Second Chances: Connections ‘Remain Very High’ on Quality Road Colt Following Educational Debut

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

After working in company with his elder graded stakes-placed stablemate Slip Mahoney (Arrogate) in an Aug. 19 move for trainer Brad Cox over the Oklahoma training track, there was plenty of chatter behind Air of Defiance (c, 2, Quality Road–Faypien, by Ghostzapper) heading into his Saratoga debut.

Despite proving no match for the jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) across Union Ave. six days later, Air of Defiance lost little in defeat while gaining some valuable racing experience in the process.

Drawn on the fence over a muddy and sealed track, the 5-1 second choice lunged at the start and rushed up beneath Ricardo Santana, Jr. to race in third in the early stages.

The Gold Square LLC colorbearer began to drop back sharply following an opening quarter in a swift :22.02 and was heading the wrong way while under a ride rounding the far turn in the six-furlong affair.

Left with a ton to do as they straightened for home, Air of Defiance began to figure it out in the stretch. He was guided off the fence down the lane, split rivals shortly thereafter and finished with interest to complete the exacta, albeit 11 1/4 lengths adrift the aforementioned Todd Pletcher-trained first-time starter. Air of Defiance earned a 70 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

The son of Quality Road brought $400,000 from Al Gold's advisor Joe Hardoon out of the Eaton Sales consignment at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Air of Defiance's dam Faypien, a graded winner around two turns and also the runner-up as the favorite in the 2017 GI Test S. at the Spa, realized $875,000 from breeder Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings at the 2018 FTKNOV sale.

The Quality Road over Ghostzapper cross has also produced GSW Guest Suite. Air of Defiance is bred similarly to Quality Road's GISWs Abel Tasman, City of Light and Spring Quality.

“We are hoping to run Air of Defiance Oct. 1 at Churchill,” Gold said. “He lost to a monster of Pletcher's. I'm hopeful he breaks a little better next time and the experience of his first race will enable a better outcome. We remain very high on the horse.”

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Bolt d’Oro’s Instant Coffee Grinds It Out in KY Jockey Club

After traveling the GI Kentucky Derby trail through the first half of this year with MGISW Cyberknife (Gun Runner), Al Gold's Gold Square and Brad Cox took the first step down the long road to the 2023 Derby Saturday at Churchill Downs, winning the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. with Instant Coffee (Bolt d'Oro).

Rallying to victory on debut going seven panels at Saratoga Sept. 3, the $200,000 KEESEP buy came from way out of it to be fourth behind next-out GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and likely champion Forte (Violence) going this distance in Keeneland's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity S. Oct. 8.

Hammered down to 3-2 favoritism off that effort, Instant Coffee held his breath a moment at the break and was jostled by his neighbor when making his entrance. Settling in sixth, the bay bided his time as 24-1 shot Gigante (Not This Time) dictated terms, coasting through early splits of :24.76 and :50 flat. Creeping up the outside to improve his position on the backstretch run as Cyclone Mischief (Into Mischief) charged up to take command, Instant Coffee ranged up four wide turning for home to take on the top two as Curly Jack (Good Magic) launched a bid on the fence. They were four abreast with a sixteenth left to run, but that only lasted a moment as Instant Coffee kicked into high gear, powering home to a convincing 1 1/4-length score. Curly Jack held second and Hayes Strike (Connect) filled the show spot. Instant Coffee earned 10 points towards a spot in the gate for the Run for the Roses.

“This is one of the biggest reasons why we do this–to be on the Road to the Kentucky Derby,” Cox said. “We're extremely proud of this colt to win like that in just his third start. He really does whatever you ask of him in the morning. It was a pretty slow pace but Luis kept after him and he was able to keep grinding out the win.”

“He broke a little bit slow today so we got behind the pace,” winning jockey Luis Saez said. “I was a little worried because they weren't really going fast at all up front and I was pretty wide. I could tell around the far turn my horse was trying very hard and I was very confident in him. We were able to make a big run into the lane and he kept finding more. He's a young horse who's just getting started and figuring things out.”

