Wandering Eyes

The latest addition to next week’s Goffs London Sale is the broodmare Simsimah (Ire) (Poet’s Voice {GB}). The unraced 4-year-old is a half-sister to G1 Investec Derby runner up Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) from the family of G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas winner and sire Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}). Simsimah will be offered by Barton Stud in foal to GI Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Expert Eye (GB) and will have a filly foal by Divine Prophet (Aus) at foot. This pedigree could be in line for some major updates as Madhmoon may well seek compensation for his recent narrow defeat to Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh June 29. Those interested in viewing Simsimah prior to the sale can make an appointment with Barton Stud’s Tom Blaine at +44 7812390877. The post Madhmoon Sister Added To Goffs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Stronach Group, the Thoroughbred Owners of California and California Thoroughbred Trainers have released a joint statement in the wake of the request from the California Horse Racing Board that Santa Anita suspend the final seven days of the meet. The request came following the breakdown of Formal Dude (First Dude), who was euthanized following the running of Saturday’s first race. The track suffered a subsequent fatality, the 29th of the meeting, was the three-year-old filly Truffalino (English Channel) died of a heart attack in the third race Sunday. “We are collectively working on behalf of everyone in the sport–grooms, hot walkers, jockeys, exercise riders, starters, trainers, owners, track managers and every horse wearing a bridle and a saddle–to reform and improve racing every day. After extensive consultation among all partners, Santa Anita Park will stay open through the end of its meet to see these reforms through. Since wide-sweeping reforms have been instituted at Santa Anita, catastrophic injuries have dropped considerably compared to earlier this meet, decreasing by 50 percent in racing and by more than 84 percent in training. To be clear, there are no acceptable losses, and every day we work toward ending all serious injuries. But the reality is that our improvements and changes have been effective. A detailed and serious epidemiological investigation of all track accidents is underway and will continue with the greatest urgency. Track management, owners, trainers and veterinarians, are re-doubling their vigilance and close supervision of both training and racing protocols and will consider all enhancements to the sweeping new protocols already introduced. We have great respect for Governor Newsom and the CHRB, and we look forward to working closely with them as we continue to discuss these issues.” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals released a statement of its own Sunday. “Either the rules aren’t strong enough or the rules aren’t being followed, but whatever the reason for the deaths of two more horses, Santa Anita needs to listen to the California Horse Racing Board and shut down,” said Kathy Guillermo, PETA’s senior vice president, in a statement. “It should not re-open until full-leg scan equipment is in place, since most pelvis injuries also show lesions in the legs, the dirt track has been replaced with a safer synthetic surface; and the district attorney’s investigation into trainers and veterinarians is complete,” she said. The post Stronach Group, TOC, CTT Release Joint Statement appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The lack of quality dirt races late in the season has proven beneficial for Michael Chang Chun-wai, with the veteran trainer acquiring all-weather specialist Fight Hero last month.Fight Hero has been with Me Tsui Yu-sak for his entire Hong Kong career but the owners decided to switch the eight-year-old to Chang to ensure he got a run in Wednesday night’s Class Two Butterfly Bay Handicap (1,200m).“Me Tsui had to run his other horse [Ugly Warrior] on Wednesday, he could not run two in the race so… View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost.Good Days as Aldo Domeyer gets his second Sha Tin winner - @ATBHorseRacingIt has been a whirlwind six weeks for the South African, who is making the most of his opportunities after getting the late call-up to ride for the last two-and-a-half months of the Hong Kong season.Domeyer hit the ground running with a double from three rides at his first meeting on May 1 and… View the full article

Trackside Radio’s Des Coppins catches up with trainer Harvey Wilson after Bad Boy Brown’s win at Trentham on Saturday.... View the full article

Trackside Radio’s Des Coppins speaks with trainer Kim Clapperton after Lovetokeephim’s win at Trentham on Saturday.... View the full article

