Mindframe and Johannes: Two New Faces at Claiborne Farm

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It's been a long time coming for Jacob West. Watching 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard' Mindframe make it to the famed stallion barn at Claiborne Farm and settle into the stall once home to the likes of Bold Runner, Secretariat, Easy Goer and Unbridled marks a full-circle moment years in the making.     One year after West joined Claiborne as their Stallion Seasons and Bloodstock Manager, the farm announced this summer that Mindframe would soon be headed to Claiborne. Weeks later, West was at Churchill Downs celebrating as the son of Constitution secured a third consecutive graded stakes win, defeating champion Sierra Leone in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes.     The connection between the two stretches beyond that. As part of the selection team for owners Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola, West had a hand in purchasing Mindframe as a yearling and he has followed the Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables-campaigned colt every step of the way.     Over the past few weeks, West has split his time between the breeding stock sales and Claiborne's stallion division, where breeders have been stopping in to get a look at the farm’s newest recruit. Adding a second Grade I winner to the roster in Johannes, the first son of Nyquist to stand in Kentucky, has made the stretch even more exciting.

Transcript

00:00Claiborne Farm has added two new stallions to its roster for 2026.

00:05The first, Mindframe, is a particularly special addition for the farm's stallion season and

00:10Bloodsock manager Jacob West as he had a hand in picking up the future grade one winner when he

00:14was a yearling. The second, Johannes, offers a unique opportunity to breeders as the first

00:20son of Nyquist to stand in Kentucky. We're very excited to stay in Mindframe here at

00:32Claiborne Farm. It's a really cool story to be involved with him you know even back when we

00:37bought him as a yearling but to see him come here and now be here it's you know it's a full circle

00:42moment. He's kind of basically a bigger version now than what he was back then but he was so good

00:47looking and you know $600,000 constitutions and a constitution out of a you know very nice street

00:52since mayor and the depth of family was an added bonus to just how good looking he is you know

00:58seeing him break his maiden in his first start by 13 lengths and then follow that up with the

01:03dominating performance at Churchill then go straight into grade one company in the Belmont

01:08and the Haskell you know then he goes in as a four-year-old Gulfstream Park Mile to really to do

01:13it the way he did at the church in the Churchill Downs you know he defeated four individual grade

01:18one winners in that race and straight you know into Stephen Foster winning that defeating Sierra Leone

01:25and then to win at seven furlongs and to win at nine furlongs against some of the best horses of his

01:29generation just shows how good he was. He's a big horse stands 16-3 stands over a lot of ground he moves

01:36like a cat and he's correct good bone and I think that carried over to just him being a very good

01:42racehorse at the end of the day just that combination of his mind his mechanics his physique and then

01:49his pedigree showed through. If you go back in the annuals of history of Claiborne Farm you know

01:56horses that were fast that could carry their speed over a route of ground is what's been successful here

02:01this horse is no different you know he's going to fall right in line with getting some incredible

02:06mares here on the farm we have an incredible syndicate group that'll back him and the likes of

02:11Rapoli Stable in St. Elias. Constitution you know standing on his own right over at Windstar is a

02:17high-level horse that a lot of people have a lot of respect for and you see the likes of Tis the Law

02:21you know the son of Constitution just gives you added confidence that this horse can can fall into maybe

02:26his father or even grandfather's footsteps. Last year in the fall Johannes' name kind of popped up

02:35like on our radar screens and you know son of Nyquist from a very good family six-time graded stakes

02:42winner and winning the shoemaker mile he ran a hundred plus buyer six times in his career his

02:46style he didn't care who he was running against he he showed up every time and his best race would

02:51probably have to be the shoemaker mile you know winning the way that they did but the city of hope

02:55just this year and the way he was able to kind of sit off the pace and when they turned for home i mean

03:00if you watch him coming down the lane it was basically just a gallop running a big race but

03:04it's Johannes supremely confidently handled and he storms to the front for a back-to-back score in the

03:12city of hope mile being you know the first son of Nyquist to stand in Kentucky is very interesting

03:18you look at his pedigree and you see his physical he's a horse that we really think breeders will love

03:23you know he was a real deal and we think ten thousand dollars you know live full stay in a

03:28nurse is value for a horse like him and his race record and who he's by and his family and then

03:34his looks so we're very excited to have him here and offer him to the breeders

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