Wandering Eyes

Frankie Dettori, bidding to ride his second Irish Derby (G1) winner on Saturday, has revealed he is most afraid of Dee Ex Bee (GB) and cannot understand why Saxon Warrior (JPN) is such a short-priced favorite for the race. View the full article

3rd-LRC, $40K, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 4:58 p.m. ET OXO Equine’s INSTAGRAND (Into Mischief) co-topped the Fasig-Tipton Florida Sale in March when selling to Larry Best for $1.2 million after breezing in :10 flat. The Jerry Hollendorfer pupil is out of a daughter of GSW Added Asset (Lord At War {Arg}). This is also the family of Grade I winners Irish Smoke (Smoke Glacken) and Book Review (Giant’s Causeway). TJCIS PPs. —@CDeBernardisTDN View the full article

Al Shahania Stud’s 6-year-old ridgling Money Multiplier (Lookin At Lucky) is two-for-three over the Monmouth Park turf and has the same number of wins in 15 tries over all other courses. Sporting back-to-back victories in the GII Monmouth S., the dark bay will look to take home the Oceanport oval’s top grass prize, and his first Grade I, in Saturday’s GI United Nations S. Likely to go off as a close favorite, he faces a deep field of rivals, including last year’s U.N. upsetter. Second in the U.N. in 2016, to go with runner-up efforts in the GI Sword Dancer S. and GI Man O’ War S. that term, the Chad Brown trainee took home the Monmouth, the local prep for the U.N., in his 2017 debut before completing the exacta again in the Sword Dancer. Winless in his next four starts, including a third in the G1 HH The Emirs Trophy Feb. 24 in Qatar, he returned to annex the Monmouth again here May 26. Brown also saddles Chilean Group 1 winner Kurilov (Chi) (Lookin At Lucky) and French Group 1 winner Silverwave (Fr) (Silver Frost {Ire}), first and fourth, respectively, in a Belmont allowance May 25. Three Diamonds Farm’s Bigger Picture (Badge of Silver) was over 10-1 when he took the early summer feature last year, and he proved that to be no fluke with a narrow runner-up try in the GII Bowling Green S. and a third in the Sword Dancer, beaten just a nose by Money Multiplier. The 7-year-old gelding finished off the board in three of his next four outings, however, and was last seen running seventh in the Man O’ War May 12 at Belmont. “He’s doing well,” trainer Mike Maker told the Monmouth notes team. “His last race wasn’t up to par, but he’s getting older so I don’t know if he is losing some consistency. At the same time, that was a tough field–which you expect in a Grade I race.” Maker will also send out Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s Oscar Nominated (Kitten’s Joy), a multiple graded stakes winner who most recently ran second in the GII Dixiana Elkhorn S. Apr. 21 at Keeneland. Rodney Paden’s One Go All Go (Fairbanks) will look to rebound to the form that saw him nearly steal a Grade I win this spring. The 6-year-old bay ran second at 30-1 in the GII Fort Lauderdale S. Jan. 13 at Gulfstream to start a string of six consecutive 100+ Beyer figures, which culminated in a third-place effort while leading to deep stretch in the Man O’ War. Unable to take up his preferred position on the lead in the GI Woodford Reserve Manhattan S. June 9 at Belmont, he faded to finish 11th. View the full article

Curlin's Approval will seek to become the first horse to win the Princess Rooney Stakes (G2) in back-to-back years since Gold Mover achieved the feat in 2002-2003 View the full article

A year after topping males in the Queen's Plate Stakes, Holy Helena will try to add to her Woodbine success—this time on turf—in the $175,000 Dance Smartly Stakes (G2T) June 30. View the full article

Dixie Moon, who went unsold as a yearling for $150,000, seeks to defeat males in the Queen's Plate June 30 at Woodbine. View the full article

