April, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Insight Outcomes: Firsters Simply Super and Talkin Pharoah Duel

As Keeneland winds down and Derby week visibly looms on the horizon, it was quiet on the Insights front this past week, with just two races highlighted and one of the major contenders scratching. Previous GI Kentucky Derby winners Super Saver (2010) and American Pharoah (2015) had juveniles step up with a stretch battle in their career debuts.

WEDNESDAY'S INSIGHTS: Tapit Half to Dual GISW Debuts at KEE

4th-Keeneland, $58,964, Msw, 4-20, 2yo, 4 1/2f, :52.33, ft, 1 1/2 lengths.

With the featured Magic Tap (Tapit)–a half to MGISW and $3-million Fasig-Tipton buy American Gal (Concord Point)–a late scratch, firster SIMPLY SUPER (c, 2, Super Saver–So You Know, by Jump Start) picked up the slack to get his debut win. Simply Super tracked also-highlighted Talkin Pharoah (American Pharoah) behind :22.98 and :45.92 fractions, drawing on even terms in the lane. The two dueled down the stretch with Simply Super kicking clear late to get the better of Talkin Phaorah by 1 1/2 lengths. A Mike Maker pupil, the winner was a $30,000 private purchase by Legion Bloodstock at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic Fall Yearlings sale and is from the last U.S. crop by his now-Turkish-based sire. The runner-up is a Wesley Ward trainee who brought $260,000 at Keeneland September. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

SATURDAY'S INSIGHTS: $550k Uncle Mo Colt Kicks Off at Keeneland

2nd-Keeneland, $100,000, Msw, 4-23, 3yo/up, 5 1/2fT, 1:02.94, gd, 2 1/2 lengths.

It was ATRAS (g, 3, Astern {Aus}–All About Allison, by City Zip) who covered the most ground in this maiden, circling the field after sitting midpack to accelerate down the center of the course, finishing a much-the-best 2 1/2-length victor for trainer Vicki Oliver. The big-blazed sophomore is a member of the first crop of Medaglia d'Oro's fellow Darley-based son Astern. 'Insighted' Wesley Ward trainee Lawmaker (Uncle Mo) broke sharply, pressing the pace while three wide, but dropped back on the turn and faded to follow the field home. The $550,000 Keeneland September purchase was making his career debut. He had shipped from Keeneland to the Spa last summer, got in one work over Saratoga's training track, then didn't reappear until a work at Keeneland in late fall. He's been steadily preparing for this unveiling with 14 official works in the books since November and undoubtedly got an education here. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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‘Once In A Lifetime Horse’ Golden Pal Headlines American Contingent For Royal Ascot

Entries from nine countries have been unveiled for the eight Group One races at Royal Ascot, headlined by the world's three highest rated sprinters: Nature Strip (Chris Waller, Australia, 124), Golden Pal (Wesley Ward, USA, 121) and Home Affairs (Chris Waller, Australia, 120).

The Australian stars are on a collision course with the cream of the sprinting crop from the USA, with Wesley Ward's customary raiding party spearheaded by Golden Pal in the King's Stand Stakes.

Golden Pal had several European raiders in behind when dominating from the front in the G1 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint in November and the 4-year-old made a sparkling comeback in the G2 Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland on April 9, bolting up by almost five lengths.

Ward said: “Golden Pal is doing great, he really is. I have been singing this horse's praises for a couple of years now and the only thing he hasn't done yet is win on your patch. Hopefully, he can get it done!

“It was a powerful performance from him in the Shakertown – but it was a comeback and I really think his next run is going to be something special. He is a once in a lifetime horse – certainly the best I have ever had – and I think he will stamp that with his performance at Ascot if he runs like I am expecting him to.

“Physically, he is an awesome specimen now and mentally he is really coming into his own. I am just so excited to get him back over there.”

Golden Pal's only defeat since a near miss at this meeting as a 2-year-old came in last season's G1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York, when he finished seventh behind Winter Power, much to his trainer's bemusement.

