Wandering Eyes

The California Horse Racing Board approved its support of SB 469, a bill that would allow the CHRB to immediately suspend a license to conduct a race meeting if needed to protect equine health and welfare, at its May 23 meeting at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

In this ongoing series in the TDN, current Godolphin Flying Start trainees catch up with the program’s graduates. Today Samantha Cripps sits down with Brianne Sharp, Market Research Coordinator at Godolphin’s Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. SC: How did you get into horseracing? BS: My interest in racing was first sparked when I was 16. My mom and I were channel surfing one day and we happened upon the 2003 Belmont Stakes. I hadn’t seen a horse race before and had never been particularly interested in horses. Funny Cide was going for the Triple Crown. The television coverage was fantastic. It really drew me in. We cheered for Funny Cide to win. Even though he got beat, I had experienced the thrill of racing and I was hooked. From that day on, I read everything I could to learn about horse racing. That summer there was a show on CBS every Saturday called the “NTRA Summer Racing Tour,” showing the major races from across the country. I would look forward to it all week. By the time the Breeders’ Cup rolled around, I knew all the horses and I was a die-hard fan. The next year I followed Smarty Jones and he became my all-time favorite horse. So when he retired, I asked my parents if we could take a summer vacation to Kentucky to meet him at Three Chimneys. We drove from Arkansas to Lexington and spent a week visiting all the farms and seeing horses that I had only read about or watched on television. It was a surreal experience. I knew after that week that one day I wanted to move here and be a part of this industry. At one of the farms, I picked up a brochure for the Kentucky Equine Management Internship, which sounded incredible. I decided to pursue it after college to try to get my foot in the door. I eventually learned about the Godolphin Flying Start program, and I made that my long-term goal. SC: What is your role at Godolphin? BS: I am the Market Research Coordinator for the stallion department at Jonabell Farm. The majority of what I do is research and data analysis, keeping track of Darley stallions’ progeny, finding facts and statistics to use in our stallion marketing, and helping with social media. I have always loved statistics and working with data, so being able to combine that with horseracing is the perfect job for me. Over the past couple of years I’ve developed more of an interest in computer science and writing code, which has helped me a lot in doing research. I also give tours here at Jonabell, which I really enjoy, and I’ve recently joined the Horse Country Board. SC: Is it important to get new fans for the industry? How do you feel we can do this? BS: To attract new fans, we have to evolve and improve our public image going forward. In my opinion, the number one public perception issue is the whip. I think eventually, we’re going to have to stop using it. It’s inevitable, and we can either wait until we are forced into it, or we can be proactive about it. I’ve talked to many people who are turned off by whipping and find it hard to watch horseracing because of it. It’s very hard to convince people that these horses love to run; their next question is always “then why do you have to whip them?” I think phasing out whipping would bring a huge amount of positive press to the industry, which is something we desperately need right now. SC: How do you think Horse County is helping get new people involved? BS: As someone who came to Kentucky many times as a tourist before working here, I am very passionate about tourism and welcoming visitors. Several farms, including Jonabell, have been doing tours for years, but we never promoted it. It wasn’t even on our website. You had to call the farm directly and ask for a tour, so very few people knew about it. Horse Country is now doing the work of promoting equine tourism in Kentucky and getting the word out to people that you can visit the horse farms. The Bourbon Trail had 1.4 million visitors last year, so there are huge numbers of tourists coming to the area. We just need to find a way to make them aware that they can also visit a horse farm while they’re here. If we can get them onto the farm, we can educate them about our industry, show them how well the horses are cared for, and answer the questions they have about welfare, safety, aftercare, etc. We can convert people and create new fans through tours. We just need to get them here. SC: Why should someone apply for Godolphin Flying Start? BS: There are so many reasons. You get to meet and have lectures from the best people in the business. And you learn so much from the other people in your group. Spending two years with 11 other people who share a similar passion but have such varied backgrounds, experiences, and areas of expertise is one of the best parts of the course. Not only do you make lifelong friends, you also have a network of people all over the world. The program really opens your eyes. You come out of the program with a good overall understanding of how the industry works around the world. There is nothing else like it. SC: What is your educational background? BS: I did the evening MBA program at the University of Kentucky. It was a great experience and I’d highly recommend it. It gave me a general understanding of the various business disciplines with classes in marketing, finance, accounting, strategy, etc. I found the statistics and IT classes particularly useful for my current role. I was one of only two people from the horse industry among the 40+ students in my program, so it was also great to spend time with and learn from the other students from so many different industries. SC: What is your biggest piece of advice for someone who is applying for the Godolphin Flying Start? BS: Make sure you have a passion for the industry first. If you don’t have a passion, it’s not going to be the right fit for you. If you have the passion, my advice is to read every book you can get your hands on. When people ask me for advice on how to prepare to apply for Flying Start, I always send them a reading list of books and articles. You can learn so much about the industry–racing, breeding, pedigrees, history, funding, economics. The more you learn, the better prepared you’ll be. Samantha Cripps is a Michigan native with a Certificate in Horse Management from Michigan State University. Before the GFS program, she was a veterinary technician for Dr. Benjamin Stivers at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. The post Flying Start Q & A With Brianne Sharp appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The California Horse Racing Board approved its support of SB 469, a bill that would allow the CHRB to immediately suspend a license to conduct a race meeting if needed to protect equine health and welfare, at its May 23 meeting at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

