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Code Of Honor To Stand At Lane’s End In 2022

Lane's End Farm announced today that the W.S. Farish owned and bred Code of Honor will stand the 2022 season at their Versailles, Ky., farm. Earning almost $3 million in a career that included graded stakes performances each year from two to five, the colt is a multiple Grade 1 and six-time graded stakes winner. He looks to add to his already impressive resume this weekend in the Grade 2 Fayette Stakes at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Code of Honor got his racing career off to a perfect start wiring the field in a maiden special weight at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in his two-year-old debut. This victory gave his Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey the confidence to target the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes where Code of Honor finished second, posting a 90 Beyer after stumbling badly at the start. Never competing out of graded stakes company after his debut, Code of Honor had made 16 graded stakes starts to date, hitting the board in 12 and winning 6. Early in his three-year-old career, he won the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes and finished third in the Grade 1 Florida Derby making him a leading contender for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby where he earned second place beaten less than a length. From there, Code of Honor won three graded stakes in a row to finish out his three-year-old career. The Grade 3 Dwyer Stakes set the stage for his three-length win in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes, posting a 105 Beyer. He annexed the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes in his follow-up race, posting a career-high 106 Beyer against older horses for the first time.

“Code of Honor impressed me from day one”, said trainer Shug McGaughey. “He is the type of horse every trainer dreams of: he is sound, balanced, and an efficient mover and takes to his training very well. What I saw him do as a two-year-old when breaking his maiden at Saratoga gave me the confidence to go straight to a grade one. Watching him overcome his bad break in the Champagne to run second was impressive and showed the heart and determination that's been a trademark of Code of Honor throughout his career.”

As a four-year-old and five-year-old, Code of Honor won the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes and the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes posting a 105 Beyer while also hitting the board in the Grade 1 Met Mile, the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap, and the Grade 1 Clark Stakes, posting 102, 106, and 101 Beyers respectively.

“Code of Honor is a special horse on many different levels for us, and we're excited that he is returning home to the farm where he was born,” said Bill Farish of Lane's End. “He is what we like to see in a prospective stallion being a consistent performer at the highest level. He was a precocious two-year-old that developed into a classic horse winning at the elite level. He has the proven race record, desired physical attributes and deep pedigree to make him the complete stallion package.”

Code of Honor is by European Champion Noble Mission and out of the W.S. Farish homebred Reunited by Dixie Union, a winner of the Grade 3 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland and has produced eight winners from eight horses, including G2 Best Pal placed Big League.

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Gulfstream Adds Pegasus F/M Turf; Bumps Triple Crown Prep Purses

Gulfstream Park has added another lucrative race to its Pegasus World Cup card and increased the purses of its Road to the Triple Crown series, the track announced Friday while releasing the stakes schedule for its 2021-2022 championship meet, scheduled for Dec. 3 through Apr. 3. The $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational and $1-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational Turf will be joined on Jan. 29 by the $500,000 GIII Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf, a 1 1/16-mile event that will replace the GIII Marshua's River. The 70th running of the GI Curlin Florida Derby, slated for Apr. 2, will carry a $1-million purse–up $250,000 from last year. In total, 76 stakes (37 graded) will carry purses of $14.260 million. No stakes have been scheduled for the newly installed Tapeta course, but turf races that come off the grass will be conducted over that all-weather surface. Click here to view the full stakes schedule.

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‘I Still Think He’s The Best Horse I’ve Trained’: Joseph Hasn’t Stopped Believing In Collaborate

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. still has very high hopes for Three Chimneys Farm and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds' Collaborate after the 3-year-old son of Into Mischief's impressive optional claiming allowance score at Gulfstream Park last Sunday.

“I have a lot of belief in this horse. I know it hasn't shown yet, but hopefully, we're on the right path,” said Joseph, who reported Wednesday that the striking physical specimen exited his 5 ½-length victory in good order. “I still think he's the best horse I've trained, but I know he hasn't proved it yet.”

Collaborate, a $600,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, will be pointed to a stakes race for his next start – the 1 1/8-mile Curlin July 30 at Saratoga being the most likely target.

