Wandering Eyes

With divisional leader Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) sitting out the rest of the Saratoga meet with an eye on Parx’s GI Cotillion S., the also very talented Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) stands as the clear favorite in Saturday’s GI Alabama S. Wiping the floor with her West Coast rivals in the California preps for the GI Kentucky Oaks, the dark bay came running late to be third behind the aforementioned Monomoy Girl and Queen’s Plate winner Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro) in the GI Kentucky Oaks May 4. After her effort at Churchill, she was bought into by Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables and transferred from trainer Bill Spawr to Steve Asmussen. Romping by six lengths when debuting for that Hall of Famer in Belmont’s GII Mother Goose S. June 30, Midnight Bisou completed the exacta behind Monomoy Girl in this venue’s GI CCA Oaks last time Juyl 22. Asmussen also sends out GIII Iowa Oaks romper She’s a Julie (Elusive Quality), who captured a June 3 optional claimer at Churchill prior to her 5 1/2-length score at Prarie Meadows July 5. Talk Veuve to Me (Violence) has lived up to her ‘TDN Rising Star’ title in each of her outings since her impressive graduation in March and looks to take the next step here. Runner-up to fellow ‘Rising Star’ Mia Mischief (Into Mischief) in the GII Eight Belles S. on the Oaks undercard, the dark bay was second to Monomoy Girl in the GI Acorn S. at Belmont June 9 and earned her well-deserved black-type badge last time with a decisive score in the GIII Indiana Oaks July 14. Also exiting the CCA Oaks is fourth-place finisher Eskimo Kisses (To Honor and Serve), who finished second in the GI Ashland S. at Keeneland this spring and was also fourth in the Kentucky Oaks. Another worth a look is GII Gulfstream Park Oaks victress Coach Rocks (Oxbow), who completed the exacta in both the May 18 GII Black-Eyed Susan S. And the July 7 GIII Delaware Oaks. View the full article

“Inside the Winner’s Circle, Presented by Keeneland” is a series showcasing graduates of the Keeneland September sale who have gone on to achieve success on racing’s biggest stages. The weather. The atmosphere. The neck margin separating the first two finishers. The partners. The children parading to the winner’s circle with smiles on their faces… It all seemed to come together in one perfect moment for owner Jerry Crawford and his Donegal Racing partnership Saturday at Arlington Park when Carrick (Giant’s Causeway) rallied to post a 38-1 upset victory in the GI Secretariat S. Speaking to the TDN Wednesday, Crawford reflected on a memorable day at the races. “Saturday was so much fun,” Crawford said. “One of the things we’ve done for years is to buy win tickets on our horses and give them out to kids who are out with their parents wandering around on the day of the race. I gave out 25 tickets that were $2 to win/$2 to show. That added up to almost $90. I invited all of them to come and bring their parents with them to the winner’s circle. The looks on those faces…there are a lot of great things that come from winning Grade I races, but nothing beats the looks on your partners’ faces and the kids’ faces.” If the satisfaction of introducing young fans to the game of racing made Carrick’s score all the more rewarding, Crawford noted that the colt also made good on a pre-race e-mail blast he sent out to members of the Donegal team. “When I say to people, ‘We weren’t surprised,’ they look at me like, ‘Sure, you weren’t,’ but fortunately I sent an e-mail to all our partners and fans telling them this could happen–we have the proof this time,” Crawford said with a laugh. “I liked him better than anyone in the race. We spend a lot of time on genetics in our horse selection process, and I knew he was bred to go farther than anyone else in the race, so a step forward was almost a sure thing. The only question was if that was good enough.” To an outside observer, Carrick’s rise from a debut win in a $40,000 maiden claimer to Grade I success three starts later may appear to be a “rags to riches” story, but according to Crawford, it was a calculated move based on the horse’s late-blooming progression. Because Donegal employs a number of high-profile conditioners, Crawford and company were willing to wager that nobody would dip into the claim box for a 3-year-old debuting in May for the adept, yet relatively new-on-the-scene, Tom Morley barn. “It was very purposeful on our part,” Crawford said of the modest debut spot. “Donegal is blessed to have the best trainers in the country, so people get used to seeing our 2-year-olds with Todd Pletcher, Bob Baffert, Bill Mott, Christophe Clement, etc. So when they see a 3-year-old debuting for Tom Morley, their first thought isn’t that it’s a horse they should claim–particularly when we paid $75,000 for him at the yearling sale. We were just trying to do what we always do, which is to maximize cash flow for our partners and set ourselves up for a starter allowance. Did I know he would be a Grade I winner when we put him in for maiden $40,000? Clearly, the answer is no.” Crawford explained that when the Donegal team identified Carrick at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale as Hip 2894, they knew he would be a work in progress. Despite having a “million-dollar pedigree” through the eyes of Crawford, Carrick needed time to grow into his frame. “This horse had a sesamoid issue,” Crawford said. “When we looked at him, we loved him from the knee up. We thought that we’d be able to buy him inexpensively, but we knew we would have to be very patient before we started on him. As you know, we didn’t bring him to the racetrack until his 3-year-old year. By then, his sesamoids had a chance to set up and firm up, and he’s 100% sound and ready to rock and roll against older horses going forward.” Together with his son, Conor, Crawford has developed a set of algorithms to identify sales prospects who reach ideal standards of quality and stamina that facilitate success in Classic-distance races. The proof is in the pudding, according to Crawford, as Donegal has been represented in the GI Kentucky Derby starting gate three times in eight years and has enjoyed some of its greatest successes at 10 furlongs–including Keen Ice (Curlin)’s monumental upset of American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) in the 2015 GI Travers S. “Some people buy horses to get them into Classic races,” Crawford said. “We try to buy horses that can do well when they get to Classic races. Not many people focus on stamina to the extent that we do.” Because Donegal approaches the sales with its genetics-based approach, Crawford said he relishes the opportunity to study the catalog at Keeneland September in search of their next long-winded stable star. The yearly process is set to begin once more in just a few weeks’ time. “I’m one of those people who loves the Keeneland sale because once you get up to around 4,000 horses, we figure we can outwork and outcover the grounds, and it makes it possible to win a Grade I with a $75,000 horse,” Crawford said. “I’m just grateful to them–we’re headed back down there and we’re going to try to buy about eight more colts at the yearling sale…We’ll have a crop of about 15 total.” Another relatively unique aspect of the Donegal model is that its partners invest on a yearly basis–receiving an interest in every horse among the crop, rather than through selections of individual horses. As such, Crawford believes it fosters “happier partners” who are on board for all of the stable’s best moments, such as Saturday at Arlington. However sweet it may have been, Carrick’s Secretariat victory did not come without controversy. Although Carrick stopped the clock in 2:01.04–1.25 seconds faster than once-beaten 4-year-old Chilean import Robert Bruce (Chi) (Fast Company {Ire})’s final clocking in the GI Arlington Million S. one hour later–many speed figure metrics awarded the latter with a higher figure. Crawford, puzzled by the disparity, made a series of calls to the makers of Daily Racing Form‘s Beyer Speed Figures and Equibase Speed Figures attempting to get the issue fixed. “It was an identical rail and an identical run-up,” Crawford observed. “I’m hoping they’re going to fix it…The fact is it was the fastest Secretariat in 14 years–the fastest since Kitten’s Joy.” Regardless of the ultimate numbers assigned to each race, Carrick will likely get an opportunity to prove himself against older horses in his next start, which could come in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic S. at Belmont Sept. 29. Should he fare well in that spot, the colt could be ultimately pointed towards a bid at the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs Nov. 3. View the full article