Officials at Colonial Downs have announced a $1.8-million stakes program for the track’s first meeting since 2013, scheduled for Aug. 7 through Sept. 7. Through an investment from the Colonial Downs Group, the track will offer daily average purse money of at least $500,000, which will comprise an approximate $7.5 million in total purse money allocated towards the season. “As a native Virginian, it is exciting to be part of a strong team effort bringing racing back to Colonial Downs,” said Jill Byrne, former on-track and on-camera personality who serves as Colonial Downs’ Vice President of Racing Operations. “We are dedicated to the horse racing industry and making a positive impact in all aspects of it. We’ve received so much interest and support from horsemen, patrons, media and industry leaders and look forward to providing a fantastic racing experience for everyone.” The stakes schedule is highlighted by the GIII Virginia Derby, a $250,000 event at nine furlongs on the turf and is the anchor of an Aug. 31 program that also features the $150,000 Virginia Oaks (Listed) and a pair of added-money heats for 2-year-old males and fillies. The Colonial barn area is slated to open July 25 and the condition book and stall application are available at www.colonialdowns.com. “We are excited to welcome back horsemen to race at Colonial Downs with a highly competitive daily purse structure and comprehensive stakes schedule,” said Colonial Downs Racing Secretary Allison De Luca. “We offer a strong turf racing program with the widest grass course in the country that holds up extremely well to all weather conditions along with our 1 1/4-mile main track allowing us to provide a broad base of race options.” The post VA Derby Highlights Colonial Stakes Schedule appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Grech & Parkin dispersal added more than a sprinkle of stardust to the final day of the Goff UK Spring HIT/P2P Sale accounting for seven of the top ten lots and a new record price for a National Hunt horse in training of £620,000. That sum, which was also the highest ever for a horse at Doncaster, was paid for the 5-year-old winning point-to-pointer Interconnected (Fr) (Network (Ger}) (lot 716), who will race for Darren Yates from the stable of Philip Kirby. “It’s a historic day for the sales at Doncaster,” said Goffs Group Chief Executive Henry Beeby. “The company has been going since 1962 and I’ve been working here since 1978 as a bid-spotter. I’ve seen some big days, some wonderful days, but that was just extraordinary.” Darren Yates was in the news earlier this spring at the Goffs Aintree Sale when buying Grade 1-winning chaser Don Poli (Ire) (Poliglote {GB}) for £170,000 on the eve of the Grand National, but this was a big leap in commitment to the jump racing ranks in a week in which treble Grand National-winning owner Michael O’Leary of Gigginstown House Stud announced his intention to wind down his operation over the coming years, and indeed when another major partnership, Grech & Parkin, is bowing out for the time being. Yates said, “I’m very happy with the horse. I didn’t expect him to make that but he’s the one we really wanted. For me he’s got Gold Cup written all over him.” From the same dispersal, David Minton of Highflyer Bloodstock went to £235,000 to secure the top-priced mare of the sale, lot 709, Lust For Glory (Ire) (Getaway {Ger}). The 6-year-old has won two bumpers and two hurdle races for Nicky Henderson. Henry de Bromhead’s string of young National Hunt mares includes the exciting Honeysuckle (GB) (Sulamani {Ire}) and Sinoria (Ire) (Oscar {Ire}) and the Irish trainer will also take charge of recent listed mares’ chase winner Kupatana (Ire) (Westerner {GB}) after Peter Molony of Rathmore Stud bought lot 708 for £210,000. At the conclusion of the two-day horses-in-training sale, which followed a day of stores, the team at Goffs UK was delighted with a strong set of results. Goffs UK Managing Director Tony Williams said, “Today has been an historic day for Goffs UK and it’s wonderful we have been able to achieve our highest price in the company’s history, and the highest-ever price for a National Hunt horse at public auction. “Yesterday’s point-to-point session was a great success and continued what has been a fantastic year for Goffs NH sales. We are in debt to our vendors, and in particular Mike Grech and Stuart Parkin, who have supported us with some outstanding horses which has led to the sale grounds being among the busiest they have ever been for the last three days. “We would like to wish our buyers all the very best with their stores, pointers and horses-in-training. We have a lot to look forward to as these horses hit the track and, of course, the Doncaster August Sale which will offer the remaining ten horses in the Grech & Parkin Dispersal.” At the fall of hammer for the two-day sale, 85% of the horses in training offered sold for an average of £22,700 (+13%) and median of £10,000 (-17%). The aggregate was boosted by 45% to £9,143,400. The post Record-breaking Day At Goffs UK appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Led by the $250,000 Virginia Derby (G3), Colonial Downs today announced its 2019 stakes schedule for the 15-day race meeting, Aug. 8-Sept. 7, which will include $1.8 million in stakes purses as flat racing returns to Virginia. View the full article

Ellis Park will offer the highest purses in the track's 97-year history at its 2019 summer race meet, including a record nine stakes that could be worth at least $100,000 each. View the full article

