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Bloodlines: Lexitonian The Latest Long-Term Dividend For Speightstown

When leading sire Tapit doesn't have a major performer in a graded stakes, he is figuring as the broodmare sire of a major performer in a graded stakes. Or, the great gray son of Pulpit sometimes has both.

On July 31 at Saratoga, for instance, last year's champion juvenile colt and this year's Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality (by Tapit) won the Grade 2 Jim Dandy as his prep for the G1 Travers, and on the same card, Lexitonian (Speightstown) won the G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap and is out of the Tapit mare Riviera Romper.

A winner at two, Riviera Romper was bred and raced by My Meadowview Farm, then sold to Calumet Farm for $310,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale when carrying Lexitonian.

The Vanderbilt winner is the mare's first foal and only winner from three other named foals of racing age, including the 2-year-old Miss Raison (Raison d'Etat). The latter split the field of nine at Arlington Park on her debut in a maiden special on July 17. Riviera Romper has a yearling colt by 2015 Travers Stakes winner Keen Ice (Curlin) and a foal of 2021 who is a full sister to Lexitonian.

Their sire Speightstown is the last remaining important son of the Mr. Prospector stallion Gone West still at stud, and among all the good sons of Gone West, only Juddmonte's classic-winning Zafonic would be a competitor with Speightstown to rank as the very best of them.

It has not always been this way.

As a yearling, Speightstown was a beauty, and well I remember his presence and charisma from the 1999 Keeneland July sale, when Speightstown was such a sensation that the gleaming chestnut brought $2 million from Eugene Melnyk out of the Taylor Made Sales consignment.

The great-looking yearling developed into one of the quickest juveniles for trainer Todd Pletcher, then started as the favorite for his debut at Saratoga in August 2000. And Speightstown finished dead last of 13, having “raced greenly and tired.”

The horse returned almost six months later and won a maiden special at Gulfstream, then lost an allowance but jumped into graded stakes for the G3 Gotham and finished seventh. For trainer Phil England, Speightstown won three straight allowances at Woodbine, then went to Saratoga for the G2 Amsterdam. There, Speightstown and favored City Zip flamed broiled each other, with Speightstown getting the calls for the quarter in :21.69 and the half in :44.86. City Zip had his head in front at the stretch call and pulled away slightly to win by a length, but it had taken the two front runners :26.17 to finish the final quarter-mile.

Speightstown didn't race again in 2001. Nor did he race in 2002. Twenty-one months and six days after the Amsterdam, Speightstown returned to racing at Belmont Park and won a seven-furlong allowance by a neck. The second horse was Volponi, whose previous start had been a victory in the 2002 Breeders' Cup Classic at Arlington.

The colt's next start was the Jaipur Stakes at Belmont and resulted in another head and head battle, this time with the very fast Holy Bull son Garnered, who won by 1 ¼ lengths. It was nearly a replay of the Amsterdam, and after a quarter in :21.64 and a half in :43.91, the two leaders took :39.58 to cover the final three furlongs.

After the Jaipur, Speightstown didn't race for 10 months and a day. For many an owner, this would have been too much. A $2 million-dollar colt who had made 10 starts in four seasons of racing and who had shown a very high level of speed but had trouble staying healthy seems like a proposition that many would have bailed on.

When Pletcher brought the striking chestnut back to the races in 2004 at age six, however, Speightstown showed that he was worth the wait. The horse swept victoriously through his first four starts – the Artax, G2 Churchill Downs Handicap, G2 True North Handicap, and G2 Vanderbilt Handicap – and in the latter was the odds-on favorite and set a new track record of 1:08.04.

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Upset as the odds-on favorite in the G1 Vosburgh, Speightstown came back in the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Lone Star Park in Texas on Oct. 30, 2004. The horse rated in fourth as Abbondanza and Cuvee slugged out the early furlongs, then came on in the stretch to win by 1 ¼ lengths in 1:08.11.

That G1 victory put the seal on a championship season for Speightstown, who entered stud the following year, and with the combined might of WinStar and Taylor Made farms behind him, Speightstown has risen to uncommon heights. The stallion's first crop contained 15 stakes winners, including Reynaldothewizard (G1 Golden Shaheen), Haynesfield (G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup), Lord Shanakill (G1 Prix Jean Prat), Jersey Town (G1 Cigar Mile), and Mona de Momma (G1 Distaff Stakes).

Despite being a horse of high speed, Speightstown prospered with maturity, and many of his best offspring likewise have shown improved form as they matured. That has not always made him the most popular commercial horse, but his stock have the speed if owners have the time. To date, Speightstown has 121 stakes winners (10 percent to foals of racing age).

