Wandering Eyes

The 1 1/16-mile test over the turf for fillies and mares 4 years old and up will be the first return to Belmont for the multiple stakes winner since running fourth in the Sep. 16 Sands Point Stakes (G2). View the full article

The 1 1/16 mile test over the turf for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up, will be the first return to Belmont for the multiple stakes winner since running fourth in the Sep. 16 Sands Point Stakes (G2). View the full article

Grade 1 winner Sadler's Joy and several familiar rivals will be trying to one up each other once more in the $700,000 Man o' War Stakes (G1T) at Belmont Park May 12. View the full article

Trainer Richard Freedman, who along with his more recognizable brothers Lee, Anthony and Michael has trained better than 130 Group 1 winners over the course of 25 years, told Thoroughbred Daily News Wednesday that he is preparing Sarrasin (GB) (Monsun {Ger}) for a pair of starts in staying events at Saratoga this summer, with an eye on a potential berth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf. “Our ultimate goal would be to run in the [$1-million GI] Sword Dancer Invitational S. [on the Travers Day undercard Aug. 25] and we’d probably like to run him in the [July 28 GII] Bowling Green S. prior to that,” Freedman said from Thursday morning from Rosehill Gardens in Sydney, where he oversees a string of 35 horses. “He’s as well right now as we can have him and we think he’d be better suited under American conditions.” The Sword Dancer is a ‘Win and You’re In’ qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Freedman, who only last year returned to training after 16 years with Australian racing broadcaster Sky Racing, is high on the 6-year-old, whose sire has been responsible for the likes of GI Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Shirocco (Ger), G1 Ascot Gold Cup winner Estimate (Ire) and G1 Melbourne Cup winners Fiorente (Ire), Protectionist (Ger) and Almandin (Ger). “I’ve gotten to know the horse pretty well and he’s got outstanding ability,” Freedman said. “I am not as familiar with American form as others, but from the research I’ve done, I think the type of horse that has been competitive in Europe going to the U.S.–he fits that category, so I’m quite confident that he’d be competitive at that level.” Sarrasin will not have another start in Australia, Freedman said, and is tentatively scheduled to fly to New York at the end of June. He would van up to Saratoga after clearing quarantine. “We would give him a couple of [barrier] trials here before we left,” Freedman explained. “It’s hard to find trials here past 1200 meters [six furlongs], but if he had a couple of those and maybe do a little more after the line and make it more like 1400 or 1600 meters, then he would be set.” Bred by the Wildenstein family’s Dayton Investments Ltd., Sarrasin was a stakes winner in France in 2015 and subsequently ran the classy future G1/GISW Erupt (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) to a neck in Group 3 company while under the care of the legendary Andre Fabre. Third in the G2 Villiers S. (1600m) in his Australian debut for Lee and Anthony Freedman in December 2016, he was found to have bled when 11th to then-stablemate Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}) in the G1 Chelmsford S. (1600m) in September, after which he was transferred to Richard Freedman. He made his most recent appearance in the G1 Ranvet S. (2000m) at Rosehill Mar. 24, finishing a decent fifth in the soft ground to the talented fellow former French galloper Gailo Chop (Fr) (Deportivo {GB}). A half-brother to Sahrawi (Ger) (Pivotal {GB}), a French stakes winner over 14 furlongs, Sarrasin hails from the female family of the Wildensteins’ Steinlen (GB), winner of the GI Bernard Baruch H., the GI Arlington Million and GI Breeders’ Cup Mile en route to an Eclipse Award in 1989. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday’s Insights features a son of GI Yellow Ribbon S. runner-up Flip Flop (Fr) (Zieten). 6.10 Chelmsford, Cond, £8,000, 3yo/up, 7f (AWT) GLENDEVON (Scat Daddy) makes his seasonal bow for the Richard Hughes stable, having been bought into by Cheveley Park Stud following his impressive Kempton novice stakes win in October. The son of the 2005 GI Yellow Ribbon S. runner-up Flip Flop (Fr) (Zieten) encounters some smart rivals including last year’s G3 Solario S. third Arbalet (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who will provide a solid marker of his ability. View the full article

