BROADWAY LADY (m, 6, Constitution–Livi Makenzie) booked to Munnings
This mare, purchased late last year, is a very attractive daughter of Constitution who happens to be a half-sister to MGSW Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile). She is from the family of Surf Cat, and the mare will visit Munnings this year. This mating has an interesting breeding connection to Holy Bull.

COMPETITVE SPEED (m, 5, Competitive Edge–Shopped Out) booked to Justify
A MGSP daughter of Competitive Edge, who was third in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and GII Davona Dale S. with earnings of $190,000. She just foaled a nice colt by the exciting young stallion Maxfield and will visit Justify this year.

CORE VALUES (m, 5, Honor Code–Sweet Awakening) booked to Curlin
This young daughter of Honor Code has all the breeding in the world to be a quality broodmare sire. She's a half-sister to MGSW Are You Kidding Me (Run Away and Hide), and was a SW under trainer Vicki Oliver with earnings of $222,000. We plan to have her visit Curlin this year, and this is a cross that has already produced MGISW Malathaat and MGISW Nest.

DIAMOND SPARKLES (m, 6, War Front–Diamondsandrubies) booked to Uncle Mo
A very attractive daughter of War Front from a deep family that has produced the likes of G1SW Quarter Moon (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and her full-sister, G1SW Yesterday (Ire), is out of Diamondsandrubies. She who won the G1 Sea The Stars Pretty Polly S. at The Curragh, and is currently in foal to Quality Road. Our plan is to have her visit Uncle Mo this year.

GLITTER AND GOLD (m, 8, Bodemeister–Expo Gold) booked to Essential Quality
A winning daughter of Expo Gold, who produced the Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Swiss Skydiver. We currently have a nice yearling filly called Cajun Curls (Curlin). Glitter and Gold is in foal to Tapit and will visit the exciting young stallion Essential Quality here in 2023.

MIND OUT (m, 6, Tapit–Kid Majic) booked to Curlin
A big and strong daughter of Tapit from the family of GISW J P's Gusto and MGISW Letruska. She is half-sister to GSW Miss Mischief, who won the Sovereign Award in 2015 for Champion Female Sprinter. The mare is currently in foal to Into Mischief, and we know that are a pair of GSW underneath the first dam by him. So, it is safe to say that this family has an affinity for Spendthrift's number one. The mare will visit Curlin this year.

QUERELLE (m, 7, Violence–Orbital Affair) booked to Tapit
A stunning GSP daughter of Violence, hails from the family of the phenomenal Seattle Meteor. Currently in foal to Constitution, she will go back to Tapit this year.

SWEET SAMI D (m, 7, First Samurai–Treaty of Kadesh) booked to Flightline
This strapping daughter of First Samurai was GSP with earnings of over $250,000. She is currently in foal to the stallion of the moment, Gun Runner. On a very similar mating that has produced some of his best runners from in-breeding to Storm Cat, you cannot argue with the success of MGISW Echo Zulu and GISW Gunite. She will visit newly-minted Horse of the Year Flightline this coming season. It's very exciting to be a part of his first book. And, you can only imagine what that is going to look like.

Interested in sharing your own mating plans? Email garyking@thetdn.com.

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A veteran of just four starts, Taiba–a $1.7-million purchase by Zedan Racing Stables out of last year's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale–took the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby at second asking, but the GI Kentucky Derby was perhaps too much, too soon, as the chestnut could do no better than 12th. Freshened for the Haskell, he made what appeared to be a winning move down the center of the track, but the rail-rallying Cyberknife spoiled the party. Trainer Bob Baffert, who won this race three times between 2014 and 2018, says it's all systems go this weekend.

“He likes to be in the clear, so that is good. He doesn't like being on the inside,” Baffert said of Taiba, who drew the eight hole and is the 5-2 favorite on the morning line. “I would rather be the five or the six, but this will be OK. Cyberknife is a tough horse; they are all good horses in here. Million-dollar races are not easy; they are not supposed to be easy. As always, you have to break. We had a little bit of a rough trip in the last one [Haskell]. I know he is doing well and we are all set.”

Cyberknife pressed on to the GI Runhappy Travers S., finishing better than five lengths behind divisional leader Epicenter (Not This Time) and narrowly ahead of Zandon (Upstart). He is one of two in the race for Brad Cox, who will also tighten the girth around GIII Ohio Derby hero and GII Jim Dandy S. third Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile). The 3-1 morning-line second pick, Cyberknife has post five, while Tawny Port drew gate seven.

