Wandering Eyes

SHE’S done it. View the full article

Karis Teetan is in career-best form as he heads into a week of Hong Kong racing as the number one jockey, with Zac Purton suspended for two meetings. The Mauritian, who is into his sixth season in Hong Kong, admits he made a lot of mistakes early in his time here but has finally found what works for him after watching a number of different jockeys over his time. Teetan has a chance to go atop of the jockeys premiership over the next two meetings, currently sitting just three wins off Purton in... View the full article

Tim Clark booked on Mr Clint in Gold Cup View the full article

Powell, Azhar, AK Lim, CC Wong, Zawari suspended View the full article

Already a dual grade 3 winner this year, Zilli Racing Stables' Code Warrior is among a dozen distaffers set to contest the $125,000 Ontario Fashion Stakes (G3) Oct. 28 at Woodbine. View the full article

SHE’S the mighty mare that stops the nation. View the full article

With incoming inclement weather forecast Saturday in the New York Metropolitan area, several Breeders' Cup connections opted to put in their final works the morning of Oct. 26 at Belmont Park, before shipping to Churchill Downs Monday. View the full article

Unbeaten sophomore Dream Tree (Uncle Mo), last seen romping in Saratoga’s GII Prioress S. and a would-be major contender for the GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Sprint next Saturday, will be forced to miss the race after suffering from an entrapped epiglottis during a work. She will be withdrawn from the upcoming Keeneland November sale as well. The $750,000 Fasig-Tipton Florida grad had worked in :46.80 (2/68) at Santa Anita Friday. “She breezed this morning and displaced,” confirmed Tom Ludt, head of U.S. operations for owner Phoenix Thoroughbreds. “Being a valuable horse, she will be scratched from the Breeders’ Cup and the [Keeneland November] sale,” said Phoenix Thoroughbreds’ Tom Ludt. “She will have throat surgery Monday and we will regroup and run her again next year. It is unfortunate timing.” The Bob Baffert pupil capped a three-for-three juvenile season in the GI Starlet S., and annexed the GII Las Virgenes S. in February before resurfacing at the Spa. View the full article

