Sweet Meadows senior vp and chief working officer Matt Lyons’ journey within the Thoroughbred trade started in Eire when his father gifted him and his brother a Shetland pony when Lyons was about 8 years outdated. Having been raised on a farm with sheep, Lyons noticed higher alternatives for a profession with horses reasonably than sheep and cattle.
Whereas incomes an equine science and enterprise diploma from the College of Limerick, Lyons had the chance to return to Kentucky, the place he labored for Gerry O’Mara at Glennwood Farm in 1998. After graduating, Lyons labored for Gerry Dilger after which for Frank Taylor at Taylor Made.
Lyons shared how Dilger defined to Taylor why he ought to rent him. After Taylor requested why he would advocate Lyons for an open place, Dilger mentioned, “The one suggestion I’ll provide you with is should you do not rent him, you are an fool.”
Lyons moved to ClassicStar Farm after which joined John Sykes, who based Woodford Thoroughbreds in 2007, and stayed there till 2019. When Sykes moved his Kentucky operations to Ocala, Fla., Lyons determined to remain within the Bluegrass State.
Cheyenne Stables’ Everett Dobson approached Lyons with a possibility to run his gross sales division.
“It has been a terrific journey. Everett and Janetta and their household are beautiful folks,” Lyons mentioned of the Dobsons. “I’ve been right here 5 years now. We have turned out some good horses, and I feel we’re simply getting began.”
Among the many horses Sweet Meadows has bought are Hoosier Philly and millionaire Bay Storm . Sweet Meadows purchased into a number of graded stakes winner Roses for Debra final yr. Lyons mentioned she’s going to seemingly have yet one more race within the upcoming Keeneland fall meet earlier than being entered into the Keeneland November Breeding Inventory Sale.
Just lately, on the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Sweet Meadows bought its first two million-dollar horses. The primary, a Nyquist colt went for $1.115 million. The following day, an Into Mischief colt hit the $1 million quantity on the nostril.
BloodHorse: When you concentrate on the trade since you have turn into a part of it, what is the greatest change you have seen happen?
Matt Lyons: One factor I seen, I suppose, from the gross sales, is it looks like there are much less folks shopping for extra horses, which will be the brokers. There was once much more trainers on the sale than there are right this moment. Now there’s large brokers shopping for a variety of horses for lots of purchasers. That is a change.
I feel the purse cash, and particularly now in Kentucky, is spectacular. Since I have been right here, we have seen highs and lows. We have seen the sturdy markets, and we have seen the occasions when the market was actually poor. However really, throughout these occasions, after I labored for Mr. Sykes, we purchased some mares, through the down occasions, that basically made us fairly a bit of cash. So I feel should you’ve obtained the means in these occasions when the market’s dangerous, you might decide up some good bloodstock. And that is what we did on the time when Woodford was beginning.
Matt Lyons
BH: Did you understand that the Keeneland September Sale was the five-year anniversary of Sweet Meadows’ first consignment?
ML: I did not actually give it some thought going into it, however I suppose it was, yeah. It actually has been a aim for us and for me to promote a million-dollar horse. We obtained shut a few years in the past, we had a $775,000 and final yr we had a $750,000. It was positively a landmark that we needed to attain. And I needed to attain it for the Dobson household. We all know we are able to produce runners; we have seen it. It takes some time to develop a model. I feel folks know us now. They’ve seen the horses are working, and it was an excellent time to try this. It was nice. The opposite factor about working for Everett and Janetta is that we have now a racing steady, so if we have now one thing in our yearling crop that has some dings on X-rays that possibly the market is not going to go for, we are able to put them in our racing steady, take our time, attempt to develop them, and that is actually a pleasant choice to have.
BH: How have your operations modified within the 5 years?
ML: We have positively tried to up our recreation. We do not have a variety of mares, about 25 to 30 mares, tops. It is an operation that a variety of the mares which might be on the farm really carried the silks, too. In order that they have been purchased as yearlings, went to the racetrack, and if that they had sufficient capability or sufficient pedigree to return again into the broodmare band, then that is how they made it there. It is additional gratifying when these fillies come again, then they produce, since you suppose you have made a profession from the start.
