Wandering Eyes

There would be no more fitting race for a Churchill Downs Racing Club-owned horse to win than the Churchill Downs Stakes presented by Twinspires.com (G2). On May 5, Warrior's Club will try and do just that. View the full article

While Steve Asmussen acknowledges Combatant will have to run the best race of his career in what the Racing Hall of Fame trainer believes is a particularly tough Kentucky Derby field, he does think some factors are working in his favor. View the full article

As a self-made businessman, horseman Mick Ruis has seen a number of his dreams come true but when it came to running a horse in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) those thoughts typically would be interrupted by a dose of reality. View the full article

LOUISVILLE, Ky – A few hours before being installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the 144th renewal of the GI Kentucky Derby, all eyes were on the unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Justify (Scat Daddy) Tuesday morning beneath the Twin Spires. With temperatures a bit more comfortable in the high 40s and rapidly on the rise (the mercury hit as high as 81 in the afternoon) during the 15-minute training window reserved exclusively for Derby/Oaks horses at 7:30 a.m., the GI Santa Anita Derby hero quickly made his presence felt jogging the wrong way. He was accompanied to the track by Bob Baffert’s longtime right-hand man Jimmy Barnes, who was aboard a stable pony. Under a snug hold while making his first trip to the track since shipping in from Southern California Monday afternoon, the physically imposing $500,000 KEESEP graduate put on a show while displaying that massive stride of his during a routine gallop of about a mile beneath Humberto Gomez. The equally lightly raced Juddmonte homebred Hofburg (Tapit) of three career starts, meanwhile, stood by the chute and took in the hectic scene for a bit, which included a couple of peeks back at the long line of photographers and media lined up by the rail on the backstretch. Hall of Famer Bill Mott watched from horseback as one of this week’s ‘buzz horses’ turned in another very good-looking gallop. The aforementioned Justify wasn’t the only blaze-faced, flashy chestnut to make a striking appearance Tuesday morning. Last year’s champion 2-year-old colt Good Magic (Curlin) wasn’t to be outdone as he came roaring off the clubhouse turn during his 1 1/2-mile gallop. Two-time Grade I winner and Santa Anita Derby runner-up Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) was another who quickly caught the eye. Sporting a pair of bell boots, he had a very nice bounce in his step as he made his way on from the Lukas gap and jogged along the outer rail. Currently on the outside looking in, Derby also-eligible Blended Citizen (Proud Citizen) couldn’t be looking any better physically for two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O’Neill. He was a troubled fifth last time in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. Exercise rider Nick Bush–also the regular a.m. partner of last year’s Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister)-was all smiles exiting the track aboard the unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Magnum Moon (Malibu Moon). And you can certainly see why after watching the GI Arkansas Derby hero train at Churchill Downs the past few days. The fillies were also out in full force and strutting their stuff during this time frame, including leading Oaks contenders and GI Central Bank Ashland S. one-two Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) and Eskimo Kisses (To Honor and Serve) and G3 UAE Oaks heroine Rayya (Tiz Wonderful). It was quite the scene back at the Baffert barn once it was time to get the big horse cleaned up. One of the major story lines of this year’s Derby-and rightfully so-is how the inexperienced Justify will handle everything thrown his way on gameday before a crowd of 150,000 plus. Well, he certainly passed this first test with flying colors as he never even turned a hair as he was surrounded by an American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) type of a crowd back at Barn 33 while getting his bath. Even his barnmate Solomini (Curlin), runner-up in last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, had to wait for the seas to part to get back inside his own barn. Welcome to Derby week. View the full article

Like everything else in the brief career of grade 1 winner Justify, his first morning at the site of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was handled with beyond-his-experience poise. View the full article

4th-SRO, €15,400, NWC, 5-1, 2yo, c&g, 1000m, :59.60, gd. BLURY (IRE) (c, 2, Olympic Glory {Ire}–Marablu {Ire}, by Invincible Spirit {Ire}) provided a first win for his first-season sire Olympic Glory (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), a four-time Group 1 winner who stands at Haras de Bouquetot. The colt raced prominently and responded well when asked by jockey Pierantonio Convertino, holding the strong challenge of the favourite Coming Soon (Ity) (Sakhee’s Secret {GB}). The two most recent winners of this race went on to deliver a stakes win. Blury is the second winner out of Marablu (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a juvenile-scoring full-sister to Moonlife (Ire), who won the Listed Fleur du Lys S. and ran second in the G3 Oh So Sharp S. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. VIDEO. O-Genets; B-Azienda Agricola Valdirone (Ire); T-Antonio Marcialis. View the full article

While Steve Asmussen acknowledges Combatant will have to run the best race of his career in what the Racing Hall of Fame trainer believes is a particularly tough Kentucky Derby field, he does think some factors are working in his favor. View the full article

Plusvital has renewed their partnership with The Curragh Racecourse for another year, and the Irish equine science company will sponsor the second day on the opening weekend of The Curragh’s 2018 schedule on May 12. The G3 Plusvital Blue Wind S. will anchor that card, which will also include the Plusvital EnerGene-Q10 H., the Plusvital Speed Gene H. and the Plusvital Racing Syrup Maiden. As an added benefit, the company will offer all runners in their sponsored races either free genetic testing to predict optimum race distance or products from their supplement range. “We have a long-standing relationship with The Curragh Racecourse and we are delighted to sponsor the Plusvital Race Day featuring the G3 Plusvital Blue Wind S. this year,” said Plusvital Sales Director Ciara Watt. “We believe that this partnership reinforces our commitment to both the racing and bloodstock industries, while supporting our valued customers and the industry at large. We wish all connections the very best of luck on the day.” View the full article

