First winner for Cowboy Cal

Multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire Cowboy Cal (Giant's Causeway) was

represented by his first winner as a sire on Tuesday when Tachi captured the 2ND

race at Indiana Downs with jockey Jon Court in the saddle. Campaigned by Wayne

Sanders and Larry Hirsch, the Donnie Von Hemel-trained juvenile rallied from

midpack for the 1 3/4-length score, stopping the clock in 1:12 3/5 for six

furlongs over the fast main track.

It was the second start by the Indiana-bred bay colt, who made his racing

debut a half-length second at the same track on July 29.

Cowboy Cal took two tries to break his maiden, getting the job done at

Belmont Park in his first turf tray in September 2007, and immediately stepped

up to take the Laurel Futurity by 6 1/4 lengths and the Tropical Park Derby (G3)

by two lengths. Following runner-up efforts in the Hallandale Beach and Blue

Grass (G1), trainer Todd Pletcher tipped the dark bay into the Kentucky Derby,

where he tired to ninth after contesting the early pace in only his second try

over a conventional dirt track.

Given the rest of the summer off, Cowboy Cal returned with a vengeance on the

turf to miss by a head in the Bryan Station (G3) but was elevated to first via

disqualification of the winner. A runner-up effort in the Hollywood Derby (G1)

rounded out his sophomore season, and the Kentucky-bred came back in January on

the synthetic Pro-Ride at Santa Anita to take the San Pasqual H. (G2) and Strub

(G2).

Cowboy Cal competed 10 times in 2009, racking up a 3-2-2 mark that also

included a win in the Oak Tree Mile (G2) and placings in the Woodford Reserve

Turf Classic (G1), Fourstardave H. (G2) and Bernard Baruch H. (G2). He closed

out his career with a third-placing in the Citation H. (G1) in November,

retiring to stud with a 19-7-5-2 mark and $1,037,810 in lifetime earnings.

Cowboy Cal is out of Texas Tammy (Seeking the Gold), who is herself a

daughter of dual Grade 3 victress Hot Novel (Mari's Book) and a half-sister to

multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire sire Behrens. This female family also

boasts another multiple Grade 1-scoring millionaire in Commentator.

Bred by owners Bob and Janice McNair's Stonerside Stable, Cowboy Cal retired

to Pin Oak Stud near Versailles, Kentucky, for a fee of $7,500, which remained

the same for the 2013 breeding season.

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