Wandering Eyes

ARCADIA, CA – With bidding at the inaugural Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale slated to begin in the track’s paddock at 1 p.m. Wednesday, buyers began making the rounds at the temporary sales barns near Santa Anita’s seven-furlong chute under a typical Southern California “June Gloom” sky Tuesday morning in Arcadia. Consignors expected a busy day of showing following Monday’s heavily attended breeze show. “We have a ton of traffic here at the barn already, so that’s very encouraging to see this much action the day before the sale,” consignor Adrian Gonzalez said as he oversaw the action at his Checkmate Thoroughbreds barns Tuesday morning. “All our horses came out of the works in good order and the vetting is great. So I think we’re going to have a pretty strong sale with the group of horses we have here.” Andy Havens was seeing shoppers with purpose at the barn of his Havens Bloodstock consignment. “I am really happy with the turnout of buyers,” Havens said. “We are really seeing a lot of interest and there are guys who are not just looking around. They want horses. I’ve got mostly California-breds here and I think they really like buying those. Del Mar is right around the corner and everybody likes to go there. So it’s really been busy. After the preview [Monday] and today have been very busy. Fasig has done a great job, Fasig and Santa Anita both have put a lot of work into this and there have been some tough circumstances, too.” When Fasig-Tipton announced last July that it was partnering with The Stronach Group to conduct auctions at Santa Anita, stepping in to fill a void left by the now-defunct Barretts, the company could not have envisioned the maelstrom that has engulfed the Arcadia track this winter, but Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. is convinced the move was the right one, not just for the sales company, but for the industry as a whole. “Santa Anita really is a special place,” Browning said after the under-tack preview Monday. “As a racing fan, when I walk onto this ground, it kind of invigorates you–what a spectacular setting, what a historic setting. You look around and you see the mountains around the racetrack and the palm trees and the setting, there is no question that this can become a very important and valuable opportunity for 2-year-old sales and for sales in general. It’s a great facility, there is a lot of enthusiasm for and interest in racing here. And let’s face it, there is a lot of money in Southern California, that’s just the reality. So in some ways it gives you the opportunity to bring the product to the marketplace where the buyers are, which theoretically ought to enhance the sales environment on a long-term basis.” The inaugural Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita catalogue includes 169 juveniles, with 50 outs as of Tuesday afternoon. Browning admitted uncertainty around Santa Anita this past winter had an impact on the recruiting process, as many out-of-town consignors took a wait-and-see approach to the first edition of the auction. “The recruiting process coming into this sale, frankly, could not have been more difficult,” Browning said. “I hope to goodness, from the industry’s perspective, the industry doesn’t face some of the obstacles that were in place during the prime recruiting time for the 2-year-old sale at Santa Anita in early summer. We all know the challenges, we all know the issues that Santa Anita has faced–and handled in the best possible manner. He continued, “There were consignors who I think would have supported this sale who just weren’t comfortable at the inaugural sale and in an environment and at a facility they weren’t sure about that had a lot of questions in the late winter and early spring of 2019. It’s my hope and belief that there will be some demonstrable bright spots on Wednesday which should give everyone a significant boost of confidence going forward into 2020 and beyond in California. This state, this track, this region is important to the whole North American industry from a racing standpoint, from a breeding standpoint, and from a fan standpoint. This is important. We made a commitment to come here for all the right reasons and we still believe long-term in Southern California, in Santa Anita and in the product here.” One of the handful of out-of-town consignors is the Texas-based Lane Richardson, whose Richardson Bloodstock will offer a filly by Liam’s Map during Wednesday’s sale. “For the first year, I think a bunch of people didn’t come because they wanted to see how it goes,” Richardson said. “And I think it will go well. The track was safe and the horses came back good. I think it is very important to have a 2-year-old sale in Southern California–a bunch of our owners are out here and a bunch of racing is out here, we have the Breeders’ Cup out here almost every year. So I think it’s very important to have a sale out here. And with Fasig doing it, I think it’s going to be first class because they always do everything first class. They take care of the horsemen, as well as the buyer.” For locally based consignors like Gonzalez and Havens, having a 2-year-old sale is vital to the health of the state’s breeding industry. “I think this 2-year-old sale is going to drive our yearling market and without a strong yearling market, we’re going to lose the broodmare pool,” Gonzalez said. “So I think this sale is really going to be the keystone sale–kind of a rising tide lifts all boats. I couldn’t stress more the importance of this sale.” Havens said the loss of a permanent home for sales in the region was a loss, but he is hopeful that Fasig-Tipton’s presence will be a boost for the industry. “I’ve been doing this for 40 years,” Havens said. “And the closing of Barretts was devastating. That facility was just wonderful–it was a dedicated