Jason McCutchen owns and operates McCutchen Training Center in Kingstree, S.C., alongside his father, R.B. "Bobby" McCutchen. They offer breaking, training, layups, swimming, and sales consultation.
Jason has a keen eye for horseflesh; not only can he pick out a quality racehorse, but he can do it for a modest price. He purchased Vodka With a Twist for just $2,500 at Fasig-Tipton's October Yearlings Sale in 2023. The daughter of Thousand Words is entered in the upcoming Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
Vodka With a Twist was bred in Kentucky by Pillar Property Services. She has two wins from five starts and a bankroll of $299,320. Most recently, she finished a close second in the Debutante Stakes (G1) at Del Mar.
Other stakes winners purchased by McCutchen include Conagher, Vodka N Water, and Rustler.
BloodHorse: How many horses do you have at your training stable?
Jason McCutchen: I had gotten up to as many as 80 at one time. It just got to the point where we didn't want to do that many. Everything's done by my father, Bobby McCutchen, and I. In the last couple of years, stuff has gone into my name. But, he and I talk eight to 10 times a day. We're as one; it's just a family-owned training center in South Carolina.
BH: What initially drew you to Vodka With a Twist as a yearling?
JM: What we look for when we come to the sales is a horse that we don't think is a completely finished horse. The filly looked good; she was very athletic, very correct. Being by a first-year sire (Thousand Words), we pay a lot of attention to those because of our budget. We can't chase the Justifys and Uncle Mos. She was just extremely athletic, but you could still see she had a good bit more growth to go.
She had a gorgeous walk, she was just such a pretty filly. And, nothing against her, and anyone who raised her or consigned her by any means, because she was very fleshy, but her hair was a little dull, little flat. Even when I shipped her in to Keeneland, I wasn't ecstatic about it. But, some horses just change at a different rate of time. I need to look at a horse and see what it looks like six months from now.
Some people say, 'Oh, I knew she was going to be a runner from day one.' I'm not saying that, but her demeanor, the way she conducted herself, and just her presence, you always knew that there was something a little bit unique about her.
BH: What was she like when you got her home?
JM: She was a little difficult to break, and she's still got her little quirks. Her quirks are what caused her not to run early in the meet at Keeneland. But, when I got her out there, I knew when she left the training center, she was a legit horse. When I got her out there, I saw some works out of her that made me nervous. I had to do a lot of standing with her. And so that first day I ran her at Keeneland, and it was a salty, salty race, and she was flying but just missed the break. I had stood her so much; she just wasn't ready for it. She did come out of the race great.
I put her in the Racing Age Sale (Keeneland) at the end of the meet, and I thought the filly should bring north of 125,000-150,000, and when she didn't, Carl McEntee, who's a really good friend of mine and I trust implicitly, consigned her in the sale. He said, 'Jason, we're not getting what we want, I suggest you take her home and run her.' My dad and I discussed it, and the filly had come out of the race so good, that I waited and entered her at Churchill Downs. And, it said a lot about her, because I ran her, a few days later she was in the sale, a couple weeks later, she went to Churchill. That was a lot to ask, and she handled it so well.
The day before I ran her at Churchill, my father called and said, 'You're in tough, you think we ought to scratch this filly?' And I said, 'Dad, if they outrun her tomorrow, I'm coming home. I mean, I just got that much faith in her.' He said, 'I'll just be happy if we hit the board.' When she broke like she did, I mean it was probably the one time in my life, I can say, when she broke like she did, I was like this is over with.
BH: Who purchased her after her maiden win?
JM: Taylor Made (Medallion Racing) approached me about her. Alex Payne saw her at Keeneland and fell in love with her. And as soon as she ran, he called me and said, 'What's it going to take?' And, we came up with a number. It worked out well for us. When Alex picked her up, he said, 'We're going to the Breeders' Cup!'
