With a division of horses nearby at Delaware Park and needing a race for Grade 1 winner Two Emmys, trainer Mac Robertson thought he found the perfect spot by being able to easily ship in for Sunday's $100,000 Oceanport Stakes at Monmouth Park.
The 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and older just came up a little tougher than he expected.
“There are a couple of horses in there that ran really well last time and ran well at Monmouth Park,” said Robertson. “I'm optimistic about our chances. But the race came up pretty tough for $100,000.”
As dangerous as some of the six rivals may be to the classy 6-year-old gelding, a visit to the winner's circle still goes through Two Emmys, who has both a Grade 1 win (Mr. D. Stakes last Aug. 21 at the now shuttered Arlington Park) and a Grade 2 win (Muniz Memorial Classic at Fair Grounds on March 26) to his credit. No other horse in the field has won a graded stakes.
Two Emmys, a 6-year-old son of English Channel owned by Wolfe Racing and Robertson's dad, Hugh, looks to have come back at the peak of his game with two wins already this year. He sports a 6-8-1 overall record from 22 career starts and earnings of $815,083.
“He's like so many of these good English Channel horses – it seems like age is inconsequential,” said Robertson, who also has a string at Canterbury Park. “There are good 8-year-old English Channels running. So he is still going strong.”
Two Emmys came off a nine-week layoff to win the Outbound Ike Stakes at Hawthorne on June 25. That followed a seventh-place finish in the Elkhorn Stakes (G2) April 23 at Keeneland when Robertson said Two Emmys suffered from heat stroke.
“He was fine, but he did have heat stroke at Keeneland and that was the reason for the break,” said Robertson. “I thought he came back and ran a great race at Hawthorne.”
Two Emmys, who is generally on the lead or close to the leader, came off the pace to win that day at Hawthorne – which didn't surprise Robertson, who has taken over most of his father's horses while his dad spends time at home in Nebraska.
“I think he will be placed wherever the jockey wants to place him,” he said. “He doesn't have to be in front. At the Fair Grounds a couple of times he came from way off the pace.
“Some of the longer races go in :51 seconds for the half, so of course he is on the lead. He's a fast horse. But I don't think he needs to be on the lead because he has shown he can pass horses in the stretch.”
The field Sunday includes the Pat McBurney-trained Mohs, who was off the board in his most recent start in the United Nations (G1) July 23 at Monmouth, the rapidly improving Winfromwithin and Kuramata, who is trained by Chad Brown.
Robertson calls Two Emmys, purchased at the 2017 Keeneland September yearling sale for a mere $4,500, a “hickory horse.”
“You know what you're going to get when the gate pops open,” he said.
Delaware Park regular Carol Cedeno will come in for the ride.
Sunday, July 24, 2022, will go down as an historic day for Bally's Arapahoe Park — and not just for what took place at the racetrack in Aurora, Colo.
On the track, Collusionist won his tenth career stakes race at Bally's Arapahoe Park in the six-furlong Arapahoe Park Sprint. The 6-year-old dark bay Colorado-bred gelding loves racing in his home state. The stakes milestone was his 14th total victory in 18 starts at Arapahoe since his especially memorable “Silky Sullivan” debut in July 2018.
But that's only part of what the racetrack would celebrate on July 24. That's because 1,000 miles away in Kalispell, Mont., there were two horses from Arapahoe Park competing in international competition at The Event at Rebecca Farm, one of the most prestigious horse shows for the equestrian sport of eventing in the United States. Both finished as the highest-placing Thoroughbreds in their respective levels after show jumping rounds on July 24 that closed out the weekend of competition. They were Outrageous Dance ridden by Katy Robinson in the CCI4*-Short, a stepping stone toward the CCI5*-Long level at the Land Rover Kentucky Three-Day Event or at the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill, and Del Mar Belle ridden by Amy Bowers in the CCI2*-Long, the first long-format level recognized by the Fédération Équestre Internationale (FEI).
It's not the first time that a small group of horses from Arapahoe has taken the spotlight at a major sporthorse competition. At last year's Mega Makeover presented by Retired Racehorse Project, out of the approximately 400 horses that competed in the 10 disciplines offered, there were three that raced at Bally's Arapahoe Park. All three finished in the top 10, and two made the finale as part of the top five, with one of them in the finale in two different disciplines. Mr. Park and Brit Vegas were second in eventing and fourth in show jumping for the class of 2020. Ms. Battlefield and Autumn Sorensen were second in field hunters for 2020. And, Itybityquikasakity and Britany Chism were ninth in freestyle for 2021.
