September, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Alenquer’s Connections ‘Keen’ To Enter Colt In Arc De Triomphe

The connections of the British 3-year-old colt Alenquer have been toying with the idea of a crack at the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe since the spring. Armando Duarte, the racing manager of the colt's owners, MM Stables, has subsequently confirmed, via the Racing Post, that the colt will line-up at ParisLongchamp on Sunday, Oct. 3.

He said: “The owners, Mubarak Alarou and Mussad Almutari, are keen to have a crack at the Arc as Alenquer is a mile-and-a-half horse, and he will handle any eventual cut in the ground. He's been in good shape since York. Obviously, it's a tough assignment but we're hopeful that he'll run a nice race.”

Alenquer is a colt with an international dimension. As his owners hail from Kuwait and he is trained in Britain, or Newmarket to be precise, by William Haggas. Furthermore, his breeders, the Gestüt Romerhof, are German. He was born and reared in France, and notably in Normandy, as he bears the hallmark of the La Motteraye Consignment.

Alenquer is unraced since his second place in the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York on Aug. 18, when he finished six lengths adrift of Mishriff. The latter is a possible Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe contender. He had previously finished third in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris over 12 furlongs at ParisLongchamp, won by one of the leading fancies for this year's Arc, Hurricane Lane.

Another formline also ties Alenquer in with another leading Arc fancy: as he beat Adayar in the Group 3 Classic Trial at Sandown in April. Adayar has since franked the form by winning both the Epsom Derby and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (both G1s). The latter race also rejoices in the reputation of being the British equivalent of the Arc.

Alenquer is quoted at odds varying from 25-1 to 40-1 by the bookmakers for the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

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Zenyatta’s Cozmic One Joins TAKE2 Thoroughbred League

Cozmic One (Bernardini), the first foal out of Horse of the Year Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}), has joined the TAKE2 Thoroughbred League and is slated to compete in the TAKE2 Thoroughbred Jumper Division at the Kentucky National Horse Show Sept. 22-26. The classes for his division will be held in the Walnut Ring at the Kentucky Horse Park near Lexington. Cozmic One could earn a wild card berth in the $20,000 TAKE2 Hunter and Jumper Finals Sept. 26 if he finishes in the top five in the division.

Now a 9-year-old and with a huge fan following since his birth, Cozmic One made little impact on the racetrack and retired in 2017. He competed in the Retired Racehorse Project's 2018 Makeover and finished fifth for Isabela de Sousa. The college student owns Cozmic One in partnership with her father, Sergio, who now rides the horse, and Zenyatta's owners, Jerry Moss and Ann Holbrook.

“It's pretty amazing, a lot of people really enjoy seeing what he is up to,” said Sergio de Sousa. “People love the mare, and they love him, too. We post things about him on social media–from the horse shows, but also 'Coz' playing with his buddy, rolling in the mud, just being a horse. It makes people happy to see it, and it is simple for us to do that. We get letters, Christmas cards, cookies, birthday cards, you can go on and on. My daughter started it a couple of years ago, so people could follow him, make the connection with Coz, see how he was training. She got a lot of people to participate in his journey.”

De Sousa, the managing partner of Hidden Brook, competed with Cozmic One at the Split Rock Horse Show in June and the Robert Murphy Stable Horse Show in July.

“This is his second career, but he really is retired, he is just having fun,” said de Sousa. “He gets excited going to the shows, he loves to watch the other horses perform, he loves to watch the people go by. He's like a boxer, ready to go in the ring. But we're not looking to be in the Olympics, this is just for his enjoyment. He doesn't owe us anything.”

TDN won a 2018 Multi-Media Eclipse Award for a feature on Cozmic One in his second career.

The TAKE2 Thoroughbred League was launched in 2015 to promote second careers for retired racehorses and offers $10,000 in year-end high-score awards to Thoroughbreds competing in TAKE2-affiliated hunter and jumper divisions across the country, with the $20,000 TAKE2 Finals held every September.

The post Zenyatta’s Cozmic One Joins TAKE2 Thoroughbred League appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Jockey Sheldon Russell Will Require Surgery For Broken Foot

Sheldon Russell, the top money-winning jockey in Maryland this year, will have surgery to repair an injury to his right foot suffered in a pre-race spill Sept. 9 at Laurel Park.

Russell, 34, got the news Monday after visiting Dr. Jacob Wisbeck, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in foot and ankle injuries, at MedStar Health in Timonium, Md. Russell said a date for surgery won't be determined before a follow-up visit Sept. 20.

“What we found out is it's the main bone in the foot and needs to be addressed. If I opted not to do the surgery and heal it by myself there's chances of dislocation [and other complications],” Russell said. “He's given me another week to get the swelling down.

