Second Chances: ‘It’s All Systems Go to a Two-Turn Spot’ For Pricey Son of Curlin Corporate Power

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

In a race completely dominated on the front end, Corporate Power (c, 3, Curlin–Road to Victory, by Quality Road) stamped himself as one to watch finishing with interest for fourth in an absolutely stacked maiden special weight on the Pegasus World Cup undercard at Gulfstream Park Jan. 27.

Out of the blocks last of 11 at debut odds of 17-1 for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey, the Courtlandt Farms colorbearer bumped into a rival at the start and was quickly outsprinted while under a ride by Javier Castellano.

Three from the back marker and taking plenty of dirt as the highly regarded firster from the Gustavo Delgado barn Victory Avenue (Arrogate) and the Todd Pletcher-trained newcomer Speak Easy (Constitution) sped through a half mile in :44.61, Corporate Power finally entered the picture advancing along the rail as they approached the top of the stretch.

He continued to make steady progress racing along the fence as Speak Easy kicked clear from the aforementioned 3-2 favorite an eighth of a mile from home.

Corporate Power, sporting a white shadow roll, was steered out by Castellano to avoid a tiring rival close to home and kept his mind on business from there–his gallop out past the winner on the clubhouse turn is worth a view of the replay alone–after splitting horses to cross the line 8 1/4 lengths adrift Speak Easy.

Corporate Power reported home fourth behind Speak Easy in a live maiden special weight on Pegasus World Cup day | Coglianese

Speak Easy, the recipient of a 100 Beyer Speed Figure, defeated Victory Avenue by 1 3/4 lengths at odds of 8-1. It was another 3 3/4 lengths back to second-time starter Big City (City of Light), who chased the top two throughout in third. The final time for seven furlongs was a swift 1:21.96.

Corporate Power earned an 84 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

“Those maiden races on those big days are always loaded like that,” Courtland Farm Manager Ernie Retamoza said. “We really had a ton of regard for that colt going into the race and probably even a little more coming out of it. Javier (Castellano) was really complimentary about the way that he split horses and took some kickback and kept on and galloped out. We're super excited about him getting to two turns.”

Corporate Power's dam Road to Victory, a winner of her first three career starts at two, highlighted by a neck victory over subsequent two-time champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in the GII Golden Rod S., brought $1.45 million from breeder Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings in foal to War Front at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Corporate Power's sire the mighty Curlin is responsible for 56 graded/group winners worldwide.

Corporate Power brought $925,000 from Donald Adam's operation on day three of the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling sale. Adam purchased 11 yearlings at the auction for a total of $8.235 million.

“When we bought him, the purchase price resembles how many people liked the horse,” Retamoza said. “We had him ready to run last November–he got himself ready pretty quick–but we ended up not running him up there (in New York) and Shug (McGaughey) said, 'Let's just get him down to Florida.' We didn't run him quite as quick as we thought we might, but nonetheless, here we are and we're really happy with him.”

Corporate Power returned to the worktab with a four-furlong breeze in :50.60 (28/34) at Payson Park Feb. 11. He'll make his next start in a route, Retamoza said.

“Shug hasn't shared with us when yet, but it's all systems go to a two-turn spot,” Retamoza said. “We're all looking forward to that. It was a great effort to get him started. We're really excited about him.”

Courtlandt Farms and McGaughey also campaign fellow sophomores Change of Command (Into Mischief) ($1.05 million yrl '22 KEESEP), a disappointing 11th in last weekend's GIII Sam F. Davis S. and 'TDN Rising Star' Conquest Warrior (City of Light) ($1 million yrl '22 KEESEP), who overcame an impossible trip to graduate impressively at second asking Jan. 13. Working bullets since, the latter will make his next start in either an allowance race Feb. 29 or the GII Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 2, per Retamoza.

The 'Second Chances' Honor Roll is headed by recently crowned Horse of the Year Cody's Wish (Curlin), fellow two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) and GISWs A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo), Honor A. P. (Honor Code), Locked (Gun Runner), Paradise Woods (Union Rags) and Speaker's Corner (Street Sense).

Tipsy Tammy (f, 3, Arrogate), featured in this same space Jan. 26, graduated impressively next out for trainer Phil Bauer at Fair Grounds Feb. 1. Godolphin homebred Cornishman (c, 3, Curlin), the subject of a Second Chances profile Feb. 7, is entered to make his second career start in a maiden special weight on Saturday's GII Risen Star S. program.

