Wandering Eyes

One test of a visit to a racing yard is whether you come away wishing you owned a horse to send there. David Menuisier's set-up is one such place. If you like patient trainers with strong opinions who pride themselves on being self-made while displaying a virtuoso's touch, Dancing Brave's old home near Pulborough in West Sussex could be for you. Menuisier, a Frenchman in love with British racing – despite the inferior prize-money – is L'Etranger of the training ranks. One translation of that label is somebody who isn't part of a community or organisation. Menuisier, who started in 2014 with one raceable horse, largely avoids bloodstock agents and isn't impressed by privilege. It hasn't stopped him becoming an assured and intuitive trainer of Group-race winners. In the Arcadia of Guy Harwood's old domain – Coombelands, with its radiant South Downs views – Menuisier watches his best hope for 2024, the three-year-old colt Sunway (Fr), trot through cold winter air before laying out, back in his office, his training manifesto, which is a mix of traditionalist and radical. The story blends tough beginnings and a strong vein of pride in being an underdog. “I'm not fashionable – and you have to realise I'll never be,” he says. “It's fine. It will always be harder for me than those young trainers in Newmarket, because I don't belong to those circles. I'm happy with it. Very little in racing works with merit. Probably 20% of it.” If this sounds like disillusionment, Menuisier delivers it wryly, and enjoys his work too much to be bitter. And this Flat season brims with promise. His best horses so far have been the dual Group 1-winning filly Wonderful Tonight (Fr), Thundering Blue and Danceteria (Fr). Last year he bucked his own trend of being a cautious starter by winning the Lincoln Handicap with Migration (Ire) – and finished the campaign with a flourish. There were two-year-old stakes wins in France for Tamfana (Ger), War Chimes (Fr) and Sunway (the Group 1 Criterium International), and a Group 3 win for Caius Chorister (GB) – all in the space of five days. No wonder he feels vindicated in working with the natural development cycle of horses, rather than against it, as some trainers do in search of faster gratification. “It's always been my line of thinking. I wanted to be in a niche where nobody else was – but it's also what I love,” he tells TDN. “I'm different to some others. I don't criticise others. But I would find it a little bit boring to be someone who only trains sprinters or only trains sharp two-year-olds. It's not really my cup of tea. “Some of my best clients chuck it in my face every now and then that I can't train two-year-olds. What they mean by two-year-olds is sharp ones, in the first few months of the year. I would always prefer the ones who come through in October and make three-year-olds and four-year-olds. “If you want a really good three-year-old they have to be good as a two-year-old as well because the talent gets them through that. Like Sunway. You can't say Sunway is a real two-year-old but he's always found life easy. You'd like to believe or hope his best seasons are ahead of him rather than last year. He's bred to be more of a three-year-old slash four-year-old. If you want a top three-year-old, obviously they'll be top two-year-olds as well – but I don't mind one that takes more time, and gets better at four or five.” All the people I have here are people who have decided to be with me. I have never picked up the phone to get anybody in here. Even at a trot, Sunway floats up Menuisier's gallops with noticeable fluency in his action. And though Menuisier is a true adopted Sussex man, he's also prodigal. Many of his biggest wins were landed in France and Sunway's targets are the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club, ideally on good or slightly softer ground. You can't help wondering though why he trains in England rather than France, where prize-money is higher and political paralysis in racing less evident. He says: “It makes me unique. When I came back from America to work for John Dunlop I think I just fell in love with the area, fell in love with English racing. “I've been lucky enough to compete in nine different countries and I've not seen a better jurisdiction than this one. The prize-money could be better, this or that could be better, recruitment… You could make the same comment for any jurisdiction. Owners want to be in England. The next big owner is more likely to start in England than America or Australia, or France or Germany. It's the right place to be. “We are blessed with a good programme on the whole. The handicap system allows you a chance to go up step by step. “In terms of the management of British racing I think there are too many entities. It's better when people sit down and discuss things than pull the sheet to their side. I don't think there's enough unity in British racing. Who is in charge of