January, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Backsideofthemoon Could Thwart Mr. Buff’s Three-Peat In Saturday’s Jazil Stakes

Fresh off his first career triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure, Repole Stable's Backsideofthemoon will look to build on an impressive stakes score last month when he makes his 9-year-old debut in Saturday's $100,000 Jazil going 1 1/8 miles at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Backsideofthemoon reached a milestone in his 46th career start last out, earning a 106 number for his six-length gate-to-wire score in the Queens County on December 19 at the Big A. The gelded son of Malibu Moon is 2-for-2 since Rudy Rodriguez again took over his training duties. Rodriguez had conditioned Backsideofthemoon in 2019 before he was claimed and sent to Robert Klesaris.

After being claimed again for $62,500 out of a second-place effort on September 24 at Belmont, Backsideofthemoon edged Musical Heart by a neck in a race moved off the turf on November 13 before registering a career-best effort in his next race.

“He's continued to train very good and we're looking forward to running,” Rodriguez said. “He's very consistent and he loves Aqueduct. The last race, he was training so good leading into it and he broke so sharp. I'm just looking forward to seeing him run here again.”

Backsideofthemoon has posted six of his eight career wins at Aqueduct, including his maiden-breaking victory at third asking back in 2015 as well as a triumph in the 2018 Jazil. Jose Lezcano, aboard for the Queens County, will have the return call from the outermost post 5.

Chester and Mary Broman's popular New York homebred Mr. Buff has won the last two Jazil editions and will look for a three-peat in the seventh running. Trained by John Kimmel, the 7-year-old Friend Or Foe chestnut utilized a frontrunning style to win the Jazil by 5 1/4-lengths in 2019 over Sunny Ridge and by five lengths last year over returning-rival Backsideofthemoon.

Mr. Buff posted a record of three wins and two seconds from eight starts last season, which included a 20-length romp in the Haynesfield at the Big A in February and the Empire Classic at Belmont Park by 3 1/4-lengths.

The sizable gelding concluded his 2020 campaign by racing in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile Handicap and restricted Alex M. Robb just one week apart. After fading to fifth in the Cigar Mile on December 5, Mr. Buff was in tight out of the gate in the Alex M. Robb on December 12, where he tracked the early pace, but was no match for the surging Bankit, who scored by 4 3/4-lengths.

Kimmel said Mr. Buff will appreciate the time off between starts.

“The horse is doing great,” Kimmel said. “He won't be running back in a week this time. He's pretty happy right now and doing well. He's an older horse running without Lasix for the first time in a long time, so we'll see if it has really had any effect or not.”

Kendrick Carmouche, the Aqueduct winter meet-leading rider, will be in the irons from post 4.

Michael Dubb's Musical Heart will have a chance to turn the tables on Backsideofthemoon after running second to him twice in a row, starting in an optional claimer on November 13 and followed by the Queens County. The oft-claimed son of Maclean's Music will make his 6-year-old bow after finishing first or second in his last five starts, including a 4 ¾-length victory going the Jazil distance on August 8 at Saratoga Race Course.

The Queens County effort marked Musical Heart's first start for Rob Atras, who took over the training duties after being claimed for $62,500 out of that November tilt.

Manny Franco will pick up the mount, breaking from the inside post.
Tenderfoot, owned by trainer Charlton Baker and Francis Paolangeli, enters off a three-race winning streak. Tenderfoot will also be stepping up to stakes company for the first time in eight starts. He is 2-for-2 at the Big A, including a victory on December 3 going one mile, followed by a six-length victory at the same distance on New Year's Day in his 4-year-old debut.

Eric Cancel will have the return engagement, drawing post 3.

Fame to Famous, 10th last out in the Grade 3 Red Smith on November 21 at Aqueduct for owner and trainer John McAllen, will be seeking his second overall win and first victory since 2019, drawing post 2 with Mike Luzzi aboard.
The Jazil is carded as Race 3 on Aqueduct's nine-race program, which offers a first post of 12:20 p.m. Eastern.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Aqueduct Racetrack, and the best way to bet every race of the winter meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Pegasus World Cup Post-Position Draw To Be Live Streamed On Wednesday

Post positions will be drawn, and odds announced for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational (G1) and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational Turf (G1) Wednesday, at 1:45 PM at Gulfstream Park.

The virtual event can be seen on:

https://gulfstreampark.com/racing/live-stream

www.facebook.com/PegasusWorldCup

Pegasusworldcup.com/livestream

Limited seating is available, and tickets can be purchased at Pegasusworldcup.com.

Fans can watch and wager on the Pegasus World Cup at 1stbet.com and xpressbet.com.

The post Pegasus World Cup Post-Position Draw To Be Live Streamed On Wednesday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Book Review: Eurico Rosa Da Silva–Riding for Freedom

To the outside world, Eurico Rosa Da Silva came off as a good-natured, level-headed jockey whose natural talent led him to the top of the standings at Woodbine Racetrack and to seven Sovereign Awards as Canada's champion rider. But underneath that veneer was a person whose anger and troubled past had consumed him, nearly leading him down a path to total destruction.

