One of the biggest weekends in North American horse racing is coming up, highlighted by a spectacular Saturday Aug. 27 racecard at Saratoga Race Course that is anchored by the 153rd edition of the Runhappy Travers Stakes.
Month: August 2022
Alcohol Free to Miss Haydock Sprint Cup
Four-time Group 1 winner Alcohol Free (Ire) has been ruled out of Saturday's G1 Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock with a minor injury.
A winner at the top level at two, three and four, the Andrew Balding-trained filly required stitches for a cut in an “awkward place” and looks likely to be sidelined for around ten days.
“Unfortunately Alcohol Free has sustained what we hope is a minor injury, but it is significant enough to rule her out of the Sprint Cup,” reported Balding.
“She's got a cut which requires some stitches in an awkward place. Hopefully it is not the end of her career, but it will seriously compromise her chances of getting to Haydock in top form, so we have decided to scrap that and work on alternative plans.”
Having won the Cheveley Park S. as a juvenile, Alcohol Free's successful 3-year-old campaign included victories over a mile in the Coronation S. and Sussex S. A drop back in trip this season also saw Jeff Smith's colour-bearer claim the July Cup at Newmarket before finishing third to Baaeed (GB) in a repeat attempt at the Sussex S. at Goodwood.
Her trainer added, “We are just going to have to be guided by how she responds. It has been stitched and we need to see how she responds to that, and we certainly wouldn't be taking any chances, so we will be playing it on a day-by-day basis.
“We will know more about things in a week's time. Racing is full of setbacks and disappointments, so we are fairly used to them. It is a blow, but thankfully they can't take away what she has already achieved.”
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Classical Cat Another Good Omen for Mendelssohn
It's not a too common occurrence for sales-topping purchases to make it on the track despite the world of promise their pedigree, physical, and connections might imply. Further out still is the extraordinary feat of reproducing themselves or–at the very least–producing several runners of equitable talent between them, though stallions have the task on significantly easier asking than do the fillies and mares. Mendelssohn is patiently inching closer to changing that outlook and his Del Mar winner from last Saturday proves the stallion can get a promising runner at any budget; one of the most potent qualities a sire could have, especially early in their career.
Classical Cat (Mendelssohn–Conquest Strate Up, by Not Bourbon) streaked home on debut a gutsy 2 1/2-length winner for Michael House and conditioner Philip D'Amato, in a race under keen observation admittedly more for who finished behind him–this year's $3.55 million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in Training topper, Hejazi (Bernardini).
Himself a modest $65,000 purchase at Keeneland September last year by a friend of House, the Mendelssohn colt needed some early correction after the break, but once he was given a target and his cue to strike the lead, Classical Cat would not be stopped. For House, it was quite the thrill to see his horse put his best foot forward right at first asking.
“It sure was fun…we were telling [Classical Cat] all week that he cost $5 million so he wouldn't feel bad,” House joked, on his way to the barn when the call went through Monday. “[Philip D'Amato] was very positive and confident in him. He'd been doing everything right. He wasn't too worried about the other competition, probably not as much as we were.”
Classical Cat wasn't the only runner House had that day, either. Across the country at Saratoga, his co-owned filly Nest (Curlin) put on a masterclass in the GI Alabama S. and all but began the process of etching her name onto the plaque for the divisional title. House admitted that, while they'd wanted to go, the lure of seeing their horses at Del Mar–where they were conveniently close for himself and his wife–proved too strong, and they'd stayed home to see their local runners on the card.
“We'd flown out before to see her run, but we had so many entries that day. So, we saw her on tv before our horses ran here.”
On the end of the call, and clearly ready to head out with his bag of carrots, House quickly included that, while his colt wasn't displaying his sire's liking of loudly announcing his presence at every opportunity, there was a strong trait he liked.
“He's the sweetest guy in the barn. He's got the sweetest disposition. We've been babying him,” House said. “[Classical Cat] is a big, good looking colt…Mendelssohn was a great racehorse himself and now he's starting to show it as a sire.”
Said sire (by Scat Daddy) bucked the trend of multi-million dollar auction horses never quite reaching their full potential. The $3 million KEESEP topper in 2016–the same sale which yielded Triple Crown hero Justify (Scat Daddy) and MGISW Good Magic (Curlin), to name a couple–earned over $2.5 million in his career, crowned by victories in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and G2 U. A. E. Derby. The latter was an 18 1/2-length romp as his final prep for the GI Kentucky Derby, where he was eased to last after being banged around. He went on to hit the board in the GII Dwyer, GI Runhappy Travers, and GI Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes before calling it a career after placing fifth in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic and fourth in the GI Cigar Mile.
