Month: October 2021

E.T. Baird Wins Coast To Coast To Be Named Jockey Of The Week

With the closing of Arlington Park, jockey E.T. Baird may have had just two mounts last week but he made the most of them going on the road for stakes race engagements at Finger Lakes and Santa Anita. The wins earned Baird Jockey of the Week for Sept. 27 through Oct. 3. The honor, 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 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Riding for trainer Larry Rivelli, Baird rode Adios Asher in the Aspirant Stakes at Finger Lakes on Sept. 27. A stakes race for New York-bred 2-year-olds, Adios Asher dueled with the favorite Daufuskie Island with Dylan Davis in the irons throughout the six-furlong race. He took the lead by a half-length at the top of the stretch and held on determinedly as the favorite chipped away at his lead. Adios Asher kept his nose in front at the wire, stopping the clock in 1:11.12.

Next stop for trainer Larry Rivelli and E.T. Baird was Santa Anita's opening day card on Friday and the Speakeasy Stakes, a “Win & You're In” challenge race qualifier to the Grade 2, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. One Timer and Baird came into the race unbeaten in two previous starts. One Timer dueled with the post time favorite Forbidden Kingdom and Juan Hernandez through the opening quarter mile and led by 2-1/2 lengths in the stretch. They held off a late threat by Time to Party and Flavien Prat to win the five furlongs race by three quarters of a length in 55.45.

“He broke well, I had him out of there, but he's pretty professional outside of the post parade,” said Baird. “He just kept running true. I think he took to the (turf) great.”

A multiple graded stakes winning jockey, Baird has been a Chicago mainstay at both Arlington Park and Hawthorne. He finished the recently completed meet at Arlington Park in second place in the standings with 55 wins and more than $1 million in purse earnings.

Baird out-polled fellow jockeys Flavien Prat with four graded stakes wins, Guillermo Rodriguez who posted nine wins, Evan A. Roman with a 36 percent win rate and the leading rider title at Golden Gate, and Joel Rosario with three graded stakes wins.

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Arc Hero Torquator Tasso Enters Reckoning For Cartier Awards

Torquator Tasso caused one of the biggest shocks in the history of the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on Sunday, Oct. 3, a victory that saw the German colt enter calculations for both Cartier Horse Of The Year and Cartier Older Horse.

The Cartier Racing Awards were established in 1991 to reward excellence in horseracing. There are eight equine awards – the Cartier Horse Of The Year, the Cartier Older Horse, the Cartier Sprinter, the Cartier Stayer, the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt, the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly, the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt and the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly.

The 31st annual Cartier Racing Awards will be awarded in November. Cartier continues its ongoing support with the presentation of the Cartier Racing Awards.

Owned by Gestut Auenquelle, 4-year-old Torquator Tasso (96 points) emulated Star Appeal (1975) and Danedream (2011) by becoming the third German-trained winner of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in the 100th running of the €5 million showpiece.

The Marcel Weiss-trained son of Adlerflug defeated Tarnawa (56), Hurricane Lane (152) and Adayar (100) in a thrilling finish to the highlight of two exceptional days of racing in Paris.

In terms of the Cartier Horse Of The Year standings, the Aidan O'Brien-trained St Mark's Basilica (160) remains in pole position. The Siyouni colt, who captured his fourth G1 prize of the season in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on September 11, was retired to take up stallion duties at Coolmore last month.

Poetic Flare finished a creditable third at Leopardstown and the dual G1 winner is hot on the heels of St Mark's Basilica with 156 points. Godolphin's Hurricane Lane now has 152 points following his third in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Palace Pier (144) heads the Cartier Older Horse category with 144 points and is set to take in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II QIPCO Stakes at Ascot later this month as he looks to remain unbeaten this term. He leads Mishriff (108), with Torquator Tasso (96) third.

St Mark's Basilica (160) and Poetic Flare (156) continue to set the pace in the Cartier Three-Year-Old Colt category ahead of Godolphin duo Hurricane Lane (152) and Adayar (100), who both emerged with plenty of credit following their third and fourth-placed efforts in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Mother Earth (144) leads the Cartier Three-Year-Old Filly standings following her second behind the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained Saffron Beach (68) in the G1 Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on October 2. Snowfall finished sixth in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the English and Irish Oaks heroine has 136 points.

A Case Of You (58) is the big mover in the Cartier Sprinter division after providing trainer Adrian McGuinness with a first G1 triumph in the Qatar Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp. G1 Darley July Cup hero Starman leads the way on 64 points.