what and what do they do? I have no idea. That makes British racing have too many middlemen, and each middleman is going to take his little chunk of money. People are putting a veto here and a veto there, and everything is at a standstill the whole time. “I feel that some of the entities in racing are more than happy to carry on the way it is because they make enough money. Not everybody sees the situation as desperate. We do, but it's only one branch of British racing.” In his debut year, England might have felt very much like the wrong place to be. Menuisier and his partner Kim Johnstone took the plunge in 2014 with four horses (three borrowed) and a £60,000 fighting fund. “If I had to do it again, I don't think I would. Or, if I had to do it now, starting in 2024, I'm not sure I would,” Menuisier says. “In those days we were 10 years younger but things were a little easier than they are now. Even though it was a difficult start we never thought we could fail. It was a weird impression because we had absolutely nothing and nobody on our side. But despite all, it never felt like a risky thing to do. These days things are a lot more expensive. It would be extremely difficult now to start the way we did. We were meant to be wiped out in the first few months.” Instead a horse bred by his parents in France – Slunovrat (Fr) – scored a breakthrough win at Newcastle and enticed Clive Washbourn to become the yard's first major owner. “Not many trainers would start with one runnable horse, a middle-distance horse, an unbroken horse. This very first winner showed the trademark of the yard,” Menuisier says. “I knew Clive from John Dunlop's. He said, 'all my horses are allocated but if you prove you can train a winner I'll back you.' I won my first race on 25 August 2014. The very next day he said – 'I said I'll back you and I will.' “All the people I have here are people who have decided to be with me. I have never picked up the phone to get anybody in here. All the owners I have have come here because they've seen our results and decided to be here. That's another thing I'm really proud of. “Most of my owners are self-made people. They are not people who've inherited. So they know what it takes and we can speak on the same level. Clive is a mate now. We've become friends. There's nothing to hide from him. He's always been here for me and I've always been here for him. I don't need to change my tone when we speak. It's the same with Guy Pariente [Sunway's part-owner and breeder] from France. He's a very successful businessman but he's not part of the jet set. He's a grounded person. I think grounded people suit me.” Menuisier's high regard for Oisin Murphy is based only partly on Murphy telling him Sunway was the best two-year-old he sat on last year: a review that will have featured in Qatar racing's part-purchase of the full brother to Sealiway (Fr), a G1 Champion S. winner. Both were bred by Pariente, the owner of Haras de Colleville, and they are by his stallion Galiway (GB) from the Kendargent (Fr) mare Kensea (Fr). “Oisin Murphy was an integral part of the team.” Menuisier says. “Last year he came down on a regular basis. Oisin kept on saying – with the bunch of two-year-olds you have, you'll be fine. “He's a nice person. You can easily build a lovely work relationship with him. When he comes here he's part of the team. He doesn't think of himself as a superstar, he makes his own coffee, he gives a hand to the staff – even sweeping, or whatever. He's just the simplest person. I'm a simple guy as well. We just get on. His opinion is invaluable. I use Jamie Spencer as well for the same reason. He's a really good worker. He's interesting – and interested, in what we're doing. He's another jockey I have a lot of time for.” Murphy's enthusiasm for Sunway had to be taken on trust because Menuisier is not one to mistake a training ground for a racecourse: “We thought he was special but you can only compare him to the other horses. And in the morning we don't really test the V12. So it's hard to be confident you definitely have a world beater. When an outsider who's a superstar jockey comes down and tells you that, it does comfort you.” Menuisier may lean on jockeys for insights but bloodstock agents and fixers are consulted less frequently: “I have nothing in particular against any of them. I feel as a trainer I would rather go and buy the horses I want to train rather than use somebody to buy horses I may not like. “I'd rather do it myself because I'm going to live with them for two or three years. As I don't rub anyone's back, they don't have to rub mine. I've built this yard not relying on them. They were not here when I started in 2014, so I don't need them now.” He relies instead, at the sales, on his own eyes and instincts. Two years ago he spotted a filly who had won at Newbury but was now surplus to requirements at a big yard. He takes up the story: “I noticed she probably