As winter turns to spring, it often signals new beginnings. In horse racing, the advent of spring brings extra excitement as the eyes of the sport turn toward Kentucky. Keeneland‘s prestigious meet begins April 5 and will be closely followed by the 150th edition of the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs May 4.
This spring is extra special for Resolute Racing’s John Stewart, who will be participating in his first Keeneland spring meet as an owner.
“Being from the area, it has a special place in my heart,” Stewart said. “You go to the races at Keeneland as a fan and you dream of having a horse run out there one day.”
Stewart’s dream came true during the fall meeting when his 2-year-old filly Shiloh’s Mistress , whom he purchased for $235,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, competed in a maiden special weight, finishing sixth.
Now entering the spring meet for the first time, the goal changes from having a horse run at Keeneland to having a horse win at Keeneland. Stewart will waste no time as he sends out a trio of top runners in graded stakes on opening weekend.
“You’re kind of living the dream,” Stewart said. “I’m super excited. We have three horses running in the spring meet, all of them in stakes races. It just talks to the quality of what we have purchased.”
Stewart’s big purchases over the last several months have been making headlines as he has acquired some of racing’s biggest names via auction and private purchases.
“I’ve been a fan of the sport for years,” Stewart said. “I decided to make a more substantial investment into the sport late last year. I usually don’t do anything halfway, so we’ve jumped all in.”
Among his many purchases are Puca , the dam of Kentucky Derby winner Mage and current Kentucky Derby hopeful Dornoch , 2021 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1T) winner Pizza Bianca , and two-time Eclipse champion Goodnight Olive , whom Stewart will bring to Keeneland the morning of April 6 to visit with her fans.
“Some of the mares that I purchased, like Goodnight Olive and Pizza Bianca, have a big fan base,” Stewart said. “There’s a lot of people that really love those horses and it’s a big responsibility when you get into something like this.”
Goodnight Olive’s public appearance will be just the start of what could become a monumental weekend for the new owner. Later that afternoon, the first of his horses to enter the starting gate will be Pounce , a 3-year-old Lookin At Lucky filly, in the $400,000 Appalachian Stakes (G2T) April 6.
Pounce won a Gulfstream Park allowance Feb. 11 under the silks of Quintessential Racing Florida and Hat Creek Racing. Nine days later, Stewart purchased her for $370,000 at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton February Digital Selected Sale. Then, just over a week later on March 2, Pounce earned back a third of her purchase price while winning the Herecomesthebride Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream. Pounce never had to leave Mark Casse’s barn in Florida.
Pounce (left) wins the 2024 Herecomesthebride Stakes at Gulfstream Park
“We’re tickled to death with that,” Stewart said of his first graded stakes victory. “The way she won was pretty amazing. We had talked to Mark Casse and he told us, ‘I think this horse is as good as (two-time Eclipse winner) Tepin.’ He thinks that she’s a really good two-turn horse and she’s really light on her feet and that she’s going to do great at Churchill because she can make the tight turns. He wasn’t surprised; he thought that horse was really special.”
The digital sale experience, although newer to horse racing, was not new to Stewart, who has purchased many cars through online auctions to add to his collection. He was happy with the price he paid for Pounce, thinking she could have possibly gone for more.
“I think that as the digital sales catch on a little bit, you’ll see some of the prices start going up on some of the horses that sell,” Stewart said. “(Digital sales are) very popular in Australia. I hope they (become popular) here, too.”
Stewart sees the digital sale industry as an opportunity for sellers to get the proper value on their horses in a timely manner without needing to wait for specific sales and risking the horse’s value by losing or getting injured.
“It gives you an opportunity to get liquidity on almost a monthly basis,” Stewart said. “Cash flow for the horse operations is really important. They can have the opportunity to sell into that market and create some liquidity for themselves. I think that’s good for the overall industry.”
Pounce interested Stewart because of her potential to fit into his growing broodmare band. Another that sparked his interest is Youalmosthadme , an Oxbow filly who pocketed nearly a half a million dollars as a 2-year-old last year by winning three stakes and finishing second in the Pocahontas Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs.
Stewart acquired Youalmosthadme through a private sale with her previous racing ownership of Qatar Racing, Swinbank Stables, Steve Adkisson, and Black Type Thoroughbreds.
Youalmosthadme wins the 2023 Myrtlewood Stakes at Keeneland
“She lines up with our future breeding program with a great pedigree,” Stewart said. “What she accomplished as a 2-year-old is quite remarkable.”
Last seen winning the Fern Creek Stakes at Churchill Downs Nov. 25, Youalmosthadme has taken some time off to recover from an injury that Stewart says is fully healed. Still trained by Brad Cox, her start in Keeneland’s $400,000 Beaumont Stakes (G2) April 7 will mark her 3-year-old debut.
“(She’s) ready to go,” Stewart said. “We’re really excited about having her there.”
The win would also be extra special for Stewart as MiddleGround Capital, of which he is the founding and managing partner, sponsors the Beaumont.
“I’m really excited about the idea of presenting myself a trophy,” Stewart said.
In addition to MiddleGround sponsoring the Beaumont, Resolute Racing is sponsoring the $600,000 Madison Stakes (G1) April 6.
“We’re trying to support the industry,” Stewart said. “It is really important to me. One of the reasons I got into this was to support the Lexington economy. Horse racing is so important and the breeding is so important in Lexington, so it just makes sense.”
Two races after presenting the Madison trophy, Stewart will have a chance to accomplish the ultimate dream of all owners as Just a Touch runs in the $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (G1) to try to earn a spot in the Kentucky Derby.
The Blue Grass will be loaded with talent as leading Derby contenders Sierra Leone and Dornoch are entered, among others, but Stewart is excited for the challenge.
“There’s a lot of quality horses in the Blue Grass,” Stewart said. “That’s going to be something great to have in Lexington.”
Stewart met Just a Touch’s owner, Sheikh Fahad Al Thani of Qatar Racing, at the Breeders’ Cup last fall and developed a relationship through the purchases of 2022 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) winner Caravel and Youalmosthadme. The two met again Jan. 27 at the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream and watched together as Just a Touch broke his maiden at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
“I was joking around with (Sheikh Fahad) and I was trying to buy (Just a Touch) off of him before the race started,” Stewart said. “He said, ‘I’ll tell you what, if you want in on him we could talk about it after the race.’ “
Just a Touch breaks his maiden at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Just a Touch won by 4 1/4 lengths and, not too long after, Qatar Racing and Resolute Racing negotiated a deal to become a partnership.
“He did us a favor by letting us in on that horse because he hasn’t won the Derby either,” Stewart said. “He really thinks this is his horse to do it. He’s a really good person, a real humble person. He’s done a lot of good things in the industry. We’re very thankful that he thought enough of us to let us buy 25% of the horse.”
With 25 Kentucky Derby points following his runner-up finish March 2 in the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack, the Justify colt will likely need a top-three finish to guarantee a spot in the Derby. Stewart attends the Derby every year, inviting friends from out of town to join him. He can only imagine the excitement of what it would be like to attend as an owner.
“If you have a horse, you want to win the Kentucky Derby,” Stewart said. “Just to have a horse in the race at the 150th running is going to be a big event. You think I’m excited about Keeneland? I don’t know how it’s going to be before the Derby, we’ll probably be walking on clouds.”
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