Athens Woods Farm Plays Big Hand in Defunded, Forte

One unequivocal truth about the Thoroughbred industry is that it is highly unlikely for a horse to reach the top with the touch of only one pair of hands.

Peering into the past of horses like April 22 Californian Stakes (G2) victor Defunded , or top May 6 Kentucky Derby (G1) contender Forte , it takes looking past the surface of their current connections to find the influence of Athens Woods Farms' Reiley McDonald.

McDonald says he got to work establishing the Lexington-based Athens Woods after purchasing it in 2000. The farm was built on land which was home to cattle for centuries, and McDonald committed to raising horses in an uncomplicated manner.

"I think it's one of those old farms that hasn't been overly worked and fertilized. I don't think we do anything particularly special other than turn them out and leave them out. It seems to produce a lot of great horses," McDonald said.

One of those greats is Defunded, a 5-year-old son of Dialed In   who has been a picture of consistency for the Three Amigos partnership of Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, with the help of trainer Bob Baffert. The group purchased the gelding for $210,000 from McDonald's Eaton Sales consignment at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

From 16 starts, the gelding has six wins and he's finished off the board only four times. Some of his highlights ahead of Saturday's Californian include the Awesome Again Stakes (G1) and Native Diver Stakes (G3) last fall.

McDonald says he remembers purchasing Defunded's stakes-placed dam, Wind Caper , for $37,000 from the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

"I bought her right out of the back ring, she walked by me and I thought, 'Wow, that is a super, pretty mare.' She was not too big but reminded me of a mare I had bought five years earlier named Scarlet Tango who turned out to be one of the best broodmares we've had in the last decade."

He says that Defunded, albeit being spunky, was one of the better foals Wind Caper produced. He is a half sibling to stakes-placed Lookin At Roses —another successful runner from the dam who has eight foals in total.

"We've had so many good foals out of her but this particular one was a little different. He was bigger...a stunningly beautiful chestnut colt," McDonald said.

"I think Bobby's (Bob Baffert) done a great job with him. He wasn't easy, sort of a flighty horse. Bobby castrated him early on and I think (about) the first text Bobby sent me back after he broke his maiden (when I asked), 'Is this colt any good?' He said, 'He's good but very goofy.'...He always had ability but the question is, getting the mind right. Bobby has been able to do that."

As Defunded is now the top performer for his sire, McDonald says he has long had an affinity for Dialed In who stands the 2023 season at Darby Dan Farm for $15,000.

"Even though he has not always been terribly commercial, I bought a couple lifetime breeding rights to him," McDonald said. "I breed two or three mares a year to him, mares that aren't terribly valuable but you want to start off right and I think he does that. To me he's the best value for a proven sire there is."

McDonald also made sure to give credit back to the mare who he believes can produce a quality foal from any sire. He is delighted for Wind Caper to visit 2021 champion male sprinter Jackie's Warrior   at Spendthrift Farm this year.

"She has a little age on her and Spendthrift was very kind to let an older mare in; however, she gets good runners," McDonald said. "I'm thrilled because I love Jackie's Warrior and I think he'll be the next big Spendthrift horse."

Another big name to go through Athens Woods was not bred by McDonald, but spent time on the farm as a yearling—this being the now 3-year-old grade 1-winning son of Violence  , Forte.

McDonald bought Forte for $80,000 as a weanling at the 2020 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale from the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services consignment, and he did so with Fasig Tipton's Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in mind.

"I bought him from Bluegrass and Amy Moore bred him," McDonald said. "I thought I'd have to pay $150,000 for him, he was so gorgeous, but something I hadn't quite figured at that time was that Violence had cooled off quite a bit and by the time we got to the yearling sale, no one was looking for a Violence colt."

At the time, not many progeny of Violence were making headlines so Forte did not make the grade for entry in Saratoga. McDonald re-routed to the Keeneland September Yearling Sale later that year where he sold the colt for a mere $110,000 to bloodstock agent Jacob West, who sourced the colt and signed the ticket for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable.

"We sold him for a very modest profit, probably broke even, and always when I walked into that colt field, he was the first to trot up. He was the guy with the personality and was stunning," McDonald said. "He's nearly black with the white stripe down his face; he's definitely a special animal. ...He's probably as pretty a racehorse as any would ever see."

Despite not making much monetary gain back on the colt, McDonald and his Athens Woods Farm have still played a key role in producing the likely Derby favorite. Forte is already 2022's champion 2-year-old colt, which is certainly not an understated accomplishment. 

"I had a year of his short three-year life. It's a privilege to have had him and he was always the most stunning colt in the field and we had a number of good horses that year," McDonald said.

"As luck would have it, his sire wasn't very commercial but a credit to Jacob West—he bought himself, for his clients, one hell of a racehorse."