Mendelssohn (foaled 17 May 2015) 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 ...

racehorse who won the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and 2018

UAE Derby The UAE Derby is a Group 2 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for three-year-old thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,900 metres (approximately 9.5 furlongs) on dirt at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. It takes place annually during the ...

by over 18 lengths. He also finished third in the 2018

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 second in the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, 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 acco ...

, taking his career earnings over $2 million.

Background

Mendelssohn is a bay colt bred in the United States by Clarkland Farm, owned by Fred and Nancy Mitchell. He was part of the final foal crop sired by Champagne Stakes 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 Sat ...

winner

Scat Daddy Scat Daddy (May 11, 2004 – December 14, 2015) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won four stakes races including the Champagne Stakes and Florida Derby. Retired after being injured in the Kentucky Derby, he went on to become a prominen ...

. He is out of the 2016

Kentucky Broodmare of the Year The Kentucky Broodmare of the Year is selected each year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. The title is considered the highest honor an American thoroughbred broodmare can receive, as the majority of American breeding s ...

, Leslie's Lady, making him a half-brother to the champion

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

, Beholder. Leslie's Lady, a listed stakes winner, is also the dam of

Into Mischief Into Mischief (foaled March 28, 2005) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. During his racing career, he won three of six starts including the CashCall Futurity. Since his retirement, he has developed into an outstanding s ...

a well-regarded American sire. Leslie's Lady had been bred to Scat Daddy early in 2014 but lost that pregnancy due to the stress related to the illness of her 2013 foal, who died after only three months. Leslie's Lady was bred back to Scat Daddy in late May 2014 and produced Mendelssohn on 17 May 2015. 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 ...

, Mendelssohn topped the 2016

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 its ...

September Yearling Sale with a price of $3 million, making him the most expensive yearling sold at public auction in North America that year. The high price was the result of a bidding duel between Spendthrift Farm, which had raced Beholder, and

Coolmore Stud Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, County Tipperary, Ireland, is headquarters of the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. Through its racing arm, Ballydoyle, Coolmore also has raced many classic winners and champions. The operat ...

, which was looking for a replacement for Scat Daddy. The colt was sent across the Atlantic and placed into training with

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

Ballydoyle Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to the racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien. The current train ...

. The colt's registered ownership has changed several times, but he has always been owned by a combination of Coolmore partners Derrick Smith,

Michael Tabor Michael Barry Tabor (born 28 October 1941) is a British businessman, bookmaker, gambler and owner of thoroughbred racehorses. Tabor regularly appears on the ''Sunday Times Rich List'' of the richest people in Britain. In 2012 his fortune w ...

and Susan Magnier, or one of them individually.

Racing career

2017: two-year-old season

Mendelssohn made his racing debut in a seven

furlong 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 hor ...

maiden race at

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the ...

on 15 July 2017. Ridden by

Wayne Lordan Wayne Lordan is a multiple Group race winning Irish jockey. His first winner was Ethbaat for trainer Gerry Cully at Killarney on 15 July 1998. In his early career he was associated with the stables of David Wachman and Tommy Stack. He also ...

, the horse was one of three horses entered by the stable, and finished a moderate eighth behind stablemate The Pentagon at odds of 10/1. The following month, the colt was sent off as the favourite and won another maiden race over the same course. Ryan Moore rode, and despite edging left inside the final furlong, Mendelssohn won comfortably by a length over Andesh. Later, O'Brien would comment that the horse was very green in both races, and revealed he was schooled with blinkers during work. For his next race, Mendelssohn was sent to the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in ...

Champagne Stakes at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

on 16 September. Again ridden by Moore, he went off at odds of 9/1, but finished well beaten, a distant last behind O'Brien's other runner, Seahenge. Off the back of this run, he was the least fancied of four O'Brien runners in the Group 1

Dewhurst Stakes The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres ...

on 14 October at Newmarket. The O'Brien horses filled the first four places, and Mendelssohn finished second, two and a half lengths behind winner US Navy Flag. Racing silks of Derrick Smith

Mendelssohn then was shipped to the US, and closed his two-year-old season with his second win, and first at the

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 ...

level, winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at

Del Mar Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "from the sea". It may refer to: Places in the United States * Del Mar, California * Del Mar High School, located in San Jose, California * Del Mar racetrack, located in Del Mar, California * Del Mar Fai ...

under Ryan Moore. He was quick away from post position one and settled in third behind Sands Of Mali, trained by

Richard Fahey Richard Fahey is a racehorse trainer, based in Malton, North Yorkshire. He has saddled over 60 Group race and Listed winners in the UK, Ireland, France and Canada. Group 1 winners include Perfect Power in the 2022 Commonwealth Cup and 2021 P ...

