In a continuing effort to attract out of state horses, Santa Anita Park has announced details of its 2022 Autumn Meet “Ship & Win” program. The upcoming Autumn Meet will offer fans and horsemen at total of 26 stakes, 15 of them graded, beginning opening weekend, Oct. 1 & 2, through closing day Nov. 6.
With the 39th Breeders' Cup World Championships scheduled to be run at Keeneland Race Course Nov. 4 & 5, Santa Anita will present five Breeders' Cup “Win & You're In” Challenge Race qualifiers over the first two weekends.
2022 AUTUMN MEET SHIP & WIN REQUIREMENTS
–In order for a specific horse to be eligible for program bonuses, they must have made their most recent start outside of California and not have started in the Golden State within the past 12 months.
–Horses that qualify for eligibility via Del Mar's Summer Ship & Win program retain eligibility for one start at Santa Anita providing they not start at any other track between the conclusion Del Mar's Summer Meet and the beginning of Santa Anita's Autumn Meet.
AUTUMN SHIP & WIN ELIGIBILITY COVERS ONE START AT SANTA ANITA
–In all overnight races, eligible horses are guaranteed $5,000 and a 35 percent bonus (of regular purse money-earned) will be paid for finishing first through fifth.
–In all stakes races, eligible horses will be guaranteed $5,000, with no additional purse earnings bonus.
For additional information regarding Santa Anita's 2022 Autumn Meet, please visit santaanita.com or call the Santa Anita Racing Office at (626) 574-6352.
Already a four-time champion trainer, Chad Brown became a two-time Classic-winning conditioner Saturday at Pimlico when his Early Voting (Gun Runner) scored in the GI Preakness S., five years after Brown took down the Preakness using a similar formula with Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music). Tuesday, Brown sat down with the crew of the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland from his headquarters in Saratoga Springs as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about his decision to skip the GI Kentucky Derby with Early Voting paying off, why he's in favor of keeping Triple Crown races' spacing the way it is, what's next for his other top sophomores Zandon (Upstart) and Jack Christopher (Munnings) and more.
Asked about his recent comments in support of the Triple Crown's current calendar alignment, somewhat surprising given that Brown runs his horses less frequently than average, he said, “I prefer to space my horses out and give them rest, but my answer was really based on the history of the sport. When I got into horse racing right here in Saratoga Springs, I was drawn to the rich, rich history and prestige of the sport. I'm really an old-fashioned guy. I like to stick to the basics. I'm not really in favor of too much change at the top, in the real pillars of the sport, meaning Triple Crown races and older track settings. I don't like changing the names of stakes races. Ironically, I'm in favor of changing things and adapting over time in my training system, but the things that most define the history of the sport, I would leave alone.”
The sequence kicks off in Race 8 at Churchill Downs at 4:22 p.m. Eastern with a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight for 3-year-olds and up that drew an overflow field of 16. Ridley's Major, a Gun Runner sophomore trained by Chad Brown, will try dirt after a pair of on-the-board efforts in a trio of turf starts. A loaded field includes the Philip Sims-trained War Campaign, who stretches out after overcoming a slow start to finish second sprinting 6 1/2-furlongs on debut in April at Keeneland; and Scotland Yard, who will look to make amends for an off-the-board effort last out over a sloppy main track at Keeneland for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.
Action switches to Belmont for the second leg [Race 8, 4:40 p.m.], a one-turn allowance optional-claiming mile over Big Sandy for 3-year-olds and up led by a pair of Brown trainees in Highly Motivated and Stage Raider. Highly Motivated finished 10th in last year's Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on the heels of a game runner-up effort to Essential Quality in the Grade 2 Blue Grass at Keeneland. He made his seasonal debut last out with a fourth-place finish in a seven-furlong optional-claiming sprint on April 16 at Keeneland. Stage Raider, by Pioneerof the Nile, is a 4-year-old half-brother to 2018 Triple Crown-winner Justify. The well-related bay colt was a three-length winner at this distance over Big Sandy last May and will make his third start of the season with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard.
The stakes action commences in the middle leg [Race 9, 5:12 p.m.] as the Brown-trained Haughty, a close third last out in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in November at Del Mar, makes her seasonal debut in this seven-furlong turf sprint for sophomore fillies. She will face a trio of contenders for trainer Christophe Clement in Derrynane, Breeze Easy and Anador. Chardy Party, a rallying winner of her career debut in April at Keeneland, will make her stakes debut for trainer Wesley Ward.
The penultimate leg [Race 10, 5:26 p.m.] will see a field of eight older fillies and mares travel 12 furlongs over the Churchill turf in the $160,000 Keertana Overnight. Temple City Terror, a four-time winner on turf for trainer Brendan Walsh, will look to defend her title after posting a narrow score in this event last year. The 6-year-old Temple City bay enters from a close fifth in a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance on April 14 at Keeneland. The Arnaud Delacour-trained Luck Money has hit the board in a trio of graded turf marathons since July, including the Robert G. Dick Memorial at Delaware Park, the Grade 3 Dowager at Keeneland and the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay on May 7 at Belmont.
