April, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age Sale Monday

The Keeneland April Horses of Racing Age–an amalgamation of live and digital auctions–will be conducted Monday, with bidding beginning at 1 p.m. The auction will be held with live auctioneers at the Keeneland sales pavilion and with horses presented for sale both physically at Keeneland and at off-site locations. Buyers have the option of attending the sale live or of bidding online.

Elite Sales will offer 10 horses at the auction and all but one will be on-site Monday afternoon. The racing/broodmare prospect Mary's France (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}) (hip 4) is entered to run at Churchill Downs Tuesday and will remain at Mike Maker's barn in Louisville. She will be one of just two offerings in the auction not on the Keeneland grounds Monday.

“We are not expecting much from the digital sale,” Elite's Brad Weisbord said Sunday. “We have had no success with it to date. We are going to try Mary's France on there and the main reason to try her in the digital sale is because she is entered on Tuesday at Churchill Downs and we didn't want to take the chance of shipping her down, showing her for two or three days and potentially not having her run her race. And you never know what can happen in this environment, so it's not fair to a trainer to ship her back to his barn to run her. The owners decided against shipping her down here, so she is going to go in the digital portion of the sale.”

The remainder of the Elite consignment will be on hand at Keeneland for the sale.

“We have encouraged the owners to have the horses on site,” Weisbord said. “I think COVID put a delay into the takeoff of the digital sales. Outside of [subsequent stakes winner] Fiya (Friesan Fire) who sold at Wanamaker's [for $400,000 last July], there really hasn't been a racehorse that has broken out yet. If you have an exceptional horse, people will go to the racetrack and find it. But we have a lot of $60,000 to $175,000 horses and I think those sort of models do better in person.”

Keeneland unveiled its digital sales last year, but the auctions have yet to find traction in the marketplace. Weisbord thinks the concept will eventually pay dividends.

“If you have a superstar, people will find a way to have somebody see it,” he said. “That's the sort of horse who would do well in the digital sales. Outside of that, I think it's going to take a little time to introduce it to the marketplace. It's been so well received in Australia and I think when people are allowed to travel again–COVID has prevented a lot of people from getting into racetracks, getting into training centers–it will take off. It's so hard to get to see these horses, watch them train, talk to the trainers. I do think there is hope, but we are probably a year or a year plus away from really having it take off.”

Two fillies in Elite's consignment are coming off recent wins at Keeneland, with Brooke Marie (Lemon Drop Kid) (hip 48) taking a turf NW2X allowance Apr. 17 and A Thing of Beauty (Bernardini) (hip 41) winning a turf maiden Apr. 7.

“It was really easy to keep them here at their barns with Todd Pletcher and Jonathan Thomas and ship over to us just this week,” Weisbord said. “We did have a couple others ship up from New York and Florida to us. I am excited that most of the owners trusted us to bring them onsite. That's important because I think that will help these horses sell tomorrow.”

Weisbord sees plenty of upside for buyers looking for horses ready to run.

“Every horse of ours is eligible for at least an allowance condition, some are maiden conditions and almost all of them are 2X eligible. That's going to be a big deal. The Del Mar Ship and Win rules have changed. You can now earn the Ship and Win bonus throughout the entire meet, not just the first race. We have heard a couple buyers say that that's a very interesting change that they've made, so people are going to be potentially buying for that meet. And now with the purses in New York being close to $100,000 for these allowance races, these horses are always going to fit that model.”

Of the activity at the barn Sunday, Weisbord said, “We have seen 15 to 20 shows on a horse. It's the same faces from Kentucky. A lot of people just got back from the OBS sale, especially if they stayed in Florida for an extra day or so, so they will be coming back today. We have seen the right traction from the local agents.”

When Keeneland first hosted its April Horses of Racing Age Sale in 2019, it was twined with its revived 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and was held at the beginning of the month and early in the track's spring meet. Weisbord said he thinks this new date will be well-received.

“I think the date change is a positive compared to two years ago when it was earlier in the meet,” he said. “When owners were allowed to come and enjoy the race meet, bring their friends, potentially stay for Derby week, I do think this could be a permanent date for Keeneland.”

The Horses of Racing Age catalogue also includes a pair of juveniles coming off wins at Keeneland. American Bound (American Freedom) (hip 40) gave her freshman sire his first victory when she won impressively Apr. 2. She is consigned by Joe Sharp, agent. Baytown Frosty (Frosted) (hip 77) broke his maiden Apr. 18. He is consigned by McEntee Racing and is entered in the Kentucky Juvenile S. at Churchill Downs Wednesday.

Selling off-site is hip 56, an unnamed 2-year-old colt by Quality Road. He is consigned by Claiborne Farm and is out of Fashion's Flight (Dixie Union), a full-sister to Justwhistledixie, who is the dam of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner New Year's Day (Street Cry {Ire}) and Grade II winner Mohaymen (Tapit). The colt is at Harris Training Center in Morristown, Florida.

