January, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Destin Colt Tops OBS Open Session

A New York-bred short yearling colt by MGSW Destin (Giant's Causeway) was the priciest lot to change hands during Wednesday's open session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Winter Mixed Sale.

Consigned by Sue Vacek, Agent II as hip 505, the grey–already named Last Drink–was acquired by Rosewood Farm for $95,000. Casey Newick LLC bred the session topper. Dam I Drink Alone (Intidab) has produced three prior stakes winners in the Empire State.

Destin's oldest foals are two. The 2016 GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby winner and full-brother to GISWs Creative Cause and Vexatious began his career in New York before relocating to Saudi Arabia for the 2021 breeding season.

The day's top mare was 11-year-old More Than a Party (More Than Ready), who brought $52,000 while in foal to Jess's Dream. Shooting Star Thoroughbreds purchased the hard-knocking MGSP runner from Lisa McGreevy's Abbie Road Farm as hip 562.

For the session, 186 transactions yielded gross receipts of $2,075,600. That gross eclipsed 2021's corresponding figure of $2,023,500 when 236 horses sold during the session. Subsequent post-sale transactions will likely add to the totals. The session average was $11,159 (up 30.1% from $8,574) and the median also rose to $7,000 (up 75% from $4,000). The RNA rate was just 8.8% at the time of print. It was 19.7% 12 months ago.

For the entire sale–which also featured consignor preferred and horses of racing age sessions on Tuesday (click for more)–416 offerings found new homes for a total of $6,573,100 ($5,612,300 in 2021) at an average of $15,801 ($13,756 in 2021) and median of $8,500 ($4,000 in 2021).

Visit www.obssales.com for more.

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Sophomore Doppleganger Tops Field Of Five For Saturday’s San Vicente

Winning from the rail like a seasoned pro in his first start, Doppelganger retains the services of Flavien Prat as he heads a field of five sophomores going seven furlongs in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita. One of three Bob Baffert trainees, Doppelganger, a bay colt by Into Mischief, appears headed to the Kentucky Derby Trail in what will be the 80th running of the San Vicente.

Baffert's Pinehurst, a winner of the G1 Del Mar Futurity in his second start, will no doubt vie for favoritism with Doppelganger as he cuts back in distance following a fifth place finish in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Baffert will also send out McLaren Vale, who broke his maiden at first asking with John Velazquez and will be ridden by Abel Cedillo on Saturday.

Richard Mandella's Forbidden Kingdom, second to highly regarded Messier in a G3 stakes Nov. 14, has plenty of early speed and rates a big chance with Juan Hernandez back aboard.

A $570,000 purchase as a yearling, Doppelganger, who is out of the Quiet American mare Twice the Lady, was shuffled well back in his debut Dec. 11 at Los Alamitos, but was in-hand with Prat as he cruised into contention and responded with an impressive stretch kick when called upon to win off by 3 ½ lengths going six furlongs. Owned by SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, LLC, et al, Doppelganger earned an 80 Beyer Speed Figure and appears to have any kind of future.

A first-out maiden winner going five furlongs on Aug. 1 as the 8-5 favorite, Pinehurst was off at 4-1 in the Del Mar Futurity and won with consummate ease by 4 ½ lengths. With regular rider Mike Smith committed to ride eventual winner Corniche in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, John Velazquez took over and although Pinehurst was attentive to the pace, he tired through the lane to be beaten 8 ½ lengths at a mile and one sixteenth.

A $385,000 Keeneland September Yearling, Pinehurst, who is owned by SF Racing, LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, LLC, et al, is easily the leading money earner in the field with $272,000 and will be reunited with Smith for what will be his fourth start.

An impressive first-out maiden winner going 5 ½ furlongs on Aug. 21 at Del Mar, Forbidden Kingdom, a $300,000 yearling purchase who is by 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, transitioned to five furlongs on turf in the ungraded Speakeasy Stakes here on Oct. 1 and was third, beaten 3 ¼ lengths as the 9-5 favorite.

Subsequently second, beaten 3 ½ lengths on dirt going seven furlongs by Baffert's Messier in the Grade III Bob Hope Stakes Nov. 14, Forbidden Kingdom will also be making his fourth start on Saturday. Owned by MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, LLC, Forbidden Kingdom is out of the Five Star Day mare Just Louise.

