Wandering Eyes

Phoenix Thoroughbreds Ltd. has joined with New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski in a partnership arrangement involving the 3-year-old colt Gronkowski (Lonhro {Aus}), who is set to compete in the GI Kentucky Derby May 5 at Churchill Downs after winning all three of his starts to date in 2018. Gronkowski has acquired a substantial stake in the horse, who secured his spot in the Run for the Roses by capturing the Burradon S. Mar. 30 at Newcastle. The two-time Super Bowl champ and National Football League All-Pro will join the Phoenix team in Louisville for the Derby, where he will meet his namesake colt for the first time. “This horse is a winner and I love a winner,” said Gronkowski. “When I heard about the racehorse being named after me, I started watching and got really stoked when he started winning. I’m all in: Welcome to the Gronk family, Gronkowski the horse!” Once he began following the colt’s career, Gronkowski connected with owner Phoenix Thoroughbreds, the global horse racing investment fund founded by Dubai-based businessman Amer Abdulaziz, to discuss a potential partnership. “We are very excited to have this talented racehorse running in the Derby and to have Rob Gronkowski join our team,” said Tom Ludt, who directs Phoenix’s global racing and bloodstock operations. “His involvement only adds to our growing credentials worldwide and can help us introduce the best of horse racing to a whole new audience.” View the full article

Santa Anita’s “Ship & Stay” program, which was initiated Dec. 26 and has now been in effect through 63 racing days, has attracted 100 “new” horses to the Arcadia oval, who have accounted for 204 starts, generating bonus money of $208,308, the track announced Wednesday. Funded by The Stronach Group, “Ship & Stay” provides ongoing bonuses to individual owners and trainers who bring horses to Santa Anita from out of state. Bonuses are paid to those connections that originally bring these horses to California for their first three starts. These bonuses, which pay 20% of a horse’s first race winnings and 10% (or $1,000, whichever is greater) of second and third race monies, will be paid even if the horse is claimed. “This program is a great motiving factor for trainers to try and entice owners to bring their horses to race here in California,” said trainer Vladimir Cerin, whose Fahan Mura (English Channel), a 4-year-old Pennsylvania-bred filly, has won all three of her Santa Anita starts after shipping in from New York. “To be honest, I haven’t looked in my account yet, but this is a great deal for trainers, because we’re picking up 10% [of the bonus]. So this program makes you want to find horses that are going to be competitive. Even if they get claimed away in their first or second start, you’re still rewarded for running them where they belong.” “We’re very happy with the results Ship and Stay has provided,” added Santa Anita Stakes Coordinator Chris Merz, who devised the program. “This has generated a lot of buzz and proven it can be a mainstay moving forward here at Santa Anita. Owners and trainers are incentivized to bring horses here and we are hopeful we can build upon what we’ve been able to accomplish in a short period of time.” View the full article

Grade 1 winner Diversify looms the heavy favorite in the field of seven for the April 21, $1.2 million Charles Town Classic Stakes (G2), contested around three turns at 1 1/8-miles. View the full article

A colt by Kantharos set the fastest quarter-mile time of the day, while four juveniles equaled the swiftest furlong time as the under-tack show of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s April Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds marched through its third of six sessions Wednesday in Central Florida. Hip 531, a son of Kantharos, earned Wednesday’s quarter-mile bullet when covering the distance in :20 4/5. Consigned by de Meric Sales, the chestnut is out of the unraced Jungle Love (Friendly Lover), a half-sister to Grade I winner Set Play (Van Nistelrooy). De Meric and Machmer Hall signed the ticket at $9,000 to acquire the youngster at the 2017 Keeneland January sale. Kantharos, who began his stud career in Florida before relocating to Hill ‘n’ Dale in Kentucky last year, was also represented by one of the co-fastest furlong workers of Wednesday’s under-tack session. Hip 552, a colt by the graded-stakes winning sire, covered his furlong in :9 4/5. The juvenile is consigned by Off the Hook LLC on behalf of his breeder, Hernando and Nerina Gutierrez’s P&G Stables. “We knew he was fast. He’d been fast on the farm,” Off the Hook’s Joe Appelbaum said Wednesday afternoon. “But you never really know until they lay it down exactly what time they are going to do. We weren’t surprised by the fast work, but we’re always delighted to have a bullet.” The Gutierrezes purchased Pugilistic (Maria’s Mon), with the colt’s dam in utero, for $8,500 at the 2008 Keeneland November sale. The couple named the filly La Catira Jatar (Best of the Bests {Ire}) after Hernando’s grandmother and, while she never made it to the races, the bond was formed. “La Catira Jatar is named after his grandmother and, while the pedigree was originally a little light, they could never give up on it because of that connection,” Appelbaum, who campaigned Grade I winner Turbo Compressor (Halo’s Image) with P&G Stables, said. “Obviously since three years ago when they made the decision to breed to Kantharos, he has really come along as a sire. He was back at Ocala Stud then. And this horse has developed exactly the way you’d want him to. He’s a typical Kantharos. He’s a really nice size, lanky with a languid walk. I was happy, not just with the time of his work, but the visual as well.” Kantharos has been represented this term by graded stakes performers X Y Jet, Bucchero and World of Trouble. Appelbaum said he has been impressed by the stallion’s consistency. “My impression of him is that he’s someone who gets runners,” Appelbaum said of Kantharos. “A lot of them seem to get to the track. A lot of them seem to run and compete, which is all too rare in our game today. It seems a lot of stallions are too boom or bust. But Kantharos seems to get a lot more runners, guys who are out there all the time running for their owners. That is something that is underrated in our modern game.” While Monday’s first session of the under-tack preview was hampered by heavy winds, the last two sessions have been fairly consistent, according to Appelbaum. “For the most part, our fast ones breezed fast and our slow ones breezed slower,” he said. “I have no complaints about the track. Obviously, the first day there was a very significant headwind, but the distribution is pretty similar to normal and that will probably benefit the astute buyers who can figure that sort of thing out. That’s why it’s a horse sale.” Also sharing the furlong bullet time of :9 4/5 Wednesday was hip 478, a filly by Strong Mandate out of stakes winner Holy Reina (Macho Uno). Consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, the chestnut filly is from the family of Flanders, Surfside and Battle Plan. Bred by Three Chimneys Farm, she sold to Cromwell Bloodstock for $100,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale and RNA’d for $135,000 at last year’s Keeneland September sale. Paul Sharp sent out hip 606, a filly by Into Mischief, to share the :9 4/5 bullet Wednesday. The bay is out of Loveofalifetime (Medaglia d’Oro), a half to graded stakes winners Savorthetime (Gilded Time) and Rogue Romance (Smarty Jones). The juvenile was bred by Runnymede Farm and Catesby W. Clay Investment 2. Completing the quartet of :9 4/5 workers, and the fifth to hit that mark this week in Ocala, was hip 589, a filly by Sidney’s Candy. Consigned by Hemingway Racing and Training Stables, the bay is out of the unraced Like a River (Danzig), a half to Grade I placed Like a Hero (Pleasant Colony). The youngster was bred by Helen and Joseph Barbazon and he was purchased in utero for $12,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. The OBS April sale will be held next Tuesday through Friday with sessions beginning at 10:30 a.m. View the full article

