Undefeated Sacrosanct is 1st horse on Ky. Derby trail for owners
Photo:
NYRA / Susie Raisher / Coglianese Photo
In May, bloodstock agent Clay Scherer was scouting horses for Jon Hansen’s partnership Net Birdie and noticed a bay New York-bred colt by the promising young New York stallion Honest Mischief at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale, where he breezed an eighth of a mile in 10 seconds flat.
The colt’s physical and breeding led Scherer to approach Hansen about a year-end target for him before he even signed the ticket: the lucrative $500,000 Great White Way division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series in December at Aqueduct.
“I went to the Ocala sales in March and April and didn’t buy anything,” Hansen recalled. “I didn’t go to the Timonium sale, but Clay called me and said, ‘This is our horse that we need to buy.’ Clay knows his stuff, and I just put my faith in him. He was looking for a New York-bred, and had the Stallion Series on his radar. He told me, ‘our Super Bowl is in December, there’s a $500,000 race then.’ ”
The colt, bred by Burleson Farms, Mckenzie Bloodstock and Sequel Thoroughbreds, also attracted the eye of bloodstock agent Kerri Radcliffe, who was scouting horses for Sheila Rosenblum’s Lady Sheila Stable. With both groups interested, they partnered on the colt when he hammered for $260,000 and, with Schwing Thoroughbreds also on board, sent him to dual Eclipse Award-winning conditioner Brad Cox to begin his racing career.
With a trainer and even a stakes race already picked out for the horse, there was just one thing left to tackle before his debut in August at Saratoga. What would his name be?
“Sheila wanted to make sure he had a strong name, and Sacrosanct was a name she had reserved. But they wanted to make sure he was a special horse if they were going to give him that name,” Hansen explained. “They waited a bit to see if he was deserving of that name, and it ended up being that he was.”
Sacrosanct dazzled in that August debut, gliding to a 3 1/4-length score under Manny Franco to annex the six-furlong sprint against fellow New York-breds. The race marked the start of a thus-far flawless campaign and was followed by a 12-length romp in the state-bred Bertram F. Bongard in September at Belmont at the Big A and another stakes triumph when stretched out to one mile for the Sleepy Hollow in October over the same oval.
Sacrosanct was 3-for-3, and Scherer’s circled date of Dec. 14 for the seven-furlong Great White Way seemed less and less like a pipe dream. Sacrosanct entered the starting gate as the odds-on favorite against seven rivals. Although the rallying long shot National Identity nearly tarnished Sacrosanct’s perfect ledger, the first part of a carefully planned fairy tale came true as Sacrosanct held on by a head to land the victory.
Hansen said the colt’s juvenile campaign could not have gone to plan any better.
“That was in May when Clay said, ‘that’s the target.’ It was the day we circled, and did I think it would happen? No, but that was Clay’s goal and target the whole time,” Hansen said. “I’m glad he knew about it, and Kerri was well aware of it, too.”
Now as a sophomore, the dream continues for Sacrosanct and his owners as he has emerged on the road to the Kentucky Derby in Saturday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham, a one-turn mile for sophomores that awards the top five finishers with 50-25-15-10-5 qualifying points for the first Saturday in May.
“The plan was if he goes undefeated as a 2-year-old, he’s earned his right to go into open company and go onto the Derby trail as a 3-year-old,” Hansen said. “Once he did that, we picked the Withers, but he had a small foot issue come up the week before. We didn’t race him there, but now it’s cleared up and we’re primed and ready for Saturday.”
Hansen began purchasing horses about a decade ago and started out with his partners all golf enthusiasts, at racetracks such as Turf Paradise and Emerald Downs before working his way to the California and New York circuits.
“I fell in love with racing going to the Kentucky Derby every year with my brother and a big group of friends,” said Hansen, whose business ventures have him involved in the gas and oil industry and real estate, among others. “One year, we said, ‘let’s see if we can start buying horses,’ and it just grew from there.”
With 17 partners on Sacrosanct, Net Birdie is now on the path to the ultimate goal they all set out to achieve a decade ago, attending the Kentucky Derby to see their own horse compete.
“I’ll be honest, I haven’t slept all week,” Hansen said with a laugh. “When I put the partnership together, the Derby has been what I’ve told the partners is the dream. I did tell them that it’s a very small chance, and I never in my life thought we’d be on the trail.”
Regardless of Saturday’s result, Sacrosanct has proven a remarkable purchase, banking over $500,000 in just four outings thanks to the lucrative purses and bonuses he is eligible for as a New York-sired New York-bred in the Empire State.
“It’s a testament to the New York program, and I’d be shocked if we didn’t buy another New York-bred this year to try and replicate what we did last year,” Hansen said. “The program is too good to not try to do it again. The curtain is starting to get lifted, and people are seeing the purses and bonuses are too good.”
Sacrosanct already has accomplished the first major achievement Hansen and his partners set out to reach last spring. Now, they are hoping Saturday will be the next step toward their goal of a lifetime as Franco pilots Sacrosanct, 3-1 on the morning line from post 4 of 10.
“That’s why we are all in the game, to dream big and to see what these animals can do,” Hansen said. “If you’re not in the game of horse racing for the Derby, I think you’re lying. I know that people pay millions of dollars to be in the position we are in, and it’s just crazy to be here.”
| Post | Silks | Horse / Sire | Rating | Trainer / Jockey | Last Start / Next Start | HRN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Scorching Mo Town |
5.12 |
1st, Cup and Saucer S. |
10-1 | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
1st, Cup and Saucer S. |
|||||
| 2 |
|
Normandy Coast Omaha Beach |
6.12 | 15-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 3 |
|
Calling Card Complexity |
6.06 | 6-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 4 |
|
Sacrosanct Honest Mischief |
6.47 | 3-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 5 |
|
Sand Devil Violence |
6.12 | 9-5 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 6 |
|
Pagode Constitution |
0.00 | 30-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 7 |
|
Flood Zone Frosted |
0.00 | 12-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 8 |
|
Mcafee Cloud Computing |
5.91 |
2nd, CD STR (11/24/2024-R1) |
10-1 | |
|
Last Race Next Race |
2nd, CD STR (11/24/2024-R1) |
|||||
| 9 |
|
Garamond Uncle Mo |
0.00 | 8-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
| 10 |
|
My Mitole Mitole |
0.00 | 15-1 | ||
|
Last Race Next Race |
||||||
Related
Could pari-mutuel wagering on NASCAR help grow horse racing?
Geoff Zochodne of Covers had an interesting story last Friday about how NASCAR is making the push to allow betting via the pari-mutuel system and has partnered
Celebrities Who Are Often Seen In Horse Racing Events |…
Horse racing is a Ritzy pursuit and so has acquired a high-end clientele. Many celebrities, almost as if by magic, develop an intense interest in horse racin
3 big Derby preps, ‘Super Saturday’ in Dubai top weekend…
1 of 2 | Kentucky Derby hopeful Sovereignty, shown winning the Grade II Street Sense Stakes in October, returns in the Grade II Fountain of You
How many horses could Bob Baffert have in Kentucky Derby?…
Trainer Bob Baffert talks to media after first time back at Churchill Downs after three-year suspensionAfter a three-year suspension from Churchill Downs, a hap
