Wandering Eyes

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) has extended for another six months its accreditation suspension of the University of Kentucky's Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory. The RMTC initially suspended its accreditation of the laboratory back in March, following news that the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) had stopped sending samples to the lab due to “concerns with the performance” of the facility. Prior to that, the laboratory had been one of six drug testing facilities used under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act's (HISA) drug testing program. According to the RMTC's executive director, Michael Hardy, the UK Lab requested an extension to its initial 60-day suspension period on May 7. “The RMTC acknowledges the good faith efforts and level of cooperation from the laboratory during the originally prescribed 60-day period and has authorized an extension up to, but not to exceed six months to afford additional time for the laboratory to achieve full compliance with the Code of Standards,” Hardy wrote. A UK spokesperson confirmed the suspension extension, adding that the university believes the “timeframe will be sufficient” for the lab to achieve full compliance with the RMTC's code of standards. If the laboratory failed to make the necessary fixes in time and the RMTC had denied the extension request, the organization could have moved to fully revoke its accreditation of the facility. “If that were to [happen], we would have to start very much from scratch and that can be a very laborious and time-consuming process. So, we really want to try as best we can to maintain accreditation so that we can focus on moving forward,” acting lab director, Cynthia Cole, recently told the TDN. The RMTC's extension marks the latest development in a twisting story that has played out with limited public explanations. After halting the flow of samples to the UK Laboratory, HIWU and HISA announced they had opened an investigation into the facility's performance, alongside the university's own investigation into the matter. In the same statement, the agencies announced that the university was conducting “an ongoing personnel investigation” relating to Scott Stanley, the former UK Lab director, and that “Dr. Stanley was not permitted to be in direct communication with the other staff at the laboratory.” Stanley told the TDN that he had stepped down as the UK Lab's director at the beginning of March and has been reassigned within the university. When initially asked why the RMTC had suspended its accreditation, Hardy pointed to a code of standards which lists 10 possible considerations that might prompt the organization to take such an action. RMTC accreditation is a necessity if a laboratory is to be among HIWU's stable of drug testing facilities. Toward the end of March, the university announced that it had hired Cole to be interim lab director. Cole previously served as an associate clinical professor and director of The Racing Laboratory at the University of Florida from 2002-2006, then again from 2018-2023 when the laboratory closed. In a Q&A with the TDN, Cole shared how the U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) had also stopped sending samples to UK Lab due to similar concerns that HISA had with the lab, along with issues of turnaround times not being met. Cole also said that “it's possible” the recent developments at the UK Lab could call into question the legitimacy of any HISA/HIWU-related samples previously processed through the facility. Cole, however, voiced optimism that the issues with the laboratory would be rectified in time to avoid full revocation of the RMTC's accreditation. “I am an optimist, so I'm going to say we will be able to achieve this. I think we've made tremendous advances in already meeting some of their requests and their concerns,” said Cole, in the Q&A. “Some of them are simply a little bit more time consuming. So, I believe with an extension we can address almost all of their [RMTC's] concerns.” The post RMTC Extends Suspension of UK Lab’s Accreditation Another Six Months appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The first thing you notice as you pull up to Hidden Brook Farm's yearling division is how, on either side of the doors leading into the indoor walker, dozens and dozens of nameplates are lined in neat rows, serving as the honor roll of horses bred, foaled, raised or sold by Hidden Brook. Ask farm manager Sergio de Sousa about any one of the names you see listed there and he will have a story. Take, for instance, Tell a Kelly. The daughter of Tapit was consigned by Hidden Brook at the Keeneland September Sale the year that her sire's first crop were sophomores. At the time Tapit was showing plenty of promise, but a lot of his winners were grey. Tell a Kelly, a pretty chestnut with a flaxen mane, only sold for $45,000 after many buyers told de Sousa that only the grey ones could run. The next year the filly won the 2010 GI Debutante S. at Del Mar. Then there's Firing Line (Line of David). He is known for running second to American Pharoah in the 2015 GI Kentucky Derby, but de Sousa remembers him from when he grew up at Hidden Brook as a yearling. Across the road from Firing Line's paddock, their neighbor Beau Lane had a nice Giant's Causeway colt who came to be called Carpe Diem and also ran in the 2015 Derby. A portion of the honor roll wall at Hidden Brook | Katie Petrunyak “I wonder if they ever looked at each other at the Derby and said, 'Hey, remember me? I was your neighbor!” de Sousa speculated with a grin. Dixie Chatter (Dixie Union) was consigned by Hidden Brook back in 2006, but breeder Herman Sarkowsky was so high on the youngster that he decided to keep him after he RNA'd for $220,000. The colt was sent to Richard Mandella and the first time de Sousa saw him breeze, he immediately called Sarkowsky. “Either this horse is really good or Mandella is about to fire the rider because Mandella's horses do not work like that,” he told Sarkowsky. Not long after that conversation, Dixie Chatter won the GI Norfolk S. Pretty Discreet was one of de Sousa's all-time favorite mares. He first met the Grade I-winning daughter of Private Account back when he was working for Indian Creek. Breeder Paul Robsham already had a stallion picked out for her to visit in 2001, but de Sousa was adamant that she needed to go to a better stallion, one like Awesome Again. Robsham agreed and the mating produced Discreetly Awesome, who was very crooked and never made it to the track. They tried to breed her to Medaglia d'Oro several times as a maiden mare, but for some reason they couldn't get her in foal. Finally de Sousa called an audible and sent her to Maria's Mon. The resulting foal was Grade I winner and Eclipse finalist Awesome Maria. Pretty Discreet's next foal Discreet Cat (Forestry) was foaled and raised at Hidden Brook. He was an athletic-looking colt but he was noticeably knock-kneed for the first few months of his life. That didn't stop him from going on to win the G2 UAE Derby, GII Breeders' Cup H. and GI Cigar Mile H. in 2006. A few years later, de Sousa was able to tag along during the walkover for the 2010 GI Kentucky Derby with Pretty Discreet's son Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft), but he was so in awe throughout the experience that he barely remembers a thing. “They started singing my Old Kentucky Home and then boom, the horses crossed the wire,” he recalls with a laugh. As de Sousa walks on down the line of plaques, he reads off one name after another and the trip down memory lane continues. For every horse, there is an amusing anecdote or an interesting factoid that connects the people and horses that have helped build Hidden Brook Farm into what it is today. “At the end of the day, people will remember the horses before they remember us,” de Sousa explains. “They all have different stories and they're all special in their own way. They're all connected somehow with a story that makes them special to us.” Growing up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, de Sousa took every opportunity he could to escape the city and visit his uncles' farms, where coffee production was the main source of revenue but there were also some show jumpers and a few racehorses. After graduating high school, he played basketball for a while but didn't have the height to make it big. So he joined his cousin Alberto Figueiredo–now the director of Bonne Chance Farm–working for a bloodstock agency in Brazil as a bid spotter and bloodstock researcher. In 1987, de Sousa and Figueiredo made their first trip to Kentucky, where de Sousa worked at Margaux Stud in Midway. He then traveled to work at various stud farms in Ireland, France, Italy and New Zealand. When he began working for Dr. Michael Osborne at Godolphin's Kildangan Stud, it was–as de Sousa puts it now–the start of his own version of Godolphin Flying Start before the program existed. “Dr. Osborne said that when you fly in, you start,” joked de Sousa. “I was never in the office. There were no assignments, no breakfasts in the morning, but it was great. Horses can take you everywhere and the horse business is a very small world.” Not long after de Sousa returned to the U.S., he began working for Adena Springs, where he met Jack Brothers, Dan Hall, Mark Roberts and Danny Vella. In 2002, the quintet put their heads–and their checkbooks–together and purchased a 300-acre tract of land in Paris, Kentucky. Dan Hall recalled how Hidden Brook was thus born. “Adena Springs had stallions, but they didn't take on any boarders so for years we were referring mares to go to other places. We discussed it with Frank [Stronach] before doing it, but there really wasn't any conflict of interest because Adena was completely private. So we took a gamble, put some money on a down payment on the property and then ran to the mailbox every week waiting for checks to come in. We didn't envision all of us ending up working for the farm. It's worked out pretty well.” Twenty-two years later, the makeup of the partnership is slightly different and the business has evolved in many ways, but their philosophies are much the same as when Hidden Brook was founded. Vella sold his share to Texas native Kevin Latta about a decade ago and Brothers also recently sold out, but is still an active part of the team even in retirement. An enthusiastic winner's circle after Hidden Connection's win in the 2021 GIII Pocahontas S. | Coady Hidden Brook has always primarily been a boarding facility, but