In a cyclical business like this, credibility is vital. Because it's the repeated, controllable processes, in between, that determine how far the random interventions—luck, resources—might take you. That's why the McLean family of Crestwood prizes constitution, in horses; and continuity of horsemanship, from one generation to the next, on a farm that has bred and/or raised over 300 stakes winners.As it happens, much the same applies to those responsible for conferring the status of 'TDN 'Rising Star, presented by Hagyard,' They must be confident that a young horse will only strengthen the brand, not depreciate it. And that's certainly proving the case, despite a first defeat, of Crestwood graduate He Is No Lie.After an eight-length debut success, for Purple Rein Racing and Mark Davis, this Early Voting colt locked horns in the Bashford Manor Stakes with favorite Hey Tuff Guy (Life Is Good) in 22.10 and 44.69. As their duel told on his rival, He Is No Lie powered on and was clear at the eighth pole. But Blessed Flyer (Dialed In), conserved from those molten fractions, was bearing down all the while and ultimately nailed him on the line.Though a monster effort in its own right, this looked a valuable learning experience for a raw animal. And if He Is No Lie is named for authenticity, he showed all the honest rigor of his grounding.Looking up the transaction that brought his dam Truth in the Lies (Hold Me Back) to Crestwood, as a $19,000 maiden mare deep in the 2019 Keeneland November Sale, one thing leaped off the page: a 8-for-43 record across six seasons. For this is a farm, often standing conspicuously resilient stallions, that prides itself on producing runners.Pope McLean Jr., who operates Crestwood alongside brother Marc and sister Grandison, does not demur. “That's exactly what drew us to her,” he acknowledges. “The family was certainly okay, and she had lots of speed, but it was mainly her race record that stood out. She was towards the end of the sale, but we liked that soundness and we liked the physical.”While not one of the industrial Bluegrass farms, Crestwood does a little of everything: stallions to sales prep, foaling to lay-ups. So the team, being routinely plugged into the sales scene, always has an eye on refreshing a broodmare band numbering around 30. (These include several owned in partnership; with boarders, Crestwood typically foals out 100 mares.)He Is No Lie | Benoit“We try to be in the market every year,” McLean says. “Just trying to identify, not necessarily value so much as something we think can work for us, whether we'd be breeding her commercially or to our stallions.”This mare's deployment was typical: she has both supported the home roster and taken commercial covers like the one that produced He Is No Lie—bought by Gina Fennell for $70,000 at Keeneland last September, before reaching $150,000 at OBS in March.“We try to be fluid,” McLean explains. “There are always so many horses rolling through those sales that you just have to work hard and keep evaluating. We're not going to buy ultra-expensive mares to breed to modestly-priced stallions. That doesn't make sense. But we've shown that you can breed Grade I winners from our stallions without having to spend a fortune. In this particular case, we bred the mare to Caracaro, then bred her off the farm, then brought her back to Stage Raider. We put a lot of time and thought into these things. But then Mother Nature has to take over, right? That's the beauty of the game.”Mother Nature did not quite co-operate this time round: by the time Truth in the Lies delivered her Stage Raider colt, she couldn't catch on a single return to Early Voting. But she has a Vekoma filly heading towards September. “She's nice,” McLean says. “She's an April 29 foal and growing, but we think she'll have plenty of size by sale time.”If the mare's sire Hold Me Back proved one of his lesser sons, the duplication of Giant's Causeway doubtless appealed to bloodstock consultant Robert Keck in the mating. (Early Voting's sire Gun Runner is of course out of a Giant's Causeway mare.)“We work hard on the matings,” McLean says. “Rob did this one and helped us find the mare. He's worked with us 25, 30 years. He'll be looking at mares while we're working at the barn, narrowing it down for us, and then we'll all get our heads together. Because we're interacting with clients, we're selling horses, and can't do everything at once. But we manage to cover a lot of ground, and together we get it done.”Crestwood has been freshening up its roster, with Justify's half-brother Stage Raider last year and Il Miracolo this spring, joining Sir Winston and Caracaro.Having produced stakes winners from two small books, Caracaro welcomed a stampede of 151 mares in 2024. The resulting crop is heading to the upcoming yearling sales.“We've a few, and think they'll be okay, and we're getting good reports on others too,” McLean says. “He ended up close to 80 mares this year, so not a huge book, but enough that he's not going to have a hollow year. Certainly we're still supporting him. We'll see what happens, but we're excited.”Now the young guns must seize their window of opportunity the same way.“When we first started with stallions, Storm Boot had two millionaire fillies in his first crop with fewer than 40 foals on the ground,” McLean says. “So while obviously you'd rather have huge numbers, it's not impossible. You never know what you have until you get it out there. Lightning in a bottle, right?”Il Miracolo | Katie PetrunyakRather than cynically play a system, the McLeans just do what feels best for each horse in each division. Nonetheless it aggregates to a serious enterprise: they're taking 80 yearlings to September, off 1,000 acres of prime Bluegrass. There are mares grazing here of the caliber of Spanish Star (Blame). Bought for a client for $275,000, she produced a $225,000 Twirling Candy filly who has since become GI Test winner Kilwin. Spanish Star's priceless daughter Starry Flight (Flightline) is nearing a debut for Ian Wilkes, while a Cody's Wish filly heads under the hammer at Keeneland.Like any farm, Crestwood must have faith that the way babies are raised can make a difference.“We do put a lot of pride in that,” McLean affirms. “Our yearling division has big, open fields. They're handled plenty, but they need to be outside. They're not going to be afraid of other horses when it's time to race. They'll get a little banged up here and there, but we want them to know that they're horses. Herd dynamics are strong, and mean something.”That's how a tried-and-tested model becomes tried-and-trusted.“We've been doing this since 1970,” McLean reflects. “It's not so much about salesmanship, convincing somebody to buy a horse they're not interested in. It's having them ask: 'Did you raise this horse? Has it been on your farm the whole time?' Because I think our track record gives people confidence.“These horses are so fragile, so you learn just to hope for the best. But it sure is fun when they go on and do things like this. It almost makes us want to keep going!”He gives a chuckle. “Just teasing,” he confirms. “But no, that's why everybody's in it. To have good horses, right?”The post No Lie Tells It Straight For Crestwood appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.