Wandering Eyes

Canterbury Park officials recently announced enhanced incentives to lure trainers and owners with race-ready Thoroughbreds to the Shakopee, Minn. racetrack. View the full article

Not on the radar for most British punters, Angers gets top billing on Monday. A city in western France of just 150,000 inhabitants, the racecourse itself plays host to all types of racing, flat jumps and even trot. For this Monday’s fixture though racing fans will have to settle for three chases and followed by […] The post French Racing Preview – Angers Racecourse 11th February appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost. Farewell to the legend Douglas Whyte – @LeeMingDonald The parade ring was as full as it ever is for the final race of a meeting, packed with punters wanting to give Douglas Whyte an appropriate send-off after all he had achieved. Now, it is fair to say the grizzled punters at Sha Tin can be fickle – this is the same group of people who booed the 13-time... View the full article

Me Tsui Yu-sak’s Telecom Brothers has been somewhat of a surprise packet this season with three wins and connections are in line for an added bonus if the astute trainer can extract one more victory from the four-year-old. The Hong Kong Airlines Million Challenge concludes at Happy Valley on Wednesday night and Telecom Brothers is within reach of the HK$650,000 first prize. The gelding sits in third place on 55 points, behind only Country Star (66) and Red Warrior (64), but with the John... View the full article