“I'll sit down with him next Monday at 8 o'clock and we'll X-ray the foot [again]. Hopefully some of the swelling has gone down and we can sort of schedule something,” he added. “Right now that's probably the route I'm taking to do the right thing. I'm going to be off regardless, so why not get it fixed properly.”

This year Russell has $2,497,146 in purse earnings in Maryland, leading 18-year-old runner-up Charlie Marquez by just under $100,000. Russell's 65 wins are second to Marquez's 79.

Russell was hurt after being thrown when Little Bit of That, a 2-year-old Maryland-bred Great Notion filly trained by his wife, Brittany Russell, reared in the post parade of her scheduled first start. She got loose and was scratched from the maiden special weight event, and is entered again to make her debut Thursday under jockey Forest Boyce.

“We'd done some schooling with her in the morning. She'd never shown any signs of doing anything silly. It's just one of those freak accidents,” Sheldon Russell said. “She got out with the pony and she walked a couple of steps and I don't know. She was walking like a professional, like she knew what her job was to do, and all of a sudden something spooked her and she jumped back.

“It wasn't the pony's fault or anything like that,” he added. “She was going like she was going to go over and she's throwing me off. She threw me so high. The right foot landed in the dirt first and it went toes in. When they took me off the track I said to Brittany, 'My foot's broken.'”

Russell said he was diagnosed with a Lisfranc injury, involving both the bones and ligaments in middle part of his foot, due to the way he landed and causing separation between his first two toes. Surgery may include inserting hardware to stabilize the area.

“[Dr. Wisbeck] said it happens a lot to football and baseball players. He was saying catchers get it from when they jump straight up,” Russell said. “He had a lot of jerseys up in his office. I felt good seeing someone like that.”

Russell, whose wife is expecting their second child in seven weeks, was fitted with a boot and told to keep weight off the foot for three months. Among his upcoming mounts were Wondrwherecraigis in the $200,000 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) and multiple stakes winner Hello Beautiful in the $100,000 Weather Vane, both on Saturday.

“I'm in for a long run,” Russell said. “But, it could have been worse. That's all I can think about. I'm home, I'm safe, and I have my family around me.”

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Joel Rosario Sets Record At Kentucky Downs, Voted Jockey of The Week

The Kentucky Downs meet may be short, just six racing days, but it is long on full fields, thrilling finishes and extraordinary individual accomplishments. Jockey Joel Rosario decided to skip the last two days of the Saratoga meet to ride at Kentucky Downs all six days. That decision lead to a record setting number of wins earning him Jockey of the Week for Sept. 7 through Sept. 12. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 875 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

After accumulating 10 wins the first two days of the meet, the Joel Rosario juggernaut continued in week two. On Wednesday, riding for trainer Shug McGaughey, Rosario won the third race. Thursday, he picked up two more wins, one each for trainers Mike Maker and Wesley Ward. No racing was scheduled for Friday. On Saturday, Rosario went winless for the day, setting himself up for closing day on Sunday with mounts in nine of the 10 races.

Trainers Shug McGaughey and Wayne Catalano were on the Rosario express train winning the second and third race respectively. Trainer Arnaud Delacour then gave a leg up to Rosario aboard Koala Princess in the Ainsworth Stakes for two-year-old fillies at 6-1/2 furlongs. Breaking from post position two in the field of 11, Koala Princess was eighth, five lengths back through the opening quarter. At the top of the stretch, they were a half-length behind the leader Mystic Eyes and continued along the rail to win by 2-1/2 lengths in 1:15.25.

“It looked like she was handling it really nice today,” said Rosario. “She showed a really good turn of foot turning for home.”

Rosario's fourth win of the day came with the Brian Lynch-trained Tobys Heart in the Nelson's Green Brier Whiskey Music City Stakes for three-year-old fillies at 6-1/2 furlongs. Tobys Heart and Rosario started in the middle of the field of 11 with Rosario guiding Tobys Heart inside to save ground. At the top of stretch with an opening along the fence, Rosario asked Tobys Heart who responded by pulling away to post a 2-3/4 length win in 1:14.75 as the favorite.

“It was perfect,” said Rosario. “The horse ran really well there, I was waiting to see if something would open up for her. They just decided to stay off the rail, and she just outran them when she was clear.”

“I have to thank all the people who gave me the opportunity at Kentucky Downs – the trainers, and owners who gave me a chance,” Rosario said. “I really feel blessed.”

Rosario's statistics for the week were 34-7-4-3 for a 41% in-the-money rate. He won his first Kentucky Downs riding title with 17 wins from 53 mounts and just under $3 million in purses.

Rosario's competition for Jockey of the Week included Richard Eramia with a 50% in-the-money statistic, Tyler Gaffalione who won three stakes races at Kentucky Downs, Jaime Rodriguez who won the most races during the week and Diego Saenz with an in-the-money rate of 70%.

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