Wandering Eyes

LNJ Foxwoods' Covfefe, a 3-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, broke a 29-year-old track record in winning Pimlico's May 17 Adena Springs Miss Preakness Stakes (G3). She got the six furlongs in 1:07.70. View the full article

Point of Honor surged in the stretch May 17 to win the $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) at Pimlico Race Course, the Maryland track's most prestigious race for 3-year-old fillies. View the full article

Joel Politi's Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Serengeti Empress returned to the Churchill Downs work tab May 17 with a half-mile move in :48 flat. View the full article

As trainer Steve Asmussen looked on from virtually the same spot as he did 12 months earlier in the Preakness, he saw poetic justice. This time, the wire arrived in time for Tenfold, who held off You're to Blame by a neck in the Pimlico Special (G3). View the full article

Just one race after winning the Adena Springs Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) with Covfefe, the Roths returned to the winner's circle when their homebred War Front filly took home the $100,000 Maker's Mark Hilltop Stakes. View the full article

My TDN colleague Chris McGrath ably discussed the blue-hen markers in the female family of Maryland-bred Gl Preakness contender Alwaysmining (Stay Thirsty) the other day: namely, fourth dam Cequillo, the Tartan Farms ancestress of many high-class runners, broodmares, and sires, including the highly influential John Nerud-bred sire Fappiano (Mr. Prospector); and Plucky Liege, Cequillo’s fourth dam, who was just as prolific and is the dam of the imported breed-shaping brothers Sir Gallahad (Fr) and Bull Dog (Fr), sons of Teddy (Fr) who stood at Claiborne and Coldstream Stud, respectively. It’s not often these days that Cequillo appears in the fourth generation of a pedigree in tail-female. A foal of 1956, Cequillo was 17 when she foaled the Dr. Fager mare Consequential, Alwaysmining’s third dam. Consequential was 18 when she produced the Golden Act mare Che Sara Sara, Alwaysmining’s second dam, and Che Sara Sara was 12 when she dropped the Anees mare What Will Be, the dam of the Stay Thirsty gelding. Alwaysmining was bred by Avla Pitts, who’s familiarly known in Maryland and Kentucky horse circles as “Poppet” Pitts. The another-era feel to Alwaysmining’s female line is also evoked in his breeder’s name and history. A longtime horsewoman from the timber, foxhunting, show horse, and steeplechasing worlds in Maryland, Pitts’s ex-husband was noted Maryland and Jockey Club steward Clinton Pitts Jr. Her daughter is Kentucky-based trainer Helen Pitts-Blasi, who trained Grade l winner Einstein and Curlin for his first start while her stepfather, Joseph F. “Judge” Flanagan, also a Maryland steward, bred Elkridge, the champion steeplechaser of 1942 and 1946 who was named after the Elkridge Harford Hunt Club of Monkton. He’d bought the farm where Pitts bred Alwaysmining in 1929. Named Hitchcock Plains, Flanagan bequeathed the 56-acre property near Fallston and Monkton in Harford County to Pitts and she’s lived there for more than 40 years. “Quite a long time,” she said, though the farm isn’t known by its original name anymore. “We call it ‘The Pitts,’ which is bad. After all this, we might have to give it a proper name,” she said. “He bought the farm in 1929 for practically nothing,” Pitts continued. “He did a lot to it, and we’ve done a lot more to it since he left us. He was also known as ‘Spotless Joe,’ and this place was spotless, and I’m trying to keep up his wills.” When her husband was around, Pitts said, “we had jumpers, and he rode them, and I bred hunters and timber horses and show horses.” She’s boarded timber horses and steeplechasers for other trainers through the years and has had as many as 23 head on the farm, but mostly she keeps only her horses on the property now. She lives alone and tends to them with the aid of neighbor Vivian Rall, who helps with foaling. Pitts said she started breeding horses for the flat and to sell about eight years ago when she acquired What Will Be, the dam of Alwaysmining. At the moment she has three mares, one of which was purchased recently, and some of their offspring, including a show horse, a rehabbing timber horse, and a retiree. She breeds her mares to Kentucky stallions–she said she likes to breed to new and young horses–and sells the foals as short yearlings at Keeneland January with Hunter Valley Farm. Alwaysmining was sold that way for $32,000 and he was later pinhooked for $130,000 to Jim McIngvale at Keeneland September. Alwaysmining’s Fast Anna yearling half-sister made $100,000 this year, and the buyers were Caroline and Greg Bentley, who’d purchased Alwaysmining from McIngvale privately after the colt had first won in his fourth start, at two. Subsequently gelded, Alwaysmining has won six of