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Grade 1 Winner Echo Zulu’s $1.4 Million Half Sister Tops Keeneland September Sale’s Opening Session

A daughter of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah whose undefeated half-sister Echo Zulu captured Saratoga's Spinaway (G1) eight days ago, sold for $1.4 million to Northshore Bloodstock, agent, to top Monday's opening session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky.

During the first of two sessions of the prestigious Book 1 catalog, Keeneland sold 95 yearlings for a total of $38,172,000, for an average of $401,811 and a median of $325,000. Totals include six horses sold via online bidding for $2,605,000. Three horses brought seven figures.

In addition to the 95 sold, 61 yearlings failed to exceed their reserve price, 39.1% of the 156 through the ring (compared to 36.3% RNA's from the opening session in 2020). Combined with the 45 lots withdrawn, there were 106 yearlings from the 201 catalogued (52.7%) that did not sell.

Keeneland amped up the atmosphere in the Sales Pavilion to kick off the September Sale to create excitement and showcase the best of what the Bluegrass has to offer.

“The sale should be a fun environment,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “It is exciting that we are here, that we are all back together and that we have these phenomenal horses on offer in Book 1. We had complimentary cocktails being passed and brunch being served, a Bluegrass band playing 'My Old Kentucky Home' on the auction stage right before the sale started. We worked hard to create that environment, and we got a lot of positive feedback. Book 1 at Keeneland's September Sale is special, and it deserves to feel that way.”

“Trade was really strong today,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “There was confidence, and the money was spread out over more horses. The energy on the grounds was very strong. I have not seen the Sales Pavilion this full in a long time.”

Betz Thoroughbreds, agent, consigned Monday's top-priced yearling, who also is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Echo Town and Grade 3 winner J Boys Echo. They are out of Grade 2 winner Letgomyecho, by Menifee.

Alan Quartucci of Northshore purchased the filly for owner Joe Allen and said she most likely will go to trainer Shug McGaughey.

“She looks like a real runner,” Quartucci said. “She has a fantastic pedigree that's still going forward every day. The filly who won in Saratoga (Echo Zulu) was amazing. (The yearling) was the whole package.”

Consigned by Mt. Brilliant Farm, a colt by Into Mischief from the family of North American champion and English and Irish highweight Islington (IRE) sold to Ron Winchell's Winchell Thoroughbreds for $1.35 million. He will be trained by Steve Asmussen.

“He's probably an Into Mischief who doesn't look like an Into Mischief,” Winchell said, “and I've had Into Mischiefs that look like Into Mischiefs and I can't seem to find the winner's circle with them, so I figured I would go a different direction. I knew he might be expensive.”

“He has always been outstanding,” said Mt. Brilliant owner Greg Goodman, who purchased the colt's dam, the Hard Spun mare Superioritycomplex (IRE), as a 3-year-old in England. “He's always done everything right. A calm horse, smart; we're really happy with him and we're really happy Mr. Winchell got him and that he's going to a good home.”

A filly by Uncle Mo out of the winning Forestry mare Nikki's Choice sold for $1.1 million to Don Adam's Courtlandt Farm.

Paramount Sales, agent, consigned the filly, who is from the family of Canadian champion Charlie Barley, Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Success Express and Grade 1 winner Greenwood Lake.

“She's an April foal, but you can see that she's still a little high behind and see she's gonna develop still,” Courtlandt's Ernie Retamoza said. “A real athletic, type-y filly, young mare, fits our program to a T. Not sure where we'll send her, but we'll get her home and break her. She acts like she's gonna be the right type of filly that we're looking for. Had to stretch, obviously, to get her, but Mr. Adam looked at her this morning and loved her – we all loved her – and we felt like she was a filly worth stretching for.”

“She was a beauty,” Pat Costello of Paramount said. “She didn't put a foot wrong from the day she was here, and we could see with the way the vetting was going, everybody was on her. She deserved to bring the kind of money she brought because she's just stunning. She came from a client of ours and she was always nice, very much so. We were delighted with the price. It was a little bit more than we thought she would bring.”

During the session, Courtlandt acquired five yearlings for $2.6 million to lead buyers.

Three yearlings on Monday sold for $950,000 apiece.