A quick glance at the race record of the Louisiana-bred mare Queen Satin shows she won three times from 18 starts and earned just over $36,000 during three years competing in low-level claiming races in Louisiana, West Virginia and Michigan. In a sense, the fact the bay mare was able to win a single race was remarkable, considering the fact she suffered from skittish tendencies and ongoing health issues that led to neglect by her handlers and eventually ended her career in 2013. In the ensuing months, Queen Satin was passed off from person to person on a path that culminated with her arrival at the Sugacreek Livestock Auction in Ohio, where horses are frequently sold for slaughter. The mare was abused and beaten on her face while awaiting her fate in the auction pens, according to her current owner Alexa Lee, who arrived on the scene at exactly the right time. Lee came in contact with an intermediary who purchased Queen Satin from the auction with the intention of re-training her and worked closely with the mare when she arrived at the new owner’s farm. What Lee said she found, however, was that Queen Satin had avoided slaughter only to be confronted with a new, but all-too-familiar, set of challenges: her new owner became easily frustrated with the mare’s nervous tendencies and often resorted to abusive tactics. As horrendous as the situation was, Lee stayed on as a helper at the farm with the hope of eventually purchasing the mare, who often would grow so nervous that she broke out in heavy sweats. “I ended up buying her,” Lee said. “I had two rides on her, and I was like, ‘I love this mare.’ I could tell that she was scared, I could tell that she was wanting to trust someone. But she never had time to be a Thoroughbred. She never had time off from the track, and she never had anyone take care of her.” Although the mare was out of harm’s way, Lee said she still faced myriad challenges once she was in her possession. Queen Satin, who would ultimately be renamed Satins Angel, was extremely thin and became anxious whenever humans would approach her. Lee’s task–which she worked at for hours each day–was to teach her horse that she “didn’t have to be scared.” After a period of instructing Satins Angel to re-learn basic elements of training, Lee began to see tangible improvement in her temperament and performance. “Once she started to trust me more, she started to relax more,” Lee said. “She felt safe, and that meant a lot to me.” Satins Angel began to have considerable success at local shows in Ohio and ultimately was entered in the New Vocations All-Thoroughbred Charity Horse Show at the Kentucky Horse Park last September. “When we went to New Vocations, I wasn’t expecting much at all,” Lee recalled. “I was always just proud when she completed the course–it didn’t matter to me if she was champion or not. It was her first time off the property. The loud voices and the speakers freaked her out, because I think it reminded her of the Sugarcreek auction. I just wanted her to have a good time.” Lee said a turning point came during the jump-off round of the competition, when she sensed that Satins Angel grew nervous when confronted by the enormity of her surroundings. “I leaned over and I said to her, ‘It’s okay, you’re going to be okay, I promise you. You will be loved no matter what happens,'” Lee recollected. Satins Angel responded by delivering a rousing performance and, when all was said and done, placed first of 30 entrants in the Open Jumper Stake. By year’s end, Satins Angel ranked third out of all jumpers in the Thoroughbred Incentive Program in the U.S. and Canada. As of the date of publication, less than a year had passed since Lee became the official owner of the mare. “She’s a Thoroughbred and she has the right personality and a love of it,” said Lee. “This horse loves to jump.” As for the year ahead, Satins Angel and Lee will compete in meter 10 and meter 20 jumper events at the World Equestrian Center, while planning a return to New Vocations at summer’s end. Satins Angel is also a representative for the OTTB Identity program, which helps raise awareness for the value of off-track Thoroughbreds. View the full article

Shortly after becoming the sire of the top two lots at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale, Scat Daddy made it the top three and a new top price of 900,000gns when Stephen Hillen prevailed for Mayfield Stables’s colt out of Madera Dancer (Rahy) (lot 163). View the full article

