Wandering Eyes

Baffert's Prince of Monaco hits the Spa track as the morning-line favorite despite having not raced since running fifth in the Nov. 3 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). Prior to that, he had won his first three starts including the Del Mar Futurity (G1).View the full article

The 2024 Queensland Oaks at Eagle Farm promises a thrilling contest with a capacity field of three-year-old fillies vying for the $700,000 prize. Chris Waller, a three-time Queensland Oaks winning trainer, takes centre stage with five confirmed runners even after the stable’s early withdrawal of Tutta La Vita (16). Heading the Waller contingent is favourite […] The post Waller Chases Fourth Queensland Oaks in 2024 with Favourite Scarlet Oak appeared first on HorseRacing.com.au. View the full article

When Nicole Finch joined the team at Spendthrift Farm as the Marketing & Experience Coordinator in 2022, the fact that Omaha Beach–one of her favorite racehorses–was on the stallion roster wasn't the main reason she applied, but it certainly sweetened the deal. Though her fondness for the dark bay son of War Front certainly grew as she followed his career on the track, it was his name and the deeper meaning behind it that intrigued Finch from the beginning. Finch learned about the importance of the stallion's namesake, one of five beach landing areas during the Allied Invasion of Normandy in World War II, and the overall significance of WWII from her father and grandfather, both military veterans. “[On] Saturday morning, you're watching cartoons, and then dad comes in and changes it to the History Channel. I'd get mad and want to leave the room, and he'd say, 'No, sit down. This is important.' Of course I hated it as a child, but as I got older, I started to realize how important that period of time was,” said Finch. She continued to learn as much as she could about WWII, a thirst for knowledge bolstered by her childhood home's close proximity to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, La. Later on, in 2018, Finch and her father traveled to Europe together to tour historic WWII sites as part of the Band of Brothers Tour series, based on Stephen Ambrose's book and the 10-part HBO series it inspired that recounts the achievements of Easy Company during WWII. “It was really awesome going on that tour with that group in particular because when they started doing that tour, they brought the actual veterans with them. When I was there, they'd pull me over and say, 'Stand right there. That's the exact spot where [Carwood] Lipton landed on D-Day.' If you watch Band of Brothers, everywhere they went, we went. That trip was pretty life changing, in ways I can't really describe. It gave me a new appreciation,” said Finch. “It was also wild to go over there and see so many American flags in a foreign country. Every window has an American flag in it, so that was pretty crazy.” During that trip, Finch met a group of WWII veterans who had traveled over with the Best Defense Foundation (BDF), a nonprofit organization that works with military veterans and their families to give them an opportunity to return to the battlefields where they served. Mesmerized by the veterans' stories and the work of the BDF, Finch was inspired to take her passion for the history of WWII one step further. After sleuthing the internet, she came across the World War II Airborne Demonstration Team Foundation, based in Frederick, Okla. The Foundation, formed to remember, honor and serve the memory of the American men and women who fought and died in WWII, hosts a parachute school for members to learn and participate in active parachute jumping in the style of the WWII airborne soldier. Finch and Omaha Beach | Courtesy Nicole Finch Once she learned about the Foundation, Finch set a new goal: attend the parachute school and travel to Normandy, France to participate in remembrance jumps during the 80th anniversary of D-Day in 2024. And, she did. After sitting on the waitlist for two years, Finch traveled from her home in Louisville, Ky., to Oklahoma in October 2023 to participate in the nine-day “WWII Experience” parachuting school based out of the Frederick Army Air Field, a vintage WWII facility. “We basically start at 5:30 in the morning and go until probably 7:00 or 8:00 at night for three days, and that's just spent learning what you're supposed to do. They throw a ton of information at you, but once you get that information, that's all the information there is. Then it's just repetition over and over again in different scenarios. They put you in hanging harnesses and we have a big blow-up thing that you can jump on. You're jumping out of the actual door that we're going to jump out of when we're in the air. So, you get to apply all of that in a practical setting,” explained Finch. “After those three days, we have a practical exam where they put us in the harness, give us a scenario, and we have to show and tell them what we would do if we run into a power line or go into water or run into a tree, or if we have a certain malfunction, if we have a line over, etc. And there's also a written exam. “I was the only female in my class, so I felt pressure to perform to the standards of the males. I didn't feel pressure from any of the guys [themselves], but I put a lot of pressure on myself and there were times that I got pretty freaking frustrated. I'm like, 'Why can't my body do this?' It was very intense, both physically and mentally, more than I thought it was going to be. But I passed everything the first go-round, and then I was moved into jump status, and after that it's just a waiting game for when the weather is right to jump.” During her time at the parachute school, she completed five jumps and received her wings as a graduate of the course. Once officially a member, she continued to prepare for her planned trip to Normandy in early June by heading out to Oklahoma a week prior to this year's GI Kentucky Derby for a refresher course. Finch jumped twice more, bringing her grand total of jumps to seven. “Our team owns two DC-3 [airplanes]. One is a C-47, named Boogie Baby, and one is a C-49, named Wild Kat. Boogie Baby actually dropped troopers on D-Day, but had several other combat missions, and Wild Kat also had combat missions during WWII. They're both over 80 years old. We have those planes to jump out of and that makes us unique,” said Finch. This week in Normandy, 38-year-old Finch's dream has become reality as she prepares for the 10th jump of her parachuting career with the WWII Airborne Demonstration Team. It will occur on Thursday, June 6, marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and take place right outside of Graignes-Mesnil-Angot. It will be the third and final jump of her trip, following one that took place Monday, June 3 outside of the town of St. Marie-du-Mont and another she participated in on Tuesday, June 4 at Boutteville. During her first jump of the week, she carried a photo of Al Mampre, a WWII veteran she met during her trip over in 2018. The two had met on the drop zone where Mampre had landed 74 years prior for Operation Market Garden, an Allied military operation fought in the German-occupied Netherlands. Since their meeting, Mampre has passed away, though Finch does all she can to honor his legacy and others. Nicole Finch holds a photo of WWII veteran Al Mampre, to whom she dedicated her June 3 jump | Joe Glyda “I think maybe it means a little more to me because my family [served]. It's an honor to be able to continue to share the stories [of these veterans]. For instance, the veterans that I met in 2018, none of those guys are still alive. So being able to jump with Mr. Al's picture in my pocket, and continuing to tell his story even after he's passed, that is the most important part to me,” said Finch. “They were kids [during the war]. They were citizen soldiers. Can you imagine jumping out of an airplane in the dead of night at 16, 17? Some were even younger. They were dropping super low to the ground where they barely had time for their parachutes to open, or they were going 200 miles an hour. When they jumped out and hit the prop glass, they lost their aim and their weapons were literally falling to the ground, so [they landed] with no way to defend themselves. And then they were falling in the wrong place, scattered all over Normandy. “People say to me, 'You're so awesome. You're so brave.' And I say, 'No one's going to be shooting at me. I know exactly where I'm landing. We're going to be going at the exact speed that we need to and we're dropping from the exact height that we need to be at.' If you look at it that way, you're like, well, I'm not really doing anything that special, you know what I mean?” But on the contrary. It's in those moments on a plane so high above the world, when Finch is fully decked out in her parachuting gear and preparing herself for a jump, that the importance of what she's doing and the purpose behind it drowns out any fear, insecurities or self-doubt. “Our planes have pictures of veterans in them. I get in the plane; the engines kick on and I always look at my watch and see that my heart rate is through the roof. I'm trying to calm myself down, get the adrenaline piped down a little bit, but once I look at those faces [in the pictures], it's calming,” said Finch. “As an organization, our motto is 'remember honor, serve,' so we want to remember and keep their memories alive. This is probably the last big anniversary we'll have with [these veterans], because when we go back for the 85th, they won't be with us anymore. It is up to us to tell their stories.” Even though she is surrounded by the thrill that is horse racing on a daily basis, there's nothing quite as exhilarating or impactful as what she's doing with the WWII Airborne Demonstration Team. Finch transformed a childhood curiosity into a fully-fledged passion as an adult and for her, there is no greater honor than to participate in the 80th anniversary of D-Day. The post Spendthrift’s Nicole Finch Parachutes in Normandy on D-Day Anniversary to Honor WWII Veterans appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Steven Cole will be out to recoup a measure of money spent on the Gold Coast this week with a quartet of runners at Ruakaka on Saturday. The Byerley Park trainer purchased two youngsters at the recent Australian Yearling Sale with the assistance of bloodstock agent Bevan Smith. They signed for a son of Tarzino out of Westbury Stud’s draft for A$110,000 and a Dundeel colt offered by Arrowfield Stud for A$75,000. “I didn’t go over and we had a good look over the Internet and sent Bevan some numbers that we liked,” Cole said. “He did all the leg work for us, which was quite good, and we got a couple, so it was a good result. “We were lucky this time and only had three horses vetted and two passed and we got them, it doesn’t normally happen that way.” The Tarzino colt is a half-brother to multiple winners Go Lotte (NZ) (Telperion) and Who Loves Sushi (NZ) (Swiss Ace) and a direct descendant of Jezabeel (NZ) (Zabeel), Group One winner of the Melbourne Cup (3200m) and Auckland Cup (3200m). The Dundeel yearling is a half-brother to three winners, including stakes performer Kazuhiko (Deep Impact), and the family of elite level winners Microphone (Excced and Excel) and Yell (Anabaa). “They are both well-bred horses and I had seen the Tarzino at Westbury before he went over and quite liked him, so we were happy to grab both of them,” Cole said. While juvenile Hard Attack (NZ) (All Too Hard) is a doubtful runner in Saturday’s Storage Bream Bay 2YO, Cole will still have a worthy representative in debut hope Hewillrocyou (NZ) (El Roca) who will be ridden by Ace Lawson-Carroll. “I probably won’t run Hard Attack from the bad draw (15) unless there’s a few scratchings before Saturday, but the others are on track and Hewillrocyou has been quite impressive in two trials,” he said. “There will be a bit of improvement to come and he’s a big horse who has copped everything that we’ve thrown at him. “We thought he might have been sold by now, but there’s been no interest so we’re happy to press on and race him.” Cole will be double handed in the Marsden Cove Dental Handicap (1600m) with Mega Mogul (Written Tycoon), to be partnered by Opie Bosson, and Courtney Barnes’ mount Mighty Bright (Power). “Mega Mogul is a nice horse and we had a few little foot issues with him last prep, but they all seem to be alright now,” he said. “He has been working well and has gone well at Ruakaka in the past. “Mighty Bright is a bit in and out with his form and is a thinker, but he did go a good race last time at Pukekohe where he ran fourth so if he can replicate that then he’s half a chance.” Cole’s first runner on the card will be Wye Valley (NZ) (Darci Brahma) in the second event, the Trigg Construction Maiden (1600m) following her first-up effort for fifth on the course and will again be ridden by Barnes. “She has learned quite a lot from that and stepping up in trip will help her, especially with her pedigree for it would be good to see her go a good race for Wentwood Grange,” he said. Bred and raced by the Hawkins family, Wye Valley is a half-sister by Darci Brahma to the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) winner Valley Girl (NZ) (Mastercraftsman). View the full article