‘TDN Rising Star’ Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) will be joined by three talented stablemates as he bids to add to his Classic tally in Saturday’s G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh. This will be no cakewalk for the odds-on favourite, with this being the first time since 2010 that the race has attracted a double-figure field, but he has an ideal draw in two and has been giving out all the right signals at Ballydoyle since his fall to earth when fourth in the G1 Epsom Derby. This is also the fastest ground he has encountered in his brief career and on all known evidence from his pedigree he is destined to shine on it. Fellow ‘TDN Rising Star’ Delano Roosevelt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is one making a quick return from Royal Ascot duty, having finished worst of his stable’s trio that took part in the G2 King Edward VII S. won by one of this renewal’s supplementary entries Old Persian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Fourth behind that rival and the runner-up Rostropovich (GB) (Frankel {GB}), he has the yard’s supersub jockey Seamie Heffernan in the saddle and bids to provide that rider with a third edition and back-to-back ones after the exploits of Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) 12 months ago. ‘TDN Rising Star’ The Pentagon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) could be the one to make the running under Wayne Lordan, while the British raiders Knight To Behold (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and Dee Ex Bee (GB) (Farhh {GB}) are other pace factors, with the latter needing a strong end-to-end gallop and so primed to make up for any hesitancy from the Ballydoyle crew under the front-running wizard Silvestre De Sousa. Temperatures are set to soar in Kildare, as they are everywhere, at the weekend and Dermot Weld admits to some concern regarding Calumet Farm’s unbeaten Bandua (The Factor), whose two outings have come on testing ground. “I’m well aware that he has won on soft ground so far and I identified early in the year that he bends his knee and will be better with a bit more ease in the ground,” he said. “This is pretty ambitious, but he’s a lovely colt who is very sound and progressive and we’re happy with the way he’s working. The owner is keen to take his chance and it’s the Derby, so as long as he gives a good account of himself we’ll be happy.” One for whom fast ground is no worry is Yuesheng Zhang’s Platinum Warrior (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who won in similar conditions when beating Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) convincingly in the G3 Gallinule S. over 10 furlongs here on May 27. Trainer Mick Halford commented, “It is only the second time we’ve had a runner in the Irish Derby and his preparation has gone very well. He’s a very straightforward horse and we are hoping that the extra two furlongs will make a difference to him. He has a beautiful pedigree and loves fast ground.” View the full article

Jockeys in Britain will be required to wear Level 2 body protectors, rather than Level 1, from Oct. 1. The upgrade, which is the first since 2015, is due to the fact that Level 2 vests offer superior protection up to 50% against direct blows. Irish racing adopted the vests last year, and France is expected to follow next year. Due to the increased weight of the Level 2 vests, jockeys will be given one pound extra weight allowance at the scales. Leading jumps rider Ruby Walsh said, “I think there is a huge improvement between the Level 1 and Level 2 back protectors. From taking heavy enough falls riding in Steeple Chase races to horses landing on you, standing on you, kicking you, I find the Level 2 provides way more protection.” View the full article

West Coast (Flatter)’s Kentucky vacation is nearing a conclusion. Last year’s champion 3-year-old colt, second in both the 2018 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. Jan. 27 and G1 Dubai World Cup last out Mar. 31, will resume serious training July 1, reports Gary and Mary West’s Racing Manager Ben Glass. West Coast joined the Bob Baffert Churchill Downs string prior to this year’s GI Kentucky Derby, but never recorded a timed workout during his stay beneath the Twin Spires. The 2017 GI Travers S. winner is currently in light training at Dell Ridge Farm in Lexington. “We left him in Kentucky because he’d been in a box stall since he was a yearling,” Glass said with a laugh. “We wanted him to have a little R&R before we went back for a serious campaign. Naturally, we’re hoping we can make the Breeders’ Cup, but if we don’t, we’ll make the Clark and then the Pegasus.” Any targets in mind for a return spot? “Once Bob has him for a while, he’ll tell you where he’s at,” Glass replied. “But he’s doing great and we’re anxious to get him back into serious training.” West Coast, a $425,000 KEESEP yearling, was also a runaway winner of last year’s GI Pennsylvania Derby and third-place finisher in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar. View the full article