“We've pointed Tawny Port for this race since the Jim Dandy,” Cox said. “Everything is going great with him. Once again, he's got to step up to prove that he belongs at this level. With Cyberknife, it wasn't a whole lot of, coming out of the Travers and 'we're going to go to Parx' way of thinking. I thought we might go straight to the Breeders' Cup. He had a really good breeze last weekend. Time-wise it wasn't anything crazy fast, but it's how he's doing, how he looks, how he's acting. This is one last swing at a Grade I around two turns for straight 3-year-olds.”

The filly counterpart, the GI Cotillion S., drew a field of nine headed by GI Longines Kentucky Oaks heroine Secret Oath (Arrogate). The competition includes the progressive 'TDN Rising Star' stablemates Shahama (Munnings) and Green Up (Upstart) and the Baffert-trained GIII Las Virgenes S. romper Adare Manor (Uncle Mo).

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Cox was understandably proud of the win by Cyberknife in the Haskell, who is the only 3-year-old dirt male in the country to have won two Grade I races this year. It was the trainer's second straight victory in the signature race of the Monmouth Park meet, but his first in which his horse crossed the wire first. In 2021, Mandaloun was placed first via disqualification after Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) was taken down because of interference.

“It was a big performance for Mandaloun last year,” Cox said. “He was battling back and we were very proud of his effort. But, in the moment, it's it feels a little better to cross the wire first as opposed to having to wait for the stewards' decision, to say the least.”

Cyberknife will go next in the GI Runhappy Travers S., where he could be joined by Tawny Port. But first, Tawny Port, will have to tackle a tough assignment in the Jim Dandy.

“He's a good colt and I know he's improving physically,” Cox said of Tawny Port. “He looks amazing. His color's good. Like I said, he's moving great. I think he likes Saratoga. I'm hoping that there's some sort of pace presence. Oftentimes, we don't get that in a short field. But I'm hoping that there's some pace and those horses can work on each other early. He's the type of horse who will definitely like the mile and an eighth and should like the Saratoga surface.”

Mandaloun, coming off a fourth-place finish in the GII Stephen Foster S., has headed west to join a field in the San Diego that is topped by GI Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer.

“Hopefully, this race can jump start what will be a great second half for him,” Cox said.

Cox is coming off a sensational 2021 in which his stable earned $31,715,312, won 30 graded stakes races and campaigned the Horse of the Year in Knicks Go (Paytner) and the 3-year-old male champion in Essential Quality (Tapit). But, by no means, was Cox ever prepared to rest on his laurels.

“Our horses performed extremely well last year,” he said. “So that was something that we're hoping we can build off of and continue to move forward. You just want to be relevant and be competitive at the graded stakes level. Hopefully, some of these horses are developing and we can be a factor in the Breeders' Cup. You just try to increase your numbers every year. I'm not certain we can eclipse the earnings mark that we had last year, but we're working every day in order to try to achieve that.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds, The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers took a look at the latest developments concerning the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority, which lost a round in court this week, the future of TVG now that it is reportedly about to be renamed FanDuel TV and the robust business thus far at the Del Mar meet.

To view the latest episode of Writer's Room, click here and for the audio only version, click here.

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In recent years, the Cox barn's arsenal of talented 2-year-olds has rapidly developed in terms of both quality and quantity. While many of the stable's runners have reached future success alongside their back-to-back Eclipse Award-winning trainer, nearly all of them received their early schooling at Keeneland under Cox's assistant trainer Tessa Bisha.

Mo Strike was one of the first juveniles to arrive at the Brad Cox barn at Keeneland this spring, putting in three recorded works in May. When the colt showed early talent, he was among the first group that Bisha sent on to Churchill Downs. A few weeks later, he broke his maiden there on debut and is now pointing toward the GI Hopeful S.

Bisha is passionate about training 2-year-olds. While she enjoys overseeing the older horses, she said that they usually have a good handle on their job already. With 2-year-olds, however, she has the opportunity to teach them and get their racing career off on the right foot.

“I'd say judging the two-year-olds is the biggest part of my job–making sure that they get on the right pathway for success for whatever life has in store for them as far as racing goes and I feel like beyond that as well,” Bisha said. “What I look for is I want them to be comfortable with what we're asking them to do. They need to come in with an open mind and a good attitude, and we try to help them get there if they're not when they come in. We go back to the gate early and often and we make it a laid-back and calming experience. We really focus on making everything a good experience for them.”

Every year after the Keeneland Spring Meet has wrapped up, Bisha's incoming class of 2-year-olds starts to arrive. During her busiest months of May and June, she will have up to 85 juveniles under her care. The most precocious among the group will head to the Churchill Downs race meet and later, other promising youngsters will ship to Saratoga. When training at Keeneland concludes for the summer, the remaining pupils will stay under Bisha's care either at Ellis Park or Turfway Park.

