Wandering Eyes

Sunday’s G2 Charm Spirit Dahlia S. looked top-heavy on paper, with Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) far clear on form with only the minor burden of a five-pound penalty threatening a turn-up. In the event, it was all plain sailing for William Buick as Godolphin’s GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine sauntered through the race before powering to an emphatic four-length success from Wilamina (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). Sent off a generous 10-11, the chestnut travelled menacingly just off the pace which her rider judged insufficient as he sent her to the front passing the three-furlong marker. Rolling down the “dip” with the race already decided, the homebred enjoyed a facile introduction with bigger tests upcoming. Sunday, Newmarket, Britain CHARM SPIRIT DAHLIA S.-G2, £105,000, NEW, 5-6, 4yo/up, f, 9fT, 1:50.43, g/f. 1–WUHEIDA (GB), 131, f, 4, by Dubawi (Ire) 1st Dam: Hibaayeb (GB) (G1SW-Eng, GISW-US & G1SP-Fr, $630,316), by Singspiel (Ire) 2nd Dam: Lady Zonda (GB), by Lion Cavern 3rd Dam: Zonda (GB), by Fabulous Dancer O-Godolphin; B-Darley (GB); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £59,546. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Fr, GISW-US, G1SP-Eng & Ger, 8-4-1-1, $1,537,519. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Wilamina (Ire), 126, m, 5, Zoffany (Ire)–Tropical Lake (Ire), by Lomond. (€13,000 Wlg ’13 GOFNOV; €50,000 Ylg ’14 GOFORB). O-The Snailwell Stud; B-John Boden & Willie Kane (IRE); T-Martyn Meade. £22,575. 3–Indian Blessing (GB), 126, f, 4, Sepoy (Aus)–Alpen Glen (GB), by Halling. (€95,000 Ylg ’15 ARAUG; €170,000 2yo ’16 ARQMAY). O-P K Siu; B-Jocelyn Targett (GB); T-Ed Walker. £11,298. Margins: 4, 3 3/4, NO. Odds: 0.90, 12.00, 20.00. Also Ran: Mia Tesoro (Ire), Golden Legend (Fr), Billesdon Bess (GB), Tisbutadream (Ire), Elegant Pose (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Having come so close to landing the Triple Crown with Camelot (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) in 2012 it looks like Aidan O’Brien and his colleagues will try to put that matter straight with Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). With such a stout pedigree on both sides – Deep Imact won over two miles while his dame Maybe (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) ran in the Oaks – one could argue that Saxon Warrior has already won the most difficult leg of the trio when proving too classy for his rivals in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas on Saturday. When asked at Newmarket on Sunday if the Triple Crown would be an objective Aidan O’Brien said, “I would say that would be something. If everything went well in the Derby I would presume that’s what the lads would love to do.” Following his success under Donnacha O’Brien on Saturday Saxon Warrior was promoted to even money favourite for the G1 Investec Epsom Derby June 2 and should he emerge from that race victorious, the final leg of the Triple Crown would be the G1 St Leger over one mile and six furlongs at Doncaster in September. View the full article

There is a school of thought that trainers win jockeys’ championships in Hong Kong and Sunday’s thrilling heads-up and heads-down duel between Hezthewonforus and Win Beauty Win was a microcosm of the battle between Joao Moreira and Zac Purton. Trainers winning jockeys’ championships might sound strange, but what is implied is that it is the support a jockey gets from powerful stables that makes the difference – not necessarily riding ability. That might seem harsh, and... View the full article

While plenty of equine reputations tend to get bruised in a Guineas for some the race is often the catalyst for a drop in trip in the future and that is the route that connections of James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) will take after the colt finished a respectable seventh in the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on Saturday. The Gredley family’s 3-year-old was a first Classic runner for trainer George Scott who is also Bill Gredley’s son-in-law and reflecting on the colt’s effort Scott said, “We were very pleased with his run and I think it will turn out to be a strong Guineas. I think all the right horses came to the fore and, in time, I think it will turn out to be a cracking race. The mile possibly just stretched him so we will probably come back to six furlongs and go for the [G1] Commonwealth Cup.” James Garfield showed high class form over six furlongs as a juvenile when winning the G2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef S. at Newbury last year and began his season in style when getting seven furlongs well to win the G3 Greenham S. at Newbury but as a son of the international speed influence Exceed And Excel (Aus) there is every reason to believe he can develop into a top notch sprinter. “He is a Group Two winner and he has had two hard races, so we will take it as they come. My gut reaction is we will freshen him up for the Commonwealth Cup and the programme really picks up for the sprinters afterwards,” Scott added. View the full article

