Wandering Eyes

Chopin getting tuned back up for return View the full article

Updates on stewards' follow-ups to Friday and Sunday meeting View the full article

Last Draft maintained his perfect record with a first group score in the G3 Keiei Hai at Nakayama on Monday. Tracking leader Catedral (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) to his inside from the bell, the 5-1 shot kept tabs on that foe for most of the backstretch run. He challenged 650 metres from the line and Run for the Roses made it a line of three on the far turn. As Catedral faded, Christophe Lemaire asked the first foal of G1 Oka Sho heroine Marcellina, and Last Draft opened up by about two lengths in the stretch. Despite the persistent presence of Run for the Roses, the winning margin was 1 1/4 lengths. Hindu Times was a neck back in third, 1 1/4 lengths to the good of the favoured Secret Run (Jpn) (Dunkirk). A winner on debut going 1800 metres at Tokyo on Nov. 25, Last Draft is the first black-type and group winner for four-time Group 1 winner Novellist (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}). His dam is out of Italian highweight and G1 Prix d’Astarte heroine Marbye (Ire) (Marju {Ire}), herself also responsible for Japanese MGSW and G1SP Grandezza (Jpn) (Agnes Tachyon {Jpn}). Monday, Nakayama, Japan KEISEI HAI-G3, ¥72,610,000 (US$671,048/£520,598/€584,819), Nakayama, 1-14, 3yo, 2000mT, 2:01.20, fm. 1—LAST DRAFT (JPN), 123, c, 3, Novellist (Ire) 1st Dam: Marcellina (Jpn) (G1SW-Jpn, $3,172,700), by Deep Impact (Jpn) 2nd Dam: Marbye (Ire), by Marju (Ire) 3rd Dam: Hambye (GB), by Distant Relative (Ire) 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Shadai Race Horse; B-Shadai Farm (Jpn); T-Hirofumi Toda; J- Christophe Lemaire. ¥38,427,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. *1st SW & 1st GSW for his sire (by Monsun {Ger}). Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Run for the Roses (Jpn), 123, c, 3, King Kamehameha (Jpn)– Last Groove (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). (¥125,000,000 Ylg ’17 JRHAJUL). O-Yoshiro Kubota; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥15,122,000. 3–Hindu Times (Jpn), 123, c, 3, Harbinger (GB)–Mahabharata (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥9,561,000. Margins: 1 1/4, NK, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.10, 2.70, 22.60. Also Ran: Secret Run (Jpn), Regal Mane (Jpn), Naimama (Jpn), Madre Voice (Jpn), Crystal Barows (Jpn), Kafuji Jupiter (Jpn), Keiser’s Kroon (Jpn), Catedral (Jpn), Danon Luster (Jpn). Click for the Racing Post chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA Video. View the full article

Frontiersman (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}-Ouija Board {GB}, by Cape Cross {Ire}), a half-brother to G1 Investec Derby hero Australia (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), has been retired to Overbury Stud in England, the stud announced on Monday. The Listed Godolphin S. hero will cover both Flat and National Hunt mares and his fee is available upon request. Interested breeders may inspect him during the TBA Stallion Showcase at Goffs UK on Jan. 22. Bred by Lord Derby’s Stanley Estate and Stud Company, the dark bay was purchased privately by Godolphin as a yearling, but an eye injury kept him front the racecourse until his 3-year-old year. Sent to trainer Charlie Appleby, the colt was a dual winner at three. Frontiersman saved his best for his 4-year-old season, finishing a good second to Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in Epsom’s G1 Coronation Cup S. in 2017, as well as runner-up in the G2 Princess of Wales’s S. and third in the G3 Geoffrey Freer S. He saluted in the Godolphin S. at Newbury and in 2018 also placed second in the G2 Dubai City Of Gold at Meydan. He retires with a record of 16-4-3-3 and $349,300 in earnings. The fifth foal out of two-time European Horse of the Year Ouija Board, who won seven Group 1 races, Frontiersman is also a half-brother to Australian Group 3 winner Voodoo Prince (GB) (Kingmambo). His second dam is a full-sister to GI Arlington Million hero Teleprompter (GB) (Welsh Pageant {Fr}) and this is the same family as German/Italian champion Ibn Bey (GB) (Mill Reef), G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Roseate Tern (GB) (Blakeney {GB}) and G1 Meon Valley Stud Fillies’ Mile victress Red Bloom (GB) (Selkirk). “Frontiersman was a favourite at Godolphin, possessing great speed and a wonderful temperament,” said trainer Charlie Appleby. “He was quite capable of competing with the best and his second in the Coronation Cup came in a very fast time.” Added Overbury Stud Manager Simon Sweeting, “He’s an intriguing stallion prospect–he’s well-made and very eye-catching, plenty talented enough and with that amazing pedigree. I’m looking forward to showing him to breeders at Goffs. The history books say that a stallion this well-bred doesn’t have to be a Group 1 winner to excel at stud: Kodiac (GB) and Fairy King spring to mind, and Dubawi himself is out of a mare by Deploy (GB): like Frontiersman, he was a Group 1 runner-up who was a half-brother to a Derby winner out of a great racemare.” {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"Simon Sweeting of Overbury Stud discusses Frontiersman (GB)","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/311306468.sd.mp4?s=bcd90d62845d54a7865c4aabd94c72ef0f1ae1d0&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} View the full article

