Getty Mendelssohn enters the Triple Crown season with a strong mix of pedigree and performance that has many people thinking the European-trained horse can succeed in the United States. Mendelssohn demanded $3 million thanks to a bidding war that ensued at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling sale. Why did the horse command such a high price tag? Mendelssohn's sire is Scat Daddy, and dam is Leslie's Lady. Both were successful race horses who have offspring that have produced at a high level. There is reason to think Mendelssohn can become the first European-trained horse to win the Kentucky Derby. Mendelssohn won the UAE Derby in Dubai by nearly 19 lengths. The horse has won races all over the world, including in the United States at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf last fall. Mendelssohn has an experienced jockey-trainer combo with Ryan Moore on the saddle along with famed European trainer Aidan O'Brien. The horse is owned by Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor. Mendelssohn won in Dubai by 18 1/2 lengths, one of the most dominant performances we have seen in a Derby prep race. Paulick Report's Editor-in-Chief Scott Jagow noted just how impressive of an outing it was. “Despite the historical irrelevance of the UAE Derby on the Kentucky Derby, it is impossible to shade Mendelssohn's rousing performance Saturday,” Jagow told the Paulick Report. “He's already won on three continents and three different surfaces, with his drilling of the competition in Dubai coming over dirt. A half-brother to Beholder, one of the great champions of recent memory, the sky appears to be the limit for the son of Scat Daddy." There is some concern on how Mendelssohn will perform at Churchill Downs after shipping from Dubai. As Jagow noted, the horse has already proven he can travel well, winning races on multiple continents. While no UAE Derby winner has won the Kentucky Derby, no previous horse had the performance Mendelssohn had in Dubai. Even O'Brien was surprised by Mendelssohn's performance. "He was a horse that we hoped would learn a lot by coming here [Dubai] and we are absolutely delighted, over the moon really," O'Brien told The Independent. "He's by Scat Daddy and the lads paid a lot of money for him and he's bred to be very good. With a pedigree like he has he is bred to handle the dirt. That was an unbelievable performance really. We weren't sure how he would handle the distance but you have to say he saw it out pretty well! He is naturally quick and has a lot of tactical early speed. He did it the hard way but he did it so easily." Some will argue Mendelssohn peaked too early with his dominant outing. Others point out Mendelssohn could just be getting started if his early 2018 races are any indication. Every Kentucky Derby contender has something they have to overcome. For as strong as the 2018 field appears, each horse has a flaw that can be focused on. Learn more about Mendelssohn's team by clicking the next button to read about the horse, jockey, trainer and owners.
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Mendelssohn's Owner: Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor
Mendelssohn is owned by Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor. The ownership group has had a lot of success, mostly in the Breeders' Cup. The group has won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf four times since 2011. Mendelssohn commanded $3 million at the 2016 Keeneland September sale after a bidding war ensued. Smith was born in England, but lives in Barbados. He owns the Sandy Lane Hotel, and also owns a $50 million yacht.
The ownership group has won $24.68 million since they ventured into horse racing. According to America's Best Racing, the group has had 118 first place finishes and 272 top-three finishes. America's Best Racing provides an overview of the ownership team.
"Michael Tabor moved into racing in a big way in the mid-1990s after selling his 114-shop betting company, Prince Arthur, in Great Britain to rival Coral," America's Best Racing Notes."He succeeded Robert Sangster as a partner in the Coolmore Stud business. Tabor made a splash in America in May 1995 when Thunder Gulch, acquired in a private sale the previous fall, won the Kentucky Derby. Susan Magnier is the daughter of the legendary Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien, who won 42 classic races in Europe during his career. Her husband, John Magnier, is the managing partner of Coolmore Stud, the world's largest breeding operation, which is based in Ireland. Smith is an Englishman who worked for the British bookmakers, Ladbrokes, before leaving in 1988 to go into business on his own, and he became very successful in property and currency trading."
According to Horse Racing Nation, Mendelssohn was bred by Nance and Fred Mitchell along with Marty Buckner at Clarkland Farm. Mendelssohn's sire is Scat Daddy, and his dam is Leslie's Lady. Horse Racing Nation details Mendelssohn's pedigree.
"Mendelssohn is a member of the last crop sired by the Coolmore stallion Scat Daddy," Horse Racing Nation explains. "The young stallion was popular with breeders in the Northern and Southern hemispheres before his demise as an 11-year-old in 2015, at Coolmore Australia. Scat Daddy’s progeny inherited their sire’s precocious genes and the ability to carry their speed. The bulk of his offspring are best as middle-distance runners. However, eight of his babies have won stakes beyond nine furlongs, mostly on turf...Mendelssohn is the third stakes winner produced by his dam. He hails from the same distaff line as Kentucky Derby hero I’ll Have Another, and 1991 Champion two-year-old filly, Pleasant Stage, who also placed in the Kentucky Oaks. Mendelssohn’s dam is 2016 Broodmare of the Year Leslie's Lady."
Mendelssohn enters the Triple Crown season with three straight victories, and four wins since August 2017. The team is looking to make history at Churchill Downs by having the first European-trained horse to win the Kentucky Derby. The horse has a lot of backing to make history as he ranked second in the Kentucky Derby morning-line odds.
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Mendelssohn: Meet the Horse, Jockey, Trainer & Owners