William Harrigan knew what he was doing when he bought Complicated as a 4-year-old filly for $110,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Harrigan knew that Phipps line very well, as he broke several of the fillies from that family for trainer Shug McGaughey.
The daughter of Blame had finished a nose behind future champion Lady Eli in a maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course in 2014, spiking Harrigan's interest. Ironically, the third-place finisher in that same race would end up being 2024 Broodmare of the Year Puca, the dam of 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage , 2024 Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Dornoch and most recently Baeza, who finished a game third to Sovereignty in the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1).
Who would have thought an $83,000 maiden special weight on the turf would be full of such influential mares?
Simply in Front, bred by Harrigan and Mike Pietrangelo, became Complicated's fourth winner May 3 when she captured the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G2T) at Churchill Downs by a neck over Pin Up Betty. The Eddie Kenneally-trained filly scored her second graded stakes win Saturday boosting her bankroll to $1,860,636. The daughter of Summer Front's next start is likely to be the Just a Game Stakes (G1T) June 7 at Saratoga during Belmont Stakes weekend.
"I think it solidified Simply in Front's grade 2 win (Music City Stakes) down at Kentucky Downs last year," Harrigan said of the filly's most recent win. "I think she will have a very good 4-year-old year. It seems all the mare's foals improve with age."
Harrigan, an upstate New York native, owns Miacomet Farm in Georgetown, Ky., a place he bought in 1996. He has been breeding horses with multiple different partners for approximately 15 years, keeping around 15 mares at a time with a focus on selling. Although most hit the sales ring, he does keep around 4-5 in training.
Complicated's other foals include stakes winner Churchtown; multiple graded stakes winner Honor D Lady, who sold for $1 million as a racing or broodmare prospect at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton November Sale to Steven W. Young, agent; and grade 1 winner And One More Time, who beat Saturday's Edgewood Stakes (G2T) winner Nitrogen last fall in the Natalma Stakes (G1T). The latter is the lone grade 1 winner bred by Harrigan and Pietrangelo, a feat every breeder hopes to achieve.
"She's a beautiful horse," Harrigan said of Simply in Front. "Probably the best-looking foal that mare has had.
"Churchtown was the first horse to hit the races, and he had become a listed stakes winner. So, we were hopeful (about Simply in Front). She was a very good-looking filly by a moderate stallion (Summer Front) at best. But, the reason we kept going was because of that War Front cross on Blame."
Complicated has checked in foal to top-sire Not This Time for a 2026 foal.
