# Senor Buscador

Senor Buscador (foaled May 6, 2018) is an American thoroughbred racehorse most famous for winning the 2024 Saudi Cup. He has competed at 11 different racetracks in the United States, as well as in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. His name is an homage to his lineage; "Señor Buscador" roughly translates in English to "Mr. Prospector," who is part of the bloodline on both his sire and dam side.

## Background

Senor Buscador is sired by 2003 American Horse of the Year Mineshaft, a successful racehorse and stallion whose dam (Prospectors Delite) was sired by Mr. Prospector. His dam is Rose's Desert, a New Mexico bred who won multiple black type races against other New Mexico breds in her 15-race career. Rose's Desert's great-grandsire is also Mr. Prospector. Trainer Todd Fincher (a retired Quarter Horse jockey) and owner/breeder Joe Peacock, Sr., found success in Rose's Desert's previous foals, including Sunland Derby winner Runaway Ghost.
Bred by Joe Peacock, Sr., and his son Joe Peacock, Jr., Senor Buscador was the last horse bred before the former's death.

## Racing career
### Two-year-old season

Both Senor Buscador's starts as a two-year-old were run at Remington Park. The original plan had been to run him at Sunland Park where Todd Fincher and the Peacock family were based, but due to the COVID pandemic, Sunland Park was closed. So he was shipped to Remington Park, where his first start came on November 6, 2020, in a 5 1/2 furlong Maiden Special Weight.
He made a slow start, being 10 lengths behind the leading horse, but he rallied and won the race by 2 1/2 lengths. One month later, he secured a stakes victory in the Remington Springboard Mile in another last-to-first performance but this time from even further back, being 12 1/4 lengths behind at the start and crossing the finish line 5 3/4 lengths clear of second place. The race should have awarded 10 Kentucky Derby points to the winner; however, Senor Buscador did not earn points because he was on Lasix.

### Three-year-old season

After winning the Springboard Mile, the plan was to take him to The Fairgrounds as a 3-year-old and run him Lasix-free to get him into the Kentucky Derby. But in the Risen Star Stakes, he was sent wide throughout and couldn't muster the late kick that got him first in his previous two races and he finished fifth, just out of range to acquire Kentucky Derby points. His next race had to be the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, but his 3-year-old campaign was cut short by a suspensory injury to his right front leg. This took him out of the Kentucky Derby so he was rested for what was expected to be a summer campaign. He was almost ready to return to racing, but he injured his hock in a stall accident, so he could barely walk for several months. These injuries kept him off the racetrack for 15 months before he returned in an allowance race at Lone Star Park on July 3, 2021, as a 4-year-old.

### Four-year-old season

Despite a long layoff, Senor Buscador won his first race back at Lone Star Park, starting in fifth and winning by 2 lengths. Later that month, he travelled to Del Mar racetrack for the San Diego Handicap. He started slowly and never threatened, finishing eighth in a nine-horse field, 9 3/4 lengths behind winner Royal Ship. He improved in his next start, the Pat O'Brien, but was strung 7 wide into the far turn and was a distant third. His third start that season was at Churchill Downs for the Ack Ack Stakes. He came from behind fast, being sixth early and making up ground on the outside to be second at the top of the stretch. He faced a serious challenge from Injunction to his inside but held him off to win by 1 1/4 lengths. This was his first graded stakes victory and put him on equal footing with his older half-brother, Runaway Ghost. It was the second graded stakes victory for Joe Peacock Sr and trainer Todd Fincher.
Their final race of the year was his Grade 1 debut in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. The Ack Ack Stakes is a part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series, giving Senor Buscador an automatic paid berth into the race. He broke slowest of the 9 contenders and stayed wide and near the back of the pack the whole way and finished eighth, 13 1/2 lengths behind Cody's Wish.