I think the connections that bought her, they've got to be happy with what they paid for her and what they've been able to do. The sky's the limit and it's been a fun story. It's been a fun ride for me, to pick out a horse for $2,500 and go on and do that.
BH: Any regrets selling her?
JM: Not at all. I get people that ask me that all the time. A lot of friends of mine, who don't really know the business, will say when are you going to run one in the Kentucky Derby? And, I tell them all the time, probably never. I'm a home-type person. I enjoy the racetrack, but I'd rather be home most of the time. And you know that's what I'm in the business to do, buy and sell them and they go on to the next people.
Luckily, for me, Phil D'Amato got her, and he's doing fantastic right now; obviously, a really good horseman. He's managed her so well, because, like I said, she does have her little quirks about her.
BH: What are some other stakes horses you've purchased?
JM: We had a horse named Conagher, who was second in the Iowa Derby. I bought him here (Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale), for $9,000. He was multiple stakes-placed. I think he made around $400,000. I had another horse I only paid a couple thousand for, named Rustler. He went on to win a stake (Carle Place Stakes at Belmont Park).
Vodka N Water, I bought at Keeneland for $3,500. He was a beautiful individual. I had his half brother, a horse named No Lemon No Lime.
You're probably wondering what's with all the drink names? Well, No Lemon No Lime—I've got some friends of mine, and we were at Keeneland, and it got kind of late in the day, and we had got a drink. And, they were teasing me, because I drink Tito's and water, no lemon, no lime. They were giving me a fit, and I said the next horse I buy, that's what I'm naming it. So, that's how that came.
So, then I ended up buying his brother, Vodka N Water. And, that was just a play off of the name. But when we bought Vodka With a Twist, her mother's name is Bourbon and a Kiss. So I was like you know what? This is kind of a cute deal.
That's actually how Alex (Payne) and I met, was through Vodka N Water. He contacted me after I ran him at Keeneland first time out. He was second, just ran a monster race. I was able to buy him for $3,500, because (his sire) Fed Biz, at the time, nobody was really on top of him. He went on to run second in the Bashford Manor. I hope this is a connection that goes on for a while.
BH: What are some of the things a horse must have in order to catch your eye?
JM: An athlete 100%. You know, people are like, 'Oh, he's a little offset in the knee', but can he walk through it? If you can walk through it, it's not a problem. People want to get hung up on it. I've had some people come with me to the sales recently, and as soon as they pull the horse out of the stall, they just want to see the horse stand, and they sit there and look at it. I'm just the opposite. I want to see them walk. If they can walk, then I can get started to picking at them. But, if they can't walk, I can't use them at all. I don't care, because a lot of correct horses have bad walks. So, if she's got a good walk, and maybe a little toed out or offset here or there, we've got room, and you know we can still like the horse.
Another thing that's very important is how a horse presents themselves. I shop in the back ring, because on race day, there's a lot going on. That horse has got to conduct itself in a manner that's professional and can handle the situations.
Vodka With a Twist and The Queens MG were both in the sale (Fasig-Tipton October Yearlings Sale). She's by Thousand Words as well. And we were on both. Well, a really good friend of Mine (Karen Dennehy), was on her. We were looking around at horses and stuff, and she fell in love with her. We had already bought Vodka (With a Twist), and being by Thousand Words and a first-year sire, we just didn't want to get into a lot. And, I liked her as well, but she just dearly loved her.
We ended up not raising our hand on her. Now hindsight's 20/20, we wish we would have, but we loved her as an individual as well. They turned out to be super nice fillies.
BH: What does it mean to you and your business to have a horse you picked out running in the Breeders' Cup World Championships?
JM: Having a horse you picked out, broke, and trained yourself make it to the Breeders' Cup is very fulfilling. Knowing that my Dad and I together is a good team. He has taught me everything I know, and to get a horse like her from a small group of horses is even more satisfying.
As far as the farm goes, hopefully it will boost some more interest, but at the end of the day, we have always done the things the way we do it, and that's never going to change.