A combination of dedication and a willingness to travel continues to reward Central Districts jockey Chris Dell. He is enjoying a lucrative season with 30 winners on the board to be in sight of his previous best of 38 and with prospects to further advance his tally with a strong book of rides at Otaki on Saturday. “Hard work is paying off and I’m happy with the way things are going and getting the good results,” Dell said. “I bought a house in Palmerston North so it’s home now and I ride work at Awapuni and went to Foxton this (Wednesday) morning to ride a couple of gallops as well. “I’ll go anywhere if I’m needed. I usually travel into the Taranaki district when there’s jump-outs so have saddle, will travel.” Dell has also posted a couple of black type victories, courtesy of the now retired Gino Severini in the Gr.2 Tauranga Stakes (1600m) and Testify Me in the Listed Hawke’s Bay Cup (2200m). “I won on Gino as a 10-year-old for Bruce Wallace and Grant Cooksley and I used to work for Grant when I was based up in Auckland,” he said. “I had a long association with Gino after he came back from Hong Kong and he wasn’t the easiest to ride but I gelled well with him, so it was great to get a Group Two success. “I won the Cup on Testify Me for Janelle Millar and she has been one of my main supporters, it’s really good to repay people who have been so good to me.” Also in that category is Lisa Latta and Dell will continue his strong association with the Awapuni trainer at Otaki. “Lisa really backs me and I’ve got five for her on Saturday and her team’s really on fire,” he said. “Coney Island is a very consistent horse, he’s still green though and once the penny drops, he’s going to be a very nice animal.” The son of Sacred Falls will contest the TAB Odds Surge Every Race At Otaki Maiden (1600m) and has finished runner-up in three of his last four appearances. Final Chapter (Vets On Riverbank Maiden, 1600m), Prioress (The Tele Otaki Handicap, 1200m), Benefactor (New World Otaki Handicap, 2100m) and Lurid (McMillan Equine Feeds Handicap, 2100m) are his other rides for Latta. Dell also likes the chances of the Millar-trained Tiny Diamond in the Cavallo Farms & Chris Rutten Bloodstock Handicap (1600m). “He only got beaten a lip last time and he is really stepping up his game. The first and last races are probably my best two chances,” he said. Time Test three-year-old Tiny Diamond broke his maiden under Dell at Hawera two starts back and they were then narrowly denied at New Plymouth. View the full article

