August, 2022 | Horse Racing Free Tips

HISA’s Lisa Lazarus To Be Keynote Speaker For Jockey Club Round Table Conference

The Jockey Club announced Wednesday the agenda for its Annual Round Table Conference on Matters Pertaining to Racing, which will be held as an in-person event this year for the first time since 2019 and hosted for the first time at the Saratoga Springs City Center in Saratoga Springs, New York. Scheduled for Sunday, August 14, at 10 a.m. ET, the conference will also be streamed on The Jockey Club's website, jockeyclub.com, and Facebook page, facebook.com/USJockeyClub. Chairman Stuart S. Janney III will preside over the conference.

As the keynote speaker, Lisa Lazarus, chief executive officer of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, will provide an update on the first six weeks of enforcement of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), which went into effect on July 1. She will also discuss future plans for the authority and the status of rules for the Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program, which goes into effect January 1, 2023.

Lazarus' appearance will be complemented by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. “Chuck” Schumer (D-NY), a key supporter of HISA, who will offer his perspective on the significance of the passage of HISA to the Thoroughbred industry.

John Penza, a director of International Investigations at 5 Stones Intelligence and a former special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, will be interviewed by James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club, in a discussion about his experiences as an investigator and the impact of the March 2020 arrests of more than two dozen individuals who participated in an operation involving the systematic and covert administration of illegal performance-enhancing drugs to racehorses.

Tom Rooney, president and chief executive officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), will talk about the NTRA's work in Washington, D.C., to benefit all industry stakeholders. The NTRA opened its D.C. office in June.

Dennis Madsen, head of racing for the Swedish Horseracing Authority, will present on Sweden's new crop rule, which prohibits the use of the crop for encouragement and only allows it to be used for safety purposes. The rule went into effect this year.

Dr. Lauren Stiroh, managing director of NERA Economic Consulting, will review her findings from an analysis of economic trends in Thoroughbred racing and breeding.

Shannon Kelly, executive director of The Jockey Club Safety Net Foundation, will talk about issues facing the industry's workforce and how the foundation assists those in need.

Carl Hamilton, president of The Jockey Club Information Systems and chairman of BloodHorse, will deliver the activities of The Jockey Club.

The full agenda and bios of all speakers will be posted on jockeyclub.com in advance of the conference.

The Jockey Club Round Table Conference was first held on July 1, 1953, in The Jockey Club office in New York City. The following year, it was moved to Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The conference has featured discussions on myriad critical industry topics, including aftercare, equine safety, marketing, and national uniformity, as well as international perspectives and viewpoints from outside the Thoroughbred industry.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It founded America's Best Racing (americasbestracing.net), the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing, and in partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, operates OwnerView (ownerview.com), the ownership resource. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.

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Three-Time British Champion De Sousa To Continue Career In Hong Kong

Silvestre De Sousa, crowned champion jockey in Britain three times, is set to continue his career in the saddle in Hong Kong.

De Sousa has been granted a licence by the Hong Kong Jockey Club from Aug. 20 to Feb. 20, with the season kicking off at Sha Tin on Sept. 11.

The Brazilian native has ridden 67 winners in Hong Kong previously, including the 2018 Hong Kong Cup aboard Glorious Forever (GB) (Archipenko), as well as landing the Longines International Jockeys' Championship the same year.

De Sousa said, “I am delighted to have been asked to go back out to Hong Kong for another stint. It's a brilliant place to ride and it was just too good an opportunity to turn down.

“My plans to go back out there last year were scuppered by Covid, so it will be great to get back out there again. The quality of racing in Hong Kong is second to none and it's a real honour to be part of that. I'll be heading out there later this month and look forward to the season starting in September.”

De Sousa returned to the freelance ranks in Britain this year after his retainer with King Power Racing was not renewed and he has partnered 31 winners so far this term.

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Life Is Good Draws Outside in Whitney

MGISW Life Is Good (Into Mischief) will break from outside in post six in Saturday's GI Whitney S. at Saratoga. The winner of four of five starts in 2021, including the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, the imposing bay annexed this season's Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream and Belmont's GII John A. Nerud S. July 2. He also finished fourth in the Dubai World Cup in March.

“I wasn't really concerned too much about the post position in a compact field like this,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who also saddles GI Cigar Mile scorer Americanrevolution (Constitution) (Post 1) and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup victor Happy Saver (Super Saver) (Post 5). “With Life Is Good, he's drawn the rail a number of times. I thought it was nice for him to draw outside. Hopefully, he breaks like he normally does and we'll be forwardly placed going into the first turn. I was happy with his position.”

In regard to Happy Saver, he added, “I think he needs to get the right trip. [If] the pace scenario works out and he's able to get a good pace to run at, then I think that would help him a lot. He's a deserving winner of another Grade I. He was able to win the Jockey Club [Gold Cup] as a 3-year-old, which we were proud of him for doing. He's so consistent and he tries hard every time. So, I'm hoping he's got another one.”

Also slated to run in Saturday's Spa feature, Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) drew the two hole. Victorious in last season's GI Pennsylvania Derby and first across the wire but demoted to seventh in the GI Haskell S., the colt hit the board in last season's the GI Kentucky Derby and Belmont S. This term, he was won the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 before finishing runner-up in the Dubai World Cup and most recently in the GIII Salvator Mile at Monmouth.

