Wandering Eyes

Fasig-Tipton will be the title sponsor of this year’s GII Holy Bull S. and GIII Hurricane Bertie S. at Gulfstream Park. The Fasig-Tipton Holy Bull S., a prep for 3-year-old Classic contenders, will be run Feb. 2, while the Fasig-Tipton Hurricane Bertie, for 4-year-old fillies and mares at seven furlongs, will be part of the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Series Jan. 26. “Fasig-Tipton is pleased to sponsor these two prestigious races at Gulfstream Park,” said Boyd Browning, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fasig-Tipton. “The world-class racing, hospitality and facilities at Gulfstream Park greatly enhance the experience for both buyers and sellers at our Two-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale, which takes place on Mar. 27, 2019. Sales graduates continue to excel around the world and this year’s catalogue will be loaded with quality horses.” View the full article

All-sources handle at race meets at the New York Racing Association’s Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course reached $2,113,408,494 in 2018, according to figures released by NYRA Friday. With 10 full race days and three partial cards cancelled due to weather–and 193 races taken off the turf–average daily handle over the 219 days of racing in 2018 was $9,650,267. In 2017, just 98 races were taken off the turf over 225 days of live racing, leading to all-sources handle of $2,191,731,339. The 2018 season featured 2,038 races at NYRA tracks, or 52 fewer than in 2017. View the full article

WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, SF Racing and Head of Plains Partners’ Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Ire}), a Grade I winner on turf and dirt last year, will return to the grass for his 2019 debut in the Jan. 26 $7-million GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park. “We debated about whether to run him on the dirt or the turf,” WinStar president and CEO Elliott Walden said Friday. “The nice thing about Yoshida is he’s a Grade I winner on both surfaces. We felt like with Audible (Into Mischief) [also co-owned by WinStar and expected to start over the main track in the GI Pegasus World Cup] being in the other race, this was a good place to start.” Yoshida, a ‘TDN Rising Star,’ opened 2018 with a win in the GI Old Forester Turf Classic at Churchill Downs. He won the GI Woodward S. in his first start over the dirt at Saratoga last September and was most recently fourth in the Nov. 3 GI Breeders’ Cup Classic. “He’s done great,” Walden said. “He had a little bit of a break for the month of November and then started back training. He’s had three breezes at Payson Park and Bill [Mott] is really happy with him. He’s continued to fill out and do well and we’re excited about the upcoming year with him. He’s unbelievable. He’s been a good horse from Day 1.” View the full article

In the first full year after the NTRA successfully completed a campaign to have the U.S. Treasury and IRS change rules on reporting and withholding of pari-mutuel winnings, wagering on U.S. races saw its largest single-season growth in 18 years. View the full article

Traditionally run seven weeks after the GI Belmont S. and four weeks prior to the GI Travers S., the 2019 GI Haskell Invitational will be run July 20. The change was made because Monmouth officials were informed that, if the race were run on its normal date, it could not televised on the NBC family of networks. To ensure television coverage, the race had to be moved to the July 20 date, which is a Saturday. The Haskell has traditionally been run on a Sunday. The story was first reported by the Asbury Park Press. “If we wanted to retain national television coverage for the race, we had no other choice,” said Dennis Drazin, who heads the management group that operates the track. “We either had to move the race or lose coverage. This is a our signature race and it’s a world-class race. This is not a race that we wanted to be unavailable on a national network. I don’t know this for sure, but had we gone without the TV coverage, we were worried that the Haskell might also lose its status as a ‘Win-and-You’re-In’ race for the Breeders’ Cup.” In addition to having a $1-million purse, the Haskell has normally attracted many of the top 3-year-olds in training because of its spot on the calendar. It was far enough removed from the Belmont, that most trainers of Triple Crown starters had their horse ready to go for their summer-fall campaigns by the time the Haskell rolled around. There was also enough spacing between the Haskell and the Travers that trainers were usually open to the idea of running in both races. It’s unclear how the change in dates will affect the type of field the Haskell gets. The worry is that, if trainers feel that they need more time for their horses to recover from the Triple Crown races, they might instead chose the GII Jim Dandy S. at Saratoga. That race will remain seven weeks after the Belmont. “This could be a double-edged sword,” Drazin said. “For people who want to run in the Travers, they’ll now have more time between races if they go in the Haskell. But I understand we’re cutting it close when it comes to where the race is positioned as far as the Belmont goes. We might lose a horse or two where they want more time after the Belmont and gain a horse or two that likes the idea of the five-week gap between the Haskell and the Travers. We had to weigh these options and we decided in the end that it was critical to retain TV coverage.” There could be more changes at the 2019 Monmouth meet as it appears that an influx of at least $10 million will be added to the purse account. There is legislation pending in the state capital of Trenton that would provide the Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries with an annual subsidy of $20 million to boost purses. Half the money would go to Monmouth and the other half to the Standardbreds at the Meadowlands. Though the legislation has several more hurdles to clear, it is supported by virtually every major politician in the state and is expected to pass. Monmouth should also have additional money for purses from its cut of sports betting revenue. Drazin said it’s too early to tell how much money that may involve. With more money available for purses, management is weighing two options. One is to raise purses across the board for the entire meet. The other is to use the money for a two-to-three week period around the Haskell to have a championship-type meet within the regular meet. If that were to happen, Drazin said purses during that period would be about $500,000 a day. Drazin also has plans to extend the Thoroughbred meet at the Meadowlands, which, over the last few years, has included only a handful of dates with turf racing only. He would like to see 20 days of racing at the Meadowlands and have the harness track converted so that dirt racing could resume there. Drazin says, by law, the Thoroughbreds get first preference on the fall dates, but he has been negotiating with Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural. According to Drazin, Gural has asked that the expansion of the Thoroughbred meet at the Meadowlands be put off until 2020. View the full article

WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, SF Racing, and Head of Plains Partners' Yoshida will be returning to the grass for his 2019 debut in the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1T) Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park. View the full article

On the first Saturday of 2019, the programs for newly turned 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park get going. View the full article

WinStar Farm, China Horse Club International, SF Racing, and Head of Plains Partners' Yoshida will be returning to the grass for his 2019 debut in the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1T) Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park. View the full article

Headlining the Keeneland January Sale this year is the 2017 Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old filly, Abel Tasman, who sells as hip 288 during the auction’s opening session this coming Monday. We went out to visit the mare at Taylor Made Farm last week and to talk to Mark Taylor about the six-time Grade I winner’s selling points. TDN: You found out, I’m assuming, kind of late in the year that you’re going to have Abel Tasman in the consignment. How did that come about? MT: Well, we’ve had a great relationship with the Cleary boys out at Clearsky, as well as China Horse Club, for a number of years. China Horse Club bought a really nice mare off of us a few years ago, named Embellish the Lace, and got to know them better through that. This year we actually partnered on a race horse with them, Sassy Sienna, and we’ve sold yearlings for them. We sold a really nice War Front colt in 2017 in September. They’re doing big things in the business and we’ve been fortunate enough to develop a good relationship with them. There was a comfort level there. The Cleary boys, we knew their father and we’ve been friends with them and selling horses with them. They sell mostly their own at the yearling sales, but we help them out and anytime they need our two cents worth, we’re always involved with those guys. I think that’s how it came to fruition, and I think everybody knows selling these kind of mares is something that Taylor Made puts a lot of emphasis on and that’s our bread and butter. TDN: She’s a unique mare in her talent. She’s a Grade I winner at two, three and four. Talk about her accomplishments on the racetrack and what she was able to accomplish, first as a 2-year-old with Simon Callaghan and then with Bob Baffert. MT: She’s just one of those very rare versatile horses that have so much talent, that you can’t really pigeon hole her. It’s very hard to beat her, because if she goes with you, you’re in trouble, and if you go out and she sits back and relaxes, you’re at her mercy. She’s going to run you down in the stretch. Physically, what I love about Abel Tasman is when you breed to Quality Road, you’re hoping to get one that looks like her. She’s very similar to him in that she’s got tons of length. She’s got this beautiful, elegant, long neck. Bob Baffert actually alluded to that in the one interview I saw. “Got that neck.” Beautiful deep shoulder on her. Very long, mare just covers a lot of ground. Good hip and she’s roomy. It’s the way I call it. She looks like one of those mares that can carry a lot of foal. That’s what I like to see in mares. TDN: What has her progression been like on the farm since the Breeders’ Cup? MT: She’s been at Clearsky, where she was raised, with Barry Robinette. He runs the Cleary boys’ farm out there. I really like the way she’s going since the Breeders’ Cup. She was obviously light coming in off the track. Tight, fit and been running all year. But if you can see her transition from then until now, I think she’s put on right at 100 pounds. You think about this mare when she gets pregnant and what she’s going to look like next summer. She is just going to be awesome. And she’s just now starting to kind of let down and think, maybe it’s time to be a mom now. She’s getting turn out time and just getting into that