April, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Observations: Half to Washington DC Debuts

2.00 Navan, Mdn, €16,000, 2yo, 5f 164yT
AESOP'S FABLES (IRE) (No Nay Never) is the latest potential Royal Ascot star to appear for Ballydoyle in 2022 and a notable one as a half-brother to that meeting's Listed Windsor Castle S. winner Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). Along with that sire, whose career win total included the G3 Phoenix Sprint S., this February-foaled bay is also a half to the stable's G3 Chester Vase runner-up Sandhurst (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and he meets Peter Brant's Curragh third Midnight Toker (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}), the Ger Lyons-trained half-brother to the G3 Grosser Preis von Hamburg winner K Club (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) who cost €330,000 at Goffs Orby.

3.51 Leicester, Novice, £8,000, 3yo, 10fT
MAGISTERIAL (IRE) (Frankel {GB}) has sufficient draw to bring Frankie Dettori to the track, as a Bjorn Nielsen-owned Derby entry beginning his 3-year-old campaign under a penalty having won at Haydock in October. A half-sister to Coolmore's queen Lillie Langtry (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), the John and Thady Gosden trainee has a Godolphin newcomer to give seven pounds to in the Charlie Appleby-trained Ruling Dynasty (GB) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), a half-brother to the stable's Old Persian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}).

Observations: How They Fared

4.10 Sandown, Nov, £11,000, 3yo, f, 9f 209yT
Darmoiselle (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), the full-sister to Too Darn Hot (GB), Lah Ti Dar (GB) and So Mi Dar (GB) out of Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}), was not expected to do anything major on debut at 16-1 and never threatened to do so in 10th.

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TAKE2 10th Anniversary Donor Of The Month: Paying It Forward With Dr. Patricia Hurter

Dr. Patricia Hurter has been a member of the TAKE2 family almost since the start. Her splendid jumper Nine Links competed in his first TAKE2 class at Lexington Spring Encore eight years ago this month, and hit the top 10 in the standings almost every season before taking down top honors as the High-Score Jumper of 2021. Our April Donor of the Month, Hurter helped celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the TAKE2 Second Career Thoroughbred Program with a $5,000 donation. It's not the first time she has shown her generous support.

“I feel like if you're a horse lover, you can't possibly not want to help an organization dedicated to finding second careers and good homes for Thoroughbreds who have raced and retired at a young age with still plenty to offer,” Hurter said.

Born and raised in South Africa, Hurter always dreamed of owning a horse, but other than the occasional trail ride during family vacations, she never spent much time in the saddle. That changed after she moved to America.

“I moved to the USA for graduate school, and in my final year of grad school I got tired of waiting to start riding,” she explained. “I looked up 'R' for riding academies in the yellow pages, and found a place to start taking lessons. That was in 1991, when I was about 28. After I started working and was a bit less poor, I started first half-leasing a horse.”

The first horse she owned was, naturally, a retired racehorse. Loucarm, aka Louie, was never cut out for the track, finishing out of the money in every one of his eight races. He moved on to a second career after trailing the field by many lengths in a claiming race at Atlantic City, and proved that show jumping was his true calling.

“My first and best horse was a Thoroughbred,” Hurter said. “His USEF registered name was Red Amber. I got him when he was four, in 1994, he had been off the track for a few months and was very green. I was also very green, I had been taking lessons for about three years at the time. We started jumping 2'3” together and eventually landed up competing at 1.3m in the Amateur/Owner jumpers. He was unbelievably brave, always took care of me, but was also fast and super competitive. If he'd had a more skilled rider, he probably could have jumped Grand Prix.

“He retired from jumping at 19, and had many more happy years of trail riding, then passed away at 30 years old in April 2020. He was brave and scopey and an amazing all-around horse.”

Ten years after teaming up with Louie, Hurter found herself making the move from New Jersey, where she'd spent the first 12 years of her working life, to Massachusetts. Not long after, she found herself in the market for a full-time trainer.

“I was planning to go to the Vermont Summer Festival and couldn't find anyone I knew to train me,” she recalled. “I reached out to the horse show to find out which jumper trainers were going, and the nice lady in the show office read me the list. I didn't recognize any of the names until she said, 'Joe Fargis.' I said, 'I've heard of him!' So I got his number from Linda Sheridan and called him up and he agreed to train me.”

A native of Virginia, Fargis was a member of the U.S. Show Jumping Team starting in the 1970s, and competed in the 1984 Olympics on the brilliant Thoroughbred mare Touch of Class. Like Louie, Touch of Class was an undistinguished racehorse, but an overachiever in the show ring. The two brought home the Gold Medal at the 1984 Games in both Individual and Team Jumping. Fargis won Silver at the 1988 Olympics as well.

“I was star-struck,” Hurter said. “After that I sought out clinics he was giving, and when we landed up buying our farm in Wellington, Florida, in 2013, I called him and asked if he would train me at WEF 2014. He agreed, and I've been working with him since then.”