The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association will hold a one-session January Mixed Sale Wednesday at the Hinds Pavilion at Fairplex in Pomona. A total of 154 horses have been catalogued for the auction, which will begin at noon. The catalogue features a large number of newly turned 2-year-olds, as well as short yearlings and broodmares. To view the complete catalogue, visit www.ctba.com. The CTBA sale is taking the place of the previous January auction held by Barretts and is designed to bridge the gap between that now-defunct sales company and Fasig-Tipton. Fasig-Tipton will host its first Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale June 5. At its final January sale last year, Barretts sold 112 horses for a total of $1,226,400. The average was $10,950 and the median was $5,750. A 2-year-old colt by Quality Road brought the auction’s highest price of $120,000. View the full article

Comparing turf racing in the U.S. to the European variety isn’t always straightforward. Whereas Europeans horses occasionally have to plough through very soft ground in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy, their American counterparts rarely tackle such conditions, with racecourses opting to switch races to their dirt tracks when the going becomes deep. When graded stakes are switched from turf to dirt, they are automatically moved down a grade, but there is an option for the original grading to be restored if the form is considered worthy. Consequently, the GIII Las Cienegas S. became just a listed race–at least temporarily–when it was switched to Santa Anita’s main track three days ago. No fewer than five of the nine entrants were scratched but the connections of the ex-British mare Belvoir Bay were happy to let her take her chance. Although 21 of her previous 22 appearances had been on turf, her one start on dirt had resulted in victory in the GIII Torrey Pines S. at Del Mar in 2016. Belvoir Bay duly kept her unbeaten record on dirt, defeating the five-time dirt winner Lady Suebee. In the process, the daughter of Equiano boosted her career totals to 10 wins from 23 starts and her earnings to more than $640,000–a figure not too different from the $625,000 it had cost owner Gary Barber to buy out co-owner Team Valor at Fasig-Tipton last November. Needless to say, Belvoir Bay’s current value is far removed from the 20,000gns she cost as a yearling, before winning at Windsor and Goodwood and going very close to being placed at Group 3 level for Richard Hannon. Spare a thought for her sire Equiano, the Newsells Park stallion who is now in the difficult position of being in competition in the Newmarket area with two other Group 1-winning sons of Acclamation, a stallion best known as the sire of Dark Angel. Aclaim arrived at the National Stud after winning the G1 Prix de la Foret in 2017 and reportedly covered 160 mares at a fee of £12,500 last year. While Equiano was far from friendless, his 2018 book amounted to 93 mares at £8,000. Now both are up against Expert Eye, the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile winner, who has been much in demand since his retirement to Banstead Manor at a fee of £20,000. Aclaim and Equiano have both had their fees reduced, Aclaim to £9,500 and Equiano to £6,000. Equiano surely represents value at that price–the lowest charged for his services during his nine-year stallion career. That’s a modest price for a stallion whose first crop contained three group winners, headed by The Tin Man, a Group 1 winner of the Diamond Jubilee, British Champions Sprint and 32Red Sprint Cup, and the Group 3 winner Strath Burn, a short-head second in the G1 Betfred Sprint Cup. Equiano’s second crop has also done very well at group/graded level, with American successes from Belvoir Bay (GII Monrovia S., etc) and Baciami Piccola (GIII Florida Oaks) and French successes from Fly On The Night (G3 Prix du Bois) and Lady Macapa (G3 Prix du Petit Couvert). Crop number three boosted Equiano’s total of group/graded winners to eight, thanks to Medicine Jack’s victory in the G2 Railway S. While crops number four and five haven’t so far been able to follow suit, it must be remembered that the fifth crop-3- year-olds this year–numbers only 54 foals and there are only 70 foals in this year’s yearling crop. It is worth adding that speed has been the main feature of Equiano’s group performers, the only two to have won over a distance as long as a mile being the American-raced fillies Belvoir Bay and Baciami Piccola. Equiano himself was a sprinter, pure and simple, although not as a 2-year-old when he was trained in Spain. Despite his victories over 6 1/2 and seven furlongs at two, he never tackled more than six furlongs in subsequent years, While his finest hours came over five, when he landed the G1 King’s Stand S. in 2008 and 2010, there wasn’t much wrong with his effort in the G1 July Cup of 2010, when he failed by only a neck to hold off Starspangledbanner. Belvoir Bay’s excellent career is another tribute to her breeder, Mrs. Lennie Peacock, who died last year at the age of 97. Her Manor House Stud produced a string of notable performers, including the 2000 Guineas winner Tirol and the top Australian sprinter Redkirk Warrior. However, the one which most relates to Belvoir Bay is Bold Arrangement, a brother to Belvoir Bay’s second dam, Persian Song. Bold Arrangement’s trainer Clive Brittain exploited the colt’s toughness, asking him to race nine times as a 2-year-old. Bold Arrangement won four of them, including the Solario S., and was narrowly beaten in the G2 Grand Criterium. Bold Arrangement then had the unusual record of having contested both the Kentucky Derby and the Epsom Derby, putting up his better effort at Churchill Downs, where he finished second to Ferdinand, with Broad Brush in third. It therefore isn’t so surprising that Belvoir Bay has had no problems on her rare appearances on dirt. Persian Song showed little of her brother’s talent, but made amends by producing Please Sing, winner of the G2 Cherry Hinton S. It was this filly who no doubt provided the motivation for sending Belvoir Bay’s dam Path of Peace to Equiano, who is a grandson of Please Sing’s sire Royal Applause. Belvoir Bay ranks alongside the listed winner Alicante Dawn as one of two black-type winners among the first seven starters sired by Equiano from daughters of the top-class miler Rock of Gibraltar. Now 20, Rock of Gibraltar is also the broodmare sire of Galileo’s Group 1 winners Photo Call and Line of Duty. The latter landed the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf to become one of three 2018 2-year-old group winners with a dam by Rock of Gibraltar, so Rock of Gibraltar looks well placed to add to his status as a talented broodmare sire. View the full article

