Wandering Eyes

Horses who finish in the top three placings of the Gr.2 Waikato Guineas (2000m) will now be exempt from the ballot for the Gr.1 Vodafone New Zealand Derby (2400m). This amendment to the balloting conditions of the Derby comes after a recent review undertaken by the Auckland Racing Club’s (ARC) management and board. ”We had an unfortunate case this year when the third placed horse in the Waikato Guineas, a race recognised as a significant lead-up event to the Vodafone New Zealand Derby,&... View the full article

Talented Matamata hurdler Tommyra has been sidelined until next year. Trainer Toby Autridge had both the Grand National Hurdles (4200m) at Riccarton on Wednesday and the Great Northern Hurdle (4190m) at Ellerslie next month on the radar for Tommyra after he won the K.S. Browne Hurdles (3350m) at Ellerslie on June 3. However, Tommyra was pulled up with three fences to jump in the Wellington Hurdles (3400m) at Trentham last month. “At the 600m he looked like he could win, but within five stride... View the full article

Trackside Radio’s Des Coppins speaks with jockey Chris Johnson after his victory aboard Dez in the Gr.3 Winter Cup (1600m) at Riccarton on Saturday.... View the full article

Trackside Radio’s Des Coppins speaks with trainer Harvey Wilson after It’s A Wonder’s win in the Koral Steeplechase (4250m) at Riccarton on Saturday.... View the full article

Trackside Radio’s Des Coppins catches up with Jo Rathbone, part-owner of Grand National Hurdle (4200m) winner Tallyho Twinkletoe.... View the full article

Two course records were set at Ellis Park Aug. 4 when the Henderson, Ky., track hosted Kentucky Downs Preview Day. View the full article

Kingly, from the power-packed barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, gamely withstood the late challenge of 9-5 favorite Neptune's Storm Aug. 4 to win the featured $151,053 La Jolla Handicap (G3T) at Del Mar. View the full article

New Zealand jumps jockey Aaron Kuru took home one of the biggest scalps in his riding career on Sunday after taking out the Grand National Hurdle (4200m) aboard Kiwi jumper Tallyho Twinkletoe at Sandown. Just 24 hours earlier Kuru was without a ride in the race, however, a fall at Riccarton on Saturday ruled out original rider Matthew Gillies. Kuru was already flying to Melbourne to ride in the meeting and last season’s premiership winning jumps jockey was only too happy to oblige when asked t... View the full article

Tracy Farmer's Perfect Alibi took advantage of a seam between horses in the stretch of the $200,000 Adirondack Stakes (G2) for 2-year-old fillies at Saratoga Race Course to score her first stakes win in just her third start. View the full article