Tessa Bisha oversees a morning of training at Keeneland | Sara Gordon

“It's a bit of a revolving door in that sense,” she said. “We really try to watch them breeze every week without trying to say if this horse is going to win the Derby or if it's going to be an absolute bust because they can grow and develop so much. They love proving you wrong and showing you how little you know, so we try to make sure that they all have the opportunity to basically become the best individual they can be with whatever talent and heart they bring to the table.”

With that mindset, Bisha said she aims to keep an open mind when a horse joins her stable, regardless of any reputation that might precede them.

“You have to create an environment where they know what's expected of them,” she said. “With the babies, you have an opportunity to develop them into being an individual that's not too tough on the track, not silly in the gate and not fractious in the barn. If you can get them to act right, they're usually kinder on themselves and handle their job better.”

Bisha first began working for Cox in 2016 as an exercise rider before taking on the role of assistant trainer. In her first year overseeing the incoming 2-year-olds, she estimates that she had about 30 or 40 juveniles in her care. When stable star Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) came onto the scene, the influx of new trainees began soon after.

With the growth of their program, Bisha said that she has had to evolve her managerial role. She finds herself spending more time in the office checking and rechecking registration papers and set lists, going over charts with Cox, and putting in notes from blacksmith visits or for vaccination schedules.

“We have a staff that helps with all that, but I always feel better if I have a hand in it too,” she admitted. “The more people that can check the boxes, the more you know it's thoroughly done.”

Countless top-level horses have been under Bisha's care since Monomoy Girl's outstanding career. Essential Quality (Tapit) will always be one that stands out to Bisha. The four-time Grade I winner spent his early days at Keeneland and returned to Lexington to race several times during his juvenile and sophomore campaigns.

“He came in here and was just head and shoulders above everybody else,” Bisha said. “Things with him were really streamlined, so there was no guesswork. He followed his own mind and liked to do his thing, but for the most part he never missed a work, he went straight to the races, and that was just him.”

Asked which horses she is most proud to have had a hand in bringing up, Bisha named off a few trainees that required a bit more legwork. One recent favorite is GIII Ohio Derby winner Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile), who was in her care almost all of last year as a juvenile.

Tessa and Grade III stakes winner Bubble Rock (More Than Ready) | Sara Gordon

“He actually broke his maiden at Turfway over the winter,” she recalled. “I think those types of horses are really rewarding because they have more of, I guess a long-shot feel in our barn. To know that you helped develop them and you let them go on their schedule, that can be very hard, but it's a big success when it works out.”

Bisha said that as their program has continued to develop, one thing she believes they do best is keeping an open mind when it comes to helping their trainees progress.

“When we launched into this 2-year-old program and it started to really take off and get the numbers behind it, Brad and I would have heated discussions over how it was working out and what we were seeing,” she said. “After horses showing us how wrong we were and us eating crow a few times, I think we kind of learned that you really just have to let the horse develop and show you who they want to be.”

Bisha explained that every year, they make an effort to try something new or use a certain tool more frequently–maybe putting blinkers on more readily for a workout, warming up without the pony with a first-time starter, or going back to the starting gate one extra time before breezing.

“It might just be something small, but we try to stay open minded and focus on improving all the time and not just using our ego or what we think we know to get in the way of improving the program,” she noted.

Last year, Bisha was a finalist for the TIEA Dedication to Racing Award. Prior to her time with Brad Cox, the Washington native worked at tracks in Southern California and all along the East Coast. These days, as her former pupils are making headlines at high-profile racetracks like Saratoga, she prefers to stay back home in Lexington training up the next class of future stars.

“I've been to a lot of different tracks so I feel like I've seen enough and done enough to where I'm pretty content just staying here and doing this,” she said. “I don't mind traveling, but I find myself most fulfilled by training the 2-year-olds, so I don't feel any need to stray away from that.”

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“I can't go in there and buy those mares for $200,000 or $300,000,” Wente says. “They're just not going to work out for me. You'd be so heavily invested, at that point, it would be no fun. And that's what keeps me going every day, the fun of it. Trying to find young mares with blank dams, and just sitting on them for a couple of years, and seeing if their families can go to work for you. Because when they do, it's so much more of a thrill if you took a shot on something nobody wanted.”

And who knows, maybe there's something in this temperate response to his recent success that explains why his program is functioning so effectively in the first place. Maybe the kind of person who would become giddily convinced of his or her genius would never have had the clarity required to spot the same bargains.

Wente first demanded our attention last fall, thanks to the very first crop bred from a handful of mares acquired, some five years previously, after he had moved his program from Indiana to St. Simon Place in Kentucky. Four of these juveniles had contested “Win and You're In” races for the Breeders' Cup. Three won; the other ran second. Their dams had cost Wente and his partners a total $32,400.

Everyone was asking him what his secret was. He shrugged. “Am I just really, really lucky?” he asked his buddy Tommy Eastham of Legacy Bloodstock. “Or is something going on here?”

