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REPENT

Stands for $5,000 at Empire Stud

Empire Stud's Repent is the stallion of the week, for the week ended Monday, Nov. 16. In a quiet week, Repent was represented by two stakes winner, one week after a son of his was beaten just a nose in the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint.

Repent is a new arrival to Empire Stud in New York, after stints in Florida and Kentucky. This year he stood his one and only season in Kentucky, but he probably didn’t get the recognition that he deserved because this wasn’t a normal year with the financial crisis and other problems -- like no slots -- plaguing Kentucky.

Repent’s move to Kentucky in normal times may have been understandable. He had done well in Florida, and in 2008 his first crop of 3yos was running well, with four legitimate Triple Crown candidates, headed by Crown of Thorns and Atoned. Both were Graded SWs, and he had sired them on a $5,000 stud fee in Florida.

At 2, Repent had won the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes and the G3 Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes. That same year, he was also 2nd to Johannesburg in the 2001 G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

The next year, he was on the Triple Crown trail before he got hurt as a one-time Derby favorite. He'd won the G2 Louisiana Derby (worth $750,000 that year) and the G3 Risen Star Stakes but was 2nd by 6 ¼ lengths in the G2 Illinois Derby to War Emblem. It turned out he had a chip in a knee. War Emblem subsequently won the Kentucky Derby that year.

Repent came back after surgery for the chip to run 2nd in the G1 Travers to Medaglia d’Oro by only a ½ length, without a prep since the Illinois Derby. He then was wheeled back in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup but injured a tendon when unplaced and was retired to stud with a record of 5 wins from 10 starts and $1,255,660 in earnings.

Although he’s a grand-looking individual who sold for $230,000 as a Fasig-Tipton July yearling, Repent is a son of Louis Quatorze out of an Argentinean family. Without a G1 win to his credit, he just didn’t fit as a stallion in Kentucky, so he started out cheap in Florida at Cloverleaf Farm but came out strong with his first crop of runners, which punched his ticket to Kentucky.

He got the aforementioned Crown of Thorns from his first crop. Crown of Thorns was unplaced in his only start at 2, but broke his maiden on Jan. 1, 2008, at Santa Anita in scintillating fashion. The Richard Mandella-trained colt won a 7-furlong MSW by 7 lengths and immediately became a talking horse for the classics off one win. He backed it up in his next start when he took the G2 Robert B. Lewis at Santa Anita by 2 ½ lengths at 1 1/16 miles. However, he got hurt and missed the rest of his 3-year-old season, which was unfortunate for Repent, who still had three other classic contenders at the time: Atoned, now a G3 winner but 2nd in the G3 Tampa Bay Derby at the time and 2nd at 2 in the G2 Remsen S.; Check it Twice, winner of the What a Pleasure S.; and SW Prince Cortez. None made it to the Derby.

So, Repent went from looking like he was going to have a huge year, to having a fine but unfortunate year with his first crop. Because of this, Repent’s stud fee in 2010 will be the same as it was in Florida when he entered stud. To date he has 9 stakes winners (7 unrestricted) from 3 crops to race through 2009 and national ranking on the Third-Crop sire list. Repent’s runners win at 2, they run on all surfaces, they are effective at all distances, and they can stay as far as 1 ½ miles in stakes company.

Two weeks ago at the Breeders’ Cup, Crown of Thorns was beaten only a nose in the G1 sprint on Pro Ride. This weekend, the 3yo Repent filly Sweet Repent won the $200,000 Elmer Heubeck Distaff H. at Calder against Florida-breds; and the 2yo Beijin won the $50,000 Donna Freyer S. at Philadelphia Park for Pa-breds. The Repents should do just as well in the restricted program in New York, but they won’t be limited to races for New York-breds, judging by the quality of horses such as Crown of Thorns and others.

--Jack Werk