wasn't running over the right ground and probably needed a bit of time. “I rang Kim and said, 'If this filly makes 25 grand we might buy her as a project. She's well bred, she's a winner as a two-year-old, I'd like to bring her back later in the season and hopefully give her a bit of black type.' She was only rated 72. Sometimes you feel she's going to be lucky or…it's an intuition. I work a lot with intuition. “I bought the filly for 26 grand – I went above my budget – turned her out, identified a little infection in her throat – nothing too bad. She basically needed time. “Anyway I never saw the best of her in the morning, so we trained her to sit on the tail of somebody else and not move an eyelid. I didn't know whether she'd improved. I sold half to my loyal client Clive, a quarter to one of his mates, a Spanish guy. I ran her at Saint-Cloud in a Listed race, rated 72. Everything else was above 100, including Tribalist, who was third in the Guineas. She ran second in the race beaten a whisker. A stride after the line she would have beaten the winner. “We sold her in December for 385 grand. The guy that bought her decided he knew better and sent her to a good trainer.” But less than a year later the filly's owner asked Menuisier to take her on again. “I said, look, I've done it once, I'll have her back because I love her, and I know how she works, but I can't guarantee I can do it twice. She came back here. She was placed in a Group 3 at the end of the year, rated 102. “Something I learned at Criquette [Head's] is that some people over-train them. You have to be careful not to over-train. Always try to under-train rather than over-train. Because if you under-train you get fitter as you run, which is fine, but they keep their sanity in the meantime. This filly – you didn't need to do anything, She was more than happy to hack every morning. If you tried to go a stride quicker her head would be in the air.” This brings him on to the perils of trying to train too many horses. “If I were Number 1 at the BHA I would put a number on the size of the yard. Above 70 or 80, you should have a cap. Then you would see the best people. With 300, you can't go wrong, obviously. Whether you're good or not doesn't matter. The wastage is huge.” In his outlook Menuisier manages to blend passion and ambition with a bit of Zen. “My intention is not to be champion trainer. I'm happy with the life I have, getting good horses every year,” he explains. “My yard's a bit bigger this season. We've had the back-up of really nice people. “I'm old fashioned. Nowadays if I have to have 300 horses I have to admit that 50% of my staff would not be at the level I want, so I'm writing off half the staff already because those guys won't work to the level. If it's radical to say that, I'm sorry, but it's a fact. We have core staff. I only have 70 horses. If I have four times that number I will have at least 10 people who won't be able to get to our level. I don't want to be in that situation.” And to conclude he tries to articulate why he works in such a precarious, stressful, unstable and yet sometimes sublime profession (this particular morning at Coombelands it feels like a celestial calling). “My aim is not to become a millionaire. My aim is to carry on doing what I do, educate my daughter for her to have a good life, and be happy, and for people around me to be happy, and have enough good horses to run in lovely races. “We start the season with 72 horses. I have three older horses who are black type, we have five three-year-olds with black type. So that's eight already, out of 40, with 32 two-year-olds on top. Why should I envy anybody – including those big yards? I can't, because I'm living my best life. I know where I come from, I know how I started, I know I don't owe anything to anybody apart from the people who helped us – and that's that. “My aim is to be happy in life. That's all.” The post Menuisier: ‘I Wanted to be in a Niche Where Nobody Else Was’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Zetta Z (Bernardini), dam of Saturday's dominating GIII Robert B. Lewis winner 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist), has been added to the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale to go through the ring Tuesday, Feb. 6, announced the auction house via press release Sunday. Catalogued as HIP 536 and offered by Grovendale Sales as agent, she is in-foal to multiple Grade I-winning Cyberknife. In addition to Nysos, Zetta Z is also the dam of SP Attabe (Distorted Humor) as well as a 2-year-old filly by Street Sense and a yearling colt by Yaupon. “Nysos has been brilliant in each of his starts. His numbers lead all three-year-old colts and his potential is unlimited,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer his dam, who is in foal to the exciting first year stallion Cyberknife.” The post Dam of Nysos Added to Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

