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The Breeders’ Cup is Next for Iowa-Bred Sensation Tyler’s Tribe

After another dominating performance, this time in the Iowa Cradle S., the undefeated Iowa-bred gelding Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) will face the stiffest test of his career when going next in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland. Just don't call him an underdog. He's too fast for that.

“We're headed to Kentucky and I think we have a good horse,” said co-owner and trainer Tim Martin. “I know he's been running in Iowa but has been beating them pretty bad over there. He's been pretty amazing.”

The story of the over achieving Iowa-bred began when Martin and co-owner Tom Lepic bought the horse for $34,000 as a yearling at last year's Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association Fall Mixed Sale, not knowing at the time that Sharp Azteca would turn out to be one of the top freshman sires in the country. The hope was to get a productive Iowa-bred, but it was obvious early on that they got much more than just that. Tyler's Tribe, who is named for Lepic's grandson, who has been battling leukemia, won his first four starts by a combined 53 1/4 lengths during a streak that included a gaudy 94 Beyer figure when he beat open company in the Prairie Meadows Freshman S.

He has never run outside of Prairie Meadows, where Martin is third in the trainer's standings. The regular rider is Kylee Jordan, the leading rider at Prairie Meadows who only recently lost her apprentice allowance.

In Saturday's Iowa Cradle, which was restricted to Iowa-breds, Tyler's Tribe, a 1-20 favorite, won by 6 1/2 lengths. It was the smallest winning margin of his five-race career, but he was geared down in the stretch and was never at any point asked for his best.

That wasn't the plan. Martin wanted Tyler's Tribe to gallop out an extra two furlongs after the wire, but with Jordan all but pulling the horse up at the wire it didn't work out.

“She was supposed to go out a mile,” Martin said of Jordan. “I think there was a misunderstanding. She kind of saved him down the lane when I told her to keep riding him so he could go out a mile. She stood up on him and the horse thought he was done. So, I didn't like the gallop out. It wasn't the horse's fault.”

Martin has had his sights set on the Breeders' Cup for a while. The only question was whether or not they would try for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the dirt or the Juvenile Turf at 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass. Neither is a perfect fit. Tyler's Tribe has never run on the grass, but neither has he ever run beyond six furlongs. Ultimately, Martin settled on the shorter race and the plan is to arrive at Keeneland on Tuesday so that he can adapt to his surroundings and get a chance to train over the turf course.

“He's a sprinter and I don't know if he's ready to go long yet,” Martin said. “I really think he will like the grass. His pedigree suggests he'll run well on the grass and he's got a sibling or two that has run well on the grass. I wish the race were on dirt because we know he likes the dirt. But at this point in his career I just don't know if he's ready for a mile-and-a-sixteenth race.”

Though Tyler's Tribe has been facing modest competition, he figures to be among the favorites in the Juvenile Turf. If that weren't the case, Martin said he wouldn't be taking the shot that he is.

“I don't want to go to the Breeders' Cup just to go to the Breeder's Cup,” he said. “I want to go when I know I have a shot to win a race or run a really big race. I'm not interested in going just to say that I had a horse in the Breeders' Cup. I think we have the horse to compete. He'll be one of the top horses in his race, He's five-for-five and has done it all easily.”

Martin does think his horse will eventually be able to succeed in two-turn races and hopes to give him that shot next year. But first the Breeders' Cup, where he will take on some of the fastest 2-year-olds on the planet. Is he up to the task? It's a fascinating question, and the answer awaits.

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Another Easy Win For Tyler’s Tribe; BC on the Horizon

It was little more than another high gallop for Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) at Prairie Meadows Saturday evening, as the 'Hammering Hawkeye' took his record to five towering wins from as many appearances against five overmatched foes in the Iowa Cradle S.

The dark bay hit the ground running from his outside berth and had a bit of early pace pressure, but cleared away from that rival, and with Kylee Jordan a mere passenger into the lane, ran out an easy winner. Tyler's Tribe was then asked to gallop out around the turn and into the backstretch, as he is expected to press on to an appearance at the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland.

Tyler's Tribe has now won his five starts by nearly 60 lengths combined, including an 8 1/2-length romp in the Prairie Gold Juvenile S. in July and a 15 1/2-length tour-de-force when last seen in the Prairie Meadows Freshman S. Aug. 27.

