As a teenager, Vincent Colbert and his friends would sneak into the Marshfield Fair in Massachusetts. The fair had horse racing at the time, and Colbert developed a love of the sport that took him first to a West Point Thoroughbreds investment and then out on his own. From just a few mares, he has bred several stakes winners, topped by Chocolate Gelato, the likely favorite in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Keeneland.
The Oct. 2 Frizette Stakes (G1) winner heads to the Breeders' Cup with the impeccable New York connections of owner Mike Repole and trainer Todd Pletcher. But Colbert's Massachusetts roots give that state a claim on her, and the filly will actually be coming home, having been foaled very near Keeneland at Tony and Lisa Ocampo's Rose Hill Farm.
Colbert's first venture into breeding succeeded beyond his wildest hopes. He decided to look at horses bred by the renowned Phipps Stable and in 2007 found a 2-year-old daughter of Forest Wildcat—Supercharger, by A.P. Indy.
"I recognized Bluegrass Cat in the pedigree," Colbert recalled.
Bluegrass Cat had won the previous year's Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) and was out of a full sister to Supercharger.
Two months after Colbert bought the filly for $40,000, Supercharger foaled a son of Maria's Mon who would be named Super Saver and would capture the 2010 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) for Pletcher.
Colbert's filly, named Quickest, never ran, and the first foal she produced for him, a Bandini filly, sold for only $2,500 as a weanling. But under the name Defy Gravity, that filly won the 2011 Smart Halo Stakes and placed in four other stakes. Quickest, still owned by Colbert today, soon produced more black-type runners.
Miss Super Quick, Quickest's 2011 filly by Rock Hard Ten, finished third in the 2014 Beverly J. Lewis Stakes, and Callback, a 2012 Street Sense filly trained by Bob Baffert, won the 2015 Las Virgenes Stakes (G1).
"It's been a lot of fun—I've been really lucky," said Colbert , whose wife, Marie, and their two sons, Dan and Joe, are also enthusiastic racing fans. "I've met some really cool people. Craig Bernick, Alex Solis, and Jason Litt take time out of their day to talk to me and give me ideas."
Then there's Ocampo, who takes care of Colbert's mares.
"He's awesome," the breeder said.
Special Treat, the dam of Chocolate Gelato, was another Phipps-bred horse Colbert pursued. Claiborne Farm consigned several Phipps-bred horses, including Special Treat, to the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
"I looked at every one of their mares that they had in the sale," Colbert said. "Special Treat was actually the only one that I was able to raise my hand on and bid on."
Colbert got Special Treat for $75,000. The 4-year-old daughter of Candy Ride —Snooze, by Forestry, had won one of six starts racing for Phipps Stable and trained by Shug McGaughey. She is entered in The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's marquee breeding stock sale in Lexington, where she will be offered Nov. 6 as Hip 303 by Paramount Sales, agent.
"After I bought her—I'll never forget it—(Claiborne's) farm manager, Bradley Purcell, came to me afterward and asked, 'Did you get her?' I said 'Yeah,' and he said, 'You got the prettiest one.' That was good to know."
Chocolate Gelato, a daughter of Practical Joke , is Special Treat's third foal.
"She was always a very athletic filly, easy to work with," said Ocampo. "She was always a very straightforward filly, never took a wrong step."
Proud of our Rose Hill Grads @BreedersCup Pre-Entries @keenelandracing Chocolate Gelato (Juv Fillies) @RepoleStable Informative (Dirt Mile), Edgeway (F & M Sprint) & Mounsouir Coco AE (Juv T Sprint) @coolmoreamerica @WinStarFarm @spendthriftfarm Thank you to our wonderful staff pic.twitter.com/LcZLZDo3aH
— Rose Hill Farm (@TAOcampo) October 26, 2022
Ocampo believes in hand-walking his yearlings regularly so they will show well at sale time, and he also likes to swim yearlings as part of their fitness regimen. Chocolate Gelato thrived during her sales prep, which included several swimming sessions at the Kentucky Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center.
Paramount Sales sells Colbert's horses and consigned Chocolate Gelato to the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale, where she brought $165,000 from New Range Bloodstock. SGV Thoroughbreds pinhooked the filly into the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Florida Select 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. She previewed a furlong in :10 and sold for $475,000 to Repole Stable.
"When I found out Mike Repole bought her and Pletcher got her, I thought this just couldn't get any better," Colbert said. "I've been really lucky. A lot of my horses end up with the best of the best."
Pletcher unveiled Chocolate Gelato on opening day at Saratoga Race Course, and Vincent and Marie made sure to be there. The filly ran third, but the Colberts returned, this time along with Joe, to watch her break her maiden Aug. 14 by 8 1/2 lengths at the Spa.
For the Frizette Stakes during the Belmont at the Big A meeting, the Colberts threw a party at their house in Scituate, Mass. Chocolate Gelato ensured the party's success with her one-length victory.
Colbert has attended a few editions of the Breeders' Cup in the past, but never as the breeder of a starter. He is looking forward to this one, as is Ocampo. Informative, bred by Rose Hill and John Trumbulovic, has been pre-entered in the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1), and Mounsieur Coco, bred by Rose Hill, has been pre-entered in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1T).
One thing's for sure, unlike his teenage escapades, Colbert won't have to sneak in to see the races this time.