Lambrusco winning at Te Rapa on Saturday. Samantha Logan was hoping to have the jumps firepower in her small team back up to four after Saturday’s Te Rapa meeting, but Lambrusco had other ideas. The Cambridge trainer started the winter off with four jumpers, but Ngatira Gold was then sidelined for the jumps season through an injury, leaving her with Zamora, Lacustre and Henry Tudor. The plan was for Lambrusco to take up Ngatira Gold’s spot as a jumps contender after he showed some talent over fences with a third in an open hurdle trial at Cambridge on July 1. Logan used a rating 65 2200m at Avondale nine days later to keep Lambrusco’s fitness up to the mark and he cruised home by six lengths. “Aaron (Kuru) schooled him after that and he was thriving,” Logan said. “The plan was to go to Te Aroha on the 14th (August) for a maiden hurdles, but Aaron said it would be probably best to give him another flat run to take the edge off him, so I put him in on Saturday. “Going up to rating 82, I wasn’t expecting much. I thought they’d be too good for him and was just using the run to get him fitter for Te Aroha.” However, Lambrusco, aided by a nice ride from apprentice Ashvin Goindasamy, proved too strong for his better-performed rivals, winning by one and three-quarter lengths. “I guess I’ll have to postpone jumping for him for now,” Logan said. “He’s probably just finally matured and while he’s going so well on the flat I’ll keep him to that. “I suppose we could aim him for the extreme raceday at New Plymouth (September 28) and run him in the 3210m race, the longest flat race in the country. I know he’ll have no problem with the distance.” Logan has a share in Lambrusco and also Lacustre, who was third to Max and Perry Mason in the McGregor Grant Steeplechase (4150m) at Ellerslie in early June and just beaten in his next appearance, two starts ago when second to Just Got Home at Te Aroha. With a recent Rotorua flat run under his belt, Lacustre will start next at the Te Aroha meeting in an open steeplechase then head to the Pakuranga Hunt Cup (4190m) at Ellerslie on August 24 with his main goal being the Great Northern Steeplechase (6400m), back at Ellerslie on September 7. “I’m also hoping to get Zamora to the Great Northern Steeplechase,” Logan said. “He’ll go straight into the Pakuranga Hunt Cup next then, all going well, on to the Great Northern. He needs his races spaced.” Sam Logan was all smiles after Lambrusco’s win at Te Rapa on Saturday Trish Dunell Zamora won a restricted open steeplechase at Te Aroha two starts ago before finishing sixth to Gagarin in the Wellington Steeplechase (5500m). “He was tripped up when they came onto the course proper at Trentham,” Logan said. Logan won with both Zamora and Henry Tudor at the Te Aroha meeting on June 23 and the latter returned to the course for a fourth over hurdles before finishing at the tailend in a restricted open steeplechase at Te Rapa. “He’ll go back to Te Aroha in a fortnight and the owners want him to switch back to the hurdles,” Logan said. “If he shows good form he might go on for the Great Northern Hurdle (4190m) at Ellerslie next month.” While Logan has had a good strike rate with four wins and two placings from her 10 starters within the last six weeks, it has certainly not been all plain-sailing for the horsewoman this year. As well as losing Ngatira Gold for the winter, she lost potentially her best galloper, Woodloveit, and stablemates Poker Queen and Le Grazie suffered setbacks. Woodloveto created a favourable impression last season when winning three times and placed twice from just seven starts. He was in the early stages of a comeback after a bone chip operation and had resumed at Pukekohe in February when he broke a leg in trackwork. “It was a spiral fracture and he couldn’t be saved,” Logan said. “Before that Poker Queen won at Tauranga in February, but then had bone chips and had to undergo surgery, putting her out for six months. “Then a couple of months ago Le Grazie tore a ligament the day he won his first start at Hastings. “I had a run of bad luck, but my luck looks to have changed now. I just hope it continues.” View the full article

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After bypassing the first leg of the New York Racing Association's new Turf Trinity series, Leonard Green's A Thread of Blue was back in top form Aug. 4 and led every step of the $1 million Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes at 13-1. View the full article

Samantha Logan was hoping to have the jumps firepower in her small team back up to four after Saturday’s Te Rapa meeting, but Lambrusco had other ideas. The Cambridge trainer started the winter off with four jumpers, but Ngatira Gold was then sidelined for the jumps season through an injury, leaving her with Zamora, Lacustre and Henry Tudor. The plan was for Lambrusco to take up Ngatira Gold’s spot as a jumps contender after he showed some talent over fences with a third in an open hurdle tr... View the full article

Frankie Dettori has continued his Group One spree, steering Advertise to vicotry in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville. Winner of the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last month, the colt was last seen filling the runner-up spot behind the Aidan O'Brien-trained Ten Sovereigns in the July Cup at Newmarket three weeks ago. With the all-conquering Italian on his back once more, Advertise was the 15-8 favourite to get back on the winning trail in France and travelled strongly for much of the six... View the full article

