TORONTO

 

 

 

SUNDAY MORNING

Some interesting horse races on Saturday and another Kentucky Derby hopeful emerges for the mighty Shadwell Stable. SHAGAF won the Gotham at Aqueduct but the race was slow (87 Beyer Figure) and not visually impressive from any standpoint. He has a way to go to get to his stablemate MOHAYMEN yet. Mark Casse trainee CONQUEST BIG E was always outrun and appears to be off the Derby trail. The barn has one shot left for a Derby runner as it has deemed Woodbine fellow RIKER ready for the Tampa Bay Derby next Saturday despite just being purchased by Gary Barber and Team Valor (marjority) recently.

At Gulfstream, a series of stakes races  were fairly exciting although these stakes are starting to develop a pattern: small fields and always a large number for one trainer in each event, i.e. Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher. Pletcher had 4 starters of 7 entered and finished 1 – 2 -3 in the Gulfstream Park Handicap, a Grade 2 worth $500,000 that was not really worthy of such a big purse.

BLOFELD upset the race for Pletcher and Glencrest Farm and JSM Equine, He is a grey colt, newly turned 4, edged Stanford and Anchor Down was third. The latter was later disqualified for interfering with race favourite Valid.

Trainer Chad Brown had 3 of the 6 entered in the Grade The Very One and he won with favoured ORLORDA (Ger).

Dubai racing in the morning is entertaining and a fast surface at Leydan produced some sizzling results. There are exciting horses to tab for World Cup night such as TRYSTER and POSTPONED but American colt KEEN ICE did not do well in his prep for the World Cup (see below)

In Barbados, DORSETT, just claimed from Canadian Terry Hamilton and trainer Brian Lynch by Steve and Allen Madoo of Trinidad and trainer Robert Peirce, romped in the biggest race in the Caribbean, the Gold Cup (below)

 

DORSETT WINS BARBADOS SANDY LANE GOLD CUP

full card replays – Gold Cup at 13:40

 

results chart from Thoroughbred Daily News…

THE XXXV SANDY LANE BARBADOS GOLD CUP, $214,000,
Garrison Savannah, 3-5, 3yo/up, 1800mT, time: na.

1–DORSETT, 129, h, 6, Artie Schiller–Dontgetinmyway, by Machiavellian. ($4,000 Wlg >11 KEENOV; $40,000 Ylg >11
KEESEP) O-Steve & Allan Madoo; B-Guida Racing Stable, Inc. & Corkstown Bloodstock; T-R Peirce; J-J Samuel; $120,000.
Lifetime Record: 26-4-3-3, $423,965. *Full to Miss Machiavelli, SW-US, $131,863; 1/2 to Sinai (Rockport Harbor), GSP-US,
$176,959.

2–Watchyourownbobber, 125, c, 4, Hard Spun–Boodles, by Mr. Greeley. ($25,000 yrl >13 KEESEP; $62,000 2yo >14 OBSAPR)
O-Kenneth L & Sarah K Ramsey; $45,000

3–War Envoy, 125, c, 4, War Front–La Conseillante, by Elusive Quality. O-Mrs. Gay Smith; $25,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHAGAF wins GOTHAM

 

from NYRA/HEATHER PETTINGER

Shadwell Stable’s highly regarded homebred Shagaf lived up to his lofty expectations to take the 64th running of the Grade 3, $400,000 Gotham by 1 ¼ lengths Saturday afternoon at Aqueduct Racetrack, earning 50 points to virtually lock down a spot in the Kentucky Derby on May 7.

Breaking from the inside post on a track that had favored inside speed through much of the day, Laoban hustled to the front of the seven-horse field, setting fractions of 23.33 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 47.16 for the half. Shagaf, ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., was joined in the middle of the pack by Rally Cry and Sunny Ridge as the trio filed in behind the leader, who swept through.

Ortiz waited patiently aboard the 6-5 favorite as Grade 3 Withers hero Sunny Ridge appeared poised to pounce on the front runner nearing the quarter pole. Angling into the three path as Loaban repelled Sunny Ridge’s challenge, Shagaf revved up in the middle of the track and vaulted past an unsuspecting Loaban to get clear under the wire.

