Taking Stock | Horse Racing Free Tips

Taking Stock: City of Light Stars at Keeneland

There are folks who sound like broken records when it comes to first-crop sires, complaining that breeders who use them and buyers purchasing those yearlings at auction are about as foolish as dunk-tank clowns. However, when one of those sires succeeds with his first 2-year-olds, those same people are usually the first to wax eloquent with platitudes, forgetting what they'd said earlier. That's human nature, I suppose.

What they forget is that all sires start out with first crops, and there are people on the other end that wildcat for next big sire–the next Into Mischief, Tapit, Curlin, Uncle Mo, Quality Road, etc. It's a given that most horses that enter stud will fail, but every year a few stars will appear to justify the process. This year, for example, Three Chimneys's Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) is on a tear with his first juveniles, with five black-type winners to date, including two at the highest level. In Europe over the weekend, Coolmore America's Caravaggio (Scat Daddy) and Overbury Stud's Ardad (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) were represented by the winners of the G1 Cheveley Park S. and the G1 Middle Park S., respectively, from their first crops. There are too many current and historical examples of first-season success to list here, but it shouldn't surprise anyone that it happens, because these horses tend to get their best books of mares in their first years at stud, their own intrinsic abilities aside.

Sometimes, yearling sales will tip off future success. Gun Runner, a Horse of the Year who entered stud in 2018 for a $70,000 stud fee, led all first-season sires at Keeneland September in 2020 with an average price of $253,750 for 32 sold, and that was during the height of COVID, which depressed prices across the board. Because of his exceptional early success on the track, Gun Runner's second crop of yearlings benefitted, averaging $325,925 for 40 sold at Keeneland this year.

With COVID now somewhat under control, yearling prices soared across the board at Keeneland, which concluded last Friday, and the unequivocal star of first-crop sires was Lane's End's City of Light (Quality Road), with an average price of $372,872 for 47 sold–almost an average of $50,000 more than the Gun Runners. More germane, City of Light entered stud for $35,000 in the same year that Coolmore America's powerful Scat Daddy duo of Justify, a Triple Crown winner; and Mendelssohn, a half-brother to Into Mischief and champion Beholder, started out for fees of $150,000 and $35,000, respectively.

Justify had 61 sell for an average price of $367,721, which placed him second behind City of Light. Mendelssohn, with an identical initial fee to City of Light, had 64 yearlings sell for an average of $160,078. City of Light, Justify, and Mendelssohn led all first-crop sires at Keeneland by average price, and the sales results for all of them were excellent returns on investment for breeders and consignors who'd supported them. But it's obvious that City of Light's numbers stand out.

Moreover, a $1.7-million colt by City of Light topped the sale, and for good measure, he had another colt bring $1.05 million.

City of Light

A $710,000 Keeneland September yearling bred by Ann Marie Farm, City of Light is an exceptionally attractive physical specimen, tall, athletic, and rangy, built very much like his sire, who also stands at Lane's End. When it was announced in late 2018 that City of Light would enter stud at Lane's End, the farm contacted me to write a piece about him for its website. I said this about his sire:

“The scope of Quality Road's success at stud has been astonishing, though not entirely surprising given his looks, race record, and pedigree. Bred and raced by the late Edward P. Evans, Quality Road is by Elusive Quality and is therefore a member of the Gone West branch of Mr. Prospector. On the bottom, he traces in tail-female to the highly influential mare Myrtlewood (seventh dam), from which Mr. Prospector (fourth dam) and Seattle Slew (fifth dam) also descended. Speed was the salient characteristic of these horses, and Quality Road expressed that trait by setting three track records, one at 6 1/2 furlongs and two at nine furlongs. He stayed 10 furlongs well enough when second in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, beaten a length. He is physically attractive, with height, length, and balance, and he was nimble, athletic, and notably fast for a 16.3-hand specimen. He reliably passes along his physical and aptitudinal traits to his offspring, who are effective from sprints to classic distances on dirt and turf at the highest levels, and as a sire, he has ascended to elite status in a short time.”

Todd Pletcher, who has had his hands on more top-class stallions than anyone else, guided the career of Quality Road after taking over from Jimmy Jerkens midway through the colt's 3-year-old season, and perhaps it's fitting that Pletcher's longtime assistant Michael McCarthy trained City of Light for owners Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren, Jr.

