Royal Ascot: State Of Rest wins Prince of Wales’s Stakes for Joseph O’Brien
State Of Rest holds off favourite Bay Bridge to win the Prince of Wales's Stakes while there is a dramatic photo finish in the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot.
Month: June 2022
State Of Rest Makes All In The Prince Of Wales’s
Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's S. came down to a display of supreme jockeyship, but it was not Moore or Dettori or even Demuro who provided it but Shane Crosse, whose masterclass from the front on the under-rated State of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) proved the difference in such a tight Royal Ascot encounter. The race is a qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland in November. While Frankie fumbled with the blindfold on Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) as the gates opened and lost all chance there, Crosse was out and in control quickly on the 5-1 shot with no pressure on the lead. Hard though the 10-11 favourite Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) chased in the straight, from the two pole it was a lost cause with Joseph O'Brien's flagship performer having too much of an advantage. At the line, there was a length between the accomplished G1 Cox Plate, G1 Prix Ganay and GI Saratoga Derby winner and the Stoute runner as they pulled 2 1/4 lengths clear of Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), who justified her supplementary entry. “In the space of the last 12 months, this horse has done a lot. He has done it all and I am just over the moon,” Crosse said. “To get here and participate is a huge thing. To ride a horse like this in top-class races is a dream. You cannot describe it.”
While this renewal showcased the remarkable distance that racing has come since the last century in terms of international competition, there is possibly still a sense that achievements overseas can be overlooked in the Royal Ascot analysis. State of Rest had been at inflated odds before a late gamble thrust him back to 5-1, which was in hindsight an insult given that he had faced the thrust of battle on contrasting surfaces in the States, Australia and France. Having outgunned Anamoe (Aus) (Street Boss) and Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) at Moonee Valley in October, State of Rest was probably only in his comfort zone dealing with the French contingent in the Ganay at the start of May and connections felt that his subsequent third three weeks later in The Curragh's G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup could be bettered. Running the final three furlongs there faster than the first and second Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) and High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), he was always going to be dangerous let loose on the lead.
State of Rest may have clocked a moderate overall time for the race, especially given how the ground has allowed for some rapid outcomes over the first two day, but his finishing effort up the straight was that of a top-class performer and a rematch with the still-promising runner-up will be fascinating to witness. Remarkably, this was Joseph O'Brien's first Royal Ascot winner as a trainer and it is fitting that it arrived 10 years after he won this aboard another Cox Plate hero in So You Think (NZ). “It's very special. It's been a long time coming,” he said. “We've had a lot of horses run well here. It's special to get a winner here and not only a winner, but to win a race like the Prince of Wales's Stakes is hugely special. We have a great team of owners and a special horse.”
“We had a good chat with Shane and decided to make the running. It could not have worked out better. He got the fractions perfect,” he added. “State of Rest is a very tough horse. He is very versatile and I take some of the blame myself for not using him enough last time, but it was a great run. We knew coming here today that we had a live chance of winning the race and I'm just pleased that the horse has proved himself. It is a huge day and I am very proud of everyone. This is what it is all about. We love the game, we are born and bred into the game. It is all we know. To have a big winner here is what we do it for.”
Paul Cashman of Rathbarry Stud, part-owner of the winner, said, “Things did not go to plan in the Tattersalls Gold Cup–the ground was not on our side that day. It was Joseph's plan to go forward. He knew from furlong to furlong what he wanted and that is how it panned out. It doesn't always work like that, but they had the confidence and the horse to do that. Joseph said he was unlucky in the spring of his three-year-old career. He pulled a muscle in the spring and did not have a Guineas campaign, so was a second half of the season horse. So for me he'd been under the radar for a race like this. I thought he should have been half the price he was.”
“It's just a very proud week to be an Australian,” Henry Field told TDN AusNZ on the win. “It was absolutely fantastic. It was a crack-hot field with the top-class middle distances European horses and Japanese horses. It means a lot because he has shown he is the best mile-and-a-quarter horse in the world. It has taken a long time for us to step into this part of the market and find a middle distance horse to stand at stud, but after his Cox Plate win we took a leap of faith and I think that after today's [Wednesday] result that decision has been very much vindicated.
“He's a star horse. He's won Group 1s in America, France, obviously the Cox Plate and now Royal Ascot–that is quite the record. He has got one of the strongest syndicates of owners we have ever put together for a horse and it includes some breeders from New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand, so it's just a great thrill and many of them are here–it's a day we will never forget.”
“I was actually talking to Chris Waller before the horses came to Ascot and how the week could be a big one for Australia,” Field added. “We have seen the Japanese horses travel round the world and really vindicate the power of their racing. So, to see a horse like Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) win the [G1] King's Stand [S.] on Tuesday, and not just win but blow his rivals away, and then our Cox Plate winner, albeit a horse trained in Ireland, prove he is the best mile-and-a-quarter horse in the world, I think all this is very important for Australian racing to showcase to the world how powerful our product is.