12.40, ParisLongchamp, Debutantes, €25,000, 3yo, c/g, 8fT ALMUSHREF (Smart Strike) is Shadwell’s $525,000 KEESEP purchase whose dam is a half to the top-class duo Music Note (A. P. Indy) and Musical Chimes (In Excess I {Ire}). Freddy Head introduces him against seven rivals including Prince Faisal’s Orbaan (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), an Andre Fabre-trained descendant of Rafha (GB) (Kris {GB}) who was responsible for the sire himself. 2.20 ParisLongchamp, Debutantes, €25,000, 3yo, f, 8fT ZARKAMIYA (FR) (Frankel {GB}) is the sixth foal out of His Highness The Aga Khan’s epic performer Zarkava (Ire) (Zamindar) who begins her career with the mastermind Alain de Royer-Dupre. A half-sister to the stable’s G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner and G1 Prix du Jockey Club runner-up Zarak (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}), she meets 11 peers including Haras De Saint Pair’s Andre Fabre-trained homebred Glad Eye (Fr) (Dansili {GB}), a daughter of the dual Classic-placed Glorious Sight (Ire) (Singspiel {Ire}) who cost €1.7million at the Arqana Arc Sale in 2011. 2.25 Newmarket, Debutantes, £15,000, 3yo, 8fT MILITARY BAND (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) is a significant newcomer in this long-established “Wood Ditton” as a half-brother to last year’s G1 Champion S.-winning sensation Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Saeed bin Suroor has charge of Godolphin’s acquisition, whose 18 rivals include another notably-connected colt in Surya (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Lady Bamford’s homebred son of her G1 English and Irish Oaks heroine Sariska (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). 4.45 Newmarket, Cond, £10,000, 3yo, 10fT ELECTOR (GB) (Dansili {GB}) is a live Derby contender for The Queen until proven otherwise, having won a flag-started Ascot novice contest on his sole start in September. Out of the dual listed winner Enticement (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}), the Sir Michael Stoute-trained homebred faces an intriguing cast which features the unraced Loveisili (GB) (Dansili {GB}), a Roger Varian-trained relative of Quarter Moon (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) and Yesterday (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) who cost Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum 650,000gns at Tattersalls October. 5.20 Newmarket, Cond, £10,000, 3yo, 10fT HOWMAN (IRE) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) is another Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum-Roger Varian project, this time a 450,000gns TATOCT half-brother to the high-class Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) connected to Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). He faces some winners including Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Kempton novice scorer Occupy (Declaration Of War), a relative of Telescope (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) from the Ralph Beckett yard. 8:45 Newcastle, Cond, £5,800, 3yo/up, 7f 14y (AWT) EMARAATY (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is Shadwell’s 2.6million-gns TATOCT graduate and TDN Rising Star who has some recovering to do having done too much when eighth in the G1 Dewhurst S. at Newmarket in October. John Gosden has avoided the Classic trials with the half-brother to the stable’s former leading lights Izzi Top (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and Jazzi Top (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and that could pay dividends later. View the full article

A colt from the final crop of Scat Daddy led the way on opening night of the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale on Tuesday, and late in the second session another member of that crop achieved the sale’s second-highest price when scooped up by Jamie McCalmont for 775,000gns. Lot 155 from Mocklershill is from the family of GI Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus. View the full article

Having started his 6-year-old campaign with three consecutive graded stakes wins, Itsinthepost will look to keep his momentum going April 21 when he faces 12 others in the $250,000 Dixiana Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) over 1 1/2 miles at Keeneland. View the full article

Jorge Ricardo, who has ridden more winners than any jockey in Thoroughbred racing history, is scheduled to ride Some in Tieme (Brz) in the April 21 $250,000 Dixiana Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) at Keeneland. View the full article

3rd-KEE, $58,339, Msw, 4-18, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :52.14, ft. WONDER STONE (f, 2, Super Saver–Waving, by Street Cry {Ire}), the slightly longer price of a pair of Wesley Ward newcomers at 24-10 behind the drawing in Strike Play (Haynesfield), out-footed her male rivals early to take a clear advantage from the gate. Chased by a trio of foes including her stablemate past the quarter pole, she kept finding with the help of a few right handers to prevail by a decisive 3 1/4-length margin. Second timers Baytown Macca (Creative Cause) was second, while Strike Play settled for fourth after a wide journey. Bloodstock powerhouse Don Alberto Corp. paid $190,000 for dam Waving in foal to Harlan’s Holiday at the 2013 Keeneland November sale. Out of French SW/GSP and local Grade III-placed Beyond the Waves (Ocean Crest), Waving is a half-sister to graded stakes-winning turfers Bricks and Mortar (Giant’s Causeway) and Emeral Beech (Maria’s Mon). This is also the female family of Grade I-winning sprinter Bordonaro. Wonder Stone, just a $9,000 KEESEP buyback last year, has a yearling half-sister by Distorted Humor. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $36,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Don Alberto Stable; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. View the full article

Having started his 6-year-old campaign with three consecutive graded stakes wins, Itsinthepost will try and keep his momentum going this April 21 when he faces 12 others in the $250,000 Dixiana Elkhorn Stakes (G2T) over 1 1/2-miles at Keeneland. View the full article

