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Grade 1 Winner Known Agenda Retired To Spendthrift Farm For 2022 Season

Known Agenda, the dominant winner of this year's Grade 1 Florida Derby, has been retired from racing and will take up stud duty at Spendthrift Farm in 2022.

The son of leading sire Curlin will stand for an introductory fee of $10,000 S&N and will be offered through the farm's renowned “Share The Upside” program on a limited basis. He is available for inspection by appointment.

“Any time you can add a Florida Derby winner by Curlin with his looks and pedigree, you jump at the opportunity. Known Agenda ticks an awful lot of boxes, and the Florida Derby has produced a lot of very good sires, especially in recent history,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “We are delighted to partner again with Vinnie Viola, who bred and raced this colt out of his Grade 1-winning mare. Known Agenda is one of those rare classic-type Grade 1 winners that is by a Grade 1 winner and out of a Grade 1 winner. He reminded us quite a bit of Vino Rosso, another son of Curlin that we stand that Vinnie co-owned and campaigned with Todd Pletcher. If Known Agenda's foals look anything like what we have seen from Vino Rosso, then the sky's the limit.”

A homebred for Vinnie Viola's St. Elias Stables, Known Agenda broke his maiden as a 2-year-old last fall at Aqueduct, defeating eventual G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes winner Greatest Honour. At three, he won a Gulfstream allowance race by 11 lengths before capturing the prestigious $750,000 Florida Derby going away by 2 3/4 lengths, stamping himself as a leading sophomore.

“We are excited to be standing Known Agenda, our first homebred to go to stud, at Spendthrift Farm,” said Viola. “This colt showed early promise at two and continued to move forward at three with a dominant victory in the Florida Derby. We are looking for him to continue the great tradition of Florida Derby winners going on to successful stud careers, and we plan on supporting him heavily in that mission.”

Known Agenda joined champion Essential Quality and Medina Spirit as the only Kentucky Derby contenders to run a 6 on the Ragozin Sheets heading into the Run for the Roses, where he would encounter a troubled trip breaking from the vaunted post No. 1.

An earner of $641,700, Known Agenda became the first Florida Derby winner for his sire Curlin. He is also a Grade 1 winner by a Grade 1 winner and out of a Grade 1 winner, as his dam Byrama captured the 2013 Vanity S. (G1) on the main track at Hollywood Park.

“Known Agenda reminded me a great deal of Vino Rosso. He possessed the qualities of some of the better Curlins we've had. He's a good-sized, athletic, very well-balanced horse,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “His Florida Derby win was ultra-impressive, and, obviously, that's been a great race for us when you think of the colts that have gone on to become top sires like Scat Daddy and Constitution.”

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Following Sea May Target H. Allen Jerkens Stakes At Saratoga

Spendthrift Farm's general manager Ned Toffey said Following Sea remains under consideration for the $500,000 Grade 1 H. Allen Jerkens on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

The talented son of champion medication-free stallion Runhappy was elevated to second via disqualification last out in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 17 at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

In his second start, Following Sea was a decisive 5 ¾-length winner on April 10 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., before defeating winners on June 3 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Since the Haskell, Following Sea has recorded two breezes over the Saratoga main track for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, most recently going a half-mile in :49.22 seconds on August 14.

“We'll see. Obviously, the Jerkens is coming up tough,” Toffey said. “He's clearly a very talented horse. He's working really well. We'll put our heads together with Todd and see which way we want to go. We certainly have an eye on the Jerkens, but it will be very tough for a horse that still has his conditions. We'll see how his next work is, talk to Todd and go from there.”

A Kentucky homebred, Following Sea is out of the stakes-placed Speightstown mare Quick Flip.

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Casse ‘All Smiles’ After Get Stormy’s Fourstardave Victory, 104 Beyer Speed Figure

Trainer Mark Casse was all smiles on Sunday morning at Saratoga Race Course after securing his first Grade 1 victory as a newly enshrined Hall of Famer when Got Stormy bested males to win the $500,000 Fourstardave for the second time on Saturday.

Owned by Spendthrift Farm and MyRacehorse Stable, Got Stormy set a course record over the inner turf capturing the 2019 Fourstardave in a time of 1:32 flat with Ricardo Santana, Jr. up.

After finishing second in last year's running to pacesetting Halladay, the 6-year-old chestnut daughter of 2010 Fourstardave victor Get Stormy vindicated herself with a sharp 1 ½-length triumph under Tyler Gaffalione.

The victory registered a 104 Beyer Speed Figure, a tenth lifetime triple-digit number for the talented mare, and included a “Win and You're In” berth to the Breeders' Cup Mile on November 6 at Del Mar.

Despite last week's Hall of Fame induction, the summer campaign had been a frustrating one for Casse, who was winless at the current Saratoga meet before Got Stormy's Fourstardave coup.

“It's been a rough meet, but my wife [Tina] said it best: 'It's been gloomy in Saratoga until the storm blew through,'” Casse said.

Got Stormy arrived at the Fourstardave off two fifth-place finishes at graded stakes level after making her seasonal bow a winning one in the Grade 3 Honey Fox on February 27 at Gulfstream Park.

Sent off at 12-1 odds, Casse said he nevertheless felt confident in his mare because of her demeanor in the paddock.

