Wandering Eyes

For European sires who went to stud between 2012-14 with first foals that are 5-, 4-, and 3-year-olds of 2018, their proximity to Frankel on the racetrack figured to be an important gauge to their prospects as sires, and so it has proved true. View the full article

Kaleem Shah's multiple grade 1 winner American Gal tops a trio of West Coast-based contenders and seeks her second straight graded victory as part of a strong eight-horse field in the $250,000 Bed o' Roses Invitational (G3) June 8 at Belmont Park. View the full article

Hundreds of Thoroughbred industry participants from all over the country turned out for the celebration of the life of Bill Graves at the Fasig-Tipton pavilion Monday. Graves, a longtime Fasig-Tipton senior vice president, died May 30 at the age of 70. Attendees listened to more than a half-dozen eulogies, including many from Graves’s Fasig-Tipton coworkers. Terence Collier served as the host for the event. He recounted how he met Graves when both were in their early 20s and how they came to work together when Graves joined the company in 1992 at the invitation of then-owner John Hettinger. “In rode Bill,” said Collier, “our shining knight in heavily starched jeans and expensive cowboy boots to reorganize our selected-sales yearling process. It was a new beginning.” Collier noted that at Graves’s first Saratoga sale in 1992, there were 22 consignors and 165 yearlings. “By 2017, Bill’s imprint on Saratoga in August produced record sales of nearly $70 million,” said Collier. “Not bad for a skinny kid from Lynchburg, Virginia.” Walt Robertson, one of Graves’s closest friends for the past 25 years, was next to speak, and he said, “He will be sorely missed, by each and every person in this room, but how lucky are we all to have Bill Graves as a friend and a big part of our lives?” Like Collier, he gave Graves credit for shaping Fasig-Tipton and turning it around, gaining the respect of the entire Thoroughbred community. “As with many things that he has been involved with, Bill has left this company and the community far better than he found it,” said an emotional Robertson. Graves’s son Brian said, “What a touching tribute to my father this gathering of people truly is. Since my father’s passing, I have received countless messages from friends and family. Superlatives such as mentor, friend, gentleman, impeccable horseman, great man, class, and legend have been used. I knew at a very young age how special my father was. I have always wanted to be by his side. We didn’t have much money growing up, but I felt like the richest kid in the world. My dad could just make you feel like that.” Fasig-Tipton President and CEO Boyd Browning delivered his eulogy in a series of letters to Graves, thanking him for teaching him about conformation, for always thinking of the safety of the horse, for his attention to detail, his loyalty and support. Most poignantly, Browning thanked him for being kind to Browning’s own late father, a frequent visitor to Fasig-Tipton, who Browning said would often get so caught up chatting with Graves in his office that he would forget to visit his own son. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to see you today,” the senior Browning would tell his son as he was on his way home. “I was busy hanging out with the boys.” Mike Levy recounted his long friendship with Graves, and told stories about their travels fishing, golfing and going to horse sales, and about Bill’s delight in being mistaken for Richard Gere by a woman on a plane. He concluded with a story about how Graves had watched him give copious instructions to a jockey riding one of the horses they owned together. Levy recalled his friend saying, “Michael. Let me explain something to you. That jockey doesn’t speak a word of English, and he didn’t understand what you said. And even if he did, he ain’t going to listen to you.” Levy answered, “Billy, what should I have said?” Graves answered, “Simple, son. Just tell him to hurry home.” “Hurry home, Billy,” Levy concluded. “It was one hell of a ride.” All of the speakers told humorous tales about Graves, about practical jokes played by him and on him, about his storytelling and often-told jokes, about his smile and enthusiasm. “I thought this was going to be one of the toughest days of my life,” said Collier as the service wound down. “It has turned out to be one of the most uplifting days of my life.” The service is available on YouTube, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3g1EfoB5C8and starts at the 1:06 mark of the video. View the full article

After dropping jaws with his sizzling four-furlong work in :46 4/5 at Churchill Downs May 29, Justify put in a steadier effort June 4, but one that still featured his trademark ease. View the full article

Among those bidding for the June 8 New York Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G2T) is Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Holy Helena, who will face a talented field of nine the 1 1/4-mile turf test for older fillies and mares. View the full article

