McPeek’s enthusiasm increased with each passing day. So when VanMatre asked about getting some partners to join her in racing the filly, McPeek priced her at a total valuation of $100,000. It was only later that McPeek — himself among those buying into the filly through his Magdalena Farm partnership — saw that Defining Purpose had been bought back as a “short” yearling for $14,000 after not reaching her predetermined minimum selling price at Keeneland’s 2021 January bloodstock auction.
Still, that didn’t faze McPeek. After all, the Lexington product elevated his career by winning big races with horses purchased at bargain-basement prices. That list now includes Defining Purpose (photo, far right), whose owners were already out on their investment before the now 3-year-old filly won Keeneland’s $600,000 Central Bank Ashland Stakes, a Grade 1 race and one of the most important preps for the Kentucky Oaks.
“We got her in the spring of ’22, put her in the routine and she fit right in,” McPeek said. “She immediately jumped into everything very professional and enthusiastic, a filly that showed quite a bit of natural talent. (VanMatre) said, ‘Can you find me some partners?’ We talked about how to value her, and I said, ‘I think she’s easily worth $100,000. At that point I did not know that she had been through an auction for 14 grand. I was flabbergasted to know she was a $14,000 RNA (reserved not attained), or I probably would have put people in cheaper.”
If anything, he said, “I thought I overpriced her. But I priced her on what I saw talent-wise, and she had quite a bit of talent -- and obviously, that’s panned out. Looking at it today, I probably underpriced her.”
A winner of $556,188, Defining Purpose recently was sold privately to Northern Farm, part of the Shadai Group that dominates Japan’s breeding industry. The Indiana Oaks is her first start for her new owners. McPeek estimates the early investors made “20 X on their money.”
After finishing sixth in Oaklawn Park’s Honeybee (G3) in the slop, Defining Purpose and Hernandez won the Ashland at 20-1 odds.
“This is another one of those examples where you just never know where a good horse is going to come from,” McPeek said after the Ashland, whose field included the highly regarded runner-up Punchbowl, third-place Julia Shining and the 2-year-old filly champion Wonder Wheel.
Things didn’t go Defining Purpose’s way when seventh in the Kentucky Oaks, which attracted its strongest field in years. But McPeek expects Defining Purpose to rebound in the 1 1/16-mile Indiana Oaks, where her main competition in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies likely is Pimlico’s Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan winner Taxed, the 2-1 second choice.
Taxed was stuck on the also-eligible list and unable to compete in the Kentucky Oaks when no horses were scratched. She had proved her mettle in finishing second twice at Oaklawn Park behind Kentucky Oaks favorite Wet Paint, including in the Grade 3 Fantasy.
Defining Purpose and Taxed faced each other three times over the winter in Arkansas, with Defining Purpose finishing in front of Taxed in two out of three meetings, including a victory in Oaklawn’s $150,000 Year’s End Stakes on Dec. 31.
“We spaced her race pretty for the Ashland,” McPeek said recently. “I thought that was a great run by her. Any time you knock down a Grade 1 with a 3-year-old filly — 2-year-old filly, any filly — it increases her value pretty dramatically. In the Kentucky Oaks, she didn’t fire as we had hoped. But it was a tough race, certainly the best fillies in the nation.
“Since then, she’s transferred ownership. She’s now owned by Northern Farm, which is the Yoshida family, Katsumi Yoshida of Japan. We were approached about selling her and felt that the price was right. It worked for everybody. I’m excited for the new ownership, and the filly is doing super. This should be a good spot for her.”
The Indiana Oaks field in post-position order, with jockey/trainer and odds: Cotton Candy Annie (Orlando Mojica/Armando Hernandez) 30-1; Taxed (Rafael Bejarano/Randy Morse) 2-1; Merlazza (Marcelino Pedroza Jr./Brad Cox) 6-1; Flamand (Edgar Morales/Elias Lopez) 20-1; Defining Purpose (Brian Hernandez Jr./Kenny McPeek) 8-5; Lily Poo (James Graham/Michael McCarthy) 5-1; Cloak of Mercy (Fernando De La Cruz/John Ortiz) 10-1; Sandra D (David Cohen/Steve Margolis) 20-1.
McPeek also will saddle Texas Derby winner Hayes Strike in Saturday’s $300,000, Grade 3 Indiana Derby, drawing post seven among the nine entries. New York’s Gotham winner Raise Cain and 2-for-2 Georgie W are cross-entered in Saturday’s $250,000 Iowa Derby.
Hayes Strike was third in the Ohio Derby (G3) in his prior start. Brian Hernandez Jr. rides both Hayes Strike and Defining Purpose.
