July, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Man Of The Night Leads Second Session Of Tattersalls July Sale

The Tattersalls July Sale continued in robust fashion on the second day with four lots selling for 100,000 guineas or more and a clearance rate above 90 percent for the second consecutive day.

The top lot on the second day of the Tattersalls July Sale was the Richard Hannon-trained Man of the Night who was knocked down to Sheikh Abdullah Al-Hmoud Al-Malek Al-Sabah for 175,000 guineas, the highest price achieved on the Thursday of the July Sale since 2017.

The 4-year-old colt is a winner over 1 1/4 miles since the catalog was published and has a Timeform rating of 101. Showing good form on fast ground, the son of Night of Thunder has also placed fourth twice in listed company and boasts a smart pedigree, being out of a daughter of the three-time Group 1 winning champion French filly Mandesha.

A spokesperson for Sheikh Abdullah Al-Hmoud Al-Malek Al-Sabah revealed; “He might go to Kuwait, but we have horses in training in the U.K. so he may stay here for a time. We were looking for a horse who would stay further than a mile.”

The well-bred Restitution provided another highlight of the session when bought by Mark Richards on behalf of Mark Player's International Thoroughbred Solutions for 150,000 guineas.

Mark Richards, a recent repatriate following 22 years working for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, commented:

“It is nice to be back, I am acting here for Mark Player's International Thoroughbred Solutions. He is well used to purchasing horses here to go to Australia and the mere fact of me being back here is using old contacts and old friends as much as anything else. He likes to have someone on the ground to see the horses, knows the sort of horse I will be looking at and said that if I found anything that might suit to get in touch.

“I thought this is a lovely sort of horse, a lovely looking horse, hopefully he will acclimatize to Australia and he will head straight there now.”

Elaborating on Restitution's particular appeal, Richards added:

“You are just looking for a horse who can operate on good or faster ground and one you think can get a trip. He had already proven that he can stay a mile and a half, and they seem to get more distance when they get down there anyway. It is advantage to have been able to have performed on a quicker track rather than a slower track.”

The Jamie Railton consigned Restitution is by Frankel out of Restiana, a listed winning full-sister to the Group 2 winner and Group 1 placed Restiadargent. It is the second six-figure sale in two days for the pedigree as Tianadargent, another full-sister to Restiana and Restiadargent, was sold to Alex Elliott yesterday for 100,000 guineas.

The Tattersalls July Sale continues at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, July 9.

The post Man Of The Night Leads Second Session Of Tattersalls July Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Ward Runners Prep For Saratoga Turf Sprints

The Wesley Ward-conditioned Bound for Nowhere (The Factor) and Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) each turned in breezes over the Belmont turf course Thursday morning in advance of the expected arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa, with each being pointed towards turf sprint stakes during the early part of the Saratoga meet.

Also owned by Ward, Bound for Nowhere came from well back to defeat an unlucky Imprimis (Broken Vow) in Keeneland's GII Shakertown S. Apr. 3 and was last seen finishing third to Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) after setting the majority of the pace in the GI Jackpocket Jaipur S. on the Belmont S. undercard June 5. Now seven, Bound for Nowhere is expected to make his Saratoga debut in the GIII Troy S., Presented by Horse Racing Ireland, Aug. 6.

Golden Pal, last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint hero who was recently sold to Coolmore by his breeder Randall Lowe, is scheduled to make his sophomore debut in the GIII Quick Call S. on opening day at the Spa July 15. The son of the outstanding Lady Shipman (Midshipman) is using that comebacker as a tightener for the G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe S. at York Aug. 20.

“From what I see with him in the mornings, he's just extremely talented,” Ward said of Golden Pal.

The trainer also reported that Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), promoted to the victory in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot June 18, is coming along well at his Keeneland base. She is scheduled to return to Europe for the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville Aug. 8.

“She's ready for a work,” Ward said. “We're in a little bit of a pickle because we're mandated to breeze on the dirt. That's her home track and that's where she thrives.”

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BBAG Yearling Sale Catalogues 223 Yearlings

The one-day BBAG Yearling Sale in Baden-Baden will see 223 yearlings go through the ring on Sept. 3, as the catalogue was announced on Thursday. Selling will start at 10 a.m., with the sale offering 32 siblings or half-siblings to group winners and six of the yearlings are half or full to Group 1 scorers. Overall, 52% of the yearlings are either out of black-type dams or are siblings to black-type horses and the majority of the yearlings are eligible to run for the lucrative BBAG auction races.

Among the choicest of lots are lot 54, a Sea The Stars (Ire) half-sister to G1 German Derby winners Windstoss (Ger) (Shirocco {Ger}) and Weltstar (Ger) (Soldier Hollow [GB}) from Gestut Rottgen; Gestut Auenquelle presents lot 161, a full-sister to G1 Preis der Diana heroine Turfdonna (Ger) (Doyen {Ire}); a full-sister to champion Genghis Secret (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) is sold as lot 180 from Gestut Park Wiedingen; Gestut Karlshof's Australia (GB) colt (lot 181) is a half-brother to champion Donjah (Ger) (Teofilo {Ire}); a Red Jazz colt (lot 187) from the draft of Vollblutgestut Lindenhof is a half-brother to Group 1 winners Ivanhowe (Ger) (Soldier Hollow {GB}) and Irving (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}); and lot 192, from the Gestut Etzean consignment, is a full-sister to 2020 G1 Preis der Diana victress Miss Yoda (Ger) (SeaThe Stars {Ire}). A pair of yearlings are out of Group 1 winners, with lot 48, a Zarak (Fr) colt from the Gestut Karlshof consignment, out of Sortilege (Ire) (Tiger Hill {Ire}); and an Gestut Wittekindshof-consigned son of Pour Moi (Ire) and G1 Preis der Diana winner Rosenreihe (Ire) (Catcher In The Rye {Ire}) as lot 156.

