Wandering Eyes

Bourbon War (Tapit), Hidden Scroll (Hard Spun) and Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) all breezed Friday morning in preparation for the Mar. 30 GI Xpressbet.com Florida Derby. GII Fountain of Youth S. runner-up Bourbon War breezed a half-mile in :49.88 (19/30) at Gulfstream (video). “He did well,” trainer Mark Hennig said. “He came home in :49.88, I think they caught him in. I was looking for a little quicker than that, but the track was not real sharp this morning. I told my rider I’d rather you err on the side of too slow than too fast. The horse is fit. We just want to get him safely over there next Saturday.” Over at Payson Park, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Hidden Scroll worked in company under exercise rider Neil Poznansky, covering five panels in a bullet 1:02.40 (1/7) (video). “It was a very nice work,” said Hall of Famer Bill Mott. “He worked with a stablemate. The time of 1:02, the way the racetrack was today, I think it was a very useful work. He sat off his company and he finished up and went by inside the eighth-pole with a reasonable good gallop-out. He seemed very good in the work. He was very manageable. We sat him in behind a horse and he was real calm. They went off slow enough and he wasn’t anxious. He was content to follow another horse. He approached the quarter-pole and got into the bridle and finished up well.” The Juddmonte homebred was last seen finishing fourth as the favorite after setting the pace in the Fountain of Youth. “I think it was a matter of learning for us,” said Mott, who also conditions fellow Juddmonte homebred and GII Tampa Bay Derby winner Tacitus (Tapit). “We thought from the beginning we could do anything with him. The last work we sat him right in behind and ate a lot of dirt. He was fine doing that. Today we sat him in behind, but we sat him off to the side, so he wasn’t getting dirt. He saw daylight but he saw another horse in front of him and he seemed kind about that as well.” Undefeated Maximum Security breezed a slow half-mile in :52.95 (63/63) at Palm Meadows Friday. The Gary and Mary West homebred is a perfect-three-for-three at Gulfstream, but takes a big jump up in class next weekend. “I thought he had a good breeze. He came home in :12,” trainer Jason Servis said. “I would still like to not commit, but I would say we are on schedule.” The Wests’ Final Jeopardy (Street Sense) also breezed four furlongs in a soft :52.80 (59/63) and is being considered for either the Florida Derby or the Apr. 6 GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct. “We’re looking at the Wood Memorial. It’s not a definite but we’re kind of looking at that,” said Servis. “He galloped out really good. That race is a mile and an eighth so I’m feeling a little better about the work. But it’s not definite yet.” View the full article

Ed DeRosa of TwinSpires.com takes on TDN’s Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap each prep race leading up to the GI Kentucky Derby. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets-highest bankroll after Arkansas Derby/Lexington day wins. DiDonato: Rebel x2 – Improbable (+$120) endured a somewhat awkward trip and just missed. Jersey Agenda settled for fifth after failing to make the lead. Bankroll: $10,325. GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby – I want the horse with the most upside in the race if I’m going to try and beat War of Will, and I’m pretty sure that horse is Spinoff (no disrespect to Country House, who also ran well last time). The well-bred Wertheimer homebred flashed talent in two juvenile tries, and returned from a break to run up the score in a Tampa optional claimer last month. He dueled through fast splits with a horse who was also stretching out, and that foe stopped to be last. Trainer Todd Pletcher has successfully used an easy race at Tampa as a springboard to bigger and better in recent years (i.e. Always Dreaming, Outwork, etc.), and he already owns a record four wins in this event. Plus Spinoff is obviously bred to be any kind as a son and grandson of Grade I winners Zaftig and Zoftig. Selection: #10 Spinoff (8-1). Sherack: Rebel x2 – Wide trip, layoff and all, it was still pretty surprising to see Improbable get run down late as the heavy chalk. Laughing Fox, meanwhile, never fired in round two of the Rebel. Bankroll: $1550. GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby – War of Will is a very deserving favorite and the clear-cut horse to beat, but I’ll go for a longshot with some upside. By My Standards ran well enough in defeat in a trio of live-looking races to kick off his career, then posted a breakthrough maiden win, clocking his final three-eighths in a sharp :31.57 going two turns over this track last time. The bay will need another leap forward, but between the flashy worktab and favorable inside draw, the price will be right to see if he’s good enough. Selection: #5 By My Standards (12-1). DeRosa: Rebel x2 – Corruze was a late scratch; Our Braintrust finished last of 10. Bankroll: $680. GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby – War of Will is a great study in how much you trust your eyes over data. The War Front colt has looked great winning all three of his starts on dirt, including the Lecomte and Risen Star S. heading into the TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby, but he has not registered fast numbers in doing so with a consistent string of mid 90s Brisnet.com Speed Ratings. That’s been faster than the rest to date, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be fastest in the Lousiana Derby, especially at odds on. We’ll take a shot with Bankit, who has a similar profile to stablemate Long Range Toddy in that he gets a jockey change for this test. Bankit flashed good talent at two that he seemed to be circling back to last out. If he busts through, he’s a player in this heat at 20-1 morning line. Selection: #9 Bankit (20-1). Click here for Louisiana Derby Ultimate PPs from Brisnet.com. View the full article

