February, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kathleen O’Connell Poised To Become All-Time Winningest Female Trainer

Trainer Kathleen O'Connell is steadily closing in on Thoroughbred history. Heading into Friday's program at Gulfstream Park, where she has two horses entered to race, O'Connell has saddled 2,381 winners, just four victories shy of all-time winningest female trainer Kim Hammond's total of 2,385.

Hammond, who has been training since 1980, is still active in the Midwest but has saddled only 15 starters without success in 2023. O'Connell, who saddled her first horse at Hazel Park in her native Michigan in 1981, has notched 11 victories thus far this year between Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs.

Friday, O'Connell, a South Florida mainstay since the late 1980s, is scheduled to saddle American of Course for a start in a seven-furlong optional claiming starter allowance in Race 2. The Jacks or Better homebred, who is rated second in the morning-line at 5-2, was an eight-length winner in the same condition two starts back. In Race 4, a mile starter allowance on turf, O'Connell-trained Judge Judith, who was beaten last time out by less than a length following a troubled trip, is rated second at 7-2 in the morning line.

O'Connell, a multiple graded stakes-winning trainer, has four horses entered at Tampa Bay Downs Saturday and two entries for Sunday's card at Gulfstream.

Hammond has no entries listed through Saturday.

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‘I Don’t Think Distance Is Going To Be A Problem’: Undefeated Recruiter Targeting New York Derby Prep

Trainer Cathal Lynch and Nick Sanna Stables' undefeated Recruiter will test deeper waters in the Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham, a one-turn mile test for sophomores that awards 50-20-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top-five finishers, on March 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Recruiter, a dark bay son of 2018 Grade 1 Carter Handicap-winner Army Mule, will make both his graded stakes debut and first start beyond sprint distances on the heels of an off-the-pace victory in the seven-furlong Parx Juvenile on January 3 at Parx Racing.

Ridden by Mychel Sanchez, Recruiter stalked one length from the pace in fourth through the first quarter-mile before challenging pacesetter Winning Time at the half-mile call and inching clear at the top of the stretch to come home a 2 3/4-length winner in a final time of 1:26.75.

“Mychel kept him just off the pace and he finished up well for us,” said Lynch, who trained El Areeb to a third-place finish in the 2017 Gotham following scores in the Grade 3 Jerome and Grade 3 Withers at the Big A. “If you can ship them to Parx, I think you can ship anywhere because that track can be pretty tricky.”

Recruiter is undefeated in four starts, stretching out in each outing after a debut victory sprinting five furlongs in August at Monmouth Park. He followed with a wire-to-wire score when facing winners for the first time in a 5 1/2-furlong October optional claimer at Laurel Park before earning his first stakes triumph in the six-furlong James F. Lewis, III in November over the same oval.

Lynch said Recruiter has responded well to longer breezes at Fair Hill, where he regularly posts five and seven-furlong works over the dirt. He most recently breezed five-eighths in 1:01.20 on Thursday.

“He worked good here Thursday and that is probably his last work before he runs,” said Lynch. “We may pop him out of the gate on Tuesday. I have worked him seven-eighths and a mile in between races, and I don't think distance is going to be a problem.”

Recruiter first impressed Lynch at last year's OBS March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, but was scratched and re-entered in the company's June sale.

There, he breezed an eighth of a mile in 10 seconds flat and was bought by Lynch for $125,000 from the consignment of Wavertree Stables.

“He fell into our price range, so we took a shot,” said Lynch. “He's a beautiful-bodied horse, well-balanced, and has a nice walk. He worked well and we got a little value for our money. We've had a few Army Mules and they all can run. We're very happy with them and a lot of my guys are looking to breed their mares back to Army Mule because of him [Recruiter].”

Bred in Florida by Beth Bayer, Recruiter is out of the winning Medaglia d'Oro mare Lady Halite. His second dam, the stakes-placed Ada's Dream, is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes-winner Buffalo Man. Recruiter has amassed $170,100 in earnings through his perfect 4-for-4 record.