“We race for three months in the summer, but that's only part of our story,” said Shannon Rushton, Director of Racing at Bally's Arapahoe Park. “Our horses make an impact year-round, and that's a credit to our horsemen making a commitment to their wellbeing when they're here, as well as when they're done racing.”
The Colorado Horsemen's Association (CHA), the group that represents the horsemen that race at Bally's Arapahoe Park, has taken a different approach to Thoroughbred aftercare than most racetracks. Instead of partnering with aftercare organizations that oversee the rehoming of horses from the track, the CHA decided to directly support the people who have horses that used to race at the track. That has come in the form of cash prizes at horse shows, like the Spring Gulch Horse Trials, where 13 of the 129 entries in May raced at the event's local racetrack. The track sponsors a prize for the highest-finishing horse that previously raced in Colorado competing at the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover.
Out of the approximately 400 horses at the Mega Makeover, three raced at Arapahoe Park, and all three had top-ten finishes. From left to right, Mr. Park and Brit Vegas, Ms. Battlefield and Autumn Sorensen, and Itybityquikasakity and Britany Chism. Photo by Ashley Horowitz
“There are so many great people that take on the responsibility of working with our horses,” said Kim Oliver, president of the CHA. “The horses give us so much on the track, so we want to give back when they've finished racing, and what better way than to the people that now have them.”
Creating a direct line between the racing connections and sporthorse connections of the OTTBs from Bally's Arapahoe Park gives Colorado's racehorses tremendous support to succeed on big stages around the country.
“There's something to be said for the eventing culture of Colorado,” said Robinson, who rode Outrageous Dance in the CCI4*-Short at Rebecca Farm. “There's a lot of people who are into the horsemanship and starting them themselves, and then they get ambitious. It's the nature of eventing in Colorado that you have to cross state lines, so it means you have horses that come from humble beginnings and get spread throughout the country doing the important things because of what it means for the eventing culture of Colorado to be doing milestone events.”
Outrageous Dance, a 10-year-old bay gelding bred in Idaho, raced nine times from July 2014 to July 2016 with one top-three finish. His first United States Eventing Association (USEA) recognized event was in July 2017. At Rebecca Farm in July 2022, he moved up from 20th after dressage to 10th in the final standings following clear jumping rounds where they only added time penalties to their score.
“Every time I think I've found his upper limit, I haven't,” said Robinson, who has also competed Outrageous Dance up to a height of 1.3 meters (4-feet-3) in show jumping. “I have not picked a limit for him, and I will figure it out when I get there, but I don't think I've found it yet.”
Both Del Mar Belle and Amy Bowers, who were profiled in “Horowitz on OTTBs” last month were moving up to the CCI2*-Long level for the first time at Rebecca Farm. They rose from 27th out of 45 after dressage to 17th in the final standings, ahead of the other Thoroughbreds competing at the level.
These horses from Bally's Arapahoe Park are now inspiring their sporthorse riders to become more involved in racing. For Bowers, that means studying racing breeding lines.
“When I bought Belle, I didn't know who Tiznow was because I'm not in the racing world,” she said, referring to Del Mar Belle's Breeders' Cup Classic-winning sire. “But everything I've researched on Tiznow, when you get a chance to buy one, you buy one. And then the dam side with Fusaichi Pegasus, this is great, they have sporthorse stuff on both sides. They didn't realize they unintentionally bred a great eventing horse.”
For Sorensen, who rode Ms. Battlefield to a runner-up finish in field hunters at the Thoroughbred Makeover, it means taking a position at the racetrack as a veterinarian on behalf of the state racing commission starting in 2021.
“I've gotten so much more perspective about racehorses,” she said. “It's been nice to see how the trainers love their horses and take really good care of them.”
Ms. Battlefield returned to Bally's Arapahoe Park to be a pony horse on July 26, three years after running her last race at the track.
It also came full circle for Ms. Battlefield when the mare returned to the track to fill in as a pony horse during the races on July 26.
“I got her the day after her last race, and this was the first time she's been back to the track,” Sorensen said. “I didn't realize you just don't show up and jump right in as a pony horse. I don't even think she's ever had a Western saddle on before. But she'll do anything I ask her to.”
At the end of the day, these horses never actually lose their identity as racehorses.
“He's the easiest to ride at a dead gallop, which makes sense because he's a racehorse,” Robinson said about Outrageous Dance.