eight starts for the Bentleys’s Runnymede Racing LLC and trainer Kelly Rubley, with an overall record of seven wins from 12 starts and earnings of $386,192. As a Maryland-bred, Alwaysmining is eligible to earn an additional state-bred bonus of $225,000 each to the owners and breeder in addition to the winner’s share of the $1.5-million Preakness purse should he win the Classic. Hunter Valley Connection… Adrian Regan of Hunter Valley was introduced to Pitts through mutual friend Gary Murray–who’d worked at Ashford Stud–about 10 years ago. Regan is her bloodstock agent/manager and boards her mares when they are sent to Kentucky to breed. When he first visited Pitts, Regan said he was struck by her attention to detail and the way her horses were raised. Anyone who knows the milieu in which Pitts was raised could have told him that. The horse is a way of life for the Maryland hunter/jumper crowd, down to the uniforms that include canary breeches, frock coats, stock pins, hammerhead spurs, hunting horns, top hats, and the requisite flask. “Poppet, she only has the couple of mares, but she looks after them, like, unbelievably,” Regan said. “When I first went in there, the place was immaculate, the horses were immaculate. The care they get is unbelievable, and I was very taken by the place as soon as I went in there.” Regan and Pitts then devised the strategy of breeding mares in Kentucky, foaling in Maryland, and selling as short yearlings at Keeneland in January. “She foals them in Maryland, always, you see, because she loves seeing them outside her window and she loves the whole thing of taking care of them, which she does down to an absolute T,” Regan said. “They come up to me to be bred back. When we get them to 60 days to 90 days pregnant, we send them back to Poppet, because she basically suffers withdrawal symptoms until she gets them back.” Regan said that because from early on Pitts didn’t use expensive stallions or have the glittering pedigrees, her yearlings were placed in Keeneland January Books 1 and 2 so they would stand out for the way they looked and were raised, instead of Keeneland September, where they’d be shuffled back into the last books among a sea of yearlings with shinier pedigrees. The formula has been successful and they’ve kept to it since. The Fast Anna half-sister to Alwaysmining that Hunter Valley sold for Pitts in January is the latest example. “We’re in in Book 2 in January, and you know how that is,” Regan said. “So Spider [Gabriel “Spider” Duignan, whose clients are the Bentleys] strides down and he says, ‘Adrian, I’m going to make your day. I have to look at that filly of yours.’ I said, ‘Work away. She’s an absolute rock star.’ You know, Spider was looking at me funny about a rock star in Book 2 in Keeneland January, but he looked at her and came back and said, ‘You’re right, she is.’ So Spider went into dialogue with his people, but that filly, we were already into double digits in scopes with her, and you know what that’s like at Keeneland January Book 2. She was outstanding.” Both Pitts and Regan said that Regan and Murray advise on stallion selections, but in the case of the mating that resulted in Alwaysmining, Pitts was the one who happened to pick Stay Thirsty, then at Ashford and now in California, for What Will Be. “I don’t know how I came up with Stay Thirsty,” Pitts recalled. “I studied the pedigree a little bit. But it was something I dreamt up on my own. I usually lean on Adrian, but don’t ask me, I don’t know too much about it. But somehow I got involved, and I love everything to do with Ashford. It’s just a nice, beautiful place. So, I went to see him there and loved the horse.” Because What Will Be is by Anees, a grandson of Fappiano, she already had two crosses to Cequillo (6X3) and two to Dr. Fager (5×3) and was bred similarly to the Tartan-bred Fappiano horse Quiet American (who was 3×2 to Dr. Fager and 4×3 to Cequillo– his third dam). Breeding experts like Leon Rasmussen and John Nerud, who worked together on the mating of Quiet American, believed in accumulating and duplicating the blood of Cequillo (and, consequently, Plucky Liege), and, probably without knowing this, Pitts did the same when she bred her broodmare to Stay Thirsty, whose sire Bernardini was from a Quiet American mare, resulting in even more duplications to Cequillo and Plucky Liege in the background of Alwaysmining. What Pitts did know, however, was horsemanship, and she bred her broodmare to the sire that she thought would best physically suit her mare. That skill of hers will be on full display Saturday when the gelding she bred will try to give Maryland and its smaller circle of hunter/jumper people a rooting interest in the hometown Classic at Pimlico. Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks The post Taking Stock: Poppet Pitts and Alwaysmining appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