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-BEL, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 5fT, post time: 1:30 p.m. ET KARAK (Karakontie {Jpn}) looks to become the first winner for freshman sire and GI Breeders’ Cup Mile hero Karakontie when she makes her debut against the boys in the grassy opener at Belmont Saturday. The Wesley Ward-trained filly commanded a $375,000 price tag after blitzing an eighth in :9 4/5 at the OBS March Sale. Owned by Breeze Easy LLC, she is a half-sister to stakes winner Aqua Frio (Uncle Mo). “She’s a very beautiful filly,” Ward said. “She’s by a first-year sire with a great pedigree and she shows an affinity for grass. The owners were successful last year with [unbeaten G2 Norfolk S. heroine and $200,000 OBSMAR purchase] Shang Shang Shang (Shanghai Bobby) and we’re just looking to duplicate that purchase at the sale.” Ward will also be represented by fellow first-time starter No Nay Maybe (Ire) (No Nay Never). The gelding is out of the Group 3-placed mare Al Ihsas (Ire) (Danehill) and comes from the family of group stakes winners Windsor Palace (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), Battle of Marengo (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Rabatash (Johannesburg). TJCIS PPs 5th-GP, $65k, Msw, 2yo, f, 5fT, post time: 2:49 p.m. ET CLASSIC GIRL (Candy Ride {Arg}) lines up for her career debut Saturday sharing the same John Oxley/Mark Casse connection as her champion 2-year-old half-brother and 2016 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile). Classic Girl retrieved a final bid of $775,000 at the 2018 FTSAUG Sale. Her 4-year-old half-brother Exclamation Point (Concord Point) recently finished second in the Oaklawn Mile S. TJCIS PPs The post Saturday’s Racing Insights: Classic Empire Half-Sis Debuts at Gulfstream appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Charitable Impact Group (CIG) will host the second annual ‘Run For Glory’ Belmont S. handicapping event Wednesday, June 5, 2019, at the Cherry Valley Country Club in Garden City, NY. The event will benefit Thoroughbred Charities of America, the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund (PDJF) and the Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) will be the co-beneficiaries. NBC’s Kenny Rice and Donna Barton Brothers will emcee the event which will also feature expert handicappers, including NBC racing analyst Randy Moss. Also expected to be in attendance are jockeys John Velazquez, Javier Castellano, Joel Rosario, Jose Ortiz and Triple Crown-winning jockey Jean Cruguet. Trainer Todd Pletcher will also share his insights. Tickets can be obtained at www.cigevents.org. The post Second Annual ‘Run For Glory’ to Benefit Thoroughbred Charities appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

After 13 straight starts on turf in which he picked up some stakes placings but failed to earn a trip to the winner's circle, a move to dirt in his previous start saw Hronis Racing's Cistron deliver the top effort of his career. View the full article

Sir Michael Stoute’s Freemason Lodge stable is in a rich vein of form at present and so it was perhaps inevitable that Regal Reality (GB) (Intello {Ger}) would provide a 10th renewal for the yard in Sandown’s G3 Matchbook Brigadier Gerard S. on Thursday. Trying this 10-furlong trip for the first time after a comeback third in the Apr. 26 G2 Sandown Mile, Cheveley Park Stud’s homebred was fractious at times in the preliminaries and free to post but settled just enough in the expert hands of Ryan Moore in the race. Keeping tabs on the 11-8 market-leader Matterhorn (Ire) (Raven’s Pass) as they tracked the pace set by Elwazir (GB) (Frankel {GB}), the 9-4 second favourite allowed his chief rival first run but brushed him aside with a furlong remaining en route to an impressive 3 3/4-length success in a smart time. Matterhorn had three lengths to spare over the well-regarded third-placed Danceteria (Fr) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), lending the form a solid look not too far shy of Group 1 standard. 1–REGAL REALITY (GB), 126, c, 4, by Intello (Ger) 1st Dam: Regal Realm (GB) (MGSW-Eng, $116,452), by Medicean (GB) 2nd Dam: Regal Riband (GB), by Fantastic Light 3rd Dam: Regal Rose (GB), by Danehill O/B-Cheveley Park Stud Ltd (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute; J-Ryan Moore. £39,697. Lifetime Record: 7-3-0-3, £129,774. The post Intello Colt Swoops For Brigadier Gerard Success appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The 10-furlong Charles Whittingham Stakes drew a field of seven older horses but no obvious standouts for the Santa Anita turf test to kick off the holiday weekend. View the full article

Turf veterans Eddie Haskell and Brandothebartender appear to have an edge in turf-sprint experience heading into the May 25 Daytona Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park. 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 Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses, the latter of which also plays host to the G1 Tokyo Yushun, the world’s most valuable Derby: Saturday, May 25, 2019 11th-KYO, ¥72,000,000 ($657k), Open Class, 3yo, 1200mT MARIA’S HEART (f, 3, Shanghai Bobby–Maria’s Dance, by Maria’s Mon) debuted on dirt, defeating champion Good Magic (Curlin)’s half-brother Best Magic (Speightstown) Jan. 14, and most recently switched to the turf to remain unbeaten Apr. 13 (video, gate 5). Led out unsold at Keeneland September ($52K) and at OBS October ($42K) in 2017, the May foal fetched $75K as an OBSAPR breezer the following spring. Maria’s Heart is out of a stakes-placed half-sister to ‘TDN Rising Star’ and GISW Roadster (Quality Road) and to GISW Ascend (Candy Ride {Arg}). The further female family includes GISW Cat Moves (Tale of the Cat) and GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf hero Hootenanny (Quality Road). B-Sally Andersen (FL) Sunday, May 26, 2019 5th-TOK, ¥13,720,000 ($125k), Allowance, 3yo, 1600m AVANCE (c, 3, Uncle Mo–Above Heaven, by Mr. Greeley) graduated at first asking in January (see below, gate 9) before finishing a well-beaten second to arguably Japan’s best 3-year-old dirt horse, the undefeated Chrysoberyl (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}), next time out. Bought back on bids of $145K at FTSAUG and at OBSAPR, the bay colt