M.V. Magnier paid the amount for a colt by Quality Road whose dam is a half-sister to champion Rushing Fall. Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for WinStar Bred & Raised, consigned the colt, who is out of stakes winner Milam, by Street Sense.

“He is a lovely colt and he has done well his whole life,” Elliott Walden, WinStar's President, CEO and Racing Manager, said. “We are very proud of him and that Coolmore got him and wish him nothing but the best.”

Walden said he is confident in the market at this point of the yearling sales season.

“There are six race tracks with maiden races for over $100,000,” he said. “When I trained 15 years ago, we were running for $30,000. It is amazing. Purses have caught up and gives a person a chance to make money on the race track. I think that will translate all the way through. I don't know about you, but I have never seen so many people on Day 1 in there sitting down (in the Sales Pavilion).”

Taylor Made Sales Agency sold 14 yearlings for $5,782,000 to lead consignors during the session.

Donato Lanni, agent, spent $950,000 for a Medaglia d'Oro filly consigned by Claiborne Farm, agent. She is the first foal of the Distorted Humor mare Naples Princess, a full sister to stakes winner Banker's Buy, and from the family of champion Mitole and 2021 Grade 2 winner and Belmont (G1) runner-up Hot Rod Charlie.

Lanni bought the filly as agent for Michael Lund Petersen and Willow Grace Farm, owners of recent TVG Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner Grace Adler.

“She wasn't a hard one to find – she had everything,” Lanni said. “He's (Medaglia d'Oro) just a proven sire over and over. He's got good fillies, colts. (She has a) great female family. She's an athlete, she's classy and she's got pedigree. I hate to say it: She just checked all the boxes.”

Lanni said the market has “really been strong all year. There's a big appetite for really good horses out there and it's nice to see us get back to some kind of normalcy.”

A colt from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify who is a half-brother to multiple Grade 2 winner Pretty N Cool sold for $950,000 to Hideyuki Mori of Japan. Consigned by Baccari Bloodstock, agent, he is out of the Rockport Harbor mare Stayclassysandiego and from the family of Grade 1 winner Sean Avery.

Seven horses in Tuesday's RNA Reoffer
Seven horses who did not meet their reserves during Monday's session have been entered in the RNA Reoffer, a new program at this year's September Sale that will begin immediately following the final hip of Tuesday's second session. They are:

  • Hip 6 – Into Mischief-Indian Rush colt consigned by Paramount Sales, agent;
  • Hip 70 – First Samurai-Miss Singhsix (IRE) filly consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent;
  • Hip 72 – Justify-Mo Chuisle filly consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent;
  • Hip 111 – More Than Ready-Polish a Diamond colt consigned by Four Star Sales, agent for Westbury Stables;
  • Hip 179 – American Pharoah-Sweater Weather colt consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent;
  • Hip 195 – Uncle Mo-Terrific Treasure filly consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent; and
  • Hip 197 – Nyquist-Thank You Marylou colt consigned by Ramsey Farm, agent.

“The RNA Reoffer is a mechanism for free trade,” Lacy said. “It has been well received. We have some people who feel that the market didn't treat them the way they expected. This program allows them to come back (with the horse) and maybe have a better reception tomorrow. This gives people a safeguard.”

To participate in the RNA Reoffer, sellers were required to inform the Sales office in writing no later than 30 minutes following the sale of the final hip of today's session.

A reserve must be placed and approved on reoffered horses, and must be within 15 percent above or below the initial hammer price. (Click here for information about the RNA Reoffer.)

The second session of the September Sale starts tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET. TVG2 will have live coverage of the session from 1-7:30 p.m. The entire sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.

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‘Distance Is Gonna Be His Friend’: McGaughey Confident In Florida Derby Favorite Greatest Honour

Courtlandt Farms' homebred Greatest Honour could become the first horse in history to win all three graded prep races for the Kentucky Derby at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. Trainer Shug McGaughey believes the 3-year-old is up to the task ahead of this Saturday's Grade 1 Florida Derby.

“I've got a lot of confidence in him,” McGaughey said on Tuesday's NTRA media conference call. “I think with him winning here (at Gulfstream) going a mile and a sixteenth, over a speed favoring racetrack, with a short stretch, that says a lot about him, because I don't think that's what he wants to do.

“A mile and an eighth should suit him a lot better than this mile and a sixteenth with a short pole… Distance is gonna be his friend.”

