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Bloodlines Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Greatest Honour Was Built For Classic Success

After a relatively quiet year in the classics during 2020, Tapit is loaded for this year's preps to the classic races of 2021. In addition to the champion juvenile colt, Essential Quality, the multiple leading sire added a new graded stakes winner to his list of accomplishments when Greatest Honour won the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 30.

The sire of 141 stakes winners, Tapit now has a pair of graded stakes winners among his classic prospects, along with Proxy, who was second in the G3 Lecomte Stakes at the Fair Grounds on Jan. 16. Although Tapit did not get a classic winner last year, his son Constitution did, with Tiz the Law winning the Belmont Stakes and finishing second in the Kentucky Derby to Horse of the Year Authentic (by Into Mischief), and Tapit's son Tapiture sired Jesus' Team, who ran third in the Preakness and was recently second in the Pegasus.

Now Tapit has fired up a progressive classic prospect in the tall, scopey Greatest Honour, who swept round his competition on the turn in the Holy Bull, then pulled away to win by 5 3/4 lengths in the race at a mile and a sixteenth. Trainer Shug McGaughey said, “He picked up his horses quick today. I think the farther we go, the better.”

The big bay's racing style certainly indicates he will be suited to classic distances, and the colt's pedigree backs that up in spades.

Bred in Kentucky by the Courtlandt Farm of Donna and Donald Adam, Greatest Honour is out of the Street Cry mare Tiffany's Honour. The mare didn't finish in the money in any of her three starts for owner-breeder Southern Equine, but when consigned to the 2015 Fasig-Tipton November sale in foal to Tapit, Tiffany's Honour was bought back for $2.3 million. Courtlandt Farm acquired the mare privately, and the mare's first foal was a Tapit colt who died.

The second foal out of Tiffany's Honour is the 4-year-old War Front gelding Semifinal, who brought $1.1 million at the 2018 Keeneland September yearling sale. He is unplaced from two starts and was vanned off the racetrack after the second.

Greatest Honour is the mare's third foal, and he won his maiden in his fourth start, going 8.5 furlongs on dirt at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 26. Although clearly more talented for two turns, Greatest Honour is not afflicted with a case of the slows. He was twice third in maiden specials at Saratoga and Belmont; each time, the second horse was Caddo River (Hard Spun), who won the listed Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn on Jan. 22.

In his third start, going nine furlongs at Aqueduct on Nov. 8, Greatest Honour was second by a head to the Curlin colt Known Agenda, with the third horse 21 lengths farther behind. The penny had dropped, and Greatest Honour has won his next two starts.

The size, the scope, the lack of sprint speed, and yet the ability to show form late at two and improve markedly at three is the trademark of the A.P. Indy line of classic stock. And it's not coincidental that the best racehorse in the second generation of this pedigree is A.P. Indy's Belmont Stakes winner Rags to Riches, a winner in five of seven starts, four times at the Grade 1 level (Belmont, Kentucky Oaks, Santa Anita Oaks, Las Virgenes).

Rags to Riches and Belmont Stakes winner Jazil (Seeking the Gold) are elder siblings to Tiffany's Honour, who was the ninth and next-to-last foal out of their dam, the splendid racehorse and producer Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister). Winner of the G2 Demoiselle at two, Better Than Honour was second in the G1 Acorn and third in the G1 Mother Goose at three. At stud, she produced four stakes winners. In addition to her two Belmont Stakes winners, Better Than Honour is dam of Casino Drive (Mineshaft), winner of the G2 Peter Pan, and Man of Iron (Giant's Causeway), winner of the Breeders' Cup Marathon.

This family fairly reeks of stamina, but it responds well when matched with high-class speed, which is what happened with the mating of French champion and leading sire Blushing Groom (Red God) to fourth dam Best in Show. The result was Greatest Honour's third dam, G1 Kentucky Oaks winner Blush With Pride, who also won the G1 Santa Susana, was second in the G1 Spinster, and third in the G1 Mother Goose.

At stud, Blush With Pride produced three stakes winners, and this is the family of four-time G1 winner Peeping Fawn (Danehill), a granddaughter of Blush With Pride, and of G1 Hollywood Starlet winner Streaming (Smart Strike), a granddaughter of Better Than Honour.

