Wandering Eyes

Nolan Ramsey, the longtime assistant to Mike Maker who went out on his own in April, saddled his first winner as a trainer Friday at Gulfstream Park when the 3-year-old Marshamarshamarsha (Demarchelier {GB}) won a $16,000 claimer by 1 3/4 lengths. Owned by his grandfather Ken Ramsey, the filly picked up her second career win with the effort after coming three-wide into the lane. The trainer has assembled a 30-strong stable in Hallandale, and has plans to train a small string in the mid-Atlantic. “It's special. It's the first one. It's great to get off the duck. It's nice doing it for family too,” said Ramsey, who was doused with water by a stable employee in celebration. He started hotwalking for Maker when he was 14-years-old. “I wouldn't be here without him [Ken Ramsey]. My love for the horses and horseracing all came from him. I remember watching the races when I was 5 or 6. He taught me how to handicap and started bringing me around the horses. Without my grandparents I wouldn't be here. To get where I've been and being able to knock off the first one for the family, that's really special.” Ramsey added of his time with Maker, “I was very grateful to work for Mike. The thing about Mike is he has all the horses. He has the Grade Is; he's got the starter allowances; he's got the 'nickel' claimers. You learn a lot from those horses.” The post Nolan Ramsey Saddles First Winner Friday at Gulfstream Park appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

The Arkansas Racing Commission unanimously approved 65 dates for Oaklawn Park's 2024-2025 racing season Monday morning and three additional December dates as well as another holiday Monday highlight the schedule, Oaklawn Park officials announced via presser Friday. Set to start Dec. 6 and run until May 3, the season will again be conducted primarily Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It was tweaked from last season due to calendar changes and business trends including a dark day Apr. 20 in observance of Easter and Feb. 9 being dropped on account of the Super Bowl. Thursdays in March and April were also omitted and the Dec. 20-22 dates fall immediately before Christmas; Oaklawn had previously been dark on that race week. “Arkansas and Oaklawn lead the nation in a lot of things innovative,” Oaklawn president Louis Cella said. “Our fans respond to weekend racing. When you look at other tracks, their non-weekend days are very slow. We're hearing many tracks are going to follow suit. Unfortunately, I think that's just horse racing. But that doesn't mean you can't have big, great race weekends, as you saw in our season this year.” Oaklawn will also race Jan. 20 on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday; Feb. 17 on Presidents' Day; and will not have racing on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day as they fall on Tuesday and Wednesday, which normally are dark days. There had been cards exclusively for 2-year-olds on New Year's Eve for the last two years and the Smarty Jones S. had been contested New Year's Day for the last three. While nothing has been set in stone, Cella did mention in the presser that making the Smarty Jones a Kentucky Derby points race for 2-year-olds was on the table. “That's a possibility,” Cella said. “You flip them. You have a 2-year-old day, but you just stack up the stakes.” GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) finished fifth in the 2024 running of the Smart Jones S. before returning to win the GIII Southwest S. and run third in the GI Arkansas Derby en route to claiming his rose blanket. GI Kentucky Oaks victress Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) won the GII Fantasy S. on her way to the lilies in 2024. The post Oaklawn Park’s 2024-2025 Live Racing Schedule to Include Additional Dates appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Prominent owner Mike Repole dipped a toe into Japanese public sales for the first time Friday, paying ¥33 million ($211,794) for a 2-year-old filly by the outstanding Orfevre (Jpn) at the Chiba Thoroughbred Sale. Foaled on Valentine's Day in 2022, the bay was bred by Shadai Farm and is out of Unlimited Budget (Street Sense), making this something of a full-circle moment for the owner. “We've been studying the Japanese pedigrees for months now. We recently purchased two Deep Impact (Jpn) mares,” Repole explained. “This purchase was just another opportunity with more to come. I raced the mare Unlimited Budget. She was a multiple graded stakes horse.” Repole gave $475,000 for Unlimited Budget, a Florida-bred half-sister to GIII Schuylerville S. winner and GI Spinaway S. runner-up Jardin (Montbrook), at the 2012 OBS March Sale and she became a 'TDN Rising Star' with a 9 1/2-length debut romp at Aqueduct before adding that year's GII Demoiselle S. The bay carried her juvenile form into the first half of her 3-year-old season, winning the GIII Rachel Alexandra S. and GII Fair Grounds Oaks ahead of a third to her upset-minded stablemate Princess of Sylmar (Majestic Warrior) and Beholder (Henny Hughes) in the GI Kentucky Oaks. Runner-up in the GIII Rampart S. in 2014, Unlimited Budget retired with earnings of better than $758,000 and was purchased by Shadai for $1.3 million at that year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Since her import, Unlimited Budget has produced three winners from five starters. “The Japanese approach to building their bloodstock over the last three decades has been really strategic and now you see it paying dividends all over the world,” Repole said. “I'm really excited to get into their sales in the coming months and hopefully find some nice prospects. For now, we will have to bring them back to the U.S., but it would be awesome to race in Japan one day.” Winner of the Japanese Triple Crown and the country's Horse of the Year in 