After closing 2018 with an upset win in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2), Liora will try to build on that front-running score when she faces an expected six other 3-year-old fillies in the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes Jan. 19 at Fair Grounds. View the full article

The catalogue for the two-day Tattersalls February Sale is now available online. A total of 464 lots-consisting of 176 fillies in/out of training, 41 broodmares, 174 colts/gelding in/out of training, 53 yearlings and 20 2-year-olds-will go under the hammer at Park Paddocks in Newmarket on Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The February Sale will start immediately after the TBA Stallion Parade, which begins at 11 a.m. on Jan. 31 and selling commences at 10 a.m. on Feb. 1. Large consignments from Godolphin, Juddmonte and Shadwell feature, with 59 lots split between the trio. Godolphin fields the largest draft, with 43 lots, and it is 2017 Royal Ascot hero Atty Perse (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) (lot 375) and listed winner Ambassadorial (Elusive Quality) (lot 315), who anchor the consignment. Other lots of note including 2018 Italian 1000 Guineas heroine Act of War (Ity) (Mujahid) (lot 160) from Marco Botti’s Prestige Place; SW and Classic placed Sladina (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) (lot 148) hails from The Castlebridge Consignment; while East Everleigh Stables’ Graceful (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) (lot 398), Northeast Moon (Ire) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) (lot 46) from Barton Stud, and Lower Coombe Stables’ Queen of Paris (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) (lot 415)-all half-sisters to G1SWs Gilt Edge Girl (GB) (Monsieur Bond {Ire}), Prince Bishop (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Dariana (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), respectively, also feature. Baroda and Colbinstown Studs offer the group-producing mare Kalandara (Ire) (Rainbow Quest) as lot 69 in foal to Lope de Vega (Ire), as well as lot 68, Art of Dance (GB) (Medicean {GB}) carrying to first-crop champion sire No Nay Never; and The National Stud has Hestia (Fr) (High Chaparral {Ire}) (lot 66), also in foal to the Coolmore sire. “The Tattersalls February Sale goes from strength to strength and this year’s catalogue has plenty of quality,” said Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony. “The dam of last year’s Oaks winner Forever Together is a fine example of the outstanding quality to be found at the Tattersalls February Sale and there is no shortage of high-class breeding stock in this year’s catalogue, as well as horses in training, 2-year-olds and yearlings to appeal to the usual diverse mix of domestic and international buyers who have made the Tattersalls February Sale Europe’s premier midwinter fixture.” View the full article

Fifteen 3-year-olds (one also-eligible) have been entered in the Lecomte, which is the first Road to the Kentucky Derby points race at Fair Grounds this season, awarding points to the top four finishers on a points scale of 10-4-2-1. View the full article

A total of 28 stallion farms opened their doors for the fifth annual Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Irish Stallion Trail on Jan. 11-12, with record attendance reported, Horse Racing Ireland announced on Monday. Breeders, racing professionals and racing fans attended the two-day event, with over 2,500 individual registrations recorded via the ITM website. “The ITM Irish Stallion Trail has become an annual pilgrimage for breeders and racing fans,” said ITM Marketing Executive Alex Cairns. “There was great momentum behind the event in 2019 and the positive feedback we have received has been a huge source of satisfaction. ITM would like to thank all breeders, racing professionals, media, and fans who joined the ITM Irish Stallion Trail in 2019. We also owe a huge debt of gratitude to the 28 farms that so generously opened their doors to showcase Irish thoroughbred breeding. Plans for 2020 are already underway.” View the full article

In this new series we ask agents and others who book a lot of mares for their clients which sires might be flying slightly under the radar in this breeding season. Who might be getting overlooked in the rush for the new, hot thing? Read on. John Greathouse, III LOOKIN AT LUCKY, Ashford Stud, $20,000 I love Lookin At Lucky. Although I’m not really sure he should be under the radar any more after having the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner in Accelerate. Not too many stallions in Kentucky have sired, or will ever sire, a horse like that. I think first and foremost, he’s able to produce a nice horse. Every time you look up, one of his progeny is running in a top race, and in the end that’s what we are all trying to produce. They typically age well and stay sound. If you bring a pretty one to the market, you’ll get rewarded. People are starting to look at his results on the track and realizing he’s great value. If you’re trying to get a young mare off to a good start and produce a racehorse, I think he’s a great option. Stallions like Lookin At Lucky, Munnings, and Mineshaft, are all great for mares like this. We have supported him over the years and will be sending two more this year. He’s extremely good value at $20,000. View the full article