With five different leaders in the final round, it was a fast-and-furious finish to the 20th NTRA National Horseplayers Championship (NHC), presented by Racetrack Television Network, STATS Race Lens and Treasure Island Las Vegas. In the end, the 34-year-old, first-time qualifier Scott Coles picked an 11-1 winner in the penultimate race of the tournament that vaulted him to victory and an $800,000 first-prize award. The Chicago-based futures trader has been handicapping for less than a decade and playing tournaments only for the past 2 1/2 years. “It was my first NHC, and navigating through it was interesting,” Coles said with a laugh. “I didn’t know how to bet on the machines, I didn’t know where anything was. But once I got comfortable, it was just handicapping, and I was fortunate enough to have the right horse at the right time.” Coles’s strategy through the tournament was to just pick winners, regardless of price. “I was just trying to play the best horse as much as possible,” he said. “A lot of people were playing long shots, but I was trying to not watch the odds as much, pick winners and keep moving up, knowing that if you get to the Final Table, how close the pack was, anything could happen. I was playing smaller fields where other people wouldn’t. If I saw a price in a small field, you’d have a higher probability of winning in my opinion. I was doing what I do at work–running the numbers and figuring probabilities instead of trying to out-handicap some of the greatest handicappers in the world. I hope to get to that level some day, but for now I just have to rely on strategy and being a competitor.” Coles amassed a bankroll of $367 over the three-day tournament, besting runner-up Jim Meeks at $356.60. Meeks, Joe Perry, Steven Simonovic and J. Randy Gallo all took turns leading in the final round, which was comprised of seven mandatory races, the last of which was the scratch-depleted finale at Santa Anita. That put added emphasis on the race prior, the eighth at Golden Gate, and Coles positioned himself for the win by selecting the 11-1 I Love Romance (Black Seventeen). He then sealed victory by picking the short-priced winner of the final race. Rounding out the tournament’s Top 10 was Jim Meeks, Mathew Vagvolgyi, J. Randy Gallo, Steven Simonovic, Joe Perry, last year’s champion Chris Littlemore, Robert Gilbert, Marshall Gramm, and Frank Drew. An attorney, Coles said that, with the $800,000 score, paying off his law-school loans was high on the list of priorities. “But honestly the championship itself means the most,” he said. “Winning a prestigious tournament like this is a dream.” Gramm Checks in Ninth at NHC It’s been a big year in Thoroughbred racing for Marshall Gramm. The economics professor and co-founder of Ten Strike Racing was represented by the stable’s first Grade I winner last June when Long On Value (Value Plus) won the GI Highlander S. at Woodbine. His homebred Dot Matrix (Freud) became a stakes winner a month later. Then in November, Gramm and his Ten Strike partners sold Divine Elegance (Uncle Mo), a $50,000 claim, for $750,000 in foal to Tapit at Fasig-Tipton November. Gramm capped things off with a huge run at the NHC. As one of only four people to have both of their entries make the semi-final–or top 67 entries–Gramm came into Sunday’s action as a Top 10 performer and was in 7th as they moved on to the Final Table. He wasn’t able to make up any ground on the leaders in the final round, though, and checked in ninth. “Listen, I feel blessed–I’ve had a great year,” he said. “I feel very thankful for my partners at Ten Strike Racing, especially my founding partner Clay Sanders. We’ve had a lot of fun. And there are a lot of people that take part in the process. Our trainers, our stable manager and agent Liz Crow, and then there are all my friends who help me with handicapping. The one great thing about the NHC is that it’s a horseplayers convention. I came here five years ago with Clay and another buddy, and the second year I came back, I knew no one. I’d got out to dinners by myself. Now, some of my closest friends are people I met here. I really enjoy that aspect of this event.” Gramm will hope to keep the momentum rolling on Saturday with recent stakes winner Harlan Punch (Harlan’s Holiday), who goes in the GIII Mineshaft S. at Fair Grounds. Connections have said that a good effort punches his ticket to the $1.5 million G2 Godolphin Mile in Dubai Mar. 30. Lookin At Lee Owners Take NHC Ride Michael Levinson didn’t make much of an impact on the leaderboard during his NHC run, but the Tulsa, Oklahoma resident cashed a long series of side bets at the Treasure Island ballroom. More importantly, he had a weekend to remember alongside his father Lee, who accompanied him to the NHC. The Levinsons are more familiar to the racing world as the owners of Lookin At Lee (Lookin At Lucky), who ran second to Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) in the 2017 Kentucky Derby at odds of 33-1. Levinson narrowly missed the NHC cut by finishing 21st in the live-money Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge at Churchill Downs, but a defection bumped them into the Top 20 and earned them a trip to Vegas. It was Levinson’s first NHC appearance. “We’re having a great time,” said Levinson. “My dad’s been taking me to the track since I was five, and we handicap together quite a bit.” Lee and Michael Levinson race under the banner of L & N Racing, which they operate with Michael’s brother, Andrew, and Don Nelson, a family friend from the Tulsa area. Michael is L & N’s racing manager. The Levinsons are primarily involved in the oil and gas industry. Lee, an attorney, also co-owns a cigarette-manufacturing company. Lee has owned horses for over three decades, but L & N was formed just four years ago. “Lookin At Lee was from our first crop of horses,” said Michael. The Levinsons do most of their own selection at auction, with Lookin At Lee’s trainer Steve Asmussen offering advice, as well. They found Lookin At Lee at the Penn Sales consignment and secured him for a modest $70,000. “That was the first time we’d been to a sale and we really didn’t know what we were doing, but we liked him when he came out and he was in our price range, so we took a shot on him,” said Michael. That shot paid off in spades. Lookin At Lee was a stakes winner at two, ran second in both the GIII Iroquois S. and GI Breeders’ Futurity, and then was fourth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. At three, he was third in the GIII Southwest S. and GI Arkansas Derby before nearly overcoming the dreaded one hole in the Derby. He was beaten 2 3/4 lengths by Always Dreaming, with a five-length gap back to Battle of Midway (Smart Strike). “Coming around the turn he was in 16th or 17th and passed most of the field, and it was the first horse in 20-plus years to place from the one post,” said Michael. “It was an incredible experience and we hope to get back again.” Lookin At Lee raced five times in 2018, winning a Churchill allowance on the Derby undercard, but was given some time off to address a breathing problem following a fourth in the Michael G. Schaefer Memorial S. at Indiana Downs in July. Asmussen’s father Keith handled the lay-up duties. Lookin At Lee now has a series of four- and five-furlong drills at Sam Houston. “He’ll probably start in an optional allowance at Oaklawn with the ultimate goal being the GI Oaklawn H.,” said Michael. “He ran fifth last year and just missed third by half a length, but City of Light and Accelerator aren’t there this year.” Lookin At Lee has earned in excess of $1.1 million. The Levinsons hope to make a more international splash this spring with the 3-year-old colt Tone Broke (Broken Vow), who after starting his career in the States, shipped over for the Dubai World Cup Carnival. Tone Broke, who is trained by Asmussen, won a maiden special and allowance race at Remington Park last fall. Fourth in the Springboard Mile, he reemerged in the deserts of Dubai and came home sixth in his initial go in a Meydan conditions event Jan. 24. “He’ll run again Mar. 9, and if he runs better, hopefully can make the G2 UAE Derby,” said Michael. “He’s a Canadian-bred, too, so we’ve got some options there.” Tone Broke was a $40,000 Keeneland September grad. L & N ramped up its buying at the sales last year, landing eight yearlings in total. At September, they purchased a Speightstown half-brother to the GSW J Boys Echo (Mineshaft) for $100,000 and a Ghostzapper colt from a half to GISW Shaman Ghost (Ghostzapper) for $130,000. “And we’ve got yearlings by American Pharoah, City Zip, and Lookin at Lucky,” said Michael. “Steve’s dad is breaking the horses in Laredo.” For Lee, the allure of racing is simple. “We just like the thrill of it all,” he said. View the full article

It was apparent immediately after the break that jockey Joel Rosario had a clear plan aboard Del Secco DCS Racing's Sparky Ville in the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes (G2) Feb. 10 at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

With the Kentucky Derby still 12 weeks away, the pari-mutuel field of "All Other 3-Year-Olds" closed as the 5-2 favorite in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and the unbeaten champion 2-year-old Game Winner was the 5-1 second choice. View the full article

Trainer Bret Calhoun scored his 3,000th career victory Feb. 10 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots when Douglas Scharbauer's Most Mischief got the best of a blanket photo finish in the eighth race. View the full article

