2016 Kentucky Derby - Collected Pedigree Profile

Bob Baffert added another trophy to his assortment of awards when Collected  crossed the finish line 1 ¼ lengths ahead of his stablemate Let’s Meet in Rio in the Sham Stakes (G3). 

Jockey Martin Garcia kept the flashy chestnut colt five wide in the early stages of the contest, while vying with I’malreadhthere and Found Money to his inside, 1 ½ lengths behind the pace setter, Semper Fortis.  With a quarter-mile left to run, Collected powered to the front while his rivals, exhausted by their efforts, faded out of the money.  Collected widened his advantage in the stretch and earned his victory in 1:38 for the mile, getting his final fraction in 13.44.

Collected began his career on Santa Anita’s unique downhill turf course. He won his initial start by a nose after dueling in the stretch.  In his next outing, Collected took on the more experienced Dressed in Hermes in the one mile Cecil B. DeMille, and finished a good second to his rival.  The Sham Stakes was Collected’s first outing over the dirt.

Collected (City Zip - Helena Bay (GB), by Johannesburg) was bred in Kentucky by Runnymede Farm & Peter Callahan.  He attracted $150,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and was pinhooked to the 2015 OBS March Two Year Old in Training auction. After breezing a furlong in 10.2, the son of City Zip sold for $170,000 to Speedway Stable.  Collected has earned $111,200 with a 3-2-1-0 race record and ten 2016 Kentucky Derby Trail qualifying points.

Sire

City Zip (Carson City - Baby Zip, by Relaunch) was bred by Adena Springs.  Nobody thought much of the little chestnut colt, and he sold for only $9,000 as a short yearling at the 1999 Keeneland January Sale.  A year later, the son of Carson City failed to meet his $80,000 reserve at the OBS February auction. He was purchased privately by Charles Thompson, Carl Bowling, Becky Thomas, and Lewis Lakin.

City Zip entered the starting gate eleven times as a two year old.  Along the way, he tallied up a five race win streak, earning victories in the Tremont (G3), Sanford (G2), Saratoga Special (G2) and Hopeful Stakes (G1), as well as placing second in the Kentucky Breeders’ Cup Stakes (G3) and Belmont Futurity (G1).  The hardy colt tailed off after the Futurity and finished out of the money in the Champagne Stakes (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). 

The following year, City Zip finished second in the Hutcheson Stakes (G2) and third in the Fountain of Youth (G1). However, after pressing the pace and fading to ninth in the Florida Derby, it became apparent that City Zip had distance limitations.  His trainer Linda Rice wisely pointed City Zip to sprints, and the chestnut colt reeled off three straight wins in the Hirsch Jacobs Stakes, Jersey Shore Breeders' Cup, and Amsterdam Stakes (G2).  After finishing third behind Champion Sprinter Squirtle Squirt in the King’s Bishop (G1), City Zip visited the winner’s circle one last time in the Bergen County Stakes at the Meadowlands.  He then finished second by a neck in the Kentucky Cup Sprint (G2) and third in a blanket finish in the one mile Kelso Handicap (G2) over the lawn.  After a ninth place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), City Zip retired with a 23-9-5-4 ($818,225) race record.

Despite City Zip’s accomplishments on the track, and being only the fourth colt to sweep the Sanford, Saratoga Special, and Hopeful Stakes, he didn’t earn a trip to a Kentucky stud farm.  Instead, he again had to prove his worth the hard way.  At the outset, he stood at Schoenborn's Contemporary Stallions in New York for the bargain fee of $7,500.

City Zip was well supported in his first few years at stud in New York.  Yet, the emergence of City Zip’s younger half sibling Ghostzapper onto the racing scene, earning 2004 Horse of the Year honors, compelled Taylor Made Farm to relocate the City Zip to Kentucky, where his fee soared to $15,000 in 2005, just as his first crop were stepping foot onto racetracks.

The young City Zip’s breeding career emulated that of his racing days.  He was the third leading Freshman sire of 2005, and had more graded stakes winners than the top two stallions, Tiznow and El Corridor.  In his first three years at stud, City Zip stayed in the top five leading sires of first, second, and third crops. Over the years, City Zip’s stud fee rose to $25,000 in 2014 and jumped to $40,000 in 2015.

The 2014 Breeders’ Cup showcased the contrast of City Zip’s progeny. His daughter Dayatthespa capped a three race win streak with a victory in the 1 ½ mile Filly and Mare Turf, earning her an Eclipse Award for Champion Grass Mare.  Five races later, City Zip’s son Work All Week captured the Sprint and was named Champion Sprinter.

City Zip’s offspring win almost as many races over turf as they do the dirt and he is also represented by a healthy portion of synthetic track winners. His babies are overwhelmingly best as sprinter milers and he has only five winners at 1 ¼ miles or farther, all of them over the lawn.  He has six foals, four starters, three winners, and one blacktype winner out of Johannesburg mares.