Two lots have been added to the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up and HIT Sale scheduled for May 3-4 at Newmarket. Ventura Dragon (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) (lot 94), a winning 3-year-old gelding for trainer Richard Fahey, will be offered by Fahey’s Musley Bank Stables on behalf of Middleham Park Racing. The chestnut is rated 80 and landed his seasonal bow at Doncaster on Mar. 25. The breeze-up wildcard is a filly by Bated Breath (GB) as lot 169A, who is offered by Church View Stables. Her dam is a winning Zafonic half-sister to champion Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa), G1SW Galikova (Fr) (Galileo {Ire}) and four other group winners. The breezes will occur on the Rowley Mile on May 3, with the sale beginning at 10 a.m. on May 4. For the full catalogue, go to www.tattersalls.com/guineas-sale-overview. View the full article

Bob Baffert-trained Justify, who has made just three starts, was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) after drawing post 7. View the full article

The new deadline to nominate yearlings to the European Breeders Fund is now May 31. Any yearling by a sire not registered to the EBF and standing outside Europe can be made eligible to run in the EBF programme of races–worth an additional €5 million in prizemoney–throughout Europe for a cost of $600 per yearling. “We review our nominations process annually and as the yearling sales landscape has changed over the years we felt that it is now possible to move this deadline out to May 31st, giving breeders that intend to race their yearlings or those that are consigning them to a sale plenty of time to nominate,” said the EBF’s Kerry Murphy. “This nomination stage is mostly applicable to breeders using American or Japanese stallions that are not registered to the EBF. Thanks to increasing support the list of internationally registered stallions has grown significantly and we advise breeders to check with us to see if their yearling does need nominating.” To nominate a yearling, go to www.ebfstallions.com or contact the EBF office. View the full article

John and Tanya Gunther’s Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is out of Saturday’s G1 2000 Guineas with a foot bruise. Trainer John Gosden said the homebred, who won a novice race at Yarmouth by six lengths on Apr. 24, is likely to target the G1 St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot. “It could have brewed up from the race at Yarmouth,” Gosden said. “Like any little bruise it comes there and pops into a little abscess form.” “I think with a horse like this we will get a nice race in before Royal Ascot, that is the way to look at it I think,” he added. “He is a very nice type of horse and we will treat him with respect. Hopefully we’ll freshen him up for the Heron S. at Sandown on May 24 and look at the St James’s Palace S. at Royal Ascot.” The defection of Without Parole means that Gosden’s number one rider Frankie Dettori is free to ride the George Scott-trained James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the Guineas. “I feel for the connections of Without Parole, who clearly has a massive future regardless of missing the Guineas,” said Scott. “I felt it was hugely important to have Frankie on board. He knows the horse so well and he has a lot of confidence in the horse. He is the magic man and if anyone can pull it out the bag he will.” Scott was speaking after James Garfield worked over the Cambridge Road Polytrack gallop on Tuesday morning, and he said, “He didn’t really have a blow and he was bright and fresh after the work. I’m delighted with that.” View the full article

Three-time Group 1 winner Jameka (Aus) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) is a late supplement to the Magic Millions Gold Coast National Broodmare Sale scheduled for May 29-June 1, announced the sales company on Tuesday. Purchased by Ciaron Maher Racing for A$130,000 as a yearling out of the INGMAR Sale in 2014, the bay was trained for the entirety of her 24-start career by Maher and is consigned by Ciaron Maher Racing in May. Voted Australian champion stayer in 2017, the half-sister to MGSP Nikitas (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) won the 2015 G1 Crown Oaks, 2016 G1 Caulfield Cup and the 2017 G1 BMW Tancred S. among her six group victories. Out of a half-sister to G1 Canterbury Guineas hero Jymcarew (Aus) (Danzero {Aus}), she also filled the frame in another five Group 1 races, including the G1 Australian Derby and earned $3,665,199. Her fourth dam was GI Matchmaker S. heroine Warfever (Fr) (Luthier {Fr}), a half-sister to U.S. champion older mare Waya (Fr) (Faraway Son). “We are honoured to have been entrusted to offer Jameka at the National Broodmare Sale–she is an absolute queen,” Magic Millions Managing Director Barry Bowditch said. “As a racehorse Jameka proved her class from winning a VRC Sires’ Produce S. at two to her barnstorming win in the Caulfield Cup. And who can forget her last run, a 6 1/2-length demolition of Humidor (NZ) and company in The BMW. Ciaron Maher did a remarkable job with Jameka developing her from a Group 2-winning juvenile to one of the stars of Australian racing. We thank him and his team for giving Magic Millions the opportunity to offer their prized mare to a global audience.” View the full article

Richard Ryan has been appointed the new Goffs UK Horses-in-Training Agent effective immediately in advance of the Doncaster Spring Sale on May 22, the sales company announced on Tuesday. “We received a huge amount of interest for this new role and Richard was the outstanding candidate so we are delighted he has accepted,” said Goffs UK Managing Director Tony Williams. “Richard brings a wide network of contacts and a wealth of industry experience to the position, and will be a welcome addition to the Goffs UK team.” Ryan, who has held jobs at stud farms, in the bloodstock sphere and in training, had previously worked as an assistant trainer to Terry Mills and most recently for Ian Williams. His new role will entail finding entries for Goffs UK’s six horses-in-training sales on a yearling basis, as well as provide a Goffs UK presence at British racecourses. “I am delighted to be joining the Goffs UK team and have long admired the company’s progressive and forward-thinking approach,” said Ryan. “They place a great deal of importance on integrity and transparency in all their dealings and consistently provide great value and service to their customers. I always enjoyed the decisions we made with owners when deciding where to sell our horses-in-training and I’m looking forward to experiencing this from the other angle and being part of an energetic and close knit team.” View the full article