Fargis, not surprising, is himself a fan of the Thoroughbred, telling the New York Times after his Olympic glory on Touch of Class, “They may have been too slow for [the racetrack] but they're still good movers, light on their feet and intelligent.” He trains no less than three TAKE2 competitors, and graciously provided a testimonial to the breed and the TAKE2 Program.

TAKE2 Testimonial: Olympian Joe Fargis

Hurter is an impressive individual in her own right. A chemical engineer by trade, she is CEO of a biotech company based in Massachusetts called Lyndra Therapeutics, which is a pioneer in the pharmaceutical industry.

“We are working on a novel drug delivery system that allows you to take your medicine orally once a week or only once a month, instead of every day,” Hurter said. “Our lead program is a once-weekly treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. We are also working on a once-weekly treatment of opioid use disorder, a biweekly product supported by the Gates Foundation targeted at eliminating malaria, and a once-monthly oral contraceptive.”

It is important work that doesn't leave a lot of hours for horsing around, but finding time to train with Fargis will become easier for Hurter this spring.

“In the past, I was based in Massachusetts in the summer, and he was in Virginia, so we occasionally met at shows, but for the most part I did my own thing for the summers,” she said. “But in November last year, we bought a farm in Middleburg, Virginia, and the horses will be moving back there later this month now that WEF is wrapping up. I'm very excited to finally be able to train with Joe year-round.”

In addition to Nine Links, Hurter has a new horse on the TAKE2 circuit this season, the 6-year-old mare Indigo Midnight. The Maryland-bred was unsuccessful in three races, winning just $1,320, but has already shown what she can do on a jump course.

“My barn manager Christina Severino is bringing her along, and she was reserve circuit champion here at WEF this year,” Hurter said. “We're excited about her future.”

Hurter is also bullish on the future of the TAKE2 Program.

“The Thoroughbred Jumper classes are really fun, and allow you to connect with other Thoroughbred lovers, which is an added bonus,” she said. “Riders who love Thoroughbreds are definitely a bit 'different,' maybe a little crazy, but true horse lovers. It's great to have an organization dedicated to like-minded people who still believe in the possibilities talented Thoroughbreds offer to people in multiple riding disciplines, especially show jumping.”

Help TAKE2 Celebrate 10 Years of Supporting Retired Racehorses!

Join the Cause: With the generous help of donors Len Green and the Green Group, and Patricia Hurter, TAKE2's “Perfect 10” campaign has already raised $31,898, ahead of our goal of raising $10,000 a month for 10 months in celebration of our 10^th Anniversary. We encourage members of the Thoroughbred Horse Racing, Show Horse and Sport Horse communities to follow our supporters' lead and honor the anniversary with donations of any size.

Post on Social Media: Throughout the campaign, TAKE2 will feature donors and surprise celebrity ambassadors on our social media platforms. All owners of retired racehorses turned hunter/jumpers are also invited to share photos of their horses on TAKE2's FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram accounts with the hashtag #TAKE2Happy10th.

To Make a Donation: Click here to make a donation today! You can also donate by texting HAPPY10TH! to 44321.

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Champions Clash In Oaklawn’s Apple Blossom

It's a clash of champions, times two.

Eclipse Award winners Letruska and Ce Ce meet for the first time in the $1 million Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) Saturday at Oaklawn, a 1 1/16-mile blockbuster event for older fillies and mares that anchors a 12-race card.

The Apple Blossom goes as the fifth race, with probable post time 2:18 p.m. (Central). Racing begins at 12:10 p.m. The infield will be open. Mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the lows 80s are expected, according to weather.com.

Saturday's card also features the $1 million Oaklawn Handicap (G2) for older horses at 1 1/8 miles and the $150,000 Oaklawn Stakes for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles.

The Apple Blossom only drew five entrants, but it's a case of quality clearly trumping quantity.

Letruska won an Eclipse Award as the country's champion older dirt female of 2021. Ce Ce won an Eclipse Award as the country's champion female sprinter of 2021. Millionaire Grade 1 winner Clairiere was a finalist for an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old filly of 2021. A fourth entrant, Maracuja, is another Grade 1 winner.

“It's a small field, but it's got like a Breeders' Cup kind of feel to it,” said Rob Atras, who trains Maracuja.

Saturday's race will mark the first time that two Apple Blossom winners will meet in the Apple Blossom since it became a two-turn race for older fillies and mares in 1975. Ce Ce won the Apple Blossom in 2020. Letruska won the Apple Blossom, now among the country's signature two-turn events for older fillies and mares, in 2021.

Ce Ce or Letruska can become just the fourth horse to capture multiple runnings of the Apple Blossom, following Hall of Famers Paseana (1992, 1993), Azeri (2002, 2003, 2004) and Zenyatta (2008 and 2010).

Trained by Fausto Gutierrez, Letruska recorded her breakout victory nationally in last April's Apple Blossom when she edged two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl by a nose. Letruska rode that momentum to three more Grade 1 victories and was a runaway selection in voting for an Eclipse Award.

