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23-year-old charged with murder after death of Wellington racing personality Stuff April 09, 2025 •11:25am Share   Police have charged a 23-year-old man with murder following the death of 65-year-old Simon Bird.Facebook Police have charged a 23-year-old man with murder following the death of 65-year-old Simon Bird, whose body was found at his Albemarle Rd property in Northland, Wellington, on April 1. Bird, a racing stalwart, has been remembered by friends and family as a generous man with a big heart. He had not been heard from for several days, prompting a concerned friend to conduct a welfare check, which led to the discovery of his body. ADVERTISEMENT Advertise with Stuff   Detective Inspector Nick Pritchard said the man was charged on Wednesday morning and is due to appear in the Wellington District Court.       “At this time, we are unable to elaborate on the accused’s relationship with Mr Bird,” Pritchard said. “This is a positive development for his family and friends, but there are still many unanswered questions that we are working hard to answer." A scene examination is ongoing at Bird’s Albemarle Rd home. Police are urging anyone with information about Bird’s movements to come forward. Bird was last seen alive on Thursday, March 27.   Police are particularly interested in sightings of Bird, his silver Honda Odyssey, or any suspicious activity in the Albemarle Rd area on that day. They are also appealing for any relevant CCTV or dashcam footage. - Stuff   https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360646895/23-year-old-charged-murder-after-death-man-wellington-suburb-northland

yes please.....

Byron King's Top 12 on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, presented by Spendthrift Farm.View the full article

A new kingpin graces the No. 1 slot after the final round of 100-point preps. The rankings below are in “likeliest winner” order, and are independent from the “Road to the Derby” points leaderboard that awards starting berths. 1) JOURNALISM (c, Curlin–Mopotism, by Uncle Mo) O-Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, LaPenta, Robert V., Magnier, Mrs. John, Smith, Derrick and Tabor, Michael B.; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. Sales history: $825,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: GISW, 5-4-0-1, $638,880. Last start: WON Apr. 5 GI Santa Anita Derby. We'll have the better part of a month to debate whether Journalism offers betting value in the Derby. But there should be no quibbling about the fact that this $825,000 FTSAUG colt by Curlin has established well-earned favoritism for America's most important and historic horse race. This Michael McCarthy trainee will be riding a four-race win streak to Louisville, and his victories have been impressive from both the “how fast” and “how he did it” perspectives. Journalism has racked up triple-digit Beyer Speed Figures at 1 1/16 miles (108) and 1 1/8 miles (102), and the way this big, muscular colt extricated himself from a significant momentum stop on the far turn of the GI Santa Anita Derby establishes that he has the raw athleticism and mental prowess to overcome in-race obstacles. Journalism secured the rail under Umberto Rispoli, cornered onto the backstretch in third, then eased back to fifth. As the field of five tightened up with a half mile remaining, Journalism ranged within two lengths of the dueling pacemakers, but lacked running room to unwind for his usual far-turn bid. “I was trapped on the fence, and I thought, 'Wow, this isn't looking good,'” Rispoli said post-win. “I knew my only way out was to push Barnes (Into Mischief) a little bit. I got through.” Did he ever. Journalism responded to mid-stretch rousing, and even though 2-year-old champ Citizen Bull had already capitulated on the front end, Journalism took dead aim on the improving Baeza (McKinzie) and ran down that rival going away, returning to the winner's circle after a good gallop-out spattered with dirt kickback. Did the effort take too much out of Journalism? That's a fair question that will be raised between now and May 3. But beyond that sort of speculation, it's hard to pick apart Journalism, because his last three stakes scores haven't revealed any evident weaknesses. 