Da Silva rose from the poverty of a small town in Brazil to become the dominant rider in Canada before retiring in 2019. But that's not what his autobiography, “Riding For Freedom,” is about. Instead, it is an honest and thought-provoking look at one's demons, how and why a life can unravel and what it takes to put it back together again. A horse racing story this is not.

In time, Da Silva would come to understand just how toxic and damaging his relationship with his father had been. His father was so verbally abusive that Da Silva describes his actions as “emotional warfare.” He writes that his father tormented him, made fun of his size, challenged his sexuality and did whatever he could to diminish him.

His father was also a womanizer who, Da Silva writes, raped his babysitter when she was just 13.

Da Silva found his escape. As a young child he started off riding donkeys at an uncle's farm before he graduated to galloping quarter horses for a local trainer. His big break came when he was accepted to the Brazilian jockeys' academy. After graduating, he became the top apprentice in his native country.

But he could not find happiness.

“It consumed me, the negativity and its energies,” he writes of his anger. “I was miserable and I couldn't shake it.”

Da Silva convinced himself that he was worthless. “I never felt that I had anything to offer,” he writes.

Certain that he was not worthy of being loved, he didn't seek out a traditional relationship with a woman. Rather, he went for one tryst after another with prostitutes, something he continued to do well into his many years riding in Canada. To compound his problems, Da Silva developed an addiction to gambling.

Yet, he remained generous and kind. He befriended a child with cerebral palsy and learning difficulties who would often come to the track with his parents. So concerned about the welfare of the horses he rode, Da Silva, after learning that an owner wanted to have a horse put down, paid for its surgery and arranged for it to be retired at the LongRun Thoroughbred Retirement Society.

Da Silva would leave Brazil to start riding in Macau, where he rode for four years. It was there that he met his first wife, Claudia. In 2004, he came to Woodbine.

Amid all his troubles, Da Silva never let up when it came to his burning desire to succeed. He had pursued the dream of becoming a champion rider since his childhood and nothing was going to stop him. Starting off as an unknown at Woodbine, he struggled his first few years there, but gradually worked his way into the top barns on the grounds and, in 2010, won his first Sovereign Award.

But nothing that Da Silva did on the track provided any relief for his inner turmoil. He won his first Queen's Plate in 2009 aboard Eye of the Leopard (A.P. Indy) but would find no solace in the accomplishment.

“I thought if I won the Queen's Plate I'd be OK,” he writes. But he said he then started hearing voices afterward, voices that said, “You've won the Queen's Plate. Now is the time to kill yourself.”

He had been working with a sports psychologist to try to deal with his problems, but found that it wasn't getting him anywhere. He moved on and found a new therapist, one who specialized in sex addiction. He also entered into a divorce with his first wife and entered into a relationship and eventually married an equine surgeon named Orlaith Cleary.

His release from his demons came all at once, when he realized he did not want to kill himself but wanted to kill the father that was within him. He was able to put aside painful memories of his childhood and replace them with pleasant ones, playing with toys and happy to be alive.

“I might have won the Queen's Plate twice and been the best jockey in the country for years, but that was nothing compared to winning my freedom,” he writes. “It was the greatest achievement of my life.”

After the 2019 racing season, another in which he led all jockeys at Woodbine with 182 wins, Da Silva retired. He was just 44 and still at the top of his game, but he wanted to step away to do something else with his life. He became a certified life coach and his clients include other professional athletes. He hopes to impart on them the wisdom he gained through his personal struggles. Which are, he says, a thing of the past.

He is, as he writes, a “free and happy man.”

The post Book Review: Eurico Rosa Da Silva–Riding for Freedom appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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2021 Juddmonte Mating Plans Revealed

The 2021 mating plans for the Juddmonte broodmare band were announced by the nursery on Monday. Juddmonte will stand five stallions in 2021 led by Frankel.

The undefeated wunderkind and Group 1 sire Frankel became the fastest European stallion ever to reach 40 group winners and celebrated another Group 1 winner in 2020-Grenadier Guards (Jpn). An even two dozen Juddmonte mares are booked on his dance card, among them MG1SW Ventura (Chester House), the dam of Group 3 winner Fount (GB) (Frankel {GB}); G1SW Emulous (GB) (Dansili {GB}); Bird Flown (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), the dam of MG1SW and Classic hero Siskin (First Defence); and Group 1 winner Quadrilateral (GB) (Frankel {GB})'s dam Nimble Thimble (Mizzen Mast). His book is enhanced by Group 2 winners Soffia (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) and Modern Look (GB) (Zamindar), as well as Group 3 winners Big Break (GB) (Dansili {GB]), Dandhu (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}) and Visit (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Other mares that will be covered by the 13-year-old are: the dam of Group 2 winner Threat (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), Flare of Firelight (Birdstone); Ruscombe (GB) (Dansili {GB}), the dam of 'TDN Rising Star' Petricor (GB) (Frankel {GB}); a half-sister to Classic hero Logician (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in Sleep Walk (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}); Atone (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), a full-sister to G1SW Midday (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}); Tendu (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), herself a full-sister to Showcasing (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}); MGSW & G1SP Restiadargent (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr})'s full-sister Tiadargent (Fr) (Kendargent {Fr}); Very Good News (Empire Maker), out of Juddmonte blue hen Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}) and who has already foaled the Classic-placed Weekender (GB) to Frankel; and two half-sisters to fellow Juddmonte sire Kingman in Panzanella (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and Present Tense (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}).

