January, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Woodbine’s Five Furlongs With Justin Stein: The Marvel Universe And Reality TV

Each week until opening day of the 2022 Woodbine Thoroughbred meet, a familiar name in the sport will be in the spotlight, answering some fun, offbeat questions, giving readers a unique perspective into their personality.

Justin Stein began his riding career in his native British Columbia in 2004, recording his first career win on Aug. 28 at Hastings Park, and by the next year had become the track's leading rider with 148 wins. Stein moved to Woodbine full-time in 2006 and finished his first season in Ontario with 109 wins, good for fourth in the jockey standings. In 2012, Stein won the Queen's Plate with Strait of Dover. Three years later he won the Woodbine Oaks with 66-1 shot Academic, who went on to defeat males with Stein aboard in the Grade 3 Canadian Derby at Northlands and the G3 B.C. Derby at Hastings. Stein retired in 2016, but the man who has a zest for the great outdoors returned to race-riding at Woodbine in 2019 and has excelled, winning his first G1 with Starship Jubilee in the 2020 Woodbine Mile while finishing atop the Woodbine standings in earnings and second in races won. As of Jan. 1, Stein has 1,287 career wins, including 87 stakes scores.

You get to star on a reality show. Which one is it and why?

“Mantracker, for sure. Well, you're outdoors, in the bush, in the woods, and I think he would be a good nemesis. He'd definitely be a worthy opponent. I think I could get the better of him. He wouldn't catch me.”

Design your own jockey silks.

“I would want them to be simple. The colours would be navy blue with either gold or yellow, something like that. I don't have anything for a symbol. I haven't gone that far in my mind yet.”

You get to be a Marvel character. Who do you choose?

“We just watched one, Venom. I like those movies. So, I guess I wouldn't mind being him for a day. I also think the Avengers series is good and so is Justice League. They're very entertaining. I have a few favourite movies that I've watched a lot of times. The Hurt Locker is one. I've watched that over and over. I've also watched Rush plenty of times as well. That's a great movie about Formula One. It's very similar to being a jockey.”

Which racetrack would you like to ride at, one you've never been to before?

“That's a good question. Keeneland would come to mind, and I've always wanted to ride at Santa Anita too. I guess because I grew up on the west coast and Santa Anita was the big racetrack, it would be nice to get a chance to ride there. It's also super pretty too.”

Where would you set up a farm?

“I would go with somewhere in Ontario. I'd find a good location to grow some crops. I'd have horses, dogs, maybe some chickens, a pig and a Highland Cow, maybe a llama. Just look for us [along with his wife, Jenn] in our rubber boots. We'll be out there in the barnyard.”

The post Woodbine’s Five Furlongs With Justin Stein: The Marvel Universe And Reality TV appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Updated Pegasus Invitations Released

A half-dozen horses have been added to the second list of invitees for the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. to be held Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park.

Those joining the original list, headed by likely Horse of the Year Knicks Go (Paynter) and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hero and 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief) are recent Tenacious S. winner Chess Chief (Into Mischief); Fearless (Ghostzapper), last-out winner of the GIII Harlan's Holiday S.; Law Professor (Constitution), who took the off-turf GII Santa Anita Mathis Mile S. Dec. 26; Olympiad (Speightstown), an impressive Gulfstream allowance scorer Jan. 15; SW & MGISP Stilleto Boy (Shackleford); and GSW Title Ready (More Than Ready).

Reserves on the second list include American Theorem (American Pharoah), Commandeer (Street Boss), Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro), Forewarned (Flat Out) and Happy American (Runhappy).

Flavius (War Front) has been added to the field for the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf, headed by its defending champion Colonel Liam (Liam's Map). Formerly trained for Juddmonte Farms by Chad Brown, the 7-year-old, acquired for $230,000 at last year's Keeneland November Sale, is a three-time stakes winner, including last year's Fasig-Tipton Lure S. at Saratoga. Flavius takes the place of GI Arlington Million winner Two Emmys (English Channel) on the original list.

Reserves on the second list are Atone (Into Mischief), Bob and Jackie (Twirling Candy), English Bee (English Channel) and Law Professor (Constitution).

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Norelands Gets Back Into Historic Family With Gaelic Tales

When the McCalmont family's Norelands Stud purchased the 5-year-old mare Gaelic Tales (Giant's Causeway) for $120,000 through BBA Ireland last week at Keeneland January, it was getting back into a Group 1 family that it had played a hand in developing.

