A Pair of Grade I-Winning Rising Stars New at Spendthrift

[Wandering Eyes]

While Grade I victories and a 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard' nod make for a potent double, Spendthrift Farm's Stallion Sales Manager Mark Toothaker suggests that the defining narrative for Spendthrift's new stallion duo is the surging commercial power of their sires.

This year Goal Oriented becomes the fourth son of Not This Time to go to stud in Kentucky and the first to retire to Spendthrift, while Chancer McPatrick is the first son of McKinzie to join the stallion ranks.

“With these stallions being by hot sires in McKinzie and Not This Time, it certainly gets breeders out here on the farm to take a look,” said Toothaker.

Goal Oriented, whose retirement was announced after his decisive in last month's GI Malibu Stakes, will stand for $30,000 in 2026. Dual Grade I winner Chancer McPatrick enters stud at $25,000.

 

GOAL ORIENTED (Not This Time — Bizzy Caroline, by Afleet Alex)

Goal Oriented has only been available for breeders' inspections for two weeks, but Toothaker reported the response has already been enormous.

“We've had so many inquiries about the horse that I have just told everybody to submit the best mare they can,” he shared. “At this point, we're so overwhelmed that we are just going through these things one at a time.”

Goal Oriented takes in his new surroundings at Spendthrift | Sara Gordon

To what does Toothaker attribute such strong demand?

“Not This Time is the reason he's being received this way,” Toothaker concluded. “He is a really fast dirt horse by Not This Time.”

Not This Time wrapped up 2025 as the runner-up to Into Mischief on the General Sires' list. Among the Taylor Made stallion's first sons at stud, Goal Oriented joins GI Travers Stakes hero Epicenter, whose first juveniles debut this year, as well as the turf Grade I-winning duo of Up to the Mark and Cogburn, who have their first yearlings and foals, respectively, this year.

“The one thing missing on our roster was a Not This Time,” said Toothaker. “Goal Oriented was a horse that we had wanted all year long, but we were looking for him to win that Grade I. For him to round out his career running a 108 Beyer and a 4 on the Sheets, he ran the race we had been waiting for him to run. He's a very fast dirt horse, but he has a grass pedigree woven inside his female family, so I think it gives breeders great options.

Bred by Runnymede Farm and CWC Investment 2, Goal Oriented is out of the Afleet Alex mare Bizzy Caroline, a dual Grade III winner on turf and a half-sister to champion turf female Lady Eli (Divine Park).

Purchased as a yearling for $425,000 by Donato Lanni for a partnership led by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, the Bob Baffert trainee earned 'Rising Star' status in his Santa Anita debut last April and then added a victory at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby weekend. He was fourth in a rough-run GI Preakness Stakes before adding a pair of third-place finishes in the GI Haskell Stakes and GI Pennsylvania Derby.

“He's a horse that went to battle with some of the best of his generation,” said Toothaker. “He ran an extremely game race in the Haskell and was beaten three quarters of a length by Journalism (Curlin), who needs no introduction.”

In his career finale in the Malibu, Goal Oriented stopped the clock in 1:20.97, marking the fastest winning time in the Malibu since 2016 and the fastest seven furlongs run in a Grade I in 2025.

Toothaker noted that Goal Oriented's imposing physical makes him a natural choice for breeders looking to add size to their mares. The dark bay stands at 16.3

“He's got plenty of stretch to him and he has a beautiful shoulder,” he said. “He's got a really good hip and he's outstanding up front, very correct. There are a lot of mares that could use a little leg around town, whether they are for commercial breeders looking to add some height for that resulting yearling they may be taking to the sale or people going to the track that need to upgrade their mare a little bit.”

 

CHANCER MCPATRICK (McKinzie — Bernadreamy, by Bernardini)

Chancer McPatrick wins the GI Champagne Stakes | Sarah Andrew

The Spendthrift scouting team had their eye on Chancer McPatrick from the time he was an unraced juvenile.

Bred by Rigney Racing, the bay was a $260,000 yearling before he breezed in :21 flat at the 2024 OBS April Sale.

“We fell in love with this horse down at the sale and got permission to take a swing,” recalled Toothaker, “We went to $700,000 and wound up the underbidder on him.”

Flanagan Racing landed the winning bid of $725,000. Trained by Chad Brown, Chancer McPatrick put in a dramatic come-from-behind debut win at Saratoga before reeling off back-to-back scores in the GI Hopeful Stakes and GI Champagne Stakes.

“It's extremely difficult for a two-year-old to be able to put those two top races together,” said Toothaker. “Jackie's Warrior, another one of our stallions here, was able to do that.”

Practical Joke is the third horse to have completed the prestigious double since 2013.

At three, Chancer McPatrick's highlights included a runner-up effort in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby, a win in the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga, and a third-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

“He ran a great race to close out his career, finishing behind Nysos (Nyquist) and Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) on a track that was impossible to close against,” Toothaker said. “He was able to make up ground to finish third that day, running a 5 1/2 on the Sheets. He was a horse that showed toughness and grit.”

Chancer McPatrick is out of the winning Bernardini mare Bernadreamy, a daughter of GI Alcibiades Stakes victress and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Dream Empress (Bernstein).

While Chancer McPatrick was McKinzie's first 'Rising Star' and his first Grade I winner, the Gainesway sire has since added two more Grade I winners in Baeza and Scottish Lassie and his fee has increased to $75,000 from the $30,000 price point Chancer McPatrick was bred on in his first year at stud.

Toothaker said that breeders have responded to Chancer McPatrick's $25,0000 debut fee paired with his striking build.

“I'd put him up against anybody physically,” he shared. “He's a touch below 16.1 and has got an unbelievable hip. He's not an overly huge horse, so I think he fits a lot of mares. His book filled up extremely fast.”

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