Practical Move (Practical Joke), coming off a win in the Mar. 4 GII San Felipe S., worked four furlongs in :47.60 (8/39), while stablemate Reincarnate (Good Magic), most recently third in the GII Rebel S., went six furlongs in company in 1:12.40 (3/4) at Santa Anita Saturday for trainer Tim Yakteen.
“He came out of the San Felipe in great shape and it's all systems go,” Yakteen said of Practical Move, who is expected to start next in the Apr. 8 GI Santa Anita Derby.
Reincarnate is likely heading back to Oaklawn Park to attempt to earn a trip to the GI Kentucky Derby in the Apr. 1 GI Arkansas Derby.
Yakteen's third Derby prospect, National Treasure (Quality Road), who was forced to skip the San Felipe because of a bruised hoof, is likely to work Sunday or Monday, according to the trainer.
“We're just playing the weather, but you'll see him on the tab in the next couple of days,” Yakteen said.
Another rainstorm is scheduled to hit Santa Anita early in the week.
Third in the Jan. 8 GIII Sham S. in his lone 3-year-old start to date, National Treasure returned to the work tab with a six-furlong work in 1:11.80 (1/4) Mar. 14 at Santa Anita.
He was second in last year's GI American Phaorah S. and third in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.
The ATC Longines Golden Slipper (G1), the world's richest 2-year-old race with a Aus$5-million purse (US$3,357,146) on Saturday at Rosehill Gardens in Australia, proved a history-making race for Coolmore with champion trainer Chris Waller collecting his very first Golden Slipper trophy with Coolmore homebred colt Shinzo trained to the minute.
A maiden coming into the ATC Pago Pago Stakes (G3) last Saturday, Shinzo turned in a game-changing performance to zoom home from last and win, securing his place in the Golden Slipper field.
With many other key runners trying to hold on to career best form, Shinzo was just arriving at his peak and we saw it today.
Undefeated filly Learning to Fly, the first Australian stakes winner for U.S. Triple Crown winner and Coolmore's Kentucky-based sire Justify, was slow to begin and was back running third last until she clipped heels and lost rider Chad Scofield (both horse and rider emerged unscathed), so she was out of race early as colts went on to fight out the finish.
Shinzo enjoyed a good run in transit on the fence from gate one under Ryan Moore and powered to the line to beat the Godolphin homebred and race favorite Cylinder by more than a length.
Time for the 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) was 1:09.65.
“We knew we had a Group 1 horse, we just didn't know what distance and our team backed ourselves to know we could get speed into him because he'd just learned to race,” Waller said.
“Today, fourth-up after a confidence-boosting win last week, he knew exactly what to do. He's a very good colt and I appreciate the owners for trusting me, not just with him but with a lot of other good horses, young bull horses.
“I guess that takes things to a different level of pressure, they need results, and they chose me to try to find a Group I Golden Slipper winner and we've managed to do it for them.”
Coolmore and partners purchase a significant number of colts every year at the yearling sales and have tasted success with dual Group I winner Home Affairs, but Shinzo is a homegrown product, foaled, raised and educated at the Jerry's Plains headquarters.
“It's hard to enjoy the moment,” Magnier said after the win.
“I'm just hoping Learning To Fly and Chad Schofield are OK. I feel for Annabel (Neasham, trainer).
“But Golden Slippers are so hard to win. This is the race we wanted to win more than any other this year.
“We asked Ryan Moore to come out and ride Shinzo at short notice and what can you say about him.
“Thank God for Ryan Moore, he is on another level, he is so patient. I have to make mention of Chris Waller, he has had so much faith in this colt. He kept us believing.
“We have finally won the Golden Slipper, but I just want to make sure 'Fly' and Chad are OK.”
Ryan Moore won earlier in the day taking the Group I ATC Ranvet Stakes on UK raider Dubai Honour and made it a Group I double on Shinzo.
“Tom (Magnier from Coolmore) called me last week at this time and asked if I'd like to come down. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here,” Moore said.
“Shinzo won well last week, he's a very talented colt, he's got a super attitude. Lovely big strong long striding horse.
“I'm sure he's going to be better when he goes up in trip. We were lucky we got a nice draw, was able to follow Cylinder through and it all just went beautifully for us. It all worked out.
“I'm sure he's not just an out and out six-furlong sprinter. I'm sure he's going to be more comfortable when he gets over more ground. It feels like he's improving and he'll continue to improve and all being well he'll have a good future.”
With two wins and two placings from four starts earning Aus$3 million, Shinzo is the 19th Group I winner for champion sire Snitzel and is his second Golden Slipper winner following Estijaab, who won in 2018.
He is a full brother to his Magic Millions 2YO Classic winner Exhilarates, who is ironically owned by Darley, so the defeat of Cylinder would have been somewhat softened by knowing they have a full sister to the winner at home in the paddock.
Shinzo was foaled and raised at Coolmore and is the second winner from dual Group I-winning More Than Ready mare Samaready, who was bought by Tom Magnier in 2020 for Aus$1.8million at the Magic Millions National Broodmare Sale when she was carrying him in utero.
Samaready missed in two subsequent seasons and was sent back to Ireland last year.
A new study from Denmark has shown that horses being treated for gastric ulcers should have their starch intake reduced; severe ulcers show sustained improvement when the horse is medically treated and fed a low-starch diet at the same time.
Dr. Nanna Luthersson, of the Hestedoktoren clinic in Kirke Eskilstrup, used 58 horses diagnosed with gastric ulcers by endoscope for the trials. The horses were divided into two groups based on ulcer severity: 24 horses had “moderate” ulcers (graded 1 or 2 out of 4) and 34 horses had severe ulcers (graded 3 or 4 out of 4).
Horses in each group were paired based on workload, diet, feeding times, and management. The horses with severe ulcers were started on omeprazole to reduce the stomach's acid production. The moderate-ulcer group received no medication. One horse in each pair was put on a low-starch diet fed three times a day.
After four weeks, the medicated horses stopped receiving the omeprazole. The diets continued and the horses were scoped and graded. Six weeks after that, the horses were examined again and their lesions, if present, were graded.
The scientists found that all the horses with severe ulcers had significant lesion reduction between the beginning of the study and the four-week endoscope. However, only those horses that had starch-restricted diets had sustained ulcer improvement throughout the 10-week trial.
Horses that did not have starch-restricted diets developed ulcers and returned to their original lesion scores by week 10, receiving no long-term benefit from the omeprazole.
The researchers conclude that horses with severe ulcers should have their starch intake restricted while being medically treated for ulcers. Horses with less-severe ulcers may be able to improve with just a diet change to limit starch intake.
The maximum starch level a horse with ulcers should ingest is less than .04 ounces of starch per 2.2 pounds of body weight per day, with a maximum of just over 1 ounce of starch per 2.2 pounds of body weight per meal.
Incumbent Owner/Director Thomas Cannell and incumbent Trainer/Directors Patrick Biancone and David Fawkes have been re-elected to the board of the Florida Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, the organization announced Saturday. New to the group's board are Owner/Directors Gerardo Amado and Jeffrey Siskin.
The new board will take office effective Apr. 6, the date of the next board meeting. Officers will be named at the Apr. 6 meeting.