Already a winner at group level on turf, the fashionably bred Rabbit Run added winning black-type on dirt Thursday to become the 20th millionaire for her wildly successful sire. Handy to the pace while three deep into the first turn, Rabbit Run raced prominently with cover while unable to get in on the track. Stoked up from third by Mirco Demuro with about 500 metres to race, the chestnut snuck through to the inside of Princia Cometa in upper stretch and was late changing her leads, but came away to a convincing victory all the same. A seven-length maiden winner at first asking on dirt, Rabbit Run posted a 25-1 upset of the grassy G2 Rose S. last September. Off the board in her first three runs this season, all on the turf, Rabbit Run returned to the main track for her latest, a third to the talented Rieno Tesoro (Speightstown) in the Listed Sparkling Lady Cup (1600m) at Kawasaki July 5. Rabbit Run is one of five graded/group winners for her dam, herself a listed winner and a daughter of MGSW Aquilegia (Alydar). She is also a full-sister to 2012 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up He’s Had Enough. Aquilegia, a full-sister to the champion Althea, is the dam of GSW & MG1SP sprinter Bertolini (Danzig) and SW Alchemilla (Deputy Minister). The family also includes GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and young sire Bayern (Offlee Wild), Arch and Twining, who had a productive stallion career in Japan. Amelia is the dam of a yearling filly by the repatriated Empire Maker and produced a colt by the same sire earlier this year. BREEDERS’ GOLD CUP-Listed, ¥37,500,000 (£265,975/€297,306/US$337,937), Morioka, 8-16, 3yo/up, f/m, 2000m, 2:05.6, sy. 1–RABBIT RUN, 126, f, 4, Tapit–Amelia (SW, $179,565), by Dixieland Band. ($750,000 Ylg ’15 KEESEP). O-Kazuko Yoshida; B-Alexander-Groves-Matz (KY); T-Kazuya Nakatake; J-Mirco Demuro; ¥25,000,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Jpn, 12-4-1-1, ¥120,102,000. *1/2 to Kindergarden Kid (Dynaformer), GSW & GISP, $341,650; Assateague (Stormy Atlantic), GSW, $398,059; Rainha Da Bateria (Broken Vow), MGSW & GISP, $638,013; and Asakusa Genki (Stormy Atlantic), GSW-Jpn, $675,448; full to He’s Had Enough, GISP, $492,910. 2–Princia Cometa (Jpn), 123, m, 5, Spicule (Jpn)–Belmont Feliz (Jpn), by Adjudicating. O-Takiyuki Yoshikawa. 3–Queen Mambo (Jpn), 126, f, 4, Manhattan Cafe (Jpn)–Suzuka El Mambo (Jpn), by Symboli Kris S.. O-Hidaka Bree Inc. Margins: 4, 3, 1HF. Odds: 5.50, 7.10, 0.70. WATCH: Rabbit Run proves an easy winner View the full article

Dual Grade I winner Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky) is clearly the one to beat in Saturday’s GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar during what has been a stellar 2018 season for the 5-year-old. Third behind the Bob Baffert-trained Collected (City Zip) and Accelerate (Unbridled’s Song) in last year’s renewal of this event, the chestnut scored that seemingly elusive first Grade I score with a 5 1/2-length tour de force in the GI Big ‘Cap Mar. 10. He was a neck second to fellow Grade I winner City of Light (City Zip) in the GII Oaklawn H. Apr. 14 and returned to winning ways with a decisive score in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita May 26. The only other Grade I winner in this year’s field is the globe-trotting Pavel (Creative Cause), who became the first top-level victor for his young sire last time with a 3 3/4-length tally in Churchill Downs’s GI Stephen Foster H. June 16. Kicking off this term with a fourth to Accelerate in the Feb. 3 GII San Pasqual S., the gray was a respectable fourth when making the trip to Meydan for the G1 Dubai Gold Cup Mar. 31 and filled the same spot in the Big ‘Cap. Baffert, a five-time winner of this event, sends out a pair of contenders in Dr. Dorr (Lookin at Lucky) and Roman Rosso (Arg) (Roman Ruler). A dominant winner of both the Santana Mile and GII Californian S. earlier this term, which Collected won in similar fashion prior to his Pac Classic score, Dr. Dorr checked in second in the Gold Cup and was a disappointing ninth in the GII Suburban H. at Belmont July 7. He rebounded with a second to a powerhouse performance from Catalina Cruiser (Union Rags) in the GII San Diego H. July 21, which is the local prep for this test. Roman Rosso won five of his eight starts in his native Argentina, including three Group 1s, and makes his U.S. debut here. Another worth a look is The Lieutenant (Street Sense), best known as the older half-brother to undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy). Winner of Golden Gate’s GIII All American S. May 28, the bay lost nothing in defeat when second behind a dominant performance from Diversify (Bellamy Road) in the Suburban, an effort which was further flattered when Diversify scored another impressive victory in the prestigious GI Whitney S. next out Aug. 4. View the full article

