Wandering Eyes

The old band is back together and the forgotten horse of Sunday’s Chairman’s Sprint Prize is looking for a redemption that could also reshape the season of one of the forgotten jockeys. Brett Prebble’s tally of 18 Group Ones in Hong Kong alone stands out among the riders in the feature sprint on Sunday and includes four prior wins in the race on Lucky Nine (twice), Sacred Kingdom and Absolute Champion. But time moves on and, while he isn’t the only one, it’s no... View the full article

Early scratchings April 24 View the full article

Horse's test results April 21 View the full article

The way Nessy was running recently, he figured to break through at some point, and did April 22 in the $100,000 San Juan Capistrano Stakes (G3T) at Santa Anita Park View the full article

Launching a determined drive to edge out the favorite, Stronach Stables' Silent Sting strode into first place to take the $125,000 Queenston Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack April 22 on the synthetic track. View the full article

Stephanie Seymour Brant's Significant Form led the entire way April 22 to win the $100,000 Memories of Silver Stakes for 3-year-old fillies in her season debut at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

Woodbine Racetrack has announced two new competition incentive programs with bonuses up to $50,000 for horses shipping in to race at the Toronto track this year. View the full article

Sun Bloodstock’s G1 Jean-Luc Lagardere hero National Defense (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}–Angel Falls {GB}, by Kingmambo) and Group 2 winner Thronum (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}–Helena’s Secret, by Five Star Day) are part of an 11-strong roster for Victoria-based Sun Stud in 2018. The former will shuttle from the Irish National Stud after standing his first season and will command a fee of A$11,000. A fee for Thronum, who was a last out second in the G1 William Reid S. at Moonee Valley on Mar. 23 will be announced later. “Sun Stud is very excited about introducing National Defense and Thronum this season,” Sun Stud’s Senior Sales and Nominations Manager, Mark Lindsay told Breednet.com.au. “National Defense was a brilliant 2-year-old and is sure to catch the attention of local broodmare owners keen to tap into the Invincible Spirit connection. Thronum’s race record speaks for itself, but it’s a real stallion’s pedigree too: apart from being a son of Snitzel, his family is jam-packed with black-type talent and he is closely related to outstanding sires Shamardal and Street Cry. Also standing at Sun Stud, as the operation has consolidated all its stallions at its Victoria base, is veteran Magnus (Aus) (Flying Spur {Aus}) at A$19,800 and Black Caviar (Aus)’s sire Bel Esprit (Aus) (Royal Academy) at A$11,000. View the full article

West Point Thoroughbreds has purchased an interest in Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) contender My Boy Jack. View the full article

A colt by Eureka Stud’s Spirit of Boom (Aus)–who has already sired 13 winners in his first season with runners–topped the single-session Inglis VOBIS Gold Yearling Sale in Melbourne on Sunday. Setting a new high-price mark at A$120,000, lot 248 sold to Gelagotis Racing and Anthony Panozzo from the draft of Rosemont Stud. Sales statistics on a whole however were down, with 200 sold–the same number as last year–for a clearance rate of only 79%. The 2017 edition resulted in 88% of the catalogue finding new homes. The aggregate was A$3,853,000, while the average fell to A$19,265 (-14.7%). The median also dipped to A$13,000 (-27.8%). From the family of Italian stakes winners Poseidon (GB) (Polar Falcon) and Jalmoon (GB) (Jalmood), the October-foaled bay is out of the Mossman (Aus) mare Moxie Doll (Aus), a half-sister to Group 3 winner King Kool Kat (Aus) (King Cugat). “The stallion is doing incredible things and we’re really thrilled to get a nice running style of a horse like him with a pedigree to run, by a stallion in the top three or four in Australia at the moment,” Manny Gelagotis said. Rosemont’s Gerard Jones always believed the son of Spirit of Boom youngster was “the colt of the sale”. “We’re ecstatic with the result,” Jones said. “He’s been out of his box all day today especially, so I’m glad he can go back now and relax. He’s typical of all the Spirit of Booms, really relaxed, no fuss. He took it all in his stride. It’s really good that Manny got him. He’s VOBIS qualified so it’s great that he stayed home in Victoria.” The second dearest lot on the day was also the top-priced filly, as Tony Ottobre of Boneo Horse Ranch snapped up a daughter of shuttler Toronado (Ire) out of Take All of Me (Aus) (Jeune {GB}) (lot 210) for A$85,000. Part of the Armidale Stud consignment, the half-sister to G3 National S. victress I’ll Have a Bit (Aus) (Smart Missile {Aus}) counts three-time group winner Tickle My (Aus) (Perugino) as her second dam. “The Toronados I really do like,” said Ottobre. “I also like the High Chaparral (Ire) side and I see a lot of High Chaparral in this filly. She’s a 3-year-old onwards type, mid-distance, definitely not a sprinter. She’s a very nice Classic type of racehorse.” “To be able to achieve a record price for the sale was very pleasing,” said Inglis Victoria Bloodstock Manager Simon Vivian. “The clearance rate was especially sticky for the first couple of hours while the sale found its feet, but the second half probably went around 85% clearance through the ring which was satisfying. Private sales will see that advance to over 80%. There was great support here from the Victorian training bench, as well as NSW, South Australia and Tasmanian trainers too, so I’m looking forward to seeing some fantastic results on the track from these horses from next year.” View the full article

