May, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Arc Winner Rail Link Passes At 19

Juddmonte homebred Rail Link (GB) (Dansili {GB}–Docklands, by Theatrical {Ire}), who won the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 2006, sustained a heart attack on Friday and died at Haras de Vains. He was 19.

“Rail Link died on Friday [of] a heart attack,” Adrien Delaroque of Haras de Vains told Jour de Gallop. “I bought him from Haras de Cercy two years ago. I was delighted to have him with me. He was an authentic champion.”

Raced exclusively at three, the Andre Fabre trainee broke his maiden in his third start in May of 2006, and never lost again. His winning thread began with the G3 Prix du Lys. Next were victories in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris that July and the G2 Prix Niel in his warm up for the Arc. He was retired with five wins from seven starts and earnings of $1,976,387.

Standing initially at Juddmonte's Banstead Manor Stud in 2008, he served there through the 2014 season and moved to France's Haras National de Cercy la Tour for 2015-2016. In 2017, he was transferred to Haras de Cercy and later on Haras de Vains. His dozen black-type winners are led by Group 1 scorers Epicuris (GB) and Spillway (GB), and he has seven other group winners among that bunch. A half-brother to group winners Crossharbour (GB) (Zamindar), Mainsail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Chelsea Manor (GB) (Grand Lodge), his trio of black-type winners as a broodmare sire include two group winners–San Huberto (Ire) (Speightstown) and Alounak (Fr) (Camelot {GB}).

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Derby Scratch Ethereal Road Romps in Sir Barton

Ethereal Road (Quality Road) will always be remembered as the horse removed from the 2022 GI Kentucky Derby at the last moment of scratch time, paving the way for an 80-1 longshot to upset America's biggest race. However, on GI Preakness S. Day, he signified he might have something else to say about the 3-year-old picture this year. With stablemate Secret Oath (Arrogate) Preakness-bound after her GI Kentucky Oaks win, Ethereal Road was routed to the undercard Sir Barton S. at Pimlico and looked like a world-beater as he dodged traffic to win going away by 4 3/4 lengths.

Breaking from the rail as the 3-2 choice, Ethereal Road wasn't quick out of the gate and settled comfortably near the back. With just one horse beaten at both the :23.70 first quarter and :47.26 half, he tipped out five wide on the turn to circle horses, quickly took command, and surged to the lead with obvious confidence to post a facile daylight win.

“That's what we expected,” said legendary winning trainer and Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. “That's his style. It was a picture-perfect ride from Luis [Saez]. We probably should have left him in the Derby, but that's hindsight. He got a good trip. The fractions are realistic. We can definitely build off this.”

Ethereal Road broke his maiden in January at Oaklawn in his fourth career try, then jumped into the deep end and responded with a runner-up finish to Un Ojo (Laoban) in the GII Rebel S. in February. The Sir Barton was his first start following off-the-board finishes in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. and the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S., both at Keeneland in April. Saturday was Saez's first time on the colt in the afternoon. Saez had won the Oaks in his first time aboard Secret Oath and retained that mount for the Preakness.

“He ran pretty nice,” said Saez. “The pace was perfect for him. It's the style he likes to run–break and make one move. He finished really strong.”

Ethereal Road's dam, Sustained, was second in the 2012 GIII Miss Grillo S. for Paul Pompa, Jr., who bred Ethereal Road and sold him for $90,000 at Keeneland September a month before he passed away in 2020. Sustained was sold at the 2021 Keeneland January sale for $320,000 to Determined Stud while in foal to Connect, whom Pompa also campaigned. The mare produced colts by that Pompa-raced stallion in both 2020 and 2021.

SIR BARTON S. SPONSORED BY BRANDON AND DIANNAH PERRY TO BENEFIT THE THOROUGHBRED AFTERCARE ALLIANCE, $100,000, Pimlico, 5-21, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:43.20, ft.
1–ETHEREAL ROAD, 118, c, 3, by Quality Road
               1st Dam: Sustained (GSP, $184,629), by War Front
               2nd Dam: Sweetstorm Amy, by Lemon Drop Kid
               3rd Dam: Hurricane Amy, by Storm Cat
($90,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. O-Aaron
Sones; B-Paul Pompa (KY); T-D. Wayne Lukas; J-Luis Saez.
$60,000. Lifetime Record: GSP, 8-2-1-1, $354,545. *1/2 to
Turned Aside (American Pharoah), GSW-USA, GSP-Can,
$292,164.
2–B Dawk, 118, c, 3, Gormley–Mott N Hester, by Super
Saver. ($77,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $140,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP;
$425,000 2yo '21 EASMAY; $500,000 RNA 3yo '22 KEEAPR).
1ST BLACK TYPE. O-West Point Thoroughbreds & Joseph
E. Besecker; B-Small Batch Thoroughbreds & Robert Fetkin
(KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $20,000.
3–Mr Jefferson, 118, c, 3, Constitution–Clockstrucktwelve, by
Malibu Moon. O/B-R. Larry Johnson (MD); T-Michael J.
Trombetta. $10,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, 2 1/4, HF. Odds: 1.50, 3.50, 6.10.
Also Ran: Ruggs, Good Skate, Unikee, Goldenize, Writeitontheice. Scratched: Brooklyn Diamonds, The Addison Pour.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Ethereal Road Takes Overland Route In Sir Barton Stakes At Pimlico

Aaron Sones' Ethereal Road became a stakes winner in grand style Saturday at historic Pimlico Race Course, making a bold sweeping move on the far outside to circle the field and capture the $100,000 Sir Barton by 4 3/4 lengths.