POINT OF HONOR (f, 3, Curlin–Zayanna, by Bernardini) surges past Ulele (Candy Ride {Arg}) late to capture the GII Black-Eyed Susan S. at Pimlico Friday. Running off the rail in second last early, the chestnut bided her time as Cookie Doug (Brethren) clocked early fractions of :23.36 and :47.02. Advancing on the backstretch, Point of Honor moved up three wide to tackle new leader Ulele (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the lane, forging past late to win by a neck. Romping by six lengths on debut at Gulfstream Dec. 16, Point of Honor followed suit with a win in Tampa’s Suncoast S. Feb. 9 and checked in fourth when last seen in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks Mar. 30. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0. The post Curlin’s Point of Honor Surges Late to Take the Black-Eyed Susan 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 a Wesley Ward Royal Ascot hopeful. 4.15 Newbury, Novice, £50,000, 2yo, 6fT JOKER ON JACK (Declaration of War) is the second Wesley Ward juvenile to hit British tracks in 2019, with Frankie Dettori booked for Ice Wine Stable’s Apr. 18 Keeneland maiden special weight winner in this Olympic Glory Conditions S. Ballydoyle have two engaged, with Ryan Moore on the Dundalk maiden winner Fort Myers (War Front), a son of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Marvellous (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), while Godolphin supply the likely favourite in the Charlie Appleby-trained Well of Wisdom (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the five-furlong Newmarket novice scorer who is a half-brother to the recent G1 Ranvet S. and G1 Tancred S. hero Avilius (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and his classy full-brother Saint Baudolino (Ire). 7.00 Salon-de-Provence, Cond, €22,000, 3yo, 12fT VISAGE (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) bids to build on her taking debut win over 11 1/2 furlongs at Tarbes last month for Tabor/Smith/Magnier and Jean-Claude Rouget. A daughter of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Irish Oaks third Just Pretending (Giant’s Causeway), she is therefore connected to the Grade I-winning sire Scan. The post Observations: May 18, 2019 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Selcourt sets up for her first win of 2019, while Danuska's My Girl will attempt to extend her win streak when the two speedsters meet in the $100,000 Desert Stormer Stakes (G3) May 19 at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

A six-month layoff proved no obstacle for Lael Stables' Chalon, who stormed down the two-path to win the $100,000 Skipat Stakes May 17 at Pimlico Race Course. View the full article

LNJ Foxwoods' Covfefe, a 3-year-old daughter of Into Mischief, breaks a 29-year-old track record in winning Pimlico's May 17 Adena Springs Miss Preakness Stakes (G3). She got the six furlongs in 1:07.70. View the full article

