GIII Sweetest Chant S. victress Opalina (Optimizer) looks to double up Saturday in Gulfstream's GIII Herecomesthebride S. Running away to a 12-length graduation at third asking against state-breds here in September, the chestnut closed from well back to be fifth in the GII J.P. Morgan Chase Jessamine S. a month later. Third in the local Ginger Brew S. Jan. 1, she posted a 3/4-length decision in the Sweetest Chant Feb. 5.
Christophe Clement saddles a live one in Lia Marina (Uncle Mo). Earning her diploma at second asking at Belmont Oct. 23, the dark bay captured this venue's Wait a While S. Dec. 3.
Michael Tabor's Beside Herself is another daughter of Uncle Mo with a strong chance here. Finishing third in her first two tries, debuting at Belmont Oct. 29 and then running Dec. 26 at Gulfstream, the bay wired the field next out in a two-turn event in Hallandale Jan. 30.
Also worth a look is Gainesway's Spendarella (Karakontie {Jpn}), who graduated in her career bow at this oval Feb. 2.
With the start of the 2-year-old in training sales just around the corner, a visit to Ocala proved to be informative as we checked in with consignors who are going through the fine-tuning process with their sales horses. Leading up to the OBS March Sale, we will release a series of video features covering the topics everyone is talking about as the sales season approaches.
Watch our first episode on first-season sires with Eddie Woods, Nick de Meric and Susan Montanye here.
In this edition, we spoke with Niall Brennan, Ciaran Dunne and Jimbo Gladwell about the freshman sires whose 2-year-olds have impressed them most throughout the breaking and training process, and we asked them to show us a few of those sires' most promising progeny that we will see at the sales in the coming weeks.
NIALL BRENNAN
With first-year sires, obviously some years you might have several by one stallion and nothing by another, so it can be a little hard to compare, but we do have several by Mendelssohn this year and so far I'm really impressed with them. They were a really consistent group as yearlings and I think that's what impressed people. They're very professional and focused on the racetrack and they're good movers across the board. Most of them are average-sized and they're very athletic. I think he's got a great shot.
I've got one Mendelssohn filly in the OBS March Sale [Hip 125] that is a very nice filly. She's out of a Candy Ride (Arg) mare and is a half-sister to Simplification (Not This Time), who won the Mucho Macho Man S. She's professional with a great pedigree.
We also have several Justifys and again, so far I'm quite impressed with them. Many of them were bigger as yearlings so you figured that they might take a little longer as he was later-developing, but I've got a couple that have been very forward in their training.
We have two Justify colts going to the OBS March Sale. The one colt [Hip 476] is out of a Silver Deputy mare who has already thrown a 2-year-old stakes winner. He is good-sized, strong and balanced. He has given me the impression that he's very quick. The other colt [Hip 501] is actually a half-brother to MGSW Toinette (Scat Daddy), who was a good stakes filly on the grass. He's got a huge stride, but he really covers the ground and is deceivingly quick because he just is so easy over the ground. These colts are a little different, but they're both forward mentally and physically.
I've got a couple of other Justify fillies that are going to go to the April sale. They're bigger, growthier types like him. They're May foals so we just picked the later sale to give them a little more time, but again, I've been quite impressed with how forward they seem to be
We only have one Bolt d'Oro this year, but he's a very impressive colt going to OBS March [Hip 84]. He's mature, very powerful and a great mover on the racetrack. He's out of a Fastnet Rock (Aus) mare, so it's mostly an Australian pedigree which is a great cross. If I had to judge Bolt d'Oro by this one colt, I'm impressed because this colt is very serious.
CIARAN DUNNE: Wavertree Stables
We only have a small sampling of Justifys, but we're really high on the colt out of Appealing Zophie (Successful Appeal) who is going to Gulfstream [Hip 84]. He trains as well a horse can train. If he's a true reflection of what the rest of them are like, I think Justify is in for a big year.
As a group, the Good Magics we have are probably the most solid. We have quite a few of those; I think we have five or six of them. The colt out of Rose Mine (Street Cry {Ire}) who goes to OBS March [Hip 82] is probably one of our highlights. He's a big, strong colt with a super way of going. The thing about the Good Magics is that you forget how good of a 2-year-old he was and these guys have really shown a lot of speed.
City of Light was the hot commodity at the yearling sales. They're very quick and precocious for a horse who was later developing himself. We have a couple of fillies by him that we're high on. The Redbud (Union Rags) filly goes to OBS March [Hip 59] and we have a filly out of Naples Mist (Medaglia d'Oro) going to Gulfstream [Hip 41]. We have high expectations for both of those.
Top Line's Bolt d'Oro colt out of Foolish Cause (Giant's Causeway) sells at the OBS March Sale | Tiborphoto
We probably have as many Bolt d'Oros as we have of any of the first-season stallions. We have a really good sampling going to OBS March. The colt out of Roman Bluff (Roman Ruler) [Hip 81] might just be our fastest horse going in there based on how he has acted at home. We have a filly out of Moment of Speight (Ire) (Speightstown) [Hip 625] who has a beautifully-deep female family. She's more of a two-turn type of filly, but she acts like she's got speed too. Across the board, I think they've got a lot of quality and a future going two turns.
JIMBO GLADWELL: Top Line Sales
We have two Bolt d'Oro colts going to OBS March. I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say both of them are going to go 10 flat or faster. They're both fast, good-moving colts and they're very aggressive in their training. They want to do it so bad. They are two of the faster colts I've got going over there and we're very happy with the Bolt d'Oros right now. We're actually bringing a mare back to him this year.