Hardly a secret for this first go, Eight Rings (2, c, Empire Maker–Purely Hot, by Pure Prize) went to the front and never looked back, scoring by open lengths and becoming a TDN Rising Star in the process. Breaking like a shot, the 3-5 shot was prompted through a sharp opening quarter in :21.83, but began to pull ahead following a half in :45.41. In command turning for home, the $520,000 KEESEP yearling lengthened his advantage with every stride, winning by about 10 lengths. Express Train (Union Rags) was second while Shooters Shoot (Competitive Edge) was third. Final time for the 5.5 furlong event was 1:03.68. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $36,600. O-SF Racing; Starlight Racing; Madaket Stables; Frederick Hertrich III; B-WinStar Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. The post Empire Maker Colt Airs at Del Mar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In a rough ‘n tumble run race, Perfect Alibi (2, f, Sky Mesa–No Use Denying, by Maria’s Mon) used her speed to cut her way through the throng and gain her first taste of black-type in Sunday’s GII Adirondack S. The $220,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale graduate settled in between foes early, just behind longshot Integral, who cut out a sharp opening fractions of :22.06 and :45.84. Swung wide for the stretch drive, she was in need of running room, and found it as Just Fly (Justin Phillip) swung in hard, bumping favored Frank’s Rockette (Into Mischief) who was making progress along the inside. With the path in front of her clear, Perfect Alibi scooted clear, but despite feeling the pressure of the poorly-starting Magic Dance (More Than Ready), she was moving best of all late to post the clear victory. Frank’s Rockette was second best with Magic Dance rounding out the show spot. Final time for the 6.5 furlong test was 1:18.39. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $198,488. O-Tracy Farmer; B-Pin Oak Farm (KY); T-Mark Casse. The post Picture ‘Perfect’ in Adirondack appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

For Bob Baffert, McKinzie's victory in the Aug. 3 Whitney Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course was especially satisfying as it demonstrated the 4-year-old's full potential and served as a tribute to his friend, the late racing executive Brad McKinzie. View the full article

Let go at generous odds of 13-1 following a lackluster fourth over the yielding turf in the Penn Mile June 1, A Thread of Blue (3, c, Hard Spun–Enthused, by Seeking the Gold) made all to take Sunday’s $1,000,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational S. Taken immediately to the front, the Kiaran McLaughlin trainee doled out fractions of :23.62 and :48.54 as Flying Scotsman (English Channel) and Social Paranoia (Street Boss) followed at a safe distance, while Favored Digital Age (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) settled in midpack. Still clear turning for home, the $430,000 OBSMAR juvenile purchase had more left in the tank, and when asked late, he offered up another gear to hold off the too-little too-late effort of Digital Age. Final time for the 9.5 furlong contest was 1:52.02. Lifetime Record: 10-5-2-1, $944,290. O-Leonard Green; B-Flaxman Holdings Ltd. (KY); T-Kiaran McLaughlin. The post Regaining the winning ‘Thread’ in Saratoga Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Canadian superstar Pink Lloyd reclaimed his Shepperton Stakes crown to earn his 20th career win for Hall of Fame trainer Robert Tiller Aug. 4 at Woodbine. View the full article

