Month: February 2023

Straightforward Return For Lord North In Winter Derby

Meydan's G1 Dubai Turf calls again for the now-veteran Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) as HH Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing's pride and joy marked his 2023 debut with a comfortable success in Saturday's G3 BetUK Winter Derby at Lingfield. Reported by jockey Robert Havlin to be further ahead than 12 months ago when he came up against the formidable presence of Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) in this, the 8-11 favourite travelled with gusto anchored behind the early leaders. Taking time to wind up approaching the home straight, the Gosdens' flagbearer overpowered Tyrrhenian Sea (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) 150 yards out en route to an authoritative 3 1/4-length success.

Havlin said of the winner, who along with his 2021 Dubai Turf and 2022 dead-heat in the same race also boasts the 2020 G1 Prince of Wales's S. on his resume, “That was like clockwork. His work has been a lot brighter and I think that was a better performance than last year, even though today did not have the depth of last year's race. He was a bit laboured through the final furlong and a half here last year, whereas today I was always confident he was going to pick up. He is better on galloping tracks, coming off a strong pace, but his class shone through. He has been showing us a bit of that at home–it was as if he was back to being a four or five-year-old. Hopefully he can get back on song and win the Dubai Turf outright this year.”

Pedigree Notes
Lord North's pedigree is a decorated one, with his dam Najoum (Giant's Causeway) being a granddaughter of the GI Santa Anita Oaks heroine Hail Atlantis (Seattle Slew). Responsible for the sires Stormy Atlantic and Mr. Katowice, her stakes-placed daughter Divine Dixie (Dixieland Band) produced the GI Blue Grass S.-winning sire Bandini and is the second dam of the GI Ashland S. scorer Out For A Spin (Hard Spun). Also related to the GI Summer S. winner Decorated Invader (Declaration Of War) and that sire's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hero Fire At Will, Najoum has a 2-year-old filly by Too Darn Hot (GB) and a yearling full-brother to Lord North.

Saturday, Lingfield, Britain
BETUK WINTER DERBY S.-G3, £100,000, Lingfield, 2-25, 4yo/up, 10f (AWT), 2:02.32, st.
1–LORD NORTH (IRE), 128, g, 7, by Dubawi (Ire)
     1st Dam: Najoum, by Giant's Causeway
     2nd Dam: Divine Dixie, by Dixieland Band
     3rd Dam: Hail Atlantis, by Seattle Slew
O-HH Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing; B-Godolphin (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Robert Havlin. £56,710. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-UAE, G1SW-Eng, 19-9-3-1, $5,154,571. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Tyrrhenian Sea (Ire), 128, g, 5, Dark Angel (Ire)–Nocturne (Ger), by Rock of Gibraltar (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O/B-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd (IRE); T-Roger Varian. £21,500.
3–Foxes Tales (Ire), 128, g, 5, Zoffany (Ire)–Starfish (Ire), by Galileo (Ire). (400,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-King Power Racing Co Ltd; B-Manister House Stud (IRE); T-Andrew Balding. £10,760.
Margins: 3 1/4, HD, 2. Odds: 0.73, 4.50, 11.00.
Also Ran: Harrovian (GB), Lucander (Ire), Forest Of Dean (GB), King Of The South (Ire), Pistoletto.

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Bathrat Leon Takes Turf Sprint For Japan As Casa Creed Misses Out Again

Had the distance for the G3 1351 Turf Sprint Presented By STC been set just a few metres longer, Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) may well have been recording his second victory in the race for Bill Mott on Saturday, but it was the front-running Bathrat Leon (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) who clung on from the fast-finishing runner-up to open the floodgates for the Japanese raiders on Saudi Cup night.

Trained by Yoshito Yahagi, who would go on to win the Saudi Cup with Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), Bathrat Leon was extremely brave under Ryusei Sakai in relegating Casa Creed to the runner-up spot for the second year in a row.

Successful in the G2 Godolphin Mile on dirt at the Dubai World Cup meeting last year, connections of Bathrat Leon suggested that the versatile 5-year-old would aim for a repeat success at Meydan next month.

