Month: February 2022

Creative Flair Builds On Promise

Creative Flair (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) had always looked like a promising filly for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby last year at three, and she built on that promise on Friday at Meydan with a first pattern-race win in the G2 Balanchine S.

A winner in her second of two starts at two, Creative Flair won on Royal Ascot Trials day before finishing second in the one-mile Listed Michael Seely Memorial S. at York. Creative Flair stepped up to 2000 metres to earn a first black-type victory in the Listed Abingdon S. at Newbury before traveling to France to finish third in the G3 Prix Chloe in July. Her travels then took her to America, where she was third in the GIII Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. and fourth in the Jockey Club Oaks Invitational S. six weeks apart.

Making her first start since, Creative Flair and William Buick broke on top from their wide post but were soon overtaken by Stunning Beauty (Ire) (Shamardal). Keeping that rival within a length while racing wide down the backstretch, Creative Flair moved in closer and began to close the gap approaching the turn. Creative Flair took the lead from Stunning Beauty at the top of the stretch but had to call on her reserves as Saeed bin Suroor's Dubai Love (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) and last-out G2 Cape Verdi winner Pevensey Bay (Ger) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) commenced their runs. Creative Flair re-broke inside the final furlong, however, hitting the wire three-quarters of a length the good.

Pedigree Notes

Creative Flair is the second foal and first stakes winner out of Hidden Gold (Ire) (Shamardal), who has a 2-year-old full-sister to Creative Flair. Hidden Gold is a daughter of the Listed Pretty Polly S. winner and dual Oaks-placed Melikah (Ire) (Lammtarra), a daughter of the great Urban Sea and therefore a half-sister to Galileo (Ire) and Sea The Stars (Ire) and five other stakes winners including the Group 1-winning Black Sam Bellamy (Ire) and My Typhoon (Ire). Melikah is the second dam of Khawlah (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), who was another star of the Dubai carnival for Godolphin, winning the G2 UAE Derby and G3 UAE Oaks before going on to foal Godolphin's Derby winner Masar (GB) (New Approach {Ire}). Other Group 1 winners on the page include the Cox Plate winner Sir Dragonet (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Belmont Oaks winner Athena (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and Irish Oaks victress Bracelet (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}).

BALANCHINE PRESENTED BY LONGINES EVIDENZA-G2, $180,000, Meydan, 2-4, 3yo/up, f/m, 9fT, 1:47.99, gd.
1–CREATIVE FLAIR (IRE), 126, f, 4, by Dubawi (Ire)
                1st Dam: Hidden Gold (Ire) (SW & MGSP-Eng,
                                 $211,207, by Shamardal
                2nd Dam: Melikah (Ire), by Lammtarra
                3rd Dam: Urban Sea, by Miswaki
1ST GROUP WIN. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby;
J-William Buick. $108,000. Lifetime Record: SW-Eng, 9-4-1-2,
$305,154. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Werk Nick Rating: A+.
2–Pevensey Bay (Ger), 130, m, 6, Footstepsinthesand (GB)–
Pachelbelle (Fr), by Anabaa. O/B-Julia & Jonathan Aisbitt (FR);
T-Hiroo Shimizu. $36,000.
3–Dubai Love (GB), 126, m, 5, Night of Thunder (Ire)–Devotion
(Ire), by Dylan Thomas (Ire). (120,000gns Wlg '17 TATFOA).
O-Godolphin; B-Petches Farm Ltd (GB); T-Saeed bin Suroor.
$18,000.
Margins: 3/4, NK, 2. Also Ran: Last Look (Ire), Soft Whisper (Ire), Silent Night (Swe), Dalanijujo (Ire), Wedding Dance (Ire), Mnasek, Stunning Beauty (Ire).
Click for the Emirates Racing chart. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO.