The esteem in which breeders hold this family is evident from the sales prices of its members, and after Tiffany's Honour produced Greatest Honour, Courtlandt sent the mare to the 2018 Keeneland November sale. In foal to Medaglia d'Oro, Tiffany's Honour brought $2.2 million from Katsumi Yoshida, and the mare was exported to Japan. Tiffany's Honour foaled a filly in April 2019, was barren from a cover to Duramente for 2020, and was bred to the Deep Impact son Kizuna last year for a 2021 foal.

Greatest Honour has already provided a major update for his siblings, and the classics await. This colt is strengthening and should be a better horse in three months than he is today.

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Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card: A Tale Of Two Pedigrees

Two Grade 3 races on each coast, the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park in South Florida and the Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita in Southern California, were run on Saturday, offering 17 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers (10-4-2-1).

The last time the Holy Bull Stakes winner went on to victory in the G1 Kentucky Derby was in 2006 when Barbaro, making his dirt track debut after winning his first three career starts on turf, scored by three-quarters of a length on a sloppy track. Before that, when the race was known as the Preview Stakes, Go for Gin was victorious en route to capturing the 1994 Kentucky Derby. Some very good horses have won the Holy Bull, including the 2020 winner Tiz the Law, who opened last year's disjointed Triple Crown with a win in the Belmont Stakes.

Prior to 2007, the Robert B. Lewis was known as the Santa Catalina Stakes, which was first run in 1935. It's had different conditions over the years but in recent decades has been restricted to 3-year-olds. Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I'll Have Another won the Lewis in 2012 and Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand won it in 1986. Like the Holy Bull, many winners of this early season race for 3-year-olds have gone on to bigger and better things.

Here's a brief look at each race, with my Report Card grade for the winner. The A to F grading system is subjective and based on my personal “eyeball test,” Beyer Speed Figures from Daily Racing Form, historical signifidance of the race and perceived quality of field.

Jan 30 Holy Bull Stakes 1 1/16 miles, Gulfstream

The 11-10 favorite in the Holy Bull was Prime Factor, a $900,000 yearling purchase and winner by 8 ¾ lengths for Todd Pletcher in his only career start while sprinting six furlongs at Gulfstream on Dec. 12. Greatest Honour, bred and owned by Courtlandt Farm and trained by Shug McGaughey, needed four starts to break his maiden, doing so in his Gulfstream debut Dec. 26 at 1-2 odds, coming from off the pace to win by 1 ½ lengths. He was the 5-2 second choice in the betting in the Holy Bull.

Jose Ortiz and Greatest Honour at the wire in the Holy Bull Stakes

Gulfstream Park is not the kind of racetrack where I expect a horse to come from far off the pace to win, and that made Greatest Honour's powerful 5 3/4-length victory that much more impressive.

Rated in seventh of nine runners early by Jose Ortiz, the Tapit colt gained ground in the run down the backstretch, made a bold move on the outside rounding the far turn, took command with a quarter mile to run and ran straight as a string down the stretch as he drew off under mild encouragement.

Final time of the Holy Bull was 1:43.19 after fractions of :23.28, :46.97, 1:11.36 and 1:36.58. The winner was given an 89 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, an improvement from his maiden-breaking 83.

While some of the Holy Bull runners may go on to bigger and better things (Prime Factor ran a decent third in his first try around two turns), the field as a whole had not accomplished much going into the race. The lone stakes winner was Sittin On Go, who won the G3 Iroquois at Churchill Downs in his second start but then was off the board in two subsequent starts. The late-running horse from the Dale Romans barn ran sixth.

There is a lot to like about Greatest Honour's pedigree beyond him being a son of Tapit. The colt was produced from the Street Cry mare Tiffany's Honour, a half sister to back-to-back Belmont Stakes winners Jazil and Rags to Riches. Those successes led to their dam, G2 Demoiselle Stakes winner Better Than Honour, being named Broodmare of the Year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders. Better Than Honour was produced by G1 Kentucky Oaks winner Blush With Pride, whose dam, Best in Show, was also named Broodmare of the Year. When two of a horse's first four dams were Broodmare of the Year, that is a strong female family.

The year she foaled Greatest Honour, Tiffany's Honour was sold to leading Japanese breeder Katsumi Yoshida of Northern Farm at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $2.2 million while believed in foal to Medaglia d'Oro.

Grade: A-

Jan. 30 Robert B. Lewis Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Santa Anita

With a barn full of royally bred and expensive yearling and 2-year-old in training purchases, is it possible that trainer Bob Baffert's best prospect for the 2021 Triple Crown is a Florida-bred who changed hands for $1,000 as a yearling at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2019 Winter Mixed Sale?