2) RODRIGUEZ (c, Authentic-Cayala, by Cherokee Run) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Kingswood Farm & David Egan (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $485,000 Ylg KEESEP '23. Lifetime record: 5-2-2-1, $522,800. Last start: WON Apr. 5 GII Wood Memorial Stakes. You don't generally see the removal of blinkers translating to a wire-to-wire score, but that's exactly how trainer Bob Baffert orchestrated a 3 1/2-length, 101-Beyer victory by this 'TDN Rising Star' in last Saturday's GII Wood Memorial Stakes. Rodriguez had capably wired a maiden field with blinkers (100 Beyer) back in January, but he didn't look as comfortable wearing them when asked to chase the pace from between horses in two difficult Santa Anita stakes in February and March. His new jockey for the Wood, Mike Smith, indicated that being able to look around and see the competition seemed to relax this $485,000 KEESEP colt by Authentic, and that more-at-ease attitude allowed Rodriguez to roll to the front and establish his own cadence. Rodriguez set quarter-mile splits of :23.31, :24.13, :23.81 and :24.43 while under legit pressure from favored fellow 'Rising Star' Captain Cook (Practical Joke). He shrugged off that rival in upper stretch, then finished with his ears pricked while holding the hard-trying Grande (Curlin) at bay through a final eighth in :12.47. Rodriguez's winning time of 1:48.15 was the fastest nine-furlong clocking in any points-awarding Derby prep stakes since 2022. A caveat is that early speed was the prevailing profile at Aqueduct Apr. 5. Six races were won wire to wire, four by forwardly placed horses who forced the fractions, one by a stalker, and two by closers. 3) TAPPAN STREET (c, Into Mischief-Virginia Key, by Distorted Humor). O-WinStar Farm LLC, CHC, Inc. and Cold Press Racing. B-Blue Heaven Farm (KY). T-Brad H. Cox. Lifetime record: GISW, 3-2-1-0, $643,400. Last race: WON Mar. 29 GI Florida Derby. Through only three lifetime races, Tappan Street, a $1m FTSAUG colt by Into Mischief, has compiled credentials that establish him near the top of the crop. The question for the Derby is does he progress even further over 10 furlongs in a 20-horse field, or will his relative inexperience catch up with him when the pressure to perform is at its highest? This Brad Cox trainee broke his maiden at first asking in a Dec. 28 seven-eighths sprint at Gulfstream that yielded three next-out winners. Tappan Street then went off favored in the GIII Holy Bull Stakes and led from the far turn to the to the sixteenth pole before a minor lack of focus in the stretch contributed to a still-promising second-place finish. He then won the GI Florida Derby with a 94 Beyer while being confidently ridden by Luis Saez. Since 1900, 29 horses have started in the Derby with exactly three lifetime starts. Only four have won: Regret in 1915, Big Brown in 2008, Justify in 2018 and Mage in 2023. Of the remaining 25 also-rans, only one finished better than seventh: Curlin, third in 2007. Tappan Street | Ryan Thompson 4) SOVEREIGNTY (c, Into Mischief-Crowned, by Bernardini). O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-William I. Mott; Lifetime Record: MGSW, 5-2-2-0, $572,800. Last start: 2nd Mar. 29 GI Florida Derby. Sovereignty heads to the Derby off a second-place try behind Tappan Street in the Florida Derby. He's dealt with post-position adversity in three of his five lifetime races, having drawn widest in fields of 10 (twice) and nine. Although he only won one of those races, he ran well enough in the two defeats to underscore his adaptability. Sovereignty broke his maiden in start number three, his first two-turn attempt, in the Oct. 27 GIII Street Sense Stakes. Leaving the gate tardily from the nine hole, this Godolphin homebred by Into Mischief was last until the quarter pole, looped everybody seven wide, then came over the top at the eighth pole while extending fluidly. In the GII Fountain of Youth Stakes, Sovereignty loped along in last, gave up four paths of real estate on the far turn, then made up four lengths on staying-on leader with one furlong remaining over Gulfstream's short-stretch configuration for 1 1/16-miles. Big, off-the-tailgate moves aren't usually the winning ones in races where the finish line is at the sixteenth pole. Manny Franco replaced the injured Junior Alvarado for the Florida Derby, and trainer Bill Mott said Franco told him post-race that the ground “kind of broke away from him two different times, once at the three-eighths pole and once at the five-sixteenths pole.” Yet Sovereignty was able to regain momentum well enough to fire down the lane, gaining on the winner while beaten only 1 ¼ lengths. 5) CITIZEN BULL (c, Into Mischief-No Joke, by Distorted Humor) O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Robert Low & Lawana Low (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $675,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime record: MGISW, 6-4-0-1, $1,451,000. Last start: 4th Apr. 5 GI Santa Anita Derby. The 2-year-old champ won't be heading to the Derby with positive mojo coming off his flat fourth-place finish as the second favorite in the Santa Anita Derby. But this $675,000 KEESEP son of Into Mischief is hardly a write-off either. His first defeat since September can be chalked up to-at least in part-being a big, heavy horse who figured to be “short” on paper with only one start in five months. “I wish I'd had another race in him,” trainer Bob Baffert told Daily Racing Form on