Breeders tell the backstory of Grade 1 winner Rhetorical

Rhetorical, a New York-bred owned by Gary Barber, Cheyenne Stable and Wachtel Stable, posted a 4-for-5 year for trainer Will Walden, including scores in the state-bred West Point in August at Saratoga and the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile in October.

The 4-year-old Not This Time gelding earned a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form for his three-quarter-length Keeneland Turf Mile victory and punched a win and you’re in ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar.

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Rhetorical, with regular rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard at the Breeders’ Cup, tracked the pace three-wide through the half-mile in 46.76 seconds, taking command in the second turn to mark three-quarters in 1:10.84. Rhetorical held a one-length lead at the stretch call, but settled for a two-length fourth as Notable Speech surged to victory on the inside and Formidable Man and The Lion of Winter edged past in the final strides.

Bred by Mallory Mort and Karen Mort, Rhetorical was a $320,000 purchase at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred yearling sale. He is out of the Distorted Humor mare Sheet Humor, making him a half-brother to New York-bred millionaire Sterling Silver, who is multiple graded stakes placed. Rhetorical has banked $924,700 through a 7: 5-0-1 record.

The NYRA press office checked in with Mallory and Karen Mort about breeding the Grade 1-winning New York-bred Rhetorical.

Q: How special was watching Rhetorical’s campaign this year?

Mallory Mort (MM): “It was incredible. We’ve bred some winners in the past and obviously had success with Sterling Silver the years prior, but this was just incredible. To be a Grade 1 winner and qualify for the Breeders’ Cup was tremendous.”

Q: You visited him at the barn before the Breeders’ Cup Mile, was that surreal to be at the World Championships and in with a leading contender?

MM: “We had a great time. We went to morning works a couple times. We went to the backside to see him and talk to people. Will Walden is a very nice guy and very welcoming, so that was a lot of fun for us.”

Karen Mort (KM): “During the race, my heart was in my throat as they say. I said, ‘this may happen after all.’ When his sister ran at the Breeders’ Cup, she was a long shot (78-1 in the 2022 Filly and Mare Sprint). We felt he was the real deal.”

Q: Did you have any inkling that Rhetorical would be special as a foal?

MM: “I was really disappointed initially, because I liked Not This Time so much, and then this foal went 12 months in gestation and looked really dysmature when he was born. He was kind of spindly, but he grew up well. It all turned out OK, but initially, I was disappointed, to tell you the truth.” 

Q: How did you land on the pairing with Not This Time? He now stands for $250,000 at Taylor Made Stallions. He debuted at $15,000 and decreased to $12,500 in his fourth year.

MM: “First of all, he is beautiful when you look at him. I sell horses, and they have to be beautiful if you want to get some money for them, and conformationally he’s really made well. He is a half-brother to Liam’s Map, so I thought, there’s some real female family here. Not This Time ran in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2016, and although he was second, I thought he ran a tremendous race. I wanted to breed to him right from the beginning, but the stud fee was still pretty high, so I waited and bred to him in the 4th year. I got a good deal on a season and was still taking a chance, we got lucky. So much luck involved in this business.”

Q: What made Sheet Humor, who was sold at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale, so influential?

MM: “Distorted Humor. Sheet Humor’s mother Sheets is a graded winner, which was nice, but when I bought her, Distorted Humor was starting to become a pretty good broodmare sire. Obviously, he’s now exploded and is one of the top broodmare sires we have.”

Q: Lastly, Rhetorical’s half-sister Sterling Silver became a millionaire this year and she has hit the board in 24 of 35 career starts (through Dec. 12). What are your thoughts on her? It is also interesting that she has made all but one start on dirt, while Rhetorical has been all turf thus far.

KM: “She’s just been amazing. To be that sturdy for that long – she started as a 2-year-old, she’s won (every year) and she’s been running in eight or nine races a year as a 3, 4, 5, and 6-year-old. That’s just unheard of, and to be running at the same time as Rhetorical at Saratoga was exciting. They both won races there in 2024, she did not win this year there, but in 2024 they both won a race there.”

MM: “I remember before Rhetorical’s first race there was questioning on TV why he was running on turf because Sterling Silver ran on dirt. I guess the trainers know, right?”