they also breed about a dozen of their own mares and campaign a few racehorses each year with a group of partners. Knights Templar (Exploit) was the first yearling they purchased in 2004. The $80,000 Keeneland September graduate was the Sovereign Award-winning juvenile filly the next year. Flash forward to present day and Hidden Connection (Connect) carries the flag for the operation. The winner of the 2021 GIII Pocahontas S. is approaching a million dollars in earnings and was recently second in the GIII Doubledogdare S. for Hidden Brook and Black Type Thoroughbreds. Hall leads the racing partnership end of the business, which usually consists of about six fillies per crop. In 2015, Hidden Brook added a training division in Ocala. Headed up by partner Mark Roberts, their facility has seen the likes of champion Jaywalk (Cross Traffic), Grade I winner Arabian Lion (Justify) and most recently, three-time Grade I victor Program Trading (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). Today, de Sousa has the same position he started out with as managing partner, running the day-to-day operation of the Paris, KY division. The farm has doubled in acreage since it was founded. Around 100 client-owned mares call Hidden Brook home and the farm will consign about 60 yearlings every fall. With four or five partners comes four or five differing sets of experiences, theories and approaches. The Hidden Brook team has figured out how to utilize each other's ideas as assets rather than sources of division. “There are a lot of opinions, but I think we've done a pretty good job of being able to separate things,” said de Sousa. “I think we all kind of feed off each other a little bit when it's necessary. If you combine everybody's experience, you have over 100 years of horse knowledge. Like anything in the horse industry, there's a lot of different ways to do something and it doesn't mean there's a right way or a wrong way. You do it the way it works for you.” Since 2002, Hidden Brook has had a hand in raising 230 blacktype winners, 103 graded winners and 27 Grade I winners, but de Sousa will be the first to say that not much has changed in terms of management style over the past two decades. “Doing more in the business doesn't mean doing better; you're just doing more,” he said. “We've never made drastic changes. We have our knowledge, don't get me wrong, but we've seen so many things in 40 years. The program has to evolve around each individual horse, but we try not to complicate it. We try to keep them happy. We take pride in that we try to raise them all as racehorses and there's no better place for them than outdoors.” The key to good management, according to de Sousa, is observation. He doesn't rely on scales to weigh his horses. He monitors their body condition regularly and makes adjustments accordingly. Their behavior out in the pasture is important too. de Sousa tries to match horses up with a group that will be a good fit for their personality. Take Dynaire (Dynaformer), for example. The dam of GISW Sadler's Joy (Kitten's Joy) is a bit of loner when you stick her out in the pasture with a big group of mares, but put her in a smaller paddock with her daughter Dyna Passer (Lemon Drop Kid), and she is happy as a clam. The mother-daughter pair graze side by side with their foals by Not This Time and Munnings napping nearby. A sunny day in May at Hidden Brook | Katie Petrunyak Another quality of a good farm manager is understanding that a lot will happen on the horse's terms instead of your own. de Sousa good-naturedly recollects a conversation he has grown accustomed to having over the years. “When customers say, 'I'm going to send you my mare and you're going to breed her to this stallion during this heat and then I'm going to bring her home.' I say, 'Have you told your horse what your plan is? She probably has something to do with it.'” And of course, no one can truly predict a horse's athleticism until it gets to the starting gate. “I remember when we were lucky to participate in buying Big Brown (Boundary) for Paul Pompa Jr.,” de Sousa recalled. “At the time people would call me and say, 'If you find another Big Brown, let me know and I'll go in on it.' I'd say, 'If I find another Big Brown what would I call you for? I'll just go to the bank by myself!'” Although there are constantly mares, foals, yearlings and layups coming and going from the farm, de Sousa can look out over the pasture and call each one by name, rattling off their race history or produce record with pinpoint accuracy. Every horse has a story, he says. That's true even for Hidden Brook's beloved teaser pony, who passed away last year at the age of 23. de Sousa bought him off a nurse mare trader when he was just a 2-year-old. At the time Chris Brothers, the son of partner Jack Brothers, had come to work for the farm. He would go around introducing himself as Jack's son, so the teaser was named Jackson. “He was a great teaser,” de Sousa reflected. “You could put a rope shank on him to tease mares. When my kids were young, they'd ride him bareback. His ashes are still in my office and Hagyard just gave us a tree that we planted for him.” Managing the four-legged residents of Hidden Brook comes naturally for de Sousa. When it comes to overseeing employees, he doesn't view himself as the boss. “We're all the same here,” he explained. “I don't drive around saying how I'm the owner. I'm part of the crew, no different than the grooms or the night watchman or the maintenance staff. We're all part of when a horse succeeds.” Never has Hidden Brook been represented quite like it was during Kentucky Derby weekend this year, where the farm was associated with nearly a dozen stakes horses at Churchill Downs. GI Turf Classic S. winner Program Trading and GII Alysheba S. contender Pipeline (Speightstown) both graduated from the Florida training facility. Horses born, raised and sold by Hidden Brook included GII Edgewood S. runner Pink Polkadots (Candy Ride {Arg}), GII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile S. contestant Evvie Jets (Twirling Candy), Knicks Go Overnight S. contender Oscar Eclipse (Oscar Performance) and GII American Turf S. contestant Neat (Constitution), who was co-bred by Hidden Brook. The GI Kentucky Derby field featured West Saratoga (Exaggerator), who was consigned by Hidden Brook at the Keeneland September Sale, and fourth-place finisher Catching Freedom (Constitution), whose dam Catch My Drift (Pioneerof the Nile) raced in the Hidden Brook silks and placed in the GI Beldame S. before selling to WinStar for $400,000. Neat battles from the inside to win the GIII Transylvania S. | Coady Media Prior to the Derby festivities, Hidden Brook had plenty to celebrate during the Keeneland Spring Meet. Bo Cruz (Creative Cause), who was also born and raised at Hidden Brook and then sold with them as a yearling at Keeneland September, claimed the GIII Commonwealth S. That same weekend, Neat won in his graded stakes debut in the GIII Transylvania S. The Rob Atras-trained, Red White and Blue Racing-campaigned colt was co-bred by Hidden Brook and Spruce Lane Farm. Later in the meet, Neat's 2-year-old sister Burning Pine (Nyquist) won for fun in her debut for Wesley Ward and Hat Creek Racing. Hidden Brook purchased Orabella (More Than Ready), the dam of Neat and Burning Pine, for $62,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale. de Sousa was familiar with the unraced mare and her stakes-placed dam Hot Trip (Yellow Heat) as both were bred by Paul Robsham, the same breeder responsible for Pretty Discreet. When Hidden Brook sent Orabella to Constitution a few years later in 2020, the WinStar sire stood for just $40,000. “He was in a real bubble year that year,” said de Sousa. “We bought three seasons to him and people tell me that we were so smart. I tell them if we had known, we would have bought a lot more.” Neat sold with Hidden Brook as a $200,000 Keeneland November weanling and has since earned over $350,000. “All of Orabella's foals are very good-minded,” de Sousa said. “Neat was very laid back and Burning Pine was the same. She was very long and she's kind of a narrow, leggy filly. That's why she only realized $80,000 at the sale, but they are all very sweet. If you saw her in the winner's circle after the race at Keeneland, a lot of kids from the syndicate were all loving on this filly. It's just what the mare does.” Sergio de Sousa and Orabella | Katie Petrunyak While Orabella lost her foal just a few days after Neat's victory this spring, she has a promising Medaglia d'Oro yearling filly pointing for the Keeneland September Sale. If, 22 years ago, the Hidden Brook team could have looked ahead and imagined all that their operation was going to accomplish, you would be hard-pressed to find one partner that would believe it. “We're a little bit unique in this business in that none of us came from money or previous connection,” reflected Hall. “We all just came up from the bottom and were passionate about it. You'd like to think we've made some smart moves, but you have to be lucky in this business as well.” “We had years that were very difficult,” de Sousa added. “Thankfully the last few years have been very good for us, with the numbers on the farm and with our own horses. We're actually investing in more mares. Whereas many people are cutting back, we're bullish on how we can improve based on what we can afford and what we like.” “There's no greater thrill than having a good one that you bred,” he continued. “When you have one that you had the whole way and you see it running and doing well, it's a different feeling. But, it all has to make sense financially. I can romanticize the whole thing but at the end of the day, this farm has to pay for itself. There are no gold mines here. It needs to provide jobs and incomes for everyone. The horse business has so many ups and downs and you have to endure through it. You have to have a passion for the whole process to be a horse breeder and you have to learn to enjoy when it's good and learn that you can't control nature when it's not. For us as a commercial breeder, that's what keeps the doors open here. As a breeder, you always have to keep dreaming.” The post Breeders’ Spotlight: The Stories of Hidden Brook appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Cherie DeVaux has a 3-year-old filly entered in the $200,000 Wonder Again Stakes (G2T) May 27 at Aqueduct. Yet even if Sy B wins by a margin akin to Secretariat in the Belmont Stakes (G1), it will not match what her trainer accomplished last weekend.View the full article

