Wandering Eyes

A proud John Moore hopes more international travel is on the agenda for Werther after the horse proved he belongs on the world stage with his gallant second in Sunday’s Group One Takarazuka Kinen in Japan. The champion trainer had plenty of emotion in his voice after finishing a neck behind Mikki Rocket, disappointed at missing out on the main prize but full of pride for a horse who battled his heart out. “I don’t like running second, but from a Hong Kong point of view we... View the full article

Co-trainer Tom Dabernig has mapped out a plan of action for his dual Group 1 winner Vega Magic (Aus) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) that will hopefully see the 5-year-old line up for a second tilt at The Everest at Randwick in October. Vega Magic was second in the inaugural running of that race to Redzel (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) last year but has been a bit disappointing in three efforts since then including when finishing mid division in the G1 Darley Goodwood at Morphettvile last time out in May. Dabernig trains Vega Magic along with David and Ben Hayes and the team have chosen the G3 Bletchingly S. at Caulfield at the end of July as a stepping stone back into Group 1 company with a potential repeat win in the G1 Memsie S. also on the radar. “The plan is to run him on the 28th of July in the Bletchingly,” Dabernig told Racing And Sports. “Then we’ll probably go to the Memsie again and The Everest hopefully. I think he’s the right horse for it and I think we saw that last year. His last couple of runs haven’t quite been what we know he can do but certainly we haven’t lost any faith,” he added. Vega Magic has been lightly raced this year and is entitled to improve on his first and only 2018 start when beaten four lengths in the Goodwood and while Dabernig would like to see the gelding get his head in front in Caulfield, further improvement from his next start should also be forthcoming. “We gave him three weeks complete paddock rest after The Goodwood and then he’s been going in the paddock during the day but he’s back doing a little bit of fast work this week. He won’t need a big showy trial but he’ll just cruise into the Bletchingly and use the race to bring him on,” he said. View the full article

Champion Hong Kong stayer Werther has fallen agonisingly short of what would have been a historic victory in Sunday’s Group One Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin, Japan. A neck was all that separated John Moore’s superstar from the winner Mikki Rocket at the end of the 2,200m feature, but the effort again highlighted the six-year-old’s courage after an interrupted preparation. The 2015-16 Horse of the Year was sidelined for three months after bleeding from both nostrils when second... View the full article

Champion Hong Kong stayer Werther has fallen agonisingly short of what would have been a historic victory in Sunday’s Group One Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin. A neck was all that separated John Moore’s superstar from the winner Mikki Rocket at the end of the 2,200m feature, but the effort again highlighted the six-year-old’s courage after an interrupted preparation. The 2015-16 Horse of the Year was sidelined for three months after bleeding from both nostrils when second in the... View the full article

Coolmore's Merchant Navy beat City Light by a head June 23 at Royal Ascot to win his second start for new trainer Aidan O'Brien, as favored Harry Angel ran 11th of 12. View the full article

Undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify, who broke his maiden at Santa Anita Park Feb. 18, paraded at the Arcadia, Calif., racetrack June 23 in front an announced crowd of 17,403. View the full article

Tests on a backstretch worker at Belmont Park determined he did not die from a rare case of hantavirus, though the situation has led the New York Racing Association to step up efforts to address a rodent infestation problem at the facility. View the full article

American Anthem appeared to be primed for an easy trip to the wire in the $250,000 San Carlos Stakes (G2), but St. Joe Bay made him earn the head victory June 23 at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

Hotshot Anna poured it on and opened up to a 5 3/4-length victory margin in a track-record time of 1:20.93 on the all-weather surface. View the full article

Tests on a backstretch worker at Belmont Park determined he did not die from a rare case of hanatavirus disease, though the situation has led the New York Racing Association to step up efforts to address a rodent infestation problem at the facility. View the full article

