Bernardini's three-year-old son Art Collector went wire-to-wire to win by more than three lengths as the odds-on favorite in the Ellis Park Derby on August 9th in his final prep before a showdown with Tiz the Law in the September 5th G1 Kentucky Derby.
It was his fourth win in as many starts in 2020, having previously won the G2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland (103 Beyer) and back-to-back allowance races at Churchill Downs.
He completed a Darley-sired trifecta with Hard Spun’s Attachment Rate and Necker Island finishing 2nd and 3rd.
Art Collector was the second winner on the card at Ellis for Bernardini after Lady Kate’s victory in the Groupie Doll Stakes the race prior.
Bred by his owner Bruce Lunsford in Kentucky, Art Collector is out of the Stakes-winning/G1-placed Distorted Legacy, a half-sister to G2 winner and three-time G1-placed Vision And Verse along with Stakes-placed Performing Diva and Broadway Express. A look at the extended pedigree sees the likes of influential Greentree Stallions Stop The Music and Hatchet Man.
Art Collector joins an impressive list of high-class runners for his sire, a group that includes G1 Travers winners Stay Thirsty and Alpha, along with G1 Cigar Mile winner To Honor And Serve. Bernardini has sired a total of 46 career Graded/Group winners, including 15 G1 winners.
Art Collector is Bernardini's 22nd Graded Stakes winner on dirt since 2015 - only Tapit and Curlin have more.
