We were huge fans of Mindframe before he even had a name (having claimed his half-sister Star of Shanghai as a broodmare prospect in the hopes that the subsequent $600k Constitution colt out of her dam would prove to be worth that price), and in light of what he achieved on the racetrack for Repole/St. Elias and trainer Todd Pletcher, we believe that Mindframe is poised to be a successful stallion at Claiborne Farm. We couldn’t be more excited that our friends at Wasabi Ventures Stallions are shareholders in him, and helped them pick out the young Justify mare Tickle the Ivories specifically to be a member of his first book of mares in 2026.
Mindframe was highly-touted by Mike Repole on Twitter in advance of his debut at Gulfstream on the Florida Derby undercard, and lived up to the hype that day when scoring by 13-3/4 lengths with a 103 Beyer Speed Figure going 7 furlongs in a TDN Rising Star performance. He returned on the Kentucky Derby undercard to take a 1-1/16 mile allowance by 7-1/2 lengths, and was then thrown right into the deep end: in just his third career start, he looked the winner in the stretch of the classic G1 Belmont Stakes (going just 1-1/4 miles rather than 1-1/2 miles, though) before succumbing by just a half-length to the far more experienced Dornoch (but finishing ahead of the likes of Sierra Leone, Mystic Dan, Seize the Grey, etc). He was 2nd to Dornoch again in the G1 Haskell next time out, which ended up being the final start of his sophomore campaign.
Mindframe returned as a 4YO to win the G2 Gulfstream Park Mile, the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes going 7 furlongs (over Nysos, Book’em Danno, Mullikin, etc), and then the G1 Stephen Foster at 1-1/8 miles (over Sierra Leone, First Mission, Mystic Dan and Hit Show) in his first three starts that season. Through no fault of his own he lost his rider in the G1 JCGC, and was clearly in need of a race in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic off of what amounted to a 4+ month layoff to conclude his career with a record of (9) 5-2-0 and over $2 million in earnings.
A fantastic physical specimen, Mindframe has all of the leg and scope that you’d expect to see in a classic Thoroughbred, making the speed that he’d shown to be a G1 winner at 7 furlongs that much more impressive. Between his looks, his brilliance and his pedigree, he should have every chance to succeed at Claiborne, where he’ll debut in ‘26 for a $50,000 live foal fee.
We selected Tickle the Ivories as a suitable mate for him for several reasons. Though she herself never raced, she is a daughter of the Triple Crown winner and leading young sire Justify, whose racing profile (in terms of timing, running style and versatility) is not dissimilar to that of Mindframe. And Justify has already proven himself a raging success in the breeding shed — success which we fully expect will carry through with his daughters in their breeding careers.
Mindframe’s sire, Constitution, and his sons so far have 19 winners from 23 runners out of mares from Justify’s Johannesburg sire-line. Included in this number are two black-type winners (one of those is a Chilean G1 winner), plus there are two additional black-type 2YOs of ‘25 on this cross (good for a “B” rating from TrueNicks).
Tickle the Ivories’s female family has similarly-classic leanings to it — her dam, Gagnoa, was a G3 winner in France at 2YO and 3YO who placed in both the French and Irish versions of the Oaks as a 3YO, and is a half-sister to the G1 Epsom Derby winner Pour Moi. One of her 3/4-siblings was placed in the G1 Irish Derby, and that one’s full-sister is the dam of G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Pizza Bianca. Further back on the page is the additional classic winner Awaasif (dam of Epsom Oaks winner Snow Bride who is, in turn, the dam of undefeated Epsom Derby winner Lammtarra), as well as the classic-placed Konafa (whose daughter Korveya was the dam of classic winners Bosra Sham, Hector Protector and Shanghai). Gagnoa is sired by the leading Irish stallion Sadler’s Wells, a renowned classic influence himself, and whose sire-line rates an “A” on TrueNicks when crossed underneath Constitution and his sons.
Tickle the Ivories herself is a half-sister to Ancient Rome, who was a G3 winner at 2YO and 4YO, and multiple G1-placed as a juvenile, as well as to the G3 winner at 2YO Etoile (in turn the dam of multiple black-type winning 2YO No Nay Mets), plus seven additional winners from seven more siblings to race.
Though this female family has been one to excel predominantly on turf, Justify does bring plenty of dirt influence to bear, while Mindframe’s pedigree also has some versatility in it — as such, we don’t expect the foal from this pairing to be limited to any particular surface when it reaches the racetrack.
Physically, Tickle the Ivories is a very similar type to Mindframe as a tall, scopey mare with plenty of leg and length to her, and as such we’d expect their foal to be made in that same mold — which should make it both a commercial success and give it every chance to excel on the racetrack as well!