June, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Grade 1-Placed Gouverneur Morris Sold To Enter Stud In Argentina

Gouverneur Morris, a multiple Grade 1-placed son of Constitution, has been retired from racing and will enter stud at Haras La Pasion in Argentina for the upcoming Southern Hemisphere breeding season, the South American publication Turf Diario reports.

The 4-year-old was purchased by a group of Argentine breeders including Haras La Pasion, Haras Las Racies, and Haras La Nora to stand in the country full-time. He is currently under quarantine in Miami, Fla., as he awaits export.

Gouverneur Morris retired with two wins in five career starts for earnings of $247,500. Todd Pletcher trained the colt for owners Team Valor International and WinStar Farm. He was a $600,000 purchase at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Selected Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

The colt quickly generated attention as a juvenile with a nine-length debut win in Saratoga, followed by a runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.

He came back at age three to draw off in an allowance optional claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs, setting a new track record for a mile and 40 yards in the process. Then, he moved forward on the Kentucky Derby trail with a fourth in the G1 Florida Derby, and a third in the rescheduled G1 Arkansas Derby, in what would be his final start.

Gouverneur Morris was knocked off the Derby trail last June after battling both a leg infection and colitis. He was tentatively scheduled to return to the races this spring, but it never materialized.

Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall, Craig and Carrie Brogden, and James Miller, Gouverneur Morris is out of the stakes-placed Unbridled's Song mare Addison Run.

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2,000 Guineas Hero Poetic Flare Emulates His Sire With St. James’s Palace Triumph

QIPCO 2000 Guineas hero Poetic Flare was a dominant winner of the G1 St James's Palace Stakes for Ireland, one of the highlights of Royal Ascot's opening day.

The race, restricted to 3-year-olds over the round mile, looked competitive on paper but proved anything but with 54-year-old jockey Kevin Manning and his mount travelling with confidence before clearing away for a four and a quarter length victory.

Trainer Jim Bolger – who bred the son of Dawn Approach – has kept Poetic Flare busy, running in three different 2000 Guineas over a three-week period, but that proved no barrier for the 7/2 favorite.

Lucky Vega (4/1) chased the impressive winner home, with Battleground (11/1) a neck further back in third.

Manning said: “The ground is what this horse needs. You want that good, quick ground and that's what we got today, and he showed how good he is.

“He travelled very well; there was a nice, even pace in the race and always something to aim at. He just travelled so easy into the race, and when I asked him to pick up, he put the race to bed in a matter of strides.

“I couldn't believe that I was travelling so well and was half sitting down rather than having to go forward. He's an unbelievable horse. He's a very tough individual who does himself very well. He has taken his racing very well.

“I don't want to compare him to his sire [Dawn Approach, on whom Manning won the St James's Palace stakes by a short-head in 2013], although if you are going on this race his dad only won by a short-head, not more than four lengths like Poetic Flare, but they are both fantastic horses.

“Riding these good horses is fantastic; it's going well and I'm enjoying life. This place has been a lucky hunting ground for us over the years – we haven't had loads of runners over the years, but the ones we've brought over have all had chances. We have just the one runner this week, and to win is marvelous.”

Speaking to Sky Sports from his home, Bolger said: “I'm very relaxed about it. I have tremendous confidence in this horse and I was expecting him to go and do that. Thanks to all my staff and everybody who has helped.

“We always knew he was hardy from the word go, even when he was being broken in you couldn't keep him quiet. We've bred from the family since the very early 1980s, so a long time. When you have a horse winning the St James's Palace like that you don't really think about all the relatives and the breeding, you wouldn't care if he came to you off the back of a truck as long as you had him.

“This horse is so hardy he's unbelievable, you have to give it to him to keep his back down.”

Una Manning, daughter and assistant to Bolger and wife of jockey Kevin Manning, said: “Dad has always had faith in him. I phoned him after the race and said: 'Well done, you're a legend – gosh he did that well'. He said: 'That's exactly what I was expecting'. It was wonderful, it was fantastic.