City of Light was a top-class racehorse, winning six of 11 starts, and he was never off the board in his other five races, earning $5.7 million. Most notably, the colt won two Grade I sprints at Santa Anita over seven furlongs, the Malibu S. and the Triple Bend S.; the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Churchill; and the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at Gulfstream over nine furlongs. In between, he'd also placed third in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita over 10 furlongs. By racing aptitude, he was also very much his father's son, and he was unlucky to never have won an Eclipse Award.

City of Light is from the Dehere mare Paris Notion and comes from a family developed by Ray Stark and Fares Farm that also includes Grade l winners Fabulous Notion (his second dam), Cacoethes, Subordination, and Careless Jewel.

With the physique, sire, race record, and female family behind him, it's no surprise he was a hit with breeders from the beginning. WTC bloodstock editor Frances J. Karon tweeted a photo of him at Lane's End in February of 2019 and wrote: “If you like Quality Road–and who doesn't?!–you will *love* his son City of Light, a real 'wow' horse.” And in another tweet on the same thread, she wrote: “City of Light won the GI Pegasus barely more than 30 days ago. Horses aren't supposed to look this phenomenal a month out of training, so that tells you a lot about this guy.”

Usually, a stallion's stud fee will decrease after his first few years at stud, but that wasn't the case with City of Light. In 2020, he went up $5,000 to $40,000–the same fee he was at this year. That's a testament to his popularity.

His first weanlings to sell confirmed this, with 20 selling in 2020 for an average price of $190,875. That was the clue that he was going to be a hit at the yearling sales this season.

So far, there haven't been too many Quality Road sons at stud, but one who is doing well this year with his first crop is Darby Dan's Klimt, a Grade l winner at two. Klimt is in a different price range–he's been at $10,000 all four years at stud–but he's sixth on TDN's first-crop list with progeny earnings of $620,916. Klimt has 12 winners, which makes him co-tied for fourth place in that category, and has three black-type-placed horses.

These are good signs for City of Light, and all eyes will be on him next year when his first runners hit the track.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: City of Light Stars at Keeneland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Taking Stock: Gun Runner Flexes Candy Ride/Storm Cat Nick

Two sons of Candy Ride (Arg)–Gun Runner and Twirling Candy–were represented by three 2-year-old Grade l winners over the weekend, and do you know one thing they had in common? Each was produced by a Storm Cat-line mare. This affinity for the Storm Cat line was also an important feature of Candy Ride's own success, and breeders appear to be copying that formula with his sons. It's not surprising; it's something that usually happens when a stallion is successful with the females of another sire line, and this type of repetition of a successful pattern is what's known as a nick–something that's been around as long as people have been breeding racehorses.

Three Chimneys's Gun Runner, whose first crop is two, was represented by two of the top-level winners: Gl Hopeful winner Gunite, from black-type winner Simple Surprise, a daughter of Cowboy Cal (by Giant's Causeway, a son of Storm Cat); and Gl Spinaway winner Echo Zulu, out of Gll winner Letgomyecho, by Menifee (by Harlan, a son of Storm Cat).

Lane's End's Twirling Candy, the best and most proven son of Candy Ride to date, is the sire of Gl Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst, who's from unplaced Giant Win, by Giant's Causeway. Note that Twirling Candy's current Gl Preakness winner Rombauer is bred similarly. Rombauer's dam is by Cowboy Cal, who as noted above is by Giant's Causeway.

Giant's Causeway is also the broodmare sire of Gun Runner, making Gun Runner a product of the same Candy Ride/Storm Cat nick as his Grade l winners. However, when Gun Runner is bred to mares with either Giant's Causeway or Storm Cat in their pedigrees, a duplication to one or the other takes place. Essentially, breeders who send Storm Cat-line mares to Gun Runner are copying the pattern that produced him and are consciously inbreeding as well to Storm Cat, one of the great modern stallions, or to his best racing and sire son Giant's Causeway, if a mare by the latter or one of his sons is used.

Gunite is inbred 3×3 to Giant's Causeway, and Echo Zulu is 4×4 to Storm Cat.

