Thousand Words Top-Priced Auction Grad in Preakness

Thoroughbred buyers who play at the top of the yearling market are generally searching for the same thing: a physically appealing athlete with potential to perform well on the track en route to a stallion career. Not only are these individuals well conformed, but they also have sire power and a strong female family, traits that end up making for a costly acquisition. That was the case with Thousand Words, the 6-1 co-third choice on the morning line for the Oct. 3 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course. A son of Pioneerof the Nile, the late WinStar stallion who sired Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Thousand Words is out of multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter Pomeroys Pistol. He cost his owners, Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm, a hefty $1 million at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The colt is the priciest public auction purchase in the 11-horse Preakness field. At the other end of the price spectrum is Grupo 7C Racing Stable's Jesus' Team, bought from Darby Dan Farm for $30,000 at the same Keeneland sale. Jason Loutsch, Albaugh's racing manager, said the run-up in prices for well-bred and well-conformed colts led to a realization that it would take a lot to be competitive in the sales ring, something Albaugh might not be able to do on its own. "We thought he was the best physical in the whole sale," Loutsch recalled this week. "He has a great presence about him and had class. He looked like a horse that could get two turns. From a physical standpoint, he was absolutely gorgeous, and we knew he was going to cost a lot of money, more than we were willing to spend on our own." About a month before Thousand Words was offered at Keeneland as part of the Brookdale Sales consignment on behalf of Florida breeder Hardacre Farm, Spendthrift Farm owner B. Wayne Hughes and Dennis Albaugh met in Saratoga to discuss the possibility of buying a yearling colt in partnership. The Albaughs and Spendthrift already had a strong connection. Two Albaugh-raced grade 1 winners trained by Dale Romans—Free Drop Billy and Brody's Cause—stand as stallions at Spendthrift. "Mr. Albaugh and Mr. Hughes had a meeting and compared notes," Loutsch said. "We said we were going to get one horse, and he was the one that both agreed on. We both have our guys who do the work out in the field, and they all came up with the same horse. He passed all the physical inspections and met all the criteria; he had stallion prospect written all over him. It was a partnership we felt comfortable with. "Pioneerof the Nile was hot at the time, and he was out of a great mare, so knew the price was going to be expensive." Once the bidding began on the colt, it was intense and Albaugh and Spendthrift exceeded their presale budget for Thousand Words. "We had an agreement with how much we were going to spend, and in the heat of the bidding we went over what we estimated, but thankfully we got him," Loutsch said. "That was our last bid." In another twist, when the two parties decided to become partners, Hughes also suggested the colt be sent to Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who at the time had saddled five Derby winners. "When we put the partnership together, Mr. Hughes said he would like to send a horse to the West Coast, and since Bob Baffert is the best in the business, we had no problem trying that avenue," Loutsch said. "The goal was to get the horse in the Kentucky Derby and win it." Thousand Words came close to achieving the first part of that goal but was scratched minutes before the post parade for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) after flipping in the saddling paddock at Churchill Downs. Baffert still won the classic with Authentic, who has been installed as the 9-5 favorite for the Preakness. A game half-length winner in his career debut, Thousand Words was quickly elevated into graded stakes company as he faced only three challengers in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), his first test around two turns on a sealed track. Thousand Words pressed a fast pace before taking, and then giving up, the lead in the stretch and battling back gamely for a neck victory. The colt began his 2020 campaign with a victory in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) before finishing fourth and 11th in the San Felipe Stakes (G2) and Oaklawn Stakes, respectively, the latter on a sloppy track. He subsequently finished second in the Los Alamitos Derby (G3) and won the Shared Belief Stakes. On Saturday, Loutsch and his team will see whether Thousand Words takes another step toward the goal of winning a classic and adding to his stallion potential.