Edified Another Eye-Catching Debut Winner for Asmussen

This column highlights the performances of maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.

Ellis Park

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen certainly went out with a bang during the final weekend of the Churchill Downs spring/summer meet at Ellis Park, registering nine wins—two in stakes, over a three-day span at the Henderson, Ky. track. The finely-bred Tapit   colt Edified  was included in this encore group.

EDIFIED ($21.70) looked like a pro breaking his maiden in @EllisParkRacing race 4. Steve Asmussen trained this 2yo Tapit (@Gainesway) colt! Jockey @JRosarioJockey had the mount. Congrats to owners Courtlandt Farms!

Get all your tickets in for Ellis on https://t.co/nBYFHiPrdh! pic.twitter.com/Z7jvvbFGXF

— TVG (@TVG) July 1, 2023

Edified became the sixth winner out of the Maryland-bred For Royalty, a mare talented enough to win the Mountaineer Juvenile Fillies Stakes at 2 but sold for only $87,000 at the Keeneland November Sale upon the culmination of her racing career. What she lacked in race record, she made up for in the breeding shed.The daughter of Not for Love went on to produce four black-type performers, topped by 2016 La Brea Stakes (G1) winner Constellation (Bellamy Road).

For Royalty also has the distinction of producing six offspring to bring six-figure prices through the sales ring. Following the Constellation's success, she herself commanded $2.1 million at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale, where she fell into the capable hands of Summer Wind Farm's Jane Lyons, the breeder of Flightline  .

Like his grad 1-winning older half-sibling, who scored first time out as a 2-year-old at Saratoga Race Course, Edified had no issues finding the winner's circle in his debut. The colt rated kindly under jockey Joel Rosario behind the frontrunners through the early stages and once angled into the clear turning for home, bid his rivals farewell with a sweeping move at the top of the lane. Drifting in slightly in the final furlong, Edified galloped under the wire 3 1/2 lengths in front in a final time of 1:10.97 for the six furlongs on a fast main track.

The Kentucky-bred dark bay was acquired by owner Courtlandt Farm for $650,000 as a yearling at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale.

*denotes 2-year-old