Darley’s shuttle stallion and Australian champion 2-year-old colt Sidestep (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}–Destrous {Aus}, by Quest for Fame {GB}) will stand at Telemon Thoroughbreds for the coming season in Queensland as part of an arrangement between Darley and Telemon. The new 240-acre operation will get off the ground in June when Sun Stud’s lease expires on the property. “It’s our privilege to offer a horse the calibre of Sidestep,” said Telemon Thoroughbreds owner Dan Fletcher. “He’d be one of the best 2-year-olds to stand up here in my time. The other horses that were at a similar level at two include Written Tycoon (Aus), General Nediym (Aus), Show a Heart (Aus) and Brave Warrior (Aus) and they all made a massive impact.” A dual Group 2 winner, Sidestep will be available to Queensland breeders for a minimum of the next two seasons at a fee of A$7,700, and those that support Sidestep in 2018, will be guaranteed the stallion’s availability at the same fee for 2019. The half-brother to the G1 Champagne S. hero and sire Skilled (Aus) (Commands {Aus}) was also runner-up in the 2013 G1 Golden Slipper S. and sports a record of three wins in 16 starts and $1,333,448 in earnings. Out of the MGSW Destrous (Aus), herself a half-sister to MG1SP Light Work (Aus) (Danehill), Sidestep’s oldest Southern Hemisphere foals are currently yearlings. Godolphin Australia Managing Director Vin Cox said, “It’s a really exciting opportunity for all breeders in Queensland. I know the quality of the farm where he’ll be standing from my time in Queensland so that was a huge attraction. There’s absolutely no doubt Sidestep is a terrific chance to make it and with his first yearlings currently entering the racing systems we thought it made sense to position him in a market where we know he will be embraced.” Telemon has appointed Joe Heather as general manager, and the veteran horseman will begin his duties on June 1. “I can’t wait to get started,” said Heather. “When the owner of the farm told me Sidestep will be standing at the farm I was over the moon. With his credentials, and large initial crops of Hunter Valley foals on their way through various leading stables including Godolphin’s, he’s a huge chance and Queensland breeders will love him.” View the full article

