard’s Here Tis when she’d win, and stop halfway down, and shout to the owners and trainers, ‘You wouldn’t give me $10,000, huh? Now look what’s happening.’ ”

Tings got even better in 2005 when Dream of Summer won the Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) at Oaklawn Park, then added the Gardenia Handicap (G3) and a repeat win in

the Cal Cup Matron at 6. In 2006 she ran twice, including a runner-up efort in the Santa Margarita, the race that had gotten Weigel hooked on the sport.

Readying for a defense of her Apple Blossom crown, Dream of Summer came up with a minor injury, and Weigel decided to retire the 7-year-old rather than take any chances with her health. After all, she’d done more than enough, having won 10 of

20 starts with seven additional placings good for $1,191,150 in career earnings.

Weigel’s good fortune continued in the breeding paddocks. After producing a flly by Forest

walker mare Mary’s Dream, who was carrying her fourth foal at the time. None of her previous progeny had proven exceptionally gifted. Weigel moved the mare, who had been bred in ry and a colt by Unbridled’s Song who both

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became winners, Dream of Summer was sent to the court of top sire Storm Cat. However, the leading sire was aging and infertile, and she failed to catch. Weigel had entered into a breeding arrangement with Ashford Stud and was offered a season to Giant’s Causeway. “I fgured, ‘All right, if I have to, I have to,’ ” Weigel said with a laugh. Ranch near San Jacinto and sent her to Siberian You Tat mating produced millionaire Creative Summer, impressed that the Siberian Express Cause, who did his best running in California, colt had prevailed in the 1993 Charles H. Strub wouldn’t give where he won the Norfolk Stakes (G1), San FeStakes (G1) at Santa Anita. me $10,000, lipe Stakes (G2), and Best Pal Stakes (G2), and

Millard, a friend and mentor to Weigel, foaled huh? Now ran second in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) to and liked the resultant flly, and told him not to eventual dual classic winner I’ll Have Another. let her go cheap at the Barretts’ yearling sale. look what’s Creative Cause fnished ffth in the Kentucky

“Marianne told me she was a good-looking happening.” Derby (G1) and third in the Preakness Stakes flly and urged me to pick out a fair price and (G1). Today, he is a successful stallion at Airdrie stick to it,” said Weigel. “None of her siblings — Jim Weigel Stud in Kentucky. had cracked $40,000 in earnings, so I thought, Four years later Dream of Summer was sent ‘OK, I’ll shoot for $10,000 and get it over with.’ back to Giant’s Causeway and yielded Destin, Tey bid her up to $7,000 and stopped, so I bid $8,000 and a $400,000 Keeneland September yearling who won the took her home.” Tampa Bay Derby (G2) and the Marathon Stakes (G2) at

Tat move didn’t pay immediate dividends. In fact, Dream Del Mar. After running sixth in the Kentucky Derby, he was of Summer didn’t see an afternoon at the racetrack until she pipped on the wire by Creator, losing the Belmont Stakes was well into her 4-year-old season in 2003. She managed (G1) by a nose. to make up for lost time, though, taking a maiden special Sent right back to Giant’s Causeway the following year, weight event at frst asking at Hollywood Park and adding Dream of Summer came up with Vexatious, a graded stakes allowance scores that year at Del Mar and Santa Anita. winner at 4 and now a grade 1 winner at 6. Another full sib

At age 5 she really came into her own, starting with an ling, the 2016 foal named Follow a Dream, sold for $625,000 allowance/optional claiming win at Hollywood before going as a yearling. Dream of Summer this year has a weanling flly on a roll and taking the A Gleam Invitational Handicap (G2) by Uncle Mo. at Hollywood, the Rancho Bernardo Handicap (G3) at Del “Since that flly looks good, I thought we’d take her back Mar, and the California Cup Matron Handicap at Santa Anito Uncle Mo,” Weigel said. “But he was not available. So I ta. thought about American Pharoah, but he wasn’t available,

Weigel was thrilled with his good fortune. either. So Ashford ofered me Justify. And I said, ‘Well, if I

“It was really lucky,” he said. “People used to laugh at me have to, I have to.’ ” because I’d go fying down the stairs to the winner’s circle Weigel was laughing while he told the punchline, and don’t

Dream of Summer takes the Rancho Bernardo Handicap at Del Mar

bet against that baby eventually doing something special as well.