The Tapit colt took three tries to break his maiden, but hasn't lost a race since. Greatest Honour was impressive winning January's G3 Holy Bull Stakes by 5 3/4 lengths, but was arguably even more impressive last out in the G2 Fountain of Youth. Well behind his rivals early with a slow pace ahead of him, and still 8 1/2 lengths behind the leader with five-sixteenths of a mile to run, Greatest Honour surged late win by 1 1/2 lengths.

In the Holy Bull everything went right, and in the Fountain of Youth, everything went wrong,” quipped McGaughey. “I thought it was a good learning experience for him, and he was still able to win.”

Even before Greatest Honour broke his maiden, McGaughey had been plotting a Florida path to the Kentucky Derby for the colt. It's the same route the trainer took with Derby winner Orb ahead of the 2013 Run for the Roses.

“I kind of had in my mind that if he's this kind of horse he's gonna need racing, so we got him down here and that's what he's done,” McGaughey said. “My philosophy is unless we think we deserve to be (in the Kentucky Derby), we won't be there.”

McGaughey has been training for Donald and Donna Adams' Courtlandt Stable for just shy of 10 months now, with Kentucky-based Ernie Retamoza managing the stable. The new clients have been easy to work for, McGaughey said, and there are several nice horses he's looking forward to running in 2021.

“I predict that we're gonna have a good, long, meaningful relationship, and it started off pretty good with Greatest Honour,” the trainer summarized.

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Greatest Adventure Beckons Courtlandt

We sometimes talk of the moment in a young horse's career when the bulb switches on. When the resulting illumination is as brilliant as was the case with Greatest Honour (Tapit) at Gulfstream last Saturday, however, it feels as though the whole sport can bask in the glow. Those few strides in the GIII Holy Bull S. when he clicked into top gear, before running clear in the stretch, not only announced his own candidature but cast into exciting new perspective the whole road to Churchill on the first Saturday in May.

The way ahead looks particularly auspicious for Tapit, whose career at Gainesway plainly deserves the final gilding of a GI Kentucky Derby success. With champion Essential Quality already setting the standard, he now also has one to head all the emerging talent in these initial sophomore skirmishes. Both horses, moreover, vindicate acorn-to-oak development by a breeding program.

And what acorns, in this case! For the second and fourth dams of Greatest Honour are Broodmares of the Year, with a GI Kentucky Oaks winner in between, and the family seeded by distaff influences of corresponding stature in Street Cry (Ire), Deputy Minister and Blushing Groom (Fr). Every forward step now, then, will only add to the appeal of Greatest Honour as a stallion prospect. As such, even after a solitary start outside maidens, he already appears potentially the most significant horse in the history of Courtlandt Farm.

Its principal achiever to date remains Grade I winner Film Maker (Dynaformer), placed in three consecutive runnings of the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. But Donald Adam and his wife Donna, the farm's owners, remain as enthusiastic as ever judging from their acquisition of half a dozen yearlings in the first two sessions at Keeneland last September for $4,325,000. This reflects a new strategy over the past five years or so, Courtlandt having primarily raced homebreds to that point. For octogenarian owners, clearly, that's a pretty natural evolution.

“I think Mr. Adam just felt that by the time you have planned your mating, and the gestation is 11 months, and then it's another year and a half before you're breaking them…time goes along pretty quick on you,” explains Ernie Retamoza, their farm manager. “Whereas when you go to the yearling sales and you're defining athletes you think fit your program, you get them home and they're under tack within two or three weeks. But it was a process. We didn't just lead all the mares over there and sell them. We went through them case by case.”

The net result is a broodmare band trimmed from around 25 to seven or eight. And actually Tiffany's Honour (Street Cry {Ire}), the dam of Greatest Honour, fell right into that mix, spending just three years on the Courtlandt books before being moved on. Yet while her stay was relatively brief, it had ample span for destiny to incorporate extremes of tragedy and hope.

As a daughter of $14-million broodmare icon Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister), and duly a half-sister to GI Belmont S. winners Rags To Riches (A.P. Indy) and Jazil (Seeking The Gold), the 4-year-old Tiffany's Honour did not meet her reserve even at $2.3 million when offered with a maiden cover by Tapit at Fasig-Tipton in November 2015–despite finishing stone last in all three starts for breeder Southern Equine Stables. And even though Courtlandt was then just beginning its transition, Adam couldn't resist the idea of a Tapit out of that family. He secured a private deal and, sure enough, Tiffany's Honour delivered a beauty.