Harry McCalmont currently runs Norelands, which is adjacent to Ballylinch Stud and was established in 1912 largely as a base for mares visiting Ballylinch's famed sire The Tetrarch. Harry McCalmont's father Major Victor McCalmont purchased Gaelic Tales's seventh dam, Agars Plough (Ire) (Combat {GB}), as a foal in 1952.

“Agars Plough won the Irish Oaks about a week after I was born, so a very long time ago in 1955,” McCalmont said. “One of her daughters was Mesopotamia (Ire) (Zarathustra {GB}), who was champion 2-year-old filly in England and Ireland and won the Chesham by about 12 lengths. She is the sixth dam of Gaelic Tales.”

Mesopotamia would go on to be a highly influential producer, and among her descendants foaled at Norelands was Danish (Ire), a great-granddaughter of Mesopotamia. Danish was retained by the McCalmont family and broke her maiden and was listed-placed at Leopardstown at two for trainer Michael Kauntze shortly after Victor McCalmont's death in 1993. Danish joined John Hammond in France for a 4-year-old campaign in which she won at listed level and was third in the G3 Prix de la Nonette before shipping to the U.S. to take the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Keeneland. Danish was bought by Sheikh Mohammed for $1.55-million at Keeneland November in 1996 in foal to Gone West.

The best horse produced by Danish for Sheikh Mohammed was the Listed Flame Of Tara S. third Blixen (Gone West), who would later become the dam of Godolphin's G1 Dubai World Cup winner African Story (GB) (Pivotal {GB}). Blixen also foaled the winning Storybook (UAE), whose sire Halling is, incidentally, a great-great grandson of Mesopotamia. By the time Storybook retired to the paddocks she had been sold to War Front's owner Joe Allen. Storybook is the dam of three stakes horses as well as Gaelic Tales, who was sold to Phoenix Thoroughbreds for $100,000 at Keeneland September in 2018. Gaelic Tales failed to find the winner's enclosure in 10 starts, but was placed six times. She was retired in early March of 2021 and covered by Coolmore's Classic-winning first-season sire Tiz The Law (Constitution).

In the meantime, the McCalmont family had been on a hunt to restore Mesopotamia's line to their paddocks. They had even succeeded once, finding a mare at Arqana a few years ago, but she died in a paddock accident shortly after coming home.

“My father had had a lot of the family,” McCalmont said. “After he died, we had a few from the family and for one reason or another we had lost them-they'd died off or been sold. I'd been trying to buy back into that family for several years and hadn't really been able to.”

Hope was sparked again when McCalmont's son Hamish was flipping through the Keeneland January catalogue and landed on Gaelic Tales.

“Neither of us were at Keeneland, so I got Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland to look at her,” McCalmont said. “He really liked her, said she was a beautiful mare, so we bought her. So let's hope it all works out for the best.”

McCalmont said Gaelic Tales will likely foal in Kentucky and be bred back there before returning to Ireland.

“She's in foal to Tiz The Law, who really probably is an out-and-out American sire,” he said. “So we'll probably foal her down in Kentucky and then cover her with something that will fit better into the European plan, because it's a very European family. We'll probably then bring her back to Ireland at the end of this year when she's back in foal.”

As she embarks on her broodmare career, Gaelic Tales certainly has excellent precedent in her pedigree. The legacy of the Norelands-bred Mesopotamia is still growing today, and features Group 1 winners and champions in England, Ireland, France, New Zealand and the U.S., including 1973 Irish champion 2-year-old filly Welsh Garden (Ire); 1990 G1 Middle Park S. winner Balla Cove (Ire); 1995 G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and G1 Sprint Cup winner Cherokee Rose (Ire); the aforementioned Juddmonte International and Coral-Eclipse winner Halling and Dubai World Cup winner African Story; G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Just The Judge; 2020 G1 2000 Guineas winner Kameko, and many more.

The post Norelands Gets Back Into Historic Family With Gaelic Tales appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Mohaather Sires First Reported Foal

G1 Sussex S. hero Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) welcomed his first reported foal at Brook Stud in Newmarket this past weekend.
The bay filly is out of the Shadwell-bred Radhaadh (Ire) (Nayef), who won a Chelmsford maiden by nine lengths for Sir Michael Stoute and is a half-sister to G1 Lockinge S. hero Mustashry (GB) (Tamayuz {GB}).
“I've very happy with her,” said Brook Stud's Dwayne Woods. “She's exactly what we were hoping for. She has great depth, is a good size and has a fantastic wide hip. She's very strong with plenty of bone, and she's also blessed with a gorgeous, quality head with fabulous markings.”
A group winner at two, three and four, Mohaather covered 146 mares in his first book and stands at Nunnery Stud for £15,000 this season.

The post Mohaather Sires First Reported Foal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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