“Well, I guess anybody can be lucky once or even twice,” Eastham replied. “But man, you're just doing it over and over again. You've got to be doing something right.”

Rattle N Roll won Keeneland's Breeders' Futurity | Coady

The right thing to do, next, was to close out the cycle by cashing in a couple of those mares. Wente had bred GI Breeders' Futurity winner Rattle N Roll (Connect) from Jazz Tune (Johannesburg), found for just $20,000 at the Keeneland November Sale of 2016. Back at the same auction last fall, Hunter Valley Farm bought her for $585,000. C J's Gal (Awesome Again) had been even cheaper, picked out for $9,500 in the same ring in January 2016. Her daughter Hidden Connection (Connect) having won the GIII Pocahontas S. by nine lengths, Woodford Thoroughbreds gave $450,000 for the mare.

Time, you would have thought, to let the dust settle awhile. But Wente was only just getting started. Since then, a couple of other mares to have caught his eye have also made a name for themselves.

Just about the least surprising thing to emerge from the GI Kentucky Derby success of Rich Strike (Keen Ice) was that his dam Gold Strike (Smart Strike) had been sold to Wente deep in the 2019 Keeneland November Sale, for just $1,700. Admittedly this was a rather different case: an older mare, picked out for a friend. But then last weekend Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile), who had finished seventh at Churchill, confirmed himself one of the crop's most progressive colts in the GIII Ohio Derby. And it turned out that his dam Livi Makenzie (Macho Uno) had likewise been sold since his foaling, to Wente and partner Scott Stephens, for $30,000 at Keeneland November 2020.

Wente happily credits this latest coup to Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall, a trusted mentor ever since his Bluegrass transfer.

“When I'm at a sale, I never go to the barns to look at mares,” Wente says. “I never look at a book and say, 'Okay, let's go see these 10 today.' I buy them coming into the ring, and I'm trying to get a deal on. And Carrie was sitting there, and said, 'Hey, this mare coming up, you need to take a look at her: we sold the Pioneerof the Nile yearling out of her for WinStar in September for $430,000.' We're kind of suckers for chestnuts anyway, and I liked the way she looked, and I figured that a real good Pioneerof the Nile colt could be anything. I just thought the mare might be too expensive. Because she could run, she was a stakes winner [and graded stakes-placed]. I thought she'd make $75,000 to $100,000. But I thought, 'Hell, we'll give it a shot.' And we got her.”

Tawny Port followed up a Stonestreet Lexington win at Keeneland with last weekend's Ohio Derby | JJ Zamaiko Photography

She came with a bonus, as she was carrying a filly by Always Dreaming–who has meanwhile obtained a residual value as half-sister to Tawny Port. And while “a really nice colt” by Global Campaign followed this spring, his Apr. 25 delivery left his mother only a short window and she missed on a single covering.

“But that's fine, she's in her prime [13] and the year off will do her good,” Wente remarks. “She can get back on an early cycle next time. But we do like her baby, and if Tawny Port can go on and win a Grade I, then it's all good. She's a really laid-back mare, a real sweetheart.”

As for the dam of Rich Strike, she was being culled so cheaply that Wente reckoned her ideal for Indiana horseman Merrill Roberts.

“When I'm buying these mares, a lot of the time I'm thinking in the back of my head about people who have asked me to look out for one,” Wente says. “That particular mare I bought strictly for my buddy Merrill, because they'd just got a stallion [Candy Ride (Arg)'s son Looking Cool] going and I thought she's be perfect for him, with her race record and pedigree, if they could get her in foal.”

Unfortunately that final part of the equation proved difficult, and Roberts turned her over to Austin Nicks the very week that her son came out of nowhere to land the Derby. (Nicks, unsurprisingly, wasted no time in sending the mare to Munnings!)

As already indicated, however, Wente has a properly seasoned perspective on all this success. In fact, he has an unhappy bond with Eric Reed, trainer of Rich Strike, whose career was likewise nearly unraveled by a barn fire.

Wente had become captivated by horses when visiting the barn of his stepfather, former Hoosier Park trainer Tom Hickman. Before long, even though money was tight, Wente found himself buying one of the babies.

“I way overpaid, though!” Wente recalls. “He charged me $5,000 and, looking back, the horse probably wasn't worth $200. It was for me, though, at the time. I wanted it so bad. I was driving a truck in those days, and giving him like $500 a month for this horse. And I'd just got it all paid off, and the horse had just had his first run. They were stabled down there at the old Quarter Horse track in Henderson, Kentucky, and one night I got a call, 2 a.m., to say he'd lost all these horses burned up in a fire.

