A ‘Step’ in the Right Direction -Written by the Thoroughbred Daily News
Recently retired 5-year-old Premier Steps (Ire) (Footstepsinsand {GB}) provided the first major jolt in the Keeneland sales pavilion Monday morning as Japan’s Shadai Farm saw off all challengers to secure the broodmare prospect for $400,000. Craig and Holly Bandoroff’s Denali Stud, Agent II consigned the bay as hip 39.
Trained in Europe as a juvenile by Tom Dascombe, Premier Steps was third in Royal Ascot’s G3 Albany S. and finished a dead-heat second, beaten just a neck, in Deauville’s G3 Prix du Calvados-Haras des Capucines. Transferred to Chad Brown after being purchased privately, she defeated subsequent Grade I winner Discreet Marq (Discreet Cat) to take Gulfstream’s Sweetest Chant S. in early 2013. She finished third in last April’s GIII Wilshire S. for Tom Proctor.
“That was significantly more than I thought [she would bring],” admitted Pete Bradley, manager of the partnership group of Swift Thoroughbreds, Inc., Vintage Thoroughbreds LLC, Kisber, et al. that campaigned Premier Steps in the U.S.
“She’s a beautiful mare, she had some real potential as a racehorse, and if you looked back at who she raced against in Europe—that’s why you saw Coolmore and the Europeans bidding on her—she was right there among the very best 2-year-olds of her year orjust a half-notch below. She’s a pretty mare with a race record behind her and we got lucky…That was a good way to start the year. We won a listed stakes with her, had some fun with her and came out ok on the other end.”