One of 22 winners and one of two stakes winners for his white-hot Three Chimneys-based freshman sire (by Freud), Tyler's Tribe has an Iowa-bred yearling half-brother by Good Samaritan that fetched $15,000 at this year's Keeneland January Sale and his dam was sent to Enticed this past breeding season.

IOWA CRADLE S., $100,000, Prairie Meadows, 10-1, (S), 2yo, c/g, 6f, 1:09.74, ft.
1–TYLER'S TRIBE, 122, g, 2, by Sharp Azteca
1st Dam: Impazible Woman, by Mission Impazible
2nd Dam: Handlewoman, by Elusive Quality
3rd Dam: Bamboo Queen, by Devil His Due
($34,000 Ylg '21 IOWOCT). O-Timothy E Martin & Thomas D
Lepic; B-Clifton Farm & Derek Merkler (IA); T-Timothy E
Martin; J-Kylee R Jordan. $60,000. Lifetime Record: 5-5-0-0,
$306,294.
2–Big Luke, 122, g, 2, Tapiture–Warmhearted Sandy, by Say
Florida Sandy. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. O/B-Big Pine LLC (IA); T-Kelly R
Von Hemel. $20,000.
3–Palace Guard, 122, g, 2, Palace Malice–Addy Annie, by Posse.
($12,000 Ylg '21 IOWOCT). 1ST BLACK-TYPE. O-Kent Bamford
& Randy Patterson; B-MAMAS Thoroughbreds LLC (IA);
T-Tyrone Gleason. $10,000.
Margins: 6HF, NO, 3 1/4. Odds: 0.05, 22.90, 36.40.
Also Ran: Acceleritas, C R Insta Gator, I Love Rocknstroll.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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“As Exciting as Winning a Race,” Steve Cauthen Talks Keeneland September Score

Steve Cauthen sat in the shade of Barn 42 at the Four Star Sales consignment Tuesday afternoon, basking not in the memory of his glory days as a Hall of Fame jockey, but in quiet celebration after selling one of the top-priced yearlings of the day at the Keeneland September Sale.

The colt, a flashy son of Sharp Azteca out of the stakes-placed mare She's Roughin It (Forest Camp), sold for $250,000 to Jerry Namy and Garry Simms.

“This is as exciting as winning a race,” Cauthen declared. “When you get a good one and people like it enough to fight for it, it's great.”

Cauthen has been involved in the breeding side of the industry since back when he was riding, when he owned a few mares that stayed with his father at the farm in Walton, Kentucky. After retiring from the saddle in 1992, the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year took up golf for a while, but got bored after a few years. So, he decided to go out and find a few more broodmares to get more involved as a breeder.

Today, Cauthen has eight mares at his Dreamfields Farm in Kentucky. Most of the broodmares are owned in partnership with various friends. They focus on breeding to sell, but have also raced several homebreds over the years.

“We've done quite well,” Cauthen said. “We've breed some nice stakes horses. We bred a nice colt called Pegasus Wind (Fusaichi Pegasus) that ran in the 2006 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.”

Cauthen picked out She's Roughin It, the dam of this most recent yearling success, at the 2007 Keeneland November Sale for $80,000. The daughter of Forest Camp had placed in a pair of stakes as a juvenile and won once as a sophomore for Steve Asmussen before landing with Cauthen.

She's Roughin It's first foal, The Truth and K G ( Successful Appeal), won over $200,000 and placed in a Grade III. She has since produced five more winners including Francesco Appeal, another stakes-placed son of Successful Appeal.

“She has had a lot of good foals,” Cauthen noted. “They're all really typey and the great thing is, her last three foals have been the best foals she has had.”

In addition to this Sharp Azteca colt, the mare also has a juvenile filly by the same sire named T. T.'s Women who ran fourth in her debut earlier this month as well as a weanling filly by Cloud Computing.

Cauthen was first drawn to Three Chimneys sire Sharp Azteca when the Grade I winner retired to stud. Doug Cauthen, a member of the advisor board at Three Chimneys, encouraged his brother to go visit the new stallion. Now a standout young sire, Sharp Azteca currently leads his class of first-crop sires by winners.

