Midnight Lute Pedigree Profile

Photo: Eclipse Sportswire
 
A chorus of Midnight Lute's progeny are drumming up wins across the country. Last weekend, Midnight Lute's son Govenor Charlie and daughter Midnight Lucky scored victories in the Sunland Derby and Oaks. Both of them set new track records; Govenor Charlie for 1 1/8 miles in 1”47.54 and Midnight Lucky for 1 1/16 miles in 1:41.06. Fittingly, both Govenor Charlie and Midnight Lucky are trained by the sire of Midnight Lute, Bob Baffert. Baffert also trains their stablemate, San Vicente (G-2) hero Shakin It Up. This weekend, multiple stakes placed Mylute was a fast closing second, beaten only a neck in the Louisiana Derby.

To date, Midnight Lute has sired three stakes winners and 19 winners from 64 starters lifetime. He stands at the top of the Second Crop Sire list in terms of earnings and is tied for first with number of stakes winners. As he did on the racetrack, Midnight Lute is out-performing a solid group of stallions at stud, which include two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown, International sensation Henrythenavigator and the Two Year Old Champion War Pass.
Midnight Lute brought $70K at the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2004. He later was a $290K RNA at the 2005 OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training. After a private purchase by Michael Pegram and Watson and Weitman Performances, the almost black colt was sent to Bob Baffert. Pegram and Baffert had teamed up to campaign Midnight Lute's sire Real Quiet to a heartbreaking Triple Crown miss in 1998.

Baffert pegged Midnight Lute as a special horse from the start, but this is a story of “what might have been.” Standing 17 hands high, the muscular colt made his debut in late July of his two year old season. In what would become his typical running style, Midnight Lute was away from the gate slow, made a wide move on the outside and mowed down his competition in a powerful late run, getting up to win the six furlong race by 1 ¼ lengths. Midnight Lute was away from the races for a year, due to a throat issue, necessitating in surgery. This hampered the colt's ability to perform at longer distances.

Despite medical problems, there was no stopping Midnight Lute's extraordinary talent. As a three year old, he set a new track record at Keeneland for seven furlongs in 1:24.38 over the Polytrack in the Perryville Stakes (G-3). At four, Midnight Lute splashed his way to a 4 ¾ length win in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G-1), setting a record for the largest winning margin and earning an Eclipse Award as Champion Sprinter.
In 2008, Midnight Lute came back to race twice as a five year old. He recorded the worst finish of his career in the Pat O'Brian Stakes (G-2) over the Del Mar Polytrack. However, in his swan song the Champ went out on a high note, winning his second consecutive Breeders' Cup Sprint in 1:07, the fastest time in the history of the race.

MIDNIGHT LUTE (Real Quiet - Candytuft, by Dehere)
Race record: 13-6-3-1 ($2,690,600)

Career highlights:
1st – Breeders' Cup Sprint (G-1) (2007 - '08) 6F
1st – Forego Stakes (G-1) 7F
1st - Perryville Stakes (G-3) 7F
2nd – Cigar Mile (G-1)
2nd - San Fernando Stakes (G-2) 1 1/16 miles
3rd – Malibu Stakes (G-1) 7F
Midnight Lute retired to stud at Hill 'n' Dale Farms in Kentucky for a fee of $20K Typical of a first year stallion, his fee was dropped to $15K after his initial season and remains steady. There was great demand for the good looking stallion and Midnight Lute sired 121 foals in his first crop.

As mentioned, Midnight Lute stands 17 hands high and is a long-bodied, muscular horse. It appears that he received his large, rangy frame from his second sire, Quiet American, who himself stands 16 ½ hands high.

Midnight Lute's sire REAL QUIET(Quiet American - Really Blue, by Believe It) won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, only to fall a heart-wrenching nose short in the Belmont Stakes. Real Quiet didn't prove to be commercially successful at stud, but as is often the case with broodmare sires, his quality may be evidenced years later in his daughters' progeny. Midnight Lute is Real Quiet's best performing progeny and his first prominent son to stand at stud. Three minor sons of Real Quiet are standing as regional sires. Real Quiet's sire Quiet American is not noted as a sire of sires, but his daughters are recognized as superior producers.