Yahagi said, “Even as a trainer, I don't have the right answer if he is a turf horse or a dirt horse. I thought Bathrat Leon would suit the turf here and the distance. I think his best is seven furlongs, this is six-and-a-half furlongs.

“The jockey and I had the same opinion to go from the front. They get on very well. We won today, we have to have a discussion with the owner. He handles turf pretty well, but at the moment I would say we can look at the Godolphin Mile.”

It was a second major triumph in the last six days for the 25-year-old Sakai, who guided Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) to victory in the G1 February S. at Tokyo last Sunday.

He said, “I am very grateful to the owner and my boss Mr. Yahagi and the connections who gave me the chance to ride here. My horse had the best run, he had a great trip.”

Last year's winner Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) broke slowly and never recovered while Luis Saez, the rider of Casa Creed, was left ruing what might have been on the second.

He said, “He broke from there pretty well and I was in a good position. I thought we were going to get up to win but every time the winning horse just kept going and going and it was too late when we passed him. That's racing but I saw the line and I knew I was not in front in time. He tried pretty hard, it's just the winner was tough to catch. I thought we were going to get him.”

Prior to Saturday's winning effort, the 5-year-old ran fourth in the G2 Hanshin Cup on Christmas Eve.

 

Pedigree Notes

Kizuna is the sire of top-level winners Songline and Akai Ito (Jpn) among his 20 stakes winners. Although it is fairly early days yet for New Approach as a broodmare sire, his best are American champion Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), and fellow top-tier winners Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal) and Mustang Valley (NZ) (Vanbrugh {Aus}).

One of three foals and the only winner out of the unplaced Bathrat Amal (Jpn) (New Approach {Ire}), Bathrat Leon is followed by the 3-year-old filly Letter My Heart (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}). Two-time Group/Grade 1 winner Serious Attitude (Ire) (Mtoto {GB}) is a half-sister to Bathrat Amal, and she is the dam of triple group winner and G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) second Stiffelio (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}).

Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia
1351 TURF SPRINT PRESENTED BY STC-G3, $1,500,000, King Abdulaziz, 2-25, 4yo/up, 1351mT, 1:17.48, gd.
1–BATHRAT LEON (JPN), 126, h, 5, by Kizuna (Jpn)
1st Dam: Bathrat Amal (Jpn), by New Approach (Ire)
2nd Dam: Zameyla (Ire), by Cape Cross (Ire)
3rd Dam: Angelic Sounds (Ire), by The Noble Player
O-Hiroo Race Co., Ltd.; B-Mishima Bokujo; T-Yoshito Yahagi; J-Ryusei Sakai; $900,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Jpn & UAE, 19-5-0-3, $2,600,990. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
2–Casa Creed, 126, h, 7, Jimmy Creed–Achalaya, by Bellamy  Road. ($15,000 Ylg '17 OBSJAN; $105,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP). O-LRE Racing LLC & JEH Racing Stable LLC; B-Silver Springs Stud, LLC (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Luis Saez; $300,000.
3–Raaed (Ire), 126, g, 6, Dark Angel (Ire)–Ambassadrice (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (£90,000 Ylg '18 GOFAUG; 55,000gns HRA '20 TATOCT). O-Sharaf Mohammed S. Al Hariri; B-J. Hanly, A. Stroud & T. Stewart (Ire); T-Bedan Alsubaie; J-Ricardo Ferreira; $150,000.
Margins: HD, 1 3/4, NK. Odds: 8.00, 5.00, 22.00.
Also Ran: Happy Romance (Ire), Resistencia (Jpn), Lusail (Ire), Rozgar (Ire), Garrus (Ire), Lauda Sion (Jpn), Songline (Jpn), Pogo (Ire). VIDEO.

 

 

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Mostahdaf Makes It Look Easy For The Gosdens In Neom Turf Cup

George Boughey's Missed The Cut (Quality Road) may have fluffed his lines but still the G3 Neom Turf Cup Sponsored By Altanfeethi went for export with fellow Newmarket-based trainers John and Thady Gosden landing the $1.5-million contest with Arc also-ran Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) sprinting clear under Jim Crowley.