‘TDN Rising Star’ Selcourt (Tiz Wonderful), freshened since airing in the seven-furlong GII Santa Monica S. at Santa Anita Mar. 24 with a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure, is aiming for a return at the upcoming Del Mar meeting. Campaigned in partnership by Taylor Made’s Medallion Racing, breeder Keith Abrahams and Sandra Lazaruk and trained by John Sadler, it was decided to bypass the GI Beholder Mile S. in early June in favor of a summer/fall campaign with a long-term eye on the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Churchill Downs. “She’s doing really well,” Medallion Racing’s Phillip Shelton said. “She never left John’s barn at Santa Anita. She basically just got a couple of weeks off. Really nothing wrong–John just felt like she wasn’t 100%, and if you’re going to try to face Unique Bella and Paradise Woods in a Grade I, we wanted to make sure that she was 100%. Once we knew that race was out of the picture we said, ‘You know what? Let’s just give her a little break, get ready for Del Mar and hopefully point to the Breeders’ Cup.'” A jaw-dropping debut winner last February, the chestnut is a perfect three-for-three during her 4-year-old season, which also includes tallies in the Kalookan Queen S. Jan. 14 and GIII Las Flores S. Feb. 18. All six of her career starts have been made sprinting at Santa Anita. “She should have her first work back this weekend,” Shelton said. “She’s been back galloping for the last couple of weeks and has been doing great. We always toyed around with the idea of stretching her out, but I’d say at this point that we’ll keep her at one turn through the Breeders’ Cup. That would probably be the plan. We’ll point for something at Del Mar, then keep our options open for the final prep before the Breeders’ Cup.” View the full article

