Wandering Eyes

Rocco Baldelli is part of the Tampa Bay Rays coaching staff. Before that–after playing in the MLB, mostly for the Rays–he was a part of the club’s front office involved with amateur scouting and the annual MLB first-year player draft. Rocco once told us that scouting high school and college players for the draft was more about finding the negatives than the positives, especially at the top of the draft. “We have to knock guys,” Rocco had said sheepishly. He almost hated saying it, but a job’s a job, right? It all made sense because most of the amateur players at the top of the draft are accomplished and evenly matched on paper, like the top prospects in the Derby. When it came to picking prospects, Rocco and other decision makers in the front office relied on their own eyes, scouting reports, and–this is important –statistical and historical data compiled by the Rays’ eggheads to winnow the field. What it all boiled down to was projection, especially with the first-rounders who are expected to be future MLB players. Rocco himself was a first-rounder, and he was picked because of his physique and speed and projected ability to hit in the MLB. Tampa Bay got it right with him. Let’s look at the Derby field as a potential draft and utilize the same philosophy to pick the No. 1 prospect. We’ll add a few more lower-round picks based on value to fill out our ticket. We’re going to project and dispassionately pick horses with the requisite speed and stamina to get 10 furlongs for the first time. Pedigree plays the major role, because that last eighth of a mile separates the men from the boys. Speed figures are are fine, but they’re based on races at nine furlongs. This is all about 10 furlongs, so we’ll have to project what the pedigree says. We’re also going to knock some prospects in the process, as Rocco did, so don’t take it personally. And one last thing: Rocco Baldelli isn’t just a baseball guy; he’s a breeder and owner who’s had success in his short time in the game. We project bigger things for him in the future. Top of the Draft The top-round prospects, for our purposes, are the single-digit morning-line choices. The potential first-rounders are Justify (Scat Daddy) (3-1), Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) (5-1), Magnum Moon (Malibu Moon) (6-1), Audible (Into Mischief) (8-1), and Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) (8-1). We’re throwing out Justify and Magnum Moon, who didn’t race at two–yes, that Apollo curse has been historically significant because it speaks of experience. Both colts are talented but lightly raced, and Magnum Moon especially may be too green at this stage of his career for the Derby. We think his pedigree might be a tad short, too. There’s a lot of speed in his female family and not as much stamina to counterbalance it for 10 furlongs. Justify is a big, good-looking individual with star power and presence, but his sire, Scat Daddy, is a Storm Cat-line stallion, and none from the line has sired a Derby winner yet. That’s because the Storm Cat sires, except for Giant’s Causeway, are best at producing nine-furlong horses. It’s probably fair to say, then, that the Scat Daddys need some fortification from the bottom side of pedigrees for 10 furlongs, and Justify may not have that. His family is as speedy as Magnum Moon’s–both have Florida-bred sprinters as third dams–and his broodmare sire, Ghostzapper, appears to be more an influence for speed than stamina in this role in pedigrees. For example, Ghostzapper is also the broodmare sire of champion sprinter Drefong, a son of the 10-furlong winner Gio Ponti, who is also a Storm Cat-line horse like Scat Daddy; and the Grade I-winning sprinter American Gal, by nine-furlong winner Concord Point; and others. Mendelssohn, a $3 million yearling half-brother to champion Beholder and top sire Into Mischief, is also a son of Scat Daddy, but he’s already won at a mile and three-sixteenths. He’s got more stamina on his dam’s side than Justify. Beholder, by a Storm Cat-line sprinter, was a 10-furlong Grade I winner against colts, and the extended family incudes Derby winner I’ll Have Another as well, but Mendelssohn’s blowout win at Meydan may not have been as impressive as it looked. He didn’t face a top field in Dubai, and, more importantly, he benefitted from a severe track bias that favored inside-post front runners. We’re passing on him. Audible is by Mendelssohn’s Storm Cat-line half-brother Into Mischief, a top stallion who spits out black-type winners with regularity but who has only had three Grade I winners to date, none at distances of more than nine furlongs. One of his best was multiple Grade I winner Practical Joke, a 3-year-old last year who was famously better suited to one turn than two. In fact, most of Into Mischief’s graded winners to date have won at less than nine furlongs–and many were pure sprinters. Add that Audible’s broodmare sire is the sprinter Gilded Time, who throws more speed into the mix, and 10 furlongs may not be his metier. We’ll pass. That leaves Bolt d’Oro as our No. 1 pick. He’s the big, tall and stretchy type–an obvious athlete like Rocco Baldelli–that you like to see for the Derby’s distance, and he’s got a great pedigree that blends speed and stamina, which are necessary in equal parts for America’s classic distance on dirt. His sire, Medaglia d’Oro, can get a wide array of types, from 2-year-olds to older horses, over the range of distances and surfaces, and his first-crop filly Rachel Alexandra, a Preakness winner, exemplified that combination of qualities so necessary for the classics. Bolt d’Oro is from a mare by A.P. Indy–a great marker for stamina in pedigrees–but his immediate female family has also produced sprinters and milers. Bolt d’Oro shares his extended dam line with Seattle Slew and Mr. Prospector, two sires that define the best qualities we’re looking for in a classic prospect. Bolt d’Oro was a Grade I winner at two and has two good runs this year that should leave him in peak form for Saturday. He’s got the looks, the form, and the pedigree. His speed figures are among the best at nine furlongs, and with his pedigree, they project to improve over added distance. Lower-Round Picks You look for value and bang for buck in lower round picks. Good Magic (12-1) fits the bill. He’s the champion 2-year-old colt of 2017, and he enters the Derby off a win. More importantly, he’s by Curlin, who is the most reliable source of classic horses nowadays. We’ll take him over the other 12-1 Curlin, Vino Rosso. Instilled Regard (50-1) has one of the best pedigrees for the distance. He’s by Arch–that’s a code word for stamina–out of a mare by Forestry–that’s speed. Forestry is already the broodmare sire of Derby winner Nyquist. Instilled Regard is from a Phipps family of 10-furlong Grade I winners Heavenly Prize, Good Reward, and Persistently. Free Drop Billy (30-1) is by Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags, an up-and-coming young sire whose oldest runners are 4-year-olds. And to put Union Rags’s success in perspective, consider that he already had four Grade I winners to his credit while proven sire Into Mischief has three. Free Drop Billy is from a Giant’s Causeway mare and is a half-brother to the European 10-furlong winner Hawkbill. It may be fair to say that he has more stamina than required for the Derby and therefore may be only plugging–or plodding–on at the end for a piece. Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks. View the full article

Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Noble Indy has fallen from the spotlight since his win at Fair Grounds Race Course six weeks ago. View the full article

A familiar face greeted Mendelssohn when the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) entrant took his first steps on the Churchill Downs racetrack May 3. View the full article

A ceremony in Newmarket High Street on Thursday saw the unveiling of four commemorative paving stones honouring the achievements of the latest batch of inductees into the town’s ‘Legends of the Turf’ project. The project was officially launched in July 2014 when the first six commemorative paving slabs were laid in Newmarket High Street. The recipients of these awards were voted for by the community, recognising contributions made in three different categories: horses, jockeys, and other racing personalities. The latest four Legends are Pebbles, Walter Swinburn, Sir Jack Jarvis and Willie Snaith, who join the likes of Hyperion, Frankel, Fred Archer and Sir Henry Cecil among those already inducted. Pebbles (GB) (Sharpen Up) was a Newmarket horse through and through. Bred by Captain Marcos Lemos, she was conceived at Side Hill Stud, reared at Ashley Heath Stud and trained in Carlburg Stables in the Bury Road by Clive Brittain. Her sire had been trained by Bernard van Cutsem in Stanley House Stables, her dam by Clive Brittain and her maternal grandsire by Sir Noel Murless in Warren Place before standing at Wood Ditton Stud. She won at Newmarket in each of her three seasons in training, with her second season highlighted by her triumphs in the G1 1,000 Guineas S. Her most momentous victories, however, came in the G1 Eclipse and G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf in 1985. She became the first filly or mare ever to land the former, which had been inaugurated 99 years previously, while she was the first British-trained horse to win at a Breeders’ Cup Meeting. Walter Swinburn ranks as one of the greatest jockeys of the 20th century. Just 19 when he was appointed stable jockey to Michael Stoute, the partnership was an instant success, given a kick-start by the wide-margin victories of Shergar (Ire) in the 1981 Derby and King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. Swinburn spent the final two decades of the 20th century regarded as arguably the best big-race rider in the world, with his CV ultimately boasting two more Derby victories and myriad other great triumphs, including the victory of Desert King (Ire) in the National S. in 1996, the first Group 1 winner ever trained by Aidan O’Brien. He retired from the saddle in 2000. He subsequently trained for a few years, and tragically died in December 2016, aged only 55. Walter Swinburn was represented at the ceremony by his parents Wally (himself formerly a top-class rider, twice champion jockey in Ireland) and Doreen, his daughters Claudia and Millie, brother Michael, and Sir Michael Stoute. Born in 1887, John Layton ‘Jack’ Jarvis was apprenticed to his father William Arthur Jarvis, trainer of the great racehorse and stallion Cyllene (GB). He was a successful apprentice both on the Flat and then over jumps before becoming one of three sons of William Jarvis to train a British Classic winner. He was champion trainer in 1939, 1951 and 1953. Sir Jack Jarvis was knighted by the Queen for services to horseracing in 1967, the year before he died. His other distinctions included the unique achievement of winning the biggest race in Scotland, the Ayr Gold Cup, as both jockey and trainer. He was represented at the ceremony by his great-nephew, current Newmarket trainer William Jarvis, and great-nieces Jane George and Melanie Shuttler. Willie Snaith was one of England’s most successful jockeys in the post-war years. He rode nearly 1,000 winners, but was honoured as much for his contribution to the community as for his achievements in the saddle. Snaith was awarded the MBE by the Queen in 2004. Now 90, and sadly in poor health, he was unable to attend the ceremony, but was represented by his son John (himself a former jockey) and grand-daughter Millie. View the full article

Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Noble Indy has fallen from the spotlight since his win at Fair Grounds six weeks ago. View the full article

A familiar face greeted Mendelssohn when the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) entrant took his first steps on the Churchill Downs racetrack May 3. View the full article

Dale Romans-trained Coach Rocks is coming to hand at the right time for the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). With her rides the hopes of owners Roddy Valente, Rick Pitino's RAP Racing, and West Point Thoroughbreds. View the full article

MAE NEVER NO (IRE) (f, 2, No Nay Never–Sweet Shirley Mae, by Broken Vow) became the first winner for her freshman sire (by Scat Daddy), outfinishing her more fancied stable companion Abyssinian (Cairo Prince) to graduate by a half-length at first asking Thursday at Belmont Park. Quickly away, the cold-on-the-board 17-2 chance was straightened out by Gary Stevens after drifting in a bit a stride or two out of the stalls, then settled in third as Abyssinian appeared to be coasting on an easy lead. The chalk drifted a bit wide into the stretch and Mae Never No began to cut into the advantage, grabbed the front-runner at the sixteenth pole and inched clear. Mae Never No’s sire raced for this breeder in partnership with Coolmore and annexed his career debut at Keeneland before adding the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot and the G1 Darley Prix Morny a few months later. Sparingly campaigned at three, No Nay Never won the GIII Woodford S. in between runner-up efforts in the GII Swale S. and in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. O/B-Ice Wine Stable (Ire); T-Wesley Ward. View the full article