“Just an unbelievable colt,” Retamoza recalls. “Lane's End has a pretty good client media section, they take real good care of us, and we always get pictures from Alys Emson through email of our foals and mares. But with this particular colt, I got a picture one day from [long-serving farm manager] Mike Cline. Mike never sends me pictures! I thought that spoke volumes.”

Tiffany's Honour had meanwhile been sent to War Front and, consistent with the new policy, was slated for sale that November. But then disaster struck: the Tapit colt was lost in a paddock accident.

“That just broke our hearts,” Retamoza says. “We knew this was the reason Mr. Adam had pursued the mare, we knew what Lane's End thought of him, it had looked like everything was working out. And then this unfortunate thing happened.”

Undaunted, Adam resolved to seek redress from fate and retained the mare for another visit to Tapit. With a colt safely delivered in April 2018, Tiffany's Honour was sent to Keeneland that November with a Medaglia d'Oro cover, and realized $2.2 million from Katsumi Yoshida.

Her War Front colt had been sold in the same ring a couple of months previously, for $1.1 million. Sadly he didn't work out, vanned off the track when making his second start in a maiden claimer at Belterra Park last year. As the mare's own track career had shown, even genes like these can slip their cogs in the wheel of fortune.

“Boy, it just shows you,” Retamoza mused. “That gene pool, it might skip one–but when it's in place, it's strong. I think Mr. Adam understood that and he really hung his hat on getting a Tapit from this mare. All the credit on Greatest Honour goes to Mr. Adam. He found the mare at the sale, he pursued her after the R.N.A., and he persevered after we lost her colt. He decided to see it through. That's what makes this truly special. The plan came to fruition, and Mr. Adam did all the work himself.”

Here his patron would surely demur, because this version of events modestly passes over another key contributor to the development of Greatest Honour: Ernie Retamoza. Son of a Kentucky trainer, Retamoza has long done the groundwork on the farm–and done such a good job that Lane's End have ended up sending some of their own young stock alongside the Courtlandt weanlings when they migrate to Ocala every winter. It was Retamoza, for instance, who broke in eventual Derby runner-up Code Of Honour (Noble Mission {GB}). Another elite outfit doing the same is St Elias Stable.

“That's a big endorsement and I'm humbled by that,” admits Retamoza, who has been at Courtlandt since 1996. “I'm very hands-on, I'm there every moment. I bridle and saddle and handle as many horses a day as my help. With these young horses, it only takes one bad experience and you're trying to fix something for two or three weeks. So we're diligent about not making those mistakes. And I have great staff here. They know what I want, and that I'm there with them as part of the process. So, as soon as they feel like, 'Hey, that horse didn't have a good day,' then I'm directly involved.

“Especially at the beginning stages, the bridling and all that stuff, it's such a fine line. And as they develop–as they start to gain fitness and pick up the pace, and learn how to rate and relax–the biggest challenge is the mental side. So, what I always tell my guys is, 'I want to get them fit, but I don't want them to know they're fit.' That's the key, that's the challenge. Anybody can gallop, gallop, gallop. But there's always so many nuances you have to see.”

It was into skilled hands, then, that the yearling Greatest Honour arrived from Lane's End in August 2019, ready to be broken alongside the yearlings recruited at the imminent sales.

“And right off the van he was 'as advertised',” Retamoza recalls. “The whole package. A big, leggy, scopey, rangy horse; correct, well-made, good bone, everything. We were excited. And he took the breaking fine, took to the training great. No issues at all. And as we got into January, February, March, when we start to get a little more serious, he was always a horse that had high energy. Always wanted to do more than you wanted–and I don't mean that in a bad way. You'd pull up after a mile, mile-and-a-quarter gallop, and he'd always be like: 'That all we're doing today?'”

Retamoza has been around enough good horses to recognize what he saw here.

“Code of Honor was very, very similar,” he remarked. “You could never do enough with him in the morning. And once he got to breezing, you could almost see it: 'Yeah, this is what I was meant to do.' Greatest Honour was more imposing, as an individual; Code of Honor was a little smaller in stature, lighter in frame. But we knew he was a runner. Horses are different in terms of pedigree, how they're made, how they move. But what's always a great sign is the horse that meets you at the webbing every morning, ears forward, what's going on.”

