Catholic Boy (foaled April 12, 2015), is an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who won major races on both turf and dirt. As a juvenile in 2017 he won three of his four races including the

With Anticipation Stakes The With Anticipation Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-olds over a distance of miles on the turf track scheduled annually in end of August or early September at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York ...

and the

Remsen Stakes The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The one and one-eighths mile race is open to two-year-olds and currently offers a purse of ...

. In the following year he was one of the best colts of his generation in America, winning the Pennine Ridge Stakes and

Belmont Derby The Caesars Belmont Derby is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred race horse run over a distance of miles on the turf at Belmont Park in July. The purse for the event is US$1,000,000. The event is the first of three of ...

on turf before switching to dirt to take the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internation ...

. As a four-year-old in 2019 he won the

Dixie Stakes The Dinner Party Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid-May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the eighth-oldest graded stakes race in the United States and the oldest stakes race in Maryland and all o ...

Background

Catholic Boy is a bay horse with a white

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

bred in Kentucky by Fred W. Hertrich III & John D. Fielding. As a

yearling Yearling may refer to: *Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old *''The Yearling ''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...

in January 2016 he was put up for auction at

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

but failed to reach his reserve price of $170,000. He subsequently entered the ownership of a partnership headed by Robert LaPenta which also included Madaket Stables, Siena Farm and Twin Creeks Racing Stables. He was sent into training with Jonathan Thomas. He was sired by More Than Ready, a top-class American sprinter who won the

King's Bishop Stakes The H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt held in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The current purse for th ...

in 2000. His other progeny have included

Roy H Roy H (foaled April 22, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who is the two time winner of the Breeders' Cup Sprint. He was named the American Champion Sprint Horse of 2017 and 2018. He did not start racing until age three, when he won only one ra ...

and Verrazano. Catholic Boy's dam Song of Bernadette showed negligible ability on the track, failing to win in five starts. She was a female-line descendant of the Argentinian mare La Sevillana, making her a relative of

La Lorgnette {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = La Lorgnette , image = , caption = , sire = Val de l'Orne , grandsire = Val de Loir , dam = The Temptress , damsire = Nijinsky , sex = Filly , foaled = 1982 , country = Canada , colour = Bay , breed ...

and

Hawk Wing Hawk Wing (foaled 1999 in Kentucky) is an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned by the Magnier family and trained by Aidan O'Brien, the horse won three Group 1 races and was the leading horse in the world in 2003. 2001: Two ...

Racing career

2017: two-year-old season

Catholic Boy made his track debut in a

maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...

over seven and a half

furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

on turf at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

on July 20, 2017. Ridden by Carlos Monsalvo he started at odds of 4.1/1 and won by two

lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...

from Discovered. The colt was then stepped up in class and distance for the Grade III With Anticipation Stakes on turf at

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

on August 30. After being repeatedly hampered he accelerated through a gap in the closing stages and won by a length at odds of 11.2/1. His rider

Manny Franco Manuel "Manny" Franco (born December 19, 1994) is a Puerto Rican professional jockey, best known for winning the 2020 Belmont Stakes riding Tiz the Law. Listed at and , Franco has been riding professionally since 2013. , he has won 1,357 of hi ...

commented "I had a lot of horse under me and I was trying to find my way out. I had to wait a little longer than I wanted, but the hole opened, and I had a lot of horse left and we won". In the Grade I

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old horses, run on a grass course at a distance of one mile. It is part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the ''de facto'' year-end championship for North ...

Del Mar Racetrack The Del Mar Fairgrounds is a event venue in Del Mar, California. The annual San Diego County Fair is held here, which was called the Del Mar Fair from 1984 to 2001. In 1936, the Del Mar Racetrack was built by the Thoroughbred Club with foundin ...

on November 3 Catholic Boy finished fourth behind

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

, Untamed Domain and Voting Control with Masar and

Sands of Mali Sands of Mali, (foaled 10 April 2015) is a French-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career which ran from July 2017 to July 2020 he ran eighteen times and won five of his races. In 2017 he was one of the best two-year-old colts ...

among those running unplaced. The colt was then switched to the dirt for the Grade II Remsen Stakes over nine furlongs at

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

on December 2. With Franco in the saddle he tracked the leaders before moving up to take the lead on the final turn and drawing away to win by four and three quarter lengths from the favourite Avery Island. After the race Jonathan Thomas said "We came over quietly confident he would show us a little something, but we never expected that".

2018: three-year-old season

On his three-year-old debut Catholic Boy started odds-on favourite for the Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes on dirt at

Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs is an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility located in Westchase in Hillsborough County in the U.S. state of Florida, just outside Tampa. It opened in 1926 under the name Tampa Downs, and has also been known as Sunshine Pa ...

in February but was beaten half a length by the

Mark Casse Mark E. Casse (born February 14, 1961) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose most notable horses include 2015 American champion turf mare Tepin and Canadian Horses of the Year Sealy Hill (2007), Uncaptured (2012), Lexie Lou (2014), Catch A ...