In some respects, all splendid, he is a genuine throwback. You could dress Luke Lillingston in a hussar’s uniform, put him in a time machine, and walk him straight into Wellington’s tent at Waterloo. Within five minutes–so immaculate are his manners, so trustworthy is his bearing–he would be walking out, jaw set, carrying a map and a set of orders. But just as his residence at Mount Coote is actually far more modern than is superficially apparent, so Lillingston is fully engaged in the challenges of breeding and racing Thoroughbreds in the 21st Century. Though the house was rebuilt in the early 1960s, the reconstruction was faithful to the glorious strictures of Georgian architecture. In much the same way, Lillingston feels a due obligation to the sustainability not only of the family stud–which has reared or raised the winners of 167 stakes races since 1963–but also that of the sport as a whole. So it was that this ardent traditionalist was last year able to dismantle the barriers around one of the Turf’s most privileged enclaves: the winner’s enclosure at Royal Ascot. No fewer than 51 members of his Hot To Trot syndicate had somehow been secured paddock passes; 10 as the official quota, the rest begged and borrowed from Lillingston’s many friends in the game. After Heartache (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) won the G2 Queen Mary S., Lillingston remembers himself “completely away with the fairies, leading this mad happy herd of people” past the course’s director of racing and communications, Nick Smith, to greet their filly. “Absolutely marvellous!” Lillingston exclaimed, seeing Smith. “We got them all in!” “So I see,” replied Smith–as stonily as anyone could permit himself to be, confronted with this most irrepressible, most irresistible of enthusiasts. Heartache’s success represented a spectacular vindication of Lillingston’s determination (along with syndicate manager Sam Hoskins) to show that anyone, in the sport of kings, can be king for a day. “One of the things that is important to me is trying to get more people involved,” he explains. “Hot To Trot very much started by thinking about all those people out there, who love their racing, and how we could give them the chance actually to race horses themselves. Because the idea is not only that you’re entertaining people but that you’re educating them as well. And from that, you hope, there might be a natural osmosis.” “Think of Trevor and Libby Harris, who own Lordship Stud. It’s a lovely farm, they’ve had quite a lot of success, and I’ve been happy to help them for more than 20 years now. But they came in via one of Henry Ponsonby’s syndicates. They’re from an entirely non-horse background, but happened to go racing one evening at Newmarket and saw some delirious owners leading their horse into the winner’s enclosure. And they said: ‘I’d like a bit of that.’ That’s what it’s all about. Whether it’s Elite Racing or Kennet Valley or Highclere, there’s a chance for everybody to get involved in this game at some level.” In the case of Hot To Trot, now extended to a second syndicate, costs are kept manageable (at £2,095 for six horses) by leasing stock from breeders. So while shareholders have no equity in the horseflesh itself, they do get to divide prizemoney. Proceeding from Ascot, Heartache was beaten just half a length when third in the G2 Prix Robert Papin. The winner, Unfortunately (Ire) (Society Rock {Ire}), then followed up by beating Havana Grey (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}) in the G1 Morny. And the runner-up then filled the same position behind Heartache in what looked a very strong edition of the G2 Flying Childers S., the pair clear. So there would seem to be every prospect of Heartache cutting it at Group 1 level this term. Out of a Compton Place (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) mare, she is a typical speed-on-speed Whitsbury Manor graduate and Clive Cox has an obvious initial goal in the G1 Commonwealth Cup back at Royal Ascot, taking in the Sandy Lane S. at Haydock en route. “She looks terrific, and she’s grown,” Lillingston reports. “She’s not just a one-season horse, we think; certainly to look at.” For all this grass-roots evangelism, of course, Lillingston’s first priority is to extend the rather deeper foundations at Mount Coote. Originally the family seat of a Cromwellian officer named Coote, the estate outside Kilmallock in Co Limerick was bought in 1938 by Lillingston’s grandfather, a Leicestershire hunting man, who had stayed there once as a guest of the first Lord Daresbury. He did not bother to revisit the site before sealing the deal, being perfectly satisfied by what he could remember of “the view from my bedroom window.” Little wonder, when he could gaze across all that velvet pasture and woodland between the Ballyhoura Hills and the River Maigue, on the banks of which cluster a series of exceptionally fertile stud farms, relative to their size. Tragically he was killed soon afterwards, during the Normandy push in 1944, when his son Alan–Lillingston’s father–was just nine. Alan, of course, became one of the most respected horsemen of his generation. He was a champion amateur, notably winning the 1963 Champion Hurdle on the one-eyed Winning Fair, and then proceeded to master a second discipline to win European gold as a three-day eventer. But his most enduring legacy was to give fresh life to the old cobbled stableyard that had previously (bar some minor dabbling in Thoroughbreds by his mother) only housed hunters. “He was helped by his uncle, Geoffrey Brooke at Clarehaven in Newmarket, a special man,” Lillingston explains. “But my father essentially started out with a couple of mares and no money. And then he got a lucky break, when Jocelyn Hambro gave him half of a mare named Trial By Fire. Her son Deep Run became champion 2-year-old of 1968, and the first great stallion John Magnier ever stood.” By which stage Mount Coote was up and running, having already produced another smart juvenile in 1964 Richmond S. and July S. winner Ragtime. Over the following years Mount Coote established a footprint in many key modern pedigrees, not least thanks after its selection by the Whitney family to board its mares in Europe. Mount Coote also bred and sold a filly by Realm, for 6,200gns at Tattersalls in 1976; as Hatta, she became Sheikh Mohammed’s first winner. The partnership with Hambro, meanwhile, came up with a first Classic winner for Mount Coote in One In A Million (1979 1,000 Guineas), subsequently a foundation mare for Egon Weinfeld at Meon Valley. And Tudor Melody stood here before his sale to the National Stud in England, which paid off all debts on the reconstruction of the mansion. “My father took his first horse to Tattersalls in 1958,” says Lillingston. “We had a party for him at the Jockey Club Rooms in 2008, after he had sold horses at Tattersalls for 50 consecutive years, which I think is a fair old achievement. If you go back to the catalogues of the late 1950s, you’ll find very few names that were the same. He did a fantastic job, building it up. Luckily he started breeding horses when the market was really running away, which was undoubtedly lucrative.” “My father was also a fantastic teacher. He got me going on pedigrees when I was about seven or eight. He had shares in horses like Northfields and Home Guard, in some of the early Coolmore sires, and would have retained shares in Tudor Melody. So as a young lad I’d go through The Sporting Life every day and mark out all the horses by those stallions.” That process is being reprised now by Lillingston’s own children, Hugh and Lara, and nor is there any diminution in the quality of the horses in which they can feel involved. In the Prix Vermeille last autumn, for instance, a 14th Group 1 winner graduated from Mount Coote in Bateel (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was foaled here. As Lillingston drives the 500 acres of limestone pasture, on his morning feed round, he exudes a gratified sense of his place in the long, patient cycles of husbandry. “Come along ladies!” he calls, as the feed rattles into buckets distributed on compounds of hard standing between the mares’ soggy paddocks. He is a great believer in keeping stock outdoors as much as possible, to absorb the benefits to bone and physiology of the land and climate. He is in his element and, long of shank and straight of back, has become every bit as cherished a figure in the game as was his late father. Again, however, it would be wrong to think of Lillingston merely in terms of continuity. His father made sure of that, sending him off to New York as an impressionable young man to learn how to stand on his own two feet; and to see the business through other eyes. Lillingston has duly adapted his legacy to wear many different hats. The Mount Coote brochure is titled “The Complete Package”, comprising boarding, breeding advice, bloodstock management, sales preparation and consigning. Then there is his association with Lincoln Collins in Lexington, with an ambitious young assistant in his stud office in Charlie Dee. Day by day, then, you never know where a Mount Coote footprint will appear. Most famously, Lillingston and his team realised a European record of 4,700,000gns consigning Immortal Verse (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) at the Tattersalls December Sale of 2013. But only the other day Nordic Lights (GB) (Intello {Ger}), bought as a foal by Kern/Lillingston, made it two out of two for Charlie Appleby at the Craven meeting. “The stud is our core business,” Lillingston acknowledges. “We breed 30-odd mares, many with partners: I like doing things with other people. We consign some horses for other people, too, but most of those will have been raised here. We’ve been lucky enough to sell horses for Mrs Tsui, for instance.” “We take our matings very seriously: I think an awful lot about them. I like performance, in the mares we have; if they don’t have it, I like their dams to. But after that obviously understanding pedigrees is very important. I think commercially it’s very challenging. The top of the market was fantastically strong last year, but you’re talking about the top 20%, really, and I don’t think there was a great deal in the way of a trickledown effect.” There is no prospect, however, of extending his repertoire to revive the days of Native Prince, the last stallion his father stood here. Instead Lillingston has built an astute portfolio of seasons, getting aboard on the ground floor with such upwardly mobile stallions as Dark Angel (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}), Lope De Vega (Ire) (Shamardal), Showcasing (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}, Havana Gold (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Cityscape (GB) (Selkirk). “The great thing with horses is that you’ve always got something to look forward to,” he enthuses. Really, those lucky people at Hot To Trot couldn’t ask for a more infectious envoy from the arcane world of the Turf. But Lillingston is candid in his concern that new investment in the industry, on a larger scale, is at the mercy of its own bad apples. “I have met several people in the last year who won’t invest in racing, who won’t participate, because they feel that if they walk in there they’ll be eaten for breakfast,” he says. “And, in some cases, they would be. And that’s awful. There is a review going on, so we’ll see. But I think that if our integrity was better, there would be more confidence in the business. People coming in have to have a fair crack of the whip. Because there’s a shortage of them, there really is.” He hates to be provocative, but is just too decent a man to stand by and say nothing. “I do feel quite strongly about this,” he says. “Because it’s all part of the same thing [as Hot To Trot]: you want more people to come in and enjoy it. I make my living out of it, and feel bloody lucky to do so. The horse is a wonderful animal for people to get together. Have you seen that Guinness advertisement, where the down-and-out from the back streets is put together with a horse on the way to the slaughterhouse? And he says: ‘I don’t know if I saved the horse, or the horse saved me.’ What we have is very special and if people can come in and enjoy it, it can literally change their lives.” View the full article