2011, Orfevre is best remembered as a racehorse for the 2012 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, when he looked all but certain to give Japan a coveted first win in Europe's top weight-for-age contest before hanging in through the final stages and dropping a neck decision. He is the sire to date of 27 black-type winners, 21 at the group/graded level and of those, four at the highest level. Though one might expect his progeny to excel on the grass, the 16-year-old Orfevre has proved surprisingly–perhaps shockingly–successful with his dirt runners, including G1 Dubai World Cup hero Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) and Marche Lorraine (Jpn), longshot and landmark winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff in 2021. His additional dirt winners at group level include Justin (Jpn), whose dam was by Gone West; Lagom (Jpn), a son of 2014 GIII Fantasy S. victress Sugar Shock (Candy Ride {Arg}); and Gilded Mirror (Jpn), produced by an imported daughter of Tiznow. The experience has been an eye-opener, Repole said. “I loved the transparency–the reserve is public, all of the veterinary information and scans are available online, so it was very comfortable for us to participate,” he said. “The reserve being public is brilliant. I'd like to think we could learn from this and help build more confidence in our own sales processes going forward.” The sale was led by a filly from the first crop of the expatriated undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Nadal (Blame), who fetched a top price of ¥121 million ($776,941). Slow Thursday night…but the Commissioner out here making some racing history….. Repole Stable is happy to announce we made our first purchase in Japan! We bought this filly by champion Orfevre out of my former multiple graded stakes winning mare Unlimited Budget for 33… pic.twitter.com/8qLTcLWwtf — Repole Stable (@RepoleStable) May 10, 2024 The post Repole Strikes For Orfevre Filly At Japanese 2YO Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Three additional December dates and another holiday Monday highlight Oaklawn's 2024-25 live racing schedule. The track will race 65 dates next season (Dec. 6-May 3), largely on a Friday-Sunday schedule.View the full article

With Chester's Derby and Oaks pointers failing to unearth a dazzling candidate this week, it is the turn of Lingfield on Saturday to potentially provide a clearer picture of how the Epsom Classics will shape up. The Listed Derby Trial, which has produced one Blue Riband hero in recent times in Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), sees Ballydoyle bring across their G3 Ballysax S. second and third The Euphrates (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Illinois (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Ryan Moore keeping the faith in the latter. All the evidence so far in 2024 points to Aidan O'Brien's runners badly needing their first run back, so it is probably wise to cut last year's G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud third Illinois quite a bit of slack and this is traditionally the week that the stable first finds that irresistible form that can run deep into the year. With his Saint-Cloud conqueror Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) set for Sunday's G3 Derby Trial at Leopardstown, we should know a lot more prior to York's Dante Festival which forms the climax of the run of middle-distance Classic trials. Away from Ballydoyle, the Lingfield prep also hands Highclere Thoroughbred Racing and Harry Herbert another chance to get excited as the Roger Varian-trained Defiance (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) bids to build on an eye-catching second in a renewal of Epsom's Blue Riband Trial possibly a shade deeper than is usually the case. Re-opposed by the fourth in that 10-furlong contest, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum's TDN Rising Star Arabic Legend (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Defiance has the feel of a colt coming good at the right time to give him a squeak in the Derby. “Right now I think he's a live contender,” Herbert said. “He's a beautifully-balanced horse who has shown he can act around Epsom and he's going to stay well, so he's ticking some good boxes but first of all we've got to see if he can win a race like this. We'll know afterwards whether we'll be throwing our cards into the Derby ring or going elsewhere.” Does The King Have Hidden Classic Treasure? It is 23 years since the Royal silks went close to winning an Epsom Classic and the pain of Flight Of Fancy (GB) (Sadler's Wells) finding one too good in the Oaks was in turn 24 years on from the success of Dunfermline (GB) for The Queen. Ralph Beckett, who has already uncovered an Oaks gem in midweek, saddles the current monarch's authoritative Nottingham maiden winner Treasure (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) in the Listed Lingfield Oaks Trial that he tends to target with his better prospects. “Ralph is very happy with Treasure, who has the size and scope to be a decent filly,” The King and Queen's racing adviser John Warren said. “We are on a fact-finding mission and as she has been prepped specifically for this race, we will learn where we stand after this to plan her future.” The Gosdens are waiting on the weather for Anthony Oppenheimer's 12-length Wetherby novice winner Danielle (GB) (Cracksman {GB}), who made giant strides on soft ground there. “The plan is to go to Lingfield with Danielle at the moment and let's hope that goes well,” John Gosden said. “She won well last time, but obviously I hope the ground stays good. If it dries up then I would be concerned about running her on quick ground.” Remarquee Returns… Also at Lingfield is the seven-furlong G3 Chartwell Fillies' S., where last year's G3 Fred