A total of 78 horses were catalogued for the April sale, but 30 had already been withdrawn by Sunday afternoon.

“Keeneland, like Fasig-Tipton, has been very amenable to entering horses 30-45 days out and allowing the owners to get a good result prior to the sale and allowing us to scratch these horses,” Weisbord said. “When you have to recruit these horses two months out, you are going to have a lot of outs because the horses are either going to fail vets or not run well prior to the sale. There is no point bringing horses like that to auction. It's still a select marketplace. Keeneland is not looking for a bunch of $20,000 horses. They are looking for $75,000 and up and that's what they are trying to recruit.”

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Study: Your Horse’s Mood Affects His Way Of Going

A new study shows that observing how a horse acts in his stall could offer clues to how a ride might go: A horse that's angry or unhappy in his stall will most likely carry that negative attitude into the arena.

Lead researcher Alice Ruet used 43 lesson horses to test her theory. The study horses were kept in stalls and turned out for one hour a week in individual paddocks. They were used by advanced riders six hours a week for dressage, eventing or jumping lessons.

The study team watched the stalled horses for six weeks, noting their behavior several times each day. The scientists were specifically looking for clues that the horse was in a negative mental state—that he may be experiencing “compromised welfare” from being in a stall. The behaviors they were looking for included aggression toward people, cribbing or other stereotypies, hypervigilance, or a withdrawn posture, which indicated a depressed state.

The researchers then asked the head instructor three questions about each horse's way of going under saddle, including whether he was anxious or fearful, if he seemed uncomfortable, or if he was unwilling to go forward.

The final phase of the study had one rider who was unfamiliar with the horses ride each horse using the same tack. The rider was equipped with inertial sensors on her head and back. The horse wore a sensor on his girth. The ride was recorded, and an independent assessor noted behaviors that may indicate a negative attitude, like head shaking, tail swishing or bolting, as well as the horse's overall demeanor.

The scientists found a correlation between behavior in the stall and how a horse moved under saddle: Horses that were aggressive to humans while in their stalls had choppier gaits while being ridden. They also found that horses that were withdrawn in their stall were more reluctant to go forward when asked. The scientists conclude that a horse in a poor state of welfare is likely to be more unhappy when being ridden, linking welfare to performance.

Ruet suggests additional studies could be done to investigate whether management changes could influence a horse's mood and under-saddle movement.

Half To Fancy Blue Debuts At Naas

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today's Observations features a half-sister to 2020 Classic scorer Fancy Blue.

1.25 Naas, Mdn, €15,500, 2yo, f, 5f 205yT
CONTARELLI CHAPEL (IRE) (Caravaggio) is a half-sister to last year's G1 Prix de Diane and G1 Nassau S. heroine Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) who debuts for Westerberg, Magnier, Tabor and Smith and Team Ballydoyle. Taking on the January-foaled grey is Juddmonte's Juncture (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), a Ger Lyons-trained homebred whose dam is an unraced half to the high-class Promising Lead (GB) (Danehill) and Visit (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}).

4.35 Naas, Mdn, €12,000, 3yo, f, 10fT
FLORA (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is the eighth foal out of the G1 Irish Oaks heroine Moonstone (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}), which makes her a full-sister to the G1 Epsom Derby runner-up US Army Ranger (Ire) and a half to the talented dual Group 3 winner Nelson (Ire) (Frankel {GB}). Also starting out for the first time for Ballydoyle is Loyal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a daughter of the listed scorer and multiple group-placed Chartreuse (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) who races for Ballylinch Stud, Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor.

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Winning On Three Fronts In One Day, West Point’s Finley Extols ‘Power Of The Partnership’

Saturday was a banner day here, there and yonder for Terry Finley's West Point Thoroughbreds, who enjoyed victories with promising horses at three racetracks.

The prominent racing syndicate kicked off Saturday's early daily double at Belmont Park with highly-regarded First Captain winning on debut in the opener, followed by Classic Colors defeating New York-bred winners going 1 1/16 miles over the Widener turf course.

“It really drives the fact that horseracing is a team effort,” Finley said. “We think about all the people that have played a part of these magical horses. It's just an overall great experience for the partners.”

Owned in partnership with Bobby Flay, Siena Farm and Woodford Racing, First Captain utilized a prominent trip going seven furlongs on debut for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey.

The Curlin sophomore registered a 93 Beyer Speed Figure, tracking along the rail in third position early on, saved ground around the far turn, and found a new gear in the final sixteenth of a mile when surging past favorite Mahaamel under a hand ride by jockey Jose Ortiz

Bred by Flay, who also campaigned the horse's graded stakes-winning dam America, First Captain was a $1.5 million purchase from Arthur Hancock III's Stone Farm consignment at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale.

