Rob Gronkowski purchases share of Kentucky Derby contender named after him

You just knew it had to happen.

Yes, New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has purchased a share of the horse Gronkowski, who will run in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5.

Here's the press release from Phoenix Thoroughbreds, who is participating in the deal.

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky, April 18, 2018 – Phoenix Thoroughbreds Ltd. has joined with New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski in a partnership arrangement involving the three-year-old colt Gronkowski, who is set to compete in the Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs after winning all three of his starts to date in 2018.

Gronkowski has acquired a substantial stake in the racehorse, a towering Thoroughbred who secured his spot in the Run for the Roses by capturing the Burradon Stakes in England on March 30. The two-time Super Bowl champ and National Football League All-Pro will join the Phoenix team in Louisville for the Derby, where he will meet his namesake colt for the first time.

“This horse is a winner and I love a winner,” said Gronkowski. “When I heard about the racehorse being named after me, I started watching and got really stoked when he started winning. He’s won his last three and is now headed to the Derby. I’m all in: Welcome to the Gronk family, Gronkowski the Horse!”

Gronkowski the football player and Gronkowski the horse share some similar traits as both are fierce competitors and possess imposing physiques on their respective athletic fields. Gronk the man is 6-feet, 6-inches tall and weighs in at 265 pounds, while the horse is a massive 16.3 hands and 1,212 ½ pounds.

Once the Patriots star began following the colt’s career, he connected with the horse’s owner, Phoenix Thoroughbreds, a unique global horse racing investment fund founded by Dubai-based businessman Amer Abdulaziz, to discuss a potential partnership.

“We are very excited to have this talented racehorse running in the Derby and to have Rob Gronkowski join our team,” said Tom Ludt, who directs Phoenix’s global racing and bloodstock operations. “His involvement only adds to our growing credentials worldwide and can help us introduce the best of horse racing to a whole new audience.”

Gronkowski the colt is a son of champion Lonhro, Australia’s Racehorse of the Year in 2003-’04, and he was bred in Kentucky as the first foal from the mare Four Sugars, a daughter of twice champion American racehorse Lookin At Lucky. Phoenix purchased Gronkowski in 2017 as an unraced 2-year-old in training at the Tattersalls Craven breeze-up sale in England.

Trained by British-based Jeremy Noseda, who is well known in American racing as the trainer of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Wilko and European classic winners Araafa and Sixties Icon, Gronkowski will be ridden in the Kentucky Derby by his regular jockey, Jamie Spencer. The colt will be shipped to Churchill Downs from Noseda’s stables in Newmarket, England, a week before the Derby, and soon thereafter the football star will be introduced to his equine namesake.

“I really can’t think of anything cooler than having a top-class Thoroughbred named after me,” Rob Gronkowski said. “Except maybe having him win the Derby.”

About Phoenix Thoroughbreds Ltd.

Formed in 2017, Phoenix is a Thoroughbred racing investment fund that has purchased more than $25 million in bloodstock while establishing stables in the United States, Europe and Australia. Based in Dubai, London and Los Angeles, the fund was founded by Dubai-based businessman and racing enthusiast Amer Abdulaziz. Among Phoenix Thoroughbreds’ horses are the Bob Baffert-trained Grade 1 winner Dream Tree, Kentucky Derby entrant and stakes winner Gronkowski, and Take Me With You, a filly who placed in the Albany Stakes during the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting of 2017.

(End of release)

Gronkowski is 17th in the latest Kentucky Derby media poll conducted by Horse Racing Nation.

Related links

Magnum Moon confirms place in uber-talented Kentucky Derby field

My Boy Jack locks up Kentucky Derby berth

This year's Kentucky Derby promises plenty of brilliance

This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Rob Gronkowski purchases share of Kentucky Derby contender named after him."