That horse, Medina Spirit, a son of the Giant's Causeway stallion Protonico, increased in value but was still a bargain at $35,000 when clocker and bloodstock agent Gary Young bought him from Whitman Sales for $35,000 on behalf of Zedan Racing Stables at the 2020 OBS July Sale of 2-year-olds in training and horses of racing age.

Medina Spirit has been the “other Baffert” twice. The first time came in his debut when stablemate Democrat fizzled as the favorite and Medina Spririt won by three lengths going 5 ½ furlongs at Los Alamitos. Next out, in the G3 Sham on Jan. 2, some thought Medina Spirit (sent off at 9-1) was entered by Baffert to make sure the race would fill (only four others entered). The hotshot 1-5 Sham favorite was Life Is Good, who made a dazzling impression in his debut, getting a 91 Beyer Speed Figure (Medina Spirit got a 76 Beyer in his debut). Life Is Good looked well on his way to living up to his top billing in the Sham until Medina Spirit, racing in second throughout, gained 3 ¼ lengths on his stablemate in the final furlong, cutting the winning margin to just three-quarters of a length.

Medina Spirit (inside) fought off Roman Centurian and Hot Rod Charlie the length of the stretch to win the Robert B. Lewis Stakes

For the Lewis, Medina Spirit was the even-money favorite, with his stablemate, the $1-million yearling purchase and G2 Los Alamitos Futurity winner Spielberg, playing second fiddle in the Baffert barn. The latter was a non-factor in a race where Medina Spirit was pushed early by Wipe the Slate and Parnelli through fast fractions of :22.89 and :46.61. The third quarter was a dawdling :25.75 for six furlongs in 1:12.36 and the fourth quarter of 26.98 made the mile time 1:39.34. The times are slow on paper, but Santa Anita's main track was listed as good after heavy rains hit the previous two days.

Medina Spirit put away the chasers (they finished about 20 lengths behind him at the wire), but was under attack down the stretch from Hot Rod Charlie and Roman Centurian. The former, an Oxbow colt trained by Doug O'Neill, was making his first start since finishing second at 94-1 odds in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, beaten three-quarters of a length by champion Essential Quality. The latter, an Empire Maker colt trained by Simon Callaghan, graduated from the maiden ranks in his second start and first around two turns at Santa Anita on Jan. 3.

Both Hot Rod Charlie, racing between horses, and Roman Centurian to the outside, appeared to have all the momentum as they hooked up with Medina Spirit at the top of the stretch. But Medina Spirit never yielded, holding his two rivals at bay at the wire and then continuing to gallop out ahead of them. Roman Centurian, at 11-1, finished second by a neck, just a nose ahead of 5-2 second choice Hot Rod Charlie.

Final time for the Lewis was 1:46.26, and the top three finishers all received Beyer Speed Figures of 91.

Medina Spirit is from the first crop of foals by Protonico, who certainly has stamina in his pedigree, being by Giant's Causeway and out of an A.P. Indy mare. There's not much black type on Medina Spirit's catalogue page (until you get to the fourth dam), but his dam, Mongolian Changa, is a daughter of the Dynaformer stallion Brilliant Speed, who won the G1 Blue Grass Stakes when Keeneland had a Polytrack synthetic surface.

Once a horse is a proven runner, pedigree doesn't matter nearly as much. I'm reminded of that when I look at the remarkable racing career and the relatively obscure pedigree of Holy Bull, a son of the Minnesota Mac stallion Great Above out of a mare by Al Hattab.

Grade B

Previously: Jan 26 Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card

Jan. 18 Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card

Jan. 3 Triple Crown Weekend Prep Report Card

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Nearly $22 Million Wagered On Record Holy Bull Day At Gulfstream

Saturday's 12-race program at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., featuring an impressive performance by the 3-year-old colt Greatest Honour, produced a record Holy Bull Day handle.

Total handle on the afternoon was $21.870 million, eclipsing the previous record of $19.775 set in 2017 and surpassing last year's total handle by 20 percent.

The afternoon of races included five graded-stakes worth $600,000 in purses. The afternoon was highlighted by Courtlandt Farms' Greatest Honour's 5 ¾-length victory in the $200,000 Holy Bull (G3), a major prep for the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27 and Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa (G1) March 27.

