Mendelssohn

Mendelssohn (foaled 17 May 2015) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and 2018 UAE Derby by over 18 lengths. He also finished third in the 2018 Jim Dandy Stakes and second in the Travers Stakes, taking his career earnings over $2 million. Background Mendelssohn is a bay colt bred in the United States by Clarkland Farm, owned by Fred and Nancy Mitchell. He was part of the final foal crop sired by Champagne Stakes and Florida Derby winner Scat Daddy. He is out of the 2016 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, Leslie's Lady, making him a half-brother to the champion mare, Beholder. Leslie's Lady, a listed stakes winner, is also the dam of Into Mischief a well-regarded American sire. Leslie's Lady had been bred to Scat Daddy early in 2014 but lost that pregnancy due to the stress related to the illness of her 2013 foal, who died after only three months. Leslie's Lady was bred back to Scat Daddy in late May 2014 and produced Mendelssohn on 17 May 2015. As a yearling, Mendelssohn topped the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale with a price of $3 million, making him the most expensive yearling sold at public auction in North America that year. The high price was the result of a bidding duel between Spendthrift Farm, which had raced Beholder, and Coolmore Stud, which was looking for a replacement for Scat Daddy. The colt was sent across the Atlantic and placed into training with Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle. The colt's registered ownership has changed several times, but he has always been owned by a combination of Coolmore partners Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Susan Magnier, or one of them individually. Racing career