Country Grammer will take his place in the starting gate Saturday night with a chance to not only defend his title in the $12 Million Dubai World Cup presented by Emirates Airline, but to be crowned the all-time richest horse in the World.
Currently the brilliant Australian champion Winx holds the title with $17,951,894 in lifetime earnings. With a win, Country Grammer would smash that number to an unimaginable $22,277,320. How he got there however, is a story of twists and turns.
Bred in Paris, Ky., by Drs. Scott and Debbie Pierce at their Omega Farm, he was a late foal, born May 11, 2017; the son of first-crop sire Tonalist and the fourth foal out of the Forestry mare, Arabian Song.
The breeders elected to enter him in the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. It was there, while consigned by Emma Quinn's Garrencasey Sales, that bloodstock agent Brooke Hubbard spotted him.
“It was my third year buying yearlings for my main clients and we were looking to just buy a couple that year,” Hubbard recalls. “I liked Tonalist as a first-crop sire and in fact got outbid on a different son of his the day before. When I saw him, he was overall balanced with a little pot belly. You could tell he was a bit immature but the raw shape was there with a nice hip and nice shoulder.
“We went to the back ring and a lot of people were looking at him but, when the bidding started, I made just two bids and we got him for $60,000. Right away instead of being happy, I said, 'Oh boy, did I miss something? Was there something wrong with the horse that no one else was bidding on him?'
“When we got him back to the barn and I sent photos to Ciaran Dunne – who was going to break him for us – and he wrote back that he looked good, I felt relieved.”
It was off to Ocala, Fla., where the horse referred to as “'17 Arabian Song” would receive his early training.
“When we sent him to get broke we weren't planning on pinhooking him,” Hubbard says. “But the farm kept saying how precocious he was and in December, when they sent a photo, you could see how well he was doing despite being a May foal.
“Ciaran messaged me and said he thought the horse would sell very well if we wanted to enter him in the April sale in Ocala,” Hubbard continued. “I called the clients to decide and they asked: 'Are we sure he isn't going to be a Grade 1 winner?' I told them you never know until you get them out there, and that has been our running joke now for the last few years, but we were very happy with the price we got for him at the time.”
Breezing Dreams
After working a quarter mile in :21-flat at the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, Country Grammer caught the eye of the well-respected bloodstock agent Pete Bradley.
“The first thing I remember was his breeze was exceptional,” Bradley remarked. “The way he used himself and galloped out. The frame was there, he was still a touch immature and on the narrow side but I thought there was a lot of improvement possible. I fell in love with him.”
Paul Pompa had enjoyed a memorable Kentucky Derby win in 2008 with Big Brown, and he was trying to get back there again. He reached out to Bradley saying if he saw anything he liked at the sales to let him know.
When Bradley sent over his short list of potential prospects, Pompa and his veterinarian advisor Dr. Chovanes agreed “'17 Arabian Song” was the one, and gave Bradley a shot to buy him.
When the final gavel fell on Hip 926, the board read $450,000.
“I think that was probably going to be our last bid, and that ended up being the first horse I ever bought for Mr. Pompa,” Bradley adds.
After the sale the horse was sent to WinStar Farm and farm trainer Destin Heath, as Pompa always liked his horses to enjoy some down time before heading to racetrack life.
“After 30 days, we started going slowly with him and you can see he was not overly big but the thing that stood out was the width he had and you could tell he was always well cared for, good minded and behaved very professional,” Heath said. “I called Paul and I told him '17 Arabian Song is going to be the best you had in a long time.”
Needing a name, Pompa's family decided on Country Grammer, after Grammy Award-winning rapper Nelly's famous 2000 song (the title of which has the correct “Grammar” spelling).
On July 19, 2019 he was finally ready to head for racetrack life and he was sent to trainer Chad Brown in New York. Right away, Brown saw talent from the horse but knew he needed a route of ground, so entered him in a one-mile turf race for his debut in October. Country Grammer would finish fourth that day but ran well, beaten less than two lengths for the win and two necks behind for second. Pompa's racing manager and top confidant, Jerry McClenin recalled calling Paul right after the race.
“I said 'Paul, you bought a turf horse for $450,000, I thought we were trying to go to the Kentucky Derby.' He said 'Don't worry he's not a turf horse, we trust Chad has a plan with him.”
Sure enough, he ran on the dirt next time out and stretched out around two turns to go 1 1/8 miles, and he won by three lengths over a strong field of maidens in New York.
From there he was firmly on the Derby trail, competing in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes in his next start where he was beaten just a half-length for second while checking in fifth. After the race, he developed some bone bruising and with COVID-19 closing down tracks around the country, it was decided to him send back to WinStar and Heath for some rest.
“When he came back to me, he had really filled out and grown about a hand,” says McClenin. “The thing about him was he was always competitive. The horses we breezed him with, he wouldn't want to distance himself from them but he never lost a piece of work on the farm; he would always win by a head or half length.”