“I think it's a very different race than last year,” Gutierrez said after watching Letruska train Thursday morning at Oaklawn. “Again, it's a short field, but now we have the pressure of being the favorite. But it's pressure that we want. Monomoy (Girl) ran and we had the good luck to cross in front first. That's when you understand the difference in a nose at the end of the race. Now, I think we have the obligation to come back here and try for back-to-back Apple Blossoms. It would be fantastic.”

The projected five-horse Apple Blossom field from the rail out: Maracuja, Ricardo Santana Jr. to ride, 119 pounds; 6-1 on the morning line; Letruska, Jose Ortiz, 124, 7-5; Clairiere, Joel Rosario, 121, 5-2; Miss Imperial, Tiago Pereira, 115, 12-1; and Ce Ce, Victor Espinoza, 121, 2-1.

The speedy Letruska was based this winter and early spring in south Florida, where she opened her 6-year-old campaign with a front-running three-length victory in the $150,000 Royal Delta Stakes (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 26 at Gulfstream Park. Letruska was racing for the first time since finishing a leg-weary 10th in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) at 1 1/8 miles Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Letruska's only other loss in a grueling eight-race cross-country 2021 campaign was a runner-up finish in the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles, Oaklawn's final major prep for the Apple Blossom.

Letruska does her best work on the front end and appears to be the controlling speed again Saturday.

“It's a short field on numbers, but a big field on quality,” Gutierrez said. “All the ones have a very clear style of running. In our case, we follow the only style we know – it is to let her run. It depends on the rhythm of the race and how Jose Ortiz decides to ride. Now that she's 6 years old, I think everybody knows how she runs. We'll see, but she's in good form.”

A daughter of Super Saver, Letruska has an 18-1-1 record from 24 lifetime starts and earnings of $2,348,529.

Southern California-based Ce Ce returns to Oaklawn after employing stalk-and-pounce tactics to win the $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles March 12 for trainer Michael McCarthy and breeder/owner Bo Hirsch. The Azeri marked Ce Ce's return to two-turn races after concentrating on sprints for most of 2021. Ce Ce secured an Eclipse Award with a victory in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) at 7 furlongs Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

Ce Ce has four published works at Santa Anita since the Azeri, including a 5-furlong bullet drill in :58 April 9.

“I think she's got a good post position, drawn outside, in a five-horse field,” McCarthy said Thursday night. “Good horses always set honest fractions, so I think they'll be a pace up front. Just try to tuck in and I hope everybody turns up the backside in a spot they want to be in and let the best horse win from there.”

Ce Ce figures to be stalking Letruska and the hope, McCarthy said, is she doesn't get loose through soft fractions.

“Certainly, it's a concern,” McCarthy said. “But I'm not trading places with anybody, win, lose or draw on Saturday. I don't trade places with anyone.”

Ce Ce has a 9-2-3 record from 18 lifetime starts and earnings of $2,003,100.

Late-running Clairiere makes her Oaklawn debut after toying with allowance runners in her 4-year-old debut at 1 1/16 miles March 16 at Fair Grounds for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. Clairiere closed her 2021 campaign with a fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, beaten only three-quarters of a length after a wide trip.

“Don't want to trade places with anybody,” Asmussen said. “Promise.”

Clairiere won her 4-year-old debut by 6 ½ lengths. It was her first start on Lasix and first time to be ridden by Joel Rosario, the 2021 Eclipse Award winner as the country's most outstanding jockey.

“That was good,” Rosario said. “First time back since the big race she ran in last time. She kind of did that on her own. It was an easy race for her. Just trying to play it that way and she had a nice trip.”

Maracuja, another late runner, has been training at Oaklawn since early January and exits a sharp two-length allowance victory at 1 1/16 miles April 1 in her 4-year-old debut.

Maracuja recorded her biggest career victory to date in the $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies last July at Saratoga, toppling, among others, eventual Eclipse Award winner Malathaat and Clairiere.

The April 1 comeback race was Maracuja's first start against older horses and first start since a fourth-place finish behind Clairiere in the $1 million Cotillion Stakes (G1) for 3-year-old fillies Sept. 25 at Parx.

“It's kind of a funny situation,” Atras said. “It's early in the year and you've got Letruska – she kind of had her prep race for it (Apple Blossom), which was a walk in the park and she looked awesome doing it. Then, Clairiere had the same kind of thing. She looked very dominant in her race. We kind of had our prep and we weren't quite as dominant as those two, but we were at the back of the pack and made a good run and we were probably a little short, anyways. Everyone's kind of early in the year, in their form. Everyone's coming off a win, so they all look like they're in top form at this point. We're going to have to step up to beat them.”

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Munnings Filly Brings $1.6M From Best at OBS

A filly by Munnings (hip 1174) joined the seven-figure club at OBS when selling for $1.6 million to Larry Best. Bloodstock agent Christina Jelm signed the ticket on the chestnut who worked a furlong in :9 4/5 last week. The filly is out of multiple stakes winner Tensas Harbor (Private Vow) and was purchased by Woods's Quarter Pole Enterprises pinhooking partnership for $250,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. She is the fifth seven-figure juvenile of the four-day auction, which had already surpassed its previous record gross during Thursday's third session.

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