SUPERLATIVES

 

WOW – JUST WHO IS JUSTIFY?

2 for 2 colt posts 101 Beyer Figure in allowance, bred by BC’s Gunther

(video courtesy Los Angeles Times)

There were three very exciting major stakes races, ‘preps’ for the Kentucky Derby (Grade 1) if you will, on Saturday.

But all the talk from the weekend was on the allowance win by the late comer JUSTIFY, who is headed on the Derby trail following an allowance win at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Bred by British Columbia’s JOHN GUNTHER in Kentucky, JUSTIFY was stunning in the mud on Sunday under Mike Smith, romping under wraps with 1 mile in 1:35 1/5. He earned a 101 Beyer Figure according to Daily Racing Form.

A $500,000 yearling purchase, the gorgeous chestnut colt by the late Scat Daddy from the stakes placed mare Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper is suddenly the second favourite for the Derby by public after the 3rd round of Future Wagers for the Derby.

The colt only had his first workout last October at Keeenland before he prepped at Los Alamitos and then debuted at Santa Anita a month ago. He has won his two races by a combined 16 lengths.

Of course the last Derby winner that did not race as a 2-year-old was Apollo in 1882. Justify needs Kentucky Derby points, however, so he will have to have a big effort again in his next race (perhaps the April 7 Santa Anita Derby).

With the hype machine in full gear, JUSTIFY adds even more excitement to a very nice group of American sophomores… read on.

 

Kentucky Derby Trail – prep races simply wild

SAN FELIPE – Grade 2 – 1 1/16 mile
Winner: BOLT D’ORO (placed 1st through DQ of McKinzie)
Owner/trainer: Mick Ruis
Breeder: WinStar LC (KY)
Medaglia d’Oro – Globe Trot by A P Indy – $630,000 Fasig Tipton New York yearling

The San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita was the best race of the year in many eyes and how exctiing will it be to see both BOLT D’ORO and MCKINZIE scrap it out again in the biggest race of them all, the Kentucky Derby?

As exciting as the 1 1/16 mile San Felipe was, the seven-minute plus delay with an inquiry following the thrilling stretch battle was problematic.
The top two horses stood in the cold and rain awaiting the stewards who, after that much time, somehow finally decided the winner, MCKINZIE, was to be disqualified.

“That’s some bulls . . . Javier had a better story, I guess.” said trainer Bob Baffert about the DQ of his trainee. “I’m shocked, after the way he hit us at the top of the stretch. I don’t know what they’re looking at, but apparently he talked them into it. That’s why they should never talk to the jockeys, just watch it themselves.”

Javier (Castellano) rode Bolt D’oro for owner and trainer Mike Ruis. Mike Smith was on the Baffert colt.

It was a tough call to make and perhaps if it took that long, then the stewards may have realized that both horses were at fault at different points in the stretch run and just let the result stand. Then again, with veteran rider MIKE SMITH, on McKinzie, hammering away left-handed on his colt and making it hard for McKinzie not to plow into Bolt D’oro, Smith probably needed to come down.

Meanwhile, the race was fast – 101 Beyer Speed Figure for the winning time of 1:42.71.

Bolt D’oro’s dam, GLOBE TROT won 3 of 17 race and $70,000. Her first foal to race is the stakes winning sprinter SONIC MULE, winner of the Mucho Mach Man and Buffalo Man Stakes.

LA TIMES STORY AND FEATURE VIDEO showing San Felipe stretch run.

TAMPA BAY DERBY – GRADE 2 – 1 1/16 mile
Winner: QUIP, c.b.
Owner: WinStar, China Horse Club and SF Racing LLC.
Trainer: Rudolphe Brisset (former assistant to Bill Mott)
Breeder: WinStar Farm, LLC
Distorted Humor – Princess Ash by Indian Charlie.

While WINSTAR LLC bred BOLT D’ORO, the farm is a co-owner of the upset winner of the TAMPA BAY DERBY (G2), the speedy colt QUIP.

At 19 to 1, QUIP making his first start since November when he was well beaten in the KY Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs, QUIP was eager all the way in the 1 1/16 mile Tampa Bay Derby, pressed another speedster World of Trouble through slow pace fractions of 24.54 and 49.48 and then edged clear to win in 1:44.72. The winning Beyer Figure was 94.

Rodolphe Brisset has been training on his own for less than a year. And although he built a strong foundation working under Hall of Fame conditioner Bill Mott, winning a race such as the Grade II, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is basically uncharted territory.

