Airdrie Represented as Breeder of Two Key Derby Runners

Bret Jones fondly recalls a picture taken in the spring of 1983. He is about 4 years old, wearing a t-shirt proclaiming "I like Airdrie-bred Desert Wine." Though his parents made more of his clothing choices than he did at that age, his family's fondness for the horse was understandable. A horse bred by his father, Brereton C. Jones, in partnership with Warnerton Farms, Desert Wine was the first product of his father's breeding program to race in the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs, where he finished second to Sunny's Halo. Since that time, three more 3-year-olds bred by Brereton Jones, either solely or in partnership, have raced in the Kentucky Derby. Dansil finished fourth in 1989, Harry's Holiday ran 16th in 2014, and My Boy Jack rallied to finish fifth in 2018. Now two more are poised to represent Jones as a breeder in North America's most famous race. Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner Zandon is the 3-1 morning-line favorite and UAE Derby Sponsored by Mubadala (G2) runner-up Summer Is Tomorrow is a 30-1 longshot. Only Jones and Spendthrift Farm are breeders of multiple colts in the body of the field for the May 7 race. (Breeder Calumet Farm has one regular Derby entrant and an also-eligible.) The Derby duo are yet more accomplishments in the remarkable career of the 82-year-old Jones, who launched Airdrie Stud in Central Kentucky with his wife, Libby, in 1972 and later served as Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from 1991-95. "It's been very rewarding. There's been a lot of smiles around Airdrie Stud these last few weeks, and that comes with having a lot of good luck," said Airdrie vice president Bret Jones, who has assumed much of the farm's leadership in recent years. Watch: Bret Jones Discusses Airdrie, Family's Breeding Success Brereton Jones and Airdrie have also made their luck—in breeding and ownership of racehorses. Three times Brereton Jones won the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies, twice with homebreds and always with the progeny of Airdrie stallions. Proud Spell (Proud Citizen) scored first in 2008, Believe You Can (Proud Citizen) followed four years later in 2012, and Lovely Maria (Majesticperfection) completed the triple in 2015. The trio didn't attract enough commercial attention to either go into a sale or meet their reserves when placed into auctions as yearlings, but Brereton Jones believed in them. "Those Oaks wins are the best memories that we have. We did it as a family. We did it as a farm," Bret Jones said. "Proud Spell. Believe You Can. Lovely Maria. The three best Fridays of my life. I don't think I had any children born on a Friday—so I can safely say that." Trainer Larry Jones, unrelated to the Jones family of Airdrie Stud, also fondly remembers those days for reasons beyond their success. He developed a lasting relationship with Brereton Jones. Proud Spell was the first horse he trained for him. "I've got to deal with great people, like (horse owner) Rick Porter was a great person—but 'Brere' Jones was the best person I think I've had to deal with," Larry Jones said. "His handshake was his bond. If he told you something, he meant it, and he would sure try to make it happen. He's a man that I dearly love. What a man, and Ms. Libby, too." More than 25 years removed from Jones' time in political office, Larry Jones can recant the governor's accomplishments as quickly as the details of the careers of his Oaks fillies. In an interview with BloodHorse, he recalled how Jones successfully advocated for an amendment to the state constitution that allowed Kentucky governors to serve a second term while agreeing to exempt himself. He further recalled how the state went from a massive revenue shortfall ($400 million) to an overwhelming surplus ($300 million) in Gov. Jones' four years in office. "He told me, 'I just tried to run it like a business. I just tried to run it like I would my own business,'" Larry Jones said. Though political life was a passion for Brereton Jones, his career was running a horse farm. He left West Virginia as a young man to pursue his horse dreams. His son is carrying on the tradition, while Bret's older sister, Lucy, has a career outside racing with an interest in charity work. Bret has continued the Airdrie business model established by Brereton Jones. Find value stallions, show support by breeding mares to them, sell most of their babies, and show faith in others that go unsold by racing them. The Airdrie-standing Upstart, the sire of Jeff Drown's Zandon, is the third-leading third-crop stallion in North America (through May 2), trailing Not This Time and Nyquist. Upstart is also the sire of Winngate Stables' Kathleen O., a top Kentucky Oaks prospect. Indicative of the popularity of Upstart, a share in the stallion resulted in the second-highest purchase of the recently concluded Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale when Mike Freeny purchased the share for $450,000. Both Kathleen O. and Zandon are expected to be popular with bettors in their respective races, the latter after a last-to-first rally in the Blue Grass that followed a flat-footed start and traffic troubles. "I am appreciative that he got some good experience there as well as headed to the Derby. Hopefully serves him well," said trainer Chad Brown of Zandon. "You know, he was shuffled back, had to take a lot of dirt, go through a big pack of horses, took a bump there around the eighth pole, and such. I was really proud of the way the horse ran and what he got accomplished there." Michael Hilary and Negar Burke's Summer Is Tomorrow is providing evidence that Airdrie's Summer Front can sire a top dirt horse, though the stallion himself was a turf miler. Trainer Bhupat Seemar was pleased by Summer Is Tomorrow's training in Dubai following the colt's runner-up finish to Japanese raider Crown Pride (JPN) in the UAE Derby and put him on a plane April 20 for the United States. Summer Is Tomorrow led for much of the UAE Derby before weakening in the final furlong. The 1 3/16-mile race in Dubai was his first race beyond seven furlongs. "So much of what we do revolves around what our stallions are doing," Bret Jones said. "If our stallions are doing well, our broodmares are doing well, our farm's going to be doing well." It was not the 1983 Kentucky Derby but a later one that inspired Bret Jones in his youth to follow in his father's footsteps. He was bitten by horse racing's bug when Cal Partee's Lil E. Tee soared to victory in the 1992 Run for the Roses under jockey Pat Day for trainer Lynn Whiting. "We stood At the Threshold at the moment, who save for Lil E. Tee, was a little on the forgettable side," Bret Jones recalled. "I just remember how happy dad was to have the stallion in the barn of the Kentucky Derby winner. I sure would like to duplicate that again if we could have a whole lot of luck." Misfortune seemed to hamper Zandon in the April 9 Blue Grass until the colt found daylight after being blocked through midway on the second turn. He surged when clear and won going away over Smile Happy. Bret's father "was dancing in celebration when Zandon crossed the wire the other day. He and my mother were watching at home," Bret Jones said. "It was one of the best phone calls I've been able to make—when I called him right after they crossed the wire. We just celebrated together. It was very special. It is hard not to get a little emotional when you talk about it. We've just been lucky to have the relationship that we do. We can still enjoy these things together, and I hope we have a lot more to enjoy in these coming weeks."