“He had always told me, 'You know, if you're not willing to put $1,000 in an ashtray and burn it, don't get into this business.' To this day I always try to remember that. Only in my case it wasn't bills in an ashtray. It was that poor horse in a burning barn. But I was hooked, even so. Next day I was back on it, looking for a new one.”

Wente picked out the Derby winner's dam at Keeneland November in 2019 for a friend | Coady

Looking back, in fact, Wente wonders whether the early difficulties he has had to overcome–both in his own life, and then in his journey of Thoroughbreds–have condensed into a foundation stone essential to his better fortunes now.

“We were raised poor,” he stresses. “And I had my struggles, trying to find my way. I couldn't save money. I owed everybody. I robbed Peter to pay Paul. But I straightened up. I figured I wanted more from life. And I think it was the horses that did that for me.

“I don't know if you need that; whether you need to know the bottom to appreciate everything more. But now, when I look back to when I was new to the game, and thinking of those really poor horses as the best thing in the whole world, and my stepdad teaching me all those things, him being so back in the old ways, I think that really helped me towards where I am today. Having all that under my feet gave me a different perspective.”

Wente is candidly disparaging about the animals he raised in Indiana, but they sharpened his judgement and taught him to respect every horse as a potential opportunity. Coming to Kentucky just elevated the caliber of the disrespected, the rejects.

Conceivably, moreover, perhaps the resilience Wente had himself acquired can be shared with the young stock on St. Simon Place?

“It's so true,” Wente replies. “If you baby them, pamper them, to me they're not going to make racehorses. They need to get out there, need to knock heads, knock bodies. They need to get cuts, to get sore. They need to be in the snow, in the rain, in the heat. They need a struggle. Because when I struggled, I got tough. And I think it's the same with horses.”

MSW One Timer, another bred by Wente and St. Simon Place | Coady

Maybe, then, that's at least part of the answer. Not that many of those asking Wente for his “secret” will find that very helpful. It was only as an outsider, making a journey few would choose by design, that Wente found redemption in horses. Maybe that couldn't have happened if, like so many competitors, he had been born to this way of life, and not in suburban poverty near St. Louis.

“Everybody's just shaking their head and they're like, 'How in the world are you doing this!?'” says Wente with a chuckle. “And like I said, I don't know whether I'm just really, really lucky, or I'm doing something right. But I think the people that have the wealth to back themselves up would still rather buy mares with more page, mares with some produce under them, mares that are already proven out. But they've got the money. Me, I do the opposite. Because I have to buy cheaper mares, I'd rather buy one that has no page but might get some runners. Because things can change so fast. I bought Spanish Star (Blame) for $1,500 off the track [Keeneland November 2017], and then, bam, her brother [Sir Winston (Awesome Again)] wins the Belmont. And now she's had One Timer (Trappe Shot).”

That colt is currently four-for-five, his sole defeat at the Breeders' Cup. But while a lot of things have been falling into place, Wente emphasizes that he has not done it all on his own. On the farm Calvin and Shane Crain run a parallel sod-growing business, and he has partners in a broodmare band now extending to 40 or so, as well. And whatever inspiration Wente may bring to the equation himself, he will only take credit for perspiration.

“You've got to be dedicated,” he says. “You have to live and sleep this business. I'm hands on. I like to get out there and mow my own grass. I don't know if that helps me do what I'm doing, but I do know that I love it. And since I came over here, and Carrie took me under her wing, everything's been going great. I just feel blessed.”

The post Tawny Port Another Strike for Wente appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Tawny Port broke without incident and was happy enough to sit back in the latter half of the field as longshot Pineapple Man (Gormley) and Classic Causeway led from White Abarrio, who appeared to be falling into yet another perfect trip. Classic Causeway, who displayed a bit of a rating gear, re-engaged and poked his head in front with about five furlongs to travel and galloped them along down the backstretch, as the chief protagonists bided their time a few lengths in arrears. White Abarrio was the first to come after the front-runner at the three-eighths marker and Tawny Port was also finding his best stride while forced to cover a bit of ground on the turn. White Abarrio poked his gray snout in front between rivals at the top of the lane, but Tawny Port was doing slightly the better work to the outside and grinded out the victory.

Two-for-two over the Turfway synthetic to start his career, Tawny Port was an even fifth behind Epicenter (Not This Time) in the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 19 before returning to the Florence oval to complete the exacta underneath Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) in the Apr. 2 GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks. Backing up on just two weeks' rest in an attempt to pick up the necessary points for a Kentucky Derby bid, the dark bay scored a one-length success in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland. Drawn 18 of 20 in the Derby and sent off at 80.50-1–30 cents lower than the victorious Rich Strike (Keen Ice)–Tawny Port raced in the last third of the field for the opening three-quarters of a mile, came six wide for the drive and was beaten just under five lengths.