A familiar face greeted Medelssohn when the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) entrant took his first steps on the Churchill Downs racetrack May 3. View the full article

Beach Patrol (Lemon Drop Kid), a finalist for 2017 champion turf male, makes his 5-year-old debut as the 5-2 favorite for Saturday’s GI Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. The ‘TDN Rising Star’ makes his third Derby weekend appearance in a row, having just been touched off in the dying strides by the re-opposing Camelot Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) in the GII American Turf in 2016 and having dropped a narrow decision to Divisidero (Kitten’s Joy) in this event 12 months back. Things seemed to perk up a bit for Beach Patrol with a midseason switch to Joel Rosario, who was in the irons when proving a half-length superior in the GI Arlington Million last August. The dark bay stretched out to 12 furlongs for the first time in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational, scoring by five towering lengths, and he was last seen holding on grimly to complete the exacta behind Talismanic (GB) (Medaglia d’Oro) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf in November. On the surface, gate 10 is not ideal, but he should be able to slide across his rivals to stalk the pace outside likely front-runner Shining Copper (Aragorn {Ire}). Synchrony (Tapit) has earned the right to try top-level company and is this field’s form horse, with big wins in the Feb. 17 GIII Fair Grounds H. and a 1 3/4-length defeat of last year’s American Turf upsetter Arklow (Arch) in the GII Mervin Muniz Memorial H. Mar. 24. Kurilov (Chi) (Lookin At Lucky) should fall into a nice trip from gate three and would represent good value at or near his morning-line quote of 6-1. A Group 1 winner on dirt in his native Chile, the October foal was beaten a neck into third in the Dec. 23 Queens County S. over the Aqueduct main track, but switched to the grass for his latest and nearly claimed the scalp of Heart to Heart (English Channel) in the GI Gulfstream Park Turf S. Feb. 10. The latter franked the form when adding the GI Maker’s 46 Mile S. at Keeneland. Deauville (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is set for his fifth North American appearance, including a victory in the 2016 GI Belmont Derby and a second straight trifecta finish in the Million last summer at Arlington. He has one run under his belt this term, a narrow runner-up effort in the G3 Earl of Sefton S. at Newmarket Apr. 18. View the full article

The 2018-19 United Arab Emirates racing season features a new high of 67 race dates, five more than last season, after His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Emiratates Racing Authority (ERA) approved the calender on Thursday. Jebel Ali kicks off the season on Oct. 26, the first of its 11 meetings, while Meydan starts its dozen “Racing at Meydan” domestic meetings on Nov. 1. Nov. 3 marks the beginning of the Abu Dhabi Racecourse’s 15 meetings and Sharjah Racecourse’s season starts its six-meet run on Nov 10. The final venue is Al Ain, with 12 meetings on the calendar, which starts Nov. 12. “We are pleased to launch the 2018-2019 race fixture which provides the trainers and horse lovers with an integrated season on the five tracks of UAE,” said His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. “This program includes races for both local and international horses [Arabian & Thoroughbred]. We look forward to another successful racing season in the UAE on Friday,Oct. 26, 2018.” For the complete fixture list, click here. View the full article