Trackside Radio’s Des Coppins catches up with Brendon Hawtin after he trained Simply Optimistic to win at Randwick on Saturday.... View the full article

Marton galloper Italian Lover continued her consistent run of form at Te Rapa on Saturday when winning the Become A Waikato Racing Club Member 2200. It was the fourth win for the daughter of Zed and trainer Fraser Auret has been pleased with her development this season. “She has really progressed well this season,” he said. “She won her maiden race towards the start of the season and although she has had a couple of mini breaks, to be winning a rating 82 race the same season as you ... View the full article

Top gallopers Supera and Princess Kereru are due back in work next month, but already a decision has been made to bypass the first major events for the new season with the pair. While most open-class performers will be aimed at legs of the Hawke’s Bay Triple Crown, beginning with the Gr.1 Tarzino Trophy (1400m) at Hastings on August 31, both Supera and Princess Kereru will be absent. “They’re not going to Hastings,” co-trainer Ken Kelso said. “They’re better having a bit more time an... View the full article

A decision by the owners of Enzo’s Lad has enabled Michael Pitman to experience a lifelong dream in England. As the Canterbury trainer says, he is “living the dream” as he soaks up the atmosphere in the countdown to his first appearance at Royal Ascot next week. Pitman and his wife, Diane, are in Newmarket, England, preparing dual Gr.1 Telegraph Handicap (1200m) winner Enzo’s Lad for the first day of the Royal Ascot meeting next Tuesday. And no matter the result, he has already made hims... View the full article

Matamata trainer Glenn Old is set to pass on his top stayer Bizzwinkle to Ballarat trainer Patrick Payne, but he believes he could have found another potential staying star in his stable. Old produced the easiest of winners at Te Rapa last Saturday when Super Hoof raced away to an eight and a quarter-length maiden win over 1600m in the hands of apprentice Jasmine Fawcett. It was the third start for Super Hoof and Old feels the four-year-old son of Cape Blanco has the ability to work through the... View the full article

Stud Happy Again's George Washington swept down the center of the course to capture the Grande Premio Brasil (G1) June 9 at Hipodromo Gavea and earned an automatic starting position into the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T). View the full article

Already a four-time black-type winner, Anne and William Scott's Summer Sunday made the grade in the US$107,792 Hendrie Stakes (G3) June 9 at Woodbine. View the full article

The California Horse Racing Board has asked track officials at Santa Anita Park to suspend racing for the remaining days of the meet, which ends June 23, after the 28th fatality at the track since Dec. 26 occurred June 8. View the full article