Helene Warrior gives Danny Shum a brace. Riding a euphoric wave after Romantic Warrior’s stunning Group 1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) triumph in Tokyo on Sunday (2 June), Danny Shum was again to the fore at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (5 June) with a double. Shum struck with Hong Kong first-starter Packing Power and Helene Warrior to boost his domestic tally for the 2023/24 season to 47 wins – a tally capped by Romantic Warrior’s victories in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup (2000m), Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and the Group 1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m). The star middle-distance galloper has safely returned to Hong Kong following his Yasuda Kinen triumph – his second overseas victory this season following success in the Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley in October. Shum struck tonight with a pair of three-year-olds as the master horseman paraded fresh talent while extending his lead in the Happy Valley standings, where he now has 30 wins for the season, one more than Caspar Fownes (29). By Toronado, Australian-bred Packing Power claimed the first section of the Class 4 Mount Nicholson Handicap (1200m) under Zac Purton to provide the six-time champion jockey with his 110th win of the campaign. “He (Packing Power) is still very green and he can improve a bit more. He’s not a superstar, but he’s got some talent,” Shum said. “Hopefully he will improve next season. He might have a break now, but I’ll just talk to the owners.” Helene Warrior earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million after landing the Class 3 Shouson Hill Handicap (1650m) under a brilliant ride from Lyle Hewitson, who box-seated in third place on the rails behind leader Frantanck before sprinting strongly in the straight. “He loved the soft ground and a strong pace was good for him because he could hit the line strong,” Shum said. Purton completed a double when David Hall-trained Northern Beast clinched the Class 4 Wong Nai Chung Gap Handicap (1650m). By Maurice, Northern Beast was the second leg of a brace for Hall, who struck earlier with Sharpen Bright. Hall, who now has 38 wins for the season, attributed Sharpen Bright’s easy victory in the Class 4 Tai Tam Gap Handicap (2200m) to Karis Teetan’s clinical ride as the Redwood gelding posted his second course and distance victory of the season. “From the barrier (gate two), Karis executed very well,” Hall said. “From where he was, and with his staying ability, he was going to be hard to beat.” Fownes and Hugh Bowman combined with Daring Pursuit to claim the Class 4 Cricket Club Valley Stakes Handicap (1650m) before Happy Fat Cat slotted his fourth win of the season for Cody Mo with success in the second section of the Class 3 Violet Hill Handicap (1200m). Ridden patiently by Ellis Wong, the Shalaa gelding swept down the middle of the track to deny Kyrus Dragon by a head. A first-season trainer, Mo finished the evening with the first double of his career when Matthew Chadwick piloted California Touch to victory in the first section of the Class 3 Violet Hill Handicap (1200m). California Touch earned a PP bonus of HK$1.5 million for the win. Ben Thompson notched his sixth win of the season with a well-judged ride on Jamie Richards-trained Ernest Feeling in the second section of the Class 4 Mount Nicholson Handicap (1200m). “It’s fantastic, he’s a very fit horse and a winner at the Valley before, we needed a bit of luck from barrier nine, but it panned out nicely – they went very quick,” Thompson said. “We had a pretty cosy run but the big thing was handling the conditions – wet track and he had no issues on it. Jamie Richards has been a great supporter of mine since I landed here and it’s nice to reward him and get another winner.” Dennis Yip-trained Good View Glory broke through at his 13th attempt to snare the Class 5 Stanley Gap Handicap (1000m) under Andrea Atzeni. Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Saturday (8 June) from 4pm HKT. Horse racing news View the full article

With Mychel Sanchez aboard, the 4-year-old daughter of Lord Nelson cut early fractions of :22.43 for the quarter-mile and :46.42 for the half-mile before completing the six furlongs in 1:13.10 over a fast main track. View the full article

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority recently ruled that any horse shipping in directly from Louisiana to a racetrack under HISA jurisdiction will be immediately placed on the veterinarian's list. View the full article

One day after the Louisiana State Racing Commission rolled back changes set to go into place on June 8 to allow more permissive use of Clenbuterol and Depo-Medrol, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority sent a memo to owners, trainers, regulatory veterinarians, and track management advising that horses coming out of Louisiana must be placed on the vets' list. While the LSRC did go back to the ARCI model rules on those two drugs, they did not make changes to tens of others where guidelines for their usage deviated widely from the ARCI rules after an “emergency meeting” established the new, more lax rules. “The Louisiana State Racing Commission recently approved an emergency update to their controlled medication schedule for thoroughbred racing by adding additional medications and changing allowable dosage and/or withdrawal times (the “Emergency Rule”),” wrote HISA in the memo. “The Emergency Rule, which was modified in part during an emergency public meeting held on June 4, 2024, will reportedly take effect in Louisiana on Saturday, June 8, 2024. “HISA has reviewed the Emergency Rule (as modified during the public meeting on June 4, 2024) and HISA's Veterinary Team has determined that it poses significant risks to both equine welfare and the integrity of Thoroughbred racing. Some of the changes contemplated in the Emergency Rule contradict the weight of scientific evidence and long-established industry standards for medication controls. For example, the 50 ng/ml threshold (24 hours) for Flunixin is permissive of administration at less than 24 hours prior to a race, which can produce a systemic effect that would mask unsoundness and jeopardize the safety and welfare of the horse.Moreover, the Emergency Rule's dosage specification for Betamethasone deviates significantly from existing ARCI Guidelines developed based on studies funded by the Racing Medication & Testing Consortium and others. These are only two of the serious concerns presented by the Emergency Rule.” As such, beginning June 8, the memo says, any horse shipping to another track from Louisiana will be considered “medically compromised and unfit to race.” This includes, but is not limited to, Covered Horses that: Shipped in directly from Louisiana; Since June 8, 2024, have performed a workout at a training facility or racetrack located in Louisiana; and/or Since June 8, 2024, have competed in a race at a racetrack located in Louisiana. Louisiana shippers will remain on the vets' list until the horse performs a workout under the supervision of the regulatory veterinarian and demonstrates to the satisfaction of the vet that the horse is sound to race, and ;until a blood sample is collected from the horse at the owner's expense following the workout and the sample has been reported as negative, the memo says. “HISA understands some of the horses covered by this memorandum will not be flagged until they have entered a race in your jurisdiction,” the memo continues. “These horses must be scratched unless they have already completed the requirements set forth in the preceding paragraph. Upon leaving Louisiana, trainers may immediately initiate the vets' list protocol set forth in this memorandum by notifying the regulatory veterinarian in the applicable jurisdiction who will then place the Covered Horse on the Vets' List.” The post Louisiana Horses Will Go On the Vets’ List When They Ship Out appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

