Midnight Lute
Encyclopedia
Midnight Lute is an American
Thoroughbred
stallion
racehorse
. He is owned by Michael E. Pegram and Watson and Weitman Performance, LLC, and was named for Lute Olson
, the University of Arizona
basketball
coach.
Bred by Tom Evans, Macon Wilmil Equines & Marjac Farms, Inc., he was sired by the Kentucky Derby
and Preakness Stakes
winner Real Quiet
and was out of the mare
Candytuft. His damsire is Dehere
, a multiple stakes winner and the 1993 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. He was sold as a yearling for $70,000 at the Keeneland September sales
.
Trained by three-time Kentucky Derby winner, Bob Baffert
, Midnight Lute won the Grade 3
Perryville Stakes
at Keeneland Race Course on October 13, 2006 in track record time. He collected his first Grade I win on September 1, 2007 while setting a new stakes record in the Forego Handicap
at Saratoga Race Course
. In that race, he earned 2007's highest Beyer Speed Figure
of 124.
He also placed in several graded stakes, including the Malibu Stakes
(3rd, Grade I) and the San Fernando Stakes (2nd , Grade II) at Santa Anita Park
.
On October 27, 2007, Midnight Lute scored the most important victory of his career when he won the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint
at Monmouth Park, ridden by Garrett Gomez. Coming from last to first, he won by 4 3/4 lengths over a sloppy track in a time of 1:09.18, with Idiot Proof second and Talent Search third.
An injury kept him away from the races for most of the 2008 season. In his first start of the year, he finished an unimpressive 10th in the Pat O'Brien Handicap
at Del Mar Racetrack
. His second start was the Breeders' Cup Sprint
at Santa Anita Park
on October 25th. He finished the six-furlong dash in a final time of 1:07:08 on a fast track. Fatal Bullet ran second, with Street Boss third. With that win, Midnight Lute became the first horse to ever repeat in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
On October 28, 2008, it was announced that Midnight Lute would be retired to stand stud at Hill 'n' Dale Farms
in Kentucky for an initial fee of $20,000.
Midnight Lute was a finalist for the Eclipse Award
's American Champion Sprint Horse for 2008, but with a final vote of 106 to 86 lost to Benny The Bull.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
stallion
Stallion
A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. He is owned by Michael E. Pegram and Watson and Weitman Performance, LLC, and was named for Lute Olson
Lute Olson
Robert Luther "Lute" Olson is a retired American men's basketball coach. He was most recently head coach at the University of Arizona for a period of 25 years. He was also head coach at the University of Iowa for 9 years and California State University, Long Beach for one season...
, the University of Arizona
Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
The Arizona Wildcats basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of NCAA Division I. They are currently coached by Sean Miller.Arizona has a long and rich...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach.
Bred by Tom Evans, Macon Wilmil Equines & Marjac Farms, Inc., he was sired by the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
and Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
winner Real Quiet
Real Quiet
Real Quiet was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer, due to his narrow frame....
and was out of the mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
Candytuft. His damsire is Dehere
Dehere
Dehere is an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred and raced by Robert E. Brennan's Due Process Stable. Sired by Canadian Hall of Fame inductee and two-time North American Champion sire, Deputy Minister, he was out of the mare Sister Dot, a daughter of the great U.S...
, a multiple stakes winner and the 1993 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. He was sold as a yearling for $70,000 at the Keeneland September sales
Keeneland Sales
The Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
.
Trained by three-time Kentucky Derby winner, Bob Baffert
Bob Baffert
Robert A. "Bob" Baffert is an American horse owner and trainer, whose horses have won three Kentucky Derbies, five Preakness Stakes, one Belmont Stakes and two Kentucky Oaks. He graduated from the University of Arizona's with a Bachelor of Science degree. -Early career:Bob Baffert began his...
, Midnight Lute won the Grade 3
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
Perryville Stakes
Perryville Stakes
The Perryville Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during October at the Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is open to three-year-old horses. Currently a Grade III event, it offers a purse of $150,000....
at Keeneland Race Course on October 13, 2006 in track record time. He collected his first Grade I win on September 1, 2007 while setting a new stakes record in the Forego Handicap
Forego Handicap
The Forego Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to horses three years old and up, it is run at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt...
at Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
. In that race, he earned 2007's highest Beyer Speed Figure
Beyer Speed Figure
The Beyer Speed Figure is a system for rating the performance of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America designed in the early 1970s by Andrew Beyer, the syndicated horse racing columnist for The Washington Post...
of 124.
He also placed in several graded stakes, including the Malibu Stakes
Malibu Stakes
The Malibu Stakes is a race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses of either gender held each December at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
(3rd, Grade I) and the San Fernando Stakes (2nd , Grade II) at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
.
On October 27, 2007, Midnight Lute scored the most important victory of his career when he won the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint
Breeders' Cup Sprint
The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs , the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World...
at Monmouth Park, ridden by Garrett Gomez. Coming from last to first, he won by 4 3/4 lengths over a sloppy track in a time of 1:09.18, with Idiot Proof second and Talent Search third.
An injury kept him away from the races for most of the 2008 season. In his first start of the year, he finished an unimpressive 10th in the Pat O'Brien Handicap
Pat O'Brien Handicap
The Pat O'Brien Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. In 2009, this race will become a Grade I event..The race was named in honor of actor and Del Mar Racetrack co-founder, Pat O'Brien...
at Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
. His second start was the Breeders' Cup Sprint
Breeders' Cup Sprint
The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs , the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World...
at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
on October 25th. He finished the six-furlong dash in a final time of 1:07:08 on a fast track. Fatal Bullet ran second, with Street Boss third. With that win, Midnight Lute became the first horse to ever repeat in the Breeders' Cup Sprint.
On October 28, 2008, it was announced that Midnight Lute would be retired to stand stud at Hill 'n' Dale Farms
Hill 'n' Dale Farms
Hill 'n' Dale Farms is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Canada and the United States. It was founded in 1960 in Aurora, Ontario in 1960 by John Sikura, Jr., who died mysteriously in an unsolved 1994 car fire. The Canadian operation is now run by his son, R. Glenn...
in Kentucky for an initial fee of $20,000.
Midnight Lute was a finalist for the Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
's American Champion Sprint Horse for 2008, but with a final vote of 106 to 86 lost to Benny The Bull.