sales facility and it was a terrific place to go to sell horses and without that, it’s not easy for anybody. It’s not easy for Fasig or Santa Anita to fit us in–they had to build this whole [temporary barn area]. I just hope that this turns out well because these guys are really trying hard. And we need it. It’s absolutely necessary. Havens continued, “I am a person who believes that the commercial business is essential to the breeding business and if you don’t have it, you’re really going to kick a hole in it. I represent people who mostly breed horses and the uncertainty of the market has already had an effect on what they’ve been doing. If this sale turns out well and the yearling sale turns out well, I think it will have a really positive influence. So I am really counting on this. If this turns out to be a decent sale, followed by the other one, I think it will give people out here a lot of confidence. That’s what I’m hoping for.” Gonzalez looks for a strong inaugural sale to attract a deeper bench of Florida consignors next year. “The read I got from everybody out there was, obviously it is very expensive for them to come across the country and I think they wanted to see it first before they committed to coming,” he said. “I think, with the safe breeze show that we had and hopefully good sales results, I would expect to see those guys come back out here. Because they did very well at our California sales before. So I think it’s just a matter of, a new thing is happening, let’s see them do it once before we commit to doing it again.” The post Inaugural Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita Sale Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

On an otherwise quiet day of training at Belmont Park before the June 8 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1), attention was centered on War of Will, who made a grand appearance, sporting an additional 40-50 pounds since the Preakness. View the full article

Lifelong horseman and longtime Keeneland Starter Robert Lee "Spec" Alexander, widely respected for his skill with Thoroughbred racehorses and a beloved ambassador of Keeneland, died June 3. He was 80. View the full article

If there's a rematch between Maximum Security, who was disqualified from first in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner War of Will, it will not happen in the TVG.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1). View the full article

Last week’s G1 Investec Oaks winner Anapurna (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will not attempt an English/Irish Oaks double and will enjoy a break from training before resuming racing in the autumn. Speaking to the Racing Post her owner and breeder Mark Weinfeld of Meon Valley Stud said, “I don’t think we’re going to go for the Irish Oaks. She had quite a hard race and John Gosden is quite keen on giving her a break and an autumn campaign.” A Gosden trained filly has won the last two running’s of the G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and if the hat-trick is to be landed this year Weinfeld reckons Anapurna won’t be the one to achieve it. “I’m never a great one for taking on colts with fillies. If John twisted my arm and thought it was really the way we should go it might be something else to think about. There’s the Prix Royallieu at the Arc meeting which is now a Group 1 and the fillies and mares race on Champions Day at Ascot,” he added. The post Break On The Cards For Anapurna appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Courtesy of Keeneland Lifelong horseman and longtime Keeneland Starter Robert Lee “Spec” Alexander, widely respected for his skill with Thoroughbred racehorses and a beloved ambassador of Keeneland, died Monday, June 3. He was 80. “Spec was a Keeneland institution, an unquestioned master of his craft,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. “For decades, his talent as a horseman ensured the safety of countless Thoroughbreds and their riders, from schooling young horses about the starting gate during morning training hours to providing a clean start during the afternoon’s races. Horsemen who train and race at Keeneland always have been confident that Spec and his team would handle each horse with exceptional care.” From Versailles, Kentucky, Alexander began his career in the 1950s as an exercise rider for Claiborne Farm’s yearling division. He subsequently gravitated to racing, exercising horses for such noted trainers as Col. Phil Chinn, Duval Headley, John “Trader” Clark, Jack Hodgins, Moody Jolly and S. Bryant Ott. While with the latter, he galloped such prominent Fourth Estate Stable runners as War Censor, Copy Chief, Times Roman and Editorialist. One of Alexander’s most memorable mounts was 1961 champion 2-year-old colt Ridan, who Alexander broke at Claiborne and galloped throughout his juvenile season. Trained by LeRoy Jolly, Ridan won Keeneland’s 1962 Blue Grass and was third in the Kentucky Derby. In 1967, Alexander began working on the starting gate crew for Charles Camac at Atlantic City Race Course, and worked as an assistant starter at various tracks such as Monmouth Park and Philadelphia Park through the 1970s and 1980s. He became an assistant starter at Keeneland in the 1970s, and head starter in the 1980s. Alexander knew a talented Thoroughbred when he saw one. When a bright chestnut 2-year-old colt arrived at the Keeneland starting gate one summer morning in 2017 for fundamental lessons, Alexander knew the youngster would become a superstar. The colt, sold for $500,000 at Keeneland’s 2016 September Yearling Sale, at the time was with Keeneland-based trainer Rodolphe Brisset. A year later with trainer Bob Baffert, he made headlines as undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy). “The good ones just stand out from the others,” Alexander said in a 2018 