Brant's professionalism in the Sept. 7 Del Mar Futurity (G1) made the jump from a maiden race to a grade 1 look much easier than it is. But then Bob Baffert knows how to prepare a horse for this race. After all, the trainer has now won it 19 times.
That list includes Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year American Pharoah and champions Silver Charm, Lookin At Lucky, Game Winner , and Midshipman . So it's hard to know just where Brant will rank in that 19. Given how well he has answered any question put to him, anything is possible.
Even with the more seasoned Desert Gate, winner of the Best Pal Stakes (G3), in the six-horse field, bettors hammered Brant down to 1-10 favoritism in the seven-furlong Futurity. They weren't wrong.
When the gate opened, Brant broke inward from post #2, bumping with Brigante slightly. It never threw him off stride. Jockey Flavien Prat was able to straighten Brant out immediately, and the colt willingly shot to the lead.
In his only other outing, Brant had laid third early before scoring by 5 1/4 lengths. Jimmy Barnes, Baffert's assistant, attributed the change in tactics to post position.
"I think with being pushed down toward the inside of the rail, he was going to be placed forwardly," Barnes said.
Everyone knew Brant had speed—after all, he had breezed a furlong in :9 3/5 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company March 2-year-old sale, the fastest time of any in the catalog. And his speed seems effortless, as his Futurity fractions demonstrated. He zipped the first quarter-mile in :21.88, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of second-place Balboa.
"I let him get comfortable on the lead," Prat said. "I was traveling very well, and I never felt like I was doing too much for him. He took a nice breather around the turn, enough to re-engage when that horse came outside of him."
"That horse" was Desert Gate, another of the four Baffert entries. Desert Gate was two-for-two, his total winning margins 11 lengths, and he had Del Mar leading rider Juan Hernandez aboard.
Desert Gate put in a valiant effort in an attempt to catch Brant. He closed to a length, but could get no closer to Brant, who swept under the wire in 1:21.92. Civil Liberty finished third, 3 1/4 lengths behind Desert Gate.
The Futurity is part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen, which provides a sliding scale of credits toward entry fees for the Breeders' Cup for the first, second, and third finishers. Unlike the Win and You're In races, Brant doesn't receive a guaranteed entry into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), but after that performance, he certainly won't need one. Plus, with Brant and the likes of New York emerging stars Ted Noffey and It's Our Time, an oversubscribed Juvenile field may not occur.
Zedan Racing Stables owns Brant, buying him at this year's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training for the top price of $3 million from Eddie Woods' consignment. The colt previously went through the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency and selling to St. Clair Stables for $200,000.
PTK LLC bred Brant in Kentucky from the Liam's Map mare Tynan. PTK had purchased Tynan for $225,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Tynan won two of 13 races before being retired. Brant is the first foal for Tynan, who is a half sister to stakes winners Pappacap and Boppy O. Brant is bred along the lines of Pappacap: Both are by Gun Runner .
Brant, Sierra Leone, Locked, Vahva, Running Away, Mercante, and Red Route One are 2025 graded stakes winners sired by champion and Hall of Famer Gun Runner. An earner of nearly $16 million on the track, Gun Runner stood for a 2025 stud fee of $250,000 at Three Chimneys Farm near Midway, Ky.
Video: Del Mar Futurity (G1)
Hey Nay Nay Remains Undefeated
Favored Hey Nay Nay fended off challenges early and late en route to improving his record to 3-for-3 when taking the Del Mar Juvenile Turf Sprint (G3T).
Now trainer John Sadler has his eyes set on the Breeders' Cup.
"The idea was to get a race over here to get him ready for the Breeders' Cup," said Sadler.
Hey Nay Nay went straight to the front, but Dirty Rich quickly snatched away the lead. Settling in just off the lead, the colt and jockey Hector Berrios bided their time. Coming around the far turn in the two-path, Hey Nay Nay pulled even and then to the front at the top of the stretch.
Pulling clear of the field, it was only a late-charging Plutarch who left the outcome in question. But the son of No Nay Never padded his lead in the final strides to stop the clock in 1:35.57, 1 1/2 lengths in front.
Plutarch, Proletariat, and Caro Bueno round out the top four. Hey Nay Nay paid $4 for the win.