The 24th running of the 1 1/16-mile Sir Barton for 3-year-olds was the seventh of 10 stakes, six graded, worth $2.75 million in purses headlined by the 147th Preakness Stakes, middle jewel of the Triple Crown.

Ethereal Road, favored at 3-2 in a field of eight, covered the distance in 1:43.20 over a fast main track under jockey Luis Saez. The Quality Road colt was withdrawn from the May 7 Kentucky Derby field because Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas wasn't enthusiastic about the way he was training into the race, allowing Rich Strike into the race that he would win at odds of 80-1.

Lukas considered Ethereal Road for the Preakness, in which he and Saez will team up with Kentucky Oaks-winning filly Secret Oath, before settling instead on the Sir Barton, a race neither he nor Saez had ever won.

Good Skate, sent off at 30-1 in his stakes debut, was eager for the lead and held it while chased by Ruggs as Saez settled Ethereal Road near the back of the pack, leading only Writeitontheice after a quarter-mile in 23.70 seconds. Saez remained unhurried as the half went in 47.26, swinging Ethereal Road to the outside midway down the backstretch. Ethereal Road cruised past horses around the far turn, straightened for home and set sail for the wire.

B Dawk, an 11 1/4-length maiden special weight winner April 24 at Keeneland, was second, 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Mr Jefferson. Ruggs, Good Skate, Unikee, Goldenize and Writeitontheice completed the order of finish.

Ethereal Road, a $90,000 yearling purchase in September 2020, went winless in three starts at 2 before breaking his maiden Jan. 29 at Oaklawn Park in his season opener. From there he was second by a half-length to Un Ojo in the G2 Rebel, seventh to Zandon in the G1 Blue Grass and fourth as the favorite a week later in the G3 Lexington.

Sir Barton won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1919, becoming the first horse to sweep what wouldn't become known as the Triple Crown until Gallant Fox matched the feat in 1930. The race returned to the Preakness undercard this year after not being run when the stakes schedule was adjusted and delayed to last fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

$100,000 Sir Barton Quotes

Winning trainer D. Wayne Lukas, Ethereal Road: “That's what we expected. That's his style. It was a picture-perfect ride from Luis [Saez]. We probably should have left him in the Derby, but that's hindsight. He got a good trip. The fractions are realistic. We can definitely build off this.”

Winning jockey Luis Saez, Ethereal Road: “He ran pretty nice. The pace was perfect for him. It's the style he likes to run – break and make one move. He finished really strong.”

(On winning a stakes on Preakness Day for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas): “It's a special moment. He's a legend, so to be part of a special moment for him, I feel so grateful.”

Trainer Doug O'Neill, B Dawk, 2nd: “First time two turns. He got beat by a real horse. I mean, this is a Derby kind of horse. So, we're very proud of B Dawk. Big things coming ahead. I thought he ran a dynamite race. Tyler [Gaffalione] got him in a good spot. And, again, the winner is the real deal. He got the first jump on us, and how do you top that?”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione, B Dawk, 2nd: “He broke alertly and put us in a nice spot. He settled with a good run around the first turn. He still is a little immature, still learning. But I loved the way he finished up in the lane. He didn't want to switch leads, looking at the grandstand. But this colt has a real nice future.”

Trainer Michael Trombetta, Mr Jefferson, 3rd: “He ran well. It's just hard to make up ground on this track right now.”

Jockey Jaime Rodriguez, Mr Jefferson, 3rd: “The way the track has been all day, you've got to be close to the pace, 1-2-3. Nothing is coming back. Once I passed the wire, he galloped out good. I think more distance next time. The '1' who won the race, that was the horse to beat. This group was a little bit tougher than the last time. But he gave me a really good effort today.”

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Will It Be Galileo Again?

There is something about Galileo (Ire) and the Curragh's hallowed strip of running ground that made such a perfect fit as his star rose inexorably throughout the last two decade or so and, while several of the track's signature races bear his name as sire, the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas does so markedly. Six of the last 11 and the last three winners of the fillies' Classic all carried his stamp and, of course, they all hailed from the colony of class assembled at Rosegreen. Aidan O'Brien and Coolmore's great debt of gratitude for his gift can never be overstated and it is sure to keep giving for the immediate future. Now the world record-holder for delivering stakes winners, the matchless stallion of recent times continues to posthumously churn them out like days of the week. That brings us to the plainly-titled May 1 G1 1000 Guineas third Tuesday (Ire), who along with the more weightily-named May 8 G3 Cornelscourt S. winner History (Ire) on Sunday represent racing's supreme triangle of power as eager as ever to extend an already-astonishing Classic tally.

