Highly Regarded: Living Up to His Name

When Highly Regarded crossed the finish line to win this season’s rendition of the $1 million Grade I Long Island Classic, a few hearts were broken because the quest of another horse to win the Triple Crown had ended.

Still, many were impressed at how the stylish bay colt owned by Art Vandelay had taken control of the marathon race in the homestretch and had won in impressive fashion. In the process, he defeated another colt named Stay Awake who had placed second in all three of the Triple Crown races as well as Believe the Hype who had won the first two jewels.

Vandelay purchased the now three year old colt as a yearling for the price of $126,000 and has watched his purchase earn $812,500 in purse money during the two seasons he’s been racing. Highly Regarded’s record has been nearly perfect with six wins in seven starts. His only loss came in the Louisville Derby when he finished fifth after trying futilely to make up tremendous ground in his stretch drive. He opted to skip the Baltimore Crown the following week which was probably a very wise decision and one that contributed to his smashing victory in the Crown’s final jewel.

Highly Regarded seemed destined for greatness and won his first five starts, including the Team Canada Gold Cup and the Sunshine Derby and earned impressive speed figures in those races. Not surprising since even before he first raced, he had scorched the dirt in the mornings breaking 58 seconds for five furlongs and 1:10 for six, which put him in very exclusive company. With such a horse, anything seemed possible and he appeared to be looking at a racing career with very few limits.

His bloodlines also contributed to his success. He’s by Notorious (by Loki Dynasty), who was successful on the race track finishing on the board in 14 out of 15 starts, winning eight of them. Notorious started out as a two year old winning at sprint distances including a victory in the Loki Flame Stakes. Early on, he faced off against famed horses like Declare or Desist and defeated Derby Report in the Lane’s End Stakes. His own flirtation with the American Triple Crown proved to be very brief as he made his lone appearance in the Long Island Classic where he placed second behind Colorado. He won and placed highly in numerous circles which is pretty impressive considering he had to knock heads with the likes of End of the Line (who had his measure in the Clark Handicap Stakes), Radee, Epic , Del Mar and Dr. Richardson. In his final race, Notorious captured the renowned Desert World Cup defeating Del Mar, Dr. Richardson , Savvy and Colorado and then headed off to stud.

He sired 108 winners, mostly dirt runners and his win percentage is just under 50%. Highly Regarded remains his highest earner who’s still racing. Notorious also sired the highly regarded Sun Tzu who just recorded his first win with Wind and Sun and Steam Engine whose oldest offspring are now yearlings. Notorious’ daughter, Errant also won stakes races and produced a daughter by Derby Dreams, Dreamsyoudreamof who has won both of her starts and looks to have a promising future.

Highly Regarded’s dam was Sky Gambler (by Vindication) who didn’t race but who produced five foals so far including stakes winning Sky Runner (by Reis) and Gun Gambler (by Gun Hill) who won his first start after selling for $1.5 million as a yearling. Her most recent foal is now a yearling Honest Gamble (by South American Champion Older Male Lokite Honesty) recently sold for just over $1.41 million at auction and has been fast in the mornings.

Next up for the latest son of Notorious to burn up the track is the Midsummer Classic where he will likely face up against some familiar rivals including Believe the Hype. He’s definitely got the pedigree, the style and the speed to be a successful competitor on the highly contentious dirt routing circuit as his career continues to unfold.

A name can tell people a lot about a horse, it can even be used to define its hopes and dreams but it’s clear that with Highly Regarded, he inherited a name that suits him perfectly.

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