With COVID-19 forcing the delay of the Kentucky Derby until September, the team had another crack at making it to the famous race. Heath sent Country Grammer back to Brown in Saratoga and after a third-place finish in an allowance race he finally put it all together in an impressive score in the Group 3 Peter Pan Stakes.
Travers Defeat And Tragic Loss
“He was a grinder, we really liked him but he was never fancy,” McClennin said. “We were excited to go to the [Grade 1] Travers Stakes after the Peter Pan but once again he didn't exit that race in perfect order and we had to send him back to WinStar again.
“When he came back after the Travers, Paul said 'I don't know whats wrong with him, do what you do best and fix him,'” Heath says.
They found a minor problem and were two weeks into treatment when the phone rang. Paul Pompa had passed away suddenly at the age of 62 from a heart attack.
“I had just talked to him the day before,” Heath recalled. “We talked every Tuesday at 3 p.m.; for 5 years it was our ritual. I always looked forward to those phone calls. He was such a genuine person and loved the horses.”
“We were all in shock when he passed,” McClennin says. “Then, we are at the reading of his will and it says 'Jerry McClennin will sell all the horses,' and I almost fell on the floor. I was in shock and disbelief but it was what Paul wanted. We decided to enter all of them in the Keeneland January sale in a few months.”
Fifty horses were entered including Country Grammer, who was starting to progress from his time off but had not yet started breezing back. Bradley, who had been following his career with Pompa, didn't have an order to try and buy him for another client.
“Everyone said he had too much time off, something must be wrong, but then I looked over and Elliott Walden was bidding on the horse and I kicked myself for not going after him harder,” Bradley said.
“Elliott called me when the horse was in the ring,” Heath recalls. “He was at $70,000 and asked me what was wrong with the horse, and I told him, 'Nothing, the horse is fine, vets fine, we have been working on him, maybe he just fell through the cracks.'”
Walden secured the purchase of Country Grammer at $110,000 for WinStar Farm. Finally, the horse who had spent so much time on the famed farm was going to be wearing their colors.
A new syndicate was forming at the time named Commonwealth Thoroughbreds, who came and took a share with WinStar and they decided to send the horse to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert to point for the long-distance stakes races in California.
McClennin says: “I thought he had snuck through the cracks when we sold him so cheap but to be honest we were all in such a fog during the sale, missing Paul. When he got to California, he starting working in :59 [seconds]. I said to myself, 'This horse has finally put it all together.'”
The move paid dividends immediately, with a second in the G2 Californian Stakes and a win in the G1 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes.
Country Grammer was sent to Todd Pletcher on the East Coast to prepare for the G1 Whitney Stakes, but within a month more problems appeared.
“We had shipped to the East Coast and our partnership was offering syndication shares on him for $50 a share,” said Chase Chamberlin, co-founder of Commonwealth. “As soon as he got hurt, we offered full refunds and about 10 percent took it, leaving us with 72 partners.”
Once again, he was sent to his home away from at home WinStar Farm and, after minor surgeries to clean him up, a new partner arrived.
Amr Zedan And The Middle Eastern Strategy
Saudi Arabian businessman Amr Zedan was looking for a horse he thought could compete in the Middle East in its biggest races in 2022 and Baffert suggested Country Grammer.
The deal was struck and Zedan became majority owner, sending the horse back to Baffert in late summer when he had recovered again.
The barn elected to go right to the $20-million Saudi Cup off a nine-month layoff, where he finished a hard-charging second.
He moved forward to the $12-million Dubai World Cup where his grinding style was needed and he determinedly willed himself to the wire in front earning the largest cash prize of his career: $7.5 million.
After recovering at WinStar following his Middle Eastern triumphs, the plan was made to again try another excursion. He tallied three straight second-place finishes in graded stakes races before an impressive win in the G2 San Antonio Stakes on Boxing Day at Santa Anita, and another near miss in Saudi Cup, before heading to Dubai, where all eyes will be on him to see if he can eclipse the pantheon of all-time top-earning horses.
All of his connections both past and present will be watching with bated breath.
“My friend owns three shares in the syndicate now,” McClennin jokes. “We always root for him, we only want the best for him. He just keeps grinding along.
“I know for a fact, Paul is up there smiling down now, just happy for the horse, the fans, the groom; all the people who have bought in. This horse has touched so many people's lives,” Heath added. “It was such a big loss, and yet we see the rippling effects of Paul Pompa's legacy. His handwriting is all over the world capped by Saturday.”
“I'm going to watch the race by myself,” Hubbard said. “I'm a silent cheerer, I'll be very excited. You always hope for the best every time he runs.”
“I'm sure the emotions and feelings will be just as high Saturday as last year, but we are always so proud of this horse and no matter what happens we will love him forever,” Chamberlin said.
Perhaps most fittingly of all, the lyrics of that famed Nelly song may have tipped us off all along: “It's all because, 'ccumulated enough scratch just to navigate it.”
The post Country Grammer’s Quest For Riches In The Dubai World Cup, And The Legacy Of Paul Pompa appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
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