January, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

The Perfect Pack: A Professional’s Packing Protocols

Farrier Mitch Taylor, founder of the Kentucky Horseshoeing School, tells Horse & Rider that there are a variety of reasons a horse owner may pack their mount's feet, but packing should always provide support for the frog and sole.

Taylor noted most horses wear pads under their shoes for one of two reasons: to provide protection or to provide structural support. Pads are never placed on a horse with nothing between the pad and the sole—this space needs to be filled to prevent dirt and debris from entering and packing to the point where it might bruise the hoof. Farriers can fill this space with a variety of things to provide cushioning and protection.

Taylor says that for a pad that's being used to provide protection, he likes to use Magic Cushion. Taylor said he also uses this product in hooves overnight on a variety of horses to relieve soreness and provide protection. Once packed in a horse's foot, Magic Cushion begins reducing hoof heat within an hour.

For a horse that wears pads to provide structural support, Taylor uses a material similar to silicone putty or impression material that will go back to shape no matter how it is stretched or pressed. Taylor often uses this material on horses with laminitis when the coffin bone rotates and tries to drop out of the sole of the hoof.

Overall, Taylor's favorite type of pad is leather, as it has more give than plastic pads and is somewhat breathable. He also says that the leather is easier to manipulate and customize to each horse and their specific issue.

Empire Maker Colt Runs to Rising Stardom at Santa Anita

Roman Centurian (Empire Maker), the fourth-priciest yearling by his late sire in 2019, became the first ‘TDN Rising Star’ of 2021 with a facile victory at Santa Anita. He had debuted Nov. 22 going 6 1/2 panels at Del Mar and just missed third behind ‘TDN Rising Star’ and Saturday’s GIII Sham S. winner Life Is Good (Into Mischief). Second in that same race was Wipe the Slate (Nyquist), who came with a Dec. 26 win at Santa Anita for an 88 Beyer. Regrouping with some added distance here, Roman Centurian was briefly shuffled to the back of the pack and was still no better than the penultimate spot after a half in :47.45. The bay began making headway about three-eighths from home on the outside. Swinging wide on the turn, he tackled the leader and kept going, skipping home the easiest of 3 3/4-length winners over Star Sailor (Union Rags), the former leader who got edged for the place before fighting to regain it. Roman Centurian paid $17.40 for the win.

Don Alberto Corporation bred Roman Centurian, then stayed in for a piece with Qatar Racing Limited when the colt hammered for $550,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September sale. Dam Spare Change has also produced Storie Blue–a full-sister to Roman Centurian–who was last year’s third-place finisher in the GIII Santa Ysabel S. The mare has another full-sister to the duo in the freshly minted 2-year-old Silent Lady. Out of MGISW Finder’s Fee (Storm Cat), Spare Change has since produced a yearling filly by Tiznow and was bred back to Street Sense for 2021.

6th-Santa Anita, $63,500, Msw, 1-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.88, ft, 3 3/4 lengths.
ROMAN CENTURIAN, c, 3, Empire Maker
1st Dam: Spare Change, by Bernardini
2nd Dam: Finder’s Fee, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: Fantastic Find, by Mr. Prospector
Sales History: $550,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $40,020. Click for the Equibase.com chart, VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Don Alberto Stable and Qatar Racing Limited; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Simon Callaghan.

The post Empire Maker Colt Runs to Rising Stardom at Santa Anita appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Kalypso a Revelation in Santa Ynez

David Bernsen, Rockingham Ranch and Chad Littlefield’s Kalypso (Brody’s Cause), the 4-5 favorite, strode home an easy winner of the GII Santa Ynez S. at Santa Anita Sunday, becoming the second graded winner from the first crop of her Grade I-winning sire. Cutting back to seven furlongs following a runner-up effort behind her Santa Ynez-scratched stablemate Varda (Distorted Humor) in the 1 1/16-mile GI Starlet S. last month, the chestnut filly broke sharply and had the advantage in the early strides. But she was soon joined by Brilliant Cut (Speightstown) and those two rivals battled through fractions of :22.53 and :45.13. Kalypso took charge nearing the stretch and, once she found her best stride, powered away in the final furlong to finish 1 3/4 lengths in front under a hand ride as stablemate Frosteria (Frosted)–still a maiden–made late progress to be second for the fourth time in four lifetime starts. Brilliant Cut was third.

“She broke good and put me right into the race, in a good position,” said winning jockey Joel Rosario, who was riding Kalypso for the first time in the Santa Ynez. “I’m just happy to be on her. She was the best horse and she’ll be better going longer distances.”