“This guy is trained by Joseph, who is a child prodigy and has an extraordinary brain. One of the greatest parts of investing in this horse is being able to pick Joseph's brain over the phone and I don't think I've ever spoken to a smarter younger man in the horse business. But to see both the Australian sprinting and middle-distance form stack up as it has this week, it's a week that Australians should be really proud of and it is really important for the future of our industry. It's just a very proud week to be an Australian. ”
Added Field, “Fingers crossed Artorius (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}) can give us something to celebrate on Saturday, but if he doesn't we will all be cheering on Home Affairs (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) for Coolmore.”
Sir Michael Stoute was far from downcast following the end of Bay Bridge's sequence and said, “The race didn't pan out brilliantly for him, but he ran a very big race and we're absolutely delighted. We haven't run him on fast ground before, but that didn't inconvenience him–there was no problem there. Whether we stick at 10 furlongs or go to 12 furlongs, no decision will be taken for a little while.” Lord North was in a race of his own for much of the contest, left several lengths behind after the blindfold had become caught in the bridle, while the G1 Tokyo Yushun and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) failed to fire on another disappointing day for Japan here. “When I asked to go, he didn't have the same acceleration as last time,” rider Cristian Demuro explained.
State of Rest's unraced dam Repose (Quiet American) is now the property of Juddmonte and their recent acquisition takes on even greater import following this latest confirmation of their unerring shrewdness. Also responsible for the G3 Blue Wind S. winner Tranquil Lady (Ire) (Australia {GB}), she is a daughter of Monaassabaat (Zilzal) who captured the Listed Virginia S. before producing the listed winners Prince Alzain (Street Sense) and Echo River (Irish River {Fr}), with the latter also second in the G3 May Hill S. She is also the second dam of the G2 Royal Lodge S. and G2 Vintage S. runner-up Artigiano (Distorted Humor).
The third dam is the 16-times-winning dual GI Vanity H. heroine and champion It's In the Air (Mr. Prospector), whose descendants include the triple group 1-winning Champion S. hero Storming Home (GB) (Machiavellian), the GI American Oaks heroine Music Note (A.P. Indy) and her G1 Dubai World Cup-winning son Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), plus the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Musical Chimes (In Excess {Ire}). Repose's 2-year-old filly Double Scoop (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) was a €180,000 purchase by Anthony Dutrow at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, while she delivered a filly foal by Sea the Stars (Ire) this year.
State of Rest will stand at Rathbarry Stud, Ireland and shuttle to Newgate Farm, Australia upon his retirement.
Wednesday, Ascot, Britain
PRINCE OF WALES'S S.-G1, £1,057,500, Ascot, 6-15, 4yo/up, 9f 212yT, 2:07.79, g/f.
1–STATE OF REST (IRE), 128, c, 4, by Starspangledbanner (Aus)
1st Dam: Repose, by Quiet American
2nd Dam: Monaassabaat, by Zilzal
3rd Dam: It's in the Air, by Mr. Prospector
(45,000gns Wlg '18 TATFOA; 60,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-State Of Rest Partnership; B-Tinnakill Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien; J-Shane Crosse. £599,708. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Aus & Fr, GISW-US & G1SP-Ire, 12-5-1-3, $3,808,013. *1/2 to Tranquil Lady (Ire) (Australia {GB}), GSW-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Bay Bridge (GB), 128, c, 4, New Bay (GB)–Hayyona (GB), by Multiplex (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-James Wigan & Ballylinch Stud; B-London Thoroughbred Services Ltd (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute. £227,363.
3–Grand Glory (GB), 125, m, 6, Olympic Glory (Ire)–Madonna Lily (Ire), by Daylami (Ire). (€18,000 Ylg '17 AROYRG; €2,500,000 5yo '21 ARQDEC). O-Haras de Hus; B-Elevage Haras de Bourgeauville (GB); T-Gianluca Bietolini. £113,787.
Margins: 1, 2 1/4, HD. Odds: 5.00, 0.91, 16.00.
Also Ran: Shahryar (Jpn), Lord North (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
International star State Of Rest takes the G1 Prince of Wales's Stakes for @JosephOBrien2. What a horse, bred by @TinnakillHouse. pic.twitter.com/5yMOwNmROS
— TDN (@theTDN) June 15, 2022
The post State Of Rest Makes All In The Prince Of Wales’s appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Irad Ortiz, Jr. Pilots Grade 1 Double En Route To Jockey Of The Week Title
Three-time Eclipse Award winner, Irad Ortiz, Jr. won two Grade 1 races over Belmont Park's three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival including the marque race of the weekend, the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. A panel of racing experts voted Ortiz, Jr. Jockey of the Week for June 6 through June 13. The award honors jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.
On major racing days, Irad Ortiz, Jr. usually has a mount in nearly all a track's stakes races and it was no different last weekend when Belmont Park carded 17 stakes races Thursday through Saturday with Ortiz, Jr. having a mount in 14.
On Friday, Ortiz, Jr, was in the saddle on Bleecker Street for trainer Chad Brown in the newly-minted G1 New York Stakes for fillies and mares three-years-old and up on the inner turf course. Off as the second favorite in the field of seven, Ortiz, Jr. and Bleecker Street were last while saving ground after the opening half. Ortiz, Jr. angled Bleecker Street out five wide at the top of the stretch for clear sailing overtaking Family Way in the final 40 yards to win by a half-length in 2:02.58 for 1 1/4 miles.