Ward explained: “I am looking at a couple of things from his run at York. Firstly, he ran a big race at Churchill Downs on his comeback last year and that was five weeks beforehand. I know five weeks is a nice gap for you guys but, for me, a longer spacing with sprinters works better. If I come back too quick, it usually stings me as a trainer. A lot of trainers are able to do it but my whole career I have never been able to do something like that.

“The other point is that when Frankie [Dettori] rode him, he did not want to go too fast early. He took a pretty good hold of him in the first part of the race and, although endoscopically there were no abnormalities after, maybe something got a bit displaced and shut his airways down a little bit. A veterinarian would disagree with me, but I am searching for an answer for that race because he went into it really good. Those are the two reasons I think that he did not fire but, other than that, he has fired every start of his life.”

Platinum Jubilee Stakes contender Campanelle will bid to join a select group of horses to have won three different Royal Ascot races in successive years. The 4-year-old captured the G2 Queen Mary Stakes in 2020 and last year was second past the post in the G1 Commonwealth Cup before the placings were reversed due to interference.

Ward said: “Barbara Banke [owner] and her team are so excited to get Campanelle back over there. She had a strong performance on her comeback win at Keeneland the other day. If you watch that race against some of the fastest fillies in the country, what she did was pretty impressive.

“Between her and Golden Pal, I think we are going in with some big chances. They are running in races that I have won before and I really feel this pair are coming into their respective races as good, if not better, than my previous winners.”

Of Ward's 12 Royal Ascot winners to date, eight have come in 2-year-old races, and the trainer is hoping to bring another strong team of juveniles this year.

He said: “We have our first grass maidens for 2-year-olds in the US at Keeneland this week. Then there are maidens at Churchill Downs and Belmont Park as well. I will have runners across those races and how they get on will determine who travels.”

There are 16 entries for the USA at today's Group One entry stage, with Ward set to be joined by fellow regular Graham Motion on the trip (Spendarella, Coronation Stakes & Sy Dog, St James's Palace Stakes) along with Brad Cox (Caravel, King's Stand Stakes and Commonwealth Cup options) and Christophe Clement, who is responsible for last year's star filly, Pizza Bianca, entered for the Coronation Stakes, owned by celebrity chef, Bobby Flay.

Pizza Bianca won last year's G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf in great style and that race is working out particularly well. Clement also has Slipstream, Derrynane and Big Invasion entered for the Commonwealth Cup.

Clement said: “All options are open for Pizza Bianca after her second at Aqueduct last weekend. I am yet to have a discussion with the owner and suspect we will make a decision in the next two or three weeks.

“I thought she ran a good race at Aqueduct, although it was a shame she got beaten. The race was a little bit against us but the filly who won [Consumer Spending] is a very nice filly. They both finished the race very willingly and our filly has come out of it in great shape.

“We have a great program here now for 3-year-old fillies on the grass, in particular the New York Triple Crown. I am very happy to keep her here for that but if the owner wants to go to Ascot, then I am very happy to do that as well if we think she will be competitive.

“There is another stakes race in four weeks at Pimlico that she could go for and then from there you can go to Ascot. The filly will tell us what she wants to do but at the moment all options are wide open.

“Slipstream is very much on course for the Commonwealth Cup. He won a stakes race impressively at Keeneland in April and I don't think I will run him back before Ascot.

“This horse has a very good mind and goes on any ground. He is very mature as well having been a good 2-year-old last year. I think he is a good horse.

“I have also nominated a very fast filly called Derrynane. She is top-class but needs the ground on the firmer side. Similarly with Pizza Bianca, there is a stakes race for her here in late May and we may go there before deciding about the Commonwealth Cup.

“Both Slipstream and Derrynane have been competing with Wesley Ward horses who will be coming to Royal Ascot, so the form is very good, and any time they have been beaten, there have been excuses.”

Canada could be represented at Royal Ascot this year courtesy of Shirl's Speight (Roger Attfield, Queen Anne Stakes), who was a dramatic last-gasp winner of the recent G1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland, where many of the North American entries have been running this Spring.

