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Prime Factor Puts Two Hearts Farm Back in the Spotlight

Tony Braddock's Two Hearts Farm made quite a few headlines back in 2015 when their mare Fioretti (Bernardini) marked herself as a Breeders' Cup contender with wins in the Roxelana S. and GII TCA S. With that mare now retired to the Two Hearts Farm broodmare band, talented sophomore Prime Factor (Quality Road) has put his breeder back in the spotlight and looks to add another feather to Braddock's cap Saturday in the GII Fountain of Youth S.

Braddock was interested in horses and racing from a young age, attending fairs near his home in North Bergen, New Jersey, to learn more about the various equine breeds. He later moved to Virginia after retiring from the Army and decided to become part of the racing industry he had long admired.

“I got into the business in 1974 and that is when I met the Hamiltons here in Virginia,” Braddock said. “I resigned from the Army and got into businesses in Northern Virginia. I got involved with horses in Middleburg [Virginia] and began breeding.”

Braddock eventually decided he wanted to expand his operation and purchased a farm in Paris, Kentucky, in partnership with Joe Hamilton, whose son Anthony trained Fioretti.

“The people who owned the better stallions in Virginia passed away and all the big stallions were in Kentucky, so my plan was to move whatever I had at the time to Kentucky,” Braddock said. “I wanted to start at a higher level, so I sold some stock and I bought 50 acres in Paris.”

He continued, “Joe Hamilton passed away in 2015 and his son was my partner for a few years, but now I am the sole owner. I have about 15 mares and keep one or two foals to race. I have three right now in Florida being trained. One is half-brother to Prime Factor by Liam's Map, who I am told is a good horse.”

Braddock purchased Prime Factor's dam Haylie Brae (Bernardini) for $70,000 carrying a foal by Shackleford at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale. That price seems like a steal now between her pedigree and Prime Factor's potential. The 13-year-old mare is a half-sister to 'TDN Rising Star' and GSW young sire Speightster (Speightstown); SW & GSP West Coast Swing (Gone West), who is also a 'Rising Star'; and stakes winner Paiota Falls (Kris S). This is also the family of Canadian champions Dance Smartly (Danzig) and Dancethruthedawn (Mr. Prospector); and Grade I-winning top sire Smart Strike.

Prime Factor was the third foal Haylie Brae produced for Braddock and he proved to be special pretty early on.

“Several bloodstock agents come to the farm and look at my current yearlings [leading up to the sales],” Braddock said. “With this colt, when he was weaned, people began to take real notice of him and make some comments about his conformation and how he was growing. He even caught the eye of my blacksmith. He said, 'You've got a good one here. This guy is a seven-figure horse.'”

Braddock's blacksmith wasn't too far off. Prime Factor summoned $900,000 from the powerhouse partnership of WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, who also campaigned Triple Crown hero Justify, at the Keeneland September Sale. It was the breeder's biggest sale to date.

Romping by 8 3/4 lengths in his career bow going six furlongs at Gulfstream Dec. 12, the bay was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' for that impressive effort and completed the trifecta next out when trying two turns in that venue's GIII Holy Bull S. Jan. 30.

“It is very exciting,” Braddock said about breeding a colt on the GI Kentucky Derby trail. “He is already graded stakes-placed and I will certainly be watching and cheering him on Saturday.”

Between Prime Factor's potential, his juvenile half-brother Sea Lane (Liam's Map) in training and his yearling half-brother by Distorted Humor pointed to a yearling sale, Braddock has plenty to look forward to in 2021.

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Fountain of Youth Trio All Have Something to Prove

There's little doubt that 3-year-olds Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music), Fire At Will (Declaration of War) and Prime Factor (Quality Road) are talented individuals. But whether or not they are legitimate contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby is a question each one will have to answer in Saturday's GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park.

The mile-and-a-sixteenth Fountain of Youth, which drew a field of 10, has a clear favorite in Greatest Honour (Tapit), the Shug McGaughey-trained winner of the GIII Holy Bull S. But whether or not he wins may depend on how Fire at Will handles the dirt, how well Drain the Clock can handle two turns and whether or not Prime Factor can rebound off a third-place finish in the Holy Bull as the even-money favorite. From his main competition, there have been more questions than answers.

Of the group, Fire At Will, a Breeders' Cup winner, is the most accomplished. Trained by Mike Maker, he finished off his 2-year-old campaign with wins on the grass in the GII Pilgrim S. and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. By Declaration of War out of a Kitten's Joy mare, Fire At Will has a strong turf pedigree, but trainer Mike Maker wants to find out if he can handle the dirt against top company. In his lone start on the main track, he won the off-the-turf With Anticipation S. last summer at Saratoga.

“We thought he deserved a chance and there aren't many races of any significance on the turf for him right now,” Maker said. “This is the time to try something like this. Hopefully, he'll run as well on a fast track as he did on a sloppy track.”

