Drefong (foaled February 19, 2013) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who was named the American Champion Sprint Horse at age three after winning 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 ...

and

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually si ...

. He also won the

Forego Stakes The Forego Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four years old and older over the distance of seven furlongs on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event curr ...

at age four.

Background

Drefong is a bay horse sired by three-time

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

winner

Gio Ponti Giovanni "Gio" Ponti ( ͡ʒo18 November 1891 – 16 September 1979) was an Italian architect, industrial designer, furniture designer, artist, teacher, writer and publisher. During his career, which spanned six decades, Ponti built more tha ...

, who was best known as a route runner on the turf, but also finished second to Zenyatta 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 ...

. Drefong is from Gio Ponti's first crop, which also included

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

winner Sir Dudly Digges. His dam Eltimaas is an unraced daughter of

Ghostzapper Ghostzapper (foaled April 6, 2000) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2004, outdistancing Roses in May by three lengths in a track record time of 1:59.02. His gate-to-wire Classic victory completed a 4-for-4 season, ...

, who won races such as the

Met Mile The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance ...

, Woodward, and Breeders' Cup Classic. Eltimaas is a half-sister to juvenile champion Action This Day. Drefong was sold as a weanling in November 2013 for $200,000 at the

Keeneland Sales Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres (0.59 km2) of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene. A division of ...

, then was resold as a yearling for $450,000. He is the first racehorse owned by Charlie Chu's Baoma Corporation. Drefong is trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, who helped pick out the colt at the sales based on his excellent conformation.

Racing career

2015: Two-year-old season

Drefong began his two-year-old-season on October 24, 2015, in a Maiden Special Weight at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

at a distance of furlongs. He lost ground when he missed the start, made an "eye-catching" move to gain position, but then ducked in at the sixteenth pole fell back to finish fifth. He made his next start at Del Mar on November 14, going off as the 5-2 second choice. He went straight to the lead while setting fast early fractions, then pulled away down the stretch to win by lengths. The impressive victory earned the colt the "TDN Rising Star" designation for ''Thoroughbred Daily News''.

2016: Three-year-old season

To start off his sophomore season, Drefong ran in a six-furlong allowance optional claimer at Santa Anita on May 30, 2016, against older horses. Drefong broke well and battled for the lead with Saint of Saints to his inside and Gutsy Ruler to the outside. The three completed the first quarter-mile in an exceptionally fast 21.43 seconds, after which Saint of Saints gave way. Gutsy Ruler continued to challenge through a half mile run in 44.12 until he too started to drop back. Drefong continued to draw away and won by lengths in a time of 1:08.50. On July 4, Drefong ran in another allowance optional claimer, this time at a distance of furlongs. He chased the early leader Guy Code on the outside, then angled in towards the rail and passed Guy Code on the far turn. He continued to draw away down the stretch under a moderate hand ride and won by lengths.

King's Bishop Stakes

Drefong stepped up to

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

company in the

at Saratoga on August 27 where his main rivals in a field of twelve were horses that had qualified for the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

Mohaymen Mohaymen (foaled May 2, 2013) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2015 he was unbeaten in three races including the Nashua Stakes and the Remsen Stakes. In the following year he established himself as a leading contender ...

and Tom's Ready. Starting from the outside post position, Drefong was urged by jockey Mike Smith to the lead, then moved over to the rail and slowed down somewhat to complete the first quarter of a mile in 23.11 seconds. He relaxed around the turn and then drew away down the stretch to win by lengths in a fast time of 1:21.25.

Breeders Cup Sprint

Drefong returned to California and trained up to the Breeders' Cup Sprint held on November 5 at Santa Anita. The field included

Triple Bend Triple Bend (March 20, 1968 – January 31, 1995) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who set a world record time of 119.80 for seven furlongs on dirt in winning the 1972 Los Angeles Handicap Background Bred by Leslie Combs II, Triple Bend wa ...

winner Masochistic and Alfred J Vanderbilt stakes winner A.P Indian, who also was riding a six race winning streak. However, the likely favorite Lord Nelson was scratched due to an infection. Drefong was bumped at the start but quickly recovered and entered into a speed duel with Masochistic. The two completed the first quarter in :21.49 and the half in :44.03. The two continued to duel into the stretch when Drefong started to edge away, winning by lengths. Mind Your Biscuits closed rapidly to finish third and was eventually promoted to second after a positive drug test disqualified Masochistic. "I knew it was going to be a battle," said Baffert. "About the three-eighths pole, it looked like Masochistic was going to have the edge on us. But this little horse, when the running started, he just brought it, and at the eighth pole, he showed the will he has to win." Despite having only two Grade I wins, Drefong was named the American Champion Sprint Horse of 2016.