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-Fair Grounds, $50k, Msw, 3yo, f, a1mT, post time: 1:54 pm ET A pair of high-profile fillies make their respective debuts in this race on the GII Louisiana Derby undercard. Stonestreet Stables and LNJ Foxwoods’s GOLD STANDARD (Medaglia d’Oro) co-topped last year’s Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale at $1.2 million. A $200,000 KEESEP yearling, she breezed in a powerful :10 flat before eventually being turned over to conditioner Brad Cox. Her stakes-placed dam is out of a stakes-winning full-sister to GISW Majestic Warrior (A.P. Indy), meaning her third dam is MGISW Dream Supreme (Seeking the Gold). Gold Standard earned the co-quickest four-furlong breeze time of :47.40 at Fair Grounds Mar. 17. That clocking matches up with fellow Cox trainee Break Even (Country Day), who has won both of her starts by open lengths. Also set to be unveiled here is Godolphin homebred Meghan (Tapit). The Mike Stidham pupil is out of Tizaqueena (Tiznow), a speedy graded winner for these connections going two turns on both turf and synthetic. She was a close second in the 2009 GI First Lady S. at Keeneland. TJCIS PPs View the full article

A win in the TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) can ensure a 3-year-old a spot in the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), but getting to Churchill Downs can be tricky. And it has nothing to do with Google Maps. View the full article

Shadwell Stable homebred Haikal remains on target for the grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial presented by NYRA Bets Saturday, April 6 and is expected to return to the work tab soon, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said March 22. View the full article

Maiden special weight races at Belmont Park for the spring/summer meet will see purses increase from $75,000 to $80,000, while similar $5,000 purse increases will be implemented for first-and-second-level allowance races. First-level allowance purses will now be $82,000 and second-level will be upped to $85,000. Third-level allowance races will be worth $87,000, marking a $2,000 increase from 2018. The 48-day Belmont Park spring/summer meet, featuring 59 total stakes races worth $18.4 million, will start Friday, April 26 and run through Sunday, July 7. NYRA will also continue the under-20 claiming challenge, implemented to boost trainers with stables of 20 or fewer horses, where points are accumulated based on placing in claiming races. View the full article