1st-AQU, $100,000, Msw, 4-18, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, :52.12, ft. DISCLUDE (f, 2, Overanalyze–Elusive Raven, by Elusive Quality), a half-sister to these connections’ Lost Raven (Uncle Mo), GSW, $359,050, showed a good turn of foot around the bend to comfortably take this lucrative first baby race of the season in New York. Part of a 35-100 couple entry with Ma Meatloaf (Stay Thirsty), the chestnut broke with the top flight but had to be scrubbed on by John Velazquez early as she dropped back to fourth along the bend. She soon figured out what she was supposed to be doing, however, and quickly picked off foes with a sweeping three-deep move. Front-running Mertz (Ghostzapper) fought on gamely to midstretch, but Disclude found another gear and pulled away in hand before galloping out willingly. Ma Meatloaf won the photo for third. Todd Pletcher trained the winner’s dam Elusive Raven-a $380,000 KEESEP yearling-on behalf of the late Ned Evans to a second-place finish behind a stablemate at Saratoga in 2010. Elusive Raven, a $75,000 KEENOV ’11 purchase, is out of GSW Summer Raven (Summer Squal), making her a half to graded winners Lewis Bay (Bernardini), Misconnect (Unbridled’s Song) and Winslow Homer (Unbridled’s Song). This is also the family of GISW Wild Rush. Elusive Raven produced an Uncle Mo filly this term. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $50,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O-Repole Stable; B-Repole Stable, Inc. (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. View the full article

Jorge Ricardo, who has ridden more winners than any jockey in Thoroughbred racing history, is scheduled to ride Some in Time’s Some in Tieme (Brz) in Saturday’s GII Dixiana Elkhorn S. The 1 1/2-mile turf event is the ninth race on the 10-race program with a post time of 5:30 p.m. ET. Based in South America, Ricardo surpassed Russell Baze as the world’s winningest jockey in February at Hipodromo da Gavea in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Baze, based primarily in Northern California throughout his career, retired in 2016 with 12,842 victories. “Some in Tieme is a Brazilian horse with Brazilian ownership, and we’ve used a Brazilian jockey [Manoel Cruz] previously on him,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “One of the owners came up with the idea of bringing Jorge [pronounced Georgie] here, and I thought it was a good idea. “[Ricardo] is scheduled to arrive Thursday. He will spend some time around the stables and at my farm [in Lexington] and then ride Some in Tieme on Saturday. He heads back to Brazil Sunday.” This marks the second time Ricardo has ridden at Keeneland. He finished ninth in the 2015 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf aboard longshot Ordak Dan (Arg), who came from Argentina for the race. “It’s very exciting,” McPeek said. “Jorge has won more races than any jockey in the history of the game, which is no small feat. He is getting towards the end of his career, but he is still winning high-level races.” View the full article

1st-KEE, $60K, Msw, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, post time: 1:05 p.m. ET John Oxley and Mark Casse unveil $800,000 KEESEP yearling Seeking a Star (Pioneerof the Nile) in this spot. The bay, a $220,000 in utero purchase at KEENOV ’15, is out of a half-sister to Grade I winners Paulassilverlining (Ghostzapper) and Dads Caps (Discreet Cat). In the second division of juvenile fillies maidens in race four, Casse will saddle Power Gal (Jpn) (Empire Maker) on behalf of Gary Barber. Out of Grade I-placed Nan (High Yield), herself a half to Grade I-winning grasser Gabriel Charles (Street Hero), the dark bay’s year-old half-brother also made it to the States. Eventually named Nantucket (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}), he most recently finished a close third in a Tampa turf maiden special weight Mar. 31. Nan was a $150,000 Fasig-Tipton November acquisition by Paca Paca Farm in 2010. TJCIS PPs View the full article

The 2018 Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In presented by America’s Best Racing will consist of 82 automatic qualifying stakes races into corresponding Breeders’ Cup World Championship races at Churchill Downs Nov. 2-3, Breeders’ Cup announced Wednesday. The series includes 66 Grade I/Group 1 events, with at least 49 races to be run in the U.S. and Canada and 33 happening outside of North America, including four during the Royal Ascot meeting. The series, now in its 12th year, will be held at racetracks in the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Japan, Ireland, Peru and South Africa. As part of the benefits to horsemen competing in the series, Breeders’ Cup will pay the entry fees and guarantee a starting position in a corresponding Championships race for winners of all Challenge races. The Challenge winner must already be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program or it must be nominated by the Championships’ pre-entry deadline of Oct. 22 to receive the rewards. In addition, Breeders’ Cup will provide a $40,000 travel stipend to the connections of all Championship starters from outside of North America and a $10,000 travel allowance for starters within North America that are stabled outside of Kentucky. “As international participation increases for Thoroughbred racing on a global scale, the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series continues to support horsemen and racing stables with important incentives, such as automatic starting positions and free entry fees, to qualify for the World Championships,” said Craig Fravel, Breeders’ Cup President and CEO. “We also recognize the outstanding work by our 28 racetrack and racing association partners around the world who conduct these Challenge races and thank them for their support and commitment to the series.” In addition to the Breeders’ Cup, NBC Sports Group will televise 11 live broadcasts of Challenge qualifiers in the U.S. from June to October. The full 2018 television schedule can be found here. View the full article