“I never thought [definitely] I had it,” said Ortiz, who was uninjured when he was unseated two races earlier. “It’s a stakes race and there are a lot of good horses in here. He did everything right. He was like a professional. When I gave him his cue, he took off. He’s a nice horse. Chad is going little by little with him. I think we could see him in the Derby; he’s good, we have to see what happens.”

With an unbeaten three-race record to his credit, Shagaf completed the 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.90.

“I’m very proud of his effort today,” trainer Chad Brown said of the Bernardini colt. “Coming into the race it was our plan was to be able to teach him something and possibly still win the race which it was what we were trying to do. The horse broke so sharp Irad told me he had to take a hold of him to see what everyone else was going to do. He put him in a good spot. He was little on and off the bridle down the back side catching that dirt for the first time, but once he got in the clear he was much more comfortable getting away from the kickback. The fact he can secure a spot early with his positional speed for a big horse is going to come in handy later on.”

The winner returned $4.50 for a $2 win wager and gave his owner, trainer and jockey each their first wins in the Gotham.

Laoban finished three-quarters of a length ahead of a late-closing Adventist in third. Sunny Ridge checked in fourth, while Conquest Big E, Rally Cry and Vincento completed the order of finish. Mo Power was scratched.

As part of the Kentucky Derby Championship Series, the Gotham is worth a total of 85 points to the top four finishers on a 50-20-10-5 scale, but will likely not be Shagaf’s last race before the first Saturday in May.

“Absolutely the plan is stay here in New York for the Wood Memorial,” said Brown. “I didn’t even book a flight back for him regardless of how he fired today. We were always going to commit to leaving him here.”

 

KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS

Rank Horse Points Owner(s) Trainer Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings

1. Mohaymen 70 Shadwell Stable (Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum) Kiaran McLaughlin $760,350
2. Gun Runner 51 Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Ron Winchell) & Three Chimney Farms (Goncalo Borges Torrealba) Steve Asmussen $249,200
3. Shagaf 50 Shadwell Stable (Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum) Chad Brown $240,000
4. Nyquist 30 Reddam Racing LLC (J. Paul Reddam) Doug O’Neill $1,700,000
5. Mor Spirit 24 Michael L. Petersen Bob Baffert $336,800

6. Sunny Ridge 23 Dennis A. Drazin Jason Servis $525,600
7. Mo Tom 22 G M B Racing (Gayle Benson) Tom Amoss $288,326
8. Laoban 22 Southern Equine Stable LLC (Michael Moreno) & McCormick Racing LLC Eric Guillot $92,000
9. Forevamo 20 Brittlyn Stable Inc. (Evelyn Benoit) Al Stall Jr. $210,000
10. Zulu 20 Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier & Derek Smith Todd Pletcher $79,200

11. Exaggerator 16 Big Chief Racing LLC (Matthew W. Bryan) Keith Desormeaux $980,000
12. Flexibility 15 Klaravich Stables Inc. (Seth Klarman) & William H. Lawrence Chad Brown $232,500
13. Brody’s Cause 14 Albaugh Family Stable (Dennis Albaugh) Dale Romans $500,000
14. Greenpointcrusader 14 St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola), MeB Racing Stables LLC & Brooklyn Boyz Stables (Mary Ellen and Anthony Bonomo) Dominick Schettino    $369,300
15. Swipe 12 Big Chief Racing LLC (Matthew W. Bryan) Keith Desormeaux $597,130

16. Fellowship 12 Jacks or Better Farm Inc. (Fred and Jane Brei) Stanley Gold $115,590
17. Adventist 12 Treadway Racing Stable (Jeff Treadway) Leah Gyarmati $65,000
18. Collected 11 Speedway Stable LLC (Peter Fluor & K.C. Weiner) Bob Baffert $105,000
19. Airoforce 10 John C. Oxley Mark Casse $444,080
20. Suddenbreakingnews 10 Samuel F. Henderson Donnie Von Hemel $410,000

21. Cocked and Loaded 10 Richard Ravin & Patricia’s Hope LLC (Vince Foglia) Larry Rivelli $280,840
22. Discreetness 10 Xpress Thoroughbreds LLC (Dwight Pruett) William “Jinks” Fires $246,153
23. Frank Conversation 10 Reddam Racing LLC (J. Paul Reddam) Doug O’Neill $199,000
24. Riker 10 Team Valor International (Barry Irwin), Gary Barber & Tucci Stables (Carlo & Lou Tucci) Mark Casse $182,375
25. Vorticity 8 Matthew Schera James Lawrence II $150,000