Sunday. “He got tired.” Still, Baffert believes Citizen Bull “got a lot out of the race,” his first since emphatically wiring the Feb. 1 GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes. Although Citizen Bull broke running, jockey Martin Garcia conceded the early lead to a 44-1 rabbit. But instead of settling his colt and committing to a stalking role, Garcia decided to re-engage six furlongs out in the Santa Anita Derby, and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner was in the unfamiliar spot of having to hurry up and chase. The pair dueled down the backstretch, and although Citizen Bull wrested command by the far turn and resisted the first attack by the 14-1 Baeza, that rival picked him off three-sixteenths from home. Citizen Bull was already a fading non-factor by the time Journalism was hitting his best stride and blasting by them both. 6) LUXOR CAFE (c, American Pharoah-Mary's Follies, by More Than Ready). O-Koichi Nishikawa; B-Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt & Westerberg Ireland ULC (KY); T-Noriyuki Hori. Lifetime Record: SW, 6-4-1-0, $377,323. Luxor Cafe, a Kentucky-bred son of American Pharoah, closed as the 19-1 sixth choice in last weekend's Derby future wager off the strength of his five-length pummeling of the Mar. 29 Fukuryu Stakes field, a victory that cemented his status as the berth-earner in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby point series. Always cruising comfortably midpack and outside in the early stages of the metric nine-furlong race, the 3-10 favorite quickened as he pleased five wide off the final bend, unleashing a devastating turn of foot through the straight as he sprinted solo for the wire with no true competition in his ever-widening wake. Trained by Noriyuki Hori, Luxor Café has now won four consecutive races and is a full brother to Japanese dirt champion Cafe Pharoah. 7) EAST AVENUE (c, Medaglia d'Oro-Dance Music, by Ghostzapper) 'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh. Lifetime Record: GISW 3-2-0-0, $654,395. Last start: 2nd Apr. 8 GI Blue Grass Stakes. 'TDN Rising Star' East Avenue (Medaglia d'Oro) ran a valiant race on the lead despite getting caught in the final jumps of Tuesday's GI Blue Grass Stakes. Racing with blinkers for the first time and trained by Brendan Walsh with a now-or-never sense of purpose to bank last-chance Derby qualifying points, this Godolphin homebred was committed to the lead under Luan Machado, who was intent on clearing the speedy Owen Almighty (Speightstown) through the first turn. The 9-2 East Avenue opened up by three or four lengths down the backstretch after establishing a swift :22.95 opening quarter and a :46.95 half. As a wall of closers zeroed in at the head of the lane, Owen Almighty put his head in front three-sixteenths out, but East Avenue dug in gamely and responded to that challenge, reclaiming the lead half a furlong later despite swapping back to his left lead. He held it until the final few strides, when the last-to-first move by Burnham Square (Liam's Map) caught him on the line by a nose. East Avenue (far right) in the Toyota Blue Grass | Coady Media East Avenue won his first two starts by a combined 13 1/4 lengths. He went off favored at 9-5 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, but stumbled leaving post one and was relegated to the rear, finishing ninth. His lone start at age three was a perplexing tenth, beaten 22 3/4 lengths as the 4-5 fave in the GII Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in February. 8) BURNHAM SQUARE (g, Liam's Map-Linda, by Scat Daddy) O/B-Whitham Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Ian R. Wilkes. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-3-1-1, $977,755. Last start: WON Apr. 8 GI Blue Grass Stakes. Burnham Square absorbed some bumping out of the gate, then circled the field from seventh and last to win the Blue Grass Stakes by a nose under a well-timed, patient ride by Brian Hernandez Jr., who was aboard the gelding for the first time. The final time of 1:51.33 rates as the second-slowest Blue Grass since Keeneland switched back to dirt from synthetic in the fall of 2014. The final furlong timed in :13.44 is the slowest clocking for a final eighth out of all nine points-awarding stakes at the 1 1/8-miles distance in 2024-25 (the remaining eight were all below 13 seconds for a final eighth). This Whitham Thoroughbreds homebred by Liam's Map was most recently fourth as the 1.9-1 favorite, beaten three lengths by Sovereignty in the Mar. 1 Fountain of Youth Stakes. Prior to that, in the Feb. 1 Holy Bull Stakes, Burnham Square got worked up in the post parade, broke tardily, and took dirt as he saved ground inside trailing the field. After shouldering aside a rival near the half-mile pole, this Ian Wilkes-trained gelding tipped off the rail on the far turn, swung wider approaching the stretch, and wore down the favored leader Tappan Street, who came back in his next start to win the Florida Derby. 