June, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Weekend Lineup Presented By BetMakers: Summer Derby Season Kicks Off In Ohio

While the Kentucky Derby may be the biggest and most famous race for 3-year-olds in North America, there are more “derbies” throughout the summer months than you can shake a stick at.

Early season races like the Florida, Arkansas and Santa Anita Derbies serve as major preps for the big prize at Churchill Downs that everyone wants to win, but there are lots of consolation events for very good 3-year-olds racing on dirt once the Triple Crown ends in early June.

That season starts this weekend with Saturday's Grade 3 Ohio Derby at JACK Thistledown racetrack near Cleveland and continues with the G3 Indiana Derby, Iowa Derby and Los Alamitos Derby on July 9, the G3 West Virginia Derby on Aug. 6, and the Runhappy Ellis Park Derby Aug. 14, among other races.

The three big G1 dirt races for 3-year-olds during the summer months are the July 23 TVG.com Haskell, the Aug. 27 Runhappy Travers Stakes and the Sept. 24 Pennsylvania Derby.

The Ohio Derby came up strong with three horses who exited the Kentucky Derby last out heading the lineup in a field of eight. Tawny Port was established the 3-1 morning line favorite after a seventh-place finish behind longshot Rich Strike in the Run for the Roses.

Also worth noting that the weekend includes the Group 1 Irish Derby from the Curragh.

Here's a quick look at some of this weekend's graded stakes:

Saturday

4:40 PM – Grade 2 Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park

Only five 3-year-old fillies are entered in this one-turn 1 1/16-mile main track fixture, and that's no surprise since it comes just two weeks after a four-horse field contested the G1 Acorn at Belmont going a one-turn mile on Belmont Stakes day. The only graded stakes winner among them is Juju's Map, who took the G1 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland last October before finishing second behind Echo Zulu in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. The daughter of Liam's Map will be the heavy favorite after a dominating allowance score at Churchill Downs May 6 in her only start at 3. Shahama had some trouble running sixth in the G1 Kentucky Oaks and will try to give Todd Pletcher his seventh Mother Goose win.

4:48 PM – Lady Jacqueline Stakes at JACK Thistledown

The Lady Jacqueline is not a graded race but its $250,000 purse brought a solid field of 10 to the North Randall racetrack and casino. Army Wife won back-to-back graded stakes in 2021 and was a good third to Malathaat in the G1 Alabama. She had a good prep at Churchill Downs to begin her 2022 campaign on June 2 for trainer Mike Maker. Kenny McPeek-trained Crazy Beautiful is another multiple graded stakes winner and Maracuja, who won the G1 CCA Oaks at Saratoga over Malathaat and Clairiere last summer is capable of winning this on her best day.

4:55 PM – Grade 3 Chicago Stakes at Churchill Downs

The Chicago is one of the graded stakes pilfered from the scrapheap at Arlington Park and, despite being won mostly by synthetic track specialists it has maintained its G3 ranking. The change of scenery, surface and increased purse has made this 2022 renewal worthy of its graded status and the field of seven is quite good. Sconsin and Bell's the One have developed a good rivalry while proving to be top-class sprinters, and Kalypso has shown to be particularly effective at seven furlongs, winning the G2 Santa Ynez and G1 La Brea at that distance in California when trained by Bob Baffert. But the mare they may all have to run down is Lady Rocket, from the Brad Cox barn.