1st-Leopardstown, €17,500, Mdn, 8-16, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:30.84, g/f. OPERATIC EXPORT (IRE) (f, 2, Vocalised–Teofolina {Ire}, by Teofilo {Ire}), sent off at 14-1, was rushed up to race behind the leading trio hugging the fence. Driven in pursuit of Fire Fly (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the straight, the homebred overhauled that rival in the last 50 yards en route to a 1 3/4-length success. Delphinia (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the daughter of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Again (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), was green as expected and made limited progress to finish 13th. The dam, who also has a yearling colt by Fracas (Ire), is a daughter of Moon Unit (Ire) (Intikhab) who proved a prolific black-type winning sprinter in this country, earning highweight status and enjoying her biggest day when taking the G3 Greenlands S. This is the family of the G1 Irish Derby and G1 Prix du Jockey Club-winning sire and major stamina influence Old Vic (GB). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $12,232. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Mrs J. S. Bolger; B/T-Jim Bolger (IRE). View the full article

Ollie’s Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}) is just a neck short of being perfect after suffering the first loss of her young career when a close second in the GII San Clemente S. going a mile over this course July 21 and she looks to make amends Saturday in the nine-panel GI Del Mar Oaks. Winning her first two starts over the Golden Gate synthetic by a combined 14 1/4 lengths this spring, the dark bay followed suit with a victory in the GII Summertime Oaks on the Santa Anita dirt June 16 and made a strong late bid to come up just a bit short last out in her turf debut in the San Clemente. Paved (Quality Road) is likely to give her a run for her money if she can rebound from a disappointing effort on the East Coast. Beating the boys in the El Camino Real Derby on the Golden Gate synthetic in February, the $320,000 OBSMAR buy checked in third behind the reopposing Fatale Bere (Fr) (Pedro the Great) and Ms Bad Behavior (Blame) in Santa Anita’s GIII Providencia S. Apr. 7. She won her first graded event next out when besting the commonly owner Animosity (Animal Kingdom) by 3 1/2 lengths in the GII Honeymoon S. in Arcadia June 9, but could only manage eighth in the GI Belmont Oaks July 7. The right coast does have a representative in this test in the Graham Motion-trained Colonia (Fr) (Champs Elysees {GB}). Winner of one of her five starts in her native France, the bay rallied late to capture Arlington’s Hatoof S. by 1 3/4 lengths when making her American debut July 7. Motion has done well when shipping to California and shows confidence by choosing this spot rather than staying in Chicago for last weekend’s GIII Pucker Up S. Hall of Famer Neil Drysdale sends out an undefeated runner in search of her black-type badge in Californiagoldrush (Cape Blanco {Ire}). Graduating by a nose in her turf sprint unveiling at Santa Anita Dec. 26, the chestnut captured a one-mile optional claimer over the Arcadia lawn last time Feb. 4. View the full article

