In his racing debut last August, Brody's Cause failed to fire as the 3-1 second choice in a Maiden Special on the Ellis Park turf. After that it didn't take long for the chestnut colt establish himself as one of North America's top juveniles - breaking his Maiden at Churchill Downs, scoring in the Breeders' Futurity (G1) over eventual Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner Exaggerator and running a sold third to Nyquist in the subsequent Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1).
His sophomore season has followed a similar dynamic so far. In the March 12 Tampa Bay Derby he ran an inexplicable seventh as the 2-1 favorite before bouncing back in his next start, a handy Blue Grass Stakes (G1) win on April 9. That victory puts him squarely in the Kentucky Derby/Triple Crown mix.
"Brody's Cause just keeps grinding away," is how Keeneland track announcer called the Blue Grass stretch run.
In fact, Brody's Cause worked out nearly identical trips in both of his Grade 1 victories at Keeneland. In the Breeders' Futurity and in the Blue Grass he was content to settle near the back of the field, hustling in to contention midway around the final turn and sustaining that run to wear down the frontrunners.
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Owned by Albaugh Family stable, Betmix subscriber and leading bloodstock agent Steve Castagnola is on the team that helped select Brody's Cause at the 2011 Keeneland September Yearling sale.
There was certainly a lot to like about this $350,000 colt's pedigree. He's a son of Giant's Causeway, a consistent source of top class two-turn runners around the world. There is plenty of class and stamina on the bottom side of the pedigree too. His dam, Sweet Breanna, placed in a pair of Canadian Triple Tiara contests. She is a daughter of Sahm, by Mr. Prospector out the great mare Salsabil, winner of the Epson Oaks and Irish Derby. Sweet Breanna's dam is the Roberto mare Sweet Roberta, runner up to Hall of Famer Go for Wand in the 1989 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
There is may be a lack of brilliance in this year's sophomore colt crop at present but there are plenty of intriguing runners who have the stamina to get home first in an upcoming Classic. Brody's Cause is one of them and if he has luck on his side it's very easy to envision him draped in a garland of roses or Black-Eyed Susans or carnations.