Souper Stonehenge put an end to Pink Lloyd's Jacques Cartier reign as he took off down the stretch to claim the 2021 edition of the Grade 3 stakes event for sprinters 4 years old and up on Sunday afternoon at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario.
Jockey Patrick Husbands teamed up with the Mark Casse trainee, who was the 3-2 second choice in the six-horse field.
After pressing the pace early on, Souper Stonehenge took command near the quarter pole from front-runner Readyforprimetime with splits of :22.72 and :44.93 flashing up on the board.
With Daisuke Fukumoto picking up the mount, four-time Jacques Cartier champ Pink Lloyd raced between horses at the back of the tightly knit bunch and surged into third on the turn, but Souper Stonehenge dashed home a four-length winner in 1:08.89 for six furlongs.
Pink Lloyd, who set the 1:08.05 track record in the 2018 edition of the Jacques Cartier, settled for second in his nine-year-old debut as the 6-5 favorite. Malibu Secret, last year's Jacques Cartier runner-up, came through inside to finish third while Joker On Jack, Readyforprimetime, and Dixie's Gamble rounded out the order of finish.
Souper Stonehenge returned $5 to win and $2.70 t0 place. There was no show wagering. The five-year-old Speightstown gelding, who finished third in the Grade 1 Carter Handicap at Aqueduct in early April, earned his first win of the year from five starts.
“Going into this race, I breezed this horse about four times and I think he's a world-beater at Woodbine,” said Husbands. “This horse is the real deal right now.
“I rode him as the best horse in the race. I respect 'The Boss.' Any time you can beat Pink Lloyd at Woodbine Racetrack, especially sprinting, he's the world-beater, he's the champion here. So I knew it would take a real Pink Lloyd to beat this horse today.”
Souper Stonehenge, who finished second in last year's Grade 2 Kennedy Road Stakes at Woodbine ahead of Pink Lloyd, now sports a career record reading 4-4-1 from 15 starts. The lion's share of the $150,000 purse boosted his bankroll over the $300,000 mark for owner/breeder Live Oak Plantation.
Husbands, who won 70 races including 10 stakes during last year's shortened season, was pleased to land the connections a stakes victory after the pandemic delayed the start of the meet.
“It's amazing to be back at Woodbine – it's a beautiful place, a good environment,” said the veteran reinsman. “It's amazing how much stress the owners went through, through the pandemic. They waited so long, putting all this money into these horses and they didn't know when the races were going to start. You've got to tip your hat off to the owners.”
The post Souper Stonehenge Takes Jacques Cartier Stakes At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Newsells Park Stud, which has been owned by the Jacobs family since 2000, has been sold to owner/breeder and tech entrepreneur Graham Smith-Bernal.
The Hertfordshire farm is home to the stallions Nathaniel (Ire) and Without Parole (GB), and the sale agreed with Jacobs Holdings includes the stud's bloodstock and 1,200-acre property.
The 63-year-old Smith-Bernal is described in a press release announcing the sale as “a leading figure in legal technology, [who] revolutionised the operation of law courts, tribunals and arbitrations around the world through the introduction by his company, Opus 2 International, of paperless trials a decade ago”.
His interest in racehorse ownership and breeding grew throughout that time and he has boarded mares at Newsells Park for the last six years, as well as having horses in training in Newmarket with William Haggas.
Over the last two decades Newsells Park Stud, which was founded in 1926 by Sir Humphrey de Trafford, has played a leading role at the major European yearling sales, and has bred a number of top-class horses, including the treble Group 1 winner Legatissimo (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and her fellow Classic winner Masked Marvel (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}). It is also the co-breeder of the 2019 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner and Ballylinch Stud stallion Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}).
“Newsells Park Stud dates back almost a century and is part of the fabric of British and International horse racing,” said Graham Smith-Bernal. “As an existing client, I have had the pleasure of witnessing at first hand the meticulous professionalism, attention to detail and service provided by Julian Dollar and his team, both in preparing horses for racing and yearlings for the sales ring. I consider it a huge honour and a privilege to have acquired Newsells Park and look forward to building on the legacy of Klaus J. Jacobs and the previous owners, to ensure that the stud remains at the pinnacle of breeding and racing.”
Nathalie Albin-Jacobs, whose late father Klaus purchased the stud in 2000 and who was chair of Newsells Park until the sale, said, “Newsells was a passion of my late father. He would have taken great pleasure and pride in the stud's many successes and especially Waldgeist's win in the Arc in 2019 which would have been the culmination of his ambitions as a breeder.”
