COVID-19 has turned the sport of horse racing upside down, as evidenced by the completely restructured nature of 2020 U.S. Triple Crown. The three-race series underwent numerous changes in terms of timing, race order, and even distance; ultimately, the three races produced three different winners.
Month: October 2020
Caravaggio Relocated to Coolmore America
Scat Daddy’s Royal Ascot superstar Caravaggio has been relocated from Coolmore’s headquarters in Ireland to its American base at Ashford Stud, Coolmore announced Thursday.
“Ever since he retired to stud, Caravaggio has been supported by top [North] American-based breeders such as David Anderson, Peter Berglar, John Gunther, Hunter Valley Farm, Runnymede Farm, Fred Hertrich, Mike Ryan, e5 Racing & Merriebelle Stables,” said Ashford’s Director of Sales Charlie O’Connor, who co-bred the MG1SW sprinter with his father-in-law’s Windmill Manor Farms. “This support carried into the sales ring in both the U.S. and Europe with several of his highest-priced yearlings being bought by American-based owners including Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm, Wesley Ward, Ben McElroy, Susan Moulton, DJ Stables, Mike Akers and Meah/Lloyd for Calvin Nguyen. These included a $400,000 filly and a $300,000 colt sold by Gainesway at Keeneland.”
Winner of the Group 1 Phoenix S. in Ireland and G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot as a juvenile, the gray son of American stakes winner Mekko Hokte (Holy Bull) added a score in the G1 Commonwealth Cup S. back at Ascot the following summer.
“A multiple Group 1 winner, Caravaggio is an outstanding physical and was a fantastic racehorse, going unbeaten in his first six starts which included Royal Ascot wins at both two and three,” said O’Connor. “His pedigree holds major appeal for breeders here being a son of Scat Daddy, one of the most successful stallions we’ve ever stood at Ashford, and out of a stakes winner on dirt by Holy Bull. His half-sister My Jen was a good racemare too, winning a Grade II on the main track at Belmont for Eddie Kenneally. All in all, we thought it made a lot of sense to bring him over.”
Caravaggio stood his first two seasons at €35,000 and was increased to €40,000 in 2020. He will stand at $25,000 for 2021 and is available for inspection at Ashford.
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One Last Dance for Rushing Fall and Her e5 Family
One year after their very first Breeders’ Cup win with New Money Honey (Medaglia d’Oro) in 2016, Bob and Kristine Edwards of e5 Racing Thoroughbreds found themselves in the winner’s circle once again for the same race, with the same trainer-jockey duo, when Rushing Fall claimed the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
As it turned out it was hardly beginner’s luck, as Rushing Fall’s victory was a good omen for the family’s second Breeders’ Cup contender that year, and it proved to be just the start of an unforgettable four-year campaign for the daughter of More Than Ready.
“It was an amazing feeling,” Bob Edwards said of watching the ‘TDN Rising Star‘ cross the wire at Del Mar. “The emotions, the goosebumps, everything is really exciting. It took us 25 minutes to get through the crowd and walk down to the winner’s circle since everybody was excited for us and congratulating us. Poor Javier [Castellano] was circling and circling.”
Edwards said that after posing for the photo, trainer Chad Brown had told the family to watch the Juvenile closer to the winner’s circle the next day. It proved to be sound advice when Good Magic (Curlin), a colt they campaigned in partnership with Stonestreet Stables, became their second Breeders’ Cup winner of the weekend.
Edwards’s daughter Casi, e5’s Equine Manager, was not able to attend their first Breeders’ Cup victory with New Money Honey in 2016, but she made sure to be present for their Breeders’ Cup double the next year.
“I had never been to the Breeders’ Cup because New Money Honey ran when I was in college,” she said. “It was incredible. Everything worked out perfectly. The thrill to win two races in a row seemed unheard of and it was so much fun.”