Last summer at Saratoga, I sat down one afternoon in the pavilion at Fasig-Tipton with Claiborne’s Walker Hancock and Bernie Sams to discuss the belated emergence of Blame (Arch), who’d stood the 2018 breeding season for only $12,500 after starting out for $35,000 in 2011. They’d stayed the course with him and were finally seeing the results they’d expected all along, and Bernie hinted then that his stud fee would rise to $30,000 this year, as it did. After Blame, the conversation wandered to War Front (Danzig), Claiborne’s flagship sire, and I mentioned in passing that he was a “premier turf horse” and “an exceptional sire of turf milers,” fully expecting they’d nod in unison and agree with me. I was surprised by their immediate and forceful responses. “He’s not a turf horse. He’s both,” Sams barked, with a lot of expression. “The first couple of crops were dirt and turf. Nobody thought of breeding all turf to him back then.” “The Factor was dirt from his first crop, and so was Soldat,” Hancock said. “Plus, he had [Claiborne and Adele Dilschneider’s homebred] Departing on dirt from his third crop.” The Factor, now at stud at Lane’s End, was a fast sprinter who won the Gl Malibu S. at Santa Anita; Soldat won the Gll Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park; and Departing won the Gll Super Derby at Louisiana Downs. All three, however, were also multiple surface graded winners that showcased their sire’s versatility from the beginning. The Factor was a Grade l winner on all-weather; Soldat was a Grade lll winner on turf; and Departing was a Grade ll winner on turf. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"War Front","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/325676569.sd.mp4?s=d65308e565a85709b48b524bcfb51b2b47c33d53&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/281450037.sd.mp4?s=32d35ac734035791c9c8185a75c624d05695df60&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\/"} The Coolmore group figured out War Front’s quality early on when they raced his second-crop runner Declaration of War with breeder Joe Allen–also the owner and breeder of War Front–to successes in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Ascot and the G1 Juddmonte International at York, and they soon began buying his auction yearlings while patronizing the stallion with their Galileo and Sadler’s Wells mares. Those purchases and matings have yielded impressive results for them, including such stallion prospects as G1 Dewhurst S. winner War Command; triple Group 1-winning juvenile Air Force Blue, also a Dewhurst winner; and U S Navy Flag, a three-time Group 1 winner at two and three, who also won the Dewhurst. Others raced by them or associates have landed at other farms, including Hit It A Bomb, winner of the Gl Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland, who is now at Spendthrift; and Lancaster Bomber, the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup winner at The Curragh, who stands at the National Stud in England and then on to South Africa later this year. “A bunch of those from the first few crops were out of dirt mares, but now everyone wants to make him a turf horse because Coolmore breeds a bunch of its Galileo mares to him and takes them over to race in Europe,” Sams said. “So, what we’ve tried to do the last couple of years is breed more American dirt mares to him. The better dirt mares. He’s getting dirt horses, [like] the horse [who] won over here the other day by 10 on the dirt [War Value (from an A.P. Indy mare), who won a Saratoga maiden special weight at a mile and an eighth by 9 1/2 lengths Aug. 3, 2018].” Of Claiborne itself, Hancock said, “We’ve been breeding some of our better dirt mares to him.” Both insisted that because of the European and domestic success on turf, the War Fronts aren’t getting fair opportunity on dirt. “Now, if you looked at the biggest part of his crop, not this year, not last year, but three years before, 70% were turf mares that were bred to him,” Sams said. “So you look up and if there’s 100 foals for easy math, you got 30 dirt and 70 turf. And if a guy gets one here in the States and he’s training good on the dirt and he runs him on the dirt and he doesn’t run any good, he’s not giving him a second chance on the dirt. He’s going straight to turf.” Fortuitously for War Front, two 3-year-old sons that began their careers on turf in this country have become revelations on dirt and are the new poster boys for their sire’s dirt ability that Sams and Hancock steadfastly believed in and spoke about last summer. Gary Barber’s War of Will (out of Visions of Clarity {Ire}, by Sadler’s Wells), who’s trained by Mark Casse, is the 6-5 morning-line favorite for the Gll Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Saturday off impressive wins in the Glll LeComte S. and Gll Risen Star S. at the same track. Also, Fox Hill Farm’s Omaha Beach (out of Charming, by Seeking the Gold), trained by Richard Mandella, won a division of the Gll Rebel S. at Oaklawn last Saturday over previously undefeated juvenile champion Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}). Omaha Beach was placed three times in maiden specials on turf at Del Mar and Santa Anita before switching to dirt, where his record is two wins from three starts. War of Will made four consecutive turf starts at Woodbine, Keeneland, and Churchill Downs and was placed twice, including a second to Fog of War (War Front) in the Gl Summer S. at Woodbine, before he found success on dirt, on which he is now undefeated in three starts. Elite Sire… Unlike Blame, who entered stud in 2011 after the collapse of the industry in 2008 and was tied as one of the three most expensive new horses at $35,000 along with Quality Road and Lookin At Lucky, War Front started off modestly in 2007, on the eve of the global economic meltdown, at a fee of $12,500. By 2011, with his first 3-year-olds at the races, he was up to $15,000, but the next season, after the exploits of The Factor, Soldat and others, his fee took a big hike to $60,000, and from there it’s kept rolling in big increments to $80,000 in 2013, $150,000 in 2014 and 2015, $200,000 in 2016, and $250,000 in 2017, 2018, and 2019. War Front’s trajectory was the opposite of Blame’s: he hit right away and never looked back. With Tapit’s fee dropping to $225,000 this year from $300,000, War Front is now the most expensive sire in North America, and he’s the last top son of his illustrious sire Danzig (Northern Dancer), who also stood at Claiborne and made a career of routinely getting high-class horses on dirt and turf. War Front is a lookalike son, and with more top dirt runners expected in the pipeline, he’s looking every bit the chip off the old block in more ways than one. War Front’s ability to sire dirt runners shouldn’t be too surprising because he was a dirt sprinter who never raced on turf, and the same could be said for his sire. His grandsire, of course, won the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. Pedigree authority and turf historian Frances J. Karon covers all of this in a recent post at our blog at Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, “War of Will’s sire line: Made on dirt, successful on turf,” and she details how this line transitioned to turf, which puts the case of War Front in perspective. She wrote, “As it happens, Northern Dancer sired one of racing history’s all-time greats, Nijinsky II, in his second crop. Trained out of Ballydoyle in Ireland by Vincent O’Brien, Nijinsky won the British Triple Crown. Because of Nijinsky, O’Brien and his partners at Coolmore couldn’t get enough of Northern Dancer’s progeny, buying, and later breeding, a lot of the stallion’s stock and importing them to Europe. Hence, Northern Dancer became a sire of ‘turf horses,’ and his most successful sons followed much the same pattern, with their foals being sought after for European racing. But it must be noted that when given the opportunity, Northern Dancer’s sons were fully capable of siring good dirt horses. Take Nijinsky, for example–his 1983 crop of foals famously included two Derby winners: Ferdinand (Kentucky Derby on dirt) and Shahrastani (Epsom Derby and Irish Derby on turf).” Nijinsky also stood at Claiborne, and his story was as equally applicable to Danzig, whose international son Danehill was a game changer in Europe and Australia. With the recent successes of War of Will and Omaha Beach, it’s a certainty that more War Fronts will be tried on dirt, and it’s just as certain that more American buyers will now compete with the European-based stables for the stallion’s progeny at the summer and fall yearling sales. Expect some fireworks in the ring, even explosions if War of Will or Omaha Beach manages to land a Classic along the way. And give due credit to the Claiborne brain trust (which includes Walker Hancock’s dad, Seth Hancock) that was right all along with Blame and right again with War Front’s ability to get top-quality dirt horses. Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks. View the full article