The Australian pair, who could clash with Golden Pal in the King's Stand Stakes or run in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes, are joined by compatriot Artorius (Anthony & Sam Freedman) who is set to run on the final day of the meeting.

Last year's Everest winner Nature Strip has a formidable CV comprising eight Group One victories and looked as good as ever on his latest start as he posted a stunning success in the G1 T J Smith Stakes at Randwick on 2nd April.

Home Affairs is the new kid on the block and had the measure of his stable-mate in the G1 Lightning Stakes at Flemington in February, when the pair were separated by a short-head in a thrilling finish.

The Lightning Stakes has been a key stepping-stone for Australia's five Royal Ascot winners, with Choisir, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti, Scenic Blast and Black Caviar all winning the five-furlong highlight.

Waller's assistant trainer and racing manager Charlie Duckworth said: “We have nominated both Nature Strip and Home Affairs for the King's Stand Stakes and the Platinum Jubilee Stakes. This is to keep our options open as anything can happen with horses but we should have an exciting Royal Meeting, that is for sure.

“It is phenomenally exciting for Chris to be entrusted in the training of one champion sprinter but to have two champions in the same year is just incredible. Then to be in a position to travel to Royal Ascot, especially in The Queen's Platinum Jubilee year, makes it all the more special.

“Nature Strip really etched his name in the history books when winning his third T J Smith Stakes, which brought his total prize money up to AUS$18m. He is a champion year in, year out, and most importantly doesn't seem to be slowing down despite his age.

“Home Affairs was terrific in winning the Lightning Stakes – and doing it against the older horses proves that he is a weight-for-age sprinter and not just the best in his age group. He is a fantastic son of I Am Invincible and will no doubt do a wonderful job at stud. I believe he is good enough to really test the European sprinters and make himself into a dual hemisphere stallion.

“Nature Strip has just come back into the stable after a short break following a busy racing preparation while Home Affairs is back in work and going well. The plan is for both horses to do the majority of their work on home soil prior to travelling to England.”

The Prince of Wales's Stakes will take shape over the next couple of months on the domestic front but could be the European starting point for last year's G1 Juddmonte International winner Mishriff (UK, John & Thady Gosden).

In wait will be the star Japanese G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner, Shahryar (Hideaki Fujiwara), who with a 120 rating is the highest rated Japanese horse to have run this year. He is set to be joined on the trip from Japan by Grenadier Guards (Mitsumasa Nakauchida), who could add further international intrigue to the Platinum Jubilee Stakes.

Hideaki Fujiwara, trainer of Shahryar, said: “It is a great honor for me to have a runner at Royal Ascot in The Queen's Platinum Jubilee year.

“I discussed with the owner [Sunday Racing Co Ltd] about future plans after Shahryar won the Dubai Sheema Classic and we agreed that the next target for Shahryar must be the races with the highest profile in the world.

“I believe the Prince of Wales's Stakes is the ideal spot for the horse.”

Group One-winning miler Grenadier Guards is unexposed over sprint distances. The Frankel colt stormed home to take the seven-furlong G2 Hanshin Cup in December and was not beaten far in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen over six furlongs at Chukyo in March.

His trainer Mitsu Nakauchida said: “Royal Ascot is, no doubt, the most prestigious race meeting in the world and it is a great honour to send a runner there from my stable. And it is the ultimate happiness to be a part of Royal Ascot in The Queen's Platinum Jubilee year.”

Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Public Affairs at Ascot Racecourse, said:

“Whilst early days still, it's encouraging and very pleasing to see such a wide range of horses from nine countries entered for Royal Ascot today.

“The sprinters speak for themselves and it will be fantastic to have the Australians back at Royal Ascot this year. A clash between Nature Strip and Golden Pal would be mouth-watering – probably the highlight of the week in a true international showdown of the heavyweights.