Royal Ascot is where everyone that is involved in Flat racing wants to be represented. With this in mind, a trainer with just 25 horses in his care couldn’t reasonably expect to have a runner at the meeting, never mind a winner, but Dave Marnane is no ordinary 25-horse trainer. Indeed, for those that have paid attention to the career of the Tipperary-based handler, it will have been no surprise to see him in the winner’s enclosure at Royal Ascot last week. In the last decade Marnane has built up a remarkable record in some of the most competitive handicaps on the British racing calendar. He has saddled two different horses to win the Portland H. at Doncaster, as well as a winner of the Victoria Cup at Ascot and the Wokingham at Royal Ascot. To emphasise just how difficult those races are to win, no other Irish-based trainer has won the Portland or the Victoria Cup in the last 50 years and his win in the Wokingham was the first Irish-trained winner of that race for 27 years. Marnane has also proven adept at sending horses to the Dubai Carnival with great success, having saddled a winner there each year from 2011 to 2014 and having had multiple placed horses either side of those victories. Last Wednesday, Marnane added to his CV by becoming just the second Irish-based trainer in the last 50 years to saddle the winner of the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot thanks to the extraordinarily easy victory of Settle For Bay (Fr) (Rio de la Plata). In common with Marnane’s other winners of valuable British handicaps, planning was key to this success. It represented the realisation of a plot that had its origins over a year earlier, but had met with a very serious setback along the way. “Settle For Bay always worked like a smart horse and when he won his first handicap off 69 in April last year, we actually started planning a path for him to the Britannia H. at Royal Ascot that year,” Marnane said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get very far with it, as he fractured his pelvis in his very next start at Dundalk.” “To be honest, it didn’t look good for him that evening. We thought he was a goner. Thankfully, he was sensible enough to know he was in trouble, pull himself up and stand still. We soon discovered that he had what was quite a significant fracture. The racecourse vets did a great job with him up there and we decided to bring him home that night. Our head travelling lad Danny O’Connell had the longest trip home from Dundalk that he ever had that night, as he had to drive very slowly so as not to risk Settle For Bay getting unsettled and moving in a way that disrupted the fracture.” “When we got him home, he had to be tied up in his box so that he couldn’t lie down or roll for four weeks. That is a big ask of any horse, but he was the perfect patient the whole way through. As a result, he was able to come back into training much faster than would have been expected. It’s quite remarkable to think that he was back racing 19 weeks to the day after breaking his pelvis as significantly as he did.” Having bounced back from his serious pelvis injury, Settle For Bay improved from race to race and soon embarked on what would prove to be a four-race winning streak at Dundalk during the winter months. Each win was more impressive than the one that preceded it, with his fourth win being the one that led Marnane to hatch a plan. “It was only after his fourth win at Dundalk that he looked the real deal,” the trainer said. “Prior to that, he had always looked a bit green when he hit the front, but that day he was as straight as a gun barrel and really looked as though the penny had fully dropped with him. We had our suspicions and hopes prior to that, but that was the day that he really jumped out at us as a horse that could win a Royal Hunt Cup.” “We don’t have many horses here, but when we get a good one we know what to do. He was raised to a mark of 99 after that win, which historically made him highly likely to get into the Royal Hunt Cup, so we made that his target. We gave him a nice break after that and he ran a lovely race on his comeback at Leopardstown in May. What really pleased us about that run is that he was in tight quarters all the way, something which he didn’t have a lot of experience of prior to that, and he seemed to relish it. That gave us great hope that the hustle and bustle of a Royal Hunt Cup wouldn’t hold any fears for him.” Everything had gone smoothly for Settle For Bay in his preparation for the Royal Hunt Cup up to the week before the race, but there was one very significant scare left for him to overcome. “He just didn’t blow me away in his last breeze the Thursday before the race and when we scoped him, he wasn’t spotless,” Marnane said. “He wasn’t dirty as such, but he wasn’t spotless. As you can imagine, this frightened the life out of us. We did what we could with him for the next couple of days and scoped him again on Sunday. Mercifully, he was 100% and we sent him on his way to Royal Ascot. He doesn’t travel all that well when he’s by himself, so we sent over his next-door neighbour Kodiac’s Back with him for the journey. I have to thank Ascot for accommodating us with that, as it was a big help.” When encountering the likes of Royal Ascot for the first time, young horses tend to shrink, boil over or grow. In Settle For Bay’s case it was very much the latter. “At home, he is an absolute Christian of a horse. My youngest daughter Emily is his biggest fan and she goes into his stable all the time and we don’t have to worry about her. He puts his head in her lap and is content to stay there all day! However, in the build-up to the Royal Hunt Cup, I saw a side of him I hadn’t seen before. Whether it was the atmosphere or what, he just came alive. From when he left his stable to go up to the racecourse, he was angry! The racecourse farrier had to make a small adjustment to one of his shoes as we were saddling him and Settle For Bay gave him a horrible time of it. That said, once Billy got up on him, he focused his mind and was all business from there.” One can imagine that watching the vessel of one’s hopes and dreams in a cavalry charge such as the Royal Hunt Cup would be likely to make for torrid viewing, but such was the ease with which Settle For Bay travelled, Marnane hardly had a moment of doubt. “The race itself was remarkably easy to watch. My only instructions to Billy were to make sure he got cover and to get him relaxed, regardless of how far back he was. Once he had gone two furlongs and had settled, I was very happy. It’s not often watching a race like the Royal Hunt Cup that you can really believe that you are on a winner fully two furlongs from home, but it was very straightforward for him.” Emotions ran high after the race with Marnane and numerous members of his team shedding tears. While winning on that stage is also likely to be emotional, there was more to that emotion than meets the eye. “It was emotional afterwards for a few reasons. We’ve thought he was a good horse for a long time. All through the autumn, winter and spring we’ve been looking at him and dreaming what he might be capable of doing. It might be different for a bigger yard with plenty of horses that they can dream with, but for us it was all about him. To then see him to go and show what we have always believed he could do on a stage like Royal Ascot, it’s a real release. You’d need to be a tougher man than me to be able to hold all that emotion in.” “It wasn’t just about the horse, either,” he added. “One of his owners Dennis McGettigan’s wife Nicola had a serious health scare during the winter. Around Christmas time she told us that her chemotherapy was due to finish in June and I said to her that during her treatment she could look forward to leading in Settle For Bay after he won at Royal Ascot. It was only talk at the time, so for it to happen and for Nicola to be there with Dennis and his other owner Mossie Casey to greet him in the winner’s enclosure made it extra special.” “You need the right horses to get you to meetings like Royal Ascot, but you also need the right team. My wife Mel is a huge help, as is my brother Ed who is a big part of the race planning. James Casey rides him every day and was with him at Ascot. We have a small team, most of which have been with us a long time, and it’s great for all of them to be part of such a big win.” “Looking forward, we obviously can’t wait to get Settle For Bay out again. We will look at a listed race for him next and all being well, we’ll look at the Dubai Carnival for him. We won’t be afraid to travel him for suitable races and he’d have you dreaming of running in races like the Arlington Million.” While the Settle For Bay story promises to run for quite some time yet, Marnane’s attentions will soon turn to finding his next star at the yearling sales. With Marnane having bought the likes of Settle For Bay (€35,000 in conjunction with Peter Doyle), Dandy Boy (20,000gns), Jamesie (£11,000) and Elleval (£45,000), his eye for a bargain speaks for itself. “We have a few empty stables here and will be hoping to fill them at the upcoming yearling sales. We have had success putting together 10-member syndicates made up of two or three yearlings each. We charge an all-in price that pays for the horses and for their training up to the end of their 2-year-old year. At that stage, we balance the books and make a decision with the syndicate whether to sell the horses or to race on. The people that have got involved seem to enjoy that structure and we have had plenty of winners in them already, most notably Freescape who was an intended runner in the Britannia S. at Royal Ascot last week until a stone bruise ruled him out. We have already had plenty of interest from people looking to get involved in new syndicates this autumn, but if anyone wants to get involved they are more than welcome to get in touch.” With the racing world having been given a timely reminder of Marnane’s talents on the grandest of stages, it seems likely that those empty stables will not remain unoccupied for long. View the full article