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) announced today that Ellis Park has received its initial accreditation from the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance. View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – In addition to an intriguing name and an admirable racing resume, GI Alabama contender and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Talk Veuve to Me (Violence) has an elevated status in young trainer Rodolphe Brisset’s barn. After an 11-year tour as an assistant and exercise rider for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Brisset, 34, knows well how top-quality Thoroughbreds look, act and feel. While Quip (Distorted Humor) was Brisset’s first stakes winner, taking the GII Landholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 10, and is his top earner in a nascent 17-month solo career, the enthusiastic native of France clearly has a soft spot in his heart for Talk Veuve to Me. Brisset and his wife, Brooke Baker, took a big chance on the filly, buying her for $60,000 in a private sale before he officially opened his stable for business. Talk Veuve to Me–named after Brisset’s favorite French Champagne, Veuve Clicquot–has delivered nicely, running first or second in five career starts, earning $319,400. She is twice graded stakes-placed and picked up her first graded stakes victory with a 4 3/4-length romp in the GIII Indiana Oaks July 14. Brisset’s friend Steven McKay and Team Valor have come on as partners in Talk Veuve to Me, and Brisset sounds like a proud parent when he talks about her. “She’s a pleasure. She is,” he said. “She never misses a day. She’s a very, very smart filly. Maybe one of the smartest that I’ve ever been around. She’s actually scary.” Scary smart? Brisset is on her every morning, with her the rest of the day and is convinced that is the proper description. “She’s got a pretty big brain,” he said. “She knows when she breezes. There’s something about her. It’s very special. When we bought her at the sale last year, we liked her, but we never really spent as much time with her as we have now. She’s special, that’s for sure. “I’ve been around a lot of horses in the 20 years I’ve been doing this, and she’s something. It’s unbelievable. She knows when she breezes. I was laughing a couple of weeks ago that she exactly knew where the half-mile pole was. You don’t even have to do much. You just sit there and she picks up the pace and she knows what she has to do. It’s pretty amazing.” Brisset and Baker attended the 2017 OBS March 2-year-old sale to schmooze and promote their soon-to-launch new stable. A close friend in the bloodstock business, Sean Tugel of WinStar, recommend they take a look at the dark brown Violence filly who had sold for $20,000 as a yearling. Brisset said “she was not a very pretty walker” and at about 15-2 was on the smallish side, which might have been enough to deter most people who were not shopping for horses. That’s not the way it worked out. “There was nothing wrong on the vet, but there was nothing like ‘wow’ about her,” Brisset said. “We liked the breeze. We liked the way she was acting. You could see something about her. My wife and I said we should try and get her. We tried to get her in the ring; it was too much for us.” Brisset thought that she had been sold, but discovered she had been an RNA at $95,000. He successfully negotiated the purchase with a special arrangement. “The funny part is that when I got the deal done, I ended up asking the consigner to keep her for three weeks because I didn’t have any stalls for her,” he said. “The RiceHorse Stables consigner was very, very nice. They said it’s no problem. They kept her for three weeks and we set up the barn at Keeneland.” Talk Veuve to Me was second in her debut at Ellis Park Aug. 12, but came out of the race with a minor injury and was given time off. She returned with an 11 1/4-length maiden win over six furlongs at Fair Grounds Mar. 25, which attracted majority owner Team Valor’s attention. On May 4, she was the runner-up in the GII Eight Belles S. to Mia Mischief (Into Mischief). “The original plan was to run in the seven-furlong allowance on Oaks day, but the Eight Belles came up so light, it was a five-horse field, and I could not pass,” Brisset said. “I knew that Mia Mischief was the one to beat, but I said if we run second in there and be stakes-placed that would be good. That’s what happened.” Encouraged by that performance, Talk Veuve to Me’s connections ran her against GI Kentucky Oaks winner Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in the GI Acorn June 9 at Belmont Park. She ended up second by two lengths. The Indiana Oaks score convinced Brisset that she could be effective in route races and sent her on to the historic Alabama at 10 furlongs. Monomoy Girl is passing on the Alabama, Red Ruby (Tiznow) is out with an injury and the Canadian star Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro) will take on males in the GI Travers S. on Aug. 25. Four-time graded stakes winner Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) is the expected favorite in the Alabama and Brisset is eager to see how Talk Veuve to Me fares against her under his friend Julien Leparoux. “The two times she got beat, she got beat by two very nice fillies. Mia Mischief going seven furlongs and Monomoy Girl going a mile, one-turn,” Brisset said. “I think it’s the next logical step for us, to run in that race. Of course, the mile and a quarter, for everybody, we don’t know. We don’t know how that is going to go, but we like our chances. “I always had in my mind that she would appreciate the two turns. I would have been very, very surprised if she didn’t handle the two turns. Just the way she trained, the way she breezed and even the way she ran. When you look at the Acorn, I know Monomoy Girl went by her pretty easily, but she dug in. I always said that if she could carry that speed going two turns and keep going like this she will be tough going two turns. I guess we are going to find out on Saturday.” View the full article

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY–Everyone knows it’s not worth trying to beat Wesley Ward 2-year-olds in the spring at Keeneland. Early in the season, his babies are simply head and shoulders above the rest of their crop. The challenge comes as their campaigns wear on, as some of them take their talents across the Atlantic Ocean and back. Well, challenge met, at least this week at Saratoga, as Ward saddled the one-two finishers in Wednesday’s Bolton Landing S. and figures to send out the heavy favorite in Friday’s Skidmore S. All eyes were on Hat Creek Racing’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Chelsea Cloisters (First Samurai) Wednesday, as she returned home after running a good second against males in the G3 Prix du Bois July 3 at Deauville. Prior to that, she checked in 11th in the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot. Backed to 9-5, she set the early pace in the Bolton Landing before weakening some to finish second. “She’s a little different in that she missed the break over there at Ascot and got behind horses, and that had never happened,” Ward said of the Queen Mary. “That was like a work, which is why she ran [in Europe] again. She lacked that little sizzle [Wednesday] when the other filly came to her, but she still ran a good race. If my other filly hadn’t been in there, she would’ve won.” The “other” filly was treated that way by the Saratoga bettors, as Marcus Stables’ Stillwater Cove (Quality Road) pulled the upset at over 10-1. Following a debut win Apr. 8 in Lexington, the bay set the pace before fading to finish 13th in the G3 Albany S. June 22 at Ascot, and though internal fractions generally aren’t published for European tracks, Ward says it was a sizzling pace that took its toll on her. “She’s a big, rangy filly and for her to show that precociousness in her first couple of races, that usually means there’s a lot of talent in there if you can get their mind right,” he said. “We worked very hard to get her to settle and make a run, and she would roll by her workmates at Keeneland. First jump out of the gate at Ascot, she got left a tad. Joel [Rosario] kind of punched her a couple of times to get her into the race, and that was it, she was gone. With the splits there, it was basically :43 and change [for the half-mile].” Ward also noted the difference in the physical demand of the Ascot turf course compared to a faster American grass oval like Saratoga, effectively making the turnback in distance Wednesday far greater than the sixteenth of a mile it was listed as. That, plus a reset after her journey, is what he says led to Stillwater Cove’s breakout performance. “Those two [the Queen Mary and Albany] are six furlongs, but ultimately you need a miler to win it, because it’s a very stiff six furlongs, for a 2-year-old especially,” he said. “We got her home and gave her time to mentally get over it and it all came together yesterday. She broke really sharp and we told Irad [Ortiz, Jr.] what we’d been trying to do with her, and he took it all in real quick and rode a beautiful race. He got her to get back there and settle and she really ran by them in the stretch.” Far from finished this week, Ward will be represented by the filly who took him back to the Ascot winner’s enclosure in the Skidmore, at least if the weather cooperates. Bought for $200,000 at OBS March, Breeze Easy’s Shang Shang Shang (Shanghai Bobby) scored a sharp debut victory Apr. 26 at Keeneland and grimly held off all of her male rivals in the G2 Norfolk S. June 21. With yet more rain in the forecast for Friday, Ward is optimistic about running Shang Shang Shang on the dirt should the race get washed off, but said he’ll likely scratch if it stays on over soft ground. “She’ll run if the races comes off the turf,” he confirmed. “She’s maybe a little better on turf, but would prefer it firm and has no problem with the dirt. She’s doing very, very well and has had some nice breezes. I think she has a future on dirt too, but will certainly have distance limitations.” View the full article