Pedigree Notes:

It has been a remarkable 2022 posthumously for Pioneerof the Nile, who passed away suddenly just over three years ago. Of course the sire of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, Pioneerof the Nile has been represented by no fewer than nine black-type winners this season, including recent GI Acorn S. heroine Matareya, GII Summertime Oaks/GII Santa Ynez S. victress Under the Stars, GII TwinSpires Turf Sprint hero Arrest Me Red and Canoodling, winner of the GIII Megahertz S. and GIII Wilshire S. He is the sire of an additional 10 black-type performers this season alone.

Tawny Port is one of three winners from four to the races for his talented dam, a half-sister to Korean-based stakes winner and millionaire Clean Up Joy (Purge). Third dam Trust Greta bred eight winners from as many starters, including six-time GSW Surf Cat (Sir Cat) and GSW Rosie O'Greta (Fight Over). Livi Makenzie is the dam of a yearling filly by Always Dreaming from the same Empire Maker sire line as Tawny Port and foaled a colt by Global Campaign this past Apr. 25.

Saturday, Thistledown
OHIO DERBY-GIII, $500,000, Thistledown, 6-25, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:50.46, ft.
1–TAWNY PORT, 126, c, 3, by Pioneerof the Nile
1st Dam: Livi Makenzie (SW & MGSP, $354,069), by Macho Uno
2nd Dam: Greta's Joy, by Joyeux Danseur
3rd Dam: Trust Greta, by Centrust
($430,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Peachtree Stable; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $300,000. Lifetime Record: 7-4-1-0, $727,000. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–White Abarrio, 126, c, 3, Race Day–Catching Diamonds, by Into Mischief. ($7,500 Ylg '20 OBSWIN; $40,000 2yo '21 OBSMAR). O-C2 Racing Stable LLC & La Milagrosa Stable, LLC; B-Spendthrift Farm, LLC (KY); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.. $100,000.
3–Classic Causeway, 126, c, 3, Giant's Causeway–Private World, by Thunder Gulch. O-Kentucky West Racing LLC & Clarke M. Cooper; B-Kentucky West Racing LLC & Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $50,000.
Margins: 1, 1 1/4, 5. Odds: 1.30, 1.50, 6.30.
Also Ran: Barese, Droppin G's, Ethereal Road, Pineapple Man. Scratched: Brigadier General. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Shahama is making just her second U.S. start after starting her career with a perfect four-for-four record during her time in Dubai. Her trainer Todd Pletcher is looking for his seventh Mother Goose victory here.

“It was hard to gauge her racing form. The one thing we felt pretty good about was the way she had trained in company with some of our other horses,” said Pletcher. “To me, she's proven she belongs in races like that, and I thought her Oaks was maybe a better race than it looks on paper. She was still closing at the end. She drew an outside post and it took her a little while to get on track. I thought it was a solid effort.”

Meanwhile, Venti Valentine is a native New Yorker and has never been worse than second in her home state.

“She came out of the Oaks in good shape,” trainer Jorge Abreu said. “I'm going to cross a line through that race and just regroup with her. She's been doing everything well here. I think one turn will suit her better, not that she can't go two turns because she proved she can go two turns. But I think the mile and a sixteenth and cutting back in distance will be better for her.”

GI Darley Alcibiades S. winner Juju's Map (Liam's Map) skipped the Oaks and instead dominated an optional claimer on the undercard in her first start since finishing second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She returns to stakes action in this five-horse field.

Just under an hour later at Thistledown, a trio of GI Kentucky Derby also-rans and a good-looking winner on the GI Preakness S. undercard will line up in the GIII Ohio Derby. GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. victor Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile) finished best of the three when seventh on the First Saturday in May for Brad Cox, who won this event in 2019.

GII Tampa Bay Derby hero Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) was a few spots behind him in 11th that day. Previously trained by Brian Lynch, the chestnut–one of just three from his outstanding sire's final crop–makes his first start for Ken McPeek Saturday.

Ethereal Road | Jim McCue/MJC

White Abarrio (Race Day) finished 16th in the Derby after winning both the GIII Holy Bull S. and GI Curlin Florida Derby. The gray receives Lasix for the first time in this event.

GII Rebel S. runner-up Ethereal Road (Quality Road) was a late defection from the Run for the Roses, allowing winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) into the field some 36 hours before post time. His GI Kentucky Oaks-winning stablemate Secret Oath (Arrogate) went on to the Preakness, while Ethereal Road was re-routed to the Sir Barton S. earlier on the card. The D. Wayne Lukas trainee produced an eye-catching late rally, charging home to a decisive victory.

Also worth a look at a price is New York-bred Barese (Laoban), who gets Lasix for the first time here. He thrashed his fellow native New Yorkers in his first three starts, but could only manage fifth behind eventual GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) in the GII Wood Memorial S. and could only manage third as the heavy favorite back against locals in an NYSS event Apr. 23.