“We won a lot of big races with the Mott team, and you learn how to handle the feeling,” Brisset said after his 3-year-old colt Quip sprang a major upset in the 38th edition of the Tampa Bay Downs showcase. “But maybe it’s a little sweeter because it’s my name.

“On paper, it looked like we were going to be there early, and it was a matter of whether they were going to let us go (the half-mile) in 47 seconds or 49,” Brisset said. “I guess they let us go in 49, which was a little surprising to me. It was just a matter of him being fit enough; I’m not sure if we had him 100 percent, but he was fit enough to win today and that’s the main thing.”

WinStar President and CEO of Racing Operations Elliott Walden said the victory planted Quip on the Kentucky Derby presented By Woodford Reserve trail (he earned 50 qualifying points for the victory), but it is too early to speculate on his next start.

“We’re going to enjoy this one and go from there,” said Walden after Quip earned first-place money of $210,000.

BLUE GRASS NEXT FOR Canadian-bred FLAMEAWAY: The second choice at 2 to 1, ran a decent race as he was always in close attendance to the slow pace, came under a hard ride on the turn and then continued to to grab 2nd place, a length behind the winner. He posted a 92 Beyer Figure.

While the hard trying chestnut colt did not give up once again, it seems as if the Queen’s Plate would be his better bet of the two 1 1/4 mile races (Plate or Kentucky Derby).

Trainer Mark Casse did say in a Tampa Bay release that the colt will head to the Blue Grass at Keeneland next.

GOTHAM MILE – AQUEDUCT – 1 MILE 
Winner: ENTICED
Owner/Breeders: Godolphin
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin
Medaglia D’Oro – It’s Tricky by Mineshaft

The king of the New York Kentucky Derby preps, trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, got the colt ENTICED back on track after a drab run in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream when he was blasted 14 lengths by the good colt AUDIBLE.

This son of Medaglia D’Oro – It’s Tricky by Mineshaft won the Gotham handily in 1:38.24 for a 96 Beyer Figure. He was wrapped up at the eighth pole as he galloped to the wire with that very high knee action and somewhat clunky style of running. Junior Alvarado is the jockey.

Enticed won the Kentucky Jockey Clublast year, the race in which Quip was well beaten.
The disappointment of the Gotham was FREE DROP BILLY, who was up from Florida for trainer Dale Romans.

Free Drop Billy, in search of his second graded stakes victory from seven starts came up short with his late effort, but it’s just another part of the building process, according to trainer Dale Romans. With his third in the Gotham, the Union Rags colt added another 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to bring his total to 24.

“We got 10 points today,” Romans said. “If he belongs, we’ll have enough points to get there. Right now, that should be enough. He still has to come back and run well next time. I think he ran a clean trip. There was some good things to see, but I wanted him to win. I thought he would win.

“He ran in the end away from the horse coming for fourth down the lane. That was good and he kept on going. Looked like he galloped out strong. Two turns would probably be better. We’ll take him back to Florida and probably go to the [Grade 1] Bluegrass [April 7]. He’s already a Grade 1 winner there, but we’ll go from there. We’re disappointed, but not discouraged.”

KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS SCOREBOARD:

(Historically, a horse needs about 34 points to get into the Derby field)

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

1. Bolt d’Oro – 64 – Ruis Racing (Mick Ruis) – Mick Ruis – $780,000
2. Enticed – 63 – Godolphin Racing LLC (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum et al) – Kiaran McLaughlin – $360,880
3. Bravazo – 54 – Calumet Farm (Brad Kelley) – D. Wayne Lukas – $349,913
4. Promises Fulfilled – 52 – Robert J. Baron – Dale Romans – $256,480
5. Quip – 50 – WinStar Farm LLC (Kenny Troutt), China Horse Club International Ltd. (Ah Khing Teo) & SF Racing LLC (Gavin Murphy) – Rodolphe Brisset – $212,000

