by Jessica Martini
Materiality, sent off the 8-5 second choice in his debut at Gulfstream Sunday, obviously had his supporters at the track, but perhaps one of his most confident backers was watching from afar.
“Actually, I bet him pretty good,” laughed the colt's breeder John Gunther. “I had been watching his works and I just loved the way he was working. I was pretty confident that he would win his first start.”
Still, the colt's 4 1/4-length victory surpassed Gunther's expectations.
“It was impressive to run on that kind of sloppy track and run in 1:10 and change and draw off like that,” he said.
Materiality is out of stakes winner Wildwood Flower, a filly bred by Gunther. After RNA'ing for $20,000 as a Keeneland November weanling in 2001, the mare went on to win the 2003 Piedmont S. and was third in the 2004 GIII Santa Ysabel S. and GII Beaumont S.
“She was really a good racemare,” Gunther recalled. “She should have been a lot better than she showed. I had her in a Grade I at Santa Anita when Jerry Hollendorfer had her and she flipped in the paddock just as Gary Stevens was getting a leg up. We had to scratch and she was the second favorite. I think she would have run big in that Grade I. Then she came up with a slight injury, so I retired her. But I had some really good race fillies running at the same time back then. I had five fillies who won and placed in about 25 stakes races and she was one of the best, although it didn't show that on form. To me, she was a very good mare.”
Wildwood Flower's stock was on the rise last year when her daughter My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song), a $260,000 Keeneland September yearling, won the GII Gazelle S. and was second in the GI Kentucky Oaks for Materiality's trainer Todd Pletcher. The filly sold for $2.15 million at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale.
Gunther credits his daughter, Tanya, with the mating which produced Materiality.
“This horse that won today, my daughter Tanya decided to breed to Afleet Alex, because of Afleet Express, who was a very nice horse and is in that pedigree as well,” he explained. “That was an important reason to breed to Afleet Alex.”
Wildwood Flower's dam Dial a Trick is the dam of the Gunther-bred Expanse (Distant View), who produced GI Travers S. winner Afleet Express (Afleet Alex), as well as multiple graded stakes placed Reporting for Duty (Deputy Commander). Out of Dial a Trick, Gunther also bred multiple graded stakes winner Eye of the Tiger (American Chance).
Materiality impressed Gunther right from the start.
“He was fantastic,” Gunther said of the youngster. “He was probably one of our best-looking yearlings that we consigned that year. And he was one of the best foals on the farm. He was awesome-looking as a foal and he certainly looked great today in the paddock.”
Materiality sold for $260,000 as a Keeneland September yearling and, following the exploits of his older sister, he brought $400,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile last spring.
Wildwood Flower is currently in Europe. The 14-year-old mare was bred to Nathaniel (Ire) in 2013, but lost that foal. She is currently in foal to Intello (Ger).
“We've booked to Galileo (Ire), so she'll be bred to Galileo this year,” Gunther said. “We'll probably foal the Galileo next year over there and sell the foal as a weanling or a yearling.”
Asked if the foal would sell in Europe or the U.S., Gunther said, “We may sell it at Keeneland because of My Miss Sophia and this horse. Although, it's by Galileo, My Miss Sophia and this horse that won today would be well-known in the U.S., so it may be an idea to sell the Galileo in the U.S. It's something to think about down the road.”
Gunther has a broodmare band of approximately 20 head, with most of the offspring destined for the sales ring.
“We like to race a few as well,” he said. “It just depends on how they mature at the time. We basically sell most of them. Some that RNA we end up racing. Like Wildwood Flower and several others that have actually done well for us. Sometimes you just don't know. We try to keep the odd filly that we like and sell the colts.”
MATERIALITY
1st Dam: Wildwood Flower, by Langfuhr
2nd Dam: Dial a Trick, by Phone Tric
3rd Dam: Ice Fantasy, by It's Freezing
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