The connections associated with Subsanador differ since he ran second in the March 3 Santa Anita Handicap (G1), but one thing unchanged is his status as one of California's best dirt routers. He runs May 27 in Santa Anita's Hollywood Gold Cup (G2).View the full article

It was 9 p.m., several hours after the GI Preakness S. last Saturday, when Maryland Jockey Club (MJC) outrider Kaymarie Kreidel was basking in the glow of having escorted Seize the Grey (Arrogate) to the winner's circle after his triumph in the second jewel of the Triple Crown. Kreidel, 52, has worked as an outrider since retiring from being a jockey in 2006. She first started part-time in that job during morning training at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, then about nine years ago landed the full-time outriding gig for the afternoon races. With a reputation as a level-headed, well-respected horsewoman, her previous Preakness highlight was deftly catching the loose Bodexpress (Bodemeister) when he dropped his jockey at the start of the 2019 race. But the 2024 edition of the Preakness was her first time drawing the prestigious assignment of accompanying the winner back to the grandstand to be adorned in a blanket of Black-Eyed Susans while 5.5-million viewers looked on via national TV. Kreidel works with a rotation of three of her own ponies, and the two she employed at Pimlico May 18 are both retired Thoroughbred geldings, the 17-year-old Witch Hunter and the 12-year-old Wolftrap. Kreidel had already been up since 3 a.m. when she began the post-Preakness haul back to Laurel with her own truck and trailer 18 hours later, and although she was tired, the satisfaction of a long but safe weekend was the only thing riding shotgun with her as she began a 30-mile drive she has made countless times before. “We had a very good Preakness weekend,” Kreidel told TDN in a Friday phone interview. “Everything was going great. Hunter was so proud, because this is the first time he's taken a Preakness winner. Back in 2019, he was the one who caught the loose Preakness horse. So since this was my first year taking the Preakness winner, I felt like he should have the honor of doing it.” Midway through her ride home in the dark, Kreidel was approaching a green light on Route 26, and she proceeded through, albeit with caution because the road dipped downward on a hill after the intersection. “Unfortunately, the car behind me didn't want to wait for my van to get through the light,” Kreidel explained. “So he zipped around me in the left lane and then cut across in front of me to make a right-hand turn. And when he did so, he hit the brakes, causing me to hit my brakes. But with the weight of the truck and we were going downhill, it kind of jerked the trailer a little bit, and Hunter slipped and fell. “The other car didn't stop,” Kreidel said. “Kept on going. Probably did not realize anything. Probably saw me stop, but since I didn't hit him, he kept on going. But when I stopped I felt and heard the scrambling behind me. “I put my truck in park, and I jumped out,” Kreidel continued. “When I opened the back door, I just busted out crying, because, unfortunately, Hunter was trapped and getting trampled beneath Wolftrap. They were both panicking. Hunter's scrambling around, Wolftrap's scrambling too, but in the process of doing so he's stepping all over his brother. It was pretty scary and horrific, and I'm all by myself, there's nobody with me.” Kreidel knew she couldn't safely back the horses out of the rear door because of the way they were positioned. “I knew my only shot was to open the side door,” Kreidel said. “But in order to do that, I had to be stepping out into traffic. So I needed the traffic stopped so I could get Wolftrap out, get Hunter back up on his feet and get him out, and then assess the damage.” Perhaps because her stoppage on the side of the road didn't look like an obvious accident scene, no one stopped to help despite numerous vehicles whizzing by. “So I went around to the side of my trailer, and I'm standing out in the middle of the road. I was waving my arms, just flagging for people to stop their cars. They're driving around, they're yelling at me, telling me, 'Get your drunk ass off the road!' and just saying so many things to me and being so rude. I must have had 50 or 60 cars go by me and not stop. “And then finally this car stops in the middle of the road,” Kreidel said. “They put their flashers on, a guy gets out, and he walks over and says, 'Can I help you? What's wrong? You look upset.' I said, 'I was just involved with an incident with another car, my horses have fallen, and if I don't get them out, they're going to end up killing themselves inside my trailer.'” Outrider Kaymarie Kreidel | Jim McCue Kreidel said the car contained two couples who appeared to be in their mid-20s. They told her they knew absolutely nothing about horses, but that they would do everything they could to help. First the driver repositioned his car to better block traffic, putting the vehicle in harm's way to do so. One of the women phoned 911, and the others assisted in dropping the ramp of the van. “I get Wolftrap out. I hand him to that first guy,” Kreidel recalled. “Hunter was all tied up, so his neck was twisted. It looked like his neck was broken, to be honest. But I knew it wasn't because he was screaming. I don't know if you've ever heard a horse scream, but it's horrific. “He was screaming at the top of his lungs. He's twisted and pinned and he can't get up. I started pulling on his tail and pushing on his shoulder, and I eventually get him up. He scrambles to his feet and goes flying out of the trailer in a panic.” Eventually, the Good Samaritan driver ended up holding both horses while Kreidel looked them over. Wolftrap appeared okay, she said. But Hunter was bleeding profusely from his left leg. Amazingly, Hunter and Wolftrap calmed down rather quickly, and they began munching on grass while the stranger held them. “They were out there grazing, just out in somebody's yard, I don't know,” Kreidel said. Kreidel phoned her son, the trainer T.J. Aguirre, Jr., who rushed right over. Because Route 26 is well-travelled by racetrackers, Kreidel said that it didn't take long for a number of people from the backstretch community who were also heading from Pimlico to Laurel to stop when they saw a horse van off to the side of the road. A veterinarian was among them, all dressed up for a post-Preakness dinner with her significant other. She administered first aid while telling Kreidel that Hunter's wound was dire enough to necessitate a trip to a major equine hospital like New Bolton Center, about 2 1/2 hours away in Pennsylvania. “Now I'm in an absolute panic. I've got one trailer and two horses, and I've got to go in two different directions,” Kreidel said. “I probably had 20 or 30 racetrack people who were on their way home stopping to help, and everybody's on their phones, and we're all trying to find another truck and trailer than can get to us ASAP.” Sarah Dilodovico, a Maryland Racing Commission veterinarian, heard what was happening and phoned Kreidel from the track. “I've got my truck. I don't have a trailer. I'm at Pimlico,” she said. “I will find a trailer if I've got to steal somebody's trailer.” Fortunately, thievery wasn't necessary, as another volunteer, the pony rider Sharon Greenberg, offered the use of her van. The plan ended up being that Aguirre would take Wolftrap back to Laurel in his mom's trailer, while Dilodovico offered to drive Kreidel and Hunter to New Bolton in her truck with the borrowed van. “During all this process, the two couples that originally stopped to help me, they just disappeared,” Kreidel said. “Once all the other people starting coming to help, they just made their way out of there, and I never got a chance to thank them properly. If it wasn't for those four, I probably would have lost