May, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fan Favorite Mighty Heart Returns To Woodbine In Sunday’s Eclipse Stakes

Mighty Heart, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year, and Artie's Storm, are set to make their seasonal debuts, meeting in the Grade 2 $175,000 Stella Artois Eclipse Stakes, Sunday at Woodbine.

A 1 1/16-mile main track event for 4-year-olds and upwards, the Eclipse has attracted a field of six, a group that includes multiple stakes winners Mighty Heart and Artie's Storm, multiple graded stakes winner Special Forces, along with 2021 Queen's Plate and Breeders' Stakes runner-up Riptide Rock.

Fan favorite, one-eyed Mighty Heart, crowned Canada's Horse of the Year on April 14 at the 47th annual Sovereign Awards, makes his 2022 Woodbine debut in the Eclipse.

Campaigned by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame conditioner Josie Carroll for owner/breeder Larry Cordes, Mighty Heart took last year's Grade 2 Autumn Stakes and Grade 3 Dominion Day Stakes over the Toronto oval Tapeta, along with the Blame Stakes at Churchill Downs on the dirt. The Ontario-bred also ran second in the West Virginia Governor's Stakes (G3) and concluded his season by heading to Gulfstream Park, where he was third in the Grade 3 Harlan's Holiday Stakes.

This year, Mighty Heart, who took the first two jewels – the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales – of the 2020 Canadian Triple Crown, finished sixth in his five-year-old debut, the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes on April 23 at Keeneland.

“I'm really glad to have him home,” said Carroll. “We didn't have a great effort at Keeneland, but in retrospect, he wasn't overly fond of the surface he was training on over the winter, and probably was not as tight as he should have been. I regret maybe running him a little bit, but I really thought he was ready. After the race, he was just very tired. So, we got a couple of really good works into him now, and he's just tearing the place down. We're really excited to run him.”

The bay sports a record of 6-2-3 from 17 career starts along with earnings of $1,077,265 (U.S.).

“He's a horse that very much likes his routine, and now he's back in his steady, daily… doing what he's used to doing,” offered Carroll. “He's an unusual horse that way. The nice thing about him is that he's versatile. I think we have to leave it a lot to the rider and see how the race plays out. This horse can win on the lead, he can from just off the pace, he can win in between horses – he does like to engage a horse. He's a bit of a scrapper.”

Trained and owned by Paul Buttigieg, Artie's Storm, a 4-year-old son of We Miss Artie-Tiz Stormy Now, arrives at his latest engagement riding a two-race win streak, including a campaign-concluding victory in the Steady Growth Stakes on December 4. One race earlier, the dark bay, bred in Ontario by Sunrise Farm, notched a half-length triumph in the 1 1/16-mile Lake Ontario Stakes.

David Moran, who has been aboard for all 10 of the gelding's starts, once again gets the call.

“He's doing great,” said Moran. “It's going to be a tough race, but he's been training fantastic. He seems to be really happy in himself, really mature and working lights out. He's amazing right now.”

Moran handed out top marks for the horse who has never been favored in any of his races.

“This year, he seems so happy. Hopefully, he just continues to step up as he gets older. He's such a great horse. It's going to be a big test, two turns, coming off the shelf, but if you were to watch him breeze and train, you'd be pretty impressed. He's actually very straightforward. He's very relaxed in a race and he doesn't use too much energy early on. And then he gives you a great kick. He's just a lovely horse. He's really kind, very laid-back. The groom said he is so kind to brush and easy to tack up. Not too much shakes him up.”

Artie's Storm debuted in October 2020 at the Toronto oval, rallying to finish third, a neck away from taking top spot in the 5 ½-furlong Tapeta race. He broke his maiden next time out, on June 20, in his three-year-old debut, over seven panels on the main track. After a runner-up result in the Queenston Stakes, he was back in the winner's circle, notching a half-length score in a 1 1/16-mile turf race on July 24.

Sporting a record of 4-2-3 from 10 starts, Artie's Storm's lone finish outside of the top three was a fifth in last year's Breeders' Stakes, third and final jewel in the Canadian Triple Crown Series.

He's also a perfect three-for-three at the 1 1/16-mile Eclipse distance.

“From his very first race, I told my agent, 'Do not lose this horse… he's a really good one,'” said Moran. “He had one start as a two-year-old, and then he never looked back after that. He won a couple of really nice races at the end of last year and did it impressively. I'm really looking forward to him this year.”

The Eclipse is race seven on Sunday's nine-race card. First post time is 1:10 p.m. Fans can also watch and wager on all the action through HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

STELLA ARTOIS ECLIPSE STAKES FIELD

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer
1 – Special Forces – Justin Stein – Kevin Attard
2 – Frosted Over – Kazushi Kimura – Mark Casse
3 – Mighty Heart – Patrick Husbands – Josie Carroll
4 – Riptide Rock – Rafael Hernandez – Sid Attard
5 – Artie's Storm – David Moran – Paul Buttigieg
6 – Seventyseven Stone – Omar Moreno – Paul Lepiane

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Folds of Honor Poker Tourney Set for May 29

Santa Anita will play host to a charity poker tournament following the live racing program this Sunday, May 29, at 5:45 p.m. PT to benefit the 'Folds of Honor' foundation. Folds of Honor seeks to support the families of fallen or disabled American military veterans and dependents adversely affected by war.

