Wandering Eyes

YORK, UK—British racing’s commitment to the promotion of stayers was again emphasised at York racecourse on Thursday with the launch of the Matchbook EBF Future Stayers’ Series with a valuable £100,000 bonus available for graduates of the programme of 2-year-old races. Having identified a lack of opportunities in the racing programme for staying-bred juveniles, in 2015 the British European Breeders’ Fund (BEBF) and the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) created a series of races aimed at the offspring of sires and dams who had won over ten furlongs or more. The introduction of four sire- and dam-restricted races that year has now grown into 16 2-year-old contests to be run over at least seven furlongs during the second half of the season. The BEBF has engaged in a first commercial partnership with betting exchange Matchbook to inject £128,000 into a series worth a total of £283,000. “We’ve worked with the BHA’s race planning department to pick the right races at the right courses at the right time of year,” said the BEBF’s marketing and communications manager Rachael Gowland. “We’re especially delighted to launch on a day when a previous graduate of the sire and dam-restricted races, Line Of Duty, is set to run in the Dante Stakes, while tomorrow another graduate, Stradivarius, launches his attempt for another Stayers’ Million in the Yorkshire Cup, which is also being sponsored by Matchbook.” Matchbook’s contribution to the project also runs to a £100,000 bonus for any 3-year-old graduate of the series who goes on to win a Group 1 race over 10 furlongs or more, which will be split between the owner, trainer, breeder and stable staff. The company is also sponsoring the best-turned-out awards for all races in the series. “We are extremely passionate about the future of horseracing and we want our sponsorships to make a difference,” said Matchbook CEO Mark Brosnan. “We are excited to partner with the EBF on this innovative initiative, which we believe supports the grassroots of the sport.” Trainer Hugo Palmer, who is also a brand ambassador for Matchbook, added his support to the series at the launch. He said, “It was inevitable as everybody became less and less patient that the breeding of stayers would suffer. You do have to have more patience with a stayer, and that is expensive, but when you look at the value of these races, the winning owners will be well rewarded for horses that will perhaps eventually stay two miles.” Along with the aforementioned Line Of Duty (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), among the graduates of the series to date are the group winners Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Royal Marine (Ire) (Raven’s Pass), Fighting Irish (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Ostilio (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Derby hope Bangkok (Ire) (Australia {GB}). “There is an increasingly worrying bias towards breeding and buying for speed,” remarked Kerry Murphy, CEO of the EBF. “These races are programmed as ideal opportunities for our future middle-distance and staying champions. The EBF is delighted to support these races and team up with Matchbook and the racecourses in ensuring that the funds provided reach those that produce the horses.” The Matchbook EBF Future Stayers’ Series begins at Yarmouth on Aug. 7. A full list of the races in the series can be found on the EBF website. The post EBF and Matchbook Launch Future Stayers’ Series appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

New recruits set to boost stable hot on big-race trail David O’Meara could hardly be better placed as he sets out on his tenth season as a trainer. The landmark campaign might be in its infancy but the signs are encouraging with stable star Lord Glitters collecting just shy of £500,000 for his third place […] The post David O’Meara Stable Tour appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

This week is a recap of the 1965 Preakness Stakes won by Tom Rolfe at Pimlico Race Course. The recap, written by Kent Hollingsworth, ran in the May 22, 1965 magazine. View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost.Hong Kong Bet wins the Le French May Trophy. He is still green – @CchRamosIt might not be at the forefront of everyone’s mind, but the impact Conghua is making on Hong Kong racing continues to grow.At Happy Valley on Wednesday night, four winners in a row were trained out of the mainland – Enjoy Life (Me Tsui Yu-sak), Hong Kong Bet (Tony Cruz), True Grit (John Size)… View the full article