The California Horse Racing Board has requested that Santa Anita suspend the final seven days of its current meet, but officials of the track have said they will not do so. The CHRB’s request came following Saturday’s catastrophic breakdown of Formal Dude (First Dude), who was euthanized following the running of the day’s 10th race. It was the 28th equine fatality at the track since the meet opened Dec. 26. The story was first reported by both the Los Angeles Times and the Louisville Courier-Journal. Tim Ritvo, the COO of The Stronach Group did not answer a text from the TDN regarding comment on Santa Anita’s decision to remain open. The meet is scheduled to end June 23. It is not within the CHRB’s power to order a racetrack to immediately close unless the track agrees to its wishes. However, the racing board can take such action after a bureaucratic process that begins with 10-day notification period. It was not immediately clear if the CHRB can, or would, shut down Santa Anita for the remaining three days of the meet following the 10-day notification period. The CHRB sent a statement to the Courier-Journal, which read: “Under current law, The California Horse Racing Board does not have the authority to suspend a race meet or remove race dates from a current race meet without the approval of the race track operator or without holding a public meeting with ten days public notice. “The Chairman, Vice Chairman and the Executive Director recommended to Santa Anita management that they suspend racing for the seven remaining race days but that they allow horses to continue to train during that period. This would provide the industry more time to fully implement announced safety initiatives and perhaps additional ones. “It is our understanding that Santa Anita management, after consultation with certain other industry stakeholders, believes that for a variety of reasons, the future of California racing is best served by continuing to race.” The CHRB did not ask Santa Anita to close down for training, something that would create a crisis for Southern California horsemen because training cannot begin at Del Mar until July 11. Until that time, the San Diego County Fair has full use of the property, According to the Times, Formal Dude died of a pelvis injury. Most equine fatalities happen when horses fracture one of their front legs. But the Times report says that of the five deaths at Santa Anita since May 17, four of them have been either shoulder or pelvis injuries. Also hanging in the balance for Santa Anita is this year’s Breeders’ Cup, scheduled for Nov. 1 and 2. The Breeders’ Cup is in a dicey situation as it could come under intense criticism should it hold the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita and there are fatalities. Breeders’ Cup President Craig Fravel told the Courier Journal that the organization is exploring contingency plans and said that the only other track that has been mentioned as an alternate site is Churchill Downs. A Breeders’ Cup Board meeting is scheduled for June 27. “I think it’s fair to say our board will have a full report from management on everything we know about the situation in California as well as injury rates at other racetracks and we’ll have to evaluate that situation and what our options are,” Fravel told the Courier Journal. “That’s really ultimately a board decision, so I have to defer to that process.” On Friday, the Times reported that trainer Michael Pender was suspended 30 days by the CHRB for violating a rule regarding animal welfare. The ruling regarding Pender’s suspension read: “Pender knowingly worked the horse New Karma after a veterinarian examination disclosed an injury. This horse was then shipped to Golden Gate Fields where it was entered into a race on April 6, 2019, but subsequently scratched due to its condition.” Pender is among a handful of trainers who have either been suspended or ruled off the grounds at Santa Anita due to alleged violations regarding the welfare of horses under their care. Among them was trainer William Morey, who was banned from racing at Santa Anita for a medication violation that led to an investigation by the California Horse Racing Board. The post Santa Anita Denies CHRB Request to Close appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The under-tack preview of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training concluded with a fifth session in Central Florida Sunday. During a rain-delayed session, another two juveniles tied the week’s fastest furlong time of :9 4/5, while the day’s quickest quarter-mile time was :20 4/5. A day after Come Dancing (Malibu Moon) finished second in the GI Ogden Phipps S., her half-sister by Ghostzapper turned in the week’s co-fastest