Mill Ridge Farm finds ‘right stallion’ in Oscar Performance

Tradition and family play a large role at Mill Ridge Farm, and the operation is thrilled for the homecoming of multiple Grade 1 winner Oscar Performance, who was raised on the Lexington, Ky., property and is settling back in before 2019 stud duties.

The return of Oscar Performance, who will stand for $20,000 as Mill Ridge's first commercial stallion since 2014, is an opportunity to continue tradition, Headley Bell, managing partner and son of Mill Ridge founder Alice Chandler, said this week.

“We’ve raised 34 Grade 1 winners since 2000, and we’re proud of that history,” Bell said. “You’ve got to continue to compete, and we think a horse like this allows us to be in the market.

“People thought we were no longer going to have stallions, but we were really waiting for the right stallion. And we think this is the right stallion to contribute to the breed, so that’s really the whole idea. We’re not doing it just to churn business. We’re really doing it to try to make a difference if possible, and I think that’s generally the reputation that we have.”

Oscar Performance, a Grade 1 winner at ages 2, 3 and 4, posted notable victories in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, Belmont Derby Invitational, Secretariat Stakes and Woodbine Mile. The Brian Lynch trainee retired with a record of 15:8-0-1 and earnings over $2.3 million

Aside from winning a handful of the biggest turf races in North America, what made Oscar Performance unique was his ability to accomplish those feats without Lasix. 

“It complements the horse for America to be running Lasix-free,” Bell said. “We’re not going to pound on the table about it, but we’re delighted it’s the case.”

In addition to his track record, Oscar Performance’s bloodlines makes him a standout.

Oscar Performance is sired by Kitten’s Joy and is out of the Theatrical mare, Devine Actress. Both his grandsire, El Prado, and damsire are grandsons of Northern Dancer, with El Prado sired by Sadler’s Wells and Theatrical sired by Nureyev. Northern Dancer can be traced back even further on both sides, as well as Hail to Reason. Oscar Performance’s paper is littered with other prominent names, too, including Mr. Prospector, Nashua, Seattle Slew and Danzig.

“He’s got an extraordinary pedigree blend of all types – goes back to many, many leading horses in his pedigree,” Bell said. “He’s got a beautiful inbreeding of foundation horses. That’s as appealing to me as his race record. He’s a gorgeous individual as well.”

Like Oscar Performance’s family, Mill Ridge is full of rich history itself. The operation was started by Chandler, daughter of Hal Price Headley of the storied Beaumont Farm, in 1962 with the land her father left her. Bell, a fifth generation horseman, also serves as the president of Nicoma Bloodstock, and his son Price Bell Jr., sixth generation, has known Mill Ridge since his childhood and also works with Nicoma. Established in 1979, Nicoma was named after one of the first mares Chandler bought for Mill Ridge. That mare produced five stakes winners.

Oscar Performance is a homebred for John and Jerry Amerman, longtime clients and friends of the Mill Ridge family. Bell said they met through trainer Bobby Frankel, who trained horses for both parties, and clicked immediately over the love for the horse. Mill Ridge currently has about 10 mares for them, including Devine Actress, who Amerman Racing campaigned to a stakes victory at Santa Anita Park in 2010.

Devine Actress also foaled Oscar Nominated, a 5-year-old full brother to Oscar Performance campaigned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey. Oscar Nominated is a multiple Grade 3 winner, with his biggest wins coming from Gulfstream Park, Kentucky Downs and Turfway Park. He has earned over $1.5 million.

Mill Ridge stood its first stallion in 1984 with Diesis, an English runner who won the Dewhurst (G1) and Middle Park (G1) stakes at 2. Gone West was added to the stallion roster in 1988 following his 3-year-old season, in which he won three Grade 2 races, and his son Johar stood his first season at Mill Ridge in 2005. Johar was a multiple graded stakes winner whose biggest wins came in the Hollywood Derby (G1) and the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1), where he dead heated with High Chaparral. Johar died at age 15 in 2014.