He arrived with huge expectations, failed to deliver for John Moore and now Caspar Fownes hopes a different training approach might finally extract a win from the frustrating Rivet.After leaving the likes of Yucatan and Salouen in his wake on the way to a Group One victory at Doncaster in 2016, Rivet finished 12th in last year’s Hong Kong Derby and has failed to salute in 15 starts since moving to Sha Tin.“I’ve tried to train him differently,” Fownes said. “I do most of my training with him in… View the full article

Exciting galloper Julius was retired last year after a scan revealed he had a hole in his near fore tendon, but the John Bell-trained gelding is now on the comeback trail. The dual Group Three-winning son of Swiss Ace looked to be in imposing form heading into spring last year after running Melody Belle to within a nose in the Gr.2 Lisa Chittick Foxbridge Plate (1200m) at Te Rapa in August. He was subsequently retired after his third-placing in the Gr.3 Sweyness Stakes (1215m) at Rotorua and Bel... View the full article

Progressive filly Belle Roc can cap a big week for veteran trainer Brian Smith if she wins the Gr.2 The Roses (2000m) at Doomben on Saturday. Belle Roc will be aiming to become the first Queensland-trained filly to claim the 2000-metre feature - the traditional lead-up to the Gr.1 Queensland Oaks on June 1 - since Bryan Guy won the race with Lasoron in 2007. Smith has laid a perfect foundation for Belle Roc's Queensland Oaks campaign, gradually stepping the filly up in distance in her five start... View the full article

Wanganui trainer Raymond Connors will bid to defend two feature race crowns when he lines up horses at Te Rapa and Awapuni on Saturday. Connors will seek back-to-back wins in the Signature Homes Waikato Steeplechase (3900m) at Te Rapa with Max, while She's Poppy looks to make it successive wins in the Listed James Bull Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m) at Awapuni. Typically reserved in his assessment, Connors simply said he's "hoping for the best". "Hopefully he can do it again," Connors said of Galla... View the full article

Zac Purton questioned Racing Fighter’s fortitude in the lead-up to the Class 3 France Galop Cup Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley but the grey didn’t shirk on Wednesday night, lugging top-weight to a length success. “I finally got the win out of him!” the champion jockey said after collecting the silverware. Purton’s first ride on Dennis Yip’s charge had delivered a breakthrough victory but that was back in December: four subsequent pairings produced three frustrating seconds and a t... View the full article

Sparkling trial puts Aramco in calculations View the full article

Early scratching May 19 View the full article

Purton, Teetan licensed to ride at Kranji Mile meeting View the full article

Boss returns to Australia after Kranji Mile View the full article

New Zealand Bloodstock’s 2019 Karaka May Sale is set to showcase stallions at opposite ends of their careers. Condensed into a single day of selling, this year’s mixed bloodstock sale will be held at Karaka on Friday. On one hand, the 240-lot catalogue features first-crop weanlings by 11 new entrants to New Zealand’s stallion ranks. There are eight weanlings by Haunui Farm’s Gr.1 Dewhurst Stakes (1400m) and Lockinge Stakes (1600m) winner Belardo. Four-time Group One winner Preferment, w... View the full article

Mapperley Stud has added Snitzel’s Group One winning son, Summer Passage, to their five-strong stallion roster ahead of the 2019 breeding season, where he will stand for a fee of $8,000+GST. An A$800,000 yearling, Summer Passage was a high-class juvenile, winning the Listed Reid & Harrison Slipper (1200m) before showing sustained speed when crossing from the outside barrier to win the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes (1200m) in emphatic fashion. The Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott-trained colt then p... View the full article

WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and Starlight Racing's Improbable was named the 5-2 morning line favorite for the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1) at the post position draw May 15 in Baltimore. View the full article

WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, and Starlight Racing's Improbable was named the 5-2 morning line favorite for the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1) at the post position draw May 15 in Baltimore. View the full article

Kim Boniface—a member of one of Maryland's most prominent horse racing and breeding families—has died, according to reports from The Baltimore Sun and the Daily Racing Form. She was 51. View the full article