Fire At Will has never worked on the turf and has had a steady diet off five and six furlong breezes since the Holy Bull.

“He's a very efficient mover and is professional,” Maker said. “You can't knock him at all.”

Drain the Clock's only career defeat came when his rider lost an iron in the Jean Laffite S. at Delta Downs. Otherwise, he's proven to be among the best 3-year-old sprinters in training. He won the Limehouse S. by 7 1/2 lengths and then came back to blow away the competition in the GIII Swale S. at seven furlongs. Trainer Saffie Joseph knows that he has a good horse, but can't be certain how far he will go.

“So far, he has done everything that we have asked and the one blemish on his record was not his fault,” Joseph said. “This will be his first time at a distance and, in the back of your mind, you always wonder how that will turn out.”

As Joseph sees it, it makes perfect sense to experiment in the Fountain of Youth.

“There's stamina on the dam's side of his pedigree,” he said. “There's no reason to think he won't go a mile-and-a-sixteenth, the question is whether or not he will be as good at a mile-and-a-sixteenth. Talent-wise, I think he is as good as any of the horses in this race. But I know he has to prove that.”

Drain the Clock should benefit from the draw. He drew the one hole, arguably the best post in the race, and should have no problem taking control early without much other speed signed on.

'TDN Rising Star' Prime Factor will start just outside of Drain the Clock in the two post. He looked sensational when breaking his maiden by 8 3/4 lengths in his first career start. A $900,000 yearling purchase trained by Todd Pletcher, he became one of the most hyped horses of the early winter, but couldn't back that up when finishing third, beaten 9 1/2 lengths in the Holy Bull. The question Saturday will be whether or not he can run back to his debut.

“I don't know if it was an easy decision to go in this race or not,” Pletcher said. “The horse made it easier by training well since the Holy Bull. The harder decision was going in the Holy Bull off one six-furlong start; Ideally, we would have liked to have found an allowance race for him and made a more gradual progression into a graded stakes.”

Pletcher hopes that Prime Factor learned enough in the Holy Bull that he will take a step in the right direction Saturday.

“We're hoping that the lack of seasoning and experience was the reason why he didn't run as well as we had hoped in the Holy Bull,” he said. “He's come back with a couple of good breezes. I was disappointed with his last race. We didn't go out there to finish third by nine. But we think we had some legitimate reasons for it and I think it's logical that he will move forward after having that experience.”

The Holy Bull field, from the rail out, consists of Drain the Clock, Prime Factor, Sososubtle (Speightster), Fire At Will, Jirafales (Social Inclusion), King's Ovation (Not This Time), Tarantino (Pioneerof the Nile), Greatest Honour, Tiz Tact Toe (Tourist) and Papetu (Dialed In).

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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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Ready for ‘Prime’ Time in the Holy Bull

'TDN Rising Star' Prime Factor (Quality Road), a blowout maiden winner sprinting on debut at Gulfstream Dec. 12, heads straight to the big leagues in Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S.

The WinStar Farm and CHC Inc. colorbearer, a $900,000 Keeneland September yearling, worked a bullet five furlongs in :59 4/5 (1/13) at Todd Pletcher's Palm Beach Downs base Jan. 23 in preparation of his two-turn debut.

Prime Factor is out of a half-sister to fellow 'Rising Stars' Speightster (Speightstown) and West Coast Swing (Gone West) as well as SW Paiota Falls (Kris S.). His second dam Dance Swiftly is a full-sister to Canadian Horse of the Year and U.S. Eclipse Award winner Dance Smartly.

“It's kind of that time of year where you have to see where you are,” Pletcher said. “He was brilliant in his debut and has trained sharply since then. We kind of considered going into an allowance race, but that never materialized. It's always a big step to go from maiden race against winners, giving up experience, but he can hopefully overcome it.”

The 16-time Gulfstream Championship Meet training champion will also tighten the girth on Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's Amount (Curlin), a 5 3/4-length winner on debut after getting bumped at the start going seven furlongs at Gulfstream Dec. 26.

Greatest Honour (Tapit) was given the 5-2 nod on the morning-line after overcoming a good deal of early trouble in an impressive, come-from-behind maiden victory over track and trip at fourth asking Dec. 26. He was also a strong third in a key maiden special weight at Belmont last fall, featuring subsequent 'Rising Star' and jaw-dropping Smarty Jones S. winner Caddo River (Hard Spun).

“He's developed a lot,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “I was just sitting there thinking if, through the winter and spring, he keeps going in that direction, he'll be good.”

The Holy Bull's lone graded winner Sittin On Go (Brody's Cause) (GIII Iroquois S.) looks to get back on track following disappointing efforts in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 6 and GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. last time Nov. 28.

The Holy Bull carries 10-4-2-1 qualifying points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby.

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