Cornucopian Delivers Freakish Performance on Rebel Day

This column highlights the performances of 3-year-old maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners, in particular, who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Oaklawn Park

The well-stocked "Avengers" unleashed yet another top-tier 3-year-old colt as Triple Crown season looms just around the corner. This time, the ownership group and trainer Bob Baffert took their show on the road with their $1.1 million acquisition, Cornucopian. While more-experienced sophomores flexed their muscles on the Feb. 23 Oaklawn Park card, it was first timer Cornucopian who arguably commanded the stage on Rebel Stakes day with a freakish performance in a six-furlong maiden event.

A son of six-time leading sire Into Mischief  and the grade 1-producing mare Magical World, Cornucopian was the most expensive of 20 purchases made by SF Racing, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing, the founders of the massive ownership partnership dubbed "The Avengers," at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. From the group's 20 yearling buys, the list of horses reads like a "who's who" of some of the most promising sophomore colts in the country, with 2024 2-year-old champion male Citizen Bull, impressive maiden winner and Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) runner-up Rodriguez, and Sunland Park Derby hero Getaway Car among them.

The best out of the gates in a 10-horse field, jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. and Cornucopian blazed to the front and eyeballed a rival through blistering early fractions of :21.86 and :45.50. Disposing of that foe into the final bend, Cornucopian turned up the tempo with a scintillating :23.61 final quarter. The colt streaked under the wire 5 3/4 lengths in front with speed to spare. Cornucopian's final time of 1:09.02 was the fastest six-furlong clocking of the day and two ticks quicker than Justique ran when taking the Carousel Stakes earlier on the card.

Unsurprisingly, the winning effort was well received by the speed figure pundits, who bestowed the colt with a 108 Equibase Speed Figure.

Cornucopian became the fifth winner out of the Distorted Humor mare Magical World, a mare bred by the distinguished Phipps family and a daughter of the Phipps homebred Pleasant Home, the winner of the 2005 Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). Magical World was purchased in foal with Cornucopian by Three Chimneys Farm and Whisper Hill Farm for a staggering $5.2 million at Fasig Tipton's The November Sale in 2021. The fruitful mare had made waves for herself following the success of her daughter, the once-beaten three-time grade 1 winner Guarana (Ghostzapper) and her son, graded stakes winner Beatbox (Pioneerof the Nile).