Stilleto Boy Gives Moger Brothers a Grade 1 Thrill

When Steve Moger purchased Stilleto Boy  for $420,000 without telling his trainer, brother Ed Moger Jr., neither imagined the fun they were about to embark on with the son of Shackleford .

The 5-year-old has become a consistent performer for the brothers and went out March 4 to capture the Santa Anita Handicap (G1), scoring his first grade 1 win in his usual fight-to-the-finish way.

Stilleto Boy broke cleanly from the gate and raced just off pace-setting rival Defunded  through opening fractions of :23.34, :46.16, and 1:10.72. Wheeling around the final turn, jockey Kent Desormeaux looked for his slot, shaking the reins and driving Stilleto Boy in between horses. The white-faced chestnut chipped away at his rivals, putting them away one by one to grab the wire in a final time of 2:01.96 over the 1 1/4-mile test.

Video: Santa Anita H. presented by Yaamava' Resort & Casino (G1)

"When my brother (Steve) told me he bought the horse, I thought it was going to be a bit of a battle. He had raced in the Midwest, and we would have to run him in Southern California stakes races because it was the only place he could run," Ed Moger admitted. "I thought it would be hard to do, but Desormeaux got on him shortly after, and he absolutely loved the horse. After working with him one morning, he asked me where I got this horse, and I told him my brother got him in Kentucky for $420,000, and his words were, 'That was a steal!' I was pretty surprised when he said that."

When Steve Moger saw the gelding at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale, Stilleto Boy had just won the Iowa Derby for a partnership including his breeders John and Iveta Kerber in his seventh start. While slow to break his maiden, waiting until 3 in an Oaklawn Park maiden special weight at 1 1/16 miles, he has since been a consistent performer for the Mogers.

Since changing hands, Stilleto Boy has grabbed the board in nine other graded events, including the Awesome Again (G1) and Malibu Stakes (G1) in 2021, and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), Santa Anita Handicap, Californian Stakes (G2), San Diego Handicap (G2), and San Antonio (G2) last year. He took the Californian by 2 1/4 lengths for his first graded stakes win.

This year he kicked off his 5-year-old campaign with a solid third in the Pegasus World Cup, followed by his coronation victory in Saturday's Santa Anita Handicap. His team will be looking towards the April 22 Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for his next start, with plans to give the horse a lighter campaign in 2023, culminating in a start in the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita.

"At the back of our minds, we're thinking Breeders' Cup, it will be back here, and he always runs well at Santa Anita," Ed Moger commented. "We're going to try not to race him so much this year, last year we kind of went overboard, and then we had to miss the Breeders' Cup. ... We're thinking Oaklawn, maybe one more race, then Breeders' Cup."

The gelding was the second highest-priced offering at the sale in 2021, consigned by Paramount Sales; he is out of the winning Marquetry mare Rosie's Ransom . A producer of stakes winner Rosie My Rosie  and the stakes-placed Condo Closing , the now grade 1-winning Stilleto Boy is her most outstanding achievement.

After Stilleto Boy's victory Saturday, he sits on a record of 4-4-8 in 21 starts and earnings of $1,711,675. His sire Shackleford, by Forestry, stood at Darby Dan Farm until 2020, when he moved to the Korean Racing Authority. A three-time grade 1 winner of $3,090,101 who captured the 2011 Preakness Stakes, he is represented in the U.S. by two grade 1-winning sons, Promises Fulfilled  , an earner of $1,455,530, who now stands at WinStar Farm, and Stilleto Boy, who will be looking to keep bankrolling funds this year.