Tom Ludt has done a lot in horse racing. He was the president of Vinery, the chairman of the Breeders’ Cup and has worked for the Stronach Group. But never has he been involved with a project as ambitious as Phoenix Thoroughbreds, the brainchild of Amer Abdulaziz. Ludt was hired in December to head the U.S. operations for the trail-blazing stable that has emerged in less than two years as a major force on the global racing scene and is spending millions at the sales in order to achieve its goals. Pioneering a new concept, Phoenix is not your traditional stable or partnership. It is actually an investment fund. Ludt was a recent quest on the Thoroughbred Daily News podcast, brought to you by Taylor Made. Excerpts from that podcast appear below: TDN: It’s well known that investing in Thoroughbreds can be lucrative, but at the same time it’s a very risky venture. How hard has it been for the Phoenix team to get people to come on board as investors in something as new, different, and risky as a race horse investment fund? TL: You’re right, it is a very challenging sport. And I don’t know if I’d ever call myself an expert, but I think one of the reasons he sought me out was that during my term at Vinery we were quite successful in turning horses around. Now sometimes that’s a little bit of luck, but I’ve always said you earn your luck. And Amer’s got a very vast reach–obviously, most of it’s European and Mid East-based. It’s actually a little bit more challenging for the Americans to get in this fund for tax purposes and that’s more of an accountant’s answer, but I’ve listened to the conversations and it is difficult. I faced the same question a lot in my past at Vinery because we did things a little bit different. We made some decisions from the outside that didn’t quite make sense to the common horse person, but you have to know the vision. And getting to the point of Phoenix, making an investment fund makes it difficult, but at the same time you just have to be smart. You have to say “no” a lot more than you say “yes.” It’s a sport, as we know, where we lose more than we win. But you have to find value, and when you find value and you find returns, you have to capture it. We have had quite a few of those success stories and we’re building one right now at the racetrack with that Group 1 win with Advertise (GB) Showcasing {GB}) (in the GI Keeneland Phoenix S). So yes, it’s difficult and you can’t give out guarantees, but at the same time if you put a good team together, you use a lot of discipline and you take your losses when you have them, you can be successful. That’s probably the hardest part that I think people don’t understand. Once you purchase a horse, it’s kind of like the odds on the tote board. When they break from the gate it’s all irrelevant. We have to make decisions and sometimes you have to take your hits right away so that you don’t get burned in your overhead all through the month. That’s just one of things I think I did very well at Vinery and hopefully I’ll continue at Phoenix. TDN: You said earlier that you’re not that involved in the nuts and bolts of the finances, but what is it that you do for Phoenix? What, really, does your job encompass? TL: Amer put me in charge of the entire equine operations. We’re much bigger than people think. We have 150 horses currently in our operation. We have interests in three stallions in Australia and two stallions in the Northern Hemisphere. We’ve got 25 mares in Australia, we only have eight here in the Northern Hemisphere. We have 47 race horses in the Northern Hemisphere, we have 13 in the Southern Hemisphere and 10 yearlings that become 2-year-olds right now, so we really have 23. My job is to manage that operation, and it can get tricky. It can get challenging with time zones. I deal with our financial operations in London, which is eight hours different than me. Our head office is Dubai, which is 11 hours. And my team in Australia is 17 hours. So I have a challenging job. But what I do is manage our operation from top down and review every invoice. That’s probably the most cumbersome thing for a sales guy versus a financial guy, but it keeps you in check with everything that’s going on. We’re always looking for horses–no different than anybody else. But one of the strengths that we have is we’re cash rich. So we can take advantage of that. We’re looking at some horses in Argentina right now just because the market is so bad there and we have cash. There a lot of horses that win and get popped out and everybody wants to buy them real quick, and they’re a million bucks. And those are the ones we pass on, but we’ve had some great success stories recently. So my biggest job is to evaluate. I try to use examples for people that aren’t in the horse businesses, so one way of looking at it is we’re almost, to a degree, trading dollars for dollars. And hopefully we get smart and get lucky. I mean there’s success and there’s obviously failure, you just have to keep ahead of the game. TDN: Phoenix is based all over the world. But it appears that we’re seeing a shift. Is there now an added emphasis with Phoenix on U.S. racing? And if so, why? TL: Australia’s very lucrative and it’s actually very fun. It’s just very far. People have probably read about it–the average person in Australia follows horse racing. I think it was one out of every 12 Australian citizens owns a piece of a horse. You can make money racing because their purse structure is so strong. So we do quite well down there. I’ve made some significant changes since I’ve taken over and diversified and split up our stuff just because I’ve always believed in that. So we’re dealing with four farms down there for our mares and seven trainers. But it’s a very lucrative program down there. You just have to be sharp and you have to have a good team. As far as the Northern Hemisphere, yes, there’s been somewhat of a shift partly because I live here and I like America. But we do extremely well in Europe. The challenge in Europe is it is truly a sport of kings because it’s very difficult to make money over there on the racing side. Knock on wood, we’re doing well. You’ll see us continue to buy horses in Europe and bring them over to the States just because as good as it is over there, it’s a very small, elite program up there and hard to make money. Anything that we think has a better opportunity over here, we’ll shift it over here. I’ve really only been running the whole operation for probably five months. Selfishly, for me, I want there to be an emphasis on America. Amer agrees and sees it and understands the opportunity over here. So yes, we will continue to grow over here because it’s probably the smallest area we’re in right now. TDN: Phoenix has already spent huge amounts of money at the sales. There’s also been some change over when it comes to the people picking the horses. So who is doing that now? And how involved are you in that process when it comes to picking out horses at the sales? TL: Ultimately, every purchase we make is my sign off. So I try to physically be at the sale. We’re developing a team. I’ve changed the program. It’s based off of my past and what I believe is the right way. One of my key employees is Dermot Farrington, and he’s based in Europe. He spent an enormous amount of time in Australia and I’m bringing him over here for the September sale. He’s one of my key guys. I’ve had a philosophy and I learned it over time. I like to get multiple opinions. I use our trainers–any trainer that trains for us–and I ask for their feedback and I find that to be very successful. Trainers, they all look for different things. The funniest part about the yearling sales is we all look back when a great horse wins at $20,000 and everybody analyzes what happened. Well it just shows you how difficult this game is. I’ve been very strongly opinionated that you get as many opinions as you can and then you narrow it down. It’s just like a filtering system. We do that. We look at the horse, then we look at the pedigree, and then we determine price. Then when the price goes through, sometimes we get aggressive, sometimes we pass. I ultimately make every decision. I learned a lot over the years, but I’ve also learned that the greatest advice in the world is using multiple people and getting multiple opinions. TDN: Phoenix bought seven horses at Saratoga for a total of 3.66 million, which is not chump change, yet Amer has been quoted as saying he will be spending “huge” at Keeneland. Is that just his enthusiasm? Or are we going to see some sort of spending spree that is really going to grab everybody’s attention? TL: Obviously, it’s his enthusiasm. We will buy a lot, but when you look at the word huge, we are already spending huge amounts of money. I’ve bought a lot of horses privately over the last few months, and so you have to take that into consideration. As far as dollar value per horse, we believe the sweet spot’s $300,000 for these yearlings, but as you know, sometimes you get them cheaper and sometimes you stretch. As far as the budget, I’m not going say that publicly, but we’ll buy a lot of horses. But at the end of the day, we’re not going to make a splash bigger than we’ve already made. View the full article