Hunter. They had never been around horses a day in their life. But they stopped and helped me. They saved my horse's life.” For the long ride to New Bolton, “I rode in the back with Hunter, and I ended up just sitting in the stall, bawling my eyes out,” Kreidel said. Not only did Dilodovico help by driving, but Kreidel relied on her expertise once they arrived at the clinic, because Kreidel said she had no clue about the medical terms the veterinarians were throwing around. “Sarah just said, 'I've got this–let's go ahead and do it.” Hunter had no broken bones, needed stitches for the knee, and was very banged up and bruised, Kreidel said. “In layman's terms, half of his left knee was kind of like ripped off, so his joint capsules were ruptured inside,” Kreidel said. “Unfortunately, there was not much skin left on his knee, and a lot of it was exposed. If they didn't end up working on it and cleaning it out immediately, I would have had to end up putting him down.” By Sunday morning, Hunter was moved for observation to New Bolton's orthopedic wing. “They wanted to keep a close eye on him, because joints are very dangerous, especially knee joints,” Kreidel said. “But so far, knock on wood, as of [Friday], everything is progressing the right way. They'll need about two weeks to make sure no infection sets in. “As of now, they believe, with time, Hunter will be able to go back to his old job,” Kreidel said. Wolftrap, Kreidel said, suffered only “minor nicks, minor scratches, nothing deep enough for stitches.” Kaymarie Kreidel and Witch Hunter, shown catching Bodexpress during the 2019 Preakness | EquiSport Photos Kreidel, who was not physically injured, is taking some time off from outriding, probably until the Pimlico meet ends and the racing shifts back to Laurel May 31. “I'm fine. But I'm a little gun-shy, shall we say, about getting behind the wheel of a horse trailer right now,” Kreidel said. “My main thing, that I hope that you can stress when you write this article, is that drivers just need to relax around horse trailers. These aren't just horses behind us. For most us, these horses are like our kids, our livelihoods, our loves. If that car of couples didn't stop, I could have lost my horse, and it would have been like losing my child.” Beyond the well-being of the horses, money is always a difficult topic in any veterinary emergency, and it was no different for Kreidel when New Bolton informed her how much the care would cost. “When we got there, they said they needed a down payment of $4,000,” Kreidel recalled. “I kind of panic-laughed at them and said, 'I'm sorry, but I don't have $4,000 to give you. But I'll give you $1,500, because that's what I have on me.'” But just like the word of mouth to come help with the accident spread fast among the Maryland backstretch community, Kreidel's financial plight also resonated within the MJC's hierarchy. So it wasn't long before an MJC executive sent Kreidel a text telling her that the MJC would be picking up the cost of Hunter's veterinary bills at New Bolton. “Kay means so much to us here. It's the least we could do,” Georganne Hale, the MJC's vice president of racing development, told TDN. “It's so expensive just to walk in the door to get good veterinary care.” Added Kreidel: “New Bolton was estimating $10,000. I personally don't have $10,000. But I would work 20 jobs if I needed to to pay any vet bills for my horses. “I keep saying a prayer and crossing my fingers to hope that Hunter's recovery stays the positive way that it's going,” Kreidel said. “Because I know Hunter. He loves his job. Literally, when it comes to racing in the afternoons, both Hunter and Wolftrap, when I come out of the tack room with the tack, and they both rear up and scream, like, 'Pick me! Pick me!' So I don't think Hunter would be very happy if I couldn't pick him any more.” The post Maryland Rallies Behind Outrider Kreidel after Post-Preakness Van Accident appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. 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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. Saturday's Observations features a Wootton Bassett (GB) half-brother to standout fillies Tenebrism (Caravaggio) and Statuette (Justify). 13.20 Curragh, Mdn, €25,000, 2yo, c/g, 6fT HENRI MATISSE (IRE) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) injects instant spark into an already talent-stacked Curragh card as the sixth foal out of the G1 Coronation S. and G1 Prix Jacques le Marois heroine Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}). Ballydoyle's newcomer, who is therefore a half-brother to the G1 Cheveley Park S. and G1 Prix Jean Prat winner Tenebrism (Caravaggio) and G2 Airlie Stud S. scorer Statuette (Justify), is joined by the stable's $1.25-million Keeneland September purchase Gun Carriage (Gun Runner), while in opposition is the Michael O'Callaghan-trained Red Evolution (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), a 300,000gns Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up graduate who is a half-brother to the day's leading Irish Guineas protagonist River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). 17.25 Curragh, Mdn, €20,000, 3yo, c/g, 10fT JAN BRUEGHEL (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is the icing on the cake at the end of a thrilling card, being a full-brother to the shock G1 Irish Derby hero Sovereign (Ire) and smart stayer Dawn Rising (Ire). Entered in that course Classic, as well as Royal Ascot's G2 King Edward VII S., Ballydoyle's newcomer has ground to make up on his peers at this stage but has the pedigree to do so. The post More Wootton Bassett Intrigue As Tenebrism’s Half-Brother Debuts appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

With 48 horses already added to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale, the supplemental catalogue is now available. The supplements include 47 2-year-olds and one horse of racing age. Sires represented among the supplemented entries are first-year stallions Complexity, Game Winner, Instagrand, Global Campaign, Spun to Run, Vekoma, and Volatile. Veteran sires include Bernardini, Blame, Classic Empire, Constitution, Dialed In, Goldencents, Liam's Map, Maclean's Music, Maximus Mischief, More Than Ready, Munnings, Nyquist, Uncle Mo, and Vino Rosso. The sale will take place over three days from Wednesday, June 12 through Friday, June 14, with under-tack sessions daily from June 4-9. Supplements to the June Sale are still being accepted. A print version of the supplemental catalogue will be available on the sales grounds. The under-tack show and sale will be streamed live via the OBS website at obssales.com, at the TDN website, and on various other media outlets. The post OBS June Supplemental Catalogue Available appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said GI Preakness S. winner Seize the Grey (Arrogate) will ship to Saratoga on Saturday, June 1 to prepare for the GI Belmont S. on June 8. “He came out of the Preakness remarkably well,” Lukas said by phone from his base in Louisville, Ky. “Of all my [15 Triple Crown race winners], he might have come out of his race the best of any of them. He is doing damn good.” Lukas said Seize the Grey will be the only horse from his barn that will make the trip to Saratoga. His pony, Bucky, will also be on the van. Seize the Grey is scheduled to work at Churchill Downs on Tuesday or Wednesday, Lukas said. Seize the Grey gave Lukas his seventh career win in the Preakness, winning the race by 2 1/4 lengths for owner My Racehorse and jockey Jaime Torres. He also said that after the Belmont, he will ship Seize the Grey back to Kentucky before returning to Saratoga with his stable for the 40-day summer meet at the Spa. That starts on July 11. The post Preakness Winner Seize the Grey Shipping to Spa Next Saturday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