‘Magnificent individual’ impresses veteran trainer John Size and jockey Hugh Bowman will scintillating displayView the full article

Provided ‘everything is OK’ after runs in the Gold Cup and QE II Cup, the reigning Cox Plate champion will set his sights on more overseas gloryView the full article

Italian jockey takes out the Centenary Vase with Nimble Nimbus and also gets the best out of Ka Ying Generation at Sha Tin on SundayView the full article

Stan Tsaikos, who rides in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Victoria these days, celebrates his third win at Darwin on Saturday after guiding the Ella Clarke-trained Pop Magic to victory in the $40,000 Wet Season Series Final (1200m). Picture: Caroline Camilleri (Darwin Photography Professionals) He hadn’t ridden a winner in Darwin for two months, but the wily Stan Tsaikos bounced back with a winning treble on Saturday. Tsaikos, who continues to ride in the NT while also fulfilling commitments in Tasmania, saluted on Ella Clarke’s Pop Magic (+230), Chole Baxter’s Shecanmixit (+240 fav) and Chris Pollard’s No Rain No Flowers (+1300). Renowned for controlling the tempo of a race while in front before invariably stealing victory, Tsaikos employed such tactics with great effect. Tsaikos, who has won the Alice Springs premiership twice, shared the lead in the Wet Season Series Final (1200m) before Pop Magic won by 6.8 lengths. Shecanmixit, a five-year-old mare by Danerich, prevailed over 1200m (BM54) and No Rain No Flowers, a five-year-old mare by Shalaa, won a 1300m maiden. After breaking the 1000m track record (56.02) in a maiden on her NT debut on December 8, Shecanmixit finished ninth over 1000m (0-58) in late December before coming second over 1000m (BM54) three weeks ago. Hitting the ground from the outside gate (seven), Tsaikos had Shecanmixit on the fence and in front by the 1000m – but had Tom Logan’s Beatification (+250) parked on its girth at the 900m. Shecanmixit finally broke Beatification’s heart at the 100m to win by 1.2 lengths with Patrick Johnston’s Barty Aya (+280) third. No Rain No Flowers, who had gone close in six previous Darwin starts, finally delivered when Tsaikos found the lead passing the 1000m after drawing a wide gate in the 10-horse field. For the remaining 900m, No Rain No Flowers maintained a two-length advantage before downing Dick Leech’s Mutany (+140 fav) and Phil Cole’s Proklisi (+260) by 1.4 lengths. Apprentice Jade Hampson, winless at Fannie Bay in January, celebrated a double after partnering Leech’s Pride Of Limassol (+110 fav) over 1000m (0-58) and Tayarn Halter’s Fischer (+260) over 1600m (Class 2). Pride Of Limassol, a five-year-old gelding by Pride Of Dubai, had managed a win and two seconds from four Top End starts, but had to fight hard before shaking off Baxter’s Aplomado ($2.60). Aplomado, who held the fence, and Pride Of Limassol went stride for stride as from the 800m before the favourite forged ahead at the 200m to win by two lengths from Aplomado and Mark Nyhan’s Vascotto (+1800). Fischer, a five-year-old gelding by Zoustar, finally won over 1600m at the sixth attempt when he caught the leader with 100m to go to make it two wins from 19 Darwin starts. Cole’s Supremo (+550) hit the front at the 1200m and led by two lengths before Fischer and Kerry Petrick’s Princess Pancakes (+210 fav) bridged the gap with 300m to go. Fisher pounced at the 100m to post an emphatic win by 5.2 lengths, while Supremo held on for second from Princess Pancakes. Cole’s eight-year-old gelding Saccharo (-105.26 fav) posted his first win since returning from injury when he outclassed in-form stablemate Cielo D’Oro (+210) and Angela Forster’s Volatore (+380) in a five-horse field over 1300m (BM76). Sitting three deep, Saccharo (Emma Lines), the son of Magnus, was camped behind leading pair Cielo D’Oro and Gary Clarke’s Desert Deamer (+800) before winding up at the 400m. Saccharo (62kg) stormed home from the rear of the field on Australia Day to finish a narrow third behind Noir De Rue and Cielo D’Oro over 1300m (BM73), so to take charge on Saturday at the 100m carrying 60kg before winning by 1.8 lengths was no surprise. Cole’s apprentice Lines, who now has 17 wins for the season, also ended the day with three seconds and a third. More horse racing news View the full article

Pint-sized sprinter Flying Nemo (NZ) (Vespa) took out his first win on the turf after he dashed home strongly in the S$70,000 Class 3 race (1200m) in Singapore on Saturday. With four previous wins over sprint distances on the Polytrack, including his last-start win in the Class 4 race over 1100m in early January, the four-year-old son of Vespa was facing stiffer opposition in a field of 11 this time. After jumping swiftly from gate eight, the long shot was dropped towards the back of the field by first-time partner and jockey Bruno Queiroz, albeit five-wide without cover. At the 400m, Queiroz got busy on Flying Nemo before he gradually motored past the leader by the 150m. Pacific Master warmed up late and began letting down on his inside, but Flying Nemo showed a great turn of foot to hold a half-length win from Pacific Master. Queiroz, who now sits second on the current jockeys’ log on 10 wins, sounded confident of a smart win from the Desmond Koh-trained gelding before the race. “He flew home. I thought he can win in Class 3,” said the young Brazilian jockey. “(Last-start winning partner) Nunes and I talked. This horse is very well. I rode him in trackwork on Tuesday and he felt very good. “I think this trip is good for him. He can run well on both the Poly(track) and the turf.” Assistant-trainer Lee Soo Hin was slightly concerned with the pair punching the breeze not long after the start, but was glad the win would him in a good stead for better races in future. “His form was there, but he’s up in class today,” said Lee, who was deputising for Koh. “We asked him (Queiroz) to ride him in fourth or fifth, then take him out in the straight, but I was a bit worried as they had no cover too early and sat wide. “He’s (Flying Nemo) a small horse but he showed us today he’s a Class 3 horse and he can go further because he’s still young.” Flying Nemo was sold by Hedwood Thoroughbreds in the 2021 National Online Sale for $7000 to Warrior Stables. With five wins and four placings in 12 starts, Flying Nemo has now amassed over S$180,000 in prizemoney for the Nemo Stable. Prior to Flying Nemo’s win, Atlante Legend (NZ) (Atlante) scored a boilover win in the $50,000 Class 4 Division 2 race (1200m) five races earlier, bringing up a double for Koh. Other New Zealand bred winners in Kranji on Saturday included Smoke And Mirrors (NZ) (Ocean Park), Lim’s Bestbreaker (NZ) (Battle Paint), Navy Seals (NZ) (U S Navy Flag), Per Incrown (NZ) (Per Incanto) & Star North (NZ) Savabeel). View the full article