Kerrygold, the brand owned by Irish dairy farmers, has announced its sponsorship of the G1 Irish Oaks at The Curragh. This year’s Kerrygold Irish Oaks takes place on July 20. Derek McGrath, CEO of The Curragh, commented, “We are excited to welcome Kerrygold on board as new sponsor of one of our most prestigious race meetings. We look forward to working closely with them to create memorable experiences for race-goers and participants alike. This is a wonderful opportunity for both Kerrygold and, indeed, us at The Curragh, to bring together two iconic Irish brands to showcase a shared rich history in a contemporary and creative way that is unique to The Curragh.” The post Kerrygold To Sponsor Irish Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Just one race after winning the Adena Springs Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) with Covfefe, the Roths returned to the winner's circle when their homebred War Front filly took home the $100,000 Maker's Mark Hilltop Stakes. View the full article

This year's Kentucky Derby (G1) has become a never-ending story, and with none of its first four finishers under the wire returning for the Preakness (G1), a baker's dozen will line up for the 144th running of the Baltimore classic May 18. View the full article

COVFEFE (f, 3, Into Mischief–Antics, by Unbridled) rockets home in track record time to capture the GIII Miss Preakness S. at Pimlico Friday. Taking up her preferred position at the head of affairs, the 9-5 shot ticked off opening splits of :22.24 and :44.43 and powered clear in the lane under a head of steam to win for fun by eight lengths. She completed the six-panel event in a posted time of 1:07.70, which is new track record. Graduating by 9 1/4 lengths on debut at Churchill Downs Sept. 16, Covfefe could only manage fourth as the favorite behind future champion Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) in Belmont’s GI Frizette S. Oct. 7. The $250,000 KEESEP buy returned to winning ways last time in an Apr. 6 optional claimer at Keeneland Apr. 6. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0. O-LNJ Foxwoods; B-Alexander-Groves Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Brad Cox. The post Into Mischief’s Covfefe Sizzles in Miss Preakness Romp appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Trainer Chad Brown has built his reputation on being able to fire fresh off the bench with his turf stars. That's one reason Inflexibility is the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Gallorette Stakes (G3T). View the full article

This year's Kentucky Derby (G1) has become a never-ending story, and with none of its first four finishers under the wire returning for the Preakness (G1), a baker's dozen will line up for the 144th running of the Baltimore classic May 18. View the full article

Gary West is offering a $20 million reward to the owners of Country House, War of Will, Long Range Toddy, and Bodexpress if any of those horses finish ahead of Maximum Security the next time any of them race against the colt through Dec. 31, 2019. View the full article