2nd-Churchill Downs, $117,525, Msw, 5-24, 2yo, 5f, :58.09, gd, 3/4 length. THREE ECHOES (c, 2, Echo Town–Bayou Miss, by Dixie Union) broke outwardly and had to overcome a brief round of bumper cars but recovered well to track from third in this unveiling. Set on the inland route as the early leaders stayed together entering the home stretch, Three Echoes scraped the paint as he squeezed through a narrow opening passing the furlong pole, and had to muscle his way to racing room when brushing with Charlie Tolu (Cinco Charlie). Edging past that foe, the 5-2 second choice hit the wire three-quarters of a length to the good and became sire Echo Town (by Speightstown)'s first winner in the process. On debut #1 THREE ECHOES ($7.70) was brave coming up a small hole on the rail to get up and win race 2 at Churchill Downs. The 2yo son of Echo Town was ridden by Keith Asmussen and is trained by Steve Asmussen. Watch more on @FanDuelTV. pic.twitter.com/bIQcX8GXOT — FanDuel Racing (Formerly TVG) (@FanDuel_Racing) May 24, 2024 The victor is the most recent to the races for Bayou Miss, whose last registered offspring is a yearling colt by Beau Liam. She aborted her 2024 Volatile. Sales history: $37,000 Wlg '22 KEENOV; $40,000 Ylg '23 FTKJUL; $130,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $69,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-L and N Racing LLC; B-Vossfeld Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. The post Echo Town’s Three Echoes is Sire’s First Winner in Churchill Graduation appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Friends of Kentucky Racing, a bipartisan super PAC of Kentucky horse racing industry members, raised and spent $250,000 supporting candidates who are advocates of racing and defeating those who have attempted to harm one of Kentucky's signature industries in Tuesday's state legislative primaries, the group said in a press release. “Friends of Kentucky Racing set out to win and that's just what we've done,” read a statement from the super PAC. “By relegating Adrienne Southworth in the 7th Senate District to a third-place finish, we toppled the number one opponent of our industry in the Commonwealth. On top of that, we sent clear messages to those who would oppose the common-sense priorities of the horse-racing industry by beating challengers to allies Representative Michael Meredith in House District 19 and Matt Nunn in Senate District 17.” “Additionally, the win of supported candidate Anne Gay Donworth to the open 76th House District will be a major boost for the region. To be clear, last night was a great night for our industry, and we plan to continue to help friends of Kentucky's signature industry and oppose its enemies in the general election to an even greater degree.” As an independent expenditure, Friends of Kentucky Racing said they would continue to support and oppose candidates up and down the ballot in Kentucky's general election this November. The post Friends of Kentucky Racing Celebrates Election Results appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Logic dictates that the G1 2,000 Guineas is the standard when it comes to assessing the form of the G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas, so in all likelihood the case for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's Newmarket runner-up Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) is an open-and-shut one. The odds and all the noise from the Richard Hannon yard certainly suggest so, but this is The Curragh we are talking about and Saturday's Tattersalls-sponsored renewal will not be done and dusted until Sean Levey gets past seven peers and to the line. Rosallion's credentials were strong even before he gave closest pursuit to Godolphin's electric Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) on the Rowley Mile, having swept to an impressive success in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc day and he had all else including stablemate Haatem (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}) well beaten three weeks ago. What is still unproven is his ability to see out a stiff mile such as this, with his stamina possibly ebbing away on the uphill rise to the line in the Guineas, and the Ballydoyle trio and others will be sure to test that to the full. Staying power at this trip is something that also has to be taken on trust when it comes to Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), with the former a G2 Coventry S. winner untried beyond six furlongs. In the stable's Unquestionable (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), we have a colt with a GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf under his belt, but River Tiber is going into unknown territory here. While the style of his third placings in the G1 Prix Morny, when he was apparently not at a peak, and the G1 Middle Park S. gave the impression that he was looking for further than sprint trips at two his pedigree is far from convincing regarding a mile Classic. Aidan O'Brien was far from certain on this score on Friday. “We think a mile is within his compass, not guaranteed,” he said. “We just thought we'd start there and if he didn't get it, he would go back for the Commonwealth Cup or something like that, he's not short of speed. Unquestionable might not be as forward as River Tiber, but the plan is to start him there with a view of going to Ascot after that. He had a little blip a couple of weeks ago, he's back in full swing again, but he did have it and because of that he might improve a little bit more from the Curragh than River Tiber.” Quite what is in the locker of the outsiders Atlantic Coast (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Bright Stripes (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Take Me To Church (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) remains to be seen, but it is always dangerous to write off something from the Joseph O'Brien stable and the former is a Group 3 winner despite the probable dubious nature of the Killavullan S. in which he mastered the recent Listed Tetrarch S. winner Bright Stripes. Camille Pissarro To The Test In The Marble Hill Before Ballydoyle's Wootton Bassett TDN Rising Stars take part in the main event, another in that category in his Camille Pissarro (Ire) represents the team in the G3 GAIN Marble Hill S. run in memory of Theresa Marnane. The half-brother to the G1 Commonwealth Cup hero Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) took the same Navan maiden as River Tiber 12 months ago and Aesop's Fables (Ire) (No Nay Never) a year before that, which can be read as a definite message from Aidan O'Brien. He is joined by the stable's intriguing newcomer The Parthenon (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), a full-brother to Sunday's G1 Irish 1,000 Guineas contender Buttons (Ire) who descends from Urban Sea (Miswaki). As is often the case, the chief threat to Aidan is Joseph, who saddles Teme Valley Racing's five-furlong course debut winner Midnight Strike (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}). Interestingly, Ryan Moore suggested in his betfair column that the debutante needs watching closely. “I was impressed by the way Camille Pissarro went through the line at Navan and he would have been the obvious one of ours in here after that performance,” he said. “But the Kingman colt The Parthenon deserves his place in the line-up in this Group 3 on his debut on his homework.” Sprinters Warm Up For Royal Ascot Also at The Curragh is the G2 Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands S., where King Power Racing's G1 British Champions Sprint S. hero Art Power (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) revisits his ongoing love affair with Irish tracks in opposition to last year's G1 Flying Five winner Moss Tucker (Ire) (Excelebration {Ire}). King Power's racing manager Alastair Donald said of the defending Greenlands title-holder, “We'd rather a little bit more rain had hit Ireland, but I think it will be lovely ground and on his 'home' patch, ironically, I think he'll be the one to fear. He has a three-pound penalty, but he seems to find three to five pounds whenever he runs in Ireland.” Haydock's card boasts the G2 Betfred Supports Jack Berry House Sandy Lane S. for the Royal meeting's Commonwealth Cup hopefuls and the G2 Temple S. for the G1 King's Stand S. protagonists. KHK Racing's unbeaten G1 Prix Morny and G1 Middle Park S. hero Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) is the star attraction on Merseyside, making his eagerly-anticipated comeback in the Sandy Lane. Ed Crisford is hoping that the testing conditions will not hamper Vandeek too much. “Obviously, starting him on this sort of ground isn't that ideal, but he needs to run,” he said. “We know he's won on soft ground before, so it's not too concerning, it's just that it's his first run of the year and they're always entitled to improve, but bar that he's in great order.” “This has been the long-term plan and the only thing you can't control is the weather, so it is what it is,” he added. “All athletes will improve for that match practice and he's entitled to improve for sure, but we've done as much as we can at home to get him ready for his first run. Hopefully he's got a long year ahead of him, so we'll see how he gets on on Saturday and off we go for the season.” In opposition to Vandeek is Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's exciting Inisherin (GB) (Shamardal), who travelled notably strongly in the G1 2,000 Guineas only to run out of steam on only his third career start. Trainer Kevin Ryan's son and assistant Adam said, “I thought he ran a huge race in the Guineas, travelled well throughout and showed quite a lot of speed, so we thought we'd drop him back in trip for this. Vandeek was a superstar last year and he's obviously the one to beat, but we're very happy with our fella and we'll find out a lot more about him on Saturday. You never know whether they'll handle soft ground until you try it, but if he does have a bit more stamina on his side, and obviously he's won over a mile, it could be a positive.” Accomplished Australian sprinter Asfoora (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}), who was last seen finishing a close-up fourth in the G1 Galaxy in March, adds intrigue to the Temple along with last year's surprise G1 Nunthorpe S. hero Live In The Dream (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}). Also in the mix is Wathnan Racing's £1-million Goffs QIPCO Champions Day acquisition Rogue Lightning (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who in sprinting terms is a budding youngster at four already with Group 1 form having been beaten just over a length when fifth in the G1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp. Trainer Adam West already has a trip back to the States in mind for Live In The Dream. “Touch wood, everything has been going really well, I'm very happy with him and he looks the most mature he's been, so we're hopeful for another big year,” he said. “We've trained him this year with the Breeders' Cup down the line in mind. He's the best I've ever seen him mentally and physically, but fitness-wise sprinters will normally need a run, especially at this top level.” Asfoora's trainer Henry Dwyer said of the mare, who will come under close scrutiny with Ascot in mind, “We've given her a fair bit of breathing space since she's been here, we haven't really tightened the screws yet and I couldn't be any happier with how she looks, how she is and how her work's been. We're pretty adaptable, she's a good mare who has won races on pretty firm tracks but her best ground in my opinion is what we'd call a soft five or a soft six. She broke the track record at Sandown one day early on in her career on a soft six, which is pretty much unheard of. She's a sprinter that can sit on a really high cruising speed and she can either take a seat or she can lead, it doesn't really matter.” Tom Clover added of Rogue Lightning, “Ideally, I'd love to be running him on good-to-firm ground because you can use the speed he has, he's a very fast horse, but at the same time I think he'll handle this ground and it shouldn't be a problem. He's done some lovely work at home and has just improved each week.” More Clues In Sussex Goodwood's Listed Height Of Fashion S. and Listed Cocked Hat S. used to be the final call for boarders for the flight to Epsom, but the old “Lupe” and “Predominate” are just too close to the mile-and-a-half Classics now. That said, they are now truer to being trials for Royal Ascot's G2 King Edward VII S. and G2 Ribblesdale S. Of the colts in the Cocked Hat, Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's Listed Lingfield Derby Trial third Meydaan (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will at least provide some context to the Derby prospects of Ambiente Friendly (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) who beat him hollow by 7 3/4 lengths in that prep earlier this month. Where the Oaks is concerned, we will also learn a bit more about the chances of the G3 Musidora S. winner Secret Satire (GB) (Advertise {GB}) after the runner-up in that trial, Francophone (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), runs in the Height Of Fashion. The post Is Rosallion The Answer In The Guineas? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