Darling S. winner and G1 Coronation S. and G1 Falmouth S. runner-up Remarquee (GB) (Kingman {GB}) is another for Ralph Beckett, while Chantilly's G3 Prix de Guiche sees the Wertheimers' G3 Prix la Force winner Atlast (Fr) (Farhh {GB}) pitched in against Jean-Etienne Dubois and Haras d'Etreham's Darlinghurst (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) who beat the subsequent G3 Prix Greffulhe winner Wootton Verni (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the Listed Prix Maurice Caillault at Chantilly in March. Draw Made For ParisLongchamp Classics… Sunday's swathe of European stakes action is headlined by ParisLongchamp's Emirates-sponsored G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and both Classics have attracted double-figure fields. Of the 15 fillies set for the Pouliches, connections of the G3 Prix Imprudence winner Romantic Style (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) has been dealt a blow with a wide draw in 14, while fellow overseas raiders Vespertilio (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), who was runner-up in the G1 Moyglare Stud S., and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf fourth Content (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) are in 11 and eight, respectively. Of the home team, the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac second Rose Bloom (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) is in stall one, while the undefeated TDN Rising Star Louise Procter (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) also fared favourably next door in two. The €650,000 Poulains features a sextet of TDN Rising Stars headed by Ballydoyle's G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. hero and likely favourite Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is set to be partnered by Ryan Moore and has drawn stall six. Stablemate Diego Velazquez (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), with Christophe Soumillon booked, will exit from gate 11 while France's octet includes the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere third and fellow TDN Rising Star Beauvatier (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). The Yann Barberot trainee will be loaded next door to Diego Velazquez in stall 10, with his G3 Prix de Fontainebleau conqueror Ramadan (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) perfectly placed in stall five. Ground conditions look set to dry out by Sunday, with track manager Charles De Cordon also revealing that the “open stretch” six metres out from the running rail will be utilised approximately 450 metres from the post. “Good-to-soft ground is forecast for Sunday, with a 50% chance of rain materialising on Sunday afternoon,” he said. “There will be no watering of the course between now and Sunday and the open stretch, redundant since the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Meeting, will again come into play.” The post Lingfield Trials Take Centre Stage On Saturday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Royal Breeze Racing, a racing and breeding operation located in Harvard, Massachusetts, owns two Mass-breds, a yearling by Frosted and a weanling by Beau Liam. That may not seem like a lot but when you consider that only five horses were foaled in the state between 2021 and 2023, Royal Breeze has become a leader in an industry still trying to figure out how to stay afloat when there are no racetracks in the state. The last one left was Suffolk Downs, which has not raced since 2019. “We'd rather be big fish in a small pond than a little fish in a big pond,” said Royal Breeze's owner and farm manager Carol Casella. While there are no longer any racetracks in Massachusetts, there are plenty of incentives to breed in the state as the Massachusetts Thoroughbred Breeders Association has put together a unique bonus system. A Massachusetts-bred is eligible for lucrative bonus payments. The program offers bonuses payments to Massachusetts-breds when they compete at any racetrack in North America. Here's how it works: *A supplemental incentive of $10,000 is be added to the purse of any unrestricted race in which a Mass-bred horse is entered at a licensed pari-mutuel race meeting authorized by the state racing commission. *This supplemental incentive will be distributed as follows: 60%, 20%, 10%, 5%, 3% and 2% to the first six finishers. *Additionally, breeders (25%), owners (10%), stallion owners (15%), and `developers' (the horse's first owner of record, 20%) earn awards based on the race's purse, on top of any money they might win in the race. That developer award protects people who go through the trouble of breeding a Mass-bred only to see it claimed away because of the incentives. Dr Blarney, even at age 11, is the pride of the Massachusetts breeding program. Still active, he has made $788,173 on the racetrack plus an additional $181,338 in Mass-bred bonuses. Out of her 30 horses, including mares, yearlings, and foals, Casella is lucky to have two Mass-breds. The yearling by Frosted was a twin and veterinarians advised her to terminate the pregnancy. “When we got the mare back from Kentucky they hadn't caught that it was a twin,” she said. “They were identical twins on top of one another. My vet wanted to terminate the pregnancy and I said absolutely not-not after I've spent a fortune sending the mare down to Kentucky to breed. Then I found a vet at Tufts and he was able to save one of them.” Like most who have been around New England racing for a long time, Casella can remember when the sport thrived in the area, when there was Suffolk Downs, Rockingham Park, Lincoln Downs, Narragansett, Green Mountain, Scarborough Downs and several fair tracks in Massachusetts. She knows that the glory days will never return to New England, but she wants to do her part to