It seems that every week we are talking about “shock” or “surprise” winners of the classics and last weekend was no exception on the face of it, with Masar winning the Derby at a starting price of 16/1! This victory gave Sheikh Mohammed’s owners Godolphin operation a first Derby victory in their instantly recognisable royal blue silks. Sheikh Mohammed had tasted victory on two occasions in the Derby, firstly in 1995 when Lammtarra for Saeed Bin Suroor and Walter Swinburn and then again in 2008 with New Approach, the sire of Masar. Both of these victories, however, were technically under different ownership with Lammtarra owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s nephew and New Approach by his wife Princess Haya of Jordan. There has been a fantastic and well-documented rivalry through the years between Godolphin and Coolmore, on the racecourse, in the breeding sheds and in the sales ring. In recent seasons though it seemed that Coolmore had become the dominant force in racing, with Godolphin playing second and third fiddle when it came to the key races. I wouldn’t go as far as saying there is a changing of the guard but in the last two or three season Godolphin have once again become a major force to be reckoned with. Perhaps this can be attributed to Charlie Appleby being their primary trainer much to the frustration of longtime trainer Saeed Bin Suroor. Following the success, Appleby was understandably delighted saying “All I could think of in the last furlongs was that I wanted to be the first trainer to win the Derby in the Godolphin blue” Masar may not have been at the top of everyone’s list of potential Derby winners on Saturday morning, myself included but should he have been an outsider who was chalked up at 25’s in the morning? I don’t think so, the New Approach colt admittedly had a very disappointing start to the season finishing 10th of 13 in a dirt race in Meydan. This was followed by an impressive win in the Craven at Newmarket and having finished third, less than two lengths behind Saxon Warrior in the 2000 Guineas on his previous start, surely William Buick’s mount should not have left the starting stalls at Epsom twenty times the price of Saxon Warrior? Saxon Warrior came into the race with an enviable everything really, the son of Deep Impact is out of the Group One-winning mare Maybe and was unbeaten in four starts coming into the Derby which included the Racing Post Trophy and 2000 Guineas. As is the case with pretty much any guineas winner, he was labelled as the next potential Triple Crown winner, which as everyone knows is incredibly difficult to achieve. All of the above attributed to Saxon Warrior’s prohibitive starting price and maybe things would have been different with a better draw and prompt start with Aidan O’Brien saying: “I think he was a little bit in awe of the whole thing, really. He’s a baby horse, really, and it’s only his fifth run and it’s the most complicated track he’s had to handle. We’ll look forward to him the next time.” There is no doubt that Saxon Warrior is a high-class horse that will be winning more Group One’s, with his most likely target, begin the Irish Derby at the Curragh, but we need to get away from simply seeing “11111” beside a horse and make assumptions that they will win again. The trainer Mark Johnston who’s Dee Ex Bee was runner-up in the Derby, has shown time and time again that the majority of horses love racing. There can be a fear amongst trainers and owners about their horses getting beaten, especially at the higher level where the breeding shed and post racing commercial value is a major factor. The phrase “unbeaten” beside a stallion has a nice ring to it when trying to sell nominations. This is totally understandable but it occasionally means that racing enthusiasts don’t see their favourite horses as often as they would like. The Irish Derby seems to also be the next target for the winner Masar according to Charlie Appleby for a potential rematch with Saxon Warrior: “We’ll see how he is and how he comes out of the race, but he stayed the mile and a half well and I think the Irish Derby is the obvious place to go.” One horse that won’t be running in the Irish Derby is Hazapour, Dermot Weld’s charge travelled better than most in the hands of Frankie to the 2-furlong pole but weakened late on to finish fifth. The initial impression was that the Shamardal colt didn’t stay and this was confirmed afterwards: “Hazapour didn’t stay…We’ll see how he comes out of the race before making plans. He won’t be going for the Irish Derby and we’ll be looking at races over a mile and a quarter.” Aidan O’Brien threw five darts at the Oaks on Friday in a bid for his seventh victory in the race and it was Forever Together that came home in front of her eight rivals. If any other trainer had Forever Together in their harness I would say it was amazing that in the process of winning the Oaks she was also shedding her maiden tag. But Aidan just seems to have an incredible record with fillies. The daughter of Galileo was only having her fourth career start in the Oaks and seemed to really enjoy the step up in distance, the further they went the further clear she was going. This full sister to Fillies Mile winner Together Forever has a very progressive profile and looks sure to add to this first victory. The beaten favourite in the Oaks was Wild Illusion who as it transpired would have given Charlie Appleby and Godolphin an Oaks/Derby double. The Dubawi filly lost little in defeat and her trainer reported that: “Seems in good shape….We’ll see how she is in the next 10 days and then decide whether we go for the Prix de Diane or go to Royal Ascot for the Ribblesdale.” Also at Epsom on Friday, we were treated to a thrilling Coronation Cup where long odds-on favourite Cracksman scrambled home to beat the game front-runner Salouen. It was far from vintage Cracksman with Frankie never looking overly happy with last season’s Champion Stakes winner. A head was the margin of victory with Cracksman undoubtedly having an off day. John Gosden revealed afterwards that: “Cracksman is fine this morning after his win in the Coronation Cup but it turns out that he had a bit of an ordeal in the stalls…. He gave his head an almighty whack, which is why he missed the break.” A trip to Royal Ascot for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes seems next for the son of Frankel. Sylvester Kirk had mixed emotions following Salouen’s valiant second and the Arc is the colt’s long-term target this season with Kirk saying: “The owner would like to go to the Arc and we’ll try to find the best route.” Saxon Warrior may have failed in his bid to give Deep Impact a Derby winner but less than 24 hours later Study Of Man had no such issues when winning the French Derby for Pascal Bary and the Niarchos family, who were enjoying a second classic in the space of a week following Alpha Centauri’s victory in the Irish 1000 Guineas. Aidan O’Brien saddled four runners in the contest but had to settle for sixth place with Hunting Horn. James Tate’s, Hey Gaman who was runner-up in the French 2000 Guineas looked set to play a major part in the race until fading late on. Connections had no concrete plans for the winner but Niarchos racing manager Alan Cooper indicated that the Arc may now be under consideration. “I can’t say it’s the race we’re definitely going to go for but Stephane did say months ago this horse could be a good one for Longchamp in the first week of October,” said Cooper. Don’t forget RaceBets has great offers every day, make sure to check them out here The post Weekend Review – Blue is the Colour appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. winner Justify (Scat Daddy) turned in a five-furlong work in 1:01.40 ahead of his Triple Crown bid in Saturday’s GI Belmont S. Martin Garcia was aboard for the work, which took place over a fast track and in front of a crowd of a few hundred fans. “It was a really nice breeze and exactly what we were looking for,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “He relaxed nicely and seemed very happy. Martin was very happy with him, as well, so I was happy, too. He was a little fresh earlier in the week, so it was good to see him relax nicely.” Justify broke away from the stable pony Sunny and assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes at the 4 1/2-furlong pole and began his breeze at the half-mile marker, working through splits of :12.80, :24.80, :37 and :48.80 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:13.60 and seven-eighths of a mile in 1:27.20. Justify is scheduled to ship to New York Wednesday ahead of his attempt to become the 13th horse to sweep the Triple Crown in Saturday’s 1 1/2-mile Belmont S. “I think the Triple Crown brings a lot more people into the game,” Baffert, who also trained 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile), said. “It also brings a lot of new owners. I saw a lot of new faces in the game after Pharoah won the Triple Crown. It’s no walk in the park to win, but it’s very important to our sport when we have a Triple Crown possibility on the line.” The Baffert-trained Restoring Hope (Giant’s Causeway), third in the GII Wood Memorial S., also worked at Churchill Downs Monday in preparation for the Belmont. The Gary and Mary West homebred worked six furlongs in 1:13 under jockey Florent Geroux. “Restoring Hope went really well,” Baffert said. “He’s always been a really good work horse. He’s sort of a one-paced horse. He went a little faster than Justify, but I thought overall the work was very good.” View the full article