-trained Flameaway. Irad Ortiz took over the ride from Franco when the colt contested the Grade I

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...

at Gulfstream on March 31 and came home fourth of the nine runners, twelve lengths behind the winner

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or rush ...

. The colt returned to the turf at Belmont on June 2 for the Grade III Pennine Ridge Stakes and started second favourite behind the

Transylvania Stakes The Transylvania Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky during the spring meeting. It currently ...

winner Analyze It. Ridden by

Javier Castellano Javier Castellano (born October 23, 1977, in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Castellano began his riding career in 1996 at Santa Rita and La Rinconada racecourses in Venezuela. In June 1997 he ...

he led soon after the start and after being headed by the favourite in the stretch he rallied to regain the advantage and won by a neck. Thomas commented "He's been nothing but reliable. We have asked him a lot of questions. I'm proud of his effort and his tenacity". On 9 July Catholic Boy again faced Analyze It in the Grade I Belmont Derby and started at odds of 5.1/1 in a nine-runner field which also included Hunting Horn ( Hampton Court Stakes) from Ireland, Kingstar from France, My Boy Jack (

Southwest Stakes The Southwest Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in late January at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The event cu ...

) and Hawkish ( Penn Mile Stakes). In a near replica of the Pennine Ridge Stakes he led for most of the way and after being overtaken by Analyze It he regained the lead in the final strides to win by a head. After the race Thomas, who was winning his first Grade I race said "It was a hell of a horse race. He really has a lot of heart. I didn't expect him to fight back this time. I thought we were going to finish a real good second... somehow he got it done." At

on August 25, with Castellano again in the saddle, Catholic Boy was one of ten three-year-olds to contest the 149th edition of the Grade I Travers Stakes over ten furlongs on dirt. He started the 7.1/1 third choice in the betting behind

Good Magic Good Magic (foaled March 1, 2015) is a retired Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse. He became the first horse to ever break his maiden in the Breeders' Cup when he won the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. As a three-year-old, he won the Blue Gr ...

and Gronkowski while the other contenders included Vino Rosso (

Wood Memorial The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memoria ...

), Mendelssohn, Bravazo (second in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

), Tenfold (

Jim Dandy Stakes The Jim Dandy Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. The Grade II race has been held annually since 1964 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is open to horses age three over one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. ...

) and the Canadian filly Wonder Gadot. After tracking the front-running Mendelssohn Catholic Boy went to the front inside the last quarter mile and drew away in the final furlong to win "readily" by four lengths. Robert LaPenta commented "They should make a movie about this... I've been coming to Saratoga since I was 18. This race has always been my dream. Even more than the Kentucky Derby." For his final run of 2018, Catholic Boy was matched against older horses in the

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October o ...

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

on November 2. He was made the 6/1 third choice in the betting but never looked likely to win and came home thirteenth of the fourteen runners behind

Accelerate In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...

. In the

2018 World's Best Racehorse Rankings The 2018 World's Best Racehorse Rankings, sponsored by Longines was the 2018 edition of the World's Best Racehorse Rankings. It was an assessment of Thoroughbred racehorses issued by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities The Long ...

Catholic Boy was rated the third best three-year-old colt in the world behind

Roaring Lion Roaring Lion (22 February 190811 July 1999) was a Trinidadian calypsonian (calypso singer/composer). His 65-year career began in the early 1930s and he is best known for his compositions "Ugly Woman" (1933), " Mary Ann" and "Netty, Netty", whi ...

and Justify and the twentieth best horse of any age or sex.

2019: four-year-old season

Catholic Boy began his third campaign in the Dixie Stakes over eight and a half furlongs on turf at

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

on May 18 and went off 1.4/1 favourite against nine opponents. He settled in second place behind Real Story before taking the lead a furlong out and held off the late challenge of Admission Office to win by half a length. Castellano commented "He's a super horse. You can do whatever you want. He can be on pace, he can come from behind. I like the way he did it". On 6 July the colt started favourite for the

Suburban Handicap The Suburban Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $700,000 purse. Named after the City and Su ...

over ten furlongs on dirt and finished second to the six-year-old Preservationist, to whom he was conceding six pounds in weight. He was retired from racing after running fourth when favorite for the

Knickerbocker Stakes The Knickerbocker Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade III horse race, race on grass, turf for Thoroughbred horses run each year at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The Knickerbocker is open to three-year-olds and up, and set at a dista ...

at Belmont in October.

Stud record

Catholic Boy began his career as a breeding stallion at Claiborne Farm, at a stud fee of $25,000.

Pedigree

*Catholic Boy is

inbred Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

4 × 4 to Mr. Prospector, meaning that this stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

References

{{Reflist 2015 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 9-g