Wandering Eyes

Track conditions and course scratchings June 1 View the full article

Horses' body weights June 1 View the full article

Early scratchings June 1 View the full article

Riduan suspended three days View the full article

Neptune's Storm will try to build on his first stakes win, while undefeated Gregorian Chant makes his stakes debut June 2 in the $150,000 Cinema Stakes at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

Patience paid off for Trelawney Stud and trainer Stephen Gray on Friday night after Strap Marks bolted up in the Open Maiden race over 1200m in Singapore. The famous New Zealand stud (War Affair was born there) run by Brent and Cherry Taylor should have seen the son of Jimmy Choux make his Kranji debut as a three-year-old two years ago, but an unfortunate barrier trial injury derailed those plans. Strap Marks fractured his pelvis in a barrier trial on October 3, 2017. Vets gave a guarded prognos... View the full article

An attorney representing owners Gary and Mary West has reached out to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission asking that it declare that their horse (Maximum Security) and Country House (Lookin at Lucky) both be considered winners of he GI Kentucky Derby until the dispute over Maximum Security’s disqualification is resolved in the courts. On May 14, the Wests officially filed their lawsuit in a federal court in Lexington contesting the Derby outcome. The Wests are arguing that the Churchill Downs stewards erred in disqualifying Maximum Security, who crossed the finish line first, but may have interfered with several horses, including eventual GI Preakness winner War of Will (War Front). Though not impacted by the chain of events that took place during the Derby stretch run, Country House crossed the wire second and was moved up due to the disqualification and declared the winner. On Friday, the Wests’s public relations team sent out a press release to inform the media that on May 23, the West’s attorney Barry Stilz filed an affidavit to the Kentucky Racing Commission requesting that it follow its own rules and recognize Maximum Security as the co-winner of the Kentucky Derby pending final adjudication of the lawsuit. On that date, the West’s legal team wrote to Kentucky Horse Racing Commission General Counsel John Forgy stating that under its interpretation of Kentucky Horse Racing rules both horses must–for now–be declared the winner. The attorneys cite a Kentucky Administrative Regulation they claim specifies that since the outcome of the Derby is “in dispute,” that the purse money and the trophy must immediately be returned to the racing association by order of the stewards. They conclude: “Upon final adjudication of the dispute, the person deemed to be entitled to the purse money or trophy shall be entitled to an order of recovery from any person or association holding the same.” The letter concludes with the following: “We hereby demand that (a) the Commission immediately and publicly declare both Maximum Security and Country House to be the winners of the 145th Kentucky Derby until the above action is ‘finally adjudicated’; and (b) that the stewards order that any purse money previously distributed be returned ‘immediately’ to the Commission to be held in escrow until final adjudication of the matter.” A spokesperson for the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission said that it would have no comment on the latest developments. Gary West, on the advice of his lawyers, declined to comment. Stilz declined to answer any questions and referred the TDN to the legal documents that were online and had already been filed. In a separate filing, Dennis Drazin, an attorney who heads the management team that operates Monmouth Park, was officially added to a long list of lawyers representing the Wests. Maximum Security is stabled at Monmouth for trainer Jason Servis. It is not immediately clear what the Wests hope to gain by having Maximum Security declared the temporary co-winner of the Derby. That title would be officially stripped away if they lose their court battle and if they are to succeed in court their horse would indeed be declared the 145th winner of the Kentucky Derby. That he was once determined a “co-winner” would bear no relevance on the court’s verdict or who goes down in history as the official winner of the race. West did confirm that the next major goal for Maximum Security is the July 20 GI Haskell at Monmouth and that a prep in the June 16 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth is possible. The post Wests Want Maximum Security, Country House Declared Co-Winners of Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Neptune's Storm will try to build on his first stakes win, while undefeated Gregorian Chant (GB) makes his stakes debut June 2 in the $150,000 Cinema Stakes at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