### Five-year-old season

With no injuries, his 5-year-old season was his first complete campaign. It began at Sunland Park in the Curibot Handicap, where he was the overwhelming favorite at odds of 1–9. The distant second choice was his older half-brother Sheriff Brown, who was also coming off a win two starts back and an underwhelming effort on Breeders’ Cup day. Senor Buscador was unhurried early, ahead of only Sheriff Brown in the first quarter of a mile. Senor Buscador preferred a fast pace to close into, but in the Curibot Handicap, Limonite took the lead immediately and set a very slow pace, running the first quarter in 25.52 and the half in 49.67. Despite this, Senor Buscador caught up to him at the top of the stretch and hooked up briefly before pulling away to win by four lengths.
His next two races were the Oaklawn Handicap and the Hollywood Gold Cup with both having similar results. Early on, he got pinched and trailed the field. By the time he caught up, he went wide into the far turn and flattened out, finishing fourth in the Oaklawn Handicap and fifth in the Hollywood Gold Cup.
Two months later, he tried to win the San Diego Handicap again. He dropped as far back as 11 1/2 lengths behind the leaders early and benefited greatly from a fast pace set by Brickyard Ride, a sprinter attempting to stretch out in distance. When Brickyard Ride faded, Slow Down Andy took the lead for a moment, but Senor Buscador was travelling the best and flew past all of them to win by 1 1/4 in his second graded stakes victory and his first Grade 2. One month later, he was back at Del Mar to run in the Pacific Classic, where he trailed as usual and was given a fast pace to close into by Arabian Knight but went six wide into the far turn and only rallied fast enough to finish fourth. He did better in the Awesome Again, getting his first grade 1 on a sloppy racetrack. This was his final prep before he raced in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, his second participation in a Breeders’ Cup race, and was seventh.
His final start of the year was the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Racetrack, making it his 10th racetrack in 16 starts. It was the first time since his win in the Ack Ack Stakes that he ran a one-turn race. It resulted in a second-place finish, despite going wider than he had ever before, going eight wide and unable to catch the runaway leader, Hoist The Gold, who had opened up five lengths at the top of the stretch.

### Six-year-old season

Senor Buscador arrived early for the 2024 Pegasus World Cup. While his connections were confident that he could run well, there was some concern about if he could make enough ground at Gulfstream Park, a racetrack that has a reputation for favoring speed horses and not closers. Despite this, Senor Buscador rallied from 12 1/2 lengths off the pace while staying on the rail until the top of the stretch, saving ground. He passed the exhausted Hoist The Gold to take second, but when he went up to challenge the leader, National Treasure, he was held off in deep stretch by a neck. It was considered one of the best performances of his career and shortly after the race he was given an invitation to the 2024 Saudi Cup, the richest horse race in the world
The Friday before the Saudi Cup, a minority interest lease was bought into the horse by Sharaf Mohammed S. Al-Hariri that was intended to last through the horse’s time in the Middle East and only included the earnings he acquired during his time racing and did not include breeding rights On race day, he was considered an outsider at 13-1 with the 6-5 favorite being another American horse, White Abarrio, who had defeated Senor Buscador by 5 1/4 lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Other horses that had finished ahead of Señor Buscador were back for the Saudi Cup, including 2023 Dubai World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro, 2023 UAE Derby winner Derma Sotogake, and the horse who beat him in his previous start, National Treasure. Senor Buscador, as expected, started the race in last place.
Saudi Crown and National Treasure set a fast pace, stalking for second place. With 300 yards to go, Senor Buscador still had most of the field to pass. He and Ushba Tesoro were flying from the back of the pack, but Ushba Tesoro was ahead of Senor Buscador. With 50 yards to go, Senor Buscador was fourth and Ushba Tesoro was second with Saudi Crown still in front. Ushba Tesoro surged past Saudi Crown and took the lead, but to his outside was Senor Buscador, who was now traveling the fastest. In the final strides, Senor Buscador had his head in front right on the finish line, winning the Saudi Cup by the smallest margin in the race’s history. It was also the fastest Saudi Cup ever run, setting a stakes record time 1:49.50.
It was the first Grade 1 win for the horse, trainer, and owner and their first victory outside of America. Trainer Fincher was quoted after the race, "I'm about to cry, It's amazing. He's never got the credit he deserves, I'm so proud of the horse. I didn't believe, something always happened to him. He always runs well and hard. We knew he'd run good, we had to hope for the right set-up and we got it.”
His next race was the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse with hopes of becoming the first horse to win both the Saudi Cup and Dubai World Cup, the first and second richest dirt races in the world. He had a rematch with Ushba Tesoro, who had won the race the previous year. But the race was stolen on the lead by a local horse named Laurel River, who ran at his own pace and was impossible. At the wire, he won by 8 1/2 lengths with Ushba Tesoro passing Senor Buscador on the outside to claim a distant second-place finish while Senor Buscador finished third.
Senor Buscador raced four more times in 2024, placing fourth in the Pat O'Brien Stakes before finishing off the board in the California Crown Stakes, Breeders' Cup Classic and Cigar Mile Handicap.