The BBAG catalogue also features two yearling colts by Frankel (GB) from the draft of Gestut Haus Ittlingen–lot 67 out of Group 3 winner and three-time Group 1 placed Calyxa (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and lot 176, out of Calyxa's multiple stakes-winning dam Chantra (Ger) (Lando {Ger}), who was second in the G3 Prix de la Porte Maillot. In addition, two other stallions that have celebrated Classic success with their progeny this season are Siyouni (Fr), who has lot 60, a son of G2 German 1000 Guineas heroine Akua'da (Ger) (Shamardal), catalogued by Gestut Brummerhof; while from limited representation, Isfahan (Ger) has lot 32, an Gestut Eulenberger Hof-consigned colt from the family of MSW Upper Strata (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}).

In 2020, 156 horses (66%) found new homes from 236 offered for an aggregate of €6,465,500. The median was €39,000 and the average was €41,446. Topping proceedings was a daughter of Sea The Starts (Ire) at €820,000. For more information, please visit www.bbag-sales.de.

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Judge Says Baffert Reply is Admissible

The federal judge presiding over the Bob Baffert versus the New York Racing Association ban case ruled Thursday that Baffert's affidavit, filed Wednesday as part of a 434-page “reply memorandum of law in further support of motion for preliminary injunction” of NYRA's ban, would not be stricken or disregarded, as NYRA had requested.

NYRA's attorney, Henry Greenberg, argued that the reply included new information that the NYRA did not have time to investigate and that the entire filing or the affidavit should be stricken or disregarded.

NYRA informed Baffert on May 17 after Medina Spirit's Derby positive for Betamethasone became public that he was temporarily not welcome to stable or race at Aqueduct, Belmont or Saratoga.

On June 14, Baffert filed a civil complaint against NYRA, alleging that the association's ban violates his Fourteenth Amendment constitutional right to due process.

On June 30, NYRA filed a 236-page memorandum in opposition to granting Baffert an injunction. Baffert's attorneys filed their 434-page reply on Wednesday.

On a conference call at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Judge Carol Bagley Amon ruled that all of the arguments and exhibits in Baffert's July 7 filing were admissible.

On the call, Greenberg told the judge that the filing of the paper was a “classic sandbag” on the part of Baffert's attorneys.

“The moment we saw the plaintiff's papers, especially the plaintiff's affidavit, we were shocked and disturbed,” Greenberg told the judge. “Because frankly, the plaintiff's submission was the most abusive use of a reply submission that I have ever seen.”

Greenberg argued that many of the claims made in the filing were not in reply to NYRA's response, nor were they substantiated. As an example, he cited the well-documented loss by Baffert of several top WinStar horses.

The Baffert filing details how WinStar had moved its horses to other trainers as a result of the NYRA ban.

“As for harms that have already occurred as a result of NYRA's ban, one of Baffert's major clients, WinStar Farm (“WinStar”) has moved all of its horses to other trainers. This included significant thoroughbreds LIFE IS GOOD (this year's Kentucky Derby favorite before he suffered a minor injury) and COUNTRY GRAMMER (Grade I winner of the Hollywood Cup and an early favorite for this year's Breeders' Cup Classic). This loss is substantial to Baffert, not only be because of the quality of the horses he lost, but because he has successfully trained many horses owned by WinStar, including recent Triple Crown winner JUSTIFY. WinStar's CEO, Elliott Walden, has publicly stated that he pulled these horse from Baffert partially due to NYRA's suspension because Baffert's current ability to enter horses in prestigious races is `limited.'”

The filing includes a copy of several stories from industry press detailing the incident and quoting Walden.

But Greenberg argued, “First of all, we have no idea if that's true or not. Second of all, WinStar is a corporation, not a person. Third of all, it's hearsay. Fourth of all, it's conclusive.”

“Who said these things?” Greenberg asked.

But Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson pointed out that Walden was indeed named in the filing, but was quoted in press clippings that were also provided. The TDN covered the story on June 24.

In the story, it quotes a text to the media from Walden which says, “The plan is to ship to Todd Pletcher in the coming weeks with a possibility of running in New York later this year. With the ban on Bob in Kentucky and New York right now, our opportunities are limited. We will continue to evaluate the situation with Bob and appreciate everything he has done with Life is Good.”

“They said Mr. Baffert has not given any specifics about horses who have been removed from his care, and that that was an important component,” Robertson said. “And so, in response to that, we drafted our reply and we addressed those specific points. They allege that we hadn't met our burden in response, which is exactly what we're allowed to do. We address the importance of New York racing to Mr. Baffert, and we address the specifics that they were claiming that were missing.”

Judge Amon said that while she hadn't expected to rule on any motions in the conference call, she was now being called upon to do so.

“There has been a motion to strike the affidavit of Mr. Baffert. Based on what I have heard today in this conference, I'm going to deny the motion to strike the affidavit,” she said.

She also recommended that Baffert be in court Monday in case he were called upon to testify to settle any disputes. She asked Robertson if Baffert were asked to testify that it was Walden who had talked to Baffert, would he be able to say that Walden had told him that?

“Yes, your honor,” said Robertson.

Robertson said that he would also provide the judge with other owners' names for whom Baffert had lost horses due to the NYRA ban by noon tomorrow.

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