Tony Millard might have found his next stable star, declaring Refined Treasure “could be anything” after another commanding victory at Sha Tin on Sunday. The three-year-old had plenty against him in the Li Cup – stepping up to Class Three for the first time, drawing on the wrong side of the track for the straight 1,000m dash as well as contending with some talented rivals – but he handled it all in his stride and further enhanced his reputation, cruising to a comfortable... View the full article

Exultant staked his claim for the Champions & Chater Cup with a stunning victory in the Group Three Queen Mother Memorial Cup, aided by a decisive mid-race move from Zac Purton. Tony Cruz’s four-year-old delivered on the promise he has shown, producing a career-best performance to be six lengths clear of his nearest rival at the finish of the 2,400m contest. After settling towards the rear of the field, Purton decided he’d had enough of the slow sectionals – they ran a... View the full article

Talented two-year-old Styling City faced a mid-race challenge but the shortest-priced favourite of the season responded in style to remain undefeated with a strong performance in the opening race at Sha Tin on Sunday. After recording a dominant six-and-a-half length victory on debut and meeting virtually the same rivals again, John Moore’s gelding was all the rage with punters, jumping as a $1.15 chance in the Cheung Cup (1,000m). But Zac Purton, who was riding second favourite Quadruple... View the full article

China Horse Club, WinStar Farm, and Head of Plains Partners' Yoshida drove forward at the wire to win the $500,000 Old Forester Turf Classic (G1T) May 5, going a mile and an eighth over turf rated good at Churchill Downs. View the full article

One day after 2017 Kentucky Derby victor Always Dreaming finished fifth in the Alysheba Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Cloud Computing made his 4-year-old debut May 5 and also finished unplaced in a graded stakes. View the full article

What you saw Saturday at Churchill Downs was an undefeated, superstar horse easily winning the GI Kentucky Derby, and even those words, as hyperbolic as they may seem, don’t begin to tell the story of what happened in a drenched Louisville, Kentucky. Justify (Scat Daddy) got embroiled in one of the fastest paces in the history of the race, faced off against what may well have been one the deepest fields in a half-century, had to run over the slop, had to fend off the challenges of the 2-year-old champion and the GI Florida Derby winner and do all that with so little experience coming in that he had every right to be completely overwhelmed by the situation. Instead, nothing fazed him. He should have lost. He should have backed up at the quarter pole, losing by 15 lengths or so, leaving his connections with the realization that they asked this horse to handle more than any horse could. It didn’t happen that way. He won by 2 1/2 lengths in one of those wins that, as good as it looked on paper, looks a whole lot better when you look at the bigger picture. “You just saw a great performance,” trainer Bob Baffert told NBC after winning his fifth Kentucky Derby. When it comes to riding in big races, jockey Mike Smith has no equal, but from the instant the starting gate doors opened he put himself into a position to be widely criticized and second guessed. The clear speed in the race was Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford), who was one of the longest shots in the field at 49-1. Predictably, Robby Albarado was on a mission and he rode his horse hard off the blocks and got to the front after a quarter-mile in an insane :22.24. Justify has speed, but he doesn’t have to have the lead. For Smith, the right strategy seemed to be to sit, maybe three to four lengths off the lead, and then ease past Promises Fulfilled when he hit the brick wall that was waiting for him. Instead, Justify was breathing down his throat. Perhaps Smith knew that his horse could handle a vicious pace and was content to let Justify do whatever he wanted. Whatever the case may be, the situation looked precarious when the dueling leaders got to the half-mile in :45.77, one of the fastest opening half-mile in Kentucky Derby history. “I saw that ’22 and change’ and thought, ‘Wow, that is really fast,'” Baffert said. An exhausted Promises Fulfilled stopped entering the far turn, which was where Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) took a crack at Justify. He swatted him away, but now Good Magic (Curlin), who had been sitting a perfect trip behind the dueling leaders, took aim. This was not just any threat, but last year’s 2-year-old champion and a GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner. He didn’t let Justify get away and win by 10 lengths, but he never posed a serious threat. So much for the curse of Apollo. “It would take a horse like him to break that curse,” Smith said of the fact that, prior to Justify, no horse since Apollo in 1882 had won the Derby without having started at two. “He’s just something. I can’t describe how special this horse is. My vocabulary doesn’t have the words for it. He’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s so above average. He has unbelievable talent and then he’s got a mind to go with it. He was loving this stuff. It’s crazy. For such a young horse, he is so big and talented.” You wouldn’t think that Justify could get better. But he might. While it’s much easier now than it was 30 years ago for a lightly raced horse with no juvenile experience to perform well in the Derby, seasoning is still a factor. There’s every reason to believe that Justify is still figuring things out, still getting better. After he faced all of 14 opponents in his first three races and had a ridiculously easy trip in the GI Santa Anita Derby, they held his feet to the fire yesterday and he didn’t blink. He’s no longer just a talented horses, he’s a talented hose who has learned what it is to be a race horse, “Him and American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) and Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song), these horses are different,” Baffert said. “They are so great. It took a great horse to do what he did today.” While Justify was the star Saturday, Baffert should take a well-deserve bow. Yes, the primary owners, WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, delivered a sensational colt on Baffert’s doorsteps, but what happened Saturday wouldn’t have happened if the trainer didn’t make every right move. It’s no easy to task to take a horse who debuted with a win on Feb. 18 in a seven-furlong maiden race and win the Kentucky Derby 76 days later. There’s a reason why Baffert has won the Derby five times (one behind Ben Jones) and has every chance to get to seven, which would make him the winningest trainer in the history of the race. We should all take a deep breath before we declare Justify the next Triple Crown winner, but it’s awfully tempting to do so. Something can always go wrong, he could always beat himself, but he’s far and away the best 3-year-old there is. Who could possibly defeat him? The Triple Crown got off to an electrifying start Saturday and thanks to this son of Scat Daddy we should expect more of the same come the GI Preakness and GI Belmont. There’s hype and there’s reality. With Justify, it’s the latter. View the full article