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton Four-time Grade I-winning 4-year-old McKinzie (Street Sense) has always been saddled with high expectations, while 3-year-old Mr. Money (Goldencents) has now achieved millionaire status by grinding out four consecutive Grade III victories. Convincing wins on Saturday gave each horse a divisional foothold, with McKinzie establishing himself as the top two-turn older dirt horse who might finally be getting comfortable with kingpin status, and Mr. Money carving out a niche as the late-blooming sophomore who appears primed to punch above his weight thanks to a confidence-building campaign that has him honed for a shot at better horses and bigger purses. McKinzie got his name in 2017 when owners Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman decided to christen their $170,000 KEESEP colt after the late Brad McKinzie, a longtime friend who had been an executive for Los Alamitos Race Course. They actually came up with this idea in tandem with trainer Bob Baffert while attending Brad McKinzie’s funeral after he died from cancer at age 62. “We didn’t know if we were going to call him ‘Big Brad’ or ‘McKinzie’,” Baffert said. “We thought ‘McKinzie’ has got a stronger name. I think Brad would have preferred ‘McKinzie.’ I actually think he got a little bit faster once we named him.” You knew those connections wouldn’t pay respects to a friend in that manner if they didn’t think the horse had the ability to honor the moniker. Yet while McKinzie achieved ‘TDN Rising Star’ status early on, he had a star-crossed 2018 GI Kentucky Derby prep season, both winning and losing stakes via disqualification, then getting knocked off the Triple Crown trail because of a leg injury. He resurfaced to win the GI Pennsylvania Derby, then was twelfth, beaten 31 lengths, in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. Although that Breeders’ Cup trouncing remains the only race in McKinzie’s 12-race career in which he hasn’t finished first or second, the colt didn’t project a true aura of authority until this May. Racing off a two-month layoff, he lost the Apr. 6 GI Santa Anita H. by a nose bob over a very deep and tiring track. Then he scored in the May 3 GII Alysheba S. at Churchill Downs by seeking the lead, conceding it on the backstretch, then powering home late under a hand drive. McKinzie’s GI Metropolitan H. second on June 8 was a near miss at a one-turn mile (not his best distance) after being blocked and boxed in for most of his Belmont Park stretch run behind sharp winner Mitole (Eskendereya). For Saturday’s GI Whitney S., McKinzie was bet down to .85-1 favoritism in a race that didn’t have a clearly defined pacemaker on paper. McKinzie broke sharply and was allowed to float out to the four path on the clubhouse turn. He emerged from a four-way go to take the initiative entering the backstretch, then jockey Mike Smith, similar to his Alysheba tactics, once again conceded the lead and switched from the inside to the two path to mildly pressure new frontrunner Preservationist (Arch). Smith let the gap expand to two lengths a half-mile out, then edged closer as the cadence quickened into the far turn. At the head of the lane in the Whitney, McKinzie was third from the rail in a five-horse line, but he had built the most momentum and used it to roll home, opening up under his own power with only hand encouragement from Smith to win by 1 3/4 lengths. The preliminary 111 Beyer Speed Figure he earned equates to the second-highest in the nation this year for a two-turn dirt route, behind only by City of Light (Quality Road)’s 112 in the GI Pegasus World Cup. Baffert said he wants to give McKinzie one yet-to-be-determined start before the Breeders’ Cup in November at Santa Anita. Meanwhile, in West Virginia… While McKinzie has an ambitiously high bar to clear to live up to his name, it’s safe to say that the well-spotted Mr. Money is already living up to his. After veering away from the Triple Crown trail earlier this spring, his connections, owner Allied Racing Stable and trainer Bret Calhoun, have judiciously selected a series of Grade III spots, and the colt has won each of them by open lengths while being heavily favored in his last three. Prior to Saturday’s GIII West Virginia Derby win that pushed Mr. Money’s career earnings to $1,074,220, Calhoun told Horse Racing Nation that, “Going to a Grade I and getting your butt kicked is no fun. I’m not saying that would happen, but I just think if you put yourself in a position to win, that’s a lot funner than going up against insurmountable odds sometimes. There’s nothing wrong with running for $500,000 purses and putting that money in the bank. Not to say it’s automatic, but obviously you know you’re going in there as one of the favorites.” The last time he started north of even money, Mr. Money was seen soaring home 5 1/4 lengths in front at Churchill Downs in the GIII Pat Day Mile S. on the first Saturday in May. That win might be perceived by some as a “path of lesser resistance” alternative to the Derby, but for Mr. Money it served as a springboard to his current four-race win streak. Subsequent scores in the June 15 GIII Matt Winn S. and July 13 GIII Indiana Derby both earned Mr. Money respectable Beyer Speed Figures of 99 (the latter while hounded by a loose horse). His stalking, pounce-at-will romp Saturday at Mountaineer Park came back with another preliminary 99 rating, underscoring the colt’s consistency. The GI Pennsylvania Derby Sept. 21 at Parx now looms as Mr. Money’s return to tougher competition. That race is listed as the GI Runhappy Travers S. alternate for DQ’d Kentucky Derby winner Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) if he doesn’t start at Saratoga, and it almost always draws strong support from Baffert’s deep roster of sophomores (he’s won three Pennsylvania Derbies, including the last two runnings). Now the real puzzler… It didn’t take a degree beyond Handicapping 101 to come up with either McKinzie or Mr. Money Saturday. But the true racetrack riddle is this: Why does Mountaineer, year after year, consistently schedule its biggest race of the season to go off in direct conflict with the Whitney, Saratoga’s nationally televised feature that is the obvious focal point of the sport every first Saturday of August? Mountaineer has a solid simulcast following as a night-time track. In what is likely an attempt to boost the on-track experience, West Virginia Derby day gets routinely carded as an afternoon program. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that switch if that’s the intent. But does anyone in track management there know how to consult a post-time schedule so as to maximize the simulcasting revenue from the track’s only $500,000 race? When entries were drawn for Saturday’s races, the Whitney was scheduled for 5:46 p.m.; the West Virginia Derby for 5:35 p.m. That was too close to begin with if Mountaineer intended to vie for the same audience of eyeballs and simulcast dollars. But the conflict became even more accentuated when Mountaineer got backed up by 10 or so minutes during the course of the day. So when it came time to hang up a post time for its feature, the track went with 25 minutes for the West Virginia Derby, mirroring in lockstep the exact same post time for the Whitney. It didn’t matter that Mountaineer ended up holding the horses behind the gate for an extra 120 seconds or so while the Whitney went off promptly on scheduled post time. The West Virginia Derby horses were sent away from the gate just as the Whitney field was in deep stretch, making it impossible for anyone who wanted to devote full attention (and bankroll) to both races. There’s no telling how much in handle this easily preventable conflict keeps costing Mountaineer. Ideally, simulcast race scheduling should follow the law of the high seas: Smaller crafts must yield the right of way to bigger ships. Saratoga is not going to adjust its race schedule to make way for Mountaineer. It’s the responsibility of the smaller vessel to be more nimble and flexible. And it’s not as if this conflict was a one-off, one time event. In 2017, the West Virginia Derby went off at 5:45 p.m., barely one minute ahead of the Whitney. In 2018, the two tracks would have been on a similar collision course, but a lightning storm at Saratoga kept the horses in the paddock prior to the Whitney for an unexpected and extended delay. It shouldn’t require an act of God to for Mountaineer to reap the benefits of a nearly one-hour gap between those two stakes. But apparently, that’s what it takes. The post Similar Trajectory, Different Orbits for McKinzie, Mr. Money appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Benefitting from an initial try at 12 furlongs, Fools Gold turned her second start at 1 ½ miles on the turf into a winning one as she posted a three-quarter-length victory in the $200,000 Fasig-Tipton Waya Stakes (G3T) for fillies and mares. View the full article