“Sharp Azteca is a big, beautiful stallion,” Cauthen said. “He's a striking individual and did plenty on the track, so I was happy to get involved and now I have a breeding right to him. I think with the fact that he has had MSW Tyler's Tribe, GSP Honed and SW Sharp Aza Tack, his horses are going for the top races and that's what gives people confidence to say maybe this horse can be a top stallion.”

Cauthen's colt was the first Sharp Azteca yearling to go through the ring this year at Keeneland September, with nearly a dozen more to follow as the week progresses.

Cauthen said that he had high hopes for his homebred from the beginning. The youngster spent his early days at Cauthen's farms before going through sales prep with Renee Dailey.

“This colt looked good since the day he was born,” Cauthen shared. “He was always a good type of individual and he just kept growing and improving. From a long time ago, I was hoping to get to $200,000 with him so this is a little better than I was expecting, but of course this has been a crazy good market. It's unbelievably strong and when you get to this point in the sale, there are still some good horses but less really nice individuals, so you hope [the buyers] all end up fighting for them.”

Cauthen is looking forward to watching another one of his yearlings go through the ring later in the week. His Cloud Computing filly out of the Dialed In mare Brilliant Dial sells as Hip 3381 with Fours Star Sales on Thursday. Until then, he'll celebrate today's achievement.

“The highest-priced yearling I've ever sold was $425,000,” he said. “My mares are nice but they're not Grade I winners so for me, this was great.”

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Jimmy Creed’s Private Creed Upsets Sharp Aza Tack In Global Tote Juvenile Sprint S.

After breaking his maiden on debut at Ellis Park July 30, Private Creed shipped to Saratoga to contest the Skidmore S., checking in third just two lengths behind winner Oxymore (Astern {Aus}). Back in Kentucky, the 5-2 second choice behind overwhelming favorite Sharp Aza Tack, racing with blinkers for the first time, utilized a similar racing style from his first two starts–tracking in third behind pacesetter Revere Note (Revolutionary) with the favorite racing between them. Tipped to the inside of his rival past the quarter pole, Private Creed engaged Sharp Aza Tack into the final sixteenth and got the better of him close to home for the three-quarter length upset.

“The one horse (Sharp Aza Tack) had so much speed,” said winning jockey Joel Rosario. “My horse was comfortable, he was happy where he was. He settled nicely going into the turn. For a second, I didn't know, as it took him a little time to get going. He just found another gear. He broke good and I was right there. Just a good trip.”

A $155,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale grad (:10.3), Private Creed has a yearling half-brother by Vino Rosso and a weanling half-brother by Complexity. South Andros was bred back to Jimmy Creed for a full-sibling to Private Creed in 2023. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

GLOBAL TOTE JUVENILE SPRINT S., $500,000, Kentucky Downs, 9-8, 2yo, 6 1/2fT, 1:18.19, fm.
1–PRIVATE CREED, 120, c, 2, by Jimmy Creed
                1st Dam: South Andros (SW, $207,125), by Sky Mesa
                2nd Dam: Misty Rain, by Rubiano
                3rd Dam: Vigorous Search, by Vigors
($45,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $155,000 2yo '22 EASMAY).
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Mike McCarty; B-Sierra Farm (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $310,000. Lifetime
Record: 3-2-0-1, $364,000.
2–Sharp Aza Tack, 122, c, 2, Sharp Azteca–Que Chulo, by
Bernardini. ($72,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $100,000 2yo '22
OBSMAR). O-R3 Racing LLC; B-Joe & Emily Cowles (KY);
T-Doug F. O'Neill. $100,000.
3–Accident, 118, g, 2, Tale of Verve–Not Java (Fr), by
Not Bourbon. ($3,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT). 1ST BLACK TYPE.
O-Tommy C. Short & Robert Heyer; B-C. F. Farms Ltd. (KY);
T-Tommy C. Short. $50,000.
Margins: 3/4, 3HF, 2. Odds: 2.79, 0.26, 27.39.
Also Ran: Bourbon Therapy, Revere Note. Scratched: Bourbon Spirit, Fadethenoise, Half a Chance.

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