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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
John Shirreffs, who trained Zenyatta to a Hall of Fame career and saddled Giacomo to win the 2005 Kentucky Derby (G1), died in his sleep Feb. 12 at his home in Arcadia, Calif. He was 80.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Jockey Manny Franco booted home six winners Thursday on Aqueduct's nine-race card, including three consecutive victories to close the day. The six wins pushed his winter meet win total to 25, which leads the current jockey standings. “My agent [John Panagot] is the best, doing a terrific job,” said Franco said. “Every day, he tries to get the best mounts possible. I'm happy to have him on my side. I'm thankful for these opportunities.” Franco kicked off the day with a win aboard Sea Vista (Street Sense) in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden in Race 1, then captured Race 3, a six-furlong claimer, with Kadena (Ghostzapper). He also won Race 5 with Mathea (Tacitus) in a one-turn mile maiden for New York-breds and Race 7, a 6 1/2-furlong claimer, with Top Player (Mitole). He then closed out the card with wins in Race 8, a nine-furlong state-bred allowance, with Otherpeoplesmoney (Central Banker) and in Race 9, a seven-furlong maiden auction optional claimer, with Hot Gossip (Curlin). “I want to thank God first,” said Franco. “Also, thank you to all the trainers, the owners, for always giving me their trust. All year round, I just try to deliver out there. When I have the horse, when I got horse under me, I'm going to make it happen. That's my job.” The post Six Wins for Franco at Aqueduct Thursday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
A trainer built equal parts brilliant and idiosyncratic, John Shirreffs passed away quietly in his sleep overnight Wednesday into Thursday morning. He was 80 years old. He leaves behind the kind of record unmatched by all but a select few. At the summit of Shirreffs's mammoth achievements was of course Zenyatta–elegant and imperious, who between 2007 and 2010 achieved the near impossible: 19 straight wins and 13 Grade I victories including back-to-back Breeders' Cup crowns, one of them a Classic. Zenyatta was just denied an exquisite send-off in the Breeders' Cup Classic of 2010, her customary late charge customarily irresistible–irresistible to all but Blame, who derailed history by a head. The deflated echoes from the tens of thousands at Churchill Downs that day could have filled an airship. But Zenyatta was just one of so many superlative runners who performed under the Shirreffs banner down through the decades, each of them nurtured along by a trainer who did things his way. And his was a potent brew of patience, individual care and a horseman's eye that was more of an X-ray into the souls of the horses that walked past him at his barn each day. A Marine Corps veteran of Vietnam, Shirreffs cut his teeth as a horseman in the jutting mountain cathedrals of Northern California's Grass Valley at the sprawling Loma Rica Horse Ranch, where the transatlantic phenom Noor would later be interred. He started out on his own in 1976, beginning a career that would see him train nearly 600 winners and earn some $58 million. There were plenty of good ones. Shirreffs trained an upset winner of the Kentucky Derby, Giacomo, in 2005. In 2009, he conditioned a companion Breeders' Cup winner to Zenyatta, Life Is Sweet in the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic. He could train the precocious sorts who came to the boil early. But he was especially adept with the late-bloomers and the quirky sorts who had a way of navigating the world as differently as their trainer. He could do it because he could read a horse the way an accountant reads the ledgers. “The industry has lost one of the most amazing trainers ever,” said jockey Mike Smith, who enjoyed so many great days with Shirreffs. He rode Zenyatta in 17 of her 20 races. “Not only was he great horseman; he was a great man. Boy, he was, whew… it's hard. He meant everything to me, man, not just in my career but in my personal life. We were very, very close,” said Smith. “He was big John, man,” Smith added, of the six-foot plus trainer. “I'm just thinking about his whole crew. I just can't imagine his barn and what they're going through right now. He meant so much to them as well, you know,” he said. For Shirreffs, “the horse came first,” said Smith. “He'd get inside their heads, you know. He just knew things that a lot of other people didn't. He'd try different things, work with them until it worked, give them all the time that they need for it to work. He was just really great at that.” In 2021, Shirreffs gave a glimpse into this thinking for a series of articles in the TDN. He talked about his one-eyed Grade I winner Hard Not to Love, a nervous filly. He put a mirror in her stall to help with her field of vision. “It made all the world of difference,” he said at the time. John Shirreffs with his Derby