Stitched Fulfills McCauley's Hopes With Grade 2 Triumph

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Photo: Coady Photography
Stitched wins the Wise Dan Stakes at Ellis Park

Nathan McCauley had a hunch that the 2019 colt out of his mare Walking Miracle was going to be special.

Four years later, the breeder/owner's hunch has proved accurate as that colt, now called Stitched , became a grade 2 winner July 1 after defeating Get Smokin  in the Wise Dan Stakes (G2T) at Ellis Park.

"I remember the first time I saw him. He made an impression on me (and) there were a couple in that crop," McCauley said. "The other is Eda who's a grade 1 winner. I think we had 16 foals on the farm that year but there were three that really stood out and he was one of them. When I saw him in the stall I thought, 'Man, that Walking Miracle colt is really athletic.'

"As a yearling I thought he was one of the best moving horses, he had one of the biggest walks of any horse we've ever bred. He had great mechanics then, and he has great mechanics now."

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Part of that look can be attributed to his talented turf sire, Mizzen Mast , who was pensioned from stud duties at Juddmonte in 2021.

"I have a buddy of mine who's helped me out a lot with research, Seth Wilkey," McCauley said. "I said, 'Seth, it would be a lot of fun to do some research on Breeders' Cup stallions.' We created this points system to see which stallions could get you to the Breeders' Cup, and once you got to the Breeders' Cup, which stallions get you to the winner's circle or at least a placing.

"There are a lot of obvious stallions which get you to the Breeders' Cup, I remember More Than Ready was killing it, some other nice stallions...(but) Mizzen Mast just jumped off the page and he was the one stallion I could afford that scored really well on that."

McCauley would eventually send his youngster off to the 2020 Keeneland September Sale to be sold as part of the Paramount Sales consignment. To his luck, not only did the bay colt did not meet his RNA of $50,000, but a partnership formed itself around him moments after he left the auction house without a buyer.

"Thank God he didn't meet the reserve," he said. "About the time I was leading him out of the ring, I got a call from the guys that are partnered with me now and they asked if they could buy in and take him to the races."

Stitched wins the Wise Dan Stakes on Saturday, July 1, 2023 at Ellis Park
Photo: Coady Photography
Connections of Stitched in the Winner's Circle at Ellis Park

That partnership which now consists of McCauley, Michael Olszewski, and William Minton, began Stitched's campaign in December of 2021. He broke his maiden on his second try at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in January of 2022 and became a stakes winner months later with back-to-back wins in the Caesars Stakes and Mystic Lake Derby.

What had appeared to be a 3-year-old year dreams are made of lost steam as attempts in graded company did not go to plan, and a fifth in the Franklin-Simpson Stakes (G2T) at Kentucky Downs would ultimately be the last start for Stitched in 2022. The Greg Foley trainee underwent surgery for a chip in his knee afterwards and did not return to the track until April, when he finished seventh in the Shakertown Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland.

Despite additional lackluster performances in the Opening Verse Stakes (fifth place) and a June 1 allowance optional claiming race (ninth place)—both at Churchill Downs—McCauley and his team believed in the colt and had the Wise Dan as a potential target. Fortunately, the pieces came together when they decided to run Stitched against a field of nine on Saturday. 

"It was incredible, I lost my voice for a little while screaming him home. It's a special win. I've got really amazing partners that are in on the horse with me and the Foleys have become great friends," McCauley said. "To do it with those guys is incredible, and to do it with a horse we raised on the farm. ... It's what we dream of, it's why we do it."