5:35 – Grade 3 Ohio Derby at JACK Thistledown

The $500,000 Ohio Derby, which dates back to 1876 when it was run at defunct Chester Park in Cincinnati, is one of four stakes on the program on the Cleveland area track's biggest day of the year. G1 Florida Derby winner White Abarrio, G2 Tampa Bay Derby winner Classic Causeway and G3 Lexington Stakes winner Tawny Port – all exiting off-the-board finishes behind Rich Strike in the Kentucky Derby – head a line-up of eight 3-year-olds racing over nine furlongs. D. Wayne Lukas-trained Ethereal Road, whose scratch from the Kentucky Derby allowed Rich Strike into the field from the also-eligible list, may also be a solid contender after dominating the Sir Barton Stakes on the Preakness undercard May 21. Of the three horses exiting the Kentucky Derby, Classic Causeway may have the most early speed, something he failed to show when running 11th at Churchill Downs. The Giant's Causeway colt's owners moved the horse from Brian Lynch to Kenny McPeek. But there appears to be plenty of speed in the lineup with Dallas Stewart-trained Brigadier Gerard and Mike Maker-trained Pineapple Man capable of setting quick early fractions. There's probably a reason Irad Ortiz Jr. opted to come to Ohio to ride Tawny Port for Brad Cox. He'll be accelerating late.

The post Weekend Lineup Presented By BetMakers: Summer Derby Season Kicks Off In Ohio appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Ashbrook Farm’s Glenn Bromagen Passes Away at 90

Owner Glenn Bromagen, who raced under the name of Ashbrook Farm, passed away Tuesday at his home in Versailles, KY. He was 90.

An Air Force veteran, Bromagen graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1955 and shortly thereafter moved to Chicago, where he worked at the Union Stock Yards for Armour and Company. The native of Sharpsburg, KY joined the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as a cattle broker and then co-founded the brokerage firm, Rufenacht, Bromagen and Hertz, where he flourished professionally.

He bought his first racehorses in the late 60's while living in Chicago and was known to be an avid horseplayer who frequented the Illinois tracks. Bromagen began with trainer Tommy Kelly and won his first graded stakes in 1974 when capturing the GIII Pucker Up S. at Arlington Park. That same year, he won the GIII Clark H. with Mr. Door. In 1980, he had a starter in the GI Kentucky Derby in Tonka Wakhan, who finished 10th for trainer Glynn Bernis

In the early 1980s, Bromagen decided to return to Kentucky and purchased Ashbrook Farm in 1982. Among the reasons he returned to the Blue Grass State was that he wanted his children to be raised in his beloved Kentucky.

Bromagen enjoyed his greatest successes in racing after teaming up with trainer Rusty Arnold. They enjoyed success early on with Tricky Creek, a winner of four graded stakes, starting with the 1988 GII Brown & Williamson Kentucky Jockey Club S.

After he graduated from college in 2007, Bromagen's son Bo came on board as Ashbrook's racing manager and helped lead the stable to new heights. In 2007, Ashbrook won the GI Lane's End Breeders' Futurity with Wicked Style (Macho Uno). In 2016, Ashbrook's Weep No More (Mineshaft) won the GI Central Bank Ashland S. In 2018, the stable unveiled Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy), who won the GII Jessamine S., the GIII Florida Oaks and the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. The filly was owned in partnership with BBN Racing. A $61,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-old, she topped the 2020 Keeneland November sale at $1.95 million.

“My father loved this game so much,” Bo Bromagen said. “He loved being at the racetrack. He loved running horses. He loved putting money through the windows and he loved taking it out of there, too. He was one of those guys who wanted to make the most of his experiences. He was a guy who came from nothing and made it to where he did. He never forgot that. He always wanted to share those experiences with as many people as he could.”

Bromagen is survived by his wife, Sandi; his children, Ashley (Evan Schmitt), Glenn “Bo” and Tyler (Caroline); his grandchildren, Cooper, Ella, and Owen Schmitt, and Reese Bromagen; and many cherished nieces and nephews. Graveside Services will be held Saturday, June 25 at 11:15 a.m. at Pisgah Cemetery in Versailles, KY. Visitation will be prior to the service starting at 10:00 a.m. at Pisgah Presbyterian Church. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Glenn S. Bromagen Sharpsburg Memorial Fund at the Bluegrass Community Foundation, 499 E. High St, #112, Lexington, KY 40507.