three-furlong work of :32 3/5. A filly by More Than Ready (hip 1037), supplemented to the June catalogue, worked the co-bullet furlong time of :9 4/5 for the McKathan Bros. consignment. The dark bay filly is out of Italian group winner Omaticaya (Ire) (Bernstein). “I expected her to go fast. She has been fast pretty much all year long,” Kevin McKathan said. “She’s been to several sales, so she goes out and does her job every time.” The filly worked at the OBS March sale, as well as last month’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale, where she went a furlong in :10 1/5, but she was withdrawn from both auctions. “At the end of the day, we just haven’t found the right person for her,” McKathan said. “We’ve been a little bullish on her all year. This is the last sale, so we’ll find somewhere for her to live, I hope.” The youngster was purchased by McKathan Bros. for $125,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. “She is a beautiful filly and we’d been chasing a More Than Ready for the last couple of years,” McKathan said. “We loved her and we were able to get her bought. When you look at her, she looks a lot like a More Than Ready. She’s a very fast-looking filly with beautiful lines. She is elegant. I think if someone is looking for a More Than Ready filly, she’ll check all the boxes for them.” For the second day in a row, the breeze show was delayed by weather. “It rained [Saturday] in the early morning and through mid-morning,” McKathan said. “Today it started off nice and by the second break, we went on a delay, so we’ve been fighting the weather since about 8:30 or 9 a.m. and there has been lightning and raining.” McKathan is expecting the demand for horses to stretch into the last juvenile sale of the season. “It seems like everyone is here and anxious to find something,” he said. Harris Training Center sent out a colt from the first crop of Grade I winner Lea (First Samurai) (hip 893) to work the furlong in :9 4/5. Named Unconquered Lea, the chestnut is out of Tanquerray (Good Journey). He was bred in California by Fortuna Ranch Racing and Demetrios Shelie Xanthos. Over the five sessions of the breeze show, 11 horses shared the :9 4/5 furlong bullet time. A gelding from the first crop of graded winner Bahamian Squall (Gone West) (hip 881) turned in the fastest quarter-mile breeze at OBS Sunday, covering the distance in :20 4/5. Consigned by Nice and Easy Thoroughbreds, the dark bay is out of Super Trooper (Posse). He was bred in Florida by Pamela Edel. Three horses shared the week’s bullet quarter-mile time of :20 3/5. A filly by Ghostzapper (hip 914) tied the week’s fastest three-furlong time when covering the distance in :32 3/5 Sunday. The bay filly is consigned by Gayle Woods, as agent for Eric Delvalle. The juvenile is out of graded stakes winner Tizahit (Tiznow) and is a half-sister to graded stakes winner Come Dancing (Malibu Moon), who since the catalogue was printed won the GII Ruffian S. and was second behind Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) in Saturday’s GI Ogden Phipps S. “She is a very classy-acting filly and a great mover,” said Woods. “I was very happy with her work–she galloped out like a beast. She galloped out in :44 3/5 and :59 1/5. She has got everything. She vets good, she is a beautiful mover with a huge walk on her and she is very pretty. And with the update, and Ghostzapper is hot, too, I think she’ll be very popular.” Delvalle purchased the filly for $67,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. “Eric Antonio Delvalle is a new client,” Woods said. “Crestwood had horses for him and I’ve worked with Crestwood, so they advised him to send the filly to me. Originally, we were going to put her in the April sale, but she is a May baby and I ended up taking her out before the catalogue went to print. I said, ‘I think the filly will benefit with another couple of months and we should wait and go to the June sale to give her all the time to mature.’ And I think it paid off pretty well.” The June Sale will be held Wednesday through Friday, with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m. CRUPI MEMORIAL MONDAY The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company will host a celebration of the life of J.J. Crupi at the sales complex Monday, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The longtime Ocala horseman passed away in May. The post OBS Breeze Show Concludes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Klein Racing's Break Even ran her race record to a perfect five with a frontrunning victory in the Jersey Girl Stakes June 9 at Belmont Park. Already a grade 2 winner, the filly is now being aimed for the seven-furlong Longines Test Stakes (G1). View the full article