interview, describing the intangible qualities of superior racehorses. Like many young horses at Keeneland during the summer, Justify honed the starting gate skills required for racing under Alexander. Most Thoroughbreds master the technique of entering, standing and sprinting out of the starting gate in just a few classes while others need remedial education. With his crew, Alexander was patient regardless of each animal’s ability. Thoroughbreds are known to have incredible memories, and Alexander said they will not forget a bad experience in the starting gate. “Horses only know what we teach them,” Alexander said, noting that teaching horses good manners is easier than undoing their bad manners. Alexander was mindful of the time and money people invested in racehorses and treated each animal as if it were his own. He also capitalized on his crew’s diverse horsemanship skills when an equine student needed extra attention. “I’ve learned over the years that one person will get along with a horse and another person won’t,” he said. “I have really good horsemen on my crew and they work together.” Despite his high-profile position during the races, Alexander was most comfortable early in the day when the starting gate is positioned at the 4 1/2-furlong chute on the far side of the Grandstand. This is where seasoned runners perfect their skills, where impressionable youngsters progress in their classes and where Alexander was both mentor and pupil. “My favorite part of working for Keeneland is developing young horses,” he said. “And every day I learn something new. I have been doing this a long time, but I don’t know everything.” Click here for a video tribute to Alexander. The post Longtime Keeneland Starter Spec Alexander Passes Away appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

If there's a rematch between Maximum Security, who was disqualified from first in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner War of Will, it will not happen in the TVG.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1). View the full article

I’m not sure anyone really knows quite what it is that makes a great broodmare sire. Or why their daughters should, in turn, produce stallions that became potent distaff influences: think of Miswaki and El Gran Senor, both out of Buckpasser mares, and sires of Urban Sea and Toussaud respectively. Might there be some kind of physiological inheritance: to help the nursing foal flourish, say? Or might it sooner be a matter of traits, paradoxically, sooner associated with the male; with the aspiring herd leader? Because you have to wonder what kind of unyielding toughness–whether sheer physical reserves, or a cruel ambition–might underpin their impact on the Classic that can so often prove a bridge too far. Buckpasser sired the dams of three Belmont S. winners: Easy Goer (Alydar), Coastal (Majestic Prince) and Touch Gold. And it is the sire of the last of these, Deputy Minister, who reiterates his equivalent status for the next generation of breeders–he was born in 1979, the year after Buckpasser died–in the field assembling for the 151st “Test of a Champion” on Saturday. Broodmare sires are necessarily a slow burn, but even their posthumous embers eventually fade. So by now it feels a real treat to have two grandsons of Deputy Minister in the same Classic: Master Fencer (Jpn) (Just A Way {Jpn}) is out of his daughter Sexy Zamurai, who was born six months before Deputy Minister’s death in 2004; and Sir Winston is by his ageing son Awesome Again. More typically, by this stage, two other runners show how his sons have followed through as broodmare sires: Intrepid Heart (Tapit) is out of a daughter of Touch Gold; and Everfast (Take Charge Indy) is out of an Awesome Again mare. Besides the success of his son Touch Gold, Deputy Minister has–like Buckpasser-repeatedly measured the prowess of his daughters in the Belmont. Most notably through Better Than Honour, whose son Jazil (Seeking The Gold) and daughter Rags To Riches (A.P. Indy) consecutively delivered in 2006 and 2007; while the dam of Sarava (Wild Again), the 70-1 shocker in 2002, was also by Deputy Minister. (Justify (Scat Daddy) himself, of course, is out of a mare by Deputy Minister’s grandson Ghostzapper.) Curlin, beaten only a head by Rags To Riches and sire of 2013 winner Palace Malice, is out of a Deputy Minister mare and his own terrific success at stud is helping to reinforce his damsire’s influence. In fact Curlin’s son Keen Ice, being out of an Awesome Again mare, offers Calumet clients a 3 x 3 dose of Deputy Minister. Keen Ice was third in American Pharoah’s Belmont; the runner-up that day, Frosted (Tapit), found his true metier on the same card a year later, in the GI Met Mile, and a dam by Deputy Minister is a big selling point for his new career. The same holds true for Strong Mandate (Tiznow) and Tapizar (Tapit), who likewise made their name up to a mile. Though such dashers confirm how his daughters deal in all kinds of class, Deputy Minister’s overall impact on the Belmont is perhaps a clue to those latent qualities that make him such a linchpin. His own career on the track hardly volunteered him as an obvious source of stamina: a champion juvenile, indeed Horse of the Year at two in Canada, he was derailed from the Triple Crown trail by ankle injury and subsequently operated between seven and nine furlongs. But he might very well have been equal to Classic distances. His dam was by a son of Canada’s outstanding prewar Thoroughbred, Bunty Lawless–whose son Windfields brings him in top and bottom, having sired the second dam of Deputy Minister’s father Vice Regent. More pertinent, perhaps, is the third dam of Deputy Minister: a half-sister to the dam of Exclusive Native, who gave us Classic standouts in Affirmed and Genuine Risk. The other thing about Deputy Minister was that he evidently