Honor A. P. (foaled March 13, 2017) is a retired 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 best known for winning the 2020

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is on ...

. He was also second in the San Felipe and

Shared Belief Stakes The Shared Belief Stakes (formerly the El Cajon Stakes) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of August or the first week of September at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. Open to three-year-old horses, th ...

and finished fourth in the

2020 Kentucky Derby The 2020 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2020 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 146th Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, September 5, 2020, in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is one of the three legs of the American T ...

Background

Honor A. P. is a

dark bay Bay is a hair coat color of horses, characterized by a reddish-brown or brown body color with a black point coloration on the mane, tail, ear edges, and lower legs. Bay is one of the most common coat colors in many horse breeds. The black a ...

colt with a broad white blaze, bred in Kentucky by George Krikorian. 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 2018 he was consigned to the

Fasig-Tipton The Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. is an American auction house for Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses. Founded in 1898, it is the oldest auction company of its kind in North America. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky, Elkton, Maryla ...

Saratoga Sale and was bought for $850,000 by CRK Stable. He was trained by

John Shirreffs John A. Shirreffs (born June 1, 1945, in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Based in California, Vietnam War veteran John Shirreffs began training Thoroughbreds in 1978. He has won a number of stakes races w ...

. Honor A. P. is from the first crop of foals by

Honor Code A code of honor or honor code is generally a set of rules or ideals or a mode or way of behaving regarding honor that is socially, institutionally, culturally, and/or individually or personally imposed, reinforced, followed, and/or respected by cer ...

, a Kentucky-bred stallion whose wins included the

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American 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 of one mile (8 furl ...

, the

Whitney Stakes The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

and the

Gulfstream Park Handicap The Gulfstream Park Mile Stakes (formerly known as the Gulfstream Park Handicap) is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Gulfstream Park each year. The race is open to horses age four and up, willing to race one mile on the dirt. A Grade II even ...

. Honor Code was a late-developing horse known for his come-from-behind finishing kick. Honor A. P. was named in honor of his grandsire, the great

A.P. Indy A.P. Indy (March 31, 1989 – February 21, 2020) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic on his way to American Horse of the Year honors in 1992. His time in the Belmont Stakes tied Easy Goer for ...

. Honor A. P.'s dam Hollywood Story was a successful racemare who won the Vanity Stakes, Hawthorne Handicap and Bayakoa Stakes. The female line traces back to the broodmare Myrtlewood, whose family includes leading sires Mr. Prospector and

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...

Career

2019: two-year-old season

Honor A. P.'s first race was on August 17, 2019, at

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 ...

, where he finished second. In his second race on October 13, he scored a win at Santa Anita in a maiden special weight over one mile on the dirt track.

2020: three-year-old season

Honor A. P. started his 2020 season on March 7 at Santa Anita in the

San Felipe Stakes The San Felipe Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade II event open to three-year-old horses. Normally held in early -March, it is raced at a distance of one and one ...

, one of the traditional prep races on the

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

. He rated in fourth place behind the early leaders and then closed ground to finish second behind

Authentic Authenticity or authentic may refer to: * Authentication, the act of confirming the truth of an attribute Arts and entertainment * Authenticity in art, ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic Music * A ...

. He earned a solid Beyer Speed Figure of 95 for the race, establishing himself as a serious contender for the Derby. However, Santa Anita was shut down shortly after the race due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, while the Kentucky Derby wound up being rescheduled to September. On June 6, Honor A. P. returned in the

, where he was the second betting choice at odds of 2-1 behind

. He again rated behind the early pace in a tightly bunched pack, then started his move on the final turn while swinging four wide. He hit the lead in mid-stretch and continued to draw away to win by lengths. Shirreffs was happy with the effort. "We knew that he has tactical speed", he said, "and ockey Mike Smithcan put him pretty much where he wants. On the backside, we hoped he would get comfortable to have a nice little kick in the end, and it all worked out well." Honor A. P. made his next start in the

on August 1. In a field that scratched down to just four horses, he went off as the prohibitive 1-5 favorite. He and the horses on either side of him bumped each other at the start, then chased after early leader Thousand Words in a tight pack. Honor A. P. dropped back a bit on the backstretch then started to improve position on the far turn. However, he could not get by Thousand Words, who won by three-quarters of a length. The

had been rescheduled from May 2 to September 5. Of the seventeen horses that went to post, Honor A. P. was the second betting choice at odds of 5–1.

Tiz the Law Tiz the Law (foaled March 19, 2017) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2020 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes. He was the first New York-bred horse to win the Belmont since Forester in 1882. He also won the 2019 Champagne Stake ...

was the heavy favorite based on wins in the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

went to the early lead and was able to slow down the pace after a fast opening quarter-mile. Honor A. P. broke slowly and was near the back of the field, some 13 lengths behind

after half a mile. He gradually started to improve position on the turn but was still in ninth place with seven lengths to make up with a quarter-mile remaining. He kept grinding away and closed to finish fourth behind

. Smith said that the colt had not adjusted to the racing surface at Churchill Downs. "He spun out from the word go," said Smith. "Really did." It was later discovered that Honor A. P. had pulled a tendon during the race, resulting in his retirement.

Retirement

Honor A. P. was retired to stud at Lane's End Farm, where he was moved to the stall formerly occupied by his grandsire, A.P. Indy, who had died earlier in 2020. His first foals will be of racing age in 2024.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 2017 racehorse births Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Thoroughbred family 13-c