Tawny Port

Tawny Port had high expectations from the start. He sold for $430,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in 2020. Bred by WinStar Farm, he was purchased by Peachtree Stable and placed in the barn of trainer Brad Cox.

On Dec. 4, 2021, Tawny Port broke his maiden on debut at Turfway Park in impressive fashion. He came from 8 3/4 lengths out of it to win a one-mile maiden special weight race going away. He validated that form with a first-level allowance optional claiming victory at Turfway on Jan. 7, 2022. 

After an unplaced finish in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes Presented by Lamarque Ford at Fair Grounds, Tawny Port bounced back with a second-place finish in the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park. He finished second by 2 1/4 lengths, and earned 40 qualifying points towards the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve.

Two weeks later, Tawny Port returned in the Grade 3 Stonestreet Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on Apr. 16. After racing wide early on, he made his move in the stretch and pulled clear to win by 1 1/4 lengths. That race earned him 20 more Derby qualifying points and affirmed his spot in the big race.

Tawny Port went off at odds of 80.50-1 odds in the Kentucky Derby – second only to Jeff Ruby third-place finisher and eventual upset Derby winner Rich Strike at 80.80-1 – and he outran them by finishing seventh, defeated by 4 ¾ lengths. In his next start, he outfinished Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa winner White Abarrio and two-time graded stakes winner Classic Causeway to win the Grade 3 Ohio Derby by a length June 25 at Thistledown.

Tawny Port subsequently ran third behind highly regarded Epicenter and Zandon in the $558,000 Jim Dandy Stakes July 30 at Saratoga Race Course. He continued to race on dirt through the end of his 3-year-old season and early into his 4-year-old campaign in 2023, but finished no better than fifth at the graded stakes level.

Then, in July 2023, he Tawny Port was switched to turf and ran fifth in the Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga. He won his next start on grass, the John’s Call Stakes at Saratoga, and developed into a solid long-distance turf campaigner over the next three years despite going winless through 17 starts. Included in that streak were five runner-up finishes (including by a nose in the 2025 Grade 1 Canadian International Stakes) and four third-place finishes in graded turf events, three of those by a neck or less.

Finally, on June 4, 2026, 7-year-old Tawny Port reached the winner’s circle for the sixth time in 32 career starts with a driving win in the two-mile Belmont Gold Cup Stakes at Saratoga. He did so for trainer Miguel Clement, who took over duties from his late father, Christophe, a year earlier. The now 7-year-old horse followed that win up with a fifth-place finish in the Christophe Clement Turf Stakes Aug. 15 at Saratoga, and then shipped to Kentucky Downs in September for a second consecutive start in the 2 1/16-mile Marsh McLennan Bowling Green Gold Cup Invitational Stakes Sept. 9. Tawny Port had finished second in the 2025 Bowling Green Gold Cup to European invader Flatten the Curve. This time, he rallied strongly in the stretch to secure another memorable victory in career start number 34.