Country Grammer helps keep Pompa's name up in lights

The quality of the Thoroughbreds bearing the colors of the late breeder and owner Paul Pompa Jr. was very much in evidence in the year following his death about 1 1/2 years ago, as his stock was highly in demand at his estate dispersal and his young stallion Connect got his career off to a solid start. As the calendar has moved into 2022, the legacy has continued to grow.

Country Grammer, a graduate of Pompa’s Thoroughbred dispersal, captured the Group 1, $12 million Dubai World Cup on Saturday, while We the People, another graduate, will attempt to punch his Kentucky Derby ticket in the upcoming Arkansas Derby.

Country Grammer, from the first crop of Tonalist, was purchased by Pompa as a juvenile, and won twice from his six outings for him, including the postponed Grade 3 Peter Pan in 2020 at Saratoga. Pompa, best known for his involvement with dual classic winner and champion Big Brown, died in October 2020 at age 62. At the 2021 Keeneland January horses of all ages sale, 38 of his broodmares, young horses, and horses in training were sold for $6,790,200.

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WinStar Farm purchased Country Grammer for $110,000, with Zedan Racing and Commonwealth Thoroughbreds later joining as partners. The horse moved to trainer Bob Baffert in California, and last year was second by a neck in the Grade 2 Californian off a long layoff before winning the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup. Off another long layoff, he was second in the Saudi Cup before winning in Dubai.

Meanwhile, WinStar purchased the Constitution colt We the People for $230,000 from the Pompa dispersal stock offered at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale of 2-year-olds in training, with Siena Farm and Commonwealth joining as partners. The colt has won both his starts, both at Oaklawn Park, for trainer Rodolphe Brisset, and will step up in the Arkansas Derby.

Meanwhile, Connect could also have something to say about the spring classics after his daughter Hidden Connection, a Grade 3 winner as a juvenile, was second by a nose to Eclipse Award champion Echo Zulu in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks. Connect’s Grade 1-winning son Rattle N Roll was fourth in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on the same card.

Hidden Connection is Kentucky Oaks-bound, while Rattle N Roll will wait to see if his point total will make the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Connect was represented by another standout 3-year-old on the weekend, as his High Connection was a 10-length debut winner on Saturday at Santa Anita, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 90.

Connect, winner of the Grade 1 Cigar Mile, was third on the 2021 freshman sire list for Lane’s End Farm, a longtime associate of Pompa’s which handled the bulk of his dispersal at Keeneland.

“Mr. Pompa’s industry involvement was admirable on every level,” Lane’s End director of sales Allaire Ryan said. “He was dedicated to, and ever-enthusiastic about, his investments as a breeder, owner, and fan. He created strong relationships around a lifelong passion and never wavered from his philosophy to do right by his stock and enjoy the sport.”