8/22/-07 - Martin Nearing Summit of His Personal Mount Everest With Spanish Steps
by Deirdre B. Biles
Courtesy of the BloodHorse

Eddie Martin describes his quest to develop Spanish Steps into a successful stallion as "my own personal Mount Everest." Monday, Martin took a major step toward the summit when his Martin Stables South sold a strapping son of Spanish Steps out of the Ogygian mare Poqito Polly for $200,000 during the select session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s August yearling auction. The price was the session's second-highest, trailing only the $210,000 brought by a Cape Canaveral colt.

A 6-year-old unraced son of Unbridled, Spanish Steps also was Monday's leading first-crop sire and second-leading sire, with his seven offspring sold bringing an average of $80,000.

Since Spanish Steps entered stud in 2005 at Martin's farm near Reddick, Fla., with a $5,000 fee, Martin has bred 40 of his own mares each year to the stallion. Many of the mares were purchased because Martin thought they fit Spanish Steps based on their pedigrees and conformation.

"It's been very exciting," Martin said. "My expectations as far as his babies are concerned have been right on. I couldn't be any happier."

Spanish Steps brought $280,000 from the late Florida pinhooker Robert Scanlon, agent, at the 2002 Keeneland September yearling sale. Martin purchased the horse privately after he suffered an injury and failed to race.

"He had an undescended testicle, and he would carry himself wide in the rear as a result of it because it wasn't taken out," Martin said. "He ended up with an avulsion fracture in his right hind leg where the suspensory (ligament) pulls away from the bone and a piece of the bone comes with it. After he covered 101 mares his first season, it (the testicle) descended."

Martin chose to emphasize pedigree over race record in choosing a stallion prospect, and Spanish Steps' bloodlines were impressive. The horse is a full brother to $1,311,800-earner Unbridled's Song, winner of the 1995 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) and the 1996 Florida Derby (gr. I) and Wood Memorial Stakes (gr. I).

"Florida gets two types of horses," Martin said. "Either you get a lot of pedigree with no race record or you get a lot race record with no pedigree. Name me two of Northern Dancer's best sons as stallions -- Danzig, who raced three times, and Fairy King, who raced once. Between the two of them, they won only three races, but they were royally bred and were supported with great mares. That's also what I'm trying to achieve with Spanish Steps. Part of my business plan with him is to stick as good a mares as possible under him."

And so far, the plan appears to be working.

"This is something that I've always wanted to do in this business," Martin said. "It's such a long process, and this (the $200,000 Spanish Steps colt), is the culmination of everything."

11/17/06 - GRADE 2 WINNER “THE DADDY” RETIRES TO MARTIN STABLES SOUTH

THE DADDY, winner of 3 of 4 life time starts, including the G2 $750,000 Super Derby will stand the 2007 season at Eddie Martin’s Martin Stables South in Reddick Florida.

 After breaking his maiden in 1:09 flat at Hollywood Park in his first career start (and earning a 100 Beyer), The Daddy romped in a seven furlong Saratoga Allowance by 12 lengths winning under a hand ride in 1:22 1/5. In his third lifetime start he was beaten less than a length for second behind Lost In The Fog in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop Stakes at Saratoga. The Daddy returned to win the 1 ¼  Grade 2 $750,000 Super Derby in front running fashion in his fourth and final start.

 By Valid Expectations and out of the With Approval mare , With A Princess, The Daddy is a half brother to 2006 Grade 2 Lanes’s End Stakes winner With A City. The Daddy will stand the 2007 season for a fee of $5,000 lfsn.

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11/16/06 - "Spanish Steps weanlings average $72,000 at Kentucky sales"
On November 9th a weanling filly by Spanish Steps out of My Working Gal by Seattle Slew was purchased for $60,000 by MAB agency at the Fasig - Tipton Select sale in Lexington. On November 16th Clear Stables bid $85,000 for the Louisiana Bred Daughter of Spanish Steps out of the unraced Red Ransom Mare Prophetic at Keeneland. Spanish Steps Year To date weanling sales average is $58,800, nearly 12 times his introductory stud fee!

10/14/06 - "Spanish Steps ' weanlings average $45,000 at October OBS Fall Mixed sale"

.The first two weanlings to sell from Spanish Steps' first foal crop sold for $50,000 ( Hip # 128 purchased by Heilgbrodt Racing Stables of Texas) and $40,000 (hip # 596 purchased by Picturesque Farm of Paris KY). The average of $45,000 is 9 times the stud fee Spanish steps stood for his first two years at stud.

8/26/06 - SALES TOPPER AT THE OBS AUGUST YEARLING SALE

Martin Stables was the leading consignor in the select session by average sales price. The 9 horses sold by Martin Stables in the select session averaged $ 98,800.

Bloodstock agent and trainer Ken McPeek spent $300,000 to purchase the sale topper for an undisclosed client from the consignment of the yearling’s
breeder, Martin Stables South. The chestnut colt is out of the Storm
Bird mare Cent Nouvelles, a half sister to Grade 2 winner Special Happening.

MULTIPLE STAKES WINNER QUICK ACTION TO MARTIN STABLES SOUTH

REDDICK, FL–QUICK ACTION, the brilliant New York stakes winner who routinely sped quarters in :21 & change, will enter stud in 2006 at Martin Stables South.

The four-year-old by Carson City out of Indian Sunset, by Storm Bird, is from the family of Storm Cat, and will stand for $3,500 live foal, payable when foal stands and nurses.

A homebred racing for Overbrook Farm, QUICK ACTION was precocious from the outset. He won his two-year-old debut in New York wire-to-wire by 4 ½, then won the six-furlong Fred “Cappy” Capossela S. gate-to-wire by 7 3/4 in his third start.

QUICK ACTION ran second in the Lafayette S.-G3 at Keeneland and Ogygian S. at Belmont before winning the Anderson Fowler S. at Monmouth in :57.16 in the summer of his three-year- old season. He won flagfall to finish at Monmouth this past August, and retires as a multiple stakes winner with nine on the board finishes and wins every year he raced.

“QUICK ACTION fits the profile of the horses who have excelled in Florida,” said owner Eddie Martin. “He was a precocious two-year-old who was loaded with speed. He’s the only stallion in Florida by emerging sire of sires Carson City, and he’s from the family of the greatest stallion standing in America–Storm Cat. We think he can’t miss.”