Month: November 2022

Violence’s Forte Sweeps to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Win

All the pre-race hype swirled around the Bob Baffert trainee Cave Rock (Arrogate), however, it was Forte (c, 2, Violence–Queen Caroline, by Blame) who lived up to his name, besting a pair of Baffert runners to establish himself the early Kentucky Derby favorite with a win in the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Keeneland Friday. 2-5 favorite Cave Rock shot out to the lead early, wrestling 70-1 longshot Hurricaene J (Nyquist) into second as Forte assumed a slightly wide stalking position. As the pacesetter zipped through early splits, the GI Hopeful and GI Breeders' Futurity winner continued to bide his time in behind. Noticeably picking up the tempo while sweeping around the home turn, the Todd Pletcher trainee overtook Cave Rock midstretch and spurted clear, crossing the wire two lengths in front. Fellow Baffert trainee National Treasure (Quality Road) rounded out the trifecta. Final time for the 1 1/16-mile test was 1:43.06. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0, $1,755,150. O-Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable. B-South Gate Farm. T-Todd Pletcher.

Friday, Keeneland
FANDUEL BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE PRESENTED BY THOROUGHBRED AFTERCARE ALLIANCE-GI, $1,840,000, Keeneland, 11-4, 2yo, c/g, 1 1/16m, 1:43.06, ft.
1–FORTE, 122, c, 2, by Violence
1st Dam: Queen Caroline (MSW, $401,608), by Blame
2nd Dam: Queens Plaza, by Forestry
3rd Dam: Kew Garden, by Seattle Slew
'TDN Rising Star' ($80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $110,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable & St Elias Stable; B-Southgate Farm (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz Jr. $1,040,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0, $1,595,150. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross  pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Cave Rock, 122, c, 2, Arrogate–Georgie's Angel, by Bellamy Road. 'TDN Rising Star' ($210,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $550,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-Michael E Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman; B-Anne & Ronnie Sheffer Racing LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $340,000.
3–National Treasure, 122, c, 2, Quality Road–Treasure, by Medaglia d'Oro. ($500,000 Ylg '21 FTSAUG). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert E Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay A Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC & Catherine Donovan; B-Peter E Blum Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $180,000.
Margins: 1HF, 2 1/4, 1HF. Odds: 5.02, 0.47, 8.00.
Also Ran: Blazing Sevens, Curly Jack, Verifying, Hurricane J, Congruent, Wound Up, Lost Ark. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Violence’s Forte Sweeps to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Meditate Leaves No One To Wonder In Decisive Juvenile Fillies Turf Win

The Irish filly Meditate may have been the favorite coming into the Grade 1 Juvenile Fillies turf, and she may have been the winner, but it certainly wasn't easy.

The Aiden O'Brien trainee, piloted by Ryan Moore came out of the gate and drifted slightly left, knocking hard into rival Delight and Luis Saez and shuffling her well away from her preferred front-running spot. Moore and Meditate were forced to settle well back in tight with her competition, off a pace set by Spirit Gal, who was fighting pilot Ricardo Santana Jr. for much of the backstretch.

Moore sat off the rail with Pleasant Passage to their inside and began making their move well ahead of entering the final turn, with no choice but to swing out five wide on the turn and begin driving. Once she found open ground, Meditate covered the final quarter on firm turf in :22.74 with ears pricked at the finish, ahead of Pleasant Passage by 2 1/2 lengths at the wire.

“It's obviously always very hard coming here,” said Moore afterward. “Everything needs to go right. No one comes here to get beat. The filly did it very easy and has lots of talent. She hasn't run a bad race all year and gets better with every race. She started well, went hard for a little bit, I was going to be wide and the pace got steady. I followed a horse down the backside and she picked up really well down the stretch. She had them covered with a furlong out and in front pricking her ears. She was much the best.”

Cairo Consort was third, followed by Midnight Mile.

Meditate paid $6.08 to win.

Moore and O'Brien are no strangers to success in the Breeders' Cup. The race marked the 14th Breeders' Cup win for O'Brien, though his first in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. The victory is the tenth Breeders' Cup win for Moore.

Meditate came to the Breeders' Cup off a second in the G1 Cheveley Park at Newmarket, which O'Brien said in hindsight was perhaps too quick a follow-up to her second in the G1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at The Curragh. She also has wins in the G2 Alpha Centauri Debuante, G3 Albany and G3 Naas Sprint to her credit.

“We had a reason (she didn't win) at the Curragh and a reason for her last race and weren't sure about the mile,” said O'Brien.  “Ryan (Moore) gave her a brilliant ride. Michael (Tabor) was very confident that this was the race for her. It's incredible. We came to here to see if she would be a filly for the Guineas. And I heard Michael telling Ryan before the race, if she wasn't going to get the trip here, we might not train her for the Guineas. Obviously, the result was great. Ryan was very patient. He didn't have an easy draw and said he had to take his time the first half. Delighted for everyone.”

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The one-mile turf contest is the farthest Meditate had been, and O'Brien said her pedigree (by No Nay Never out of Dalakhani mare Pembina) suggested she could stretch out longer.

Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier and Westerberg (Michael Kuessner) are the owners, and the breeders are Lynch-Bages & Rhinestone Bloodstock. The owners purchased Meditate for $424,619 as a yearling at the Arqana Deauville August Yearling Sale, where she was consigned by Capucines and bought by Jamie McCalmont.

The final time for the mile was 1:35.38.

 

The post Meditate Leaves No One To Wonder In Decisive Juvenile Fillies Turf Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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No Nay Never’s Meditate Dominates BC Juvenile Fillies Turf

LEXINGTON, KY–Meditate (Ire) (No Nay Never) scored the first of two victories for the Coolmore team, Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore Friday, charging home to a decisive score in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Favored at 2-1, Meditate bounded away from the stalls to establish position, settling in the three path near the back of the pack as 18-1 shot Spirit Gal (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) carved out an opening quarter in :23.19 and a half in :47.60. Meditate crept up a bit on the outside to sit mid-pack while turning for home four wide. Kicking into high gear at the top of the stretch, the bay unleashed a powerful turn of foot, rolling clear with ease to win by 2 1/2 lengths. The Shug McGaughey-trained Pleasant Passage (More Than Ready) was the runner-up with Cairo Consort (Cairo Prince) in third.

“We had a reason (she didn't win) at the Curragh and a reason for her last race and weren't sure about the mile,” said O'Brien, who teamed up with Moore and Coolmore to take the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf two races later. “Ryan (Moore) gave her a brilliant ride. Michael (Tabor) was very confident that this was the race for her. It's incredible. We came to here to see if she would be a filly for the Guineas. And I heard Michael telling Ryan before the race, if she wasn't going to get the trip here, we might not train her for the Guineas. Obviously, the result was great. Ryan was very patient. He didn't have an easy draw and said he had to take his time the first half. Delighted for everyone.”

“It's obviously always very hard coming here,” Moore said. “Everything needs to go right. No one comes here to get beat. The filly did it very easy and has lots of talent. She hasn't run a bad race all year and gets better with every race. She started well, went hard for a little bit, I was going to be wide and the pace got steady. I followed a horse down the backside and she picked up really well down the stretch. She had them covered with a furlong out and in front pricking her ears. She was much the best.”

As for the runner-up, McGaughey said, “I thought she ran great. She missed the break just a tad, but I loved her position back there. When the winner moved, we sort of had to wait a little bit. When she got clear in the stretch I thought she finished really well.”

A good-looking debut winner at the Curragh in April, Meditate reeled off three more wins after that, taking the G3 Naas Fillies Sprint S. May 15, Royal Ascot's G3 Albany S. June 17 and the Curragh's G2 Debutante S. Aug. 20. Her hot streak came to an end Sept. 11 when she finished second in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. and she completed the exacta again last time in Newmarket's G1 Cheveley Park S. Sept. 24

Pedigree Notes:

No Nay Never came up just a half-length short when second as the favorite in the 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, but the Coolmore stallion had a win on the 2022 championship card with his daughter Meditate. The filly is one of 26 group/graded winners for her sire, whose monster results this year include multiple Group 1-winning juvenile Blackbeard and Group 1-winning 2-year-old Little Big Bear.

Pembina is a half-sister to the dam of Group and Grade I winner Ectot (GB) (Hurricane Run {Ire}). Meditate is her most recent foal. —Jessica Martini

Friday, Keeneland
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE FILLIES TURF-GI, $920,000, Keeneland, 11-4, 2yo, f, 1mT, 1:35.38, fm.
1–MEDITATE (IRE), 122, f, 2, by No Nay Never
                1st Dam: Pembina (Ire), by Dalakhani (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Mahalia (Ire), by Danehill
                3rd Dam: Maresca (Ire), by Mill Reef
1ST GRADE I WIN. (€360,000 Ylg '21 ARAUG). O-Mrs. John
Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg;
B-Lynch-Bages & Rhinestone Bloodstock (IRE); T-Aidan P.
O'Brien; J-Ryan L. Moore. $520,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW &
GISP-Ire, GSW & GISP-Eng, 7-5-2-0, $862,341. Werk Nick
Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Pleasant Passage, 122, f, 2, by More Than Ready
                1st Dam: Peaceful Passage, by War Front
                2nd Dam: Flying Passage, by A.P. Indy
                3rd Dam: Chic Shirine, by Mr. Prospector
1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-Emory A. Hamilton (KY); T-Claude R.
McGaughey III. $170,000.
3–Cairo Consort, 122, f, 2, by Cairo Prince
                1st Dam: Absolutely Awesome, by Street Cry (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Discreetly Awesome, by Awesome Again
                3rd Dam: Pretty Discreet, by Private Account
($37,000 RNA Wlg '20 FTKNOV; $95,000 Ylg '21 FTKOCT).
O-Maple Lane Farm LLC; B-Frankfort Park Farm (KY); T-Nathan
Squires. $90,000.
Margins: 2HF, 2 1/4, HD. Odds: 2.04, 6.41, 19.14.
Also Ran: Midnight Mile (Ire), Free Look, Last Call, Comanche Country (Ire), Manhattan Jungle (Ire), Be Your Best (Ire), Delight, Basil Martini (Ire), Bling, Spirit Gal (Fr), Xigera. Scratched: Alluring Angel (GB), G Laurie.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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