Forego-G1 winner Yaupon to stand at Spendthrift upon retirement

Bill & Corinne Heiligbrodt’s Yaupon, winner of Saturday’s Forego S. (G1) at Saratoga, will stand at Spendthrift Farm for the 2022 breeding season.

The Uncle Mo colt will be pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Del Mar as a primary goal before retiring at year’s end. A stud fee will be determined at that time.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Bill and Corinne (Heiligbrodt) on their newest Grade One winner, Yaupon. Obviously, the last time they won the Forego at Saratoga it was with Mitole, so we are hopeful Yaupon can close out his racing career in similar fashion,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift General Manager. “Aside from being extremely fast, Yaupon is one of the best-looking sons of Uncle Mo you will find anywhere. When breeders come out to the farm and see a fast Saratoga Grade One winner by Uncle Mo that is as beautiful as he is on the end of a lead shank, we believe we will get a lot of Yeses.”

Trained by Steve Asmussen, Yaupon has won six of his eight races including the first four starts of his career in 2020. After winning on debut at Churchill and capturing a Saratoga allowance race, the dark bay colt reeled off back-to-back graded victories by open lengths, including the Amsterdam S. (G2) at Saratoga over Grade 1 winner Basin in 1:08.50 for six furlongs. Yaupon also won the Chick Lang S. (G3) at Pimlico on Preakness weekend by four lengths in 1:09.10, a performance that would make him the betting favorite in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) at Keeneland.

This year, Yaupon has entered the second half of his 4-year-old season fresh and on another winning streak. He returned to Pimlico to take the Lite the Fuse S. on July 4^th in 1:09.42 before Saturday’s Grade 1 triumph as the favorite in the storied Forego. Making his first start at seven furlongs, Yaupon led gate to wire in 1:21.74 in the Forego, defeating five Grade 1 winners and earning a 103 Beyer.

“Yaupon is an absolutely stunning physical with an unbelievable pedigree, and he might have been one of the fastest horses we have ever seen at a two-year-old-in-training sale,” said Bill Heiligbrodt. “Last year, after four straight wins and two graded stakes, we thought he had a very good chance to win the Breeders’ Cup, and he ended up being the favorite in the race. But a very rough trip nullified any chance. After his most recent victory in the Forego, we look forward to returning to the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. Corinne and I have been racing horses since the 1980s and have been lucky to be represented by a lot of nice horses. Yaupon is our best ever when you combine speed, pedigree and conformation.”

By leading sire Uncle Mo, Yaupon is out of the Grade 1-placed mare Modification, by Vindication. He has now banked $703,264 to date.

For more information about Yaupon, please contact Des, Mark, or Brian at 859-294-0030.