“I just had two words from Kevin – he said he's chalk and cheese on the ground. So I think that probably answers our questions about France and our questions about the Curragh.

“I'm so thrilled for my parents because they put so much into it over the years, from the time they started out just the two of them, small business. Look, it's just amazing.

“I just want to say thank you so much to our staff, they've worked extremely hard through very challenging times, and without our staff, we wouldn't be here in this parade ring today.”

She added: “Thank you to everyone who has managed to put on this wonderful show at Ascot today. I'm sure it hasn't been easy.”

Jessica Harrington said of Lucky Vega: “Sadly that is going to be his last run. There will be an announcement as he is going to stand in Australia. I will be sad to lose him as I think he could win a Group One this year easily. He definitely proved today that he stayed the mile and might even get a mile and a quarter.”

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Berkshire Boys Hit The Big Time

ASCOT,UK—It was a dream that started with the purchase of two relatively inexpensive yearling fillies at the Tattersalls December Yearling Sale of 2013.

Berkshire Honey (GB) (Sakhee's Secret {GB}) never raced and Berkshire Beauty (GB) (Aqlaam {GB}) eventually won over a mile at Southwell in January as a 4-year-old. Hardly the stuff of dreams at this stage, but standing in the winner's enclosure on a sundrenched day at Royal Ascot is something quite different.

A little over seven years on from their first foray into the racing world, that's where Paul and Lisa Spickett found themselves on Tuesday thanks to the Coventry S. winner Berskhire Shadow (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}).

The colt's purchase from one of the best breeders in Britain, Cheveley Park Stud, may have marked a step up in quality, but by Book 1 standards, his 40,000gns price tag was still fairly modest. It's safe to say, however, that the grandson of Ballymacoll Stud's outstanding racemare Islington (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) is worth considerably more than that now, and that the Spicketts will likely be on the receiving end of enquiring phone calls from several stallion masters.

“I'm ecstatic,” said Paul Spickett after the Andrew Balding-trained Berkshire Shadow extended his record to two wins from two starts–both in his owners' home county of Berkshire. “This is a childhood dream come true. It's just a magical day.”

He added, “The vibes were that we were going to win but we were up against a lot of good horses. Shadow didn't put a foot wrong [on debut] at Newbury; we wanted to run him again but we couldn't, so Andrew said 'let's just go straight to Ascot and, win or lose, we've got a good 3-year-old'.”

Berkshire Shadow is the second runner at Royal Ascot for the Spicketts after Berkshire Rocco (Fr) (Sir Percy {GB}), who was runner-up in the G2 Queen's Vase when the meeting was held behind closed doors last year. He then went on to fill the same spot in the St Leger.

“We had our first Royal Ascot runner last year so we decided to get all dressed up at home as we couldn't come racing, and we had a second in the Queen's Vase which was amazing, but this is phenomenal,” said Spickett, who runs his horses in the name of his company Berkshire Parts and Panels.

“I work hard with all my guys on the shop floor so when I get the odd hour off I put the odd little wager on and I have just been looking forward to coming racing with my wife and enjoying the day.”

Spickett credits his trainer's mother, the notably good breeder Emma Balding of Kingsclere Stud, for helping him with getting started on the racing and breeding front.

He continued, “I had a very good mentor, which was Andrew's mum, who told me in no uncertain terms not to spend too much money. So I took that on board, although I was originally only supposed to buy one horse and I came back with two. The great thing about today is that Berkshire Shadow was bought for my wife. She loves greys and she wanted to get back into racing and we couldn't have hoped for a better day.”

The owner has kept his first two racehorses and he can now add breeder to his list of racing interests.

“I still have them both as broodmares and they board with Jenny Norris. Honey has bred [dual winner] Jojo Rabbit (GB), which has been brilliant, and everything Beauty breeds is just so pretty I almost don't care about the racing. I take my grand-daughter Ophelia over to visit the mares and foals and she loves to go to see them so it's something nice for us all to do as a family. I'd like to step up the breeding a little bit and might look for a nice mare.”