THE GRADE 2 SAN VICENTE WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 4 of 9 Approximate post time 2 p.m. PT

Forbidden Kingdom—Juan Hernandez—120
Pinehurst—Mike Smith—124
McLaren Vale—Abel Cedillo–120
Doppelganger—Flavien Prat—120
What in Blazes—Tyler Baze–120

The San Vicente, an important prep for the Grade 1, $750,000 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby, is one of three graded stakes on Saturday. First post time for a nine-race card is at 12:30 p.m., with admission gates opening at 10:30 p.m.

The post Sophomore Doppleganger Tops Field Of Five For Saturday’s San Vicente appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Brok Family Closes Diamond B Farm After Two Decades

Glenn and Becky Brok's Diamond B Farm in Mohrsville, Pa., one of the state's leading stallion operations, will shutter after two decades in business, BloodHorse reports.

The Broks will move to a smaller farm near Georgetown, Ky., to be closer to their daughters.

Diamond B's roster in 2021 included Boisterous, Eastwood, Rowayton, Social Inclusion, Talent Search, and Uptowncharlybrown, all of which have been relocated to new farms.

The Broks purchased the 100-acre Diamond B property when Glenn was about 25. The operation was perennially one of Pennsylvania's leading breeders, taking home the top spot in 2017. Notable horses foaled at the farm include Grade 1 winner Real Solution, Grade 2 winner Emotional Kitten, and Grade 3 winner Hollywood Talent.

Fox Sports’ Mike Mulvihill Joins the TDN Writers’ Room

Fox Sports has embraced horse racing and has acquired the broadcasting rights for the GI Belmont S., starting in 2023. And one of the reasons why is that in Executive Vice President, Head of Strategy and Analytics Mike Mulvihill, Fox has an executive who likes the sport and is bullish on its future, particularly when it comes to the gambling element. This week, Mulvihill joined the team on the TDN Writers' Room podcast, presented by Keeneland, to talk about Fox's increasing interest in the racing. Mulvihill was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

“Fox Sports is in the business of premium live events,” Mulvihill said when asked about Fox's acquisition of the Belmont rights. “We want to be in the business of championship events, special events, whether that's the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Belmont Stakes and anything else that's out there. We pride ourselves on being the leaders in live sports event consumption.”

Mulvihill and his team see the Belmont as more than just a sporting event. Fox, which operates the sports betting website Fox Bets and has a 25% ownership interest in NYRA Bets, wants to be a player in the gaming market and sees horse racing as an important part of that strategy.

“I like to say that we are evolving from being strictly a media content brand into being a media and gaming brand,” Mulvihill said. “That has a lot to do with the recent legalization of sports betting. But it also has to do with the partnership that we have with NYRA in NYRA Bets. Not only is [the Belmont] a championship event in and of itself, but it becomes an opportunity for us to really promote and try to drive new business and drive sign ups and new accounts for that NYRA Bets business. So it really works, both as media content–which is the business we've always been in–and it works as an engine for our gaming business, which is a newer business for us.”

Mulvihill said Fox plans to focus on the gambling element on future Belmont broadcasts, but, at the same time, does not want to ignore the casual fan who may not understand what a superfecta box is and is interested in the human interest stories that are always part of a big race. With that in mind, the plan, he said, is to have two separate broadcasts, one that will look more like a traditional racing broadcast and the other one meant for the horseplayer and sports bettor.

“I like to think we can do both,” he said. “And I think a template has been provided for us by ESPN and their presentation of Monday Night Football this year, where they have the traditional presentation on ESPN, and then they're doing the Manning cast on ESPN2, and that's getting a significant percentage of the audience. It's doing really well. It's worked out very, very well for them. I think we have an opportunity to do something similar where we can do a traditional presentation of the Belmont on Fox broadcast, and we can provide an alternate presentation for some part of the day on our cable platform and tailor that really to people that are more regular players and that maybe aren't as interested in the lifestyle pieces.”

In other segments of the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, Legacy Bloodstock and XBTV, the writers discussed such subjects as the Seth Fishman trial, the Bob Baffert hearing and jockey Mychel Sanchez being suspended for betting on mounts other than his own. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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