Month: February 2021

Daredevil’s Auspicious Return

A wise man changes his mind, but a fool never will.

Such is the association between the commercial market and Daredevil (More Than Ready– Chasethewildwind, by Forestry). Luckily for the third-crop sire, the market was quick to change its opinion and Lane's End jumped on the opportunity to bring him back.

After Daredevil failed to attract mares to fill his fourth book in 2019, WinStar Farm accepted an offer from the Jockey Club of Turkey and the son of More Than Ready boarded a flight abroad for last year's breeding season.

But 11 days before the announcement was made of the stallion's relocation, a filly by the name of Swiss Skydiver broke her maiden by 5 ½ lengths at Churchill Downs for Kenny McPeek.

This filly alone arguably could have changed the market's opinion of her sire., but then she ran second to another daughter of Daredevil in the GI Kentucky Oaks.

Shortly after Swiss Skydiver's gutsy duel with eventual Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) to win the GI Preakness S., becoming just the sixth filly in history to do so, it was announced that Daredevil would return to his home country, relocating to Lane's End Farm.

“Daredevil is just an incredible story,” said Lane's End's Bill Farish. “He got off to such a phenomenal start with his 3-year-olds, not having had that much 2-year-old form before, but to finish first and second in the Kentucky Oaks and then go on to win the Preakness with Swiss Skydiver, it's amazing what he's done. So when we had the opportunity to bring him back to the United States, we were very excited about it.”

Farish said demand was high when their negotiations were made with the Turkish Jockey Club.

“I wish we were the only ones looking at him,” he said. “We were just trying, as everybody else was, to find a deal that made the most sense to them. At the end of the day, they wanted to keep the whole horse. So that gave us an opportunity to get in there and make our pitch. Ultimately they chose us, so we feel very lucky.”

Daredevil will stand at Lane's End as property of the Jockey Club of Turkey. Farish said this point has brought up many questions from breeders.

“It kind of surprised us when people were assuming he might go back and forth,” he said. “But given that we're both in the same hemisphere, that's not really possible. It's fully their intention to leave him here. [Breeders' concern] really was something that caught us off guard because their decision was to send him back to where he is having the most success and certainly [where he can] generate the most revenue for the Jockey Club.”

Daredevil covered 97 mares while in Turkey, logging the largest book of any stallion in the country. He had also covered 397 mares in the four years prior to his first relocation.

“I think one thing that's often overlook about Daredevil is that he did have three good-sized books before he left,” Farish noted. “So we really look for him not to have much of a fall off. He only missed one breeding season here in North America so I don't think that's going to slow him down. I think he's got a likely chance to carry right on through.”

Despite his slower start with his 2-year-olds as a first-crop sire, the stallion's race record indicates he could have every chance to pass on his precocity.

A $260,000 yearling purchase, the Todd Pletcher pupil broke his maiden on debut by over six lengths and later caught a speedy victory in the GI Champagne S. over eventual millionaire Upstart (Flatter), scoring a 107 Beyer Speed Figure.

The Grade I winner is also a half-brother to millionaire Albertus Maximus (Albert the Great), winner of the 2009 GI Donn H. His Grade I-winning second dam, Race the Wild Wind (Sunny's Halo), is also a European Group 1 producer. Grade I winners Dayoutoftheoffice (Into Mischief) and Here Comes Ben (Street Cry {Ire}) both appear under the second dam.

“Physically, Daredevil looks a lot like More Than Ready,” said Farish. “He's strong-made and good-boned. I wasn't surprised at all when I saw him; he looked a lot like I had hoped he would. I think hopefully he'll pass that on because he's a great-looking horse.”

When asked on the trends Farish anticipates from Daredevil's first crops upon his return, he replied, “I think we're going to see a lot of the same attributes that More Than Ready has. They can run on the dirt and turf and we'll see that same type of a very strong-made, good-boned horse. That's what we've seen so far.”

Daredevil's star fillies are both on track to return for a 4-year-old campaign. Shedaresthedevil is in training at Oaklawn and trainer Brad Cox reported earlier this month that the Oaks heroine may return in the GII Azeri S. on Mar. 13. Last year's champion 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver recorded her first two works of 2021 at Gulfstream in February.

“Swiss Skydiver is one of those dream fillies with the way she strung together one phenomenal performance after another,” said Farish. “It would be one thing if she were the only horse that he produced, but then he had another filly that won the Oaks and then additional stakes performers as well. So he's really stamping himself as a super sire and so far, the breeders have really responded.”

Aside from his Grade I-winning pair, several other youngsters made headlines for their sire after his departure to Turkey.

Esplanande was undefeated in her first three starts last summer, winning the Hoover S. and the Cleveland Kindergarten S. for trainer Tim Hamm before running second to eventual GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Vequist (Nyquist) in the GI Spinaway S. The sophomore filly is now recording works at Tampa Bay.

Jewel of Arabia ran third in her juvenile debut in 2019 in the Stillwater S. and last year, broke her maiden by seven lengths for Christophe Clemente before taking an allowance at Saratoga.

Daredevil wrapped up 2020 in the fourth slot for second-crop sires by earnings with only 84 starters compared to the over 130 for each of the top three finishers. Both he and leading first-crop sire American Pharoah led their class with two Grade I winners each.

The new Lane's End stallion will stand his first year at stud for $25,000.

“Demand has been really good from breeders,” Farish said. “He's a good-looking horse. Everybody that comes to see him is just positive all the way around and generally want to breed to him. He's a very reasonably-priced horse, for a horse that had two Classic winners in 2020, so we're looking forward to more great things from him.”