Right in the middle of those sophomore races is a competitive sprint for older fillies and mares, the GIII Chicago S. at Churchill Downs. This test has attracted a pair of Grade I winners in Bell's the One (Majesticperfection) and Kalypso (Brody's Cause), as well as Sconsin (Include), who enters off wins in the Open Mind S. and GIII Winning Colors S. Don't count out GIII Go For Wand H. romper Lady Rocket (Tale of the Cat) or GI Derby City Distaff runner-up Four Graces (Majesticperfection).

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Time Sensitive (Hip 1): 4-year-old daughter of Nyquist is a half-sister to recent GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. winner Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile).

Topo Grigio (Hip 2): Winning daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Summer Wind Dancer is believed to be in foal to Liam's Map.

Weekend Away (Hip 3): Daughter of Malibu Moon from the family of Private Mission, Dunbar Road, and Secret Status. She is believed to be in foal to Nyquist.

Wrong Color (Hip 4): Stakes-placed daughter of Gemologist is a half-sister to Jean Gros (More Than Ready), a recent 3-year-old Group 2 stakes winner in Japan, and multiple graded stakes winner Tom's Ready (More Than Ready). She is believed to be in foal to Caravaggio.

Amazing Ride (Hip 5): The first mare offered in foal to multiple Grade I winner Charlatan.

Champagne Bliss (Hip 6): Young daughter of Into Mischief is believed to be in foal to Bolt d'Oro.

Delia O'Hara (Hip 7): Multiple stakes-placed mare is a half-sister to graded stakes performer Winning Map (Liam's Map) and believed to be in foal to Bolt d'Oro.

Gun Society (Hip 8): Stakes-winning 2-year-old and earner of over $200,000 from the immediate family of Kentucky Derby winner Country House and graded stakes winners Mitchell Road and Breaking Lucky. Believed to be in foal to Omaha Beach.

Hidatsa Park (Hip 9): Stakes-placed earner of over $210,000 is believed to be in foal to Upstart.

Mamasz (Hip 11): Daughter of Giant's Causeway is the dam of recent GII Monrovia S. winner Brooke Marie (Lemon Drop Kid). Believed to be in foal to Midshipman.

Philanthropic (Hip 12): Stakes-placed daughter of Malibu Moon from the family of leading sire Curlin. She is believed to be in foal to Constitution. She sells with her 2022 Not This Time filly at her side.

Rich Love (Hip 13): Dam of the recent $1.2-million sale-topping Bolt d'Oro filly at the 2022 Gulfstream Sale, this mare is believed to be in foal to Breeders' Cup winner Good Magic. She sells with her 2022 Good Magic filly at her side.

Power Surge (Hip 22):3-year-old California-bred daughter of young sire Straight Fire won the Evening Jewel S. at Santa Anita in her most recent start on Apr. 9.

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The 5-1 shot found a good spot in an outside fifth rounding the clubhouse turn. Traveling nicely while three wide heading into the far turn, he rolled up on the outside of the top two in the stretch and powered down the center to win going away by a length over the pacesetting Major General (Constitution). The latter, winner of last year's GIII Iroquois S., was adding blinkers following a dismal 10th in the GII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 12.

Favored In Due Time (Not This Time), runner-up in the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. Mar. 5, raced further back than expected and was along for third.

A winner of his first two tries going a mile over the Turfway synthetic Dec. 4 and Jan. 7, Tawny Port was a respectable fifth–beaten 7 3/4 lengths by likely Derby favorite Epicenter (Not This Time)–with a troubled trip in his first try on dirt in a live renewal of the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 19. He was a solid second, beaten 2 1/2 lengths, to Tiz the Bomb (Hit it a Bomb), in the Jeff Ruby Steaks last time.

The Risen Star form has since produced: subsequent GII Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter (first); GI Blue Grass S. first and second Zandon (Upstart) (third) and Smile Happy (Runhappy) (second); and GIII Sunland Derby winner Slow Down Andy (Nyquist) (sixth).

“He responded today,” Cox said. “There was a little bit of a question mark with how well he would handle the dirt. He ran well at the Fair Grounds. Florent [Geroux] came back and had positive comments after that race, and I thought, 'Well, you know, right now, maybe you try to go in the Jeff Ruby Steaks.' So that's what we did, and he ran a real respectable race. Then we found ourselves nominated to this race and it worked out today.”

As for the Kentucky Derby, Cox added, “We'll see how he comes out of [today's race]. I'd like to congratulate [owners] John and Elizabeth Fort. This was John's idea, to come back in two weeks immediately after the Jeff Ruby. He said, 'We need to look at this race,' and I said, 'Well, I nominated him.' We watched him and he seemed to have a great energy level and his weight's great. He's a good-looking colt–really good-looking. [John Fort] picked him out.”

