Cheltenham Festival takes place next week with the four-day event headlined by Friday’s Gold Cup on March 17.
Month: March 2023
Group 1 Winner Angel Bleu Returns at Wolverhampton
Saturday's card at Wolverhampton, which includes two Fast-Track Qualifiers for the All-Weather Championships, has attracted some classy entrants, including the dual Group 1 winner Angel Bleu (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}).
The four-year-old looks set to start his 2023 campaign in the Listed Spreadex Sports Lady Wulfruna S., in which he could face the G2 Coventry S winner of 2021, Berkshire Shadow (Ire), who is also by Dark Angel.
“Angel Bleu has been in training all winter and the intention is to start him off at Wolverhampton on Saturday,” said trainer Ralph Beckett. “This is not a prep for the All-Weather Championships finals but it is a prep for the rest of the year.”
The Andrew Balding-trained Berkshire Shadow was fifth in last season's G1 2000 Guineas, just one place ahead of Lusail (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), who is also entered for Saturday's race and was last seen running sixth in the G3 1351 Turf Sprint on the Saudi Cup card in Riyadh. HIs trainer Richard Hannon has won two of the last three editions of the Lady Wulfruna S, including in 2021 with Mums Tipple (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), who is another of the 14 entries.
Hannon said, “I have given Lusail an entry and we will decide whether he runs once I have discussed it with [his owner] Al Shaqab Racing. He has come back from Saudi as good as gold. I thought he ran well out there but it showed he needs a bit further than that. He will go on the surface at Wolverhampton no problem and could well take his chance.
Last year's Lady Wulfruna winner Tinker Toy (GB) (War Front) is entered to defend his title for Roger Varian and owner/breeder Craig Bennett, while another notable potential runner is the Charlie Appleby-trained Noble Dynasty (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is rated 106 and has won three of his last four starts.
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Door In The Hoof? Hinged Plate Encourages Safety, Speeds Healing From Keratoma Removal
World Horse Welfare, an equine charity based in the United Kingdom, focuses on rescuing and rehoming horses in need of a soft place to land. One such horse was Joey, a 17.2-hand gelding who arrived at the shelter in December of 2022.
Staff at Hall Farm noticed that Joey was slightly lame in his left front; X-rays showed that his hoof had developed a keratoma, a benign tumor on the inner surface of a horse's hoof. A team of vets, farriers, and caretakers devised a plan to remove the keratoma and help Joey heal.
The keratoma was removed by John Blake of Breckland Farriers on Feb. 7, and a specially designed shoe he created was attached to Joey's hoof. The shoe has a special aluminum “door” that opens and can be locked shut, allowing access to the surgical site.
This allows the wound to stay clean and allows Joey's caretakers to treat the healing wound safely; the large horse doesn't have to pick up his hoof to have it treated. Iodine solution has to be applied to the hoof daily and the dressing is changed every few days.
The shoe has three screws in the hoof wall on the hinged side with acrylic to hold it in place. The opposite side has a small plate with a fly nut to keep it closed. The shoe wraps around the bottom of the hoof as well to keep the dressing in place.
See more images of the custom shoe on World Horse Welfare's Facebook page here.
Read more at Horse & Hound.
The post Door In The Hoof? Hinged Plate Encourages Safety, Speeds Healing From Keratoma Removal appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
‘Pushed Around And Knocked Down, But He Overcame It’: Promising Maiden Winner Bo Cruz Supports Paralyzed Former Jockey Rudy Delguidice
In the movie “Hustle,” the character Bo Cruz is a street basketball player from Spain. Scouted by Stanley Sugarman, played by Adam Sandler, Cruz takes plenty of lumps before eventually making it to the NBA. Now the 3-year-old colt with the same name is following his own rags to riches script.
“Bo Cruz is a great fictional character who represents the plight of what we do,” said owner Bruno De Julio, a horse racing lifer who makes his living as a private clocker and bloodstock agent. “We are always looking for talent, and you never really know where you're going to find it. With limited resources, you have to be creative. Bo Cruz got pushed around and knocked down, but he overcame it. If you believe in the talent and harness it, you can make it.”
A good second sprinting despite a troubled trip in his career debut on Feb. 2, the son of Creative Cause stretched out to 1 mile & 70 yards on March 4 at Fair Grounds. Leaving from the rail, he wasted no time grabbing command into the first turn. He held the lead throughout for trainer Al Stall, Jr. and jockey Jose Riquelme, winning by a widening 12 ¼ lengths under a hand ride while stopping the timer in 1:42 1/5 over a fast track.
“He trains and acts like a good horse but I was blown away with what he did and the way he did it,” De Julio said about the effort. “He motored away on his own and Jose (jockey Riquelme) never asked him.”
Purchased for just $45,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2021, Bo Cruz is the sixth foal to race out of the versatile Ghostzapper mare Quick Breeze, who won 2 of 9 starts and had a promising career cut short. She is the daughter of the multiple graded stakes router Quick Temper, who earned over $259,000, and is the dam of millionaire Preakness (G1) winner Cloud Computing, who now stands at stud.
“Rudy Delguidice and I buy a lot of horses together,” De Julio said. “We loved this horse. He had great conformation. We went above budget and after we bought him I'll always remember Rudy saying, 'He looks like Ghostzapper.'”
The following summer, Delguidice, a former jockey and longtime breeder and pinhooker, was involved in a serious spill at Classic Mile, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
“Bo was the last horse Rudy breezed before his accident,” De Julio said. “This horse's success will aid in all of his expenses. Owning Bo with Rudy makes it even that much more special for me.”
Bo Cruz received a 91 Bris speed figure for his Saturday win, which included an impressive 95 late pace rating. It's no surprise that offers for the colt are coming in.
“Right now it's business as usual,” De Julio said. “Al (trainer Stall) has talked about the Lexington (G3) at Keeneland and a two-turn allowance race on Kentucky Derby Day.”
The post ‘Pushed Around And Knocked Down, But He Overcame It’: Promising Maiden Winner Bo Cruz Supports Paralyzed Former Jockey Rudy Delguidice appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