Fewer than 30 horses in Hong Kong’s professional era have made as many as six trips to the winner’s circle in a single season. With his recent victory in the G1 Champions Mile, reigning Horse of the Year Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road to Rock {Aus}) was winning for a record-setting eighth time this preparation and other legends of the Hong Kong turf to have bagged a half-dozen in a season include Silent Witness (Aus) (El Moxie), Ambitious Dragon (NZ) (Pins {Aus}) and Able Friend (Aus) (Shamardal). John Size, who has trained no fewer than six of the six-time winners, has the chance to be represented by yet another when Champion’s Way (Aus) (Hinchinbrook {Aus}) starts a short-priced favourite Saturday afternoon at Sha Tin. “You couldn’t help but be impressed, he’s won his five races quite handsomely and I think there’s more in him,” Size told the HKJC’s David Morgan Friday. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the form; they can all gallop in Class 2, so if you can win one of those while you’re making progress, it’s a pretty good sign.” Champion’s Way stretches out to the metric mile for the first time off a courageous defeat of Good Standing (Aus) (Artie Schiller) in a Class 2 over 1400 metres run over a rain-affected track Apr. 14 in which he never looked likely until the 200m mark (video). The form of the race was franked when Good Standing returned to post a decisive victory in the Class 1 Hong Kong-Macau Trophy last weekend. “He didn’t travel very well at the 1400 last start, so hopefully the mile is suitable for him,” said Size, who also trains the late Hinchinbrook’s Group 1-winning son Beat the Clock (Aus). “I thought it was the ground, I thought he might have been struggling on the wet track to travel properly, but in the past he has shown us that he needs a bit of encouragement to get into his work. Maybe that’s not a bad thing so we’ll see how he progresses and gets a rise in class and longer distances.” Joao Moreira has a return call aboard the 3-year-old son of Greta’s Yarn (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), an A$130,000 purchase out of the 2017 Inglis Melbourne Premiere Yearling Sale. The post Champion’s Way Looks to Join Elite Company appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Since the heady days of Frankel (GB), Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa) and Canford Cliffs (Ire), the older miling division has been devoid of a genuine star turn and Saturday’s G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S. at Newbury offers another poser. Perhaps the G1 Matron S. and G1 Sun Chariot S. heroine Laurens (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) will be the one in a race that has been kind to fillies of her nature, with Rhododendron (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Peeress (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), Red Evie (Ire) (Intikhab) and Russian Rhythm (Kingmambo) successful from a small pool since 2004. Also a winner at the top level over a mile and a quarter and beyond, having annexed the Prix de Diane and Prix Saint-Alary, John Dance’s pride and joy is reported in top order by trainer Karl Burke. “Whatever we’ve done with her at home, I’m sure she’ll improve a little bit,” he said of the 4-year-old, who was last seen finishing eighth in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S at Ascot on Champions Day. “We were obviously disappointed with her final run and I put it down to it being at the end of a long season. But in hindsight, she’d just had her Herpes jab not long before it because of a new ruling and I’ve a feeling it just knocked the edge off her.” Burke has some words of warning for her opponents. “She’s a heavier filly this year. She certainly has improved physically–she’s probably got quicker as she’s got stronger. She bossed the females last year and I think she can do the same to the boys. I think the mile division probably lacks a star and I hope she can fill that gap.” As usual, Aidan O’Brien has a well-respected representative in Prince Faisal bin Khaled and Michael Tabor’s ex-Andre Fabre-trained Le Brivido (Fr) who is also by Laurens’s sire. He has plenty to find on his latest third in the G3 Gladness S. over seven furlongs at Naas Apr. 13, but two years ago he was finishing a close second in the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches before winning the G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot and he would not be at Ballydoyle if he did not still possess that kind of class. “I was happy with Le Brivido’s first run of the year and that was his first run for us,” O’Brien said. “Obviously we’ve never run him over a mile, so we’ll find out if that is what he wants.” Behind Le Brivido when an unlucky fifth in the Gladness was last year’s G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hero Romanised (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), who is still relatively lightly-raced and may be open to progress at four. Trainer Ken Condon said, “He didn’t get the clearest of runs [last time], so all in all we were pleased. I liked the way he went through the line. It was important he didn’t have a gruelling race first time out–and he didn’t. The race is coming up at the right time–he seems to come to himself at this time of year. It will be a tough race, but one I’m very much looking forward to.” Romanised was fifth to Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot last June and like the Irish Classic hero the Gunthers’ flagbearer lost his way thereafter. Fifth in Meydan’s G1 Dubai Turf over nine furlongs Mar. 30, he sports blinkers for the first time and John Gosden will be hoping that they relight his fire while the 2018 G1 1000 Guineas heroine Billesdon Brook (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}) is another on a retrieval mission. Third in the G2 Dahlia S. over nine furlongs at Newmarket May 5, the Stowell Hill homebred is edging towards the kind of odds she was when storming past Laurens in the Newmarket Classic 12 months ago. On a talent-filled Newbury card, the opening six-furlong Listed Shalaa Carnarvon S. sees Shadwell have a strong hand which includes the Charlie Hills-trained 