It was a huge Breeders’ Cup Saturday last November at Del Mar for graduates of the Hidden Brook Farm with Straight No Chaser and Moira capturing Breeders’ Cup trophies. That success led to even more hardware and accolades at the Eclipse Award ceremony on January 23 as both were named Champions.
Straight No Chaser Was Fastest of All
They say patience will be rewarded, but in the case of Straight No Chaser patience was awarded Jan. 23 when the son of Speightster was honored as 2024’s Eclipse Award champion male sprinter. He’s the 5th Champion to emerge from the famed Hidden Brook program.
Bred in Kentucky by John Eaton and Steve Laymon, Straight No Chaser was foaled and raised at Hidden Brook Farm in Central Kentucky before becoming a $110,000 purchase at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale by MyRacehorse, the company that sells fractional ownership in racehorses. Through MyRacehorse, Straight No Chaser has 946 owners.
“From the get-go he showed a lot of talent to us. Speed was something he always showed,” said MyRacehorse’s racing manager Joe Moran. “With age and maturity, he turned into such a cool horse. He loves his job.”
“Dan has done a tremendous job of really knowing when the horse is ready,” Moran added. “We’ve always given him space in between races. He’s a high-energy horse so he tells you when he’s ready to run.”
He was ready in the fall of 2024, putting together a powerful pair of races against America’s best sprinters. Under the guidance of Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, Straight No Chaser romped in the Sept. 29 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes (G2) by 6 1/4 lengths and outdueled the younger Bentornato in the stretch of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1).
The jubilant scene in the Del Mar winner’s circle as many of his shareholders celebrated the Breeders’ Cup triumph was a testament to the dedication of everyone involved.
Moira Adds an Eclipse Award Trophy to Her Collection of Sovereign Awards
It was an exciting, high-quality campaign from start to finish for Canada’s sweetheart Moira, and one which ultimately culminated in her Breeders’ Cup success on her third try at the event.
Beginning her 2024 campaign in America’s summer playground, she made her first start in almost eight and a half months in July at Saratoga taking on eventual GI Diana Stakes winner MGISW Whitebeam (GB) (Caravaggio) and faced a field which largely had several starts under their belt where she had none at that point in the year. Her class saw her through the rust and she finished second in a blanket charge on the wire Moira found that winning form again on an August trip to Colonial Downs for the GII Beverly D. Stakes, one where she again showed supreme heart to wear down fellow Canadian Horse of the Year Fev Rover (Ire) in a battle to the very end.
While the GI E. P. Taylor Stakes at her home track turned into something of a theft on the front end from Full Count Felicia, she ran on well to close the gap as best she was able and claim second. There were familiar faces around her in the gate for the GI Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, but also the heavy hitters which had rapidly been making a name for themselves across the country and abroad. In what ended up the perfect punctuation on a fairy-tale career, when at last it was her moment in the sun, Moira did not disappoint as she bravely held them all off to claim her spot in the Breeders’ Cup annuals.
Bred by Adena Springs, Moira was sold by Hidden Brook Farm at the 2020 Keeneland September sale. She was named Canada’s Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Filly after a 2022 campaign that saw here capture the Woodbine Oaks and the historic Queen’s Plate over males. The daughter of Ghostzapper also twice sold at the Fasig-Tipton November sale for 7 figures, for $3 million in 2023 and for $4.3 million after her Breeders’ Cup triumph the following year.
-edited from www.bloodhorse.com and www.thoroughbreddailynews.com