keep a flicker of a flame alive. That's why she has been courting New England-based owners who walked away after Suffolk closed but might want to get back into the game. Among the horses they have now on the farm are 2024 foals by Nashville, Beau Liam and Mind Control; yearlings by Frosted, Jimmy Creed, Catholic Boy, Daredevil and Tiz the Law; and two-year-olds by Keen Ice and Gift Box. “We are putting all of our efforts into the Mass program to see it develop and grow,” she said. “We are trying to get more Massachusetts people involved,” she said. “I want to raise them, race them and the bring them home when their careers are over and make sure they get a good home. This is my home state. It will be great to participate with a Mass-bred and we'd love to do more. What happened to all the people from Suffolk Downs? Where did they all go? Even the bettors? We need to get these people back involved in the sport. “There are a lot of people in Massachusetts who would like to be involved. That's why we're trying to reach out to people in Massachusetts. Some of the people don't know what's happening with the bonuses. It would be great to get them involved. We have to get the word out to people in Massachusetts and all over New England. We think there's a lot of people who would love to get involved again. We have some quality horses by good sires. We want to breed quality and enjoy it and want other people to enjoy it.” Her goal is to keep the partnerships small. “We try to do small partnerships so people are real owners,” she said. “We don't want it to be the type of situation you get with the microshares. We want two or three people in on a horse. That way they are real owners. They get their owner's license, they get all the owner's privileges.” There is talk that Massachusetts may soon enter into a program similar to what they have in Delaware and Virginia, where horses born in other states can be accredited Massachusetts breds as long as they spend a minimum of three months in the state. That could provide a huge boost to the Massachusetts program. If so, virtually all of Royal Breeze Racing's horses would be certified Mass. breds. Royal Breeze is one of the few remaining thoroughbred farms anywhere in New England. Casella would welcome some competition, knowing what that would mean–that there is some life after all to the Massachusetts breeding program. The post Royal Breeze Racing Remains Bullish on Massachusetts Breeding and Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

7th-Belmont The Big A, $90,000, Msw, 5-10, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:35.57, my, 6 1/4 lengths. UNMATCHED WISDOM (c, 3, Cairo Prince–Glide On By, by Pure Prize), a $25,000 KEESEP yearling turned $450,000 OBSMAR breezer, kicked off his career with a sharp debut score going a one-turn mile in the Aqueduct mud. Overlooked at 6-1, he forced the issue from an outside second through early fractions of :23.26 and :46.53. He turned up the heat on the far turn, kicked for home as the one to catch and had 6 1/4 lengths over favored Military Road (Quality Road) at the wire. The winner's dam had a filly by Classic Empire in 2023 and was bred back to Cairo Prince. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $49,500. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Estate of Harvey A Clarke, Paul Braverman, Sebastian Murat & Steven (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. The post Cairo Prince Colt Unmatched Wisdom Smart on Debut at the Big A appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Blazing a trail from the bell, it was Night Beacon (Spun to Run–Stormandaprayer, by Songandaprayer) who went gate to wire and handed his first-crop sire his inaugural winner at the 'Great RIP' on Friday afternoon. Off as the 4-5 choice, the bay filly was swift early and established an ever-widening lead before the far turn. With the field in pursuit, the 2-year-old geared down in the final furlong and won by three lengths over So There She Was (Munnings). The final running time was :52.30. Gainesway's sire (by Hard Spun), who won the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita, has 89 foals of racing age to his credit. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0. Sales History: $45,000 '23 KEEJAN. O-WSS Racing; B-Mulholland Springs LLC; T-Ryan Hanson. #1 NIGHT BEACON ($3.80) absolutely dominates in her debut at Santa Anita Park. She is the first starter and winner for her sire Spun To Run (@Gainesway)! @EmEllingwood was in the irons for @rhansonracing. pic.twitter.com/Pet5WRCGiX — FanDuel Racing (Formerly TVG) (@FanDuel_Racing) May 10, 2024 The post Sire Spun To Run Collects His First Winner As Night Beacon Scores At Santa Anita appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kentucky stewards fined Tyler Gaffalione $2,500 after a May 9 review of the stretch run by Sierra Leone and Forever Young during the Kentucky Derby (G1).View the full article

A thrilling 150th renewal of the May 4 Kentucky Derby (G1) and increased betting numbers through the week were not the only positive stories to come out of Churchill Downs early this month. There was also encouraging news on the equine safety front.View the full article

Bob Baffert trainees Muth and Imagination had their final timed workouts May 10 in preparation for the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1). They covered six furlongs in tandem in 1:11 4/5 at Santa Anita Park. View the full article