Sparky Ville (g, 3, Candy Ride {Arg}–Lorelei K, by Storm Cat) upset the more-fancied Bob Baffert duo, closing furiously to splash ahead of Dessman (Union Rags) in the final strides as 3-5 favorite Coliseum (Tapit) toiled home a distant third in the GII San Vicente S. at Santa Anita Sunday. Sent off at 7-1, the chestnut gelding chased the pacesetters from the rail as Coliseum rushed up after a slow start to press Savagery (Bellamy Road) on the front end. Coliseum and Dessman moved in tandem to overtake the pacesetter at the top of the stretch, with Coliseum quickly flattening out and leaving his stablemate to sail clear. But Sparky Ville uncorked a powerful late rally to just get a head in front on the line, completing the seven furlongs in 1:21.93. Sparky Ville, a maiden winner at Santa Anita last June, was second behind Instagrand (Into Mischief) in the GII Best Pal S. and sixth in the GI Del Mar Futurity before returning to the winner’s circle in the 6 1/2-furlong Sunny Slope S. He was third behind Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) in the Nov. 17 GIII Bob Hope S. and was returning to the main track after finishing sixth in the Dec. 28 Eddie Logan S. last time out. Breeder Aaron Jones purchased Lorelei K, a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Graeme Hall (Dehere) and Harmony Lodge (Hennessy), for $1.5-million at the 2007 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The unraced mare died in 2017. Sparky Ville RNA’d for $170,000 at KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 8-3-1-2, $257,770. O-Del Secco DCS Racing. B-Aaron & Marie Jones LLC (Ky). T-Jeff Bonde. View the full article

Child's Play: Review of weekend's eye-catchers View the full article

Four days after British racing was placed on lockdown after the first three of a total six horses tested positive for equine influenza, a further four positive tests have been returned from the yard of trainer Simon Crisford in Newmarket. More to follow. View the full article

It’s official: The Saratoga Race Course meet will be starting earlier than ever in 2019, on July 11. It took the pending construction of a massive hockey arena some 150 feet from the Belmont Park paddock to push the New York Racing Association (NYRA) into a safety-related scheduling switch, but the issue of extending Saratoga’s historic race meet has been openly debated as an inevitability for years. The chief arguments against tinkering with America’s premier boutique meet have always been aesthetic: Does too much of a good thing cease to be a “good thing” if stretched too thin? Will Saratoga’s vibe, ambience, charm, and racing product all suffer to some watered-down degree now that the season will last nearly eight weeks? From an economic standpoint though, the earlier start seems to make sense because of the breathing room it affords the overall racing calendar. By keeping the number of race dates at 40 while building in a one-week earlier start date, NYRA has attempted to choose a minimally disruptive path toward elongating the Spa’s season. Opening week will feature four dates of racing; closing week will have six (winding up on Labor Day as in recent seasons), and the weeks in between will all feature five-day weeks, with Mondays and Tuesdays now dark. Barring adverse weather, any July week of racing at Saratoga is bound to out-handle Belmont. And not having to fill an extra ten races per week should result in more robust field sizes. Saratoga had been the last major-meet holdout to six-day race weeks, and the strain showed in recent seasons, both in terms of quality and quantity. Adjusting to primarily five-day weeks in a sensible move. Although the Saratoga stakes schedule has yet to be announced, the extra week could theoretically help certain divisions, particularly the trio of male and female 2-year-old graded dirt races that are traditionally run on opening and closing weekends, plus a middle weekend in between. Juveniles can now more realistically target two of the races in that series, and there should be additional maiden-breakers generated to help fill the ranks. The Saratoga season annually means long days for backstretch workers, and the additional non-racing day each week should afford everyone behind the scenes a bit of a breather. Finding rental housing in and around town will probably get a touch tighter and expensive for anyone who has to work the entire meet, and there could be logistical problems for racetrackers who already entered lease agreements based on last season’s template of rental dates. Away from the track, the business community is generally all for the earlier start because that means more customers in restaurants, bars, and hotel rooms. But a skim of the upstate New York news coverage on the expanded season does reveal that some business owners are concerned about finding and retaining good help in an already tight labor market. Regardless of what happens at the Spa, there will still be ripple-effect issues at Belmont. Construction on the arena could mean late-afternoon twilight post times, and a portion of the Belmont fall meet could get shifted to Aqueduct. These woes could last for at least two years. When the concept of a $1-billion hockey arena next to Belmont was announced in December 2017, NYRA officials were quick to tout how great the “partnership” between the arena and the racetrack would be. It was telling, though, that the words “horse racing” were never mentioned once by New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo or any representative from the arena at that hastily arranged press conference in Belmont’s unheated Turf and Field Club. It’s not much of a partnership if both sides don’t recognize and respect the other’s role. Chris Kay, who at the time was NYRA’s president and chief executive officer, told TDN the day the arena deal was unveiled that “this is a very significant and historic day for racing.” He also said he hoped that horsemen’s concerns over construction interfering with racing and training would be “minimal.” Kay abruptly resigned from his position last month for reasons that have not been officially disclosed. Let’s hope his overly enthusiastic predictions don’t turn out to be prophetic for the wrong reasons. Even though the media focus right now is on the expanded Saratoga season, the long-term headaches for historic Belmont could turn out to be more viable economic and aesthetic threats to the sport in New York than starting Saratoga one week earlier. Graveyard of (Davis) Favorites? In terms of the GI Kentucky Derby prep-race path, Tampa Bay Downs enjoys a comfortable niche as a B-level track capable of drawing A-level horses for its two top stakes races for aspiring sophomores. But in recent seasons, the GIII Sam F. Davis S. has not been kind to highly regarded layoff horses, as six of the last eight favorites for that stakes have gone down in defeat after Saturday’s 7-1 wire job by Well Defined (With Distinction). GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile runner-up Knicks Go (Paynter), backed to 19-10 in the betting, seemed primed to pounce while stalking in second for most of the race. But he never showed any true spark in the Davis, struggling home fifth. His stock as a Derby contender took a serious hit, accentuating the open question of whether or not he can replicate his long-shot heroics in Grade I races as a juvenile against a more seasoned cast of characters at age three. Tampa can be a tricky, quirky, steeply banked sand-based surface that often plays souped-up on big race days (the last two track records for 1 1/16 miles were set consecutively on Sam F. Davis and GII Tampa Bay Derby days in 2017). Anecdotally, Tampa also seems to generate no shortage of “didn’t like the track” excuses from trainers. But also-rans can take heart: Most recently, Catholic Boy (More Than Ready) was an odds-on loser in the 2018 edition of the Davis. Yet he flourished later in the season as a dual-surface Grade I winner on both turf and dirt, including a win in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga. ‘Dream’ Big in New Orleans Knicks Go burst onto the national radar last October with a 70-1 stunner in the GI Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. Ironically, Dream Maker (Tapit), the horse who was the beaten favorite in that race, came back off a four-month layoff to win a Fair Grounds allowance race on Saturday by a gaudy 8 1/2 lengths, re-asserting himself as a potential Classics threat. A John Oxley homebred whose female family traces several generations back to six-time Grade I winner and Eclipse Award winner Beautiful Pleasure, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Dream Maker broke his maiden on debut at Churchill Downs last June, was not badly beaten when fifth in the GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga, then lost all chance when stumbling badly at the break and getting rank in that debacle of a Keeneland stakes try. Firing fresh off the bench on Saturday as the 13-10 favorite, the Mark Casse-trained Dream Maker loped four wide on both turns, then inhaled five overmatched rivals under a moderate hand ride. “I don’t know if you saw, but after the race he took off, which speaks volumes for the future,” Casse told Horse Racing Nation Sunday. “If he is going to make the Derby–which we think he is a Derby horse–we kind of like the Tampa Bay Derby and then maybe the [GII] Blue Grass [S.]” View the full article

