Spendthrift Farm to stand Omaha Beach at conclusion of career
Spendthrift Farm has reached a deal to stand Omaha Beach, the likely favorite in this year's Kentucky Derby, upon his retirement from racing.
Nicole RussoApr 30, 2019
Spendthrift Farm has reached a deal to stand Omaha Beach, the likely favorite in this year's Kentucky Derby, upon his retirement from racing.
The Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, which ran concurrently with the first Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool from Nov. 22- 25, may have provided an opportunity for pedigree-savvy handicappers to cash in.
Master Fencer will become the first Japanese-bred to start in the Kentucky Derby. But the colt, who is looking to become the first non-North American-bred to win the classic since British-born Tomy Lee in 1959, is not without Kentucky connections.
Horsemen would go anywhere to find a Kentucky Derby horse, and this year's prospective runners come from many avenues – homebreds born as close as Kentucky or as far away as Japan, runners purchased at major North American auction houses such as Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton, and even claiming races.
Quality Road made a statement in April when he sired the winners of the Santa Anita Derby and Santa Anita Oaks on the same day. Currently the nation's leading sire by earnings, he'll get a chance to widen his margin in emphatic fashion when Roadster is among the favorites in the Kentucky Derby and Bellafina starts as the heavy choice in the Kentucky Oaks.
While 2019 Kentucky Derby week is in full swing at Churchill Downs, perhaps there's already some thoughts of the 2020 Kentucky Derby, as an exceptionally strong class of freshman sires will be represented by some of their first 2-year-olds this week under the twin spires.
Six years after starting in the Kentucky Derby, Goldencents, among last year's leading freshman sires, will have a first-crop Kentucky Derby starter in Louisiana Derby winner By My Standards.
Despite being a European champion in his own right, Noble Mission has always lived in the shadow of his brother, the unbeaten two-time European Horse of the Year Frankel.
Claiborne Farm has only won the Kentucky Derby once in its century-plus history, when the star-crossed Swale carried its famous gold silks beneath the twin spires. But that doesn't mean the farm hasn't had ties to other Derby winners – or that, despite its lack of ownership in this year's renewal, the Hancock family's influence isn't all over the race.
Only a handful of horses in the diverse group of colts preparing to line up for the Kentucky Derby have won multiple graded stakes this season. Tacitus, who was one of those and finished as the leader by points in this season's series of Kentucky Derby qualifying races, sports one of the most regal pedigrees in this class.