Headlining a busy morning at Santa Anita Friday, several Bob Baffert runners put in their final preparatory moves ahead of next weekend’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Chief among them, undefeated Grade I winner Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}), early favorite for the Juvenile, went four furlongs in :47 flat, the third fastest of 68 moves at the distance. Ridden by Joe Talamo, the colt worked alongside stablemate Ax Man (Misremembered). Also on the worktab, six-time Grade I winner Abel Tasman (Quality Road) and Vale Dori (Arg) (Asiatic Boy {Arg}) worked in tandem, covering four furlongs in :47.20 (5/68). Talamo was on Abel Tasman, while Drayden Van Dyke rode Vale Dori. “Game Winner went great,” affirmed Baffert. “I’m really happy with that work. Abel and Vale Dori went nice.” In other Breeders’ Cup news, Mike Smith will ride GI Pennsylvania Derby winner McKinzie (Street Sense) in the Classic, while John Velazquez will partner dual Grade I scorer West Coast (Flatter) in the 10-furlong test, as reported by the DRF. Smith has been aboard both colts for Baffert of late. Chad Brown sent a number of his runners to the Belmont inner turf Friday, including contender Robert Bruce (Chi) (Fast Company {Ire}) and Turf Mile entrant Almanaar (Dubawi) where they breezed four furlongs in :49.77 in company. Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}), who is heading to the Filly & Mare Turf, negotiated four furlongs in :48.04, while the duo of Fourstar Crook (Freud) and A Raving Beauty (Ger) (Mastercraftsman {Ire})–entered for the Filly and Mare Turf and Mile, respectively–competed five furlongs in :50.04. Santa Monica (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), targeting the Filly & Mare Turf, covered four furlongs in :50.23, while Mile contender Analyze It (Point of Entry) went a half-mile in :49.55. Belmont main track workers for Brown included Juvenile contender Complexity (Maclean’s Music) who went four furlongs in :48.32. GI Beldame winner Wow Cat (Chi) (Lookin At Lucky) breezed a half-mile in :49.07 in her final work ahead of the Distaff. Undefeated Juvenile Fillies Turf contender Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) worked a half-mile in :48.44. Gunnevera (Dialed In), winner of last season’s GII Fountain of Youth S., breezed six furlongs Friday morning at Gulfstream Park West in advance of an anticipated start in the Nov. 3 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. “It was a nice work,” confirmed trainer Antonio Sano. “We gave him a nice easy work.” Gunnevera, who currently ranks second on the list of alternates for the Classic, appears likely to make it into the Classic lineup as Bravazo (Awesome Again) and City of Light are expected to be entered in the GI Dirt Mile. “It was a surprise to me. Never in my life did I think he wouldn’t be selected [into the main field],” Sano said. Gunnevera, who was scheduled to leave for Churchill Downs by van last night, will be accompanied by Irad Ortiz Jr. for the first time in the Classic. G1 Godolphin’s Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow (IRE) (Helmet {Aus}) completed his final step prior to the Classic with a seven-furlong move in 1:27 at Churchill Downs Friday. A close-up second in the Sept. 29 GI Jockey Club Gold Cup carved out opening splits of :13.20, 26, :38.40, :50.40, 1:02.40 and 1:14.60. The 4-year-old completed the move with a one-mile gallop out in 1:41.20. According to Godolphin’s traveling manager Tommy Burns, trainer Saeed bin Suroor is expected to arrive at Churchill Downs early next week. David Fawkes-trained Louder Than Bombs (Violence), who captured the Armed Forces S. over the Gulfstream turf course last time out, breezed a half-mile in :47.02 at Gulfstream Friday morning. The 2-year-old, who posted the fastest of 31 recorded at the distance Friday, is the second alternate for the Nov. 2 GI Juvenile Turf. Breeders’ Cup Classic contender Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) completed his final Classic work early Friday morning at Churchill Downs. Winner of the Sept. 29 GIII Lukas Classic, the chestnut negotiated five furlongs in an easy 1:03.20, the 35 fastest of 36 at the distance. “It was a two-minute lick,” Summers said. “We’re really happy with how he’s doing and how he went this morning.” The multiple Grade I winner has been pre-entered in both the Classic and GI TwinSpires Sprint. “I actually originally pre-entered in the Classic and Dirt Mile,” admitted Summers. “However, once I heard X Y Jet [MGSW by Kantharos] was coming for the Sprint, I changed my pre-entry at 11:50 a.m. on Monday [deadline was noon].” Seeking the Soul (Perfect Soul), currently 17th on the preference list for the Classic that is limited to 14 starters, worked a half-mile in :47.60 Friday morning at Churchill Downs. The GI Clark