Half to Magnitude Headlines Fedamore's Book 2 Offerings

Barry Clohessy has spent more than 25 years immersed in numerous facets of the Thoroughbred business, from exercise riding and caring for lay-ups to breaking yearlings, pinhooking, and sales preparation. Now, the affable Irishman has added consignor to his résumé, selling as Fedamore Stable. The ongoing Keeneland September Yearling Sale marks the first stand-alone consignment for Clohessy, who sent three Book 1 horses through the auction ring Sept. 15 and has six more scheduled to sell Sept. 17 on the second day of Book 2. More than a dozen horses are part of his full consignment during the two-week sale. His first two yearlings Tuesday, Hip 209 and Hip 228, fell short of their reserves and went unsold, but Hip 319, a Street Sense colt, was purchased by Pin Oak Stud for $500,000. In a sale featuring thousands of horses, standing out isn't easy. Clohessy's first horse through the ring Thursday, however, has a pedigree that should command attention. Hip 770, a son of Jack Christopher out of the Bernardini mare Rockadelic, is a half brother to Magnitude, this year's Dubai World Cup (G1) and Stephen Foster Stakes (G1) winner. Magnitude is also one of the leading contenders for this fall's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Keeneland. Clohessy is a minority owner of the colt along with majority owner Cherry Knoll Farm, which purchased Hip 770 last fall as a weanling for $230,000 at Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale. The colt was bred in Kentucky by Freddie Bloodstock. Magnitude was already an accomplished horse when his weanling half brother was purchased last fall. Magnitude, then a 3-year-old, had romped in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and in the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows earlier in the year, and later hit the board in the Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course and the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing. But Magnitude's ascent toward becoming one of North America's top horses was only beginning. "He was probably not the same Magnitude last November as he is now," Clohessy said. Weeks after the weanling's acquisition, Magnitude won the Clark Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs to cap his 2025 campaign. He returned at 4 to win the Razorback Handicap (G3) at Oaklawn Park before adding his two grade 1 victories. Magnitude was most recently sixth in the Aug. 8 Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. The decision to buy his weanling half brother was based on the colt's own physical attributes and the potential for pedigree updates through his noteworthy sibling. "Obviously, you have to have the physical, and he had that," Clohessy said. "But I happened to be at Fair Grounds when (Magnitude) won the Risen Star, and he ran off the TV screen that day. It was so visually impressive, and I thought he was equally as impressive in the Pennsylvania Derby when he showed another dimension and came back and ran (second) to a good horse (in victorious Baeza)." Trainer Steve Asmussen's history of developing high-class Winchell Thoroughbreds horses provided another source of upside. Adding to Hip 770's appeal is the influence of Ashford Stud's Jack Christopher, a top-10 first-crop sire currently represented by P. G. Johnson Stakes winner Glycogen. Like Jack Christopher, Hip 770 is a chestnut, and the similarities extend beyond color. "He's built like that," Clohessy said of characteristics shared with Jack Christopher, a three-time grade 1 winner in races from 7 furlongs to a mile. "He looks very fast. He's very strong." Hip 770 is part of a six-horse Book 2 group for Fedamore that also includes hips 792, 866, 914, 1029, and 1105. Clohessy singled out Hip 914, a Gunite colt who is a half brother to Tiz Dashing, as another particularly appealing physical. He also pointed to Hip 1029, a Vekoma colt that strongly resembles his sire and has the sharp, athletic appearance he values. The Book 2 group is part of a larger September consignment that represents a new chapter for Clohessy. Raised in County Limerick, Ireland, Clohessy rode as an amateur and worked for prominent horsemen in Ireland, England, and France before moving to the United States. In the States, he joined the operations of trainer Niall O'Callaghan and Neil Drysdale. After moving to Ocala, Fla., in 2007, Clohessy spent 12 years breaking yearlings and preparing horses—grade 1 winners Serengeti Empress and Miss World were just two of those he had the chance to work with for other trainers—before moving into pinhooking foals to yearlings. Previously, Clohessy's pinhooked horses were sold through other consignments, primarily Hunter Valley Farm. September marks the first time they will go through the ring under his banner. Clohessy expressed his appreciation for the opportunities provided to him by owner Margaret Duprey of Cherry Knoll Farm and her team of Peter and Caroline Pugh. He said he and Peter Pugh, a former trainer, have known each other since their racetrack days and that about a decade ago, he began working with him to look at horses to pinhook in Florida. "Then six years ago I moved up here to Lexington, and Peter sent all the Cherry Knoll pinhooks over to the farm, and from there that kind of grew into us actually partnering on some horses together," Clohessy said. "So, that's kind of where it's at now, where we partnered together on a lot of these horses." Going forward, Clohessy intends to keep his sales operation small, so he can stay closely involved with each horse. Speaking with BloodHorse before his first three yearlings made their way into the ring Tuesday, he said it was exciting what was to come. "You buy these horses, and you take them back to the farm and raise them and prep them, and (now) it's kind of fun to just do that last part," he said.