Befitting its name, Hidden Brook Farm may not be the flashiest Thoroughbred nursery in the Bluegrass, yet it turns out a steady stream of top-level Saturday performers. Its commitment to top-tier horsemanship is being proven once again with the emergence of Dr. Venkman, who seeks his first grade 1 victory July 26 in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) at Del Mar.
Hidden Brook, a 600-acre Thoroughbred paradise just outside Paris, Ky., has foaled and raised such stars as champion Straight No Chaser and grade 1 winners Ball Dancing, Paradise Woods, Awesome Maria, Dad's Caps, Dr. Schivel , Discreet Cat, and Discreetly Mine, among others. It has made its bones in large part by buying into fillies whose families it has come to know by raising and/or selling their relatives. Dr. Venkman represents the latest example.
Hidden Brook, which was begun by partners Dan Hall, Mark Roberts, Sergio de Sousa, and Jack Brothers (and now includes Kevin Latta), consigned the unraced mare Gal of Mine to the 2009 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, where she was an RNA. After her Mister Baileys filly America America began winning stakes, Hidden Brook bought Gal of Mine.
"We were just starting the farm," noted de Sousa with a laugh, "and when we sold the Iroquois Park filly she was carrying for $16,000, we thought we'd hit gold. Gal of Mine was the meanest thing, but she passed along toughness to her foals."
Along with then-Hidden Brook farm manager Jamie Corbett, Hidden Brook bred So Long George, winner of the 2013 Nijinsky Stakes (G2T), by Arch out of Gal of Mine. Theory of Change (Archarcharch—Gal of Mine) followed, and broke her maiden at Saratoga Race Course at first asking for Klaravich Stables and William H. Lawrence. Injured in her second race and retired, Theory of Change was purchased by Hidden Brook for broodmare duty. For Gal of Mine's final foal, the farm sent her to Point of Entry , breeding stakes winner My Gal Betty.
Because Hidden Brook has had close ties with Frank Stronach's Adena Springs since its inception more than 20 years ago, the partners sent Theory of Change to Ghostzapper in a foal-sharing arrangement. The result was a bay colt Hidden Brook consigned to the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
"He was a good-moving horse and well balanced, but just average-sized for a yearling," said de Sousa. "If he had been an inch or two taller, he would have brought a lot more money."
California-based trainer Mark Glatt, as agent, parted with $105,000 to halter the colt.
"I'm a huge Ghostzapper fan," said Glatt in explaining his purchase of the horse who would be named Dr. Venkman by his ownership group, which now includes Dan Agnew, Clint Bunch, Mark Cohen, and James Hailey. "He was on the smaller size as a yearling, but he wasn't heavy-bodied and thick like some Ghostzappers. He had enough length to him, and I gambled that he'd grow. Today, he's a very nice-looking horse, not big, but not small, either."
As a 2-year-old, Dr. Venkman acquired the habit of getting himself into trouble via stall incidents and a variety of other mishaps, and the decision was made to geld him.
"It was one thing after another he would do to himself, so we decided to protect him from getting himself into more trouble, as well as keep him from getting too heavy," Glatt noted. "He wasn't an expensive yearling, so we didn't think twice about it. Of course, that was before we knew he could run."
His connections—and everyone else—found that out quickly enough when they unveiled him as a 3-year-old in 2023 and he won his first two races by 5 1/4 and 5 1/2 lengths, at 6 1/2 and seven furlongs, respectively, both at Del Mar. Shipped to Keeneland for the seven-furlong Perryville Stakes, Dr. Venkman checked in second, missing by a head to Raise Cain.
As a 4-year-old last year, Dr. Venkman ran second in the Triple Bend Stakes (G2) at seven-eighths, and then stretched out to 1 1/16 miles in the San Diego Handicap (G2), which he won by a length. He then ran a respectable fourth in the Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) at 1 1/4 miles, but Glatt feels he is best served turning back to one-turn events.
This year, Dr. Venkman sports a pair of solid runner-up efforts, first to Nysos in the Triple Bend and then in the 6 1/2-furlong Kelly's Landing Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs after a troubled trip down inside of horses. He comes into the Bing Crosby sporting a slate of 3-4-0 in eight starts, good for $487,300 in earnings.
"Under certain circumstances, he can get two turns, but I think his very best is up to a one-turn mile," Glatt said. The Crosby will actually be his first attempt at six furlongs. "It may be a little short for him, but it's within his wheelhouse," Glatt added. "He loves Del Mar, where he is 3-for-4, and the one turn will be his chance to do something big one day."
That day could come Nov. 1 in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). As a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In race, the Bing Crosby offers its winner an entry-fee-paid berth in the Sprint.
Meanwhile, Hidden Brook has bred another stakes winner out of Theory of Change. Tranche, a son of Collected , scored in the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Futurity at Santa Anita Park.
"The family is just runners," de Sousa said of Gal of Mine, who has 12 foals, 11 starters, and 10 winners. "That's pretty remarkable. She has passed on great ability and talent to her foals, and they run on all three surfaces. Theory of Change is a beautiful horse. She has a really nice Maxfield colt selling in Book 1 in September, and a nice Cody's Wish weanling filly.
"We liked Theory of Change and My Gal Betty as foals, and they are both back at the farm today as broodmares, Theory of Change in the same barn where she grew up. It's awesome to have them here. The horses keep people talking about us."