Successful in the G3 Connaught Access Flooring Abernant S. 12 months ago, Brando (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) returns to Newmarket on Thursday as a genuine top-level sprinter following his summer exploits. Third in the G1 July Cup before taking Deauville’s G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, Angie Bailey’s chestnut has undergone a wind operation after three off-the-board efforts in the autumn. “He’s in good form and everything has gone well with him,” trainer Kevin Ryan said. “The ground should be perfect and he’s got good course form, so it looked the obvious place to start with him.” Brando faces a fascinating rival in Prince Faisal bin Khaled and Susan Magnier’s Le Brivido (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), who has not been seen since beating the subsequent G3 Minstrel S. scorer Spirit of Valor (War Front) by a neck in Royal Ascot’s G3 Jersey S. Just a short head away from capturing the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains on his prior start, he will be staying on when the real speed merchants are treading water late on. “He’s not a sprinter, but six furlongs at Newmarket is a good prep for going further,” trainer Andre Fabre commented. “I think he’s going to be at his best over seven furlongs, but he’s got speed enough to be competitive over this trip. There simply aren’t many options over seven furlongs so this looked a good race to run him in with no penalty, on good ground and a nice course. He is in the Lockinge and we’ll decide after this if Newbury will be the plan. I think it is better to run him over shorter than further to begin with.” Interestingly, William Haggas has opted to pitch Lael Stable’s unexposed filly One Master (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in against some hardened sprinters. She took the Listed October S. over seven furlongs at Ascot in October. View the full article

Tickets are now on sale for a week-long fan experience organized by Equestricon during Breeders’ Cup week at Churchill Downs, highlighted by its second-annual racing convention, festival and trade show Monday, Oct. 29 and Tuesday, Oct. 30. Coinciding with the launch of tickets Wednesday, Equestricon has released a preliminary schedule of events for the convention here. Equestricon 2018 will be held at the newly-renovated Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville with expected appearances from the sport’s top jockeys, trainers, owners and farms. With a basic $10 Trade Show Only Pass, attendees will be able to enjoy interactive exhibits and directly connect with more than 100 racing organizations and products. Premium tickets to Equestricon start at $65 and offer wide-ranging access to the full convention program, which is now browsable at equestricon.com. Convention-goers holding a $65 Two-Day All-Access Convention Pass can expect dozens of panels, workshops, seminars and discussions on topics highlighting horses, handicapping, photography, ownership, breeding, aftercare and more. Anyone who purchases a Two-Day Pass or ticket of greater value by May 7 will also gain access to an exclusive pre-sale to buy Breeders’ Cup tickets. “We’re thrilled Equestricon is kicking off the Breeders’ Cup Festival week for fans and guests of the World Championships,” Breeders’ Cup President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Fravel said. “The inaugural Equestricon in Saratoga was so well-received by fans, horseplayers, and industry members, we’re sure Equestricon 2018 will be a can’t-miss opportunity for anyone with an interest in racing.” Equestricon organizers have also announced a series of off-site events and experiences. Some of the featured off-site events include select farm tours (tickets not yet available), a millinery workshop, and racetrack hospitality with guest handicappers at Churchill Downs. Following the close of the convention, Equestricon will host its “EQConcert” and VIP reception at the Mercury Ballroom in Downtown Louisville. Guests interested in more exclusive experiences and events during Breeders’ Cup week can also purchase the VIP Experience Pass ($360) or the newly-announced Breeders’ Cup Festival Insider Pass, which is exclusively sold by Equestricon. An extremely limited number of Breeders’ Cup Festival Insider Passes are available, offering access to Breeders’ Cup week events that are typically reserved for connections of Breeders’ Cup horses and Breeders’ Cup invited guests. In addition to VIP access to the convention and VIP party at Mercury Ballroom, the pass includes entry to: • Breeders’ Cup Welcome Party • Breeders’ Cup Post Draw (Monday) • Breeders’ Cup Breakfast Marquee at Churchill Downs • “The Enclosure” private viewing area outside the paddock on Breeders’ Cup Friday and Saturday “Whether you’re a casual fan, a horse lover, hardcore horseplayer, horse owner, breeder or you’re looking to get more involved in racing, there is a ticket that will meet your expectations and budget,” said Kathryn Sharp, co-founder of Equestricon. “Our goal has always been to increase access to the sport of racing and promote direct engagement. After months of planning and scheduling, we’re confident that we’ve put together an unrivaled program that you simply can’t miss if you’ve got a passion for racing.” Sponsors and vendors interested in participating or exhibiting can find information at www.equestricon.com/partners. View the full article

Newmarket houses at least two major contenders for its own upcoming Classic, and the best could be Qatar Racing’s Roaring Lion (Kitten’s Joy), who carries the burden of expectation to post in Thursday’s G3 bet365 Craven S. Having looked the winner of the G1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster in October only to be overhauled by a renewed surge from Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), he boasts form of the highest standard which has already been upheld by the sixth-placed Chilean (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}) winning the G3 Prix la Force. Previously, he had the recent Derby trial winners Nelson (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Mildenberger (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the G2 Royal Lodge S. over this course and distance. Charlie Appleby puts up two rivals in the G3 Solario S. winner and TDN Rising Star Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) and Glorious Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), with the former sporting the royal blue silks and the latter the famed maroon-and-white which is now the insignia of runners for Sheikha Al Jalila Racing. While Masar has a recent disappointment to put behind him after finishing 10th in the Mar. 10 Listed Al Bastakiya on dirt, Glorious Journey has a perfect record after doubling his tally in the G3 Prix la Rochette over seven furlongs at Saint-Cloud in September. “Masar is going to be suited by the return to turf and we are putting a line through his run on dirt at Meydan,” Appleby said. “He has a lovely pedigree and did nothing wrong as a juvenile. His only really disappointing race came on dirt in the Al Bastakiya and it was a bit of a non-event [when sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf] at Del Mar because it turned into a messy race. He travelled back from Dubai recently looking fit and well and, if he reproduces the form of his Solario S. victory or third in the [G1] Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, then he should be a big player. Glorious Journey also has a great pedigree and was unbeaten in two starts last season. While Masar comes into this race ready to roll, I expect Glorious Journey to improve on whatever he does this week. He wintered very well out in Dubai and has physically done very well from two to three. We hope to see him run a nice race with the future in mind.” With Ballydoyle giving this renewal the swerve, Ryan Moore has been called upon for the ride on Dr Ali Ridha’s White Mocha (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who beat the subsequent winner Knight To Behold (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in the prestigious Haynes, Hanson & Clark Conditions S. over this trip at Newbury in September. View the full article