Qwner Gary West is anything about downcast over the nose loss suffered by his juvenile champion Game Winner in the colt's 3-year-old debut, the March 16 second division of the $750,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park. View the full article

Data analysis from the Equine Injury Database for the year 2018 resulted in an aggregate fatality rate of 1.68 per 1,000 starts, The Jockey Club announced Friday. Prof. Tim Parkin, veterinarian and epidemiologist from the University of Glasgow and consultant to the EID, concluded that the year-over-year difference from 1.6 fatalities per 1,000 starts was not statistically significant. From 2009 to 2018, the fatal injury rates were as follows: 2.00, 1.88, 1.88, 1.92, 1.90, 1.89, 1.62, 1.54, 1.61, 1.68. Detailed graphs with statistics grouped by surface, distance and age can be viewed here. “Analysis of the EID has demonstrated that there are a multitude of factors that contribute to the risk of fatal injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses,” said Prof. Parkin. “Moving forward, we should focus on the medications present in horses during racing and training, transparency of veterinary records for all starters and the collection of injury data from morning training hours.” Two-year-olds had a significantly lower fatal injury rate of 1.28 per 1,000 compared 1.72 per 1,000 for older horses. Since the EID began in 2009, there has been a 16% drop in all fatal injuries, including an 11% drop in dirt races, 38% decrease in turf races and 17% drop on synthetic tracks. Since March of 2012, tracks have had the option to voluntarily publish their fatal injury rates–of the 25 self-reporting tracks for 2018, the aggregate rate was 1.51. On average, the lowest average rate (1.45) was seen among the following tracks that disclose their fatality rates and are accredited by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Safety and Integrity Alliance: Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park, Indiana Grand Race Course, Keeneland, Laurel Park, Pimlico Race Course, Santa Anita Park, Saratoga Race Course, Suffolk Downs, Turfway Park and Woodbine Racetrack. Since it’s inception, 109 racetracks have provided data to the EID–tracks hosting approximately 98% of all flat racing cards in 2019 are expected to contribute. View the full article

‘TDN Rising Star’ Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) will be the horse to beat Sunday when he lines up for the GIII Sunland Park Derby. Following his impressive debut win at Los Alamitos Sept. 20 with a victory in the GIII Bob Hope S. Nov. 17, the $625,000 EASMAY buy suffered his lone loss when second to stablemate and fellow ‘Rising Star’ Improbable (City Zip) in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 8. The chestnut rebounded with a decisive score in the 1 1/16-mile GIII Robert B. Lewis over a sloppy Santa Anita surface Feb. 2 and enters this nine-panel test off a six-furlong breeze in 1:13 3/5 (2/11) at Santa Anita Mar. 18. Also making the trip in from California is Anothertwistafate (Scat Daddy), whose three wins came over the Golden Gate synthetic. A non-factor ninth when making his career bow in a six-furlong test on the dirt at Santa Anita Nov. 3, the dark bay donned cap and gown by four lengths when extended to 1 1/16 miles at Golden Gate Dec. 9. Wiring the field for a five-length score in an optional claimer over that strip Jan. 4, the $360,000 OBSOPN purchase romped by seven lengths last time in that venue’s nine-furlong El Camino Real Derby Feb. 16. He is already proven at this distance, so the real question with this runner is whether he can run on dirt or is a synthetic specialist. New Mexico native Hustle Up (Abstraction) is a perfect four-for-four at Sunland Park, including a win in the local prep for this test, the Mine That Bird Derby Feb. 24. Closing out his juvenile campaign with a win in the state-bred Steve Prather S. at Zia Park Dec. 10, the gelding followed suit with a win in the NM-bred Red Hedeman Mile S. here Feb. 2. Going straight to the lead in the Mine That Bird Derby, he bested the Steve Asmussen-trained Wicked Indeed (Tapit) by a length and Walker Stalker (Stroll) was another four lengths back in third. View the full article