winner Giacomo in 2005 | Horsephotos He talked about Morning Line, a top-class runner on the East Coast who had lost his way completely. After the horse arrived at the Shirreffs barn in California, it was back to basics. First, the driving reins. Then a rider with the driving reins–a performance that necessitated a relay race, where the more athletic members of the Shirreffs's team would be situated around the track, ready to be handed the driving reins from their rubber-legged counterparts. “Pretty soon, it got to the point where we just started him with the driving reins, and then the rider would let go of them and carry on like usual,” said Shirreffs. On his first start for Shirreffs, Morning Line won the GII Mervyn LeRoy Handicap at Hollywood Park, and two starts later, finished third in the GI Triple Bend Handicap. Shirreffs approached his craft by burying into the horse's psyche, encapsulated so perfectly when he discussed what he termed the “bio-rhythm” of a horse. This is the idea that a racehorse can be brought to peak performance only when they're mentally, physically and emotionally in balance. “You have to figure out how to get things flowing together,” Shirreffs explained at the time. “So, when they're physically at their peak they might not be mentally at their peak because you've trained them really hard, but mentally they're tired or emotionally they're off–you know, upset about being pushed so hard. He continued, “So, you're going to have to lose a little bit of conditioning maybe to bring them up mentally and emotionally, right? It's always: How close you can get everything? “That's the one great thing about campaigning a horse, because when they're campaigning, they're conditioning–they're physically staying at a pretty high level. And as they campaign, and as they get used to the rigors of racing and training, mentally they're getting stronger, too. And then, if there's some sort of pleasure involved–some sort of reward for the horse–then they're emotionally getting better,” he explained. Shirreffs with his most famous charge, Zenyatta | Sarah Andrew In a statement, Santa Anita wrote that it “joins the racing community in mourning the sudden passing of trainer John Shirreffs. He was a fixture at Santa Anita Park throughout his career and his legacy as a caring horsemen will remain embedded in the fabric of our history. “Every horse who races at Santa Anita must first pass by the statue of John's greatest trainee, the wonderful mare Zenyatta. While John's victories were plentiful and prestigious, what he accomplished with Zenyatta in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic was a masterpiece and deservedly was voted as the top moment in Santa Anita Park's 90 years. “Our deepest condolences are extended to John's wife, Dottie, and his family, including those horsemen and women who worked closely with John for so many years. May his memory be a blessing.” Breeders' Cup also released a statement Thursday evening mourning the loss: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of John Shirreffs, whose grace, humility, and skillful horsemanship left an indelible mark on our great sport. “Beyond his three victories at the Breeders' Cup World Championships–with Life Is Sweet in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Distaff and with Zenyatta in both the 2008 Breeders' Cup Distaff and her historic 2009 Breeders' Cup Classic–John was widely respected for his integrity, patience, and steadfast commitment to the care and development of his horses. “Campaigning Zenyatta to a Hall of Fame career, he never failed to make the great racemare accessible to her fans, promoting the sport to thousands across the nation and around the world. He understood the responsibility that comes with greatness and embraced the opportunity to share it, helping broaden racing's audience and inspire a new generation of fans. “Our heartfelt condolences are with his family, team, and friends.” Shirreffs is survived by his wife, Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs, sister Anita Shirreffs, stepson David Ingordo (Cherie DeVaux), and step-granddaughter Reagan Ingordo. The post Training Great John Shirreffs Passes Away at 80 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Unbeaten filly Lara Antipova will head Te Akau’s assault on their home track two-year-old features on Saturday. Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson’s speed demon has been untested in either of her appearances and will face her sternest test in the Gr.2 J Swap Contractors Ltd Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m). Meanwhile, stablemates Kinnaird and Out Of The Blue will fly the stable flag in the Gr.3 Fairview Matamata Slipper (1200m) following unplaced runs in the Karaka Millions 2YO (1200m). Lara Antipova romped home by eight lengths in her Te Aroha debut and was again untested to take top honours in the Gr.2 Wakefield Challenge Stakes (1100m) at Trentham. “She’s in great form and has freshened really well since Wellington,” Bergerson said. “She had an exhibition gallop last week at Tauranga and worked well on the course proper at Matamata this week, she’s in really good order. “The weather forecast is a bit of a query, there’s no good things in racing and there’s some talented fillies there, but she has been faultless so far.” All going well, Lara Antipova is most likely to target next month’s Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m). “We’ll get through Saturday and hopefully press on to Ellerslie and then we’ll have a team talk after that to see what’s next,” Bergerson said. Opie Bosson will partner Lara Antipova and will also ride Kinnaird, who won on debut at Otaki before landing the Gr.2 Eclipse Stakes (1200m), but the bubble burst when he tailed the field home in the Karaka Millions. “He was disappointing, a few things didn’t go his way and he threw his toys out of the cot,” Bergerson said. “It’s a smaller field and although he has won at Ellerslie, he did a lot wrong in the Eclipse and he might be a bit better going this way around. “We can’t fault him and his work has been good this week.” Out Of The Blue was undefeated in two spring starts at Riccarton before he was third in the Listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m) and a last-start seventh. “He was really good in the Millions, he ran the fastest last 800 and 600m after he blew the start from a bad gate,” Bergerson said. “In a smaller field on his home track, we certainly don’t think he’s out of it.” They will have three runners in the Listed Lisa Chittick Champagne Stakes (1400m), including the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) placegetter and last-start Gr.3 Almanzor Trophy (1200m) winner Belle Cheval. “She’s the up and comer and we always had this race pencilled in as a nice stepping stone to The NZB Kiwi (1500m),” Bergerson said. “She’s really talented and keeps improving so it will be exciting, with the forecast the only query.” Stablemates Captured by Love and My Lips Are Sealed will complete the Te Akau challenge. “Captured By Love has been freshened since Te Rapa (Gr.3 J Swap Sprint, 1400m) where she got a long way back and was never really in it,” Bergerson said. “She’s had a couple of exhibition gallops and we can’t fault her at home while My Lips Are Sealed had a disappointing spring. “She ran a really good race (third) in this last year behind Legarto and typically finds form this time of the year, so we’re hoping she can bounce back and rediscover her zest.” The other stakes contender is What You Wish For, who will defend his title in the Listed Matamata Veterinary Services Kaimai Stakes (2000m). “He’s in really good form and Wolfgang puts him in at a suitable weight and he’s absolutely bouncing around the place,” Bergerson said. “He’s looking to win it again and we can’t see any reason why he can’t.” View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
During a spring campaign in which she pushed Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock) first-up, beat all bar Mr Brightside (NZ) (Bullbars) second-up, and contested a Gr.1 Cox Plate (2040m), Aeliana (NZ) (Castelvecchio) never quite pleased trainer Chris Waller. While she put in some exciting performances on the track, the champion horseman admitted she never looked the part. “She ate well through the spring, her bloods were good, but she never looked well,” Waller said. “She looked light.” The fact Aeliana’s appearance was having no bearing on her appetite or her form led Waller to the conclusion she was still growing. With the benefit of time and a break in the paddock, she has returned around 15kg heavier, and much more pleasing to the eye. “I’m much happier. She’s perfect,” he said. “She will be very hard to beat on Saturday, as we saw first-up in the Winx (Stakes) last spring. She almost beat Via (Sistina). “As long as we didn’t overtax her. That’s my only fear, but there was no sign of it. We pulled up after the Cox Plate, and she was a bit unlucky there.” Aeliana will be among a six-strong contingent for the stable in Saturday’s Gr.2 Apollo Stakes (1400m) at Randwick, along with exciting mare Autumn Glow (The Autumn Sun), and hardy gelding Lindermann (Lonhro). That trio is considered the stables main chances, with Waller expecting Wootton Verni (Wotton Bassett), Soul Of Spain (Phoenix Of Spain) and River Of Stars (Sea The Stars) to all benefit from the hit-out. Autumn Glow is an odds-on favourite with Aeliana and Lindermann third and fourth market picks respectively, the latter returning from one of his best campaigns in the spring when he won three of his five starts. Waller warned punters not to underestimate Lindermann, especially with bold jockey Nash Rawiller on board. “He’s pretty forward because first and second-up is his chance to beat the better ones,” Waller said. “You’ve got Nash on, there’s always a Nash factor. He can always pull something out of his hat.” – RAS Newswire View the full article
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