She added, “The time has come now for my family to focus on our other businesses and we know that with Graham, the stud will find a passionate and successful custodian and owner of Newsells Park for a new successful journey both in maintaining and building further on its many achievements.”
Julian Dollar will continue in his role as general manager of Newsells Park Stud, a position he has held since 2006. During that time, the stud, which was also the birthplace of the 1959 Derby winner Parthia (GB), has been the leading consignor at Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale on five occasions, including the last three years. It topped last year's sale with a Galileo filly out of its star broodmare Shastye (Ire) (Danehill), who was sold for 3.4 million gns to Coolmore. The filly is a full-sister to the Newsells Park-bred Group 1 winners Japan (GB) and Mogul (GB), as well as the Oaks runner-up and Group 2 winner Secret Gesture (GB).
“The team and I are very grateful for the vision and investment made by the Jacobs family to date, which has seen the stud grow to be one of Europe's foremost commercial stud farms,” he said. “We now really look forward to working for Graham and making the most of this excellent opportunity to further develop Newsells Park Stud as a leader in its field worldwide. We will continue not only breeding, raising and selling exceptional racehorses, but also offering domestic and international clients professional boarding services, sales preparation and top-class stallions.”
The post Newsells Park Stud Sold To Smith-Bernal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Although much the best, heavily favored Big City Lights had to survive a lengthy steward's inquiry in winning Sunday's $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Futurity at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. Trained by Luis Mendez and ridden by Juan Hernandez, Big City Lights won gate to wire by 7 ¼ lengths while getting five furlongs in 58.20.
As expected, Big City Lights was in front at once from his number three post position, but 7-2 second choice Street Art, who broke from the rail with Kent Desormeaux, was a close second by about three-quarters of a length. Heading to the half-mile pole, Desormeaux took up sharply, losing all position as things got tight.
With Big City Lights, a California-bred colt by Mr. Big, completely dominant on the front end, Street Art checked in fourth, beaten 15 ¼ lengths.
As soon as the field passed under the wire, the steward's inquiry sign went up and Desormeaux was very animated in his telephone conversation with stewards Ron Church, Luis Jauregui, and Kim Sawyer.
After a thorough review, the stewards ruled that Street Art attempted to enter an opening without sufficient clearance and they let the original order of finish stand.
A rousing 12 ½ length first-out maiden winner versus statebreds going 4 ½ furlongs on May 2, Big City Lights was off at 1-5 in a field of five juveniles and paid $2.40, $2.10, and $2.10.
“I broke on top and (Street Art) didn't break,” said Hernandez. “Before I came over, I checked and didn't see anybody. It looked like he was trying to get in, and there was room, but if you look at the replay, it looked like his horse got spooked and didn't want to come through. When I asked him at the quarter pole, he took off again, he's a nice horse.”
Owned by William Peeples, Big City Lights, who is out of the Exchange Rate mare Champagne Exchange and sold for $22,000 at the Fasig-Tipton California Fall Yearling Sale, picked up $60,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $96,600.
“It feels good,” said Mendez, whose horses finished one-two-three. “I've never done that before and especially in a stake. I want to say thank you to the owner, Bill Peeples, and everyone on the team.”
Bochombo, who was a non-threatening second into and around the far turn, was off at 11-1 and paid $3.80 and $2.80. Ridden by Abel Cedillo, he finished second, 5 ¼ lengths in front of his stablemate Buehler's Day Off.
Ridden by Edwin Maldonado, Buehler's Day Off was off at 15-1 and paid $3.40 to show while finishing 2 ¾ lengths clear of Street Art. Fractions on the race were :21.96 and :45.74.
Jockey Juan Hernandez was happy with Big City Light's performance. “This horse is improving a lot. Last time he broke a little slow, but today he broke really sharp and I was clear in front, probably three or four jumps after. Something happened back there but I was clear all the time. I just let my horse run, because that's what he wants.”
Trainer Luis Mendez was thrilled about having the race's top three finishers. “It feels good. One-two-three! I've never done that before and especially in a stake. I want to say thank you to the owner, Bill Peeples, and everyone on the team. Thanks a lot, Mr. John Brocklebank, for bringing these babies to the barn. I really don't know what else to say other than I'm really happy.”
The post Big City Lights Shines In Fasig-Tipton Futurity At Santa Anita appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
