First starter, first winner for multiple G1 winner Gormley at Keeneland

Headline Report impresses on debut at Keeneland | Coady photo

Spendthrift Farm freshman sire Gormley was represented by his first winner from his first starter on Friday when 2-year-old colt Headline Report won on debut in a $60,000 Maiden Special Weight race at Keeneland.

Owned by Breeze Easy and trained by Wesley Ward, the bay colt proved best in the 4 ½-furlong race after hitting the wire 2 ¼ lengths in front, stopping the clock in 51.75 seconds over a fast Keeneland main track.

Bred in Kentucky by Ledgelands LLC & Andrew Ritter, Headline Report is out of the Tale of the Cat mare Green Eyed Cat. He was purchased by Breeze Easy for $550,000 at last month’s OBS March sale for 2-year-olds in training in Ocala after breezing a furlong in a bullet 9.4 seconds. The price marked the highest for a colt by a freshman sire at the sale. He earned $36,724 for his debut victory.

Gormley captured some of California’s biggest races at two and three. The millionaire son of Malibu Moon won the FrontRunner S. (G1) at Santa Anita in his second start as a juvenile before going on to capture the $1 million Santa Anita Derby (G1) and Sham S. (G3) at Santa Anita as a 3-year-old. The multiple Grade One winner earned $1,026,000 before retiring to stud at Spendthrift.

Gormley is standing the 2021 breeding season for a fee of $5,000 S&N and is participating in the farm’s “Safe Bet” program that insures breeders by guaranteeing at least one graded stakes-winning juvenile in 2021 from Gormley’s first crop or no stud fee will be owed for resulting foals in 2022.