So, it's only fitting that the racing connections that work so hard for the success of their horses on the track get to celebrate it when it comes off the track as well.
Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings at both Saratoga and Del Mar and at Ellis Park, which attracts its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. Already this year at Saratoga, City Man (Mucho Macho Man), Mo Strike (Uncle Mo) and Empress Tigress (Classic Empire)–each a graduate of the 2-year-old sales–have already struck at stakes level, while the likes of juvenile purchases and 'TDN Rising Stars'Taiba (Gun Runner), We The People (Constitution) and Onesto (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) have also left their mark on graded/group competition this season. To follow are the horses entered for Sunday:
Sunday, August 14, 2022 Saratoga 1, 1:05 p.m. ET Horse (Sire), Sale, Price, Breeze Don't Let Me Down (Tourist), OBSJUN, $50,000, click C-Blue Sapphire Stables; B-Wachtel Stables Excalibrate (Mastery), FTMMAY, $40,000, see below C-James Layden, agent; B-Amira Chichakly (PS) Gods Glory (Collected), OBSMAR, $50,000, click C-RiceHorse Stable (Brandon & Ali Rice); B-John Vaccaro Rock Chalk (Cairo Prince), OBSAPR, $50,000, click C-S G V T'breds (Steven Venosa), agent; B-James Politano
Godolphin's QIPCO 2000 Guineas (G1) winner Coroebus will look to win a third consecutive Group 1 race when he faces eight talented rivals in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-Le-Buffard Jacques Le Marois on Sunday at Deauville. The winner of the one-mile contest will be provided an automatic starting position into the $2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.
The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 82 stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which will be held at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington on Nov. 4-5.
Coroebus, a 3-year-old son of Dubawi, has won four of his five starts, including the St. James's Palace Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot June 14 in his most recent start. His trainer Charlie Appleby believes his runner is in good form ahead of his first start in France.
“We're very much looking forward to Coroebus running this weekend,” said Appleby. “Unfortunately, he missed the Qatar Sussex Stakes (G1) with a setback, but he's well over that now and has put some nice work in during the last week and he goes into the weekend in great shape.”
The Joseph O'Brien-trained State of Rest, owned by the State of Rest Partnership, has also been entered. In his most recent outing June 15 at Royal Ascot, the 4-year-oldStarspangledbanner colt won the Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1) at 1 ¼-miles in decisive fashion, which earned him an automatic starting position into the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. He has won Group 1 races in four different countries during his career and now drops back in distance for the first time.
Another runner with a 2022 Royal Ascot success is the Cheveley Park-owned Coronation Stakes (G1) winner Inspiral, a 3-year-old Frankel filly. The training team of John and Thady Gosden is searching for a third consecutive win in the Jacques Le Marois after winning it for the past two years with the high-class Palace Pier.
However, Inspiral needs to bounce back after suffering her first loss in six career starts last time out to the Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen-owned filly Prosperous Voyage, who lines up against her again Sunday. Prosperous Voyage, trained by Ralph Beckett, was a comfortable winner of the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes (G1) on July 8 at Newmarket, defeating runner-up Inspiral by 1 ¾ lengths.
Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Mrs. A.M. O'Brien's Order of Australia has been entered for trainer Aidan O'Brien. The 2020 FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner, Order of Australia will need to improve after a disappointing run in the Qatar Sussex Stakes (G1) when beaten a total of eights lengths by Baaeed.
The globetrotting Japan-bred Bathrat Leon, owned by Hiroo Racing Co. Ltd., will line up for trainer Yoshito Yahagi. By Kizuna, the 4-year-old was beaten just 3 ¾ lengths by Baaeed in the Sussex last month and previously won the Godolphin Mile (G1) at Meydan.
The sole horse in the race with an unbeaten record is the Aga Khan's Erevann, who is one of two representatives for Jean-Claude Rouget along with Djo Francais.
Erevann has won each of his three starts and posted a career-best last time out to win the Prix Paul de Moussac Longines (G3) by a short head on June 19 at Chantilly. The Jean-Claude Rouget stable has never won the Jacques Le Marois.
British challenger Light Infantry, trained by David Simcock, completes the line-up having finished an excellent second in the Haras d'Etreham Prix Jean Prat (G1) at Deauville behind Tenebrism in his latest start on July 11.
As part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois winner to start in the US$2 million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at Keeneland. Breeders' Cup will also provide a US$40,000 travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the Championships' pre-entry deadline of Oct. 24 to receive the rewards.
