Ex-Aidan O'Brien Air Vice Marshal among high-class pair on their way to Turkey

Grade 1 winner and sire Bluegrass Cat and Group 2-placed Air Vice Marshal - who ran fourth in the 2,000 Guineas in 2016 when with Aidan O'Brien - have been sold to Nimet Arif Kurtel to stand at his Karacabey Stud near Izmit, Turkey.

The two stallions will join expatriates Victory Gallop, Lion Heart and Corinthian on the Karacabey roster.

Kurtel primarily breeds to race so he'll likely breed Bluegrass Cat and Air Vice Marshal mostly to his own mares, according to bloodstock agent Murat Sancal, who represented Kurtel in both deals.

Most recently, the Turkish owner/breeder bought 25 mares at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale and another 17 mares during this year's Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. Sancal said Karacabey is likely to breed the sires to a few outside mares as well.

First-choice claimed

"Bluegrass Cat was our first choice to bring to California to enhance the west coast breeding industry," said Mike Jimenez, the farm manager for Ballena Vista Farm, where Bluegrass Cat has stood the last five years.

"Each year, we had the horse, we received numerous inquiries regarding selling/moving the horse. The past few weeks interest intensified, and we have had several parties pursuing Bluegrass Cat. Entities from Australia and South America also expressed solid interest in the horse.

"We ultimately settled on an outstanding operation in Turkey for Bluegrass Cat. Mr Nimet Arif Kurtel will support him with his own mares with plans to race the offspring. Bluegrass Cat will be missed not only by us at Ballena Vista Farm but by the California breeders who supported him."

Good form

A multiple stakes winner at two, Bluegrass Cat won the Haskell Invitational Stakes by seven lengths during his sophomore campaign after finishing second to Barbaro in the 2006 Kentucky Derby and to Jazil in the Belmont Stakes. He would also be runner-up to Preakness Stakes winner Bernardini in the Travers Stakes.

As a stallion, Bluegrass Cat has sired 36 black-type winners and another 45 stakes-placed performers. His top runners include eight graded stakes winners led by $898,662 earner Sabercat and multiple graded stakes winner Kathmanblu. Bluegrass Cat shuttled to South America for four seasons, three times to Chile and once to Uruguay. His progeny worldwide have earned more than $46.2 million to date.

Marshal on the move

Air Vice Marshal is a six-year-old son of top international sire War Front out of the winning Arch mare Gold Vault. Besides dual Grade 1 winner Contested, his siblings include full-brother and first-crop yearling sire Mosler, a graded-placed stakes winner who stands at Country Life Farm in Maryland.

Bred in Kentucky by Cherry Valley Farm, Air Vice Marshal sold for $2.2m at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale to MV Magnier out of the Claiborne Farm consignment.

He broke his maiden on his second start at Gowran Park and became Group 2-placed in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket.

He was relocated to the US in 2017 and eventually found his way to trainer Doug O'Neill, who raced the colt for Jeanie Buss' Purple Rein Racing.

Air Vice Marshal, who finished fourth in this year's Grade 3 San Simeon Stakes in March and won a mile allowance/optional claiming race in Mat at Santa Anita, has won or placed 13 times out of 21 starts and has earned $266,005.

Both stallions are expected to ship overseas toward the end of the year.

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