Month: January 2021

Abdullah’s Family “Very Committed” To Juddmonte

It will be business at usual at Juddmonte Farms after Juddmonte Group Chief Executive Douglas Erskine Crum told ITV on Saturday that there will be “no change” following the death of the global operation’s founder Prince Khalid Abdullah last week.

Abdullah had raced 118 Group or Grade I winners since entering the game just over 40 years ago, of which he bred 102 of those. He owned stud farms in the UK, Ireland and Kentucky.

“The family has been for some time and still is very committed to keeping Juddmonte as it is going, focusing on the broodmare band, focusing on the homebred operation,” Erskine Crum told ITV Racing. “One of the last decisions in which the prince was involved was the matings for this year, in other words where his 200-odd broodmares are going to go. Whether they are going to go to Frankel, Kingman or some of the great stallions across the world.

“And those horses will be born next year and will race as 3-year-olds in 2025, so if we have a champion in 2025 you will be able to say the prince was actually involved directly in the decision making.

“Juddmonte will continue. Continuity is key for any breeding and racing operation. Of course things change and indeed the prince made some fairly substantial changes in the number of broodmares six or seven years ago, but those changes are necessary to keep the business running and also necessary to make sure that essential continuity of the broodmare is enhanced.”

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GR1 Winner Bellamy Road Pensioned To Old Friends

Grade 1 winner and Grade 1 sire Bellamy Road has been pensioned to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility based in Georgetown, KY. Michael Blowen, founder and President of Old Friends, made the announcement this morning.

A Florida-bred son of Concerto out of Hurry Home Hillary, Bellamy Road, now 19, retired from racing in 2007 following an illustrious career.

Owned by the late George Steinbrenner's Kinsman Stable and trained by Nick Zito, Bellamy Road broke his maiden in his first start at Delaware Park in 2004. He earned his first stakes next time out, capturing the GR3 Miller Genuine Draft Cradle Stakes at River Downs.

In 2005, he roared back as a 3-year-old setting a stakes record in the GR1 Wood Memorial, a race he won by a record 17 ½ lengths. The victory made him the odds-on favorite for that year's Kentucky Derby, where he finished 7th behind winner Giacomo.

His last start was the 2005 Travers at Saratoga, where he finished second to Flower Alley. Plagued by injuries, Bellamy Road retired that year with four wins from seven starts and earnings of $811,400.

Since 2016 Bellamy Road has stood at Dutchess Views Farm in Pine Plains, N.Y., He had previously stood at Kentucky's WinStar Farm and Hurricane Hall.

At stud Bellamy Road sired numerous stakes winners, including 2011 Wood Memorial winner Toby's Corner and the GR1 winning filly, Constellation.

His son, Diversify, GR1 Whitney Handicap winner and 2018 New York-bred Horse of the Year, also currently resides at Old Friends.

“Bellamy Road has always had a special place in my heart,” said Kinsman President Jessica Steinbrenner, daughter of George. “His Wood Memorial is the most exciting race that I have ever been to. I remember going back to the hotel afterward and being escorted through the kitchen because of all the people gathered outside. To this day, I still watch his Wood Memorial on YouTube, and to hear the announcer say 'a dazzling performance by a dazzling 3-year-old' brings me to tears every time.

“Bellamy is a rock star,” Steinbrenner continued. “He deserves a retirement where his fans can visit and reminisce. It's exciting to think he will be amongst the other great retired racehorses residing at Old Friends.”

“Jessica is following in her father's footsteps,” added trainer Nick Zito. “George would have done the same thing. They're very special people.”

“We were privileged that Kinsman, WinStar, and the other syndicate members sent Bellamy to us, and have allowed us to stand him in New York for so long,” said Dutchess Views Farm's Michael Lischin, on behalf of the Syndicate Manager, Irish Hill & Dutchess Views Stallions LLC. “He is sound and could continue as a stallion but the consensus was that, at his age, it would be in his best interest to retire him to a magnificent facility like Old Friends while he is still healthy and happy. We thank the Syndicate and Old Friends for doing what was right for Bellamy Road.”

