Breeders' Cup Mile: Johannes to stand at Claiborne in 2026
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Grade 1 winner Johannes will stand at Claiborne Farm following a final start in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar.
Historic Claiborne, in Paris, Ky., has a prominent incoming pair, as Johannes joins Grade 1 winner Mindframe, who will run in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic. Fees for both will be announced following the Breeders’ Cup.
The Claiborne roster, led by the stalwart War Front, has been undergoing some shifts in recent years. In 2025, the farm introduced two newcomers who represented new ownership connections, Bright Future – who shares racing connections with Mindframe – and Prince of Monaco.
The roster continues to change for 2026, as First Samurai and Lea have been pensioned; Preakness winner War of Will is moving to Rockridge Stud in New York, with Claiborne remaining in his syndicate; and Runhappy has been sold to stand in South Korea, as owner Jim McIngvale is exiting racing.
Millionaire Johannes, by rising star Nyquist, races as a homebred for Joe and Debby McCloskey. Johannes comes into the Mile – in which he was second by three-quarters of a length last year – off a repeat victory in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile Stakes. That was his sixth graded stakes triumph, highlighted by the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile last year.
“Johannes is a very talented horse that has been on our radar for a while now,” Claiborne’s president Walker Hancock said in a release. “His father Nyquist has proven to be an elite sire, but he doesn’t have a son standing in Kentucky yet, which makes Johannes that much more appealing.
“He is a beautifully made horse with a strong pedigree. His dam is by Congrats, his second dam is by Devil’s Bag and his third dam is by Danzig, so he has Claiborne genetics all throughout his page.”
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