A total of 20 Juddmonte mares will be sent to Kingman (GB), led by dual G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and Kind (GB) (Danehill), the dam of Frankel (GB). The sire of three Group 1 winners in 2020, Kingman will also welcome top-flight winners Capla Temptress (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), Passage of Time (GB) (Dansili {GB}), Romantica (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), Samba Inc (Arg) (Include), and Special Duty (GB) (Hennessy). There are also a pair of Group 2 winners visiting the high-class miler in Lucky Kristale (GB) (Lucky Story), herself a half-sister to the dual Classic heroine Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), and Riposte (GB) (Dansili {GB}); while Group 3 winners Hot Snap (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and Sun Maiden (GB) (Frankel {GB}); and Helleborine (GB) (Observatory), the dam of the brilliant Calyx (GB) are also booked. Rounding out Kingman's 2021 partners are Scuffle (GB) (Daylami {Ire}), the dam of G1 St Leger hero Logician (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and her daughter Battlement (GB) (Dansili {GB}).

The first foals of Group 1-winning miler Expert Eye (GB) are now yearlings and Juddmonte continues to support the GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner at stud. The Group 1-placed Principal Role (Empire Maker) and fellow listed winners Scottish Jig (Speightstown), and Swiss Range (GB) (Zamindar) will visit the bay son of Acclamation (GB). Kilo Alpha (GB) (King's Best), the dam of the GSW & G1SP Juliet Foxtrot (GB) (Dansili {GB}); Photographic (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), herself the dam of Group 3 winner Shutter Speed (GB) (Dansili {GB}); a full-sister to Showcasing (GB) in Palmette (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}); and Strelka (GB) (Kingman {GB}), a half-sister to Derby/Arc hero Workforce (GB) (King's Best); are also slated to be covered by Expert Eye.

The developing sire Bated Breath (GB) sired Group 1 winner Viadera (GB) last term and he also has His Highness The Aga Khan's homebred GSW and G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud placer Makaloun (Fr) to go to bat for him in 2021 as a leading G1 French Derby hope. Viadera's dam, Sacred Shield (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}), Group 1 winner Proportional (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}), Group 3 winner Tested (GB) (Selkirk) and listed winners Alocasia (GB) (Kingman {GB}), and Rostova (Arch) and the unraced Meridiana (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) will all be covered by Bated Breath this year. The last-named is out of Group 1 winner Midday (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

Oasis Dream (GB) has now sired 200 stakes performers and is becoming a broodmare sire of note with four Group 1 winners in 2020. Juddmonte is sending the winning pair of Bonne Idee (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Its a Given (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}), as well as Occurrence (GB) (Frankel {GB}), an unraced daughter of Arrive (GB) (Kahyasi {Ire}), a full-sister to Hasili (GB) (Kahyasi {Ire}). Shared Account (GB) (Dansili {GB}) will also return to Oasis Dream and she has already produced the Group 2-placed Sand Share (GB) and Group 3-winning Pocket Square (GB) to the roster veteran.

Naturally, some of Juddmonte's blueblooded broodmares are also visiting outside stallions, with Enable's dam Concentric (GB) (Sadler's Wells) returning to her sire Nathaniel (Ire), while her half-sister, the GSP Entitle (GB) (Dansili {GB}), will consort with Sea The Stars (Ire). Group 1 winners African Rose (GB) (Observatory) goes to Dark Angel (Ire); Announce (GB) (Selkirk) will be covered by Pinatubo (Ire); and three mares will visit Coolmore stallions–Midday (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) to No Nay Never, Promising Lead (GB) (Danehill) to Calyx (GB), and Proviso (GB) (Dansili {GB}) to Wootton Bassett (GB). A trio of mares will hold court with Dubawi (Ire)-Group 1 winner Quadrilateral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Goldikova (Ire) (Anabaa)'s daughter Goldika (Ire) (Intello {Ger}), and listed winner Franconia (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Night of Thunder (Ire) receives Timepiece (GB) (Zamindar), while Golden Horn (GB) will cover Winsili (GB) (Dansili {GB]). Three mares will also visit Siyouni (Fr) (Pivotal {GB}) in France-Group 2 winner Obligate (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Deliberate (GB) (King's Best)-the dam of MGSW Headman (GB) (Kingman {GB})-and black-type winner Mori (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a daughter of the aforementioned Midday.

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