Two Epsom Derby winners have taken this en route since 1999, with last year’s scorer Cliffs of Moher (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) just missing out in the blue riband. That colt hailed from Ballydoyle, whose six successes could be supplemented by either of the stable’s representatives Rostropovich and Kenya this time. Last year’s G3 Killavullan S. winner Kenya was a distant third to stablemate Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in Leopardstown’s seven-furlong Listed 2000 Guineas Trial S. Apr. 14, while Rostropovich who captured the G2 Futurity S. at two was fourth in the G3 Prix de Fontainebleau at a mile at Longchamp the following day. Neither are stoutly bred, but this trip should be within their compass on pedigree and running style. “Both are stepping up in trip. We didn’t want to step them up too far,” Aidan O’Brien said. “It will be good experience for them. Rostropovich ran well in a Guineas trial in Longchamp and Kenya ran in Leopardstown over seven furlongs on very bad ground. We’re looking forward to getting them started and we’ll see.” Godolphin’s Rastrelli looked to have benefitted from a gelding op when winning a decent 10-furlong Newbury conditions event on his return Apr. 20, while My Lord and Master is an intriguing candidate based on his six-length defeat of the fellow William Haggas-trained G3 Chester Vase hero Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) at Nottingham in November and comeback second in the Listed Blue Riband Trial in which the Vase runner-up Dee Ex Bee (GB) (Farhh {GB}) was third at Epsom Apr. 25. View the full article

Owner and trainer Mick Ruis said May 9 that multiple grade 1 winner Bolt d'Oro may still end up in the May 19 Preakness Stakes (G1). View the full article

The last time Mr. Hot Stuff, Modem (GB), and All the Way Jose got together on the racecourse, all that separated them at the wire was a couple inches. View the full article

The last time Mr. Hot Stuff, Modem (GB), and All the Way Jose all got together on the racecourse, all that separated them at the wire was a couple inches. View the full article

“Manny” Solis has been working at the stable office at Santa Anita for over 10 years now, and was a groom for different trainers, including Mike Mitchell, during 20 years before that. Manny’s duties range from clerical work in the office to bedding down stalls for trainers that ship in. No job is too small or too big for Manny and he can be seen everyday through the antique backside of Santa Anita Park making sure that the place is run smoothly. Anybody that has worked on a racetrack’s backside through the U.S. knows that those are like small villages, with its daily amount of loose horses, broken pipes, flooded wash racks, electricity malfunctions and all kinds of carpentry work that needs to be ordered. Last month, before a rain storm, I witnessed Manny consolidating a roof of an outside pen at a trainer’s barn. The trainer’s help was already gone after hours, but Manny took the time to fix the roof to avoid horses getting hurt and/or soaked. During the recent fires that swept through the Southern California mountains, Manny would work overtime to have stalls ready to welcome relocated horses. Manny is a very humble man but I consider him a “backstretch hero” for not only doing his job in admirable manner, but also to act beyond that, for the welfare of the horses and the humans living in the stable area. –Submitted by Leonard Powell, trainer View the full article

At The Races will broadcast the 2018 edition of the Breeders’ Cup exclusively live in the UK and Ireland, and Sky Sports Racing will broadcast the 2019 and 2020 events exclusively live following the launch of the new HD, dedicated racing channel, as the successor to ATR, in January 2019. In addition, ATR/Sky Sports Racing will commit significant promotion and coverage to the event and to the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series across their digital and social media assets, including hosting another dedicated microsite on attheraces.com. “We’re delighted to have extended our long-term relationship with the Breeders’ Cup for another three years,” Matthew Imi, Chief Executive, At The Races said. “The event speaks for itself in terms of its profile and position within racing on the global stage. We’re also excited about how we can help tell the story on Sky Sports Racing and leverage the considerable might of Sky Sports, Sky Sports News and Sky Sports’ digital platforms in terms of further support.” View the full article