5th-Churchill Downs, $121,125, Msw, 5-10, 3yo/up, 1 1/8mT, 1:50.43, fm, 4 lengths. WEST HOLLYWOOD (c, 3, Uncle Mo–White Hot {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) began his career in Roger Varian's yard where he debuted in fourth place over the Polytrack at Kempton Park in early January. Making the switch stateside to Brad Cox, the dark bay with Lasix was a 7-2 shot here. The 3-year-old broke quickly and settled in behind the pacesetter heading into the first turn. Raring to take on the frontrunner, the colt was let loose around the far turn and sported some strong turn of foot down the lane, despite bumping briefly with the leader. In the end, West Hollywood spurted away to win by lengths over Fort Thomas (War Front). The winner is a half-brother to Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), GISW-USA, GISP-Can, $792,947, who was purchased last fall at the Fasig-Tipton Mixed Sale for $3 million by John Stewart. Unraced White Hot is also responsible for 2-year-old colt Spanning Time (Not This Time) and she foaled a colt by Into Mischief Feb. 27. West Hollywood's extended female family includes French group stakes winner Ancient Rome (War Front). Sales History: $775,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $69,644. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. O-Qatar Racing LLC; B-B. Flay Thoroughbreds (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. #9 West Hollywood breaks his maiden nicely while trying the grass in R5 at Churchill Downs under @flothejock for trainer @bradcoxracing! #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/JjXMrXu8Bg — TwinSpires Racing (@TwinSpires) May 10, 2024 The post Half-Brother To Pizza Bianca Makes U.S. Debut A Winning One At Churchill appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kenny McPeek's final decision on GI Kentucky Derby-winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents)'s Preakness appearance should come Saturday after training at Churchill Downs and post-discussion with the owners. The Derby hero went through a second day of galloping beneath the Twin Spires Friday morning under Robby Albarado and will likely pick up the pace Saturday morning. Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. will have other mounts Preakness weekend and will be riding at Pimlico regardless of the final choice. “Another steady day, another good day. Robby was happy. [Mystik Dan] ate up. We'll discuss it in depth tomorrow [Saturday],” said McPeek. “We usually walk Sundays. When I say more, just a nice gallop, maybe let him stretch a little down the lane. Nothing complicated. Only what he wants to do.” Albarado said, “Every day is a progression for [Mystik Dan]. He'll get back in his rhythm soon. He's so easy to predict. I knew after the first day that the second day's better, the third day. He felt really good. All his leads were on point. He enjoyed being out there.” The post McPeek to Make Preakness Decision for Mystik Dan Saturday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Kentucky Horse Racing Commission stewards took no action after a May 9 review of the stretch run by Sierra Leone and Forever Young during the Kentucky Derby (G1).View the full article

Jockey Jaime Torres earned his first graded stakes victory aboard Seize the Grey in the Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) and now has the chance to bring home the May 18 Preakness Stakes (G1) while wearing silks that mean a lot to him.View the full article

The in-form Namur (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) faces only 14 foes in the G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo on Sunday, a “Win And You're In” qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar in November. There won't be any safety nets for her rivals either, as the Carrot Farm runner has been extremely consistent of late, taking last October's G2 Fuji S. over her pet distance before showing her heels in open company in Kyoto's G1 Mile Championship a month later. A solid third to impressive yardstick Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) in the G1 Hong Kong Mile during the Hong Kong International Races in December, the now-5-year-old was only a desperate bob behind Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) when second in the G1 Dubai Turf over 1800 metres at Meydan on Mar. 30. Trainer Tomokazu Takano said, “Finishing second in the Dubai Turf was frustrating, but the race itself reminded me of her high potential and sense of presence. Her performance left no room for complaint whatsoever. I could feel from early on that this horse had a lot to offer, and everything has happened as I'd anticipated–the way she gains strength, the good condition when she goes into a race, thinking that if she would run at her own rhythm, she would be highly competitive in a Group 1. “After returning to Japan and going through quarantine, she really had only the shortest number of days permitted (10) to train at the training center. I think she'll go to the gate in good shape.” The progressive Masked Diva (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) is second choice in the markets so far, behind her rival, but has been knocking on the door of top company. A 4-year-old Shadai Race Horse representative, the filly won a Group 2 last September, before running superfilly Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) to a length in the G1 Shuka Sho (Japanese Fillies' St Leger), as that distaff luminary completed the Japanese Triple Tiara. Unplaced in the G3 Tokyo Shimbun Hai in February, Masked Diva was back in the winner's circle after bulling her way through a tight spot in the G2 Hanshin Himba S. and fending off the menacing late charge of 2023 G1 NHK Mile Cup second Umbrail (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) with Moryana (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) third in early April. Trainer Yasuyuki Tsujino said, “From the start of this year, she has continued to mature. She's well filled out, looking sharp and I think she's very near to her peak condition. Being a Group 1, the pace and the way the race unfolds is going to make for some tight running. I think it would be ideal if the race were to