 

 

 

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Challenges Backing Off A Trailer? Top Event Rider Demonstrates A Few Exercises To Help

Some horses express resistance or skepticism when asked to back off a trailer or down a ramp, even if they're previously loaded onto the trailer with no problem. Top eventer Cathy Wieschhoff recently encountered a horse with this problem and coached followers of her One Minute With Cathy videos through a few ground exercises to help.

The strategies Wieschhoff used were aimed at helping the horse gain confidence about detecting and navigating objects with his hind feet, as well as teaching him more about the various cues she may use to ask a horse to back up when not mounted.

Wieschhoff has competed at the four-star level of eventing at both Kentucky and Badminton, is an ICP certified Level IV instructor and holds an r course design license. She owns a boarding and training facility in Lexington, Ky.

Watch below.

The post Challenges Backing Off A Trailer? Top Event Rider Demonstrates A Few Exercises To Help appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Doing his Part, Harbut Introducing African American College Students to Racing

Greg Harbut's mission to make horse racing more diverse has taken take him back to the classroom. Starting in January, he began a lecture series as part of an entrepreneur residency program at Wilberforce University in which he delivers the message to the students at the historically Black university that getting involved in racing can be a terrific career opportunity. It's his latest attempt to help racing solve what is clearly a problem–its lack of diversity.

“It's a wonderful industry, an industry I hold near to my heart and an industry that has afforded me a lot of opportunities,” said Harbut, a bloodstock agent, which makes him one of the few Blacks in a prominent role in the sport. “From a factual standpoint, there just aren't minorities in this business. We have to make a strategic effort to go out and target people of color and market to people of color.”

The Harbut family history in racing traces all the way back to the early twentieth century. Harbut's great-grandfather, Will, was the long-time groom of Man o'War. His grandfather, Tom, became the stallion manager at Spendthrift Farm and co-owned a horse that ran in the 1962 Kentucky Derby. Because he was Black, Tom Harbut was not allowed to sit in the grandstand Derby Day to watch his horse race.

Greg Harbut's father did not get involved in the sport, but that didn't stop his son from going into the business. The owner of Harbut Bloodstock, Harbut specializes in finding top-class broodmares for his clients, many of whom are overseas. He is also the co-owner of Necker Island (Hard Spun), a starter in the 2020 GI Kentucky Derby.

Harbut's participation in the Derby at a time that Louisville was reeling over the death of Breonna Taylor, became a well-documented story and it caught the attention of Wilberforce's Dr. Taisha Bradley, the schools executive vice president and chief innovation officer. She knew that he had a story to tell, how an African American male can make it in a predominantly white industry.

“This is still a prime example about learning to break down barriers and allow your imagination to run wild,” Harbut said. “This will give exposure and the possibility for them to find what they're passionate about so they can achieve success and then explore it. We all start with one step.”

He said that about 30 students at the school that is located just outside Dayton, Ohio will attend his lectures and he hopes to work with others to get some of them internships in various segments of the industry.

Harbut, a Lexington resident, is also one of the founders of the Ed Brown Society. Born into slavery, Brown became one of the top horsemen of his time. He won the 1870 Belmont S. as a jockey and the 1877 Kentucky Derby as a trainer. The society will provide scholarships for minority students interested in going into racing. Harbut has also started Living the Dream Stable, a partnership focusing on attracting Blacks into ownership.

He said that the easiest way to connect with the younger generation is to tell them about the history of African Americans in the early days of the sport. Fifteen of the first 28 Kentucky Derbies were won by Black jockeys.

“I tell them about these trainers and jockeys,” he said. “They were the LeBron James and Michael Jordan of their era. Horse racing was pretty much the only sport in town and they dominated and they were well compensated.”

Today, there are only a handful of Black jockeys and from 1921 to 2000, not a single Black rode in the race. It's not just jockeys. There are very few Black trainers, owners, breeders or racing executives. There was a time when many backstretch jobs went to Blacks. Today, that no longer is the case as the predominant ethnic group on the backstretch is Latinos. Even Black fans of the sport seem to be in short supply.

It's a reason why Harbut sometimes feels out of place when at the racetrack.

“There are racetracks that could be a lot more welcoming,” he said. “I don't know how many times I have walked into a clubhouse or a suite and it's presumed that I am lost. No I am not lost. In fact, this is where I belong and I'm quite comfortable in this type of setting. Just retraining staff to better deal with something like this would go a long way.”

To Harbut, solving the diversity problems would not just be good for minorities, but for the sport as a whole.

“If you look at other sports that are considered mainstream sports that had been lacking minority participation, they understood why this was a problem,” he said. “They went out and made it a strategic point to appeal to a broader audience. A prime example is NASCAR. Through their diversity program, they produced Bubba Wallace. When a particular group is not represented in a sport they are not going to be fans. When you look around and you don't see anyone that looks like you, whether it's a trainer, jockey or fan, that's a problem. It's a barrier the sport has to overcome.”

Harbut is doing what he can and so is Ray Daniels, the co-owner of Necker Island and another co-founder of the Ed Brown Society. But Harbut says he cannot do this alone and that the entire industry must come together to sell itself to Blacks.

“You are dealing with an industry that could do a lot better when it comes to inclusion and diversity,” he said.

Harbut will continue to do his part, which, for now, means delivering lectures he hopes will open the eyes of Wilberforce students. The goal is simple–to convince them to give the horse racing business a try.

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