May is my favorite time of year at Liberation Farm in New Jersey. The harshness of winter on my San Diego toes and fingers has given way to the smiling faces of daffodils and geraniums and fuchsias and to the rejuvenating feel of my hands digging in the softening earth. And of course, it’s Kentucky Derby time, the culmination of every breeder’s dream. It’s a bittersweet time for me, now five years away from weekly trips to the Bluegrass. I don’t miss the airports or hotel rooms, but I greatly miss being around the mares and foals…especially in May…when the newbies jump and dance around in the field experiencing things for the first time, inquisitive, exuberant, inebriated by feeling their own quickness and power like a teenage boy stepping on the accelerator for the first time in his own hot rod. And I miss looking at them and imagining what they’re going to look like when they’re under tack, and whether they’re going to have that same exuberance when they are asked the question at the head of the stretch. This year’s Derby has some nice horses, a much deeper group than we have seen for many years. Two of my personal comforts are represented and both have a big chance…music (Mendelssohn) and red wine (Vino Rosso)…they make a pretty solid hunch exacta. But it looks to me like any one of eight could win if they show up with their “A” game or improve as young 3-year-olds can do. As much as I love this time of year, it nonetheless tugs at my heart and at a semi-buried part of me that would like to have bred a Triple Crown winner before I stepped away. The best I could do was several “early favorites,” a Belmont winner, the dam of two other Belmont winners, and a third in the Derby (and two Kentucky Oaks winners). That said, the thing I miss most is what brought me into the business in the first place…a plain old love of the horse…much like many a schoolgirl’s crush on their first pony. The highlight of my doctoral experience at Berkeley was the day that I discovered nearby Golden Gate Fields and fell in love with the elegance and majesty and athleticism of these special creatures. I miss the tactile connection now, almost as much as I miss a few of the wonderful people who share that same love. I was blessed to be around some very talented horses over the years–champion Meadow Star and over 250 stakes horses and 20 Grade I winners that I helped bring into the world with my knowledge of handicapping and pedigrees. But my favorite was this little guy who never raced. I brought him back from the other side of eternity and it took me six months of daily (sometimes hourly) TLC to help him stabilize and find his own legs after nerve damage during foaling. I fashioned PVC pipe braces with lambs wool inserts and changed them three times a day and dressed his sores that developed from rubbing, waiting for damaged nerves to repair in excruciatingly slow micro-degrees. He had such a will and a playful, determined eye and demeanor, so I persevered and one day he just jumped up and pranced around the stall…so pleased with himself and happy. That for me was much better than any garland of roses. And still is. View the full article

Bob Baffert-trained Justify, who has made just three starts, was made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) after drawing post 7. View the full article

John and Susan Sykes' Woodford Thoroughbreds has a deep history with Midnight Bisou, the second choice for the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). View the full article