A switch back to Sha Tin and some weight relief can bring about a second win of the season for Spanish-bred gelding Sangria as trainer David Ferraris sends a small but solid team to the races on Sunday. Sangria is one of only two Spanish-bred horses in training at Sha Tin and became the first of them to win when he broke through at Happy Valley over 1,800m in January. The five-year-old hasn’t finished worse than fourth since and the closest he came was a neck defeat over 2,000m two starts... View the full article

A switch back to Sha Tin and some weight relief can bring about a second win of the season for Spanish-bred gelding Sangria as trainer David Ferraris sends a small but solid team to the races on Sunday. Sangria is one of only two Spanish-bred horses in training at Sha Tin and became the first of them to win when he broke through at Happy Valley over 1,800m in January. The five-year-old hasn’t finished worse than fourth since and the closest he came was a neck defeat over 2,000m two starts... View the full article

A stunning finishing burst at Happy Valley on Wednesday night shows Pearly Treasure has the tools to be winning a race soon. The Chris So Wai-yin-trained three-year-old clocked a lightning 22.04 seconds for his final 400m sectional – clearly the fastest of the meeting – when finishing fifth to Oriental Elite in the Class Four Ninepin Group Handicap (1,000m). Jumping from the outside barrier, Brett Prebble opted to go back to last with speedy types Winfull Patrol and Ocean Roar... View the full article

A stunning finishing burst at Happy Valley on Wednesday night shows Pearly Treasure has the tools to be winning a race soon. The Chris So Wai-yin-trained three-year-old clocked a lightning 22.04 seconds for his final 400m sectional – clearly the fastest of the meeting – when finishing fifth to Oriental Elite in the Class Four Ninepin Group Handicap (1,000m). Jumping from the outside barrier, Brett Prebble opted to go back to last with speedy types Winfull Patrol and Ocean Roar... View the full article

After switching barns and being given a break following a troubled Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) run, Midnight Bisou will aim to make a return to the winner's circle June 30, when she heads up the $250,000 Mother Goose Stakes (G2). View the full article

A little more than four months since they first competed against each other in the Suwannee River Stakes (G3T), stablemates Elysea's World and Dream Awhile will meet again June 30 on the Monmouth Park turf for the $100,000 Eatontown Stakes (G3T). View the full article