routine. So, it’s been really cool to see her, the way she’s transitioning, starting to head into the breeding season. TDN: Quality Road had a huge 2018 and has really established himself as a top sire, particularly of females. MT: Quality Road is a horse that I think a lot of people always believed in. He was such a fantastic racehorse himself. He set track records, is very versatile, was fast, he could stretch out to a mile and an eighth. Everybody believed in him and I think it took him a while to just get over the hump, as it does with some of these great sires. He’s showed great promised early, but then in 2018 it was just, “Wow.” I think he’s clearly one of the very, very best stallions in North America, and he gets respect from around the world. I mean, he’s had really good horses in Europe, so I think that’s maybe what differentiates him a little bit, is that he’s a superstar in America, but he’s had horses go over to Europe and run very well, Japan. So I think he’s truly an international sire. Even though Abel Tasman never got to run on the grass herself, I think her pedigree opens her up to where she can be mated with sires from around the world. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to see her offspring competing in Group 1s at whatever racing jurisdiction they end up in. TDN: Have you gotten much international interest in her, from Japan? From Europe? MT: We’ve gotten significant interest. She’s definitely on the top buyers’ radar screens. The one thing that I’m trying to convey to all of the buyers that have interest is is that this isn’t a situation where China Horse Club or the Cleary boys are just trying to buy one another out. I think they’re both there and they’re genuine sellers. I think everybody knows that she’s a very valuable mare, and she’s not going to be cheap. But you’re not going to be battling where one side or the other says, “Oh, I’m just going to go there and I’m bidding with 50-cent on the dollar or whatever, and I’m going to buy everybody out.” We saw a little bit of that in November, where partners were buying other partners out. I think that we’re dealing in this situation with two very genuine sellers and she’s going to have a fair reserve and that’s what I’ve been trying to communicate to everybody that’s called me so far. TDN: The stockmarket has been schizophrenic, to say the least, over the past month. How might that affect the sale, and just what are your thoughts coming to January in general? MT: January is a sale where you get the entire spectrum of the bloodstock world covered. You’re going to have very cheap horses and you’re going to have some very, very expensive horses. You’re going to see that we’re dealing with different strengths at different levels. I think what we’ve seen in the global economy, what we’ve seen in our stockmarket here domestically, I think that it’s a little bit of a, ‘we don’t know what’s in the future or on the horizon.’ Uncertainty is never really a good thing for the horse business. I think if you look at mares like Abel Tasman she’s sort of recession proof, because she’s collector’s status and those horses hold their value more. But going into next year, I think there’s strength at the top, but I think that more and more breeders have to be careful. They’ve got to make the right decisions. They’ve got to make the right culling decisions when they’re selling, and then they have to try to raise the best product they can. It’s not an easy game and when you get below the top, you’ve got to really, really try to tighten up all those different variables that you can control, and then hope you get a little luck with the vetting and those kinds of things to find success. View the full article

A story by BloodHorse.com online news editor Jeremy Balan that brought the fire at San Luis Rey into full focus earned a media Eclipse Award. View the full article

A story by BloodHorse.com online news editor Jeremy Balan that brought the fire at San Luis Rey into full focus, earned a media Eclipse Award. View the full article

