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Bit Of A Yarn

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  • Posts

    • Gezora Fended Off Bedtime Story in the Prix de Diane (G1) June 15 at Chantilly Racecourse. She earned a spot in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) thanks to the new 'Arc Races' series. View the full article
    • CHP Racing's Rhiannon (Medaglia d'Oro) marked her first race back following a seven-month respite with an emphatic four-length score in a Big A optional claimer Friday. Setting a course record of 1:45.60 for nine panels in the process, the 5-year-old mare may her next start in the GI Dunkin' Diana Stakes at Saratoga July 12, according to owner Phil Hatfield, who operates CHP Racing with his wife Christine. “That's what everybody is talking about, and we hope that happens,” Hatfield said. Trainer Chad Brown, who conditions the mare, has won the Diana a record nine times. “[Brown] loves to win every race there, doesn't he–but the Diana, especially,” Hatfield said. “If she ends up in the Diana, we'll get up there one way or the other. It's fun to have horses with him…Rhiannon has proven herself now, so we'll look forward to seeing where he goes with her.” The lightly-raced bay was making just her fifth career start and first since a confident four-length allowance win in November in her lone start in 2024. She made three sophomore starts, including a second-out graduation in September 2023 before a close fifth in the GIII Pebbles Stakes that November, both at the Big A. “[The win] was an exciting race for us because that mare has been stop, start, stop, start. Chad has done a great job and been very patient with her,” Hatfield added. Rhiannon was selected by Mike Ryan for $550,000 at the 2021 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and was broken in Florida by Niall Brennan. “She's exciting,” said Hatfield of Rhiannon, named after Fleetwood Mac's famed song of the same name. “She's a big mare, probably 16.3 [hands] but a lot of refinement–she's my kind of horse, elegant with a lot of leg underneath her. She has every bit of that.” According to Hatfield, fellow CHP runner Saffron Moon (Malibu Moon), third in her most recent start in the May 2 GIII Modesty Stakes at Churchill Downs, has officially been retired. Winner of last season's GII Hillsborough Stakes and GIII Endeavour Stakes, the daughter of Crocus Hill (Medaglia d'Oro) retires with five wins and $499,325 in career earnings. “She won graded races back-to-back this winter in Florida. Unfortunately, in the race on Kentucky Oaks Day, she came in third and she ended up getting injured and we had to retire her,” Hatfield said. “Hopefully, Rhiannon can pick up where she left off this year.” Praetor (Into Mischief), also trained by Brown and co-owned by CHP, finished third behind Gosger (Nyquist) in Keeneland's GIII Lexington Stakes Apr. 12 and appeared poised to make his return in the June 7 GI Woody Stephens in Saratoga forced to miss what would have been his first shot at the Grade I level. Co-owned with William Lawrence and Gainesway Stable, the $725,000 KEESEP yearling purchase kicked off 2025 with an eye-catching 7 1/2-length score in a Gulfstream allowance Mar. 9. “He was ready to go, [but] he got sick,” said Hatfield. “He was cranked and ready to do well Chad thought and unfortunately, we had to pull back. He's back training again, but I'm not sure where Chad has him pointed.” Third behind 'TDN Rising Star' Ferocious (Flatter) at the Spa last summer, the bay graduated by a neck over subsequent Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes hero Sovereignty (Into Mischief) at the Big A last September. The post Course Record Scorer Rhiannon Possible for Diana; MGSW Saffron Moon Retired appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • 1st-Belmont The Big A, $82,450, Msw, 6-15, 3yo/up, 1 1/8m, 1:49.19, sy, 10 1/2 lengths. STARS AND STRIPES (c, 3, Not This Time–Pearl River, by Quality Road) debuted in third at long odds during the Belmont At The Big A meet May 17. Trying two turns as the 85 cents on the dollar choice here as the 85 cents on the dollar choice here, the colt was second, just off the flank of a longshot leader for much of the backstretch. Continuing to press the pace at the top of the stretch, Stars and Stripes took off for home and quickly opened up several lengths on his rivals. Hoping the tire tracks, Stars and Stripes graduated in geared down fashion by 10 1/2 lengths over Makes Sense (Street Sense). The winner's dam is responsible for GIII Pucker Up Stakes heroine Waves of Mischief (Into Mischief), who was also bred by the Wygods. Pearl River's final foal is unraced current 2-year-old colt Ten Star Fleet (Nyquist). Stars and Stripes unraced second dam is a full-sister to both champion 2-year-old filly Sweet Catomine (Storm Cat) and MGISW Life Is Sweet. Sales history: $100,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, $56,950. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-Frassetto Stables LLC; B-Pam & Martin Wygod (KY); T-William I. Mott. The post Not This Time Colt Stars And Stripes Flies Maiden Flag At Big A appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • 1/ST Racing is looking at a lot of scenarios concerning the future of Gulfstream. There's decoupling, selling the property and building a casino. It's anybody's guess what 1/ST will eventually do with Gulfstream but to think that it will still be open for racing 10 years from now seems overly optimistic. Then again… It may be a small thing but Gulfstream announced on Friday that it will soon launch a state-of-the-art high resolution digital starting gate board. Gulfstream has partnered with BSV Digital to replace the static signage at the starting gate with a digital board that includes a lot of bells and whistles. The new gate will display everything from post positions and race logos to seasonal branding and partner messaging. The starting  gate will become a living, breathing bill board, much like some of the billboards you see on the highway that change from one message to another 20 seconds or so. “From