After a five-month layoff following Rushing Fall’s undefeated juvenile season, the $320,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling returned with a vengeance at three, adding two more Grade II victories to her record before capping off the season with a win in the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. Then at four, she added two more Grade I wins in the Jenny Wiley S. followed by a near record-breaking performance in the Just a Game S., where she covered the mile in 1:31.67.
After a close second behind the prior year’s Eclipse Champion Turf Female and stablemate Sistercharlie (Ire) {Myboycharlie (Ire)} in the GI Diana S. and then running out of the money for the first time in her career in the GI First Lady S., many assumed she would be whisked off to the breeding shed the next spring.
“After the [First Lady] at Keeneland, the media came up and asked what our plan was,” Edwards recalled. “I said, ‘We’re going to run her again,’ and they were kind of like, ‘Why?’ I told them we like horse racing, and that’s why we’re in this. In the Diana, she ran arguably her best fractions and her best race ever. It takes a lot out of you to run big races and then regroup and go back again.”
Rushing Fall was brought back this year at five and is now enjoying her second undefeated season that began with a wire-to-wire victory in the GIII Beaugay S. before she returned to Grade I company.
“This season she raised the bar,” Edwards said. “We went into the second race of the season with a repeat in the Jenny Wiley where she broke the track record. And then going to Saratoga and winning the Diana was really special. There’s a lot of pressure in that. The field was stacked with really good horses. My heart was pumping out of my chest. Everything you want out of horse ownership was right in that moment.”
Rushing Fall will soon return to Keeneland, where she ranks second behind Wise Dan for the most Keeneland graded stakes wins. She will be asked to go farther than ever before in the 1 3/16-mile Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, but Edwards said he has full confidence in the $2.5 million dollar earner.
“She’s a different horse this year,” he said. “Even Javier said that and he knows better than I do. He said she’s calmer. She’s really focused. She just seems like she’s that gifted athlete where she knows where her place is, she knows the competition–she sizes them up and walks through the paddock with her ears up and nose flared a bit. It’s really special to see that out of your horse.”
Following the Breeders’ Cup, Rushing Fall will make the quick trip down the road to the Fasig-Tipton ‘Night of Stars’ sale. The 5-year-old bay will sell as Hip 205 with the Indian Creek consignment.
Fasig-Tipton’s Boyd Browning said, “She’s one of only three mares to win Grade I stakes races at two, three, four and five. She has pretty good company with Beholder and Lady Eli. It’s a rare accomplishment, and it just shows you how wonderful and brilliant Rushing Fall has been so far.”
Bred by Fred W. Hertrich III and John D. Fielding, Rushing Fall was first spotted by agent Mike Ryan at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale.
“She was a stunning yearling,” Edwards said of his purchase. “She had a real presence about her, even as a yearling. Mike loved the horse.”
“I know Mike was really excited the night that he bought her,” Browning echoed. “She’s got attitude, but it’s attitude with class.”
Before Rushing Fall returns to the Fasig-Tipton sales ring, the Edwards family will enjoy one last dance with their leading mare.
“Everyone has their own race routine,” Casi Edwards said. “Since we’ve become part of racing, my dad has gotten very superstitious. My mom has a lucky purse that she always has to find an outfit to go with the purse. Coming into race day, everyone’s always really nervous, but Rushing Fall always shows up. When she steps onto the track, you can see it in her. She’s game and she’s ready to do her job. She’s an incredible racehorse and we’re very lucky to have her in our family.”
“She’s obviously the best horse we ever had, and maybe the best horse we’ll ever have,” Bob Edwards said. “It’s tough to see her career end, but you’ve got to let her be a mom at this point. She’s won so many good races that I think I couldn’t do her justice by keeping her. I think it’s time for her to move on to a breeding operation that will set her up for the future. But these horses are an extension of your family after a while, and I think anybody that’s going to be trying to purchase her knows she’s a special horse.”
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Contrail Aims To Be Third Undefeated Colt To Capture Japan’s Triple Crown In Sunday’s Kikuka Sho
Contrail, a son of the late Triple Crown champion Deep Impact, stands to become only the third colt to capture Japan's classic treble while unbeaten, this Sunday (Oct. 25) at Kyoto Racecourse in Japan. His sire did it before him in 2005, and 21 years before that, Symboli Rudolf had been the first to claim the classic three with a pristine record.