“He’s a one-run, closer type,” McPeek said of the Dixiana Farms homebred Hayes Strike, winner of three races, including Laurel’s Private Terms Stakes, and $438,825. “He’s the kind that grinds it out and then will make a run. I’m hoping we get some pace to set it up for him. But he’s been rock solid and always runs hard. He’s going to have to move forward a bit, and the race is going to need to set up for him — and that could happen.”
McPeek also is running Creative Minister, third in last year’s Preakness Stakes, in the $100,000 Michael G. Schaefer Memorial for 3-year-olds and up running a mile and 70 yards. That gray colt has run out $536,545 with a record of 2-4-3 in 12 starts.
“He’s never won a stakes, so I’d like to win a stakes with him,” he said.
Lovely Princess, second in Churchill Downs’ Keertana Stakes in her last start, also pursues her first stakes triumph in the $100,000 Indiana General Assembly for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf.
“We’d like to win a stakes with her, too,” McPeek said. “She’s got quite a nice pedigree, a Twirling Candy filly, and running really well right now.”
Verifying installed as 8-5 favorite for Indiana Derby
The Brad Cox-trained Verifying — who has never won a stakes but was second in three major races — drew post five Monday and was made the 8-5 favorite for the $300,000, Grade 3 Indiana Derby Saturday at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Texas Derby winner Hayes Strike, most recently third in the Ohio Derby (G3), is the 3-1 second choice among the nine entries.
New York’s Gotham (G3) winner Raise Cain and 2-for-2 Georgie W were cross-entered in Saturday’s $250,000 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows.
Verifying earned a shot at the Kentucky Derby by finishing second by a neck in Keeneland’s Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass won by the well-regarded Tampa Bay Derby winner Tapit Trice. After helping to set a face past and fading to 16th in the Kentucky Derby, Verifying was second by a half-length to Disarm in the Matt Winn (G3) June 11 in the slop at Ellis Park.
“Good group of horses,” said Cox, who won the 2020 Indiana Derby with Shared Sense. “Verifying has had two nice works since the Matt Winn. Really pleased with how he’s doing, good energy. I’m happy with him physically. We’re trying to get a graded win under his belt and hopefully this will be it. I feel like he has a Grade 1 win in him. I do believe that based on what we saw in the Blue Grass. He’s a very good horse. Hopefully, it works out on Saturday.”
The Matt Winn was extended from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/8 when it moved from Churchill Downs to Ellis Park, which can’t run 1 1/16-mile races on its main track because of the short run into the first turn of the nine-furlong course.
“Those races were a mile and an eighth,” Cox said of the Matt Winn and Blue Grass. “It might not be quite what he wants to do. Listen, he ran very, very well in both races. I think he can win at a mile and an eighth, but it might not be exactly his best distance. But overall, he is a good colt, a lot of quality, big pedigree (being a son of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify). Hopefully, this will be a stepping stone to a Grade 1.”
The Indiana Derby field, in post-position order, with jockey/trainer and odds: Transect (Gerardo Corrales/Paulo Lobo) 15-1; Raise Cain (Luan Machado/Ben Colebrook) 10-1; Act a Fool (Orlando Mojica/Larry Rivelli) 6-1; Onthestage (Luis Fuentes/Steve Asmussen) 10-1; Verifying (Marcelino Pedroza Jr./Brad Cox) 8-5; Stayinyourlane (Eduardo Perez/Tomas Medina) 30-1; Hayes Strike (Brian Hernandez Jr./Kenny McPeek) 3-1; Cagliostro (Edgar Morales/Cherie DeVaux) 8-1; Georgie W (Alex Achard/Will Walden) 12-1.
Cox also has Merlazza in Saturday’s $200,000, Grade 3 Central Bank Indiana Oaks. The winner of Oaklawn Park’s Valley Of The Vapors Stakes on April 22, Merlazza saw her three-race win streak broken when fifth in Pimlico’s 1 1/8-mile Black-Eyed Susan (G2) won by Indiana Oaks 2-1 second choice Taxed. Merlazza, who drew post three in the Indiana Oaks field of eight 3-year-old fillies, is the 6-1 fourth choice in the morning line.
“I like this filly a lot,” Cox said of the Don Alberto Stable homebred. “She’s doing really well. She’s got a great race record with the exception of her last run. We’re hopeful we can get a graded stakes win underneath her. I think she fits very, very well with the group. She might not want to go quite as far as she went last time. We’re shortening her up a little bit. She’s a really good work horse, and she’s coming into this really well. So we’ll see how it goes.”
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