Pedigree Notes:

Tawny Port, the 21st graded winner and 44th black-type winner for Pioneerof the Nile, is a member of his sire's penultimate crop. The late WinStar sire's first crop consisted of five graded winners and it just got better from there, with Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah a member of his second. Pioneerof the Nile, a MGISW and runner-up in the 2009 GI Kentucky Derby, died unexpectedly at age 13 in 2019.

Livi Makenzie was a $5,500 Keeneland September purchase for Mike Walker in 2010, was third in two graded events and won the 2013 Saylorville S. at Prairie Meadows, then was purchased by WinStar for $190,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale. She had four foals for WinStar, the last being Tawny Port–who sold for $430,000 to John P. Fort at Keeneland September–and was resold at the 2020 Keeneland November sale for $30,000 to St. Simon Place and Scott Stephens while in foal to Always Dreaming. That Always Dreaming foal is now a yearling filly and the mare was bred back to WinStar stallion Global Campaign for 2022.

Tawny Port traces directly to 1959 Kentucky Oaks split division winner Hidden Talent (Dark Star), her seventh dam. Hidden Talent is most remembered today for two important daughters: 1986 Broodmare of the Year Too Bald (Bald Eagle), dam of champion Capote (Seattle Slew), MGISW Exceller (Vaguely Noble), and other stakes winners; and Turn to Talent (Turn-to), granddam of MGISW and leading sire Broad Brush (Ack Ack) and several other black-type winners. It is through Turn to Talent that Tawny Port traces.

Livi Makenzie is by champion Macho Uno, who now has 20 stakes winners out of his daughters. His 2021 Soaring Free S. winner First Empire (Classic Empire) is by a son of Pioneerof the Nile, while Pioneerof the Nile's MGSW and young sire Cairo Prince is out of a mare by Holy Bull, Macho Uno's sire.

Saturday, Keeneland
STONESTREET LEXINGTON S.-GIII, $398,750, Keeneland, 4-16, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:45.24, ft.
1–TAWNY PORT, 118, c, 3, by Pioneerof the Nile
                1st Dam: Livi Makenzie (SW & MGSP, $354,069), by Macho Uno
                2nd Dam: Greta's Joy, by Joyeux Danseur
                3rd Dam: Trust Greta, by Centrust
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($430,000
Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Peachtree Stable; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY);
T-Brad H. Cox; J-Florent Geroux. $229,400. Lifetime Record:
5-3-1-0, $427,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the
eNicks  report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Major General, 118, c, 3, Constitution–No Mo Lemons, by
Uncle Mo. ($265,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $420,000 Ylg '20
KEESEP). O-WinStar Farm LLC and Siena Farm LLC; B-Circular
Road Breeders (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $74,000.
3–In Due Time, 118, c, 3, Not This Time–Sweet Sweet Annie, by
Curlin. ($9,500 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $35,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP;
$95,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Edge Racing, Medallion Racing
and Parkland Thoroughbreds; B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc.
(KY); T-Kelly J. Breen. $37,000.
Margins: 1, 1HF, 1. Odds: 5.10, 7.10, 1.90.
Also Ran: Ethereal Road, Strava, Dash Attack, Midnight Chrome, Howling Time, Call Me Midnight, Skate to Heaven, We All See It.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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One who races to keep his spot as number 20 on the leaderboard is the hard-trying Tawny Port (Pioneerof the Nile), who is one of five runners with 40 points. A win here will jump the colt into 12th with 60. Opening his account with a pair of wins on the Turfway synthetic, Tawny Port closed to be fifth in his first try on dirt in the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds Feb. 19, which was one by Derby points leader Epicenter (Not This Time). Second to Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) last out Apr. 2 in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. back on the synthetic at Turfway Park, Tawny Port will try to overcome a two-week turnaround as the 5-2 morning line favorite.

The formidable WinStar and Siena Farm partnership will send out two in hopes of landing points and a spot on the bubble: Major General (Constitution) and Strava (Into Mischief), who is also owner in partnership with Denny Crum. A $420,000 KEESEP buy, Major General followed a first-out score with a win in the GIII Iroquois S. at Churchill in September. He adds blinkers for this event after a non-factor 10th in the GII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 12. Also adding blinkers here, $825,000 KEENOV purchase Strava captured his debut sprinting at Keeneland in October and was second next out in the slop at Fair Grounds Jan. 15. Extended to two turns in NOLA a month later, the bay checked in third behind recent GI Arkansas Derby victor Cyberknife (Gun Runner).

D. Wayne Lukas saddles Ethereal Road (Quality Road), who is back in just a week after a tired seventh-place effort Apr. 9 in the local GI Toyota Blue Grass S.

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