Meagher's Group winner launches Cup races campaign View the full article

Logan hopes Burkaan can erupt at first turf test View the full article

Trip test for Lord Of Cloud next Friday View the full article

It wasn't exactly telekinesis, but trainer Mark Casse used his mental powers to move the horse who is now favored to win the June 30 Queen's Plate at Woodbine to his string a few years ago. View the full article

If the racing industry wants the biggest safety gain for the smallest amount of its limited money and time resources, proper water-control maintenance on both dirt and grass surfaces should be at the top of the list. That was the main thrust of a solo presentation titled “Racing Surfaces and the Next Generation in Racing” given by Dr. Michael “Mick” Peterson Jr., the executive director of the Racing Surfaces Testing Laboratory, at Wednesday’s Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at Keeneland Race Course. Racing surfaces “impact every horse, every day,” Peterson said, while also cautioning that “tracks can also have the issue that [surfaces] can be an excuse for other problems that are avoided.” Unlike other safety and welfare issues that have multiple points of view (medication usage, for example), Peterson pointed out that nearly everyone is in agreement that fair dirt and turf surfaces are in everyone’s best interest. “The owners, the track operators, the public–everybody wants decent tracks,” Peterson said. “There’s no constituency for inadequate, inconsistent surfaces. It’s just a model of good management and communication.” Peterson, a mechanical engineer who is widely considered the preeminent track surface specialist in North America, continued to hammer home a point he has made at racing industry presentations for nearly a decade now: “Water matters.” But coming up with an optimal moisture content number for all racing surfaces everywhere is not possible, Peterson said, because of the variabilities in climate (and in the case of turf courses) what type of grass is best suited to which region. Peterson also continued to advocate for installing data-rich weather stations located at various points around each track to help build a more robust central database that could be of benefit both to that specific track and to future, long-term nationwide safety studies. Handicappers, he added, would also greatly benefit from more accurate daily on-track weather info. As it currently stands, just looking at a backstretch rainfall gauge doesn’t cut it, he added, because “if you look at a rain gauge, you never get better.” Peterson also shared how rainfall data is now being parsed in a different way by a new era of track superintendents. Rainfall data over the course of the meet used to be considered quite useful. But now the emerging benchmark has more to do with the permeability of dirt and turf racing surfaces, and how fast and hard the rain comes down at any given time. “Our new metric now, when we compare race meet to race meet, is number of 15-minute intervals with measurable rain,” Peterson said. “It seems common sense after the fact. But the fact is, nobody was doing it.” Responding to an audience question about the variabilities in biased racing surfaces, Peterson again underscored the moisture-control angle. That’s accomplished not just by removing excess rain water, he said, but by adding moisture via water trucks during the course of a racing card when it’s needed. “Fairness of the racetrack is very closely related to consistency,” Peterson said. “One of the major fairness issues is inconsistency from the rail out. The most typical cause of a ‘fast’ rail would be a variation in cushion depth or moisture content. Those are the two key measurements that we make.” Kickback is also a fairness issue, Peterson argued. Even though it’s a separate problem, it has the same solution as eliminating a track bias, he added. “You’re not going to be particularly surprised that my approach to changing kickback on a dirt surface is that water is the single most important variable that will affect kickback,” Peterson said. “So if we’re controlling moisture, we’re doing the best thing that we can do through the race card to keep a consistent surface. If you see a fairness issue evolving over the course of a race card, it’s probably a moisture issue.” As the final speaker in the day-long presentation, Peterson wrapped up the summit by reiterating how rider safety and animal welfare form the “central opportunity as well as risk for racing.” Peterson summed it up: “It isn’t the world that existed 20 or 30 years ago. It’s a different world. It’s a world that has expectations, both for the safety of the riders and the equine participants…. So by protecting the horse and protecting the rider, we’re protecting the sport. Cause and effect–the inputs are safety, the output is the future of the sport.” Jockey Safety: Model Rule Exists, ‘Hard Part’ Is Implementing it Now that a model rule pertaining to head injury and concussion protocol for riders has been approved by both the Jockeys’ Guild and the Association of Racing Commissioners International, the racing industry faces the challenge of finding ways to pay for and implement these best-practice standards on a national level. That was the takeaway message from Dr. Carl Mattacola, the associate dean of academic and faculty affairs at the University of Kentucky, who spoke at Wednesday’s eighth Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at Keeneland Race Course to deliver updates on his research conducted via the Jockey Injury Database (JID) and the newly created Jockey Equestrian Initiative of the Sports Medicine Research Institute. “Concussion has changed the way that we look at sports,” Mattacola told the conference attendees. “There are rules, there are regulations, there are models, there’s research and there are dollars that have flowed into [other] professional and amateur sports like no other condition that’s ever been presented. The long-term implications are serious, and we still don’t know a lot about the long-term implications of head injury.” But, Mattacola cautioned, “U.S. horse racing is only one of the only organized [sports] that really doesn’t have a complete, comprehensive concussion plan. Some of the challenges are similar to any profession. There’s a resistance to change, particularly if that change involves the potential for additional dollars or for a [national regulatory] structure that may not be there.” But Mattacola is realistic