Ruis Racing’s GI Santa Anita Derby runner-up Bolt d’Oro (Medaglia d’Oro) worked seven furlongs under Victor Espinoza in 1:24.20 at Santa Anita Sunday morning ahead of a prospective start in the GI Kentucky Derby on May 5. “He looked good to me,” owner/trainer Mick Ruis said after the drill. Santa Anita clockers caught Bolt d’Oro with fractional times of :35, :46.60, :58.80 and 1:11.40. “Bolt felt great,” said Espinoza. “It was pretty awesome. It was exactly what I expected. We wanted 1:24 so the clock in my head is still working. That was what Mick wanted me to do.” • Craig Upham’s GI Ashland S. third-place finisher Patrona Margarita (Special Rate) recorded a half-mile breeze in :48.80 Sunday morning at Churchill Downs in preparation for a start in the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks May 4. The Texas-bred breezed through eighth-mile splits of :12.60, :24.60 and :36.80 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:02 and six furlongs in 1:15.60, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. “She’s been doing very well,” trainer Bret Calhoun said. “She had a couple of rough months at Fair Grounds with some fungus on her leg that we had to treat with antibiotics and give her some time off. I think now she’s just really getting turned around from the antibiotics. She wasn’t close to top shape in the Ashland but is doing really well now.” View the full article

West Point Thoroughbreds has purchased an interest in GI Kentucky Derby contender My Boy Jack (Creative Cause), it was announced Sunday. The Keith Desormeaux-trained winner of the GIII Southwest S. and GIII Lexington S. will compete for Sol Kumin’s Monomoy Stables, Kirk Godby and Matt Bryan’s Don’t Tell My Wife Stables, and West Point Thoroughbreds with regular pilot Kent Desormeaux carrying the Monomoy silks. “I’ve always liked this horse and admire his versatility,” said West Point’s Terry Finley. “There’s great karma surrounding this colt and his connections, and he’s come out swinging this year despite several tough trips. We’re grateful for the opportunity to join an awesome ownership group and thrilled to provide a dedicated group of our partners the chance to once again experience the magic of the Derby dream.” West Point Thoroughbreds purchased an interest in 2017 GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) before the colt went on to win the GI Florida Derby and the Run for the Roses. This year, the group also purchased an interest in GI Kentucky Oaks contender Coach Rocks (Oxbow) before her win in the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks. My Boy Jack kicked off his 2018 campaign with a third-place finish in the GIII Sham S. Jan. 6 and followed that up with a score in the Feb. 19 Southwest. A closing third in the GII Louisiana Derby Mar. 24, he recently notched a narrow victory in the 1 1/16-mile Lexington Apr. 14 to punch his ticket to Louisville. View the full article

Englishman Ryan Moore is set to contest the May 5 GI Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs aboard Coolmore partners’ blowout G2 UAE Derby hero Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy), according to trainer Aidan O’Brien, who spoke with At The Races Sunday. O’Brien is now in the process of finalizing jockey plans for his trio of potential G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas contenders–Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and U S Navy Flag (War Front)–as the first English Classic of the season is held at Newmarket that same day. “I think it was [straightforward] for Ryan,” said the Ballydoyle maestro of the decision to ride the 2017 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf hero. “He was always fascinated by the Kentucky Derby and obviously this horse [Mendelssohn] was coming along lovely last year. He went through the winter well and his first two runs were lovely, so that [Kentucky Derby] is what Ryan is thinking at the moment.” View the full article