When Martin Panza first conceptualized the Belmont Gold Cup Invitational Stakes (G2T) in 2014, his goal was to create a rich marathon turf test that would enhance the lead-up to the Belmont Stakes (G1). View the full article

Two superpowers of the east and west traded blows on Sunday. No sooner had Frankel (GB) notched a second Grade 1 winner in Japan with victory in the Yasuda Kinen of Mozu Ascot, than Japanese supersire Deep Impact (JPN) fired back a riposte with a second Classic winner in Europe courtesy of Study Of Man (Ire) in the G1 QIPCO Prix du Jockey Club. The racing world has never felt smaller: an American-born son of a British superstar winning in Tokyo while a Japanese-conceived, Irish-born colt triumphs in Chantilly. So much focus is centred on stallions’ offspring but there were some mighty mares in play over the weekend, particularly perhaps the mightiest pair seen in Europe and America for many a generation. Urban Sea (Miswaki) has already achieved the rare feat of producing two Derby winners, both of whom have appeared as sires of Derby and oaks winners. In the case of Galileo (Ire), he now appears as grandsire of Masar (GB) (New Appraoch {Ire}), while his half-sister Melikah (Ire), by another Derby winner in Lammtarra, is his great grandam. Thus we find Urban Sea’s name twice in the pedigree of the 2018 Investec Derby winner and this is unlikely to be an unusual occurrence in major race winners of the future. However much Urban Sea is feted, her great rival as both top-class racemare and broodmare, Miesque (Nureyev), has also loomed large in the Classic picture this season, with her great grand-daughter Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) having won Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas, followed a week later by the success of her grandson Study Of Man. Green Is The Colour Vimal and Gillian Khosla’s star broodmare Green Room (Theatrical) is another to have taken a major step up the ladder within blue hen territory when represented by her third Group 1 winner, the Investec Oaks winner Forever Together (Ire) (Galileo [Ire}). She and her full-sister Together Forever (Ire) are destined to be forever confused with one another but in one sense it matters not, as they are both winners at the highest level and both were darlings of the sales ring even before their racing days. Born three years ahead of her Classic-winning sibling, the G1 Dubai Fillies’ Mile winner Together Forever sold for €680,000 to the Coolmore team, and she was followed a year later by Signe (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), the sole yearling of Green Room to bring seven figures at €1.1 million, though the subsequent Oaks heroine wasn’t far off in 2016 when selling for €900,000. All three were offered at the Goffs Orby Sale by Ballylinch Stud, where Green Room is a permanent boarder. Ballylinch manager John O’Connor reports the 16-year-old to be in good form, having foaled her latest daughter of Galileo on Apr. 25 and recently been covered by Sea The Stars. For the preceding four years she has only visited Galileo and was barren the season after she produced Forever Together, but she also has a yearling filly by the champion sire on the ground. “Vimal and Gillian Khosla are delightful clients and this is another wonderful result for them as breeders,” O’Connor said. “They will be visiting the farm in the coming weeks and will make a decision on whether or not to sell the yearling then.” Green Room already has a son at stud, the G1 prix Jean Prat winner Lord Shanakill (Speightstown), who is now at Pennsylvania’s Pin Oak Lane Farm and is the sire of G1 Prince Of Wales’s S. winner My Dream Boat (Ire). The chances of her establishing a dynasty in her own right are enhanced by the the fact that she also has two of her daughters at Ballylinch Stud for company. The Khoslas, who are based in Scotland and currently have six mares, retained maiden winner Black Ruby (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), who is now in foal to Lope De Vega (Ire). Meanwhile Signe, who is in foal to Siyouni (Fr), is boarded at the farm by her owner Fiona Carmichael. “The mare has been incredibly versatile in that her Group 1 winners have won at a mile and a mile and a half, and she produces lovely stock,” O’Connor added. Masar Meets The Press The gates of Moulton Paddocks were swung open for members of the Fourth Estate on Monday morning as Masar, the first horse to win the Derby in Godolphin’s royal blue silks, was paraded around the yard. “I’m still not through half the messages yet to be able to reply to all the wellwishers,” admitted Charlie Appleby as she showed off his star colt with some of his 160 staff members on hand for a group photo. “We hit the ground running in the spring—even through the really bad weather we didn’t miss a day and we’re very lucky to have the staff and the facilities to be able to do it,” he said. Masar is of course not just the first Derby winner for home stallion New Approach, who won the blue riband back in 2008, but he is a third generation homebred following the purchase of Melikah as a yearling 20 years ago. His dam Khawlah (Ire) is by the late Darley sure Cape Cross (Ire) and won the G2 UAE Derby and G3 UAE Oaks for Godolphin at Sheikh Mohammed’s home track. “I’m the lucky one who is given these horses to train but it’s really heartfelt back at the stud for Liam [O’Rourke] and Sam [Bullard]. It’s great for the stallions and the mares,” Appleby added. “We’re in a little bit of a bubble up here but I try not to get too sucked into it and I like to know what’s going on outside it. Twenty years I’ve been here and it’s home for me. Half my life has been dedicated to Godolphin. The support I receive from His Highness is phenomenal. We talk twice a week when we’re working horses and from January onwards we’re always talking about hopefuls for the Classics. It’s a huge operation and I have a wealth of experience I have around me —I’m not doing this single-handed.” He continued, “One hopes it’s a new chapter for Godolphin. It’s taken us five years to get that Classic winner but we were very lucky in the first season with Outstrip winning at Santa Anita [at the Breeders’ Cup]. I felt like last year we took another step up and we had the strongest team of 2-year-olds to go into the winter with. Saturday has put us where we wanted to be. Sport is all about confidence and it’s given us that. We have the right players now to be competitive. We’re a global team and it’s been amazing. People want to see competition and Coolmore have been our competitors for many years but honestly we haven’t been competitive enough and we know that. I know what people are saying outside these gates but that just gives us more determination. After His Highness, Coolmore were the next people on to congratulate us. They want the competition too.” Lindop Signing Off In Style An agreeable feature of modern-day racing is the rise of the number of women in the weighing-room and this is particularly so in Australia. The country is about to lose one of its leading lights, however, with the impending retirement of Clare Lindop, who in 2003 became the first female to ride in the Melbourne Cup. Five years later, she recorded another ‘first’ when winning the G1 VRC Derby aboard Rebel Raider (Aus) (Reset {NZ}) for the man whom she credits as giving her the most support throughout her career, trainer Leon Macdonald. Lindop, a native of Warrnambool, Victoria, has spent much of career riding in South Australia, where she has won the jockeys’ championship three times, most recently in 2015 after returning from serious injuries sustained in a fall on Adelaide Cup day. As well as being a first-rate jockey, Lindop is also a first-rate individual whose easy charm and committed work ethic has seen her blaze a significant trail for those who follow in her wake. As she prepares to step down at the end of the current SA Racing Festival, Lindop has written an open letter to her fans, published last week on her website. It’s well worth reading in its entirety as its fulsomeness in praising others also speaks volumes for Lindop herself. She credits her first Melbourne Cup ride on Debben (Aus) as career-changing: “The media exposure that becoming the first Australian female to ride in our greatest race brought me set me onto a path full of opportunities which I may never have otherwise gained. That season, after riding in the Cup, I had my the biggest year in the saddle, riding 111 winners for the season, a new record for a female jockeys and one which was only just broken by Jamie Kah last year, and looks to be smashed again and set even higher this year by a flying Linda Meech. The fact that both of these jockeys don’t really want this to be a ‘female record’ and are looking to break the record full stop also makes me proud of the long way that female jockeys have come.” Lindop won’t be drawn on the exact date of her final departure from the weighing-room but ends her letter by saying, “I’ll be out on the track racing amongst the pack, doing my utmost to keep up somewhere in contention, copping a face full of mud and stones to boot, and then saying, ‘Well lads, I’m out. Good luck to you all!'” Good luck to you too, Clare. View the full article