Canadian superstar Pink Lloyd reclaimed his Shepperton Stakes crown to earn his 20th career win for Hall of Fame trainer Robert Tiller Aug. 4 at Woodbine. View the full article

Fox Hill Farms' Omaha Beach turned in a bullet five-furlong work Aug. 4 at Del Mar as the scratched Kentucky Derby (G1) morning-line favorite continued preparations toward his first race back after throat surgery. View the full article

World of Trouble visited the track Aug. 4 as he continues to recover from a bruised foot that forced trainer Jason Servis to scratch the multiple grade 1 winner from Saratoga Race Course's Troy Stakes (G3T) the day before. View the full article

3rd-Ellis, $50,036, Msw, 8-4, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:05.12, ft. JUGGERNAUT (c, 2, Goldencents–Hashtag Stormy, by Stormy Atlantic) had been working at Santa Anita through mid-July, but prepped for this with a :49 flat move at Churchill July 27. Ignored at 25-1 for a typically patient barn, he was looking to become the second Keith Desormeaux-trained and James Graham-ridden 2-year-old graduate on the card after second timer Automate (New Year’s Day) pulled off his own 20-1 upset in the opener. Scrubbed on from a wide draw to make the lead, the bay emerged from the pack to open several lengths on his competition through a :22.23 opening quarter. Able to get a bit of a breather from there through a :45.63 half, he continued on in the lane to air by 6 1/4 lengths. Dean Martini (Cairo Prince), representing another predominantly California-based trainer in Peter Miller, completed the $383 one-dollar exacta at 24-1. The Desormeaux/favorite/Desormeaux pick three returned $2035.80 for a buck. Juggernaut has a yearling half-sister by these connections’ MGISW Exaggerator (Curlin). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $30,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart. O-Big Chief Racing, LLC & Rocker O Ranch, LLC; B-Big Chief Racing (KY); T-J. Keith Desormeaux. The post Goldencents Colt Cruises to Upset Unveiling at Ellis appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article