The retirement of stable star Live Drama has left some large shoes to fill in Lance Robinson’s stable, though there could be a new mare on the rise in Adannaya. Adannaya (NZ) (Niagara) was Robinson’s sole representative at Wingatui on Saturday, and as the track worsened to a Soft7 pre-race, the mare looked an ominous chance in the Gallagher Open Insurance 1200m, starting the $6.00 fourth-fancy in an even market headed by the ever-consistent Emanon ($3.90). In the hands of Joe Doyle, the daughter of Niagara was slow away from barrier six alongside the favourite, though was allowed to relax at the tail while Emanon strode to the lead alongside Amberecho. Doyle began to urge the mare turning for home, and she responded with an impressive turn-of-foot to storm past Henry Hubber and Emanon to score by two lengths, a performance that panned out as hoped for the Northern hoop. “Lance told me not to rush her out of the gates, because she can get quite keen, so he said to sit back and round them up turning in, and she’s put them to bed. It was a credit to the horse, she picked up really well,” Doyle said. “These types of sprinters, if their on the right day, they can compete to a very high level. “Also, a big thank-you to Lance, he gives me a lot of support when I come down here so it’s nice to reward him with a winner.” The victory was the six-year-old’s sixth from 34 starts, with a second-place finish in the Listed Hazlett Stakes (1200m) two-starts back giving Robinson a vote of confidence for the Soft conditions on Saturday. “I was really thrilled with her run,” Robinson said. “The bit of rain they got overnight was a big help to her in just taking the speed out of the race.” “She was well ridden by Joe, he gave her a beautiful run as she’s better ridden a little bit cold and gave her a bit of space. She finished off how I thought she would, so it was a really pleasing result.” The mare is likely set to have a brief freshen-up over the coming weeks, before a potential further tilt at black-type in the Gr.3 Valachi Downs South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) on April 16. “At this stage, we may get her home and give her ten days in the paddock. We’ve got the Breeders’ Stakes over 1400m, so we may then possibly target that. She’ll let me know, but we’ll just see how she goes between then and that race.” Though delighted with Adannaya’s efforts, Robinson paid a special tribute to Live Drama (NZ) (Ghibellines) after announcing her retirement to the South Island industry last week. A seven-year-old daughter of Ghibellines, Live Drama had been a picture of consistency throughout a highly-successful career in Robinson’s Riccarton stable, with nine victories and a further twelve minor placings from 35 race-day appearances. Among her credentials, the mare had recorded black-type wins in the Gr.3 South Island Thoroughbred Breeders’ Stakes (1600m) and back-to-back Great Easter Stakes (1400m) crowns at Listed level, alongside countless Top 3 finishes. Robinson had planned to retire Live Drama at the completion of the season, however she had become somewhat of an enigma at the barriers, and decided prior to last Saturday’s Listed Timaru Stakes (1400m) to call time on her own terms. “She was a really good horse to the stable, she won her very first start as a two-year-old, and raced all the way through to a seven-year-old mare,” Robinson said. “She raced in the best of company down here, carried big weights, and was just a really classy mare in my opinion. “She had three attempts at the Stewards Stakes (Listed, 1200m) and she ran second two years in a row (then at Group Three level), and then came back after a year away to run fifth this year, carrying a huge weight of 59kgs and was buffeted the whole way. “We’re all extremely proud of her around our stable, and she’ll be very sadly missed, but it’s in her best interests. She’s telling us she’s had her time, so she’ll be sold as a broodmare.” View the full article