be just like her last one. It all comes down to whether she can break sharply.” The other Group 1 winner in the field is Stunning Rose (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}), who took the 2022 edition of the Shuka Sho, but has been winless since. However, the Sunday Racing runner ran eighth in the G1 Osaka Hai on Mar. 31 versus males and was not beaten far. “It [the Osaka Hai] wasn't a big loss and I do think she showed her ability,” said Takano, who also trains Namur. “Last week, the jockey rode work and the emphasis was on the last furlong. With her last race as a sharpener, she showed improvement and is looking good physically and mentally. She should show ample improvement. I can't say a mile suits her best, but I think she will do well at the wide-open Tokyo venue and this time it's up against fillies and mares only. If she carries herself well-balanced and runs at her own rhythm, she should do fine.” The post Namur Razor Sharp For Victoria Mile appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Each slated for a tilt in Preakness 149 May 18, MGISW Muth (Good Magic) and GSW & GISP Imagination (Into Mischief) worked six furlongs in company Friday morning at Santa Anita. Officially clocked in 1:11.90, Bob Baffert liked what he saw from the pair and mentioned he was still deciding if any other horses would join his Preakness hopefuls on the trip over to Pimlico, but that he'd wait until entry day to make a final decision. “[Muth and Imagination] looked good. They stayed together like last week. It was a nice, workmanlike work. I was happy with it.” Said move May 4 was clocked in 1:11.40 and the co-fastest of five on the morning. Muth comes into the GI Preakness S. off a victory in the GI Arkansas Derby and was the 7-2 favorite for the second jewel in last weekend's Preakness Stakes Future Wager while Imagination closed at 17-1. The latter was beaten a neck in the GI Santa Anita Derby by GI Kentucky Derby-seventh GISW Stronghold (Ghostzapper). The post position draw for the Preakness is Monday, May 13 at 2:30 p.m. The post Muth, Imagination Have Final Preakness Works appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Last year's champion 3-year-old colt Arcangelo (Arrogate) captured the GIII Peter Pan S. before adding top-level victories in the GI Belmont S. and the GI Travers S. A scratched-down field of six is expected to line up for Saturday's renewal of the Peter Pan at Aqueduct, which serves as the local prep for the final leg of the Triple Crown, which will be held at Saratoga and run at 1 1/4 miles June 8. 'TDN Rising Star' Deterministic (Liam's Map), a fantastic winner of the one-turn mile GIII Gotham S. Mar. 2 while making his first start since an eye-catching debut victory at Saratoga last summer, will look to make amends for a head-scratching eighth as the 4-5 favorite in the GII Wood Memorial S. Apr. 6. “We were a little bit puzzled,” said Christophe Clement, who saddled Tonalist (Tapit) to wins in the 2014 Peter Pan and Belmont. “We did all sorts of tests. He came back and he's trained well. Saturday's work was a spectacular work. He's had three works since the Wood.” The Wine Steward (Vino Rosso), a game second in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland last fall, kicked off his sophomore season with a second-place finish in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. Apr. 13. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher will be represented by Antiquarian (Preservationist), sixth in the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby Mar. 23; and the maiden of three starts Protective (Medaglia d'Oro), a longshot third after early trouble in the Wood Memorial. MyRacehorse's Straight No Chaser (Speightster), a smashing winner of last spring's GIII Maryland Sprint S., will make his highly anticipated return on the undercard in the GIII Runhappy S. Trained by Juan Landeros, assistant to conditioner Dan Blacker who is currently serving a suspension, he's been working bullets at Santa Anita for his return, including a five-furlong move in :59 1/5 (1/40) Apr. 27. “We're just trying to map out the best plan for him with a goal to make a run at the Breeders' Cup Sprint this year,” said Joe Moran, Racing Manager of MyRacehorse. “That was our goal last year and his campaign got cut short. He seems fit and ready. We're expecting a pretty good effort off the layoff.” For more on Straight No Chaser's time away from the races, click here for a recent interview with Blacker. Saturday's 11-race program at the Big A also includes the GII Man O' War S., featuring MGISW Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}); and the GIII Beaugay S. The post Peter Pan Headlines Saturday’s Stacked Belmont at Aqueduct Card appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

According to Matt Muzikar, the agent for Tyler Gaffalione, the Churchill Downs stewards met with his rider on Thursday, but took no action against him for his ride aboard Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) in the GI Kentucky Derby. Muzikar declined to comment on the ruling and said that Gaffalione has also decided to not comment on the incident. Sierra Leone bumped several times with the Japanese colt Forever Young (JPN) (Real Steel {JPN) in the stretch run as Gaffalione was unable to keep his mount from lugging in. Considering that there was only a nose separating the two at the wire, many believed that Sierra Leone could have been disqualified and placed third. However, the stewards failed to launch an inquiry and Ryusei Sakai, the rider of Forever Young did not claim foul. It has been reported that jockeys in Japan rarely place objections, believing that if there is an infraction in a race it will be caught by the stewards. “He wanted to lean in today and made it a little difficult,” Gaffalione said following the