had an unusually tough disposition, not so much mean as macho. One way or another, there was a whole lot of him: both physically, standing 16.2 ½ hands with tremendous shoulder and hindquarters, and in terms of personality. The build echoed Vice Regent, who was much more substantial than his own sire Northern Dancer but critically retained the tribal balance; and similarly, it appears, a highly intelligent outlook. One way or another, Deputy Minister has become a reassuring presence in the genetic bedrock of a modern American Thoroughbred with pretensions to Classic quality; one of those names that weigh down the flapping uncertainties of a pedigree like a great gold ingot. And he could very well add to his Belmont legacy this weekend. The maternal family of Sir Winston, a strong Canadian one, packs down several influences shared by his grandsire: his second dam is by Affirmed (i.e. Exclusive’s grandson) out of a mare by Vice Regent’s son Regal Intention. Intrepid Heart’s dam by Deputy Minister’s Belmont winner has already had a head runner-up in the race in Commissioner (A.P. Indy). (Another sibling, incidentally, boosted the pedigree just a few days ago through the Grade I breakthrough of her son Vino Rosso-who, being by Curlin, duly carries Deputy Minister on both sides.) And then there is Everfast. Take Charge Lady, the celebrated dam of Everfast’s sire, is a tribute to the distaff power of another son of Deputy Minister in Dehere. Since Everfast, as noted, is out of an Awesome Again mare, that means he brings Deputy Minister 4 x 3. His longshot Preakness second rounded off a splendid day for Calumet at Pimlico, alongside homebred Grade III and Listed winners. Everfast is no Citation or Whirlaway, but it would still be something to see those silks carried by a Belmont winner again. We have already remarked how the farm values a double dose of Deputy Minister, in Keen Ice. Obviously they, too, have recognised that there’s just no substitute for the Deputy. The post This Side Up: Belmont Showcases Minister Influence appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Charlie Hills has issued a positive bulletin over his G1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas winner Phoenix Of Spain (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) as the horse builds up towards his next target, the G1 St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot. That mile contest on June 18 could see the colt again lock horns with the likes of Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Magna Grecia (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) but such was the authority of Phoneix Of Spain’s Curragh performance that the opposition will have to up their game considerably to reverse the placings. “He seems to have come out of the race really well. He’s back in his normal routine now and he’s eating well, so we’re looking forward to the Tuesday of Ascot,” Hills said on Tuesday. Reflecting on his three length pillar to post victory the Lambourn trainer said, “We were obviously delighted with him at the Curragh. He was going away from them at the end, and galloped right through the line. You’d like to think there’s some improvement there, and it’s quite nice to be going into Royal Ascot with just one run under his belt this year – he’s going there nice and fresh.” Phoenix of Spain will retire to the Irish National Stud after his racing career and Hills hinted at a race later in the season that INS CEO Cathal Beale would no doubt love to see on the horse’s CV. “I think we’d like to try him over a mile and a quarter at some stage, but there’s no rush. One race you might think of stepping up in trip for would be in Ireland for the Irish Champion Stakes, but we’ll see,” Hills added. The post Hills Excited About Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

I was delighted to see Seamie Heffernan win the Derby on Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) and I’m pretty sure that everyone in the weighing-room in Ireland, and in fact everyone in Irish racing, would not begrudge him that result. He’s ridden so many great horses over the years at Ballydoyle, whether it’s in the morning or in the afternoon at the races, and he has been and integral part of that operation and for Aidan O’Brien pretty much since the beginning. He and Aidan worked together at Jim Bolger’s and then when Aidan moved from Owning Hill to Ballydoyle, Seamie joined him there and they’ve had a very strong relationship. I think we can’t underestimate the part that Seamus plays in the workings of Ballydoyle. He’s a really good judge in the mornings and a very straight talker—he tells it as it is with no frills and I think that suits the operation. Winning the Derby was due reward for him after being placed on numerous occasions and riding all those good horses in big races around the world. Obviously he has always played second jockey to a number of great riders they have been associated with Ballydoyle over the years and he has always been a huge team player. Every yard needs good work riders—not that I’m labelling him as a work rider as he’s a very good jockey—but obviously in the mornings he is extremely valued. Seamus has his opinion and delivers it directly, to put it mildly, and I think that Aidan has respect for him for that. More often than not he has been correct in his judgement and all the owners, as well as Aidan, have huge respect for him. Having said all of that, I must admit that at the furlong pole I was shouting for Madhmoon (Ire). I thought for about ten strides we were going to have the result that I think racing would have wanted to see—for 86-year-old Kevin Prendergast to train an Epsom Derby winner. He’s a legendary man from a legendary family in Irish racing and it would have been brilliant for him to have won, but it wasn’t to be. Madhmoon was given an excellent ride by Chris Hayes and was prepared really well by Kevin but unfortunately he just got run out of it. It was a huge performance by the horse and a step forward again from Newmarket and an excellent run in the Guineas. You couldn’t say that he didn’t stay but to my eye, we will probably see the best of him when he comes back to a mile and a quarter. That said, I’m sure they will go and have a crack at the Irish Derby, which is probably the logical thing to do. His day will come before the end of the year. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and we were all looking thinking that Sir Dragonet (Ire) was the unknown and may be another champion in the making. I certainly overlooked Anthony Van Dyck but he was the top-rated horse in the race and he duly showed that he was the best horse in the race. To me, the Derby is the most important 3-year-old race in the calendar and it remains the ultimate test of a racehorse in mind and body. They have to be able to not let the occasion get to them, and equally they have to have the physique and the balance to deliver their best on a unique track. Frankie Dettori came to the fore again in the Oaks and gave Anapurna (GB) a copybook Epsom ride. He was very patient and got a beautiful position, and then when the race opened up well for him he was able to outrun Pink Dogwood (Ire) at the line. Not only was it a great ride by Frankie but it was yet another excellent training performance by John Gosden. Anapurna was very gutsy. The fillies seemed to be on a fairly level playing field going into the race but we must give credit to the winner and the runner-up as the two of them pulled a fair way clear from the third horse, Fleeting (Ire). They are clearly two very good fillies and let’s hope that they will clash again at some stage in the year. A jockey’s best friend In the next month we will see the retirement of one of the stalwarts of the weighing-room in valet Robert ‘Nuggy’ Rusk and I thought I should take this opportunity to highlight the importance of what a ballot does for jockey on a daily basis. Nuggy is a character and has been in the weighing-room for as long as I can remember. When things are tough and your head is down, he has always had the ability to make you laugh and get back up and going again. The weighing-room is completely unique. At the races it’s the jockeys’ sanctuary and it’s only now that I’m beginning to realise that there are whole areas of race tracks that I have never seen. All I’ve ever known is going to the weighing room and back home again and that illustrates just how much time jockeys spend in there. The role of a valet in the workings of the weighing-room is firstly that they bring you your racing gear and your saddle and make sure that everything is laid out for you in order that you can do your day’s work. But they are very much more than that. You can confide in them and speak to them about problems, whether it’s personal or business-related and they will help you along and give you advice. The unique thing about the relationship is that they actually get to learn about your body nearly more than you do yourself. In the past for me, they would have known that I’d always try to get out for some dinner on a Sunday night so they would always have my saddle prepared for me to be two or three pounds heavier on a Monday than I would be for the rest of the week. They would know when you are in bad form and when to leave you alone, or when to approach you to see if everything is okay. They very much work almost as counsellors along with everything else. Jockeys have a deep relationship with them, right from the basics of making sure that all your equipment is in good working order and ordering new equipment for you when you need it. It’s a small community in the weighing-room and deep friendships are made. The valets have all the stories which are never revealed outside. But most importantly they take away all the pressure on a race day so that all you have to worry about is riding your horses. I’d like to wish Nuggy a happy retirement. He will be missed and the weighing-room will certainly be a much quieter place without him. The post The Pat Smullen Column: Just Reward For Seamie appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Wesley Ward’s annual Royal Ascot raiding party has been finalised as the trainer bids to add to the 10 winners he has enjoyed since targeting the meeting for the first time in 2009. Eight 2-year-olds will be joined by older sprinter Bound For Nowhere (The Factor) who finished third in the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. last year, and while in recent years punters could often back the Ward juvenile ‘blind’, that process will not be as straightforward this year with the trainer likely to be doubly represented in several contests. Ward will be utilising John Velazquez and Tyler Gaffalione with the latter, successful in the GI Preakness on War Of Will (War Front), making his riding debut in England. Having run so well at Royal Ascot last year Ward obviously has high hopes for Bound For Nowehere who blew away the cobwebs with a runner up spot in a Grade II at Keeneland in April. “He has some beautiful breezes here at Keeneland, where he had a really nice race, is dead sound and has no issues,” Ward said. “He will be coming over with that race underneath him and a string of quick drills in the morning. He should be ready to run the race of his life this year,” he added. With seven juvenile fillies in his squad Ward has a job allocating them in the most suitable races but Nayibeth (Carpe Diem) is one whose target is definite. “I really, really like her,” said Ward. “She won with speed to spare here at Keeneland. She was my most impressive 2-year-old winner because she won against the bridle. She will run in the Albany.” Ward also has care of the