Asked how he came out of his latest start, Leandro Mora, assistant to Doug O'Neill, said, “Very nice. He believes he won the race, just didn't get the camera, but mostly we feel good about it. He came back to the barn and was great and didn't have any hiccups. I have a very good feeling about him. I hope I'm right because I feel like this is his time.”

He added, “[Post] two is going to be good because this time I think he's going to get out and try to sit behind Life Is Good, or maybe the opposite. I know Life Is Good is going to be the sprinter of the sprinters, but he's going to have to rush a little more because he's [Life Is Good] on the outside.”

Rounding out the Whitney field: former claimer Zoomer (Curlin) (Post 3) and MGSW Olympiad (Speightstown) (Post 4).

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“He’s Here and He’s Ready;” Golden Pal Restarts Final Campaign in Friday’s Troy

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Trainer Wesley Ward turned to football to explain why Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) has turned out to be what he has said is the best horse he has handled during his 32-year career.

“Look at all the special running backs in history,” Ward said. “What makes them so special? They are naturally blessed with talent is what it comes down to. They are extremely fast and a lot of them have the mind for it as well. He's got both.”

Nearly two months after a disappointing appearance as the favorite in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot in June, Golden Pal returns to competition Friday in the GIII Troy S. presented by Horse Racing Ireland at Saratoga Race Course. He drew post five in the field of seven going 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

Golden Pal is two for two at Saratoga and has won six straight–all in stakes company–in the U.S. since dropping his maiden debut in April, 2020. Overall, he has won six of 10 starts and earned $1.4 million, second in the Ward stable career standings to Judy the Beauty (Ghostzapper).

“He's certainly extremely accomplished here, having won two Breeders' Cups and is shooting for his third,” Ward said. “The only thing he's lacking is over there. He hasn't really come through for me going overseas.”

In his second start as a 2-year-old, Golden Pal was second by a neck to The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot. Last summer at York, he was seventh in the G1 Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe S. On June 14 in the King's Stand, he got away slowly under Irad Ortiz, Jr., who had his head turned looking at a horse acting up behind the gate, was rushed up, weakened and was eased.

“This year I was just devastated with what happened at the break,” Ward said.

Golden Pal is the first foal out of Lady Shipman (Midshipman), who won 11 stakes during her distinguished career for Randall Lowe. During the height of her career, Lowe said he turned down a high offer of $3.5 million to sell Lady Shipman. He bred Golden Pal and when he failed to reach his reserve price at auction as a yearling, raced him as a 2-year-old. Following Golden Pal's victory in the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, Lowe sold him to the Coolmore partnership of Mr. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Westerberg Ltd., which kept him with Ward. The bay completed his 2021 campaign for his new owners with a 1 1/4-length score in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

Clearly, Golden Pal has become a Ward favorite.

“He's just such a joy to be around,” Ward said. “Every horse has a different personality, as people do. And this guy has just got a wonderful personality. He's always positive. He'd be a positive person if was a human. He's just a real cool guy to be around.”

Ward has been very careful with Golden Pal, balancing training with a light racing schedule throughout his career. He ran four times as a 2-year-old, another four times last year and will have four, possibly five, starts in this–his final–season on the track. Ward was especially enthusiastic about the way the colt performed in his debut this season, winning the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland by 4 3/4 lengths Apr. 9.

Running away with the Shakertown in April | Coady

“It was a big race the spring,” Ward said. “He was only coming off a Breeders' Cup to Keeneland. We had to train him with the weather at Keeneland and take him up to Turfway and breeze him. He certainly wouldn't have been 100% going into the race fitness-wise, because we had to contend with the weather, but he just came on with just a powerful race. I was so looking forward to going over to Ascot with him as he just trained well from that point forward.”

Golden Pal has had three breezes at Saratoga, two of them bullets, over the Oklahoma turf training track since July 15.

“We've had ample spacing and he's here and he's ready,” Ward said.

In his two previous starts at Saratoga, Golden Pal was an easy and impressive winner. He broke his maiden by 3 1/2 lengths in the 2020 Skidmore S. when a return trip to Europe was scuttled due to weather. In 2021, he wowed the crowd on opening day with a 3-length victory in hand in the GIII Quick Call S.

From Saratoga, Golden Pal will return to Ward's home base at Keeneland to prepare for the Breeders' Cup. The prep in Kentucky could be an experiment, a surface change.

“We may go to the (GII Stoll Keenon Ogden) Phoenix, which is on the dirt, for stallion value,” Ward said. “We'll see if he can do it. There's no reason why he can't. In another trainer's barn he probably would have been a dirt horse, but he had a lot of physical issues along the way that kept me from running him on the dirt just to keep him sound.”

Golden Pal's only dirt start was in his first career race at Gulfstream Park.

While the Breeders' Cup is the career-ending target, Ward said one more race might be in the offing.

“It may or may not culminate in Australia,” Ward said. “It all depends on how we finish out the year, but Coolmore has expressed an interest in showcasing him for the breeders in Australia in the Southern Hemisphere.”

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