H. winner carved out opening splits of :11.60 and :23.20, before galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.60, according to Churchill Downs Clocker John Nichols. The work was ranked the third fastest out of 26 at the distance over the “good” dirt surface. Locally-based, the 5-year-old won the GIII Ack Ack S. last time out Sept. 29. “It seems we have some luck sneaking into races when we are on the outside looking in,” said trainer Dallas Stewart, who finished second in the Kentucky Derby in 2013-14 with longshots Golden Soul and Commanding Curve. “One thing we know for certain is that this horses loves this track. If we can’t get into the Classic, then we can run in the Dirt Mile. I think he’ll do great in either spot.” Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect), in company with stablemate Meanbone (Silver Train), breezed a half mile in :46.20 in preparation for the GI TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint. “I thought it was very good work,” said trainer Ron Moquett. “The most important thing was to get the safest and best track to work over and that’s why we went so early [track opening at 5:30 a.m.]. The time was quick but the most important thing was he did it on his own without any encouraging.” Whitmore worked inside of Meanbone through early splits of :11.40, :22.20 and :34, before galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.20. It was the fastest work of 26 horses at the distance. With light rain falling at 9:45 a.m. at Churchill Downs Friday, Breeders’ Cup contenders Chelsea Cloisters (First Samurai), Forty Under (Uncle Mo), Pakhet (Cairo Prince) and Shang Shang Shang (Shanghai Bobby) recorded works over the “yielding” Matt Winn Turf Course. Trainer Wesley Ward’s Juvenile Sprint hopefuls Chelsea Cloisters and Shang Shang Shang breezed a half-mile, in company, in :50.80 and :51.40, respectively. Chelsea Cloisters, who is 13th on the preference list for the Juvenile Turf Sprint limited to 12 starters, began her breeze one length behind Shang Shang Shang and finished two lengths in front at the wire through splits of :13.80 and :26.80. “I think she liked the soft turf,” said jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who was aboard Chelsea Cloisters. “It was a really good work.” Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners’ Pakhet, runner-up in the GII Jessamine S. at Keeneland in her most recent start, worked a half-mile on the yielding turf course in :51.40 with exercise rider Juan Bernardini up, in preparation for the GI Juvenile Fillies Turf. Fractions on the work were :14, :27, :51.40 and out five-eighths in 1:06. “It looked like she handled it well,” said Ginny DePasquale, assistant to trainer Todd Pletcher. “Todd wanted to go easy.” Working shortly before Pakhet was August Dawn’s GIII Pilgrim winner Farm’s Forty Under. With exercise rider Marquel Lemon aboard, Forty Under worked a half-mile in :52.20 with splits of :14.20, :28.20, :52.20 and out five-eighths in 1:05.60. “I brought him down early to get a work over the course,” trainer Jerimiah Englehart said. “I am glad they opened it up today, a week before the race, and that is perfect for us. He started off a little slow but that was fine and he finished up well.” At Belmont, trainer Todd Pletcher sent out several contenders for their final pre-Breeders’ Cup wroks Friday morning. Entered for the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, Opry (Declaration of War), with regular rider Javier Castellano aboard, worked in tandem with Argentine-bred Smart Choice (Arg) (Grand Reward) who will race in the GI Filly and Mare Turf as the pair completed four furlongs in :48.02. “I thought it was a good and progressive work with a strong gallop out,” said Pletcher. “The turf course this morning was actually fairly firm considering it hasn’t been that way much of the meet, but we got what wanted out of it with both of them.” Looking to make his next start in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf, GI Man O War winner Hi Happy (Arg) (Pure Prize), accompanied by stablemate Blind Ambition, worked four furlongs in :49.04 on the Belmont main track Friday. The latter is hoping to draw into the field for the Turf Sprint. “I thought they both went well,” said Pletcher. “Hi Happy seems to have maintained his form. He didn’t seem to handle Saratoga particularly well, especially the [July 28 GII] Bowling Green [sixth] when it was very soft that day. I thought he ran well in the [Oct. 8 GII] Knickerbocker [second] at a distance that’s a little shorter than his ideal best, but I like the way he’s trained since then until now. We just have to see if we get a little lucky with the rain at Churchill, but we’ll worry about that at we get closer. With Blind Ambition, we’re kind of waiting to see if he can get in or not.” View the full article