Taylor Made Stallions’s Northern Afleet (Afleet–Nuryette, by Nureyev) was euthanized Friday at the age of 25, the farm reported Monday. According to Dr. Charles Scoggin, DVM, the stallion had experienced acute abdominal pain Friday evening and was transferred to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital. After being evaluated by specialists, it was determined Northern Afleet had severe gastrointestinal disease and was subsequently euthanized. Northern Afleet, who was actively breeding this year, was the sire of 14 Grade I winners, including 2017 champion turf horse World Approval. Among his most successful progeny was dual Classic winner Afleet Alex, champion 3-year-old colt of 2005 and winner of the GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S. He was also responsible for champion sprinter Amazombie and Canadian champion and Grade I winner Negligee, as well as 2015 Brazilian Horse of the Year Barolo. “Northern Afleet was like part of the family at Taylor Made and he was truly a unique stallion within the industry,” said Ben Taylor of Taylor Made. “Not too many stallions have sired a Classic winner and a Breeders’ Cup winner, not to mention numerous Grade I winners over varying surfaces and distances of ground. Northern Afleet was the definition of versatility and was always considered one of the best value stallions around. He provided every breeder the opportunity to produce a top-class racehorse, regardless of the quality of their mare.” Additional Grade I winners sired by Northern Afleet include Denman’s Call, Teaks North and Evening Jewel, while his GSW millionaire War Story remains a factor in the handicap division in 2018. On the racetrack, Northern Afleet won the GII San Fernando Breeders’ Cup S., GII San Carlos H. and GIII San Diego H. while under the care of trainer David Hofmans for owners Gregg Anderson and Ronald Waranch. He was bred in Kentucky by Hermitage Farm. Northern Afleet entered stud in 1999 at Double Diamond Farm in Ocala and was relocated to Taylor Made after Afleet Alex captured the 2004 GI Hopeful S. View the full article