James McDonald has ridden his 100th Sydney metropolitan winner for the season on the anniversary of his comeback to the saddle after a ban for betting. Capping an almost seamless return since rebooting his career at the corresponding Warwick Farm meeting last year, McDonald brought up his milestone on the John Thompson-trained Primitivo. In reaching his century, McDonald became the first jockey since Darren Beadman in 2006-07 to ride 100 Sydney winners in a season. Beadman rode a record 164 winn... View the full article

WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, and Starlight Racing's Improbable was named the 5-2 morning line favorite for the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1) at the post position draw May 15 in Baltimore. View the full article

Three probables for the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1)—War of Will, Market King, and Bodexpress—took to the main track at Pimlico early May 15. View the full article

When Lim’s Cruiser (Aus) (Casino Prince {Aus}) goes in search of a third consecutive victory in the S$800,000 Lion City Cup (1200m) on Saturday week in Singapore, the 6-year-old gelding will have leading Hong Kong jockey Zac Purton in the plate, trainer Stephen Gray confirmed Wednesday. The Australian will also partner with the Caspar Fownes-trained Southern Legend (Aus) (Not a Single Doubt {Aus}) as each looks for back-to-back victories in the S$1.5-million Kranji Mile. “When we found out Zac was riding the Hong Kong horse in the Kranji Mile, Mr Lim (Siah Mong) and (racing manager) Mick Dittman thought they’d take advantage of that,” said Gray. A respectable seventh, beaten 3 1/2 lengths in last year’s G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint, Singapore’s two-time champion sprinter Lim’s Cruiser resumed with a strong runner-up effort in the Rocket Man Sprint May 5, in which he gave the victorious Bold Thruster (Aus) (Turffontein {Aus}) 15 pounds. A positive performance in the Lion City could send Lim’s Cruiser to Royal Ascot for the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. June 22. The post Purton on Lim’s Cruiser in Lion City Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

‘TDN Rising Star‘ Improbable (City Zip), promoted from fifth to fourth in the GI Kentucky Derby, drew post four and was installed the morning-line favorite at 5-2 among the 13 sophomores signed on for Saturday’s GI Preakness S. at Pimlico. The Bob Baffert trainee, who romped in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity S. late last year before settling for second in both a division of the GII Rebel S. and the GI Arkansas Derby this term, will be ridden for the first time by Mike Smith. Gary Barber’s War of Will (War Front), among those most impacted by Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) shifting out at the top of the lane in the Derby, will break from the rail, just as he did two weeks ago. Given a 4-1 morning-line quote, he will again be ridden by regular pilot Tyler Gaffalione. The Derby seventh-place finisher annexed the GIII Lecomte S. and GII Louisiana Derby earlier this term. Alwaysmining (Stay Thirsty), drawn in the six slot and 8-1 on the morning line, is one of the more intriguing fresh faces in the Preakness. The Maryland-bred and Fair Hill-based gelding has won each of his last six starts, most recently Laurel’s Federico Tesio S. by 11 1/2 lengths Apr. 29. Calumet Farm’s Everfast (Take Charge Indy) was the latest addition to the Preakness field, with the news coming out earlier in the day Wednesday that he’d head to Baltimore from trainer Dale Romans’s Churchill Downs base. Second at 128-1 in Gulfstream’s GII Fasig-Tipton Holy Bull S. in February, the bay has been off the board in three subsequent tries, most recently checking in fifth in the GIII Pat Day Mile S. on the Derby undercard. He’ll be ridden for the first time Saturday by Joel Rosario. “He jumped up and ran big in the Holy Bull,” Romans said. “When he runs big, he runs big. We’re hoping he throws in one of those big races. Some of the top contenders are missing, so we’ll take a chance. He’s training like he did before the Holy Bull. We’re going to try to wheel him back off the [one-turn mile] and see if we can get a piece of it. You’ve got a future Hall of Fame rider, so we might as well take a shot.” Romans took the 2011 Preakness with Shackleford (Forestry), while Calumet has the most wins of any owner with seven. The complete Preakness field is as follows: 1. War of Will (War Front), Casse, Gaffalione, 4-1 2. Bourbon War (Tapit), Hennig, I. Ortiz, Jr., 12-1 3. Warrior’s Charge (Munnings), Cox, Castellano, 12-1 4. Improbable (City Zip), Baffert, Smith, 5-2 5. Owendale (Into Mischief), Cox, Geroux, 10-1 6. Market King (Into Mischief), Lukas, Court, 30-1 7. Alwaysmining (Stay Thirsty), Rubley, Centeno, 8-1 8. Signalman (General Quarters), McPeek, B. Hernandez, 30-1 9. Bodexpress (Bodemeister), A. Delgado, J. Velazquez, 20-1 10. Everfast (Take Charge Indy), Romans, Rosario, 50-1 11. Laughing Fox (Union Rags), Asmussen, Santana, 20-1 12. Anothertwistafate (Scat Daddy), Wright, J. Ortiz, 6-1 13. Win Win Win (Hat Trick {Jpn}), Trombetta, Pimentel, 15-1 The post Improbable Draws Four Slot Among Preakness Baker’s Dozen appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