Matthew Phillips has been named the winner of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and EquiLottery Games #JustifyandI selfie promotion. Phillips, of Gentryville, Indiana, earned a free trip for two to Miami for the Eclipse Award Ceremony. Phillips’s winning submission was snapped in the aftermath of Justify’s stirring 2 1/2-length victory in the GI Kentucky Derby over a rain-soaked Churchill Downs track last May. “We are thrilled the winner of this contest is a horse racing fan who clearly follows the sport,” said EquiLottery Games CEO Brad Cummings. “Our goals with Kentucky’s Win Place Show, as it pertains to horse racing, are to expand the fan base and increase racetrack and purse revenue. If we can create more fans like Mr. Phillips with our mainstream lottery game approach, we will realize these goals.” View the full article

Microchipping is quickly becoming the global industry standard for equine identification, especially those being used for competition purposes. The FEI (the International Equestrian Federation–the international governing body of equestrian sports) began integrating microchips into the registration and identification process of horses competing internationally in 2013, and countries such as Australia, Germany, France, Great Britain, Ireland and New Zealand have been using microchips in Thoroughbreds for years. This past year the U. S. Equestrian Federation and U. S. Hunter Jumper Association began requiring horses be microchipped in order to compete in sanctioned competitions beginning Dec. 1, 2018. It was in 2017 that The Jockey Club began requiring microchipping and digital registration of Thoroughbreds in the U. S., and that crop will begin racing later this year. Following suit, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB) announced this past December that in 2020 any Thoroughbred making its first lifetime start will require a digital tattoo in order to race as traditional lip tattoos are phased out. The digital tattoo is a digital certification of a horse’s identity that is accessible through The Jockey Club. To receive a digital tattoo, a horse will have its microchip scanned by a TRPB technician, who will authenticate the horse’s identity through comparing the foal photos and markings on file to a visual inspection. Once the horse’s identity is confirmed, the technician will take and upload updated photos of the horse to the breed registry. “We had some concerns that solely depending on microchipping might not be as robust as the current system with the lip tattoos,” said J. Curtis Linnell, Executive VP of the TRPB. “We took a look at what was being done internationally, and we also looked at the downsides of tattoos. They can get harder to read as they get older, they can be difficult to read prior to race time. We have so many more tools in the modern age that make things easier and more reliable for all involved.” Digital tattoos can also aid in biosecurity practices and the prevention of disease spread, as the horse identifier will no longer be required to come in contact with each horse’s saliva in order to identify all horses in a race. While using microchips for registration and identification purposes will streamline many processes and provide many benefits to horsemen, officials, horses and even the racing public, in an industry spanning multiple generations, economic levels and digital savviness, adoption of new, more modern technology by some may be slow and met with some resistance. Dr. Bart Barber, DVM, a shareholder with Rood and Riddle, says the benefits of microchipping versus traditional registration paperwork and tattooing are many. “This is a superior technology for identifying horses,” said Barber. “Tattoos can fade or become difficult to read over time and verifying markings is not failsafe. Horses in the paddock on race day can be fractious and resistant to having their tattoo read, which can put them and others around them at risk. From the farm to the auctions to the races, this provides a permeant, dependable, easy way to identify horses, and I think over the years we’ll have advances in the technology of the chip and how people use the information.” The microchip, which is similar to a grain of rice in size, is implanted into the nuchal ligament in the middle third of a horse’s neck on the left side and will last the duration of the horse’s life. It is recommended that the microchip be implanted by a licensed veterinarian. It should be implanted at the same time the DNA hair sample is collected and photos are taken for registration. Microchips have been used for years in small animals, and one of the most common issues that arises is the migration of the microchip from the implant site to other parts of the body. “This is a real issue and it has happened in some cases,” said Barber. “There are different brands of chips now that are addressing that issue and putting features on the microchip that prevent them from migrating. We are in a new generation of chips that very rarely migrate.” Andrew Chesser, Manager of Registration Services agrees that issues involving the malfunction of microchips are rare and that such concerns are far outweighed by the safety and integrity benefits of using digital technology for Thoroughbred identification. “We anticipate the transition from lip tattoos to verification of a microchip number will modernize the identification process, minimize the risk of disease and open up additional resources to support identification of Thoroughbreds, such as review of photographs,” said Chesser. “Over time, it’s reasonable to assume that owners, breeders and industry participants will adjust accordingly to realize these benefits.” View the full article

Darby Dan Farm has donated seasons to Shackleford, Tale of Ekati, Bee Jersey and Sky Kingdom to the Jockeys and Jeans Stallion Season Sale, adding to an already packed list of stallion seasons on offer. Hosted by Starquine.com, the sale will be held Jan. 16-18 and 100% of all funds raised will go to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. The PDJF is a 501 c 3 non-profit which makes monthly payments to over 60 former jockeys who suffered catastrophic, career ending injuries. View the full article

