When the Albaugh family joined the racing partnership known as "The Avengers" last year, Jason Loutsch said they did not receive the name of a Marvel superhero.
"I don't recall that," said the racing manager for the Albaugh stable.
The Albaughs are in the midst of their first season with the partnership, but they already have something much more memorable that could become even more special.
The latest group of about two dozen 2-year-old colts owned by "The Avengers" has already produced a multiple grade 1 winner in the unbeaten Hughes, a Bob Baffert-trained son of Into Mischief out of the Union Rags mare K P Dreamin, who can wrap up an Eclipse Award as the champion 2-year-old male if he lives up to expectations in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Oct. 30 at Keeneland.
"To have a horse like Hughes already, we're off to a great start," said Loutsch, a co-owner of Albaugh Family Stable along with his father-in-law Dennis Albaugh. "(The Avengers) have some good eyes out there at the sales. They have a great team. They have a great track record, so if we could become part of it, it made sense for us to do it. Like us, they want classic horses, which made it a good fit for us and we're honored to be part of the group. It's exciting."
The Albaughs have enjoyed considerable success on their own. They have campaigned grade 1 winners Angel of Empire and Brody's Cause and have been a part of seven Kentucky Derby (G1) starters, with a third by Angel of Empire their best showing in 2023.
To improve their chances of reaching the cherished goal of winning the Run for the Roses, Loutsch contacted Tom Ryan of Front Row Club, the managing partner of "The Avengers" group.
"We generally buy 10 to 15 yearlings and it's getting tougher to get them with so many different partnerships out there. We've had some horses with Bob Baffert before and this was a way to work with him again," Loutsch said. "We've been to the Kentucky Derby seven times on our own and it seemed like they were always in the race with us. This will give us a better opportunity to reach our ultimate goal of winning the Derby."
That Loutsch and the Albaughs were eager to partner with "The Avengers" comes as no surprise. Success breeds that kind of interest, and since first joining forces at the 2018 yearling sales "The Avengers" and Baffert have fashioned a remarkable record with a limited number of yearling buys each year.
The group was originally formed eight years ago by Sol Kumin of Madaket Stables, Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing, and Ryan, who ran SF Bloodstock and Racing with Gavin Murphy back then but now heads the Front Row Club group.
Ryan had first worked with Kumin and Wolf earlier that year when SF sold the racing rights to Triple Crown champion Justify to them but retained the breeding rights.
Their plan was to combine resources and work with a few top bloodstock agents led by Donato Lanni and buy about two dozen colts, mostly at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, that would eventually be trained by Baffert.
Along the way since 2018, they added additional partners, including a few mainstays such as Stonestreet Stable, Robert Masterson, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan.
That first group of horses was a huge success, topped by Authentic , who won the Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and was named Horse of the Year in 2020.
That crop also produced grade 1 winners Charlatan and Eight Rings .
"That first year was incredible. Now a lot of people are trying the same thing, though it didn't work out for some them," said Baffert, who was originally dubbed Captain America when the equine Avengers was formed.
And in subsequent years, the list of grade 1 winners grew.
"It's hard work and a lot goes into it. There's constant communication with Bob on how to manage the horses," Ryan said. "We are lucky to be in the position we are with a group that has backed us all the way. We have picked up some great people who have been with us through thick and thin."
The group notched a second classic winner when National Treasure won the 2023 Preakness Stakes (G1) and in 2024 Citizen Bull won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was voted the champion 2-year-old male.
All told, from about 200 yearlings purchased since 2018, there have been 11 grade 1 winners and another 14 grade 2 and grade 3 winners. That's an average of 12.5% of their horses becoming graded stakes winners and 5.5% earning grade 1 laurels.
"Tom does a great job. He raises the capital. Donato picks them out and I train them," Baffert said. "We have the three votes to decide on horses. It's a fun group of people to work with, but there's also a lot of pressure trying to maintain the success."
The numbers compiled by "The Avengers" take on even more glitter when compared to the national standards.
A survey of the 6,202 yearlings bought in 2022 found that 2.62% of them became graded stakes winners.
"The idea was to develop some stallions, but you can have a good time and maybe get your money back or make some money like a business," Baffert said. "It's like getting more Lotto tickets."
The group could have another jackpot on its hands with Hughes. While it's safe to say he will one day be a stallion given his two grade 1 wins in the Del Mar Futurity and American Pharoah Stakes and being a son of super stallion Into Mischief, his future on the racetrack looks quite rosy at the moment for the full ownership group of Front Row Club, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Bashor Racing, Albaugh Family Stables, Masterson, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Donovan.
Especially if Hughes' first four starts and wins by a combined 24 1/2 lengths have been just a hint of what the future may hold for the $675,000 buy at Keeneland last year.
"It's a dream to come into the Juvenile with a top prospect. It is our 2-year-old target. You want to be there with a chance to make some real magic happen. He has not turned a hair. He has taken everything in stride. He took care of business in his first start and hasn't stopped moving forward since then," Ryan said about the colt bred by Breffni Farm in Kentucky. "It's been a great trip with him. He's putting on weight between races. He's the perfect, model student. He's getting there the right way. It's really fantastic."
Distance can be the Achilles heel for many precocious 2-year-olds, but Hughes dazzled in his first try around two turns in the Oct. 3 American Pharoah at Santa Anita Park. After moving up from 5 furlongs to 6 and then 7 in his first three starts, he was tested at a mile and a sixteenth and handled the stretch-out with aplomb, running in a relaxed manner just off the lead in the opening furlongs then cruising to the front turning for home and drawing clear to win by 6 convincing lengths.
"Hughes is the best horse we have had at this stage of their career," Ryan said. "He was precocious and fast and sometimes those things get mixed up. There are plenty of fast horses that do not develop until later. The other good ones for us got better as they got older. He's maybe a step ahead of Citizen Bull at this point. It's very rewarding when you can develop a colt of his class. You can't do it every year but we're doing as consistently as anyone else."
Loutsch said Team Albaugh is already in the fold for next year and was part of the group's shopping spree at Keeneland last month. But for now the main concern is the immediate future when Hughes will try to lock up a championship on Future Stars Friday in the Juvenile.
"Everything looks so easy for Hughes," Loutsch said. "He is just a great-looking athlete. We took him off the pace last time and he responded. He's just a smart horse. He does what the jockey asks. He's been really, really professional for a 2-year-old. I'm excited to see him against the best of the best to see where he stands. This will be a very telling sign for us going into next year."