e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Mike Ryan’s Valid Point (c, 3, Scat Daddy–Goldbud, by Buddha) bound home a 1 1/2-length winner of his debut at Gulfstream Sunday. Shuffled back in traffic, the 8-5 favorite raced keenly along the rail from fourth. Tipped out for running room, the bay pulled his way into contention, ranged up three wide into the stretch and drew clear late despite racing greenly. He completed the one mile over the lawn in 1:36.23. Bar Harbor (Orb), who lacked running room in the stretch, was second and Readyforprimetime (More Than Ready) was third. Goldbud is a half-sister to Grade I winner Santa Teresita (Lemon Drop Kid). Valid Point was a $140,000 Keeneland September Yearling purchase. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $30,000. O-E Five Racing Thoroughbreds & Michael Ryan. B-Westwind Farms (Ky). T-Chad Brown. View the full article

Klaravich Stables’ Growth Engine (g, 3, Tapit–Wild Vision, by Wild Again), second behind Saturday’s newly named ‘TDN Rising Star’ Global Campaign (Curlin) in his seven-furlong debut at Gulfstream Park Jan. 5, stretched out to 1 1/16 miles and romped home an easy winner in Hallandale Sunday. The 6-5 favorite, caught four wide into the first turn, settled off the early pace. He ranged up four wide turning for home and grabbed command at the top of the lane before striding home a geared-down three-length winner, completing the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.23. Thetrashmanscoming (Take Charge Indy) was second and Ry’s the Guy (Distorted Humor) was third. Out of Wild Vision, Growth Engine is a half-brother to Grade I winner Pyro (Pulpit) and a full to graded stakes winner War Echo (Tapit). He was a $300,000 KEESEP yearling. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $39,460. O-Klaravich Stables. B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Ky). T-Chad Brown. View the full article

Several candidates for Oaklawn Park's Presidents Day stakes tripleheader recorded workouts on a cloudy, damp Sunday morning, including Gray Attempt, who breezed five furlongs in advance of the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds Feb. 18. View the full article

