2017 Kentucky Derby: American Anthem Pedigree Profile

American Anthem has a chorus of racing fans lauding the colt as a prospective 2017 Kentucky Derby threat. 

In only his second start, the bay son of Bodemeister gave Grade 1 winner Gormley all he could handle in the Sham Stakes (G3). American Anthem broke sharply and settled into a match race with the more experienced Gormley to his outside. In mid-stretch, Gormley edged up to take a half-length lead, but American Anthem came back to close the gap. The two were separated by a narrow nose at the wire, with the more experienced Gormley nabbing the victory. It was 13 lengths back to the third-place finisher Big Hit. The final time for the one-mile contest was 1:35.89 over a sloppy Santa Anita track.

American Anthem was on the winning end of the photo finish in his debut. He chased down a loose on the lead Little Juanito in a six-furlong maiden event in December. The full field included eventual San Vicente Stakes (G2) winner Iliad and California Derby hero So Conflated.  American Anthem has a 2-1-1-0 race record with earnings of $51,200, and four Kentucky Derby Qualifying Points.

American Anthem (Bodemeister - Indy's Windy, by A.P. Indy) was bred by WinStar Farm, LLC. He was a pin hook purchase by EJ Stable for $180,000 out of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. A year later, WinStar teamed with China Horse Club and dropped $435,000 on the Bodemeister youngster after he breezed a furlong in 10.1 for the OBS March Two-Year-Old in Training Sale. With naturally high Triple Crown aspirations, the owners selected Bob Baffert to condition American Anthem.

Sire

Bodemeister (Empire Maker - Untouched Talent, by Storm Cat) was a late arrival on the 2012 Triple Crown Trail. After capturing his maiden win in February, Bob Baffert tested Bodemeister in the San Felipe Stakes. The late-developing son of Empire Maker finished second to Creative Cause.

Baffert likes to prep his “serious” Kentucky Derby contenders at Oaklawn Park, and that’s where Bodemeister headed next. The lightly raced colt demolished a full field in the Arkansas Derby by 9 ½ lengths in a sharp 1:48.71 for 1 1/8 miles.

Bodemeister was declared the favorite for the Kentucky Derby off his huge score at Oaklawn. The colt led the Derby charge from the outset and, with a three-length lead in the stretch, looked like a clear winner. However, he was passed in late stretch by I’ll Have Another, beaten 1 ½ lengths.  The Preakness Stakes was a slightly shorter version of the Kentucky Derby. Bodemeister, favored over I’ll Have Another, took the lead from the outset, only to be run down by I’ll Have Another and lose the Middle Jewel by a neck. 

Shortly after the Preakness, Baffert declared Bodemeister from the Belmont Stakes. It was announced a few months later that Bodemeister was retiring to stud at WinStar Farm due to a shoulder injury.

Bodemeister’s initial stud fee was $30,000. He was third on last year’s First Crop Sire list by earnings. The stallion has 21 winners from 66 starters, two stakes winners and two stakes placed runners.   

Bodemeister has similar breeding to our latest Triple Crown Champ. American Pharoah is by Pioneerof the Nile, a son of Empire Maker, out a mare by Storm Cat’s son Yankee Gentleman. The majority of Bodemeister’s offspring are expected to be later maturing and improve with racing and distance, so a classic winner wouldn’t be an unrealistic expectation from his first few crops.

Bodemeister has crossed remarkably well with A. P. Indy mares; Six starters, five winners with combined earnings of $150,887. Not surprising, since his sire Empire Maker has 14 winners and three stakes winners from A.P. Indy daughters, including Champion Royal Delta.  

His dam Indy's Windy (A.P. Indy - Banshee Winds, by Known Fact) was a very late bloomer and made a dozen starts over the course of three years before finally winning her maiden. She placed second or third in seven of those starts. Indy’s Windy retired with a 15-2-2-5 ($70,355) race record.