750,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase Khaadem (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), followed by the bid of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild’s top-flight performer Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) to register back-to-back renewals of the G3 Al Rayyan S., better known as the Aston Park S. “He has definitely strengthened up and looks to be sharper than last year,” Sir Michael Stoute’s assistant James Horton said. “We know he stays the mile and a half well and this is a good stepping stone going forward. It was either here or travelling to Ireland for the Tattersalls Gold Cup and having a hard race. He is in good form, so fingers crossed it all goes smoothly.” ‘TDN Rising Star’ Headman (GB) (Kingman {GB}) heads the runners for the prestigious Al Zubarah London Gold Cup H. which boasts a classy honour roll including the former Roger Charlton-trained stars Al Kazeem (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). That Beckhampton handler is keen to see how Khalid Abdullah’s still unexposed relative of Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) performs in this race won almost always by embryo pattern-race performers. “Obviously he created a big impression when winning at Newcastle on his debut and then we were a bit disappointed when he was beaten by Zakouski at Kempton, although he was giving him seven pounds and the winner looked good,” Juddmonte’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said. “We also dropped back to seven furlongs. He was a bit disappointing first time out this season, but you do tend to get exaggerated distances on soft ground. He came out of that fine, has been working well, and we hope this will put him back on the right road.” In opposition to Headman is Saeed Suhail’s Apr. 16 Newmarket handicap winner Solid Stone (Ire) (Shamardal), who bids to follow where the fellow Sir Michael Stoute-trained GI Canadian International hero Cannock Chase (Lemon Drop Kid) led after taking this in 2014. “I think this horse could take a similar route to Cannock Chase–I think he’ll go in that direction,” the owner’s racing manager Bruce Raymond said. “You need a potential group horse to win this usually. He’s working well and he’s got improvement in him.” Wesley Ward brings Ice Wine Stable’s Apr. 18 Keeneland maiden special weight winner Joker On Jack (Declaration of War) to the valuable Olympic Glory Conditions S. over six furlongs, where he meets Ballydoyle’s Apr. 24 Dundalk debut winner Fort Myers (War Front) and Godolphin’s Apr. 18 Newmarket novice scorer Well of Wisdom (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) in the fascinating Royal Ascot pointer won in 2016 by Mehmas (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}). Anthony Oppenheimer’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Star Catcher (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), a half-sister to the aforementioned Cannock Chase who so impressed over this course and distance Apr. 12, is one of an intriguing cast for the Listed Haras de Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial along with Sunderland Holdings’ well-regarded maiden Sea of Faith (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Last year, her trainer William Haggas saddled the owners’ Sea of Class (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) to break her maiden in this and there are strong vibes for a repeat for the homebred who was fourth on debut in a decent 10-furlong novice contest at Sandown on Apr. 26. “It’s a big step up for her,” Haggas commented. “She is useful and we need to know short-term targets. She is not as quick as Sea of Class at all and more a galloping type.” At Newmarket, another ‘TDN Rising Star’ in Jash (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) reappears in the seven-furlong Listed King Charles II S. against four rivals with Simon Crisford hoping he can build on a juvenile campaign which saw him finish second in the G1 Middle Park S. “Jash has taken a long time to come to himself this spring,” he explained. “He has been working very nicely over the last few weeks and that has brought him forward to where we want him. I’m very happy with him going into the race. The purpose of taking him to the Rowley Mile a few weeks ago was to get him moving and stretching his legs. We never asked any questions that day, but he moved up well. Obviously races like this are competitive, but this is a good starting point for him. As far as we are concerned he should get the trip and it is the ideal distance for him. He doesn’t have the physique of a sprinter. He is a long-striding horse that covers a lot of ground and has got a great mindset. The post Lockinge Puzzle Headlines Saturday Action appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Gary West is offering up $20 million of his own money to the owners of Country House (Lookin at Lucky), War of Will (War Front), Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy) and Bodexpress (Bodemeister), all of whom were involved in the incident that resulted in the DQ in the GI Kentucky Derby, if any of those horses finish ahead of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) the next time any of them race against him through Dec. 31, 2019. West said he believes his offer of $5 million apiece to each of those four horses would result in record viewership and would generate worldwide interest. If all five horses meet in the same race it would potentially create the most lucrative race in the world. West said his offer and the results of this “match race within a race” have no bearing and nothing to do with his horse’s disqualification in the Kentucky Derby. West’s intention with this opportunity and challenge is simply to generate additional interest in the sport. There are no restrictions as to the type of race, what racetrack it is held at or the distance or track surface. The offer is valid only for the next time Maximum Security meets any of the aforementioned horses in a race, whether it is in the same race or in four separate races. No horse has to win the race; the offer is simply based on the head-to-head result with Maximum Security. “I am doing this because I think it would be good for