The stallion's most successful son at stud to date is Munnings, a G2 winner from that illustrious first crop, and Calumet's latest G1 winner will doubtless be given opportunities at stud, both by his breeder and by commercial breeders who appreciate speed and pedigree.

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Consistency Over Long Haul Stands Out for Top Soph

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton

For the past two racing seasons, we've seen two top-rated United States 2-year-olds in each year maintain impeccable form for a period of about 12 months, straight through to a deep point in their sophomore campaigns. That's a fairly remarkable occurrence in this day and age.

Tiz the Law (Constitution) broke his maiden at Saratoga on Aug. 8, 2019, then prevailed in the GI Runhappy Travers S. exactly one year later. The compact bay who raced with a relentless swagger lost only once in seven starts during that time frame, racking up other tour-de-force Grade I victories in the Champagne S., Florida Derby, and Belmont S. during a campaign whose Triple Crown scheduling was convoluted by the pandemic.

Outside of missing a few days of training in early March because of a heel bruise, Tiz sailed all the way through to the Sept. 5, 2020, GI Kentucky Derby before getting outpunched in a stretch fight and finishing second. He subsequently was a no-factor sixth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, which ended up being his final race prior to an unexpected retirement Dec. 30 because of bone bruising.

The charismatic colt's final two subpar races don't at all encapsulate the flair and panache with which he helped carry the sport through a difficult year.

The career arc of 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit) neatly overlaps with Tiz's meteoric rise and gradual, two-race descent. This assertive, athletic gray broke his maiden on the 2020 Derby Day undercard at Churchill Downs–just hours before Tiz tasted defeat as the odds-on Derby favorite.

Then Essential Quality tore off back-to-back Grade I autumn wins, including a victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile that earned him 2-year-old Eclipse Award championship honors.

Essential Quality, pretty much like Tiz, managed to avoid nagging setbacks during the transition from two to three. He scored smartly in both of his 2021 spring stakes preps before heading undefeated to the Derby, also as the fave.

Despite minor jostling at the break and a wide go into the first turn, he eventually settled into an in-the-clear, stalking stride that was reminiscent of Tiz's own no-excuse clean trip in the Derby. Essential Quality responded gamely when set down and very willingly dug in for a stretch fight. But, like Tiz the Law, he couldn't close the gap despite trying hard, and finished fourth.

Five weeks later, Essential Quality rebounded with a high-torque win in the Belmont S., launching a bold bid half a mile out and sustaining pressure through deep stretch before finally kicking clear a sixteenth from the wire.

The colt he beat, Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), came back to cross the finish wire first in the July 17 GI TVG.com Haskell S. but was DQ'd from the win for interference. Those two colts are clearly at the top of the sophomore pecking order heading into the back half of the season.

Essential Quality hasn't quite hit the one-year mark of sustained excellence the way Tiz the Law did. But he's close on the calendar (331 days) and his seven wins from eight starts resonate not only from a statistical sense, but because of the “how he did it” authority of those victories.

Saturday's GII Jim Dandy S. score at Saratoga by Essential Quality might have been a closer shave than his connections (and the betting public) cared to sweat out at 2-5 odds.

But I'm willing to shrug off that half-length narrow escape over the pesky 9-1 Keepmeinmind (Laoban) based on three factors:

1) Essential Quality wasn't fully cranked, training-wise, for a prep race designed to have him tight for the Aug. 28 Travers.

2) Keepmeinmind's brief seizing of the lead a sixteenth out was more attributable to a momentary focus lapse by the champ, which was evident when Essential Quality instantly flashed back into attack mode to polish off Keepmeinmind.

3) Essential Quality gave up copious real estate while wide around both turns, traveling 6,060 feet over nine furlongs according to Trakus, versus Keepmeinmind's mostly rail-running 6,022 (a difference of 38 feet over the course of the race).

The Jim Dandy victory was the second straight homebred score (and third win overall as an owner) for Godolphin, which won last year with Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper) and in 2012 with Alpha (Bernardini).

The last time a Jim Dandy winner won the Travers was when Alpha finished in a dead-heat for first with Golden Ticket.

First 'Vandy', then Dandy

The Jim Dandy was the second straight graded dirt stakes on Saturday's Saratoga card in which the winner lost the lead in deep stretch then roared back to snatch victory from the proverbial jaws of defeat.

Except Lexitonian (Speightstown)'s win in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. was way at the other end of the pari-mutuel spectrum. The five-year-old Calumet Farm color bearer was 34-1, the longest shot in the field of nine.

Lexitonian was hell-bent for the lead in the six-furlong sprint but appeared pressure-cooked by the quarter pole.