2017: 4-year-old season

Drefong's next race was supposed to be the

Malibu Stakes The Malibu Stakes is a race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses of either gender held each December at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The race is at a distance of seven furlongs '' and is the first leg of Santa Anita Park's Strub Seri ...

but he spiked a fever and missed the race. He was then considered for the

Dubai Golden Shaheen The Dubai Golden Shaheen is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,200 metres (approximately 6 furlongs) on the dirt course at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai in late M ...

but Baffert decided the colt would not be able to handle the travel. Drefong finally make his seasonal debut in the

Bing Crosby Stakes The Bing Crosby Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The Grade 1 race is open to horses three years of age and up. It is run on Dirt at a distance of six furlong and presently of ...

on July 29, 2017. He broke well but then veered sharply inwards at a gap in the rail where the starting chute meets the main track. Mike Smith lost his balance and fell onto the track. Now riderless, Drefong attempted to take the lead and then forced the other frontrunners,

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 Moe Candy, very wide at the top of the stretch. This helped Ransom the Moon to sneak through on the rail and hold off both Roy H and Moe Candy. Both Drefong and Mike Smith were checked for injuries as a precautionary procedure after the race, but both were uninjured. "There are a lot of ways to get beat and that's one of them," said Baffert. "You just are glad everybody is fine and safe. He could have just as easily broken a shoulder, but all is good." On August 26, Drefong redeemed himself with a "straight and true" victory in the

Forego Handicap The Forego Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four years old and older over the distance of seven furlongs on the dirt, scheduled annually in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The event curr ...

at Saratoga. Although never seriously pressured, his time of 1:21.12 was less than two-fifths of a second off the track record for seven furlongs. Drefong trained up to the

, held on November 4 at Del Mar – the same track as his disastrous run in the Bing Crosby. He was made the 3-2 favorite in a very deep field that also included Roy H (Santa Anita Sprint Championship), Imperial Hint (Smile Sprint), Mind Your Biscuits (Belmont Sprint) and Takaful (Vosburgh). Drefong broke poorly and settled towards the back of the field, then angled out at the top of the stretch and tried to make a run. However, he came up flat and finished sixth, well beaten by the winner Roy H. "I knew in the first 100 yards it was over when he couldn't make the lead," said Baffert. "I knew the inside post would be tough on him and I could tell when he went across the gap there that Mike (Smith) was a little hesitant with him."

Stud career

Following the 2017 Breeders' Cup Sprint, Drefong was retired to stand

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...

Shadai Stallion Station is a thoroughbred breeding facility located in Abira on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. The farm was begun in the late 1970s to early 1980s by the late Zenya Yoshida, and is now run jointly by his sons (Katsumi, Haruya, and Teruya Yoshida), know ...

in Japan. His initial

stud fee A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species (stallion, bull, rooster, etc.) usually imply that the animal is intact—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspr ...

for the 2018 breeding season was ¥3 million. Drefong was named Japan's champion freshman sire of 2021. His first crop of two-year-olds won a total of 33 races that year, with earnings in excess of ¥367 million. His best progeny to date is Geoglyph, who won the Grade 3

Sapporo Nisai Stakes The Sapporo Nisai Stakes (Japanese 札幌2歳ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in late August or early September over a distance of 1800 metres at Sapporo Racecourse. The race was first run in 1966 and w ...

as a juvenile. Geoglyph would go on to win the 2022

Satsuki Shō The is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 2,000 metres (approximately mile) at the Nakayama Racecourse, Funabashi, Chiba, in April. It was first run in 1939 and ...

, the Japanese equivalent of the

2,000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...

, to give Drefong his first

Grade 1 First grade (also called Grade One, called ''Year 2'' in England or Primary 2 in Scotland) is the first grade in elementary school and the first school year after kindergarten. Children are usually 6–7 years old in this grade. Examples by re ...

victory as a sire. Drefong's stud fee was raised to ¥7 million for 2022.

Notable progeny

''c =

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

, f =

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

'', g =

gelding A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2013 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 1-n Eclipse Award winners Breeders' Cup Sprint winners