For breeders, hope springs eternal, and at Coolmore spring appears to be springing early. Less than halfway into January the snowdrops are already nodding their optimistic heads while the daffodil bulbs appear to be eager to join in. Meanwhile in the deluxe stables there are new blooms of a different kind to be found, as top-class gallopers of recent years are now the budding stallions of tomorrow. Before we address the recent intake at the most famous of Ireland’s stud farms, due praise must be given to Coolmore’s hardiest of perennials, Galileo (Ire), seemingly in rude health at 21 and standing at the farm which has been his home since 2002 alongside five of his sons—Australia (GB), Churchill (Ire), Gleneagles (Ire), Highland Reel (Ire) and The Gurkha (Ire)—while nearby at Castlehyde Stud stand Gustav Klimt (Ire) and Ruler Of The World (Ire). Furthermore, Order Of St George (Ire), Sans Frontieres (Ire) and Soldier Of Fortune (Ire) can be found on Coolmore’s National Hunt roster. “We’re drilling for oil,” says Coolmore’s Director of Sales David O’Loughlin as he ponders the quest for the youngblood who will eventually wrest the baton from his father. Despite the fact that 14 of Galileo’s sons have already sired a Group 1 winner, it seems hard to imagine that even one of them will go on to match his own formidable record, but then it also seemed unlikely that Sadler’s Wells’s towering career would ever be surpassed. However, in October 2018, son usurped father when Galileo, now a nine-time champion sire, was represented by his 74th Group/Grade 1 winner, Magical (Ire). “Coolmore is involved on three continents, we’ve got an interest in America, Australia, and Europe,” says O’Loughlin. “The world has got much smaller, there’s so much more international racing, and that’s all reflected in our roster. But most of them come back to Galileo in some shape or form—the Galileo mares, the sons of Galileo. “Many of the stallions were bred here in Coolmore, so we’ve a lot of faith in these horses. They’ve come through our farms, comes through the best of our bloodlines, they’re sirelines we can all believe in. Sire families, top-class racing families that produce lots of Group 1 horses.” Among the new intake on the Flat roster this year, Gustav Klimt is the sole son of Galileo, but U S Navy Flag represents the increasingly successful cross of Claiborne’s War Front with mares by Galileo, while Saxon Warrior (Jpn) is a result of the broader international search for other lines to use with daughters of the champion, and is by Japan’s leading sire, Deep Impact (Jpn). Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy) is the only newcomer free of Galileo blood as the dual-hemisphere Group 1 winner Merchant Navy (Aus) has not joined his sire Fastnet Rock (Aus) on the shuttle north this season. Through his exotic sireline and familiar female family, it is Saxon Warrior who perhaps best represents the vision of Coolmore’s founding fathers John Magnier, Robert Sangster and Vincent O’Brien, with a number of his forebears having played their parts in the early years of the breeding empire. It is a family rippled with Classic distinction: his fourth dam Rose Of Jericho (Alleged) produced Derby winner Dr Devious (Ire) (Ahonoora {GB}), while third dam Rain Flower (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) is the dam of Oaks winner Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}). Dancing Rain’s half-sister Sumora (Ire) (Danehill) proved an altogether speedier and more precocious package. Bred by Sangster with King Bloodstock, the listed-winning sprinter returned to the fold in 2011, when MV Magnier bought her from Croom House Stud for 2.4 million gns at the end of the year in which her daughter Maybe (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) had sailed through an unbeaten juvenile season, culminating in victory in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. Maybe went on to run third to Homecoming Queen (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) in the 1000 Guineas but that she never returned to her imperious best is of no consequence now that she has produced an unbeaten champion 2-year-old who became a 2000 Guineas winner. O’Loughlin says, “Saxon Warrior was never beaten at a mile. He’s got such a great pedigree. He’s by Deep Impact, one of the best stallions in the world. He’s out of a Galileo mare who was a champion 2-year-old herself. It’s a great sire-producing family and an international family. The commercial world in particular at the moment is all about the international horse. The international buyers, they are the mainstays, the most important people at the sales.” During the year in which Maybe was notching her string of five juvenile wins, the year-older Misty For Me (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), already a dual Group 1 winner at two, added the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Pretty Polly S., to her list of achievements. Extra glory was to come in her follow-up career with her second foal Roly Poly (War Front) landing three Group 1 wins, a feat matched by her full-brother U S Navy Flag. In an age in which speed and precocity are such requisites for the commercial market, it’s hard to see how this compact son of War Front will not be given every chance to succeed. “He was a very quick horse,” says O’Loughlin of U S Navy Flag. “The first horse since Diesis to do the Middle Park and Dewhurst double, and he had the class to go on and win the July Cup at three. His dam was one of the best Galileo fillies Aidan [O’Brien] ever had. She has already bred a Group 1 winner by War Front in Roly Poly, and it’s the family of Fasliyev, one of the first champion 2-year-olds Aidan trained, so it’s a very fast family. Again it’s a family we have a lot of faith in. He’s a very tough horse, very