By Jill Williams
The late owners Bob and Beverly Lewis, universally beloved in the industry and honored with the Eclipse Award of Merit in 1997, got their third and final Breeders' Cup win with Folklore, made all the more special as she was a homebred. Although they used a variety of trainers, all three of their of their Breeders' Cup wins were with D. Wayne Lukas.
“We partnered with WinStar on Tiznow and Folklore was in his first crop,” said Mark Taylor of Taylor Made Farm, where Folklore was raised. “She was bred by Bob and Beverly Lewis. At the time, they used several different trainers and Wayne Lukas was one of them. Folklore was kind of slated to go to the sale. We had others for them that were by more high-profile sires at the time, higher-bred yearlings. Lukas was told he could pick one. He locked on her right away. He didn't even look at the pedigree, didn't care who she was by or what her family was. He wanted her and he just knew. And of course she turned into a Breeders' Cup winner and a champion. She really kicked off Tiznow's stallion career, him being such a special horse in Breeders' Cup lore, then to get her in his first crop. I give Lukas a lot of credit. He was right.”
Folklore, now 20 and still owned by a branch of the Lewis family, has a yearling filly by Practical Joke, a weanling filly by Yaupon, and was bred to Mo Donegal for 2024. Her first daughter is the dam of multiple Japanese champion and Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).
Folklore (2003 bay mare, Tiznow–Contrive, by Storm Cat)
Lifetime record: Ch. 2yo filly, MGISW, 8-4-3-1, $945,500
Breeders' Cup connections: B/O-Robert Lewis & Beverly Lewis (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas; J-Edgar Prado.
Current location: Taylor Made Farm, Nicholasville, Ky.
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