The Fort Marcy was one of two graded turf stakes on the May 5 card as the program also featured a victory by Queen's Plate winner Holy Helena in the $200,000 Sheepshead Bay Stakes (G2T). View the full article

For the first time since she relocated to the U.S. in 2017, Qatar Racing's Treasuring found herself on the lead May 5 at Santa Anita Park and never gave it up. View the full article

Curlin's Honor out-sprinted four sophomore rivals to win the $100,000 Woodstock Stakes impressively May 5 at Woodbine. View the full article

Horses' body weights May 6 View the full article

Rafaello keeps Crabbia flag flying high View the full article

Placais boxes his way to 600th career win View the full article

Dutrow wins on protest View the full article

Patience rewarded after Eddie Gray pops up at big odds View the full article

See no pain, double the gain View the full article

Track conditions and course scratchings May 6 View the full article

Rodd, still indisposed, not riding on Sunday View the full article

Early scratchings May 6 View the full article

On a rainy day more suitable to ducks than people, aptly named Funny Duck posted a major upset in the $300,000 Pat Day Mile presented by LG&E and KU (G3) on the Kentucky Derby Day card. View the full article

China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing, and WinStar Farm's Justify in every sense earned his score in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) May 5 at Churchill Downs. View the full article

From even before JUSTIFY (c, 3, Scat Daddy–Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper) debuted, rumors swirled that Bob Baffert might have another monster 3-year-old on his hands, fresh off the heels of champions American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) and Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song). Just a few months later, the hulking chestnut is the GI Kentucky Derby winner after he stalked a fast pace and skipped away in the driving rain at Churchill Downs to take the 144th running of America’s most important horse race. After crushing his competition for ‘TDN Rising Star’ honors Feb. 18 at Santa Anita, the $500,000 Keeneland September graduate repeated with a facile allowance score Mar. 11 and he clinched his spot in the Louisville starting gate with a three-length tally in the GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 7. Made the 29-10 favorite despite his lack of experience, Justify broke alertly and was intently hustled away by Mike Smith to find a stalking spot in second. Things looked dicey when the opening quarter was posted in a sizzling :22.24, but Justify was traveling comfortably enough as he held his spot past a :45.78 half. Overhauling the tiring pacesetter midway around the far turn, the favorite looked ready to romp, but champion Good Magic (Juvenile), who had ridden the rail in a similar fashion to his GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile score, tipped out to challenge at the top of the lane. Justify had more in reserve though, and still maintained a clear advantage past the eighth pole before hitting the wire a measured two lengths to the good in 2:04.20 over the off going. Good Magic narrowly held for the place over rail-running Audible (Into Mischief). Lifetime Record: 4-4-0-0, $1,866,000. O-WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, Starlight Racing & Head of Plains Partners; B-John D. Gunther (KY); T-Bob Baffert. View the full article