The next stage of Greatest Honour's education took him to Fair Hill, where Shug McGaughey inducts juveniles into his program. And, as it happens, this was another respect in which the sails of this horse–as one of relatively few homebreds these days broken alongside the sales athletes–have been filled with a wind of change at Courtlandt. Because it was just around this time that the track division was transferred (while stressing undiminished regard for previous trainer Mark Hennig) to McGaughey.

There was, of course, already a relationship through Lane's End, all parties having seen things fall into place with Code Of Honor.

“The Phipps family had started to sell some yearlings, and we thought it might be an opportune time,” Retamoza says. “We had a little bit of a record, breaking here at the farm for Mr. Farish, and so it just like a natural fit. We reached out to Shug, and he was able to come and look at our young ones. We didn't want him to take anything he didn't want. We didn't know the situation on numbers or anything. We just let Shug dictate that and it's worked out beautiful.”

McGaughey now has around 10 for Courtlandt, while others are stabled with Steve Asmussen. And the new regime has certainly landed running.

“Greatest Honour was only in Fair Hill about a month before Shug moved him to Belmont,” Retamoza says. “Tapit has a bit of a reputation for horses that can be a little challenging, and I think at Fair Hill he was bored, wanting to do more. So, I really credit the job Shug has done getting him to this point, in terms of the mental side. Even going into this race, Shug felt like the horse was still just figuring it all out. I think that speaks volumes for how much better he can be, and that's exciting.”

Hence the old-school grounding for Greatest Honour, who started out by closing from off the pace in a couple of sprints before stretching out to duel with Known Agenda (Curlin) at Aqueduct and then breaking his maiden on his fourth start at Gulfstream.

“It's been such a good process,” Retamoza says. “I thought he grew up a ton in the race in New York, where they hooked up at the top of the lane. Very rarely do you see young maidens run that professionally for that long. And then the day he won, it wasn't the smoothest trip, the horse on his inside had some issues and he got knocked sideways. The horse has grown up a lot and it's just a credit to Shug. Because he didn't put a lot of pressure on him early, didn't ever force it.”

Unfortunately, Ten For Ten (Frosted), a $410,000 Keeneland yearling who was beaten a neck in the GII Remsen S., has required a break at the farm but there are no major issues and Retamoza believes he will resume among the good sophomores in the summer. And meanwhile he's excited about the next batch off the belt, headlined by a $1.05 million Into Mischief filly whose third dam is Hall of Famer Personal Ensign.

“They're doing wonderful,” Retamoza enthuses. “We do take a bit of a slower approach: bring them home, let them acclimate two or three weeks, and then begin the breaking process. And the whole time they're getting the value of going outside every morning for two or three hours. Just now we're beginning to stop turnout, and get them into more of a race-type program: put four shoes on them, bandages every day, all the stuff to prepare them for when it's time to ship in April or May. But we've got some really nice prospects and I'm delighted with how they've handled everything we've thrown at them so far.”

Fulfilling times, then, for one so immersed in the mute, daily signaling of an adolescent racehorse.

“I work seven days a week, but it's never like work with these young horses,” he said. “Because you're always seeing an evolution. 'Oh, man, that horse really is starting to figure things out.' Or, on the flip side: 'Why did this horse have a bad day yesterday?' So, your mind is always working. And that's the passion that drives you. To see them progress from day one on the farm, and then go on and turn into something on the racetrack. And when ultimately you end up with a horse like this, that's obviously where we're trying to get with all of them.”

And you can hear in Retamoza's s voice just how much the blossoming of Greatest Honour means to the whole Courtlandt team.

“Mr. Adam is an absolute gentleman to work for,” he stressed. “He has been unbelievable for myself and my family. He has multiple businesses and I'm sure that all the employees would say exactly the same.

“He does everything first-class. I mean, it's done the right way or don't do it. And his horses are his passion. We've fields of horses that we bred: some raced successful, some didn't. But they're all right here, being taken care of. He does the right thing every step of the way–by his people, his horses and his family. All the credit goes to him: for his perseverance in the business, and the way he treats us. We're all very excited about this horse and, hopefully, where we're headed from here. Mr. Adam has been at this a long time and in my view there would be no better person that could have a colt like this.”

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