Having proved in the Bay Shore Stakes three weeks earlier that he had progressed through the winter and come back bigger and stronger than ever, Secretariat returned to competition in the Grade 2 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct April 7 at a mile, an eighth of a mile longer
Month: April 2023
Virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference Series Continues With Discussion On Handicapping As An Owner
On Tuesday, April 4, OwnerView hosted the third panel in its Virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference series to provide information about the intricacies of handicapping as an owner.
The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and sponsored by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and The Green Group. This panel was sponsored by Breeders' Cup, the Daily Racing Form, and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.
The panel was composed of expert handicappers Jim Goodman, director of wagering development at Keeneland; Kaitlin Free, reporter and analyst for Churchill Downs; Tom Leach, handicapper and voice of the Kentucky Wildcats; and Ellis Starr, national racing analyst for Equibase. Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, hosted the discussion. Attendees were able to ask questions through Zoom's Q&A feature, and questions were answered at the middle and end of the webinar.
Goodman, Free, Leach, and Starr discussed topics such as strategy in reading past performances, handicapping horses to claim, the importance of jockey/trainer duos, how the weight a horse carries should factor into handicapping, and the importance of pedigree when assessing maiden races, among other topics.
“When identifying the key criteria that shouldn't be overlooked when handicapping a race, it really comes down to what you think is representative in the horse's past that is similar to today,” said Starr. “For me, that is distance, surface, class, jockey, and trainer.”
“Look for patterns,” Leach said. “We're all looking at the same past performances, but it's about what you see in them. Maybe their talent has been masked by poor post positions or bad trips, and if you go back in their record you can see if the horse has shown some ability, but he or she just hasn't had a chance to showcase it as much lately due to circumstances.”
A replay of the conference can be viewed here: bit.ly/3MCJPYD.
Eight additional Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels are scheduled for 2023.
The next session will be held May 9 at 2 p.m. ET and will cover what goes into a racehorse ownership business plan. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule.
There is no registration fee for the virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.
OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.
The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.
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Racing Sponsor Vertem Ordered To Cease Operations Over ‘Serious Regulatory Issues’
Vertem Asset Management, the company that sponsors the G1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster, has been ordered to immediately cease carrying on all regulated activities by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
A 48-year-old man was arrested and questioned under caution in connection with the move the authority took “following serious regulatory and operational issues coming to light”.
Vertem, which trades under WealthTek LLP, was founded in 2010 by prominent racehorse owner John Dance, whose colours were carried by a number of high-profile horses, including multiple Group 1 winner Laurens (Fr) and this season's King George winner and Gold Cup runner-up Bravemansgame (Fr).
Dance's horses are based at Manor House Farm in Middleham, where former assistant to Sir Michael Stoute, James Horton trains for the owner.
The owner-trainer combination enjoyed a winner on Wednesday when Harlem Nights (Ire) won at Wolverhampton, bringing their tally for 2023 to two winners from 12 runners. The pair enjoyed 18 winners together in 2022.
Along with Horton and Paul Nicholls, trainer of Bravemansgame, Dance had runners with Karl Burke, Tom Dascombe, Richard Fahey, Charlie Hills, Jedd O'Keeffe and Hugo Palmer last year.
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All Rise: Army Mule’s Federal Judge Drops the Gavel on Debut
Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) and Wet Paint (Blame) weren't the only 3-year-olds to impress on Oaklawn Park's loaded GI Arkansas Derby program.
WinStar Farm and Siena Farm's Federal Judge (c, 3, Army Mule–Congarette, by Congaree) announced his presence with authority on the undercard, kicking off his career for trainer Rodolphe Brisset with a razor sharp, front-running performance, good for a flashy 97 Beyer Speed Figure.
He broke sharply from post five beneath Ricardo Santana, Jr. and quickly cleared his six rivals, including a trio of older horses, at debut odds of 7-1. Taking some pressure from his outside through an opening quarter in :22.10, the bay was headed by a rival on the far turn. Federal Judge was still going strong, however, and blasted off once Santana got busy in the stretch to win going away by 4 1/2 promising lengths. The final time for six furlongs over the fast going was 1:09.87.
“Very excited with his performance and can't wait to see him run against winners and see where we go from there,” WinStar Farm President/CEO & Racing Manager Elliott Walden said.
“Rudy had told me that he worked very well with Royal Spa (Violence), who ran [ninth behind Wet Paint] in the [GIII] Fantasy, and he was encouraged by that. But I think Rudy's the kind of guy who doesn't overtrain them for their first start, so you kind of see where they really are. I was very pleased to see him run like he did because I think a lot of that's on natural ability.”
Hailing from the first crop of unbeaten GI Carter H. winner Army Mule, Federal Judge is the second foal and first to the races for two-time winner Congarette. From the same female family as GI Super Derby winner Home At Last (Quadratic) and graded winners Niner's Home (Forty Niner) and Indy Groove (A.P. Indy), Federal Judge, bred in Florida by Caperlane Farm, brought $40,000 as an OBSWIN yearling and $200,000 as a FTKJUL yearling. Army Mule, already responsible for seven black-type winners, commands a $12,500 stud fee at Hill 'n' Dale Farm.
“His dad was very talented,” Walden said. “[WinStar General Manager] David Hanley and I loved [Federal Judge] at the sale at Fasig-Tipton July. He was the one horse that we wanted to come away with. He had a setback at two and we had to take a little chip out of the top joint of his knee.”
Walden concluded, “He ran a big number–we're really excited about what lies ahead. We're moving him back to Kentucky to Rudy's stable this week, then we'll try to pick out something that makes sense either late at Keeneland or at Churchill or Belmont.”
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