The firsts associated with Joe and Debby McCloskey’s first racehorse, Cuyathy , just keep coming.
The Del Mar, Calif., residents race under the name Cuyathy, an enterprise named after their first racehorse—a daughter of Congrats named Cuyathy whom they bought for $50,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
After becoming a stakes-placed winner of nearly $108,000, the McCloskeys bred Cuyathy to Darley Stallions’ Nyquist and got a dark bay or brown colt they named Johannes . The homebred colt now trained by Tim Yakteen became their first graded stakes winner in the April 4 American Stakes (G3T) and then topped that by becoming a grade 1 winner May 27 in the $303,000 Shoemaker Mile Stakes (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.
Johannes, one of three 4-year-olds in the field, was the 2-1 second choice alongside this year’s Frank E. Kilroe Stakes (G1T) winner Du Jour , (also 2-1 but fractionally the favorite) trained by Bob Baffert and co-owned by Jill Baffert and Debbie Lanni. Umberto Rispoli gave a stalking ride to Johannes, allowing anticipated pacesetter Goliad to lead the field through opening fractions of :45.50 and 1:09.20.
Goliad would be tracked closely by Three Chimneys Farm’s Funtastic Again with Frankie Dettori in the saddle, and together they grabbed the lead at the top of the stretch but were quickly joined by Johannes. The two battled shoulder to shoulder for the final eighth mile, with Johannes pulling ahead to win by a half-length. Du Jour, wide out of the final turn, rallied to finish third.
“That was fantastic. I beat my idol,” said the 35-year-old Rispoli who, like Dettori, hails from Italy and two races earlier won the grade 1 Gamely Stakes on Anisette . “I have so much respect for Frankie. Having my second Gamely and Shoemaker Mile on the same day is just a dream come true.”
Johannes made his first two starts on dirt as a 2-year-old in 2022, both losses. After he was switched to turf, he’s lost only once in six starts.
“He showed talent from the start, but to develop into this. I didn’t expect it in the early stages, but I’m very thankful for him and appreciative,” Yakteen said.
Last time out April 4 at Santa Anita, Johannes returned from a near 11-month layoff and won the American Stakes at one mile on turf. Last year, he won the Baffle Stakes sprinting on the hillside course and the one-mile Pasadena Stakes before suffering his only turf loss at Churchill Downs in the American Turf Stakes (G2T) on the Kentucky Derby undercard.
Johannes has an overall record of 5-0-1 from nine starts with $423,859 in earnings.
Cuyathy, who made most of her starts with trainer William Morey, won three races and was third in the 2018 Kalookan Queen Stakes at Santa Anita. She is out of the unraced Devil’s Bag mare Dance Darling, who is a half sister to graded-placed stakes winner Misnomer (Miswaki) and stakes winner Darling Danzig. Cuyathy is a half sister to grade 2-placed winner Join in the Dance (Sky Mesa) and multiple stakes producer Bronxgirl (Corinthian).
As a broodmare, Cuyathy has a winning 3-year-old filly by Mastery named Sea Dancer and a has a 2-year-old filly by Gun Runner named Sea Runner. She has a yearling filly by Knicks Go and was bred this year to Mandaloun .
Nyquist stands for $85,000 at Darley near Lexington. Other top runners for Nyquist this year include graded stakes winners Encino and Nysos .
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