For the tournament, which will take place near the top of the stretch in the Baldwin Terrace Conference Room on the second floor of the grandstand, players will make a $300 donation and will be treated to a full night of No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em and a day at the races in Santa Anita's Stretch Run suites.

A similar Folds of Honor tournament this past October raised more than $50,000.

“We had great participation from horsemen and fans this past October and we're hoping to do even better this Saturday,” said Santa Anita Vice President and General Manager Nate Newby. “Memorial Day weekend is a time for reverence for millions of veterans and we're proud to be able to honor them and their families. This is a tremendous cause and we're honored to have Folds of Honor back here at Santa Anita.”

The post Folds of Honor Poker Tourney Set for May 29 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Q and A with Courtney Reid on New Breeders’ Cup Incentive Programs

An incentive-based participation bonus program called the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen was unveiled by the Breeders' Cup this Thursday. The new program will award monetary credits, funded by Breeders' Cup, for first through third-place finishes in selected races for horsemen to use toward entry fees in six of the Breeders' Cup World Championships dirt races. Learn more here.

Also this week, Breeders' Cup announced that the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In schedule will feature 82 qualifying races in 11 counties. New for this year, the 2022 series in the U.S. has been restructured into a regional qualifying program in order to balance divisional competition across the country. Learn more here.

The TDN spoke with Courtney Reid, the Director of Racing and Industry Relations at Breeders' Cup, to learn more about these new programs ahead of this year's Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland. The following has been edited for brevity and clarity.

TDN: How did the idea for the Dirt Dozen come about?

Reid: Just like the Challenge series, we try to make our races more attractive for our horsemen to participate in each year. We decided that offering bonus money toward these 12 graded stakes races is a great way to defray the entry fee costs into the Championship dirt races. The incentives offered with this program will not only add starters to our Championship dirt races, but also hopefully help bolster the field sizes of the 12 races selected for the Dirt Dozen. We have received positive feedback so far from the racing secretaries included in the program.

TDN: How are the divisions in the program set up and how will the bonus credits be allocated?

Reid: Of the 12 races, there are two races per division. So for example, in the Breeders' Cup Sprint division, the first Dirt Dozen race is the GIII Smile H. at Gulfstream Park on July 2. The first three finishers of this race will receive a bonus tier of credit funds that will go toward entry fees for the Championship race. The first-place finisher will receive $30,000, which is half of the entry fee. They would just need to pay the remaining $30,000 to run in the GI Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint. The second-place finisher will get $15,000 and the third-place finisher will receive $7,500.

With these races, a horse could technically get complete free entry into the Championship if they ran in both races in the division. With the Qatar Racing Breeders' Cup Sprint example, if they ran in the GIII Smile H. and the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship, they could have the entries fully paid for if they won both.

TDN: Do you think that in the past, entry fees have held horses back from attending the Breeders' Cup?

Reid: I don't think that entry fees have been the main factor that has held horses back, but I will say that over the years, prohibitive favorites have discouraged some outfits who might be on the fence. But if you take last year for example, we had three heavy favorites in Jackie's Warrior, Gamine and Letruska who were all defeated, so you never know. We hope that this new program will be additional incentive for connections who might be on the fence.

TDN: Why was there a need to create this program specifically for dirt races?

Reid: We have 56 turf races in the Breeders' Cup Challenge series program, so we think there is ample room to automatically qualify in a Challenge race for a turf race. We wanted to give more opportunities for dirt races. Historically, dirt races around the country–particularly in stakes races–haven't been filling as much as they have in turf races. This was an opportunity to bolster our dirt races.

TDN: Could you give an overview of the restructured format this year for the regional qualifying program in the U.S.?

Reid: The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is in its 15th year this year. We will have 82 challenge races worldwide in 11 countries covering all the divisions. We have 43 domestically and 39 international.

Domestically, we have restructured the program to establish regional balance throughout the country with an East, West and Midwest division. In 11 of the 14 divisions, there will be one Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race per region. We wanted to ensure that one part of the country did not have an advantage over the other.

TDN: What are some of the most notable changes with races that will or will not be considered a Win and You're In?

Reid: For example, in New York, the Jockey Club Derby, the John A. Nerud S. and the Personal Ensign S. are no longer Challenge races, however they gained the Pilgrim S. and the Miss Grillo S. Some of these categories had too many races in certain parts of the country, so this was an effort to balance it out. For some of the dirt races that lost Challenge series designation, we were able to add them to the Dirt Dozen program.

The GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic is an outlier here. It's our richest and most poplar race, so we are continuing to give more opportunity to earn automatic qualifying in this division. With that, four of the six U.S. Classic division races will be nationally televised on NBC and CNBC for Breeders' Cup Challenge Series programming.

TDN: With this new setup, do you expect to see regional rivalries form on the road to the World Championships?

Reid: Absolutely. Rivalries are part of what makes sports more interesting and exciting. We want to see fans have a rooting interest for horses in their part of the country. Surely there will be racing fans in California who will be rooting and betting on horses in their region to beat the best in the East and Midwest at Keeneland this fall.

TDN: The Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Challenge Series has evolved since it was launched 15 years ago. What do you think has made it so successful over the years?

Reid: Each year, we assess the races and we have had a lot of participation from our horsemen. We think it's special to participate in a Challenge series race. We're thankful and proud of our owners and trainers who have channeled their efforts into training horses toward winning a Challenge series race so they can take advantage of gaining that automatic starting position. The horsemen have always told us that if they are deciding between two races and one is a Challenge series race, they typically will point for the Challenge race.

TDN: As you plan for the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland this fall, how do you envision the entries shaping up in respect to these new formats and programs.

Reid: We always get a significant number of our Challenge winners to run in our Championship races and we hope that our Dirt Dozen program will have the same results. We hope it will add one or two, if not three or more starters per dirt race. Our goal is to bolster field size for our races. We want to offer the most competitive betting races and provide entertaining races for our fans each year. We think that this year at Keeneland will be an exceptional experience.

TDN: Will there be any major changes or updates this year specifically with respect to international participation, given their incredible results last year?

Reid: The only international change in regard to the Challenge series is that at Royal Ascot, the King's Stand S. will replace the Diamond Jubilee S. The King's Stand is a five-furlong race, which better suits a runner for our Championship Turf Sprint division.

We expect to have another strong international contention as we did last year. We're constantly reaching out to connections there. Josh Christian will be making a few trips abroad and we have our international liaisons, John Fulton in South America and Kate Hunter in Japan, who do a great job for us with creating awareness and helping recruit horsemen to come to the Championships.

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Bran Heads Back Down The Hill In Sunday’s Daytona Stakes

An ungraded stakes winner out of Santa Anita's turf chute on April 10, Hronis Racing's French-bred Bran tried the deep waters of Grade 2 competition at Churchill Downs May 6 and returns to Santa Anita as the likely favorite going about 6 ½ furlongs down the hillside turf course in Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Daytona Stakes, a race that has attracted six older horses.

Trained by John Sadler, Bran, a 4-year-old gelding, rallied to finish second, beaten 1 ¾ lengths in a field of 13 at odds of 40-1 in the G2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint going 5 ½ furlongs at Churchill, earning a career-best 94 Beyer Speed Figure, which followed a half length score in the April 10 Siren Lure Stakes here at Santa Anita.

Although he's winless in two tries down Santa Anita's unique hillside layout, Bran ran a solid second to multiple stakes winner Gregorian Chant over the course in a classified allowance three races back on March 25.

With leading man Juan Hernandez riding for the first time, Bran, who is 18-5-4-3 overall with earnings of $286,392, will be seeking his first graded stakes win in the Daytona.

In what will be his first stakes assignment, trainer Dan Blacker's streaking California-bred Burnin Turf, has won three consecutive races, the last two a pair of open company allowances over the course.

A 6-year-old Old English Rancho-bred gelding by Acclamation out of the Vronsky mare Hot Outta the Oven, Burnin Turf is owned by Next Wave Racing, LLC and the Ellwood Johnston Trust and will be ridden by Drayden Van Dyke, who is a perfect two for two with him. With an overall mark of 12-5-0-4, Burnin Turf has earnings of $256,146.

Neil Drysdale will saddle three horses, Nero, Majestic Eagle and Brazilian-bred Homer Screen, with “Homer” rating a narrow nod over his stablemates.

Idle since running a close sixth in his U.S. debut going one mile on turf in the restricted Wickerr Stakes at Del Mar July 18, Homer Screen, a two-time graded stakes winner in Brazil, has five works on his tab for his return, four of them on Santa Anita's inner training track, including a five furlong spin in 1:01.20 this past Sunday.

A 6-year-old full horse owned by Team Valor International, Homer Screen, who has five wins from seven overall starts, will be ridden back by Joe Bravo, who will no doubt hope to be rolling late.

THE GRADE 3 DAYTONA WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 3 of 9 Approximate post time 2 p.m. PT

Burnin Turf—Drayden Van Dyke–120
Homer Screen—Joe Bravo—124
Majestic Eagle—Edwin Maldonado–124
Bran—Juan Hernandez—122
Nero—Ryan Curatolo—120
Kanderel—Umberto Rispoli–122

First post time for a nine-race card on Sunday is at 1 p.m.

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