With Mychel Sanchez aboard, the 4-year-old daughter of Lord Nelson cut early fractions of :22.43 for the quarter-mile and :46.42 for the half-mile before completing the six furlongs in 1:13.10 over a fast-main track. View the full article

With entrants ranging from a $2.3-million sales-topping yearling to a homebred, the $2-million GI Belmont S. turns a new page in 2024 with its first running at Saratoga Race Course. Here we take a look at the origins of all 10 entrants in the Classic, including the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. winners. 1). Seize the Grey (Arrogate–Smart Shopping, by Smart Strike) Mill Ridge's Headley Bell purchased Shop Again, second dam of Seize the Grey, for $450,000 at the 2007 Keeneland November sale on behalf of Tolie Otto, who nurtured the family through two generations until she passed away in 2023. Now her daughter, Audie, is carrying on the family's Jamm Ltd., the name under which Seize the Grey was bred at Mill Ridge. Shop Again, a half to GISW Miss Shop and GSW/MGISP Trappe Shot, produced GISW Power Broker and Aqueduct SW Fierce Boots in addition to Smart Shopping. It was Bell who recommended the Arrogate mating that resulted in Seize the Grey and the Mill Ridge consignment which sold the Preakness winner as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale to MyRacehorse for $300,000. Juddmonte's late Arrogate, who left just three crops before his premature passing, sired last year's Belmont winner in Arcangelo. The mare, one of three Smart Strike daughters with a runner in the field, foaled a Life Is Good filly Feb. 22. 2). Resilience (Into Mischief–Meadowsweet, by Smart Strike) The story of Resilience, who was bred by Pam and Marty Wygod, is a story of relationships. The Wygod family, who lost family patriarch Marty in April, purchased Tranquility Lake, granddam of the GII Wood Memorial winner, as a $250,000 Keeneland July yearling in 1996 and campaigned her to multiple Grade I scores. Wygod gave Resilience to his daughter, Emily Bushnell, before his passing. Bushnell is partners in the horse with Ric Waldman, who has been working with the Wygod family since he managed the great Storm Cat. The Wygods had gotten to know Waldman through his work with Storm Cat and bred Tranquility Lake to the stallion, resulting in GISW Courageous Cat and After Market out of the mare. Meadowsweet, dam of Resilience, foaled a full-sister to the bay Feb. 29. Spendthrift's five-time leading sire Into Mischief has had two Derby winners and is looking for his first Belmont winner. 3). Mystik Dan (Goldencents–Ma'am, by Colonel John) The lone official homebred in the Belmont field, Mystik Dan is a family affair. He was bred in Kentucky by Lance Gasaway and his relatives Brent, Sharilyn, Logan, and Lauren Gasaway of 4G Racing, as well as Daniel Hamby, from a mare whose sole trip through a sales ring was as a $9,500 RNA at the 2014 Keeneland September sale. The Gasaways, who have since taken on partner Valley View Farm in the horse, have been with conditioner Kenny McPeek for several years–he originally trained Ma'am for them–and he was the one who recommended the mating to Spendthrift's Goldencents for her first foal. After ensuing foals by Unified and Knicks Go, the mare produced a colt by 2020 GII Louisiana Derby winner Wells Bayou, who was part-owned by the Gasaways, on Apr. 1 in Oklahoma for the same team. Mystik Dan's granddam is a winning full-sister to 2001 GI Hollywood Futurity and GII Lane's End Breeders' Futurity winner Siphonic (Siphon {Brz}) and a half-sister to the dam of GISW Laragh (Tapit) and MGSW & MGISP Summer Front (War Front). 4). The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso–Call to Service, by To Honor and Serve) Spendthrift's first-crop sophomore stallion Vino Rosso gets his first Classic contender with a horse that has roots close to home. Although a New York-bred, The Wine Steward was bred by Spendthrift's Kentucky-based stallion sales manager Mark Toothaker in partnership with Sequel Thoroughbreds LLC and Lakland Farm. The mare was bought by Becky Thomas, who has historically been a major part of both Sequel and Lakland, for $110,000 while carrying The Wine Steward in utero at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Thomas's Sequel Bloodstock then consigned The Wine Steward to last year's OBS March sale, where he brought $340,000 from trainer Mike Maker (he was originally sold as a Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling for $70,000). The mare produced a Justify colt May 9 for Coteau Grove Farms after that entity bought her for $350,000 at Keeneland January in 2022. Call to Service did not win a race herself, but she's a half to GSW & GISP Giant Game, to MGSW & GISP Isotherm, to GISP Gio Game, and to the dam of MGSW Skelly. Preakness winner Seize the Grey | Sarah Andrew 5). Antiquarian (Preservationist–Lifetime Memory, by Istan) The GIII Peter Pan S. winner has the fingerprints of former Kentucky Governor Brereton C. Jones on top and bottom. The late patriarch of Airdrie Stud bred Antiquarian from his sire's first crop after being instrumental in bringing GI Woodward S. winner Preservationist to stand at Airdrie. Jones also bred Antiquarian's dam, Lifetime Memory, as well as her dam and granddam. Remarkably, like Antiquarian himself, all were by stallions standing in Airdrie's stud barn. Airdrie consigned Antiquarian to the 2022 Keeneland September sale, where he fetched $250,000 from Centennial Farms, who raced Preservationist. It doesn't come much more full circle than that: Antiquarian was bred, raised, and sold by Airdrie, who stands his sire, and bought and is raced by Centennial, who campaigned his sire. Antiquarian's dam, who is a half to 2020 GII Lake Placid S. winner Speaktomeofsummer, most recently produced a Happy Saver colt May 14, three days after the Peter Pan. 6). Dornoch (Good Magic–Puca, by Big Brown) A full-brother to 2023 Derby winner Mage, Dornoch was bred by Grandview Equine. The principal of Grandview Equine is Robert Clay, whose fantastic success in the sport was profiled by Chris McGrath in the days before Mage won the Derby last year. Clay had purchased 2014 'TDN Rising Star' Puca for $475,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale and resold her last November at Keeneland, where she originally RNA'd at $2.8 million. New Thoroughbred investor John Stewart, who has made a major splash in the industry, picked her up post-sale from the Case Clay consignment for $2.9 million. She produced a full-brother to Mage and Dornoch at Stewart's