The post Ashbrook Farm’s Glenn Bromagen Passes Away at 90 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Win And You’re In: World Travelers Meet Home Stars In Sunday’s Takarazuka Kinen

After five consecutive weeks of Grade 1 racing in Tokyo recently, there has been a slight lull in the top-class action here in Japan, but this coming Sunday (June 26) it returns in the form of the Takarazuka Kinen, to be run at Hanshin Racecourse over 2,200 meters on the inner turf track. It is one of the two so-called 'All-Star' races in a year, where racing fans get to vote for the horses they want to see competing against each other. It is a race for 3-year-olds and up, and there is a maximum field size of 18. There are 20 horses nominated for this week's Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen.

This year will see the 63rd running of the Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen, and as with other recent big races, it's shaping up to be a truly competitive field. Race favorites have found it tough to win in the past ten years, with just three of them returning to the winner's enclosure. The race has, however, favored 5-year-olds, who have won seven times in the past decade. The last three years, a filly or mare has won, taking their overall tally of wins in the race to six.

This year's winner's check is JPY200 million (just under USD2 million). The winner of this year's Grade 1 Takarazuka Kinen also receives an automatic entry to Australia's Cox Plate (won by Lys Gracieux in 2019) and the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland in November.

(Each Breeders' Cup Challenge Series winner will earn an automatic starting position and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 4-5.)

Here is a look at some of the runners expected to feature in the race:

Titleholder: This year's Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring) winner looks perfectly at home at Hanshin, running away with his latest win by seven lengths, and the 4-year-old colt by Duramente came out on top of the fans' poll, demonstrating the respect he commands.

Trainer Toru Kurita said: “On his return to the training center on June 1, he looked well and refreshed, and probably better all round than he did when he returned before the Tenno Sho. He has been moving well in his recent training.”

The trainer's two Grade 1 victories have come with Titleholder, and jockey Kazuo Yokoyama, who has ridden him in his last three races, is set to take the ride again.

Efforia: With six wins from eight starts, last year's Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Grade 1 Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix) winner was looking to continue his success into 2022, but only managed to finish ninth in this April's Grade 1 Osaka Hai over 2,000 meters at Hanshin, his worst result ever. However, trainer Yuichi Shikato thought that things went against him in that race.

“He had the long transportation to the track last time, together with the accident at the gate and the flow of the race itself wasn't helpful, so things didn't really go his way,” the trainer said. “He came back to the stable from Northern Farm Tenei on June 2, and looks a lot tighter than he did before his break. This season is also better for him, and he's shown enough in his work so far.”

Jockey Takeshi Yokoyama has ridden the Epiphaneia colt in all his races so far, and will partner him again on Sunday.

Deep Bond: The 5-year-old by Kizuna remains very competitive, as could be seen from his effort right up to the end last time in the Grade 1 Tenno Sho (Spring), where he managed to finish second to Titleholder. He has always finished in the first two at Hanshin, so a big run can be expected this time too.

Trainer Ryuji Okubo said: “He was beaten into second last time, and the riderless horse didn't help things in the run. He still ran well and finished ahead of T O Royal in the end. After giving him a rest, we have had this race as his next target.”

Daring Tact: Having had her first run in over a year in last month's Grade 1 Victoria Mile, the 5-year-old mare still managed to put in a creditable run to finish sixth.

“She was coming back after her long layoff last time, and it was a tough mile race,” trainer Haruki Sugiyama commented. “There had been quite a lot of rain before the race, and she drew the inside gate which wasn't to her advantage. She still ran well, putting in a final three-furlong time of just over 33 seconds. I thought it was a good run, considering everything, and her legs were fine after the race.”

Jockey Kohei Matsuyama is bidding for his sixth career JRA Grade 1 win, with three of them achieved already on Daring Tact.