is out of an unraced daughter of 2007 GI Alabama S. winner Lady Joanne (Orientate), a half-sister to GI Preakness S. hero Shackleford (Forestry), MGSWs Baghdaria (Royal Academy) and Afleeting Lady (Afleet Alex) and SW & MGSP Stephanoatsee (A.P. Indy). B-Dr Masatake Iida (KY) 6th-KYO, ¥13,720,000 ($125k), Allowance, 3yo, 1200mT TOP SOLISTE (f, 3, War Front–Moth {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) finished second in four of her first six trips to the post but finally got over the hump last time out, overcoming a double-digit gate to post a head victory at Fukushima Apr. 13 (see below, gate 14). Produced by Moth, third to Sky Lantern (Ire) (Red Clubs {Ire}) and Just The Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) in the 2013 G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas, the $650K KEESEP yearling is bred on the same cross responsible for the likes of top-level scorers Roly Poly and U S Navy Flag. B-Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt (KY) The post Notable US-Bred Runners in Japan: May 25 & 26, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Many of the German Group races get plundered by English raiders with Godolphin taking two of the seven Group 1 races last season. That being said there were some stand-out performances from home-based horses in 2018. The Group action has begun already this season and bearing that in mind I have taken a look at […] The post Best Racehorses In Germany – 2018 appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. 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 the top-priced colt from this year’s Craven sale. 2.45 Haydock, Novice, £10,000, 2yo, 6fT VISIBLE CHARM (IRE) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is the latest big-money Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up graduate to hit the track and was the second highest lot behind stablemate Divine Spirit (GB) (Kingman {GB}) and the top-priced colt at 575,000gns. Charlie Appleby introduces the half-brother to the GI Canadian International hero Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in a field that includes Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s Pierre Lapin (Ire) (Cappella Sansevero {GB}), a Roger Varian-trained half-brother to Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). 3.55 Haydock, Novice, £7,500, 2yo, f, 6f 212yT BYZANTIA (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) is the first progeny by the G1 Epsom Derby, G1 Eclipse S. and G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe-winning sire to race, aptly in the colours of her breeder Anthony Oppenheimer for the John Gosden stable. Out of a speedy listed scorer, the January-foaled bay meets Godolphin’s Sacred Dance (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), a 650,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate who is a half-sister to the dual listed-winning and multiple group-placed Awesometank (GB) (Intense Focus). 4.45 Curragh, Mdn, €20,000, 2yo, f, 6fT PRECIOUS MOMENTS (IRE) (Gleneagles {Ire}) is a 500,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 graduate who is a half-sister to the G2 Curragh Cup winner Sword Fighter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and is the pick of Ryan Moore over two other Ballydoyle stablemates. This is the race that the stable won with ‘TDN Rising Star’ Just Wonderful (Dansili {GB}) last year and fellow newcomer Love Bracelet (War Front) is related to that filly, being out of the G1 Irish Oaks heroine Bracelet (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}). The post Observations: May 24, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Top Louisiana-breds will be in the spotlight at Evangeline Downs May 25 for Louisiana Legends Night. View the full article

American Anthem (Bodemeister) makes his 2019 stakes bow in Saturday’s GII Triple Blend S. The Bob Baffert trainee scored two of his last three stakes victories at Santa Anita, including a narrow win in last summer’s GII San Carlos S. in which he earned a sparkling 105 Beyer Speed Figure. Following that huge effort, the WinStar Farm and China Horse Club colorbearer checked in sixth in the GI Bing Crosby S. at Del Mar July 28 before being benched for the next 10 months. He made his return to the races with an encouraging second-place finish in a one mile optional claimer on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard. An intriguing prospect contesting his first stakes attempt is Doubledown Stable’s The Hardest Way (Uncle Mo). The 5-year-old scorched six furlongs in 1:09.63 for trainer Ron Ellis in an optional claimer at Keeneland Apr. 6, earning a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 103. In that race, the bay was making his first start in 13 months after being privately purchased from Five Hellions Farm and William Peel III. Cistron (The Factor) enters off an emphatic score in Santa Anita’s GII Kona Gold S. Apr. 20. The John Sadler-trained bay had made 13 straight starts on the turf prior to that 5 1/4-length victory. The post American Anthem a Strong Contender in Triple Bend appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Grade 1 winner Almanaar will open his 7-year-old season May 25 when the son of Dubawi starts in the $200,000 Monmouth Stakes (G2T) on the turf at Monmouth Park. View the full article

The return to the Turf of Peter M. Brant, a man of deep engagement with wider concerns of art and society, has not just enriched the sport’s cultural fabric. It has also now secured the future of a valuable piece of its heritage in Payson Park. Thursday, with the dust still settling on its landmark 1-2-3 finish in the Kentucky Derby, Brant closed a deal that ends a period of prolonged uncertainty for the South Florida training center. Payson Park has been on the market since 2012, most recently advertised at $7.95 million. And, for all Brant’s acumen as a businessman, it is understood that he views Payson not as an investment vehicle, but primarily as a benevolent intervention in the interests of horsemen. Brant himself, admittedly, is making no such claims on his behalf. He is simply stressing a personal faith in the excellence of the facility, as sampled by his own horses both in his first stint in the game and since his comeback. He is also at pains to compliment the custodianship of vendor Virginia