Resolute Farm Apr. 4. Puca, a half to GISW Finnegans Wake, also has unraced 2-year-old Baeza (McKinzie), who sold to Mayberry Farm for $1.2 million at Keeneland September. That's the same sale Dornoch sold at in 2022 when he brought $325,000 from the Runnymede Farm consignment. Dornoch is by Hill n' Dale's Good Magic, a son of Curlin who was the leading first-crop sire of 2022 and added a Derby winner the next year. 7). Protective (Medaglia d'Oro–Grace Hall, by Empire Maker) Winner of the 2011 GI Spinaway S., Grace Hall went through the Fasig-Tipton November ring in 2012, where she brought $3.2 million from Reynolds Bell, Jr. Bell frequently signs the sales tickets for Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stables, LLC, who bred Protective in Kentucky. Protective made a trip to the sales as a yearling at Keeneland September, where he was part of the Lane's End consignment and fetched $250,000 from Repole Stable. Grace Hall, who traces tail-female to 1924 champion 3-year-old filly and Preakness winner Nellie Morse, later a foundation mare for Calumet Farm, produced an Apr. 4 colt by Into Mischief for Alpha Delta. Protective, third in both the Wood Memorial and Peter Pan, is by Darley's extraordinary sire Medaglia d'Oro, who won the 2002 GI Travers S. over this track and was second in that year's Belmont. Honor Marie | Sarah Andrew 8). Honor Marie (Honor Code–Dame Marie, by Smart Strike) Named for a combination of his sire and dam's names as well as for one of the nine grandchildren of co-owners Kerry and Alan Ribble, Honor Marie was bred by Kentucky businessman Royce Pulliam. Pulliam used Taylor Made to consign the eventual GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. winner to Keeneland September, where he hammered for $40,000 to buyer In the Trees. Honor Code, who originally stood at Lane's End, embarked on a new chapter for 2024 at Yushun Stallion Station in Japan. Dame Marie, who also produced Keeneland's 2020 GII Bourbon S. runner-up Abarta (Into Mischief), has an Apr. 28 colt by Mandaloun. Her Medaglia d'Oro 2-year-old sold at last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale for $385,000 to Fergus Galvin. She is a half-sister to 2004 G1 St. Leger winner Rule of Law (Kingmambo). 9). Sierra Leone (Gun Runner–Heavenly Love, by Malibu Moon) The $2.3-million topper of the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, GI Blue Grass S. winner Sierra Leone is a poster child for both breeding the best to the best and the reward that can come from competing for top sales prospects. John Oxley purchased second dam Darling My Darling–out of GISW Roamin Rachel and a half to not-then-born Japanese Horse of the Year Zenno Rob Roy (Jpn)–for $300,000 in 1998 at Keeneland September. Under Oxley's wife Debby's name, the couple campaigned her to two black-type wins at Keeneland as well as two Grade I placings at Belmont. It is in the breeding shed where she's really excelled, however, as the dam of GISW Heavenly Love and GSW Forever Darling. The former would produce 'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone, bred by Debby and consigned by Gainesway to Saratoga. In a remarkable twist, the latter would produce Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}), the Japanese globetrotter whose only career loss in four countries was a nose third to Sierra Leone in the Kentucky Derby last month. Heavenly Love produced a full-sister to Sierra Leone for Debby Oxley Feb. 11. Three Chimney's Horse of the Year and sire sensation Gun Runner already has one Classic winner in his three crops to race. 10). Mindframe (Constitution–Walk of Stars, by Street Sense) Maryland-born 'TDN Rising Star' Mindframe was bred by R. Larry Johnson, whose decades in the sport were recently profiled in TDN. He purchased Mindframe's fourth dam, Ran's Chick, in 1978 at Timonium for $2,400 and has developed the family, which also includes May 17 GII Black-Eyed Susan S. third Call Another Play (Audible), ever since. Johnson used Betz Thoroughbreds to consign Mindframe to Keeneland September, where the gavel dropped at $600,000 when selling to Repole Stables and St. Elias Stables. Constitution has developed into one of the sport's elite stallions for WinStar and previously won the Belmont as a sire with son Tiz the Law in the COVID year of 2020, the last time the distance was shortened from its traditional 1 1/2 miles. Mindframe's dam and granddam both won black-type events at Charles Town. The most recent produce for Walk of Stars is a juvenile colt by Maclean's Music named Lonesome Road. The post Origins: The Belmont Stakes, presented by Three Chimneys appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. 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In Secret ridden by James McDonald wins the Coolmore Stud Stakes at Flemington Racecourse on October 29, 2022 in Flemington, Australia. (Photo by Brett Holburt/Racing Photos) Dual Group 1 winner In Secret is set to miss the Brisbane winter carnival this year in preparation for another shot at the $15 million The Everest race. After finishing third in the Kingsford Smith Cup at Eagle Farm on Saturday, In Secrets connections have decided to give her a break and prepare her for the upcoming spring season. “ #TeamGodolphin has decided to give our dual G1 winner #InSecret a well-deserved spell. She will return following a similar path to last year’s spring carnival, targeting races like The Everest and the G1 Darley Champions Sprint.” announced Godolphin on X During her campaign, In Secret took on The Everest as her race back after an impressive second place in the Concorde Stakes and a fourth-place finish in The Shorts. Despite starting from barrier 12 at Randwick, jockey Zac Purton expertly manoeuvred her through traffic to make a finish and secure fourth place. The mare showcased her spirit more at the top level, finishing third in the 2023 Darley Champions Sprint at Flemington Racecourse. She then made a comeback with her performance in the Kingsford Smith Cup, finishing behind I Wish I Win (1st), and Bella Nipotina (2nd). She is the second horse selected for an Everest slot following the West Australian sensation, Bustling. Bustling has won four out of five races at Ascot, including the prestigious G2 Karrakatta Plate, and will be representing slot owners: Max Whitby, Neil Werrett, and Col Madden. The Everest bookmaker markets currently have the Kingsford Smith Cup winner I Wish I Win as the +350 favourite, while In Secret currently sits at +1200 with Neds. Horse racing news View the full article

