Tales from the Crib: Greatest Honour

Given Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey’s methodology, you’d expect Greatest Honour to be a case study in the virtue of patience. And so it is – but with a rather different twist. Greatest Honour is here because of the determination of Courtlandt Farm’s Donald Adam, who refused to let misfortune thwart his cherished goal. 

Adam and his wife, Donna, are perhaps best known for campaigning turf distaffers. Their homebred Film Maker bankrolled more than $2.2 million in her prolific career, highlighted by a victory in Keeneland’s Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) in 2003. Film Maker also placed three times in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1), twice as runner-up to the great British globetrotter Ouija Board. Another Courtlandt homebred, Strike Charmer, famously handed Lady Eli her first career loss in the 2016 Ballston Spa (G2) at Saratoga.

But the Adams have also had a taste of the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail. Impeachment, bred under the Courtlandt banner and sold to Dogwood Stable for $260,000 as a yearling, finished third in both the Derby and Preakness (G1) in 2000. Their homebred Adriano earned his way into the 2008 Derby by capturing the Lane’s End (G2) (now the Jeff Ruby Steaks) at Turfway. Adriano wound up far behind Big Brown at Churchill Downs, not nearly as happy on dirt as he was on synthetic and turf.

Greatest Honour’s pedigree combines the principal stallions in Adriano (a son of A.P. Indy out of a Mr. Prospector mare) and Impeachment (by Deputy Minister), all grafted onto a superior family. That pedigree-in-embryo enticed Adam to buy Greatest Honour’s dam, Tiffany’s Honour, precisely because she was carrying her first foal by Tapit, in late fall of 2015.

Tiffany’s Honour, a half-sister to champion Rags to Riches and Jazil (both Belmont [G1] winners), presented an entrée into a prized female line. Thus it was immaterial that Tiffany’s Honour had been beaten double-digits when last in her three attempts on the racetrack. As a then-four-year-old by Street Cry – sire of Zenyatta and Winx – she offered exceptional potential as a broodmare. 

Hence her price tag figured to be steep as she toured the ring at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November. Bidding reached as high as $2.3 million, but that wasn’t enough to reach the reserve set by the seller, and she was led out unsold. 

Adam was able to negotiate a private sale afterward, and Tiffany’s Honour joined the small but select Courtlandt broodmare band at Lane’s End in Kentucky. Her eagerly awaited Tapit foal – a colt – arrived April 2, 2016, and sparked high hopes from the beginning. 

But that joyous expectation was dashed by a cruel twist of fate. As Chris McGrath relates in his feature for the Feb. 4 edition of Thoroughbred Daily News, the Tapit youngster died following an accident in the paddock.

Adam had intended to sell Tiffany’s Honour, since his driving interest in acquiring her was her unborn colt. With the gut-wrenching loss of that foal, Adam could have just rued the misfortune and moved on.

Instead, Adam decided to go back to square one, try again, and hope for a happier result. As he turned 82 years old in 2017, Adam sent Tiffany’s Honour back to Tapit. 

Once again, the match produced an outstanding colt. Two years after his ill-fated brother, Greatest Honour was foaled April 11, 2018, at Lane’s End.

Ernie Retamoza, manager of Courtlandt’s property in Ocala, Florida, and Adam had an opportunity to visit their long-desired Tapit baby during a Kentucky trip. Even then, Greatest Honour made a lasting impression.

“Mr. Adam and myself took a day in the spring of 2018 to go to Lane’s End Farm to view our yearlings,” Retamoza recalled, “and on that trip, we were able to see Greatest Honour who was only a few days old at that time.

“What we remember most was being astounded at the amount of leg he had at such an early stage. It was remarkable.”

As Greatest Honour continued to grow and develop at Lane’s End, Adam implemented the other part of his original plan – recouping his investment in the mare. Tiffany’s Honour was offered in foal to Medaglia d’Oro at the 2018 Keeneland November Sale, where Katsumi Yoshida purchased her for $2.2 million. Settled into her new home in Japan, Tiffany’s Honour produced her foal, this time a dark bay filly. 

Greatest Honour was on the move in August of his yearling year, shipping to Retamoza to begin his education in Ocala. That was right around the time that a past student of Retamoza’s was making headlines – Code of Honor. A homebred for Lane’s End proprietor Will Farish, Code of Honor was the 2019 Kentucky Derby runner-up who went on to star in the Travers (G1). He too learned the ropes with Retamoza at Courtlandt before joining McGaughey.

“Upon arrival, he did not disappoint – he was the whole package,” Retamoza said. “It was easy to see the potential was there, no doubt.”

Greatest Honour had a willing attitude along with his attractive physique.

“He started under tack in October and took the breaking process very well. As we transitioned into the first part of the year and started to become more serious with his training, he really took to the more stringent routine.

“He was a colt that always met you at the door ready to go. His time with us was very productive. We never missed a day of training on him for any issue.”

After trouble-free schooling, Greatest Honour was among the first batch of juveniles to graduate to McGaughey’s division at Fair Hill. The bay recorded his first breeze there June 2, 2020, and proved forward enough to warrant a promotion to the elite string at Saratoga. 

A promising third to Olympiad on closing weekend at the Spa, Greatest Honour was a nearer third at Belmont to Speaker’s Corner. The runner-up in both was Caddo River, the future Smarty Jones romper. Greatest Honour moved forward again when stretching out to 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct, but he was just outdueled by Known Agenda.

Those three losses were part of the learning process, and Greatest Honour began to mature through his winter sojourn in Florida. Overcoming trouble to break his maiden at Gulfstream Park, he rolled to an authoritative score in the Holy Bull (G3) and got up in time in the Fountain of Youth (G2).

Greatest Honour’s rise to prominence has evoked some rough parallels with McGaughey’s 2013 Kentucky Derby winner, Orb. The comparison would gain steam if Greatest Honour adds Saturday’s Florida Derby (G1) to his resume.