Santa Anita Park offers horses of a certain class an opportunity to participate in a special afternoon workout session ahead of big races, and no trainer has taken the track up on the offer more than Doug O'Neill. View the full article

One of the most popular events at the Breeders’ Cup in recent years has been the Thursday night official VIP kick-off party, A Taste of the World, which brings together chefs from around the globe to indulge the palates of race participants. Eighteen international chefs will represent their home countries this year, enticing more than 1,300 guests with global cuisine paired with fine wines, beer and other adult beverages. By invitation only, the event is exclusive to Breeders’ Cup owners, breeders, and trainers. Held this year at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, the 8th annual A Taste of the World will take place Thursday, Nov. 1 The chefs featured this year include Hugh Acheson of Five & Ten; Gerald Addison and Chris Morgan of Mayd n; Victoria Blamey, Ed Cooney, and Maurice Keller of Good Food Ireland; Sylvain Delpique of ’21’ Club; Anthony Lamas of Seviche; Angie Mar of The Beatrice Inn; Ouita Michel of Holly Hill Inn; Newman Miller of Star Hill Provisions; Jackson Rouse of Baüer Farm Kitchen; Jose Salazar of Salazar & Mita’s; Pierre Thiam of Teranga; Justin Wangler and Tracey Shepos Cenami of Jackson Family Wines; Emily Yuen of Bessou; and international television personality and cookbook author Grace Ramirez. “A highlight of the weekend, Taste of the World offers the perfect setting for horsemen from around the world to join together in celebrating the camaraderie and competition of the Breeders’ Cup,” said Craig Fravel, President and CEO of the Breeders’ Cup. “The participating chefs of this year’s event are among the most talented culinary forces in the world. We are looking forward to enjoying their creations as we toast to the World Championships alongside the very individuals who make it such a spectacle.” View the full article

The Kentucky HBPA, an arm of the National Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, has launched a new website, kyhbpa.org, in addition to starting a new social media initiative, #KyBCKids. Representing about 6,000 owners and trainers in Kentucky, the Kentucky HBPA negotiates contracts with all five Thoroughbred tracks in the state. All owners and trainers who run a horse in the commonwealth are automatically represented by the Kentucky HBPA, but there are additional benefits for those who register for the free membership. In addition to information about horsemen’s benefits, the website now has printable forms available to apply for benefits and Kentucky racing licenses. With a successful past Twitter initiative of #KyDerbyKids, where children of GI Kentucky Derby horsemen tweeted about their experiences, the Kentucky HBPA also has debuted #KyBCKids, where millenials associated with horses running in this year’s Breeders’ Cup, to be held at Churchill Downs Nov. 2-3, will provide content. “We have made it a priority to promote our horses, horsemen, and sport,” said Marty Maline, the Kentucky HBPA’s executive director. “The new website and #KyBCKids are our latest steps. With the Breeders’ Cup coming to Churchill Downs for the first time since 2011, we have an opportunity with social media to reach out to the generation we all want to attract to our tracks and sport by showing the excitement, energy, and fun of horse racing through the eyes of their peers who enjoy the ultimate front-row seats.” View the full article