Authority: After a successful campaign in Saudi Arabia and Dubai earlier this year, where the 5-year-old won and finished third in his respective races (the latter in the Grade 1 Dubai Sheema Classic), he's now set for his next challenge in this Sunday's big race.

Assistant trainer Yu Ota said: “He has been racing well this year, so it's been good to use him constantly. He is looking just a little heavy at the moment, so I hope he'll adjust to things in his fast work from now. We will just have to see how he does racing right-handed in this next race.”

Jockey Christophe Lemaire gets on well with him and takes the ride again on Sunday.

Potager: Causing a bit of an upset last time when he won the Grade 1 Osaka Hai over 2,000 meters at Hanshin in April, the 5-year-old by Deep Impact has now won three times at Hanshin from his six career victories overall. Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi has a lot of skill when it comes to having a horse just right for a big race.

He recently commented on Potager: “There wasn't much time between his races in the spring, but he kept his condition well. He ran on from the back of the field in the Kinko Sho, but in the Osaka Hai, he demonstrated how he could run from a more forward position and get a good result. It was decided then to give him a break and bring him back for this race.”

The trainer is seeking his 17th JRA Grade 1 victory, and he's already scored twice at the top level this year.

Panthalassa: From the all-conquering stable of trainer Yoshito Yahagi, Panthalassa's tough front-running style has won him two races already this year, namely the Grade 2 Nakayama Kinen over 1,800 meters in February, and the Grade 1 Dubai Turf over 1,800 meters in March. He will have to see out an extra 400 meters this time, but the 5-year-old looks capable of a big run this time too.

Assistant trainer Yusaku Oka said: “He seems well enough after his overseas trip, and his return to the stable after a stay at the farm. His work on the uphill training track recently has been smooth, and things should be fine with him as we work him more.”

Stay Foolish: From the same stable as Panthalassa, the 7-year-old by Stay Gold is showing that age is not an issue, nor long distance travel, with his two wins earlier this year in Saudi Arabia and Dubai. Forcing the pace in one of them, and being well forward in the other, he proved impossible to stop in both races over long distances.

“He returned from the Yamamoto Training Center to the stable on June 9, and everything seems fine with him,” assistant trainer Yusaku Oka said. “He ran well in Saudi and Dubai over the long trips, but this time it'll be shorter, so we'll just have to see how he adjusts to the distance.”

Arrivo: The 4-year-old colt by Duramente has been showing improvement, and he now has five wins from his eleven career races to date. His most recent third place finish in the Grade 1 Osaka Hai in April was arguably his best ever race.

Trainer Haruki Sugiyama said: “He had won some handicap races away from the big tracks, but I was a little uncertain about how he might perform last time, given the gradient at Hanshin, but he ran well, and there wasn't much in it between him and the winner. He was tired after that race, but he recovered quickly and we could consider this next race for him.”

This year's Derby winning jockey, Yutaka Take, is set for the ride on Arrivo.

The post Win And You’re In: World Travelers Meet Home Stars In Sunday’s Takarazuka Kinen appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

This Side Up: Back to Arcadia

So we get another day of sun, after all, out in La La Land. It was not so long ago that a night without end appeared to have descended on Santa Anita. Like Ryan Gosling's character in the film, fighting his quixotic rearguard action on behalf of jazz, we were clinging to the wreckage of a culture renounced by 21st Century society. “I'm letting life hit me till it gets tired,” he protests to his sister. “Then I'm going to hit back. It's a classic rope-a-dope.”

If we're honest, that's pretty much the way a lot of us reacted to what felt uncomfortably like an existential crisis in 2019. If the storm clouds could blot out the sun even over a racetrack most of us would have chosen as our proudest showcase, then nowhere was safe. Steeled by the nobility of the animal with whom we share our daily lives, we professed indignation over our alienation by an ever more urban society. Nobody could love these animals more than we did, nor tend their needs more lavishly. Yet all these people, having apparently failed to give much thought to the viability of horses as house pets, were presuming to question our idea of acceptable risk.

