‘It’s like a sale on steroids’: Murray’s Stateside splash pays off

Stone Farm only presented a draft of two yearlings at this year’s Saratoga sale, and their second offering had an Australian twist on top of a sterling result. Bred by Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria President Peter Murray, they also offered a Quality Road son of multiple-winning, stakes-placed Eloquent Speaker (Flatter) (hip 90), who sold for US$725,000 ($1.1 million) in the Monday opener.

Hip 90 – Quality Road x Eloquent Speaker colt | Image supplied

The first yearling that Murray had ever offered at the Saratoga sale, the colt was purchased by the partnership of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, and Robert LaPenta, the same team who sourced triple Grade I winner Journalism (Curlin).

“It’s been fantastic,” Murray said after the sale. “It’s my first time here, and it’s like a sale on steroids. It’s very exciting.”

Murray purchased the colt in utero when paying US$350,000 ($541,000) for Eloquent Speaker at the 2023 Keeneland November Breeding Sale. Boomer Bloodstock’s Craig Rounsefell signed the docket.

“After an extensive search, my great friend Craig Rounsefell found this great mare,” Murray said. “She was speedy, she was beautiful. We were actually high-fiving ourselves that we got her for that price, because she was in foal to Quality Road, who stood for $200,000 at the time.”

After two seasons at his peak fee of US$200,000 ($309,000), Lane’s End Farm resident and four-time Grade I winner Quality Road stood for US$150,000 ($232,000) in 2025.

Stone Farm was the logical choice for the colt’s consignor; Murray was introduced to Lynn Hancock by Rounsefell two years previous to his purchase of Eloquent Speaker, and Murray has a deep appreciation for the farm’s ability to grow out successful horses.

“They’re a fantastic family, (they have) fantastic heritage with Stone Farm,” Murray said. “(They have) a lot of perseverance that creates success, and such honest people and such lovely people. Then I was lucky enough to come over and meet Mr (Arthur B) Hancock. He might have taken a little bit of a shine to me, I don’t know, but we got on well!”

Peter Murray | Image courtesy of Thoroughbred Breeders Victoria

Murray thanked Rounsefell for his assistance with mare selections; “Boomer’s done a great job. I think one of his great skills is finding broodmares, both maiden mares and ones that are in foal.”

On having his first yearling at Saratoga, he added, “this is like having a runner in the Kentucky Derby. We’re here as one of 200 horses, out of 18,000 foals born in America. What are the odds?

“I’d just like to say thank you to everyone at Stone Farm. Boomer, of course, has been fantastic. Lynn, she’s a legend, and Mr Hancock and all their team. You couldn’t be with anyone better.”

This article was originally published by TTRAusNZ.