SARATOGA SPRINGS — For a horse who has breezed just once and may not even run at Saratoga Race Course this summer, there’s a flame of expectation under the colt Woodburn.
He resides at trainer Chad Brown’s barn at the Oklahoma Training Track, and while the respective resumes of the stablemates who march past him for training every day are stacked, hopes are high for the 2-year-old chestnut colt with the big white blaze on his nose.
While he actually hasn’t done anything on the racetrack yet, Woodburn is a buzz horse by virtue of what his siblings have done there, in a sport where breeding and pedigree hold profound influence over success.
He’s a full brother to two horses who have won legs of the Triple Crown, Mage (2023 Kentucky Derby) and Dornoch (2024 Belmont Stakes), and his half-brother is Baeza, who is stabled several barns over with trainer Bill Mott and remains a significant player in a deep older male dirt division this year.
On the eve of the 158th Saratoga meet, Brown said it was “too early to tell” if Woodburn would make it to the races by the end of the meet on Labor Day, Sept. 7. “He could.”
Brown also trained Woodburn’s sire, Good Magic, winner of the Grade I $1 million Haskell at Monmouth Park in 2018 and had the misfortune of being born the same year as Justify, who swept the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont that year to complete the 13th Triple Crown in history.
Good Magic was second to him in the Derby and fourth in the Preakness, and is doing OK for himself as a sire, standing at Hill ’n’ Dale Farm in Paris, Kentucky, for a $125,000 stud fee.
The common thread between Mage, Dornoch, Baeza (who was sired by 2019 Whitney winer McKinzie) and Woodburn is the mare Puca, a daughter of 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown.
As a runner, she was good enough to compete in the 2015 Kentucky Oaks, finishing 12th, but never won a graded stakes from 17 career starts. As a mare, she has already produced three Grade I winners.
It’s impossible to tell if Woodburn will achieve that status, or even win a race, but for now, he looks the part to Brown.
“Good-looking horse, good mover in general,” he said. “I’ve been impressed with him.”
In 2023, Mage won the Derby, then closed out his racing career with a third in the Preakness, a second in the Haskell and a seventh in the Travers at Saratoga before he was retired to become a stallion.
He stands at Airdrie Stud in Midway, Kentucky, for a $15,000 stud fee.
In 2024, Dornoch shook off a 10th to Mystik Dan in the Derby to win the first-ever Belmont Stakes at Saratoga, then won the Haskell before finishing fourth to Fierceness in the Travers.
He missed the Breeders’ Cup Classic when he was retired in September of that year with bone bruising in his foot. He stands at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, for $30,000.
Woodburn’s half-brother Baeza is still cranking along on the racetrack.
After finishing third behind eventual Horse of the Year Sovereignty and Journalism in the Derby and Belmont, he won the Grade I Pennsylvania Derby and was sixth in the BC Classic.
This season, he was third in the Grade II Alysheba on Derby Weekend and was second to Magnitude in a stacked edition of the Grade I Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. Mott said Baeza will target the Whitney on Aug. 8 at Saratoga, where he likely will get a rematch with Magnitude.
That’s a lot for Woodburn to live up to, but Brown said it doesn’t add any more pressure to perform for the homebred of Resolute Racing, which co-owns the colt with the micro-share group MyRacehorse.
“No. And I say that not being a wise-ass,” Brown said, when asked about added pressure. “I’ve been doing it long enough now. We’ve been fortunate to have some really high-profile horses sent into our care, either transferred from people or expensive purchases and such.
“So I’ve found the best approach is to put them into the program, into the herd of horses, and let him find his way and evaluate them individually. Don’t get caught up too much in who his siblings are and such.”
That said, it’s reasonable to believe that Woodburn will turn into a nice racehorse based on what his brothers have done.
“Certainly we recognize the horse’s strong bloodlines, and he’s got a very strong physical appearance, as well,” Brown said. “There’s certainly some extra attention when he comes through the walking ring headed to the track.
“But as far as how he’s ultimately evaluated and placed and managed, you let him find his way like the rest of the horses. The same approach would be applied to him.”