Mandaloun (foaled March 18, 2018) 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 finished second behind Medina Spirit in the 2021 Kentucky Derby followed by winning both the

Pegasus Stakes The Pegasus Stakes is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in June at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. An event for three-year-olds of either gender, it is contested at a mile and an sixteenth (eight and a half ...

and Haskell Stakes. He also won the 2021

Risen Star Stakes The Risen Star Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt run annually in February, usually during the President's Day weekend at Fair Grounds Race Course ...

, and the 2022 Louisiana Stakes.

Background

Mandaloun is a bay colt who was foaled in Kentucky. He is ridden by jockey Florent Geroux and trained by

Brad H. Cox Brad H. Cox (born March 3, 1980) is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose most notable horses include multiple Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl, Knicks Go, Covfefe, Mandaloun, and Essential Quality. He had four winners at the 2020 Breeders' C ...

. The horse is named for a mandaloun, "a type of mullioned (or decorative partition) window from traditional Lebanese architecture".

Racing career

2020: Two-year-old season

Mandaloun made his first start in a maiden race on October 24th in

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 ...

over 6 furlongs. He won this race by lengths in a time of 1:11.76. His second start was in an Allowance Optional Claiming, in Churchill Downs over 7 furlongs, on November 28, 2020. He won in a time of 1:23.15 by lengths.

2021: Three-year-old season

Mandaloun made his first start as a three year old and his stakes debut in the

Lecomte Stakes The Lecomte Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-sixteenths miles on the dirt run annually in mid-January, at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event ...

on January 16, 2021 at Fair Grounds over a distance of miles. He finished third. Midnight Bourbon won by 1 length, Proxy was second by a head, the fourth place was lengths behind the top three. On February 13, 2021, Mandaloun started again against Midnight Bourbon and Proxy in the

, over a distance of miles. This time Mandaloun turned the tables and defeated Proxy by lengths and Midnight Bourbon by lengths. The other horses were lengths or more behind the top three. The final time was 1:50.30. His last prep race for the 2021 Kentucky Derby was the

Louisiana Derby The Louisiana Derby is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Run in late March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race miles on the dirt. It currently o ...

; again he started against Midnight Bourbon and Proxy, but this time another rival, Hot Rod Charlie, started. Immediately after the start, Hot Rod Charlie took the lead and won wire to wire in track record time. Midnight Bourbon held on to finish second by a head while Mandaloun finished in a disappointing seventh place. Since neither Brad Cox nor Mandaloun's jockey Florent Geroux knew why he ran so badly, they brought him to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby.

Kentucky Derby

On May 1, 2021, he was a long shot in the Kentucky Derby. The favorites were

Essential Quality Essential Quality (foaled April 9, 2018) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2021 Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes, and the 2020 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He was named the 2020 Champion Two-Year-Old and the 2021 Champion Th ...

, his stablemate (winner of the

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...

), Rock Your World (winner of the

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 one ...

), and Hot Rod Charlie (winner of the

). Other good horses in the running were Known Agenda (winner of the

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 ...

), Highly Motivated (runner-up in the Blue Grass Stakes), Medina Spirit (runner-up in the Santa Anita Derby), and his old rival Midnight Bourbon (runner-up in the Louisiana Derby). Mandaloun started well and was fourth. He slowly moved up and challenged the leader, Medina Spirit. Behind him, Hot Rod Charlie and his stablemate Essential Quality began to move up. There were four horses in the stretch. Medina Spirit won by length, Mandaloun was second with length, third was Hot Rod Charlie with a head to stablemate

. 5th placed O Besos was lengths behind them. After the Kentucky Derby, an investigation was launched because of doping issues with Medina Spirit, who died on December 6, 2021; there was also an investigation of his trainer,

Bob Baffert Robert A. Baffert (born January 13, 1953) is an American racehorse trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Baffert's horses have won a record six Kentucky Derbies, seven Preakn ...

. On February 21, 2022, upon the disqualification of Medina Spirit, Mandaloun was awarded first place in the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

Later three-year-old season

Mandaloun skipped the next two legs of the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

, 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 () o ...

won by Rombauer and Belmont Stakes won by

. Mandaloun made his next start in the mile

Monmouth Park Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

on June 13, a local prep for the Haskell Stakes. He held on to win by a neck over a closing

Weyburn Weyburn is the eleventh-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. The city has a population of 10,870. It is on the Souris River southeast of the provincial capital of Regina and is north from the North Dakota border in the United States. The n ...

in a final time of 1:44.63. He then ran in the

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 ...

Haskell Stakes at

on July 17. He crossed the finish line second in a

photo finish A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

with Belmont runner up Hot Rod Charlie. However, Hot Rod Charlie was quickly disqualified for having impeded the path of Midnight Bourbon which caused him to throw his rider Paco Lopez, so Mandaloun was declared the official winner. The following month, Garrett O’Rourke, the racing manager at Juddmonte, announced that Mandaloun would be taken out of training for about six weeks due to a foot sore, likely missing the remainder of the 2021 racing season. He added the horse would be aimed toward a potential start in the 2022

Saudi Cup The Saudi Cup (Arabic: كأس السعودية) is an international horse race held at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the richest horse race ever held, with a $20 million purse. Race details The race is notable for ...

2022: Four-year-old season

On 22 January 2022, resuming for his four-year-old season Mandaloun out dueled his rival Midnight Bourbon in the GIII Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds as the 9/10 odds-on favorite by lengths, running the miles distance in 1:42.52.

Racing statistics

''Notes:''

Stud career

On 13 September 2022, it was announced that Mandaloun was retired from racing and would stand at Juddmonte USA at Lexington, Kentucky and that they set his stud fee at $25,000.

Pedigree

References

{{Kentucky Derby Winners 2018 racehorse births Thoroughbred racehorses Racehorses trained in the United States American Grade 1 Stakes winners Kentucky Derby winners