billboards to scoreboards, our big screens make landmarks, organizations, and venues across North America more attractive to the crowds you want to engage,” BSV boasts on its website. “If you're looking for signage, a full AV upgrade, curved billboard or a video screen above the water, chances are BSV Digital Displays have tackled it all before.” There's more: “Making racing a breeze-up BSV can manage your full video board project from initial design and concept phase. Racing venues demand high-level product quality. With years of experience in video boards, semaphore boards, parapet signage and winning post screens, we can showcase your races in high-definition clarity and precision,” reads the message on the website. I tried to figure out how much the starting gate message board would costs, but couldn't find even an estimate. But it's obviously not going to be cheap. Which begs the question: why would Gulfstream spend any significant amount of money on the track or track upgrades when it's very possible that the track won't be operating much longer? Is this a sign that Belinda Stronach has done a 180 and is going to dedicate herself to seeing to it that racing survives in Hallandale Beach? Probably not. That would be too much to ask for. Buy why spend the money on the starting gate board when the current one is fine and the track's future is in jeopardy? Shouldn't she be cutting corners to saving money in anticipation of Gulfstream closing? It just doesn't add up.   'TDN Rising Star' Antonio Fresu Antonio Fresu finished fifth in the standings at the Santa Anita meet that concluded on Apr. 29 with 29 winners. It was neither a good meet for him nor a bad meet. Fresu has grown used to finishing behind California kingpin Juan Hernandez in the standings. But with the current meet coming to a conclusion Sunday it looks like Fresu will win his first ever riding title in the U.S. With one day left of racing coming into Sunday's card the Italian born jockey had a 32-29 lead over Juan Hernandez. Hernandez has won the last seven riding title at Santa Anita. “Everybody wants to be the leading rider,” Fresu said. “That's what we work for, to win as many races as we can and to be recognized all over the country. Being the leading rider here is the type of achievement that everyone will see. Juan has been the leading jockey ever since I came here. I came close to him a couple of times. It would be nice for me to bring it home.” Fresu, 33, came to Southern California in April of 2023 after riding in Dubai and Italy and rode just 13 winners in his first full meet here. “To think that I might be leading rider someday would have been too much to expect,” he said. But Fresu still has at least one more major door to knock down. Even with his success in the California, he's not getting called upon to ride in the marquee racing events like the Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup. He has ridden in just one Derby. He finished seventh with Stronghold (Ghostzapper) in 2024 after guiding that could to win in the GI Santa Anita Derby. He has never won a Breeders' Cup race. He was 0-for-2 in 2023 and 0-for-4 in 2024. Part of the problem is that has made very few inroads into the Bob Baffert barn. He has ridden for him just 11 times and has won three races for the Hall of Famer. Fresu did win Saturday's feature at Santa Anita, the GIII Daytona Stakes aboard Motorious (GB) (Muhaarar ({GB} for trainer Phil D'Amato. When asked about his future, he said: “I can't answer that. Nobody knows the future. I'm just trying to enjoy the moment and see what happens. In this sport you have to find the right horse at the right time, Unfortunately, I haven't been that lucky but we will keep trying.” He said his immediate goals were to keep improving and to have a good meet at Del Mar. He's young, he can ride and people are starting to pay attention. His future should be bright.   Delaware's First Derby You can see why every racing jurisdiction wants to be home to a Derby. Saturday, Delaware Park ran its first ever Delaware Derby. It was an ungraded race with a purse of just $200,000 and there were no stars in the field of eight. The race was won by Admiral Dennis (Constitution), who is trained by Brad Cox. The card included five stakes races and only one of them, the GIII Delaware Oaks, was graded. Delaware has had big cards like this before, but never one that included that magic word, “Derby.” So what happened? They shattered their all-time handle record. On a 10-race card, the players pushed $6.5 million through the windows, breaking the record set in 2007. On that occasion, with a 12-race card, they handled $4.98 million. The post Week in Review: A New Starting Gate Board at Gulfstream, What Does it Mean? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
    • GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) returned to the Churchill Downs work tab Sunday with a five-furlong breeze in 1:00 under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., preparing for a likely start in the $1-million GI Stephen Foster Stakes June 28. Mystik Dan, who won the GII Blame Stakes on May 31, breezed at 7:15 a.m. EST. He began his move with a three-furlong split of :36.80 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:12, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. Owned by 4 G Racing, Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby and Valley View Farm, Mystik Dan is one of two horses trained by Kenny McPeek nominated to the Stephen Foster. The other, GSP Gould's Gold (Goldencents), also worked Sunday, covering five furlongs in 1:00.20. A total of 20 horses were nominated to the 1 1/8-mile Stephen Foster, including Sierra Leone, winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic; Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), winner of the G1 Dubai World Cup; and Mindframe (Constitution), who was victorious in the GI Churchill Downs Stakes on the Kentucky Derby undercard.   The post Mystik Dan Works for Stephen Foster appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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