Everett has a very, actually good eye going on the market and horses and choosing these fillies. He actually enjoys it. That makes it additional particular when a mare like Cariba produces a million-dollar yearling. That was additional particular.
We have tried to offer ourselves a possibility to be business. We attempt to breed a mare to every of the highest stallions yearly. This yr, we bred one mare to Gun Runner, one mare to Uncle Mo, one mare to Curlin and (to) Not This Time. We’re attempting to offer our prime mares the highest horses to be business and to offer ourselves a possibility to herald the revenue to run the farm. We have stallion shares; Olympiad was one. We raced him in partnership. We attempt to help him with some mares as effectively. When you do not have a variety of mares, although, it is a tough steadiness as a result of you need to be business, however you’ll be able to’t deplete too lots of your mares in your stallion shares both. It is a steadiness whenever you’ve obtained a smaller broodmare band. However to this point, we have been in a position to do it and do it fairly effectively.
BH: For these of us who’ve by no means, and doubtless won’t ever, promote a million-dollar horse, what does that really feel like?
ML: It is a thrill. I’ve performed it earlier than Woodford. So we had a $1,900,000 2-year-old a couple of years in the past, and that was superb. We did that for a shopper. You’ll be able to’t predict this. You all the time hope. You go up there with all of the vetting on, and also you hope that everyone reveals up or they hadn’t purchased the horse earlier than, the cash’s nonetheless there. You stroll as much as that ring with a variety of hope, however you additionally understand how excessive of a threshold it’s. It is like profitable a grade 1. That is very onerous to do. So when it occurs, there’s an infinite sense of satisfaction for the entire workforce. … All people that is been a part of the journey. And it’s a journey as a result of there’s so many hoops to leap by way of from the night time the foal is born. There’s so many issues that may occur to those horses even main as much as a sale. You are hoping they do not run by way of a fence, or step on a rock, all these items that may cease you alongside the way in which. When a horse will get there, and also you get by way of the sale course of, and also you get by way of the vetting, and also you go as much as the ring with everyone lined up. And then you definately go searching, you say, ‘OK, they’re right here. I see them over there. The teams are right here.’ As soon as the bidding hit that million-dollar mark, it is simply, it is a particular, particular feeling. … That was our first million-dollar horse for Sweet Meadows. After which the next day, we did it once more.
The Nyquist colt consigned as Hip 82 on the Keeneland September Sale
BH: How do you recruit horses for yearling gross sales?
ML: We do not have a variety of exterior horses at Sweet Meadows. We are going to promote for purchasers, and we have now bought for purchasers, however … we’re not attempting to be a Taylor Made or a giant business operation. We need to promote our personal horses. We need to have some shopper horses, too, on the prime finish. We do not have a giant farm, both, so we will not actually usher in many exterior horses to prep them, so it type of hinders us a little bit bit on that. I need to hold it boutique, so I can think about each horse and provides them each alternative. And I would not need to be unfold too skinny.
BH: What retains you enthusiastic about your job?
ML: Being on a horse farm, it is a nursery. These horses go on to the racetrack. You’ve got obtained a graduating class yearly occurring to the NBA nearly. It is getting to observe their careers and attending to see them race and go on to the highest degree is what all of us hope for. You are your mares yearly and stallions, and looking for one thing that works, and you discover one thing that produces the bodily that may do it, It would not get outdated, actually. That is the fantastic thing about it. You get a brand new crop yearly, and there is hope with each crop which you can get a prime runner out of it.
BH: Is there something that we have not touched on that you just suppose can be necessary for readers to find out about you and Sweet Meadows?
ML: The horse enterprise is a relationship enterprise like some other. My son is not going to be within the horse enterprise, however I inform him each day, ‘You bought to get to know folks, make sturdy relationships and be trustworthy, and work onerous.’ I have been lucky in my time within the trade to have had good relationships with Gerry O’Mara after which Frank Taylor and Gerry Dilger and John Sykes and Susan Sykes, and now the Dobsons. I’ve simply been very lucky to have met some nice folks alongside the way in which and work for passionate folks and assist them obtain their objectives. That is type of what I attempt to do. And I’ve simply been very fortunate to this point.