Gun Runner's wins included the Breeders' Cup Classic during his 2017 Horse of the Year campaign | Breeders' Cup/Eclipse Sportswire

For Gun Runner, getting two Grade l-winning 2-year-olds in the first crop is a big deal, and this achievement marks the Horse of the Year, who was best at four and five, as something special. It's natural to expect that his offspring should continue to get better with age, giving him a high ceiling to anticipate.

But there's more to Gun Runner already. He also has two Grade ll winners, and their dam's pedigrees also contain Storm Cat. Pappacap, winner of the Gll Best Pal, is from a Glll-placed daughter of Scat Daddy (Johannesburg/Hennessy/Storm Cat), making him 4×5 to Storm Cat; and Wicked Halo, who won the Gll Adirondack, is out of the Tapit mare Just Wicked, who also won the Adirondack. Just Wicked's dam, black-type winner Wicked Deed, is by Harlan's Holiday (Harlan), and Wicked Halo, therefore, is 4×5 to Storm Cat.

Three of these four–Gunite, Echo Zulu, and Wicked Halo–are raced by Winchell Thoroughbreds, which raced Gun Runner in partnership with Three Chimneys. Winchell also raced Tapit, and it's no surprise that Wicked Halo is a homebred from a mare by their standout Gainesway sire. Winchell bred Gunite and bought Echo Zulu, a half-sister to Gl winner Echo Town (Speightstown) and Glll winner J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), for $300,000 as a Keeneland September yearling.

Steve Asmussen trained Gun Runner, and he trains the Winchell trio.

Sire Clusters

First off, let me say that by speaking of the stallions in a pedigree, I'm not diminishing the importance of physical attributes nor the contributions of the female family, which is as important. The dam of Echo Zulu, for example, was already an accomplished black-type producer before her Gun Runner filly won at the highest level.

And Gun Runner, an attractive and refined 16.2-hand specimen, himself is a product of a great female line that stretches back for generations full of high-class runners. Closer up, Gun Runner is from Grade ll winner Quiet Giant–a half-sister to Horse of the Year Saint Liam and fellow Three Chimneys stallion and Grade l winner Funtastic.

However, stallions have exponentially more foals than mares, and sire patterns–not just nicks, or sire-line crosses, as they are also known, but also clusters of favorable sires–are more easily discernible in pedigrees.

Lane's End stalwart Candy Ride | Lane's End

Candy Ride is a Fappiano-line stallion from an unusual path (Ride the Rails/ Cryptoclearance/ Fappiano), and he's had success with other lines aside from Storm Cat, such as with A.P. Indy and Fappiano himself through other, more familiar branches.

Gun Runner, for example, is bred on the Candy Ride/Storm Cat sire-line cross, but his dam also has Fappiano in her pedigree, making Gun Runner 4×4 to Fappiano. Therefore, in his case, the cluster of Storm Cat and Fappiano form a favorable basis.

Current 3-year-old Candy Ride Grade l winner Rock Your World is from an Empire Maker (Unbridled/Fappiano) mare whose dam is by Giant's Causeway; therefore, he's also 4×4 to Fappiano with Storm Cat present in the pedigree though Giant's Causeway.

Grade l winner Mastery, a son of Candy Ride at Claiborne with first-crop 2-year-olds, is from a mare by Old Trieste (A.P. Indy) whose dam is by Storm Cat.

The aforementioned Gun Runner 2-year-old Grade l winner Gunite is from a Cowboy Cal (Giant's Causeway) mare and the next dam is by Pulpit (A.P. Indy).

And the Gun Runner filly Wicked Halo, noted earlier from the Tapit (Pulpit/A.P. Indy) mare, not only has Storm Cat in the pedigree but also Fappiano through Tapit's broodmare sire Unbridled, making her 5x5x5 to Fappiano in addition to 4×5 Storm Cat. She's got a three-strong sire cluster of Storm Cat, Fappiano, and A.P. Indy girding her pedigree.

Candy Ride Stallions

Earlier this summer, I wrote about the investment in Candy Ride stallions that stud farms in Kentucky and in regional areas have made. One of the stallions mentioned is Unified, who has his first 2-year-olds racing this year. The Lane's End-based sire is represented so far by two black-type winners, Roger McQueen and Behave Virginia. The former is out of a Storm Cat-line mare and has Fappiano in the dam's pedigree (5×4 Fappiano); the latter is from a Mineshaft (A.P. Indy) mare and also has Fappiano in the dam's pedigree (5×4 Fappiano).

