Airdrie Stud sits more than 2,000 miles away from Southern California, but the Woodford County equine nursery helmed by Bret Jones is exerting strong influence over the Thoroughbred proceedings in the Golden State. That will continue Aug. 29 when Iron Man Cal contests the $250,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar, a Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In race awarding a free spot in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
Bred by Bret's late father, Brereton Jones, Iron Man Cal is a son of Collected , who began his stud career at Airdrie before moving to California and Tom Clark's Rancho San Miguel. Named after baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr., Iron Man Cal was purchased by Little Red Feather Racing for $130,000 out of the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
From a family cultivated by celebrated breeder Robert "Shel" Evans, Iron Man Cal boasts a strong turf pedigree, evidenced by the presence of Kitten's Joy as his broodmare sire. As a 2-year-old in 2024, Iron Man Cal took to the turf immediately, breaking his maiden on the Del Mar lawn, winning the Zuma Beach Stakes (G3T) via disqualification at Santa Anita Park, and running second, beaten a neck, in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T) back at Del Mar.
After missing most of his 3-year-old season last year because of injury, Iron Man Cal began this season by winning once in three turf tries. Then his connections opted for some changes.
"We didn't feel he was giving us everything he had, so we gelded him, and he has woken up," said Billy Koch, founder and managing partner of Little Red Feather Racing, who owns Iron Man Cal in partnership with Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables. "He has always trained well on the dirt, so we took a shot last month in the San Diego Handicap, and he ran really well (a third-place finish behind classic winner Journalism). We feel like the 7 furlongs of the Pat O'Brien will fit him well. He's working lights out and going the right way."
Also bolstering confidence is the success Little Red Feather Racing has had with Collected. Goodies, a 3-year-old filly bred by Brereton Jones, has won two races in a row at Del Mar for Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket, and the Estate of Brereton C. Jones. That same partnership owns Thought Process, a 4-year-old Collected filly bred by Brereton Jones who has triumphed in this year's Gamely (G1T) and Buena Vista (G2T) stakes, 2025's San Clemente Handicap (G2T), and 2024's Surfer Girl Stakes (G3T), and who has banked $680,200 to date.
Bret Jones well remembers when he and his father bought Joyful Dreams, the dam of Iron Man Cal, at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $60,000. She was in foal to English Channel at the time of the sale.
"In the back ring, she was double barreling, kicking the wall a few times with a bang you could hear from a mile away," he said. "She wasn't silly, but you could tell she was a tough mare. Then we looked at her pedigree, and her broodmare sire was Silver Hawk, who Dad stood at Airdrie. That explained her toughness. All the Silver Hawks were tough; all they wanted to do was beat you, and we saw that as a good thing."
Jones spent Pacific Classic Stakes weekend at Del Mar, and took note of how well California breeders have embraced Collected.
"I think he bred the most mares in the state last year," Jones said. "It is a good deal for California to have a proven stallion like him to breed to; he makes a ton of sense for that market. California is critical to the entire industry. We are racing and breeding there now and any contribution we can make to ensure California racing stays strong is important to us."