In the build-up to an exciting three days of middle-distance Classics in Europe, it looked a pretty safe bet that I would end up writing about Deep Impact or Galileo or a combination of the two (as represented by Saxon Warrior). After all, there were four daughters of Galileo in the G1 Oaks field and Deep Impact appeared to poised for a major breakthrough, with Saxon Warrior and Study of Man respectively being among the leading contenders for the G1 Derby and the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club. Although it was highly disappointing to see Saxon Warrior’s Triple Crown hopes fizzle out with his lacklustre fourth behind the bold Masar, Galileo duly claimed his third Oaks victory, thanks to Forever Together. Galileo also emulated another of the all-time greats, Mill Reef, when Masar followed in the footsteps of grandsire Galileo and sire New Approach in becoming the third generation of his male line to triumph in the Derby. Deep Impact also confirmed his status as one of the world’s truly elite stallions, with Study of Man becoming his second European Classic winner of 2018, and third Classic winner of the year, the other being the recent G1 Tokyo Yushun winner Wagnerian. Yet it wasn’t all about Galileo and Deep Impact. They had to share the limelight with a few other deserving participants, both equine and human. For example, as I wrote in my Sept. 5th column last year following Masar’s impressive victory in the G3 Solario S., the colt was the first group winner inbred to that astonishing mare Urban Sea. Bearing in mind the huge influence that Urban Sea’s descendants have exerted on Europe’s mile-and-a-half Classics, I wasn’t too surprised when Masar followed up his impressive G3 Craven S. win and his perfectly respectable third behind Saxon Warrior in the G1 2000 Guineas with a victory in the half-mile-longer Derby. He is inbred 3 x 4 to Urban Sea (and also to Ahonoora), and we can surely expect to see inbreeding to Urban Sea becoming very fashionable. Urban Sea wasn’t the only exceptional racemare and broodmare to make her presence felt over the Classic weekend. Only a week after the Niarchos Family had won the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas with Alpha Centauri, a great-granddaughter of the wonderful Miesque, they pulled off a second Classic victory with Miesque’s grandson Study of Man in the Jockey-Club. Of course Classic success is nothing new for the Miesque family. Bred by Stavros Niarchos’s Flaxman Holdings in 1984, the brilliant daughter of Nureyev won the 1000 Guineas and the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches before lack of stamina contributed to her defeat by Indian Skimmer in the G1 Prix de Diane. A demanding 16-start career, which also featured a brace of victories in both the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile, certainly didn’t have any adverse effects on Miesque’s broodmare career, as she was to produce 14 foals in the space of 16 years. Her first foal was the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Kingmambo, who was to become a prolific sire of European Classic winners, and her second was East of the Moon, the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and Prix de Diane winner who ranks as Alpha Centauri’s second dam. Instead of writing about Deep Impact’s burgeoning partnership with Galileo’s broodmare daughters, which currently boasts three group/graded winners from 13 foals of racing age, Study of Man’s win turns the spotlight onto Deep Impact’s impressive results with daughters of Storm Cat. The Prix du Jockey-Club winner is no less than the ninth black-type winner to emerge from Deep Impact’s 60 foals of racing age out of daughters of the two-time champion American stallion. Indeed he is the seventh Group 1 winner to represent the Deep Impact–Storm Cat alliance, which equates to nearly 12%–a terrific achievement. The enormity of this achievement only becomes fully apparent when you read through a list of Study of Man’s predecessors. Top of the pile is Kizuna, the 2013 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winner who travelled to Europe to defeat the Derby winner Ruler of the World in the G2 Prix Niel. Kizuna also finished a creditable fourth behind Treve, Orfevre and Intello in the Arc. Europe also got to see another impressive representative of the cross when A Shin Hikari trounced the opposition in the 2016 G1 Prix d’Ispahan, five months after he had taken the G1 Hong Kong Cup over a mile and a quarter. The other Group 1 scorers were Ayusan, winner of the 2013 G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas); Satono Aladdin, conqueror of the Classic-winning Logotype in the 2017 Yasuda Kinen over a mile; and Lachesis, who took the 2014 G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup over 11 furlongs. However, the one with the most relevance to Study of Man is Real Steel, as his dam Loves Only Me is out of Miesque’s daughter Monevassia, a sister to Kingmambo and to the Group 1 sire Miesque’s Son. Real Steel became a Group 1 winner when he travelled to Meydan in 2016 for the Dubai Turf over nine furlongs and he finished a respectable third to Benbatl in the same race two years later. Although Real Steel has gained all three of his group victories over nine furlongs, he is much more versatile than that suggests. He also finished second in the G1 Japanese 2000 Guineas and the G1 Japanese St Leger, in the latter being beaten only a neck by Kitasan Black, a two-time Japanese Horse of the Year sired by Deep Impact’s brother Black Tide. Study of Man should therefore stay a mile and a half. It is interesting to speculate about the reasons why Deep Impact is so effective with Storm Cat mares. I think the explanation is similar to that for Galileo’s success with mares by the likes of Danehill and Storm Cat. Like Galileo, Deep Impact possessed plenty of stamina. He never tackled a distance shorter than a mile and a quarter and his victories included the Japanese St Leger over 15 furlongs and the Tenno Sho over two miles. Like many a stayer, Deep Impact is a quality individual, comparatively refined with rather light bone. He therefore benefits from a muscular, strongly-made mare with speed in her background. Not that Study of Man’s dam Second Happiness showed the ability expected of one of her immaculate bloodlines. Two of her three appearances as a 3-year-old came at Compiegne, her best effort being a 3 1/2-length third in a seven-furlong newcomers’ event. Second Happiness also put in an appearance later in the year at Keeneland’s November Sale, but she was unsold at $1,200,000. Her next destination was Japan, where she was sent originally to support the Niarchos family’s Arc winner Bago. Second Happiness was returned to Europe while carrying Study of Man and has since produced a 2016 colt and a 2018 filly to Galileo. Second Happiness is the second of Miesque’s three daughters by Storm Cat. The first, Angel’s Nest, never raced and produced just one winner, while the third, the twice-raced Ama, was sold to Darley for 1,800,000gns as a 3-year-old. Ama has yet to justify her price but has young daughters by New Approach and Dubawi, so may yet come good–Study of Man is comfortably the best winner out of Second Happiness and he was foaled when his dam was 13. Alpha Centauri and Study of Man are the fourth and fifth Group 1 Classic winners descending from Miesque, following Kingmambo, East of the Moon and Karakontie. The last-named won the 2014 Poule d’Essai des Poulains, in addition to the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Interestingly, Karakontie’s pedigree features some of the same elements as Study of Man’s. His grandsires are Storm Cat and Sunday Silence, whereas Study of Man’s are Sunday Silence and Storm Cat, and his third dam is Miesque, the second dam of Study of Man. Karakontie is available for only $10,000 at Gainesway this year, even though his first-crop weanlings sold for $250,000 (to Flaxman Holdings), $130,000 and $110,000. The 250,000-dollar youngster is inbred 4 x 3 to none other than Miesque, so it will be interesting to follow his progress. View the full article