What had been one of racing’s best feel-good stories of recent times ended in tragedy Saturday when Grade I winner Bullards Alley (Flower Alley) had to be euthanized following the running of the GII Dixiana Elkhorn S. at Keeneland. Trainer Tim Glyhsaw reported that the 6-year-old was put down while still in the horse ambulance and had suffered from a left hind compound condylar fracture. Bullards Alley may not have been a huge star, but his back story was an inspiring one and many were attracted to the tale of a bunch of underdogs winning at the highest levels of the sport. Bullards Alley was purchased for $11,000 by Wayne Spalding at the 2014 Fasig Tipton Summer Selected Horses of Racing Age. Unraced at the time, he was part of the Eugene Melnyk dispersal. Spalding, who would later bring in Faron McCubbins as a co-owner, turned the horse over to Glyshaw, who had never won a graded stakes at the time. But Glyshaw proved more than capable and figured out that Bullards Alley would be at his best in turf marathons. He spotted him accordingly and was rewarded with both the first graded win for the horse and for himself in the 2016 in the GIII Louisville H., a race run at a mile-and-a-half on the turf at Churchill Downs. “When he ran second at Keeneland in a mile-and-three- sixteenths allowance race in 2015, that’s when I knew he was going to be a very good horse,” Glyshaw said. “We just needed to find races that were longer and longer for him. Unless you compete at the graded stakes level, those races are hard to find. You don’t find many mile-and-a-half races unless they are graded stakes. We were lucky enough that he had the quality to compete at that level.” Bullards Alley continued to grind away, but did not have a true break-out performance until he won last year’s GI Canadian International. Clearly relishing the soft turf that day at Woodbine, he won by 10 3/4 lengths and earned a 114 Beyer figure. With that win and a subsequent sixth-place finish in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf, people started paying attention to the horse who was once let go for $11,000. “A lot of people really liked this horse,” Glyshaw said. “What they liked about him was that he wasn’t one of those $500,000 or $750,000 purchases that go on to be successful. He was sort of a workmanlike horse. He was very nicely bred but we got him for a very low price in the [Eugene] Melnyk dispersal and he went on to do pretty big things. Not that a horse who cost $500,000 and goes on to make $1 million isn’t special, but this was a completely different story.” Bullards Alley was winless in his three starts after the Breeders’ Cup, but was still in good form when entering the gate for the Elkhorn. With Corey Lanerie aboard, Bullards Alley broke with the field but was pulled up approaching the first of three turns. “Corey said that he thought it happened when he was bumped a little bit out of the gate,” Glyshaw said. “He thinks he landed wrong on his left hind ankle, not on the proper part of the hoof. Basically, he rolled his ankle.” Glyshaw said that the discussion whether or not to try to save the horse was a quick one. He reasoned that even if Bullards Alley could pull through surgery he would not be mobile enough afterward to have a good life. “Even if you spent $30,000, $40,000 to try to save him, he’s not going to have any life at all,” Glyshaw said. “He liked to run around, liked to play, liked to rear up. None of that stuff would have been possible even if they could save him. There was just no point.” Bullards Alley took Glyshaw to places he always wanted to go, but never knew if he would get there. He was his first graded stakes winner, his first Grade I winner and, along with stablemate Bucchero (Kantharos), gave him his first Breeders’ Cup starts when the pair appeared at Del Mar last year. “It’s pretty devastating to our barn and everyone who has been involved with him, obviously, including the owners,” he said. “He was our first horse on the national scene. It’s been easier with all the kind comments on Facebook and Twitter. I didn’t see it, but I was told that Todd Schrup on TVG, when they announced that they had put him down, was virtually in tears. You don’t hear that very often.” Bullards Alley won six of 40 career starts and had three stakes wins. The $11,000 purchase earned $928,622. View the full article

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Monday’s Insights features a half-sister to G1 Hong Kong Cup hero Akeed Mofeed (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). 2.20 Compiegne, Mdn, €25,000, 3yo, c/g, 12fT His Highness The Aga Khan’s SHARASTI (IRE) (Dansili {GB}) is out of 2012 G1 Yorkshire Oaks and G1 Prix Vermeille heroine Shareta (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}) and, like his dam, is trained by Alain de Royer-Dupre. He is joined by Ballymore Thoroughbred’s fellow newcomer Pure Country (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who is kin to 2011 G1 Prix Ganay-winning sire Planteur (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), from the Freddy Head stable. Experienced rivals on show include Godolphin’s Lindberg (Medaglia d’Oro), who is a gelded son of 2008 GI Beldame S. and GI Matriarch S. victress Cocoa Beach (Chi) (Doneraile Court), representing Andre Fabre; and Foxboro (Ger) (Maxios {GB}), who is a Peter Schiergen-trained half to 2015 G1 Deutsches Derby and G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern third Fair Mountain (Ger) (Tiger Hill {Ire}) produced by MGSW 2008 G1 Grosser Dallmayr Preis third Fair Breeze (Ger) (Silvano {Ger}). 4.40 Pontefract, Cond, £6,000, 3yo/up, 6fT WONDERING SPIRIT (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) is a half-sister to Akeed Mofeed (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who carried the same Jaber Abdullah silks to fourth in the 2012 G1 Irish Derby before relocating to Hong Kong and registering success in the following year’s G1 Hong Kong Cup. The Kevin Ryan-trained debutante faces nine opponents in this one-turn dash. 6.50 Windsor, Cond, £5,800, 3yo, 10fT George Strawbridge’s COLENSO (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) is out of 2002 G1 Moyglare Stud S. third Pearl Dance (Nureyev) and is thus a sibling of GSW 2015 G1 Prix d’Ispahan placegetter Sparkling Beam (Ire) (Nayef). Opposition to the Andrew Balding trainee includes $100,000 KEESEP purchase Laughing Stranger (Medaglia d’Oro), a son of 2010 G2 Debutante S. victress Laughing Lashes (Mr. Greeley) who also hit the board in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, debuting for the Jeremy Noseda barn. 7.30 Navan, Mdn, €12,500, 3yo, c/g, 10fT FRANKINCENSE (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}), one of two nominees from the Aidan O’Brien stable, is a full-brother to MGSW 2013 G1 Epsom Derby fourth and freshman sire Battle of Marengo (Ire). The bay tackles a mixed bag of 10 in this unveiling. View the full article