Christie DeBernardis and Patty Wolfe have earned the Eclipse Award for Audio/Multi-Media Internet for their piece chronicling the journey of Cozmic One, first foal of champion Zenyatta, from the racetrack to the show ring through the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) and the careful eye of 17-year-old show rider Isabela de Sousa. The entry appeared first online in the July edition of TDN Weekend, a publication of Thoroughbred Daily News and can be viewed here. The story of Cozmic One is told by DeBernardis, who came up with the idea, wrote the text, took the pictures and interviewed de Sousa on camera, and Wolfe, who shot and produced the video of de Sousa, in which the young rider extols the opportunity of second careers for retired racehorses and the success of Off-the-Track Thoroughbred (OTTB) programs. The video captures Cozmic One and the young de Sousa together with the rider discussing her process of choosing Cozmic One, previously owned by Jerry and Ann Moss, as her next mount in the RRP sponsored Thoroughbred Makeover competition. De Sousa is then seen riding Cozmic One in a “demo event” at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event in April 2018, as well as at her home, where Cozmic One resides with his pal and fellow OTTB Isle of Giants. “We are truly honored and humbled that our work was chosen for an Eclipse Award,” said DeBernardis, an associate editor at TDN. “It is our industry’s highest honor and what we all strive for day in and day out. There are so many talented writers and photographers in horse racing that we are lucky to know and work with, so to be selected as an Eclipse winner among such an exceptional group is beyond flattering. I am very grateful to my family, friends and everyone at the TDN who have supported me and made this possible. I am also thankful to have met Sergio and Isabela de Sousa, who inspired this piece and welcomed me into their home and stable. And, I can’t forget Cozmic One, who attracted many readers to this story and shined a new light on retired racehorses.” Wolfe, who produces videos for TDN, added, “I am humbled to be recognized with this extraordinary honor. Working with the TDN on their visual media initiative has already been the most fulfilling (and fun) part of my career. Christie’s vision for this story was spot on, and I’m grateful we had the chance to help Isabela and Cozmic One tell their story.” Judges in the Audio/Multi-Media Internet category were Ashely Cline, founder and publisher of the equestrian lifestyle blog, EquestrianStylist.com; Brian Nadeau racing analyst for Horseplayer Now and Amy Zimmerman, Santa Anita Park Vice President and Senior Associate Producer for NBC Sports. View the full article

In the first full year after the NTRA successfully completed a campaign to have the U.S. Treasury and IRS change rules on reporting and withholding of pari-mutuel winnings, wagering on U.S. races saw its largest single-season growth in 16 years. View the full article

A record $2.010 billion was wagered on races at Gulfstream Park in 2018, representing a $122.7 million increase over the previous record in 2017. View the full article

14:25 Sandown – Tolworth Hurdle Saturday’s feature is a fascinating renewal of the Tolworth Hurdle with a number of potential hurdling stars set to battle it out over 2miles. The powerful connections of Rathhill have every right to be excited after their 6yo accounted for a smart field last time out on his hurdling and […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Saturday 5th January appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Trainer Chad Brown's 2018 season was his best yet, highlighted by 20 grade 1 wins and $27,546,057 in stable earnings, about $570,000 shy of the all-time North American record set by Todd Pletcher in 2007. View the full article

Trainer Chad Brown's 2018 season was his best yet, highlighted by 20 grade 1 wins and $27,546,057 in stable earnings, about $570,000 shy of the all-time North American record set by Todd Pletcher in 2007. View the full article

Craig Bernick of Glen Hill Farm in the U.S. has long been an advocate of diversification and utilising international bloodlines. TDN‘s Gary King chatted with Bernick about the European-based stallions he plans to use in 2019. GK: Could you let us know which European-based stallions you plan on using this season? CB: Here’s the complete list: Most Beautiful (GB): Kodiac (GB) Take a Deep Breath (GB): Saxon Warrior (Jpn) Modern Love (Ire): Zoffany (Ire) Deer Valley: Frankel (GB) How (Ire): Lope De Vega (Ire) Easter (Ire): Kingman (GB) Galileo Gal (Ire): Kingman (GB) GK: Galileo Gal [a half-sister to Alpha Centauri] was an expensive purchase for $1.4-million at Fasig-Tipton November. Did you buy her with Kingman in mind? CB: When I bought the mare, Shane Horan from Juddmonte immediately texted and said he would love her for Kingman. That made a lot of sense to me and we had been thinking about that horse anyway. Kingman was such a great racehorse. I know he ran at two but he won everything except the Guineas at three. His 2-year-olds look even more precocious than he was. He’s a horse that I’m more than happy to breed to with Galileo Gal and Easter. GK: Lope De Vega had a remarkable year at stud in 2018, especially with Newspaperofrecord (Ire)’s win in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Did that influence your decision? CB: We have used Lope De Vega before. We sold the mare Earring in foal to him at Tattersalls December this year [purchased by Charlie Gordon-Watson Bloodstock for 925,000gns]. I have followed Lope De Vega since the start and every year it seems that he’s improved. His horses run early and they seem to stay around. He’s the type of horse that will continue to be a really good stallion. With the mare being by Galileo (Ire), he’s a really good match. She’s a very pretty mare, walks well, and probably had more ability than her race record suggests. She has a great pedigree so I think that’s a good mating for her. GK: Where do you typically board your mares in Europe? CB: We basically board them all at Norelands Stud in Ireland. Then the mares that are bred to stallions in England, Norelands will arrange everything. Once the mares are in foal they all come back to Norelands to be foaled. GK: When do you make the decision about which ones you’ll race in Europe versus the U.S.? CB: We plan for those matings to be European horses. The mares are all European-bred, have form there, a lot of the relations are in Europe, so they basically belong there. If we decide to put some of the horses in training and they look like they might be prospects for America, we could consider that. The one mare going over, Deer Valley, to Frankel has a fantastic pedigree and is a listed winner. She could maybe be the only one that might come back, but the rest of them belong over there. View the full article