Kraft Payson, who hands over the site in infinitely better repair than when she and her late husband rescued it 40 years ago. That said, he is already promising to upgrade a facility that has managed, even without the kind of expenditure only warranted by an indefinite commitment, consistently to maintain elite performance by horse and horseman alike. He also said he intended to emulate the barn ownership model so successfully developed at Fair Hill in Maryland. “In the late ’70s and in the ’80s I had a lot of my horses at Payson Park,” Brant recalled. “Horses like Gulch, Track Barron, Mogambo and Class Play, among many other stakes winners trained by LeRoy Jolley. I always did very well with 2-year-olds coming out of there, and early 3-year-olds, so I’m a big fan of the place; and I felt it would be better for our operation to have some horses–both younger and older–winter there. “A lot of the horsemen there, the trainers and owners, weren’t too sure what was going to happen. Mrs. Payson has obviously been a great steward, but the future was a little unknown so I thought it would be a good idea to step in there. And we’ll try and find a way so that everybody can own a piece of it and help it carry on.” Brant has taken advice on the facility from various expert consultants and been encouraged by feedback from those trainers already based there. “This summer we’ll be widening the turf course and changing the sprinkler system,” he said. “We’ll be screening the track, checking the base, making sure everything is good. Nobody is complaining about the racetrack, it’s one of the best in North America for sure, but I think we have a very good plan.” So far as the wider interests of the industry are concerned, Brant acknowledged the importance of looking to its laurels in terms of the training environment. A distressing start to the year at Santa Anita has illustrated the sensitivity of this area, and centers like Payson and Fair Hill provide a hybrid alternative, taking the best from both the European and American systems. The welfare of horses in training, after all, is ultimately reflected in their performance. The Payson Park slogan, in fact, has long been “Happy Horses Win.” So everyone gains from any improvements that can be sought in their daily theaters of operation. “Absolutely,” assented Brant. “And this is a perfect place for that. I’ve had a lot of experience of it personally, had horses there this year and last, older horses too. Their coats look good, and mentally they’re very on top of things. It’s out in the country, around 30 minutes from Palm Beach, maybe 50 minutes from Palm Meadows and probably an hour and 25 minutes from Gulfstream. So it’s right there in the middle of things-but the air is much fresher, you don’t have any major highways, and that makes a big difference.” Though Brant will preserve Payson Park under the same name, his association with the site places him in line with some of the American sport’s most resonant postwar patrons. The St. Lucie training farm was built at Indiantown in 1957 by Bull Hancock, C.T. Chenery, Michel Phipps and Townsend Martin. But it fell into such dilapidation, after their deaths, that cattle and alligators had to be cleared off the track when Mr. and Mrs. Payson first leased it in 1979. The following summer, having established that the fundamentals retained great potential, they bought the freehold and began the work that would keep Payson Park fully booked, with a wait list, from that winter all the way through to the downturn of 2008. T-he 405-acre site accommodates 21 barns, comprising 499 stalls in all; a mile dirt circuit independently evaluated by an MIT study as the most consistent in the land, plus a seven-furlong turf track; 62-berth staff dormitories; 76 turnout paddocks; a veterinary clinic; a café, a floodlit soccer pitch and miles of riding trails. In contrast with the typical backstretch, the Paysons ensured that “you won’t find an inch of concrete anywhere.” And, of course, there are no competing priorities, no pressure on schedules or maintenance, from a racing office. That was enough to secure winter migration from Hall of Fame trainers like Bill Mott, Shug McGaughey and Roger Attfield, and equine “campers” of the stamp of Cigar, Easy Goer and Kraft Payson’s own 12-length Irish Derby winner, St Jovite. Brant–who said he understood that Chad Brown will stable some of his best horses at Payson Park, not just for him but for other clients as well– has appointed Alan Quartucci of North Shore Bloodstock to handle barn sales under the new regime. “Peter is a big believer in Payson, and the history of the facility,” Quartucci said. “It’s a great track and a lot of great horses have come out of there. The people who built it had a great vision, and a lot of engineering knowledge; they knew all about drainage for instance. And it’s such a tranquil setting for the horses. “Mrs Payson has done a great job there but it’s been for sale for a while. Really it wasn’t Peter’s wish to run a training center, but to preserve a great one; not to let it be developed or turned into something else, but to keep it going and hopefully to improve it. “Peter’s always believed it’s been a great place for 2-year-olds to be developed, and the number has always been under 500 horses so it doesn’t get overcrowded. I think that’s what makes the track and facility so good. I think a lot of horsemen will be thankful that someone has stepped up to the plate.” The post Brant Seals Deal for Payson Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Goresbridge Breeze Up Sale will have a slightly more cosmopolitan feel to it this year as the event transfers from the small Kilkenny village it takes its name from, 80 miles north to Tattersalls Ireland in Meath. While the Goresbridge sale complex benefitted from access to nearby Gowran Park to facilitate the breeze, vendors at Tattersalls Ireland have an even shorter commute with their offerings, walking them directly across the road to Fairyhouse Racecourse, and this was where approximately 200 lots were put through their paces on quick but watered ground in front of a decent-sized crowd of onlookers on Thursday afternoon. Every prospective buyer present on Friday will need to play their part if this transplanted sale is to keep pace with previous editions, each one having outperformed the