Three seven-figure yearlings in four years, from barely a dozen mares. “Not too bad, for a little hick operation in the Borders,” says the Duke of Roxburghe. It is a wry, perfectly weighted remark. He has, after all, just driven through the park of the largest inhabited castle in Scotland. But if Floors Stud is the only parcel of his estate that might remotely qualify him as David, rather than Goliath, he is always reliably free of airs. The Duke opens the gate into a paddock where three yearling fillies sprawl in the spring sunshine. Their visitors cause them to get curiously to their feet: one by Gleneagles; one by Dark Angel; and Attraction’s daughter by Invincible Spirit. Depending how her 1,600,000gns half-brother Elarqam (GB) (Frankel {GB}) performs in the first Classic of the season at Newmarket on Saturday, this strong, compact filly might conceivably command a similar sum in the sales ring herself. But the Duke has other plans. She has already been named, as Motion; and whatever she can achieve on the track, the hope is that one day she can be welcomed back to the farm, a precious new conduit for the charisma of perhaps the most accomplished Thoroughbred ever bred in Scotland. Though the dividends from her colts have made a huge difference to the sustainability of the stud, the Duke had been desperate for Attraction (GB) (Efisio {GB}) to produce another filly. Her first two foals, in 2007 and 2008, were both fillies; both immediately showed themselves capable of winning at stakes level, at least; and both died as 3-year-olds, one of grass sickness and the other tipping over and breaking her neck when being led innocuously through a yard. Other than the Grade III-placed Cushion (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), co-owned with Coolmore, it has since been colts all the way-bar this precious yearling here. Elarqam was followed by the Dubawi colt who last autumn brought 1,350,000gns at Tattersalls, again from Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell Estates. Then came Motion, and earlier this month Attraction delivered a full brother-another colt!-to Elarqam. “He looks fabulous,” the Duke says. “Though a different type. He’s not the same colour, he’s a lighter bay, and doesn’t look like the mother. Elarqam is just a male version of Attraction, they’re two peas in a pod. The Dubawi, again, was completely different. Wasn’t as naturally robust and muscular and strong as Elarqam. He was quality, yes, but I suspect you’ll be more likely to see his best as a 3-year-old.” Since named Maydanny (Ire), that colt has followed Elarqam to Mark Johnston’s yard-where their mother, of course, was stabled during her own racing days. After Elarqam won his second start, a Group 3 at Newmarket last September, Johnston confessed that he had not been so nervous about a runner since. “And I said exactly the same thing, watching in the office here on television,” the Duke says. “I was like a caged lion, walking up and down. Because for all the great luck we’ve had in the sales ring, at the end of the day what it boils down to is breeding good horses. And he had always been a stunning colt. It was so exciting to see him do that.” By an extraordinary Guineas winner out of an extraordinary Guineas winner, Elarqam is certainly preceded to Newmarket by an air of destiny. Yet if he could win the Qipco 2,000 Guineas, he would complete the strangest of paradoxes-whereby a mare wildly out of line with convention, in her own physique, has become a paragon of the sales ring. Attraction’s forelegs were so corkscrewed, and her action so splayed, that purists broke into a cold sweat at the very sight of her. The Duke feels indebted to the candour of Henry Beeby, who conceded that it would be pointless trying to sell her at Doncaster; unless, perhaps, they tried to breeze her. “I don’t mean this rudely to other trainers, but with most of them she’d never have achieved half what she did with Mark,” the Duke remarks. “He thinks out of the box, doesn’t pay attention to the norms, and just said okay, let’s get on with it. She won her maiden about now, at the end of April at Nottingham; and the Cherry Hinton [July 8] was her fifth race. How many other trainers would have done that?” So far as her ability to throw a correct foal is concerned, the Duke has a plausible theory. “None of the rest of her family has had the conformation she was born with,” he says. “Her dam Flirtation (GB) (Pursuit Of Love {GB}) was a lovely fine big stamp of a mare, good-bodied, probably toed out a little bit. Attraction toes in both [forelegs], and she’s offset in one if not both.” “Hindsight’s a very useful commodity but I remember when she first started running, [longstanding bloodstock adviser] John Warren said: ‘You’re never going to want to breed from a crooked thing like that.’ I suppose I was trying to think of the cup as half-full, rather than half-empty, but I just felt she was so unlike anything else in the family that she had probably lain wrongly in the womb. None of her foals, almost, have had anything like her conformation problems at all. One was quite offset but basically they’ve been good, correct animals.” But exonerating her family of any innate defect does not alter the way she has exalted a page that had offered little immediate distinction; and that she did so by dint of a fairly yeoman covering for Flirtation, from Efisio. So if Attraction inherited anything freakish, it was sooner in “sleeping” genes than conformation. “It was a fluke,” admits the Duke. “No getting away from it. She was out of probably, at the time, one of the lesser mares on the place; and the cheapest nomination. It was only because she was so crooked that we ended up never putting her in a sale, so there was no genius behind it.” “Flirtation’s dam was a non-winner, and the next dam never ran. Flirtation herself only ran once. We only kept her because she was such a good-looking mare. We were trying to buy mares to upgrade the yearlings-and you either couldn’t get into families or you had to compromise on something, looks or performance or pedigree.” The Duke had decided that since the arrival of the Maktoums in the marketplace, the only way of making financial sense of a stud was to operate at a higher level. His father had started it up in 1948. “He was an old-fashioned owner-breeder,” the Duke recalls. “Didn’t spend a fortune on nominations, and used to race everything; Dick Peacock in Middleham trained them. He loved a stayer. Sweet Story won the Northumberland Plate twice and the Yorkshire Cup as well. And he owned a horse called Guide, who stood here, a half-brother to Ballymoss. I think my father was underbidder on Ballymoss to Vincent O’Brien.” He was still only 19 when losing his father in 1974. At the stud dispersal Jocelyn Hambro-who subsequently became his stepfather-bought a No Mercy foal and made him a present of a half-share. The colt won a maiden on the July Course, in his colours, and the young Duke was hooked. If Attraction was unquestionably the game-changer, then Floors Stud has been no one-pony trick. Comic (Ire) (Be My Chief), homebred out of a Lowther winner and one of several projects shared with the Duke of Devonshire, has produced two elite winners in Viva Pataca (GB) (Marju {Ire}) and Laughing (Ire) (Dansili {GB}); while her 2013 and 2015 sons by Dubawi raised 1,400,000gns and 750,000gns, respectively, at Tattersalls. A venerable old dame of 22, she is still on the farm-alongside her nearly blind daughter Blinking (GB) (Marju {Ire}) and stakes-winning granddaughter Twitch (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}). So putting Floors on the racing map has been a long, patient process. Putting it on any kind of map is quite an achievement, to be fair. Though the Duke feels that remoteness counts against the region economically, with 50 miles to the nearest dual carriageway, it is also the key to its glory. From the castle, the border country unfurls dreamily across the Tweed to the Cheviot Hills. Kelso’s adjacent jumps track, meanwhile, is a classic of its type: a ritual congregation of a widely dispersed agricultural community, with an open fire in the members’ bar of the little Georgian grandstand. Acceding to a dukedom as a teenager must have brought burdens as well as benefits. As any breeder of Thoroughbreds could testify, custodianship of a legacy handed down by generations past will always bring its challenges. Just as a new roof for the castle requires a wind farm on the grouse moor, so matings must be planned-however reluctantly-as much with the sales ring in mind as the racetrack. One way or another, then, racing is fortunate that a man so seasoned in balancing responsibilities to past and future recently agreed to become chairman of the National Stud. “I think we’ve really exciting times ahead,” the Duke enthuses. “The National Stud came back into Jockey Club ownership eight years ago, when the brief was to stem heavy losses and get into cash positive. Ben Sangster as chairman and Brian O’Rourke as stud manager did a great job in stabilising the ship.” “I think the u.s.p. is the training and education progamme we do. Besides the main, six-month diploma course, we’ve now joined up with the TBA in a progamme for older students. We have a terrific responsibility to the industry but in order to do all that we need the building blocks. Boarding and spelling are crucial now, because over the last 10 to 15 years the big stallion studs have stopped boarding mares. And we have also identified the need to get into the stallion market. We have been standing stallions on behalf of other people, but this season we’ve been lucky enough to get Aclaim (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) and to buy Time Test (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). “We have also realised the need to invest in the infrastructure of the stud. For obvious reasons, cashflow as much as anything else, it needed a facelift. The stewards have very kindly agreed to support that, and we’re going to be spending a considerable sum over the next three years to upgrade the facilities. Not to compete with the likes of Darley and Juddmonte, you can’t do that. But just to make the place something the Jockey Club and the industry can be proud of. We’ve a terrific new stud manager, in Tim Lane, and there is a buzz about the place.” The Duke reports that 38 breeding rights have been sold in Time Test, who will also shuttle to Little Avondale Stud in New Zealand. So he has his chance. Attraction, of course, showed how unpredictable breeding can be; yet her son, conversely, could be about to make it all look a simple case of breeding the best to the best. She is returning to Frankel this spring, needless to say, so is away in Newmarket. (All the mares, in fact, once absorbing the benefits of the Scottish winter, are sent away to foal near their next covers.) As she left, the Duke and stud manager Aonghus Ryan-who previously worked under Peter Reynolds at Ballymacoll-doubtless whispered instructions in her ear to conceive a filly this time. For her defining attribute, both as a runner and now as a broodmare, is something far more elusive than perfect conformation. If anything, her notorious running apparatus ultimately served only as a clue to what lay within. “Mark said the reason she was so successful was heart,” the Duke says. “Determination, guts, grit. That’s very symptomatic of the way his horses run, of course; and it’s what saw her through all her conformation issues. Mark says she must have felt it. I’m not saying she hurt every race, but she can’t have had that conformation, and that action, without something getting in her brain.” “But she had this will, that she wasn’t going to be beaten; and I think that has followed through into her children. It was so exciting to see Elarqam last year. And the great thing is that Sheikh Hamdan and Mark said straightaway that he’d be put away for the Guineas. So we have had from Sept. 28 to dream about what might happen. It’s been a free hit. But at 3.35 pm on Saturday we’re going to find out.” View the full article