With last year's announcement that Belmont Park would be closed until the track is rebuilt and reopened in 2026 at the earliest, all of a sudden an impossible dream became possible for trainer Chad Brown.View the full article

Blazing Sevens is back for his 4-year-old season and will enter the $1 million Metropolitan Handicap (G1) June 8 at Saratoga Race Course off a clear victory in an April 20 allowance-level race at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

Consignor Tom McCrocklin had already sold the sale-topping daughter of Tiz the Law at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring sale when he decided to purchase another daughter of the GI Belmont S. winner after watching her fail to meet her reserve at that same auction two months ago. The filly (hip 187) went a ways in proving it was a wise decision when she worked a quarter-mile in a bullet :20 2/5 during Wednesday's second session of the under-tack show for next week's OBS June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training in Ocala. “I thought it was a beautiful work,” McCrocklin said. “I thought it was efficient, effortless and fast. She did everything right. She was just like a car cruising down the highway.” The filly is out of Southern Silence (Dixie Union) and is a half to stakes winners Liberate (Gemologist) and Esplanade (Daredevil), who was second in the 2020 GI Spinaway S. The dark bay juvenile was purchased for $80,000 by Mustang Farms out of last year's Keeneland September sale. She worked a furlong in :10 flat before RNA'ing for $190,000 at the Spring sale. “She is fast and balanced and athletic,” McCrocklin said when asked about his decision to purchase the filly in April. “We had had some success with the other filly and thought it might be a good idea. It's a little risky, but she was mentally and physically very sound. So far, it is working out well.” Asked if the plan had always been to send the filly to the June sale, McCrocklin said, “I try not to paint myself into a corner. She didn't make her reserve in April and I thought the stallion, and this filly in particular, had a big upside. I think there are opportunities in every sale, whether you are buying or selling. There are horses that are overlooked in every sale and there are horses that bring way more then maybe they deserve to.” McCrocklin admitted he hasn't had to do a lot of work with the youngster. “I haven't had her that long,” he said. “She is solid, professional and sound. She really didn't need to change a whole lot. My job in this kind of situation is to just keep the horse happy and healthy and with plenty of flesh. I am a big believer in keeping horses happy with plenty of flesh, feed them well and pay attention. They will talk to you if you pay attention. Just try basic horsemanship. Nothing exotic or fancy.” McCrocklin purchased a daughter of Tiz the Law out of Moonlight Sky (Sky Mesa) for $170,000 at the Keeneland September sale last fall. The filly blitzed a quarter-mile in :20 1/5 before selling for a sale-topping $1.9 million to Michael Lund Petersen at the Spring sale. The bay worked three times at Los Alamitos in May and had her first work at Santa Anita last Saturday when she went four furlongs in :51.80. Asked to compare the two fillies, McCrocklin said, “The breezes are eerily similar. They are fast, but they are smooth and effortless. Both fillies are really efficient movers and they cover a lot of ground. The filly in April that we sold was a big, strong and masculine filly. This filly doesn't have that substance. She's not a big, raw filly like that filly was in April, but she is deceptively long in her movement. She has a really big stride and covers a lot of ground with not much effort.” During Wednesday's under-tack show session, 15 horses shared the day's fastest furlong time of :10 flat: hip 181, a filly by Mr. Money consigned by Whitman Sales; hip 203, a filly by Dosificado (Chi) consigned by Triple J Equine Sales; hip 232, a colt by Thousand Words consigned by Centofanti Thoroughbreds; hip 252, a filly by Gun Runner consigned by Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds; hip 275, a colt by Vino Rosso consigned by Top Line Sales; hip 284, a colt by Maximum Security consigned by Ordonez Thoroughbreds; hip 289, a filly by Liam's Map consigned by Cardozo's Brothers; f2hip 291, a filly by Dominus consigned by Marcial Galan; hip 305, a filly by Justify consigned by Pick View; hip 314, a colt by Unified consigned by Dynasty Thoroughbreds; hip 319, a filly by Twirling Candy consigned by CM Thoroughbreds; hip 334, a colt by Practical Joke consigned by Scanlon Training & Sales; hip 337, a filly by McKinzie consigned by de Meric Sales; hip 343, a colt by Speightster consigned by Sugar Hill; and hip 350, a colt by Gift Box consigned by RiceHorse Stable (Brandon & Ali Rice). The under-tack show continues through Sunday with sessions beginning each day at 7:30 a.m. The June sale will be held next Wednesday through Friday, with bidding commencing each day at 10 a.m. The post Tiz the Law Filly Sets the Mark at OBS Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

With scattered rain forecast for Saratoga beginning June 6 and continuing through the weekend, Gun Pilot may face an off track, which he handled easily in an allowance optional claiming race at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in January. View the full article

Blazing Sevens is back for his 4-year-old season and will enter the $1 million Metropolitan Handicap (G1) June 8 at Saratoga Race Course off a clear victory in an April 20 allowance-level race at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

