Month: July 2021

Frankel Colt Hurricane Lane Adds Second G1 To His Resume In Grand Prix De Paris

The Irish Derby winner, who'd just lost his unbeaten record when third in the Epsom Derby, smashed the field in a hot Grand Prix de Paris (G1) on Wednesday which, probably more than ever, looked like the Derby of all Derbies.

Hurricane Lane (Frankel), for Godolphin, led the field behind the front-runner of the Aidan O'Brien squad, The Mediterranean (Galileo). He came by entering the last straight and simply went away to win by six lengths over Wordsworth (Galileo), third in the Irish Derby and second here with a length over King Edward VII Stakes (G2) winner Alenquer (Adlerflug), who had beaten him in the Royal Ascot Derby.

Hurricane Lane was bought for £200,000 (about US$236,000) as a yearling at Tattersalls, a few months before his dam Gale Force (Shirocco) was consigned there in foal to Australia and sold for £300,000 (about US$350,000) to Charlie Gordon-Watson. Trained in Britain by James Fanshawe, Gale Force came to France to crown her career with a Listed win in the Denisy, a two-miler run at Saint-Cloud in November on a very heavy turf.

At stud, Gale Force first gave Frankel's Storm (Frankel), a Listed-placed also fifth in the Prix des Réservoirs (G3) at 2, then Hurricane Lane, and a Sea the Stars colt. It is a family originating from the Aga Khan studs.

WHAT CONNECTIONS SAID

William Buick (jockey of Hurricane Lane, 1st)

“I would like to start by thanking France Galop, who have worked with the BHA. Their collaboration has made sure that everything was in place so that I could come and ride the horse. On Monday weren't even sure it would be possible! That was already a small victory. This horse is a superstar. He really had the perfect race today, unlike at The Curragh. The layout of the racecourse, the ground, the rhythm… Everything was perfect for him. He has a good cruising speed and a strong acceleration. Even more so, he is a very relaxed horse in his head! Off the back of that I think that the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe has to be a serious option for the autumn time.”

Charlie Appleby (trainer of Hurricane Lane, 1st)

“He's obviously been a very exciting horse to deal and he's only been beaten once in his life and that was in the Derby when I felt inexperience caught us out. Today's performance has franked him as one of the best three-year-olds in Europe and he's an exciting horse. As we always do we'll allow the dust to settle but you would have to be thinking about him as a serious contender for the Arc. We'll give him a bit of a break now because he's run in an English Derby, and Irish Derby and then backed it up two and a half weeks later in a Grand Prix de Paris. He deserves to have a break but whether he can give himself a break is another thing. He ran in the Grand Prix because he'd come out of the Irish Derby so well. He has a great constitution. He has a great mind and he show his wellbeing in the morning. A huge team effort goes into the way the horses are running at the moment and I'm delighted for his Highness Sheikh Mohammed.”

Olivier Peslier (jockey of Wordsworth, 2nd)

“He has ran well, despite not taking me along early. I had to shake him along to get him to follow the winner, to make sure I didn't get caught for toe. After that, he was very courageous and put in an excellent effort to finish second. He will be better suited by something a bit longer like the St Leger. He needs a little time to get going but he is quite talented.”

James Doyle (jockey of Alenquer, 3rd)

“The draw wasn't ideal. As we know it's not easy historically from the wide draw at Longchamp over a mile and a half. I rode him to come home and he's finished off very well. We were on the back foot a little bit and I had a little look up around the 800 metres out and I thought we had a bit of a mountain to climb. If the pace had held up it would have given me a chance but they did sort of steady at half way and made it very difficult for me to get into it. But I'm very proud of him, he's run a solid race and he's got the trip well. ”

The post Frankel Colt Hurricane Lane Adds Second G1 To His Resume In Grand Prix De Paris appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘The Horses Don’t Know Their Odds’: Isaac Castillo Grateful For Longshot Mount In Haskell

Though Basso is listed at 30-1 on the morning line for Saturday's TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park, making him the co-longest shot in the seven-horse field, jockey Isaac Castillo feels confident he can defy the odds.

Castillo's mount aboard the Gregg Sacco-trained Basso will wind up being his second in a Grade 1 race in his six-year career – the first coming aboard Oceans Map in the Grade 1 United Nations one race prior on the Haskell Stakes card. Oceans Map is also trained by Sacco.

“I am ecstatic about this opportunity for Isaac,” said Castillo's agent, Dylan Fazio. “It's a big opportunity for him to continue to show himself.”

The Grade 1 riding assignments are added milestones to what has been a breakout year for the 23-year-old Panamanian, who has already set personal bests in 2021 for mounts (369 entering the weekend), victories (57) and earnings (more than $1.2 million).

The past two years Castillo has been working tirelessly to establish himself at Monmouth, finishing eighth in wins during the 2020 meet. With 22 wins this summer he is currently third in the Monmouth Park rider standings behind co-leaders Paco Lopez and Jose Ferrer (28 wins apiece).

That groundwork of the past two years will have its biggest payoff yet on Saturday, with Castillo scheduled to ride in nine of the 14 races on the Haskell Stakes program – and both Grade 1 races.

“I appreciate the opportunities from the trainers. As I start to ride more, more trainers are starting to notice,” said Castillo. “I am starting to do better, and I feel more confident with every ride.”

While the Haskell will mark the biggest race of Castillo's career (after the United Nations, of course), he is more appreciative of the opportunity than he is nervous about it. He fully understands the importance of being in his first $1 million race, especially since it comes on the heels of the $500,000 United Nations.

“It is unexplainable,” said Castillo. “I am very grateful to have a good agent and I am very thankful to have the opportunities given to me from the trainers.”

Castillo has ridden Sacco-trained horses with success in the past, but none have presented the opportunities that Kentucky-bred Basso will in the Haskell Stakes or that Oceans Map, another longshot, will in the United Nations. The Haskell also offers a “Win and You're In Classic Division” berth into the Breeders' Cup Classic to the winner. Castillo said riding in the Haskell, even on a horse who is not given much of a shot, is something he finds himself anticipating even more than the first start of his career.

Though this will start to fulfill one of his dreams of riding in prestigious, big-money races, he said any nervousness will disappear when the field enters the gate for the 54th edition of the Haskell.

Having a mount one race earlier in a Grade 1 will help calm any nerves as well.

“A win (in either race) would be unexplainable,” said Castillo. “It will mean a lot to me and my family back in Panama, and they would be so proud of me, and at the big achievement.”

Basso will be taking on the daunting challenge of facing all three Triple Crown runners-up in Mandaloun, Midnight Bourbon and Hot Rod Charlie, as well as the promising Todd Pletcher-trained Following Sea.

Castillo, meanwhile, will find himself in consecutive races against the likes of some of the sport's top riders, such as Florent Geroux, Flavien Prat and Joel Rosario.

“I am not intimidated by those in the field,” said Castillo, a graduate of the Laffit Pincay Jockey School in his native Panama. “I am happy that I will be able to ride with these jockeys so I can keep improving and learn from some of them.

“The horses don't know their odds and they don't even know about the prize they can win, so I am very excited to get the opportunity to win as a longshot and I will do anything I can to finish first in these races.”

The post ‘The Horses Don’t Know Their Odds’: Isaac Castillo Grateful For Longshot Mount In Haskell appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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