“It was a wonderful day of racing, and we want to thank the fans and the horsemen for supporting our program,” said Aidan Butler, Chief Operating Officer of 1/ST Racing. “Congratulations to Greatest Honour and all of those who participated in making this a memorable afternoon. We look forward to more great racing in the weeks to come during our Championship Meet.”

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From ‘Big Clown’ To Triple Crown Trail: Greatest Honour Overpowers Holy Bull Rivals

Courtlandt Farm's Greatest Honour swept to the lead on the turn into the Gulfstream Park homestretch and drew off to a 5 ¾-length victory in Saturday's $200,000 Holy Bull, establishing himself as a prime prospect for the 2021 Triple Crown.

The Holy Bull, a 1 1/16-mile prep on the Road to the Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n Dale at Xalapa, headlined a 12-race program featuring five graded stakes.

Greatest Honour gave trainer Shug McGaughey his first Holy Bull victory on a Hall of Fame resume that includes Orb's victories in the 2014 Fountain of Youth (G2) and Florida Derby (G1). Orb went on to give McGaughey his first Kentucky Derby success.

The 5-2 second choice in a field of nine 3-year-olds, Greatest Honour rated near the back of the field while racing on the outside along the backstretch as Willy Boi set the pace, pressed by Tarantino and closely stalked by even-money favorite Prime Factor. Willy Boi set fractions of 23.28 and 46.97 seconds for the first half mile with Tarantino in close attendance as Greatest Honour steadily advanced along the outside. Jose Ortiz asked the McGaughey trainee for some run on the far turn, and the son of Tapit responded with a eye-catching kick that quickly carried him to the front of the pack leaving he turn into the stretch, leaving Tarantino and Prime Factor to fight it out for the minor placings.

Greatest Honour, who broke his maiden at the 1 1/16-mile distance in his fourth career start at Gulfstream Dec. 26, went on to win comfortably, completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.19.

“We had a clean trip. He broke fine and Jose got him over a little bit to save ground. I thought we were in good position when we turned down the backside. When he was in that kind of position, I knew they were going to have a hard time with him, because he's going to finish better than he starts,” McGaughey said. “Jose said, 'At the half-mile pole, I asked him a tad, he was there.' When he really asked him, he said that he finished up very strong. He picked up his horses quick today. He was a winner early today.”

Tarantino, who was a nose away from being undefeated in three starts on turf, held gamely under Edgard Zayas to finish second in his dirt debut, 3 ¾ lengths ahead of third-place finisher Prime Factor. Papetu finished fourth.

The top four finishers divided 17 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby on a 10-4-2-1 basis.

Updated Kentucky Derby leaderboard

Greatest Honour finished a late-closing third while sprinting in his first two career starts, before stretching out two turns at Aqueduct Nov. 8 to finish second, beaten by just a head by Known Agenda, who went on to finish third in the Remsen (G2). The Courtlandt Farms homebred broke through to graduate at Gulfstream in his next start.

“He was kind of a big clown and did what he wanted to do all summer. We got him ready to run at Saratoga. Sprinting wasn't going to be his bag, but I think those two sprint races sort of helped him to learn and learn how to finish,” McGaughey said. “We took him over to Aqueduct and he had a big race there and just got beat. He came here and his two races here have been very good. The distances helped too – two turns. I think the farther we go, the better.”

Ortiz, who had ridden Greatest Honour in his first two starts, was impressed with the progress the Kentucky-bred colt has made since the summer.

“He broke well today. I was able to have a clean run to the first turn. He sat pretty nicely. He wanted to back up a little and I tapped him on the shoulder, and he picked me up and he took me on a great ride,” Ortiz said. “I was really, really happy going to the five-eighths [pole]. I was following Prime Factor and I was just on the inside of him. Luckily, I didn't have to fight for any position. I was just able to take it. Honestly, when I put myself four-wide in the clear, I showed him the whip one time and from that point I knew I was going to have a really, really good shot to win. When we got to the quarter pole, I knew I had it.

“He took the lead and went on. I still had plenty of horse underneath me. He was playing. From the three-sixteenths [pole] to the wire, he didn't give me his 100 percent. He was just playing around,” he added.

The $300,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) Feb. 27 at Gulfstream has been on McGaughey's radar.

“It's what I've had on my mind. I'm not going to leave Florida unless I'm forced to,” he said. “I won't have any trouble having him ready for the Florida Derby if I don't want to run him there.”

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