Derby. “I had a hard time keeping him straight and that definitely cost us. He gives you everything, very responsive but he loses concentration.” The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission issued a statement early in the week regarding the stretch run and the bumping. “The stewards review every race in Kentucky live and by video replay before posting it official and they followed the same procedure for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby,” it read. “After conducting their standard review of the race, determining no further review or investigation was necessary to conclude there were no incidents that altered the finish of the race, and seeing there were no objections filed, the stewards posted the Kentucky Derby official.” The post Churchill Stewards Hold Gaffalione Blameless for Ride on Sierra Leone appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Two-time stakes winner Amidst Waves attempts to rebound in her sophomore debut as she faces an oversubscribed field in the $175,000 Soaring Softly Stakes (G3T) at Aqueduct Racetrack at six furlongs on the outer turf.View the full article

Kentucky Derby (G1)-winning jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. has confidence in Mystik Dan's ability ahead of a potential rematch with Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Muth in the $2 million Preakness Stakes (G1) at Pimlico Race Course May 18.View the full article

Namur stands out in field of of 15 in the Victoria Mile (G1) at Tokyo Racecourse after doing battle with some of the world's best in Hong Kong and Dubai.View the full article

Judy Hicks will be the first to say that it's not the fanciest farm in Kentucky. The fences are not painted and the lawns are not perfectly manicured. But there is good soil at Brookstown Farm and there is plenty of it, enough to where no more than six of the 100 mares who reside there ever share the same pasture. Hicks and her husband R.W. purchased the 600-acre property located just outside of Versailles in 1983 and since then, R.W. has been meticulous in fertilizing and re-seeding the pastures to ensure that the foals raised at Brookstown have the very best of the Bluegrass. It's an idyllic place to raise a Thoroughbred. And it's now the birthplace of a Kentucky Oaks winner. Hicks, the breeder of Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), liked the filly so well that she stayed in for a piece after Kenny McPeek bought the filly as a yearling for $40,000. She joined the partnership of Brookdale Racing, Mark Edwards, and Magdalena Racing. Last Friday was, to put it mildly, a day that Hicks will never forget as Thorpedo Anna took the lead early and never looked back to win the Kentucky Oaks. There was plenty of celebration and fanfare that evening, but by Saturday morning it was back to business as usual at Brookstown Farm. “I had to take a mare to the breeding shed, so it was sort of like the reality hadn't sunk in yet even though I'm getting texts and phone calls and interviews and all this hurrah,” Hicks explained. Even by Wednesday, after she returned from yet another early morning trip to the breeding shed and sat down on her porch overlooking her farm's sprawling pastures to reflect on the weekend, Hicks was still at a loss for words. “It has been surreal,” she said. “I know it's a huge, huge deal and I am very excited.” Judy and R.J. Hicks with Brookstown Farm mascot Smoke | Sara Gordon Getting Off the Ground Growing up in California, Hicks always believed that she was destined to be a veterinarian. The animal lover went to California Polytechnic State University for undergrad and then started vet school at Texas A&M. A few months in, she realized the job was not for her when she came in one morning to find that the dog that had lived in one of the experimental cages had been reduced to various samples in jars and test tubes. She moved on to an internship in Kentucky at Forest Retreat Farm and while she was there, she met Cecil Horne and Dr. Donald Applegate. They were looking for a farm manager for their Mint Springs Farm and Hicks quickly accepted the position. “I started at the bottom of the ladder grooming yearlings and went on to become a farm manager in a matter of a year,” Hicks recalled. It was at Mint Springs Farm that Hicks met her husband, R.W. When the pair purchased Brookstown Farm, they knew they had a lot of hard work ahead of them. “It had nothing on it but a couple of old tobacco barns,” said Hicks. “It had no water, no electric, no fencing, no pavement. R.W. and I put in three miles of water line by ourselves, built every fence and started raising horses.” Hicks started out focusing on boarding horses, but when one client did not pay their bills, she bought her first horse for $6 on the courthouse steps. Phoenix Sunshine (Encino) was raised at Brookstown and went on to become a four-time stakes winner and then a successful broodmare. One of her daughters, Shining Victory (Victory Gallop), is the granddam of Grade I winner Newgate (Into Mischief) and Grade II victress Denim and Pearls (Into Mischief). Another one of Shining Victory's daughters produced My Majestic Rose (Majestic Warrior), who was one of the best fillies that Hicks campaigned herself. The homebred won the GII Summertime Oaks in 2019, but broke down in training shortly after. When Hicks had another client who would not pay their bills, she purchased Miss Pink Diva (Dunkirk) for $10. The filly was runner-up in the 2016 Locust Grove S., but broke down in her next start in the GI Spinster S. “So down at my pond there are two grave sites and they are growing some big, beautiful oak trees,” said Hicks. “I love the highs,” she added. “But I hate the lows because the lows are very low.” But as Hicks has learned, with every crossroad comes an opportunity, and sometimes a seemingly