The Breeders’ Cup has announced entertainment plans for the 35th World Championships, which are scheduled for Nov. 2-3 at Churchill Downs. Race attendees will be treated to a number of special performances and presentations. “Every year we strive to provide our fans with a rich roster of entertainment experiences that celebrates the local community and also highlights the international appeal of the Breeders’ Cup,” said Peter Rotondo, Vice President of Media and Entertainment of the Breeders’ Cup. “We are excited to welcome the impressive line-up of musical talent to this year’s event.” Opening the Friday program with the national anthem will be up-and-coming musical talent and high schooler Caroline Siegrist, followed by a presentation of colors by the Culver Military Color Guard. Following the races, fans will be treated to a performance by Kentucky favorite Tony and the Tan Lines. World-renowned tenor Anthony Kearns will welcome fans with the national anthem on Saturday with the Culver Military Color Guard again presenting the colors, but this time joined by representatives from Kentucky Wounded Heroes, the Louisville Sea Cadets, Western Kentucky University, and other uniformed military members. Shea Leparoux, the wife of jockey Julien Leparoux and daughter of late trainer Mike Mitchell, will perform “America the Beautiful” alongside guitarist Tyler Anderson from the group A Lion Named Roar. In addition, Louisville ensemble Linkin’ Bridge, a finalist on the popular television show “America’s Got Talent,” will perform “My Old Kentucky Home.” Finally, local band Color Me Badd will close out the day’s races. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today’s Observations features a pricey Frankel filly for King Power Racing. 1.10 Newbury, Novice, £8,400, 2yo, 8fT KING POWER (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was the third-highest lot at last year’s Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 when selling to King Power Racing for 2.5-million gns. Andrew Balding introduces the March-foaled chestnut, whose dam is a half to the G1 Epsom Oaks heroine Talent (GB) (New Approach {Ire}). 1.25 Leopardstown, Mdn, €17,500, 2yo, f, 7fT RACINE (GB) (Kingman {GB}) debuts for the Khalid Abdullah-Dermot Weld axis who enjoyed success with her half-sister Contingent (GB) (Frankel {GB}) at this track last year. The daughter of the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Proportional (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}) is joined by another Juddmonte newcomer in the Ger Lyons-trained Kaftan (GB) (Dansili {GB}), from the family of the G3 Prestige S. scorer Sense of Pride (GB) (Sadler’s Wells) and her talented brother Day Flight (GB). 1.55 Leopardstown, Mdn, €17,500, 2yo, c/g, 7fT PACIFIC OCEAN (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is a fascinating Ballydoyle newcomer in the maiden won in the past three years by the susbsequent G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hero Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and this stable’s G1 Epsom Derby runner-up Cliffs of Moher (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Out of the stellar multiple Group 1-winning Atlantic Jewel (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), the March-foaled bay encounters His Highness The Aga Khan’s fellow first-timer in Sherkali (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}), a Dermot Weld-trained relative of the smart Sharestan (Ire) (Shamardal). 7.15 Kempton, Novice, £6,000, 2yo, f, 8fT LOLANTA (IRE) (Dubawi {Ire}) debuts for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby and is a full-sister to the G2 Summer Mile winner and G1 Diamond Jubilee S. third Aljamaaheer (Ire) who is worth keeping a close eye on. From the family of Catcher In the Rye (Ire) (Danehill), the April-foaled chestnut meets 11 rivals on the Polytrack. View the full article

There are just three graded stakes in North America this pre-Breeders' Cup Saturday (Oct. 27), with the Hagyard Fayette (G2) topping the closing-day card at Keeneland. View the full article

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced Friday that it is seeking applications for the position of Director of NTRA Communications. The Director of NTRA Communications, which will be based in the organization’s Lexington, KY office, will be responsible for the overall public relations efforts of the NTRA while also serving as a clearinghouse and resource for national and industry trade media. For more details on the position, visit www.ntra.com/about/employment/. View the full article

Lexington, Kentucky is one of the most SPECIAL cities in the WORLD, and we need to keep it special. Our Urban Service Boundary and Comprehensive Plan have been instrumental in maintaining that quality of life that so many other cities seek. Lexington’s Mayoral race this year is crucial to our future. Linda Gorton is the right candidate to promote our signature industry and has the experience and desire to keep Lexington special. She is well known and respected as being a consensus builder–something our community and country sorely needs. As the leading farm broker in this area for several decades, I truly recognize the need to keep Lexington special, as well as, the Horse Capital of the World. How many times has our community used our rural landscape and industry to attract businesses, doctors, professors, etc. to our wonderful city? As a Realtor, I recognize we need growth, but smart, planned, and responsible growth. Linda Gorton, when elected, will do that, and not just provide lip service to get our vote. As a Thoroughbred owner and breeder and as a Realtor, Linda has my unequivocal support and if you’re driving the countryside as I do, you will readily see that she has the support of the industry’s landowners as well. View the full article

4th-KEE, $67K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, post time: 2:45 p.m. EDT Stonestreet homebred PHILOSOPHY (Speightstown) is the latest foal from the recently deceased Scarlet Tango (French Deputy), whose eight winners from 10 to race include GISW & ‘TDN Rising Star’ Tara’s Tango (Unbridled’s Song), GISW and South African-based stallion Visionaire (Grand Slam), GSW & MGISP Scarlet Strike (Smart Strike) and Madison’s Luna (Tapit), victorious in this year’s GIII Hutcheson S. Where’s Oliver (More Than Ready), a $90K Keeneland November weanling turned $400K Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling, is out of an unplaced daughter of Santa Teresita (Lemon Drop Kid), winner of the GI Santa Maria H. and $1.75-million graduate of the 2012 Fasig-Tipton November sale. TJCIS PPs 5th-KEE, $67K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 3:18 p.m. EDT SO ALIVE (Super Saver), a $160K KEESEP grad, is another product from the John Gunther breeding program, as the bay is a half-brother to this year’s GII Wood Memorial S. winner Vino Rosso (Curlin). The siblings’ dam Mythical Bride (Street Cry {Ire}) is a daughter of SW & GSP Flaming Heart (Touch Gold), dam of MGSW & GISP Commissioner (A.P. Indy) and GSW & GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-up Laugh Track (Distorted Humor). TJCIS PPs 7th-BEL, $75K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, post time: 4:02 p.m. EDT PEFORMER (Speightstown) lands gate 10 as a 4-1 chance on the morning line for this career unveiling. The Phipps homebred is out of 2009 GII Demoiselle S. runner-up Protesting (A.P. Indy), while the colt’s second dam, a close relative to MGSW Parading (Pulpit), whose GSP dam On Parade (Storm Cat) is a full-sister to champion Storm Flag Flying. Third dam My Flag (Easy Goer) counted the 1995 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies amongst her four Grade I victories. Rags for Britches (Union Rags) is kin to three full black-type winners, including MGSW Bridgetown (Speightstown), MSW Clement Rock (Strong Hope) and MSW & GSP Carnacks Choice (Carson City). The colt’s second dam, Empress Aly (Alydar), was an unraced full-sister to 1991 GI Kentucky Derby hero Strike the Gold. TJCIS PPs View the full article