The G1 Kikuka Sho (3000m, or approximately 15 furlongs), or Japanese St. Leger, is second only to the spring Tenno Sho Spring as Japan's longest top-level flat race and caps the Triple Crown, which begins in the spring with the G1 Satsuki Sho (2000m, or approximately 10 furlongs) and the G1 Tokyo Yushun (2400m, or approximately 12 furlongs), or Japanese Derby.
Of the 23 horses who have claimed both spring classics, 15 went to the Kikuka Sho gate to claim that final feather in their cap, but only seven succeeded, beginning with St. Lite in 1941.
If any horse can do it again, it's Contrail. This week, his last drill before the race took the colt up the hill course at Ritto under an assistant to trainer Yoshito Yahagi, who is eager to lay claim to his 17th big-race win and first Kikuka Sho victory.
Wednesday morning (Oct. 21), the woodchip surface was heavy and the colt, eager to run, was held back over the first half before slowly being allowed to accelerate. He used his body fully with exemplary form, for top marks and a time of 52.5 seconds for a half-mile with a final 200 meters (approximately one furlong) in 12.9 seconds.
“He's switched on,” said the rider. “So I concentrated on not letting him overdo it. The ground was slow, but there were no problems with either his movement or breathing.”
Contrail's training has gone smoothly, all according to plan. Returning from his spring campaign, he kicked off the fall with a win by 2 lengths over Weltreisende in the G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai at Chukyo on Sept. 27.
“He broke away from the crowd with stupendous acceleration,” said Yahagi of the race. “I was in the position of not being able to lose that race and, at the same time, not being able to push him too much, so that he'd be ready for the Kikuka Sho. It was quite a conflict and a very difficult race.”
The trainer and Contrail have overcome difficulties and look poised for success.
“Contrail seems to understand what our intentions are. He turns off after a race. He slowly revs up before one. He really is a very clever horse,” said Yahagi.
Contrail has started favorite in all six of his races (three of them Grade 1s), and this Sunday will be no different as he bids to write another page in the history books. There's plenty of confidence from the stable too.
“It was a good win last time and we were relieved by that. That race was enough to get him switched on and so we don't need to worry about anything. He's come out of it well and has been at the stable in the three-week period since,” said assistant trainer Yusaku Oka.
Jockey Yuichi Fukunaga has struck up a good partnership with the horse and will be looking to get the best out of him again here.
No matter how good the chances that Japan will see a second unbeaten youngster capture a Triple Crown in as many weeks, the search is heated for the other two to fill out the winning trio.
G2 Kobe Shimbun Hai runner-up Weltreisende, by 2009 G1 Arima Kinen champ Dream Journey, is one of the most mentioned, as is Babbitt and Satono Flag.
Weltreisende was third in the Derby and has only figured out of the money once, when finishing eighth in the G1 Satsuki Sho. The extra distance of the Kikuka Sho will be a plus for him.
A likely longshot that may be most advantaged by the distance this time out is Black Hole (ninth in the Satsuki Sho, seventh in the Derby), a Goldship colt of stayer stature (978 lb).
Satono Flag looked in fine form with a first-up second in the G2 St. Lite Kinen on Sept. 21 at Nakayama. Satono Flag and Danon Gloire are the two colts nominated for Sunday's race by super mare Almond Eye's trainer, Sakae Kunieda.
Babbitt, by Nakayama Festa (second in the 2010 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe), bypassed the Classics and, racing solely in the 1800-2200m range, has sped to his first G1 on a four-race winning streak that included the G2 St. Lite Kinen last out.
The 81st running of the Kikuka Sho is set for 2:40pm Hong Kong time this Sunday, 25 October.
The post Contrail Aims To Be Third Undefeated Colt To Capture Japan’s Triple Crown In Sunday’s Kikuka Sho appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