King for a Day, a multiple stakes-winning son of Uncle Mo, had his first winner as a sire May 24 when the 2-year-old colt Soontobeking won at the Belmont at the Big A meeting.View the full article

When horse racing returns to Fort Erie May 28, it will be as much a family reunion as it will be the season opener for the historic border oval. Just ask horse trainer Kevin Buttigieg, who can't think of a better place to call home.View the full article

Owner Ken Ramsey is in critical need of a donor kidney, and said he will not survive the eight-to-10-year wait on the transplant list, estimating he has about four months to live without it. Ramsey said he currently has three options: “I either have to go on dialysis or die or get a kidney. I do not want to do the dialysis three days a week, four hours a day for the rest of my life.” Ramsey has traveled to NewYork Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, and is being treated at their Kidney Transplant Program. “I have to find my own donor,” said Ramsey. “The transplant list takes eight to 10 years. If I can find a live donor, they can do it for me in the next two weeks” Ramsey, 88, said that he needed to find a donor who has Blood Type O, does not have diabetes, and someone who, if they are on blood pressure medication, is only on one medication. Preferably, the donor would have health insurance. Ramsey is offering to fly the person and his or her spouse “or whoever they need” first class to New York, where they would stay two days in the hospital for the donation. Ramsey would put the family up in a hotel. “My kidneys have taken a turn for the worse,” said Ramsey. “They are at eight-percent efficiency. That means they are only clearing out eight percent of the toxins you have in your kidneys, so that's 92% failure. I'm at a critical stage, so I came up here and they agreed that if I passed all the tests that I have now passed–a nuclear stress test on the treadmill for four hours–I'd be good to go. All I need now is a donor.” Ramsey said that Columbia-Presbyterian guarantees donors a kidney immediately in the future if they do donate and then find themselves in need. Ramsey didn't realize he had kidney disease until 2021. “I had an old sea knee I was getting some injections in and the guy who was giving me the injections said to me, `Mr. Ramsey, you're in stage three kidney disease. Did you know that?' No, I did not. I immediately went to the Mayo Clinic and they gave me six things I needed to do to maintain my kidneys. I weighed about 198 pounds. I am now down to 160. I drink six bottles of water a day. I do my exercises, and reduced my stress level. I get eight hours of sleep a day. and most of all, I really worked on my diet. No or little potassium, no sodium, and no phosphorous.” Ramsey said that anyone willing to consider the donation may register via Columbia's Donor Registration Website: https://cornell.donorscreen.org. The post Ramsey Searching for Living Kidney Donor appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The champion 2-year-old colt of 2023 and Florida Derby (G1) winner worked May 24 with Mindframe in preparation for the June 8 Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. The pair worked in :50 for a half-mile, galloping out in 1:02 2/5.View the full article

The marquee night of the Evangeline Downs season will be June 1, with Louisiana Legends Night. The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association will award two scholarships, each valued at $1,000, to college students.View the full article

6th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 7f, 3:18 p.m. ET. PRIDES CROSSING (Quality Road) was the seventh highest priced yearling when the filly went to OXO Equine for $1.3 million during the 2022 Keeneland September Sale. The Paulo Lobo trainee is out of Irish SW Key To My Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who Summer Wind Equine acquired for $1.75 million at the 2018 Keeneland November Sale while Man Among Men (War Front) was in-utero. Hailing from a well-related family, the first time starter's second dam is GISW A Z Warrior (Bernardini). Also on debut is Steve Asmussen trainee Penny Royal (Curlin). The 3-year-old Stonestreet homebred is out of MSW Glinda the Good (Hard Spun), who is responsible for her full-brother, champion 2-year-old colt Good Magic. TJCIS PPS 11th-CD, $120K, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 7f, 5:58 p.m. ET. Set for her unveiling in the finale is Queen of Paris (Tapit). The Godolphin homebred's dam is MGISW Wedding Toast (Street Sense). The Brad Cox trainee hails from an extended female family which includes dual GI Cigar Mile H. champ Congaree (Azari). A pair of 3-year-old fillies owned by Tommy Town Thoroughbreds make the races for the first time. With Horse of the year Tiznow (Cee's Tizzy) under her third dam, Shezalittlestinker (Gun Runner) was a $400,000 Keeneland September buy. The Wayne Catalano trainee is out of J. Quirk (Unbridled's Song), who was purchased by Breeze Easy for $725,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale while Upscuttled (Game Winner) was in-utero. The other half of this uncoupled entry is Come as You Are (City of Light). Trained by Bill Mott, the filly went for $500,000 at the Keeneland September Sale. Her dam is a half-sister to GI Alabama S. heroine Dunbar Road (Quality Road). TJCIS PPS The post Saturday Insights: Pricey Quality Road Filly Makes The Races Under Twin Spires appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Stud Tobe's rising star Wentrue leads a 14-horse field for the 1 1/4-mile Gran Premio Club Hipico Falabella (G1) May 26 at Club Hipico de Santiago in Chile. Wentrue is trained by Patricio Baeza, who has entered five horses in Sunday's race.View the full article

