Two years ago Kaylee Platt wanted only for her Modernist filly to live.
A small breeder with a modest farm near Boonville, N.Y. about a two-hour drive west of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., she had partnered with Michael Slezak to purchase a mare in foal at the 2022 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. The filly out of that mare, Ascot Walk (Daaher), was born May 15, 2023. It was quickly apparent that something was terribly wrong.
"She had constricted tendons right from when she dropped," Platt said. "She couldn't get up or move, and I was holding her up, trying to get her to walk."
A veterinary consult determined that the filly's case needed a specialist, so Platt shipped her to Cornell University's veterinary hospital, where the filly spent a week.
"She got everything she needed," Platt said.
But it wasn't enough: shortly after returning to Platt's farm, the filly developed sepsis and found herself headed back to Cornell. Somehow, she survived.
"They put everything they had into her," said Bill Johnson, who helped put together the Platt/Slezak partnership and who founded Turning Point Bloodstock, based in Fort Edward, N.Y. "Physically, mentally—whatever they could do to help her. There were even times when I thought, 'What are we doing here, guys?'
"But they were determined. She was their baby, and they were going to do the right thing for her. They got her healthy, and when she showed up to the sale, she was beautiful."
"I'm not sure a lot of people in their positions would have taken on that enormous expense, from a business standpoint," Slezak said. "They are mom-and-daughter breeding operations, doing everything themselves and trying to do right by the horse. They were not going to let that filly die without doing everything possible for her."
Selling from Johnson's consignment at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale, she brought $37,000 from Julie Davies' Popeye Stables.
"She was attractive on the shank and I loved the way she presented herself," Davies said. "She showed well and she fit the bill for what we do. She's also by a freshman sire, which is always appealing. I was prepared to pay a little more, but I'm happy with the price we paid for her."
That sale price looked even better seven months later when Davies pinhooked her at this year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, getting $310,000 from Repole Stable, which named her Grazie.
This year's edition of that 2-year-old sale took place May 20, timing that no doubt played a role in the nearly 10-fold increase in her sale price, because on May 2, Grazie's half sister by Bolt d'Oro , Drexel Hill, finished second to superstar Good Cheer in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) on a wet-fast (sealed) surface at Churchill Downs.
And three months after that, on July 31, Grazie earned her maiden win at first asking at Saratoga Race Course, romping over a muddy (sealed) track by 4 1/2 lengths for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Long a presence on the New York breeding and sales scenes, Slezak buys for the commercial market, not to race. He shops on a budget. That Ascot Walk was in foal to Modernist was a big selling point for him.
"You want to get as many things as you can that will make the foal marketable," he said. "Sometimes, the easiest way to do that is to go with a first-crop stallion."
Modernist's pedigree was another plus.
"Honestly, I'd give anything a chance by a stallion by Uncle Mo," he said. "Every one of his sons has managed to produce decent horses. In Uncle Mo I trust.
"I don't shop for clients like Repole. Most of my clients are doing it on a budget, so when you can find a horse for $5,000 carrying a baby that wins a maiden special weight at Saratoga, it's about as good as it gets."
Modernist stands for $5,000 at Darby Dan Farm near Lexington.
Ascot Walk has had three foals to make it to the races, all winners. Her first foal, Regaled (Mohaymen), has earned $179,510 and most recently finished third in the listed Allaire du Pont Distaff Stakes at Pimlico Race Course.
Platt recently had a baby, and anticipating the demands of an infant, she sold Ascot Walk to Johnson, who partnered with TLC Thoroughbreds. The mare had a Redesdale foal in 2024 and is in foal to Cody's Wish . She will be entered in Fasig-Tipton's August Digital Sale.
"Kaylee and her family have always done a really good job," Johnson said. "When their babies come in, they've been handled and they're well cared for. They're home-prepped. They're not out there with fancy equipment; they're just raising horses.
"Selling a horse for $35,000 made a world of difference to them. But when Grazie went through the ring, their tears weren't about the money; it was selling the filly. It was like they sold a friend."
When her baby is a little older, Platt intends to get back into breeding, again on a small scale. But whatever foals follow at Platt's Windy Acres, they'll have a hard time beating Grazie's first-out performance, and her story.
"She's my miracle baby," Platt said.