“It’s such a great story,” said Frank Taylor, one of the principals in Taylor Made Farm. “Here’s a Cal-bred mare that was unwanted as a yearling, and Jim keeps her and she wins a million and a grade 1. Most people would bail out and sell her and take the money all at once, but he stuck with her and kept breeding her, and she’s been a great broodmare. It’s unbelievable how she’s produced. She has good foals; they’re smart, they’re correct. She’s one of my favorite all-time mares. She’s something special.”

Coincidentally, Taylor Made is home to another Cal-bred mare who has distinguished herself as a broodmare. Unraced Mo Chuisle, by Free House, is the dam of Points Ofthebench, who took the 2013 Bing Crosby Stakes and Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (both G1), as well as his full brother (both by Benchmark) Bench Points,

Mike Smith and Dream of Summer following their Rancho Bernardo victory

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winner of the 2011 Lazaro Barrera Memorial Stakes (G3). Points Ofthebench was the national champion sprinter of 2013 and that season’s Cal-bred Horse of the Year.

“I’ve got two Cal-bred gray mares here on the farm, both grade 1 producers,” said Taylor. “What are the chances of that?”

Asked if he’s thought about keeping a daughter out of Dream of Summer, Weigel answered in the afrmative. But having a foal-sharing partner makes that a complicated proposition, particularly when the yearlings are selling so well. Weigel and his partners have sold more several million dollars worth of yearlings out of the mare.

“If I get a flly that doesn’t look like she’s going to bring a whole helluva a lot, I’d like to keep her,” Weigel said. “But so far, that hasn’t happened.”

Weigel still keeps a few mares at Here Tis Ranch, which is now run by Marianne Millard’s nephew, Steve Gale.

One is Marry By Summer, a full sister to Dream of Summer who has gotten four winners from fve starters. Another is the Tribal Rule mare Tribal Gem, who has two winners from three starters. Both are currently in foal to Tom’s Tribute.

But there is only one Dream of Summer, who tends to stamp her foals, eight of 13 also gray. Weigel has had the thrill of watching Creative Cause and Destin compete in the Kentucky Derby and Vexatious try the Kentucky Oaks (G1). (“I thought she was going to win the

— Jim Weigel

Dream of Summer’s Giant’s Causeway son Creative Cause scores his grade 1 in the Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita

Oaks. She hit the front in mid-stretch and then tired to fourth. But that was fun to watch.”) All on a $7,000 investment in Mary’s Dream, the frst mare he ever bought.

“When the phone began ringing after Creative Cause was winning those big races in California, people began ofering seven fgures for Dream of Summer,” said Weigel. “I told those people that she’s not for sale at any price. Tere is an emotional attachment I have to her. For years I’ve gone out to Kentucky twice a year to give her a kiss on the nose and rub her neck and hug her. You can’t put a price tag on that.

“For a guy like me, a little owner/ breeder, this is something you can try an entire lifetime for and never get—a grade 1 winner who’s gotten two grade 1 winners and a grade 2 winner. And how I got her—the very frst horse I raced on my own. I had to go out and have my own silks made for her. And she wins over a million dollars. . .”

SKIP DICKSTEIN

Dream of Summer’s Giant’s Causeway daughter Vexatious wins her grade 1 in the 2020 Personal Ensign Stakes at Saratoga for Calumet Farm

Said Frank Taylor, “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer man than Jim Weigel. He’s a prince of a guy. And this shows what the horse business can do. It’s a tough, tough business, but when you get one like Dream of Summer, it can be life-changing. Tis mare changed Jim’s life both fnancially and with all the excitement. She’s 21 and carrying a foal, and I told Jim I’d have to get her a beer now because she’s legal to drink. One like her should be Broodmare of the Year.”

Weigel tells the story of going out to see Vexatious when she was a young horse. While others in his party were feeding her carrots, Weigel tried to kiss and hug her as he does her mother.

“She wasn’t too impressed with me,” said Weigel. “She was more interested in the carrots.”

Tey can’t all be Dream of Summer.