Serengeti Empress (Alternation) ran the field off their feet in the GII Rachel Alexandra S. Feb. 16 and she looks to repeat that impressive score in New Orleans Saturday in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. A stunning 19 1/2-length victress of Churchill Downs’s GII Pocahontas S. in September, the dark bay finished seventh in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies back in Louisville Nov. 2. She returned to winning ways in her sophomore bow in NOLA, taking the Rachel Alexandra field from gate-to-wire for a 4 1/2-length triumph and appears to have a strong chance to repeat here over the same track and trip. Liora (Candy Ride {Arg}), Eres Tu (Malibu Moon) and Street Band (Istan), the second, third and fourth-place finishers from the Rachel Alexandra, also return in this spot. Liora, winner of a sloppy renewal of Churchill’s GII Golden Rod S. last fall, adds blinkers for this test, and Eres Tu gets a new rider in Jose Ortiz. Slewgoodtobetrue (Jimmy Creed) is a new face in New Orleans and will be trying stakes company for the first time Saturday. Runner-up in her first two attempts sprinting at Del Mar this fall, the Peter Eurton trainee graduated by four lengths when extended to a mile at Santa Anita Jan. 10. She made it two in a row with an optional claimer victory going a 1 1/16 miles in the slop in Arcadia Feb. 3. View the full article

Qwner Gary West is anything about downcast over the nose loss suffered by his juvenile champion Game Winner in the colt's 3-year-old debut, the March 16 second division of the $750,000 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park. View the full article

Maryland-based veteran trainer William H. ‘Wolf’ Wolfendale III died at his home on Mar. 18. He was 74. A Pennsylvania native, Wolfendale first got involved as an owner at the age of 20 and later began training himself, moving from Waterford Park–now Mountaineer Park–to the Maryland circuit in 1973, where he went toe-to-toe with Maryland’s “Big Four” trainers: King Leatherbury, Dick Dutrow, Grover ‘Bud’ Delp and John Tammaro. “I remember when [Wolfendale] came in from Waterford Park,” Leatherbury said. “He was down there and he had a big stable of horses. He shipped in to Maryland and had all his horses in his own name, which was very unusual to be an owner-trainer and last very long.” He added, “He was a tall, handsome guy and rather quiet. I knew him to speak to, and he lasted a long time. I always made a joke with him because my wife, the first time she saw him she said, ‘My God, what a handsome man.’ I used to bring it up to him, and he’d laugh. He was a nice, quiet guy and didn’t say much. I didn’t get to know him too well, but he went about his business and did well.” Wolfendale won his first race as a trainer in 1966. Throughout his career, he saddled 1670 winners from 11,926 starters with purse earnings of $6,856,183. He operated a small farm, and also worked as a jockey’s agent, groom and van driver in later years. View the full article

Federal Case (Gemologist), a disappointing seventh after bobbling at the start in the GII Fasig-Tipton Holy Bull S. Feb. 2, turns back in distance to six furlongs for Saturday’s GIII Hutcheson S. at Gulfstream Park. Purchased by Robert and Lawana Low for $650,000 out of last year’s KEENOV Sale with a Keeneland debut victory already under his belt, he posted a hard-fought optional claiming win with an 88 Beyer Speed Figure in his first attempt for trainer Todd Pletcher going a mile at Gulfstream Dec. 23. Working bullets at Pletcher’s Palm Beach Downs base since the Holy Bull, the bay, favored at 9-5 on the morning line for the Hutcheson, adds blinkers. “I thought after watching him train a little bit, we decided to back him up to six [furlongs] and regroup,” Pletcher said. “I’m not saying we won’t try longer down the road, but right now we’ll back up to this and see how he goes.” The Iowa-bred Topper T (Bellamy Road), well-beaten in eighth in both the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and GII Kentucky Club S. at Churchill, endured a rough trip while third in the GIII Swale S. here Feb. 2. Lutsky (Yes It’s True), a smart debut winner for trainer Jason Servis versus New York-breds last summer, returned from the bench for new connections with a solid third after setting a hot pace behind the talented Mucho (Blame) Mar. 1. View the full article