Genuine Reward, one of two live offspring produced by Kentucky Derby (G1) winning-filly Genuine Risk, was euthanized Aug. 15 at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement facility in Georgetown, Ky. where he had been pensioned since 2015. View the full article

Veteran jockey Eddie Martin Jr. secured the 4,000th win of his career Aug. 15 when he guided Spinning Pegasus to victory in the ninth race at Retama Park. View the full article

Clive Washbourn, the owner of Thundering Blue (Exchange Rate) has taken the bold step of supplementing his G2 Sky Bet York S. winner for next Wednesday’s G1 Juddmonte International at a cost of £75,000. The 5-year-old gelding, trained in West Sussex by David Menuisier has been a revelation this season and his last start defeat of Brorocco (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}) over the Juddmonte course and distance last month has seen his rating climb to 109, a figure that still sees him with a lot to find against the principals next week. David Menuisier took to Twitter earlier in the week to ponder the decision to supplement and obviously the sportsmen within Washbourn and Menuisier won out with the trainer commenting on Thursday, “Thundering Blue has been supplemented this morning to run in the Juddmonte International at York Racecourse next Wednesday. Horse racing is a sport and therefore the right decision has to be a sporting one.” Thundering Blue needs to finish in the top four to recoup Washbourn’s investment and with the likes of Poet’s Word (GB) (Poet’s Voice {GB}), Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy) and Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) among the 11 horses still in the mix, it will be a big ask for the horse. View the full article

The William Haggas trained Urban Fox (GB) (Foxwedge {Aus}) is not a definite starter for Sunday’s G1 Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville on Sunday. It was good to firm when the Kieswetter family’s filly won the G1 Juddmonte Pretty Polly S. at The Curragh in July and connections are reluctant to run the 4-year-old on soft ground. “She is in great shape but it depends on the ground with her,” trainer’s wife Maureen said. Urban Fox proved her Curragh romp was no flash in the pan when finishing second to Wild Illusion (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Qatar Nassau S. and connections were delighted with that effort. “It was a great run at Goodwood, but it’s a lot of weight to give the three-year-olds and she was surrounded by them in first, third and fourth. She was the only older horse in the mix,” Haggas said. View the full article

