Midnight Bourbon Seeks Breakthrough Win in Dubai

It should not come as a surprise that Midnight Bourbon  has registered earnings of a little more than $3.1 million for owner Ron Winchell and trainer Steve Asmussen.

Just think back to a major race in the past year, especially one for 3-year-olds in 2021, and there's a pretty good chance you will find the son of Tiznow  in the thick of the action during the stretch run.

It's hard to forget images such as when Midnight Bourbon gave 3-year-old champion Essential Quality   a fierce battle in the stretch of the Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) before settling for second, or when he put away Medina Spirit  and led in mid-stretch of the Preakness Stakes (G1), only to finish second behind the late-running Rombauer .

Only a month ago, in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1), the sport's richest race, there he was, once again in a familiar position with 200 meters left. He was alongside Country Grammer , battling for the lead in the stretch with all of his heart and energy. Yet in the end, neither he nor Country Grammer could resist the improbable closing kick of 113-1 longshot Emblem Road and Midnight Bourbon wound up third across the wire.

Yes, if Midnight Bourbon is in the starting gate, you can count on the Winchell Thoroughbreds runner making his presence felt during the race, even if it was a scary scene like the TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) when Hot Rod Charlie  drifted into his path in the stretch and he stumbled and lost his jockey.

But what fans might not expect is that when Midnight Bourbon runs March 26 in the $12 million Dubai World Cup Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) at Meydan Racecourse, the 4-year-old will be seeking his first victory in 434 days. 

"If you look just at his Ragozin Sheets (speed figures), without the name, and I asked you how many races has that horse won lately, you would never, never say zero," Winchell said.

Despite a string of consistently strong efforts in some of the sport's premier races, Midnight Bourbon is somehow winless in his last 10 starts dating back to the Jan. 16, 2021, Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. 

His only other victory in a 15-race career that features 11 placings in graded stakes came in a 2-year-old maiden race in his second start.

"For him to run at this high level so successfully for so long without reward is truly amazing," said Asmussen, the sport's all-time leader in wins. "I have so much respect for it. It's something he finds within himself. To say you appreciate that type of durability mentally and physically is not quite a strong enough word for it. It's so rare."

Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, the handsome son of the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon surely has the physique of a champion.

"He is an Adonis to look at," Asmussen said. "He is another outstanding example of Stonestreet's breeding program."

He also hails from a highly successful mare in the unraced Catch the Moon. He's a half brother to the grade 1 winner and stallion Girvin   as well as grade 3 winners Cocked and Loaded and Pirate's Punch. While Midnight Bourbon was bought by Winchell for $525,000 from the Warrendale Sales consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, the youngest of Catch the Moon's six foals, the 2-year-old Quality Road   colt Weyhill Road, sold to Woodford Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds for a Book 1-best $1.6 million from the Eaton Sales consignment at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

Yet that grand physical appearance and black-type heavy pedigree page only underscore the frustration in so many close-but-no-cigar finishes.

"I call him the most unlucky horse. He would get these races when he was pressured. Then he was tripped in the Haskell. He always found himself in difficult pace scenarios," Winchell said. "He has come up short but we're looking for him to get over the hump. In the Saudi Cup, he showed a different dynamic in that he was covered up in that race and held his ground and still performed. So that was a good sign for him growing mentally. Physically, he's an absolute gem and our goal is to get a grade 1 win for him."

Given his efforts in the past, it would not be a shocker if that long-awaited victory came in Dubai against a world-class array of rivals topped by Life Is Good .

Aside from his aforementioned efforts in a career with a record of two wins, six seconds, and five thirds in 15 starts to go along with the ritzy earnings of $3,197,970 for his Hall of Fame trainer, the grade 3-winning 4-year-old was second in the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) and third in the Clark Stakes Presented by Norton Healthcare (G1) before beginning 2022 with a strong second in the Louisiana Stakes (G3) after a stretch-long duel with the grade 1-winning Mandaloun .

Even in the aftermath of the Haskell, when he stumbled after clipping heels with fellow Dubai World Cup starter Hot Rod Charlie (who was first but was disqualified and placed last as Mandaloun became the official winner), he bounced back from it a month later with his determined, runner-up finish in the Travers. 

"To put the debacle of the Haskell into the middle of it and he still won't back down in the feed tub or shy away in a race, it's remarkable," Asmussen said.

The unfortunate incident at Monmouth Park, from which Midnight Bourbon escaped without a serious injury, marked only the second time he has finished off the board. The other came in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) when he was an uncharacteristic 11th early after being bumped and then raced four-wide the rest of the way while finishing sixth.

Whether that breakthrough victory comes Saturday in Dubai or back in the United States this summer, Asmussen is confident it's on the horizon. Instead of seeing a horse worn down from narrow losses, when he looks at Midnight Bourbon he sees a colt capable of even better performances—and results—as he gets older.

"He's faced the best there is," Asmussen said, "and he's not done. It's not over for him. He's going to get his accolades because he's going to outlast them. I truly believe that."