I also wrote about the once-raced Candy Ride stallion Valiant Minister at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala. Valiant Minister is the sire of Outfoxed, a filly who won the restricted $200,000 FTBOA Florida Sire Susan's Girl S. at the end of last month and looks like a future open company stakes winner. Though her sire stands for $3,000, she was a $360,000 OBS April 2-year-old. Her broodmare sire? It's former Florida stallion Kantharos (Lion Heart/Tale of the Cat/Storm Cat), who is a Storm Cat-line horse.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: Gun Runner Flexes Candy Ride/Storm Cat Nick appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Taking Stock: A Weekend to Remember

Everything that top-class racing should be was on display over the last weekend. The six Grade l races at Saratoga on Saturday featured most of the leading horses in each division except older dirt males, and as a group they didn't disappoint, did they? Nor did their trainers. One race after another was dramatically decided at or close to the wire, and some of the runners-ups, including the Steve Asmussen-trained Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) in the Gl Runhappy Travers S. and the Todd Pletcher-conditioned Life is Good (Into Mischief) in the Gl H. Allen Jerkens, gained quite a bit of admiration in defeat.

Most of the winners made championship claims that will eventually be decided at the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar at year's end. Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music), a multiple Grade l winner at two last year and also trained by Asmussen, defeated Life is Good by a neck in the Jerkens and continues to show that he's one of the fastest and most consistent 3-year-old sprinters in North America, with a particular penchant for Saratoga. The colt is bred on the phenomenally successful Distorted Humor/A.P. Indy cross and covered seven furlongs in 1:21.39, which was faster than Gamine (Into Mischief)'s 1:21.61 in the Gl Ballerina and Yaupon (Uncle Mo)'s 1:21.74 in the Gl Forego. The Jerkens was Jackie's Warrior's fourth win from as many starts at the Spa, all in graded races, and he, along with fellow 3-year-old Grade l-winning sprinter Drain the Clock (Maclean's Music)–fourth in the Jerkens–is a terrific advertisement for his sire at Hill 'n' Dale.

Maclean's Music, a Stonestreet homebred son of Distorted Humor, was brilliantly fast in his lone start before an injury sent him to stud. He began his career for $6,500 and improbably burst on the scene with first-crop Gl Preakness S. winner Cloud Computing, who is also bred on the same cross as Jackie's Warrior. Cloud Computing stands at Spendthrift, which is where Jackie's Warrior is headed at the conclusion of his racing career.

Asmussen's barn is loaded with quality sprinters. He also trains 4-year-old Yaupon and the exciting but late-developing 3-year-old Stonestreet homebred Beau Liam (Liam's Map), who is now three-for-three after a six-length drubbing of older runners in an AOC at Saratoga on Sunday, running 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.05. Stonestreet, by the way, is also the breeder of Midnight Bourbon, and the outfit seems to come up with quality runners year after year at an incredibly prolific clip.

Yaupon had to survive a bitter stretch duel against Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior) in the Forego to prevail by a head, after being repeatedly savaged by his opponent. Ironically, Firenze Fire had been on the receiving end of some savaging in the stretch of the Glll Gallant Bob S. at Parx three years ago, where he won by a neck. Perhaps that's how he picked up the extreme tactic when he felt he might not win, because he certainly wasn't around in 1997 to see a frustrated Mike Tyson bite off a part of Evander Holyfield's ear in a heavyweight fight.

Yaupon, who will also go to Spendthrift, is another high-quality sprinter for Coolmore America-based Uncle Mo after Golden Pal. Uncle Mo can get a wide variety of runners on dirt and turf, and his first-crop Gl Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist is one of three sons, along with Outwork and the late Laoban, to have a quick impact at stud, making Yaupon a desirable stallion prospect.

The Bob Baffert-trained Gamine, last year's champion female sprinter, continues to win, and she continues to fuel speculation on social media that she's not sound, because she drifts out in her races.

Degrees of soundness are relative matters, and anyone who's been around horses knows that most racehorses, like most human athletes, are always battling something or other day to day. Sound or not– and some greats, like Forego, were chronically unsound–Gamine has been outstanding throughout her career and is a winner of nine of 10 starts. Her brilliant displays of front-running speed and class are what makes her Spendthrift-based superstar sire Into Mischief the most sought-after stallion in the business.