Klein Racing's Break Even ran her race record to a perfect five with a front-running victory in the Jersey Girl Stakes June 9 at Belmont Park. Already a grade 2 winner, the filly is now being aimed for the seven-furlong Longines Test Stakes (G1). View the full article

While the GI Belmont S. itself wasn’t exactly scintillating, the other nine stakes races on Saturday’s card were so outstanding, they not only saved the day, they may well have made this the most special day of racing you will see in a long time. With the exception of Breeders’ Cup Saturday, the Belmont Stakes Day card has turned into, year after year, the second best card of racing run in this country. It’s always a good day, and this one was off the charts. All of which makes this question pertinent: After what we saw Saturday, who is the No. 1 horse in the sport? It’s not poor Sir Winston (Awesome Again), the Belmont winner. Something tells me he’s going to have to accomplish a lot more before he starts to earn respect. Number one right now? I’ll go with Bricks and Mortar (Giant’s Causeway), but only by a nose. That’s how good some of the other winners were on the card. What more can you say about him than he’s a machine? He never blows anyone away, but the GI Manhattan S. was his fifth straight win and fourth this year. Thanks in large part to the $7-million GI Pegasus World Cup Turf S., he’s already earned over $4 million this year. You almost have to feel sorry for his stablemates, Robert Bruce (Chi) (Fast Company {Ire}) and Raging Bull (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}). They both ran the races of their lives to finish second and third, respectively, but just couldn’t find a way to beat Bricks and Mortar. Oh, and here’s something you probably never heard before: trainer Chad Brown finished 1-2-3 in a Grade I turf race. As good as Bricks and Mortar was, and has been all year, I just have easily could have put Mitole (Eskendereya) in the top spot. As recently as Apr. 13, he was a sprinter who had never even started in a graded stakes race. Then he won the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. at Oaklawn, but had still never raced beyond six furlongs. Then he won the seven-furlong GI Churchill Downs S. on Derby Day. Trainer Steve Asmussen took the kid gloves off and entered him in the GI Metropolitan H. at a mile, apparently not afraid that he was going up against what virtually everyone thought was the best field of the year. He found himself in a dogfight and runner-up McKinzie (Street Sense) didn’t have the greatest trip, but Mitole did it again. He not only won over one of the toughest fields assembled in a long time but he proved he can go a mile. Asmussen knows his horses and if he believes that Mitole is a one-turn horse then who’s to doubt him? But wouldn’t you love to see this horse try two turns, a-mile-and-an-eighth? He has passed every test so far, so why not that one? And if he does, we may be talking Horse of the Year material. Two career starts does not a superstar make, but would you really be that surprised if some day we are all talking about ‘TDN Rising Star’ Guarana (Ghostzapper) as one of the best 3-year-old fillies of her era. Sure, she broke her maiden by 14 3/4 lengths in her only career start prior to Saturday, but going straight from a maiden win into a Grade I is asking an awful lot of a horse. She didn’t just handle the task, she made it look ridiculously easy, winning by six lengths. Chad Brown (there’s that guy again) can now pick his spots from among the GI Mother Goose S., GI Coaching Club American Oaks and GI Alabama S. He might not go in all three, but you can already etch Guarana’s name on the trophies for whichever of those spots she shows up in. Rushing Fall (hey, another Chad Brown-trainee) showed she’s the queen of her division when winning the GI Just A Game S. Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), another beast, proved she’s the best older dirt filly or mare in the country when winning the GI Ogden Phipps S. It will be fascinating to see what will happen when and if her 2018 nemesis Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) gets back to the races to take on her old rival again. The turf sprinter division might be the least sexy in racing, but has anyone ever seen a better one than World of Trouble (Kantharos)? He won his fifth straight and seven of his last eight by beating Om (Munnings) in the GI Jaipiur Invitational S. (Om, by the way, is the answer to a great trivia question. He’s one of two horses in history to defeat American Pharoah {Pioneerof the Nile}, which he did in Pharoah’s debut way back in 2014. The other is Keen Ice {Curlin} in the 2015 GI Travers S.) Much can change between now and Breeders’ Cup Day and we still really don’t know how good Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) is. But something tells me we saw the Horse of the Year perform on Saturday’s card and that their victory that day helped push them a long way toward that title. Congratulations to all of the above mentioned horses and the other winners on the day. Congratulations as well to the entire NYRA team for putting on a great, great, great day and week of racing. Not only were the races outstanding, but not one horse was injured during the three-day Belmont Festival. Okay, so it hasn’t been a stellar year for 3-year-old males, but maybe there’s a silver lining to that cloud. Any time a 3-year-old colt dominates his division or comes anywhere close to it, they’re done–off to stud. At this point the “four” Triple Crown winners have a lot more to prove until someone bowls their owners over with offers to stand them at stud. If they stay heathy, it’s very possible that Maximum Security, Country House (Lookin at Lucky), War of Will (War Front) and Sir Winston should all be back next year. Who doesn’t love Jose Ortiz? He’s among the best young riders this sport has ever seen, but the Belmont was not his finest hour. While Joel Rosario on Sir Winston, did a great job saving ground, Ortiz never got anywhere close to the rail with Tacitus (Tapit). According to the Trakus data, Tacitus ran 65 feet further than Sir Winston did. Tacitus was the “fastest” horse in the race, traveling the distance at an average rate of 37.1 miles per hour, as compared to 36.9 for Sir Winston. Obviously, breaking from the 10 post didn’t help, but if he could have ever found a way to get closer to the rail on either turn, Tacitus would have won the race. Not that it mattered since War of Will (War Front) just didn’t have it, but jockey Tyler Gaffalione was another who never got anywhere close to the fence. War of Will traveled 57 feet further than Sir Winston did. When a race is won by a length, which is roughly eight feet, don’t think these things don’t make a difference. Adding to Tacitus’s problems, it appeared that the rail at Belmont was he best part of the racetrack. It wasn’t an overwhelming bias, but with the exception of the GI Woody Stephens S., won by Hog Creek Hustle (Overanalyze), virtually all of the dirt race winners were on or near the rail throughout most of the trip. That might explain how the seemingly overmatched Joevia (Shanghai Bobby) ran third in the Belmont, beaten only 1 3/4 lengths. Jockey Jose Lezcaneo stayed glued to the rail the whole time. This didn’t get much attention, but it should have. Earlier in the week, the New York Gaming Commission announced that New York State Equine Medical Director, Dr. Scott E. Palmer, VMD, and the stewards would be available to address questions from the media regarding incidents, inquiries, objections or rulings that occur during racing in the Belmont Stakes Festival. After the debacle when the Churchill stewards refused to take any questions from the media following the disqualification of Maximum Security and ducked for cover, The NY Gaming Commission and NYRA showed that they get it, that transparency is always important, especially when hundreds of millions of dollars in betting and purse monies are on the line. Hopefully, someone at Churchill was paying attention. The post The Week in Review: After a Breeders’ Cup-Esque Card, Who’s the Best Horse in the Sport? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