Morello (Classic Empire) looks to take his perfect record to three-for-three and take his first steps down the GI Kentucky Derby trail in Aqueduct's GIII Gotham S. Saturday. A dominant debut winner going six panels at this oval Nov. 27, the $250,000 EASMAY purchase ran to the money with a five-length score in the Big A's Jimmy Winkfield S. Feb. 6.
“Morello looks like he could potentially be something special,” Dave Lyon of Blue Lion Thoroughbreds said. “I think it's just a perfect race set up for a horse like him, where you're going to take your time and see what he can do. Past the wire, it looks like he can get further out there. Seeing him calm in the winner's circle tells me he has more left in the tank.”
Todd Pletcher also saddles an unbeaten runner in this event in Dean's List (Speightstown). The chestnut drew off to a 5 1/2-length graduation despite some greeness in his Dec. 11 unveiling at Gulfstream and wired an optional claimer there last out Jan. 8. Both races were run over six furlongs. Pletcher also saddles Calumet Farm's Golden Code (Honor Code). Runner-up to Bold Journey (Hard Spun) in a state-bred event here Dec. 18, he crushed his fellow Empire-breds by 10 3/4 lengths next out in the mud at this oval Feb. 5.
“I like the way he's been training and he's put in some gallop outs that suggest he is going to be able to handle a stretch out in distance–that's what we're trying to find out here and I feel the one-turn mile is a good way to do it and gradually stretch him out a little bit,” Pletcher said of Dean's List.
Rockefeller (Medaglia d'Oro) returns to the Big Apple in search of another victory Saturday. Opening his account at Del Mar Aug. 28, the Bob Baffert pupil was fourth to champion stablemate Corniche (Quality Road) in the GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita Oct. 1. Wiring the GIII Nashua S. at Belmont last time he visited New York Nov. 7, the $750,000 KEESEP buy checked in second to stablemate Newgrange (Violence) in the GIII Sham S. in Arcadia Jan. 1.
At a special meeting called on March 4, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted to uphold a decision by KHRC executive director Marc Guilfoil not to grant a stay of trainer Bob Baffert's 90-day suspension for a betamethasone positive after last year's Kentucky Derby.
Ten commissioners — Frank Jones, Jr., Dr. Naveed Chowhan, Michael Dudgeon, Jim Gates, Jr., Greg Harbut, Douglas Hendrickson, Kenneth Jackson, Bill Landes, Mark Simendinger, and James Worley — voted not to grant the stay.
Three commissioners — Kerry Cauthen, Lesley Howard, and Charles O'Connor — abstained due to an actual or perceived conflict of interest.
One commissioner, Dr. Tom Riddle, did not have his vote registered by voice on the teleconference.
No commissioners voted to grant the stay.
It is now likely that Baffert will appeal the commission's decision to Franklin County Circuit Court, where it will be heard by Judge Thomas Wingate. Wingate held a hearing earlier this week in which he determined Baffert needed to take up Guilfoil's denial of the stay with the full commission before Wingate could legally rule on it in court. Wingate will hear arguments from both sides about the stay on March 17, and said he expected to issue a decision on March 21.
The commission voted after spending roughly 30 minutes in executive session, which was closed to the public. Attorneys for the respective sides were given ten minutes to present arguments, and were limited by a timer which appeared on screen for participants in the teleconference. Those arguments were made during the public portion of the meeting. Clark Brewster, who is part of Bob Baffert's legal team, presented his argument first and ultimately had his mic cut off when time expired.
Brewster said that a 90-day suspension would require Baffert to disband his stable of 88 horses, jeopardizing his 70 employees, dealing the operation “a virtual death blow.” Much of his arguments, however, focused on the question of whether Baffert could persevere in his attempts to appeal the ruling itself. Brewster reiterated his well-publicized argument that the presence of betamethasone in Medina Spirit came from a topical and not an injectable and as such, did not warrant a suspension.
He also raised questions about the process stewards used to make their ruling last week, disqualifying the horse, suspending Baffert, and fining him $7,500. Brewster pointed out that there were no 'findings of fact' attached to the ruling and as such, he doesn't know what evidence the stewards considered among the information presented to them.
Other recent rulings on the KHRC website do not include a section titled 'Findings of Fact.'
Jennifer Wolsing, counsel for the KHRC, made reference to Baffert's recent history of drug violations. Medina Spirit's overage was the fourth for the trainer in a 365-day period, following one in Kentucky for the same substance after Gamine's runner-up effort in the Kentucky Oaks. She also pointed to Baffert's public declarations at the end of 2020 that he would more closely oversee operations in his barn and welcome more veterinary input on how to clean up his protocols to prevent overages.
After he was notified about a pending positive for Medina Spirit, Wolsing said that “Mr. Baffert did not take responsibility, but instead began to hold press conferences advancing conspiracy theories, stating there was an unnamed problem in racing but it was not Bob Baffert, and shifting his story as to the source of the positive. The effect of this was to diminish trust in an entire industry — racing, breeding, and sales.”
Wolsing said that the commission is not required to grant a stay of suspension, but is allowed to when they find a “good cause” to do so.
She also disputed Brewster's assertion that the source of betamethasone would exempt this positive from punishment. The KHRC believes its regulations are clear that no level of betamethasone is permitted in a horse's body post-race, regardless of source — and that a topically-absorbed medication does, by design, enter a horse's body.
“Maybe this betamethasone did come from Otomax, and maybe it didn't,” she said. “When you look at our regulations, that doesn't make a difference. When you look at the science, it doesn't make a difference, either.”