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Total Wagering Dips Slightly In January; Purses Show Renewed Strength To Begin 2022

Equibase, North American racing's official database, released Friday its January statistics for the industry's economic indicators, including field size, wagering, and other data, along with 2019 and 2020 comparables. The 2019 data is included as a pre-COVID-19 comparison.

Equibase is continuing to provide monthly reporting of its Economic Indicators Advisories as a service to the industry and in consideration of the economic changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Advisory is typically disseminated on a quarterly basis to provide key metrics used to measure racing's performance throughout the year.

Total wagering on U.S. races saw a slight decline in January, dropping 1.82 percent from the first month of 2021 to the first month of 2022. With the 1.57 percent increase in race days, average wagering per race day also declined by 3.34 percent.

Compared to the first months of 2020 and 2019, however, total wagering was up 7.65 percent and 19.98 percent, respectively.

U.S. purses showed renewed strength to begin 2022, up by 15.48 percent compared to the same period last year, rising above $82 million. That figure is up by 13.85 percent since 2020, and by 4.71 percent since 2019.

Field size is down by 4.12 percent over last year, and by more than two percent compared to 2020 and 2019.

January 2022 vs. January 2021
Indicator January 2022 January 2021 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $942,654,762 $960,160,298 -1.82%
U.S. Purses $82,103,062 $71,098,677 +15.48%
U.S. Race Days 259 255 +1.57%
U.S. Races 2,186 2,211 -1.13%
U.S. Starts 16,949 17,879 -5.20%
Average Field Size 7.75 8.09 -4.12%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $3,639,594 $3,765,335 -3.34%
Average Purses Per Race Day $317,000 $278,818 +13.69%

2020 Comparison:

January 2022 vs. January 2020
Indicator January 2022 January 2020 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $942,654,762 $875,647,020 +7.65%
U.S. Purses $82,103,062 $72,116,730 +13.85%
U.S. Race Days 259 283 -8.48%
U.S. Races 2,186 2,352 -7.06%
U.S. Starts 16,949 18,692 -9.32%
Average Field Size 7.75 7.95 -2.44%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $3,639,594 $3,094,159 +17.63%
Average Purses Per Race Day $317,000 $254,829 +24.40%

2019 Comparison:

January 2022 vs. January 2019
Indicator January 2022 January 2019 % Change
Wagering on U.S. Races* $942,654,762 $785,689,337 +19.98%
U.S. Purses $82,103,062 $78,410,368 +4.71%
U.S. Race Days 259 265 -2.26%
U.S. Races 2,186 2,278 -4.04%
U.S. Starts 16,949 18,137 -6.55%
Average Field Size 7.75 7.96 -2.62%
Average Wagering Per Race Day $3,639,594 $2,964,865 +22.76%
Average Purses Per Race Day $317,000 $295,888 +7.14%

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Value Bloodline Showcase: Tony Wolfe On Charming Kitten

In “Value Bloodline Showcase,” we'll look at stallions that offer value in regional marketplaces, with interviews from the operations that stand them.

In this edition, Tony Wolfe DVM of Wolfe Equine Services, discusses Charming Kitten, a graded stakes-winning son of Kitten's Joy who stands at Breakway Farm in Dillsboro, Ind. Charming Kitten's  first foals are yearlings of 2022.

Charming Kitten
Dk. b. or br. h., 2010, Kitten's Joy x Iteration, by Wild Again
Race Record: 33-8-8-3; $1,018,701
Advertised Fee: $2,500

Question: Charming Kitten was Indiana's most active stallion by mares bred in 2021. To what do you attribute that popularity?

Tony Wolfe, Breakway Farm: I think the simplest reason is that he's the total package. He's a gorgeous horse – correct conformation, built right, and very easy on the eyes. When you look at him, you don't even have to know what you're looking at, you just know you're looking at a true athlete.

He has the pedigree to back it up: A direct son of Kitten's Joy – if you don't know about Kitten's Joy, then COVID has had you isolated for too long. On top of the pedigree, he has a proven record. He earned over $1 million. He won the Grade 3 W.L. McKnight Handicap, and combined won or placed in 15 stakes races. He raced against tough fields and proved his worth.

