WinStar joins partnership for Straight No Chaser breeding rights
WinStar Farm entered a partnership with MyRacehorse to acquire the breeding rights to Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner and Eclipse Award champion male sprinter Straight No Chaser.
Trained by Dan Blacker, the globetrotting 6-year-old son of Speightster is a prohibitive favorite in next Saturday’s $2 million Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan on Dubai World Cup day. He punched his ticket to the Dubai Golden Shaheen with a resounding win in the $2 million Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2), a win-and-you’re-in for the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia in February to kick off his 2025 season.
“Acquiring the breeding rights to Straight No Chaser ensures that we will retire the fastest horse in the world two years in a row, following Cogburn this season,” said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. “Straight No Chaser has a profile very similar to his grandsire, Speightstown. He was a Breeders’ Cup winner in the sprint division and a champion who retired at age 6. Straight No Chaser is an exceptionally good-looking horse, and he has demonstrated incredible speed. We’re looking forward to working with Michael Behrens and the entire MyRacehorse team.”
From his breakout win in the 2023 Maryland Sprint (G3) at Pimlico, a six-furlong fixture that he won by a commanding 7 1/2 lengths in stakes-record time of 1:08.27, Straight No Chaser has been a force in the sprint division. His 2024 campaign further cemented that status. Last fall, Straight No Chaser cruised to a front-running, 6 1/4-length victory in the six-furlong Santa Anita Sprint (G2). After setting all the pace, Straight No Chaser drew off in the lane, stopping the clock at 1:08.54. That facile score was just a preview of what was to come.
Straight No Chaser entered last year’s six-furlong Breeders’ Cup Sprint in top form. Under John Velazquez, Straight No Chaser raced in third early, just outside the pacesetters. He remained three wide on the far turn, collared Bentornato inside the final furlong and asserted his superiority late to win in 1:08.62.
All told, Straight No Chaser is a winner in 7 of 11 career starts and has amassed earnings of $2,616,300. He has recorded four triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures from Daily Racing Form, including a career-best 107 in winning the Maryland Sprint. His win in last month’s Riyadh Dirt Sprint guarantees Straight No Chaser a berth in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint to defend his crown.
Bred in Kentucky by John Eaton and Steve Laymon, Straight No Chaser is produced from the winning Johannesburg mare Margarita Friday. Straight No Chaser is a half-brother to stakes winners T Kraft and Hangover Saturday and hails from the female family of two-time sprint champion Housebuster.