Danon Kingly became the latest black-type winner for his Shadai-based sire with a stalking win in the G3 Kyodo News Service Hai on Sunday. Several lengths off the pace in third from the bell as G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. hero Admire Mars led the vanguard, the 3-1 shot relaxed into fourth after five panels in 1:01.40, as favoured Admire Mars continued up top. Asked by Keita Tosaki 400 metres from the winning post, Danon Kingly responded immediately and snuck up the inside to win by 1 1/4 lengths over Admire Mars. Courageux Guerrier closed to take third four lengths back. Successful in a 2-year-old newcomer affair at Tokyo going a mile in October, Danon Kingly made it two consecutive wins after taking the Dec. 15 Hiiragi Sho going that trip at Nakayama. Pedigree Notes… The last reported foal out of the winning Storm Cat mare My Goodness, Danon Good (Jpn) is the mare’s second Japanese Group 3 winner after G3 Capella S. hero Danon Legend (Macho Uno). My Goodness’s second dam is juvenile filly champ Caressing (Honour and Glory), who’s biggest claim to fame was a win in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Grade I winner Sea Cadet (Bolger) is under the fourth dam. Sunday, Tokyo, Japan KYODO NEWS SERVICE HAI-G3, ¥72,360,000 (US$659,114/£509,370/€ 582,160), Tokyo, 2-10, 3yo, 1800mT, 1:46.80, fm. 1–DANON KINGLY (JPN), 123, c, 3, Deep Impact (Jpn) 1st Dam: My Goodness, by Storm Cat 2nd Dam: Caressing, by Honour and Glory 3rd Dam: Lovin Touch, by Majestic Prince 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Danox Inc.; B-Mishima Bokujo (Jpn); T-Kiyoshi Hagiwara; J-Keita Tosaki. ¥38,252,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0. *1/2 to Danon Legend (Macho Uno), GSW-Jpn, $3,324,208; and Danon Good (Jpn) (Elusive Quality), SW-Jpn, $963,106. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Admire Mars (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Daiwa Major (Jpn)–Via Medici (Ire), by Medicean (GB). (¥52,000,000 Ylg ’17 JRHAJUL). O-Riichi Kondo; B-Northern Farm (Jpn). ¥15,072,000. 3–Courageux Guerrier (Jpn), 126, c, 3, Harbinger (GB)–Jumeau (Jpn), by Tanino Gimlet (Jpn). O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥9,536,000. Margins: 1 1/4, 4, 3/4. Odds: 3.20, 0.70, 5.90. Also Ran: Fossamagna, Guevara (Jpn), Madre Voice (Jpn), Naimama (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. JRA Video. View the full article

Several candidates for Oaklawn Park's Presidents Day stakes tripleheader recorded workouts on a cloudy, damp Sunday morning, including Gray Attempt who breezed five furlongs in advance of the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds Feb. 18. View the full article

5th-Gulfstream, $45,520, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 2-10, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:10.94, ft. ORRA MOOR (f, 3, Orb–Carleton Grinnell, by Royal Academy) overcame a tardy start to score by 3 1/4 lengths here Dec. 22, and was further flattered when a pair of also-rans returned to graduate. She was installed the 2-1 second choice behind Chad Brown-trained Break Curfew (Into Mischief), a debut winner at Belmont back in October who was cutting back off a seventh in the GII Golden Rod S. at Churchill in November. Slow to get going again, the big dark bay was pushed on into fourth leaving the backside as the chalk set the pace. Reeling in her foes willingly around the bend, she came to challenge for command while three deep at the quarter pole. Neither of the rivals to her inside had much of an answer for her, and she pulled away with big strides in the lane to run up the score to 7 3/4 lengths. Wildwood’s Beauty (Kantharos) bested Break Curfew for second. The winner is a half to Royal Song Dancer (Langfuhr), SW, $100,004. Her dam produced a colt by Orb in 2018 before being bred back to Fed Biz. Sales history: $180,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $50,400. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-StarLadies Racing; B-Edward H. Lane (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. View the full article

Several candidates for Oaklawn Park's Presidents Day stakes tripleheader recorded workouts on a cloudy, damp Sunday morning, including Gray Attempt who breezed five furlongs in advance of the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds Feb. 18. View the full article