It was a pretty quiet week on the racing front with many nursing Cheltenham hangovers and already looking forward to next years festival. There is still plenty of top quality action to look forward to for the remainder of the season, with the Aintree festival only around the corner. There is also some nice racing […] The post Saturday Preview – Nicholls’ Friend Or Foe & Farewell To Fehily appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

It’s going to be all hands on deck at Bankhouse this weekend as we run 7 horses at 3 different tracks over Saturday and Sunday. We have had a blank week so far with Ballasalla unfortunatley overjumping and unseating Brian wehn looking to have a race at his mercy at Wetherby. I’d be hopeful of […] The post Donald McCain Blog – Weekend Runners appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

A win in the TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) can ensure a 3-year-old of a spot in the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), but getting to Churchill Downs can be tricky. And it has nothing to do with Google Maps. View the full article

Chris Waller is trying to leave sentiment aside as he concentrates on ensuring champion Winx is in the best possible condition to win what will be her home track farewell in the Group One George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill. View the full article

The Hong Kong Jockey Club holds its first official meeting at Conghua Racecourse this Saturday, adding the most significant layer yet to its involvement in the chequered history of racing in China.While racing was virtually reduced to dust by the People’s Republic of China’s ban on gambling in 1949, it has existed in some way or another since.The Jockey Club’s involvement on the mainland has evolved across recent decades, from offering its expertise to now hosting a fully fledged meeting –… View the full article

Karis Teetan heads across the border to Conghua Racecourse on Saturday armed with a full book of five rides and he is itching to ply his trade on the “unbelievable” track at the first official meeting at the HK$3.7 billion facility.The sweeping home turn has received rave reviews from jockeys and Teetan said he and his counterparts are looking forward to taking to the track under race conditions for the first time.“The track is just unbelievable, the turn is just so genuine and I think many… View the full article