American Pharoah colt Maven who he bred himself and he booked his ticket when making a winning debut at Aqueduct in April on the dirt. “He won the first 2-year-old race of the year in New York and was given an 84 Beyer figure – which is very high. We are going to shoot for the Norfolk with him,” Ward said. The post Ward Finalises Ascot Team appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Benno Yung Tin-pang’s Not Usual Talent will make the trek to Happy Valley on Wednesday night as connections look to break a recent pattern of honourable second placings.The four-year-old has been one of Yung’s best performed gallopers this season but has walked away with just one win, running second three times in his past five starts at Sha Tin.Arriving from New Zealand with a rating of 72 this season, Not Usual Talent has raced over varying distances from 1,200m to 2,000m and performed… View the full article

John Bell was missing from the New Zealand training ranks for 13 years, but he’s certainly making up for it. The Cambridge horseman experienced a personal record as a trainer last season with 13 wins, including two Group Three victories by Julius, and already this term he has bettered that win tally with 16 victories and the promise of more to come before the end of the season on July 31. His stable has been consistently churning out the winners with Noble Star, Ata Rangi and Yorkshire Dales p... View the full article

Aldo Domeyer is hoping the pace is on as he tries to continue his good Happy Valley form with Everbrave and Righteous Mate on Wednesday night.The South African jockey guided the Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained Everbrave to victory last start and he’s hoping to go back-to-back in the Class Four Mount Gough Handicap (1,000m).It was the five-year-old’s first Hong Kong success and Domeyer is hoping he can take some confidence from it and get the gun run from barrier three.“He won well last start even… View the full article

Promising juvenile filly Flaunting became Hamilton trainer David Greene’s fourth stakes winner when she took out the Listed Castletown Stakes (1200m) at Wanganui on Saturday. The daughter of Showcasing has amassed a strong record in her short career, which includes two wins and a placing from just four starts, with her only unplaced result coming in the Karaka Million 2YO (1200m) at Ellerslie in January. “Drawing one (in the Karaka Million) probably turned out to be the worst thing for her i... View the full article

Talented jockey Alysha Collett has been presented with a major incentive to resume her riding career after eight months on the sideline. The 25-year-old has been relicensed in Singapore from July 1 and is keen to take up the six-month contract once she has regained some of her race-riding fitness and focus in New Zealand. “I see my surgeon next Monday and hopefully I will get my clearance to start race riding again,” she said. “I have been riding horses as part of the ACC back-to-work prog... View the full article

ARCADIA, CA – Fasig-Tipton conducted its first breeze show ahead of the inaugural Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in Arcadia Monday, attracting a large crowd of buyers, sellers and trainers to the grandstand to watch 120 juveniles work over the main track. A filly by Bernardini had the fastest furlong breeze time of :10 1/5, while a colt by Tapiture turned in the fastest quarter-mile breeze of :21 1/5. “It was a very, very well attended under-tack show–there was a great crowd with a very diverse group of people in attendance from trainers and buyers and a lot of faces we didn’t recognize,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “Santa Anita is a spectacular facility and it’s a spectacular setting. It gives horses a real opportunity to demonstrate their ability. We are big proponents of a dirt racetrack from an under-tack show perspective. We are very pleased that the first under-tack show here went off very smoothly and very professionally.” Southern California trainers were out in force for the breeze show, with Bob Baffert taking in the works alongside bloodstock agent Donato Lanni from a golf cart trackside. Other trainers at the show were Peter Eurton, Gary Sherlock, Gary Dollase, John Sadler, Paddy Gallagher, Richard Baltas, Phil D’Amato, Jeff Bonde, Dan Hendricks, Bob Hess, and Brian Koriner. The first Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita breeze show came as the track is under heavy scrutiny after a high number of equine fatalities during its current meet. Monday’s breezes were turned in over a deep track that yielded times slower than typical under-tack shows and riders were also held to Santa Anita’s house rules on the use of whips. “There were some rules that were put in place in conjunction with Santa Anita,” Browning said of the whip policy. “The riders had to keep both hands on the reins and could not reach back and strike the horse. They could tap the horse on the shoulder a few times, but you couldn’t reach back and strike the horses at any point in time, before or during the breeze, which is consistent with [Santa Anita’s] house training rules in the morning. It’s a little bit different environment in that regard and I thought we had great cooperation from the consignors and riders who put on a professional breeze show with a little bit of a change of technique. Browning, Jr. continued, “Everybody was under intense scrutiny for this under tack show–I don’t think there is any question about that or any denying that. I think the folks at Santa Anita and our people at Fasig-Tipton worked very, very closely with consignors and everybody understood the importance of having a good performance today in all regards for the long-term and the short-term benefit of sales and racing. It was an important day and I am glad we successfully got through it and