3rd-Curragh, €20,000, Mdn, 6-5, 3yo/up, 12fT, 2:35.75, gd. GRATEFUL (IRE) (f, 3, Galileo {Ire}–Tepin {GISW-Can, G1SW-Eng, MGISW-US, $4,437,918}, by Bernstein), the third foal out of the six-times top-level-winning dual champion turf mare, had not been seen since finishing ninth in this track's seven-furlong conditions race in August in which A Lilac Rolla (Ire) (Harry Angel {Ire}) and Opera Singer (Justify) were first and second. Racing in mid-pack early, the 13-2 shot stayed on strongly to reel in stablemate Mother Nature (Ire) (Justify) in the final strides and prevail by a short head. “She has an unbelievable pedigree. She got a little setback last year and we didn't get to run her,” Aidan O'Brien said. “She just took a bit of time to come and Wayne said there is a lot to come from her. We'll let her step up and progress away and he said she'd be very happy to step back in trip.” Tepin was famously purchased by M.V. Magnier for $8 million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2017. She has a 2-year-old colt Delacroix (Ire) by Dubawi (Ire) and is kin to the four-times graded-stakes scorer Vyjack (Into Mischief). Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $13,055. O-Mrs J Magnier/M Tabor/D Smith/Westerberg; B-Tepin Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. Bred for the job! Grateful, by Galileo out of Queen Anne winner and top-class US mare Tepin, beats better-fancied stablemate Mother Nature in an exciting finish for @waynemlordan and Aidan O'Brien at @curraghrace pic.twitter.com/5ezBLq43Jv — Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 5, 2024 The post Daughter Of Tepin Off The Mark At The Curragh appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), who flew in from the U.S. to defeat 25 European fillies in the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot last year, will be back in England to contest the five-furlong G1 King Charles III S. (formerly the Kings Stand S.) at Ascot June 19. She will be saddled by John and Thady Gosden and stay on at their Clarehaven Stables for a European campaign. The three-year-old daughter of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist ran sixth, beaten just 2 1/2 lengths in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, leading Big Evs (Blue Point {Ire}) into the final furlong, on her first run in the peacock blue and old gold colors of her owners Wathnan Racing, who purchased her before that race. She returned this season with a one-length win over five furlongs on the turf at Gulfstream Park in the Roar S. in her final start for trainer George Weaver on May 18. Case Clay, Wathnan Racing's America representative, said, 'Crimson Advocate is all about speed and we're very hopeful she can give Wathnan lots of fun in the big European sprints. George and his team have done a fantastic job training her for a second crack at a big Royal Ascot prize, and we are really looking forward to seeing her in action in England this summer.' A $100,000 OBS October graduate, Crimson Advocate has won three of her five lifetime starts, breaking her maiden in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies S. in May of her two-year-old year. The post American Queen Mary Winner Crimson Advocate to Race in Europe appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Brian Hernandez had a huge weekend on the first weekend in May. The 38-year-old jockey is hoping for another big one on the second weekend in June. Hernandez is the pilot of the best 3-year-old filly in the country in Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna). He also is the teammate of one of the best 3-year-old colts in the land in Mystik Dan (Goldencents). Both horses are trained by Kenny McPeek and they gave Hernandez the biggest thrill of his 21-year career last month. Thorpedo Anna won the GI Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 4; the next day, Mystik Dan won the GI Kentucky Derby. Hernandez became just the ninth rider in history to win both in the same year. “It's been crazy, it's been life changing,” Hernandez said by phone from Louisville, Ky. “We have worked so long to be able to ride horses like this … to be able to show up on the big stage is an incredible feeling.” The magic ride could continue when Thorpedo Anna runs in the GI DK Acorn S. at Saratoga Race Course on Friday and Mystik Dan takes on the GI Belmont Stakes Saturday. “(Mystik Dan) is a horse that doesn't mind being in some battles and tight spots,” Hernandez said. “He is not the biggest horse in the world, but he is full of heart. (Thorpedo Anna) has done everything we have asked of her so far. She has answered every question.” Thorpedo Anna, with Brian Hernandez aboard | Horsephotos Hernandez splashed onto the national scene when he rode Fort Larned to victory in the 2012 GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Winning the major races in Kentucky have been the pinnacle. He and his wife, Jamie accepted an invitation to visit Louisiana (his home state) Governor Jeff Landry. “I have gotten a lot of attention,” he said. “Anytime someone asks me for an autograph, I sign. There will be a time when no one knows who you are, and no is going to want it. You have to enjoy the spotlight when it's on you.” Hernandez, a mainstay in the Kentucky jockey colony, has had a good relationship with McPeek–who became the first trainer to win the Oaks and Derby in the same year since 1952–as he gets first call on the barn's top horses. When asked if Hernandez is an underrated rider, McPeek doesn't hesitate. “Very,” he said. “The key to him is that gets a horse to travel underneath him. How a rider gets a horse to flow during the middle of the race can be more important than the finish. He has real soft hands and never checks a horse–ever–unless someone takes him out. That's a big deal because he does not cost them any lost motion.” Hernandez has heard the underrated tag put on him but shrugs it off. “It's horse racing, it's not jockey racing,” he said. “Most of the time, a good rider can get a good horse there. You need the stock. The biggest thing is to have the people behind you.” Contessa Hopes For A Couple More Big Runs Last summer, trainer Gary Contessa opened the Saratoga Race meet with a bang when Becky's Joker (Practical Joke) won the GIII Schuylerville S. at 21-1 odds. He would have to wait until closing day before he got his second win and he did that with a sonic boom when Nutella Fella (Runhappy) pulled a shocker in the GI Hopeful, winning at 54-1. Nutella Fella | Sarah Andrew “That was amazing, considering I didn't expect it,” Contessa said along the rail at the Oklahoma Training Track. Both are coming back in the Belmont Racing Festival. Becky's Joker, owned by Lee Pokoik, is 8-1 on the morning line in Thursday's six-furlong Jersey Girl S. and Nutella Fella 15-1 in the GI Woody Stephens for Bell Gable Stable LLC. Both have been off since last year's improbable results. Nutella Fella has fully recovered, Contessa said, from a non-displaced fracture of his left hind ankle. That forced him to miss the GI Champagne S. “I knew we would get him back, was I going to get him back for the Woody Stephens? That was going to be up to him,” Contessa said. “He is ready for this race.” Becky's Joker, seventh in the GIII Adirondack S. last summer, had to be turned out shortly after that. “She lost her mind, she was a mental case at the end of the meet,” Contessa said. “No physical issues.” She has returned and has a solid work tab–as does Nutella Fella–and Contessa says she is ready. Becky's Joker was also entered in the 1 1/8-mile DK Acorn on Friday but Contessa and Pokoik opted for the shorter race. She had drawn the rail in the Acorn; she has the three in the Jersey Girl S. Becky's Joker | Sarah Andrew “The sprint made the most sense,” Contessa said. “She is so big (17.2 hands) that when she goes in the starting gate, her nose is touching the front and her butt is touching the back. She doesn't get the push off that smaller horses get.” A slow break in the Acorn could compromise her chances and she won't have to face GI Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna. Contessa is just glad to have both horses back in the barn. And, perhaps, provide another surprise. Or two. Weather Forecast Not Great If you're going to attend any of the four days of the Belmont S. Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course, bring the rain coat. According to the National Weather Service in Albany, rain is in the forecast from Thursday-Sunday. “We are going to see a chance for showers and thunderstorms each day, that's the bad part,” NWS meteorologist Brian Frugis said. “The good part is it won't be raining the entire time for any of these days.” According to Frugis, the worst day of the week figures to be Thursday when he said there is an 80 percent chance of rain, with the heaviest coming in the late afternoon and evening hours. He said a good portion of the afternoon should be dry. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the chance of rain is 60 percent, Frugis said. “Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it will be more lighter showers,” he said. When asked to rank the weekend on a one-to-10 scale with 10 being the best, Frugis could only come up with a four. The post Hernandez Continues To Enjoy The Ride Of His Life appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. 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Flavien Prat replaces Tyler Gaffalione, who rode the Gun Runner colt in all three of his races this year. And Sierra Leone will be equipped with a cage bit, designed to give the rider added control for left-to-right steering.View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features a Frankel filly out of a Breeders' Cup heroine. 16.40 Haydock, Nov, £10,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f 212yT Imad Al Sagar homebred HAUTE COUTURE (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is a half-sister to G1 Jebel Hatta, G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup and G1 Irish Champion S.-winning sire Decorated Knight (GB) (Galileo {Ire}). Unraced opposition to the John and Thady Gosden-trained debutante includes Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's Tareefa (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who is a William Haggas-conditioned half-sister to G1 Pretty Polly S. victrix Nezwaah (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}); and Saeed Suhail's Winning Point (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}), a 320,000gns Book 1 daughter of Group 3-winning G1 Irish 1000 Guineas runner-up Rehn's Nest (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}), from the Sir Michael Stoute yard. 16.55 Leopardstown, Mdn, €18,000, 2yo, f, 7f 60yT Ballydoyle contender GISELLE (IRE) (Frankel {GB}), the first of three foals by Frankel out of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and GI Just A Game S. victrix Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), debuts in a contest annexed in recent years by the stable's G1 Irish Oaks heroine Bracelet (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and the multiple Group 1-placed September (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). Her rivals include Aidan O'Brien stablemate Bedtime Story (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who is kin to last term's G3 Staffordstown Stud S. winner Content (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) out of dual G1 Nunthorpe S. heroine Mecca's Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). 19.15 Chelmsford, Nov, £9,000, 3yo/up, f/m, 10f (AWT) Qatar Racing's UPTON (Kitten's Joy) is a homebred full-sister to G1 Futurity Trophy and G1 2000 Guineas-winning sire Kameko and makes a journey around the M25 for her belated unveiling here. The Andrew Balding trainee's opponents include Yuesheng Zhang's Daylight Chorus (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who is a €245,000 Goffs Orby half-sister to four-time Group 1-winning sire Dawn Approach (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) and G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. runner-up Herald The Dawn (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), representing William Haggas. The post Daughter Of Newspaperofrecord Set For Leopardstown Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