Saturday The Character Track: Newcastle – 11:55 Jockey: Brian Hughes He’s a nice horse that ran well after a lengthy lay-off at Hexham in November when he was entitled to get tired. I haven’t rushed him back too quickly and hopefully, he has improved enough from that run to feature here. The post Donald McCain On “The Character” Chances – Newcastle 11:55 appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Sandown Unibet Handicap Chase Only four horses go to post for this valuable handicap and the first to look at is the Paul Nicholls’ trained Capeland who has already had a fruitful campaign thus far, winning three of his five starts and going up a total of thirteen pounds for his troubles. The handicapper may just […] The post Weekend Preview – Rathhill To Leave Rivals Reeling In Tolworth appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

With less than 100 days to go until Britain is scheduled to leave the European Union, the bloodstock and racing industries in Britain and Ireland face uncertain times as to how different their worlds will be after that date. The Tripartite Agreement that ensures free movement of Thoroughbreds between Britain, Ireland and France could be brought to an end by Brexit. While hopes are high that this mutually beneficial arrangement for horses of a ‘high health’ status will be upheld, the possibility of a no-deal Brexit makes the waters very murky indeed and raises the prospect of all manner of potentially calamitous situations for the bloodstock and racing worlds. Amid all this uncertainty, it is of the utmost importance that the symbiotic relationship between the bloodstock and racing industries of Britain and Ireland is maintained. Of course, there will always be a healthy rivalry between the two, but when it comes to breeding and racing, one simply cannot thrive without the other. British racing needs a supply of Irish-bred horses just as badly as the Irish bloodstock sector depends on the British market in which to sell their horses. Similarly, the breeding industries on both sides of the Irish Sea depend on access to each other’s stallions, mares and sales grounds to conduct their businesses. The sheer volume of Thoroughbred horses of all ages that travel over and back across the Irish Sea every week is testament to this. However, the uncertainty that Brexit has introduced into the fold has resulted in some worrying developments in the bloodstock world. It is somewhat understandable that potentially challenging times ahead might prompt a defensive or protectionist approach and there seems to be elements of that appearing in the British bloodstock industry. Specifically, it has been concerning to observe the direction that the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (TBA) in Britain has been taking. Recently, TBA board member Philip Newton wrote an article in the Racing Post headlined ‘The time has come to put the interests of our own industry first’. In short, it is the TBA’s belief that in these difficult times British breeders will be best served by looking after their own. With this in mind, its board has proposed a new bonus scheme confined to British-bred horses that it hopes will be in place for the 2019 Flat season. It is understandable that those behind this new British scheme will seek to promote and emphasise the success of British breeding above all others. Indeed, in Newton’s article he wrote, ‘On top of all that there is the indisputable fact that the British racing product is the best in the world, as 24% of the world’s best racehorses are produced from an annual foal crop of approximately 4,700 births. Next in line is Ireland with 18% of the best, but from a foal crop of over 9,000.” However, that ‘indisputable fact’ is very much disputable, as it actually undersells just how dominant both British and Irish breeders are on the world scene. Newton’s statistics are based on foal crop numbers that include foals designated as being bred for National Hunt racing at the time of their registration. Given that the breeding industry of every other major racing nation with the exception of France is almost entirely made up of Flat-bred foals, including such foals in his statistics serves to significantly distort the picture. This is particularly significant in this case given that approximately 30% of foals born in Ireland and 13% of foals bred in Great Britain are bred for National Hunt racing. In an effort to offer statistics that are more reflective of the reality, I firstly calculated a figure for an average crop of foals that were designated as Flat-bred and bred for dual purposes in both Britain and Ireland from between 2012 and 2014 inclusive. I then calculated the average of how many horses rated 115+ and 120+ were bred in either country and appeared in the World’s Best Racehorse Rankings at the conclusion of every year from 2015 to 2017 inclusive. Finally, I took those two averages for each country and used them to calculate an average percentage of 115+ and 120+ performers per foal produced at either side of the Irish Sea during that period. These are the results that analysis produced: However, the real impact of these figures isn’t truly made until they are put alongside the other leading Thoroughbred breeding nations in the world. With that in mind, I conducted the same analysis for all the other significant Thoroughbred breeding nations and the results are quite remarkable. The indisputable fact that I would draw from this analysis is that Ireland AND Britain are by a significant margin the finest breeders of Thoroughbreds in the world. Their breeding and racing industries are so closely linked and there is so much sharing of bloodlines that they can take near equal credit for reaching what is a remarkable position of dominance on the world stage. The owners, breeders and agents that flock to the sale grounds of Britain and Ireland from around the world don’t come looking to buy a horse bred in one country or the other, they come to buy quality horses regardless of which country it was produced, knowing that Britain and Ireland breed the best horses in the world. While Brexit represents a significant challenge in maintaining the symbiotic relationship between Britain and Ireland, these two nations should be doing everything they can to work more closely together for their mutual benefit rather than seeking to drive a wedge between them. A bonus scheme that causes buyers to differentiate between the British and Irish products that have for so long been coupled under one brand of excellence threatens to destabilise the foundations of the bloodstock business on both sides of the Irish Sea. There are challenging times ahead for the bloodstock business, but working together will make the choppy waters ahead much more navigable for all involved. View the full article