Local apprentice jockey Ciel Butler had an unforgettable day in the saddle at New Plymouth on Saturday, riding a winning double that included her first victory at black-type level. The 22-year-old opened her account for the day aboard Stratford sprinter Ifndoubtgetout (NZ) (Keano) in the $50,000 McCurdy Trucks Open (1400m). The Keano gelding was the subject of a remarkable betting plunge, opening at $16 and jumping as a $2.70 favourite. He led every step of the way and lived right up to expectations with a dominant 10-length romp. But there was even better still to come for Butler, who later rode Contribute (NZ) (Contributer) for her employer Robbie Patterson in the $120,000 Gr.3 Denis Wheeler Earthmoving Taranaki Cup (1800m). Butler gave the six-year-old Contributer mare a comfortable midfield run before presenting her out wide at the home turn and finishing powerfully down the straight for a half-length local triumph. “It’s been a great day, and to win the Taranaki Cup for Rob was definitely an awesome feeling,” Butler said. “With Ifndoubtgetout, I think a lot of people sometimes forget that he was good enough to run third in the Telegraph (Gr.1, 1200m) last year. He was drawn one today and went down to 51kg with the claim, and there wasn’t much chance of stopping him. He was trucking the whole way and really dominated the race. Tracey (Bliss, owner-trainer) does such a good job with that horse. “Contribute’s a special horse for me. I ride her all the time and have been riding her ever since I started working for Rob. Her work during this week was phenomenal, and she really kicked away well in the straight today. It was a very good win.” Notably, Saturday’s double included a milestone 40th career winner, which means Butler’s allowance will now drop from 3kg to 2kg. Butler rode 24 winners last season and is firmly on target to overhaul that tally in 2023-24, having already racked up 17 wins with almost six months remaining. “I’m pretty stoked about going down to a two-kilo claim after today,” Butler said. “That was something I wanted to achieve, and now I just hope I can keep this good run rolling.” View the full article

Making her first start for trainer Michael McCarthy and returning from a third in the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (G1), Three Witches scored by 2 1/2 lengths over Chismosa in the Feb. 3 Santa Monica Stakes (G2).View the full article

Using a front-end, ground-saving trip under jockey Paco Lopez, Hades put away a stretch challenge from favored Fierceness to win the $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park.View the full article

For the first time in her five North American starts Bellabel seized the early lead Feb. 3 in the $101,000 Megahertz Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park and that running style proved to her liking under jockey Flavien Prat. View the full article

Trainer Butch Reid's latest excursion to the Empire State added another New York Racing Association graded stakes victory to his resume as Michael Milam's Uncle Heavy took the $250,000 Withers Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds Feb. 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack.View the full article

Trainer Kenny McPeek and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. combine for stakes victories Feb. 3 at Oaklawn Park with Mystik Dan and Band of Gold in the $800,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) and $250,000 Martha Washington Stakes, respectively.View the full article

Walkathon and Never Explain used opposite approaches to victory in Tampa Bay Downs' dual turf stakes races Feb. 3.View the full article

Giving trainer Bob Baffert his 12th win in the Lewis, Nysos has won all three of his races by large margins, with the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) his first attempt at two turns.View the full article

Reid's latest excursion to the Empire State added another New York Racing Association graded stakes victory to his resume as Michael Milam's Uncle Heavy took the $250,000 Withers Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds Feb. 3 at Aqueduct Racetrack.View the full article

Repole Stable's Life's an Audible, widest of all turning for home, collared the field late for her first stakes victory in the $175,000 Sweetest Chant Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park.View the full article

R Harper Rose resumed sprinting—and winning—with a cut back in racing distance from 1 1/16 miles to seven furlongs Feb. 3 in the $145,000 Forward Gal Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.View the full article