Fresh off his first season as a licensed trainer, Dermot Magner has had the opportunity to do what many aspiring racing professionals can only dream of in this country, and that is to apprentice under two of the nation’s leading trainers. Since his arrival in the U.S. in 2012, the 39-year-old Irish horseman has done just that, serving as a foreman for seven-time Eclipse Award winner Todd Pletcher before becoming an assistant for the powerhouse operation of Chad Brown, who himself garnered Eclipse titles over the past three seasons. However, prior to that dream run, Magner developed the foundation of horsemanship in his own backyard, Rathkeale in Co. Limerick, Ireland. Bitten by the bug early, Magner’s passion for horses included a variety of disciplines, including point to point, steeplechase, in addition to a steady stream of buying and selling horses. In Saturday’s opener at Aqueduct, Magner notched the fifth win of his young career when Win the Shake (Shakin It Up) captured a maiden special weight event by 4 3/4 lengths. “Growing up, I’ve always been around horses,” Magner explained. “I always kept a few broodmares, had a pony for hunting, jumping, and it just kind of escalated from there. I became interested in racing when I was about 17.” Among his early stops in racing, Magner worked for renowned Irish horseman Frank Berry at The Curragh before a stint with top steeplechase trainer Michael Hourigan. “[Berry] was champion jockey in Ireland for many years and I got a great education there,” Magner said. “Not a lot about riding, but just general horsemanship and day-to-day work running a stable.” Casting an eye beyond the Irish borders, Magner ventured to England for a short spell with one of Europe’s most recognizable conditioners, John Gosden. “I’ve always been a great fan of John Gosden’s, so luckily, I got a chance to go to Newmarket for a couple of weeks. I have always been a great admirer of his and he’s probably one of the top trainers in the world. It was a brilliant experience.” Following that heady ride, Magner decided to make the jump to the U.S. and joined Godolphin’s string–charged with developing the operation’s young stock–in Aiken, South Carolina. “Horsemanship is horsemanship no matter what part of the world you’re in, but it’s a total different way of training over here,” explained Magner of his transition stateside. “You kind of bring your horsemanship skills, but you have to adjust. It’s a lot different here.” It was during his time in Aiken that he made the acquaintance of longtime Maktoum family-trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, a former assistant to Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Unable to take on the Irish import himself at that particular juncture, McLaughlin directed Magner to another former Lukas assistant, Todd Pletcher. “You know, it was a huge eye-opener for me,” recalled Magner, who joined Pletcher shortly after the 2013 GI Kentucky Derby. “I’d never seen anything like that in my life. That amount of horses and people, it was just mind-blowing for the first couple of weeks. The vans came in with all these beautifully-bred babies, and we would have sets of 15, 16, 17 horses coming out [in the mornings]. It took a lot to get used to it, but it was pretty special to be there.” A host of equine stars ascended to the highest level during Magner’s tenure with Team TAP, including GI Belmont S. champ Palace Malice (Curlin), GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Princess of Sylmar (Majestic Warrior), GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat), GI Wood Memorial and GI Haskell scorer Verrazano (More Than Ready) and Competitive Edge (Super Saver), victorious in the GI Hopeful S. “Horse after horse after horse, it was unbelievable,” recalled Magner of his time with Pletcher. “Just beautifully-bred, beautifully-trained, beautifully-conditioned horses. It was something special.” After spending a trio of Saratoga summer meetings with the prolific operation, Magner decided to take his own experience to the next level and landed a position overseeing Chad Brown’s Monmouth division for the next two seasons. “I think Chad is definitely one of the best trainers of fillies in the world,” affirmed Magner. “He’s won five [GI Breeders’ Cup] Juvenile Turf Fillies and four Filly & Mare Turf races. How he can get those fillies to peak and show up in the Breeders’ Cup–I think that’s just brilliant training and brilliant horsemanship. I think for me, that was one special thing that I took from his operation, how he strategically debuts these fillies late August, maybe early September, and then [targets races like] the Miss Grillo [Belmont], Jessamine [Keeneland] and then the Breeders’ Cup. For me, that was pretty special, just to see how that clicked.” Student Becomes the Teacher… Taking the next logical step to the training ranks early last year, Magner recorded his first victory with Hersh (Jimmy Creed) last August. “We debuted him at Belmont [July 6], but probably didn’t have him a 100% ready,” he admitted. “He finished second, actually, to a nice colt of Chad’s. We shipped him to Saratoga, had a breeze up there, and when the condition book came out, there was a seven-eighths maiden on [GI] Whitney Day [Aug. 11], so we pointed him there. Lucky enough, he won, and it’s a great thing to win a race, and to do it on Whitney Day was pretty special.” Currently, the Irishman has 10 head at Palm Meadows and another 12 at Belmont Park in New York and he is hopeful he can make some noise in 2019. Among his barn’s notables is Jacob Schnoor Jr’s Strong One (Dialed In), a runaway winner at Gulfstream Jan. 2. Magner is also high on Newtown Anner Stud’s She Takes Charge (Take Charge Indy), an impressive winner in her career debut at Aqueduct Dec. 23 before finishing third at that venue Jan. 26; unraced Safta (Dialed In), a $150,000 juvenile purchase at OBS last season; and Lutsky (Yes It’s True), campaigned by Down Neck Stables and Jeffrey Lutsky, a first-out winner for Jason Servis before joining Magner. “We’re pretty excited to get him running,” said Magner of Lutsky. “He won a maiden at Belmont last year the right way, needed some time off, but he’s back here now. He’s training well, and maybe I’ll start him in an allowance at Gulfstream. But he looks pretty nice horse, and he’s pretty exciting to have.” Already off to a solid start with a pair of victories under his belt early in the new year, Magner plans to build off that momentum through the ensuing season. “Rolling into 2019, [the plan is] just to keep working and keep building up the string,” he said. “I guess we’re all looking for that one good horse that can make a career.” While the search for that singular horse ensues, the saying ‘the best indicator of the future is what’s been done in the past’ appears to sum up what’s next for Magner. “I always had a horse at the end of a chain,” acknowledged Magner. And that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. View the full article