saw some good horses perform on the racetrack.” Bloodstock agent David Meah, who regularly rides out on the Santa Anita track, saw a lot of positives in Monday’s preview. “I think it was a very safe track, a good, deep surface,” Meah said. “I think a lot of people might be a bit put off by the times overall, but being here, working here, and galloping on the track every day, we know the track has been slow. It’s been slow for a few months. For me, a slow, safe track is much better than a fast, hard track.” Asked how people should gauge the times, Meah said, “Be forgiving. It is a slower track–a :10 2/5 or :10 3/5 here, you could compare it to a :10 flat. Take that into consideration. I think a lot of the horses are going to come out of these works well, which is a good thing when you go back to vet them afterwards.” Of the more conservative use of the whip, Meah said, “I think that’s a great thing. We are in a very tricky time right now with horse racing all over the country. It is going to impact everyone. And I think making the riders stick to the hands on the reins, whipping down the shoulder, corrective measures instead of making them go fast, is a good thing. Good horsemen can see a good horse, whether it goes :10 flat or :11 flat. A good horseman should be able to see that.” Raul Reyes’s Kings Equine sent out a filly by Bernardini (hip 45) to post the furlong bullet time of :10 1/5. Out of Elbe (GB), the bay filly was purchased by Reyes for $11,500 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton October Sale. “I was very happy with that,” Reyes said of the work. “She handled the track very well and did everything right. She has breezed very fast at the farm, so this was really not a surprise for us.” Asked about the filly’s appeal last October, Reyes explained, “She looked fast. She is not very big, but she looks fast. That’s the reason I bought her.” Kings Equine is based in Ocala and Reyes thinks there is a good chance the Santa Anita auction will attract more Central Florida consignors next year. “If I make a lot of money, they’ll come next year. We’ll know after Wednesday,” he said with a laugh. Another Ocala-based consignor, Tom McCrocklin, sent out the day’s fastest quarter-mile worker. Hip 12, a colt from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Tapiture (Tapit) went the distance in :21 1/5. The youngster was purchased by McCrocklin on behalf of the Solana Beach Sales pinhooking partnership for $100,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. “I’m very reluctant to sound arrogant about that horse, but I expected him to work faster than anybody and I expect him to top the sale,” McCrocklin said of the son of stakes placed Baby Bea Scattin (Scat Daddy). “I’ve never had that degree of confidence about a horse.” The chestnut colt was making his first appearance at a 2-year-old sale Monday. “We specifically wanted a very nice colt for this arena,” McCrocklin said. “There are some very prominent buyers and trainers here and we wanted to bring a really nice horse here. We were extremely patient and we waited. He was pointed specifically for this sale.” The Santa Anita sale is McCrocklin’s first time consigning in California. “First by a long ways is Fasig-Tipton,” McCrocklin said of his decision to ship west for the sale. “I think they do a tremendous job. They are very good to me, they are the consummate professionals in running a sale and I wanted to go out of my way to support it. Also, I do a lot of business in Southern California and I think we need to have a presence in the 2-year-old sales market here. We need Southern California, we need Santa Anita, we need The Stronach Group and we need Fasig-Tipton to be intimately involved in running a 2-year-old sale here. So I came here to support it.” Of the track surface, McCrocklin said, “Times were slow, but there is a lot of talk about the racetrack. It’s safe. My horses have trained well over it for the last 10 days, they pulled up good out of the breezes and I have no complaints about the track. Just adjust your thinking when it comes to times. We are lucky we had a horse go :21 1/5 here, but he’s a special horse. And that’s a very difficult task over this track because it is a little on the slow side, but it’s very safe and it’s very fair.” Solana Beach’s Billy Koch was among the owners with pinhook prospects in the sale watching the breezes intently from the grandstand, as was Scott Dilworth and Tom Mansor, whose team gave a big cheer as his American Pharoah colt (hip 88) turned in a flashy :10 3/5 work. A full 20 horses galloped over the Santa Anita surface instead of turning in the traditional breeze. Eight of those gallopers came from John Brocklebank’s TIP Thoroughbred Investment Possibilities consignment, which sent them out to gallop in sets of two. “Most of them got here late in the year and some of the guys decided they just didn’t have enough time in the horse,” Brocklebank said of the decision to gallop the horses. “Some of them we topped off late last fall, but then they just turned them out. So literally some of the horses were pulled in in March. So they are a little behind.” As his clients were committed to supporting the sale, Brocklebank cautioned buyers not dismiss his gallopers, particularly a son of Lookin at Lucky (hip 25), about whom he said, “I can tell in the last 30 days, this horse just stepped into the phone booth and he’s putting the “S” on. He’ll be coming out.” Brocklebank continued, “I think the recipe is right to find a nice horse here. And those gallopers–I know there are one or two in there that people should keep their eyes on. They are here for a reason. They are trying to support the sale.” The inaugural Fasig-Tipton Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale will be held in the track’s paddock Wednesday with bidding scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. PT. The post Bernardini Filly, Tapiture Colt Set Bullet Marks at F-T Santa Anita Show appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