that sweeping change does not come quickly to any industry, even when the benefits are backed up by supporting data. In that spirit, he urged the racing industry to take a “start locally and grow globally” approach to phasing in the key points of the protocols he developed based on his ongoing, years-long study of jockey injuries. That’s exactly what Mattacola did when he helped the state of Kentucky implement a pilot concussion management program for jockeys at the state’s Thoroughbred tracks over the last three years. Part of that work centered on establishing baselines for more than 130 Kentucky-based jockeys on various Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) tests so that responding medical professionals would have comparative data available to check in the event that one of those jockeys sustained a head injury in a race. Keeneland, Mattacola said, later made having the SCAT baseline info on file at the track a requirement for jockeys who wished to ride there. Yet while some jurisdictions have other forms of “return to riding” requirements in place to ensure a jockey is safe to resume racing after a spill, not enough tracks employ a dedicated medical professional on staff to oversee that protocol and to collect further accident data that can help shape more effective future policies, Mattacola said. “So one of the challenges with not having a medical professional in place at the tracks is [that injury data reported to the JID is] haphazard, to say the least,” Mattacola said. Although the hiring of a dedicated, on-track medical director and/or an athletic trainer can be a significant expense, such a medical professional would provide day-to-day acute care (from both jockeys and backstretch personnel), handle referrals to required specialists, and ensure the accurate reporting of JID data that will better inform future industry decisions. Associations that do invest in on-site medical personnel might also realize reduced costs related to workers’ compensation insurance, he added. Mattacola said he and the like-minded researchers on his team are constantly asking themselves, “How can we put this model in place so it’s sustainable?” Mattacola asserted: “The model rule has been established. Now is the hard part–getting it integrated and making it commonplace. And to me, that’s a change in culture, with constant repetition.” ‘Irish’ to Be Freshened; Motion Talks Training Trends at Safety Summit Trainer H. Graham Motion reported Wednesday that MGSW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Irish War Cry (Curlin) is “absolutely fine” but “won’t run again this summer.” The news came eleven days after the colt was pulled up and vanned off the track in the GI Stephen Foster H. at Churchill Downs. Irish War Cry had difficulty handling the stifling 90-plus degree Louisville heat on June 16, and Motion did not shy away from using that disquieting experience as a lead-in to a Q&A session titled “Role of the Trainer in Racehorse Safety” at Wednesday’s eighth Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit at Keeneland Race Course. “I regret running him the other night, to be honest,” Motion admitted. “I was upset with myself [afterwards]. Hindsight’s 20/20, but I really felt that it was going to cool off once the sun went down. I was there myself because I wanted to make the decision, and I just think I underestimated how hot it was, and it never cooled off. He really struggled with it.” Motion continued: “Horses can’t talk, and ultimately that’s the problem we have…. As trainers, we have to make that assumption. We are there to protect them. There’s no one else that can do that. And I think that becomes a tremendous responsibility. I take it very seriously. I do kick myself for running the other night. I think I put him in an awkward situation. I felt he would be able to deal with it, and he wasn’t.” The plan now for Irish War Cry? “We’ll wait to the fall for a cooler day,” Motion said. Motion, a winner of 2,309 races who is known for his patient approach, made numerous other thoughtful points during his hour as a featured speaker. Highlights included: On synthetic surfaces “I think there’s a big use for synthetic tracks. Even if it’s not necessarily used as a sole racing surface, I think it should be used as an alternate surface, perhaps. On rainy days when races come off the turf, it gives you a tremendous option…. As a training surface, it’s a great opportunity. I think it’s a shame [synthetic tracks have been largely phased out]. I know there’s been talk about possibly putting a synthetic track in New York, and I think it would be a huge asset…. I do think they have a place, [because] horses tend to come up with less injuries on them.” On the increasing number of turf opportunities for young horses “I think things have changed so much in the last 10 years. When I first started, we would go to Gulfstream, and I don’t believe we ran maidens on the grass at Gulfstream at that time. [But I do think there is a risk] of the grass being used so much these days [because] it’s a surface that cannot take the beating that a dirt course can take, and I do worry. The turf races fill very well, tracks are very keen to run turf races, they get big fields. But turf courses take a beating, and I do think that’s detrimental in the long run to the soundness and the safety of the horses, and I think that’s a problem that somehow we have to deal with. It actually interests me—I’m always slightly amused that [more owners] aren’t looking to go out and buy grass horses early on, because there is so much money in grass racing. There are so many more opportunities than there used to be, without a doubt, than when I first started.” On the elongated spacing of races for top-level horses “Again, I think we balance a fine line as trainers. Much more is put into our records, our own personal statistics, whether it’s percentages or just wins. So I think we tend to be a bit more conservative with placing horses. But I also think we probably know a little but more today scientifically about how long it take a horse to recover from a race to be at their optimum, and often we’re pointing for big races. I mean, if I want to run a horse in the Breeders’ Cup in November, I probably want that to be no more than its fifth or sixth start [of the season] if I want to get it there in what I feel is its best condition. Because you run the risk of a horse…being ‘over the top’ once they get to the Breeders’ Cup.” View the full article