The Alan King-trained Trueshan (68 points) is the new leader in the Cartier Stayer category, having powered to a second G1 victory in the Qatar Prix du Cadran on October 2. The five-year-old, who is owned by the Singula Partnership, defeated old rival and four-time Cartier Stayer Stradivarius (58 points) by four and a half lengths at Longchamp.

Arc weekend also saw a shake-up in the Cartier Two-Year-Old categories with Angel Bleu (48) emerging as a contender for the Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt award. Trained by Ralph Beckett, Angel Bleu landed the G1 Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere under Frankie Dettori and is chasing Perfect Power (80), winner of the G1 Darley Prix Morny and G1 Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes for Richard Fahey.

There is a three-way tie at the top of the Cartier Two-Year-Old Filly standings following Zellie's stylish success in the G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac for Andre Fabre. The Al Wasmiyah Farm-owned filly has 40 points along with Joseph O'Brien's Agartha, who filled fourth behind Zellie at Longchamp, and Sandrine for Andrew Balding.

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Essential Quality Re-Takes Lead In Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Godolphin's Essential Quality moved back into first place by three votes over stablemate Knicks Go in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). This year's Longines Breeders' Cup Classic will be run at Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California, on Nov. 6 as the final race of the 38th Breeders' Cup World Championships.

The 3-year-old Essential Quality, trained by Brad Cox, received 328 votes. A winner four times in five starts this year, including victories in the Belmont Stakes (G1) and the Runhappy Travers (G1), Essential Quality had been in first place for three consecutive weeks before being overtaken by Knicks Go last week. The 5-year-old Knicks Go, who is in second place with 325 votes, won his fourth race of the year in easy fashion on Saturday, taking the Lukas Classic (G3) at Churchill Downs by four lengths. Knicks Go earned a free berth in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga Race Course in August.

The 3-year-old Hot Rod Charlie remained in third place with 269 votes. Owned by Boat Racing, Gainesway Stable, Roadrunner Racing, and William Strauss, and trained by Doug O'Neill, Hot Rod Charlie won the Pennsylvania Derby (G1) in his most recent start.

Following his frontrunning victory in the “Win and You're In” Awesome Again Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park, Zedan Racing Stables' Medina Spirit has jumped from seventh place to fourth this week with 206 votes.

Godolphin's 4-year-old Maxfield dropped one spot to fifth place with 180 votes. Trained by Brendan Walsh, Maxfield, who finished second in the Woodward Stakes (G1) at Belmont Park on Saturday, earned an automatic starting position in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he captured the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs in June.

The big mover in this week's Classic Rankings was Bruce Lunsford's 4-year-old Art Collector, who leaped from 18th place into a sixth-place tie with George E. Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds Corp's Max Player. Trained by Bill Mott, Art Collector won his third consecutive race when he captured Saturday's Woodward wire-to-wire by 1 ½ lengths.

The 4-year-old Max Player, trained by Steve Asmussen, earned an automatic berth in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the Suburban Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park in July, and followed up that score with a victory in the “Win and You're In” Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga on Sept. 4. Art Collector and Max Player have 163 votes apiece.

St. George Stable's 5-year-old mare Letruska, a three-time Grade 1 winner this year for trainer Fausto Gutierrez, improved from 10th place to eighth with 70 votes.

Prince A A Faisal's 4-year-old Mishriff (IRE) dropped one position to ninth place with 61 votes. Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Mishriff gained an invitation to the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the Juddmonte International Stakes (G1) at York Racecourse in England on Aug. 18.

St. Elias Stable's Dr Post and Hronis Racing's Tripoli are tied in 10th place with 35 votes each. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the 4-year-old Dr Post, who has two Grade 3 wins this year, finished third in the Woodward Stakes. The John Sadler trained 4-year-old Tripoli, who secured a free berth in the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic when he won the TVG Pacific Classic (G1) in August, dropped from sixth place to 10th following his fourth-place finish in the Awesome Again Stakes.

Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Oct. 5, 2021*

Rank Horse Votes First-Place Votes Previous Week
1 Essential Quality 328 14 2
2 Knicks Go 325 16 1
3 Hot Rod Charlie 269 1 3
4 Medina Spirit 206 1 7
5 Maxfield 180 1 4
6 Art Collector 163 1 18
6 Max Player 163 0 5
8 Letruska 70 0 10
9 Mishriff  (IRE) 61 2 8
10 Dr Post 35 0 13
10 Tripoli 35 0 6

*Note – The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic.

The 2021 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track, is limited to 14 starters. The race will be broadcast live on NBC.

The Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers, and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 11. A list of voting members can be found here.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

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