The product of late owner/breeder Stephen Brunetti's love for Thoroughbreds will be on display when his family's homebred grade 1 winner Unbridled Mo and her yearling colt by Curlin enter the ring Feb. 3 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale in Lexington.
Stephen's father John Brunetti Sr., who bought Hialeah Park in 1977 and developed Red Oak Farm near Ocala, Fla., passed away in 2018 at age 87. Stephen Brunetti died in April 2024 after a 4 1/2-year battle with cancer. He was 56 years old.
The Red Oak Stable legacy carries on through Stephen's brother John Brunetti Jr., though on a smaller scale.
"Stephen was the hands-on brother. He had a passion for breeding," said Rick Sacco, racing manager for the Brunetti family who also oversees Red Oak Farm. "He bred the grade 1 winner we're selling in this sale, Unbridled Mo, and he bred Mind Control, a three-time grade 1 winner and now a stallion standing in New York.
"Stephen loved breeding and racing."
The Brunetti family also owns Good Chance Training Center near Ocala, and the former Hialeah Park, which is now a casino.
The five-horse Red Oak Stable dispersal in the Fasig-Tipton sale, consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, will bring the number of horses sold since Stephen's passing to about 50, Sacco said.
Unbridled Mo (Hip 401), a 12-year-old mare by the late great stallion Uncle Mo, won the 2018 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) at Oaklawn Park plus a trio of grade 3 races in a 12-race career that saw her triumph seven times and earn more than $1 million. She has had three foals and is offered not pregnant.
Her foal of 2024, a leggy colt by Curlin, is cataloged as Hip 395 and looks like one of the standouts among the short yearlings on the grounds.
"That Curlin colt, I had him with me in Ocala up until a week ago. The last 90 days he really blossomed," Sacco said. "He's a big, long Curlin with a nice hip and big overstep. He's a very correct, beautiful colt out of a grade 1 mare who had a lot of heart.
"I've been doing this a long time, and that is an exceptional colt. As part of the dispersal, he has to be sold. It's an opportunity for someone to buy something that would normally not be on the market."
The dispersal also includes Hip 396, a yearling Munnings filly who is the first foal out of a Candy Ride half to Mind Control , plus two broodmares. Hip 398, Tapit to Ride, is a 9-year-old Tapit mare and half to graded winner Winning Cause, offered in foal to City of Light . Hip 399, That's Smart, is a 10-year-old Smart Strike mare offered in foal to second-crop sire Authentic .
Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. said the Red Oak Stable dispersal provided a boost to the February catalog
"The yearling Curlin colt is an exceptional horse. Not only does he have a beautiful pedigree, but he's a very good individual. He should be at the top end of the short yearlings in the sale this year," Browning said. "You could see him winning a grade 1. He's also a nice pinhook prospect and the type of horse we'd love to see again at our Saratoga sale. He's that kind of horse.
"The same thing applies to Unbridled Mo. She is a grade 1 winner and unfortunately they're not making any more Uncle Mos. She's a big pretty mare, and the Curlin colt is a good example of what she's producing."
Sacco said Red Oak's racing stable got off to a good start in 2025 with a maiden special weight victory by Prince Valiant, who won for trainer Todd Pletcher at Aqueduct Racetrack Jan. 11. The 3-year-old colt is by multiple stakes winner King for a Day , whom Red Oak also campaigned.
And Sacco is very excited about the reception Mind Control has received from New York breeders. Now in his third year standing at Rockridge Stud near Hudson, N.Y., the son of Stay Thirsty stands for $8,000.
"He bred 190 mares his first year at stud in 2023, more than any stallion in the history of New York breeding. And then in 2024 he bred 130," Sacco said. "He was a great, gritty horse. We're really looking forward to his babies."