racing and a unique opportunity to bring more people into racing because of the elevated interest this would bring to the sport,” West said. In return, West is asking the owners of the other four horses to give him $5 million apiece if Maximum Security finishes ahead of their horse in the official chart. The owners of any or all of the other four horses wishing to participate would be required to put their $5 million in an escrow account, as West will do immediately for up to $20 million. West said if any of the other owners are not as confident in their horses as he is in Maximum Security, he would extend the same terms and conditions for the connections to put up $1.86 million instead. That figure is the exact winner’s share of the Kentucky Derby. West will donate 100% Maximum Security’s winnings from this challenge (if any, and up to $20 million) to the Permanently Disabled Jockey’s Fund. If no owners accept the challenge, West pledges to donate 10% of Maximum Security’s future lifetime racing earnings to the Permanently Disabled Jockey’s Fund. “Most experts agree that Maximum Security was the best horse in the Kentucky Derby,” West said. “I don’t care to discuss the controversy surrounding the events of the race and the disqualification of my horse at this time, but I firmly believe I have the best 3-year-old in the country and I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is.” The post West Issues Challenge to Connections of Horses Involved in Derby Incident appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Not content with securing the inaugural Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers’ Million for connections, Bjorn Nielsen’s Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) was back with the real threat of doubling up on Friday as he defied a penalty and smart rivals in the G2 Matchbook Yorkshire Cup. Always travelling sweetly in mid-division, the flashy chestnut had the imposing Southern France (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) to aim at for the final three furlongs as Mildenberger (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) tried to make a fist of it. As the latter backed out, it took until the last furlong for the 4-5 favourite to truly master the Ballydoyle challenger in a David and Goliath-style tussle. At the line, “Mighty Mouse” was the comfortable 3/4-of-a-length winner as they pulled five lengths clear of Mildenberger to suggest that they will be at the forefront when the Royal meeting’s key staying test comes. “He was a bit rusty and there wasn’t much of a pace, so it was more of a sprint but once we got upsides there was only going to be one winner,” Dettori said. “He’s a tiger–he just put his head down and went. He’s a joy to have around.” Stradivarius was also becoming the first since Ardross (Ire) in 1982 to win this for the second successive year and the parallels with Charles St George’s great stayer are becoming ever more credible with time. Like him, he went unbeaten through an important Cup campaign last term with the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot his crowning moment. There was as much zip in this performance as there was in the 2018 equivalent and with last year’s G1 St Leger third there to make him stretch and the likes of the Feb. 28 G3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy winner Ispolini (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) well beaten it is solid form. Trainer John Gosden obviously relishes the challenge of managing the career of the ebullient 5-year-old and said, “This was a prep for the Gold Cup and he hadn’t been trained hard for this. He’s a very proud horse and does enough in his work without being generous. The [June 20] Gold Cup is a different ball game and they slowed it right down here which is probably not ideal for him, but I liked the way he showed a bit of grit in the end. He’s not polished yet–we hope to have that at Royal Ascot. He was in the nightclub when I was saddling him, but then he goes out there and races and gets into a different zone.” Pedigree Notes Stradivarius, who descends from the Wildensteins’ brilliant Pawneese (Ire), is the last foal out of the dual listed-placed Private Life (Fr) (Bering {GB}), who was snapped up for just 70,000gns at the 2006 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. She also produced three other black-type performers including the G3 Bavarian Classic and G3 Furstenberg-Rennen-winning German highweight Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}). This is also the family of the G1 Melbourne Cup hero Protectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) and the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero and leading sire Peintre Celebre (Nureyev). Friday, York, Britain MATCHBOOK YORKSHIRE CUP S.-G2, £165,000, York, 5-17, 4yo/up, 13f 188yT, 3:01.21, g/f. 1–STRADIVARIUS (IRE), 130, h, 5, by Sea the Stars (Ire) 1st Dam: Private Life (Fr) (MSP-Fr), by Bering (GB) 2nd Dam: Poughkeepsie (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells 3rd Dam: Pawneese (Ire), by Carvin II (330,000gns RNA Ylg ’15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £93,572. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Eng, 15-10-1-2, $2,239,526. *1/2 to Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), Hwt. 3yo-Ger at 9.5-11f & MGSW-Ger, $121,198; Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), GSP-Eng, $167,081; and Magical Eve (Ger) (Oratorio {Ire}), SP-SAf. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Southern France (Ire), 127, c, 4, Galileo (Ire)–Alta Anna (Fr), by Anabaa. O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Lynch-Bages & Rhinestone Bloodstock (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. £35,475. 3–Mildenberger (GB), 127, c, 4, Teofilo (Ire)–Belle Josephine (GB), by Dubawi (Ire). O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum; B-Godolphin (GB); T-Mark Johnston. £17,754. Margins: 3/4, 5, 1. Odds: 0.80, 5.50, 7.00. Also Ran: Ispolini (GB), Desert Skyline (Ire), Mootasadir (GB), Sevenna Star (Ire), Aircraft Carrier (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The post Stradivarius Rolls On In The Yorkshire Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