The racehorse Preakness, the namesake of the second race in the Triple Crown series, and the accomplished trainer William Lakeland have been elected to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame by the Museum’s Historic Review Committee. Preakness and Lakeland join Eclipse Award-winning filly Heavenly Prize in the class of 2018. Preakness, born in 1867, was bred by R. A. Alexander and purchased as a yearling by Milton H. Sanford for $4,100. In 1873, Preakness won the Jockey Club H., Long Branch S. and beat Hall of Fame inductee Harry Bassett in both the Manhattan H. and Grand National H. at Jerome Park. His other career highlights include wins in the 1874 Jockey Club S. and 1875 Balitmore Cup and finished in a dead-heat in the Saratoga Cup. Born in Manchester, England, in 1853, Lakeland was a successful jockey before turning his attention to conditioning racehorses around 1877. His greatest successes as a trainer came with the champions Domino and Hamburg, both eventual Hall of Fame inductees. Lakeland’s multiple stakes winners included Kimball, Bucktie, Babcock, Tea Tray, Exile, Tattler, Voter and Electioneer. He was famous for sending some of his horses out to race–and often win–multiple times on the same card. He died in 1908. The Museum’s Historic Review Committee is chaired by Michael Veitch and includes Edward L. Bowen, Allan Carter, Jane Goldstein, Ken Grayson, Steve Haskin, Jay Hovdey, Carl Nafzger, Mary Simon, John von Stade and Gary West. View the full article

Like many in the racing community, trainer Tom Amoss is as interested as anyone to see how unbeaten Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Justify looks once he returns to the track. View the full article

A total of 57 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds are eligible to the $1 million Queen’s Plate set for June 30 at Woodbine. Fifty-six of the original 109 nominee remain eligible to the Queen’s Plate, plus the addition of supplemental entry Home Base (Street Sense), a recent maiden winner at Keeneland owned by Patricia’s Hope LLC and trained by Michael Tomlinson. Seven of the nominees are fillies, including ‘TDN Rising Star’ and recent GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro), who is also one of 27 fillies nominated to the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks June 9. Mark Casse, Sid Attard, Michael Maker and Daniel Vella each train four Queen’s Plate nominees. In addition to Wonder Gadot, Casse’s crew of contenders also includes MGSW Flameaway (Scat Daddy) and GSP ‘TDN Rising Star’ Telekinesis (Ghostzapper). An additional $10,000 payment or supplementary fee of $25,000 is due upon entry Wednesday, June 27 by 8:30 a.m. To view the full list of horses nominated to the Queen’s Plate, click here. For the complete list of Oaks-eligible fillies, click here. View the full article

Claiborne Farm’s Bernie Sams says you call tell what kind of weekend a stallion had during the springtime based on the number of phone calls received on Monday. The Claiborne stallion seasons and bloodstock manager would certainly know, as the storied farm’s Blame (Arch) has proven to be of the standouts of the spring racing season. The 2010 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, who entered stud in 2011, saw his 3-year-old son Maraud earn his second graded stakes victory in the GII American Turf S. on the GI Kentucky Derby undercard Saturday, while one day later, Grade I winner Fault made it three graded stakes wins in a row with a score in the GIII Adoration S. at Santa Anita. Adding to Blame’s success was a promising victory by G1 Japanese Oaks contender Randonnee in the Listed Sweetpea S. at Tokyo Racecourse Apr. 29. The TDN paid a visit to Claiborne Farm earlier this week to discuss Blame’s upward trajectory with Sams, who said the farm’s decision to cut the stallion’s fee in half to $12,500 for the 2018 season has led to a favorable response from breeders, who have booked 115-120 mares to the stallion. Click here or below to view the interview with Sams. View the full article

Suffolk Downs has increased its overnight purses by 15% for its three festival weekends June 9-10, July 7-8 and Aug. 4-5. With the increase, $5,000 claiming races will now carry a purse of $30,000, maiden special weight races will offer a purse of $47,500 and allowance/optional claiming races will be listed at $52,500, pending approval by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The track offered lucrative starter incentives for trainers at $400 per horse and owners were rewarded with $500 for horses finishing first through fifth (on top of purse money) while the owners of horses finishing sixth through last received a bonus of $1,500. This incentive program will continue in 2018. “We understand that asking people to ship in for each weekend requires that we ensure some return on their investment and we expect that we’ll be over $500,000 per day in purses with this increase,” said Chip Tuttle, the Chief Operating Officer at Suffolk Downs. “We appreciate the cooperation of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission in making these weekends a success.” View the full article

Like many in the racing community, trainer Tom Amoss is as interested as anyone to see how unbeaten Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) winner Justify looks once he returns to the track. View the full article