previous year’s metrics, save for last year. Despite a small dip last year, 2018 was still a very respectable edition which saw 170 of the 204 offered lots change hands for an aggregate of €5,054,900. This gave an average of €29,735, a median of €16,000 and a clearance rate of 83%. Friday’s slightly reduced catalogue will make it a challenge to surpass last year’s aggregate, but it should help the clearance rate, something that has been put to the test this current breeze-up season. The original Goresbridge Sale was developed by Martin Donohoe who was on hand on Thursday helping to coordinate the breeze and he still holds a strong attachment to the event since handing over the reins to Matt Mitchell and his team. “I’m still involved in an advisory capacity but obviously the Tattersalls Ireland team are running the show now,” Donohoe said. “They are a top-class team and have been great to work with and I am delighted to be associated with them. Peter Roe and his ground staff have produced beautiful ground here at Fairyhouse and also deserve a lot of credit. Although I am not calling the shots anymore I am still anxious that the sale goes well and that it continues to develop, something that Matt and his team are committed to achieving.” Irish Thoroughbred Marketing have worked closely with both Donohoe and the Tattersalls Ireland team in maximizing overseas participation in the sale and ITM Chief Executive Officer Charles O’Neill reckoned there would be 15 or 16 different nationalities here to do business. Tattersalls Ireland Chief Executive Officer Matt Mitchell was also buoyed by the international spread of those present for the breeze and said, “This year is about establishing the sale’s new identity and location in people’s minds and providing the best service possible in our new surroundings. We will then be seeking to build on this year’s foundation and have ambitious targets with regard to the growth of the sale. I think the new Tattersalls Ireland-Goresbridge partnership is a brilliant opportunity to enhance the quality of the horse coming through the sale based on the facilities on offer and provide both vendors and buyers with plenty of opportunities.” As always the standard of horse will ultimately have a major bearing on how the sale fares and the Goresbridge Breeze-Up has certainly punched above its weight in supplying its share of high-class performers. The 2018 sale topper East (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is a case in point and while on the day her €315,000 price tag may have been out of many people’s reach, the Kevin Ryan-trained filly has certainly augmented her value with a Group 3 win last year and two significant placings on her last two outings in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and the G1 The Emirates Poules d’Essai des Pouliches. ‘Kingmania’ is a new word that has cropped up recently and the exciting Juddmonte stallion, who has already topped one breeze-up sale this year with a filly, has a sole female offering in this sale. The Kingman (GB) filly, offered as lot 101 by Mick Fitzpatrick’s Kilminfoyle House Stud is the second produce out of the stakes winner Pure Excellence (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}), and with Craven Sale topper Divine Spirit (GB) making such an impression and earning a ‘TDN Rising Star’ on her recent Windsor debut, this filly should generate plenty of interest after putting in a professional breeze. An earlier lot that catches the eye is lot 29 from Norman Williamson’s Oak Tree Farm. This Siyouni (Fr) colt was bought as a foal last year by Mags O’Toole for 60,000gns and is out of the French stakes winner Adventure Seeker (Fr) (Bering {GB}). The dam has already produced a stakes performer and this colt’s year older brother American Graffiti (Fr) (Pivotal {GB})–a €320,000 yearling purchase by Godolphin–was an emphatic winner of his maiden a few months back for Charlie Appleby. Williamson’s colt also left a good impression after making his way up the Fairyhouse straight. Friars Lough Stables parted with £55,000 at Goffs UK last year for a Kodiac (GB) half-brother to G3 March S. winner Maid Up (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) and the colt returns to the ring as lot 116 today, while the very last horse into the ring, lot 211, received a good boost when his half-brother Loving A Boom (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) won at Happy Valley in Hong Kong on Wednesday for trainer Richard Gibson. The Knockatrina House-offered colt’s sire Gutaifan (Ire) was also represented by a winner the same day when Seraphinite (Ire) won a maiden at Kempton. Another first-season stallion who is the subject of very positive vibes is Night Of Thunder (Ire) and Katie Walsh’s Greenhills Farm, vendor of last year’s sale topper, offers lot 147, a colt by the Darley stallion from the family of Banimpire (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) and Twilight Payment (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). Rathasker Stud stallion Anjaal (GB) has also made a decent start with his 2-year-olds this year and that should aid the cause of lot 118. For good measure, the Mocklershill offering is also a half-sister to GI Natalma S. winner Capla Temptress (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). Another filly with a classy page is lot 43, who bids to continue the fine breeze-up season of Mick Murphy and Sarah O’Connell’s Longways Stables. This Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) filly is out of the very smart Mango Mischief (Ire) (Desert King {Ire}) and is an own-sister to G2 Kilboy Estate S. winner Mango Diva (GB). Lot 126 from Aguiar Bloodstock is a Muhaarar (GB) colt who is the first produce out of the MGSW New Providence (GB) (Bahamian Bounty {GB}) while Muhaarar is also the sire of one of the supplementary entries, lot 116A. This filly from Jim McCartan’s Gaybrook Lodge missed her intended date at Arqana two weeks ago and the 130,000gns yearling purchase is a half-sister to G1 Prix de l’Abbaye winner Wizz Kid (Ire) (Whipper). The sale begins at 10a.m. and all breezes are available to watch on the Tattersalls Ireland website. The post Goresbridge: New Venue, Same Ethos appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

