Larger than life character Ramiro Restrepo’s career as a bloodstock agent has soared to new heights since the horse he owns, Mage, won the Kentucky Derby in May. He purchased Mage together with a racing partner at Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale in May 2022 for $290,000. Last night he was invited to perform the ceremonial first pitch for the Miami Marlins vs New York Mets Major League baseball game (Picture: via Meta)
Ramiro Restrepo’s life has been a whirlwind since the horse he owns, Mage, won the Kentucky Derby in May and last night he was invited to throw the ceremonial opening pitch at the Miami Marlins vs New York Mets major league baseball game.
Unfortunately his team, The Marlins, went on to lose the game 3-8.
He spoke about his Kentucky Derby win to TDN last month.
Read the article below:
Kentucky Derby-Winning Owner and Agent Ramiro Restrepo Excited For Arqana
Updated: August 17, 2023 at 11:15 am
By Brian Sheerin (TDN)
DEAUVILLE, France–Ramiro Restrepo has arrived. Fresh off the plane, the first port of call is to pay a visit to Etreham’s base in Barn C, where his Hello Youmzain (Fr) colt (lot 38) is based.
The Kentucky Derby-winning owner and bloodstock agent has not seen the colt since he purchased him as a foal here at Arqana in December but it doesn’t take long to gauge his approval.
“Man I am pumped,” a larger-than-life Restrepo effuses as the colt exits his stable. There is a certain amount of showmanship to Restrepo, as anyone on the other side of the Atlantic will confirm, but his appreciation of what a good horse looks like is genuine.
His arrival on the international scene as a bloodstock agent and owner was fast-tracked by Mage (Good Magic), the brilliant winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby, who has left Restrepo sitting high amongst his peers – a place where he is more than comfortable.
“Winning the Kentucky Derby is the realization of a dream on so many levels,” he says. “There have only been 149 Kentucky Derby winners and for us to be the 149th is amazing. To think that from now until the end of time, your name is going to be up there with the luminaries of the sport and that Mage’s name will be up there with some of the most successful racehorses we have seen, it’s just a dream.”
He added, “It’s opened up a few doors and it’s just been an amazing amount of attention and love sent your way, which is just indescribable. I pin hooked a Breeders’ Cup winner [Structor] in 2019 and that gave me the confidence. But when you achieve a Grade I Kentucky Derby win, it’s like a holy grail, you know.
“So many famous and important people in our industry have been chasing that and haven’t been able to achieve it. And to say that you’re able to do that, you look around and are so grateful for the team because it takes a village to get something like this accomplished. It’s been a life changer for all of us.”
If Restrepo once walked this sale ground as a little-known American-based bloodstock agent, Mage has changed that. He has been coming to Arqana since 2018 but this week marks his first trip to the August Yearling Sale and he plans to make it a memorable one.
“I came here for the first time with a group of Americans in 2018 and we walked around the sales grounds and I got, you know, full fever. I ended up buying a No Nay Never colt who we sold for a tidy profit as a two-year-old in training. That was right at the time when No Nay Never was really taking off.
“So, in my career, first-crop stallions have always been something that I’ve been drawn to. If you were to look at a highlight of the horses who I have bought that went on to either sell well or perform well on the racetrack, they’ve all been sons or daughters of first-crop sires.”