In his first of two scheduled timed workouts for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), Ruis Racing's Bolt d'Oro flashed his speed immediately April 22 at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

It is not just the horses with Classic aspirations who are emerging from hibernation just now. Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle is back at work, too. “There are an awful lot of bubbles at this time of year and I always feel the Almighty has several hedgehogs out there ready to prick them all,” says Lord Grimthorpe wryly. “You just hope one or two escape. But it is an exciting time, especially the way our season is, when you have from end of October to contemplate what might or might not be in May.” To be fair, Prince Khaled Abdullah’s racing manager hardly felt as though a bubble had burst when–a year ago last Friday–a filly from the first crop of Nathaniel (Ire) was beaten in a conditions race at Newbury. For one thing, the race was won by a filly running in the first colours of his employer, likewise trained by John Gosden. And Enable (GB) shaped perfectly respectably, just failing to get up for second behind ‘TDN Rising Star’ Shutter Speed (GB) (Dansili {GB}). “Enable was always going to be best at a mile and a half,” Grimthorpe says. “And actually William Buick got off that day and said she’d run a very decent race and that she would be nice.” Nice! A year on, of course, that defeat at Newbury remains the only one endured by Enable, who graduated from Classic success against her own sex to prove no less dominant against colts and older horses. Working back from a defence of the Arc, and possibly the Breeders’ Cup thereafter, she will make a somewhat later start this time round. “I think the Coronation Cup would make sense to start her,” Grimthorpe says. “We know she acts at Epsom. The blossoms on my trees at home are a month behind, and after the winter we’ve had it’s been rather the same with some of the fillies. But with older horses, and all those races to think about in the second half of the season, there isn’t the same pressure to get going [as when targeting Classics].” It has to be auspicious for her prospects of consolidating her status at four that Enable so thrived on her schedule last year. “After every race there’d be mutterings about a very hard race, that she’d need a break now,” Grimthorpe recalls. “But she’s always got home, eaten up fully and the next Monday morning whipped round and dropped Imran [Shahwani], her lad. The key to success with any Thoroughbred is soundness. You can be incredibly talented, but if you can’t string it together–either mentally or physically–you’re not going to end up doing yourself justice. With the good ones, I think they certainly push themselves to the front, once they’re rolling.” One way or another, these are unusually exciting times even for an operation accustomed to a consistent presence in elite racing over the past 40 years. Having represented its apogee on the track, Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) has quickly suggested that he could achieve commensurate standing in his new career at stud. Banstead Manor, headquarters of Prince Khaled’s Juddmonte breeding empire in Newmarket, recently mourned the death of its great mare Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}) and last week pensioned her son Dansili (GB) (Danehill). But there is a timely changing of the guard, with Frankel flanked by other young sires of diverse strengths in Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Bated Breath (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and, over in Kentucky, Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song). So albeit their owner is now an octogenarian, and some peripheral land and stock has been sensibly streamlined, arguably he has never had a more stimulating sense of the legacy he continues to build for the breed. “Prince Khaled has always been a great ‘husbander’ of families,” Grimthorpe notes. “Both in his private life and his bloodstock life, he’s a very strong family man. What he’s always done is nurture these families, given them the best chance he possibly could. All those foundations were laid quite a long time ago, really, and the benefits are still being reaped today. For a homebred operation, which is essentially what we are, it gives you an inner glow that’s hard to replicate when you see third, fourth and even fifth generation Juddmonte families.” “We all know it’s cyclical. Everything has its ups and downs. But to have the likes of Kingman coming on, his first crop literally on the cusp, for Prince Khaled it’s incredibly motivating.” In some ways, even the Prince and his team must be learning more about Frankel through his progeny. Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) is only the most luminous example of many foals proving able to extend the trademark buoyancy of their sire to a mile and a half. “It would have been a huge mistake for Frankel to go to the Derby, at the stage he was at in his career,” Grimthorpe says. “But certainly as a 4-year-old I always said he would have been effective from five furlongs to a mile and a half. You could have run him in the King’s Stand and you could have run him in the King George.” “To take him to an Arc that year would have been a huge ask: to go a mile and a half first time in incredibly soft ground. On good ground it might have been different but Henry [Cecil, his late trainer] was adamant he wanted to go to the Champion S.–and in the end he had to take on the two best horses of that era at that distance anyway [Cirrus Des Aigles (Fr) (Even Top {Ire}) and Nathaniel]. So it wasn’t a side-step.” “His pedigree is a bit of a mixture. His dam Kind (Ire) (Danehill) was obviously five and six furlongs, but if you go back it’s a Whitney family, you’ve got Rock Garden, you’ve got Stage Door Johnny, so there is quite a bit of stamina laid back. And of course Galileo has done incredibly well with fast mares. Frankel was certainly the flagbearer for that particular type of mating.” In view of Frankel’s candidature as potentially the ultimate heir to his sire, it is interesting to hear that his defining characteristic as a racehorse–in the view of a man who followed his career from the inside–is so similar to the one always identified in Galileo by his trainer, Aidan O’Brien. “I think above all Frankel had the will,” Grimthorpe suggests. “He wanted to do it, all stages of his life; he never really ever took a backward step. I’ve almost given up being surprised by Frankel, really. The hardest