Lane’s End Racing’s undefeated ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mask (Tapit) was considered one of the top early contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby after his dazzling romp in the Mucho Macho Man S. Jan. 6, but with an injury and several months off in the rearview, he returns on the Derby day undercard in a stacked edition of the GIII Pat Day Mile S. A three-length debut victor Oct. 20 at Belmont, the $685,000 KEESEP grad took no prisoners at Gulfstream with a 6 1/4-length tour de force performance. An undisclosed setback cost him any chance at gaining a foothold on the Derby trail, however, and his connections decided to back off on him. He’s drilled steadily since early March, however, and capped off preparations with an easy five-furlong spin in 1:03 2/5 (48/55) over this track. If Mask is the comebacker, WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing’s National Flag (Speightstown) is the ‘now’ horse. Breaking his maiden last August at Saratoga, the $600,000 KEESEP pickup was fifth in the GI Hopeful S. Sept. 4. Laid up for the winter, he returned with a well-regarded allowance tally Mar. 2 at Gulfstream and was extremely impressive in taking the GIII Bay Shore S. last out at Aqueduct after a disastrous start. Rigney Racing’s Madison’s Luna (Tapit) is a colt on the rise. Scoring in his career bow Feb. 10 at Tampa, the $400,000 KEESEP grad powered away to a five-length triumph in the GIII Hutcheson S. Mar. 24 at Gulfstream. A trio of turnbacks also rate glances. Mike Lombardi’s Lombo (Graydar) upset the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. Feb. 3 at Santa Anita, but backed up to finish seventh when last seen in the GII San Felipe S. there Mar. 10. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Sporting Chance (Tiznow), winner of the Hopeful, couldn’t quite get going this spring and was fourth in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. last out. Restoring Hope (Giant’s Causeway), a good-looking maiden winner Feb. 2 at Santa Anita, ran an even third last out in the GII Wood Memorial Apr. 7 at Aqueduct. View the full article

E Five Racing’s unbeaten Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) will look to take her record to a perfect five-for-five in the GIII Edgewood S. at Churchill Downs Friday. The bay filly sailed through her juvenile campaign, following her debut win at Belmont in September with victories in the Oct. 11 GIII Jessamine S. and Nov. 3 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. She showed no signs of rust when opening 2018 with a sparkling victory in the Apr. 8 GII Appalachian S. last time out. A good performance Friday could take Rushing Fall to Royal Ascot where she’s been nominated to the June 22 GI Coronation S. With rain in the forecast Friday, trainer Chad Brown also entered the the filly against males in Saturday’s GII American Turf S. Figarella’s Queen (Medaglia d’Oro) will make her first graded stakes appearance in the Edgewood. Previously campaigned by Grupo 7C Racing Stable and trainer Gustavo Delgado, she goes postward Friday for Qatar Racing, Hunter Valley Farm and Marc Detampel and trainer Brad Cox. The bay filly graduated over the Gulfstream turf Feb. 25 and went wire-to-wire for a nose tally in the Mar. 31 Sanibel Island S. Daddy Is a Legend (Scat Daddy), second behind Rushing Fall in that filly’s maiden win at Belmont last September, graduated going nine furlongs at Keeneland in her next outing in October. She closed stoutly to cap her juvenile season with a win in the Nov. 25 GIII Jimmy Durante S. at Del Mar and will look to improve on a troubled fourth-place effort in the Apr. 8 GII Appalachian S. View the full article