Closing out the sequence is a six-furlong allowance sprint [Race 11, 5:58 p.m.] from Churchill featuring a field of 11 sophomore fillies led by the stakes-placed Ontheonesandtwos for trainer Norm Casse. The Jimmy Creed chestnut, who finished second in the Debutante in June at Churchill Downs, was a game second last out in an optional-claiming sprint on the Kentucky Oaks undercard. Steep opposition will be provided by Stonestreet Stables' Ari Oakley, who garnered a field-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure last out in her fifth-out maiden score for Asmussen; and Static Fire, who makes her return to action following a gate-to-wire debut win on turf at Saratoga Race Course in September for trainer Brian Lynch.
America's Day at the Races will present daily coverage and analysis of the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/tv-schedule.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the spring/summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, May 25:
Leg A: Churchill Downs – Race 8, maiden special weight (4:22 p.m. Eastern)
Leg B: Belmont Park – Race 8, allowance (4:40 p.m.)
Leg C: Belmont Park – Race 9, G3 Soaring Softly (5:12 p.m.)
Leg D: Churchill Downs – Race 10, $160K Keertana (5:26 p.m.)
Leg E: Churchill Downs– Race 11, allowance (5:58 p.m.)
French-born jockey Mickaëlle Michel will have her first U.S. ride this Thursday at Churchill Downs, named aboard a 20-1 shot in the featured turf allowance race for trainer Graham Motion.
The 26-year-old made the move to Kentucky after more than four years winning races in six different countries, including on the dirt in Japan, because she believes the United States offers the best opportunities for an aspiring female jockey.
“If you are a good rider, male or female, it doesn't matter,” Michel said. “France is not ready to give female riders the chance to ride group races, and there are already a lot of superstar female jockeys in America, like Julie Krone, Chantal Sutherland, and Sophie Doyle.
“They don't have female jockeys like that in France. It's a good challenge to prove that a female can do it.”
Michel was not born into a horse racing family, but she always loved horses. At 14 years of age, she discovered a jockey school in Marseille near her home, and immediately fell in love with the sport.
“It became my goal to be a jockey,” she said. “I would like to become an international jockey like Frankie Dettori or Irad Ortiz, who can ride a group race all over the world.”
Her first agent, former jockey Frederic Spanu, helped Michel to become the first female jockey to top the Cagnes-sur-Mer winter meeting, beating regular top French riders such as Maxime Guyon and Christophe Soumillon. She went on to capture the 2018 leading apprentice jockey award in France with a then-record tally of 72 wins.
Spanu and Michel would eventually fall in love; they married in January of 2021.
Mickaëlle Michel and Frederic Spanu
Michel remembered that he said early on that her aggressive riding style would suit the racing scene in the United States.
“I like to ride hard and fast races,” Michel said. “In France, it's tactical races, and I had good results there, but he said my riding style is better for the U.S. or Japan.”
As it so happened, Japan came calling first.
Michel rode in the World All-Star Jockeys Challenge in 2019, winning one of the contest races and finishing third overall.
“The atmosphere was fantastic, with so many fans on the racecourse,” she remembered. “It was my first ride on the dirt and I really liked the style.”
Japan's famed Shadai Farm then asked if Michel would be willing to ride for them on a short-term license in 2020, and she quickly accepted. It was the first time a foreign female jockey had been granted a Japanese jockey's license.
During her two months there, riding eight races per day on the dirt for a total of 294 mounts, Micehl won 35 starts to set a record for number of wins for a foreign jockey on the Japanese NAR circuit. She also added 30 seconds and 30 third-place finishes to her tally.
“Eight races each day on the dirt is really physical, so I got a lot stronger, and it was a really good experience,” Michel said. “Still, I didn't speak Japanese, so I had to have the translator with me every day. It was the first time they had a female jockey, and it was hard because the jockeys have to be in quarantine the day before the races.
“I was alone with all male jockeys in quarantine and nobody spoke English. I had to wait until after all the men took their shower to take mine, and it was very difficult, mentally. I started to learn the language, and I was young so it was a good experience; I proved I could do it.”
Also in 2020, Michel finished second in the jockey challenge in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and won the historic Group 2 Premio Jockey Club in Italy.
Though the pandemic prevented Michel from returning to Japan in 2021, she rode Group 1 races in Dubai and Germany and was a part of that year's winning team for the Shergar Cup at Ascot.
At the beginning of 2022, Michel was involved in an accident that kept her out of the saddle for three months.
“I took a lot of time to think about my career, what I really want,” she said. “I really love riding on the dirt, so I decided I wanted to come to the USA.”
Michel reached out to bloodstock agent Jane Buchanan, who agreed to try her hand as a jockey's agent for the first time. Michel applied for and received a four-year visa to the U.S.
“I have four years to prove I belong here,” she said.
Spanu and Michel arrived in Kentucky just one week ago, and Buchanan has already booked Michel on two mounts at Churchill Downs.
“She was excited for the new challenge, and the feeling with her was very good directly,” Michel said. “We don't have a fixed plan because we want to see how it works and what's the feeling with trainers and owners. For the moment I'm breezing a lot and I'm riding my first race one week after I arrived, so it's a good start.”
Thursday's longshot mount is the filly Good Measure in a 1 ⅜-mile turf allowance contest. The Motion trainee ran third last out in an allowance race at Laurel Park.
“I breezed this morning for the first time on the turf, and the track looks nice,” Michel said. “I saw the last race of my filly, and she looks good; she made a good race of it last time.
“I'm looking forward to riding my first race in the USA at Churchill Downs. The track is just amazing. I'm very happy and proud to ride here.”