Yet the pursuers who looked certain to swallow him up couldn't seal the deal, and Lexitonian clawed back a half-length win for his first trip to the winner's circle in 14 months.

The win also was the first leg of a dirt-stakes double at Saratoga for homebreds.

In an era in which we lament that horses don't race as frequently or robustly as they once did at the top end of the sport, Calumet homebreds seem to dance every dance, and have accounted for some pricey graded stakes upsets over the last decade.

Prime examples are Oxbow's 15-1 GI Preakness S. win in 2013, Bravazo's 21-1 GII Risen Star S. score in 2018, and Everfast's 29-1 near-miss second in the 2019 Preakness. And just three months ago, we witnessed Bourbonic (Bernardini)'s 72-1 last-to-first thriller in the GII Wood Memorial S.

“I have to give Lexitonian a ton of credit,” trainer Jack Sisterson said. “He ran in the [GI] Met Mile and he was eased. You'd think a horse that was eased and thrown in some clunkers, you'd sit back and think let's drop him down a grade and give him a confidence builder. But I've run him in every Grade I and been hard on him and this is how he responds today. I have to give credit to Lexitonian.”

So which Grade I sprint was best?

Dr. Schivel (Violence) powered home first in a multi-horse photo to win the GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar later on Saturday, running his record to 3-for-3 at Del Mar in advance of a presumptive start in the Gi Breeders' Cup Sprint that will be run over that same surface Nov. 6.

The $6.80 win by a neck marked the second straight year that the trainer/jockey tandem of Mark Glatt and Flavien Prat won the Bing Crosby. The colt was one of only two 3-year-olds entered against older rivals.

A fondness for the seaside oval must run in Dr. Schivel's family. His dam, Lil Nugget, was 2-for-2 at Del Mar, with both wins coming during the 2007 campaign against claiming company. The modest offspring she produced via her first seven foalings (three career maidens and four lower-level claiming winners) didn't suggest a multiple Grade I-winning colt like Dr. Schivel was in the pipeline.

Dr. Schivel ran a 90 Beyer Speed Figure, and the two horses hot on his heels at the wire, Eight Rings (Empire Maker) and the favored C Z Rocket (City Zip), both delivered emphatic second- and third-place performances that were otherwise good enough to win.

Back East at the Spa, Lexitonian earned a 102 Beyer (Coincidentally, Lexitonian was second, beaten only a nose in the 2020 version of the Bing Crosby).

The sense from this vantage point is that Dr. Schivel's race featured stronger competition but the weaker speed figure.

Lexitonian's triple-digit Beyer trumps that performance numbers-wise, but the heavy-hitting competition in his race for the most part failed to fire.

Ordinarily I'd rate those two performances more or less as equal based on the above-outlined reasoning.

But because the Breeders' Cup is at Del Mar this year, the longer-term track-familiarity edge goes to the horses who'll be running back out of the Bing Crosby.

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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Nets $26,699 For Winning Tickets

Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5 featuring action from Saratoga Race Course, Woodbine Race Track, and Monmouth Park, paid $26,699 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. The total pool was $125,652.

Four graded stakes comprised the wager, starting with the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks for 3-year-old fillies in Race 10 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. Leader of the Band, a 10-1 selection for trainer John Servis, posted a two-length victory in the 1 1/16-mile contest, hitting the wire in 1:43.44 under jockey Frankie Pennington. Leader of the Band returned $22.60 on a $2 win wager.

Lexitonian provided an even bigger upset in the $350,000 Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt in Saratoga's Race 8. The Jack Sisterson trainee, off at 34-1, dueled Special Reserve from the top of the stretch before kicking away under jockey Jose Lezcano for a half-length win, paying $70. Lexitonian, the biggest price in the nine-horse field, completed the six-furlong sprint in 1:09.38.

Woodbine Race Track in Toronto, Ontario got in on the action when Souper Munnings, trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, bested Grey Seal by a neck to win a seven-furlong turf allowance for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up in Race 9. Souper Munnings, ridden by Patrick Husbands, won as the favorite, completing the course in 1:23.15 and returning $7.90.

Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., completed the final two legs, starting with Essential Quality's half-length win over Keepmeinmind in the $600,000 Grade 2 Jim Dandy for 3-year-olds going 1 1/8 miles in Race 9. Essential Quality, who entered off a win in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes last out, set himself up for a potential start in the $1.25 million Grade 1 Runhappy Travers on August 28 with his Jim Dandy score under jockey Luis Saez. The defending Champion 2-Year-Old paid $2.80 as the favorite, notching a final time of 1:49.92.