Fresh off notching his 400th Hong Kong winner, trainer Paul O’Sullivan didn’t waste any time ringing up his 401st as Acclaimed Light captured the Class Three Sauternes Cup (1,650m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. The consistent six-year-old has been knocking on the door all season – he had finished in the first four seven times without winning while his rating had fluctuated between 61 and 63 – but finally everything went his way. Jockey Matthew Chadwick settled... View the full article

Doing well with your first set of runners is neither a prerequisite nor a guarantee of ultimate success as a stallion. But there are certainly strong indicators that a sire’s merits do in fact appear quite early. Traditionally, in Britain and Ireland in any case, we tend to quantify freshman sire success by the number of individual winners a stallion gets in his first year. This ranking is the most likely to lead us astray when trying to identify future stars. In the table of sires with 30 or more winning first-crop 2-year-olds, which features 16 sires, only half of them have managed to maintain a percentage of stakes winners higher than five during their careers. And make no bones about it, for some getting a large number of winning youngsters in their first crop was probably all that was ever intended by their connections. The other two rankings are, needless to say, full of quality. Ranked by the average Timeform rating of their best 10 runners, Frankel takes top spot, a position that he has also maintained after year two. Zoffany is the interesting prospect here as he’s earned top-class mares after his performance in year one. From the 11 sires listed in this table, only Kheleyf–who covered lesser mares than many of his rivals here–has failed to deliver a lasting impression. Kudos to the Irish National Stud’s Invincible Spirit and Coolmore’s Mastercraftsman for making it on to both rankings while also continuing to produce very respectable ratios of stakes winners. So, for the class of 2018, 30 individual winners and/or an average Timeform rating of 100 or higher for the best 10 runners should make all of us sit up and take note. View the full article

