Dr. William Baxter Jr.'s Stony Pointe Stables are going for it with New York-bred Fourth and One in the $200,000 Withers Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Jan. 31. The 1 1/8-mile route for sophomores offers 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby (G1) qualifying points to the top-five finishers.
Trained by Jeremiah Englehart, the Maxfield gelding removed blinkers to graduate at fourth asking Dec. 5 in a one-turn mile maiden versus fellow state-breds at Aqueduct. There, the dark bay dueled for the lead with Max Money before putting that rival away and opening up to a 7 1/4-length victory in a final time of 1:37.46.
"We're very much looking forward to the Withers," Baxter said. "In his last race, Jeremiah took his blinkers off, and he rated very nicely and relaxed on the backside. He finished with great interest and won easily in the end.
"He's matured quite a bit in his racing style and that's what leads us to be optimistic going forward," Baxter added. "Jeremiah has always felt he would look forward to longer distances and he certainly demonstrated that last time out."
The result was flattered when runner-up Royal Riddle returned to win next out Jan. 3 in a state-bred maiden sprint.
Fourth and One breezed a half-mile in :48.11 seconds Jan. 17 over the Belmont Park dirt training track in his fifth work back since his impressive maiden score.
"He is athletic, continues to mature and seems to get bigger every time I see him. Physically, he resembles his stallion quite closely," Baxter said. "Jeremiah has done a tremendous job with our horse. He was a strong personality when he first arrived in New York and Jeremiah has turned a raw talent into a potentially serious racehorse."
Fourth and One, bred in the Empire State by Chesapeake Farm, Rockridge Stud, Tamie Semler, and John McConnell, was purchased for $240,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February Mixed Sale. Out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Wajeeha, Fourth and One subsequently RNA'd for $95,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
"This particular horse was purchased as a short yearling with a thought that we were going to pinhook him. A certain portion of the pinhooking partnership broke off to take this horse to the races. Sometimes, better lucky than good," said Baxter with a laugh.
The 63-year-old Baxter, a retired oral and maxillofacial surgeon based in Michigan, is thriving in his second career, overseeing a number of bloodstock interests.
"This is the first horse for this partnership," Baxter said. "There are nine of us—all folks from Western Michigan that have joined me in a pinhooking partnership and from that have evolved some other partnerships, including this racehorse partnership. Most of what we had done previously was pinhooking weanlings to yearlings and now we have several broodmares in partnership in Lexington."
Baxter, who grew up showing horses, said he caught the racing bug when Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby. He was previously involved with horses via the Team Valor syndicate, including having a small share in stakes-winner First Premio, who won an optional-claiming tilt at Churchill Downs on the 2021 Kentucky Derby undercard.
Also among the partnerships managed by Baxter is the dual stakes-placed First Division, a 4-year-old Omaha Beach colt trained by Kenny McPeek and owned by Baxter with Deann Baer and Brett Logan.
"We have bits and pieces of a number of horses with the Legion Bloodstock guys, and they've had tremendous early success with Drexel Hill in the (Kentucky) Oaks and some promising 2-year-olds," he added. "They're great horsemen and tremendous people, so it's fun to do partnership stuff with them."
Baxter noted that he's taken a particular interest in the New York-bred program as he looks to identify potential prospects at the sale.
"The purse structure of the state-bred program and the stakes races available to Fourth and One going forward are a huge incentive," Baxter said. "I've enjoyed coming to New York for three of his races now and if he goes on to race in stakes races at the new Belmont when it opens, that would be an exciting draw for us, too. We've heard nothing but good things about the new facility and Jeremiah, the last time I spoke to him, was very high on it and thinks that people will enjoy going racing there. It's a state-of-the-art facility."
Among the partners on Fourth and One is Danny Brown, a football coach at South Christian High School in Byron Center, Mich. Brown, who was recently named Coach of the Year by the West Michigan Officials Association, helped to inspire the name of the promising horse.
"When we were discussing him joining the partnership, I let him know you have to consider the money you're putting in ... I wouldn't want him to have any regrets," Baxter recalled. "I said to him, 'Do you ever regret going for it on fourth and one?' And he said, 'Never, we always go.'
"This is his first racehorse, and he gets excited about it the way a football coach would get excited about it, so him being involved in naming the horse has been fun for him and his family," Baxter added.
Baxter admits to dreaming of a return to the Churchill Downs winner's circle on Derby Day and said the partners are certainly looking forward to seeing if Fourth and One can convert his next opportunity into Derby points.
"Derby fever is a real thing, and this race will be a tremendous yardstick to figure out what type of horse we really have," Baxter said, who has seen Fourth and One race live in all but his winning effort.
The only question remaining is if the partners will allow Baxter to attend the Withers in person.
"My partners have said, 'He runs second and third when you're there and wins when you're not, so maybe we ought to have you stay home,'" Baxter said with a laugh.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