Buenos Aires, Argentina-Rarely is the first slot in the ring the most coveted spot at a yearling sale, but that is exactly the case in Argentina where, moments before the start of the sale, the catalogue order is suddenly scrambled to re-order the yearlings–based on the prediction of the vendors–from most expensive to least. In the case of Thursday’s inaugural Gran Venta Selecta sale at San Isidro Racecourse in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the sellers chose correctly, with Haras Vacacion’s full-sister to dual Group 1 winner Schoolmistress (Arg) (Equal Stripes {Arg})-the first horse through the ring, but lot 8-topping the sale with a final bid of ASD5.6-million (£103,960/€119,991) from a new Argentinean-based buyer. It was a new record price for an Argentine yearling in pesos. The sale’s leading light is a daughter of the Southern Halo mare Stellify (Arg) who, in addition to producing Schoolmistress, a Group 1 winner at two and three, has left the dual Group 3 winner Saetta (Arg) (Mutakddim), and the Group 1-placed colt Si Vieras (Arg) (Not For Sale {Arg}). Though unraced herself, the 19-year-old Stellify is a full-sister to two Group 1 winners. Equal Stripes was responsible for another filly that made ASD3.6-million (£66,843/€77,137), and that one (lot 13) is out of an unraced half-sister to champion 2-year-old filly Inca Noble (Arg) (Ride the Rails {Arg}). Overall, well-bred fillies from families rarely offered for sale dominated the market and were scooped up by an international cross-section of buyers. Gran Venta Selecta is the first yearling sale in Argentina staged in partnership by Arqana, Arg-Sales and leading stud farms Haras Vacacion and Haras Abolengo. The venture is an effort to help elevate Argentina’s breeding and yearling sales industry onto the world stage; as it stands, horses born in Argentina are regularly sold on globally as horses in training or broodmares and go on to race and produce with success, but the yearling sales have largely remained a local affair. Whereas regularly in Argentina stud farms will hold individual small farm sales throughout the season, Vacacion and Abolengo each committed their best yearlings to Gran Venta Selecta with the hopes of building a sale that will one day attract a strong international buying audience. And they’re certainly well on their way. Before the halfway point of the sale was reached, each of the overseas visitors-from the U.S., Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Africa-had bought at least one horse. Incidentally, none of those were doing business in Argentina for the first time, and French-born, San Diego-based agent Emmanuel de Seroux in particular has been involved in South America for more than 20 years. “I think this is a very good first experience to show the Argentine yearlings to the world,” he said. “I think people will be more and more interested to come and they need to, because they can access some fantastic pedigrees at 20% of the price of what they’d have to pay at Keeneland or Newmarket. “You can come to a sale like this and buy half a dozen very well-bred fillies for $50,000 or $60,000 each, and you start a very nice breeding program. If you have one or two good ones out of the five or six it’s fantastic, and the others, due to their pedigrees, they’re still very nice broodmares for the future.” Statistics were not immediately available upon conclusion of the sale, but Arqana’s Freddy Powell said, “Pablo Zavaleta and Julio Mediteguy [of Vacacion and Abolengo] are delighted with the sale today. For us it was complete unknown territory but we knew the horses were really nice and action was good in the ring. I think it’s a very good start to build something. It’s been a long-term project but it couldn’t have been a better start.” Of the fact that international buyers were so active, he added, “we were expecting that because we knew they were so impressed with the horses, so we would have been very surprised if they’d gone home empty-handed.” On the sire front, the sale was predictably dominated by leading local sires Equal Stripes and Roman Ruler-the former stands at Abolengo and the latter stood at Vacacion prior to his death, and this is his final crop of yearlings. Roman Ruler was responsible for the evening’s second-highest price, lot 6 at ASD4.8-million (£89,124/€102,857), and she is a filly with a pedigree that will resonate with Americans. She is out of Que Piensa Cat (Arg) (Easing Along {Arg}), a Group 1 winner who was exported to the U.S. at the start of her broodmare career but later returned to her homeland. She left in America the listed-winning filly Always Thinking (Street Sense). It was Hong Kong-based agent Dennis Loh who signed the ticket. Loh has been doing business in Argentina for two years, and he said the plan for the filly is to start her in Argentina with hopes of exporting her to Asia later. John Fulton was born in Florida but is now a permanent fixture in Argentina, and he was active early on in the session when the joint offerings were going through the ring his selections including lot 5, an Orpen filly who is a full-sister to two Group 1 winners, for ASD4-million (£74,286/€85,714) and lot 24, another Equal Stripes filly, for ASD3.8-million (£70,571/€81,427). Fulton was taking positives away from the inaugural Gran Venta Selecta. “I think it was a pretty strong sale,” he said. “They sent nice animals to be sold and the response was there. Down here, it’s tough to get your hands on these pedigrees that are being offered by these two farms and people had to step up.” At Haras Abolengo’s farm show on Wednesday, owner Julio Menditeguy had described lot 36, a daughter of Asiatic Boy (Arg), as being “from the strongest branch of the strongest family on the farm.” Indeed, her 10-year-old unraced dam-who has produced the multiple stakes-placed Estereotipo (Arg) (Lizard Island {Arg})–is a half-sister to Equal Stripes as well as group winners in Uruguay and South Africa, and among the six Group 1 winners on the page under the third dam are multiple South African champion Empress Club (SAf) and champion stayer and successful sire in that country Elusive Fort (Saf). Emmanuel de Seroux signed the ticket on behalf of his wife, retired Grade I-winning trainer Laura de Seroux, and Dolores Zavaleta, sister-in-law of Haras Vacacion owner Pablo Zavaleta, at ASD3.4-million (£63,142/€72,856). “She could be a foundation mare for us,” said Laura de Seroux. “It’s a beautiful pedigree. She’s a magnificent individual and I think it’s a very shrewd purchase, to get that kind of a value for money. We couldn’t fault her.” “It’s the kind of pedigree you’d pay a lot of money at Keeneland for,” Emmanuel added. “She’s already a half-sister to a good horse and the second dam is the dam of a top stallion.” A short time later, the de Serouxs added lot 58, a daughter of Hurricane Cat (Storm Cat), for ASD1.2-million (£22,285/€25,714). “We owned Hurricane Cat in France and sold him to Argentina, and this is the nicest looking filly I’ve seen by Hurricane Cat, even though we bred so many in France,” de Seroux said. “It shows the quality of the Argentinean-bred.” Lot 15, a