The Iron Horse is dead. May he rust in peace. Sorry, couldn’t resist. And he wouldn’t mind, if he knew how I felt about him. What a horse he was; and what a sire. Stands to reason, I guess. For those ferrous attributes that defined Giant’s Causeway (Storm Cat) were precisely the kind you would want to replicate, generation to generation: hardiness, courage, versatility. I’ll never forget that stirring duel with Tiznow (Cee’s Tizzy) in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Much like Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}), over the same track 10 years later, he only grew in defeat. In being permitted to explore his limits, he transcended them. Tiznow, of course, was a dirt monster. Stuck out that great snout of his to win the Classic two years running. But here’s a funny thing. The horse he beat at Belmont the following year, Sakhee (Bahri), was also making his dirt debut after proving himself top-class on turf in Europe. And who, outside Ballydoyle, would nowadays have the adventure to run a six-length Arc winner—out of a Ribblesdale winner by Sadler’s Wells—in the Breeders’ Cup Classic? Who, come to that, would still dare to run Sheikh Albadou (Green Desert) in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint? A horse out of a half-sister to winners of two turf slogs in the Ascot Gold Cup and Yorkshire Cup? In fairness, the expansion of the turf programme at the Breeders’ Cup is perhaps a factor. But there is no question that Europeans have become less disposed to experiment since being so indulged the year the meeting was staged on a synthetic surface at Santa Anita. Some of us in Europe have since repented of condescending misapprehensions, formed around that time, about racing on dirt. But not too many, judging from the abject failure of European horseman to reciprocate, at the Breeders’ Cup, the kind of enterprise increasingly shown by the Americans at Royal Ascot—coming over to our backyard and beating us at our own game. And we have the nerve to caricature the Americans as insular. As it is, we seem to be relying almost exclusively on these canny breeze-up consignors to import dirt pedigrees. On the same evening that we mourned Giant’s Causeway, just about the only significant demand at the Tattersalls Craven Sale was for Keeneland pinhooks. Yet, European breeders largely persist in widening the kind of schism so evident at the Breeders’ Cup. Historically, the breed has depended on transatlantic transfusions for its regeneration. European bloodlines were famously invigorated in the 1970s, for instance, by sons of a little dirt champion raised in Canada. In turn, Northern Dancer’s sire Nearctic had distilled several venerable strands of European Classic blood (three tracing to Canterbury Pilgrim, the 17th Earl of Derby’s foundation mare). The time is surely at hand for another turn of the wheel. Perhaps some Europeans have been conflating the demands made by dirt with the undeniable complication of medication in the U.S. But they have to be very careful about their stereotyping. Scat Daddy: speed influence, couldn’t last past June as a 3-year-old. What would they give for him now? Scat Daddy has three members of his penultimate crop in the Kentucky Derby picture: Justify, Mendelssohn and Flameaway. But even if Mendelssohn confirms himself even better on dirt than on turf, his sire has unmistakably straddled both disciplines. Another crossover stallion, Medaglia d’Oro, likewise has two leading Derby candidates in Bolt D’Oro and Enticed. His father El Prado (Ire)—despite his own profile as a turf sire—has arguably ended up, through various sons and grandsons, giving Sadler’s Wells a wider footprint, at least in terms of geography and diversity, than even the great Galileo. True, the only other sire with more than one son in T.D. Thornton’s latest TDN Derby Top 20 is Curlin, through Good Magic and Vino Rosso. And Curlin’s discomfort on a synthetic surface remains notorious. It would be churlish to deny that different surfaces call for different strengths; or that many horses can neither stretch their own repertoire nor, in many cases, that of their progeny. Galileo, again, is a case in point: he trailed in behind Tiznow and Sakhee with his eyes streaming. But it would be just as silly to claim some definitive genetic prejudice, in all horses, towards one surface or another. Part of the problem is that so many people read pedigrees largely through sire-lines. That’s understandable, given that only sires—above all in this era of appalling book sizes—can produce a legible statistical sample. The mare gets one snapshot a year, and that’s with health and luck. But the genetic dice, in each individual foal, nonetheless rolls equally between black and red, odd and even, sire and dam. It makes perfect sense for Scat Daddy to produce the goods on grass as well as dirt, as a son of a champion on both in Johannesburg (Hennessy). And Hennessy’s father Storm Cat, a champion sire on both sides of the ocean, of course gave us Giant’s Causeway himself. But the same people who make sweeping generalisations about an entire sire-line often tend to dismiss other branches of a pedigree as tapering into insignificance. To these, the fact that Scat Daddy’s dam is out of a Nijinsky mare is doubtless neither here nor there. (The next dam, incidentally, is by No Robbery (Swaps), otherwise noted as the sire of a seven-length Dewhurst winner in Wind And Wuthering.) In statistical terms, these “galactico” sires—Scat Daddy, Medaglia d’Oro and Curlin—are wildly surpassed in being doubly represented on the Kentucky Derby trail by John Gunther of Glennwood. From a broodmare band that seldom passes 20, Gunther and his daughter Tanya have come up with both Justify and Vino Rosso. If that’s a pretty incredible achievement, then it comes as no surprise to learn that a number of Glennwood mares are over in Europe, mixing it with Frankel and company. For here are people smart enough to understand that the moment you start prescribing black-and-white outcomes for something as unpredictable as a racehorse, you’re just shutting down your own options. Visiting Eddie Woods in January, he remembered how Big Brown (Boundary) left Ocala just looking like a turf horse. And he wondered whether that is what he would have remained, had that Gulfstream allowance race not been moved onto the main track because of rain. How many people, equally, would ever have entertained the Kentucky Derby for a colt by Leroidesanimaux (Brz) out of an Acatenango (Ger) mare? Animal Kingdom, of course, went on to finish second in a Breeders’ Cup Mile, and to win a synthetic Dubai World Cup. The real wiseguy was Socrates: wisdom is knowing you don’t know. What makes me most comfortable, in a pedigree, is just seeing as many threads of quality as possible woven together. That way, whatever becomes unstitched, you’ll always be left something to work with. Take Vino Rosso’s dam Mythical Gold (Street Cry {Ire}), found by Gunther for $42,000 at the Keeneland November Sale in 2011. When he looked at her page he saw Street Cry, a top-class dirt runner with a regal turf pedigree (duly sire of champions on turf and dirt), matched up by a Touch Gold mare. How could Touch Gold not be a broodmare sire, being by Deputy Minister out of a Buckpasser mare? And whatever else Curlin might have brought to the mating, he did so partly as a son of a Deputy Minister mare. Mythical Gold’s next dam is by Roberto’s son Lear Fan. An acre of grass there. In fact, just take a climb through her family tree and tell me when you find a flimsy branch. For 42 grand. So if you think the whole mystery can be reduced to this nick or that index, carry on and good luck. But let’s always be wary of formulaic, prescriptive thinking. Because otherwise we will only raise or race horses within our limitations, and prevent them from reaching their own. View the full article

