Month: January 2021

Fasig-Tipton H.O.R.A. Grad Could be on Way to Saudi Cup

Scars Are Cool (Malibu Moon), a $175,000 purchase at Fasig-Tipton’s 2020 July Horses of Racing Age Sale, won a US$27,000 open race for imported horses Friday at King Abdullaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, which moved him one step closer to a possible start in the $20-million Saudi Cup.

It was the second start in Saudi Arabia for the 5-year-old, who was campaigned by Sagamore Farm when racing in the U.S. He was unplaced in a Dec. 26 race before winning Friday’s 1,600-meter event by three-quarters of a length. He broke his maiden in 2019 at Saratoga and came back to run in the GI Travers S. in his next start. He would go on to win allowance races at Churchill Downs and Gulfstream.

According to Tom Ryan, the director of strategy and international racing for the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia, whether or not Scars Are Cool qualifies for the Saudi Cup may depend on what rating he gets from the local handicapper. The ratings for last week’s races will be released mid-week. He also has the option of trying to qualify for the race in a Jan. 30 prep, the G1 The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cup.

Lexington-based bloodstock agent Tom Clark signed the ticket at the Fasig-Tipton sale for Saudi-based breeder Ahmad Alabdullatif, an advisor to several Saudi racing operations. His new owner is Mohammed Omar I. Alsakran.

Clark said that the horse’s main selling point was his soundness.

“He was perfectly sound when we bought him,” he said. “That’s what drew us to him. He didn’t have a pimple on him. From the X-rays, you expect to see some wear and tear when they’ve raced for a little while, but there was no wear and tear on him at all.”

Clark said that the Saudis have been shopping at sales in Europe when looking for horses to compete in their major races.

“Traditionally, they have bought at Tattersalls in Newmarket and they have done well with those horses,” he said. “But they race on dirt primarily, so it’s not surprising that they bought one here. Why wouldn’t they want dirt horses?”

 

WATCH: Scars Are Cool (SC #14, post 11) winning in Saudi Arabia Jan. 15

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McGaughey Looking To Add Pegasus Success To Hall Of Fame Résumé

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey has a resume that includes a Kentucky Derby (G1), Belmont (G1), Florida Derby (G1), nine Breeders' Cup championships and more than 100 Grade 1 victories.

Now he's taking aim for the first time at the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational (G1) Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., with Code of Honor in the $3-million Pegasus World Cup and North Dakota and Breaking the Rules in the $1-million Pegasus World Cup Turf.

Code of Honor, a 5-year-old son Noble Mission who won the 2019 Travers (G1), has been “doing well” training at Payson Park and McGaughey believes he'll appreciate the 1 1/8 mile distance of the Pegasus and a firm track.

In the wide-open Pegasus Turf, McGaughey will saddle North Dakota, coming into the race off a victory in the Red Smith (G3), and Breaking the Rules, third at Gulfstream Dec. 12 in the Fort Lauderdale (G2).

McGaughey spoke to Gulfstream host and analyst Acacia Courtney about his three horses and his chances in the Pegasus World Cup Championship Invitational.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG7xIh9Ow84

The post McGaughey Looking To Add Pegasus Success To Hall Of Fame Résumé appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hollendorfer, With Frank Stronach As New Client, Well-Stocked For Oaklawn Meet

Southern California-based trainers flourished last year at Oaklawn, with two finishing in the top 10 in the standings.

Horses for John Sadler were scheduled to arrive at the Hot Springs, Ark., track on Sunday in advance of the 57-day meeting that is scheduled to begin Friday, Jan. 22. Sadler, in his Oaklawn debut, won 15 races in 2020 to finish fifth in the trainer standings. Horses for another Southern California-based trainer, Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, have been on the grounds since late December under the direction of his longtime assistant, Dan Ward. Hollendorfer wintered at Oaklawn for the first time in 2020 and recorded 12 victories to finish eighth in the standings.

“We finished good,” Ward said Sunday morning. “We were in the top 10. We ran a lot of horses and we stayed safe and finished up good.”

Hollendorfer has more horsepower this year, roughly 40 head, including several holdovers from the 2020 meeting and seven for a high-profile new client, Frank Stronach.

A 2008 Eclipse Award winner as the country's outstanding owner, Stronach has campaigned, among others, 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, champions Ginger Punch, Perfect Sting and Macho Uno, Breeders' Cup Classic winner Awesome Again and Preakness winner Red Bullet. Stronach also campaigned Spun Sugar, winner of the $500,000 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) for older fillies and mares in 2006 at Oaklawn.

Stronach's 2021 Oaklawn contingent is headed by Green Light Go, who won the $200,000 Saratoga Special Stakes (G2) for 2-year-olds in 2019 at Saratoga when with trainer Jimmy Jerkens. Unraced since mid-May, Green Light Go has recorded two workouts at Oaklawn, the last a five-furlong move from the gate in 1:00.20 Wednesday.

“He's coming along good,” Ward said.

Sunny Dale, a three-time winner last year at Oaklawn, has also recorded two local works in advance of her 5-year-old debut. The well-traveled Sunny Dale ran fifth in the $125,000 Carousel Stakes for older female sprinters last April at Oaklawn and completed her 2020 campaign with a fifth-place finish in the $80,000 Floral Park Stakes Oct. 17 at Belmont Park.

“We freshened her up a little bit and she's doing good,” Ward said.

Another 2020 Oaklawn winner, Awesome Anywhere, could resurface late in the meeting, Ward said. Awesome Anywhere ran six furlongs in 1:08.76 to capture a starter-allowance race last March at Oaklawn and closed 2020 with a runner-up finish in the $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes Sept. 12 at Monmouth Park.

Hollendorfer entered seven horses for the first two days of racing, including Causeway Jones in an entry-level allowance sprint for 3-year-olds on Saturday. Hollendorfer and two partners privately purchased the Creative Cause colt following a 7 ½-length debut victory Dec. 18 at Remington Park. Causeway Jones also has two published works at Oaklawn.

“We noticed last year that we started running better once we worked a couple of times over the track,” Ward said. “We got here like (Jan. 16) and a lot of starters didn't even have a work over the track. We got here earlier and have gotten two or three breezes over the track – most of them – and I think that will help.”

Hollendorfer has 18 career victories at Oaklawn, including four stakes (all graded). The stakes victories include Blind Luck in the $300,000 Fantasy Stakes (G2) in 2010. Blind Luck was named the country's champion 3-year-old filly of 2010.

Southern California-based trainers Phil D'Amato and Peter Miller also have horses on the grounds in advance of the 2021 meet. They each won five races last year at Oaklawn.

The post Hollendorfer, With Frank Stronach As New Client, Well-Stocked For Oaklawn Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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