## Retirement and stud career

On January 19, 2025, owner Joe R. Peacock Jr. wrote on X that Senor Buscador, who was preparing for the Pegasus World Cup and a potential seven-year-old season, had retired after his team was not satisfied with how the horse came out of a workout. Senor Buscador is planned to be shipped to Lexington, Kentucky for the 2025 breeding season, although a stud deal had not been announced. He will stand his first breeding season in 2025 at Lane's End Farm for $7,500, LFSN alongside his sire, Mineshaft.

## Pedigree

Pedigree of Senor Buscador :
| Sire Mineshaft dk.b. 1999 | A.P. Indy dk.b. 1989 | Seattle Slew | Bold Reasoning |
| Sire Mineshaft dk.b. 1999 | A.P. Indy dk.b. 1989 | Seattle Slew | My Charmer |
| Sire Mineshaft dk.b. 1999 | A.P. Indy dk.b. 1989 | Weekend Surprise | Secretariat |
| Sire Mineshaft dk.b. 1999 | A.P. Indy dk.b. 1989 | Weekend Surprise | Lassie Dear |
| Sire Mineshaft dk.b. 1999 | Prospectors Delite ch. 1989 | Mr. Prospector | Raise a Native |
| Sire Mineshaft dk.b. 1999 | Prospectors Delite ch. 1989 | Mr. Prospector | Gold Digger |
| Sire Mineshaft dk.b. 1999 | Prospectors Delite ch. 1989 | Up the Flagpole | Hoist the Flag |
| Sire Mineshaft dk.b. 1999 | Prospectors Delite ch. 1989 | Up the Flagpole | The Garden Club |
| Dam Rose's Desert dk.b. 2008 | Desert God b. 1991 | Fappiano | Mr. Prospector |
| Dam Rose's Desert dk.b. 2008 | Desert God b. 1991 | Fappiano | Killaloe |
| Dam Rose's Desert dk.b. 2008 | Desert God b. 1991 | Blush With Pride | Blushing Groom |
| Dam Rose's Desert dk.b. 2008 | Desert God b. 1991 | Blush With Pride | Best in Show |
| Dam Rose's Desert dk.b. 2008 | Miss Glen Rose | Peaks and Valleys | Mt. Livermore |
| Dam Rose's Desert dk.b. 2008 | Miss Glen Rose | Peaks and Valleys | Strike a Balance |
| Dam Rose's Desert dk.b. 2008 | Miss Glen Rose | Snippet | Alysheba |
| Dam Rose's Desert dk.b. 2008 | Miss Glen Rose | Snippet | Pert |
* Senor Buscador is inbred 3x4 to Mr Prospector and 4x5 to Blushing Groom, meaning both horses' names appear twice on a five-generation pedigree.