Classic-winning trainer Christophe Clement has begun serving a seven-day suspension for a post-race finding of a controlled medication.View the full article

Before trainer Wayne Lukas' horsemanship and jockey Jaime Torres' front-running ride aided Seize the Grey to victory in the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1), the team at Highlander Training Center played a key role in the colt's development this winter.View the full article

Several challengers for the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh on Sunday have already grasped that brass ring, with Group 1 winners Fallen Angel and Opera Singer both entered. Blueblooded homebreds include a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner and top-level sire The Autumn Sun (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}). Vespertilio, third in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, also returns on short rest. A LILAC ROLLA (IRE) Harry Angel (Ire)–Mejala (Ire) (Red Ransom) Sales info: Offered by Castledillon Stud, the bay was picked up for €40,000 out of the Tattersalls Ireland September Sale by Amanda Skiffington. Pedigree/form notes: Flawless in three starts including the G3 Ballylinch Stud “Priory Belle” S., the John Cullinan-bred is the eighth foal out of her winning dam. The half-sister to the stakes-placed Mutaaqb (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is from the same clan as two-time G1 Jebel Hatta winner Alfareeq (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). ALPHERATZ (IRE) Phoenix Of Spain (Ire)–Rosie Scot (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) Sales info: Part of breeder Lynn Lodge Stud's draft to the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale, she sold for 15,000gns to Crampscastle Bloodstock. Pedigree/form notes: Placed in the G3 Park Express S. in March, this filly won over a mile at Killarney on May 14. The second foal and winner for her unraced dam, this relation to G3 Chester Vase S. winner Arrest (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), second in the G1 St Leger, will have no issues with the trip. Her sire, who has his first crop of 3-year-olds, already fielded the G1 QIPCO 2,000 Guineas third Haatem (Ire) at Newmarket. AZADA (IRE) Siyouni (Fr)–Azmiyna (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) Pedigree/form notes: This Aga Khan homebred is a winner of her only start, a Leopardstown maiden last October where she was named a 'TDN Rising Star'. Her half-brother, The Autumn Sun (Aus) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), was a champion in Australia and a five-time Group 1 winner there before siring a trio of Group 1-winning fillies this season Down Under. Star older horse Azamour (Ire) (Night Shift) is under the second dam. BLUEDRUM (IRE) Blue Point (Ire)–Drumfad Bay (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) Pedigree/form notes: Her dam, a stakes winner in Ireland, was second in the G3 Fairy Bridge S., and Bluedrum is her third foal. Although a winner, this Stonethorn Stud homebred found the waters too deep when green in the G3 Athasi S. at the beginning of the month. BUTTONS (IRE) Kingman (GB)–Wonder Of Wonders (Kingmambo) Pedigree/form notes: Bred by the Wonder Of Wonders Syndicate, the bay won her maiden last year and has been seen twice at group level this term, with a third in the G3 Ballylinch Stud “Priory Belle” S. and a second in the G3 Mutamakina S. to show for it. Her dam was second in the G1 Oaks and third in both the Irish equivalent and G1 Yorkshire Oaks before foaling stakes winner and Irish 1,000 Guineas third So Wonderful to the cover of War Front. Second dam All Too Beautiful (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) is a winner of the G2 Middleton S., second in the G1 Oaks and a full-sister to the immortal Galileo (Ire). There is a precedent of success in this family, and she could surprise. EVERLASTING (GB) Kingman (GB)–Could It Be Love (War Front) Pedigree/form notes: A homebred for the Coolmore partners, the daughter of Irish 1,000 Guineas second Could It Be Love is a half-sister to the smart G3 Kilternan S. hero Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}), who was placed in the G1 Irish Derby, G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Out of a half-sister to star American juvenile and top sire Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie), Everlasting ran third in the G3 Salsabil S. at Navan on Apr. 27. However, she could yet show another gear on Sunday. FALLEN ANGEL (GB) Too Darn Hot (GB)–Agnes Stewart (Ire) (Lawman (Fr) Pedigree/form notes: Bred by Branton Court Stud, she is the fourth foal and fourth winner out of Group 2 winner Agnes Stewart, who was also runner-up in the G1 Fillies' Mile. Outstanding at two with wins in the G3 Sweet Solera S. and G1 Moyglare Stud S., the grey knocked off plenty of rust when eighth to Elmalka (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 QIPCO 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket. If she returns to form, this half-sister to G3 Stanerra S. bridesmaid Divine Jewel (GB) (Frankel {GB}) could be very dangerous. FINSCEAL LUAS (IRE) Camelot (GB)–Finsceal Beo (Ire) (Mr. Greeley) Pedigree/form notes: Bred and owned by Micheal Ryan, this filly has yet to win in five starts and was soundly beaten in A Lilac Rolla's G3 Ballylinch Stud “Priory Belle” S. The 11th foal of her illustrious British/Irish 1,000 Guineas-winning dam, herself a half-sister to G2 German 2,000 Guineas winner Frozen Power (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}), Finsceal Luas is also a half-sister to G2 Beresford S. hero Ol' Man River (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}). A victory here would be a shock. OPERA SINGER Justify–Liscanna (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) Pedigree/form notes: Bred by the late Evie Stockwell, this filly is truly bred in the purple, as a half-sister to War Front juvenile top-tier winners Hit It A Bomb and Brave Anna. Her two-time stakes-winning granddam Lahinch (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) also foaled G1 Oaks second Ennistymon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Missing since her five-length tour-de-force in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac in Paris on Oct. 1, this daughter of G3 Ballyogan S. heroine Liscanna looms as one of the picks. PEARLS AND RUBIES No Nay Never–Diamondsandrubies (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) Pedigree/form notes: Part of the Premier Bloodstock breeding programme, this daughter of Diamondsandrubies found only Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Carvaggio) too good in the G1 Cheveley Park S. last September and will be trying a mile for the first time in her career. Her dam scored a popular win in the G1 Pretty Polly S., and her older half-sister by War Front, Diamond Sparkles, was placed in the GIII Ontario Colleen S. A granddaughter of G1 Moyglare Stud S. heroine Quarter Moon (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) who also placed in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Pearls And Rubies also counts blue hen and 2003 Irish 1,000 Guineas winner Yesterday (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) in her family. If the cards fall just right, she is in the frame. PURPLE LILY (IRE) Calyx (GB)–Boca Raton (Ire) (Approve {Ire}) Sales info: Part of Woodford Stud's draft to the Goffs November Foal Sale, she brought €17,500 on the bid of Masterly Bloodstock. Sent through the Tattersalls Ireland September ring by Lissglen Stables, Paragon Bloodstock parted with €24,000 to acquire the B O'Neill-bred filly. She changed hands yet again for €155,000 when consigned by Chasefield Stables at the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze-Up Sale, when selected by Avenue Bloodstock. Pedigree/form notes: This 'TDN Rising Star' finished only a half-length behind Ezeliya (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G3 Salsabil S. at the end of April. The trip should present no issues, and she could run big on Sunday. QUEEN OF THUNDER (IRE) Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Skill Set (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) Sales info: Lodge Park Stud bred the chestnut, who joined the Rabbah Bloodstock fold for €340,000 as a Goffs Orby yearling. Pedigree/form notes: This is the family of G2 Prix de Sandringham heroine and G1 Falmouth S. third Baqah (Ire) (Bahhare), who foaled GI Gulfstream Park Turf H. hero Almanaar (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Yet to win, this filly placed in both runs, although she hasn't graced the racecourse in 2024. Sunday is a tall order. SKELLET (IRE) Kingman (GB)–Dane Street (Street Cry {Ire}) Pedigree/form notes: This 'TDN Rising Star' was bred by Airlie Stud and Sonia Rogers and races for the latter and her son Anthony Rogers. Well-related as a half-sister to a pair of stakes winners and the group-placed dam of GI Belmont Oaks heroine Aspen Grove (Ire) (Justify), Skellet's best sibling is the G1 Moyglare Stud S. scorer Skitter Scatter (Scat Daddy). G1 Dewhurst S.-winning sire Intense Focus (Giant's Causeway) is a half-sister to her dam. Second by only a neck in the G3 Oh So Sharp S., she is aiming to improve in this 3-year-old bow. Seems a tough ask. VESPERTILIO (FR) Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Prudente (Fr) (Dansili {GB}) Sales info: Breeder Ecurie des Monceaux offered this filly at the Arqana August Sale, and she was knocked down for €320,000 to Al Shira'aa Racing. Pedigree/form notes: Even if Vespertilio never runs another race, her value as a broodmare is assured, as her female family features top-liners Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}). She broke her maiden in the G2 Debutante S., ran Fallen Angel to 1 1/4 lengths in the G1 Moyglare Stud S., and was third to Rouhiya (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches. Back for another crack at a Classic, the bay will be in the mix late. The post The Lowdown: Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Abdulla Al Mansoori's Tabletalk (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) will be supplemented to the G1 Betfred Derby on Monday, May 27, according to published reports. Al Mansoori will pay £75,000 to enter his colt, who is trained by Tom Clover, while he also has the winner Kamboo (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) among the current Derby entries. Tabletalk finished third at Kempton in December before breaking his maiden over 1 1/4 miles over the Chelmsford all-weather by 1 1/4 lengths on May 9. He will be Clover's first Derby starter. Philip Robinson, Al Mansoori's racing manager, told Racing Post, “The plan is to supplement Tabletalk into the Derby on Monday.” The post Tabletop To Be Supplemented To The Betfred Derby On Monday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