colt from Vacacion, boasts a similar pedigree to the sale topper, being by Equal Stripes out of a sister to Schoolmistress, the winning South Sea (Arg) (Grand Slam), and he was scooped up by South African agent Justin Vermaak for ASD2-million (£37,141/€42,857). This particular colt is on his way to South Africa to race for a partnership, and Vermaak said he has been buying from Argentina for three years for his home country as well as clients in Singapore. He said the export protocol to both countries is relatively straightforward. “The well-bred fillies we tend to take to South Africa to breed with, and middle-market sprinting type colts we tend to send to Singapore-there’s pretty good prizemoney out there,” he explained. “It’s much more straightforward than [exporting from] South Africa, which is why I come. It’s about 21 days quarantine here and then 21 days in South Africa, so pretty quick, and then about the same protocol for Singapore. As young horses that’s not much of a problem; they’re not in training so you don’t have to worry about anything like that.” Breaking Down Borders For Julio Menditeguy and Pablo Zavaleta, supporting an international sale isn’t just good business; it’s personal. Each of their families have been committed to the Thoroughbred industry for upwards of 50 years, and they say that–with some more recent economic upheaval in the country following many more years of geopolitical complications–it is essential to the well-being of the Argentine industry to get it into the international spotlight. Argentina is in the midst of an economic recession, and through the first nine months of 2018 alone the value of the peso dropped from ARS20 against the dollar to ARS40. Last year, the Buenos Aires provincial government made a move to revoke racing’s cut of the province’s slots revenue-which fuels up to 75% of purses at some tracks-but, thankfully for racing, it ultimately did not. However, the country’s Thoroughbred industry is clearly in a position where it needs to both prove its worth to the government and take preemptive action. Argentina’s status as a truly international breeding and racing nation has been further hindered by travel complications to some other Southern Hemisphere countries-the lack of an import/export protocol with Australia means Argentine horses would have to fly to the Northern Hemisphere to quarantine for 20 days before heading back south in a costly endeavour. Zavaleta said one motivation behind the inaugural Gran Venta Selecta was alerting the government to the fact that the Thoroughbred industry deserves attention. “The government and economy has had so many problems, so we’re very [low in priority],” he said. “We’re trying to help them understand that the Thoroughbred industry is very good for the country. It provides a lot of jobs-we have about 150,000 families who work directly in the industry, which is more or less 500,000 people.” Menditeguy added, “We’re doing this together in order to start with a personal commitment to tackle these problems that have never been attacked politically. It’s personal for the two farms. If this comes to be a success, maybe some other good breeders-there are plenty of them-will come on board. “But the industry is under pressure and last year, two of the most successful operations over the last 30 years shut down. People are getting tired, this is getting very expensive. [Growth] won’t happen if we’re only thinking about the domestic market.” Another factor that has made it difficult for the Argentine yearling sector to gain international recognition is the fact that rather than holding a small number of major sales each year, each farm-or sometimes small groups-will hire a local sale company to conduct their own farm sale. A sale will generally consist of 40-odd horses and during the selling season, multiple sales could be held every week. Menditeguy explained that Abolengo would traditionally hold three sales a year beginning in April, and that the best yearlings would be spread throughout the sales to maintain interest. This year, he said, all of Abolengo’s and Vacacion’s best were committed to Gran Venta Selecta. Zavaleta said they entered into talks with Arqana about two years ago after being introduced to Eric Hoyeau and Freddy Powell by Zavaleta’s brother Diego, who had formerly been a longtime assistant to Andre Fabre. The sale was conducted by local company Arg Sales, with Arqana providing a brand name and expertise in horse selection and marketing. “We had had a very difficult 15 years or so with the government where they had kept us closed to an international market because there was a lot of problems with currency, exports and things like that,” Zavaleta said. “We decided we needed a serious auctioneer to come here to give some confidence to the people from abroad to come back to Argentina.” The general consensus among Abolengo and Vacacion-and others in the industry-is that they weren’t necessarily expecting the inaugural sale to come in like a lion, but rather to build and gain traction over the coming years. “It’s a very difficult time not only for our industry but for the whole economy,” Menditeguy said. “It’s not that we’re hoping to celebrate with an international venture or that we’re doing it for fun or to show off; we’re doing it because we need this for the Argentine economy.” Zavaleta added, “I don’t think we’re expecting a big reaction from the first sale, but I do believe we’ve done a good job because we’ve started receiving visitors from everywhere. Todd Pletcher came down about a month ago to see the yearlings, and Eric [Hoyeau] was saying to me that John Gosden was curious about Argentina, so I think that we’re back on the map.” And, indeed, all across the map Argentine-breds have been making an impact. The Abolengo-bred Candy Ride (Arg) is a leading sire in the U.S., while last year Vale Dori (Arg) won the GI Santa Margarita S. and GI Zenyatta S. The Japanese have been buying up Argentine mares at a rapid rate due to the success of Group 1 winners like Danon Fantasy (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Satono Diamond (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who are both out of Argentine Group 1 winners. Argentine-breds have also had success at Group 1 level in South Africa. Argentina has a proven ability to produce a top-class animal, but because the yearling market has to date been largely contained within South America, yearling prices have hit a ceiling. “We’ve been completely separate from the rest of the world, but you can see the quality of the Argentine horse, so I think it’s a big opportunity for Asian countries like Hong Kong. They’re buying nice horses in Australia, but they’re expensive. You’re buying very good quality horses here, cheap.” Menditeguy added, “We’re far off the top prices of the best horses from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, but we think that our horses are just as good as those countries. We already have agents from Malaysia, South Africa, France, and America here, and I hope we’ve fulfilled their expectations.” View the full article

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