Gas Station Sushi (Into Mischief) has made the most of her two trips to the post, winning her debut at Del Mar last August before resurfacing to win the Apr. 8 GIII Beaumont S. at Keeneland. She will look to take the next step in her racing career while facing six rivals in the seven-furlong GII Eight Belles S. at Churchill Downs Friday. Amy’s Challenge (Artie Schiller) opened her sophomore campaign with a win in the six-furlong Dixie Belle S. at Oaklawn Park Jan. 20, but faltered when stretched to 1 1/16 miles in her next two starts. She was loose on the lead before finishing second to Cosmic Burst (Violence) in the Mar. 10 GIII Honeybee S. and again before finishing third behind GI Kentucky Oaks contenders Sassy Sienna (Midshipman) and Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d’Oro) in the Apr. 13 GIII Fantasy S. The speedy filly should appreciate the cut back in distance Friday. The consistent Mia Mischief (Into Mischief), first or second in all previous six trips to the post, will look to tackle graded stakes company for the first time in her career. Beaten just a neck by Amy’s Challenge when second in the Dixie Belle, she aired by 8 1/4 lengths in her most recent outing, the Mar. 24 Purple Martin S. at Oaklawn. She bested the reopposing Salt Bae (Paynter) and Criminal Mischief (Into Mischief) in that six-furlong affair. View the full article

West Point Thoroughbreds’s Untamed Domain (Animal Kingdom) put together a promising campaign as a juvenile competing on grass in 2017, capped by a closing runner-up finish behind GI Kentucky Derby hopeful Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 3. After a solid return third in the GIII Dania Beach S. over a grassy mile and a no-threat sixth in a try on dirt in the GII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 10, the Graham Motion trainee returns to his preferred surface in Saturday’s GII American Turf S. at Churchill. Untamed Domain’s greatest competition could come from a European invader in Evelyn Stockwell’s Threeandfourpence (War Front), who accompanied Mendelssohn as part of the Aidan O’Brien-trained contingent. The bay was less than a length adrift of his stablemate in the 32red Patton S. at Dundalk Mar. 9 over a synthetic strip before fading badly to finish ninth on dirt in the G2 UAE Derby. The American Turf also features a rematch of five horses who ran behind undefeated ‘TDN Rising Star’ Analyze It (Point of Entry) in the GIII Transylvania S. at Keeneland Apr. 6. Captivating Moon (Malibu Moon) closed good ground to be second that day over a yielding turf course, while third-finishing Admiralty Pier (English Channel) is a logical threat to move forward in his second start off a winter layup. Treadway Racing Stable’s Maraud (Blame) was a somewhat disappointing fifth that day and returns in the American Turf as one of two entrants for Todd Pletcher, along with Channel Cat (English Channel), who was last seen annexing a Gulfstream Park allowance test Mar. 14. Rail-drawn Speed Franco (Declaration of War), winner of the Dania Beach and runner-up in Gulfstream’s GIII Palm Beach S. Mar. 3 and Cutler Bay S. Mar. 31, figures to be prominent from the outset. Should a fast pace materialize, California shipper River Boyne (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) figures to run on late, as he did in his Pasadena S. victory at Santa Anita Mar. 17. View the full article

About an hour and a half after last year’s GI Kentucky Oaks heroine makes her return to Churchill Downs in the GI La Troienne S., the 2017 GI Kentucky Derby hero Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) makes his own return trip to the Louisville oval in the GII Alysheba S. Always Dreaming reeled off three straight wins last spring, including the GI Florida Derby, before his authoritative win in the Kentucky Derby, but not much went right for the handsome bay for the rest of the season. A well-beaten eighth in the GI Preakness S., he skipped the GI Belmont S. and resurfaced with a tepid third-place showing in the July 29 GII Jim Dandy S. and concluded his sophomore season with a lackluster ninth in the Aug. 26 GI Travers S. Sidelined by severe ulcers, the Derby winner pressed the pace before settling for second in his 4-year-old debut in the Mar. 31 GII Gulfstream Park Hardacre Mile last time out. Good Samaritan (Harlan’s Holiday), a successful turf performer early in his career, made a seamless transition to the dirt when he ran away with last year’s Jim Dandy. Off the board in the Travers and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, he ended 2017 on a promising note when second, beaten just a half-length, in the Nov. 24 GI Clark H. at Churchill. He looked like a force to reckoned with in the handicap division with a 2 1/4-length win in the Mar. 24 GII New Orleans H. The hard-knocking veteran Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday), already an earner of over $4.4 million, has hit the board in four of five Churchill starts, including a win in the 2014 GI Clark H. The 7-year-old got a confidence booster with a 6 1/2-length win in the Apr. 8 GIII Tokyo City S. travelling 1 1/2 miles at Santa Anita last time out. View the full article

