Gormley to Stand at Spendthrift Farm Upon Retirement
B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm has acquired the breeding rights to multiple Grade 1 winner and Kentucky Derby (G1) contender Gormley, who on Saturday captured the $1,000,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1). The 3-year-old son of Malibu Moon will stand at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, KY upon retirement.
“Malibu Moon has been A.P. Indy’s best sire over the course of the last decade, and now we’re starting to see him develop into a sire to sires through popular sons like Orb. He has certainly been the marquee sire during this era of Spendthrift Farm, and we’ve waited for the right son to come along that we could bring to stud to stand alongside Malibu Moon. We are thrilled for that to be Gormley, whose precociousness, athleticism, class and good looks make him an exciting stallion prospect,” said Spendthrift owner B. Wayne Hughes.
Owned by Jerry Moss and Ann Moss, Gormley earned the biggest of his four lifetime wins to date in Saturday’s Santa Anita Derby. Trained by John Shirreffs, the colt now heads to Louisville as potentially one of only three multiple Grade 1-winning colts in this year’s Kentucky Derby field, along with Practical Joke and Classic Empire.
“Gormley is the best colt by Malibu Moon I’ve seen at the yearling sales, and John (Shirreffs) fell in love with him at Keeneland,” said bloodstock agent David Ingordo, who helped acquire Gormley privately for the Mosses as a yearling, and brokered the breeding rights deal with Spendthrift. “Now, he’s a Grade 1 winner at two, a Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner at three, and he comes into the Triple Crown as a major contender.”
Bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons & Kilboy Estate, Gormley has earned $920,000 from six starts, which also include impressive wins in the FrontRunner S. (G1) at Santa Anita as a 2-year-old and the Sham S. (G3) at Santa Anita in his first start as a 3-year-old. Gormley broke his maiden in his debut last September at Del Mar.
Gormley will continue to be owned and managed by the Mosses throughout the remainder of his racing career, and there is currently no timetable for the colt’s retirement. Gormley will participate in Spendthrift’s renowned “Share The Upside” program upon retirement, and he’ll be the first son of the farm’s cornerstone sire Malibu Moon to stand alongside at stud in Lexington.
Gormley is the first foal out of the Gulfstream Park stakes winner Race to Urga, by Bernstein. His second dam, Miss Mambo, was third in the French 1,000 Guineas, and his fourth dam is multiple Grade 1 winner Estrapade.
Source: Spendthrift Farm