Virgin Colada Delivers Big Kick to Give Resolute a Notable Victory

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Add Virgin Colada (More than Ready) to the Resolute Racing's burgeoning list of firsts.

So, so many firsts in its first season of racing.

With her huge finish in the stretch in the seventh race Sunday at Saratoga Race Course, Virgin Colada got to the wire first, a half-length in front of Running Away (Gun Runner) in the 1 1/16-miles maiden special weight contest for 2-year-old fillies and was promptly tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star.' She won her, yes, first start in 1:44.32 and paid $11.20 as the 9-2 second choice in the field of 10.

John Stewart, who launched Resolute Racing in a major way last year with a slew of bloodstock purchases, made his first trip to the Saratoga winner's circle following a maiden race. It won't be his last. He broke his personal Spa maiden last month as the co-owner with Merriebelle Stables of Didia (Arg) (Orpen), winner of the GI New York Stakes during the Belmont Stakes festival.

Virgin Colada, trained by Chad Brown, earned a place on the Resolute Racing honor roll as the stables' first winner from a yearling auction buy. She was acquired for $110,000 at the Fasig-Tipton October Sale. Although the 2-year-old ridgling Mensa (Complexity) prevailed in the Victoria Stakes at Woodbine Friday, Resolute bought him for $740,000 after he had already broken his maiden.

“She's our first 2-year-old that we purchased and put into the system,” Stewart said. “It's really exciting for us. It's only our second that has made it to the track, so we're excited to get this win. She looked really, really good. We have a lot of confidence in Chad, so we expect great things from her.”

Stewart said he was part of the Resolute team that identified the filly as a prospect it wanted.

“Just the way that she looked and we liked her pedigree,” Stewart said. “She kind of ticked those boxes for us and then she's come along nicely and developed. She's a really nice physical, and she's got a real quick turn of foot, which you saw that in the stretch there.”

Starting from the inside under Flavien Prat, Virgin Colada stayed near the rail well off the pace of :24.19, and :49.74, near the back of the field. She began to move toward contention in the second turn, but was still eighth, some 3 1/2 lengths back entering the stretch. Prat moved her out to the middle of the lane and she produced her winning move, which was a tad sharper than fellow-closer Rare Art's (Munnings), to overtake Running Away.

“When she turned it on, she passed six or seven horses there and had to be real patient as well,” Stewart said. “It was really nice to see that and it topped off a nice weekend for us.”

With “nice,” Stewart was understating Resolute's weekend results. In roughly 51 hours, Mensa picked up the victory at Woodbine, Pounce (Lookin at Lucky) won the GIII Lake George at Saratoga Saturday and Misty Veil (Tonalist) was third in Saratoga 's GII Shuvee Stakes a couple of hours before Virgin Colada went to the gate on the inner turf course.

Virgin Colada–named for Stewart's cocktail of choice because he does not drink alcohol–was the stable's eighth winner from 31 starts, all in 2024. The first seven wins were in stakes.

Stewart, a native Kentuckian who founded the private equity firm MiddleGround Capital, has not eased quietly into the Thoroughbred business, though his first purchase was a single horse at the 2022 Keeneland September sale. Last year, he spent $25 million on bloodstock in under 10 weeks. He purchased the Shadwell Shadayid Stud in Midway, Ky, for his base of operations.

“I had one horse in September and I have 130 horses now,” he said. “I've got 43 in training; 28 2-year-olds.”

Meanwhile, Stewart has continued to grow his stable.

“I have 23 yearlings already before the season starts,” he said.

Stewart said Resolute will be a player in the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale in August.

“I've already been through the catalogue, and have my eye on five or six that we are going back with us, for sure,” he said. “Then we'll be opportunistic on some others. Just trying to strategize going through the sales season. I like to participate. But also, we just got our farm up and running. I've just got to like balance out, on the team, how much resources that we need.”

Stewart said Virgin Colada fits into what he expects from a stable loaded with grass runners.

“About 80% of my program is turf because I really want international competition,” he said. “You're going to see me take some of these best horses. My first thought when Pounce won yesterday was 'Australia.' I want to take some really good ones. I want to compete on an international scale. I want dirt for the Classic races, because those are important to us, but you're going to see us be really concentrated on the turf.”

Less than a year after boldly launching his ambitious racing venture, Stewart was having his picture taken at Saratoga with a debuting 2-year-old, the first Resolute baby to win. The significance of that moment late on a sunny Sunday afternoon in July wasn't lost on him.

“Here's the thing: everything I'm doing it's the first time for me for everything,” he said. “It's my first year in the program. Before this race I think we were 18th on the leading owners on stakes races already and we don't even have half of our crop running. The back half of this year, I think we're going to do some really special stuff.”