“He's just a really cool horse. Bobby Flay owned and bred the dam and he stayed in on the horse when we bought him,” said Finley. “He has a commercial operation, so when he's willing to stay in it gives us some confidence. We put together a great partnership. [Bloodstock agent] David Ingordo is our man when it comes to buying horses and he's tied in with Lane's End and they have a partnership in Woodford Racing. I've always admired Shug, so when he was in position and the opportunity came up to give him some horses, we took it. Everything just fell into place.”

Finley said he is unsure where the promising First Captain would race next, but said he is already starting to dream big.

“A debut like that makes a lot of people happy and that's the power of the partnership,” Finley said. “Shug's the captain of the ship and he's faced these situations before. I'm sure he's just as excited as we are. We know the targets during the second half of the year, but it's just figuring out how to get there.”

While First Captain utilized a stalk-and-pounce approach, fellow West Point color-bearer Classic Colors came from eight lengths off a leisurely pace to secure a first-level allowance triumph for trainer Christophe Clement and co-owners Harrell Ventures, Kenneth G. Beitz and Gail P. Beitz.

Bred in the Empire State by John Lauriello, the daughter of Street Sense handled her first start in seven months with aplomb. Placed at the rear of the field by Ortiz down the backstretch, Classic Colors made one big run in mid-stretch to win by 1 ½ lengths. The win registered a career-best 74 Beyer.

“Going down the backside, Jose had plenty of horse,” said Finley. “Christophe and [assistant and son] Miguel [Clement] liked the way she was coming off her winter break. With a good filly like this, we decided to let her catch her breath a bit.”

While restricted New York-bred stakes are an option for Classic Colors, Finley said open company stakes are very much within the realm of possibility.

“The New York-bred stakes are always an option,” Finley said. “But with this filly, there's enough quality that we could go hunting for a bigger race.”

A winner at third asking at Belmont Park, Classic Colors previously faced open company when finishing third to subsequent Grade 1-placed Seasons in her second start. She backed up her heavy favoritism in her September 24 maiden victory coming from well off the pace to win by a half-length.

Classic Colors was purchased by Clement for $170,000 from the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred Yearling Sale, where she was consigned by Indian Creek. She is out of the unraced Tale of the Cat mare Flaunted and is a direct descendant of the prolific matriarch broodmare La Troienne.

West Point's winning ways kept rolling with a stakes triumph from Jaxon Traveler, who captured the six-furlong Bachelor at Oaklawn Park in gate-to-wire fashion.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the Maryland-bred son of Munnings made his first trio of starts in the Old Line State winning his first two starts by open lengths at Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park, respectively. In his third start, he defeated his state-bred counterparts in the Maryland Juvenile Futurity on December 5 at Laurel Park before shipping to Oaklawn, where he suffered his lone defeat finishing a head shy of victory in the Gazebo at the Arkansas oval.

“He's a good gate horse as a lot of Steve's horses are, which helped him,” Finley said. “Every time he runs he puts in that surge on the turn. The ability to really separate himself in the race has helped him a lot.”

Finley mentioned the Grade 3, $200,000 Chick Lang on May 15 at Pimlico Race Course and the Grade 1, $400,000 Woody Stephens on June 5 at Belmont Park as possible next targets.

“I think he's in the spot where he deserves to try the big dogs,” Finley said.

West Point owns Jaxon Traveler in partnership with Marvin Delfiner.

“He's been in the business for 60 years and he's having a ball. I couldn't get him off the phone last night he was so excited,” said Finley.

West Point's most exciting performance was saved for last when Flightline put on a paid workout like performance in his career debut at Santa Anita going six furlongs. The son of Tapit, out of graded stakes winner Feathered, was never asked by jockey Flavien Prat, cruising home a gate-to-wire winner by 13 ¼ lengths, garnering a 105 Beyer.

Flightline is trained by John Sadler and owned in partnership with Hronis Racing, Siena Farm and Summer Wind Equine.

“We always have liked this horse,” Finley said. “He was broke at Mayberry Farm in Ocala, who David Ingordo has used for a training center for a while. They tout a little bit, but they really touted this one coming off the farm. We were expecting a good performance, but not quite what we saw yesterday.”

The Grade 3, $100,000 Lazaro Barerra on May 15 at Santa Anita going 6 ½ furlongs is a possible next target.

“That race would only give us three weeks, but he wasn't really taxed in yesterday's race,” Finley said. “He cooled out pretty quickly so it would be a matter of if we want to run back that quickly. I think he wants to go further.”

Flightline is a direct descendant of prominent Phipps broodmare Blitey and comes from the same family as accomplished runners Finder's Fee, Furlough, Heavenly Prize, Dancing Forever, Good Reward and Pure Prize. All were campaigned by the Phipps family.

“He comes from a very productive family and he has us already thinking about big races later on. Saratoga has a great program for 3-year-olds so he could end up shipping there this summer,” Finley said.

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