When Country House (Lookin at Lucky) was put up in the Kentucky Derby, it was not only a success story for Guinness McFadden’s Blackwood Stables, who raised the colt, but for McFadden’s family. Owner-breeder Joseph Shields, who passed away in October, was McFadden’s uncle. His aunt, Maury Shields, with whom he remains very close, celebrated alongside her nephew on Derby day. The TDN’s Lucas Marquardt sat down with McFadden to talk Country House, the Derby, his family ties, and how he got into horse racing. LM: You didn’t start out working in horse racing. GM: I was living in Reno, working construction, having a good time, skiing, snowboarding, whatever, and the housing market crashed and I was kind of looking for something to do, and Jerry thought the horse industry would be nice. So I had been to the track a bunch but I had never really worked with horses. I didn’t watch horse racing. Back then, we didn’t have satellite TV and there was no TVG I don’t think. It wasn’t an option in Potter Valley. We’d go on vacation every year starting in the early ’90s and we’d always collect in New York, and invariably we’d end up at Belmont on occasion or two. Anytime we were with Maury and Jerry in Long Island in the summer, Jerry was going to the barn every morning. I did Blackwood in 2012. I think we got our first horse on Valentine’s Day 2012. We had to do a lot of fence work. We built the race track. We built a couple barns. It’s progressed quite a bit since 2012, putting in a new road and just all the stuff that goes along with normal farm maintenance. LM: How big is the farm now? GM: It’s 325 acres. We’ve got two divisions. One layup division in Midway and then we’ve got the main farm in between Midway and Versailles. LM: When did you first start breaking horses for your uncle? GM: I think the first year we had yearlings for him was 2012. He would have been part of the first crop. He was a big supporter. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"Blackwood Stables and Country House","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/336439265.sd.mp4?s=197e428bcc89705a76942b4f7c2c55bcd068ca3d&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/334504406.sd.mp4?s=d71d39b5b5456874c2bdba0353b1fe599adf308a&profile_id=165","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} LM:. Was Bill (Mott) giving you a lot of early feedback on the horse? GM: After Jerry passed, and we were going through all the legal paperwork, I knew something was up because Bill kept checking with the racing office about twice a week to see if our paperwork was in line. He did tip his cap a little bit from that standpoint. From the start, Bill had been telling me that this was a throwback type of horse. The type that you could run a big, tough horse, that would eat all its feed and was extremely sound and had a good mind was easy on himself in the stall. He just looked like that type of horse. LM: When they put his number up, what was going through your head and what kind of emotions were you feeling? GM: I didn’t really know what was going on when I first walked down on to the track. I didn’t even realize what was going until we looked up at the board, and, yeah that was a long wait. A couple minutes in I started to feel pretty anxious. I didn’t see what had happened live. It wasn’t until I started to see the replays on the board that I had actually saw what had happened because it was difficult to see live in the race. LM: You were there with your aunt. What was her reaction? GM: Everyone was back in the box, and I don’t think they had quite realized what was happening. They were packing up and getting ready to leave. I think my aunt was on her way out. We were trying to get out quickly and beat the rush. I think once everyone then realized what was happening, they stayed. Maury and I are really close. It was super. She was a celebrity now. I couldn’t have been happier for her. They have put so much time and effort into the game that it was just really rewarding to see that. LM: Talk about in hindsight what it has meant to you personally and to Blackwood as an operation. GM: It’s a life-altering event. I have got so many more new friends now all of a sudden. I’m the same guy but now my opinion matters. It’s kind of silly. For Blackwood, it’s the same thing. It’s huge. We’re not doing anything differently tomorrow than we did yesterday but now all of a sudden there is another newfound level of credibility because we’ve had a Derby winner come through here. We’ve had a bunch of stakes horses come off the farm but the Derby is different. I don’t think we could’ve done any of this without the team we have here at Blackwood. The team that (co-owner) Matt (Hogan) has assembled is fantastic. I don’t think it would be possible without all these folks, men and women who love these horses and just take such good care of them. The post Q and A With Blackwood Stables’ Guinness McFadden appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