6. McKinzie – 40 – Karl Watson, Michael E. Pegram & Paul Weitman – Bob Baffert – $320,000
7. Good Magic – 34 – e Five Racing Thoroughbreds (Bob, Kristine, Cassidy, Riley & Delaney Edwards) & Stonestreet Stables LLC (Barbara Banke) – Chad Brown –  $1,238,400
8. Flameaway – 30 – John C. Oxley – Mark Casse – $472,260 (needs to be supplemented by Mar 19)
9. Firenze Fire – 29 – Mr. Amore Stable (Ron Lombardi) – Jason Servis – $582,500
10. Free Drop Billy – 24 – Albaugh Family Stables LLC (Dennis Albaugh & Jason Loustch) – Dale Romans – $497,200
11. Snapper Sinclair – 22 – Bloom Racing Stable (Jeffrey Bloom) – Steve Asmussen – $301,810
12. Strike Power – 20 – Courtlandt Farms (Donald & Donna Adam) – Mark Hennig – $199,560
13. Old Time Revival – 20 – Fred J. Brei – Kenneth Decker – $80,000
14. Instilled Regard – 19 – Oxo Equine LLC (Lawrence Best) – Jerry Hollendorfer – $196,000
15. Solomini – 14 – Zayat Stables LLC (Ahmed Zayat) – Bob Baffert $436,000
16. Catholic Boy – 14 – Robert V. LaPenta & Madaket Stables LLC (Sol Kumin) – Jonathan Thomas – $330,000
17. Avery Island – 14 – Godolphin Racing LLC (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum et al) – Kiaran McLaughlin – $320,000
18. My Boy Jack – 12 – Don’t Tell My Wife Stables (Kirk Godbey & Rob Slack) & Monomoy Stables LLC (Sol Kumin) – Keith Desormeaux – $402,000
19. Combatant – 12 – Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Ron Winchell) & Willis Horton Racing LLC – Steve Asmussen – $210,000
20. Mourinho – 11 – Phoenix Thoroughbred III (Amer Abdulaziz) – Bob Baffert – $149,360
21. Greyvitos – 10 – Triple B Farms (Michelle Boghossian) – Adam Kitchingman – $300,000
22. Audible – 10 – WinStar Farm LLC (Kenny Troutt), China Horse Club International Ltd. (Ah Khing Teo), SF Racing LLC (Gavin Murphy) & Starlight Racing (Jack Wolf) – Todd Pletcher – $208,320
– The Tabulator – 10 – Carolyn Wilson – Larry Rivelli $186,750
23. Kanthaka – 10 – West Point Thoroughbreds LLC (Terry Finley) – Jerry Hollendorfer – $168,000
24. World of Trouble – 10 – Michael Dubb & Bethlehem Stables LLC – Jason Servis – $145,000
25. Lombo – 10 – Michael V. Lombardi – Mike Pender – $90,345
— Filly – Paved – 10 – Ciaglia Racing LLC (Joseph Ciaglia) & Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners (Aron Wellman) – Michael McCarthy – $60,000

 

KENTUCKY DERBY FUTURE WAGER POOL 3

Odds from Pool 3 – “all others” favoured, Justify just 6 to 1

1. Audible 13-1
2. Avery Island 29-1
3. Bolt d’Oro 7-1
4. Bravazo 40-1
5. Catholic Boy 21-1
6. Combatant 57-1
7. Flameaway 31-1
8. Free Drop Billy 44-1
9. Gold Town (GB) 52-1
10. Good Magic 11-1
11. Instilled Regard 41-1
12. Justify 6-1
13. Kanthaka 57-1
14. Magnum Moon 25-1
15. McKinzie 9-1
16. Mendelssohn 28-1
17. My Boy Jack 31-1
18. Noble Indy 60-1
19. Promises Fulfilled 24-1
20. Solomini 17-1
21. Sporting Chance 39-1
22. Strike Power 56-1
23. Vino Rosso 39-1
24. Mutuel Field (All Others) 4-1

 

Canadian-bred CHANNEL MAKER gets Grade 1 Placing

2017 Champion Turf Male World Approval fades

With odds-on favorite World Approval a non factor, long-shot Bowies Hero split horses two off the fence turning for home en route to a half length win in Saturday’s Grade I, $400,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (turf) at SANTA ANITA. Ridden by Corey Nakatani and trained by Phil D’Amato, the 4-year-old Kentucky-bred colt by Artie Schiller got the distance over a firm turf in 1:33.61.

As expected both What a View and Om vied for the early lead, and along with Free Rose, this threesome showed the way around the far turn. With Nakatani sitting a confident fourth, he was able to exploit a gap between What a View and Om turning for home in what turned out to be a powerful effort.

Off at 8-1 in a field of eight older horses, Bowies Hero paid $18.60, $8.40 and $7.40.

Owned by Agave Racing Stable, ERJ Racing, LLC, and Madaket Stables, LLC, Bowies Hero, who took the Grade II Mathis Brothers Mile (turf) here two starts back on Dec. 26, registered his fifth overall stakes win and all six of his career wins have come from nine tries at a mile on turf. With the winner’s share of $240,000, Bowies Hero now has earnings of $641,325.

Next Shares, who rallied from well back under Rajiv Maragh, was off at 16-1 and paid $15.20 and $10.40.