genuine, as was his dam, as was his sister. So I think you have all the qualities there: speed, soundness, class.” That Galileo has been an equally successful producer of top-class colts and fillies creates its own problem in finding outcrosses for his daughters in the broodmare band but this is being alleviated to a degree by the stallion whose name has never been far from the bloodstock news in recent years despite the fact that he died in December 2015. Scat Daddy was not perhaps fully appreciated during his eight-year tenure at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud, but posthumously his legacy is gathering pace. In Kentucky, he is succeeded at Ashford by last year’s Triple Crown winner Justify as well as Mendelssohn, while Coolmore’s Irish division appears, at this nascent stage of his stud career, to have an exciting heir in No Nay Never. The Scat Daddy line is reinforced in Ireland by Caravaggio, whose first foals are expected imminently, and the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. winner Sioux Nation. “I think it’s going to be a big part of the future for us now that we have so many of these good racemares by Galileo and we’ve covered them with War Front, we’ve covered them with Deep Impact, and we’re also trying Dubawi (Ire),” notes O’Loughlin. “What’s very exciting for us as well is that we now have a horse like No Nay Never and the other good Scat Daddys, and they are going to be made for the Galileo mares, too. So we’ve lots of options. Galileo has been working with so many lines, particularly the Danzig line, but there are so many options out there. He’s becoming tremendously influential as a broodmare sire.” He continues, “We had Scat Daddy’s sire, Johannesburg, who was trained out of Ballydoyle. They all compliment each other: with a horse like Churchill (Ire), who’s Galileo over Storm Cat, and Misty For Me is Galileo over Storm Cat, it’s very encouraging for the Scat Daddy over Galileo [cross]. It gives us great hope for Gleneagles (Ire), another son of Galileo who’s out of a Storm Cat mare, who has his first runners this year.” A year ahead of Gleneagles are two of his paternal half-brothers who delivered the Coolmore partners that most cherished prize on the first Saturday of June in consecutive years. The Derby winners Ruler Of The World and Australia (GB) each made a notable start with their first 2-year-olds last season, the latter with far greater ammunition, and hopes will be high that their early stakes winners will progress as would be expected of their parentage. Gleneagles, so physically reminiscent of his sire and who achieved what to stallion masters must be the holy trinity of ‘stallion-making’ races when romping from the English Guineas to Irish Guineas to St James’s Palace S., is the next to be tested. He has his own rather charming foible in that he dislikes wearing rugs, so breeders viewing him this winter will find him woollier than his stud mates, but he already oozes that calm poise so well mastered by his sire and grandsire before him. It’s as if he’s already become accustomed to being admired by onlookers, and for a horse of his pedigree, with its abundant sprinkling of Group 1 winners and his close relationship to Giant’s Causeway, that is perhaps no surprise. After Highland Reel (Ire) last year, who has been well supported at Coolmore as well as at Adam Sangster’s Swettenham Stud in Australia, the latest of Galileo’s sons to join the fray is Gustav Klimt. Against some of those aforementioned luminaries, he could be found wanting on race record—the G2 Superlative S. at Newmarket was the pinnacle of his success but he was third in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and was only half a length behind Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) when second in the G1 St James’s Palace S. Gustav Klimt’s neat stature may also be held against him by some, though we don’t have to look too far beyond even his own sireline to remind ourselves that when it comes to stallions, size isn’t everything. What this small horse with a big walk does have going for him in bundles is his pedigree, as O’Loughlin explains. “He’s out of Massarra (GB), who’s a full sister to Kodiac (GB) and a half sister to Invincible Spirit (Ire). I know a lot of Irish breeders who made a lot of money along the way out of Kodiac and Invincible Spirit, and they are horses who upgrade their mares. This is a great chance to get in at a lower level, particularly in these tougher times, to breed to a horse with such a pedigree, who had the ability to be placed in the Guineas, the Sprint Cup, most of the good races through the year, and he was a Group 2 winner as a 2-year-old. He was a much better racehorse at two than Kodiac or Invincible Spirit. But to have that racing ability, the really good looks, and that pedigree backing him up, he has a great chance.” To have sons of Galileo, War Front, Scat Daddy and Deep Impact retiring together in one year may on one hand reflect the increasing internationalisation of the bloodstock business, but they also trace back to those glory days in North America, particularly in Kentucky, which both inspired the launch of Coolmore and in turn were boosted by the big-spending triumvirate of Magnier, O’Brien and Sangster. The blending of bloodlines on different continents is nothing new, but it is a practice which is being quite forcefully reinvigorated of late. O’Loughlin says, “There are Australians breeding in Europe, there are Europeans breeding in Australia, the Americans are back in Europe, selling and buying—there was a very strong presence at Book 1 last year from all over the world, but particularly from America. To reiterate, it’s a small world, but the bloodlines traditionally have intermingled, and that’s what breeding is all about, the international mix.” View the full article