Louisville takes center stage this week ahead of the GI Kentucky Derby, but about an hour away is a case study in the unpredictably of the sport and the importance of life after racing. Currently residing at New Vocations at Mereworth Farm in Lexington is Thirtysevenliveson, a horse who in his day had all the qualifications and connections to be a Derby contender. While one of Thirtysevenliveson’s half-brothers actually won the Derby and another finished third, soon this perfectly pedigreed and sentimentally named steed will be adopted out through the rehoming program to someone looking for a pleasant trail riding horse, even though he himself got his early lessons alongside a future Triple Crown winner. The reality is, even if a horse is perfect on a paper, finding the winner’s circle at all, much less the heralded one at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May, requires beating the odds. “We are dealing with a numbers game,” said Anna Ford, the Thoroughbred program director for New Vocations. “There is only one Derby winner a year out of 20,000-30,000 foals. That leaves a lot of other horses. There are plenty that go on to win other major races and go on to the breeding shed, but there are a lot of horses that need aftercare services. Most of them are not well known, in fact the majority of them aren’t. It’s unusual that you can adopt the brother of a Derby winner.” Although Thirtysevenliveson’s uninspiring racing career makes him the rule rather than the exception, his story–which began several years before he was even born–still makes him unique. Countless hours are dedicated every year to solving the Rubik’s Cube that is betting the Kentucky Derby, but sometimes it is for naught. Such was the case when Mine That Bird (Birdstone) romped to victory in the 2009 edition of the Run for the Roses at odds of 50-1. Finishing almost seven lengths behind him in second was Ahmed Zayat’s highly-touted Pioneerof the Nile (Empire Maker). Although Mine That Bird, a bay gelding who was both small and plain, had stunned the majority of the 153,563 people in attendance that Derby day, he had been the champion juvenile in Canada the year before and also went on to run second behind future Hall of Famer Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro) in the GI Preakness Stakes as well as third in the GI Belmont S. His dam also proved she wasn’t a one hit wonder. Mining My Own (Smart Strike) produced a flashy chestnut colt by Even the Score the year Mine That Bird made headlines during the Triple Crown. Named Dullahan, he would go on to be a multiple Grade I winner in his own right and finished third in the 2012 Kentucky Derby. Meanwhile, in 2013, a colt being offered at the Keeneland September yearling sale caught the eye of Zayat and his team. Hip 216 was by Giant’s Causeway and out of Mining My Own–in other words, he was a half-brother to Mine That Bird and Dullahan. A large chestnut with lots of chrome, he looked more like the second of his famous siblings. The Zayats bought him for $675,000, and he got his early lessons with none other than American Pharoah–the Zayat homebred by Pioneerof the Nile who would finally end the Triple Crown drought in 2015. “He was always a special horse,” said Justin Zayat, Ahmed’s son and the racing and stallion manager for Zayat Stables. “He was actually training on the farm with American Pharoah, and he was one of the leaders. American Pharoah was the king, but he was the runner up, along with Mr. Z (Malibu Moon) and El Kabeir (Scat Daddy). He was very highly touted. Around the time the 2012 Mining My Own colt needed a name, Ahmed Zayat had made an unlikely friendship with Nick Modico, who loved horse racing and had been the captain–and No. 37–on John F. Kennedy Catholic High School’s 2008 state champion baseball team. Modico also had Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. “He used to send my dad these messages on Twitter, and long story short my dad ended up answering him and they made a connection,” said Zayat. “He was battling cancer at the time, and my dad offered to fly him to the Breeders’ Cup that year but he couldn’t because of his health. “So, my dad let him name one of the best horses in that crop. He came up with that name, and it gave me goosebumps. He loved the sport, and we wanted to honor him and give him a boost by having a horse to name and follow.” When it was time for Thirtysevenliveson to go to the racetrack, the Zayats initially chose Dale Romans as his trainer. He was ready to debut in September of his 2-year-old year, but it still came too late in one regard. Nick Modico had died that spring, and never got to see his horse run. “We sent Thirtysevenliveson to Dale because he had trained Dullahan, and Dale’s dream has always been to win those roses,” said Zayat. “We thought it would be a good match for him. When the horse made his debut at Churchill Downs, it was special. Dale had customized baseball jerseys with the number 37 and Nick’s last name on the back, and a bunch of people were wearing them in the paddock. I remember seeing people crying. It was so sad that he had passed away, but his namesake was running.” Unfortunately, as the statistics show, at the racetrack Thirtysevenliveson was never able to show off the talent he had shown at the farm. His best finish was a second place effort in his third career start. Overall, he hit the board twice in eight starts and was retired with $21,910 in earnings. “It turned out the horse had some physical issues, a bunch of ankle issues, over the years,” said Zayat. “His last trainer before we sent him to New Vocations was Bill Mott because we thought turf might better for him. We paid a lot of money for him, and he was a beautiful physical, but it just turns out being a racehorse wasn’t in his best interest. So, we did what was right for him.” Thirtysevenliveson arrived at New Vocations last August. After being gelded, he was given the winter off to acclimate to his new life. “Not all of them get a few months off, but he in particular had some wear and tear from racing that just needed to calm down for a few months,” said Melissa King, the facility manager and trainer at New Vocations. “He is a big, lean horse to begin with, and they tend to deflate after they are gelded, so it just took him a little longer to pick up weight and settle into life off the track. “He can be a little silly in the field because he is more of a dominant horse. I tend to take the excessively dominant ones and give them a more dominant friend and let them sort it out. That has helped pushed him down a peg.” Now a 6-year-old, Thirtysevenliveson recently began his retraining, and he instantly showed his worth to those at New Vocations with his willing nature. “I was really impressed with him under saddle,” said King. “He didn’t do anything wrong. He hadn’t been sat on in eight months, and he went right out there in our arena, which can be a little scary to some horses because of the flowers and other things all around, and he didn’t look at anything. I think he will probably make a really good trail horse. I don’t foresee him being one that is very reactive or spooky, which is very good. “Thankfully, he has the mind for trail riding because when their legs say trail riding only and their mind says, ‘I am a superstar,’ it can get difficult to find a home that appreciates those superstar tendencies.” Other things that work in Thirtysevenliveson’s favor besides his mind include the fact he is big enough for both men and women to ride and is in general a lower maintenance kind of horse. “It’s nice that he is so big,” said King. “He’s a good-sized horse and would make a good guy horse. We have a lot of midsized horses, and guys are usually too big for them. Even without his famous brothers, being big takes you far. He has pretty decent feet, and other than just needing a ton of food, he’s a decently easy keeper.” Those at New Vocations estimate that Thirtysevenliveson will be available for adoption between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, and as with all of their horses, they will work to find him the perfect match. “We have had Derby runners before go through the program, but we have never had a sibling to an actual winner, and it’s pretty cool,” said Ford. “We are excited to see what special person gets this special horse.” Regardless of who that turns out to be, the Zayats, who have been longtime supporters of the program, are confident that they have done the right thing for their horse. “We have a great relationship with New Vocations,” said Zayat. “This is not our first time sending a really special horse to them–in fact they had one of our first horses that ever ran in the Kentucky Derby, Z Fortune. They do an outstanding job and the horses have a great career after, so it was a no-brainer. We need more places like that because it is important to support horses at the end of their careers. “At the end of the day, the horses make this entire sport. Without them, none of us would be doing any of this, so we always have to take care of them. Nick’s mom will still message us asking about how the Thirtysevenliveson is doing. He deserves a really good home where people are going to love him, take care of him, and have fun with him. For Thirtysevenliveson, we pray he has a good home, and going through New Vocations, we are 100% sure that he will.” View the full article

