Robin Goodfellow’s racing tips: Best bets for Thursday, May 19
Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow delivers his tips for Thursday's meetings at Lingfield, Sandown, Wolverhampton, Chelmsford City and Market Rasen.
Month: May 2022
Graham Motion Talks Importance of Taking Shots On Writers’ Room
In an era where trainers are increasingly hesitant to run their horses frequently and/or in races where they might be longshots, Graham Motion is a throwback. It often pays off for his perennially successful outfit, as it did on Saturday at Belmont, when his Highland Chief (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}), dismissed at 19-1 in a five-horse field, upset defending champion turf male Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) and MGISW Gufo (Declaration of War) in the GI Man O' War S. Tuesday, Motion joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about why he's steadfast about taking shots and running his horses, how he feels about the current state of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, the upcoming Royal Ascot trip for his undefeated Spendarella (Karakontie {Jpn}) and more.
“I think we are very cautious these days,” Motion said of modern trainers. “I think everyone's so worried about that [win] percentage. I think you can learn a lot from watching a guy like Wayne [Lukas], who's never been afraid to take a shot. I think we're just so caught up in being careful. It's so easy to ship across the country now. It's so easy to avoid races that you think are too tough. At the end of the day, that takes a little bit away from the sport, which is to see who has the fastest horse, and the challenge. I kind of live for that. That's what I find so exciting. That's why I love going to Ascot, because it's out of the normal and it's a challenge for these horses. That's what it's all about, right?”
An early supporter of the HISA reform law that has since hit hiccups in potential implementation, Motion was asked how optimistic or pessimistic he is that the program will take full effect and the new rules will fundamentally improve the sport.
“It's going to be difficult, there's no doubt about it,” he said. “I realize there are issues with cost and where the money is going to come from. What I don't understand and what frustrates me a little bit–I'll probably get chastised for saying this, but–we're running for these extraordinary purses. We're running for $100,000 with maidens. Couldn't we put some of that money aside toward the integrity of our sport? I don't understand it. Improve the backstretch, improve safety, improve the integrity of our sport and put some of this money toward HISA. It's going to be a difficult task. I was disappointed when USADA dropped out. I don't know much about the new arrangement. I'm surprised how little, quite frankly, we read about it. So, look, I'm optimistic it's going to happen. I hope everybody eventually gets on board because I think it'll be game changing, and it's going to take a while. There are going to be some hiccups along the way.”
Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers had a thorough discussion on the proposals to increase the spacing of Triple Crown races and previewed a Rich Strike-less Preakness. Click here to watch the show; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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2022 Preakness Stakes at a Glance
As much as the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve winner will not be at the Preakness Stakes, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown will have a heavy favorite. Epicenter, who was second in the run for the roses, was installed as a heavy 6-5 favorite in the Preakness.
FTBOA Offering Over $2.2M To Promote Royal Palm Meet
The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' and Owners' Association (FTBOA) will devote more than $2.2 million to support the Royal Palm Meeting at Gulfstream Park over the summer months.
Of that amount, $1.4 million is earmarked for the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes Series, $375,000 toward purse enhancements for Florida-breds and Florida Sire Stakes-eligible runners in stakes races and $250,000 in FTBOA Florida-bred Incentive Funds (FTBOA FBIF).
“Florida-breds are so important to Gulfstream Park racing and these supplements certainly will make our stakes more attractive,” Gulfstream Park vice president of racing Mike Lakow said.
The FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes for 2-year-olds by registered FTBOA Florida stallions will again highlight the Summer racing program at Gulfstream beginning with the $100,000 Dr. Fager S. and $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies, both at six furlongs, Aug. 6. The lucrative series continues at seven furlongs Sept. 3 with the $200,000 Affirmed S. and $200,000 Susan's Girl S. for fillies before concluding at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on Oct. 1 with the $400,000 In Reality and $400,000 My Dear Girl for fillies.
“The FTBOA is once again pleased to offer numerous economic incentives in terms of either funding entire stakes purses, as is the case with our six FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes races for 2-year-olds and the new Gil Campbell Memorial, or the plethora of bonuses the FTBOA offers ranging from Florida-bred to FSS Eligible Florida-breds throughout the year of which we are offering $375,000 just for the current Royal Palm Meet alone,” FTBOA CEO Lonny Powell said.
He continued, “The FTBOA is also pleased beyond expectations by the incredible growth of the Florida Sire Stakes with a 14% increase in eligible foals compared to the prior year. This is proof as to the popularity and broad awareness of our FSS program and nationally acclaimed signature 2 year-old stakes. The FSS program is working well in terms of providing some of the very highest stakes purse schedules at each track–including the highest for the Royal Palm meet–while putting additional money into the hands of the deserving owners, trainers and breeders of our Florida-breds, which is a very good thing for the entire Florida racing and breeding industries.”
The FTBOA will also supplement 10 maiden special weight races for 2-year-old fillies eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes with a $5,000 supplement for the winners of each and 10 maiden special weight races for 2-year-olds eligible for the Florida Sire Stakes with $5,000 supplement for the winners.
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