Speaking of speed, how about Letruska (Super Saver), the best older mare in training? She set a sizzling early pace and then found another gear late to win the Gl Personal Ensign. She looked like she was going to get swallowed by the closers after the others that had pressed her early wilted in the stretch, but she showed that will to win that makes champions. And she's made of hickory, too–no soundness issues here. Plus, she never ducks a race, and her trainer, Fausto Gutierrez, has been one of the pleasant revelations of the season. He can train horses with the best of them.

The same can be said of Brad Cox. He trains Essential Quality (Tapit), who does only what he has to do to win, over and over again. His workmanlike style might not be glamorous, but his resume showing eight wins from nine starts sure is, and he's now added the Travers to his Gl Belmont S. And remember, he's already a champion, having won an Eclipse Award last year at two, and he appears well on his way to another championship this year.

On the west coast on Sunday, in the Listed Shared Belief S., Gl Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit (Protonico) reappeared for the first time since his third-place finish in the Preakness, and once again showed that he's as game as they come, leading throughout to deny some salty colts a chance to get him off the long layoff. Bob Baffert, his trainer, was all smiles afterward and looked like he'd won a race of the stature of the Derby. He was probably relieved that he'd thrown his colt into the deep end and succeeded, and in some way it was probably an “eff you” moment for him, something of a vindication for what he and the colt's connections have faced since it was discovered that Medina Spirit tested positive for betamethasone in the aftermath of the Louisville Classic. That's what it seemed like, anyway.

And it's worth noting that Medina Spirit finished ahead of Essential Quality in the Derby, setting up an anticipated match against that rival and the older horses in the Gl Breeders' Cup Classic.

Another part of racing

Unfortunately, the weekend also showcased a side of racing that is and always will be a part of the game: injuries and death. Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), the popular 8-year-old gelding and the reigning sprint champ, was hurt in the Forego after a fifth-place finish and vanned off. This warrior, who usually races in bar shoes to protect his feet, was apparently in good enough shape for the Forego that his trainer Ron Moquett had taken the special shoes off. Whitmore has since been retired and will be alright to pursue a second career.

Not so for America's Joy, the 3-year-old filly by American Pharoah from blue hen Leslie's Lady who'd cost Mandy Pope $8.2 million as a Keeneland September yearling two years ago. The half-sister to the aforementioned Into Mischief, champion Beholder, and Grade l winner Mendelssohn was the most expensive North American yearling of 2019–quite a contrast to the $1,000 that Medina Spirit made the same year at OBS.

Pope, who is particularly attached to her horses, took her time to get the filly to the races and had sent her to Todd Pletcher only a few months ago to put the finishing touches on her. America's Joy had had a string of workouts at Belmont and Saratoga and registered perhaps her best one on Sunday, going a half-mile in :47.80 from the gate. Pletcher has said that he was planning on entering her in a maiden race on Labor Day.

WTC bloodstock editor Frances J. Karon was trackside for the workout and captured the accompanying photo–perhaps the last taken of the filly–shortly before her fatal injury.

It's a poignant reminder for all of us that the highs of this great game can go south quickly.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: A Weekend to Remember appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Taking Stock: Amr Zedan Has Arrived

Three of the first four finishers in the Gl Kentucky Derby were owned by Middle Eastern entities. The beaten favorite in fourth, Essential Quality (Tapit), races for the global Godolphin operation of UAE's Sheikh Mohammed, whose recently deceased brother Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell had won the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks a day earlier with Malathaat (Curlin). The Derby runner-up, Mandaloun (Into Mischief), flies the famous green and pink silks of Juddmonte, whose longtime owner, Saudi businessman Prince Khalid Abdullah, passed away earlier this year but whose future rests with his eldest son, Prince Fahd, who now runs his late father's business empire, The Mawarid Group of Companies. The winner of the Classic, the Bob Baffert-trained Medina Spirit (Protonico), is owned by a relative newcomer on the scene, Zedan Racing, the stable of Saudi businessman Amr Zedan, who cut a dash in Louisville. He made an unexpectedly refreshing speech that was both eloquently candid and humble while accepting the trophy.

