Wells Bayou Another Success for Team of Cox and Crow

Agent Liz Crow has seen many horses that she has selected at public auction succeed at the highest levels of Thoroughbred racing, but she has never had one of her sale purchases participate in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

"I've never had a public auction purchase make it into the Derby and it's been one of my lifelong dreams to do the walkover," Crow, of BSW Bloodstock, said two days after Wells Bayou rose to the top of the Derby points leaderboard with a front-running victory in the $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

The victory in the 1 3/16-mile race improved the colt's record to 3-1-0 in five starts, as well as his career bankroll of $845,293 for owners Lance Gasaway, Sol Kumin's Madakat Stable, and Marc Lore's Wonder Stables and trainer Brad Cox.

A 3-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky  out of the Hard Spun  mare Whispering Angel, Wells Bayou was purchased by Gasaway for $105,000 from Christy Whitman's Whitman Sales the 2019 Ocala Breeders' Sales March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

Bred in Kentucky by Knowles Bloodstock, the colt was initially bought by Willow Pond Stable as a short yearling for $50,000 from Lane's End at the 2018 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. Pinhooked into that year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale as part of the Warrendale Sales offerings, he was acquired by Whitman and Judy Karlin for $18,000.

Whitman, who said she's had success buying and selling offspring of Looking At Lucky for a profit, saw the colt in the back walking ring at Keeneland just prior to going into the sales ring. 

"I buy all my hoses in the back ring," Whitman said, noting that rather than having her sale prospects vetted she relies on the reports maintained by consignors. "There are just too many horses at Keeneland to go to the barns and look at all of them. It's a system that doesn't work for everybody but it works for me. I have learned what I can live with and what I can't on vet reports and make a quick decision on whether they pass or they don't.

"I went a little over what our budget was (for the colt), but it ended up working out in the end," Whitman said. "He was just kind of immature as a yearling but he was very well-balanced. I just thought he needed some time to grow into himself. I always thought he was going to be a two-turn horse."

Once Whitman began training the colt at her Florida training center, she was impressed by his disposition.

"He was just super easy to break and train and was good in the stall," she said. "One of the great things about him is he was always great to work with. He has such a good mind. He always had a great attitude."

The colt landed on Crow's short list at OBS after his eighth-mile under tack show work in :10 1/5, not so much for the workout itself but how he handled himself in the gallop out around the turn following the breeze.

While Cox's son Blake times the works from the grandstand, Crow is positioned to view the extended run around the turn, when the horse is not being pushed to perform.

"His workout video wasn't that impressive but I loved the way he galloped out once the rider stood up on him," Crow said. "He had such a good stride; how he moved through his shoulder, how he pushed off behind. He was just doing it on his own, like he could go around (the track) again. I short listed him mainly on the breeze.

"I really liked the sire," Crow said of Lookin At Lucky, who stands at Ashford Stud for a $20,000 fee in 2020. "He can definitely get you a two-turn dirt horse and he was out of a Hard Spun  mare and from the family of Big Brown . I was excited to go see him in the barn. He was a really well-made horse, well-balanced with a lot of leg on him. He had a lot of class and carried himself really well. He had couple of small vet findings."

Once Cox arrived at OBS to inspect the horses on the short list compiled by Crow and Blake Cox, he agreed the colt had two-turn potential and he could live with the veterinary issues.

"We were talking about the vet work and Brad said 'I think that's' pretty minor.' I don't think we would have bought him if Brad wasn't involved in the process. I probably wouldn't have had the confidence to buy him unless Brad felt like he could get him over his issues," the agent said.

While the colt did show some initial immaturity, the trainer believed that with time he could develop into a good horse.

"My initial thoughts were he was a two-turn colt, but I thought to myself he's not going to be early (developing) even though he was in a 2-year-old sale," said Cox, who sent the colt to his barn at Keeneland. "To be honest he just wasn't holding up physically. He lost a little weight and we breezed him a few times and weren't happy with how he looked. He wasn't keeping up physically so we gave him a little break and he moved forward."

The colt rewarded the patience of his connections when he won his career debut, going six furlongs over a sloppy Keeneland main track. Unplaced at a mile over a sloppy surface at Churchill Downs, Wells Bayou was given another break and later turned in an impressive victory at a mile over a sloppy Oaklawn Park track Jan. 26.

In his stakes debut, Wells Bayou set the pace in Oaklawn Park's Feb. 17 Southwest Stakes (G3) before finishing second by a length to Silver Prospector at 1 1/16 miles.

Following that effort, Crow suggested Gasaway consider selling part interest in the colt. She later contacted BSW clients Kumin and Lore to see if they wanted in on the colt who was showing classic potential.

"He ran a huge race in the Southwest," Crow said. "It definitely showed he could step up to that quality and class level of racing and perform really well. Lance Gasaway is a really good guy and I've enjoyed working with him. I called him after the Southwest and told him now is the time to sell part of him when everybody's Derby dreams are still alive. A horse is worth a lot more leading up the Derby than they are post-Derby. Sol Kumin and Marc Lore are always looking for horses of this caliber. They bought in for 20% and I think it's good for everybody."

With the new partners on board,the Louisiana Derby became the most obvious target. Despite being bumped at the start, Wells Bayou got up to lead at every point of call en route to a 1 1/2-length victory over Ny Traffic. 

"He is very quick from the gate and he has a very good mind," said Cox, who also trains another Crow purchase in champion Monomoy Girl. "He is a very kind and classy horse to be around. He's not hard on himself. In the mornings when he gallops he doesn't' really grab the bit and he is not overly aggressive; very well-mannered."

Rather than going straight to Churchill Downs on a euphoric note after an exciting pre-Derby victory, the Wells Bayou connections have a long wait ahead of them following the announcement that the first American classic will be moved from the first Saturday in May to Sept. 5 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also up in the air are whether and when the subsequent Preakness Stakes (G1) and Belmont Stakes (G1) will be rescheduled.

"I am trying to enjoy (the Louisiana Derby win) but I was really looking forward to one day having a public auction horse in the Derby," Crow said. "We have the leading points earner now but that obviously is going to change. Brad has to keep this horse together until September. It's not only keeping them sound but they have peak on that day. It just doesn't feel the same. You just hope he'll be around in September."

"We are in the dark right now as to what we do and how we prepare to get there," Cox said of his Derby preparations that will likely include other prep races added to the extended Derby points system. "Churchill is working on giving us a plan of what the other point races will be, because you want to have your horse at its best. It's a lot of unknowns right now. One of the owners told me after the race, 'Let's enjoy this one. Who knows when we'll be racing again'."