TIMONIUM, MD – The sun finally came out in Maryland and times picked up during the second session of the three-day under-tack preview of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in Timonium Wednesday. A filly by Into Mischief (hip 360) turned in the fastest furlong work of the preview so far when she covered the distance in :10 flat. Consigned by Bobby Dodd, the bay juvenile is out of stakes placed Peggy Jane (Kafwain) and she was a $220,000 Keeneland September purchase by Brad Grady’s Grand Oaks. ‘She’s a big, nice filly and she’s fast,” said Dodd. “She has been showing me she could run the whole time and she showed up today. You never know what is going to happen up here, but I was hoping she would get a :10 flat. I knew she could go :10.” Dodd’s consignment sent out the only juvenile to work the furlong bullet in :10 flat during last year’s Midlantic under-tack preview and that Union Rags colt, Tale of the Union, sold for $925,000 and was tabbed a ‘TDN Rising Star’ off a debut win at Del Mar last August. Asked if Wednesday’s bullet worker might match his colt from last year, Dodd said, “You never know what’s going to happen, but she’s a fast filly and she’s by Into Mischief who is a hot sire. I am expecting something good.” Six horses shared Wednesday’s bullet quarter-mile breeze time. Top Line Sales, which sent out the fastest worker at the distance during Tuesday’s first session of the preview, was first to hit the :21 3/5 mark with a colt by Into Mischief (hip 322). The juvenile is out of Nihilist (Latent Heat) and is a half to stakes winner Green Suede Shoes (Meadow Monster) and from the family of Grade I winner Ermine. He was purchased by Carlo Vaccarezza for $265,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale and RNA’d for $575,000 after working in :10 1/5 at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale in March. Four of the six bullet quarter-mile works came during Wednesday’s first of five sets. Consignor Nick De Meric sent out a colt from the first crop of GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild) (hip 355) to work in :21 3/5. De Meric Sales purchased the youngster, out of stakes placed Pardonmecomingthru (Chatain), for $100,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale. “We were really happy with that work,” De Meric said. “We bought this fellow as a foal in Kentucky, so we know him really well, we raised him. He couldn’t be a more straightforward, honest colt. He’s been working really well at home, so I was very happy with his work today, but not surprised.” Later in the day, De Meric Sales sent out another son of Bayern, himself a graduate of the 2013 Midlantic May Sale, with hip 272 going a furlong in :10 4/5. “I’ve liked both of the two that I’ve had,” de Meric said of his limited experience with offspring of the multiple Grade I winner. “The colt that just breezed is not quite as fast as the first one, but he is a lovely mover. He’s a little immature, he’s a May foal, and the best is still ahead of him. And the one that breezed this morning, I just love.” Tuesday’s first session of the preview came after two days of heavy rain and the track seemed livelier under sunny skies and warmer temperatures Wednesday. “It definitely has a little more life to it today,” De Meric agreed. “We had peanut-butter syndrome Tuesday, but nobody can help that. It’s a product of the weather. They did a great job bringing the track back to a safe condition, but it wasn’t flattering for a lot of the horses.” Asked about the advantages of working horses the