For native New Yorker Mike Repole, it doesn’t get much bigger than the GI Belmont Stakes. Born and raised in the Middle Village neighborhood of Queens and a graduate of nearby St. John’s University, Repole will be looking to play the role of spoiler with Vino Rosso (Curlin) and Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy) as the unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Justify (Scat Daddy) heads to Long Island with a Triple Crown bid on the line. Vino Rosso followed a win in the GII Wood Memorial S. with a ninth-place finish in the GI Kentucky Derby while the narrow GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby winner and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Noble Indy was 17th on the First Saturday in May. The co-founder of Glaceau (the company was sold to Coca-Cola for $4.1 billion in 2007) has campaigned standouts such as champion Uncle Mo, Overanalyze, Outwork, Stopchargingmaria, etc., and came within 3/4 of a length of upsetting the 2011 Belmont with MGISW Stay Thirsty. Q: You’ve always made it very well-known that the Belmont S. is at the top of your list of races that you really want to win. What would a victory in the third leg of the Triple Crown mean to you? MR: Listen, I’ve never made it a secret how important the Belmont is to me. That’s the one race, growing up, and especially once I became an owner, that I’ve always said that I wanted to win. When my team is out there looking at horses, whether it’s a 2-year-old sale or at the yearling sales at Keeneland, I’m always asking the question, ‘Can they get the mile and a half?’ It’s definitely the first time any of these 3-year-olds will ever run that distance and most likely the last time, too. It’s a very funny race. Just being a kid from Queens and going to Aqueduct and Belmont and never even being able to make it up to Saratoga because I don’t think I had a car that could go that far growing up, it was the race. Being in the Kentucky Derby now four times in the last eight years is special. Trust me, I wouldn’t be disappointed if I won the Kentucky Derby. But if I could choose between the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont S., I’ve said numerous times, I would take the Belmont. Q: Is playing the role of spoiler and potentially silencing the capacity crowd at Belmont with a Triple Crown on the line something you embrace? MR: Just to be in the race is amazing and I’m going to have two shots. It’s exciting. Usually the Derby is the biggest stage, but when you have a Triple Crown on the line, it becomes the Belmont. I was rooting for Justify in the Preakness. I knew that if he won, the Belmont would be seen by probably 20-25 million people and we would have 90,000 people there with the attendance capped. If he lost the Preakness, they would probably get 40,000-45,000. So I was rooting for Justify, there was no doubt about it. Q: What have you thought of Justify’s unprecedented run this spring? MR: He’s amazing. He checks every single box out there and is undefeated. Probably one of the greatest 3-year-olds of all time, no doubt, win or lose this race. What he’s done in the last 12 weeks has been amazing. He’s the Golden State Warriors and Lebron [James] or someone else will be trying to take him down. He’s had a lot of races in a short period and he’s done everything right. Q: Partnerships between high-profile owners continue to become increasingly popular. You own Vino Rosso with Vinnie Viola of St. Elias Stable and you also campaign Noble Indy with Kenny Troutt’s WinStar Farm. Thoughts on this trend? MR: At the beginning, I kind of fought against it, but with the right partner, I think it works out perfectly. I think there’s a really cool aspect of it where some of the biggest owners with the biggest money in the sport are getting together and becoming partners. I’m very blessed where I get to choose partners like WinStar, where two of my stallions Outwork and Overanalyze stand, my foals are born, and have 60-65 horses on the farm. I’ve known Vinnie for six or seven years now. My wife grew up in Brooklyn, Vinnie grew up in Brooklyn. His wife grew up in Queens, I grew up in Queens. I love his story, and he loves mine. We’re all about family first and big, Italian families. Winning the Wood with Vinnie was probably one of the best wins I’ve ever had. It was so awesome having both of our families there. After the race we went back to my house with about 60 other people and we drank a lot of Vino Rosso and had a good time. Q: Vino Rosso is certainly bred for a race like this and has always been held in high regard by trainer Todd Pletcher. Between the wide trip and off going in the Derby, a case can be made for him as a potential upsetter in the Belmont. What’s your confidence level like heading into the race? MR: There’s no doubt that he has the talent to win this race along with his incredible pedigree to get the distance. His dam Mythical Bride is a half to Commissioner, who barely lost the Belmont and his sire Curlin also lost a photo to Rags to Riches in the Belmont. He’s bred to go two miles, never mind a mile and a half. He’s a horse that’s going to go at one pace and I think that last quarter of a mile, he might be going two seconds faster than everybody else and just grind it out. Noble Indy is going to have Javier [Castellano] aboard and Vino Rosso will have Johnny [Velazquez]. To have two chances at the Belmont with two great partners and both trained by Todd Pletcher, I really like my chances. Q: Even going back to your early days as a racing fan, any Belmont S. memories that stick out to you? MR: When I was younger, I was awed by Easy Goer. That was really big. Bet Twice dethroning Alysheba–I was probably 17-18 years old when that happened. More recently and even going back 10 years, being there and watching Da’ Tara upset Big Brown. There have been some great moments and just being a part of it-and probably not until the Big Brown one-I was lucky to just be in the grandstand or in the backyard with a bunch of friends. When one of my horses has a race, I’m there as a fan, too. I’m always going to be Mike from Queens. You’re not going to change me. Whether it’s Aqueduct on a Wednesday or Belmont on a Saturday, you won’t see me in the Trustee’s Room with a jacket and tie. It’s who am I and where I come from. To be able to be in a position to win a race like this, I’ve been so blessed. Q: Stay Thirsty gave you a huge run finishing second at 16-1 in the Belmont seven years ago. Can you reflect on his performance and that experience? MR: Coming in second with Stay Thirsty was probably one of my biggest racing accomplishments and also probably one of the worst losses of my life. My wife jokes that I didn’t come out of my basement for two weeks. It was tough because you don’t know how many chances you’ll ever get to be in the race again. I don’t come in here thinking that I’m definitely going to win. I’m coming in here wanting to win, but not everybody in life gets what they want. Q: Are your Belmont S. day plans set yet? How big of an entourage will you have with you at the races this year? MR: I was smart enough to book for 75 people-friends and family–before the Triple Crown was on the line. If it wasn’t a Triple Crown, it probably would’ve been 200. As much as NYRA loves me, and I love them–they treat me really well–75 was the max that they felt comfortable with. Q: With your blue-and-orange stable colors a tribute to the New York Mets, how excited are you about the draw coming to Citi Field Tuesday? Bob Baffert is also expected to throw out the first pitch at that night’s game. MR: My silks are blue and orange after the Mets, so it’s kind of ironic that the draw this year coincidentally happens to be at Citi Field and my silks will be represented in the Belmont S. I think it’s a pretty cool experience. My 91-year-old grandmother and my 2-year-old daughter will be there. We’re excited. Q: Any restaurant recommendations for people coming into town for the Belmont? Do you have a favorite spot that you like to go to after a big day at the races? MR: I’m gonna go three Italian, Queens restaurants–Barosa, Park Side and Piccola Venezia. And if you want some Long Island recommendations–Chris and Tony’s, Rare 650 and Rothmann’s Steakhouse. Three in Queens and three on Long Island. Nobody’s going to be disappointed. If they are, tell them to bill me! View the full article