As has become the norm, the three-day Arqana August Sale will be followed on Tuesday by the single-session V.2 Sale which was introduced in 2013 with the aim of offering a slightly different type of yearling to a largely domestic buying bench. Well, that was the intention, and it’s safe to say that the sale has swiftly become a success, even if it hasn’t quite stuck to its original raison d’etre. “The initial mission of the V.2 was to be a more affordable option in August, more for the French buyers and pinhookers, and for the more precocious yearlings, not necessarily the really elite types who would have made the August selection, but horses mature enough to be sold before October,” explains Alix Choppin, Arqana’s head of communication and development. The sale’s rather sudden coming of age took place at the newly reopened ParisLongchamp in May when first Olmedo (Fr) (Declaration Of War) then Teppal (Fr) (Camacho {GB}), sold just hours apart in 2016, became Classic winners in the same afternoon. Olmedo was sold by Haras des Capucines to his trainer Jean-Claude Rouget for €100,000, while Teppal, consigned by Haras d’Ellon, was a Con Marnane pinhook at €60,000. She returned to Arqana the following May to sell for €105,000 at the breeze-up sale. “When we conceived the V.2 we probably thought that we were going to be cataloguing the progeny of French-based stallions which weren’t quite of a high-enough quality for the international market, or perhaps not known enough, but it turns out that these stallions, such as Kendargent, Siyouni, are now very successful and popular with international buyers,” Choppin continues. Indeed, it could be said that the timing of the V.2 sale’s launch was fortuitous, coinciding as it did with a significant upturn in the French stallion market and associated increase in the number and quality of mares in the country. Even so, it wasn’t an instant easy sell to potential yearling vendors. “The first few years V.2 wasn’t really a choice for consignors,” Choppin recalls. “We would get requests for August or October. But now we have a huge number of breeders aiming for V.2 and when our bloodstock team goes to see the yearlings, breeders will say that they think a horse is a V.2 type, or even that they have bred a horse specifically with V.2 in mind. A number of consignors have done well at V.2, like Haras d’Ellon, and it has brought new consignors into the August market.” A solid and consistent clearance rate, which last year was 82% of the 130 yearlings offered, has been the hallmark of the sale, while other key indicators have risen steadily. From an opening average price of €27,506 to €39,220 in 2017, the median has also climbed from €20,000 to a high of €32,000 in 2016. Such figures are clearly several levels below those posted by the sale’s big brother but the event clearly fills a niche in the market in Normandy ahead of the larger yearling auction in late October. Olmedo and Teppal are not alone as stakes-winning graduates of the 2016 V.2 Sale. The G3 Prix Vanteaux victory of Barkaa (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in April means that Haras d’Ellon is the most successful black-type vendor to date and the filly has subsequently been sold privately to American owners Peter Brant and Joseph Allen. Patascoy (Fr), bought by trainer Xavier-Thomas Demeaulte for €40,000, has also helped to boost the growing reputation of his sire Wootton Bassett (GB) with his runner-up finish in the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club. He was also beaten only a head by subsequent Group 1 winner Intellogent (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) in the G3 Prix du Guiche. Last year’s graduates include Harmless (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}) bought by the Wertheimers for €35,000 and now unbeaten in three starts including the listed Prix Roland de Chambure, while the 2017 top lot, Milord’s Song (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), a half-brother to Group 3 winner Peal Flute (Ire) (Piccolo {GB}), recently provided trainer Stephane Wattel with his 1,000th winner when scoring at his home track of Deauville. Choppin concludes, “We’ve had a growing number of yearling entries generally over the last five years and we now have more than 2,500 entries for our four yearling sales. There’s definitely a growing number of breeders looking to sell their yearlings. In some ways, the V.2 has worked almost too well but of course we are delighted with how well it has been received and by the success of its graduates.” View the full article