As a sire, Real Quiet did manage to get 16 stakes winners and a Champion. Besides Midnight Lute, Real Quiet's most notable runners are the sprinter/miler Pussycat Doll, two-time winner of the Humana Distaff (G-1) and Wonder Lady Anne L, heroine of the 1 ¼ mile CCA Oaks (G-1).

Midnight Lute's female family is filled with a mix of American speed and Italian Stamina. His dam Candytuft (Dehere - Bolt From the Blue, by Blue Times) was unraced. Besides Midnight Lute, Candytuft bore his half brother multiple stakes-placed sprinter Captain Cherokee (by Sir Cherokee) and a stakes placed half sister Tusculum Rd (by Gilded Time). In all, she has seven foals who made it to the track and six of them have won.
Midnight Lute's second dam Bolt From the Blue (Blue Times – Berkut, by Sea-Bird) owned an 11-4-2-1 ($125,834) record, including a victory in the 1 ½ mile La Prevoyante Stakes (G-3) and a third place finish in the 1 ¼ mile E.P. Taylor (G-1). Two of her 11 foals are stakes placed in England.

Going back another generation, Midnight Lute's third dam Berkut (Sea-Bird – Feria, by Toulouse Lautrec) bore two stakes winners and a stakes placed runner and his fourth dam Feria (Toulouse Lautrec – Feira De Rio, by Way In) was a Champion Three Year Old Filly in Italy.
 
 
 

Most successful runners have a balance of speed and stamina. Too much of either attribute will result in either a speed ball who falters past sprint distances or a long-winded plodder who only looks good while passing exhausted horses.

Midnight Lute's damsire DEHERE was a son of a Juvenile Champion and later Horse of the Year out of a daughter by a Juvenile Champion and later Horse of the Year. In seven starts at age two, Dehere was defeated only twice. The son of Deputy Minister racked up victories in the Hopeful, Saratoga Special Sanford. He was only the third horse in history to capture all three Saratoga events for juveniles.

 
 
At Belmont Park, Dehere was beaten ½ length in the Belmont Futurity by future Horse of the Year Holy Bull, but returned to defeat a small field of rivals by four lengths in the and Champagne Stakes. Made the favorite for the 1993 Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Dehere failed to sustain his speed and faded to eighth in his first attempt at 1 1/16 miles. The following year, Dehere successfully stretched out to 1 1/16 miles and won the Fountain of Youth Stakes by ¾ length over eventual Kentucky Derby winner Go For Gin. Unfortunately, Dehere fractured his right hind cannon bone during training and was retired.

Dehere spent his stud career in the US, Australia and Japan. His offspring own a mixture of speed and stamina and his best runners include the multiple Grade 1 winning mare Take Charge Lady (the dam of last year's Florida Derby winner Take Charge Indy and this year's Rebel Stakes victor Will Take Charge) and Bollenger, an Australian multiple Group 1 winner (and dam of 2009 Louisiana Derby winner Friesan Fire).

Dehere is following in the hoofprints of his sire Deputy Minister and damsire Secretariat as an acclaimed broodmare sire. He's currently the tenth leading Broodmare sire in terms of earnings and has consistently ranked among the top fifty broodmare sires over the last five years. Internationally, his daughters have bore 62 stakes winners. His daughter's progeny win from sprint distances to 1 ½ miles over all surfaces.

Midnight Lute's second damsire Blue Times (by Olden Times) won two stakes races at 1 1/8 miles. His male line traces directly back to Man O'War through his greatest son War Relic. Blue Times' damsire was a lesser son of the Claiborne foundation sire Princequello.

Midnight Lute's progeny are proving to be mid-season two year olds that improve with age. Most carry their sire's looks and conformation. His offspring have won over dirt, turf, Polytrack, Cushion Track and Tapita from 5 ½ furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. We won't know how far Midnight Lute's babies will run until they actually prove it, however, given their two-turn conformation and the pedigree of their sire, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see a son or daughter of Midnight Lute wearing a wreath of roses, Stargazer lilies, Black-Eyed Susans, carnations, or yellow and purple chrysanthemums very soon.



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