Pedigree Notes:

Instant Coffee is the third graded winner for his freshman sire Bolt d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) and his first on dirt. He is also the fifth black-type scorer for the young Spendthrift stallion, providing the late B. Wayne Hughes' operation with a sweep of Churchill's graded events Saturday, following Into Mischief's daughter Hoosier Philly's win in the GII Golden Rod S. Instant Coffee is the third graded winner and ninth black-type achiever out of a daughter of Uncle Mo. He is the first foal out of SP Follow No One, who has since produced a yearling filly by Frosted. She aborted her Speightstown foal this year and was bred back to Maclean's Music. Instant Coffee's second dam is MSW Miss Red Delicious (Empire Maker), who is a half-sister to MGSW & GISP Lady Apple (Curlin) and GSW American Apple (American Pharoah).

Saturday, Churchill Downs
KENTUCKY JOCKEY CLUB S.-GII, $399,625, Churchill Downs, 11-26, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45.25, ft.
1–INSTANT COFFEE, 122, c, 2, by Bolt d'Oro
                1st Dam: Follow No One (SP), by Uncle Mo
                2nd Dam: Miss Red Delicious, by Empire Maker
                3rd Dam: Miss Mary Apples, by Clever Trick
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($200,000
Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Gold Square LLC; B-Sagamore Farm, LLC
(KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Luis Saez. $238,440. Lifetime Record:
3-2-0-0, $322,815. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Curly Jack, 122, c, 2, Good Magic–Connie and Michael, by
Roman Ruler. ($180,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Michael
McLoughlin; B-Betz/J.Betz/Burns/Camaquiki/C.Kidder/et al
(KY); T-Thomas M. Amoss. $77,400.
3–Hayes Strike, 122, c, 2, Connect–Plaid, by
Deputy Commander. O/B-Dixiana Farms LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G.
McPeek. $38,700.
Margins: 1 1/4, HD, NO. Odds: 1.54, 2.62, 22.88.
Also Ran: Red Route One, Denington, Gigante, Cyclone Mischief, Freedom Trail, Western Ghent.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Jackie’s Warrior, Cyberknife Available For Inspection at Spendthrift

Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) and two-time Grade I winner Cyberknife (Gun Runner) are available for inspection at Spendthrift Farm Nov. 9-15 from 1:30-3 p.m. daily. Though Jackie's Warrior made his final career start when third in last weekend's GI Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint, Gold Square's Cyberknife–the unlucky runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile–will return to the barn of trainer Brad Cox Nov. 15.

“Jackie's Warrior has settled in nicely at the farm and is such an impressive specimen, especially for a horse coming off a pretty hard campaign,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “It's special to be able to add another great champion to our stallion ranks and we're excited to be able to show him off to breeders. Cyberknife ran great to finish a head behind older horse Cody's Wish in the Dirt Mile, and he came to the farm looking well and with good energy. He is set to run again before retiring, however, it was important for us to be able to show him to breeders over the course of the next week.”

Jackie's Warrior will stand for an introductory fee of $50,000 S & N and retires as the first champion sprinter in 34 years to have won as many as five Grade I races. He became the only horses in the history of racing at Saratoga to post top-level success in three straight seasons when winning this year's GI A. G. Vanderbilt H. in dominating fashion.

Cyberknife, winner of this year's GI Arkansas Derby and GI Haskell S., will command a fee of $30,000 upon his retirement.

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Cyberknife Gunning for His Third Grade I in Runhappy Travers

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Though an impressive win in the GI Haskell S. helped make Cyberknife (Gun Runner) the second choice on the morning line for Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S., trainer Brad Cox agreed with the question: Is your colt underappreciated?

“I think he is a little bit, given the fact he's won two Grade Is,” Cox said.

Very quickly, Cox made it clear that he was not quibbling that the linemaker for the 153rd Travers figured that Epicenter (Not This Time) would have the lowest odds by his name when the gates open. The estimate was that the GII Jim Dandy S. winner leaving from post six would go off at 7-5 in the field of eight.

“Obviously, the favorite is a very good horse,” Cox said. “He was second in the Kentucky Derby and I think that goes a long way. Then, the Kentucky Derby winner is 10-1.”