R Harper Rose (Khozan) represented her fellow Flordia-breds well in Saturday's GIII Forward Gal S. over the Hallandale strip as she dropped the hammer down the lane to win. The OBS March grad made her debut a winning one as she streaked to a gate-to-wire finish by 6 1/4 lengths at Gulfstream Park in early August. Stepping into optional claiming company over the same surface Sept. 22, the filly was equally as potent when she won by 5 3/4 lengths. On her home floor last fall, the bay took on Florida sire stakes company and won going seven furlongs in the Susan's Girl S. Oct. 21, but ran out of steam at a mile and sixteenth as the runner-up in the My Dear Girl S. Dec. 2. Cutting back and as the 2-1 second choice here, the 3-year-old was content to allow Fiona's Magic (St Patrick's Day) to show the way up the backstretch. R Harper Rose kept close tabs on the leader and around the far turn she was given her cue. With a fluid, sweeping move, she took control at the quarter pole and ran on professionally to collect her first graded stakes win as the early pacesetter was second. “She's so fast but she can settle, and back doing what she wants to do going one turn,” said trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. “I'm just proud of her today. Everything went right into this race, and she showed it today. Edgar [Zayas] was very patient. They broke well, [Fiona's Magic] wanted the lead and he didn't force the issue. I think the first three-eighths of the race it worked to our advantage. It wasn't a crazy pace. “This is it for her, one turn. We're not going to experiment. Last time things didn't go right but we're going to keep her to one turn. There's a lot of races for her at one turn.” Pedigree Notes: This is multiple leading Florida sire Khozan's fourth stateside graded stakes winner out of six crops of racing age. The winner's dam registered a foal last year when she produced a filly by Leinster, but True Bliss was not bred for this season. Her half-siblings include MSW Cherokee Triangle (Cherokee Run) and GSW Hierro (Hard Spun), who Stonestreet acquired for $350,000 at the OBS Select 2-Year-Old Sale in 2011. Saturday, Gulfstream Park FORWARD GAL S.-GIII, $145,000, Gulfstream, 2-3, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:24.34, ft. 1–R HARPER ROSE, 120, f, 3, by Khozan 1st Dam: True Bliss, by Yes It's True 2nd Dam: Brief Bliss, by Navarone 3rd Dam: Annul, by Conquistador Cielo 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($16,000 Ylg '22 OBSOCT; $60,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Averill Racing LLC and Two Eight Racing LLC; B-Sally J. Andersen (FL); T-Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.; J-Edgard J. Zayas. $86,725. Lifetime Record: 5-4-1-0, $344,025. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–Fiona's Magic, 120, f, 3, St Patrick's Day–Mollie's Magic, by Factum. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O/B-Stonehedge LLC (FL); T-Michael Yates. $30,750. 3–Chi Chi, 120, f, 3, Audible–Simply Confection, by Candy Ride (Arg). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($47,000 RNA Ylg '22 OBSWIN). O-Sam Wilensky; B-France Weiner (FL); T-Herman Wilensky. $16,375. Margins: 2, 1 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 2.20, 5.30, 24.30. Also Ran: Scalable, Nikitis, Witwatersrand. Scratched: Kissedbyanangel. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. With her ears up, #FLBred R HARPER ROSE (Khozan) wins the GIII Forward Gal at @GulfstreamPark! pic.twitter.com/mZnsjB13lG — TDN (@theTDN) February 3, 2024 The post R Harper Rose Basks In Forward Gal Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Perfect Scenario captures back-to-back Group 3 White Robe Lodge Weight For Age (1600m) victories under Niranjan Parmar at Wingatui. Photo: Monica Toretto Consistent performer Perfect Scenario made it back-to-back victories in the feature event at Wingatui on Saturday when he captured his second Group 3 White Robe Lodge Weight For Age (1600m) title. The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson-trained six-year-old had bolted away with the 2023 edition of the time-honoured southern mile, winning by more than three lengths, but was made to work much harder this time around as he survived a torrid home straight scrap with eventual runner-up Dazzling Miss. Settled in fourth by Te Akau Racing apprentice Niranjan Parmar, the son of Iffraaj was content to lob along before swooping into contention around the home bend to join issue with Dazzling Miss who made her challenge closer to the inside rail. The pair waged war in the closing stages with Perfect Scenario gaining the upper hand short of the line as race favourite Times Ticking battled on well to shade Ears Back for third. Bergerson was on duty at Wingatui and wore a smile a mile wide as he celebrated the result. “Hugely satisfying to see a horse like him go back-to-back as he is just an old marvel to have around the stable,” Bergerson said. “He is a real favourite of everyone and just plods around doing his own business as he loves stable life. “He has grown a leg since coming down here and it was a good ride by Parmar. “I think the key was getting him out wide as he looked like he was floundering at the top of the straight but as he came wider and wider he found another leg. “He is such a genuine horse and puts his best foot forward every time he steps out.” Bergerson believes the horse has plenty of options ahead of him including the Group 1 Otaki-Maori WFA Classic (1600m) at Otaki on 24 February, a race where he finished fourth behind glamour mares Levante and La Crique in 2023. “It seems the logical step to keep him down here but there is the Group One at Otaki that he contested last year,” he said. “He is in fantastic form but we’ll take him home and then go from there.” In a sensational start to the race senior jockey Terry Mosely survived a nasty incident when he was dislodged from Burgie just 30m after the gates opened but walked unaided back to the barrier seemingly no worse for wear. More horse racing news View the full article