 

KENTUCKY OAKS POINTS

Rank Horse Points Owner(s) Trainer Non-Restricted Stakes Earnings

1. Songbird 90 Fox Hill Farms Inc. (Rick Porter) Jerry Hollendorfer $1,700,000
2. Cathryn Sophia 60 Cash is King LLC (Chuck Zacney et al) John Servis $305,520
3. Polar River 50 Valentin Bukhtoyarov & Evgeny Kappushev Doug Watson $300,000
4. Venus Valentine 50 Rosemont Farm LLC (James Eigel) Tom Amoss $124,275

5. Mo d’Amour 50 King of Prussia Stable (Ed Stanco) Todd Pletcher $88,000
6. Lewis Bay 30 Alpha Delta Stables (Jon Clay) Chad Brown $219,600
7. Land Over Sea 28 Reddam Racing LLC (J. Paul Reddam) Doug O’Neill $176,000
8. Midnight On Oconee 24 Cottonwood Stables LLC (Tommy Ligon & Pete Nance) Larry Jones $76,000
9. Dreams to Reality 21 Gabriel Duignan Michael Dilger $30,000

10. Dothraki Queen 20 Magdalena Racing (Kenny McPeek et al) Kenny McPeek $419,480
— +Vale Dori-ARG (4yo) 20 Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum Mike de Kock $88,752
11. Nickname 16 LNJ Foxwoods (Larry, Nanci and Jamie Roth) Steve Asmussen $380,000
12. Flora Dora 16 Coffeepot Stables (Bob Cummings and Annette Bacola) Marialice Coffey $121,250
13. Stageplay 14 Mike G. Rutherford Steve Asmussen $183,724
14. Jet Black Magic 12 Carl R. Moore Management LLC (Carl R. Moore) Bret Calhoun $265,000

15. Gomo 10 Reddam Racing LLC (J. Paul Reddam) Doug O’Neill $292,000
16. Street Fancy 10 Agave Racing Stable (Mark Martinez) Phil D’Amato $192,345
17. Marquee Miss 10 Rags Racing Stable LLC (Joe Ragsdale et al) Ingrid Mason $164,350
18. Forever Darling 10 Richard Baltas, Hebert Bloodstock and J K Racing LLC Richard Baltas $122,000
19. Carina Mia 10 Three Chimneys Farm (Goncalo Borges Torrealba) Bill Mott $119,040

20. Gamble’s Ghost 10 Ivan Dalos Josie Carroll $118,299
— +Dolly Dagger-SWE 10 Finn Blichfeldt Fredrik Reuterskiold $32,500
— +Mokat 10 JK Racing Stable Richard Baltas $32,000
— +Shaken 10 Mark Stansell Mike Stidham $20,000
21. Dearest 10 Gelfenstein Farm (Iván Rodríguez Gelfenstein) Gilberto Zerpa $19,800
— +Katniss the Victor 10 Michael Dubb, Bethlehem Stables LLC (Danny H. Wittenberg &
Randy L. Street) & Michael Imperio
Rudy Rodriguez $12,500
22. Rachel’s Valentina 8 Stonestreet Stables LLC (Barbara Banke) Todd Pletcher $570,000
— +R Girls a Charmer 5 Gary Barber Mark Casse $69,900

 

THARRENOS HITS WITH LONGSHOT WINNER

 

KINGS KNIGHT, a 4yo colt by Lemon Drop Kid, was a winner for owner and trainer Bill Tharrenos at Gulfstream on Saturday. The colt was claimed from his previous race for $12,500, a romping maiden win on the dirt, and parlayed that into a grass win for $16,000 claiming for his new owner. Eddie Castro rode for Tharrenos who now has 6 wins at the Gulfstream meeting, 7 other placings from 40 starts.

more from Gulfstream  – There was no unique winner of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 on Saturday, leaving a jackpot carryover of $2,503,517.21 for Sunday’s 12-race program.

Sunday’s first race post time is 12:35 p.m.

Multiple winners with all six winners Saturday returned $38,629.04.

Since last being hit for $76,799.38 by one lucky bettor on Jan. 13, the popular multi-race wager has gone unsolved for 38 consecutive programs. The largest payout of the current Championship Meet was $262,634.84 on Jan. 7.