He knows the business inside out, and a lot of it drives Eddie Plesa Jr. crazy. As we mount the golf buggy to see a couple of babies through the gate, his conversation freewheels from one exasperation to another. At one point he even admits relief that his children did not do as he did, in following his father into the game. “One of my sons is a police officer,” Plesa says. “He goes to work every day with a gun, and I feel more comfortable, with him doing what he does, than if he was in the barn with me working.” This, moreover, was before the Churchill stewards put every other irritation in the shade by throwing out a Kentucky Derby winner trained by his wife’s brother. Yet it would be all too easy to give the wrong impression. For while you’re actually with Plesa, you don’t sense the slightest negativity: just verve, insight, engagement. Things about the business vex him, for sure, but only because he cares; only because he loves horses. In fact, you soon develop a vexation of your own–on his behalf. How can a guy like this, with such pedigree and experience, closing on 2,400 winners, have barely 30 horses in his care? Happily, the support of people like Karl and Cathi Glassman means there is some quality there, too. Training, nowadays, is said to be a numbers game. In contrast with the “super-trainers,” however, a guy like Plesa will still patiently preside in person over every single lesson absorbed by his charges. “My father had a saying: dynamite can go off in anyone’s hands,” he says. “Anybody can train a good horse. It’s with the lesser horses that you need experience and knowledge and horsemanship. Allen Jerkens didn’t have many horses. And I don’t think anybody would say any super-trainer was better than him. He had gotten older, when he decided to stay here [in Florida]. But you don’t forget this stuff. “These horses, they have personalities just like people. Over-achievers, under-achievers. Not everyone has the chance to see that. I do. Everybody who works here does. It’s no reflection on those trainers, and it’s certainly not jealousy on my part. But with 300 horses in five different places, you’re only as strong as your weakest link. I’d rather have the personal attention. “There was a time when the top trainers had 35, 40 horses. So that would be nine trainers with 35 horses, as opposed to one guy. And, of course, that one guy can only run two in a race.” Plesa, as indicated, didn’t raise the subject himself. But it seemed apposite to do so, as he reflected on changes in his professional environment since watching his father train Fred Hooper’s “fourth string”. “We’re kind of a forgotten breed, to be honest,” he says. “The game has changed in every aspect. Racing, at one time, was the only game in town. That’s not the case anymore. I feel we made a deal with the devil when we became partners in these casinos.” He is scathing about the behaviour of Churchill Downs at Calder, a track that meant a lot to him over the years. About the sport’s yield from wagering and simulcasting. About the lack of a racing commission in Florida. About a labour market straining under demographic and political change. And, above all, about the “horrible job” the sport makes of self-promotion. Plesa acknowledges that some challenges are societal. But could we get our own house in order, for instance, sufficiently to meet the crisis if the Stronach feud ended with the family walking away? Or, a more immediate challenge, can we explain to government that you can only “give jobs to Americans” if Americans are able and willing to do them? “Yes, some problems are beyond our means,” Plesa says. “But could we do things better? I think we could. Think of the people that own horses, the vast majority very successful in what they do. I trained for Barry Schwartz who was partners with Calvin Klein. Great story, two kids become friends growing up, and the rest is history. “So in this business you rub elbows with people who are super wealthy, super bright, and enamoured by horseracing. People from Hollywood who produce shows, captains of industry. Couldn’t we get all these brilliant minds to sit down in the think tank and say, ‘Listen, what can we do to help promote this sport? How can we get its magic out to people?'” As it is, he wonders what on earth such minds must make of the current model. He dreams of a horseracing czar, empowered to coordinate calendars and programs, so that tracks might complement rather than undermine each other. “Some of this stuff’s so basic, it’s mind-boggling,” he says. “If you’re a business person and look at the model we have, you’d have to scratch your head and say: ‘What the hell? It’s like the A.F.C. having different rules from the N.F.C.'” But the horse itself, to Plesa, will never be a commodity. Where other barns resemble factories, processing claimers, he loves to develop talent. “That’s the part of the business I enjoy most,” he says. “Some trainers just recycle horses. But horses, again, are like people. You get earlier developers, late developers. The guy who was the athlete in junior high, by the time you graduate into college, he hasn’t grown, hasn’t gotten any faster. He was number one, now he’s middle of the pack. Same with horses. “Working with 2-year olds, for me, is what it’s all about. Claiming horses have their place, they get you from point A to point B. But I wouldn’t like to be a Florida-bred running for $16,000. With the 2-year-olds, you have an investment in time, and patience. Not only as a trainer, but as an owner.” And here, sure enough, is a trainer who will put the interests of his horses ahead of any short-term gain. “The longer you do this, the more you understand you have to be able to convince people to wait on horses,” he says. “Some people, you can’t convince. Some people don’t belong, as horse owners. They’re not cut out for so many variables that come into play, that you have no control over. Because it’s not just a question of sitting in a stand, watching your colors.” He recalls the time an owner of an exceptional young filly conducted himself so boorishly that Plesa, at a time when his kids were young and his business precarious, ordered him point-blank to take her away. She proceeded to do everything Plesa knew she should, but he had no regrets. When you’ve trained for Hooper, as Plesa did after his father, you can handle punks like that. “Ah, Mr. Hooper!” Plesa exclaims. “One of those people you could brag about that you met. Went against everything that was said back then. He was a barber, he was a boxer. He grows potatoes and blight kills the whole crop. Now he needs money to pay the bank. He reads in the paper they’re taking bids on a road building project. He had never built a road, was never in construction. He puts in a bid, gets the contract. So now he goes to the bank and says, ‘Listen, this is the deal. I can pay you–if you give me more money.’ And then he becomes one of the biggest contractors in the country.” True, when he had made his dollars Hooper still knew the value of cents. In fact, it is only now that Plesa has turned 70–albeit only just, in the same week that the Churchill stewards put such a dampener on family celebrations-that he has found the clients he wishes he could have had all along. “Karl and Cathi are still pretty new in the business, but I swear to God they are absolutely the best people I have ever trained for,” Plesa says. “I wish I’d met them 20 years ago.” But then there are also 30-year stalwarts like David and Olga Melin, for whom-along with another valued patron, Marion Montanari-Plesa trained Yesbyjimminy (Yes It’s True) to tear up Calder with a six-race streak in 2008. Yesbyjimminy soon faded at stud, but Plesa sent him a mare named Forest Retreat (Forest Camp). She produced a champion juvenile filly of New Jersey, so they bred her back–and Plesa’s wife Laurie duly found herself decorated as breeder of the FTBOA champion turf female of 2018 in Miz Mayhem, whose half-dozen wins last year included four at black-type level. Laurie, the Melins and Montanari were the owners lucky enough to cash in Preakness runner-up and GI Woodward winner Itsmyluckyday (Lawyer Ron) to Spendthrift. But if that high-profile success confirmed Plesa to be equal to any opportunity, his fulfilment as a trainer has never been about personal acclaim. So when he thinks back 20 years to Three Ring (Notebook), who won the GI Acorn S. only to fracture her skull in the Belmont paddock next time out, it is intimate memories of the filly around the barn that stay with him most. “Three Ring was particularly special to us, because I’d bought her mother at a sale,” he recalls. “And she was the first horse my wife became familiar with, on a personal basis. We’d come back to the barn after dinner and the filly would be lying down in the stall. I could go in there and she’d put her head in my lap. I’d pet her and my wife would too. A long time ago, now. But she was special.” Other cherished achievers include Best Of The Rest (Skip Trial), who won first time out at two and the inaugural Sunshine Millions Classic as a 7-year-old. Plesa established that he would only hold his form in limited cycles but would always bounce back, granted a sufficient vacation. “He was an over-achiever, and that’s where horsemanship comes in,” Plesa says. “Not that I’m an outstanding horseman. It’s just that if somebody else had their hands on him, he wouldn’t have kept going so long and would probably have ended up running for a tag. Because they wouldn’t have given him the time. He paid us off in spades.” None of this happens because a fellow can read a manual. It comes out of a lifetime in the game; in fact, two lifetimes. “My father left home when he was 12 years old,” Plesa recalls. “Came from a very poor family. Omaha, Nebraska. He was small, somebody said, ‘Geez, he could be a jockey or something.’ So he went out and became a jockey. Won his first race when he was 13, at Ak-Sar-Ben. “He had a ton of ability. He trained horses people said would never make it and won stakes with them. And I was the beneficiary, in a lot of ways: I’ve been working with horses since I was five. He’d be riding in Ohio or Michigan and the day school would get out, down here, my mother put me in a car and we’d drive to wherever he was. And when I got there, I’d walk horses for people. So I’ve done everything, just about. When I was his foreman, I’d kid about that: that, for him, meant doing the work of four men.” It will not have been lightly, then, that Plesa steered his own children away from the business. But then there still are those other babies, out there schooling through the gate. “Listen, it’s been a great family thing for us, no ifs or buts,” he reflects. “It sent all my kids to college. But I’m glad I’m where I am now. I’m not sure I’d want to be a young person starting out. Yes, it’s still a great business. But the game’s changed. I have a watch I can talk to. ‘Call so-and-so,’ and it does it. So is there still a place for the rotary phone? No! Is there a place for horseracing? I hope so. “Certainly as long as I’m here on the back side there’s going to be a 2-year old in that barn. Because that’s what gives you hope. You can’t hit a grand slam claiming a horse. But you can, buying one. And then you have the homebreds. Those horses don’t know whether they’re in the first round draft or the seventh. But they listen to you and, as long as you teach them well, they go out there and do the best they can. “So long as I can do that, I’ll get up every morning and come out here. I like that the 2-year-olds need that devotion, patience, expertise. And really horseracing is a wonderful sport. I would love to see it to continue. And it will, past me. Though what the future holds I question. While you might not think this, I’m a very positive person. An upbeat person. And I know I’ve been very, very lucky. It’s just that about this business, I’m a realist.” The post Eddie Plesa: A Forgotten Breed Worth Remembering appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Grade 1 winner Almanaar (GB) will open his 7-year-old season May 25 when the son of Dubawi (IRE) starts in the $200,000 Monmouth Stakes (G2T) on the turf at Monmouth Park. View the full article

Live Oak Plantation homebred Global Access will get a chance to take on Gary Barber and Lou Tucci's Skywire in the $125,000 Marine Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds, going 1 1/16 miles on Woodbine's all-weather track May 25. View the full article

The $150,000 Salvatore Mile Stakes (G3) could turn out to be a family affair as the May 25 stakes at Monmouth Park features horses from brothers Jason and John Servis who figure to attract much of the wagering attention in the field of nine. View the full article