thing always for him, even when he was a yearling, was that he had to carry the weight of everybody’s vast expectations; and yet he has always seemed to carry them quite comfortably. That’s been the most extraordinary thing about him and I think his stud career so far has again proved that point really. Like in all sports, he’s got to keep on doing it. But he’s given himself a huge chance.” With his fee now £175,000, it does no harm that Frankel’s highest achievers to date have been for others. But it seems inevitable that he will sooner or later produce something special from Juddmonte families, too. One possibility is Contingent (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a filly out of G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Proportional (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}) who won impressively on debut at Leopardstown last autumn. “She was drawn 18 of 18, but had got the race pretty much won by the time she came into the straight,” Grimthorpe says. “To do that was smart. I saw her the other day and physically she’s done well, though she’s still a bit wintry. I think possibly in Dermot [Weld]’s mind she’s more of an Oaks filly. While we haven’t ruled out the Irish Guineas, I’d think she’ll go either for the Victor McCalmont or the Blue Wind.” Another interesting prospect, among the 3-year-old fillies, is At Your Pleasure (GB) (War Front). “She won on the polytrack at Deauville and Andre Fabre was considering Prix De La Grotte,” Grimthorpe reports. “But she was still wintry and we know she wants good ground, at least, so there didn’t seem much point. Whether the French Guineas comes too soon remains to be seen, but she has the potential to be pretty nice.” As for the colts, there were mixed messages from Expert Eye (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) on his reappearance at Newbury on Saturday. Having pulled so hard early, it had to be encouraging–after his flop in the Dewhurst last autumn (hedgehogs operate right through the season)–that he could retain sufficient energy to claim second. Then there is Imaging (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), second to G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas favourite Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in their trial at Leopardstown. “We did have things in our favour–he acts on the ground and had the benefit of a run–so it’s hard not to be impressed by the winner,” Grimthorpe admits. “That said, we were over 11 lengths clear of the Dewhurst and Middle Park winner so we have to be encouraged. I’d think we’d look at the French or Irish Guineas.” For Gosden, meanwhile, Crossed Baton (GB) (Dansili {GB}) built nicely on his maiden success when scoring his recent reappearance at Kempton. “He’s on an upward curve, but still has a lot more to do,” Grimthorpe stresses. “He’ll probably go to the Blue Riband [at Epsom on Wednesday] and then we’ll gauge him from there.” As it happens, Crossed Baton made his debut in the equivalent maiden to the one in which Frankel famously beat Nathaniel on their mutual debut. Both those horses, if in different ways, have made a fine start to their stud careers. But Nathaniel, over at Newsells Park, has somehow remained commercially cold despite coming up with Enable. Grimthorpe is delighted that the industry is making a concerted effort now to redeem the market’s disdain for staying blood–not least, wearing his York chairman’s hat, through a spectacular boost in the value of the Ebor H. next year to £1 million. “We have to enhance, preserve, and nurture the stayer,” he says. “The gene pool, and the amount of active stallions, has diminished–especially in Flat racing. If that trend continues then it cannot be to the improvement of the breed, in fact quite the opposite. You will get more and more the same, when I think the beauty of our racing and our bloodstock in Britain, and in Europe, is its diversity.” “But this is not a quick fix. It’s got to be a 10-year programme. Because in order to alter the psyche of, first of all, trainers and owners and bloodstock agents, they’ve got to see that it’s worthwhile owning and racing this stock; very worthwhile. Then you have to get into the psyche of the breeder and vendor, because at the moment, literally the moment, a sire doesn’t get whizzbang horses it joins the National Hunt roster.” There have been few more dispiriting examples of that syndrome than Juddmonte’s own Champs Elysees (GB) (Danehill), whose books had dwindled irretrievably before he was exported to Ireland as a jumps stallion–in which role he has been in instant demand. Yet Grimthorpe cautions that just getting those first drivers of the market on board will take five or six years. “And even then, you’ve still got to get the stud master and the mare-owner to breed horses worthwhile for this programme,” he said. “Then another cycle will eventually begin, and all these valuable races will become more of the norm.” Grimthorpe astutely points out that the commercial obsession with speed is founded on a specious principle anyway. “If you look at all the good sprinters, you almost have to go back to Oasis Dream (GB) (Green Desert) and Dayjur (Danzig) [to find many] who were top-class at three,” he noted. “Most of the good sprinters show their best at four or five–so they are not necessarily precocious. Often you need the same patience, whether you are racing over five furlongs or a mile and a half.” “These days the moment a horse shows appreciable form over a mile and a half or even a mile and quarter, you get two calls. One will be an Irishman or Nicky Henderson; and the other is Australian. But although [their] money is good, suddenly you can think: ‘Hang on a minute here, in 2019 I could be winning £750,000 at York with a horse like this. Why would I sell it?'” “The good thing, with the Ebor, is that with fantastic support from our sponsor [Sky Bet], everybody can still be involved without it costing a fortune–which is the essence of York, Yorkshire and Yorkshire racing. If you’re paying down to seventh or eighth, quite a lot of people are going to have a very good payday.” He is heartened that the industry is at least uniting to address the situation. After all, even if Nathaniel appeared to merit greater dividends for coming up with Enable, things could have been worse. “As Julian Dollar [of Newsells] said, imagine if Nathaniel had waited until his second or third crop,” Grimthorpe says. “Where would he be then? The patience would have long run out. And the whole racing world would have missed out.” View the full article