American Anthem is the fifth foal produced by Indy’s Windy and he owns the only blacktype in his immediate family. His half siblings are lightly raced and have made between two to five starts each. Three are winners, and all have placed. American Anthem has an unnamed two-year-old half-brother by More Than Ready and a yearling half-sister by Pioneerof the Nile.   

Indy’s Windy is a half-sister to 1998 Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Banshee Breeze (Unbridled). The Champ raced for two years against the best of her generation. The 1998 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, foreshadowed the 2016 Distaff, as Banshee Breeze faced eventual 1998 Champion Older Mare Escena. The two battled to the wire, with Escena prevailing by a nose over the younger filly. The following year, Banshee Breeze placed a troubled second behind a loose on the lead Beautiful Pleasure. The race cost Banshee Breeze the Older Mare Championship for 1999.

Other members of American Anthem’s second generation include listed winner Unbridled Wind, the grand-dam of Indiana Oaks heroine Tiz Windy (Tiznow); Stakes placed Hard Facts (Hard Spun); and listed stakes placed Charm (Polish Numbers), dam of the listed multiple stakes winner Whirl (Unbridled’s Song).

American Anthem’s second dam Banshee Winds placed in the Arlington-Washington Lassie S. (G2). Her half-sister bore 2010 Saranac Stakes hero Lethal Combination (Broken Vow). The fourth and fifth generations of American Anthem’s distaff line are filled with European group winners, including 2010 European Champion Horse Twice Over.

Damsire

A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew - Weekend Surprise, by Secretariat) is one of the great sires of his generations. The stallion passed along stamina attributes to his offspring to the extent that he was designated an Intermediate/Classic Chef-de-Race. He is recognized worldwide as a sire of sires and his genes live on through his sons and grandsons Pulpit, Bernardini, Malibu Moon, Mineshaft, Tapit, and many more. A.P. Indy also “stamped” his offspring, meaning they inherited his conformational traits.  

A.P. Indy is no slouch as a broodmare sire, either, as he's been a top 20 leading broodmare sire for the last fifteen years. His daughters have produced over 200 stakes winners and 32 Grade/Group 1 Stakes winners worldwide, including the Champion mares Royal Delta and Wait a While, Kentucky Derby hero Super Saver, Kentucky Oaks heroine Plum Pretty, plus Kentucky Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat, and multiple Grade 1 winner Stellar Wind.

Other Triple Crown hopefuls who claim A.P. Indy as their broodmare sire are Withers & Jerome Stakes hero El Areeb (Exchange Rate) and stakes winning miler Sonic Mule (Distorted Humor).  

American Anthem’s second damsire Known Fact (In Reality - Tamerett, by Tim Tam) was 1980 Champion miler in Europe and a half-brother to Secrettame, the dam of sire Gone West. The beautiful black stallion was victorious in six of eleven starts, five of those Group events, including the Two Thousand Guineas (Eng. Gr.1). The offspring of Known Fact’s daughters are primarily sprinters through middle distance (9F) runners, equally adept over dirt and turf. Five of his daughters’ offspring, including Banshee Breeze, won at 1 ¼ miles or farther. 

Expectations

American Anthem has the pedigree to handle classic distances. He might carry a dominant large-heart (X-Factor) gene, since his first three damsires, A.P. Indy, Known Fact, and Quack, plus second dam Banshee Winds and third dam Quack a DoodleDoo, all had a dominant large heart gene.  

The large bay colt resembles his sire physically, with a muscular body, clear throatlatch area (good for pulling air into the lungs), a well-angled shoulder, short back and powerful hindquarters. American Anthem has good leg extension, but high knee action. In his debut, American Anthem was all over the place in the stretch, lost focus but soon got back into the bridle and gunned down the pace setter at the wire. He drifted out slightly in the stretch of the Sham in reaction to a left-handed whip.  

American Anthem is still learning, but there’s no doubting his courage and talent. He should improve with racing and distance, which would make him a legitimate Kentucky Derby threat. American Anthem flashed a bullet five-furlong breeze in 58.80 at Santa Anita on February 26 in anticipation of his next start, the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park on March 18.