“Japanese racing has been the story of the season so far, stretching back to the Breeders' Cup in fact. It will be fascinating to see whether that can continue at Royal Ascot but in Shahryar, the best of their horses to have run this year will be here in June.

“The potential American party is remarkable and it's great to see the range of interest from that part of the world, including Canada, across so many races. It is always particularly exciting to see US-trained Breeders' Cup winners at Royal Ascot and we hope to see Pizza Bianca and Golden Pal looking to achieve the double.

“The European picture will become clearer over the forthcoming weeks and we'll learn a lot from Group One contests coming up at Newmarket, Newbury and Epsom. Of course this week we learned that the main target for last year's leading 2-year-old filly, Inspiral, will be the Coronation Stakes and a potential clash with Pizza Bianca.”

Since 2003, 188 runners from outside Europe have competed at Royal Ascot from nine different countries; America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa, Bahrain, and the UAE.

All eight Group One races at Royal Ascot are part of the QPICO British Champions Series. Four Royal Ascot contests are part of the Breeders' Cup Win & You're In Programme – the King's Stand Stakes, Queen Anne Stakes, Prince of Wales's Stakes and Norfolk Stakes.

The post ‘Once In A Lifetime Horse’ Golden Pal Headlines American Contingent For Royal Ascot appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Where to Watch/Listen: Horse Racing Coverage for April 27-May 1

The 2022 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve is 11 days away, and media coverage of preparations for North America’s signature race is ramping up. Whether you’re tuning in on TV, radio, or via computer or mobile device, a variety of shows are on the schedule offering race previews, features, handicapping tips, and other content leading up to the run for the roses.

Taking Stock: Mo Donegal Has Character of Crawford

Affable Iowan Jerry Crawford, a longtime client of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, runs the successful racing partnership Donegal Racing, which was established in 2008 with the specific goal of winning the Gl Kentucky Derby. That may have sounded like wishful thinking at the time, but Crawford's stable has made it to Louisville on average every three years or so, with live runners, and with horses that haven't been purchased for exorbitant sums: Paddy O'Prado (El Prado {Ire}), a $105,000 Keeneland September purchase and among the first yearlings bought by the fledgling stable, was third in 2010; Dullahan (Even the Score), a $250,000 Keeneland September buy, was third in 2012; and Keen Ice (Curlin), who was purchased for $120,000 at Keeneland September, was seventh in 2015.

Despite Derby losses, all three nevertheless became Grade l winners at 10 furlongs, which is what the meticulous Crawford seeks in prospective yearling purchases; simply put, he's not interested in yearlings that could potentially become stakes winners at sprint and mile distances, and he's passed on several that have gone on to do so in order to find ones that can get the Derby trip.

That's the ethos that defines Crawford, and he's back to the Derby this year with another serious contender in Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), the Gll Wood Memorial winner who was purchased for $250,000 at Keeneland September. Like the others noted above, Mo Donegal is bred for the distance and appears to be peaking at the right time for trainer Todd Pletcher.

It just so happens that come-from-behind types, or at least horses that come mid-pack from off the pace, happen to characterize the Donegal runners. You won't find Donegal silks on the front end or attending the pace from the get-go. Mo Donegal runs from off the pace. It's how Paddy O'Prado, Dullahan and Keen Ice ran. It's how Grade l winner Finnegan's Wake (Powerscourt {GB}), a rare Crawford homebred, ran. The same is true for Donegal Grade l winners Arklow (Arch) and Carrick (Giant's Causeway). Donegal's Gll Remsen S. winner O'Prado Again came from off the pace in 2011 to win the same race in the same style that Mo Donegal did last year.

The Remsen at nine furlongs late in the year is as far as 2-year-olds are asked to race in this country, and it's a race suited for horses with stamina. Unfortunately, the winners of this race are asked to come back as early 3-year-olds on the Classics trail in shorter races against faster horses, and this doesn't suit all of them. Frequently some go wrong after cutting back in distance, while others get injured. O'Prado Again, for example, was on the shelf for 10 months after his Remsen.