It’s a little too early to be making confident, bankable GI Kentucky Derby predictions, but here’s one that has all the appearances of a certainty: If Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}) ships from England and starts as planned in the 144th Run for the Roses, the colt will represent the single biggest media-driven underlay in the history of America’s most historic and important horse race. We’re about to witness a “perfect storm” of online and broadcast hype that has everything to do with the power of an oft-repeated, easy-to-grasp, celebrity-fueled narrative and practically zero to do with the racehorse himself. Behavioral economists–specialists who study the effects of psychological, social, and emotional factors on marketplace decisions–will have a field day dissecting the herd mentality that will likely drive Gronkowski’s price to below 20-1 odds on Derby day when, in fact, the horse more logically projects to have actual chances of winning that are four or five times that price. That’s an avalanche of an odds shift considering the Derby’s single-race straight and exotic pools annually hover near $125 million, making the race far and away the highest-volume pari-mutuel event of the year in the United States. In case you’ve been living under a rock, the reason for all this attention is because the horse is named in honor of Rob Gronkowski, the larger-than-life, highly animated National Football League star. Fueling the frenzy, the human Gronk just last week bought a minority ownership interest in the British-based colt, who recently earned an invite to start at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May by winning the European Road to the Kentucky Derby points series. The All-Pro, Super Bowl-winning tight end may be a favorite passing target of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Yet the human Gronk’s presence in Louisville will represent an even bigger, can’t-miss bulls eye for mainstream media. Gronk not only delivers on the football field, but he’s affable, highly quotable, very active on social media, and just controversial enough to cause mildly sensational stirs without sullying his sport. A veteran of eight seasons, Gronk now stars in video games and television shows, has authored an autobiography, and has even had a breakfast cereal and an energy drink named after him. Up in my neck of the woods here in Boston, he’s a year-round media mainstay who commands off-season coverage in sports sections and celebrity gossip pages alike, and not a day seems to go by without some sort of Gronk chronicle, whether it’s photos of him smilingly visiting children in hospitals or partying wildly (and often shirtless) at the trendiest nightclubs. Brady and his entourage have been Derby-day regulars on Millionaire’s Row for years now, and you perhaps recall the zany plaid-suit-and-sunglasses look Gronk sported when he raucously attended the Derby in 2015. Now returning to Louisville with an ownership interest, Gronk the athlete is bound to be more of a charismatic draw in the Churchill paddock than his equine namesake, making him an irresistible magnet for network television crews seeking A-list sound bites. Gronkowski (the horse) has never run on dirt nor beyond a mile, and the British competition he’s beaten in four straight races has largely consisted of non-Classic caliber foes and even one three-horse field. Since his connections committed to the race, he’s been ranked No. 20 on the last two weekly installments of the TDN Derby Top 20. His chances aren’t zilch in the Derby, but he’s certainly up against the grain of convention and will be facing one of the deepest Derby fields in years. Any rational handicapper would have a difficult case justifying his chances at below 80-1 based on all the unknowns in his form and the fact that he has to ship across an ocean to race over an unproven surface/distance in the most pressure-packed and chaotic two minutes the sport has to offer on this side of the Atlantic. None of this is meant as a knock against the horse. Gronkowski may be a bona fide long shot, but he earned his spot in the race, and we all know that long shots taking a chance in the Derby represent aspirations and dreams that fuel real-life participation in the sport. I can even appreciate the undeniable marketing wallop Gronk’s presence will deliver in terms of legitimizing how cool Thoroughbred ownership–or even just a day at the races–can be. But I remain floored by the potential that this narrative has to skew the betting. If you want to wager on any other horse, it’s like the entire rest of the pari-mutuel market will be on sale by a few percentage points. The echo chamber of social media amplifying easily digestible story lines is a relatively new phenomenon, but it’s clearly going to have an effect on this and future Derbies. We saw a hint of it last year, when Patch (Union Rags) went off at 14-1 instead of the 45-1 or so odds that represented his truer chances of winning. Here was a horse who had started only three times, had never won a two-turn race, drew post 20, and was ridden by a first-time Derby jockey. Yet by Derby day, every casual fan in the country knew the oft-repeated inspirational story about how Patch was trying to succeed as a racehorse despite being blind in his left eye, and people weren’t just rooting for him to overcome that adversity–they were backing that feel-good sentiment with real money, and it showed noticeably on the tote board (Patch finished 14th). There’s a separate irony to the Gronk tale, too: Churchill Downs rolled out its seven-race European Road to the Derby series in an attempt to generate overseas interest in America’s most famous horse race. Yet unintentionally, the luring of the two Gronkowskis is going to pay far greater dividends here in the States than any other type of marketing gimmick the track might have cooked up to generate domestic interest. You can’t buy that type of hype. But you shouldn’t bet on it, either. Supreme Court Decision ‘Overdue’ Perhaps in the future, bettors who want to bank on Gronkowski in a race like the Derby will be able to make a parlay wager that links to Gronk’s team’s chances in the Super Bowl. That possibility was mentioned in a roundabout way at last Thursday’s California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting, when CHRB executive director Rick Baedeker gave a report that detailed some of the regulatory items that were discussed at the recent Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) meeting in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Baedeker reported that the ARCI consensus seemed to be that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)’s decision on the legality of sports betting was “really overdue at this point.” SCOTUS heard oral arguments to decide Christie v. National Collegiate Athletic Association back on Dec. 4, and at the time, many legal experts had predicted a decision by March. The landmark case will have far-reaching reverberations within the Thoroughbred industry because the showdown in the nation’s highest court between the state of New Jersey and America’s collegiate and professional sports leagues will either affirm or reject the constitutionality of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), which currently prohibits most state-sponsored sports gambling. “The panel interpreted [the delay] as probably meaning that the Supreme Court is going to make a major decision here, not just simply relative to New Jersey,” Baedeker said. “Nobody knows for sure, of course. Then there was the question about the interaction between sports betting and racing. Somebody talked about the possibilities of combining different parlay wagers…with perhaps other sporting events, and then culminating with a major race at a racetrack, and who in that instance would regulate something like that. So it’s a fascinating discussion–and one that I’m guessing we’ll be spending some time on in the not-too-distant future.” View the full article