impossible situation can turn into a beautiful story. Sataves (center) accompanied by her 2024 Known Agenda filly and her 5-year-old daughter Charlee O | Sara Gordon The Mare Who Was Never Supposed to Live In January of 2015, a client's mare foaled an extremely premature filly by Uncle Mo. Hicks volunteered to take the feeble foal off the client's hands, not knowing if the youngster would even survive because her lungs were so underdeveloped that it was unclear if they could function properly. Luckily Sataves, the dam of Thorpedo Anna, did survive. While her fight to live in those early days affected her conformational development and prevented her from ever becoming a racehorse, she turned out to be a pretty good broodmare. “She took several years to grow up,” said Hicks. “She's got the body of Uncle Mo, but the legs of a pony. She is not very big, but it doesn't seem to change or affect the genes.” Sataves's first foal Charlee O (Tourist) was a $5,000 yearling RNA in 2020. Hicks retained the filly, who won on debut at Belmont at 30-1 odds and earned over $100,000. For Sataves's next mating, Hicks decided to send her to Fast Anna , who was standing at Three Chimneys for just $10,000. “I like to pick stallions on their physical,” Hicks explained. “I may use all the bookwork–the Goldmine, the TrueNicks–but that's just secondary. It was hard to think he would be a good physical for Sataves because Sataves is sort of out of whack [in her conformation]. But I thought she would cross very well with Fast Anna, a son of Medaglia d'Oro, and it worked.” Thorpedo Anna is from the final crop of Fast Anna, who succumbed to laminitis only a few days after Thorpedo Anna was foaled in late January. From her early days at Brookstown, the filly was a crackerjack. “She had a mind of her own,” Hicks explained. “She didn't want her feet trimmed. She didn't want to have vaccinations. She was pretty opinionated. She didn't get her way, so she did settle down after a while. My nightwatch person took her on and was very good with her. She calmed her down and made her behave.” From the handful of her own foals that Hicks produces every year, she aims to sell them all but oftentimes ends up retaining or at least staying in for a piece of some of them. Thankfully Charlee O and Thorpedo Anna were two fillies she decided to keep and she has also retained a piece of Sataves's third foal McAfee. The 2-year-old colt by Cloud Computing was bought for $40,000 by Maddie Mattmiller at the Keeneland September Sale. Last year Sataves's foal did not survive foaling due to a case of hydrops–a condition characterized by an over-accumulation of fluid in the placenta–but this year the mare produced a filly by Known Agenda. The foal arrived in the middle of March when threats of tornados and wind storms were popping up across Central Kentucky. One night the wind was howling and Hicks was fighting to keep the barn from flooding, but when the storm finally stopped, Sataves laid down and foaled. Hicks does not normally name her foals, but she decided to call this one After the Storm. Mother-daughter pair Sataves and Charlee O | Sara Gordon An Oaks to Remember The confidence McPeek had in his 'TDN Rising Star' Thorpedo Anna was no secret, with the news of his comment about bringing a grizzly to the Oaks spreading like wildfire in the days leading up to the big event. Meanwhile Hicks was relieved when the last of the mares due to foal at Brookstown this year produced a healthy foal three days before the Oaks. The breeder was in the clear to make an unforgettable trip to Louisville on Friday and watch her filly cross the wire first just before the heavens opened up over Churchill Downs. “Kenny was pretty sure she was going to win if she got a good start,” she said. “He knew she was going to win. And the way she ran, it was hard to contain myself. My tears were flowing. It was just unbelievable, but believable because we know how good she is.” From a broodmare band of eight mares and off a $10,000 stud fee, Hicks produced a Classic winner. “Everything just fell into place the right way,” she said with a shrug. “Now walking outside I have this feeling of fulfillment because of what I've done. But I don't feel like it's anything out of the ordinary. I mean, I'm still having to say, 'Hey, get it in your head that this really happened!' It's special and it'll be an occasion I will remember for the rest of my life.” Hicks has a lot to look forward to in the coming months as McPeek has said that Thorpedo Anna will likely point toward the GI Acorn S. on June 7 before the GI Coaching Club American Oaks and the GI Alabama S. But the horsewoman is also just as excited about what she has going on at her farm. Charlee O retired from racing this spring and has been bred to Bolt d'Oro. Meanwhile Sataves, who is only nine years old, has been bred to Gun Runner. Besides upgrading the class of stallion that Sataves will be visiting in the coming years, Hicks won't be changing much about her own lifestyle or her breeding program. Life at Brookstown Farm doesn't slow down even after producing a Kentucky Oaks victress and Hicks wouldn't have it any other way. “I live and breathe the horses and I have my dogs,” she reflected. “I come in my front gate and I leave everything behind me because, as we all know, the Thoroughbred business can be tough. I just enjoy my life. I enjoy my animals. I work very hard. I foal everything and I take every mare to the breeding shed myself.” “I don't want to retire,” she continued. “People say, 'When are you going to retire, Judy?' I say, 'What would I do then? I love what I do.' I feel that I run a good operation. It's not fancy, but it does seem to work.” The post From Brookstown Farm’s Soil, an Oak Flourishes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

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