December, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

WinStar Farm Stallions Exaggerator, Carpe Diem Relocating For 2022 Breeding Season

WinStar stallions Carpe Diem and Exaggerator have been sold and will take up stud duty in new locations for 2022, the farm announced today.

Carpe Diem will be syndicated in Louisiana by a group led by Picard Racing (Dawn and Jeff Picard) and David Tillson and he will stand the upcoming breeding season at Acadiana Equine at Copper Crowne in Louisiana. By Giant's Causeway out of the graded stakes-placed Unbridled's Song mare Rebridled Dreams, Carpe Diem, a dominant Grade 1 winner at two and three for WinStar Farm and Stonestreet Stables and an earner of $1,519,000, will be available for inspection at Acadiana Equine beginning on Dec. 18.

Carpe Diem is the sire of 11 black-type horses in 2021, led by stakes winners Bella Aurora, Wait for Nairobi, and graded stakes-placed Thisismytime, runner-up in the Grade 2 Inside Information Stakes. A $1.6 million juvenile purchase, Carpe Diem is also a leading sire of 2-year-olds this year (21 juvenile winners) and is represented by Romancer, runner-up in the $500,000 Juvenile Sprint Stakes at Kentucky Downs.

“We have a strong relationship with David Tillson and Acadiana Equine,” said Liam O'Rourke, Director of Bloodstock Services for WinStar Farm. “We look forward to continued success with Carpe Diem.”

David Tillson added, “Our goal is to provide Louisiana breeders the best opportunity for future success, and we're excited to stand Carpe Diem, a multiple Grade 1 winner and proven stallion.”

Exaggerator, Curlin's only three-time Grade 1 winner at stud, is returning home after being re-purchased by Texas-based Rocker O Ranch, co-owner of the horse during his sensational racing career. Stud plans are currently being determined for the handsome bay who is produced from the stakes-placed Vindication mare Dawn Raid, a half-sister to Canadian champion and multiple Graded stakes winner Embur's Song.

“Exaggerator gave us the greatest thrills of our lifetime,” said Rocker O Ranch's Cole Ortowski. “We are excited to be bringing him back into the family.”

Winner of the Preakness Stakes, the G1 Haskell, and G1 Santa Anita Derby by a combined 11 1/4 lengths at three, Exaggerator was also a top 2-year-old. He won the G2 Saratoga Special and the $1 million G3 Delta Jackpot as a juvenile and finished second in the G1 Breeders' Futurity. All told, he banked $3,581,120 racing for the partnership of Big Chief Racing, Head of Plains Partners, Rocker O Ranch, and trainer Keith Desormeaux.

Exaggerator is the leading second-crop sire by winners with 77 and is represented this year by 2-year-old stakes-winning fillies Sea Level and Pacific Coast, as well as stakes winner Gagetown, winner of the Prairie Mile Stakes and placed in the Iowa Derby and St. Louis Derby, and multiple stakes-placed Crew Dragon.

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UMN Researchers Studying Sudden Cardiac Death In Racehorses To Aide In Medina Spirit Investigation

University of Minnesota researchers will assist in investigating the death of famed Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, who collapsed and died on the racetrack Monday in Arcadia, California, of a suspected cardiac event.

The horse's necropsy—the animal equivalent of an autopsy—will be conducted at the University of California, Davis. But samples of hair, blood, and heart tissue are en route to the College of Veterinary Medicine's (CVM) Equine Genetics and Genomics Laboratory, where scientists studying cardiac arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death in racehorses will apply their expertise to the overall picture of the 3-year-old colt's death.

Unlike the breakneck pace for which he was famous in life, the study of Medina Spirit's death will be slow and methodical. California racing authorities have said there is no timetable for necropsy results but that it could take months. The CVM researchers will release the results of their analysis to the California Horse Racing Board separately, and likely much later. Ultimately, to buttress the necropsy, the researchers hope to determine whether Medina Spirit had specific genetic factors putting him at risk for sudden cardiac death.