Jockey Robert Havlin is confident he will be back in time for the start of the Flat season next month after breaking his collarbone and fracturing a rib in a fall at Kempton on Wednesday. The 45-year-old was unshipped after Beehaar (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), his mount in the Move Over To Matchbook H., sustained a fatal injury when clipping heels with Lieutenant Conde (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) rounding a bend in the mile contest. As a result of the incident, which left Havlin spending a night in St George’s Hospital in Tooting, Charlie Bennett, rider of Lieutenant Conde, was given a 12-day ban for careless riding. Havlin said, “I knew I had done my collarbone and I thought I had also done my knee, which thankfully was just badly bruised. The whole side of my neck was numb when I was getting strapped to the board, but I was conscious the whole time. I got to [the] hospital and had the CT scan and when it said I broke my collarbone and it was nothing to do with my back and spine, I was relieved. Charlie rang me in hospital that night in bits about it. It is one of those things and the clock can’t be turned back now. “I’ve never broken a rib in my life and everyone who has says it is the worst pain, and I can vouch for that. I didn’t feel out of breath, but I was also told that part of my right lung was bruised and partially collapsed, but that would just go back to normal by itself. I should be back in six weeks and I’m confident I will be back for the start of the Flat season. I’m going to see a specialist in Cambridge on Monday to see if I need an operation on the collarbone, but that shouldn’t make any difference regarding the timescale of things.” Since sustaining the injury Havlin, who recorded his best yearly total in 2018 after riding 127 domestic winners, has received plenty of support from those closest to him to help keep his spirits up. He added, “I’ve been well looked after by the wife and John [Gosden] has not been off the phone since the injury. It is good to know you have that support from John, who is not just my boss but a good friend, while Barry O’Dowd and Gary Rothwell came up from the yard and saw me last night for a couple of hours. Paul Struthers [chief executive of the Professional Jockeys Association] and Henry Spiller [trainer] both came to hospital with me and they were great. All things considered with the equine flu, generally February is a quiet time to be off. I am very lucky though, as it could have been a lot worse and been my neck or spine.” View the full article

We hear the term “bug boy” and maybe we know where it originates. Maybe we don’t and have just accepted it as horse racing vernacular. But we definitely know what it signifies. The quirky phrase calls to mind the hustling young apprentice rider, fresh-faced and often young enough to still be in high school, forgoing that regular, carefree teenage life to fulfill the unique and specific dream of becoming a professional jockey. We know that, but we don’t necessarily know the depth of the sacrifices made, the meaning of the wins and losses of daily battle or the precariousness of the apprentice’s very existence. Patrick Gilligan, the father of now-22-year-old journeyman Jack Gilligan, provides that knowledge with a compelling, thorough retelling of the first year of Jack’s riding career in Around Kentucky With the Bug!, where he uses levity as well as vulnerable sincerity to elucidate the level of dedication required to break into American Thoroughbred racing. The Gilligans’ story is unique in many ways. For starters, Patrick Gilligan was born in the United States, but moved to Great Britain when he was five years old, where he grew up to to briefly become a jockey and then, for much longer, a trainer. He started with two yearlings he bought for a combined 2,000 pounds, one of which became a group stakes winner, but his career never took off the way he envisioned. That’s why, in 2014, with Jack starting out as a jockey and also unable to find his footing in a crowded British apprentice colony, the whole family–Patrick, his wife Vicky, Jack and a cat named Geri–picked up and moved to America to go all-in on Jack’s dream. “I had seen how it is for most horsemen there–stable staff, trainers, and jockeys. Most of them work hard every day, yet struggle to pay their bills,” Gilligan writes. “Royal Ascot is lovely; the big days are wonderful. But most days aren’t big days. Most days are going to Wolverhampton for one. Hours on the road, traffic, and if the horse wins, the rider’s and trainer’s percentages are next to nothing. Only a few trainers and jockeys make a good living from horse racing in the UK.” Of course, there was plenty of struggle to be found in America too. And driving. Lots and lots of driving. Getting on an airplane in late summer, the Gilligans settled in Lexington and bounced around to Indiana Grand, Belterra Park and even Mountaineer, driving rental cars thousands of miles in pursuit of mounts, any mounts, in those first few months. Gathering a bit of momentum, the family had high hopes going into the Keeneland Fall meet, but Jack managed just one fourth-place finish through the entire stand. Business picked back up during the Turfway winter meet, but slowed again in the spring as the bug got blanked again at Keeneland. Gilligan is funny in a way that comes from deep honesty, rooted in both traditional education and blue-collar wisdom, and he bares all in this book. He vacillates with every run past the post about whether or not he made the right decision in uprooting his family to return to a country he had all but forgotten. He also illuminates the experience of getting reacquainted with that country in a refreshing observational style, comparing the peculiarities and nuances between American racing and the sport in the UK. Gilligan is also well-versed in racing history, going back to the very beginning of Thoroughbred racing centuries ago, and does a good job of connecting much of that knowledge to the stories he tells from the sport’s present. After a successful summer that included an opportunity to ride at Del Mar as well as a 60-1 victory at Kentucky Downs to cap off an apprentice year that included over $1 million in purse earnings, the Gilligans feel relatively confident that they made the right decision to come to America. Now, they return home. But this time, it’s to their new home, in Lexington, Iooking for that elusive win at Keeneland. As far as criticism, there’s a bit of a tangential few chapters about American Pharoah’s Triple Crown that interrupts Jack’s story in a way that didn’t seem wholly necessary. Also, the title is inaccurate! This is truly a tale about getting around America with the bug. These are nitpicks. Overall, this is a captivating, page-turning insight into the life of an apprentice jockey that incorporates an array of other fascinating twists, told by a smart, relatable horseman and loving father in an easy to digest narrative. In authorship, Patrick Gilligan may have found his permanent career, just like he made sure Jack did. View the full article