Scott Heider has been successfully racing horses in America for the better part of 30 years, but his stable is likely to gain a decidedly European look down the road, with the Omaha-based real estate developer having purchased a handful of blueblooded fillies from productive Coolmore families in partnership with Craig Bernick. “We have two 2-year-old fillies right now down in Ocala that are not too far away from going to the track,” said Heider, fresh off a purple patch in the U.S. that included stakes wins last week for his fillies Mia Mischief (Into Mischief) and Lady Alexandra (More Than Ready). “One is a War Front filly out of Ruby Tuesday (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), her name is Flying the Colors and Ruby Tuesday is a full-sister to Betterbetterbetter (Ire) and a half-sister to Yesterday (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) and Quarter Moon (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), the Jude family.” “She’s a wonderful filly, and we have another 2-year-old War Front filly, again with the War Front/Galileo cross, Property of a Lady. She’s a War Front filly out of the [GI] Queen Elizabeth-winning Together (Ire). We also have a War Front yearling filly out of A Star Is Born (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and we’re very excited about her. She’s a full-sister to Fleet Review and A Star Is Born is a full-sister to Rip Van Winkle (Ire).” Notice a pattern? It’s not a coincidence. Heider and Bernick are backing their belief in the War Front/Galileo cross. “We’ve made a pretty significant investment in the War Front fillies,” Heider said. “We feel like, depending on the breeding, depending on our mood, these are fillies that can race in Europe or America. We’re not committed to being in North America with any of these fillies or Europe, we can go back and forth, but as John Sikura has educated me over the years, pedigrees like these are really an international currency.” Heider has worked with John Sikura of Hill ‘n’ Dale since his early days in the game, and he credits Sikura with encouraging him to invest in European families and facilitating the transactions. “We started talking a couple years ago about where we were at and for the most part we raced in the U.S., so we had a heavy slant toward American pedigrees, which was great, but we decided to rebalance,” Heider explained. “Spending time with John and some others I started to really have a massive amount of respect for War Front, specifically. He, to me, is really a throwback stallion. He’s as close to Northern Dancer as anything you can see now. A couple years ago with John’s assistance and with Donato Lanni, we made some off-market acquisitions and started to acquire some very unique families we really believe in. Many of them are based on the War Front/Galileo cross.” Heider and Bernick laid the foundations for the program about two years ago with the private purchase of How (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a full-sister to Horse of the Year Minding (Ire); Irish Group 3 winner Most Beautiful (Ire) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}) and Earring (Ire) (Dansili {GB}), another daughter of Together who was Group 2-placed for Aidan O’Brien. All three went on to race for American trainer Tom Proctor, with Most Beautiful picking up a Grade III placing and Earring an allowance win and a Grade III placing in the U.S. Heider now owns How outright, and she is in foal to Dubawi (Ire) and will be offered at the breeding stock sales in Europe this year, while Bernick has Most Beautiful and Earring. “We really love these families and we look at them as a garden,” Heider said. “You plant these beautiful flowers in the garden and you tend them and in the case of many of these families, with Coolmore having a very large garden right adjacent to you; I don’t know anyone who tends the garden as well as Coolmore. That clearly is part of our strategy; we will do our part and be very patient and try to grow these families.” Heider and his partners have also planted the seeds for both racing and selling in Europe; Heider has a 2-year-old filly out of Yesterday named Kissed For Luck (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) in training in Ireland with Michael O’Callaghan, and a 3-year-old filly with Martyn Meade in Britain named Rayita (Ire) (Raven’s Pass) in partnership with Bernick. Rayita was purchased privately by Hubie de Burgh after running third on debut at Naas last October and is expected to make her seasonal debut in about 10 days’ time. “We raced our first filly over in Ireland last summer, Modern Love, a Dark Angel filly with Michael,” Heider said. “Michael flew over to the States last October and we spent a weekend here racing at Keeneland and got to know him better. I like Michael, he’s a very young guy, a very hard-working guy and Michael without question has his sights set very high. He did a very nice job with Modern Love for us last year and we wanted to give him an opportunity with this Zoffany filly.” Heider and Bernick were also active as sellers last year in France, parting with a Candy Ride (Arg) colt out of their mare Louvhakova (Maria’s Mon), a half-sister to the French-trained Breeders’ Cup winner Flotilla (Mizzen Mast), for €130,000 at Arqana’s August Yearling Sale. The idea to sell in France, where much of that family is active, was brought to the table by Lexington-based Irishman Tony Lacy, who had bought Heider his first filly in Ireland in 2014, and who Heider recently brought on as a more permanent member of his team. “We have a really great team with John Sikura and Donato Lanni, and one new addition in the last year has been Tony Lacy,” Heider said. “Tony was acquiring some Irish fillies for us over the last four or five years and we had a lot of fun doing that and I have a high degree of respect for Tony, so we engaged him about a year ago to oversee what we’re doing.” Heider said he expects his numbers in Europe-racehorses and broodmares-to grow, but he’ll be “very intentional about it”; in any case, his broodmare band in America perpetually hovers around seven or eight mares, and he said he sees that as a nice number. “We’ll be patient with these fillies,” he said. “My background is in the investment business, and in the investment business what you want to do is acquire very good businesses at fair prices. Once you have that in place you need to be patient and make good decisions but you need to give yourself enough time where you let that money compound; the power of compounding. We look at these equine assets, these incredible families, the same way. I’m hopeful over the next 20, 30 years we’ll be nurturing these same families.” Heider is a shareholder in Hill ‘n’ Dale’s internationally successful turf sire Kitten’s Joy, and he said he also holds that farm’s young Group 1 winner Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) in high regard. Heider said he is optimistic about a bright future for grass racing in America. “It feels like people in North America have woken up to turf racing,” he said. “I watch intently the people in North America start paying more and more attention to these turf races. It feels like we’re writing more turf races. It was nice to see Fasig-Tipton dip their toe in last summer with the [turf] sale and I’m sure they’ll look at that and try to figure out if it’s something they want to do again at some point. I think it’s only going to grow in this country and we’re very happy to be apart of it.” Heider said he’d also relish a chance to add a Frankel to his portfolio. “I would love to have the opportunity to get into some Frankel blood,” he said. “I think they’ve proven they’re effective not just in Europe.” “That’s what excites us, frankly, the international pedigrees that work on both sides of the Atlantic, and that’s what we’re committed to with this first wave of the War Fronts we have out of Galileo mares, and we’re going to stick to our guns,” Heider said. “We’ll keep nurturing these families and looking for more opportunities.” View the full article