We're not used to hearing many Middle Eastern owners speak in the winner's circle these days, except for Amer Abdulaziz of Phoenix Thoroughbreds, and he seems to be in a bit of trouble. When Godolphin or Shadwell wins a big race over here, their respective surrogates Jimmy Bell and Rick Nichols utter a few words on behalf of their patrons. Likewise, Juddmonte's U.S. representative Garrett O'Rourke spoke for Khalid Abdullah and presumably would have done the same on behalf of his son had Mandaloun caught Medina Spirit in the Derby, but you get the idea.

Moreover, the region and some of its principals have taken an international PR beating lately and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, has had his once-promising reputation irreparably sullied by being implicated in the 2018 murder of dissident Saudi journalist and U.S. resident Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey. On the racing front, the Saudis have handled the Maximum Security (New Year's Day) affair atrociously–has this colt been disqualified or not, 14 months later?–and its proceedings on the matter have been cloaked in secrecy to the consternation of many, including the colt's owners, the Coolmore partners and Gary and Mary West. The Wests, of course, bred and own Concert Tour (Street Sense), one of Baffert's big guns and a possible rival to Medina Spirit in the GI PreaknessS.

You have to go back to the 2002 Derby to find a comparable to Amr Zedan–and to Medina Spirit, for that matter. That year, Baffert trained winner War Emblem (Our Emblem) for The Thoroughbred Corp. of Saudi businessman Prince Ahmed bin Salman, a gregarious, self-deprecating, and enthusiastic owner who was accessible like Amr Zedan and gave Middle Eastern ownership a pulse that resonated here. Baffert and Ahmed bin Salman got along great and the record seven-time Derby-winning trainer seems to have a similarly jocular relationship with Zedan. And remember this? War Emblem, a dark bay colt like Medina Spirit who also was by an unproven sire, led wire-to-wire to win the Derby at generous odds, 20-1–even longer than the 12-1 of the Zedan frontrunner in the Classic.

Ahmed bin Salman, who wore an ever-present smile under his trademark black mustache, was the first Arab owner to win the Derby. War Emblem also won the Preakness. The year before, Ahmed bin Salman had won the Preakness and GI Belmont S. with Point Given, giving him a sweep of all three U.S. Classics in a short but illustrious tenure as an owner. Like Amr Zedan, Ahmed bin Salman was educated in the U.S. and the Kentucky Derby had been a longtime goal. He was 43 when he won the Classic, a few months before he tragically died of a heart attack in Saudi Arabia.

Based in Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and Jordan, Amr Zedan is 46 and has the swashbuckling looks of an old-time movie star to him, replete with mustache and slicked-back hair. He was born in California, where his parents attended USC, and later moved back to Saudi Arabia before returning to the U.S. to attend college, first at Texas A&M and then later at the University of Stockton in California, from where he graduated. “You can tell from my accent that I'm somewhat American,” Zedan said via phone on Monday, shortly after he'd returned to the Middle East on a 10-hour flight, tired but satisfied.

Baffert calls him a “super cool guy,” and he looks like he lives the life of one in his Instagram posts. He's married to Princess Noor bint Asem of Jordan, plays polo with gusto on a team he owns in Dubai, is a philanthropist, and runs his family's Zedan Group, an energy-focused collection of companies of which he's the chairman.

I asked Zedan how he'd been so composed when speaking during the trophy presentation. “Well, I was very emotional in the box. I lost my voice, because I was really cheering and all that. I was actually with my brother-in-law and I was almost on my knees. I was just thanking God, because if you've ever doubted that there's a higher being, whatever you believe in–in my case it's God–it's that moment when you realize everything needs to be aligned, and it's only by that divine power that you have this. You just get blessed, and everything comes to fruition. So, I was emotional, but the moment I walked out [of the box], I just called my dad and said, 'Dad, we did it,' and he said, as I was walking to the winner's circle across the track, 'Son, congratulations. Let's be humble about this. Get yourself together.'”

Getting Together with Baffert

Much has already been written about Amr Zedan's chance encounter with Baffert at the Dubai airport when Zedan was on his way to Jordan and Baffert was on a layover en route to Saudi Arabia to saddle Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man)–owned by Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Khaled–and McKinzie (Street Sense) in the inaugural Saudi Cup last year. That informal meeting laid the groundwork for what was to follow with the extraordinary purchases of subsequent Grade I winners Princess Noor (Not This Time), his wife's namesake, and Medina Spirit, but Zedan said he'd met Baffert several times earlier as well when he was first getting into the game, which he originally did with an ownership interest in California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) when the colt was under Taylor Made management, and later with a foray into auction buying with brothers Dennis and Doug O'Neill.