It's been more than 20 months since Joking was seen racing to victory in the 2016 Vosburgh Stakes (G1), which punched his ticket to the 2016 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) for owner and trainer Charlton Baker. View the full article

Today’s celebration of the life of longtime Fasig-Tipton senior vice-president William E. “Bill” Graves will be streamed live on fasigtipton.com. The program, which will be conducted in Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky sales pavilion, will begin at 2:30 p.m. The event will begin with opening remarks from Fasig-Tipton’s Terence Collier, and followed by tributes from Bill’s friends and colleagues Walt Robertson, Dennis Lynch, John Williams, Boyd Browning, Michael Levy and Bayne Welker. For further information, please contact Evan Ferraro at (859) 255-1555. View the full article

After dropping jaws with his sizzling four-furlong work in :46 4/5 at Churchill Downs May 29, Justify put in a steadier effort on June 4, but one that still featured his trademark ease. View the full article

OVER THE GUNS (IRE) (c, 2, Garswood {GB}–Princess Rose {GB}, by Royal Applause {GB}), who started at 40-1, was outpaced early a long way off the pace. Responding to close on the leading group out wide, the bay hit the front despipte racing green 150 yards from the line and asserted for a comfortable 3/4-of-a-length success from Indian Viceroy (GB) (Kodiac {GB}). In doing so, he provided Cheveley Park Stud’s first-season sire (by Dutch Art {GB}) with his first winner. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, £4,528. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-P F I Cole Ltd; B-T A Scothern (IRE); T-Paul Cole. View the full article

The G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot on June 22 could bring together the winner of each of the three main European 1000 Guineas’. In addition to this fascinating prospect a number of fillies that were narrowly beaten in those events will also be targeting the race and among these is the Andre Fabre trained Wind Chimes (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) who was beaten just a neck when third to Teppal (Fr) (Camacho {GB}) in the G1 The Emirates Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at ParisLongchamp. “She will go for the Coronation Stakes,” her trainer said on Monday. “She’s training well and I’m very happy with her. I thought she ran a good race in the Pouliches and she took a big step forward from her trial, like I thought she would do,” Fabre added. Wind Chimes, owned by the Coolmore partners, was unbeaten in two starts as a juvenile including in the Listed Prix Herod at Chantilly in November and she bounced back from an underwhelming seasonal debut in the G3 Prix la Grotte at ParisLongchamp to establish herself as one of the better 3-year-old fillies over a mile in Europe. Meanwhile Andre Fabre is struggling to get last year’s G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe runner up Cloth Of Stars (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) back firing on all cylinders after the colt’s tame effort in sixth behind stable-mate Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly on Sunday. “Nothing has really shown up. I put the hood on him but unfortunately it worked too well and he was asleep. Perhaps he’s a bit jaded, I don’t know. I’ll discuss plans with his owner [Godolphin], he might have a break or even be retired, we’ll see,” Fabre said of the 5-year-old entire. View the full article