Abel Tasman (Quality Road), last year’s Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly, returns to the scene of her GI Kentucky Oaks triumph while making her seasonal debut in Friday’s GI La Troienne S. at Churchill Downs. The bay filly swept last year’s Oaks, GI Acorn S. and GI Coaching Club American Oaks before concluding her championship season with a runner-up effort behind champion older mare Forever Unbridled (Unbridled’s Song) in the Nov. 3 GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff. The even-money favorite on the morning line, Abel Tasman comes into the 1 1/16-mile race with a pair of six-furlong bullet works at Santa Anita–1:12 1/5 on Apr. 27 and 1:12 4/5 on Apr. 21. Twice second at the top level last year, Martini Glass (Kitalpha) will look for her first Grade I success off a pair of graded scores this past winter. The gritty bay mare was second in the GI Delaware H. and GI Spinster S. in 2017. She is coming off wins in the Feb. 19 GIII Royal Delta S. at Gulfstream Park and a three-length win over 1 1/16 miles in the Mar. 17 GII Azeri S. at Oaklawn Park. Salty (Quality Road), winner of last year’s GII Gulfstream Park Oaks, chased Abel Tasman home in the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn and CCA Oaks last year. After opening 2018 with an optional-claimer win at Gulfstream Mar. 1, the bay filly was closing late when a close-up fifth in the seven-furlong GI Madison S. at Keeneland last time out Apr. 7. View the full article

Dale Romans-trained Coach Rocks is coming to hand at the right time for the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). With her rides the hopes of owners Roddy Valente, Rick Pitino's RAP Racing, and West Point Thoroughbreds. View the full article

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Trainer Brad Cox did not have a starter in the 2017 GI Kentucky Oaks, but that is not to suggest he didn’t make his presence felt on the undercard, as he sent out Benner Island (Speightstown) to win the GII Eight Belles S., Arklow (Arch) in the GII American Turf S. and Green Mask (Mizzen Mast) in the GIII TwinSpires Turf Sprint. The conditioner, whose star has been on the rise over the last few seasons, will get his chance in the spotlight Friday afternoon with three of the 14 runners for the $1-million affair, topped by stable star Monomoy Girl (Tapizar). Already the owner of a stakes win beneath the Twin Spires and narrowly second in last year’s GII Golden Rod S., the $100,000 Keeneland September graduate hit the gate at the start of the GII Rachel Alexandra S. on seasonal debut Feb. 17, but overcame that adversity to defeat Classy Act (Into Mischief) by 2 1/2 lengths. She was back to her front-running ways when accounting for the running-on Eskimo Kisses (To Honor and Serve) by 5 1/2 lengths in Keeneland’s GI Ashland S. Apr. 7. Cox will also send out GIII Fantasy S. upsetter Sassy Sienna (Midshipman) and Kelly’s Humor (Midnight Lute), recently runner-up in the seven-furlong GIII Beaumont S. at Keeneland Apr. 8. “The Derby and Oaks are always something to look forward to,” Cox told the Churchill notes team. “It’s fun. You just want to be competitive. We had a great weekend last year, so we hope we can repeat that. We have 11 entered Friday and three on Saturday, so it will be busy.” While the favorite figures to be prominent throughout, even if she concedes the lead in a race full of speed on paper, Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute) will lag behind and put her lethal late kick to best use. The dark bay graduated in style in the GII Santa Ynez S. at Santa Anita Jan. 7 and has since gotten even better with a stretch out to two turns, with push-button acceleration to annex the GIII Santa Ysabel S. Mar. 3 and the GI Santa Anita Oaks by 3 1/2 lengths Apr. 7. She looks to give jockey Mike Smith his second consecutive win in the Oaks and his third since 2013. Eskimo Kisses popped a big figure in clearing her first allowance condition at Oaklawn in February and has shown a good finishing kick in her last two, a near-miss behind Chocolate Martini (Broken Vow) in the GII Fair Grounds Oaks and a more distant runner-up effort behind Momomoy Girl in the Ashland. The expected fast pace and an extra sixteenth of a mile can work in her favor. The progressive My Miss Lilly (Tapit) also merits longshot consideration. Third to Take Charge Paula (Take Charge Indy) in the seven-furlong GIII Forward Gal S. Feb. 3, the $670,000 KEESEP acquisition was third after hitting the gate in the Mar. 3 Busher S. at Aqueduct and improved even further to land the Apr. 7 GII Gazelle S. by a half-length. View the full article

First in five first-up runs from six starts, the Andrew Noblet-trained Super Cash (Aus) (Written Tycoon {Aus}) was put away after victory in the G2 Rubiton S. in the spring and from barrier nine in Saturday’s G1 Robert Sangster S. (1200m), she should be able to take up a handy position. Group 1-winning mare Viddora (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) was unlucky first-up when charging through late after getting squeezed at the start to finish in second, beaten by Perth visitor Dainty Tess (Aus) (War Chant {USA}), who she will once again meet. Darren Weir’s Quilista (Aus) (Scandal Keeper) is an one-pacer who has won her last three impressively, with her win in the G2 Sapphire S. (1200m) last start being the same race used as a lead in by last year’s winner. Successful in the race 12 months prior when defeating Viddora, Mick Price’s Secret Agenda (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) took third over 1100m behind Dainty Tess and Viddora on Apr. 21, and although she has a wide barrier here, she did jump from gate 16 last year before heading to the lead and proving impossible to catch. An exciting line-up of 3-year-old fillies look to have the ability to take play their part in the finish with the last star G2 Arrowfield Stud S. winner Catchy (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) looking a great chance and although the trip may be a little short, dual Group 1 winner Shoals (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) is using this race as a possible launching pad to an international campaign targeted at Royal Ascot. One at odds that has produced two powerful finishing bursts since joining the Mark Minervini stable is the 4-year-old mare Mica Lil (Aus) (Testa Rossa {Aus}). Winning over 1200m at her first Adelaide run, before an unlucky second over the same track and trip behind fellow Sangster runner Whispering Brook (Aus) (Hinchinbrook {Aus}), the Shayne Cahill-ridden mare could prove the value runner. View the full article