“Slow pace, slow fractions, and I make a wide move,” said Ortiz, Jr., who was riding Bleecker Street for the first time. “I had to wait and go around and still got there. She gave me a good kick.”
On Saturday, Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher gave a leg up to Ortiz, Jr. on Mo Donegal in the G1 Belmont Stakes. Off as the 5-2 favorite in the field of eight, the duo raced in sixth while We the People showed the way through the opening quarter of the 1 1/2 mile classic. Mo Donegal made his move while four wide at the quarter pole and took the lead three-sixteenths from home to post a three-length win in 2:28.28 while his brother, Jose, captured second on the filly Nest.
“Last time in the Derby, he didn't have the best trip and he still got beat by (only) three or five lengths,” said Ortiz, Jr. “I knew if I got a better trip, he could get there. When I asked him in the clear, he took off.”
The win was the second in the Belmont Stakes for Ortiz, Jr. following Creator in 2016.
“It means a lot to me,” said Ortiz, Jr. “It's a lot of hard work and dedication. I've been riding here for 11 years – there's no better feeling.”
Other nominees for Jockey of the Week were Tyler Gaffalione who led all jockeys in wins with 10, Jose Ortiz with two Grade 1 wins, Flavien Prat with two G1 wins, and Luis Saez with five stakes wins.
Through June 12, Ortiz, Jr. tops the jockey standings in wins with 148 and purse earnings of $14,499,235.
The post Irad Ortiz, Jr. Pilots Grade 1 Double En Route To Jockey Of The Week Title appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
MATCH Series: Eons, High Opinion Capture Parx Turf Stakes
Eons and High Opinion both rallied from off the pace to win their respective stakes as part of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH) June 14 at Parx Racing.
The pair of $100,000 stakes—the Bensalem (3-Year-Olds and Up Long—Turf division) and the Neshaminy (Filly and Mare Long—Turf division) kicked off the second leg of the 2022 series. The two dirt stakes will be held the evening of June 17 at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course.
A heavy line of storms moved through the Philadelphia area at about 8 a.m. June 14 but spared Parx, which only received a light rain shower. That allowed the two stakes to stay on the turf course, which was rated good.
Mark Grier's Eons, a 6-year-old Giant's Causeway horse trained by Arnaud Delacour at Fair Hill, was reunited with jockey Trevor McCarthy and it produced good results. McCarthy, in from New York, was aboard Eons when he won the Grade III Kent Stakes at Delaware Park in 2019, and the pair captured the 1 1/16-mile Bensalem by going last to first in an eight-horse field.
Eons held a short lead in the stretch with favored Beacon Hill closing in and battled back to finish a nose in front in 1:42.71 for the distance. King Cause finished third, another 2 1/4 lengths behind Beacon Hill. Eons, who last won in July 2021, returned $20.20 to win.
“He's kind of a one-paced horse, but once he got his stride going—he was finding more,” McCarthy said. “It was a great finish. The horse hadn't won in a long time but we have a history. I won a Grade 3 with him.”
Eons won for the sixth time in 21 starts. Delacour said the horse had a “great trip” because the early fractions were quick on the good course, and if the pace is too slow Eons tends to be too close early. “The fast pace completely helped and he was able to put in a good (sustained) run,” he said.
Eons and another Delacour trainee, Chez Pierre, are now tied at the top of the MATCH division, each with 10 points.
In the 1 1/16-mile Neshaminy, High Opinion, a multiple graded stakes-placed 5-year-old mare by Lemon Drop Kid, stalked the early leaders under Flavien Prat, took over in the final sixteenth of a mile and held off a fast-closing Tic Tic Tic Boom, who almost kicked off a riding stakes double for McCarthy.
Owned by Woodford Racing and Team D and trained by Anthony Dutrow, Belmont Park-based High Opinion covered the distance in 1:43.32 and paid $3.80 to win. She was three-quarters of a length ahead of 43-1 Tic Tic Tic Boom, who is trained by Alan Bedard at Parx. Wicked Groove was third.
“She was ready to run a really good race,” said Prat, also in from New York. “I was a little worried about that loose horse (B B's Busted, who was impeded and lost her rider heading into the first turn) getting to the front and cutting us off, but that didn't happen.”
High Opinion picked up 10 points in her first MATCH Series appearance but Deciding Vote, who won the first leg and finished fourth in the Neshaminy, still leads the division with 13 points after two legs.
The MATCH Series originally debuted in 1997 and ran for five years. It returned with great success in 2018 and was held in 2019 and 2021. The innovative regional racing series—the only one of its kind in horse racing—combines rich stakes and bonuses for participating owners and trainers who compete over a five- to seven-month span. Horses competing in MATCH earn points based on participation and order of finish in each series race, and the leading point-earners in each of the series divisions, as well as the owner and trainer of the overall points leader, win lucrative bonuses.
The post MATCH Series: Eons, High Opinion Capture Parx Turf Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