As the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) gave way to a Flo Rida concert, the 2019 Triple Crown faded into the sunset, leaving behind the series' messiest controversy in about 50 years and a slew of unanswered questions. View the full article

As the Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets (G1) gave way to a Flo Rida concert, the 2019 Triple Crown faded into the sunset, leaving behind the series' messiest controversy in about 50 years and a slew of unanswered questions. View the full article

The 2019 Triple Crown belonged to two trainers, one Hall of Famer and one likely soon-to-be Hall of Famer. Now, with the GI Belmont S. in the rearview and attention turning to the second-half push to the Breeders’ Cup, Mark Casse and Bill Mott will assess their respective pairs of championship contenders and map out a probable path to the GI Travers S. Aug. 24 at Saratoga. Tracy Farmer’s Sir Winston (Awesome Again) and the Gary Barber-owned War of Will (War Front) were both tired Sunday morning, but otherwise fine after their trip of 1 1/2 miles around the Belmont oval. Their routine was limited to walking the shedrow and afterward, the Belmont winner settled down for a well-deserved nap in his stall. “Both horses are good this morning,” Casse told the NYRA notes team. “From here they’re going to take separate paths and go their separate ways, but our goal is going to be the Travers for both.” While Sir Winston will remain at Belmont under assistant trainer Jamie Begg’s care, War of Will had a reservation on a van departing at 12:30 p.m. and headed back to Kentucky, where he will return to Casse’s division overseen by assistant David Carroll. War of Will, who finished ninth in the Belmont, was the only horse to run in all three legs of this year’s Triple Crown, but Casse didn’t use that as an excuse for the colt’s poor performance in the Test of the Champion. “I don’t think it was the Triple Crown campaign that caught up to War of Will,” he said. “I don’t really have an explanation for his race yesterday, but I’m not going to use the [three races in] five weeks as an excuse. The only thing I can tell you now is that he will be back.” Casse also reflected on the chaos of this year’s Triple Crown and picking up his first two American Classic victories. “It’s been an extremely good five weeks and a crazy five weeks, with lots of different emotions, that’s for sure,” he said. “We’re extremely proud of it. I’m proud of our entire team, as this has been a team effort through and through.” Meanwhile, Mott, who saddled GI Kentucky Derby winner Country House (Lookin At Lucky) and Derby third finisher and Belmont runner-up Tacitus (Tapit), said both horses will be sent to Saratoga in the next few weeks. He added that Tacitus, who was hindered by a wide trip in the Belmont, may run back in the GII Jim Dandy S. July 27 at the Spa. “Tacitus certainly hasn’t disgraced himself at any point,” Mott said. “Even in the Derby, where he was fourth and then was moved up to third, he ran well. And he ran well yesterday. I think most anybody who saw the race yesterday probably knew that with a different trip the outcome would have been different. For sure there are a lot of dances left in the second half of the year. I hope there are good things still to come for him.” As for Country House, who was forced to miss the final two jewels of the Triple Crown with an illness, Mott said he has returned to the track. “Country House is doing well. He isn’t back breezing yet, but he is back galloping and is going to the track every day,” he said. “Keeping [him and Tacitus] separate is probably going to be impossible. I think that at some point, both are going to be running in the same types of races. If it’s a prep race or something like it, naturally you’d like to separate them, but if it’s a Grade I race, if they need to run against each other, it’s like, you know what? You’ve got to be fair to both ownerships and give them their best chance.” The post Belmont Wrap: Casse, Mott Pairs Look to Travers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