Mary Tudor wasted no time in showing her prowess at two when a head runner-up to Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) on debut over a mile at Cork in early August and upheld that form when third behind that rival and Happily (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in The Curragh’s G2 Debutante S. over seven furlongs 12 days later. Below-par when fourth as the favourite for the G3 C.L. & M.F. Weld Park S. staying at that trip at Naas in September, the grey was fitted with a hood on this seasonal return and confirmed all her early promise to open her account in emphatic style. Settled in mid-division early by Billy Lee, she needed racing room in the straight but when angled out for her effort quickly established her dominion at the furlong marker before surging clear. Trainer Willie McCreery is looking at the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas at The Curragh May 27. “She’s a lovely mare and has shown that form last year. She settled and did it well. She should get a mile and a half in time and we might go straight to the [Irish] Guineas now. I wanted to get her out to see where we are going with her. The ground dried up enough for her and that was the only thing I’d be a bit worried about–she wouldn’t want it any worse than that. I loved the way she quickened there when she saw the rising ground. She really put the head down, and it’s good that she is holding her form and improving a little bit.” The dam Antiquities, who was runner-up in the G3 Prix Cleopatre, is a granddaughter of the G1 Irish Oaks heroine Helen Street (GB) (Troy {GB}) who also produced the sensational GI Stephen Foster H. and G1 Dubai World Cup hero and significant sire presence Street Cry (Ire) (Machiavellian). His full-sister Helsinki (GB) was responsible for Godolphin’s Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway), the European Champion 2-year-old colt who completed the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains-G1 Prix du Jockey Club double before becoming a leading sire. The dam’s yearling colt is by Shamardal himself. IRISH STALLION FARMS EBF SALSABIL S.-Listed, €55,000, NAV, 4-22, 3yo, f, 10fT, 2:18.50, y/s. 1–MARY TUDOR (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Dawn Approach (Ire) 1st Dam: Antiquities (GB) (GSP-Fr, $116,642), by Kaldounevees (Fr) 2nd Dam: Historian (Ire), by Pennekamp 3rd Dam: Helen Street (GB), by Troy (GB) 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Godolphin; B-Darley (IRE); T-Willie McCreery; J-Billy Lee. €32,450. Lifetime Record: GSP-Ire, 4-1-1-1, $58,996. 2–Hazel Bay (Ire), 126, f, 3, Iffraaj (GB)–Sadima (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells. (78,000gns Wlg ’15 TATFOA). O-Moyglare Stud Farm. €10,450. 3–Princess Yaiza (Ire), 126, f, 3, Casamento (Ire)–Undertone (Ire), by Noverre. (€18,500 RNA Ylg ’16 TIRSEP). O-Lindsay Laroche. €4,950. Margins: 2HF, HF, 3/4. Odds: 4.50, 16.00, 20.00. Also Ran: Sizzling (Ire), Sometimesadiamond (Ire), Written Word (GB), Baroness (Ire), Bye Bye Baby (Ire), Easter Lily (Ire), Extrasensory (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

