Johannes Set for BC After Second City of Hope Mile Win
If Johannes wasn’t such a talented racehorse, he could trade on his looks in the show ring.
“We love Johannes—he’s such a pretty boy,” said Debby McCloskey, who bred and owns Johannes with her husband, Joe. “He was always a little heartstopper. He was just really cute.”
After Johannes swooped down in the stretch to capture his second consecutive City of Hope Mile Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita Park Sept. 27, Joe went up and kissed the horse on the nose. Debby says that Joe has photos of Johannes on his phone from early days and loves to show them off.
The McCloskeys breed and race in the name of Cuyathy LLC, Cuyathy being Johannes’ dam. They came close to Breeders’ Cup glory last year when Johannes finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T). The City of Hope, which is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series event offering an automatic, fees-paid berth to the Mile, should set up Johannes well for another try at it.
Now a 5-year-old, Johannes faced five rivals in the City of Hope, two fewer than last year. Only Almendares , who finished second to Johannes in the 2024 edition, returned this year. Favored at 4-5 in 2024, Johannes this time was bet down to 1-5.
As he did last year, Johannes settled into midpack early for jockey Umberto Rispoli while this time longshot Zio Jo set the pace. Zio Jo and Final Boss led the field, with Zio Jo responsible for the first quarter-mile in :22.70.
Zio Jo slowed it down to a half-mile in :47.47, and Johannes was eager to be let loose. The favorite found himself too close behind Cabo Spirit and jockey Mike Smith, and he had to check, throwing his head. The incident looked worse than it was, however, because Johannes went right back to his job.
“The pace was slow, but I didn’t want to take any chances to go on the inside,” Rispoli said. “The speed map for me today was different. Mike is a smart rider, and I wanted to sit behind Cabo.”
Cabo Spirit took over the lead from Zio Jo, but Johannes was just revving up. He angled out three wide heading into the stretch, giving him a clear path to catch the leaders. Johannes powered home to a 1 1/4-length victory over Cabo Spirit in 1:34.13. Almendares closed from last to finish third, a head behind Cabo Spirit.
“I think he just got a little aggressive with Umberto,” said trainer Tim Yakteen of the incident midrace. “Umberto probably didn’t want to hit the lead too early with him.”
The victory gave Yakteen what he wanted for Johannes.
“You don’t want those exhausting efforts that don’t allow you to come back,” Yakteen said. “Five weeks between races is great timing-wise and sort of sets us up for the same schedule that we had last year. He’s a trainer’s dream—he’s so straightforward.”
Going into last year’s City of Hope, Johannes had won the American Stakes (G3T), Shoemaker Mile Stakes (G1T), and Eddie Read Stakes (G2T). Second to More Than Looks in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, he won the Dec. 26 San Gabriel Stakes (G2T), but came out of that race with mild bone bruising. He had only one outing this year prior to the City of Hope, an unplaced effort in the Fourstardave Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course after an awful trip that began with being bumped at the start.
Debby McCloskey admitted to being worried during the City of Hope, saying, “You’re watching and you’re thinking, ‘What’s happening? Why is he so far back?’ We were hoping he would be sitting third. But Umberto always surprises us at the end. We couldn’t be more pleased. Now we know what we’re doing—we’re going to Breeders’ Cup and we’re thrilled.”
The winner’s circle after the City of Hope Mile Stakes at Santa Anita Park
The McCloskeys bought Cuyathy, their first horse, for $50,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Johannes is the mare’s first foal. Sea Dancer , Cuyathy’s 2021 filly by Mastery , was a multiple winner for the McCloskeys and Yakteen. Sold for $150,000 at the 2024 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale to SF Bloodstock, Sea Dancer has since won the 2024 Carousel Stakes and 2025 Nellie Morse Stakes for SF Racing and trainer Brittany Russell.
Johannes, Argos , Velocity , Cavalieri , Nysos , Tenma , Crimson Advocate , Randomized , Verity , and Gosger are 2025 graded stakes winners by Nyquist , the champion 2-year-old male of 2015 and winner of the 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1). The stallion stood for a 2025 stud fee of $175,000 at Darley near Lexington.
