From Aristides in 1875 to Barbaro in 2006, homebred runners have a successful history in the Run for the Roses, with 49 of 132 winners carrying the colors of their breeders into the winner's circle at Churchill Downs.
Members of the 2007 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) homebred class hope that tradition continues when six of the 20 runners expected in the starting gate will be representing their breeders.
The 2007 homebred class include: James Tafel's Street Sense, Michael and Doreen Tabor's Circular Quay, Elizabeth Valando's Nobiz Like Shobiz, Bill Currin and Alvin Eisman's Stormello, Jerry and Ann Moss' Tiago, WinStar Farm's Any Given Saturday, and Gulf Coast Farms Cowtown Cat.
Each of the homebred runners holds a special place in the heart of their breeders. Many breeders have since sold the dams of their Derby contenders, but the special connection of planning the mating that resulted in a Derby contender remains.
Tafel's relationship with the family of 2006 champion 2-year-old male Street Sense, who was foaled and raised at Chesapeake Farm, traces back to Majestic Legend, the colt's second dam. Tafel purchased Majestic Legend (by His Majesty) for $75,000 at the 1986 Keeneland September yearling sale and she later developed into a stakes winner and producer for her owner as the dam of stakes winner Binalegend.
Bedazzle, the dam of Street Sense, is no longer owned by Tafel. Trainer Carl Nafzger bought the mare from Tafel for $180,000 at the 2005 Keeneland November breeding stock sale at the time the son of Street Cry was a yearling. Bedazzle was in foal to Distorted Humor at the time of the sale and in March 2006 she produced a filly for Randy Bloch.
At the time of Street Sense's Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) win, Bedazzle was owned by Nafzger and Bloch in partnership with Bob Manfuso and John Seiler. Sheikh Mohammed privately purchased the mare, in foal to Speightstown , after the Breeders' Cup. She is booked back to Street Cry.
Circular Quay races for Tabor, whose wife, Doreen is the breeder of the Thunder Gulch colt. Thunder Gulch won the 1995 Kentucky Derby for Tabor.
Tabor purchased Circular Quay's dam, Circle of Life, for $700,000 at the 1999 Fasig-Tipton Florida March sale of 2-year-olds in training sale through Demi O'Byrne. Grade I winning Circle of Life is kept at Creekview Farm near Paris, Ky. and foaled a Giant's Causeway filly March 13. She was to be bred back to Thunder Gulch.
In addition to Circular Quay, Tabor will also be represented in the Run for the Roses with Scat Daddy, who is owned in partnership with James Scatuorchio. Tabor also owns Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) favorite Rags to Riches in partnership with Derrick Smith.
Nobiz Like Shobiz is named in honor of Elizabeth Valando's, late husband, Tommy, a Broadway producer.
The Wood Memorial (gr. I) winner is a second-generation homebred for Valando. Halo's Daughter, the second dam of the son of Albert the Great, raced for the Valando before she was sold in 1998.
Nightstorm, the dam of Nobiz Like Shobiz, was the second foal produced from the mare.
Valando still owns Nightstorm, who she boards at Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky. Nightstorm, a daughter of Storm Cat, produced a Eurosilver filly Feb. 12. She is in foal to Bernardini.
The owners of Stormello, Currin and Eisman, could be singing the 'What if" song if they had listened to Currin's wife, Betty, who encouraged the two partners to sell Wilshewed, the dam of Stormello, while she was carrying Stormello.
Currin has said his wife and Catherine Parke of Valkyre Stud, where the Currins board a handful of their mares, encouraged him to sell Wilshewed but he just could not part with the mare, who he had purchased for $125,000 at the 2001 Fasig-Tipton Florida February 2-year-old sale. Wilshewed made 10 starts for Currin and Eisman before retiring to the breeding shed.
Wilshewed has a 2-year-old full sister to Stormello, Ever So Pretty, and has a yearling Malibu Moon filly, Malibuwed. Wilshewed aborted to the cover of Bernstein this year and was bred back to Stormy Atlantic .
When Tiago breaks from the Churchill Downs starting gate on Derby Day the son of Pleasant Tap will be doing more than just carrying the homebred colors of Jerry and Ann Moss. He will be trying to equal the accomplishment of his older, half-brother Giacomo who won the Roses in 2005.
Both Giacomo and Tiago were produced from the Stop the Music mare Set Them Free.
The Mosses still own Set Them Free who is boarded at Dr. John and Alice Chandler's Mill Ridge Farm near Lexington. She has a juvenile full brother to Tiago and a yearling colt by Giant's Causeway. The 17-year-old mare is in foal to Pulpit on a May 24 cover and has been booked back to Giant's Causeway.
Bill Casner and Kenny Troutt's WinStar Farm will be represented by the Distorted Humor colt Any Given Saturday, who was bred under the name of Racehorse Management, which is a division of WinStar Farm.
The colt races for WinStar Farm and Satish and Anne Sanan's Padua Stables who privately purchased an interest in the Kentucky-bred after he won the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.
Any Given Saturday passed through the sales ring when he was sold to Buzz Chace for $1.1 million during the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale. He raced as a juvenile for WinStar and Maverick Racing.
WinStar Farm, under the name of Lisa Troutt, wife of the farm's co-owner Kenny Troutt, purchased Weekend in Indy, the dam of Any Given Saturday, for $290,000 at the 2000 Keeneland November mixed sale. Weekend in Indy was in foal to Carson City at the time of the auction.
Weekend in Indy is still owned by WinStar and she has a yearling full sister to Any Given Saturday. Her 2007 Distorted Humor foal died and she is back in foal to that stallion.
WinStar will also be represented by Cowtown Cat, who is owned in partnership with Jerry Bailey and Lance Robinson's Gulf Coast Farms. Gulf Coast Farms Partnership bred the son of Distorted Humor from the Storm Cat mare Tom's Cat.
Gulf Coast Farms purchased Cowtown Cat for $135,000 at the 2005 Keeneland September yearling sale. WinStar Farm then purchased the colt for $1.5 million at the 2006 Barretts March 2-year-olds in training sale.