Harrah’s Louisiana Downs has announced a Racing Hall of Fame, designed to honor those who have made a lasting impact in the history of the Bossier City-area racetrack. The first inductees, who will be officially inducted in a ceremony July 13, include John Franks (owner); Frank Brothers and C.W. Walker (trainers); Edward J. DeBartolo, Sr. (contributor); Ronald Ardoin and Larry Snyder (jockeys); and Sunday Silence and Free Spirits Joy (horses). “The history of Harrah’s Louisiana Downs is truly remarkable,” said Eric Halstrom, the vice president of operations. “We wanted to honor the many exceptional racing champions and people who have contributed both to the history of our racetrack and made an impact on the national racing industry.” In addition, the public can vote for additional recipients from June 15-29 at this link. The post New Racing Hall of Fame at Louisiana Downs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Santa Anita’s graded Monrovia S., run off-the-turf May 26 and won by S Y Sky (Grazen), will not retain the original Grade II status it was carded with and will instead be officially recorded as a Grade III event, the American Graded Stakes Committee (AGSC) announced Friday. The five-furlong race was scheduled for the turf course, but was moved to the main track due to concern over rain in the area. The Monrovia was automatically downgraded to a Grade III event, pending review by the AGSC, who determined the original Grade II credit would not be reinstated. The post Monrovia S. to Remain Grade III appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association (FTBOA) announced Friday Chief Executive Officer Lonny Powell has been named chair-elect for the 2019-2020 board of directors for the Florida Society of Association Executives (FSAE). Founded in 1959, the FSAE is a Sunshine State resource for information, best practices, and innovations in the association community. At nearly 1,200 members, the FSAE offers opportunities for peer-to-peer networking and professional development education that prepares chief executive officers and staff for their positions. “FTBOA’s engaged membership provides a fantastic opportunity to promote and advocate our industry and Marion County on a state-wide basis to a top tier and influential executives from a myriad of Florida industries outside of our usual horse and agricultural and local sectors,” said Powell. “FSAE membership, like that in the FTBOA, can be a mutually beneficial experience if you put in the work.” Powell represents the sole FSAE board member from Marion County and Central Florida and the only one whose association is agricultural- or gaming-based. Currently serving as a director, treasurer, and Governance chair, Powell will be automatically elevated to chairman of the FSAE in 2021. In 2015, the FSAE honored the FTBOA with its inaugural Association of the Year award, given to a Florida non-profit, trade, and/or service membership association for outstanding service, programs, recognition, and success. The post FTBOA’s Powell Named Chair-Elect of FSAE appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Roger Stein, a successful trainer of both Standarbreds and Thoroughbreds and longtime radio show host in Southern California, passed away the morning of May 31 at his home in Hidden Hills following a lengthy battle with a variety of illnesses. He was 65 years old. Having secured a harness trainer’s license in 1979 after working a few years as a groom and owner and became an unstoppable force in the code, winning 10% of all harness races in the state from 1979-1984 while racking up 17 straight titles. Among the Thoroughbreds of note conditioned by Stein were Southern Truce, a $16,000 claim who went on to win a pair of Grade Is, including an upset of champion Paseana (Arg) in the 1993 Santa Margarita S. Forty Niner Days gave him his most valuable victory when taking out the $400,000 GII Golden Gate H. Stein was the leading trainer at the Fairplex meeting in 1990. “Roger was always supportive of me from the time I had the bug,'” recalled jockey Aaron Gryder. “He had a good stable back then and I was out every morning. Obviously, the last 10 years he hadn’t been out much because of health issues, but I kept in touch with him and would visit with him from time to time.” Stein is survived by his mother, and two grown children, daughter Shayna and son, Sam, as well as one grandchild. Services will be Sunday, according to Roger’s brother, Rick, 63. Funeral arrangements are pending. The post California Trainer, Radio Host Roger Stein Dies appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Mark Casse is more than comfortable just having his Preakness Stakes (G1) winner gallop in preparation for the Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) June 8 at Belmont Park. View the full article