The carryover jackpot is only paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day’s pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Who’s Hot: Leading rider Javier Castellano, Julien Leparoux and Emisael Jaramille each had two wins Saturday as did leading trainer Todd Pletcher.

 

 

 

 

 

GULFSTREAM MEDIA PHOTO of KINGS KNIGHT winning for Bill Tharrenos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN DUBAI – KEEN ICE FLOPS HIS WORLD CUP PREP

drf.com by MARCUS HERSH

Frosted won, California Chrome won, but Keen Ice could not come close to winning his Meydan prep for the $10 million Dubai World Cup, finishing seventh in the Group 1, $400,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 on Saturday in Dubai.

Keen Ice, closer to the lead than usual, faded through the final three furlongs and checked in seventh, beaten about 11 lengths, as Special Fighter notched a major upset in the Al Maktoum Challenge. Just like in the other three dirt races Saturday at Meydan, Special Fighter made the early lead and never looked back, drawing away with a fast final quarter-mile to beat Hong Kong raider Gun Pit by 4 1/2 lengths. It was another 2 3/4 lengths back to Faulkner in third, with Mubtaahij fourth, Munaaser fifth, and the Kiaran McLaughlin-trained Watershed home sixth, just in front of Keen Ice.

http://www.drf.com/news/special-fighter-wins-al-maktoum-challenge-round-3-keen-ice-runs-seventh

 

WELCOME TO A COUPLE OF TERRA FARM BABIES!

Thorough is pleased to present the two latest arrivals for Dom Romeo and family’s TERRA FARM..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AT WOODBINE

Two-year-olds appeared on the worktab on Saturday as LOKINFORPURSEMONEE (Silent Name) and MAJOR GORDON (Warrior’s Reward) prepped 2 furlongs in :25 for trainer John Ross. The Ross 2-year-olds have been training this winter at Global Equine in Milton.

Frank DiGiulio’s stakes winner GOODOLDHOCKEYGAME worked 3 furlongs in 36.60, 3rd fastest of the morning. It was a stablemate, Organized Mind, who worked the bullet of 36 breezing.
Woodbine rider LUIS CONTRERAS was given a 1 month suspension by the Japan Racing Association (JRA) after a failed drug test, reports Sankei Sports (Mar. 4). Contreras has reportedly returned to Canada according to the report.

On Friday, a committee within JRA announced that Contreras, who tested positive for the painkiller oxycodone on February 6, will complete his suspension on March 10.

Five days after the test, the committee announced that the temporary permit for Contreras, a 29-year-old native of Mexico, to ride as a jockey had been revoked.

Oxycodone is legal in Japan. However, a prescription is required in order for it to be imported into the country.

In December, Contreras was injured after a fall from a horse in Mexico. A doctor subsequently prescribed him oxycodone, according to a release by JRA (Mar. 4).

Read more – http://www.tokyoreporter.com/2016/03/04/jra-to-reinstate-jockey-luis-contreras-after-suspension-for-drug-use/

 

 

 

 

**WEBINAR FOR ORC ABSORPTION INTO AGCO**
On April 1, the regulation of horse racing in Ontario will be integrated into the mandate of the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO). This interactive webinar will offer an overview of the changes affecting Ontario’s horse racing industry, with a particular focus on horse racing regulation and adjudication.

The AGCO’s Registrar and Chief Executive Officer, Jean Major, will be joined by several representatives from the AGCO to address key issues, including:

– what is changing – and not changing – in such areas as licensing, race officiating and the Rules of Racing

– how to continue accessing horse racing regulatory services at the track, on the web, and at the AGCO’s head office

– key information regarding Ontario’s new approach to the adjudication of horse-racing appeals

– a brief description of “who does what” with respect to Ontario’s horse racing industry support programs

During the webinar, panelists will be available to answer your questions.

The webinar will be conducted on April 1, 2016 from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Registration is now open, and all horse owners, track officials, trainers, jockeys and drivers, grooms, exercise riders, veterinarians, track operators, representatives of horse racing industry associations, and any other interested participants in Ontario’s horse racing industry are welcome to participate.

To access and register for the webinar, please click here.http://www1.webcastcanada.ca/events/registration/4161.php