Finishing a half length back was Canadian-bred Channel Maker, the probable Champion 3-year-old in Canada when the Sovereign awards are handed out in April.

It would be nice to see CHANNEL MAKER, who is owned by Toronto’s Joey Gee Thoroughbreds plus US partners Wachtel Stable and Gary Barber return to Woodbine at some point this year. He clearly has trouble with the shorter stretch runs and tight turf courses of the US and will enjoy getting back home.

WORLD APPROVAL, last year’s Champion Turf Male in the US trained by Mark Casse, was seemingly never on the bit and landed well behind Channel Maker.

The Casse stable is on a bit of a sticky stakes skid, 0 for its last 11 stakes starters, although it won 3 other races at various tracks on Saturday.

 

WOODBINE NEWS: 

Emma-Jayne Wilson Wins on Longshot at Gulfstream

Gulfstream photos

 

 

Champion jockey EMMA-JAYNE WILSON has returned to riding after a winter break and in her second race of 2018, powered SECOND STREET to an 11 to 1 win at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

Riding Toronto-owned SECOND STREET in a grass claiming race, Wilson was all power, along with her mount, to rally from far back, wide and get up to win by a head.

Check out the great image from Gulfstream of Emma-Jayne lifting her horse to victory.

Representatives of owner A Bianco Holding were at Woodbine for the race and the cheers were deafening from the hundreds of fans on hand for the big racing cards being shown. SECOND STREET, who has 2 wins at Gulfstream this winter, is trained by Lilli Kurtinecz.

The first few horses had timed workouts on the training track on Sunday at Woodbine as the April 21 start date arrives.

Alex Patykewich’s TYPICALLY, a 4yo by Old Forester, was the first horse to record a workout for 2018 at Woodbine.

2 furlongs:

Louise the Laser (MD) Richard L. Morden M 5 25.40 b 1/1 Last Start

Three Furlongs:

Conquer the Course (ON) Alexander P. Patykewich M 5 38.20 b 3/6 Last Start
Gold Diver (ON) Daryl G. Ezra M 6 39.60 b 5/6 Last Start
Golden Spear (ON) Norman McKnight G 6 38.00 b 2/6 Last Start
Souper Fly Over (KY) Mark E. Casse C 4 38.20 b 3/6 Last Start
Typically (ON) Alexander P. Patykewich F 4 40.00 b 6/6 Last Start
Ultimate Blue (ON) Daryl G. Ezra G 7 37.40 b 1/6 Last Start

 

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B.C.-BRED INSPEIGHTOFYOU WINS STAKE AT DELTA DOWNS

chart courtesy of Thoroughbred Daily News:

OWNER APPRECIATION DISTAFF S., (NB) $80,000, DED, 3-9, (C),
4yo/up, f/m, 1m, 1:40.07, ft.

1–INSPEIGHTOFYOU, 125, f, 4, Speightstown- Shadow of Mine, .by Belong to Me. ($140,000 Ylg ’15 KEESEP). O-Maggi Moss;
B-Peter Redekop BC Ltd (BC); T-Thomas M. Amoss; J-Gerard Melancon. $48,000. Lifetime Record: 15-4-2-1, $133,240.

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OCALA BREEDERS’ SALES – 2-YEAR-OLDS IN TRAINING
Sale begins Tues.

A Canadian-bred colt by Awesome Again from the $800,000 earner El Prado Essence sizzled one furling in 9 4/5 at the final segment of the OBS sale gallop show.
Bred by the mare’s owner’s, the Cappuccitti family, the colt is a half brother to champion sprinter Essence Hit Man and recent Grade 3 placed Eight Town.

A filly from the first crop of CENTRAL BANKER (Grade 2 stakes winner by Speightstown) was one of the first to have a workout during the gallop show for the OBS Juvenile sale which will held on March 13 and 14. The Central Banker filly was bred by Shannondoe Farm and was sold last year for $70,000 as a yearling.

Hip No. Workout time Foaling Date Sex Pedigree – Consignor

130 22.1 5/2/2016 F Central Banker Wouldthisbemagic ON Eisaman Equine, Agent 7
289 9.4 4/6/2016 C Awesome Again El Prado Essence ON Bobby Dodd, Agent I 10
336 OUT 3/30/2016 C Will Take Charge Golden Mean ON King’s Equine, Agent II 2
339 OUT 3/30/2016 C Golden Opportunity Goldencents Golden Vow ON Sugar Hill LLC,
497 10.1 1/11/2016 F Into Mischief Onebadkitty ON Crupi’s New Castle Farm, Agent VIII