He wasn’t just any horse. In 2010, he finished midfield in the GI Kentucky Derby. To those who have taken American Lion in hand now, however, that’s the whole point: no horse is just any horse. Because they believe every retired Thoroughbred needs treating like a champion. Each one is bred on the same premise: in the hope that they, too, can become graded stakes winners and maybe even go to stud, as did this son of Tiznow at Darby Dan seven years ago. But it’s not as though a horse can ever let us down. It was our idea, and the consequences–for richer, for poorer–are our responsibility. All that said, the niche American Lion carved in public attention during his racing days qualifies him as something of a beacon to help light the racing community’s path out of the aftercare darkness. Moreover, the relative class that set him apart from the herd, in his first career, is also serving him well in his moment of redemption. It is barely two months since American Lion was fighting for his life in a Lexington clinic. After leaving Darby Dan, he had served a stint in Oklahoma but had entered Four Star’s consignment for the Keeneland November Sale when falling sick. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"American Lion in His New Career","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/310951738.sd.mp4?s=9988b88cdae56f1d4e08fe4cd59d1d3ee34fb43f&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/309965206.sd.mp4?s=6d8e03a79bc2384fde9aad3bdc40a32dd024b555&profile_id=165","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} “He came in with a little bit of a temperature, which is not unusual for horses shipping a distance, but very soon he was going downhill very rapidly,” recalls Tony Lacy of Four Star. “We called Hagyard [Equine Medical Institute], and Luke Fallon and his staff came out. The horse had severe pneumonia, with some really significant side-effects. We knew, at that point, we had to get the horse into the hospital. He was very ill, very quickly. The conversation was no longer will the horse be able to return to the sale. It was basically will he make it?” Since entering their barn, however, American Lion had so enchanted the Four Star team that Lacy and Kerry Cauthen assured his vendor that he need not worry about the accumulating bills. “You could see that the horse was really looking for help,” Lacy says. “It’s sort of weird to say it like that, but he was just reaching out. All our staff at the barn were really concerned about him. You could see the kindness in the horse’s eye, could see that he was a gentleman. So this became a team effort from all the crew. Hagyard rallied round as well: Dr. Barry David, who was taking care of him, was very supportive; Luke also. It became a group mission.” Happily, American Lion was brought back from the brink. WinStar took him aboard for his recuperation, and Lacy emphasizes his debt to the work of Natanya Nieman and her team there. But the question was: what next? As he has previously been owned by a major supporter of Old Friends, in Bill Casner, it was made plain that there would ultimately be a home for the horse there, if required. But he was still so sprightly, at 12, so full of vigor and character. Surely there was still scope for a new lease of life? Lacy, who sits on the board of New Vocations, contacted the retraining facility’s manager Anna Ford. “For such a cool horse, we thought it a perfect scenario,” he says. “A way of giving him a chance to flourish at something different.” American Lion was gelded just before Christmas and it was remarkable, last week, to watch him jog around the indoor school, snorting cheerfully as he obediently switched directions or stepped over a pole with insouciance. “First day he walks in our barn, you could just see the class all over,” Ford says. “Working with him under saddle is exactly what we see when we get a horse that’s very well bred and has a great race record. Horses able to make it to that top level, they have a little bit of a different mind. And a lot of them obviously have been handled very well throughout their lifetime.” It helped that he had been ridden off-season through his time at Darby Dan. As a result, there was no traumatic confusion that he was rolling back the clock nine years, to his training days. Ford says that within three or four mornings under tack he was more tuned into the regime than many recruits more or less straight from the track. Nonetheless, in posting him for adoption New Vocations will be applying all their usual rigour to the screening process. He will require fairly seasoned management, in terms of monitoring his reaction to females and so on. On the other hand, Ford notes that stallions are generally less difficult to retrain than broodmares who have renewed feral habits in paddock life. (She says that often broodmares will throw themselves to the ground the moment they are tacked up. As such, some of those farms discarding ageing mares on late covers at last week’s sale must find room in their consciences–and, you would like to think, on their own land–for the knowledge that there is no retirement program for broodmares.) Even so, a stallion will always be a special case. Ford says that their responses are too individual to permit any guarantees. Last year, however, New Vocations had success with Grade II winner Overdriven (Tale Of The Cat), since adopted as a showhorse. And American Lion’s behaviour hitherto has been most auspicious, bonding affectionately with the farm’s resident “babysitting” gelding Ranger, who is very much built to teach manners in the paddock. Nonetheless American Lion remains a pretty uncommon challenge. One of his own foals, after all, is already on a New Vocations program. Yet with his bone and soundness, his balance and size, and above all that exceptionally flexible outlook, Ford envisages him in disciplines such as hunting or eventing or even dressage. “We do feel like he needs to go on and be very productive,” she says. “He acts like a horse that really wants to have a job, not just to sit in a backyard and be trail-ridden. With his movement and style, I would say jumping would be his best suit. Horses of his calibre don’t tend to be easily spooked or worried. To compete at that level, to do all the things they’re asked to do, they have to have confidence. “And the thing that stands out is his awareness of what’s going on, his ability stay calm and cool. He’s like, ‘Just tell me what to do, I’ll do it.’ We haven’t seen him ask: ‘Why do you want me to do this?’ He’s got that nice, easy disposition. Whatever you throw at him, he’s an athlete. It’s like, ‘Yeah, I can do this.’ If he doesn’t know how to do it, you tell him how-and he just picks it up and goes.” His unusual assets as a racehorse, then, have also made American Lion unusually adept at transition. His personality, also, evidently helped inspire the goodwill and generosity of those in whose hands he happened to be, when overtaken by crisis. But the key message is that the moral challenge set by this very special horse is actually a universal one, no less pertinent to Thoroughbreds of less or even zero distinction. “In the industry we gain a good lifestyle and a good livelihood from horses,” Lacy says. “I think it’s our moral duty to get behind them in situations [like this]. Economics is obviously a huge factor, but we felt in our gut we just had to do it. He was just such a cool, kind horse, everybody had an affiliation with him. It’ll be fun to watch him going on to the next level. It’s not fun paying vet bills on a horse you’re going to give away, but it has its own reward: it almost feels selfish, really, it makes you feel so good. I’m excited to see where he might end up, because I know Anna and her team do such a great job. Again, I could not thank the crew at Hagyards and WinStar enough. There’s a lot of good karma around this.” View the full article