The CVM scientists, led by Assistant Professor Sian Durward-Akhurst and Professor Molly McCue, will also incorporate the Medina Spirit samples into an ongoing research project seeking to understand genetic and other risk factors for sudden cardiac death in racehorses. The researchers' goal is to identify horses at risk for sudden cardiac death—and to put tools into the hands of racetrack veterinarians that will allow them to identify those horses in time to scratch them from a race—in order to prevent future such tragedies. Those tools include an at-rest electrocardiogram (ECG) combined with artificial intelligence to identify horses likely to develop irregular heartbeats during a race—even if their resting ECG looks normal.

“Medina Spirit's death is devastating, and sadly, such deaths occur all too frequently,” Dr. McCue said. “Our hope is to find ways to pinpoint horses at risk so we can intervene before they lose their lives. In addition to helping equine athletes, this research may also provide answers for sudden cardiac death in young human athletes.”

McCue's lab has been studying horse genetic disease for nearly two decades. Durward-Akhurst and McCue have been working on sudden cardiac death in racehorses since 2015, when Durward-Akhurst was a PhD student, including creating with their collaborators the largest publicly available comprehensive catalog of equine genetic variation.

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Breeders’ Cup Spot Up for Grabs in Carlos Pellegrini

The first automatic fees-paid berth to the 2022 Breeders' Cup will be handed out this Saturday in Argentina when the G1 Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini, also known as the 'South American Arc', is run at the historic Hipodromo de San Isidro. The winner will punch their ticket to the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf, to be held in 2022 at Keeneland.

Contested over 2,400 meters, about 1 1/2 miles, on the massive San Isidro turf course with about a three-furlong stretch run, the Pellegrini was won last year in a thrilling three-way duel by rail-running Cool Day (Arg) (John F Kennedy {Ire}) (video), who is back to defend his title. Bred by the historic Haras Abolengo farm, the 4-year-old chestnut went to the bench for over 10 months after his 2020 Pellegrini score, ruling out a Breeders' Cup try, but returned with a dominant 3 1/2-length victory in the G1 Gran Premio Copa de Oro here Oct. 30.

The most important race in South America, the Pellegrini is named after Carlos Enrique Jose Pellegrini, the first president of the Argentinian Jockey Club and one of its founding members when it was created in 1882. The race was first run in 1887, as the International Grand Prix, over 3,000 meters (about 1 7/8 miles) with Stiletto streaking to victory in 3:27 2/5. It quickly lived up to its 'international' billing, with French raider Athos II taking the trophy in 1890 and 1892. Overall, horses bred in countries other than Argentina have won the Pellegrini 17 times, with Brazilian Nao da Mais (T H Approval) being the most recent successful invader in 2019. The race regularly attracts horses from Brazil, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.

The grand finale of the racing season in Argentina, the Pellegrini holds a US$200,000 purse and unofficially bestows the title of the best horse in South America. It's the headliner of 'International Day' at San Isidro, which also features the 2,000-meter G1 Gran Premio Copa de Plata, similar to the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff or GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, the 1,600-meter G1 Gran Premio Joaquin S. de Anchorena, similar to the GI Breeders' Cup Mile and the 1,000-meter G1 Gran Premio Alzaga Unzue, similar to the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. The Anchorena has been won by names well familiar to U.S. racing fans, including the legendary Candy Ride (Arg) (Ride the Rails) and Lord At War (Arg) (General {Fr}) as well as 2014 GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. hero Winning Prize (Arg) (Pure Prize).

The Pellegrini is also a major social event on the Argentine calendar, with tens of thousands of people, including many Argentine celebrities, flocking to San Isidro for the race every year. The attendance record was set in 1986 when over 100,000 people showed up to see undefeated Fain (Arg) (Dancing Moss {GB}) take the trophy, and approximately 60,000 people are expected to attend this year.

Uruguayan jockey Irineo Leguisamo, considered the most decorated South American jockey of the 20th century, holds the record for most victories in the Pellegrini with 10 from 1924 through 1962; no other rider has won more than four. Juan Lapistoy and Alfredo Gaitan Dassie share the record for most Pellegrini conquests by a trainer with six apiece. Gaitan Dassie, who trains Cool Day, has a chance to take over the record by himself Saturday. Fourteen fillies and mares have defeated the boys in the Pellegrini, and there were dead heats for the win in 1915 and 1923.