4th-Indiana Grand, $39,680, Msw, 5-31, 2yo, 5f (off turf), 1:00.27, gd. TWO LAST WORDS (g, 2, Commissioner–My Peg, by Fusaichi Pegasus), dispatched at 2-1 in this debut, vied for the lead through an opening quarter in :23.05. Shaking free of his rival at the top of the stretch, the dark bay drew clear to don cap and gown by 2 1/4 lengths and become the first winner for his freshman sire (by A.P. Indy). Freedomfi (Guilt Trip) was the runner-up. Two Last Words is the first foal out of My Peg, who has since produced a yearling filly by Into Mischief. She visited Super Saver last spring. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $26,040. Click for the Equibase.com chart. O-Deann Baer; B-Deann & Greg Baer DVM (IN); T-Tim Glyshaw. The post Commissioner Get His First Winner at Indiana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The New York Jockey Injury Compensation Fund Friday announced a plan that will further decrease the cost of workers’ compensation insurance for horsemen in New York. Working with the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and the New York Racing Association, the NYJICF received approval from the New York Gaming Commission to reduce the initial base payment for all NYRA owners and trainers from $1,250 to $1,000, a 33% drop over the 2018 assessment. In addition, the NYJICF will cover the per-stall fee of $1.60 per day for each trainer’s first 12 stalls from June 1 through Nov. 30, 2019, a savings of $3,513.60. The base payment decrease is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2019. Owners and trainers who have already submitted the payment will receive a $250 refund. The reductions were made possible by legislation that allows the JICF to take up to $2 million from the excess NYRA purse cushion to offset the high cost of workers’ compensation in the state. “We appreciate the support and assistance of Governor Cuomo and the chairs of our Racing and Wagering Committees, Senator Addabbo and Assemblyman Pretlow, in finding additional avenues to reduce the cost of doing business in New York for our horsemen,” NYTHA President Joe Appelbaum said. “New York offers the very best racing in the country. By creating a more business-friendly environment, we can draw more horsemen to our tracks and make our racing product even stronger.” Appelbaum emphasized an ongoing commitment to driving down the cost of workers’ compensation even further. “Using the excess purse cushion to help our horsemen is a short-term strategy,” he said. “For the long-term, we will continue to improve our already enviable safety record and to explore alternate forms of insurance. That is where the biggest savings will be realized.” The post Work Comp Rebates for New York Horsemen appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Bourbon Lane Stable and Lake Star Stable’s Bourbon War (Tapit) has joined the cast for next Saturday’s GI Belmont S. Last seen finishing eighth in the GI Preakness S. May 18, the well-bred son of GISW My Conquestadory (Artie Schiller) breezed four panels Friday at Big Sandy. He was clocked in :48.74 (3/7) without the blinkers he added for the Preakness. “I was happy with him. I thought he did well, looked sharp and galloped out strong,” trainer Mark Hennig said. The GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth runner-up will be ridden for the first time in the Belmont by three-time race winner and Hall of Famer Mike Smith. Also working for the Belmont Friday was Tracy Farmer homebred Sir Winston (Awesome Again), who was clocked in :50.16 (5/7) over the same track and distance as Bourbon War. “He worked an easy half-mile with a good gallop out,” said Jamie Begg, assistant to conditioner Mark Casse. “He did it the way he likes to do it and he did it the right way. [Rider] Joel [Rosario, who will be aboard in the Belmont,] was very happy with the breeze.” Sir Winston most recently rallied to be second in the GIII Peter Pan S. in Elmont May 11. Casse’s more fancied Belmont runner, Preakness hero War of Will (War Front), is scheduled to arrive in New York Monday. The post Bourbon War Joins Belmont Cast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Should a federal court examine Kentucky's law that doesn't allow for an appeal of stewards' judgment calls on interference, an industry standard will be under scrutiny. View the full article

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Hanshin and Toyko Racecourses, the latter of which hosts Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) in the G1 Yasuda Kinen: Saturday, June 1, 2019 2nd-HSN, ¥9,550,000 ($88k), Maiden, 3yo, 1400m MONUMENT KING (c, 3, Creative Cause–Overvalued, by Forest Grove) cuts back and switches to the main track after finishing well down the field in a 2000m turf maiden at Chukyo in January. A $500K purchase out of the 2017 Keeneland September sale, the dark bay was the most expensive of his successful sire’s 30 yearlings to sell that season and his the first produce of a mare who won no fewer than 11 black-type races in Western Canada. B-Brereton C Jones (KY) Sunday, June 2, 2019 5th-TOK, ¥13,400,000 ($124k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1600mT KAKUSHIN (c, 2, Malibu Moon–Switcheroo, by Exchange Rate) cost $190K as a KEENOV weanling in 2017 before being led out unsold on a bid of $170K at KEESEP last year. Produced by a half-sister to GSW & GISP juvenile I Spent It (Super Saver), the colt descends from a third dam whose half-sister She’s Tops (Capote) accounted for two-time graded-winning 2-year-old and multiple Grade I-winning 3-year-old Dixie Union (Dixieland Band). B-Thomas & Renee Scucci, Dividing Ridge Farm & Doug Smith (KY) The post Notable US-Breds in Japan: June 1 & 2, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. 