, and the California-trained Flameaway. Into the home turn, Mendelssohn responded as Moore moved out and around Sands Of Mali to open up a two-length lead. The chasers cut into the lead in the closing stages, but Mendelssohn stayed on to win by a length. "He's a big, raw horse still and he'll improve with racing and experience," said Moore afterwards. As Mendelssohn has a strong dirt pedigree, O'Brien indicated that the Kentucky Derby was a potential consideration, especially given the creation of a European option on the 2018 Road to the Kentucky Derby. Owner Michael Tabor also suggested Mendelssohn could ultimately replace his late sire on the Coolmore stallion register. In the

Cartier Racing Award The Cartier Racing Awards are awards in European horse racing, founded in 1991, and sponsored by Cartier. The award winners are decided by points earned in group races (40%) plus the votes cast by British racing journalists (30%) and readers of the ...

s for 2017, Mendelssohn was one of four nominees for the title of Champion Two-year-old Colt, but lost out to

U S Navy Flag U S Navy Flag (foaled 6 February 2015) is an American-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2017 he became the first horse in 35 years to win both the Middle Park Stakes and the Dewhurst Stakes. As two-year-old he was beaten in his first ...

2018: three-year-old season

Spring

Mendelssohn made his three-year-old debut on 9 March 2018 in the

Patton Stakes The Patton Stakes is a Listed flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years old. It is run at Dundalk over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each yea ...

over

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

polytrack The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

surface where he went off as the even money favorite. He tracked the pace in third place behind stablemates Threefourpence and Seahenge, then moved to the lead in the stretch to win by three-quarters of a length. O'Brien was pleased with the colt's physical and mental progress, and announced that the

in Dubai would be his next start. "Hopefully then we can look at he Kentucky Derby" he said, "but obviously we have to run a big race in Dubai and go on from there but that is what we would be hoping to do. There is plenty of dirt in his pedigree and as we saw he is a good traveler and very good physically." On 31 March, Mendelssohn entered the UAE Derby, making his first start on a natural dirt surface and his first start at a distance of over a mile. He broke quickly and moved to the lead, then set a steady pace down the backstretch before starting to open a gap on the field around the far turn. Mendelssohn eventually won by lengths in a "jaw-dropping" performance while breaking the Meydan track record for 1900 metres (roughly 9.5 furlongs) by over a second. Moore said the colt was still learning and a "bit green in places", and could still get better. The performance earned a

Beyer Speed Figure The Beyer Speed Figure is a system for rating the performance of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America designed in the early 1970s by Andrew Beyer, the syndicated horse racing columnist for The Washington Post. First published in book form in 1 ...

of 106 and moved Mendelssohn to number three on Steve Haskin's "Derby Dozen" for April 3. Mendelssohn entered the

2018 Kentucky Derby The 2018 Kentucky Derby (officially, the 2018 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve) was the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, and took place on Saturday, May 5, 2018, in Louisville, Kentucky. The field was open to 20 horses, with a ...

at Churchill Downs on May 5 as the 6.80-1 third choice in the

parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...

. However, Mendelssohn became seriously agitated in the walk over from the stable area to the saddling enclosure and again during the post parade. O'Brien attributed this to a lack of preparation combined with the colt's immaturity. "We weren’t prepared for the level of atmosphere. There were around 170,000 people; all wet; all screaming. There was rain coming from everywhere and everyone was drowned... I cannot explain it to you. There were people and creatures everywhere and he was mind-blown by the whole thing." Starting from post position 14 in a field of 20, Moore knew the start was critical in order to get good position going into the first turn. Mendelssohn broke relatively well but was hit hard after a few strides by Magnum Moon, who broke in from post position 16. Mendelssohn settled and improved his position to sixth place as the passed the finish line for the first time. However, he was repeatedly bumped then had to check strides entering the first turn. He dropped back to ninth, where he experienced heavy kickback from the horses in front splashing over the muddy track surface. After three-quarters of a mile, Moore realized the colt had no chance and decided to ease him. Mendelssohn finished last, some 70 lengths behind Justify.

Summer

Despite the loss, O'Brien remained positive about the colt's competitiveness on dirt, with a goal of winning 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 ...

in November. Mendelssohn was given some time off then returned in the

Dwyer Stakes The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a ...

on July 7 at Belmont Park. Mendelssohn went to the early lead but faded in the stretch to finish third behind Firenze Fire. T.J. Comerford, O'Brien's assistant trainer, felt that the race was a stepping stone in preparing the colt for the North American style of racing. Mendelssohn also may not have been at his best due to a virus that affected O'Brien's stable over the early summer. Mendelssohn made his next start on August 25 in the

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 actu ...