For a 12-day period beginning July 10 the 2018 Lexus Melbourne Cup trophy will be touring Britain and Ireland with promoters no doubt hoping to lure even more foreign participation for this year’s race which will be worth a record A$7.3-million. The almost four-month long tour will take in 37 destinations, mostly in Australia, but will be kick started in London July 10. From there the Cup will be brought to Newmarket, Somerset and Newbury over the following week before hopping across to The Curragh July 18 to begin a five day tour of Ireland which culminates back at The Curragh for G1 Darley Irish Oaks weekend. In between, it will stop off at the yards of Joseph O’Brien and Willie Mullins who provided the first and third home in last year’s Cup with Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and Max Dynamite (Fr) (Great Journey {Jpn}). A new feature of this year’s tour will be a stop off in Korea to celebrate the running of the Korean Cup in Seoul in September. Commenting on the dual hemisphere tour Victoria Racing Club chairman Amanda Elliott said, “The appeal of our illustrious race stretches far beyond Flemington. The Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour gives us an important opportunity to share the magic of the Cup with people everywhere. It has become one of the most important things we do at the VRC. We are custodians of something that means so much to so many – a day of national unity symbolised by the iconic three-handled Cup.” View the full article

Ahead of the 2018 Royal Meeting Ascot Racecourse has released an impressive set of financial figures for the year ended in December 2017. A 6.7% Increase in turnover yielded a pretax profit of £6.2-million, up over £1.1-million on the previous year, while the successful trading year also lead to debt being reduced by almost £11-million to just under £60-million, with the track on target to be debt free by 2023. Around 300,000 racegoers attend Royal Ascot every year, about half of the total annual attendance of the track and by the end of this year at Ascot horses will have competed for a total prize-money pool of £13.45-million, up 10% on last year. Commenting on the business performance and on future plans, Ascot chief executive Guy Henderson said, “2017 was another year of progress in our financial performance, with Royal Ascot performing particularly well. The opening of the new Village Enclosure on the inside of the track, in which we have further invested, was positively received and has generated strong sales for 2018.” He continued, “Operational improvement and site maintenance remained a key focus for us last year and that continues to be the case. We have just embarked on an extensive 10 year Planned Preventative Maintenance project, it now being 12 years since our £220 million redevelopment, under which mainly through our P&L we will be investing around an additional £2-million per annum into maintaining our core racecourse facilities. We are delighted that the Hong Kong Jockey Club will be simulcasting a fourth day of Royal Ascot this year and look forward to the launch of Bet With Ascot, our pool betting operation, in partnership with Totepool, in July. We thank all our partners, sponsors, customers and staff for their continued support in delivering another year of improvement all round.” View the full article

On June 9th, at approximately 6:46 p.m. EDT, the eyes of the sporting world focus on Justify, as the unbeaten 3-year-old attempts to become the 13th Thoroughbred to don the Triple Crown with a victory in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes (G1). View the full article

Between a riding suspension and a desire for some down time, jockey Hugh Bowman will sit out the majority of the month of June and will focus on a return to Australian competitive action in July. “My plan will be to start riding in Sydney from very early July and I’m actually really looking forward to it,” Bowman told Racing And Sports on Monday. “I’m suspended at the moment so unfortunately I’m missing the signature weekend of the Queensland racing carnival this Saturday. So I’ve got a little bit of time off now and I will freshen up for a return in the saddle in early July.” Bowman fell foul of the Japanese stewards for careless riding during a recent stint riding in Japan but he may be returning to that country later this month to take the ride on the John Moore trained Werther (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) in the G1 Takarazuka Kinen at Hanshin June 24, should the horse take up that option. Any mention of Bowman must also include an obligatory inquiry about his high profile partner Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) and by all accounts the Queen of Australian racing is in fine shape as thoughts begin to turn towards her next phase of training in preparation for a return to the track in August. “From all reports she spelled very well and I guess once she gets back into her program at the Chris Waller stables at Rosehill he’ll start to assess where she’s at mentally and physically,” Bowman said. He continued, “Physically she’s fine but I guess mentally we’re not going to know until we start putting the pressure on her again. She’s such a fine athlete and we’re expecting her to come back just as well as she went out. She went out on the top of her game after winning the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and we’re expecting her to come back in the same form, and we’re looking forward to it.” View the full article

Trainer support as much as riding ability will decide this season’s hotly contested jockeys’ championship and Caspar Fownes looms as the key man for Zac Purton in his duel with Joao Moreira. Purton trails by three wins with 11 meetings remaining but has a golden opportunity to close the gap or even take the lead with Moreira sidelined through suspension for the next two fixtures. Fownes has provided plenty of ammunition for Purton during his late-season surge and there looks to be... View the full article

Cordyceps knocked plenty of people out of the first leg of the Triple Trio, but his effort to finish third makes him a horse to follow. After three largely unimpressive trials, there wasn’t a lot of confidence about Francis Lui Kin-wai’s three-year-old ahead of his debut – as his 95-1 price suggested – but he was a different horse on race day. Jumping from barrier nine in the Class Four HKU Foundation and HKU Faculty of Medicine Handicap (1,200m), jockey Derek Leung Ka-... View the full article

While it seemed the 1 1/16-mile test would come down to a battle of wills between Tapwrit and Hoffenheim, 2017 Peter Pan Stakes (G3) winner Timeline crossed the wire 1 1/4 lengths ahead in a final time of 1:40.87. View the full article

Canadian Horse of the Year Pink Lloyd won as easy as expected in the US$96,500 Achievement Stakes, but he went through his share of drama June 3 at Woodbine to bring home his 11th straight stakes win. View the full article