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 an American Pharoah colt for Godolphin. 1.55 Doncaster, Cond, £7,400, 2yo, 6f 111yT SAQQARA KING (American Pharoah), one of two nominees for the Godolphin-Appleby axis, is the third foal produced by GI Santa Margarita Invitational S. heroine Joyful Victory (Tapit) and he faces nine in this first go. Rivals to the $200,000 Keeneland September yearling include twice-raced stablemate Full Verse (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), who is a 600,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 son of G2 Queen Mary S. victress Anthem Alexander (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}). 3.55 Navan, Mdn, €12,000, 3yo/up, 8fT Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s €500,000 Goffs Orby acquisition MUTADARRIB (IRE) (Kodiac {GB}) is out of a half-sister to G3 Prix Miesque victress and G1 Prix Morny runner-up Magic America (High Yield) and debuts for Kevin Prendergast in this fully subscribed event. Opposition features the lone Aidan O’Brien candidate Pacific Ocean (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who is a son of four-time Australian Group 1 victress Atlantic Jewel (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) coming back off a second at Cork in his third start 10 days ago. The post Observations: June 1, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), last year’s unanimous Japanese champion 3-year-old filly and Horse of the Year, makes her much anticipated return after winning the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan in March in Sunday’s G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse. Almond Eye has plenty of experience over the Tokyo course, having broken her maiden there and having won last year’s G1 Yunshun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and G1 Japan Cup over 2400 metres there, but she drops back to a mile for the first time since winning the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) at Hanshin last April. As if she hadn’t achieved enough in her short career to date, Almond Eye will be shooting for another piece of history on Sunday. She will try to become the third horse in history to win six Group 1s back-to-back, joining her own sire, who won this race in 2013, and T.M. Opera O (Jpn) (Opera House {GB}). Six Japanese horses have previously returned from trips to Dubai and headed straight to the Yasuda Kinen and while that strike rate is not great-two of six were successful at Tokyo-trainer Sakae Kunieda said Almond Eye took the Dubai Turf better than any other race in her career and has been in fine shape since. “She has always surpassed expectations and I’m looking forward to this race as well,” Kunieda said. Should Almond Eye prove victorious she would also be the first filly in a decade to win this Tokyo feature, and that also proves true for the only other filly in the lineup, Aerolithe (Jpn) (Kurofune {Jpn}). The 5-year-old was second in this last year to the re-opposing Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) and looks for her first win since the Oct. 7 G2 Mainichi Okan. A trip to Florida for the inaugural GI Pegasus World Cup Turf in January proved unfruitful, but she was a more encouraging fifth when last seen in the G1 Victoria Mile on May 12. Likely to go off second choice to Almond Eye is the 2017 champion 2-year-old Danon Premium (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). The lone blemish on that colt’s record came when he was sixth in last year’s G1 Tokyo Yushun, and he has since been kept to 1600 metres to a mile. He was last seen winning the G2 Milers Cup at Kyoto on Apr. 21. The post Almond Eye Back In Yasuda Kinen appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

EPSOM, UK—Anapurna (GB) may be named after the base camp on Everest but Mark Weinfeld and his sister Helena Ellingsen yesterday stood at the summit of the mountain every breeder dreams of climbing as they welcomed a homebred winner of the Oaks back to Epsom’s famed winner’s circle. The first British Classic winner for her sire Frankel (GB) is just one element to the background of Frankie Dettori’s fifth winner of the Oaks, but more importantly for the Weinfeld family’s Meon Valley Stud is the culmination of five generations of breeding at the Hampshire nursery which has come agonisingly close to Oaks glory in their own black-and-white silks over the last 40 years. Though they bred the 1996 winner Lady Carla (GB) (Caerleon), the nearest miss with a retained filly came in 2012 with Shirocco Star (GB) (Shirocco {GB}), who was runner-up to Was (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). She may yet atone for that neck defeat via her son Telecaster (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), the colt overlooked at the sales, entered for the Derby, taken out of the list in the early spring and then supplemented earlier this week after his resolute victory in the Dante S. “This is the fifth generation of this family we’ve had, right back to One In A Million (GB). She’s out of Dash To The Top (GB), who had quite a few Montjeu (Ire) traits but was