Originally these “Tips of the Top Hat” after the five-day Royal Meeting at Ascot were entitled Down The Stretch Awards, but since the Ascot home stretch is uphill, I have renamed these presentations as the Up The Stretch Awards, also known as the “Stretchies.” BEST PERFORMANCE BY A HORSE: She won’t get the headlines she deserves, but 3-year-old Alpha Centauri (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) blitzed 12 competitors in The G1 Coronation S., which has been on the Royal Ascot menu since 1840. She lowered the track record by more than a second, and gave me the impression of a grey blur that might just beat the boys, if given fast ground and a very good rider. She will win many more major events. HEAD SCRATCHER AWARDS: Why do so many horses have to be blindfolded? Awards to all of the gate handlers who have to put up with unruly steeds who are not properly trained to go into the big iron monster. Seemed like one or two needed that hood on in every bloody heat! BEST PERFORMANCE BY A JOCKEY: Even though Ryan Moore had the most winners in this five-day super meet, I thought that the ride Frankie Dettori gave Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) made all the difference–especially considering this was over two miles and four furlongs! It has been 26 years since he won his first of five Gold Cups, and this ride was his best. Frankie saved all the ground he could, while hugging the rail and not tipping his hand until the bell clanged as the field came into the home straight (is that bell to warn jocks that the finish is just up the hill?). This was The G1 Gold Cup. Not The Ascot Gold Cup. It was the G1 Gold Cup. In a dramatic three-horse photo finish after 20 furlongs, give the smallest trophy of the meet (the actual Gold Cup) to Dettori, he deserved it. LINE OF THE WEEK: There were two terrible crashes at Ascot this week. On late Thursday, an old-time high carriage carrying a dozen racegoers (all with blankets around their legs, even though it was more than 75 degrees!) pulled by a team of horses bolted on high street, careening into a local shop. It was a miracle no human or horse was injured. There was also a crash in a nearby parking lot. We heard it twice. When a wag in the press box heard about those crashes, he muttered, “I hope it was Ryan Moore, that was the only way I can get back at him for the money I lost on him this week!” And he said it again. It wasn’t Moore. He won the Ritz trophy, at least that’s what old timers call the champion rider award. BEST PERFORMANCE BY A TRAINER: Again, not the most conditioner with the most wins, but a salute to Sir Michael Stout. He damned near beat Aidan O’Brien in number of wins with a small fraction of O’Brien’s entries. He is the person with the most wins of anyone (79) in the history of the Royal Meeting. He is a treasure at age 73, and keeps on training excellent bloodstock. WHY BOTHER AWARD: I saw at least three races where the inquiry sign should have been posted. I think Saturday’s G1 Diamond Jubilee S. certainly deserved another look by the stewards, and I believe Bound For Nowhere (The Factor) should have been moved up into second or first place. This, of course, would have provoked a riot, if you can imagine this happening with the top hat and tail crowd. BEST DESSERT OF THE WEEK: In the press box, clotted cream and strawberry jam on airy rolls. Why can’t we get clotted cream in the USA? DAD OF THE WEEK: Last year it was the late Scat Daddy. With Father’s Day still in our minds, the offspring of Sea The Stars had a tremendous week in Berkshire. Besides Stradivarius winning the G1 Gold Cup, Crystal Ocean was the easiest winner of the week. Congratulations Pop! BEST RACECALLER: Nice to hear Mark Johnson calling races in Great Britain. Mark was at Churchill Downs for several years, and now his crisp commentary is heard here at various tracks and on ITV. JOHN HENRY AWARD (for old timers): God bless Queen Elizabeth II, at age 92, at the races every day, greeting people, always asking for advice on breeding and joking with jockeys on the presentation stand. She was also in the walking ring for every one of the runners this week who raced in her famous colors. SEE YOU NEXT YEAR AWARD: To Frankie Dettori at age 47 who is a fan favorite and great ambassador for this very big sport in a very small country. Fortunately, he has no plans to retire. Congratulations to the 2018 “Stretchie” winners. View the full article

Aushorse next after Autumn Assault passes turf test View the full article

Finnegal gets on Goalsheet at Kranji View the full article

Horses' body weights June 24 View the full article

Track conditions and course scratchings June 24 View the full article

Early scratchings June 24 View the full article

Star Jack shines for Takaoka-Placais team View the full article

Elite Invincible hands Walker first Singapore Group 1 win View the full article

Moments like these beat surfing for Rodd View the full article

Southern Spur by a neck in blanket finish View the full article

Only a winner by a neck May 11 in a first-level allowance last time out at Belmont Park, the result was clear as day for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Head of Plains Partners' Shahroze (IRE) in his stakes debut at Woodbine June 23. View the full article

Gary Broad's Core Beliefs came with a late surge and spoiled the bid of favored Lone Sailor June 23 to win the $500,000 Ohio Derby (G3) at Thistledown. View the full article

