Giacomo (USA)
February 16, 2002 – Living
Holy Bull (USA) x Set Them Free (USA), by Stop the Music (USA)
Family 2-d
February 16, 2002 – Living
Holy Bull (USA) x Set Them Free (USA), by Stop the Music (USA)
Family 2-d
A late runner who was vulnerable to traffic problems and unfavorable pace scenarios, Giacomo had everything come together in America’s greatest race—the Kentucky Derby (USA-G1). Flying down the stretch after a pace meltdown up front, he ran down fellow long shot Closing Argument to score by half a length. He was a graded stakes winner again at 4 but was perceived as being too much of a plodder to be a popular stallion and is currently standing in Oregon.
Race record
16 starts, 3 wins, 2 seconds, 5 thirds, US$2,537,316
2004:
2005:
2006:
Assessments
Rated at 122 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile males of 2004, 4 pounds below co-highweights Declan’s Moon (the official champion) and Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (USA-G1) winner Wilko.
Received a season-high rating for 2005 of 120 pounds for his performance in the Kentucky Derby on the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 10 pounds below overall highweight Hurricane Run and 4 pounds below the top-rated 3-year-old male on dirt, Afleet Alex.
As an individual
A compactly made gray horse (he was registered as gray or roan) standing 16.1 hands, Giacomo has a well-proportioned forehand with a good shoulder but is sickle-hocked. As a racehorse, he was a one-paced runner who was devoid of tactical speed or a turn of foot but had a long, smooth stride.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Giacomo has sired 12 stakes winners from 431 foals of racing age as of January 3, 2024.
Sire rankings
Per Arion Pedigrees (https://www.arion.co.nz/Home.aspx):
Per the Korean Studbook (https://studbook.kra.co.kr/neweng/main.jsp):
Notable progeny
Giacom (ARG), Go Vivian Go (USA)
Connections
Foaled In Kentucky, Giacomo was bred and owned by Jerry and Ann Moss. He was trained by John Shirreffs and was ridden to his Kentucky Derby triumph by Mike Smith. Following that win, his breeding rights were purchased by Frank Stronach. At the conclusion of his racing career, Giacomo entered stud in Kentucky in 2007 at Stronach’s Adena Springs. He later moved to Magali Thoroughbreds in Caliornia (where he stood in 2011-2013) and then to Heritage Stallions in Maryland (where he stood in 2014-2015), In November 2015, Giacomo moved to Dr. and Mrs. Jack Root’s Oakhurst Thoroughbreds in Oregon under a three-year lease but as of 2021 was still standing at that facility.
Pedigree notes
Giacomo’s pedigree is outcrossed through five generations. He is a full brother to Styler, dam of stakes winner Almond Roca (by Speightstown) and second dam of the brilliantly fast sprinter Nashville. He is also a half brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Tiago (by Pleasant Tap) and to 2013 Turnback the Alarm Handicap (USA-G3) winner Stanwyck (by Empire Maker).
Giacomo was produced from multiple listed stakes winner Set Them Free, whose half sister Vachti (by Crystal Palace) is a French listed stakes winner and is the third dam of English Group 2 winner Camborne. The sisters were produced from Valseuse (by 1970 Carter Handicap winner Tyrant, a son of Bold Ruler).
Produced from Barbarossa (by 1965 Poule d’Essai des Poulains/French Two Thousand Guineas winner Cambremont), Valseuse is a half sister to French stakes winner River Rose (by Riverman), dam of 1985 French co-champion 2-year-old filly Baiser Vole (by Foolish Pleasure), multiple Group 2 winner Squill (by Stop the Music), multiple French Group 3 winner Tenue de Soiree (by Lyphard), and listed stakes winners Ministerial (by The Minstrel) and Neverneyev (by Nureyev). River Rose is also the second dam of French Group 2 winner Voleris. In addition, Valseuse is a half sister to Barbaranne (by Dapper Dan), dam of French stakes winner Bardenac (by Riverman).
Books and media
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photo taken by Jessica Morgan in 2008 at Adena Springs. Used by permission.
Last updated: January 3, 2024
Race record
16 starts, 3 wins, 2 seconds, 5 thirds, US$2,537,316
2004:
- 2nd Hollywood Futurity (USA-G1, 8.5FD, Hollywood)
2005:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA-G1, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd San Felipe Stakes (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Preakness Stakes (USA-G1, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd Sham Stakes (USA-L, 9FD, Santa Anita)
2006:
- Won San Diego Handicap (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Del Mar)
- 3rd Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap (USA-G2, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Strub Stakes (USA-G2, 9FD, Santa Anita)
Assessments
Rated at 122 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile males of 2004, 4 pounds below co-highweights Declan’s Moon (the official champion) and Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (USA-G1) winner Wilko.