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The first sign is often a simple trickle of blood dripping down from a horse’s nostril. Often dismissed as something as simple as allergies or a broken blood vessel from bumping their head, when the cause is guttural pouch mycosis, the trickle of blood can become a stream and soon a gush in a matter of days, if not hours or minutes. Guttural pouches are unique to a small number of animals, including horses. Located beneath the ear near the throatlatch on each side of a horse’s head, guttural pouches are sacs of air that are lined with a thin membrane and expand from the Eustachian tube. Just beneath the membrane lining run the internal carotid, external carotid and maxillary arteries, which supply blood to a horse’s brain and head, as well as nerves associated with the head and throat that control basic functions such as swallowing, facial movements and upper airway reflexes. Guttural pouch mycosis is a fungal infection of one or both of a horse’s guttural pouches commonly caused by the Aspergillus fungus (though can be associated with other fungi) that affects the lining of the guttural pouch by forming plaques that can damage these critical arteries and nerves. These plaques can slowly erode the walls of arteries nerves and causing a life-threatening hemorrhage or significant nerve damage that can impede a horse’s ability breathe or swallow properly. “Fungus is a feeder–it can eat through arteries and nerves, as well as create inflammation around an affected area that can then impact the nerves,” said Nathan Slovis, DVM, Director of the McGee Center at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute and member of the practice. “While many may not be familiar with it, guttural pouch mycosis is not uncommon. It is more prevalent in the Southern U.S., where the warmer temperatures and more humid climate create a more favorable environment for fungus to proliferate, but it can affect horses here in Kentucky and up north as well.” While often the first reported symptom of a horse with guttural pouch mycosis is bleeding from the nose due to the fungus having eroded through the wall of a blood vessel (the reason I said this is because it can also erode veins and arteries (and a horse may experience multiple minor nose bleeds prior to a fatal hemorrhage), Slovis says there are several other possible symptoms that can suggest an infection of the guttural pouch. “When you see excessive coughing due to the consistent dorsal displacement of the soft palate, that can be an indication to take a look at the guttural pouches. Other symptoms can include difficulty swallowing, food material coming out of their nose or chronic nasal discharge–not just blood, but mucus–coming out of one nostril,” said Slovis. “The key sign is the mucus or discharge coming out of just one nostril consistently. It is possible for both guttural pouches to become infected, but typically it is just one, whereas horses with pneumonia that present with nasal discharge usually have mucus coming from both nostrils.” Other less common clinical symptoms of a guttural pouch infection include a drooping eyelid, constricted pupil, a sunken eye, patchy sweating affecting only one side of the neck and irregular head posture. Guttural pouch mycosis can be diagnosed through an endoscopic exam. Fungal plaques appear overtop of blood vessels and/or nerves as black, tan or white membranes. If the fungus has not yet compromised the nerves or arteries, Slovis says the condition can be treated medically by lavaging the guttural pouch with antifungal medication and using a topical antifungal on the guttural pouch anywhere from three to seven times a week, depending on the severity. “The risk with treating the disease medically is that you can’t kill the fungus immediately. You have to treat a horse for four to five weeks or more, and during the treatment process the fungus can continue to do harm and cause a bleed or nerve damage,” he said. Slovis says the preferred method to treat guttural pouch mycosis is to surgically insert a coil or a balloon into the affected blood vessel to quickly cut off the blood supply. If and when the fungus compromises the integrity of the blood vessel, there is no blood supply. Typically, once the blood supply has been removed, the fungus regresses. “While I prefer to use a coil if we diagnose a patient prior to a hemorrhage, if we receive a horse with guttural pouch mycosis that is already bleeding out, we stabilize the horse and put them on coagulants to clot the blood, then rush them to surgery to perform the embolization with a balloon,” said Slovis. “If the owner cannot afford this type of surgery, we can also try using drugs like Tranexamic Acid, which is also used in human medicine, to clot the blood. This can be dangerous because we know at this point the blood vessel has already been significantly weakened.” The prognosis and recovery process for horses with guttural pouch mycosis can vary greatly and is dependent on what structures were compromised by the infection. If the fungus affected only an artery, the recovery time can take weeks– possibly more in more severe cases. In horses whose symptoms included nerve damage, more extensive long-term care may be necessary, including the insertion of a feeding tube or performing a tracheostomy to allow the horse to breathe properly. “Nerve injury is the worst. It’s a whole different category as far as recovery goes. It can take several months or even a year, if the horse is able to recover at all,” he said. The post A Life-Threatening Diagnosis–Gutteral Pouch Mycosis appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article