Conquering Cat broke his maiden on second asking and gave his sire Game Winner his first winner June 6.
Out of the sire's first crop, Conquering Cat won a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds by half a length at Churchill Downs, covering 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:05.77 on a fast main track.
With Luis Saez in the irons, the bay colt trained by Christopher Davis gave chase out of the gate before taking the lead in the final half-furlong and holding on for the win.
Bred by SF Bloodstock and Tuscany Bloodstock, Conquering Cat is owned by Michael Faber's Dare To Dream Stable.
The colt entered the sales ring twice, first in the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale where he sold for $80,000 to Luna Bloodstock. He was back on the market earlier this year at the Ocala Breeders' March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training where Dare To Dream Stable purchased him for $100,000 out of Julie Davies' consignment.
The sire, a son of Candy Ride , went to stud in 2021 and stands at Lane's End in Versailles, Ky., for $20,000.
Game Winner retired after eight starts (5-2-0) and more than $2 million in career earnings. He was the champion 2-year-old male in 2018 after winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) on the same track his son broke his maiden Thursday.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Game Winner opened his career with four straight wins concluding at the Breeders' Cup. That stretch included two other grade 1 scores—the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and the American Pharoah Stakes (G1).
He returned for his 3-year-old campaign with a pair of seconds in the 2019 Rebel Stakes (G2) and Santa Anita Derby (G1) before finishing fifth in the Kentucky Derby (G1). He raced once more, closing out his racing days with a triumphant effort in the 2019 Los Alamitos Derby (G3) for owners Gary and Mary West.
