Numbers Game: All About the Homebreds in April’s 30 Graded Races

[Wandering Eyes]

With Derby weekend in the books, we take a look back at the graded races in April that led us there. The month did not disappoint with great racing from coast to coast, although Keeneland, as per usual, was the star of the show. If the top of the sport is measured by graded races, few race weeks are as packed with quality or as anticipated as the boutique meets at Keeneland. With an inevitable focus on the Lexington track, we look at trends and notable items from the country's graded races in April, with the sheer number of homebred winners standing out this month. 

• Keeneland packed 16 graded races into just under three weeks in April, giving the Central Kentucky track more than half of the 30 graded contests in the nation for the month. Three other tracks also hosted graded events in April, with Santa Anita running seven, Aqueduct holding four, and Oaklawn Park hosting three.
• Seven Grade I races were contested, with five at Keeneland and one each at Oaklawn and Santa Anita. Another nine Grade II races were held, as were 14 with Grade III designation. Eighteen of the 30 graded races were on the dirt and 12 on the grass.
• The 30 graded races were run at distances ranging from 5 1/2 furlongs (two) to 1 1/2 miles (two), with 1 1/16 miles being the most popular (eight).
• Eleven of the graded events in April were dedicated to 3-year-olds, including the last three significant GI Kentucky Derby preps: the GI Santa Anita Derby, the GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, and the GII Wood Memorial Stakes. All three are usually held on the Saturday four weeks prior to the Derby, but torrential rains in Kentucky forced the delay of the Blue Grass to the next Tuesday.
• Twenty-one different trainers won graded races in April. Bob Baffert won the most, with three, and twice finished one-two, but no one had a better day than Ian Wilkes, who won the Blue Grass and the GI Resolute Racing Madison Stakes in the same afternoon.
• Eighteen homebreds–some with additional ownership partners added–won the 30 graded races in April. Remarkably, 15 of the 16 graded events at Keeneland were won by homebreds, underscoring how special it is to win in front of the home crowd in Lexington. Fourteen of those were homebreds outright and the 15th was a homebred with additional partners. The only non-homebred to win a graded race at Keeneland this April was a $1.35-million Keeneland September yearling.
• Two breeders won multiple graded races in April: Godolphin with three and Calumet Farm with two. All five of those winners were homebreds, with four of the five winning at Keeneland.
• The least-expensive American-sold graded winner in April was Crazy Mason (Coal Front), who fetched $20,000 as a weanling at Keeneland November. The most expensive was the aforementioned $1.35-million Keeneland September purchase and 'TDN Rising Star' Extra Anejo (Into Mischief).
• Included among the stallion milestones in April was the first graded winner for 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic with the Wood Memorial victory by Rodriguez, while interesting breeding notes included the in-foal Forever After All (Connect)'s win in the GIII Bewitch Stakes. She was bred to Flightline this term and will continue to race for a little longer.
• The 30 graded race winners were sired by 26 individual stallions. Three stallions won multiple graded events. Remarkably, all three stand at Darley: Nyquist with three, Medaglia d'Oro with two, and Street Sense with two. Godolphin campaigns two of those seven winners.
• Fifteen of the 26 sires currently stand in Kentucky, as did another four who are now deceased. Other states that stand graded sires from the month are Louisiana, Maryland, and New York, with one each. Three of the remaining graded sires stand in Ireland, while the last is in Chile.
• Twenty-one individual broodmare sires were represented in April's graded races. Six sires were represented by more than one winner, with a trio getting three–Bernardini, Tapit, and Uncle Mo–and another trio getting two–Hard Spun, Kitten's Joy, and Scat Daddy. Both Tapit and Hard Spun are still active at Gainesway and Darley, respectively.
• Into Mischief had one graded winner in April, as did four of his sons: Authentic, Goldencents, Maximus Mischief, and Practical Joke. Medaglia d'Oro had two winners, while his late son Fast Anna had one. Curlin also had one winner, as did his son Connect. In addition, three separate Smart Strike stallions had graded winners: Curlin, English Channel, and Lookin At Lucky.
• The highest graded Beyer Speed Figure in April was the 109 earned by 'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense) in the GII Oaklawn Handicap. The highest graded April Beyer for a 3-year-old was the 102 earned by Journalism (Curlin) in the Santa Anita Derby.

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