“It's her. She just gets happy,” Casse said. “She was walking around after I had saddled her and I told Tyler, 'She's got her game face on today, they better be ready,' I could tell she just wanted to go out there and do it.”

Casse said Got Stormy, a seven-time graded stakes winner with graded scores at six different tracks, will appreciate a return to Del Mar, where she captured the Grade 1 Matriarch in her final start of 2019.

“The good news for us is she's 1-for-1 at Del Mar,” Casse said. “We should have hard and fast [turf] there, and the turns aren't quite as tight as they are here but they're sharp. I want to get one race into her, I just haven't figured out where I want to do that yet.

“She just loves training here so much. Most horses do,” Casse added regarding Got Stormy's affinity for Saratoga. “She enjoys the tight turns. She can run around a turn like most horses can't, so that helps.”

Casse mentioned the possibility of attempting a dual conquest in the $600,000 Grade 3 Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint on September 11 at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky.

“I can go to Kentucky Downs just as a prep, run her at 6 ½ [furlongs] and we don't care about the weather,” Casse said. “If it rains, it's okay. Where the soft ground hurts us is when she's trying to get a mile.”

Previously owned by Gary Barber, Got Stormy was purchased for $2.75 million by Spendthrift Farm at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

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Ned Toffey of Spendthrift Farm said he was delighted to see the superstar mare secure a Grade 1 victory when sporting Spendthrift's orange and purple silks.

“Mark was very confident. He said she was doing so well,” Toffey recalled. “I think clearly, she really likes Saratoga. It was just great to see. This was so gratifying because when Mr. [B. Wayne] Hughes decided to get involved with MyRacehorse, he really believed that this was something that would be successful, but what they need are really good horses.

“She didn't appear to have lost any steps yesterday so that was great to see,” Toffey continued. “She's such a gutsy, hard trying mare. You just love to see that kind do well.”

Toffey said he felt gratified to be able to provide the multiple MyRacehorse partners a prestigious victory at Saratoga.

“To get a Grade 1 and to be able to see a project like this come full circle, work out this way, and have a bunch of enthusiastic MyRacehorse fans to be there and share it with us was a great feeling,” Toffey said.

Casse said that maiden Volcanic, a two-time starting son of Violence owned by Breeze Easy, could race back in the $300,000 Grade 1 Hopeful on September 6. The $230,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase finished third last out in a six-furlong maiden event on July 24 at the Spa.

The Hall of Fame trainer said Live Oak Plantation's graded stakes-winner Souper Sensational, who finished second in the Grade 1 Longines Test here on August 7, could race back in the $250,000 Grade 2 Prioress on September 4 at the Spa.

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Seven-Figure Colt Highlights Sterling Saratoga Sale Debut For Bolt d’Oro

Any checklist of milestones for an up-and-coming commercial stallion involves a big showing with his first yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale.

Gaining the approval of one of the market's most discriminating buying benches can set a stallion up for years to come on the commercial market, and Spendthrift Farm's rookie stallion Bolt d'Oro was the standout of his class during the 2021 renewal of the boutique auction.

The Grade 1-winning son of Medaglia d'Oro was responsible for the sale's most expensive yearling by a first-crop sire, when a half-brother to 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra sold to Larry Best's OXO Equine for $1.4 million early in Tuesday's session.

Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey watched the bidding with great interest from the back ring of the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, and he was thrilled with the result.

“He was just a beautiful animal,” Toffey said about the well-related colt. “We're obviously big fans of the stallion, and it's a wonderful pedigree, and a great physical. What else can you ask for?”

The seven-figure colt was bred in Kentucky by Dede McGehee's Heaven Trees Farm, out of the the Grade 2-placed stakes-winning Roar mare Lotta Kim. Rachel Alexandra was the mare's first foal, by Medaglia d'Oro, the same sire that gave the world Bolt d'Oro.

When McGehee contacted Spendthrift Farm about tapping into to a proven sire line at a lower price point than the original, it wasn't a hard decision on the farm's part.

“I think it was one word: 'Yes.'” Toffey said. “It makes all the sense in the world, given the pedigree. We're not in the business of turning that kind down.”

Even below the top price, the Bolt d'Oro yearlings were received incredibly well in Saratoga. Ten of the 12 that went through the ring sold for an average of $407,000, and he had three yearlings sell for $500,000 or more.

A single millionaire certainly helps spike interest in a young stallion, but that consistency among the rest of the Bolt d'Oros was what truly encouraged Toffey.

“It's huge, and more than just this one price, it's the fact that there's just a really strong collection of yearlings here by him,” he said. “I think it's actually the collective quality of the group as much as anything, but frankly, that's a nice cherry on top.

After being one of the highest-volume first-crop sires in the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga catalog, Bolt d'Oro has four horses entered in the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale in the coming days. Next month, he'll have 75 in the catalog for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Bolt d'Oro is himself out of the A.P. Indy mare Globe Trot, whose foals also include Grade 1 winner Global Campaign and Grade 2-placed stakes winner Sonic Mule.

Both sides of Bolt d'Oro's family are known for putting an athletic foal on the ground, and Toffey said the sire has shown himself able to pass that on to the next generation.

“I think very much like himself, big, scopey, very athletic, dramatically made horses — horses that stand over a lot of ground,” Toffey said. “They've got some length at the torso, but a good amount of neck to balance them out. They've been a very impressive, correct group.”

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