The British Horseracing Authority will make a decision on Monday about when racing will resume amidst the equine influenza scare that began last week. Wednesday was pinpointed as the earliest possible date when the situation came to light last week, and veterinarians and trainers are continuing to work with the Animal Health Trust in testing racehorses. “I can tell you that in the last three days the Animal Health Trust has done as many flu swabs as they would do in a year,” The BHA’s director of equine health and welfare, David Sykes, told Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday programme. “They are working until 9 p.m. at night and working through Saturday and Sunday; they’ve done a great job. I would say we are looking at around 1500 [unconfirmed] samples have been carried out and all are negative so far. “In any infectious disease process the hardest decision is the very first one,” Sykes said. “You can’t go back if you make a mistake. If we’d said it was fine and had runners go to 15 other meetings that would have been very hard to control.” A prioritisation plan for testing is being adopted, which is based on the proximity of horses to a positive test, or to a yard returning a positive test. Swabs will continue to be collected and tested from other horses, but some are being fast-tracked. “It’s not my decision to make [when racing resumes]; it’s one for the veterinary committee so it wouldn’t be right for me to say,” Sykes said. “If everything came back negative today we’d be looking to move forward and start racing but we need to be confident we don’t undo all the good work by saying ‘let’s go racing’ if we’re not fully confident we’ve got everything covered. There could be a stage where we resume racing but some stables could still be in lockdown. That will be a decision for the veterinary committee. That may be painful for some but it could be a decision that is right for the industry.” Among those affected by the shutdown of racing is jockeys’ valet Chris Maude. “It’s obviously not great because I have five full-time employees,” the former jockey said. “I’ve been saying it’s a bit like bad weather–when you are off five or six days you do catch up. All those horses that were going to run then run somewhere else, but any longer than a week and we’ll be in serious trouble. I’m paying wages out, but I’m getting nothing in. “You always expect a few days of bad weather at this time of year, but if it gets beyond a week it’s not physically possible for the British Horseracing Authority to put on all the extra meetings. “We’re all in the same boat, but it seems like the initial panic has died down and, like everyone else, we’re hoping that all the tests continue to come back clear and we’ll be back by Wednesday or Thursday or at least by the weekend.” Jockeys’ agent Chris Broad said, “There are lots of people affected, not many jump jockeys have a retainer so it will soon start affecting them. It does no good people like me speculating when we think we might get going again, I’m not a foot solider doing the tests. If it’s just a week, then we’ve all got the chance to recharge our batteries–every cloud has a silver lining–but we’ve soon got bored in a couple of days. Lots of people are worse off than me. Look at the transport companies, they’ve got staff to pay but they aren’t turning any wheels over.” Former champion jumps trainer Michael Pipe said he thought it unlikely that racing would resume on Wednesday. Pipe told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Sportsweek, “I think it might be difficult for Wednesday, it might be doubtful, it depends how they progress on the tests. I’m hopeful it might be on by the end of the week, but that’s hope more than anything. “Of course, Cheltenham is coming up, a very important meeting. We all hope it will be contained by then of course, but there’s lots of racing and planning to be done before Cheltenham. The welfare of the horses is most important, that’s certainly got to come first. “You can see what a big industry it is now. Of course we’re worried about everything, all the punters, everyone concerned. We’re certainly missing the racing. It’s a good job we’ve got the rugby to follow.” View the full article

On a day dedicated to acknowledging everything the greatest jockey in the history of Hong Kong racing has achieved, the now retired Douglas Whyte admits there were only two moments when his emotions got the better of him. In the weeks since it was announced the Durban Demon was hanging up his riding boots to join the training ranks, the normally steely South African had navigated all the interviews, photo requests and well-wishers with his usual class, but his final meeting at Sha Tin on Sunday... View the full article

Globetrotting superstar Ryan Moore will jet into Hong Kong next weekend for a Group One hit-and-run mission for champion trainer John Size. The Englishman will ride Size’s five-year-old Conte in the Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m) in what shapes as a showdown with the world’s best miler Beauty Generation. Stable jockey Joao Moreira has elected to ride Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) winner Beat The Clock in the same race following an impressive barrier... View the full article