‘TDN Rising Star’ Justify (Scat Daddy) was assigned gate seven and was made the 3-1 favorite on Mike Battaglia’s morning line for Saturday’s 144th running of the GI Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Owned by China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm, the $500,000 Keeneland September grad is undefeated and really untested in his three career appearances to date, including a sound defeat of Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro, 8-1) in the GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 7. The strapping chestnut, who took the Churchill strip for the first time Tuesday morning, will be looking to give trainer Bob Baffert a fourth win in the ‘Run for the Roses’ and is one of two undefeateds in the race alongside fellow ‘TDN Rising Star’ Magnum Moon (Malibu Moon, 6-1). Both Justify and Magnum Moon will try to break the so-called ‘Apollo’ curse in trying to win the Derby without making the races at two. Raced by Robert and Lawana Low, the $380,000 KEESEP purchase drew in the auxiliary gate in stall 16. Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy), one of three in the race for his late sire and recent tearaway winner of the G2 UAE Derby, was made the 5-1 second choice on the morning line. The 2016 Keeneland September sales topper at $3 million drew gate 14 and it waits to be seen what sort of trip he will sit. He’s proved before he can take back and make a run, but should connections elect to go forward, he could be looking at a three- or four-wide run into the first turn. That owes to the fact that Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford) and Flameaway (Scat Daddy) have drawn three and four, respectively, and even Justify could be part of the early mix. Trainer Todd Pletcher will saddle three runners in addition to Magnum Moon, the lowest price of which is once-beaten GI Xpressbet Florida Derby hero Audible (Into Mischief) and who will settle midfield from gate five for Javier Castellano. The two-time Derby-winning conditioner will also send out GII Wood Memorial S. winner Vino Rosso (Curlin) and GII Louisiana Derby hero Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy). Justify most resembles Curlin entering the Derby and that stallion is also represented by three runners, led by reigning juvenile champion Good Magic, who drew gate six and was posted at a generous 12-1 on the morning line. Solomini races for the American Pharoah connections and has consistent form throughout his career. He exits a third to Magnum Moon in the GI Arkansas Derby. KENTUCKY DERBY 144 1 Firenze Fire (Poseidon’s Warrior), Lopez, Jason Servis, 50 2 Free Drop Billy (Union Rags), Albarado, Romans, 30 3 Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford), Lanerie, Romans, 30 4 Flameaway (Scat Daddy), Lezcano, Casse, 30 5 Audible (Into Mischief), Castellano, Pletcher, 8 6 Good Magic (Curlin), Ortiz, Brown, 12 7 Justify (Scat Daddy), Smith, Baffert, 3 8 Lone Sailor (Majestic Warrior), Graham, Amoss, 50 9 Hofburg (Tapit), Ortiz Jr., Mott, 20 10 My Boy Jack (Creative Cause), Desormeaux, Desormeaux, 30 11 Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro), Espinoza, Ruis, 8 12 Enticed (Medaglia d’Oro), Alvarado, McLaughlin, 30 13 Bravazo (Awesome Again), Lukas, Contreras, 50 14 Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy), Moore, O’Brien, 5 15 Instilled Regard (Arch), Van Dyke, Hollendorfer, 50 16 Magnum Moon (Malibu Moon), Saez, Pletcher, 6 17 Solomini (Curlin), Prat, Baffert, 30 18 Vino Rosso (Curlin), Velazquez, Pletcher, 12 19 Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy), Geroux, Pletcher, 30 20 Combatant (Scat Daddy), Santana Jr, Asmussen, 50 AE Blended Citizen (Proud Citizen), Frey, O’Neill, 50 View the full article

Like everything else in the brief career of grade 1 winner Justify, his first morning at the site of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was handled with beyond-his-experience poise. View the full article

JAMES WATT (IRE) (c, 2, Morpheus {GB}–Tomintoul Singer {Ire), by Johannesburg), sent off as the 6-4 favourite, was slowly away and free behind the leaders before being shuffled back to last by halfway. Picking up when switched out soon after, the £17,000 DBSPRM yearling and £26,000 DONBRE 2yo gained the upper hand with 150 yards remaining and knuckled down to record a comfortable two-length success from Wedding Date (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}). In doing so, he became the first winner for his first-season sire Morpheus, Frankel’s half-brother by Oasis Dream (GB) who stands at Tally Ho Stud for €4,000. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Men Fae The Clyde; B-Tally-Ho Stud (IRE); T-Michael Bell. View the full article