Coolmore America's young stallion Mo Town (Uncle Mo), who is bred similarly to Mo Donegal (both are out of A.P. Indy-line mares), won the Remsen in 2016 but never got back on track until late at three, when he won the Gl Hollywood Derby at Del Mar in November.

Darby Dan's Modernist, who like Mo Town is from a Bernardini mare, won his first stakes race at three, the Gll Risen Star S. at nine furlongs, and his second, the Glll Excelsior, at four. Current Derby contender Un Ojo, who is by the late Uncle Mo horse Laoban from an A.P. Indy mare, won his first and only stakes race at three this year, the Gll Rebel S.

Recently, Jerry and I had a discussion about Mo Donegal's pedigree and its aptitude for stamina and later development, after he'd read an article that suggested Mo Donegal had more speed in his makeup than what he's shown on the track. With Jerry's permission, I'm reproducing here my unedited email response to him, which came after Mo Donegal's rallying third-place finish in the Glll Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream over 1 1/16 miles.

I wrote: “It's a very positive piece, obviously. Your horse is training well, and if there were ever a year to get the Derby, this is it. However, when Uncle Mo and AP Indy are crossed in pedigrees, what usually results is more of a stamina horse than a speed horse; that means a horse that could win at 2, but late in the year, and this is what Mo Donegal showed. Moreover, winning the Remsen at 2 demonstrated his stamina, because 9F at 2 is as far as horses that age run in the US.

“In my opinion, he actually shows more stamina at this stage of his career than what's optimum for him, and when you cut back to 1 1/6 miles at 3, it was too sharp for him. However, White Abarrio and Simplification have proven to be good horses, and likewise, the two that beat Zandon are the same, which points to a lot of class. The danger, as I pointed out years ago to you after winning the Remsen with O'Prado Again, is keeping these types sound enough to make the Derby.

“Country Grammer is a good example. He, too, won at 9F at 2, but he came back at 3 at 1 1/6 and finished off the board. It took too much from him, and he didn't win his first stakes race until the summer, and at 4 he won his first GI at 10F.

“Mo Town, bred on same cross as Mo Donegal, also was a late 2yo winner at 8F, then won the Remsen at 9F. He was 5th in the Risen Star at 3 in his debut at 3. He didn't win his first GI race until the Hollywood Derby late at 3.

“I think Mo Donegal fits the profile of these types, but if he can get into the Derby, he will have a great chance this year. However, his best should come in the second half of the year and at 4.”

Pedigree

Coolmore America's Uncle Mo is one of the best stallions in the country. Trained by Todd Pletcher, he was a man among boys at two, both physically and by racing performance, winning all three starts impressively. Injury and illness abbreviated his 3-year-old campaign, but he certainly has enough stamina markers in his pedigree–his dam was sired by Arch–to stay 10 furlongs on paper.

Of course, it's not a theoretical exercise anymore; he sired a Derby winner in his first crop in Nyquist, whose dam was by the fast Forestry and came from a family that produced a lot of speedy types, even by sires with stamina, and this underscores the stamina that Uncle Mo frequently imparts.

Mo Donegal's dam is Callingmissbrown, a Pulpit mare who won two of her four starts, both from off the pace at sprint distances.

Combining Uncle Mo and A.P. Indy, in this case through Pulpit, adds a fair bit of stamina to this pedigree, as noted earlier, but the female family itself contains more stamina within it as the pedigree unfolds. Callingmissbrown's dam is Gl Acorn S. winner Island Sand, a daughter of Gl Preakness and Belmont S. winner Tabasco Cat. Island Sand also won the Gll Delaware H. at 10 furlongs and was second in the Gl Kentucky Oaks. The next dam is by Travers winner Forty Niner, and the fourth dam, by Nureyev, produced Niigon, a colt who won the Queen's Plate at 10 furlongs.

This is the type of pedigree that Crawford mines, and it looks like he's hit another mother lode with Mo Donegal, who, true to the Crawford form, will be running late in the Derby. Hopefully for him, it will be in time to win the race he's been seeking.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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