6th-NEW, £10,000, Mdn, 4-18, 3yo, f, 8fT, 1:42.75, gd. QAZYNA (IRE), f, 3, by Frankel (GB) 1st Dam: First (GB) (SW-Fr), by Highest Honor (Fr) 2nd Dam: Pushy (GB), by Sharpen Up (GB) 3rd Dam: Mrs. Moss (GB), by Reform (GB) Qazyna, who was a major eye-catcher when third on debut over a mile at Yarmouth in October, attracted strong support into 6-4 favouritism and travelled strongly in second. Cruising to the front with over two furlongs remaining, the homebred was allowed to ease her way downhill and when asked to stretch by Andrea Atzeni powered away to win impressively by 3 1/2 lengths from Feline Groovy (Kitten’s Joy). Award Winning (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the 720,000gns TATFOA half-sister to Royal Bench (Ire) (Whipper), Memphis Tennessee (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}) and Mayhem (Ire) (Whipper), was slowly away and never threatened in sixth. The useful winning dam, who has so far produced four black-type performers headed by the G2 Zipping Classic winner Au Revoir (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) and MSW and MGSP Perfect Stride (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), was bought as an important part of the dispersal of the historic Bloomsbury Stud by Charlie Gordon-Watson for 1.1million gns for Nurlan Bizakov at the 2010 Tattersalls December Sale. The second dam is the Queen Mary S. and Cornwallis S. winner Pushy, a half-sister to the Japan Cup winner Jupiter Island (GB) and G2 Gimcrack S.-winning sire Precocious (GB) whose daughter Myself (GB) (Nashwan) captured the G3 Nell Gwyn S. This excellent family also features the G2 Duke of York S. winner Glass Office (GB) (Verglas {Ire}) and another Nell Gwyn scorer in Thrilling Day (GB) (Groom Dancer), who also took the GIII Jenny Wiley S. First’s 2-year-old filly by Mastercraftsman (Ire) is named Qamka (GB). Unraced in Great BritaiLifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, $10,132. O-Nurlan Bizakov; B-Hesmonds Stud Ltd (GB); T-Roger Varian. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. View the full article

