Yaupon survived Firenze Fire in Grade 1 Forego in Saratoga.
Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodts Yaupon, winners of the Forego Stakes Class 1 on Saturday in Saratoga, will be on the Donation Thrift Farm for the 2022 breeding season.
Uncle Mo’s colt is pointed out to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar as a primary target before retiring at the end of the year. At this point, a stud fee is set.
“We are very happy to continue our partnership with Bill and Corinne (Heiligbrodt) with their newest winner of the grade 1 Yaupon. The last time they won the Saratoga Forego was of course with Mitole, so we hope Yaupon can complete his racing career in a similar way, ”said Ned Toffey, General Manager of Spendthrift. “Besides being extremely fast, Yaupon is one of Uncle Mo’s best-looking sons to be found anywhere. When breeders come to the farm and see a quick Saratoga Grade 1 winner from Uncle Mo who is as handsome as he is at the end of a lead pole, we believe we will get lots of ‘yes’. “
Trained by Steve Asmussen, Yaupon has won six of his eight races, including the first four starts of his career in 2020. After winning the debut at Churchill and winning a grant race in Saratoga, the dark brown colt reeled off graded wins through open lengths including the G2 Amsterdam Stakes in Saratoga over the Grade 1 Basin winner in 1: 08.50 for six stadiums. Yaupon also won the G3 Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico on Preakness weekend with four lengths in 1: 09.10, an accomplishment that would make him the betting favorite in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup sprint at Keeneland.
This year, Yaupon is fresh and started the second half of his 4-year season with another winning streak. He returned to Pimlico to win the Lite the Fuse Stakes on July 4th in 1: 09.42 before taking the 1st class win as the favorite in the legendary Forego on Saturday. Yaupon made his first start at seven stadiums, leading gate-to-wire in 1: 21.74 forego, defeating five Grade 1 winners and earning a 103 Beyer.
“Yaupon is an absolutely stunning physique with an incredible pedigree, and he could have been one of the fastest horses we’ve ever seen in a 2 year training session,” said Bill Heiligbrodt. “Last year, after four straight wins and two classified appearances, we thought he had a very good chance of winning the Breeders’ Cup and he ended up being the favorite in the race. But a very rough journey ruined any chance. After his last win in the Forego, we are looking forward to returning to the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar. Corinne and I have been racehorses since the 1980s and were lucky enough to be represented by many nice horses. Yaupon is our best when you combine speed, pedigree and conformation. “
Through the leading sire Uncle Mo, Yaupon is a class 1 placed mare Modification by Vindication. To date, he has deposited $ 703,264.
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