All roads lead back to Royal Ascot for Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who made a winning comeback against two overmatched rivals in Sunday’s G3 Vintage Crop S. at Navan. Sent off the 2-9 favourite on his first start since winning Ascot’s G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, the bay sat second under Ryan Moore tracking Lord Yeats (GB) (Yeats {Ire}) and despite showing inevitable signs of rustiness overhauled that rival aproaching the furlong pole en route to a 5 1/2-length success. Order of St George has a score to settle at the Royal meeting, having been ousted there in 2017 but jockey Ryan Moore is looking forward to restoring bragging rights back there June 21. “He’s been an excellent horse and obviously he’s a pleasure to have for those sort of races,” he told Irish Racing.com. “I thought he did it very smoothly today. He’s carrying big penalties all the time and hopefully he’ll have a good year again. It would have suited me if they were going a bit quicker but it was the right race for him, he was 5-1 on and did what he had to do.” Aidan O’Brien added, “I’m delighted with him and hopefully he’ll go for the Saval Beg [at Leopardstown May 25], which is what we usually do and then on to Ascot. He finishes out very well when he gets into his tempo and he gallops up the hill. Ryan said he was very relaxed and moved very well. They would be the two things that you would love to hear.” Order of St George’s dam Another Storm is now responsible for five stakes performers, with the Ballydoyle stalwart’s full-brother Kellstorm (Ire) now having placed in the G3 Bart Cummings in Australia. The second dam is the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and GI Frizette S.-winning champion 2-year-old filly Storm Song, who is a half to the GII Oak Leaf S. winner Diamond Omi (Giant’s Causeway). Another Storm’s 2-year-old colt by Australia (GB) was purchased by Mark Johnston Racing for 125,000gns at Tattersalls October and is now named Grenadier Guard (Ire). Sunday, Navan, Ireland VINTAGE CROP S.-G3, €60,000, NAV, 4-22, 4yo/up, 14fT, 3:16.28, y/s. 1–ORDER OF ST GEORGE (IRE), 135, h, 6, by Galileo (Ire) 1st Dam: Another Storm, by Gone West 2nd Dam: Storm Song, by Summer Squall 3rd Dam: Hum Along, by Fappiano ($550,000 Ylg ’13 KEESEP). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Lloyd J Williams; B-Paget Bloodstock (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. €35,400. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 3yo-Eur at 14f+, 2x Hwt. Older Horse-Eur at 14f+, MG1SW-Ire, G1SW-Eng & G1SP-Fr, 23-12-6-1, $2,751,604. *Full to Kellstorm (Ire), GSP-Aus, $118,370; 1/2 to Asperity (War Chant), GSW-Fr & GSP-Eng, $245,483; Angel Terrace (Ghostzapper), GSW-US, $298,848; and Sehoy (Menifee), SW-Swe, $144,199. Werk Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 2–Lord Yeats (GB), 130, g, 5, Yeats (Ire)–Bogside Theatre (Ire), by Fruits of Love. (€240,000 RNA HRA ’17 GOFHIT). O-Geoff & Sandra Turnbull; B-Geoff & Sandra Turnbull (GB); T-Jedd O’Keeffe. €11,400. 3–Clongowes (Ire), 129, c, 4, New Approach (Ire)–Punctilious (GB), by Danehill. O-Godolphin; B-Darley (IRE); T-James S. Bolger. €5,400. Margins: 5HF, 14, NO. Odds: 0.20, 5.00, 12.00. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

1st-NAV, €16,500, Mdn, 4-22, 2yo, f, 5fT, 1:05.23, yl/sf. SO PERFECT, f, 2, by Scat Daddy 1st Dam: Hopeoverexperience, by Songandaprayer 2nd Dam: Tom’s Cat, by Storm Cat 3rd Dam: Shouldnt Say Never, by Meadowlake So Perfect took a walk in the betting market, but produced a stirring finish to claim TDN Rising Stardom in this first attempt. She was steadied off the pace, slightly worse than mid division, after a competent break. Pushed along to close once past the quarter-mile marker, the 4-1 second favourite entered the final furlong in sixth and kept on strongly under a late drive to nail Mater Matuta (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) by a short head on the line. “She’s a very nice filly and did everything right today,” said winning rider Ryan Moore. “She learnt as the race went on and it was a very pleasing start. She’s a big, strong filly and, all being well, she’ll have a big future. She’s fast and I don’t think six [furlongs] will present any problems for her.” The $400,000 Keeneland September yearling, kin to the stakes-placed Scat Eddie (Scat Daddy) and a yearling colt by Into Mischief, is out of a winning half-sister to GII Illinois Derby and GIII Gotham S.-winning sire Cowtown Cat (Distorted Humor). Her dam Hopeoverexperience (Songandaprayer) was bred to Candy Ride (Arg) last year. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, €10,164. 1ST-TIME STARTER. O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Aidan O’Brien. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

Midnight Bisou, the potential favorite for the May 4 Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), went about her business early in the morning April 22 at Santa Anita Park and covered five furlongs in 1:01 3/5. View the full article

With a surge in the final furlong of the April 21 Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park, Diamond King secured a place in the second leg of the Triple Crown. View the full article

Stronach Stables' homebred Something Awesome came to Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races on a roll, Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado arrived on a mission, and the two brought home the money April 21 in the $1.2 million Charles Town Classic (G2). View the full article

The last few races for What a View hadn't been all that encouraging entering the $100,000 American Stakes (G3T) April 21, but the grade 1 winner from two years ago flashed his talent again at Santa Anita Park. View the full article