Early scratchings January 6 View the full article

Flying start but Noh in no Rush View the full article

Two-time GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Stormy Liberal (Stormy Atlantic), runner-up as the 4-5 favorite in Santa Anita’s GIII Joe Hernandez S. on New Year’s Day, remains on schedule for the G1 Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan Mar. 30. The 7-year-old finished a good second in the race last year. “All systems go,” said co-owner Brian Trump of Rockingham Ranch. “He’s definitely being pointed to Dubai. There are not many Grade I turf sprints here in the U.S. and he has shown us that he belongs with the top turf sprinters in the world. We will take it one prep at a time, but ‘Stormy’ wants the Al Quoz Sprint title.” View the full article

Kaleem Shah’s multiple Grade I winner Bellafina (Quality Road) will face four rivals as she kicks off her sophomore campaign in the GII Santa Ynez S. at Santa Anita Sunday. The bay filly broke her maiden in the Aug. 5 GII Sorrento S. before adding the Sept. 1 GI Del Mar Debutante S. and Sept. 29 GI Chandelier S., but had her chances of a juvenile championship scuppered by a fourth-place effort in the Nov. 2 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. She tuned up for the Santa Ynez with a five-furlong work in 1:00.80 (11/61) at Santa Anita last Sunday which trainer Simon Callaghan catagorized as “perfect.” Bellafina will break from post two in the seven-furlong race and is the 124-pound highweight. Mother Mother (Pioneerof the Nile), tabbed a ‘TDN Rising Star’ after her 6 1/2-length debut win at Del Mar last July, was second behind Bellafina in the Debutante before wiring the field in the one-mile Rags to Riches S. Oct. 28 at Churchill Downs. Stretched to 1 1/16 miles, she set the pace before coming up third best in a blanket finish to the Dec. 8 GI Starlet S. last time out. Cutting back to seven furlongs Sunday, she’ll break from the rail. Also coming out of the Starlet is Sold It (The Factor), who graduated over the turf at Del Mar Nov. 15. A 62-1 outsider in the Starlet, she pressed the pace before tiring to fifth, beaten four lengths. “I thought she ran really well in the Starlet,” trainer Doug O’Neill said of Sold It. “She’s doing great and we’re backing her up to seven-eighths because that’s what’s on the calendar, so we’ll either lead her over for the Santa Ynez or continue to work her, but I think her best races will be at two turns.” Sold It will break from post three Sunday and the field is rounded out by Tomlin (Distorted Humor) and Reflect (Trappe Shot). View the full article