Honor Code

Even before he made he made his first start, there was a lot of pressure on Honor Code. He was one of only 25 foals from the final crop of leading sire A.P. Indy and hopes were high that he would be “the” one to help carry on his father’s legacy. Lane’s End Farm, which stood A.P. Indy, bought into Honor Code as a yearling from his breeder, Dell Ride Farm, and when the time came they turned him over Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey. “Honestly, he’s one of the most remarkable looking A.P. Indys I’ve ever seen,” Lane’s End’s Will Farish told the Thoroughbred Daily News. “We were so thrilled to get him being that it’s his last crop and how good he’s been to us. [Honor Code] was the entire package, a remarkable-looking individual. He’s beautifully balanced, very correct and everything that you’d hope for conformationally.” Honor Code lived up to his early hype by winning his career debut by an impressive 4 ½ lengths at Saratoga in Aug. 2013 and was among the early favorites for the 2014 Kentucky Derby after ending his juvenile season with a second in the Champagne Stakes and a victory in the Remsen Stakes. Unfortunately, he was knocked off the Triple Crown trail after he was discovered to have a slight tear in his right hind upper suspensory one day after a March workout. The striking bay colt returned to the races in late Nov. 2014 and has since won three of four starts. The lone blemish on his resume was a fifth in the Alysheba Stakes at Churchill on the Kentucky Oaks undercard, but he quickly made amends with an impressive victory in the Grade 1 Met Mile June 6. Racing in last place for the first half mile, Honor Code rallied under regular rider Javier Castellano to win by 3 ¾ lengths over 2014 Belmont winner Tonalist. He used similar come from behind tactics to wear down Liam’s Map in the final strides to win the Whitney Handicap (G1) by a neck Aug. 8. After prepping with a second-place effort in the one mile Kelso Handicap (G2) Oct. 3, Honor Code is currently on the path that will hopefully have him follow in the footsteps of A.P. Indy, the 1992 Breeders’ Cup winner. Despite his dominance as a sire, A.P. Indy has only produced two Breeders’ Cup winners and a victory by Honor Code would be his first in the Classic.