A Celebration of Life for noted horseman James “J.J.” Crupi is scheduled for Monday, June 10 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company auditorium, 1701 S.W. 60th Avenue, Ocala FL, 34474 at 4:30 p.m. Crupi, who passed away Thursday, May 23 at the age of 79, enjoyed a long, distinguished career in the Thoroughbred industry. After spending years successfully training horses in the Northeast, he went to Ocala in 1995 and established Crupi’s New Castle Training Center, where he was responsible for developing many top class horses, both for the races and sales ring. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The Ocala Farm Ministry, 489 NW 110th Avenue, Ocala FL 34482, or to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), 821 Corporate Drive Lexington, KY 40503. For more information, please call OBS at (352) 237-2154. The post Memorial for Crupi Monday at OBS appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Chad Brown dominated the standings for the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival Championship presented by NYRA Bets at Belmont Park, while Joel Rosario and Klaravich Stables were the top jockey and owner, respectively. View the full article

Bank Holiday Monday sees some black-type action in France and Germany, with the chief attraction being at Cologne where the G2 Union-Rennen separates the wheat from the chaff as far as the Deutsches Derby is concerned. Hedge Baumgarten Holschbach’s Django Freeman (Ger) (Campanologist) bids to follow up his success in the May 1 G3 Bavarian Classic at Munich, with Gestut Ittlingen’s Laccario (Ger) (Scal {GB}) there to test his merit to the full after an impressive win in Dusseldorf’s Listed Derby-Trial on May 26. Gestut Ravensberg’s Winterfuchs (Ger) (Campanologist) captured the G3 Dr. Busch-Memorial over 8 1/2 furlongs at Krefeld on Apr. 28 and has stamina to prove over this 11-furlong trip, but his pedigree suggests it will suit. At ParisLongchamp, the Listed Prix Volterra sees Lady Bamford’s G3 Prix Imprudence runner-up Suphala (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) back in action after finishing ninth in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches over this course and distance on May 12. She is tackled by Haras Voltaire’s unbeaten Alzire (Fr) (Shamardal), while in the feature G3 La Coupe sees Godolphin’s Feb. 21 G3 Dubai Millennium S. scorer Spotify (Fr) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}) reappear in Europe. Andre Fabre puts Ballymore Thoroughbred Ltd’s G3 Prix de Flore winner Ligne d’Or (GB) (Dansili {GB}) in against the colts, which may be significant. The post Derby Dreams On The Line appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article