Luckily, there were some in our community who could see where that stubborn approach was going to take us. And that was to the sporting equivalent of a dive bar at the bottom of dingy staircase, with a few diehards leaning against the bar, listening to some unappreciated genius improvising mournfully at an old piano.

Those diehards are not always immune to a certain complacency. They elevate themselves from the herd not just by superior discernment, but also by sheer fidelity to a lost cause. But those who have rescued our sport from the brink did not want to reduce it some arrogant cult. They knew that we still had something very special to offer a mass audience. We just had to clean out the house before inviting anybody in.

The collective job they've done in California can't be praised enough, but that shouldn't stop us trying. Just cast your mind back to where we were after that harrowing spate of breakdowns at Santa Anita. Perhaps the most dismal moment came when the field turned for home in the final race of a Breeders' Cup staged with all those painstaking protocols. Just as the veterinary team must have been turning to each other to exchange high fives, the Mongolian Groom tragedy brought the vultures back overhead.

The transformation then already underway, however, has since proved quite incredible. The marathon winter-spring meet just concluded at Santa Anita did not feature a single musculoskeletal racing fatality on the main track, with just three in all from 4,800 starters. Right now this is operating as the safest high-volume racetrack in the land. I've no idea how the credit should be distributed, between Belinda Stronach, track superintendent Dennis Moore, and many others in between. But I do know that our community owes them a debt of gratitude; and also that there are a couple of ways of discharging it.

One, as we approach the deadline for HISA registration, is for everyone to acknowledge the bigger picture. Purposeful regulation should not be resented as draconian intrusion, but embraced as essential to the sustainability of our way of life. Remember it's not just horsemen who are making short-term sacrifices for longer-term gain. The stringent policing of medication, now so conspicuous in California, incidentally exacerbates what has come to feel like a chronic local deficiency, in field sizes. But where some racetracks in other states are prepared to turn a blind eye, in order to fill stalls and fields, here they appear willing to grasp a few nettles.

And that brings me to the other way we can repay California. Yes, the big investors now have lucrative opportunity virtually year-round in and around Kentucky, while for many Saratoga is just up the road from their Wall Street lairs. But somebody out there, surely, won't be averse to spreading a few good horses back west. California has a beautiful climate, after all; quite a few beautiful people, and not always just skin deep; perhaps the most beautiful racetrack in the world; and, importantly, Hall of Fame-eligible trainers like John Shirreffs who are only going to thrive on a level playing field.

When it was all going wrong, there seemed to be something apt about the fact that Santa Anita should be sited in the suburb of Arcadia, named for the pastoral idyll of the ancient Greeks. In many traditions, notably that of Eden, these places are poignantly unattainable owing to the culpability of humankind. Marvelously, however, our community has proved to contain men and women to lead us back along the stony path of redemption.

Or perhaps that should be the Ethereal Road of redemption? I always had a hunch that this son of Quality Road might take an unexpected role in the Triple Crown, but not in the way he did–stepping aside from the Derby at the 11th hour, creating a vacancy for a winner who has since remained curiously resistant to the assistance of hindsight. In the event, Ethereal Road was confined to an appearance on the Preakness undercard, where he suggested that he might yet join barnmate Secret Oath (Arrogate) in the top tier of the crop. Having again been scratched from the third leg of the series, with a quarter crack, he instead resurfaces in the GIII Ohio Derby on Saturday. If he can confirm that he is now really beginning to blossom, we may yet extend our reach to a wider public through a trainer who, just like California, has persevered through dark times with an undiminished faith that we have a story worth telling.

Don't forget the way Gosling's character calls after to his sister, as she leaves his apartment in despair over his “rope-a-dope” line. “I'm a phoenix rising from the ashes!”

Wayne Lukas has done it; Santa Anita is doing it. See you at the jazz club.

The post This Side Up: Back to Arcadia appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post