One of four Kentucky Derby preps run Saturday, the $800,000 GIII Southwest S. at Oaklawn Park promised to be the most wide-open betting contest and it didn't disappoint as a mud-splattered 11-1 MYSTIK DAN (c, 3, Goldencents–Ma'am, by Colonel John) pulled the upset. Out from the 10 post in the mud, he broke sharply only to angle over to the rail and settle midpack under Brian Hernandez, Jr. Springboard Mile S. winner Otto the Conqueror (Street Sense) set the :23.56 and :47.95 pace up front while Mystik Dan bided his time on the inside. Last fall's Ed Brown S. winner Just Steel (Justify) collared Otto the Conqueror from the outside off the turn while Mystik Dan, so close to the rail he could have scraped paint, found a seam and burst through. He forgot to stop, sailing home a half dozen lengths or more to the good. Just Steel held for second while GIII Street Sense S. winner Liberal Arts (Arrogate) got up for third. The Southwest offers points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale for the Road to the Kentucky Derby. An open-daylight maiden sprint winner at Churchill in November, Mystik Dan was bringing a field-best 96 Beyer Speed Figure into the Southwest and was coming off a fifth-place finish behind Catching Freedom (Constitution) in Oaklawn's Smarty Jones S. on New Year's Day. McPeek and Hernandez also teamed up to win Saturday's Kentucky Oaks points race-the $250,000 Martha Washington S.-at Oaklawn with longshot Band of Gold (Preservationist). B/O-Lance Gasaway, 4 G Racing, and Daniel Hamby III (Ky.); T-Kenny McPeek; J-Brian Hernandez, Jr. #10 MYSTIK DAN ($24.80) sat a perfect rail trip before taking the lead in the stretch and splashing home to an impressive upset in Oaklawn's $800,000 GIII Southwest Stakes! Mystik Dan was the second big-priced stakes winner on the card for @b_hernandezjr and @KennyMcPeek. pic.twitter.com/Ons0VG8g9V — TVG (@TVG) February 3, 2024 Saturday, Oaklawn SOUTHWEST S.-GIII, $800,000, Oaklawn, 2-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.67, my. 1–MYSTIK DAN, 118, c, 3, by Goldencents 1st Dam: Ma'am, by Colonel John 2nd Dam: Lady Siphonica, by Siphon (Brz) 3rd Dam: Cherokee Crossing, by Cherokee Colony 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O/B-Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby & 4G Racing LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek; J-Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. $408,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-0, $510,110. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–Just Steel, 117, c, 3, Justify–Irish Lights (Aus), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($500,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-BC Stables, LLC; B-Summerhill Farm (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas. $136,000. 3–Liberal Arts, 119, c, 3, Arrogate–Ismene, by Tribal Rule. O/B-Stephen Ferraro & Evan Ferraro (KY); T-Robert Medina. $68,000. Margins: 8, NK, 9. Odds: 11.40, 10.30, 4.90. Also Ran: Awesome Road, Common Defense, Otto the Conqueror, Carbone, Linebacker, Charleston, Magic Grant, Wynstock. Scratched: Maycocks Bay. Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. The post Kenny McPeek’s Mystik Dan Upends Oaklawn’s Southwest appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

For the first time in her five North American starts Bellabel seized the early lead Feb. 3 in the $101,000 Megahertz Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park and that running style proved to her liking under jockey Flavien Prat. View the full article

Using a front-end, ground-saving trip under jockey Paco Lopez, Hades put away a stretch challenge from favored Fierceness to win the $250,000 Holy Bull Stakes (G3) Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park.View the full article

All eyes were on Eclipse Award and runaway GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero Fierceness (City of Light) making his seasonal return in the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park. The tote read 1-5 on the champ, but the Repole homebred was out of gas when push game to shove and in a bit of an oddly run race, D J Stable and Robert Cotran's HADES (g, 3, Awesome Slew–The Shady Lady, by Quality Road) controlled a moderate tempo, slipped away from Fierceness in the final furlong and held off Domestic Product (Practical Joke) for a 9-1 upset and 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Hades was driven away from gate one by Paco Lopez, and Fierceness was also given a dig by John Velazquez in an effort to gain some forward position, but Fierceness did get fired up a bit as a result. Hades made the running fron Inveigled (Enticed) and a three-wide Fierceness and sensing a slow speed, Velazquez sent Fierceness into the lead a good three furlongs from home. Right alongside and in with every chance, Fierceness and Hades appeared to lightly brush inside the eighth pole and while the champion had no more to give, Hades kicked on to cause the surprise. Domestic Product sat an inside trip and got through at the fence into the stretch before going on to claim second. Hades is the second stakes winner and first at the graded level for his sire (by Awesome Again) and he is the 11th SW and fifth GSW out of a Quality Road dam. Sales history: $130,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record 3-3-0-0. O-D J Stable & Robert Cotran; B-Ocala Stud, Joseph M. O'Farrell III, David O'Farrell, et al (FL); T-Joe Orseno. What a run from HADES, who wins the Holy Bull Stakes! pic.twitter.com/kfH8kqwZ1e — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 3, 2024 The post Hades Guts It Out In the Holy Bull As Fierceness Folds appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article