Retired to stud for 2019, Mendelssohn came armed with one of the best female families in the Stud Book as a son of the venerable Leslie's Lady (Tricky Creek), making him a half-sibling to Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes) and now three-time reigning champion general sire, Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday).
Well-received in the ring, his offspring got off to a quiet initial start with several hitting the board over every surface–from the all-weather at Woodbine to French turf courses and the Saratoga main track–but none were getting their picture taken. Then, once the parade of debut winners began, the performances got better and flashier with a 'TDN Rising Star' among them.
Pink Hue | Sarah Andrew
Pink Hue showed grit and heart in her unveiling over a route of ground on the grass, becoming Mendelssohn's seventh individual winner at that point, but his first and for now only, to receive the nod from the TDN. A $310,000 KEESEP grad, purchased by Mike Ryan as agent for e Five Racing, the filly has an Into Mischief-sired, winning older sibling named Man of Promise, who annexed the G3 Emirates Skycargo Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint as well as placing third in the G1 Azizi Developments Al Quoz Sprint. Her dam, a Speightstown mare named Involved, is a half-sister to GIII Bay Shore victor Skip to the Stone (Skip Trial) and the stakes-placed stakes producer My Heavenly Sign (Forest Camp).
As of this running, Mendelssohn tallies nine individual winners and will have two chances Aug. 26 at Saratoga to become the sire of black-type horses. The powerful partnership of WinStar and Siena Farm will send New York-bred Miracle to post in the state-restricted Seeking the Ante S. from the barn of Rudolphe Brisset. The $360,000 OBSMAR speedster was a six-length debut winner July 27 at the venue. Prior to the training sale, she'd passed through the ring as a yearling at SARAUG 2021 for $250,000 to Bay Hill Stables, and as a weanling at FTKNOV 2020 for $110,000 to American Equistock.
The second opportunity will come later in the card when owner/trainer Uriah St. Lewis sends out his New York-bred Belt Parkway in the Funny Cide S. A $160,000 SARAUG purchase by Christophe Clement, acting as agent, the colt resurfaced in the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 'Timonium' sale in May and went to Trin Brook Stables for only $30,000. Belt Parkway comes in off a nose unveiling victory in a dirt dash at Parx.
With many juveniles filling maiden special entries in the coming days in addition to the stakes action, the slow start looks to be in Mendelssohn's rear view mirror. If his siblings are used as an auspicious indicator of things to come, further successes will arrive in due time and on their own time.
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New Ultra-Sensitive DNA Test Identifies Lyme Disease In Hard-To-ID Case
An 11-year-old Swedish Warmblood admitted to Cornell University School of Veterinary Medicine was assisted by a Rutgers New Jersey Medical School professor when vets suspected Lyme disease, but a traditional PCR test wasn't confirming the diagnosis.
Lyme disease is transmitted by the deer tick; horses are dead-end hosts, meaning they can get Lyme disease, but cannot spread it. Not all infected horses develop clinical signs of the disease, which includes weight loss, low-grade fever, and lameness. Long-term complications can include damage to the joints, skin, and nervous system. Vision can also be affected.
Early detection and treatment of Lyme disease is imperative to giving a horse the best chance for complete recovery. Determination of Lyme disease is traditionally done through an antibody test. However, because Lyme disease reproduces slowly, these tests are sometimes unable to detect Lyme disease DNA, which is only present if the horse has the active disease. If the test is unable to detect Lyme disease, veterinarians will continue to search for the cause of illness, delaying treatment of the disease and possibly leading to long-term complications.
Dr. Steven Schutzer, a Rutgers medicine professor, created an ultra-sensitive test designed to selectively identify Lyme disease DNA in the horse's spinal fluid. This test concluded that the mare was suffering from Lyme disease – despite the inconclusive PCR test. Non-neurologic Lyme disease treatment often includes administration of intravenous antibiotics.
The mare returned to her previous level of competition once treated for Lyme disease.
The scientists feel that the ultra-sensitive test may have applications for other difficult-to-detect illness in horses, humans, and dogs.
Read more at HorseTalk.
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