After a long lifetime marked by notable wins on the racetrack and in the business world, prominent owner-breeder, entrepreneur and philanthropist Marty Wygod has passed away aged 84.
“I have so many good memories of Marty Wygod. I was telling Emily [Bushnell, Wygod's daughter] this morning, one of my favorite things about Marty was he had a great sense of humor,” said trainer John Shirreffs, who conditioned some of Wygod's heaviest hitters on the track.
Wygod, said Shirreffs, was also something of a prankster.
“The first time I met him at the barn, he was standing in front of this horse, and he's studying it very carefully. I remember thinking to myself, 'I wonder what he's doing,'” recalled Shirreffs.
“He then leaves the horse and he walks down to me, and he says, 'John, that horse has a headache.' I didn't know what to think–that's Marty Wygod. He told me the horse had a headache. I'm not going to question that!” said Shirreffs. “From that moment on, we had a really good relationship.”
The hub of Wygod's breeding empire-which he owned and operated with his wife, Pamela-was the 250-acre River Edge Farm, in California's Santa Ynez Valley, close to Santa Barbara.
There, they stood several successful stallions, like Bertrando, Tribal Rule, Benchmark and Dixie Chatter. But it's the many talented performers Wygod bred, owned and co-owned that he's arguably best remembered for in the racing world.
The Wygods bred Life is Sweet (Storm Cat), a two-time Grade I winner who took the 2009 GI Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic. Sweet Catomine (Storm Cat) won the 2004 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Tranquility Lake (Rahy) was a seven-time graded stakes and dual Grade I winner and went on to produce a $9.7-million Keeneland September sales-topper. Idiot Proof (Benchmark) claimed the 2007 GI Ancient Title S. at Santa Anita and was runner-up in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint.
In 2010, Harmonious (Dynaformer) took two G1 scalps: the American Oaks at Hollywood Park and the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. at Keeneland.
“Harmonious wins the Queen Elizabeth and Marty and I are the two out of towners. We go up to the director's room for a celebratory drink, and I think we were off standing by ourselves in the corner after that!” said Shirreffs, who trained both Life is Sweet and Harmonious, among several Wygod-owned luminaries, remembering that win as one of their sweetest.
The Wygods' latest work of art is the Kentucky Derby-bound GII Wood Memorial S. winner Resilience (Into Mischief), co-owned by Bushnell.
“That has been one of the best things for him these past few years–he was very excited about that,” said jock's agent, Tom Knust, who struck up a firm friendship with Wygod stemming from his days as Del Mar and Santa Anita racing secretary.
Over the years, Wygod's list of trainers included Julio Canani, Dan Hendricks, John Sadler, Clifford Sise and Bill Mott.
Wygod sat on or was involved with several prominent racing boards, including the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, as a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and as a member of The Jockey Club.
“Marty's inclusion on our board proved to be a blessing over and over again,” said DMTC's longtime CEO Joe Harper. “His insights and feel for both the world of business and our racing game helped us repeatedly make the kind of good decisions that have seen us rise to the top of the national racing community. We will dearly miss him.”
As a businessman, Wygod's fortunes were forged through various successful companies, perhaps most notably WebMD, a widely used online repository for medical news and information, through which he rose to the position of chairman.
“He'd come to the barn at Del Mar because he lived at Rancho Santa Fe, and he'd sit on a chair at the front of the office and conduct his business over the telephone,” said Shirreffs.
“It was kind of a thrill for me to sit next to him and listen to him on the phone talking to whoever he was talking to about his business. He was such a logical person who appreciated all sides of every conflict or interest,” said Shirreffs.
“Anybody in the horseracing industry that had any medical problems, he was right there to help them. It didn't matter if you were a groom or a hotwalker,” said Knust, who credits Wygod for twice saving his wife's life, connecting her with much-needed medical advice and help.
Like Shirreffs, Knust remembers a man with a wicked sense of humor.
“About 10 years ago, Marty brought a really good 3-year-old into Del Mar. He was by a $300,000 stallion out of his best mare,” Knust remembered. “He said, 'Tom, I'm giving you a share of this horse, it'll be your retirement. I just want you to call Pam, tell her that I'm giving you a share in this horse, and to figure out the paperwork.'”
When Knust called Pamela Wygod, he said she seemed a little confused, but assured Knust that she would straighten it out with her husband.
“I just kind of felt strange about something,” said Knust. “So, I went and looked up the papers and it was a gelding. That was Marty's sense of humor. He had a great sense of humor.”
Said Shirreffs: “He was just a great guy. We was a fantastic individual. A brilliant man. A great horseman. He was something special to be around.”
Aside from his daughter Emily and wife Pamela, Wygod leaves behind his son Max.
The post Prominent Owner-Breeder Marty Wygod Passes Aged 84 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Making his fourth straight appearance on the North American continent, Godolphin's Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) overcame easy underfoot conditions and five other rivals to add Friday's GI Maker's Mark Mile to his previous victories in the GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile and GI Breeders' Cup Mile when last seen at Santa Anita last November. Naval Power (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), conversely racing for the first time on these shores, completed the exacta for the 'Boys In Blue.'
Sent off at 77 cents on the dollar while making his 6-year-old debut on a rare sunny afternoon in Central Kentucky, Master Of The Seas gained a foothold at the fence and raced in the slipstream of pacesetting 'TDN Rising Star' Emmanuel (More Than Ready), though perhaps a fraction keen beneath William Buick through an opening quarter in :24.38 on ground officially listed as yielding, but riding significantly slower than that.