When you visit Florida TRAC (Florida’s Thoroughbred Retirement and Adoptive Care) in Indiantown, Florida, you feel the energy and hum of a very busy place where many horses are being ridden and trained in an efficient manner. But what stands out most is the relaxed and friendly attitude of the Thoroughbreds and the people who are caring for them. Because of the warm climate, the horses are kept in the stalls during the day, lazily enjoying the surroundings beyond their stall guards. It was easy to meet just about every horse available for adoption. Walking down the shedrow with farm manager and trainer Katie Schmit and board Vice President Jena Antonucci, I learned each horse’s individual preferences and personality quirks. What struck me was their knowledge of each horse as an individual. “We have fun. There are not a lot of frowns around here,” says Schmit, a successful horse show competitor and exercise rider. “Every day the horses make the staff and volunteers smile. These horses do something for people. Their energy is contagious.” Today, more than 35 years after the birth of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, horse racing’s first aftercare organization, solutions to the complex facets in aftercare continue to evolve. More individuals from the thoroughbred racing industry and other backgrounds have become active in the cause, bringing new perspectives and ideas. The result is an evolving landscape of talented people, programs and ideas on a national, regional and local level addressing the issue of Thoroughbred aftercare. Florida TRAC started in 2010 by Gulfstream Park, The Stronach Group and the Florida HBPA, retrains and re-homes horses retired from racing in South Florida. Recently, Florida TRAC saw changes in its board and management team. The new team, made up of a small active board and three experienced staff members, has a unique approach to fulfilling its mission. The effectiveness of this team is in large part because Antonucci, a hands-on board volunteer, is a successful high-profile trainer and she is passionate about making sure that racehorses are trained and managed in a way that gives them the best chance for a long and happy life after racing. Like many conscientious trainers, she insists that her racing stable owners make the right decisions for the whole life of the horses in her barn and strives to make that the norm for all owners and trainers in the business. Owner responsibility is the center of Antonucci’s philosophy and goal of viable transition plans for all thoroughbreds racing in Florida–the pool from which Florida TRAC gets its horses. It is up to owners and trainers to responsibly re-home their racehorses in Florida if the horse is not eligible for Florida TRAC. “It is ultimately the owner’s responsibility to do the right thing for their racehorse,” said Antonucci. “Every horse has a second career that suits it. I like to see them find not only a second job but their swagger in doing something that they really like.” Florida TRAC is particular about which horses it accepts and is organized in a way to make the transition process as seamless and individualized as possible, maximizing the organization’s success rate in placing horses in the right second career. If they succeed in that realm, they make room for more retiring racehorses. With the help of equine vet Dr. Bonnie Comerford of Teigland, Franklin and Brokkem, another dedicated board member, every horse’s physical condition and potential transition plan from a physical point perspective is identified immediately so that the team at the farm knows exactly what the issues are, if any. The Florida TRAC board manages all the operations and business. The training team focuses on keeping the horses happy and working with the potential adopters to make the best match. Successful adoptions depend on Schmit’s ability to match the right horse to the right adopter. FL TRAC doesn’t post adoption fees for their horses, many of which are 100% sound for any discipline, because a fee could discourage the best adopter for that horse. Horses adopted from TRAC can be sold by their adopters. “We believe strongly in positive energy, positive people and a positive message,” says Antonucci. “We are not a rescue. We are a transition and a way for these horses to go on and flourish in their next career. We give Katie and the team the time and opportunity to do that.” Diana Pikulski is the former executive director of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. She now works as a non-profit consultant and operates the Thoroughbred Adoption Network. Visit www.thoroughbredadoption.com. View the full article

Just 24 hours after Study of Man (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) put his hat into the ring for Epsom, there was another to show potential in that regard in Bernard Kantor’s Young Rascal (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) in Wednesday’s G3 Centennial Celebration – MBNA Chester Vase S. Making many fans with his impressive five-length success in an 11-furlong Newbury maiden on his seasonal bow Apr. 21, the 10-3 second favourite was in an ideal position from the outset in fifth nestled against the rail by James Doyle. With the pace set by Ballydoyle’s Flag of Honour (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) honest and true, the bay travelled strongly turning for home before being launched as a line of six challenged at the furlong marker. Muscling his way through despite showing understandable greenness, he gained the advantage over Dee Ex Bee (GB) (Farhh {GB}) with 100 yards remaining and readily asserted for a half-length success, with three lengths back to the 3-1 market-leader Hunting Horn (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) in third. After coming out on top of a strong-looking trial, James Doyle was full of praise for the winner who is set to carry the colours of Investec’s managing director Bernard Kantor in the June 2 Derby his firm sponsors. “He’s very talented and showed a glimmer of that at Newbury, but he’s a big unit with a big stride and was a little bit inexperienced and behind the bridle there,” he explained. “This is not an ideal track for a horse like him and he will have learnt loads today. He responded really well and the fact that he won quite dominantly at the line shows what ability he has got. The owner will be very keen to go for the Derby and it would be very hard to put him off.” YOUNG RASCAL (FR), 126, c, 3, Intello (Ger)–Rock My Soul (Ire) (MSW-Ger & GSP-Fr, $144,166), by Clodovil (Ire). O-Bernard Kantor; B-Ecurie Peregrine SAS (FR); T-William Haggas; J-James Doyle. £56,710. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, £67,376. View the full article