It was a first-of-its-kind TDN Writers' Room this week as the crew gathered to discuss the first GI Belmont S. to run at Saratoga Race Course. To get started on their handicapping ahead of a jam-packed weekend of racing at the Spa, the team brought in Green Group Guest of the Week Richard Migliore, an on-air racing analyst for NYRA who will be part of the FOX Sports coverage of the Belmont on Saturday. Calling into the show–which is presented by Keeneland–from the famed picnic tables of Saratoga, Migliore said there is already an air of excitement even days before racing is set to begin. “I can already feel the energy in town,” he said. “Saratoga always holds that kind of energy and you feel the charm of it, the mystique of Saratoga, but it's amped up even more. I don't want to say it's going to be a madhouse, but it's going to be on the edge of chaos. I'm excited about it. Saratoga, to me, is America's classic racetrack. Obviously it's home to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. You can feel the history. It's palpable. And now we're having an American Classic here.” An Eclipse Award-winning apprentice jockey, Migliore has spent plenty of time on the racetrack and in the winner's circle at Saratoga. He explained that there is a lot for the ten jockeys riding in Saturday's Belmont to consider as they prepare for the third leg of the Triple Crown to run at a mile and a quarter instead of the traditional mile and a half. “I think going a mile and a half, which is not a distance that is common in North America particularly on the dirt, riders ride it much more carefully,” Migliore said. “They're much more inclined to worry about a horse getting the distance at a mile and a quarter. You know, a lot of these horses obviously have run in the Derby. They're not going to be as concerned about the mile and a quarter, so I do believe they'll ride it a bit differently. I do think you'll see more of a legitimate pace, particularly in this Belmont because there are three or four horses that I think are forward-type horses.” Morning-line favorite Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) has a lot going for him coming into Saturday's race, but there are also a lot of question marks surrounding the Kentucky Derby runner-up as trainer Chad Brown has opted to change the colt's bit in the hopes that he will be easier to keep straight coming down the stretch for his new jockey, Flavien Prat. “Sierra Leone has always shown that propensity to want to lug in,” Migliore explained. “He did it in his first start. I think it cost him the GII Remsen S. because he lugged in on top of Dornoch (Good Magic) and it emboldened Dornoch. If you go back and look at his GI Blue Grass S., he's not running straight on his own volition. He's having to be corrected. If you look at some of the still shots of the Derby, he has a snaffle bit, which is a very mild bit in the horse's mouth. It's basically pulled all the way through his mouth by Tyler Gaffalione, who is trying to keep him straight off of Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) and go forward. [Chad Brown] said they had experimented previously with that bit and were not thrilled with how he reacted to it, but since the Derby he's worked in it three times. I was here for the last work and it looks like it's having the desired effect.” Migliore acknowledged that Sierra Leone is the horse to beat in the Belmont, but pointed out that Seize the Grey (Arrogate), who is coming in off a win in the GI Preakness S., may be flying a bit under the radar. Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the WinStar stallion Constitution, Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, 1/ST Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, the Alameda County Fair and XBTV.com, the team of Randy Moss, Bill Finley and Zoe Cadman took a look at all the Grade I racing at Saratoga this weekend and discussed the latest with Louisiana Racing Commission's drug regulation. Click here to listen to the audio version of the show. The post Richard Migliore Joins the TDN Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Look out, world! Ramjet was a runaway winner in the Tokyo Derby June 5 on the Oi Racecourse dirt and his connections already are targeting not only a matchup with Kentucky Derby (G1) third Forever Young but also the big international races in 2025.View the full article

Nevin Truesdale is to leave the Jockey Club by the end of the year after more than a decade with the organization, the last four of which have been spent as chief executive.View the full article