Other contenders in this year's running include venerable 7-year-old Village King (Arg) (Campanologist), who ran in the U.S. in 2018 and 2019, picking up a score in the 2018 Red Smith S. and running third in the GII Pan American S. the following spring. This year, he is undefeated in three starts over the San Isidro lawn, picking up a pair of Group 1 triumphs in the 2,000-meter Gran Premio Martinez de Hoz and 2,400-meter Gran Premio 25 de Mayo (video). Mirinaque (Arg) (Hurricane Cat) also boasts U.S. graded stakes success. Though winless since taking the G1 Argentine Derby in 2019, he ran second in last year's GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Keeneland on the Breeders' Cup undercard and was a narrow runner-up to Village King in the Gran Premio 25 de Mayo. Overall, 19 horses are entered in the field.

The Carlos Pellegrini goes as the 13th race on a 17-race card Saturday at San Isidro with a scheduled post time of 7:35 local time (5:35 p.m. ET).

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Fourteen Ramsey Horses Headed To January Sale Per Court Order In Ward Suit

A judge in Jessamine County Circuit Court has ordered 14 horses owned by Ken and Sarah Ramsey to head to auction as part of an ongoing lawsuit by the couple's longtime trainer, Wesley Ward. The horses are in Ward's possession at Turfway Park and are bound for the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, with the sale proceeds to be held in escrow until the lawsuit is resolved.

Ward brought suit against the Ramseys for unpaid bills in March of this year, claiming he was owed $974,790.40, which included training bills, purses, and interest. Around the same time, trainer Mike Maker also sued the couple for $905,357.29 in unpaid bills. Maker settled his case in September, with the terms of settlement undisclosed.

Ward had filed a motion last week seeking to be allowed to sell the horses, pointing out that he had filed agister's liens on them and obtained a warrant enforcing those liens. In March, Ward secured liens against a total of 44 Ramsey horses who contributed to the outstanding bills. According to court documents, Ward has sold a number of the horses who racked up the bills at public auction or via claiming and the 14 that remain are the only ones Ward still has in his barn.

Ward's motion from Dec. 1 indicated that at some point, Ramsey agreed to pay the trainer $100,000 per month until the bill was satisfied, but he only made one such payment after news of the case broke in the media.

Ward and Ramsey disagree about what has happened in the horses' management since the lawsuit was filed. Ward said he offered to race the horses with a deal to let them generate purses to pay off the debt, but Ramsey wouldn't let him race the horses.

Ramsey claims that Ward has not been training the horses in the intervening months, although he has been charging full day rates while simply boarding the horses. Ramsey filed an eight-count counterclaim against Ward Dec. 7 claiming conversion, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duties, breach of good faith and fair dealing, unjust enrichment, among other charges. He also objected to Ward's motion regarding the sale of the horses, claiming the horses couldn't be sold to satisfy a debt until there was a judgment for that debt.

In one filing, Ramsey demanded Ward return the Jockey Club foal registration papers for the horses in his possession and said there was more than $500,000 being held in escrow for Ward after the November sales of several Ramsey horses. Further, Ramsey complained that Ward's unwillingness to have the horses in full training would hurt their value. In the couple's counterclaim, Ken Ramsey described himself as having “been a licensed trainer” and claims Ward still owes him for a breeding to Ramsey stallion Kitten's Joy in 2020.

(Ramsey does not appear to have a record in Equibase of saddling any starters as a trainer since the start of the company's digital database in 1976.)

Ward, for his part, told The Blood-Horse he has had the horses in training, but that Ramsey declined to allow him to run the horses and he didn't feel it was safe to have them in high speed work as they wait for the case to play out. He also said he had video recordings to support his training records. The two sides don't appear to agree on the amount of Ramsey's outstanding balance with Ward.

The horses include Artie's Princess, Bitten by Kitten, Casanova Kitten, Chasing Artie, Economic Hangover, Frosty Paws, Gambling Tzar, Parents Pride, Pillbox, Plan of the Day, Profit Hunter, Ramsey Solution, Royal Kitten, and Train to Artemus.

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