FANCY DRESS PARTY (f, 2, Munnings–The Schvagen, by Matty G)–bet down to half her 10-1 morning-line for this off-the-turf unveiling–sat back off the pace a bit in mid-pack, running in the two-path through an opening quarter in :22.64. Out in the center of the track at the top of the sloppy stretch, the $280,000 KEESEP buy swiftly inhaled her rivals and splashed clear to an effortless three-length score over 3-2 chalk Quiet Company (Temple City). The final time was 1:05.13. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O-LNJ Foxwoods; B-Douglas Arnold (KY); T-Ben Colebrook. View the full article

Margoth's Gunnevera breezed six furlongs in 1:15 1/5 the morning of Oct. 26 at Gulfstream Park West in preparation for a planned start in the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at Churchill Downs Nov. 3. View the full article

He was a dreamer from Milwaukee and, after three years trying to be a trainer, still had only a handful of claimers in Chicago. Then one Sunday morning, driving into Hawthorne racetrack, Bobby Trussell noticed ash descending onto the windshield out of the dawn sky. He put his foot down and soon saw the flames in the clubhouse. When he arrived at the backstretch, cinders were sparking through the air and the fire crew were spraying the barn roofs. “What about the horsemen’s office?” he asked. “All our papers are in there.” “Don’t worry sir, we have that under control.” Forty years later, Trussell can laugh at the memory. “Just then the whole thing went up like a Christmas tree,” he says. “The stands, the office, all the papers with it. So I left, came to Lexington, and got a job at Gainesway. And that’s what really changed my life.” In tandem, moreover, the whole racing landscape was also about to change. For while Trussell keeps his own role modestly in perspective, the fact is that when the sport celebrates the 35th edition of its greatest modern innovation, at Churchill Downs in a few days’ time, it should also remember him in its toast to his late boss John Gaines. “We’d started calling it the Breeders’ Cup, internally, and at one point we said: ‘We need to get a name for it,'” he recalls. “But then we said: ‘What’s wrong with Breeders’ Cup?’ So we just stuck with it. To be there at the dawn of that, in my early thirties, it was very exciting.” He wonders how many people still recall the genesis of the idea. At the time, Gainesway’s biggest client was Nelson Bunker Hunt. “And he had his own auction at the Kentucky Horse Center, instead of selling his yearlings at Keeneland,” Trussell explains. “He was accused of doing that to avoid the commission to Keeneland, but told Mr. Gaines: ‘That’s not the case, and I want to show them that.’ So Mr. Gaines said: ‘Let’s take the 5% to invest in a stakes programme for fillies. It’ll help the breeding, it’ll help the racing, it’ll help everything.’ So this money was accumulating. And then Mr. Gaines hired a consultant, who said that if we wanted to make an impact, we should make it one day, instead of a series, and not just for fillies.” Gaines would take his team–Joe Taylor, Jim Philpott, Trussell–to lunch at the Lexington Country Club and thrash things out: “Bobby, how much money could we get for one stud fee for every stallion in Kentucky?” “And we were literally doing this on the back of a napkin, trying to figure out a model,” recalls Trussell. Young as he was, he had already worked for horsemen of no less consequence. In fact his first job, straight out of college, had been with John Nerud. Trussell had a degree in finance, his grandfather was a stockbroker, there was a job waiting. But his father had incautiously told him to follow his dreams. “Sorry gramps,” said Trussell. “I’m going to Belmont Park to walk hots.” He took his first ever plane trip to New York and showed up with his bags on the backstretch, clutching a letter from Nerud. Trouble was, Nerud was still in Florida. They wouldn’t let him in. Eventually Nerud’s assistant came to the gate, and Trussell showed him the letter. “You got a college degree? What are you doing here, boy!?” Next problem: they had mattress springs, but no mattress. Trussell spread his clothes over the springs and slept on those. Though he could not yet know it, fate was giving him a pinch right there. But first came the formative experience of working for the trainer of Dr. Fager, the horse who had hooked him on the game. “I was totally in awe,” Trussell recalls. “Nerud would arrive at 8:00 in a big limousine. He wasn’t allowed to drive, because of when he’d hurt his head. It was Dr. [Charles] Fager, of course, who’d done the brain surgery.” On his last day Trussell told Nerud he wanted to follow in his footsteps. “You want to train horses?” Nerud replied. “I’ll tell you what Ben Jones told me: keep ’em fat, keep ’em happy, and never work ’em over a half-mile.” Trussell found the system did not work quite so well for him. Then he spent a couple of winters working for Woody Stephens’s brother Bill at Aiken, learning how to break yearlings and develop juveniles. “And Woody had the exact opposite approach,” Trussell explains. “Such a lesson. He started working his 2-year-olds on February 1. They’d work every three days and by the first week of March they’re all breaking down, they had ankles and they had shins and I’m thinking: ‘Man, this guy is a butcher!’ Then he’d back off a little, but only the worst ones, and by April they were all fine again. And he sent them to New York and we had six 2-year-old stakes winners out of that group of 24. “Nerud didn’t have 2-year-old stakes winners, and even at three every single one of his horses had bucked shins or cradles round their necks. But then, when Woody’s horses were kind of done, Nerud would have all these stakes winners at four. Just showed there’s more than one way to skin a cat.” If neither approach was going to make a trainer of Trussell, the education had not been wasted on him. Having started out selling seasons, he gradually became right-hand man to Gaines in the quest for new stallions. “I was like a scout for a football team,” he recalls. “That was back in the go-go days, the market was so strong. We’d bought Lyphard just before I got there, but then we bought Riverman, Green Dancer, Sharpen Up; we repatriated Dust Commander from Japan; we got a horse called Sweet Candy from Venezuela. I told Mr. Gaines: ‘I’ve done a little research and on form he’s kinda like an allowance horse here.’ He replied: ‘Bobby! The horse won a million and a half dollars–we can syndicate him.’ And we did, for $6 million or something. He knew the market. “It was the European horses we could really arbitrage. Riverman was worth $7 million there and $14 million here. In essence, we could sell enough to own a quarter of the horse for nothing. But it was a win-win. It allowed the Europeans to monetize, and was the beginning of the melding of the two worlds.” Times have changed. He remembers the controversy when as many as 70 mares were booked to Blushing Groom. But times changed for Trussell himself, too. Over the last four years, unfortunately, he has had to deal with the insidious consequences of Lyme Disease. Long before then, however, he had proved the range of his abilities as an equally high achiever beyond the Turf. True, it was horses that first opened the door to his doing so. Trussell had horses in training in France with Alain Falourd, who introduced him to an equine chiropractor from Sweden–who, in turn, had a friend who claimed to have developed the world’s greatest mattress. Perhaps thinking back to those bedsprings in the Belmont tack-room, Trussell thought he should meet Mikael Magnusson. By the early 1990s, after all, the stallion business had gone into recession. In the event, it turned out that Magnusson had at least as much interest in Trussell’s world as the other way round. “I got to Stockholm and we spent three days talking about horses, and about an hour at the end talking about mattresses,” recalls Trussell. “But I stayed at Mikael’s house and slept on the mattress, and that’s all you had to do. They were just launching at the time, it was perfect timing. They didn’t have anybody in the States, Mikael gave me exclusive U.S. distribution rights and we formed a company named Tempur-Pedic–and the rest is history, the thing took off and went public about 10 years later.” The Swedish partners sold out in 2002 and, while Trussell stayed on as CEO, he stepped down in 2006. Magnusson, for his part, moved to Britain to train a small string of horses with conspicuous success–many owned in partnership with Trussell. But the latter’s return to the stallion business, as one of the buyers of Walmac, proved to be somewhat less happily timed. “We bought two [stallions] in 2008 that a month later were worth about a third of what we paid for them,” he says ruefully. “With the collapse of the economy, and the foal crop halving, it shrunk the pie. Now you’ve three or four players dominating, and not as much room for the peripheral operations.” But if his racing interests are for the time being confined to a couple in training with Patrick Biancone in Florida–he is meanwhile busy with a digital advertising start-up named CleanMedia–there is still much to learn from a man of such seasoned insight. Even a debilitating illness has not been wasted on Trussell’s inquiring outlook. “Lyme Disease is becoming an epidemic,” he warns. “The Center for Disease Control says there are 300,000 new cases in America per year. I’ve met so many people who’ve been hit way worse than me: I’ve remained fairly functional the whole time, but I know people in wheelchairs, people who’ve gone blind, people who’ve been sick for 20 years and not known what to do. “So anyway I’ve learned a lot about health. And I think that many of our advances in agriculture and medicine have come with a cost. A hundred years ago, they began to treat certain illnesses with mercury. About the most poisonous thing you can put in your body, and we have it in our teeth! Then there’s all the pesticide in our food, the preservatives, the fluorides. All of this has a cumulative effect. All these kids with asthma, with autism, things we didn’t used to have. Why? It’s because of what they’re ingesting in their food, in the air they breathe, and now the constant radiation from our phones and computers. It’s all taken its toll.” Trussell extends the logic to Thoroughbreds, and notes parallels in other breeds as well. He laments the loss of local feed suppliers, and suspects that wholesalers are warehousing on such a scale that oats and hay are saturated with pesticides or preservatives. He questions water purity, too. And while he disparages as unscientific the notion that medication might have weakened the breed over a couple of generations, he is alarmed by a pharmaceutical culture. “It’s not the drugs we gave these horses’ ancestors,” he says. “It’s the drugs we’re routinely giving them now–the legal drugs. They all have side-effects. You watch the TV commercials: they spend 20 seconds telling you how good a drug is, and 40 seconds telling you how it can kill you. The mentality is that there’s a drug for everything. If something’s wrong, you get a shot. Antibiotics ruin your gut–and people take them like candy. I’ve been helped way more myself by alternative treatments than any conventional ones.” Trussell has admired at close quarters the skills of Magnusson himself as an amateur equine chiropractor. Without wishing to get into the politics, he suggests that the power of veterinarians on the backstretch sometimes blocks such therapies. “In America we go left, left, left,” he says. “But that causes all sorts of injuries. They walk down the shedrow, they turn left. They go out the paddock, they turn left. I know Kenny McPeek one year suggested to the Gulfstream racing office that we could go the other way, on Tuesdays and Sundays or whatever it was. And he just got laughed off the stage.” Quite apart from any dilution of the breed’s resilience, Trussell believes that vested interests have also contributed to its diminished output. “Average starts have been going down for about 30 years,” he notes. “With this constant awareness of win percentage, the advent of the super trainer has to be a factor. Nerud and Stephens had 40 horses. Those were big operations. Now, there are trainers with 400. And they can’t run 10 horses in the same maiden race, so everyone has to wait their turn. “It used to be that you got left at the gate, or had a bad trip, you’d run next week. Now we have to wait six weeks. That’s really a downer, for an owner, to pay all those bills and run so little. If we ran horses more, it would be a virtuous circle: we’d increase the field size, increase the handle. The trainers are the employees, after all, not the other way round.” Here is a guy with no agenda, just a ton of experience inside and outside the sport; and a brain that can usefully process its lessons. Yes, he has been slowed down a little in recent times–“a big reason for cutting back my horse interests, and why Johnny Jones and I have decided to sell Walmac Farm.” (It will be sold at auction on Nov. 8.) But if circumstances have confined his energies, the same has not applied to his acuity. You have to seek him out; he’s not the type to shout from rooftops. But perhaps one or two of his messages will ultimately prove as important as even the institution of the Breeders’ Cup. That’s up to the industry. For himself, Trussell will make do with the intellectual stimulation of wagering. “As my racing stable has decreased, my interest in handicapping has increased,” he says with a grin. “I can root them home just as easily–and I don’t have the overheads.” View the full article