With the rain seemingly never-ending in Europe, Tuesday’s G3 Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud proved another stamina test and that played into the hands of Luminate (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) as she maintained her unbeaten record with a game display. Not seen since beating the colts convincingly in the G3 Prix de Conde over nine furlongs at Chantilly in October, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s bay tracked the leader Tosen Gift (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) racing enthusiastically in the hands of Olivier Peslier. As that rival folded with two furlongs remaining, it was Homerique (Exchange Rate) who had first run with Luminate taking time to extend. Peslier refused to panic on the 6-5 favourite and after raising his whip was able to coax her past that rival in the final 50 metres for a half-length success, with seven back to Tosen Gift in third. Freddie Head admitted to concern as the finish unfolded. “She is a filly who does not show much in the morning, so there was a question mark today. I was a little bit worried when the other filly hit the front, but we all know Olivier Peslier has no nerves,” he said. “He was biding his time, as this filly stays very well and I have no doubt that she’ll stay a mile and a half later on. For the time being, we’ll stay at this trip and we have a choice between the [G3 Prix] Cleopatre or the [G1 Prix Saint-Alary]. At this stage, I would favour the Cleopatre as the easier way in order to keep her fresh for the [G1 Prix de] Diane the next time. It’s good that this kind of syndicate is as enthusiastic as they are–they come racing and to watch her train in the morning–and it is a good example for France.” Luminate, who also scored over a mile on debut at Deauville in August, draws her stamina from her Aga Khan damline. Another of an endless line of shrewd bargain purchases by John Warren, she is out of Kalandara who is a half-sister to none other than the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf and G1 Champion S.-winning sire Kalanisi (Ire) (Doyoun {Ire}), as well as the talented G2 Scottish Derby winner and G1 St. James’s Palace S. runner-up Kalaman (Ire) (Desert Prince {Ire}) and the Listed Prix Melisande scorer and G2 Prix de Malleret second Kaloura (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}). Connected to the G2 Queensland Guineas-winning sire Saxon (Aus) (Danehill), she was sold at the 2013 Goffs November Mares Sale to Philip and Jane Myerscough’s Kildare-based Colbinstown Stud for just €35,000 after failing to get off to a satisfactory start as a broodmare. She also has a 2-year-old filly by Lope de Vega (Ire) named Chamundi Hills (Ire) who was purchased by Godolphin for 370,000gns at Tattersalls October, and a yearling full-brother to Luminate. Tuesday, Saint-Cloud, France PRIX PENELOPE-G3, €80,000, SCD, 5-1, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT, 2:13.08, sf. 1–LUMINATE (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Lawman (Fr) 1st Dam: Kalandara (Ire), by Rainbow Quest 2nd Dam: Kalamba (Ire), by Green Dancer 3rd Dam: Kareena (Ire), by Riverman (€85,000 Ylg ’16 GOFORB). O-Highclere Thoroughbred Racing; B-Philip & Jane Myerscough (IRE); T-Freddy Head; J-Olivier Peslier. €40,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, €93,500. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Homerique, 126, f, 3, Exchange Rate–Chiquita Picosa, by Congaree. ($34,000 RNA Wlg ’15 KEENOV; 22,000gns RNA Ylg ’16 TATOCT; €75,000 2yo ’17 ARQMAY). O-Ecurie De Montlahuc; B-Nicky Drion & Francois Drion (KY); T-Francis-Henri Graffard. €16,000. 3–Tosen Gift (Ire), 126, f, 3, Lope De Vega (Ire)–Miracolia (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire). (€98,000 Ylg ’16 GOFORB). O-Japan Health Summit Inc; B-Kildaragh Stud (IRE); T-Satoshi Kobayashi. €12,000. Margins: HF, 7, 6. Odds: 1.20, 2.40, 2.70. Also Ran: Tempel (Fr), Sweety Dream (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

LOUISVILLE, Ky – With the ‘First Saturday in May’ quickly approaching, TDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack caught up with the connections of GI Kentucky Derby contenders to get their first impressions. “When we were prepping him for the sale, he reminded us of Beholder. He had a whole lot of her characteristics, manners and everything up to that. He was always a nice individual and very classy as a yearling. He brought a little bit more than we expected, but we’re not going to complain about that. When you start prepping them for the sale, you can tell more about them. He moved well out in the field and we had no complaints of him growing up.” –breeder Fred Mitchell of Clarkland Farm on GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner/G2 UAE Derby hero Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy), a half-brother to champion Beholder (Henny Hughes) and 2016 $3 million KEESEP sale topper. “Bolt d’Oro was a very nice horse and he always was one of our best yearlings. That’s why we sold him-we sell the ones that can bring a lot. He was always a standout. “Noble Indy was a very nice physical and well-balanced. He was a horse that we offered for sale wanting $50,000 for. Our general manager David Hanley and myself felt like he was a nice horse and that we should get a fair price or we shouldn’t sell. He RNA’d for $45,000. Always liked him as a physical and he was very straightforward.” —Elliott Walden on the WinStar Farm-bred duo of MGISW Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) ($630,000 FTSAUG yearling) and GII Twin Spires.com Louisiana Derby winner and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy) ($45,000 RNA KEESEP yearling). “I want them to finish in a dead-heat! I bought Audible and Vino Rosso, and had both of them on the farm. Both horses were very straightforward and acted real well. A good horse usually gives you no problems. A bad horse shows up like a bad penny right away. And these horses looked like they were gonna be good ones. Audible proves that you don’t have to go :10 flat [he breezed in :10 2/5 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream 2yo Sale]. He galloped out real strong and looked like the real deal.” —Jimmy Crupi of New Castle Farm, who pinhooked GI Xpressbet Florida Derby winner Audible (Into Mischief) ($175,000 FTNAUG yearling; $500,000 FTFMAR juvenile) and selected GII Wood Memorial S. hero Vino Rosso (Curlin) ($410,000 KEESEP yearling) on behalf of Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable. View the full article