From The Same Hymnsheet

If there is one sire that can take up the baton from Galileo it is his own son Frankel (GB), who has already crowbarred his way into his sire's realm with a stellar 2021 that serves as an early threat to his dominion. In the Juddmonte colossus's 'TDN Rising Star' Homeless Songs (Ire), he has a filly that seems to be on the verge of something special and she has all the right connections in her corner. While her dynamic display in the seven-furlong G3 Ballylinch Stud 1000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown Apr. 2 would have tempted most into a crack at the Newmarket Classic on ground that may have set back her progression, Moyglare and Dermot Weld's deep pool of combined wisdom opted to keep her powder dry for this test.

“Her mother didn't go on firm ground, so we didn't go to Newmarket and France wasn't the right race either,” Moyglare's bloodstock advisor Fiona Craig explained. “It'll be interesting. If you look at the pedigree, we're hoping the Frankel influence will get her home over the mile. We won't know if she gets the mile until we run over it. I'd have no question about a mile around a turn, it's just that Curragh is a long mile, but this is where we are and at least we've had a bit of rain. She doesn't need soft ground, she just doesn't want it like a road.”

Strength In Depth

This is an excellent renewal with potentially more clout than the 1000 Guineas, with Aidan O'Brien also saddling the far-from-forlorn hope Concert Hall (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}); the outrageously in-form William Haggas stable flying in Lael Stable's Purplepay (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}); the similarly buoyant Joseph O'Brien yard represented by Scott Heider's indefatigable Agartha (Ire) (Caravaggio); and Paul Smith's unknown quantity Hermana Estrella (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}). The latter, whose sole start came when the 50-1 winner of Naas's G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint S. last May, brings a bizarre but compelling profile into this baptism of fire under Jamie Spencer, whose career truly took off with the Irish 1000 Guineas victory of Tarascon (Ire) (Tirol {Ire}) when he was a 17-year-old apprentice in 1998.

Now You See Him

Assuming its natural position as chief supporting act to the Guineas is the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup, which features the perennial bloomer Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), prone to popping up now and again to do something notable before disappearing from view once more. Flowering in the desert for the last two renewals of the G1 Dubai Turf, the Gosdens' 6-year-old has a spartan but impressive race record and Thady Gosden is hoping he can extend it here.

“It was a great performance to run as well as he did in Dubai. He has taken that well and had a little bit of time off after the journey,” the junior partner of the new Clarehaven training arrangement said. “He's been training well at home, it's obviously a tough race with State of Rest coming off the back of winning the Ganay. He's race-fit, whereas we've had a little bit of a break but the track should suit him and so will the ground at the moment. He's still very much enjoying his training and his racing and behaving as he ever did.”

In No Mood To Rest

Lord North's biggest problem is the presence of State of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), the son of this week's headline-making broodmare Repose who is on a winning streak that has taken in the exotic and varying tests of the GI Saratoga Derby Invitational, G1 Cox Plate and G1 Prix Ganay. The fact that Joseph O'Brien's proverbial globetrotter never wins by far makes him hard to pin down for now and this will tell us more. “All being well, he seems to have come through France in good shape and we are looking forward to the weekend,” his trainer said. “I was lucky enough to win the Tattersalls Gold Cup as a jockey on So You Think and it would very satisfying if we could win it with State of Rest. Ideal conditions are probably good or better, there is a bit of rain forecast but hopefully the ground doesn't get too soft.”

Girls Galore

Fillies and mares dominate the rest of Sunday's pattern-race action, with The Curragh's card also boasting the G2 Lanwades Stud S. where Haras de Saint Pair's G1 Matron S. and G1 Prix de la Foret runner-up Pearls Galore (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) sets the standard threatened by the G3 Athasi S. winner Twilight Spinner (GB) (Twilight Son {GB}), another Scott Heider-Joseph O'Brien project. At Cologne, in the G2 Mehl-Mulhens-Rennen, or German 2000 Guineas, Markus Klug takes the unusual step of pitching Gestut Karlshof's unbeaten filly Mylady (Ger) (The Grey Gatsby {Ire}) against the colts but as she has already bettered them in Krefeld's 8 1/2-furlong G3 Dr Busch-Memorial Apr. 24, why not again? Her biggest issue is the arrival of a William Haggas runner, with Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's similarly-unbeaten Maljoom (Ire) (Caravaggio) boasting smart form having beaten the useful yardstick Saga (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in a Kempton conditions event over this trip Apr. 18. Haggas won this in 2002 and 2004 and the insatiable form of the stable at present suggests he will be given due deference by the domestic contenders.

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