John Gosden suggested after the race that the G1 Dubai World Cup could be next for Mostahdaf, a horse the team at Clarehaven Stables thought good enough to run in Europe's showcase race last autumn.

But this was the day where Mostahdaf came good on his initial promise by carrying the famous Shadwell Estate colours to a seven-length victory over Saeed bin Suroor's Dubai Future (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). Missed The Cut could only manage fourth after racing far too keenly.

Gosden said, “He did it perfectly. He had a nice draw and Jim used it. I think the track is quick and, if you are handy and have Mikael Barzalona [aboard Eagle's Flight (Ire) (Gleaneagles {Ire})] measuring the fractions, that's where you want to be; handy.”

He added, “Stunningly-good performance. We obviously know the family well and Sheikha Hissa has done wonderfully to keep these horses in training and her father would be so proud with what she has done with the stable. It's a Shadwell family and we have the sister and we have the brother who is a nice 3-year-old, so look, he's an improving horse and we're delighted with him.

“If he flies home in great form, obviously we came here with Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and then he went to Dubai, so he could run on Dubai World Cup night as well.”

Boughey was less sure where Missed The Cut would be off to next. The bitterly-disappointed trainer explained how the short-priced favourite was somewhat a victim of his own downfall after his early antics in the race.

“He probably did a little bit too much down the outside. It was no-one's fault and I think he might have travelled a little bit further than some of them. That's racing, isn't it. It's frustrating but he will be back.”

Boughey added, “He travelled down to post good and then was one who was throwing about. It didn't help him but, essentially, he's probably run a little bit below the form of his last race if you take the winner out of it.

“There's lots of different options for him but I was slightly hoping that we'd see a different horse today. We'll see how he is tomorrow and see where we go from there.”

A winner of the G3 Gordon Richards S. and G3 September S., Mostahdaf was unplaced in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

 

Pedigree Notes

Part of Frankel's 108 stakes winners (76 group), Mostahdaf is bred identically to With The Moonlight (Ire), who won the G2 Balanchine at Meydan on Friday; her full-brother, the late Group 1 winner Dream Castle (GB); 2022 G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Homeless Songs (Ire); and G1 Derby/G1 King George hero Adayar (Ire), who are all out of Dubawi mares.

Listed winner Handassa (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), herself a half-sister to GII San Gabriel S. hero and GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. second Desert Stone (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), is also the dam of the G1 Sun Chariot S. and G1 Falmouth S. heroine Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), the winning Dark Angel (Ire) 3-year-old Mostabshir (GB), a juvenile full-brother to the winner and a yearling colt by Kingman (GB).

Group 1 winners and sire full-brothers Pastoral Pursuits (GB) and Goodricke (GB), both by Bahamian Bounty (GB), are under the third dam.

Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia
NEOM TURF CUP SPONSORED BY ALTANFEETHI-G3, $1,500,000, King Abdulaziz, 2-25, 4yo/up, 2100mT, 2:06.24, fm.
1–MOSTAHDAF (IRE), 126, h, 5, by Frankel (GB)
                1st Dam: Handassa (GB) (SW-Ire), by Dubawi
                2nd Dam: Starstone (GB), by Diktat (GB)
                3rd Dam: Star (GB), by Most Welcome (GB)
O/B-Shadwell Estate Company Limited; T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Jim Crowley; $900,000. Lifetime Record: MGSW-Eng, 13-8-2-0, $1,254,238. *1/2 to Nazeef (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Hwt. Older Mare-Eur & Eng at 7-9.5f, MG1SW-Eng, $409,959. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
2–Dubai Future (GB), 126, g, 7, Dubawi (Ire)–Anjaz, by Street Cry (Ire). O/B-Godolphin; T-Saeed Bin Suroor; J-Daniel Tudhope; $300,000.
3–Flying Visit (Ire), 126, g, 5, Pride Of Dubai (Aus)–Fionnuar (Ire), by Teofilo (Ire). (28,000gns HRA '21 TATAUT). O-Alfathwa Stable; B-J S Bolger; T-Sami Al Harabi; J-Ricardo Ferreira; $150,000.
Margins: 7, 5 3/4, 1 3/4.Odds: 9-5, 8-1, 55-1.
Also Ran: Missed the Cut, Eagle's Flight (Ire), Castle (Ire), White Moonlight, Star of Wins, Sir Busker (Ire), Byline (GB). Scratched: Peter The Great (GB). VIDEO