Cyberknife was listed at 7-2 after drawing the rail in the 1 1/4 miles Travers. Rich Strike (Keen Ice), who won the Derby at odds of 80-1, will be in the next gate. He was sixth in the GI Belmont S. June 11 in his most recent start. Rich Strike will be the 27th Derby winner to have a go in the Travers. Ten have won.

“The Kentucky Derby this year is a race, and I'm not taking anything away from the winner, but it's just a race that if it was run several more times, you would get several different results,” Cox said. “It was one of those Derbys that you see every 10 to 15 years when you don't think what can happen happens. That had a lot to do with the pace and I had two horses who were involved in that pace. If we rewind, we wouldn't go that quick. No one would have. It's just the way it happened and it worked out.”

Cyberknife, owned by Saratoga resident Al Gold's Gold Square LLC, ended up 18th in the Derby after starting in post 16 at 14-1 after staying close to the pace. Another Cox Derby horse, Zozos (Munnings), also paid the price for going too fast and was 10th. His third Derby runner, Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile), was able to close after sitting off the torrid early fractions and finished seventh.

“That's not a true read with them going that quick that early,” Cox said. “I don't think he will have any issue with the mile and a quarter, just based off the pedigree and how he has finished up in his races.”

That pedigree has Travers connections. Gun Runner was third in Arrogate's track-record Travers in 2016 and his dam sire, Flower Alley (Distorted Humor) won the race in 2005.

Cyberknife locked up his Derby berth with a 2 3/4-length win in the GI Arkansas Derby at 5-1. The run at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May was a disappointment, but Cyberknife prepped for the Haskell with a win by a nose at 1-2 in the GIII Matt Winn S. at Churchill June 12. He picked up the second Grade I–the only runner in the Travers field to have a pair–with a big performance at Monmouth Park July 23. Months ago, Cox said that Cyberknife was a slow-maturing colt that might be better in the second half of the year. So far, that looks to be an astute assessment.

“He broke the track record and the stakes record in the Haskell,” Cox said. “We're looking forward to giving him an opportunity at a mile and a quarter. We know a lot more about him now than we did when we ran him a mile and a quarter in the Kentucky Derby. Hopefully, he won't be part of some type of suicidal pace. I don't think there'd be one anyway. We'll see how it goes. Overall, the horse is doing really well. He settled in here. He's been here for five weeks, I think he's set up for a huge effort.”

Cyberknife has worked three times over the main track at Saratoga, most recently five furlongs in 1:00 on Saturday.

Starting from the inside post in the Haskell under jockey Florent Geroux, Cyberknife sat a ground-saving, stalking trip. While Taiba (Gun Runner) was making an outside move toward the favorite Jack Christopher (Munnings) near the quarter pole, Cyberknife and Geroux were attacking from near the rail.

“I think probably the most impressive thing is when they turned for home, how Florent seemed to have a good bit of horse left,” Cox said. “It just showed how much talent he really has. He really cruised up there to the lead inside Jack Christopher and was able to dig in and really fight to get there and galloped out well. That was the most impressive.

“Another thing that was very impressive with him, which he did in the Arkansas Derby, he's able to sit inside of horses, and he didn't get too worked up and feel the pressure from other horses. He'll relax down there on the inside, which I think is a big asset.”

Being comfortable on the rail could prove to be a benefit in the Travers, which has had but two winners from post 1 in the last 40 years: Holy Bull (Great Above) in 1994 and Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) in 2016.

The last Haskell winner to double up in the Travers was Point Given (Thunder Gulch) in 2001. Since then, 12 Haskell winners have come up short in the Travers, most notably Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), who was second to Keen Ice (Curlin) in 2015.

Cox won the Travers last year with Essential Quality (Tapit). While he is confident that Cyberknife is ready for this test, he said he was mildly surprised that the colt was placed as high as he was on the morning line.

“Maybe a little bit,” he said. “I thought maybe Zandon (Upstart) would have been second choice. It didn't really matter. I thought that this guy who does the odds here in New York does it as well as anybody, so he's probably spot on. It doesn't really matter as long as we're the first choice after the race.”

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