Nestled on a dead-end street about 20 miles from downtown Seattle in Redmond, Wash. is a facility every horse person dreams of. Passing a training track with a view of the numerous barns on the property as you drive in the gate, the Pegasus Training and Rehabilitation Center is a state of the art facility that provides services from breaking horses to rehabilitation and everything in between. Countless horses have visited the facility for a variety of reasons, including champions Shared Belief and Blind Luck, with the 12-year-old farm having an abundance of amenities for every horse, but it is rehabilitating horses that is one of the true passions of owner Dr. Mark DeDomenico and his staff. “The attitude that we have is that if there’s something that’s not working for anybody else, we want a crack at it,” said Mike Puhich, Pegasus’s trainer and Director of Horse Operations. “We don’t think there’s a horse we can’t help. I know that’s [our consulting vet] Dr. McIlwraith’s attitude. There’s not a horse he can’t fix, there’s not a life Dr. Mark can’t save, and there’s not a horse we can’t fix at the farm. Maybe it sounds arrogant, but one thing about it is the effort’s there and we’re dang sure going to try.” Following that thought, DeDomenico has made sure his team has exactly what they need to help any horse who makes the trip to Pegasus. Located just beyond the far turn of Pegasus’s five furlong training track, the rehabilitation division has multiple barns with large stalls and numerous paddocks, but that is just the start of what’s to be found. Also within the fences of the rehabilitation division are a host of diagnostic and rehabilitation facilities from the Nuclear Scintigraphy machine, which allows staff to catch bone injuries that may not show up on x-ray, to a building that holds the Pegasus swimming pool, water treadmill and an indoor Eurociser. For horses who have to take their recovery process a little slower, equipment such as the Hyperbaric Chamber and Vibration Plate work their magic. While those taking advantage of the rehabilitation services at Pegasus come in all breeds and sizes, the racehorses based at the farm also take advantage of the high-tech equipment just a few furlongs from the barns where they’re housed. Puhich says that the training program for the racehorses has the same objective as any racing program in the world but does admit having the facilities at Pegasus does make some things a little easier. “It’s not rocket science, you want to get your horses as physically fit as you can and as healthy as you can and as mentally healthy as you can,” he said. “We have a lot of tools to work with but the objective is the same. Having the swimming pool and being able to change things up by taking a horse that’s getting tired of the same old routine out to ride on the trails and go swim for a couple of days helps. So, the amenities we have are different but the objective is the same.” As for why it is so important to have a farm like Pegasus on the west coast, Puhich points to an example of the time it takes to travel to Seattle versus the East Coast for West Coast clients wanting to see how their horses are training. “When you’re on the West Coast and want to see your horse gallop and how its going as its being broke, you’re traveling a whole day getting there, then you’re there watching them train for a whole day then you’re traveling the next day coming home, so the quickest you’re traveling is three days,” Puhich explained. “Being in southern California, for example, if you want to see your horse here, you leave out of Burbank at 7a.m., you watch your horse train, you have lunch then you’re home for dinner.” Though Pegasus is nearly as far northwest as you can get in the continental United States, that hasn’t stopped horses from around the country shipping in to take advantage of its facilities. Racehorses from around the country have visited Pegasus for their rehabilitation and training needs with Puhich hoping that one day more operations around the country will offer horse owners what Pegasus has. “We have horses who come from Kentucky for rehab, we’ve had horses come from New York, we have sport horses who have come from all over the country,” he said. “I think it’s important to have what we have as kind of a guideline for what other places should start implementing. West Coast, Midwest, anywhere, I think it’s important to have a facility like ours and I think we’re fortunate there is something like this out here. I think it’s nice to see someone like Dr. Mark who is passionate enough to be out here with the way the industry’s going right now. He’s out here and he’s trying to fix things and get horses rehabbed and keep the longevity in racehorses. I’d like to see more people follow our lead.” View the full article

Core Beliefs (Quality Road–Tejati, by Tactical Advantage) covered all the ground throughout and surged late to tag favored Lone Sailor (Majestic Warrior) on the line at odds of 5-2 in the GIII Ohio Derby at Thistledown. Trigger Warning (Candy Ride {Arg}) was third. Core Beliefs, a maiden winner in his two-turn debut at Santa Anita Mar. 8, was a distant third in the GI Santa Anita Derby and second-best as the favorite in the GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont May 12. Sales history: $45,000 yrl ’16 FTKOCT; $350,000 2yo ’17 BARMAR. Lifetime Record: 6-2-1-3. O-Gary Broad; B-Thomas J. Young (Ky); T-Peter Eurton. View the full article

Coolmore's Merchant Navy beat City Light by a head to win his second start under new trainer Aidan O'Brien. View the full article