9) SANDMAN (c, Tapit-Distorted Music, by Distorted Humor). O-D. J. Stable LLC, St. Elias Stable, West Point Thoroughbreds and CJ Stables; B-Lothenbach Stables Inc (KY); T-Mark E. Casse. Sales History: $1,200,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: GISW, 8-3-1-2, $1,254,595. Last start: WON Mar. 29 GI Arkansas Derby. This deep-closing gray by Tapit won the GI Arkansas Derby by rallying from eighth into the most extreme example of a pace meltdown among this season's points-awarding prep stakes. Although one of trainer Mark Casse's stated pre-race goals for this $1.2 million OBSMAR colt was to be more in touch with the front of the field, it really wasn't feasible for Jose Ortiz to put Sandman into the race any earlier than he did considering 'TDN Rising Star' Cornucopian (Into Mischief) and Speed King (Volatile) opened up by 10 lengths while blitzing through opening quarter-mile splits of :22.46 and :22.75. Sandman came with his reliable closing kick, which despite one zig-zag moment after Ortiz whipped the colt once left-handed, was steady enough to deliver his third victory from eight lifetime starts. Sandman will have the benefit of three starts over the Churchill surface when he goes in the Derby. He was fifth (twice) and third in Louisville last season, with his best effort in the Street Sense Stakes, in which he got bumped at the break and then accelerated late to get necked for the place behind Sovereignty. 10) RIVER THAMES (c, Maclean's Music-Proportionality, by Discreet Cat) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-CHC, Inc. and WinStar Farm LLC; B-CTR Stables, LLC (NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. Sales history: $200,000 Ylg '23 SARAUG. Lifetime record: 4-2-1-1, $261,900. Last start: 3rd Apr. 8 GI Blue Grass Stakes. 'TDN Rising Star' River Thames enjoyed a no-excuse stalking trip in the Blue Grass, and looked to have the leaders at his mercy at both the quarter and eighth poles. But he never kicked hard with a bold bid to seal the deal. He cruised early and chased late, checking in third behind Burnham Square and East Avenue. Trainer Todd Pletcher thought it was a step forward. “It was the first time at a mile and an eighth. It seemed like he stuck it out pretty well, and he's come a long way in a short period of time. It was a good effort. We just couldn't quite get there,” Pletcher said. This New York-bred by Maclean's Music ($200,000 SARAUG) will bring a respectable 4-2-1-1 record to the Derby, suffering only short-margin defeats in each of his two stakes attempts. River Thames | Ryan Thompson 11) TIZTASTIC (c, Tiz the Law-Keesha, by Tapit). O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor and Derrick Smith; B-Capital Bloodstock (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. Sales history: $80,000 Ylg '23 KEEJAN;  $335,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP. Lifetime record: GSW, 8-3-1-2, $1,549,800. Last start: WON Mar. 22 GII Louisiana Derby. Tiztastic, who won't hit his third birthdate until three days before the Derby, already has the distinction of winning million-dollar races on both turf and dirt. This son of Tiz the Law took down the Juvenile Mile Stakes at Kentucky Downs last September, then scored in the GII Louisiana Derby six months later. In the interim, Tiztastic (80,000 KEEJAN, $335,000 KEESEP) ran second in the Street Sense S., third in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, third in the GIII Southwest Stakes, and fifth in the GII Rebel Stakes. He's another off-the-pace type in a year that has no shortage of horses who prefer to fire late. But this Steve Asmussen trainee does have some experience laying a little closer to the action, and that noticeably quicker burst he produced 2 ½ furlongs out in the Louisiana Derby could be the “Aha!” spark that was missing in this colt's previous sophomore efforts. 12) FINAL GAMBIT (c, Not This Time-Pachinko, by Tapit). O/B-Juddmonte (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Lifetime Record: GSW, 4-2-1-1, $520,639. Last start: WON Mar. 22 GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks Stakes. The thought of a late-striding, bombs-away gray on the first Saturday in May conjures up images of Giacomo, the last gray to win the Derby, at 50-1 in 2005. Coming off his 90-Beyer victory in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks Stakes, Final Gambit (Not This Time) will end up going off at a lower mutuel than Giacomo, who had only won a maiden race and had lost five straight before entering the Derby. Final Gambit is intriguing from an “untapped potential” perspective. Yes, his stretch runs have been erratic, and his competition at Turfway this winter was well below what he'll face on Derby day. But he does have an appealing way of quickening in the late stages