Top Kentucky Derby entrants spoken for as stallions
The Kentucky Derby is only a few days in the future. But for a few of the colts who will try to write their names in the history books this Saturday, part of their future is already secured. Several of the expected entrants in their Derby field are already spoken for as future stallions, led by favorite Tiz the Law, who will eventually join some of the biggest stars in modern history at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud.
The international Coolmore group announced a few days following Tiz the Law’s victory in the June 20 Belmont Stakes – the first leg of this year’s rescheduled Triple Crown – that it had acquired the stud rights to the Constitution colt. Tiz the Law, who is campaigned by Sackatoga Stables, also owns Grade 1 victories in last year’s Champagne Stakes, plus this year’s Florida Derby and Travers Stakes.
“Tiz the Law is the outstanding colt of his generation, so we are obviously delighted he’ll be coming here,” said Dermot Ryan, general manager of Coolmore America, which stands 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. “He’s a Grade 1-winning juvenile and is now a classic winner. Combined with his near-perfect race record, he’s very good-looking and is a very well-bred individual."
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Meanwhile, Kentucky farms Lane’s End and Spendthrift invested in 3-year-olds from their top sire lines. Honor A. P., winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, will stand at Lane's End Farm upon his eventual retirement, joining his sire, champion Honor Code. The latter is a son of the late Lane’s End stallion A.P. Indy, a Hall of Fame racehorse and leading sire, sire-of-sires, and broodmare sire.
“We named Honor A. P. in homage to his grandsire, the breed-shaping A.P. Indy," said Lee Searing, who, with wife Susan, campaigns the colt as CRK Stable. “It has always been my goal to race a horse of this caliber and to stand him at Lane’s End. I plan to keep an interest in Honor A. P. and help make him a top stallion.”
Spendthrift Farm holds a majority interest in Authentic, winner of the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational and two other graded stakes. The son of Into Mischief was a yearling purchase by SF Racing and Starlight Racing, with Fred Hertrich III, John D. Fielding, Golconda Stables, and Madaket Stables also joining his ownership group. Spendthrift then acquired the majority interest to campaign the colt with Starlight and Madaket, with SF, Hertrich, Fielding, and Golconda selling their respective interests; the MyRacehorse partnership later joined.
Into Mischief claimed his first general sire title in 2019 for Spendthrift, where he stands alongside his two-time Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile-winning son Goldencents. That young stallion was 2018's leading freshman sire by individual winners and runner-up by earnings, and was 2019’s leading second-crop sire. Spendthrift added Into Mischief's graded stakes-winning son Maximus Mischief to its roster this year, and has secured the future rights to Goldencents's graded stakes-winning son Mr. Money.
“We believe Into Mischief is still in the early stages of his successes, and we are hopeful Authentic can be a significant part," Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey said. "This colt possesses all the signature attributes we have come to know from Into Mischief, and we feel strongly that those attributes are going to carry on through his sons in the breeding shed.”
Spendthrift has another rooting interest in this year’s Derby field, as it co-owns Grade 2 winner Thousand Words with Albaugh Family Stables.