You certainly know the given name Ogden and the surname Phipps, but you may not know much about this particular Odgen Phipps. Ogden Phipps II is the 40-year-old son of Odgen Mills (Dinny) Phipps, who passed away in April of 2016. This Phipps shares the same traits that made his father, grandfather and great grandmother such integral parts of the sport, a love of the game and a willingness to step up and lead. Phipps II recently accepted a position on the NYRA Board. Phipps was a recent guest on the TDN‘s podcast, presented by Taylor Made. Excerpts from that podcast appear below. TDN: Of the great American racing families and stables, the Mellons, the Vanderbilts, the original Calumet Farm, Greentree, almost all have gone by the wayside. One of the few exceptions is the Phipps Stable. What is different about the Phipps family that, generation after generation, it keeps going? OP: I have some ideas what the answer is and some of it is because it is a family operation. I use that term to encompass not only my immediate family, but also the way we think of the people we have surrounded ourselves with, like Shug McGaughey and Claiborne Farm and others. These are all people we grew up with that we consider part of our family. It’s been a core group of individuals. To us, this is what we do. It’s created wonderful memories for our family and moments that have brought us all together. Those are things that are very important to us and something that has been instilled in us ever since any of us can remember. The idea that we would not have that is something that drives us to continue to try to breed great race horses, try to be successful on the racetrack and share it as a family. After our father left us, the idea that we would disband the stable was, quite frankly, never a consideration. TDN: At the 2016 Keeneland September Sale, we saw something from the Phipps Stable that was quite out of the ordinary. The Phipps team purchased two yearlings. One, Fly So High (Malibu Moon), was a $675,000 purchase and recently won the GII Davona Dale S. After so many years of relying exclusively on homebreds, why the change in strategy? OP: Obviously, as a stable we are known for not entering the sales ring that often as buyers. That’s really not the case, however. If you go back through our great broodmare lines and successes both on the racetrack and in the breeding shed, there have actually been a few purchases. You can go back to a mare called Dorine (Arg), who was purchased by my grandfather. She was the dam of Grecian Banner, who produced Personal Ensign and we all know what a great race mare she was and what a great broodmare she was. You can also go back to a mare he bought named Our Country Place, who was the dam of Country Hideaway. Country Hideaway produced Matlacha Pass, who is the dam of Point of Entry and Pine Island. There has been a history of our, periodically, buying fillies or, in those two cases, broodmares, and it worked out well for us. My sister Daisy had been leading the effort to think about our adding some new blood to our broodmare line. Two years ago, we decided to do that and went to Keeneland and bought what we thought were two pretty nice yearlings. Fly So High has turned out to be a very good horse to this point in her career. Our idea was to buy really well bred fillies that we thought were good athletes that could do something on the racetrack. But the real idea was that they would be great broodmares for us down the line. This is something you see us continue to do periodically but it will never be the hallmark of what we do. We will continue to focus on our broodmare band and our homebreds, but we also feel that from time to time you need to inject some new blood. TDN: In 2013, Orb won the GI Kentucky Derby for the partnership of Stuart Janney III and the Phipps Stable. Going all the way to your grandmother’s Wheatley Stable, the Phipps family has enjoyed so much success on the racetrack, but the Derby had remained an elusive prize. What did that win mean to everybody involved, particularly your father? OP: My father wasn’t always the most expressive when it came to what the Derby meant to him or, quite frankly, whether it was even the most important race to him to win. His attitude toward the Derby changed after he won the Derby. Winning it was really special, especially when we were able to win with our cousin Stuart, who is not just family but a close friend. It was also important to win it with Shug and with Claiborne, which is where both the Janney and Phipps horses are. It couldn’t have been more special. The outpouring from the industry and the accolades that my father received after the Derby were overwhelming. He wound up with a new appreciation for just what it meant. The Kentucky Derby is our Super Bowl and is played on our biggest stage. You want to be there on the first Saturday in May. I hope that wasn’t our last, but if it was, it was really a great one. TDN: Not only have members of your family been top owners, they have always been industry leaders. Your father was the chairman of the Jockey Club. So it was notable that you joined the NYRA board. Do you intend to follow in your father’s footsteps when it comes to taking on major industry roles? OP: Whether or not I’m going to be an industry leader…that’s not necessarily the way I look at it. My goal is to support and do the things I think are right in sport that I have a passion and love for, as well as a major economic investment in. There are clearly things I’d like to see done in the sport that I think very smart people have already been working on and are making great progress with. I’m going to continue to support those initiatives to the best of my ability. If that ends up being a voice that makes an impact, that would be great. At the end of the day, what I really would like to see accomplished are efforts that continue to move this sport forward. I will speak out for initiatives that I think are important for horsemen and equine athletes. View the full article

Zac Purton returned from suspension to dominate the Happy Valley card and land his 800th Hong Kong winner in unusual circumstances. Purton sat out the past two meetings over a suspension incurred in a trip to the Sydney carnival but he was back with a bang winning the opening Class Five on the David Ferraris-trained Raichu to become the fourth jockey ever to reach 800 wins. What was unusual about that was Purton very rarely rides for Ferraris and Raichu was his third mount for the stable this... View the full article

4th-NEW, £8,000, Mdn, 4-18, 2yo, f, 5fT, 1:02.73, gd. STRINGS OF LIFE (GB) (f, 2, Slade Power {Ire}–Nashama {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}), sent off the 2-1 joint-favourite, tracked the hard pace racing freely initially. Taken to the inner approaching the final furlong, the homebred picked up to take command 75 yards out and score by a half length from Kadiz (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). In doing so, she provided her Kildangan Stud-based first-season sire (by Dutch Art {GB}) with a first winner. “She’s done that nicely–I have two Slade Powers and they are both lovely, natural 2-year-olds,” trainer Charlie Appleby said. “I thought she was a bit behind for a while, but she’s just very natural and is entitled to come forward a good bit for this. She’s not the biggest in the world and I thought ‘she’s going to have to be early’, but she’s really strengthened well recently and had done a nice bit of work at home. We’ll try to map a plan towards Royal Ascot, as she’s a sharp ‘now’ filly and five is probably her game at the moment.” The dam, who also has a yearling filly by Iffraaj (GB), is out of the G2 Prix de Sandringham third Lurina (Ire) (Lure) whose sire son Centennial (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}) captured the G2 Great Voltigeur S. and G3 Sandown Classic Trial. This is the family of Alligatrix (Alleged), whose descendant include Croco Rouge (Ire) (Rainbow Quest), Taipan (Ire) (Last Tycoon {Ire}), Ali-Royal (Ire) (Royal Academy), Sleepytime (Ire) (Royal Academy) and also Wednesday’s G3 Nell Gwyn S. runner-up Altyn Orda (Ire) (Kyllachy {GB}). Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, £5,175. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O/B-Godolphin (GB); T-Charlie Appleby. View the full article

After scoring victories in four of her first five races, Jenda's Agenda will make her graded stakes debut April 20 in the $100,000 Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare Stakes (G3) at Keeneland. View the full article