Mark Johnston is confident his Investec Derby (G1) runner-up Dee Ex Bee can get the better of hot favorite Saxon Warrior again when the pair meet in Saturday's Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (G1). View the full article

Del Mar will offer three new bets for its 36-day summer meet, which begins Wednesday, July 18: an early pick four with a $0.50 minimum starting each day in Race 2; a late pick five on the day’s last five races, also with a $0.50 minimum bet; and a $2 Win, Place, Show Parlay available for a minimum of two races and maximum of six. “We’ve got something for everyone this year,” said Del Mar’s Director of Mutuels, Bill Navarro. “And with the updated tax wagering rules (installed at the end of 2017) that have significantly reduced IRS reporting and withholding now firmly in place and expediting betting on all fronts, we’re expecting a fine summer at the pari-mutuel windows all around.” View the full article

Breeders’ Cup has named four new celebrity ambassadors who will promote and serve as spokepersons for the 2018 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held at Churchill Downs Nov. 2 and 3. The new ambassadors are television host Chris Harrison, NHL defenseman and horse owner Erik R. Johnson, actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler (whose parents are the principals of New York-based Winning Move Stable) and former English footballer and horse owner Michael Owen. “I am excited to join a fantastic list of individuals as a Breeders’ Cup Ambassador,” said Harrison, who hosts the hit reality TV show The Bachelor and who was a TVG Network host when the racing channel launched in 1999. “I’ve attended Breeders’ Cup, and I really enjoy watching the outstanding showcase of international Thoroughbred racing, as well as the fun and energy at the event. I look forward to supporting the Breeders’ Cup for many years to come.” Breeders’ Cup President and CEO Craig Fravel added, “We are excited to introduce a new group of ambassadors to the Breeders’ Cup family. From actors to former football players, these new ambassadors diversify our program with their many talents and backgrounds, and their shared passion for Breeders’ Cup and horse racing enriches the fan experience. We look forward to sharing their enthusiasm with fans across the world.” View the full article