December 29, 2024

Medal Count retired

Last updated: 7/7/15 5:28 PM











Medal Count showed his
versatility winning races on
dirt,
turf and synthetics

(Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Grade 3 winner Medal Count (Dynaformer), third in the 2014 Belmont Stakes
(G1), has been retired and will stand stud in 2016 at B. Wayne Hughes’
Spendthrift Farm in Lexington as the newest participant in the farm’s renowned
Share The Upside Program.

His Share The Upside fee will be $6,500 stands & nurses on a one-year
commitment, and breeders will earn a lifetime breeding right in Medal Count
after producing just one live foal in 2017. Medal Count will also be available
on a traditional stands & nurses contract for a fee of $5,000 live foal.

“Medal Count is very similar to Temple City, another G1-performing Dynaformer
we raced and then retired to stud on our Share The Upside program,” Hughes said.
“Temple City has proven to be successful for our Share The Upside partners, and
he booked full in 2015 at a substantially higher fee than his original Share The
Upside price. Medal Count could be the last top son of Dynaformer to enter stud,
and we feel like he’s another good opportunity for breeders through our Share
The Upside program.”

Medal Count broke onto the scene as a two-year-old with a 6 1/4-length debut
win on dirt. After an unplaced finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), the
bay colt opened his three-year-old campaign with a victory over turf allowance
foes at Gulfstream Park before capturing Keeneland’s Transylvania S. (G3) on
Polytrack two starts later.

Returning on just eight days rest after the Transylvania, Medal Count
finished a strong runner-up in the Blue Grass S. (G1) to earn a berth into the
Kentucky Derby (G1). The Run for the Roses proved to be rough journey for Medal
Count, who finished a troubled eighth, but he came back with a valiant third in
the third jewel of the Triple Crown, missing by only a length in the Belmont.

He made only two starts this year, wrapping up his racing career with a
seventh in the June 27 Firecracker (G2) at Churchill Downs, and Medal Count
retires sound with earnings of $480,671 from a 14-3-2-1 record.

“Medal Count is a unique Dynaformer because he was precocious and had Grade 1
ability on the dirt,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “You don’t
see many of them win their debut on dirt as two-year-olds, and then become
Classic-placed on dirt as three-year-olds. Like Temple City, Medal Count has a
strong dirt female family, and is more refined than your typical Dynaformer,
while still possessing the soundness and toughness that’s synonymous with that
sire line. We believe breeders are going to like Medal Count and the value he
presents.”

Out of the graded stakes-placed Unbridled’s Song mare Brisquette, Medal Count
is a half-brother to Garden District (Dixie Union), a Grade 3-winning filly.
Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Medal Count was a $360,000 yearling
purchase by Spendthrift at Keeneland September.

For more information about Medal Count, Spendthrift’s Share The Upside
Program, or to set up an inspection during the Fasig-Tipton July sale, please
contact Des, Mark, or Brian at 859-294-0030, or visit SpendthriftFarm.com.



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