The Joseph trainee was so impressive while breaking his maiden by 12 ½ lengths at Gulfstream Feb. 27 that his connections entered him in the March 27 Curlin Florida Derby (G1), in which he finished fifth after a troubled start and a wide trip. Soon after, he underwent a minor throat procedure to open his air passage.

Collaborate returned to action in the 6 ½-furlong Roar Stakes May 15 at Gulfstream, finishing a disappointing third as the 2-5 favorite following a tardy start and wide trip.

“He's bred to run all day. The trip last time at 6 ½ [furlongs] was a bad decision on my part,” Joseph said. “The reason we cut him back is we thought his air got a little hinderance. I think the procedure worked.”

Collaborate fared much better while stretching out to a mile Sunday. The Kentucky-bred colt broke alertly to closely track the pacesetter while trapped on the rail along the backstretch. He split horses at the top of the stretch and drew off to a comfortable win under Edgard Zayas.

“He sat there and Edgard was really patient. He was in so tight, but Edgard didn't panic,” Joseph said. “It was a very professional race. The only way it could critique it is I would have liked to see him open up more, but he wasn't breathing hard after the race.”

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Collaborate Back To One Turn After Ambitious Try In Florida Derby

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. knew he was taking a big gamble when he entered lightly raced Collaborate in the Florida Derby (G1) off an impressive maiden win. And the result, a fifth-place finish, validated his initial concern that perhaps it was too much too soon.

“We were trying to get a little adventurous,” Joseph acknowledged of the one-shot, all-or-nothing attempt to reach the Kentucky Derby (G1). “Maybe it was a little quick off a maiden win. But I still believe in him. I haven't lost faith in him.”

With the Triple Crown no longer a consideration, Joseph has devised a new campaign for the 3-year-old, starting with Saturday's $75,000 The Roar at Gulfstream Park. Collaborate will face five rivals in the 6 1/2-furlong stakes, including two of his own stablemates.

“We're going back to one turn,” Joseph said. “I think that's going to be his strength.”

Collaborate, owned by Three Chimneys Farm and e Five Racing Thoroughbreds, created an instant buzz in late February when he broke his maiden by more than 12 lengths in a one-turn mile event. That performance was so electric that Collaborate was sent off as the 9-2 second choice in the Florida Derby.

But Collaborate was unable to duplicate his maiden win, faded late in the 1 1/8-mile stakes, and lost by nearly 15 lengths to Known Agenda.

Joseph said the colt's outside post position (9) was not to blame.

“If he had carried himself to the sixteenth pole and got beat by three or four lengths, I could have blamed the draw,” Joseph said. “But he just came up empty. He went from traveling good to empty. I just feel maybe the two turns got to him.”

Saturday's sprint stakes should be more to Collaborate's liking, Joseph said. And it could position him for major stakes this summer. Joseph has set the Allen Jerkens Stakes (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 28 as one potential target for the son of Into Mischief.

“You want to think ambitiously with horses,” Joseph said. “If this horse shows up, he'll be very tough to beat. He has to win Saturday to justify going on any further. He has to prove he can beat horses. But this is going to be a test.”

Collaborate, who will be ridden for the first time by Edwin Gonzalez, could face his stiffest challenge from two of his stablemates, Moonlite Strike and Lauda Speed. Sonata Stable's Moonlite Strike ran third in the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) while Stefania Farms' Lauda Speed finished third in the six-furlong Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream on March 6. Joseph said he fully intends to race all three horses in The Roar.

“All three are going to run,” Joseph said. “This race was the target for all three. But we've got to beat the other three horses, too.”

The rest of the field includes Penny Lopez's Oh Steve, fresh off a maiden win, Arindel Stable's Gatsby, which will be seeking his first stakes win, and Just for Fun Stable's Warrior's Pride, who is exiting a win in the Texas Glitter Stakes at five furlongs on the turf.

Of his three horses, Joseph said “I think Collaborate has shown the most ability of all of them. But the others have all proven themselves and have more experience.”

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