Haras des Capucines was founded in 1994 by Eric Puerari and Michel Zérolo. Based on 200 hectares near the village of Nonant-Le-Pin in the Orme region of Normandy, it has become established as a leading breeder and consignor in France and is regularly among the top three vendors at Arqana’s August Yearling Sale. Around 60 mares are boarded at Haras des Capucines, including some owned by prominent international breeders such as Martin Schwartz, Peter Brant, and OTI Management. Puerari and Zérolo hold shares in around 25 of the mares on site. Capucines-bred Group 1 winners include 2012 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Zagora (Fr) (Green Tune), 2013 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches winner Flotilla (Fr) (Mizzen Mast {Fr}), and 2016 Prix Saint-Alary winner Jemayel (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). As consignors, they notably sold 2018 Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Olmedo (Fr) (Declaration Of War) at the Arqana V2 Yearling Sale in 2016. TDN visited Haras des Capucines to hear from Eric Puerari about the farm’s approach, its yearling draft and his assessment of the French bloodstock market. TDN: How did Haras des Capucines come to be? Eric Puerari: My father bred horses and we would attend the races and sales together, so I got the bug young. I studied economics, then did some spells with three trainers, before working as a bloodstock agent. As I got older, I decided to do something more stable, so I founded Haras des Capucines in 1994 with my business partner Michel Zérolo, who is a bloodstock agent based in America. Michel is in charge of the commercial relationships with clients. We had good success from the beginning because one of the first horses I bred was Winged Love (Ire) (In The Wings {GB}), who won the Irish Derby in 1995. So that gave me some optimism to carry on. Our neighbours Haras de Montaigu bred last year’s Epsom Derby winner Wings of Eagles (Fr) (Pour Moi {Ire}) and another neighbour Haras de Nonant-Le-Pin bred 2012 French Derby winner Saônois (Fr) (Chichicastenango {Fr}) as well. So we are surrounded by people who can breed the very best horses and we’ve thankfully managed to breed a few good ones as well. TDN: Is there a particular ‘type’ you aim to produce? Precocious, speed, Classic, commercial, etc. EP: I like Classic families, but I also like mares who have a good race record. Sometimes it’s very expensive to have both, so you have to make a choice. I can’t say we try to breed especially precocious horses. We tend to go to very good milers like Kingman (GB) or Charm Spirit (Ire). Or sometimes milers that can extend to stay a mile and a quarter like Lope De Vega (Ire). Another priority is to produce horses who can run at two, but have a capacity to develop longer-term and keep performing at three and beyond. TDN: How important is the Arqana August Sale to Haras des Capucines? What successes have you had there? EP: It is very important. To start with it is the French breeding industry’s window on the world, because everybody comes to Deauville in August. If you have a good consignment then it gets noticed, so we always do our best to offer our highest quality yearlings there. It’s important also for our clients because it’s the sale where we have the best chance of achieving the prices we would like. You need to have a very mature horse to have success there. We have been lucky to have many good years at Arqana August Sale. We are regularly in the top three as vendors. One that really stands out for me is 2018 Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Olmedo (FR), who was actually sold at the V2 Sale in 2016. He went for a very reasonable €100,000 and has become a Classic winner. TDN: How does your 2018 Arqana August draft compare to previous years? EP: We are very happy with our consignment. Physically, they have come along really well and I think we have the right stallions. We’re selling two Golden Horn (GB) fillies (lot 114 and 134), one Kingman colt (lot 99), four by Wootton Bassett (GB) (lots 13, 177, 258, and 450), plus stock by other headline stallions such as Siyouni (Fr) (lot 36, and 407), Sea The Stars (Ire) (lot 91), Galileo (Ire) (lot 51), and Australia (GB) (lot 28). We do have a number of young mares represented, who are having their first or second foal, so they haven’t totally confirmed their quality, but they are all well-bred and promising. This year’s preparation was quite easy because we had a good spring and breeders that have brought us some horses to prepare have brought them in top condition. TDN: What Arqana August yearlings do you have by first-crop sires? EP: We don’t have many by first-crop sires this year. Just the two fillies by Golden Horn, who have both clearly been stamped by their sire. And they are both very good walkers, so I have a good impression of the stallion. I also have one Night of Thunder (Ire), who is impressive physically and from a good Aga Khan family. TDN: Any standouts among this year’s yearlings? EP: We have a spectacular colt by Kingman (GB). He is from a great family, related to The Gurkha (Ire). He’s out of Clamina (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), who is a half-sister to two-time Group 1 winner Silasol (Ire) (Monsun {Ger}). So if he’s good then he has a stallion’s pedigree. We have already had a lot of interest in this colt because Kingman is very hot. His stock normally have quite a bit of leg, but this one is closer to the ground and shows more Green Desert. So he looks quite precocious. We also have a lovely filly by Siyouni (Fr). She is out of Sivoliere (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who was a stakes-performer at two and has an impressive American family. Sivoliere is probably the fastest Sea The Stars we have yet seen and has Classic American blood on the damside. On top of this she is outstanding physically so we think she deserves a lot of attention from buyers. Another nice filly we have is by Dark Angel (Ire) out of Foreign Legionary (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (Lot 115). Her dam is a half-sister to Alexander Goldrun (Ire) (Gold Away {Ire}), who was really a champion. Mantastic (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), the first foal out of Foreign Legionary, won brilliantly in Australia last month. Last year we sold a very nice Lope De Vega (Ire) filly out of Foreign Legionary at the Arqana Yearling Sale for €380,000, so we have high hopes once again. TDN: How do you assess the strength of the French breeding industry? EP: As we all know, breeding racehorses is a game in which you need capital in order to perform. I think France remains attractive to investors from all over the world. One of the main strong points we have here in France is that we have land available for breeding operations at a reasonable cost compared to Ireland and England. We have top professionals working throughout the industry’s various sectors in France. Also, the quality of stallions available has never been as good as it is now. And they are available at a reasonable price. Finally, we also have some brilliant companies such as Arqana, who always succeed in bringing important international clients to the sales here in France and sell great stock at good prices. So I think the breeding industry in France is strong. TDN: What do you make of the large number of new stallions in the country? EP: Recently we have been very lucky to gather a very good group of young stallions, which is very convenient for us because we are able to breed at home. There is less risk, less expense, and we have more control. So between Siyouni (Fr), Wootton Bassett (GB), Le Havre (Ire), Charm Spirit (Ire), Anodin (Ire), Almanzor (Fr), Shalaa (Ire) and Olympic Glory (Ire), who all stand at really reasonable prices, I think we are blessed to have such a good young group. This gives French breeders an outstanding chance to show what they can do. The stallions that don’t perform will always get eliminated by breeders over time, so having quite a lot on the market is not a big worry. If there is a problem to be highlighted then I would mention the excessive number of mares bred by top stallions today. It is very difficult to resist the demand that is out there, but I think big stallions covering 200 mares is too much and should be reduced for the good of the breed as a whole. This would also keep some rarity in quality, while at the same time keeping these stallions alive a bit longer. View the full article

This week is a recap of Natashka's victory, by disqualification, in the 1966 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. The recap, written by Kent Hollingsworth, ran in the Aug. 20, 1966 magazine under the headline, "Alabama Triumph to Getty Filly." View the full article

Return looms for more level-headed Zac Kasa View the full article

Boss keen to get back on track with impressive trial winner Imperium View the full article

Early scratching August 19 View the full article

Installed as the 8-5 favorite in the field of eight for the million-dollar race, Accelerate is now tentatively scheduled to compete in the Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park in late September as a prep for the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). View the full article

Jim and Susan Hill's Daddy Is a Legend will go for her second graded stakes win at Saratoga Race Course in as many months when she competes against six other 3-year-old fillies in the $300,000 Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) Aug. 18. View the full article

With Monomoy Girl training toward the Cotillion Stakes (G1) at Parx Racing next month, Midnight Bisou has the opportunity to snatch some spotlight for herself in the $600,000 Alabama Stakes (G1) Aug. 18. View the full article

Grade 3 winner Sassy Sienna looks to regain her sharp winter form, and Gio Game chases her first graded win Aug. 18 in the $100,000 Monmouth Oaks (G3) at Monmouth Park. View the full article

Stillwater Cove (f, 2, Quality Road–Celibataire, by Broken Vow) led home a one-two finish for trainer Wesley Ward in Wednesday’s Bolton Landing S. at the Spa. Removing blinkers here, the 10-1 chance chased in a close-up fifth behind her stablemate G3 Prix du Bois runner-up Chelsea Cloisters (First Samurai) through an opening quarter in :21.98. She began to roll with a flashy, three-wide sweeping move on the far turn and kicked clear in the stretch to score by 1 1/2 lengths over the aforementioned pacesetter. Favored Elsa (Animal Kingdom) was third. Stillwater Cove sped out to a lengthy early advantage and held on to graduate by a nose over the Keeneland dirt Apr. 8. She entered off a 13th-place finish in Royal Ascot’s G3 Albany S. June 22. The final time for 5 1/2 furlongs over the firm going was 1:03.26. Sales history: $45,000 RNA yrl ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0. O-Marcus Stables; B-Lofts Hall Stud & Ben Sangster (Ky); T-Wesley Ward. View the full article