Female Family

Collected is descended from the same distaff line as two-time Champ and leading sire Runaway Groom and Japanese Horse of the Year Agnes Digital.

Helena Bay (GB) (Johannesburg - Josette (IRE), by Danehill) was bred in England by Runnymede Farm & Peter Callahan, the same breeders who brought us Collected. The chestnut daughter of Champion Johannesburg didn’t attract any interest as a weanling at the 2006 Tatersalls October Sale, failing to meet her $60,335 reserve.  Helena Bay was brought to the U.S. and went through the Keeneland Yearling auction, where she was again ignored and was a $175,000 RNA. (reserve not attained).

Helena Bay finished off the board in her first two starts sprinting over the lawn at Woodbine.  Switched to the Polytrack, the two year old won her maiden at 1 mile 70 yards. In her final start, Helena Bay pressed the pace, then faded to last in a 1 1/16 mile allowance over the Polytrack.  She retired with a 4-1-0-0 ($19,296) record.

As a young broodmare, Helena Bay bore her first and only filly, an unraced daughter of Arch, in 2011.  She followed up with a full older brother to Collected, Zip It Up. A chestnut like his sire and dam, Zip It Up has a win and a third place finish in seven starts. Both of those races were dirt sprints.  Collected has an unnamed full brother who brought $140,000 at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Helena Bay is a half sister to a listed winner Woodwin W, (More Than Ready) who won four of five starts ranging from seven furlongs to 1 1/16 miles over turf and mud. She’s also a half sister to two Japanese stakes placed runners.  

Only two stakes winners show up in Collected’s third generation. An English stakes winner was successful at 1 ½ miles over the lawn and a multiple stakes winning Australian Sprinter.  The class picks up again in the fourth generation with Allicance (Alleged), who was stakes placed in France. Her daughters bore some decent stakes winners, including the aforementioned Agnes Digital.

Pedigree geeks will be interested in learning that Collected has a Rasmussen Factor pedigree (inbred to the same blue hen within five generations through different individuals). Collected is inbred to Runaway Bride, through her son Runaway Groom (damsire of Carson City, the sire of City Zip) and Runaway Groom’s half sister Allicance (Alleged), who is Collected’s fourth dam. A stakes winner from Collected’s distant female family with this same inbreeding is the multiple graded stakes horse Jalisco Light (Fantastic Light) who raced in Japan. He’s a half brother to Agnes Digital.  

 Broodmare Sire

Johannesburg (Hennessy - Myth, by Ogygian) took the racing world by storm as a two year old. He was undefeated and untested in seven starts as a juvenile, including two Group 3 and three Group 1 stakes in England, Ireland and France. To cap off his initial racing season, Johannesburg took on the American two year olds in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.  The Aidan O’Brien trained colt won the Juvenile by 1 ¼ lengths in his first start on the dirt.  Such was Johannesburg’s domination of the best colts in four different countries, he was honored as Champion Two Year Old in England, France, Ireland, and the U.S. and considered the best Juvenile colt in the world.

Johannesburg had an abbreviated career at three. After finishing second by a neck in the Gladness Stakes (IRE-G3) to an older filly, the unprepared colt was tossed into the Kentucky Derby and finished a one paced eighth. A month later, Johannesburg finished ninth in the St. James Stakes (ENG-G1) at Ascot. Clearly not the same horse he was at two, Johannesburg was retired to Ashford Stud in Kentucky. He shuttled to Australia before standing there year round in 2007. In 2010 he moved to Japan.

The royally bred colt carries Claiborne Farm bloodlines and the first three generations of dams bore the sires Pulpit, Tale of the Cat, new sire Fed Biz, and Champion English Juvenile Minardi.

Johannesburg is a young broodmare sire. His daughter’s oldest offspring started to emerge in 2010 and include the English Group 1 winner Crusade and Delta Jackpot winner Rise Up. So far, the progeny has proclivity as sprinter/milers over turf and dirt.

Collected’s second damsire Danehill (Danzig - Razyana, by His Majesty) is considered the best stallion to ever stand in Australia. He was leading sire there nine times, from 1995 – 1997 and 2000 – 2005.  The grandson of Northern Dancer also stood in England and France and earned leading sire designations multiple times, as well as that of leading broodmare sire (2012). 

Outlook

Collected is clearly talented over both turf and dirt.  He has a strong sprinter/miler pedigree and 1 1/6 miles is probably as far as he’ll go against top company, although he may go a little longer over the turf with maturity.

Although a formal conformation photo of Collected isn’t available, I’ve observed that Collected is built like a sprinter/miler. He is very muscular. He has a short, thick neck, wide chest, and a fairly upright shoulder that ties into a long back and powerful hindquarters. Despite the turf attributes in his pedigree, Collected has a smooth gait with little knee action.

The majority of the Sham Stakes winners continue their careers as sprinter milers and I expect Collected will follow this pattern. He could continue to be a force in 1 1/16 mile preps leading up to the Kentucky Derby, but we may see some weaknesses at distance stretch out.