Kalypso provided trainer Bob Baffert with his record sixth win in the Santa Ynez a day after he got back on the Triple Crown trail with the one-two finishers–Life is Good (Into Mischief) and Medina Spirit (Protonico)–in Saturday’s GIII Sham S.

“She has natural speed and she’s a really fast filly,” Baffert said of Kalypso, who was one of three fillies he saddled in the Santa Ynez. “She had the lead for a long time in the [Starlet], backing up, it’s a big difference to go seven-eighths. The way she broke today, she was in a good spot and she was really training well coming into this race, so it’s pretty exciting that she got a win.”

Kalypso opened her career with a third-place effort going 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar Aug. 15 and was second at that track and trip Sept. 5 before breaking her maiden going six furlongs in the Oct. 18 Anoakia S. She had a 2 1/2-length advantage in upper stretch before being overtaken by Varda in the 1 1/16-mile GI Starlet S. at Los Alamitos last time out Dec. 5 and was shedding the blinkers for this second graded stakes attempt.

“I would try her long again, as they get older they are maturing,” Baffert said of future plans for Kalypso. “You can slow her down a little bit, like today she was pretty relaxed. She wasn’t too rank where she went real fast, but we’ll just see how they come out of it. The other filly [Frosteria], I think I’ll just run her in a maiden race.”

Pedigree Notes:

Brody’s Cause, winner of the 2016 GI Toyota Blue Grass S., was represented by 2020 GIII Iroquois S. winner Sittin on Go, as well as GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. runner-up Smiley Sobotka and GII Best Pal S. runner-up Girther.

Malibu Cove, a full-sister to multiple graded winner Prospective, produced a filly by Hit It a Bomb in 2019 and a colt by Mor Spirit in 2020. She was bred back to Jimmy Creed. The mare is also a full to Enhanced, who produced last year’s GIII Bashford Manor S. third-place finisher Herd Immunity (Union Rags).

Sunday, Santa Anita
SANTA YNEZ S.-GII, $200,500, Santa Anita, 1-3, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:23.42, ft.
1–KALYPSO, 122, f, 3, by Brody’s Cause
              1st Dam: Malibu Cove, by Malibu Moon
                2nd Dam: Spirited Away, by Awesome Again
                3rd Dam: Cape North, by Capote
   1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($240,000 Ylg ’19 FTKJUL). O-David
A Bernsen, LLC, Rockingham Ranch & Chad Littlefield;
B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Joel Rosario.
$120,000. Lifetime Record: GISP, 5-2-2-1, $245,600. Werk Nick
   Rating: B. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Frosteria, 120, f, 3, Frosted–Hystericalady, by Distorted
Humor. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $40,000.
3–Brilliant Cut, 120, f, 3, Speightstown–Polish a Diamond, by
The Factor. ($160,000 Wlg ’18 KEENOV; $160,000 Ylg ’19
KEESEP). O-ERJ Racing LLC, David Kenney, William Strauss,
Dennis and Doug O’Neill; B-McCauley Farm & Speightstown
Syndicate (KY); T-Doug F. O’Neill. $24,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, 1HF, 3HF. Odds: 0.90, 3.60, 30.90.
Also Ran: Queengol, Nasreddine, Exotic West. Scratched: Varda.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post Kalypso a Revelation in Santa Ynez appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Jockey McMahon Arrested for Attempted Murder in Louisiana

Charles Jantzen (C.J.) McMahon, a 26-year-old jockey, was arrested Jan. 2 in Lafayette, Louisiana, on charges that include attempted second-degree murder.

The Paulick Report first reported the arrest Sunday. The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Department reported on its website that McMahon was “arrested after traffic stop and drugs were found, also an active warrant” had been issued for McMahon’s arrest.

McMahon, who was taken into custody at 4:27 p.m. Saturday, was also charged with possession of marijuana and illegal use of a dangerous weapon, although no weapons were listed among his posessions on the intake manifest.

The sheriff’s department was unable to provide additional details Sunday afternoon just prior to deadline for this story, and the dispatcher who answered the phone could not say if McMahon had an attorney who could be reached to comment on his behalf. According to his custody record, McMahon was booked into Lafayette Parish Correctional Center about 2 1/2 hours after his arrest.

McMahon is a third-generation Louisiana-based horseman who has ridden regularly at various southwest tracks while routinely at or near the top of the standings. His grandfather trained Quarter Horses and his father, a retired jockey, rode them.

C.J. McMahon most recently rode at Delta Downs Dec. 28 and is next named to ride on the opening day program at Sam Houston Race Park Jan. 8.

The post Jockey McMahon Arrested for Attempted Murder in Louisiana appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post