Spickett has all his horses in training at Kingsclere with Balding, including the returning Berkshire Rocco, who was a late withdrawal with a minor injury on the morning of the Dubai Gold Cup in March.

“Rocco is back in training and we hope to see him back racing in the autumn,” he reported. “The Baldings are an amazing family. I'm just a working-class boy and they took me on board as I am and it has been fantastic. I feel really blessed.”

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Oxted Displays Powerful Finish In King’s Stand; American-Trained Extravagant Kid Third

Oxted finished powerfully to give trainer Roger Teal and jockey Cieren Fallon a first Royal Ascot victory in the five-furlong G1 King's Stand Stakes on Tuesday.

The victorious rider roared with delight as he passed the post on the 4/1 winner, waving his whip in the air as he registered his name on the Royal Ascot honor board – a meeting where his father Kieren rode 30 winners.

Last year's G1 July Cup winner had a length and three quarters to spare over runner-up Arecibo (28/1), with US challenger Extravagant Kid (18/1, trained by Brendan Walsh) a neck further behind in third.

Favorite Battaash (11/8) briefly threatened to follow up last year's victory in this race, hitting the front with two furlongs to go, but faded late to finish fourth.

Fallon said: “It's a dream come true – a Group One at Royal Ascot. All credit goes to Roger, Harry [Teal, son and assistant trainer] and the team back home. I've been very blessed and very lucky to sit on a horse like this so early in my career.

“Harry does all the hard work on him behind the scenes, I'm just very lucky to be on him on the racetrack.”

Fallon added missing the horse's last appearance, owing to being in quarantine in France for a ride on a horse that then did not run in the French 2,000 Guineas, is “part and parcel of racing”.

“It's come good today and that's the main thing,” he continued. “I'm glad to get back on board and all credit to the owners to give me that faith and put me back on him.

“Oxted has a lot of speed and can run keen over six furlongs. Dropping back to a stiff five was always going to suit and I took my time on him today.

“I got a lovely trip, they went a real solid gallop early on. I didn't panic, normally he's a horse that can be quite keen, but I just gave him his head, let him get into a nice rhythm and just picked up when I needed to. He's just shown that the July Cup isn't a fluke. He is a proper Group One horse.

“It means a lot to have a Royal Ascot winner. Dad has done what he has done and people always ask me 'are you going to do what he's done, are you going to do this'. It's great to have him behind me as well as my family, my bosses Sheikh Fahad and Mr Haggas and my jockey coach Michael Hills. I've got people round me to help me keep learning and progressing.

“I am just blessed to have all the people around me, to help me and encourage me and motivate me.”

Roger Teal said: ““It's just unbelievable. I mean I'm speechless because we've dreamt about these days for so long, I mean we had it in the July Cup last year, but a Royal Ascot Group One. I mean, come on! A yard of our size, doing this is amazing.

“Harry's done all the work with him. It's just a big family affair. The lads back home are amazing with the hard work they put in. It's just credit to everyone, and the owners for supporting me. Dreams do come true.

“This is obviously his first run back over five furlongs, so I said to Cieren, just keep it simple. Just go straight from your draw, and see how it pans out later on. When we were quite outpaced, I thought oh no, maybe I've done the wrong thing.

“But then at halfway I saw Cieren just revving him up a bit and I saw him react, and then it was like poetry in motion. Stamina kicked in then. We knew there was going to be pace, for sure, with the likes of Battaash. But he's got a great cruising speed; he was a little out of his comfort zone but he was able to use his stamina.”

Arecibo's trainer Robert Cowell said: “To be honest, we weren't totally surprised that he ran so well. He's turned a corner with us recently, and you could just tell that he was in great form leading up to this race. Mentally more than physically – maybe he just feels a million dollars. He looked it, and was squealing round the paddock, and I had a suspicion that he could run well. But when you are taking on the likes of Battaash and Oxted, you think we'll be there, thereabouts, but not win, but he's run a really solid race and I couldn't be more proud of him. He's really improved.”

Jockey Jim Crowley said of 11/8 favorite Battaash, who finished fourth: “He will come on plenty for that run. He just needed it more today.”

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