He also crosses well with most pedigrees, so it opens him up to being versatile for breeders and trainers when looking where to go with their mares. For what he brings to the table, you'd be hard pressed to find a better value for your money.

If I've got a mare that could use help from a stallion physically, what can Charming Kitten best contribute to the equation?

Wolfe: The feedback we have received from the breeders of his first crop (now yearlings), is that he improved every mare – no joke. Large, correct foals with great minds. Strong foals with great bone from the start. And, to be fair, these are reports from owners that bred one or two mares to him – not just a single owner. He has 15 or so yearlings from just as many owners.

What would a breeder looking to harness the Kitten's Joy sire line find familiar in Charming Kitten?

Wolfe: After seeing this first crop hit the ground, and mature into yearlings, all I can say is that a breeder will realize quite quickly that Charming Kitten will continue the legacy of producing winners. I have full confidence in that. His prowess and demeanor are immediately evident, but the real kicker is that he's passing that on as a sire. He is most definitely producing athletes.

What makes Charming Kitten a good fit for the Indiana program?

Wolfe: He's a great fit for the Indiana program because he's a unique pedigree with a lot of class. Indiana is growing. Better class horses are coming to the state, as it should be, and he's a perfect example of that. He brings athleticism that will be successful at long and short distance. He's improving mares, and he's going to produce horses that can win in conditioned or opened races. Why not have an Indiana-sired condition advantage on top of a horse that can win an open race?

Why should a breeder outside of Indiana consider Charming Kitten?

Wolfe: Similar concept to the last question. The horses produced by Charming Kitten will be versatile. Kitten's Joy has shown us without a doubt the success that this pedigree brings to the table. Do you want to pay $50,000 for Kitten's Joy in 2022, or do you want to produce a similar athlete for $2,500 by breeding to Charming Kitten?  Charming Kitten is worth way more, but we want people to feel safe and good about breeding to him – so, let's do it.

Charming Kitten did his best work going over especially long routes of ground. How do you think that should inform the types of mares that breeders should send to him to best fit Indiana's stakes program, where turf races top out at 1 1/16 miles?

Wolfe: We're seeing a lot of “speedballs” in Indiana. Break fast, quick start, and then die out. We're breeding too much speed and no endurance. These mare owners need to look at outcrosses that make sense to improve a mare's produce record. Charming is versatile, and his pedigree is as well. It's not restricted to just long routes, but he certainly can help improve that for mare's when it comes to their offspring and it should be considered.

What are some of the common traits that you've seen among Charming Kitten's first foals?

Wolfe: The breeders have all said the same thing: The foals are large, strong, great bone and correct conformation. Excellent demeanor and easy to work with. We didn't get a single criticism from any breeders this year; just that they absolutely loved their foals (now yearlings).

Charming Kitten was Grade 1-placed over synthetic and ran respectably over dirt in the 2013 Kentucky Derby. Do you see reasons for optimism that he might be able to sire successful runners on surfaces beyond turf?

Wolfe: Most definitely. His record shows his prowess over dirt and synthetic. He finished third in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes over the synthetic at Keeeneland. He finished ninth in the Kentucky Derby on the dirt (outracing Palace Malice and Goldencents). He's a versatile horse and we're going to see that in his offspring.

What's something about Charming Kitten that you think goes overlooked?

Wolfe: His demeanor. It may not be the “top of the list” for breeders, but it should be. This horse is nothing but class. You can handle him with ease, he's respectful, listens, and knows his job. His foals have shown the same demeanor, so we have very trainable, correct athletes. Total package.

What else should breeders know about Charming Kitten before picking up the phone?

Wolfe: We're here to ensure success. We're a part of the team, and we're all friends. When you breed to Charming Kitten, we'll be here for you through it all.

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