very talented, and fortunately she seems to have passed that bit on,” said Weinfeld after Dettori had released him from a post-race bear hug. “It really started by accident because we bought One In A Million, who won the Guineas. My father bought three yearling fillies with the idea that they might be good enough to have potential for breeding—the other one was Reprocolor (GB), and we had Odeon (GB) as well. They did a lot better than he thought they would so he started a stud farm, but it all started from those three mares and it has grown from there. We now have 35 mares. We try to keep it to 30 but we never quite manage to.” Whatever level the numbers reach, Anapurna has now guaranteed her place in the paddocks at Meon Valley alongside her mother, who has not been in foal for the last two years. “Another filly we had with John Gosden, a half-sister to Izzi Top (GB) and Jazzi Top (GB), died in a freak accident in her stable this year and Anapurna is the last foal her dam has had, which just goes to show the ups and downs of breeding,” he added. On a day of highs, Anapurna’s trainer John Gosden also alluded to the trials and tribulations experienced by breeders when paying tribute to the bedrocks of the industry. He said, “Breeding horses is the toughest thing and things go wrong all the time. For owner-breeders like Mark and Helena, they produce beautiful horses at their farm, and they have one running tomorrow who people didn’t think was good enough at the sales. For them to breed an Oaks winner, and to go through all the nightmares you go through, it’s a great test of faith. Without these owner-breeders there would be no proper racing. They are in a sense the most important ingredient.” And while owner-breeders rely on the good fillies coming back to the farm to keep the lines going, they will of course have a decent number of colts to contend with each year. When Telecaster, like his dam and grandam before him, failed to reach his reserve at Tattersalls, he returned to Meon Valley and ended up being put in training with Hughie Morrison, who had overseen Shirocco Star’s career. Racing for a group of Weinfeld family members and friends under the banner of Castle Down Racing, named after part of the stud, he is now second-favourite to give his breeders the rare opportunity to land two Classics in two days. He in turn is a seventh-generation descendant of Reprocolor, from a family which has spawned the high-class colts-turned-stallions Kayf Tara (GB) and Opera House (GB), though those champion brothers by Sadler’s Wells both raced for Sheikh Mohammed. The offers have come for Telecaster, but for now he remains within the family. “I’ve had some phone calls,” Weinfeld admitted. “Some of the big players spoke to me before York and I said that we wanted to see where the journey would take us and after York nobody has phoned—I think they knew we weren’t going to sell.” And as the owner-breeder prepares to switch his black-and-white spotted shirt that matched Anapurna’s silks and accompanied her victory to his lucky orange-and-black tie sported at York for Telecaster, he is realistic about his chances of a memorable Epsom double. “The pressure is off a bit but I think that would be too much to wish for,” he said. “I think to get two in would really be asking too much. I just hope he runs well.” Whether or not twin peaks are out of reach, Anapurna has put Meon Valley Stud on a deserved mountain high. The post Meon Valley Stud On Mountain High appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

“One swallow does not a summer make, nor one fine day.” And similar circumspection is plainly advisable before deciding that a single migrant across the seas has opened a sunlit future even for one young stallion, never mind the entire business. Nonetheless it is heartening on many levels to see Noble Mission (GB), from his very first crop, get a son into both the GI Kentucky Derby and the Epsom original, which is staged for the 240th time Saturday. Humanitarian is admittedly an outsider, unlikely to emulate Code of Honor, the promoted runner-up at Churchill. But nor is he just a token runner: saddled in the Maktoum cause by John Gosden, and with a nicely progressive profile. So however he fares, let’s acknowledge an authentic achievement not only for Noble Mission but also for William S. Farish, who stands him at Lane’s End and bred both Humanitarian and Code of Honor. Farish, of course, was formerly ambassador to the Court of St James. He may perhaps have some sympathy for the Queen, whose pleasant duties at Epsom will be followed by a state visit from an unpredictable president. But it’s fitting that Farish, restored to civilian life, is still doing his bit for transatlantic harmony through Noble Mission. Because if ever an isolationist wants to see what his world might become, you just have to show him the bloodstock industry over the last generation. To be fair, it is the Europeans who have lately been most parochial in the prescriptive, self-fulfilling perception of bloodlines, as oriented to turf or dirt. And now they have painted themselves into a corner. Yes, the Galileo (Ire) dynasty has earned its