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Is ...

. Although the "Midsummer Derby" was missing Justify, who had been retired due to injury, the field was considered highly competitive, led by Good Magic (Haskell Invitational), Canadian filly Wonder Gadot (Queen's Plate), Gronkowski (second in the Belmont Stakes), Bravazo (second in the Preakness) and Catholic Boy (Belmont Derby Invitational). Dismissed at odds of 13-1, Mendelssohn went to the early lead, where he was joined by Catholic Boy. The two raced side by side for the first mile until Catholic Boy pulled away to win by four lengths. Mendelssohn hung on to finish second, a length in front of Bravazo. Mendelssohn's share of the purse took his career earnings to US$2.2 million.

Autumn

In the

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the s ...

at Belmont Park on 29 September Mendelssohn was matched against older horses and started the 4.3/1 second favourite. He was among the leaders from the start and kept on well in the straight to finish third behind Discreet Lover and Thunder Snow, beaten two lengths by the winner. On 3 November Mendelssohn was one of six three-year-old colts in a fourteen-runner field which contested the

at Churchill Downs. After setting the pace he led the field into the straight but was overtaken approaching the final furlong and came home fifth 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 t ...

Gunnevera Gunnevera (foaled February 28, 2014) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Orphaned from an early age, he became the leading juvenile earner from the first crop of Dialed In. He was a contender on the 2017 Road to the Kentucky Derby, winning th ...

, Thunder Snow and Yoshida, beaten two and a quarter lengths behind the winner. He was the first three-year-old to finish and the horses coming home behind included West Coast, Discreet Lover, Catholic Boy, Mind Your Biscuits, McKinzie (

Pennsylvania Derby The Pennsylvania Derby is a race for thoroughbred horses run at Parx Racing and Casino (formerly known as Keystone Race Track, then from 1986 through 2010 as Philadelphia Park) each year. The track's premiere event is open to horses, age three, ...

) and

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 ...

. Mendelssohn made his final start of the year in the Cigar Mile on 1 December, finishing fourth after tracking a fast early pace set by Patternrecognition. "I'm disappointed, but he ran well. He hasn't run a bad race. He's had a tough year with a lot of racing and a lot of flying back and forth," said Moore. "Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to get it done. We'll see what the plan is, but I think there's more in there." Less than two days later it was announced that the colt had been retired from racing and would stand as a breeding stallion at the Ashford Stud.

Stud career

In 2022 Mendelssohn stood for a fee of $35,000 at the Ashford Stud. On October 7, Delight's victory in the Grade II

Jessamine Stakes The Jessamine Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old filles over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during the fall meeting. History ...

gave Mendelssohn's offspring his first graded stakes victory.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist, 2, refs= {{cite web, url=http://www.breederscup.com/horse/mendelssohn , website=Breeders Cup , title=Horse: Mendelssohn , access-date=6 November 2017 {{cite web, url=http://www.equineline.com/Free-5X-Pedigree.cfm/Mendelssohn , website=Equineline , title=Mendelssohn Pedigree , access-date=6 November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/1478674/mendelssohn , title=Profile: Horse - Mendelssohn , publisher=Racing Post , access-date=6 November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.racingpost.com/results/178/curragh/2017-07-15/680829 , title=Full Result: 3.10 Curragh 15 Jul 2017 , publisher=Racing Post , access-date=6 November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.racingpost.com/results/178/curragh/2017-08-13/682412 , title=Full Result: 2.30 Curragh 13 Aug 2017 , publisher=Racing Post , access-date=6 November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.racingpost.com/results/15/doncaster/2017-09-16/681037 , title=Full Result: 3.00 Doncaster 16 Sep 2017 , publisher=Racing Post , access-date=6 November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.racingpost.com/results/38/newmarket/2017-10-14/681797 , title=Full Result: 3.00 Newmarket 14 Oct 2017 , publisher=Racing Post , access-date=6 November 2017 {{cite web, url=https://www.racingpost.com/results/444/del-mar/2017-11-03/688194 , title=Full Result: 10.50 Del Mar 3 Nov 2017 , publisher=Racing Post , access-date=6 November 2017 {{cite news, url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2017/nov/03/breeders-cup-meeting-2017-day-one-live , newspaper=

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, title=Aidan O'Brien extends record as Mendelssohn wins Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf , last=Wood , first=Greg , date=4 November 2017 , access-date=6 November 2017

External links

Career 1-2-3 Colour Chart
– ''Mendelssohn'' 2015 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in Ireland Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winners Thoroughbred family 23-b American Grade 1 Stakes winners