Honor A.P. Will Join His Sire at Stud, Breeding Rights Sold to Lane’s End

The frenzy to acquire the breeding rights of star 3-year-olds continued Friday when Kentucky’s Lane’s End Farm announced Honor A.P. will stand at stud there when his racing career ends.

The Santa Anita Derby champion, Honor A.P. sits at +545 on Circa Sports’ Kentucky Derby Futures board. He is +350 at William Hill-Nevada, and 5/1 at both the Kentucky Derby Futures Wagers pool and Oddschecker. On all boards, he is the second Derby favorite behind Tiz the Law.

Speaking of Tiz the Law, Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud Farm acquired his breeding rights yesterday. Last month, Charlatan’s rights were sold to Hill ‘n Dale Farm. That happened right before he suffered an ankle injury that will likely keep him out of the Derby.

When Honor A.P.’s career wraps up, he will join his sire, Honor Code, at Lane’s End. That was also the stallion home of his grandsire, the legendary A.P. Indy. Honor Code came from A.P. Indy’s last crop and is No. 3 in second-crop progeny earnings behind Constitution and American Pharoah.

Hollywood Story Played A Key Role

Honor A.P. came from Honor Code’s first crop and is his highest-earning progeny to date, earning $362,200 in his four starts. His dam, Hollywood Story, won multiple graded stakes and earned $1,171,105 in her career.

“We are very excited to secure another prospect from the A.P. Indy line,” said Lane’s End owner Bill Farish in a statement. “As is the case with most of our stallions, having a strong syndicate behind them is very important to their success. We are emboldened by the quality of the syndicate that has come together to support him. His looks, pedigree, and his growing resume as a top racehorse gives him a great chance to be a successful sire.”

Honor A.P. finished either first or second in each of his four starts. He debuted with a green-running second-place finish at Del Mar last summer, before breaking his maiden in a maiden special weight race last October at Santa Anita Park as a 2/5 favorite. After recovering from a stone bruise, Honor A.P. came back in March with a second-place finish to Authentic in the San Felipe Stakes.

Honor A.P.’s Authentic Payback Came at the Santa Anita Derby

Revenge came three months later at the Santa Anita Derby where Honor A.P. rolled past Authentic at the top of the stretch, using his long strides to reel in his nemesis. His 102 Beyer Speed Figure from that race is the highest figure recorded by a 3-year-old currently on the Derby Trail.

“I think we started seeing something in Honor A.P. when he started to gallop, and he started to lengthen his stride,” said his trainer, John Shirreffs. “If you ever see him, he just floats over the ground. He’s only just begun to show his potential.”

You’ll most likely see that potential one more time before the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. Honor A.P.’s next likely race is the 1 1/16-mile Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar Aug. 1. Honor A.P. currently sits second behind Tiz the Law, with 120 points, so he doesn’t need the 50-20-10-5 qualifying points from that race.

“We named Honor A.P. in homage to his grandsire, the breed-shaping A.P. Indy,’ said Lee Searing, who owns the horse with his wife, Susan under the CRK Stable banner. “It has always been my goal to race a horse of this caliber and stand him at Lane’s End. I plan to keep an interest in Honor A.P. and help make him a top stallion.”