Carl R. Moore Management LLC’s Finley’sluckycharm (Twirling Candy) posted a hard-fought score in last month’s GI Madison S. at Keeneland and returns home to Churchill Downs to put her unblemished six-for-six record on the line in the GI Humana Distaff S. Saturday. Drawn on the rail, the fleet-footed Bret Calhoun trainee will likely make use of her speed to establish position in the early stages. Her primary early pressure should come once again from Kaleem Shah’s American Gal (Concord Point), who disputed the pace in the Madison before grudgingly relenting late to finish a close fourth. The Madison was her first start in eight months, and the GI Test S. winner should be primed to move forward in her second start off the bench. Lewis Bay (Bernardini) and Salty (Quality Road), third and fifth, respectively, in the Madison’s five-horse blanket finish, return to Churchill after having competed in last year’s GI Kentucky Oaks. Lewis Bay was third that day, while Salty was a troubled fifth. China Horse Club and Madaket Stables’s Ivy Bell (Archarcharch) has emerged as a new player in the female sprint division on the heels of a rallying victory in the GII Inside Information S. at Gulfstream Mar. 17 in her first start for trainer Todd Pletcher and new connections. The dark bay has finished in the exacta in six of her eight starts at Churchill Downs. Allen Racing and Bloom Racing’s Skye Diamonds (First Dude) owns no prior experience in Louisville and ships in from Southern California to make her first appearance outside the Golden State. Campaigned by the same connections of Kentucky Oaks second choice Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), the 5-year-old was fourth in last autumn’s GI Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint and has finished third in the wake of ‘TDN Rising Star’ Selcourt (Tiz Wonderful) in both of her two starts in 2018. View the full article

With a trio of runners in Saturday’s G1 Australasian Oaks (2000m), trainer Darren Weir looks to have three undeniable chances, all coming off very strong last start performances. Stepping up to the 2000m for the first time, Sopressa (Aus) (So You Think {NZ}) was dominate last time out over the 1600m of the G3 Auraria S. when defeating fellow Oaks runner Earth Angel (Aus) (Animal Kingdom by over four lengths on Apr. 21. With two wins from nine starts, both at 1800m or further, the filly has shown in her that she is crying out for the trip and from the inside barrier should be able to take up a favourable position in transit. Stablemate Pleasuring (Aus) (Hard Spun) charged home from back in the pack to finish fourth in the Auraria behind Sopressa, and although beaten over five lengths, it was the manner in which she made late ground that has her right in the mix. In the top two in all six starts to date, Chris Waller’s Savacool (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) was classy in her Flemington win over a mile on Apr. 14, and with a prior win over 1800m, the Damien Oliver-ridden filly aims to give her trainer back to back wins in the race after Egg Tart (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}) took the race last year. Bred to appreciate the trip, Earth Angel is arguably the best bred filly in the field being by a GI Kentucky Derby and G1 Dubai World Cup winner in Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}), out of Miss Finland (Aus) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}), a five-time Group 1 winner, twice at 2000m and above. Coming from an impossible position in the G1 Australian Oaks (2400m) last start to finish third, Mick Price’s Miss Admiration (Aus) (Sebring {Aus}) appears to be on the up, but the one question is the drop back in trip. Think Bleue (Aus) (So You Think {NZ}), the final of Weir’s trio also has a show after four wins from her last five starts highlighted by a win in the G3 Alexandra S. (1600m) two starts back before victory at Flemington over 1720m, defeating Sheezdashing (Aus) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) who she will once again meet here. View the full article

Saturday’s G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas will take place without last year’s champion juvenile US Navy Flag (War Front) as Aidan O’Brien opted to take him to France eight days later for the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains. Alongside the expected withdrawal of Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Hey Gaman (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), his absence means that 14 line up for the latest renewal of the Newmarket Classic expected to be staged on good ground now that the seemingly never-ending rain has relented and a warm spell has blessed Britain. The highest draw is closest to the stand’s rail, where Churchill (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Galileo Gold (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) delivered their knock-out blows in the last two editions. As ever, any slight bias will be indecipherable until racing gets underway, with the opening nine-furlong Spring Lodge H. set to provide some clues. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) will break towards the stand’s side from 14 and it may be that the Godolphin challenger has to plough his own furrow with the widely-expected pacemakers Murillo (Scat Daddy) and Cardsharp (GB) (Lonhro {Aus}) away in eight and three, respectively. If the latter pair are ridden forward, that could create the arrow-head formation so often seen in this Classic and lessen the possibility of a split in the field witnessed in 2014 when Night of Thunder (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) won and which was so influential to the outcome in 2002 as Rock of Gibraltar (Ire) denied Hawk Wing. Whether an outside stall is to Masar’s detriment or not, Charlie Appleby is happy with how everything has gone since the Craven. “He has definitely come forward mentally and in terms of maturity,” he said. “His preparation has been very routine since then and we are very happy with him. It should be lovely ground at Newmarket on Saturday and he has the course experience now. He made all last time out, but ideally we would like to take a lead. He is a very versatile horse–he can make the running, but has also been dropped in behind horses. We will play it by ear from stall 14 and leave it up to William as to where he feels the pace might be.” View the full article