Winning Agenda for Brackpool

The Stronach Group hosted an impressive 44,873 fans during Santa Anita's opening day last Saturday and on Sunday, three of the company's executives enjoyed a big win of their own as Gender Agenda (GB) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), campaigned by Keith Brackpool, Tim Ritvo and Alon Ossip, earned a well-deserved first stakes success in the GIII Robert J. Frankel S. (video).

“We are partners in The Stronach Racing Group together,” Brackpool explained of the partnership's origins. “I've got several horses and Tim was a jockey and a trainer and Alon runs the business. We decided one day sitting around that we should have a horse together. And so we did that. We've also got the Golden Pegasus partnership between us that produced Bolo who was in the GI Kentucky Derby this spring. So we've had a lot of fun with our horses.”

Brackpool and partners acquired Gender Agenda as a 2-year-old out of the 2013 Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale.

“We wanted to bring a 2-year-old previously raced grass filly over,” Brackpool said. “[Trainer] Carla [Gaines] has done particularly well with those. We used Craig Rounsefell's Boomer Bloodstock to do it and he found us a nice one.”

Gender Agenda had raced seven times in her native England, including a maiden win at Goodwood in August, before her date in the Tattersalls sales ring and it took the filly some time to get acclimated to her new stateside accomodations.

“When she got here, we actually had to turn her out,” Brackpool said. “That wasn't quite the plan. She was just tired and she looked like she needed a break. I think she had raced five times in a fairly short period of time, so we took our time with her. Carla is the master once you give her time with a horse.”

Gender Agenda had immediate success in the U.S., scoring in a Del Mar allowance in her stateside debut in September of 2014. Second in a pair of stakes after that initial outing, the bay filly earned her first graded stakes placing with a third in the Nov. 1 GII Goldikova S. She was fifth, beaten 3 1/4 lengths, in the Nov. 29 GI Matriarch S. before her breakthrough victory while stretching out to nine furlongs Sunday.

While the first stakes win may have been a while in the making, Brackpool says the accomplishment was never a surprise.

“If you look at her numbers, she has run very consistently,” he explained. “She was only beaten a couple of lengths in the GI Matriarch and the race before that I thought she got bottled up a little bit. So she has run very well. The big issue for us was was she going to get the added distance. And I actually think it suited her well because she has tactical speed. She sat where we wanted her to sit and then made that nice long run down the stretch. It was exciting, but I think it was her turn. I really think she deserved it.”

Gender Agenda became Brackpool's second North American graded stakes winner. The Englishman, who campaigned two-time G2 King's Stand winner Elbio in the early 1990s, also owned 2013 GII Sir Beaufort S. winner Gervinho (Unusual Heat).

As for what is next for Gender Agenda, Brackpool said, “This morning Carla reported she's doing great. But I just want to enjoy the victory of this race for a few days and then we'll look in the book and see what is next.”