 

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Ralph Waldrop Sr., Father of Alex, Dies at 100

Ralph Thomas Waldrop, Sr., a life-long resident of Mayfield, Kentucky and the father of former longtime head of the NTRA Alex Waldrop, passed away Friday, Feb. 24, surrounded by family at his home. He was 100 years old.

Waldrop was born June 7, 1922, near Mayfield. As a young boy growing up during the Great Depression, he worked many jobs including as a newspaper boy for the Louisville Courier-Journal where he was recognized as a statewide top-seller and as a caddy at Mayfield Golf and Country, where he was a member for most of his adult life. In 1941, at the age of 19 after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Waldrop enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was called up for officer training in April, 1943. He was sent to Maxwell Field in Montgomery, Alabama for qualifying tests to become a pilot and in May of 1944 he was stationed with the 340th Bomb Group 444th Squadron on the island of Sardinia off the coast of Italy as the pilot of a B-26 Martin Marauder bomber. During his service, Mr. Waldrop flew 64 bombing missions over Italy, France and Germany and volunteered to fly a C- 47 Cargo plane for 52 supply missions to General Patton's 3rd Army on the front lines of the Battle of the Bulge. He flew one of the first planes into Germany after the end of WWII to assist in the liberation of multiple Nazi concentration camps and witnessed first-hand the atrocities suffered by those imprisoned there. He eventually achieved the rank of Captain. The 340th Bomb Group was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation and the French awarded his Bombing Group the Croix de Guerre, the first such citation made to an American unit in WWII. His personal awards were: Air Medal with 8 Oak Clusters; Campaign Medals, Northern Apennines; Po Valley; Southern France; Ardennes-Alsace; Rhineland; Central Europe; the Victory Medal, and he was inducted into France's National Order of the Legion of Honor as a Chevalier for his service in WWII.

Waldrop attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C. before the war and was a proud member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. After the war, he attended the University of Virginia at Charlottesville, VA, and graduated from Murray State University where he met and in 1950 married the love of his life and the mother of his five children, Mary Julia Moore Waldrop, a fellow graduate of Murray State University.

With his father, H.C. Waldrop, he founded Waldrop & Waldrop Real Estate, where for more than 60 years Mr. Waldrop was a successful realtor and MAI Appraiser. He served as president of the Kentucky Association of Realtors in 1967, was named Kentucky Realtor of the Year in 1968, and then in 1988, he was elected president of the Kentucky Chapter of the Appraisal Institute.  Waldrop was a life-long member of the First United Methodist Church in Mayfield where he was active as a Sunday school teacher and a beloved song leader for many years. Waldrop loved the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs and attended the Run for the Roses many times over the last 80 years.

Waldrop is survived by five children: H. Gregory (Nancy) Waldrop of Cadiz, KY, R. Thomas Waldrop, Jr. of Mayfield, Alex Waldrop (Jayne) of Lexington, KY, Julie Waldrop Muscarella (Michael) of Paducah, KY and Jim Waldrop (Charlotte Reynolds) of Jackson, WY; seven grandchildren: one great-grandchild, Penelope Press, Palo Alto, CA; his sister, Ruth Helen Williams, Paducah; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Mr. Waldrop was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Mary Julia, who died in 1995.

The family wishes to thank the many caregivers who helped Mr. Waldrop so wonderfully in the last years of his life as well as the staff at the Veterans Administration in Mayfield including his primary care physician, Lynn Bushor, DNP, APRN.

Funeral arrangements are pending. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family asks that any gifts be made to the Murray State University Foundation, Waldrop Scholarship, at 200 Heritage Hall, Murray, KY 42071 or First United Methodist Church, Mayfield, KY, P.O. Box 766, Mayfield, KY 42066.

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