More or less into the box seat inside of 'Rising Star' and 2022 Maker's Mark winner Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) passing the half-mile in :49.20, Master Of The Seas traveled strongly on the turn, looking all over a winner assuming he was able to find running room when push came to shove. They lined up six across the course at the three-sixteenths, but Master Of The Seas went for a run underneath the weakening pacesetter in upper stretch and kicked on nicely to win off as much the best. Naval Power was a touch slow to begin, but split horses four off the inside with a bit better than a furlong to travel and came home well for second. Integration (Quality Road) came wide for the drive, but could not match strides with the Godolphin duo and settled for a never-nearer third.
Master Of The Seas joins the likes of Kip Deville and Wise Dan (2x) to have won the Maker's Mark subsequent to their Breeders' Cup Mile successes. Miesque's Approval won the 2006 Maker's Mark before upsetting that year's Mile at Churchill Downs. It was a first win in the race for Sheikh Mohammed's operation.
“When he's done as much winning as he has over here (in North America) on quick ground, you're always slightly dubious when the ground is as testing as it is out there today, but he does have past form on slower surfaces,” said winning trainer Charlie Appleby. “What I liked about it is that they (stablemates Master of The Seas and runner-up Naval Power [GB]) got into a nice rhythm around there. Naval Power unfortunately was a bit slow from the gate. (Jockey) William (Buick) got in a lovely (position) for (Master of The Seas). Once they came off the turn, all William needed was that gap to be able to give him the signal to pick up.”
Nearly three years ago to the day, Master Of The Seas was winning the G3 Craven S. at Newmarket before going down to a nose defeat at the hooves of Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) in the G1 English 2000 Guineas a few weeks later at British racing headquarters. Winner of the G3 Earl of Sefton S. in a single 4-year-old start, the bay was unseen again until taking out the G2 Zabeel Mile in Dubai in early 2023, but he was never a factor in the G1 Dubai Turf two months later.
The easy winner of the G2 Summer Mile over the straight course at Ascot last July, Master Of The Seas easily accounted for Shirl's Speight in Toronto in September, was outfinished by champion Up to the Mark (Not This Time) in the GI Keeneland Turf Mile over course and distance Oct. 7 and managed to conquer gate 13 of 13 in the Breeders' Cup Mile, pegging back the commonly owned Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) on the wire.
Appleby said that both Master Of The Seas and Naval Power would remain in the U.S., with the former likely for the GI Turf Classic on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 4. Both horses will summer in Saratoga, the trainer said.
Pedigree Notes:
Master of the Seas, one of 57 Group 1/Grade I winners for his legendary sire, is one of 10 winners from 12 to the races from his dam, a listed winner and runner-up in the 2002 G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in France and later twice placed in this country at the graded level while under the care of Eoin Harty.
Firth of Lorne's G3 UAE Oaks-winning daughter Falls of Lora is not only the dam of Godolphin's four-time Australian Group 1 winner Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), but also of Albahr (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), winner of the 2019 GI Summer S. at Woodbine, and Isle of Jura (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), a three- time listed winner in Bahrain this season. Another daughter of Firth of Lorne, Bint Almatar (Kingmambo), produced G1 Metropolitan S. hero Just Fine (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).
Firth of Lorne's final foal is the 4-year-old filly Sithchean (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), victorious in her lone trip to the races over the Chelmsford all-weather in March 2023.
Friday, Keeneland
MAKER'S MARK MILE S.-GI, $517,775, Keeneland, 4-12, 4yo/up, 1mT, 1:37.10, yl.
1–MASTER OF THE SEAS (IRE), 123, g, 6, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Firth of Lorne (Ire) (SW & G1SP-Fr, MGSP-USA, $163,189), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Kerrera (Ire), by Diesis (GB)
3rd Dam: Rimosa's Pet (GB), by Petingo (GB)
O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charles Appleby; J-William Buick.
$306,125. Lifetime Record: Hwt. Older Horse-Eur & Eng at
7-9.5f, 17-9-3-2, MGSW & G1SP-Eng, GSW & G1SP-UAE,
GISW-Can, $2,520,582. *1/2 to Latharnach (Iffraaj {GB}), SW &
G1SP-Eng, $217,472; Falls of Lora (Ire) (Street Cry {Ire}),
GSW-UAE, SW-Eng, $246,417; and Etive (Elusive Quality),
SW-Ger, MSP-Fr, $126,693. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com
catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Naval Power (GB), 123, g, 4, Teofilo (Ire)–Emirates Rewards
(GB), by Dubawi (Ire). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin
(GB); T-Charles Appleby. $98,750.
3–Integration, 123, c, 4, Quality Road–Harmonize, by Scat
Daddy. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($700,000 Ylg '21 FTSAUG).
O-West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing, LLC;
B-Larkin Armstrong (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III. $59,250.
Margins: 2 1/4, 2 1/4, NK. Odds: 0.77, 5.80, 3.74.
Also Ran: Shirl's Speight, Emmanuel, Kubrick (Ire). Scratched: Du Jour, Equitize (GB).
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
No stopping MASTER OF THE SEAS as he surges to victory in the @MakersMark Mile (G1)! pic.twitter.com/qDyjEMaMH2
— Keene
The post Master Of The Seas A Convincing Winner of the Maker’s Mark Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