Cross Border closed the wager with a 1 1/4-length win in the $250,000 Grade 2 Bowling Green for 4-year-olds and up on the inner turf in Race 10. The Mike Maker trainee repeated as the Bowling Green winner, with Saez aboard, as the son of English Channel won the 1 3/8-mile marathon in 2:16.36. Cross Border paid $14.40.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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Lexitonian Gets 102 Beyer Speed Figure For Vanderbilt Upset

It took five years and 19 races, but Lexitonian notched a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure for the first time when he registered his first career Grade 1 victory by topping Special Reserve by a half-length to win Saturday's $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., garnering a 102 number.

The Jack Sisterson trainee came close previously to attaining Grade 1-winner status when finishing second by a head to Flagstaff in a highly competitive edition of the seven-furlong Grade 1 Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day May 1.

After running last-of-sixth and being eased in the Grade 1 Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan on Belmont Stakes Day June 5, Lexitonian cut back to six furlongs in the Vanderbilt and shined, dueling Special Reserve in the stretch before edging clear, improving his career record to 5-2-2 with earnings at $687,682.

“I was just sitting outside his stall watching him this morning and he looks great and energetic,” Sisterson said. “He came out of the race in great shape. I was really proud of his effort because from a past performance standpoint, he might be a little untrustworthy at times with a good race and a bad race, but he does all the hard work. We don't mind taking a shot with him and being a longshot. As long as he's doing well, he gives us the confidence to run in any type of race we can.”

Lexitonian, who came into Sisterson's care in 2019, won his first graded race as a sophomore when capturing the 2019 Grade 3 Chick Lang that marked his lone graded stakes score before yesterday. Sisterson said the late-blooming success is reminiscent of his sire Speightstown, who did not win a graded stakes until his 6-year-old campaign in 2004 when he won four of them, including that year's Alfred G. Vanderbilt and Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“We always felt, even when we originally got him, that he had talent but could get better with age,” Sisterson said. “Dan Pride from Godolphin stopped by the barn this morning because he has horses with Brendan Walsh, as we share the same barn. Dan told me that Speightstown didn't win his first Grade 1 until 6 and had an 18-month layoff, so I can understand now why Lexitonian is doing what he's doing at the age of 5.”

Lexitonian, a Calumet Farm homebred, won for the first time in his last seven starts overall and posted his first victory since May 2020. Sisterson said it's a possibility the Kentucky homebred could make a return engagement in the $600,000 Grade 1 Forego at seven furlongs on Travers Day August 28.

“Right after the race, I like to set a plan and obviously we're here in Saratoga and he handled the track well yesterday, so the next stop could potentially be the Forego,” Sisterson said. “We'll see how he comes out of the race and goes from there. But you're looking at the race at Belmont [$250,000 Grade 2 Vosburgh on October 9] or bringing back home for the [Grade 2] Phoenix [October 8 at Keeneland]. The ultimate goal is the Breeders' Cup Sprint at the end of the year.”

In last year's Forego, Lexitonian ran fifth in an 11-horse field over a sloppy and sealed track in heavy rain. Sisterson said potential improved conditions could facilitate a better start this time should he choose to run him there.

“I know I'm a little biased, but I didn't think he ran badly in the Forego last year,” Sisterson said. “It was in a downpour and probably not his ideal conditions. He paid $70 yesterday, so no one respected him. But I understand why the public felt that way, because he threw in a clunker there, but when he's on his form, he has a chance.”

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Fellow Calumet Farm homebred Channel Cat set the pace in the $250,000 Grade 2 Bowling Green on Saturday before finishing fourth in the eight-horse field in the 1 3/8-mile inner turf test for older horses. Channel Cat, who was ridden by Hall of Famer John Velazquez for the third straight race, registered a 97 Beyer in his first race since running seventh in the Grade 1 Manhattan on Belmont Stakes Day.

“He looks in great shape this morning,” Sisterson said. “John gave him a great ride. We felt he'd be the speed early and it was, but it just wasn't his day. He's doing well.”

Channel Cat, the winner of the Grade 1 Man o' War in May at Belmont, has already achieved millionaire status, with the 6-year-old English Channel son compiling a 6-3-5 record in 28 starts with earnings of $1,406,022.

Tango Tango Tango, also owned by Calumet Farm, breezed four furlongs in :50.60 seconds on Saturday over the Keeneland Race Course main track.

The 3-year-old Tourist colt, who won his stakes debut last out in the 1 1/16-mile American Derby on July 17 at Arlington Park, was a possibility for the $1 million Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 7. But Sisterson said it's more likely Tango Tango Tango will return to Arlington to run in the $300,000 Grade 1 Bruce D – a race formerly knowns as the Secretariat – on August 14.

“Probably more than likely, we'll go back to Arlington with him,” Sisterson said.

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