Received a season-high rating for 2005 of 120 pounds for his performance in the Kentucky Derby on the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 10 pounds below overall highweight Hurricane Run and 4 pounds below the top-rated 3-year-old male on dirt, Afleet Alex.
As an individual
A compactly made gray horse (he was registered as gray or roan) standing 16.1 hands, Giacomo has a well-proportioned forehand with a good shoulder but is sickle-hocked. As a racehorse, he was a one-paced runner who was devoid of tactical speed or a turn of foot but had a long, smooth stride.
As a stallion
According to records kept by The Jockey Club, Giacomo has sired 12 stakes winners from 431 foals of racing age as of January 3, 2024.
Sire rankings
Per Arion Pedigrees (https://www.arion.co.nz/Home.aspx):
- 7th on the Korean broodmare sire list in 2023.
Per the Korean Studbook (https://studbook.kra.co.kr/neweng/main.jsp):
- 8th on the Korean broodmare sire list in 2023.
Notable progeny
Giacom (ARG), Go Vivian Go (USA)
Connections
Foaled In Kentucky, Giacomo was bred and owned by Jerry and Ann Moss. He was trained by John Shirreffs and was ridden to his Kentucky Derby triumph by Mike Smith. Following that win, his breeding rights were purchased by Frank Stronach. At the conclusion of his racing career, Giacomo entered stud in Kentucky in 2007 at Stronach’s Adena Springs. He later moved to Magali Thoroughbreds in Caliornia (where he stood in 2011-2013) and then to Heritage Stallions in Maryland (where he stood in 2014-2015), In November 2015, Giacomo moved to Dr. and Mrs. Jack Root’s Oakhurst Thoroughbreds in Oregon under a three-year lease but as of 2021 was still standing at that facility.
Pedigree notes
Giacomo’s pedigree is outcrossed through five generations. He is a full brother to Styler, dam of stakes winner Almond Roca (by Speightstown) and second dam of the brilliantly fast sprinter Nashville. He is also a half brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Tiago (by Pleasant Tap) and to 2013 Turnback the Alarm Handicap (USA-G3) winner Stanwyck (by Empire Maker).
Giacomo was produced from multiple listed stakes winner Set Them Free, whose half sister Vachti (by Crystal Palace) is a French listed stakes winner and is the third dam of English Group 2 winner Camborne. The sisters were produced from Valseuse (by 1970 Carter Handicap winner Tyrant, a son of Bold Ruler).
Produced from Barbarossa (by 1965 Poule d’Essai des Poulains/French Two Thousand Guineas winner Cambremont), Valseuse is a half sister to French stakes winner River Rose (by Riverman), dam of 1985 French co-champion 2-year-old filly Baiser Vole (by Foolish Pleasure), multiple Group 2 winner Squill (by Stop the Music), multiple French Group 3 winner Tenue de Soiree (by Lyphard), and listed stakes winners Ministerial (by The Minstrel) and Neverneyev (by Nureyev). River Rose is also the second dam of French Group 2 winner Voleris. In addition, Valseuse is a half sister to Barbaranne (by Dapper Dan), dam of French stakes winner Bardenac (by Riverman).
Books and media
- A video of Giacomo’s win in the 2005 Kentucky Derby can be accessed at Bloodhorse.com (https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/148797/past-ky-derby-winners-giacomo-video).
- "Decreed by the Derby Gods," the story of Giacomo's upset Kentucky Derby win, is the 12th chapter of Greatest Kentucky Derby Upsets. Written by the staff and correspondents of The Blood-Horse, the book was released in 2007 by Blood-Horse Publications.
Fun facts
- Giacomo was named for the youngest son of the musician Sting, a close personal friend of the Mosses (who, with Herb Alpert, founded and owned A&M Records, a label for which Sting recorded). Continuing the association with Sting, Giacomo’s dam Set Them Free took her name from the title of a song recorded by Sting while he was with the group The Police. Coincidentally Giacomo is a seventh-generation male line descendant of the racehorse Sting, a high-class performer who won the 1925 Metropolitan Handicap and Suburban Handicap.
- Giacomo is an Italian equivalent of “James,” a name the equine Giacomo shares with his half brother Tiago (“James” in Spanish).
- In an effort to get more weight and muscle onto Giacomo as a 3-year-old, John Shirreffs concocted a kind of equine smoothie for the colt, consisting of apple juice, carrot juice, and whey protein powder, in hopes that it would perk up the colt's appetite. Apparently, it worked.
Photo credit
Photo taken by Jessica Morgan in 2008 at Adena Springs. Used by permission.
Last updated: January 3, 2024