TATTERSALLS IRELAND, Ratoath–With a little help from above, Stephen Byrne of Knockgraffon Stables enjoyed an emotional fillip during a time of unimaginable heartache when selling his Coulsty (Ire) colt for €200,000 just over two weeks after his brother and former jockey Michael died in tragic circumstances. The sales ring can be a magical place. Full of dreams and disappointments, but on Friday, Tattersalls Ireland was full of tears. And smiles. Lots of smiles. An understandably emotional Byrne said, “It's been a very rough couple of weeks but my brother Michael was looking down on me today.” Michael enjoyed a successful spell riding in Britain, most notably for Tim Vaughan. His death, at just 36 years of age, rocked the breeze-up industry given he worked closely and was great friends with many of the consignors, and there was a genuine outpouring of emotion and congratulations aimed at the Byrne family following Friday's result. It was Kevin Ryan, bidding through Brendan Holland, who saw off the attention of Michael O'Callaghan and BBA Ireland's Michael Donohoe, both of whom were very strong on the colt. The result represented an outstanding bit of business for Knockgraffon Stables given lot 212 was sourced for just €21,000 at Book 2 of the Goffs Orby Sale. Byrne continued, “There were a lot of emotions going through my head just there and I didn't know what to think. It's just massive for everyone involved in the horse–for myself, Colin Bargary and Johnny King [part-owners]. “It was Johnny who picked him out at Goffs and I loved the horse from day one. He's been a dream. I have to give a big mention to Shane 'Rancher' Ryan who rides him out at home and to my father Mick as well. It's been a very emotional day.” Byrne added, “I haven't actually spoken to Dad yet but I am sure he's at home in tears. It's amazing what a horse can do. They bring so much joy to people and this lad has done so much for us today. You wouldn't believe it. They are just wonderful, wonderful animals. It's a bit of a blur to be honest.” Like a lot of consignors, Byrne admitted to finding the going tough at the sales this year. The Coulsty colt, who clocked one of the fastest times on Thursday, will become all the more memorable for the fact that he put Knockgraffon Stables well ahead in terms of trading for the year. That did not look likely coming into this week. Byrne explained, “He's after saving my year. I've been just tipping along all year, trading away, but this fella came along and saved the day. He's put a very good look on the year now. But his work at home had been savage. He's been a dream to deal with–he's straightforward and has thrived. He's been a wonderful horse to have and I won't forget this day.” Byrne added, “The support that we as a family have had at home over the past couple of weeks has been amazing. From neighbours, friends and everything–it's been immense. It's wonderful to have some amazing people around us.” The post ‘It’s Been A Rough Couple Of Weeks – But Michael Was Looking Down On Us’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jeff Siegel has been named as the new Morning-Line Maker for Santa Anita, replacing Jon White who announced his retirement earlier this week. In a release sent Friday afternoon, Santa Anita noted that Siegel will begin the positive effective with the beginning of the Autumn meet, Sept. 27. “Jeff is universally respected by his peers, be them horseplayers, horsemen, or his fellow analysts,” said Santa Anita's Senior Vice President and General Manager Nate Newby. ” We are excited that Jeff will be expanding his role at Santa Anita in taking on this important role.” Siegel has been a long-time member of the Santa Anita television production community including working with HRTV and XBTV. “I've enjoyed working with Santa Anita in various capacities for nearly 30 years, but this will be my first as an official price maker and I'm really looking forward to embracing the responsibility associated with the position,” said Siegel. “I'll do my best to produce an accurate and balanced morning line that can be referenced with confidence by my fellow horseplayers.” The post Santa Anita Names Jeff Siegel As New Morning-Line Maker appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

By Jonny Turner You just can’t keep Jonny Cox and Oh Micky out of Southland. While both are officially stationed in Canterbury, they’ve been spending a fair amount of time in the deep south recently. Oh Micky is unbeaten from the Cox stable after her purchase out of Southland. The mare won her first start for the trainer-driver at Winton before making it two from two at Addington. Oh Micky has headed back down south in the hope she can make it three from three on Saturday in the Woodlands Stud Mobile Pace. And judging by the race she slots into she looks a huge chance of doing exactly that. “The junior race she won at Addington probably was a harder field, she beat Ideal Double who has come out and won two in a row,” Cox said. “So it is looking pretty good form.” “In saying that she is racing hard and fit Southland horses on Saturday and they won’t be just giving her the race.” Cox also brings a new stable pickup south in Moonlight Angel in the Marshall Industries Trot. “She seems to have settled in well, I drove her a couple of times and didn’t mind her but she finished a fair way from them.” “Her work has been good, we are just hoping that the change of scenery might be able to spark her into life.” Cox combines with another Canterbury trotter in the Stonewall Stud trained Elizabeth Hill in the Southbuild ITM Mobile Trot. The mare heads south to find a mobile race on Saturday. “If she can do things right she is a solid chance, the mobile looks a good option for her which is why she is coming down.” Cox has formed a strong combination with Matau Maria on his recent trips south. She’ll line up in the Sincair Family Mobile Pace. The mare has been in outstanding form recently despite getting few favours. “She is definitely not afraid of doing work and she’s never had a decent draw.” “She’s got another tough draw this week but she has shown how consistent she is and hopefully she can go another good race.” Cox reunites with Jaccka Bayliss in the Subway Winton Handicap Trot and steps up in grade after a last start win at Winton. The reinsman also combines with Ultimate Collect who looks like a handy chance in race 2, the Alabar NZ Fillies and Mares Mobile Pace. After stepping up sharply in grade in his last start at Winton, Dangerous lands in a more suitable grade in race 10, the Winter Rewards Finals Day 29th June Mobile Pace. View the full article