that makes you wonder how good he could be once his mental lightbulb fully illuminates. This is a work-in-progress colt who has only raced on grass and Tapeta, and he just jumped his Beyer 26 points over his previous race when winning the Jeff Ruby. Now, in his first try on dirt (and as a deep closer who likes to go wide) Final Gambit would have to up his Beyer by another 10 points just to be on par with other top contenders in the 20-horse Derby. Potentially rounding out the starting gate… 13) BAEZA (McKinzie) Baeza, a half-brother to 2023 Derby winner Mage and 2024 GI Belmont Stakes victor Dornoch, is currently outside looking in, points-wise, to qualify for the Derby. He's parked in 27th place as of Tuesday evening. Although he's only broken his maiden, Baeza's runner-up effort in the Santa Anita Derby was promising enough to rate him higher than some contenders who have met the points cutoff. This $1.2 million KEESEP colt by McKinzie broke to the back, stalked outside, then got first run at Citizen Bull on the far turn. He led between the three-sixteenths and sixteenth poles, and although he did get distracted during his stretch run, he tried his best to run with the far-more-accomplished Journalism in the final stages. “He is a baby [May 13 foaling date] still and loses focus,” said jockey Hector Berrios. “When we got to the stretch, he started lugging and lugging. I thought, 'Come on now.' Then when he felt [Journalism], he came back.” Although four also-eligibles can enter beyond a field of 20, trainer John Shirreffs told Daily Racing Form earlier in the week that his preference would be to get into the Derby via defections among higher-ranked qualifiers and not to ship to Kentucky just to wait out a possible berth as an also-eligible. 14) COAL BATTLE (Coal Front) This underdog colt ran third in the Arkansas Derby. Although his far-turn move never solidified into a threatening stretch bid, thus ending his four-stakes win streak that started last November at Delta Downs, trainer Lonnie Briley said right after the race that he already had an idea of what to tweak in Coal Battle's training to get him ready for 10 furlongs. For starters, Briley blamed himself for spacing out Coal Battle's works too far between his win in the Rebel Stakes and his start in the Arkansas Derby. Briley had wanted four works in that interim, but in an effort to give this son of Coal Front a bit more rest, he ended up with only three. Briley will also work on settling down Coal Battle ($70,000 TTAYRL), whom he described as being “too fresh” both when being saddled and in the early stages of the race. “He was on the muscle in the paddock and I had to finish saddling him on the walk. He beat himself. He didn't want to settle,” Briley said. Coal Battle | Coady Media 15) GRANDE (Curlin) Grande, a $300,000 KEESEP colt by Curlin, won a one-turn-mile maiden and a nine-furlong allowance, both at Gulfstream, then secured Derby qualifying points with a runner-up effort behind Rodriguez in the Wood Memorial. This Todd Pletcher trainee gave up ground on both turns and took his best shot at Rodriguez into the lane. He lacked a next-level closing kick, but considering this colt's relative inexperience, the effort is a building block for future endeavors. Grande is 22nd on the Derby qualifying points list. 16) AMERICAN PROMISE (Justify) Hall-of-Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who will turn 90 later this year, will attempt to win his fifth Kentucky Derby with this $750,000 KEESEP colt by Justify. “The Coach” has previously hit the Derby winner's circle with Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (1995), Grindstone (1996) and Charismatic (1999). American Promise is a speed threat who does not require seizing the lead to win. He did wire a one-mile field of Oaklawn maidens in the mud back on Dec. 29 (95 Beyer in a race that produced only one next-out winner), but he was never in it to win it in his next two starts, the Southwest Stakes (sixth, DQ'd to seventh) and the Risen Star Stakes (fifth). American Promise then forced the pace outside of the odds-on favorite in the Mar. 15 Virginia Derby, took over a half-mile out, and coasted home with no one firing to challenge in the stretch. The Virginia Derby is unique because it's the only one-turn, nine-furlong stakes on the U.S. qualifying schedule for the Derby. American Promise did establish a track record of 1:46.41 in that stakes (95 Beyer), but 1 1/8-miles dirt races are rarely run at Colonial Downs. 