hegemony, and absolutely deals in qualities you want to see replicated in the 21st century Thoroughbred. But you certainly couldn’t say that about some of the sires so witlessly pursued by the commercial market over there, who might (and only might) get you a fast and early juvenile but will never produce a Classic winner even at a mile. It’s no good commercial breeders protesting that they have no choice, being unable to compete with the wealthy end-users who can afford Galileo or other elite fees. Because when an affordable son of Galileo like Nathaniel (Ire) comes along, and produces champion Enable (GB) from his first crop, and five other Group winners in 2018, he still can’t get his yearlings even into the top 50 in the European sale averages. You can see the result in today’s Derby field–and, to this extent only, Noble Mission is more symptom than cure. Because of the 13 runners, six are by the ageing patriarch Galileo himself; five are by various sons, and one is by a grandson. That leaves only the overnight sensation Sir Dragonet (Ire), who was unfancied for a Tipperary maiden barely five weeks ago. He is a son of the elegant Camelot (GB) but fear not, his second dam is a full-sister to Galileo! On the face of it, that might appear to support a defeatist position regarding the people who not only stand Galileo, but also employ Aidan O’Brien, who saddles no fewer than seven runners. But who can say what the landscape might look like, if only the hundreds of mares corralled by unproven, plainly bred stallions with a couple of sprint stakes to their name had instead been sent to one who won’t make you a fast buck at the sales, but might just get you a Classic racehorse? As it happens, with their own broodmare band saturated by his blood, it is the owners of Galileo who gave European credibility to their outcross experiments with Scat Daddy and War Front. (In the process, obviously, they have also shaped the profile of those horses in the U.S.) But that only happened a) because they recognised a need; and b) met it imaginatively. And I am convinced that many other American stallions, given the chance, could emulate the European Classic success enjoyed by John Magnier and his original confederates when first importing sons of Northern Dancer. That was typical of the cyclical, mutual regeneration of the gene pool either side of the ocean. And the American dirt horse–an animal I have been scandalized to hear dismissed, by European agents of clients who deserve far more reflective counsel, as a drugged speedball–offers precisely the assets required to crash Galileo’s private party. Because the American ideal is not just speed, but speed you can carry two turns. The critical difference, compared with Europe, is that both commercial breeders and end-users are looking for a horse for the first Saturday in May. And if only we remember that sire-lines are very seldom immutably turf or dirt, then the same horse could prove just as eligible for the first Saturday in June. We’ll leave aside the dubious practice of ascribing to an untested racehorse properties trademarked only to his top line. The fact is that only Coolmore, again, have in recent years shown reliable adventure in trying accomplished European campaigners on dirt at the Breeders’ Cup. (Especially since the synthetic experiment was abandoned; before that, there were plenty of European “turf” horses who showed up the indigenous opposition on dirt.) Coolmore obviously don’t do that purely out of altruism. And most of the time, it’s a bet-to-nothing–as with Galileo himself, who bombed in the Classic. Though he’d had a gruelling season at home, his performance nourished the theory that he represented a sire-line with an inveterate aversion to dirt. (A theory that required you to throw out half the pedigree of Sadler’s Wells: for every Kitten’s Joy, after all, there’s a Medaglia d’Oro.) You’ll never see a turf champion run more like a dirt horse than did Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) and the failure to test him in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, though pardonable on account of his trainer’s health, squandered an epoch-making opportunity to stem the ongoing retrenchment of prejudices either side of the ocean. As it is, his brother Noble Mission–who himself developed a hard-running style–has been given a chance to break down barriers instead. Now let’s not forget that this is a two-way street. As we were reminded more than once on the Triple Crown trail this spring, horses perceived as turf-bred are as likely to miss their true metier on dirt as the other way round. And I see horses running in Europe every week whose earning capacity could be transformed by a change of surface, or sometimes merely of environment. In their domestic market, however, American horsemen have not matched fine words about turf racing–about a huge expansion in the program, about welfare–with dollars and cents. Their neglect of horses like Kitten’s Joy or English Channel, in the sales ring, is no less reprehensible than the European relegation of Classic stallions to National Hunt farms. So while he remains up against it, you