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Sutherland Enters Jockey Challenge In Saudi

The Saudi Cup International Jockeys Challenge, led by defending champion Caitlin Jones, plus a mix of international female and male riders like Victoria Alonso, Joanna Mason, Frankie Dettori, Luis Saez, Joao Moreia, and Chantal Sutherland, is set for King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Saudi Arabia on Friday.

The jockeys will compete to receive 15% of prize-money for each of the four $400,000 races in they win with a further $100,000 going to the overall champion.

“It is my first time in Saudi Arabia and I'm actually blown away by the hospitality and the kindness people have shown” said the Florida-based and Canadian-born Sutherland.

The daughter of a Standardbred trainer, Sutherland is no stranger to making history. She was the first woman to win the GI Santa Anita H. and also the first to ride in the G1 Dubai World Cup, both aboard Game On Dude (Awesome Again). Sutherland also piloted him to a second-place finish in the 2011 GI Breeders' Cup Classic behind Drosselmeyer (Distorted Humor), who was ridden by then-boyfriend Mike Smith.

“I was second in the Breeders' Cup Classic and I thought that was around the time to maybe have a child,” said Sutherland. I stopped racing and took about four years out and didn't ever get to have a kid. The marriage [to Dan Kruse] didn't work out either, so I went back to racing, got injured, then got back from the injury, then Covid happened.”

Sutherland's decision to return to the track was prompted by a move to the Sunshine State over the course of the winter in early 2021.

“I was going to ride just before Covid. I was going to ride Turfway [Park] and that was freezing,” she said. “I'd frozen for I don't know how long in my career, in Canada, at Aqueduct. I thought, 'I'm going to Florida,' and I just loved it. It felt like home.”

As far as her mounts for Friday in Saudi Arabia, Sutherland will be aboard the appropriately-named, Fighter (KSA) (Official Flame) in race two over 1600 meters and Inhimr (KSA) (Pomeroy) in race three going 1400 meters, both on dirt. Then in the pair of turf races, she will guide Go Fast Traou Land (Fr) (George Vancouver) in the 1200-meter race five and finish off with Billy Batts (City Zip) in race six over 2100 meters.

She added, “I'm really looking forward to the Jockeys Challenge. I've already worked out the races, watched all the replays and I've spoken to some key handicap people who have put the races together. I feel I am ready, physically, mentally and preparation-wise. I've done my homework. It's going to be exciting.”

Sutherland is looking forward to staying put at Gulfstream Park once she returns from the Middle East, especially since year-round racing continues to draw jockeys from all quadrants.

“I'm very happy in Florida and very happy to be doing what I'm doing again,” Sutherland said. It has been stop-start, but now everything, with the flow, I feel there is an alignment in my life and everything is going well.”

The post Sutherland Enters Jockey Challenge In Saudi appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Race Track Chaplaincy Of America Plans 8th Annual Golf Scramble For April 18

Are you experiencing a little cabin fever and looking forward to Spring? The Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) is excited to host our first Spring gold tournament!

Are you coming in for Keeneland Spring meet and looking for a great outing to help a great cause? The RTCA will host their 8th Annual Golf Scramble at University Club of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. All proceeds go to support the network of RTCA Chaplaincies everywhere.

The tournament will begin on Tuesday, April 18, with lunch at 11:30 a.m. and a shotgun start at 12:30p.m. Included in the registration fee are green fees, lunch, a team photo, food after the round, golf gifts, and more. A host of outstanding prizes will be given out for longest drive, closest-to-the-pin, door prizes, and other special games. Each par 3 will have extraordinary hole-in-one prizes and an award ceremony will follow.

To register a team or request sponsorship information, contact the National Service Center of Race Track Chaplaincy of America at (859) 410-7822 or go to https://www.rtcanational.org/events.

More about Race Track Chaplaincy of America – The mission of Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA), through its Councils and Chaplains is to minister to the spiritual, emotional, physical, social, and educational needs of those persons involved in all aspects of the horse racing industry. To learn more about the ministry of RTCA, please visit our website www.rtcanational.org or “Follow” us on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter @rtcanational.

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