Southwest-based rider Diego Saenz secured the 2,000th victory of his career Oct. 25 when he guided Lovely Charlie to a clear victory in the eighth race at Delta Downs. View the full article

Phoenix Thoroughbreds' undefeated Dream Tree will miss the Nov. 3 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) because an epiglottic entrapment was discovered following her workout Oct. 26 at Santa Anita Park, trainer Bob Baffert said. View the full article

Saturday’s European action sees the flat season issue one of its final flourishes with a host of prestige races across Britain, France and Ireland concentrated mainly on the 2-year-olds. It is a shame that the international race-planners could not avoid a clash between the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud the G1 Vertem Futurity Trophy S., the latter of which re-adopts its old title before the Racing Post took up sponsorship in 1989. As ever, Ballydoyle have enough quality middle-distance Classic prospects for 2019 to spread around and have live chances of pulling off a double. Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is the chosen one for Rosegreen at Doncaster and bids to bring up a ninth renewal for Aidan O’Brien, while Norway (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) leads the way at Saint-Cloud. Things have come up quickly for the former, with his impressive winning debut over seven furlongs at Naas Sept. 30 preceding a narrow reversal at the hands of ‘TDN Rising Star’ Persian King (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) in Newmarket’s G3 Autumn S. over this mile trip Oct. 13. “Magna Grecia is in good form. Obviously it’s not long since he ran in Newmarket, but he seems to be in good form since,” Aidan O’Brien said. Magna Grecia is met by ‘TDN Rising Star’ Turgenev (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), another industrious fast-learner whose sole defeat also came at the hands of a serious piece of kit in Royal Marine (Ire) (Raven’s Pass) on debut at Doncaster Sept. 14. Ballydoyle have a line on him after he beat their Il Paradiso (Galileo {Ire}) in a mile Newmarket novice stakes Oct. 6, but Princess Haya of Jordan’s bay has a resolute nature which will take him far in this renewal. “He’s a progressive horse. He is only a novice winner and he doesn’t come with any group-race form, but he is a nice horse,” trainer John Gosden commented. “He has pleased us since winning at Newmarket and deserves to take his chance in a race of this nature.” Gosden also saddles Qatar Racing’s authoritative Sept. 27 Newmarket maiden scorer Kick On (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) and he said of him, “He won well at Newmarket and I’m happy to let him run. He had a setback after his first run so he had a nice holiday. He has grown a lot and is a genuine galloping horse. The mile helped last time, as he has got a huge stride and covers a lot of ground.” Norway, who appeared on the same card as Magna Grecia and was successful in his task in the 10-furlong Listed Zetland S., meets another numerically-poor representation of French juveniles during a season in which that has been the norm in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud. “Norway is in good form. He won nicely the last day in Newmarket and he’s a horse that we think is progressing,” O’Brien said. Godolphin put up the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Shoot For Gold (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), who scored by seven lengths over a mile at Windsor Oct. 8 and the relative of Grand Couturier (GB) (Grand Lodge) is held in high esteem. “Shoot For Gold is a nice colt, who has improved with every start and won well at Windsor,” his handler commented. “He has shown some class in his work and we would prefer some ease in the ground, although good going will be fine for him. He is ready to go again and the step up to 10 furlongs should suit.” France’s most unexposed contender is the Wertheimers’ Anecdotic (Anodin {Ire}), who beat a subsequent winner on debut over this trip at Compiegne Oct. 4. Even Leopardstown gets in on the act, hosting a significant juvenile contest of its own over nine furlongs and therefore nestled between the mile of the Futurity and the 10 furlongs of the Criterium de Saint-Cloud. His Highness The Aga Khan’s Masaff (Ire) (Raven’s Pass) boasts the best form and possibly also the most potential, having chased home two smart peers in Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) and Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the G2 Champions Juvenile S. at a mile here Sept. 15. Jockey Declan McDonogh commented, “I think it’s a nice race for him. This will probably be his last run of the season, he’s a nice colt and I’m looking forward to riding him.” At Newbury, the G3 Horris Hill S. over seven furlongs sees Chairmanoftheboard (Ire) (Slade Power {Ire}) bid to back up the impression he created with an eight-length debut success over a furlong shorter at Goodwood Oct. 14, while Bernard Kantor’s May 9 G3 Chester Vase and Sept. 22 G3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup winner Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) looks to offer further prognostication of what could come from him in 2019 in the G3 St Simon S. “He should give a good account of himself. He has got a penalty, but he should run well,” trainer William Haggas said. “I wanted to go for the Prix Chaudenay on Arc weekend, but the ground was too fast. He needs cut in the ground. He wasn’t right after Epsom for a long time, so we have nursed him back and we don’t want to put him on the back foot again. If I’m allowed to run him, I think next season he is absolutely tailor-made for the Yorkshire Cup.” Godolphin’s Wootton (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is back in the G3 Prix Perth, making up a trio in the royal blue as he seeks to end his campaign on a high. Considered a Classic winner waiting to happen after his return success in ParisLongchamp’s G3 Prix de Fontainebleau Apr. 15, the Henri-Alex Pantall trainee needs a confidence boost after some reversals in better company. “Wootton is a colt with a lot of quality, but things just haven’t gone his way this year,” Lisa-Jane Graffard commented. “It is hard to be confident, but he should have conditions to suit.” View the full article

Pearling (Storm Cat), the dam of three-time Group 1 winner Decorated Knight (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), will be offered at this year’s Tattersalls December Breeding Stock Sale. Tattersalls released the catalogue for the four-day sale, which takes place at Park Paddocks from Dec. 3 to 6, on Friday, and the 12-year-old Pearling-who is carrying a full sibling to Decorated Knight–is one of the expected headliners. Not only is her first foal the aforementioned Tattersalls Gold Cup, Irish Champion S. and Jebel Hatta winner, but she is also a full-sister to Giant’s Causeway and You’resothrilling, the dam of five group winners headed by Classic winners Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Marvellous (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and dual Group 1-winning juvenile Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Pearling will be offered by New England Stud as lot 1918. Pearling is one of two mares in foal to Galileo to be offered at the sale, and there are three in foal to Dubawi (Ire), including group winners The Miniver Rose (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) (lot 1605) and Stellar Path (Fr) (Astronomer Royal) (lot 1847). There are nine mares catalogued in foal to Frankel (GB), including Juddmonte’s Group 1 producer Argumentative (GB) (Observatory) (lot 1526), the listed-winning and Classic-placed Heuristique (Ire) (Shamardal) (lot 1878) and the dam of American stakes winner Rubilinda (Frankel {GB}) (lot 1891). The catalogue includes 116 stakes winners or producers, and mares in foal to all of the current top 20 active British and Irish sires as well as 13 carrying to leading French sire Siyouni (Fr) and the only mare in foal to War Front to be offered in Europe this year. There are 18 mares catalogued in foal to Kingman and 11 in foal to No Nay Never. American representation includes the European dispersal of Bobby Flay’s stock, and the inaugural European consignment of Taylor Made Farm. Flay’s draft includes Auld Alliance (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) in foal to Frankel (lot 1909) and the Group 3-winning, Group 1-placed Banzari (GB) (Motivator {GB}) in foal to Fastnet Rock (Aus) (lot 1910). Other top-class offerings include GI Matriarch S. winner Off Limits (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) (lot 1871); the Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed Vue Fantastique (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) (lot 1872); Group 2 winners Raven’s Lady (GB) (Raven’s Pass) (lot 1915) and Heartache (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) (lot 1897); and Group 3 winners Luminate (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) (lot 1919) and Beautiful Morning (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) (lot 1927). “The Tattersalls December Sale has been Europe’s premier breeding stock sale for more than a century, and we have a catalogue of quality fillies and mares with coverings by stallions who are arguably the best in the world at the moment,” said Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony. “The December Sale is always an unmissable event for Thoroughbred breeders from throughout the world and we are looking forward to another truly international renewal.” View the full article