After finishing second in a pair of graded stakes last year, Tight Ten will try to secure his first stakes score when he makes his 3-year-old season debut Jan. 19 in the $200,000 Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. View the full article

Millions of dollars worth of high-class bloodstock remains stranded in New Zealand after a deadly strangles outbreak halted the movement of horses bound for Hong Kong. Owners who have bought racehorses out of New Zealand have been left waiting for as long as seven months as authorities seek to contain the outbreak which saw a peak of four horses from the 30-strong batch test positive to the respiratory infection. Strangles is a highly contagious infection which causes a horse’s lymph... View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost. A dozen Hong Kong horses entered for Dubai World Cup meeting – @Lucky8RacingHK Given the same number of horses were nominated for last year’s event and none ran, the scepticism about anyone showing up this time around is fair, but at this early stage it looks like there will be a Hong Kong presence at Meydan on March 30. A dozen Hong Kong horses entered... View the full article

The last month or so hasn’t exactly gone to plan for Chad Schofield, with a dearth of winners, a suspension and then a bout of dehydration on Saturday, but the jockey says he is ready to turn things around this week. He took the opportunity to travel to Australia during his recent suspension to surprise his mother for her 50th birthday and says he’s refreshed and eager to attack the new year. “I flew over while I was suspended to spend time with the family and had a little... View the full article

13:30 Ffos Las Cottonvale was in the process of a big run at Hereford earlier in the month, in the lead and responding well under his riders’ urgings, before clipping the final flight and coming down. The winner was stablemate Uno Mas who has come out and won since and the trainer continues in fantastic […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Monday 14th January appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Horses' test results January 14 View the full article

Aslam suspended two days View the full article

Lake Time began to fade in the turn, and Selcourt cruised up on the outside to take the lead, but Pam and Martin Wygod's Spring Lily was not done. View the full article

For much of her career, Escape Clause (Going Commando) has spent her time at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, beating up on the outclassed rivals that dared to face her in small stakes on the Western Canadian circuit. Then, after her eighth straight win, one of which was in a two-horse field, trainer Don Schnell had a thought: why not see what she can do against stakes-quality mares in the U.S.? Schnell sensed his mare had progressed so much last year that she was ready for a new challenge. He ought to know. He is her owner, trainer, groom, hotwalker, farrier and van driver. “You’re right, you won’t see Bob Baffert driving the van when he ships a horse, but Bob Baffert has a lot more money than me,” Schnell said. The first time Schnell tried her in a stakes race in Southern California, the betting public didn’t take her too seriously. They sent her off at 18-1 in the restricted Kathryn Crosby S. at Del Mar and she won via disqualification after crossing the wire second, a half-length behind Excellent Sunset (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). Schnell had his answer: Escape Clause belonged. His mare next ran third, beaten a length, in the GIII Red Carpet H. and then fourth in the Dec. 29 GIII Robert J Frankel S. All three starts were on turf. After running in a stakes race, most trainers on the Southern California circuit would probably look to give their horses five or six weeks off. But that’s not how they do things at the places Schnell competes at–Assiniboia, Northlands Park and Century Downs. Cheaper horses need to run to have any chance of making a profit for their owners, and Schnell is not used to babying his stock. Escape Clause ran 13 times in 2018 and once ran three times in a span of 20 days. As such, he had no reservations about running his mare back Saturday at Santa Anita on the dirt in the GIII La Canada S. on two weeks of rest, and his intuition was right. Not only was she ready–she ran the best race of her life, winning by 5 ½ lengths under Tyler Baze. The win raised her career record to 19-for-28. “I never dreamed I’d ever run in a graded stakes race, let alone win one,” said the 66-year-old trainer, who splits his time between Assiniboia and Turf Paradise in the winter. “Every time she runs, she never lets us down. She just keeps getting better. I am really proud of her–she’s quite a star.” At Assiniboia, she is such a star that, Schnell said, after her victory Sunday they lowered drinks to happy hour prices and offered chicken wings at half price for those who were there to watch the La Canada simulcast. When you’ve been toiling at cheap tracks in Western Canada since the early seventies, you have no expectations that a horse like this will ever come your way. Before Escape Clause came around, Schnell’s claim to fame was that he was a two-time winner of the $100,000 Alberta Derby. Schnell discovered Escape Clause at the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society’s 2015 Manitoba Yearling Sale and paid $3,500 (Canadian) for the Manitoba-bred. “At the sale, she kind of looked out of place,” Schnell said. “She wasn’t a super good-looking, mature horse. She was–I wouldn’t say an ugly duckling–but she wasn’t filled out because she was young. When you look at those kind of horses as a trainer, you like to look ahead and imagine what they’re going to look like in a year or so. She looked like she was going to put on weight, muscle and mature. Of course, I had no idea she was going to be this good. She’s just special. She has extreme heart; she tries every time.” Schnell won 50 races in 2018 and has plenty of help. He doesn’t need to be the jack-of-all-trades that he is with Escape Clause, but she’s so important to him that he won’t trust her care to anyone else. “I do what I do with her because she is special,” he said. “She is a little bit different to handle. She won’t let anybody else put a bridle on her. I have to do that. She knows me and trusts me. Like a lot of good horses, she has quirks and I know her inside out, and she respects me. I would not feel comfortable having someone else do all those things.” Schnell was speaking from the van while driving back to Turf Paradise. Turf Paradise to Santa Anita isn’t that bad a trip, but there’s also been the drive from Assiniboia to Del Mar. Schnell estimates that was about 2,000 miles. He better keep the van in tip-top condition. Schnell says there’s no longer any point running in the races in Canada and will stick to U.S. graded stakes. He wants to stay on the dirt for now, and Escape Clause has run some of her best races around one turn, so the Feb. 16 GII Santa Monica S. at seven furlongs could be an option. At this point, Schnell isn’t afraid to run against anybody. “Tyler said yesterday after the race that this filly will win a Grade I, that it was remarkable how much horse he had left,” Schnell said. “When he got the lead halfway down the lane, she stopped running, was just galloping and looking around. He said if he had to do it again, he would have waited and made his move later because once she blows by them she almost thinks the race is over and just gallops along.” Maybe Escape Clause has reached the limits of what she can accomplish, maybe she hasn’t. Just take her lightly at your own risk. View the full article