“We want to thank Jessica Steinbrenner for trusting us to care for her great horse,” said Old Friends's Blowen. “I know she went out of her way to make sure he'd get to us. Thanks also to Elliot Walden at WinStar who expedited everything, and to everyone at Dutchess Views for taking such great care of him.”

Read more at Old Friends.

The post GR1 Winner Bellamy Road Pensioned To Old Friends appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Authentic, Improbable, Monomoy Girl to Fight Out Horse Of The Year

Authentic (Into Mischief), winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic; ‘TDN Rising Star’ Improbable (City Zip), a dual Grade I winner and runner-up in the Classic; and Monomoy Girl (Tapizar), who capped a four-for-four season with a second victory in the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff, are the finalists for 2020 Horse of the Year as Eclipse Award finalists were announced Saturday on TVG.

Authentic is one of three individual Eclipse finalists in four separate categories for the all-conquering Into Mischief, whose daughter Gamine was nominated for both 3-year-old filly and champion female sprinter in a campaign that saw her post wide-margin victories in the GI Longines Acorn S. and GI Test S. against her peers and a defeat of fellow dual-category finalist Serengeti Empress (Alternation) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Into Mischief’s third finalist is Dayoutoutoftheoffice, who defeated Vequist (Nyquist) in the GI Frizette S. in October before the latter turned the tables on Breeders’ Cup Friday at Keeneland. Nyquist is the lone freshman sire of 2020 to be represented by a finalist.

Improbable, who is also a favorite for champion dirt male, was a convincing winner of the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita, the GI Whitney S. and GI Awesome Again S. before falling 2 1/4 lengths shy in the Classic. Monomoy Girl missed the entirety of the 2019 season with a series of setbacks, but proved the queen of the mountain in the dirt female division, completing her undefeated campaign with a smooth win in the Distaff over Valiance (Tapit). She later sold to Spendthrift Farm for $9.5 million at the Fasig-Tipton Night of the Stars and remains in training for a 6-year-old season in 2020.

Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}) was also named a finalist in two divisions (dirt male and sprinter), while recent Lane’s End Farm import Daredevil is the only other stallion to have multiple finalists, with GI Preakness S. heroine Swiss Skydiver and GI Kentucky Oaks upsetter Shedaresthedevil each in the running for champion 3-year-old filly.

The other Eclipse Award finalists, which include no fewer than six ‘TDN Rising Stars’ are as follows:

2YO Male

Essential Quality (Tapit), ‘TDN Rising Star‘

Fire At Will (Declaration of War)

Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music)

 

2YO Female

Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), ‘TDN Rising Star‘

Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief)

Vequist (Nyquist)

 

3YO Male

Authentic (Into Mischief)

Nadal (Blame), ‘TDN Rising Star‘

Tiz The Law (Constitution)

 

3YO Female

Gamine (Into Mischief), ‘TDN Rising Star‘

Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil)

Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil)

 

Older Dirt Male

Improbable (City Zip), ‘TDN Rising Star‘

Maximum Security (New Year’s Day)

Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg})

 

Dirt Female

Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute)

Monomoy Girl (Tapizar)

Serengeti Empress (Alternation)

 

Male Sprinter

Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg})

Volatile (Violence)

Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect)

 

Female Sprinter

Gamine (Into Mischief), ‘TDN Rising Star‘

Glass Slippers (GB) (Dream Ahead)

Serengeti Empress (Alternation)

 

Turf Male

Channel Maker (English Channel)

Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB})

Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire})

 

Turf Female

Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB})

Rushing Fall (More Than Ready), ‘TDN Rising Star‘

Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal)

 

Steeplechase

Moscato (GB) (Hernando {Fr})

Rashaan (Ire) (Manduro {Ger})

Snap Decision (Hard Spun)

 

Horse of the Year

Authentic (Into Mischief)

Improbable (City Zip)

Monomoy Girl (Tapizar)

 

Owner

Godolphin

Klaravich Stables

Spendthrift/MyRacehorse/Madaket/Starlight

 

Breeder

Peter Blum Thoroughbreds

Calumet Farm

WinStar Farm LLC

 

Jockey

Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Joel Rosario

John Velazquez

 

Apprentice

Luis Cardenas

Yarmarie Correa

Alexander Crispin

 

Trainer

Steve Asmussen

Bob Baffert

Brad Cox

 

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