Bricks and Mortar

Bricks and Mortar began his five-year-old campaign on January 26th, 2019 in the inaugural running of the Pegasus World Cup Turf. The race was developed as an evolution of the Pegasus World Cup, whose purse of $16 million in 2018 was split to cover two races – the Pegasus World Cup (on the dirt) was run in 2019 with a purse of $9 million, while the Pegasus World Cup Turf had a purse of $7 million.[9] Yoshida was the favorite, with two Grade I wins in 2018: the Turf Classic and Woodward Stakes. The field also included multiple stakes winner Channel Maker (Bowling Green, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic), Aerolithe (NHK Mile Cup, Mainichi Okan) and Catapult (Eddie Read, Del Mar Handicap).[10] The surface was yielding and the distance of ​1 ³⁄₁₆ miles was the longest Bricks and Mortar had yet run. He again rated in mid-pack behind a fast early pace before starting to make up ground on the final turn. He swung wide and "blew by" the early leaders to win by ​2 ¹⁄₂ lengths. "I got a perfect trip," said jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. "My horse put me in a good position and just held it together, saving ground. When I got... him out, he exploded."[11]

On March 23rd, he was entered in the Muniz Memorial Handicap over a distance of ​1 ¹⁄₈ miles at Fair Grounds Race Course. He broke well and settled in second place, being carried three wide around the first turn. Longshot Markitoff sent a slow early pace, completing the first six furlongs in 1:15.28. At the head of the stretch, Bricks and Mortar took the lead by a head, but Markitoff battled back. The two horses dueled down the stretch with Bricks and Mortar prevailing by a nose in a photo finish.[12]

Bricks and Mortar made his next start in the Turf Classic Stakes on May 4 at Churchill Downs, part of the undercard for the Kentucky Derby. The course was labeled good even though rain was falling. Drawing post position 12 in a field of 13, Bricks and Mortar was carried wide around the first turn while racing in ninth place. Markitoff again set a slow pace but gave way at the head of the stretch and finished sixth. Bricks and Mortar began his rally at the head of the stretch and closed steadily despite being bumped with an eighth of a mile remaining. He won by half a length over Qurbaan. "He had a tough post and the conditions were tough," said Brown. "And he's carrying top weight and he found a way to get there again. He's just a remarkable talent, this horse."[13][14]

On June 8, Bricks and Mortar entered the Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park. He settled in mid-pack, moving two-wide around the first turn. Down the backstretch, he trailed by ​7 ¹⁄₂ lengths but started to make up ground on the final turn. Swinging wide at the head of the stretch, he accelerated and drew off to win by ​1 ¹⁄₂ lengths. His time for ​1 ¹⁄₄ miles was an excellent 1:58.11 over a firm turf course.[15]

In the June 2019 version of the World's Best Racehorse Rankings, Bricks and Mortar was rated at 120 pounds, just one pound behind dirt-runner McKinzie as the top-ranked horse in America.[16] In the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) poll, he was ranked first.[17]

In August, it was announced that Teruya Yoshida's Shadai Farm had purchased the breeding rights to Bricks and Mortar.[18] Having recently lost leading sire Deep Impact, Yoshida said, "We are very anxious to have [Bricks and Mortar] in Japan."[19]

On August 10, he entered the Arlington Million as the 1-2 favorite in a field of nine. He raced in sixth place behind the early pace set by Bandua until they entered the stretch. Facing a wall of horses, Ortiz waited for racing room, then urged the horse through a hole. Bricks and Mortar responded with a powerful finishing drive to win by three-quarters of a length. The win moved Bricks and Mortar into contention for the Horse of the Year title. "I think there's a chance," said Klarman. "I don't want to get ahead of myself. I do think this helps the turf division as a whole, though. I hope so."[19][20]

The win earned Bricks and Mortar an automatic berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf on November 2 at Santa Anita Park. Brown was initially uncertain about entering the race though, since the horse had had a demanding campaign and needed a layoff. Also, Bricks and Mortar had never run at the distance of ​1 ¹⁄₂ miles, a distance at which European challengers typically have an advantage. Brown contemplated entering the horse in the Mile, but was worried the horse would lack the explosive kick normally required at that distance after back-to-back races at 10 furlongs.[21] Brown finally settled on entering Bricks and Mortar in the Turf, where his main rival was expected to be the European filly Magical.[22] However, she was scratched shortly before the race. The field still included multiple Grade/Group One winners though, including Anthony Van Dyck (Epsom Derby), Old Persian, Arklow, and Channel Maker.[23]

Bricks and Mortar went off as the even money favorite. The pace set by Acclimate was slow, which made Bricks and Mortar somewhat hard to settle. He was seventh with just a quarter of a mile to race, but found racing room in the stretch and was able to win by a neck in the final strides. "Today, he was a little keen with me," said Ortiz. "So I just tried to get him to relax. When I asked him to run, I looked behind me and saw we were clear. He saw that other horse in front of us, and he fought all the way to the wire."[24]

In December, Bricks and Mortar was named the winner of the 2019 Secretariat Vox Populi Award, voted on by racing fans to recognize "the horse whose popularity and racing excellence best resounded with the general public." Kate Chenery Tweedy, daughter of Secretariat's owner Penny Tweedy, commented that Bricks and Mortar's comeback from illness was "a favorite plot in American sports lore – the return of a champion."[25]

In recognition of his perfect campaign, Bricks and Mortar was named the 2019 American Horse of the Year at the 49th annual Eclipse Awards, earning 204 of 241 votes. He was also the unanimous selection as Champion Male Turf Horse. Brown commented on the "huge, huge void" left in his stable after the horse's retirement. "Now that he's not here, you really appreciate his heart, determination, consistency, his will to win, and dependability," he said. "You can go through thousands of horses to find one like him. When they are not there, you understand how special they are."[26]