Zedan had taken a position in California Chrome just weeks before the horse won the 2016 G1 Dubai World Cup and that had spoiled him, he said. “The investment made sense and it gave me the opportunity to check out the sport and come at a high-entry level. Obviously, he won, and that was good and bad. You get the taste of success, but you think any horse you buy can become an automatic Grade I winner. Little did you know that it takes a lot of money, sweat, and rigorous activities to find that diamond in the rough, and that took me basically some time to achieve.”

Relatively speaking, it didn't take that long, because here he is five years later with a Kentucky Derby winner that cost him $35,000 at last year's OBS July sale, although he did pay a sale-topping $1.35 million for Princess Noor a month earlier at the pandemic-delayed OBS Spring sale. But between California Chrome and now, he did have some busts with the O'Neills, including the purchase of a $710,000 Orb colt at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale in May of 2017. Named Alfareed, that colt has since been gelded and earned less than Medina Spirit cost.

Zedan stressed, however, that there's no bad blood between him and the O'Neills, who were rooting for their colt Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) in the adjacent box as vigorously as Zedan and his people were for their colt. After the race, Dennis O'Neill was as gracious as Zedan, tweeting: “Congratulations to Amr Zedan!!! Super classy man and great to see him win the big race.”

During the period with the O'Neills, Zedan first met Baffert on a trip to Del Mar. “We just said hello, et cetera, and that was an opportunity just to get acquainted. And then right after that, we bumped into each other at the Dubai World Cup. So, we just had a small chat and we exchanged numbers. And then, after that, I called Bob and said, 'I'm thinking of coming back into the sport, and I really want to do it with you.' You know, Bob is just an amazing guy. And I don't mean to blow smoke up his rear end, but Bob is all heart, and people who don't know him don't know this. He is a good, good, good man, and that's something I'd like for you to quote. He is someone who will surprise you as to how he will take your best interests to heart. So, we hit it off very well, and then, by coincidence, we bumped into each other at the airport again.”

And no doubt by now you're familiar with the rest of the story about how this partnership that started 15 months ago resulted in the Derby win on Saturday.

Baffert had advised Amr Zedan to get an agent, and Zedan picked ace clocker and bloodstock agent Gary Young by word of mouth from jockey Victor Espinoza, who Zedan had gotten to know. Espinoza was the rider of War Emblem and California Chrome, not to mention American Pharoah. Young, who fills the role of racing manager for Zedan Racing, was, of course, pivotal in the acquisitions of both Princess Noor, a standout breezer, and Medina Spirit, though both horses had been originally mentioned to Zedan by Chilean Oussama Aboughazale, who'd bred Princess Noor and stands Protonico (Giant's Causeway), the sire of Medina Spirit.

Aboughazale owns Haras Sumaya in Chile and a farm in Kentucky, and his family is a major shareholder in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc., which is reportedly the third-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. He is of Middle Eastern descent and treats Zedan as a son, Zedan said. “I'm 46, he's about 76, 77. He's a good guy. He doesn't have kids, so he treats me very close to being a son. The correlation or the relation between Princess Noor and Medina Spirit was a complete and utter coincidence. In fact, Oussama called me about Princess Noor, told me he bred her and she's supposed to be nice, but he told me to be careful. There's that very close relationship in terms of friendship, and he said, 'Don't go crazy.'”

It was Baffert, however, that pushed Zedan, who was in the Middle East during the sale, to go to $1.35 million for Princess Noor when the bidding got well past the $750,000 target price that Zedan had set. “The price is now $1.2 million, and Bob says, 'Get her.' Then we hit $1.3 million, so Bob texts me and says he will make her worth this much. If you have Bob Baffert in your corner and he's saying that, you just do it. So I say, 'Gary, just get her. Don't leave without her.' Boom, boom, we got her, and you know the rest of the story.”

What neither Baffert, Zedan, and Young knew at the time was that they'd get an even better one a month later for a fraction of that price, and that colt has now signaled the arrival of Amr Zedan, whose transparency and accessibility is a refreshing revelation for observers.

The post Taking Stock: Amr Zedan Has Arrived appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post