17) CHUNK OF GOLD (Preservationist) Although he's only won once from four starts, this gray son of Preservationist stands out because he's managed to bankroll $348,818 in purse earnings-nearly 140 times his bargain $2,500 FTKOCT auction price. This Ethan West trainee has also outrun his odds every time he's raced. Chunk of Gold broke his maiden at 13-1 in a Turfway sprint, then ran second there at 4-1 odds in a one-mile listed stakes. Ignored at 43-1 in the GII Risen Star Stakes over nine furlongs, he was again second, this time  behind a 9 ¾-lengths daylight winner. Then Chunk of Gold ran a 92-Beyer second in the 1 3/16-miles Louisiana Derby at a 10-1 mutuel. He's not an overt win threat for the Kentucky Derby. But this colt fires well over distances of ground, and you have to figure he'll be passing horses when a large portion of the field will be calling it quits. 18) ADMIRE DAYTONA (Jpn) (Drefong) Admire Daytona (Jpn), a son of 2016 champion American sprinter Drefong, took heat from multiple challengers on the front end, lost the lead in a three-way stretch battle, then regained the front in the final jump to prevail by a nose in the G2 UAE Derby. Having accrued enough qualifying points to earn the top spot in the newly rebranded Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby series (prior to this year, the UAE Derby was lumped in with the U.S. points scheme), trainer Yukihiro Kato indicated post-win that this ¥66-million JRHAJUL weanling would attempt the difficult (0-for-14) Dubai/Derby double. The win by the 2-for-6 colt was the fourth consecutive (fifth overall) victory by a Japan-based horse in the UAE Derby. “The Japanese horses come here with quite a bit of experience at home,” said Admire Daytona's jockey, Christophe Lemaire. “I think they like the Meydan dirt track too. For sure he can go to Kentucky, but it is such a difficult race to win. It is one of the most iconic races in the world and we have to go if we can.” Publisher at Oaklawn | Renee Torbit/Coady Media 19) FLYING MOHAWK (Karakontie {Jpn}) Flying Mohawk required four grass starts to break his maiden while racing in New York and Kentucky last year. Then, off a three-month layoff, he took down a first-level turf allowance at Fair Grounds. Trainer Whit Beckman next tried this colt ($25,000 KEENOV, $72,000 KEESEP) in the Jeff Ruby over Tapeta at Turfway, and Flying Mohawk rallied late despite some trouble at the break to gain second behind going-away winner Flying Gambit, completing an exacta of the colts who were last and next-to-last down the backstretch. Flying Mohawk was credited with a career-best 84 Beyer. He has never raced on dirt and is 21st on the points cutoff. 20 PUBLISHER (American Pharoah) Publisher, an 0-for-7 maiden, picked up second-and 50 qualifying points to up his total to 60-in the aftermath of the Arkansas Derby pace implosion. This $600,000 FTSAUG colt out of trainer Steve Asmussen's barn earned a 95 Beyer for his runner-up race at Oaklawn, which was his first since being equipped with blinkers. Asmussen has raced Publisher in three two-turn graded stakes at age three (seventh, fourth, second), abandoning maiden races after three thirds and a second. The post TDN Derby Top 20: Main Contenders Step Up And Deliver appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Whangaehu will contest Saturday’s Listed Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m) at Trentham. Photo: Peter Rubery (Race Images Palmerston North) Whangaehu proved himself up to the country’s top middle-distance gallopers over the summer and he’ll aim to complete a top campaign at Trentham in Saturday’s Listed Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m). The talented six-year-old kicked off his hot streak winning the Listed Wanganui Cup (2040m) and Group 3 Trentham Stakes (2100m) before making a serious impression with top-four finishes in the Group 1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) and Group 1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m) behind Hong Kong-bound El Vencedor. After a string of standout efforts, it looked to be his time to shine in last month’s Group 2 Awapuni Gold Cup (2100m), but after getting back early and staying on the rail into the straight, he searched for clear air until the closing stages and flashed home for fifth. While the result wasn’t as his trainer Bill Thurlow had hoped, he acknowledged the efforts of Whangaehu’s jockey Craig Grylls in what has been a phenomenal season for the stable. “The way it panned out for him, it just didn’t work out,” Thurlow said. “Normally Craig would get it right 19 times out of 20, and it just didn’t happen that day. “We’ve had a lot of luck too and Craig has ridden some winners for us that probably wouldn’t have won without his decision-making, so it’s just the way it is. “He’s still gone super and come through it well, the biggest worry now is the weight he’ll be giving away on Saturday. But it’s a last run for the season and there’s nothing else for him, so we’ll take a throw at the stumps and hopefully he can carry the weight and run the trip out. “Hopefully he acquits himself well.” As a 100-rated galloper, Whangaehu will carry a clear topweight in the $120,000 feature, with his closest rival a mare in Mehzebeen. Horse racing news View the full article