With the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) winner Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) having stuck to the mile route in the May 5 G1 NHK Mile Cup, where she was fifth, Sunday’s G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) will go without the Oka Sho winner for the first time in three years and just the 12th time ever. The Yushun Himba is hardly lacking in quality, however, with the runner-up and third Shigeru Pink Dia (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) and Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) back to do battle again and last year’s champion 2-year-old filly Danon Fantasy (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) looking to atone for a fourth-place finish as the favourite in the first Classic. Shigeru Pink Dia is a filly to keep an eye on. She was starting for just the fourth time in the Oka Sho and has never been worse than third. Chrono Gensis, who has won three of her five starts and was second by a half-length to Danon Fantasy in last year’s G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, warrants respect off a less than smooth passage in the Oka Sho. “She got bumped in the backstretch twice in the Oka Sho and couldn’t get a good position,” said trainer Takashi Saito. “Then in the stretch she was forced to run on the outside and it made for a tough race. She’s an honest runner. I think the Tokyo 2400 [metres] will suit her. I’m hoping for a smooth run.” Favoured on the morning line at 2-1 is Contra Check (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who is unbeaten in two starts this year but skipped the first Classic. She was last seen winning comfortably over 1800 metres in the G3 Flower Cup at Nakayama on Mar. 16. Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) jumps into pattern company for the first time, but she could be anything off three straight wins to begin her career, including a victory going 2000 metres at Hanshin on Apr. 7. Loves Only You is a full-sister to the G1 Dubai Turf winner Real Steel (Jpn), and her third dam is the champion racemare and producer Miesque. The post Plenty Of Promise In The Yushun Himba appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The wide swath of emerald lawn on Preakness Stakes Day at Pimlico Race Course is not a likely place to find the horse who could electrify the dirt division later this year. Then again, Catholic Boy's career has hardly been run by the book. View the full article

David O'Meara, who will send a strong team to York before unleashing stable star Lord Glitters in the May 18 Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes (G1), could not be going into the huge week in better shape. View the full article