quarter-mile versus the furlong in Timonium, De Meric explained, “It’s a little tricky from a logistical standpoint because that quarter pole comes at you very quickly and you’ve got to have your horse well-prepared mentally to be ready to break sharply pretty quickly after he gets on the racetrack. It is May and I think a lot of people are looking to see a little bit more from these young horses. For those that do need a little more time to mature and develop, it’s a lovely date for us because it gives us that extra bit of time. I think for those that can, it’s definitely an advantage to work a quarter, but I don’t think the ones that work an eighth are penalized.” All Dreams Equine sent out hip 334, a filly by Street Sense, to work the quarter in :21 3/5 during Wednesday’s first set. The gray, a $15,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase, is out of graded stakes winner Now I Know (Pure Prize). She RNA’d for $95,000 after working a furlong in :10 flat at the OBS March sale. Kip Elser’s Kirkwood Stables sent out a colt by Union Rags (hip 213) to share the :21 3/5 quarter-mile bullet time Wednesday. “He’s a pretty fast horse,” Elser said of the son of stakes placed Isabelle’s Thunder (Mineshaft). The Kirkwood consignment was also represented by a Pioneerof the Nile filly (hip 296) who worked in :21 4/5, but had a slight hiccup on the day when a colt by Hold Me Back got loose on the backstretch prior to working. “If he is ok in the morning, he’ll come back and work tomorrow,” Elser said of hip 325. Of the track conditions, Elser added, “We’ve had good weather the last day and a half, but they have done a great job in the last two weeks keeping the track safe. It was safe yesterday and it’s fast and safe today.” Pick View LLC sent out hip 396, a son of Awesome Again, to work the quarter in :21 3/5. Out of Queen Buxley (Super Saver), the dark bay was a $250,000 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearling purchase and RNA’d for $145,000 after working a furlong in :10 2/5 at the Fasig Gulfstream sale. Susan Montanye’s SBM Training and Sales had the final quarter-mile bullet worker of the day, with Montanye in the irons for the :21 3/5 work of hip 364, a filly from the first crop of GI Belmont S. winner Palace Malice. Out of Perfectly Natural (Forestry), the youngster was a $130,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase. “I bought her at Keeneland and I actually took her to the [OBS] March sale,” Montanye said of the filly. “She worked in :10 flat and vetted 100% clean, but we just didn’t have the action on her. I wasn’t going to give her away, she’s too nice of a filly, and she can flat run. So I brought her up here and we’ve had no issues. We decided to work her a quarter to prove that there was no setback. We’ve just kicked on with her and she just rolled around this racetrack.” Asked if the filly had changed much since the March sale, Montanye said, “The only thing I can say is that maybe she’s gotten a little bigger and a little stronger. She was always a big and strong filly anyway, but she may be even bigger than she was in March.” Montanye was happy with the track condition Wednesday. “The track actually feels a little better today, it’s not as loose,” she said. The final session of the under-tack preview begins Thursday at 8 a.m. The Midlantic sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds with bidding beginning each day at 11 a.m. The post Into Mischief Filly Sets New Furlong Mark in Timonium appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article