have to hand it to Noble Mission. Himself a late bloomer, he has rocked everyone back on their heels with Code of Honor on the dirt. Remember Farish offered him as a yearling, but bidding stalled at $70,000 for a Saratoga debut winner and Grade I runner-up at two, now placed in the Derby itself. It would be unfair to burden Noble Mission with too much responsibility, especially with a second book limited by colic. He already knows all about turf in the American sales ring, his fee down to $15,000 this year from an opening $25,000. But while even another Derby podium at Epsom would not yet allow us to say Mission accomplished, nobody should think of the broader possibilities he has shown as Mission impossible. The post Another Derby Mission With Noble Possibilities appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Maxim Rate (Exchange Rate) is just a nose short of being perfect and she rematches with some familiar faces Saturday in the GII Honeymoon S. at Santa Anita. A debut winner in Arcadia Feb. 16, she came up a nose short of stablemate Hostess (GB) (Iffraj {GB}) in the course-and-distance GIII Providencia S. Apr. 6 and returned to winning ways in the one-mile GIII Senorita S. May 4, in which Hostess finished fourth. Senorita runner-up Lady Prancealot (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}) also returns here. Capturing a local optional claimer on seasonal bow Feb. 1, the bay was a close third in the Providencia and was just a half-length short of Maxim Rate in the Senorita. Sold It (The Factor) ran fourth behind Lady Prancealot after setting the pace in that Feb. 1 test and wired the California Oaks on the Golden Gate synthetic last time Apr. 27. The post Maxim Rate Faces Familiar Foes in Honeymoon appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Lieutenant (Street Sense–Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper), the Grade II-winning half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy), will shuttle to Boris Schwartzman’s Haras Barlovento in Peru for the 2019 Southern Hemisphere breeding season. The 6-year-old is finishing up his first year at stud at Becky Thomas’s Sequel Stallions New York. “We are so excited for The Lieutenant to have a summer job at a leading stud farm in Peru,” said Becky Thomas. “The team at Haras Barlovento has just been great and they have a superb broodmare band. He will be bred to beautiful mares by leading American sires Smart Strike, Unbridled, Giant’s Causeway, Candy Ride, Freud, Quiet American, Vindication, Stormy Atlantic, Mineshaft, Harlan’s Holiday, Johannesburg, Kitten’s Joy, Exchange Rate, Lookin At Lucky, Forest Wildcat, Dynaformer, Malibu Moon, Forestry, Pure Prize, Broken Vow, Sky Mesa, El Corredor and Grand Slam. “We are grateful to Marette Farrell for giving The Lieutenant another opportunity to prove himself as a sire. Given the success of Street Sense and his incredible family, we are sure The Lieutenant will become a highly sought-after sire.” The post The Lieutenant to Shuttle to Peru appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Overshadowed by stablemate and 11-4 favourite Mehdaayih (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the lead-up to Friday’s G1 Investec Oaks, the Meon Valley Stud homebred Anapurna (GB) was ultimately the one with the sire’s bragging rights as she provided the Juddmonte giant with a first British Classic. Sent off at 8-1 with Frankie Dettori resuming the partnership with the May 11 Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial winner, she enjoyed a perfect stalking trip against the rail in third from her unfavourable low draw as the early pace proved far from taxing. Getting a split on the inner as Ballydoyle’s Pink Dogwood (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) cut loose out wide under Ryan Moore approaching two out, the bay had a length to make up but that Frankel momentum began to build and she was marginally ahead 100 yards from the line. Frankie put his stick down there with the contest decided and she was a cosy neck margin to the good at the line as Fleeting (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) stayed on strongly to be 1 1/4 lengths behind in third. Mehdaayih was only seventh after a troubled passage. “She had a dream trip on the inside where usually they get boxed in, but Frankie was brave and found a gap,” trainer John Gosden said. “She was very brave and is bred by wonderful owner-breeders, so that’s what it’s all about. My other filly had a very rough trip.” 1–ANAPURNA (GB), 126, f, 3, by Frankel (GB) 1st Dam: Dash To The Top (GB) (SW & MG1SP-Eng, $212,678), by Montjeu (Ire) 2nd Dam: Millennium Dash (GB), by Nashwan 3rd Dam: Milligram (GB), by Mill Reef 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. O-Helena Springfield Ltd; B-Meon Valley Stud (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £297,728. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, £324,164. *1/2 to Dynasty (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), GSP-Ire; and Very Dashing (GB) (Dansili {GB}), SP-Eng. The post Frankel’s Anapurna Wins The Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article