The evidence of the past week suggests that Aidan O’Brien’s 3-year-olds are starting to crank into top gear now and the well-supported maiden Magic Wand (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) made all to justify 3-1 favouritism in Wednesday’s Listed Cheshire Oaks. Keen to exploit the all-important stall one, Ryan Moore sent the Leopardstown maiden third into an early advantage against the fence. Green the whole way around Chester’s tight circuit, the bay who is a half-sister to the quirky but high-class G1 Irish Oaks heroine Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) kept turning the screw on her rivals from six out and by the time she turned for home was in the clear and safe from danger. Fellow Ballydoyle challenger Forever Together (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who also attracted support in the market, was stuck in a pocket on the inner turning in but once freed by Seamie Heffernan stayed on in eye-catching fashion to finish 3 1/2 lengths back in second. “That was very smooth–she got away well and was looking around in front, so she’ll carry on improving,” her rider commented. “This was a big step up from her last run.” Wednesday, Chester, Britain ARKLE FINANCE CHESHIRE OAKS (FOR THE ROBERT SANGSTER MEMORIAL CUP)-Listed, £75,000, CHE, 5-9, 3yo, f, 11f 75yT, 2:28.61, gd. 1–MAGIC WAND (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire) 1st Dam: Prudenzia (Ire) (SW-Fr), by Dansili (GB) 2nd Dam: Platonic (GB), by Zafonic 3rd Dam: Puce (GB), by Darshaan (GB) 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (€1,400,000 Ylg ’16 ARAUG). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Markus Jooste; B-Ecurie des Monceaux & Skymarc Farm Inc (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £42,533. Lifetime Record: 3-1-0-1, $59,410. *1/2 to Chicquita (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), Hwt. Older Mare-Ire at 11-14f, G1SW-Ire, G1SP-Eng & Fr, $859,094. 2–Forever Together (Ire), 126, f, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Green Room, by Theatrical (Ire). (€900,000 Ylg ’16 GOFORB). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier. £16,125. 3–Princess Yaiza (Ire), 126, f, 3, Casamento (Ire)–Undertone (Ire), by Noverre. (€18,500 RNA Ylg ’16 TIRSEP). O-L H LaRoche. £8,070. Margins: 3HF, HF, 5. Odds: 3.00, 5.50, 9.00. Also Ran: Shailene (Ire), Shaherezada (Ire), Hazarfiya (GB), Dramatically, Here’s Alice (Ire), Award Winning (Ire), Kinaesthesia (GB). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Last year’s G2 Railway S. winner Beckford (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) remains on course for the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot. The 3-year-old, who was twice second in Group 1s at The Curragh last summer, was transferred to American-based Irishman Brendan Walsh from Gordon Elliott after running a credible fifth in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Beckford returned a winner in the Listed William Walker S. going five furlongs at Churchill Downs two weeks ago (video). “Beckford showed a great turn of foot and did everything right when winning on his debut for me last month,” said Walsh. “It was a bit of an adjustment for him, dropping back to five furlongs, and I think that he will improve a lot for the run.” “He has taken to the American way of training like a duck to water and now we are going to take him back to Europe. I am really excited to be going back over there and am very much looking forward to it.” Beckford also has an entry in the G1 Darley July Cup on July 14. “The intention is to run him in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and we will see what happens there before making any more plans. He’s a really athletic colt with a lovely mind, so I can’t see the undulations at Newmarket bothering him.” View the full article

Championship racing returns to legendary Pimlico Race Course May 10 for the opening of its 12-day Preakness Meet at Pimlico, highlighted by the 143rd running of the $1.5 million Preakness Stakes (G1) Saturday, May 19. View the full article