Month: June 2023

Society Runs Them Off Their Feet In the Chicago

Few horses in training could have matched motors Saturday with Peter Blum's Society (Gun Runner), who took the GIII Chicago S. by the scruff of the neck a few strides away from the gates and never gave any of her five rivals a chance, streaking home to score in new track-record time.

Drawn one from the outside, the 2-1 second favorite hit the ground running and led narrowly through the opening stages from Drifaros (Kantharos) as odds-on Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) was content enough to sit third behind the speed. The homebred began to get away on the turn, kicked farther clear into the stretch and ran out the easiest kind of winner for Tyler Gaffalione. Drifaros boxed on gamely inside to complete the exacta ahead of Matareya.

“She was super impressive today,” said Gaffalione. “It's a credit to Steve [Asmussen] and his team for having her ready to run a huge race. It was pretty cool setting the track record with her today.”

Winner of the Monomoy Girl S. last June to run her unbeaten streak to three, Society faded to be a distant fourth to Nest (Curlin) in the GI CCA Oaks before romping in the seven-furlong GIII Charles Town Oaks while earning a career-best 101 Beyer. Capitalizing on a speed-favoring strip at Parx next time out, she led throughout in the GI Cotillion S. back at a route of ground, but beat just one home in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff and called it a season. The chestnut resumed with a third to champion Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) in the GI Madison S. going seven panels at Keeneland Apr. 8, but instead of facing Matareya and Goodnight Olive in the GI Derby City Distaff at that seemingly optimal distance, opted for the May 5 GI La Troienne S. going long and weakened to finish a well-beaten ninth.

Pedigree Notes:

Society continues what has been a magical run for Blum over the last few seasons, as his operation has accounted for 2020 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero and Horse of the Year Authentic (Into Mischief) as well as this year's GI Preakness S. winner National Treasure (Quality Room), to name a few.

Blum acquired second dam Archduchess–a half-sister to MGSW Mark One (Alphabet Soup) and GSW Rookie Sensation (Unbridled's Song) and whose son Pleasant Prince (Indy King) won the 2010 GIII Ohio Derby–in 2010, and Etiquette was the second foal bred by Blum out of the mare. Society is one of two winners from three to the races for her dam, who is also responsible for the 2-year-old filly Finesse (Street Sense), a $725,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Windancer Farm, and a yearling colt by Omaha Beach. She was most recently covered by Gun Runner.

 

 

 

Saturday, Ellis Park
CHICAGO S.-GIII, $225,000, Ellis, 6-24, 4yo/up, f/m, 7f, 1:20.54 (NTR), ft.
1–SOCIETY, 118, f, 4, by Gun Runner
                1st Dam: Etiquette, by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Archduchess, by Pleasant Tap
                3rd Dam: My Marchesa, by Stately Don
O/B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Tyler Gaffalione. $137,260. Lifetime Record: GISW, 10-6-0-1, $1,334,535. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Drifaros, 118, f, 4, Kantharos–Style Drift, by English Channel. ($70,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $20,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $25,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-My Purple Haze Stables; B-Hidden Springs Farm (KY); T-Teresa M. Pompay. $45,100.
3–Matareya, 123, f, 4, Pioneerof the Nile–Innovative Idea, by Bernardini. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $22,300.
Margins: 10 3/4, 1 1/4, 1 3/4. Odds: 2.19, 16.05, 0.59.
Also Ran: Be Like Water, Hidden Connection, Stella Noir.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.

 

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Coolmore Partnerships, O’Brien, Moore Secure Royal Ascot Titles

Coolmore partnerships consisting of Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, and Georg von Opel's Westerberg operation took the leading owner title at Royal Ascot for a fourth time when the meet closed Saturday, following an exceptional week that yielded four winners. Trainer Aidan O'Brien claimed a 12th leading trainer title while jockey Ryan Moore landed his 10th jockey title at the Royal meet.

The quartet of winners were all trained by O'Brien, with River Tiber and Paddington both scoring on the opening day in the Coventry Stakes (G2) and St. James's Palace Stakes (G1) under Ryan Moore. Warm Heart captured the Ribblesdale Stakes (G2) for Moore on Thursday, with the Wayne Lordan-ridden Age Of Kings taking Saturday's Jersey Stakes (G3).

Georg von Opel said: “It has been a fantastic week. We are blessed with a very, very good team and I am proud to be part of it, but there's a lot of people doing all the work. It's an incredible team and we're very lucky.

“Royal Ascot is the greatest event for horses in the world. Particularly from Germany, we have a production of 500-600 foals only, so this is huge for us. Of course, I've been living in England for 23 years with the family, who are all English, so I'm getting used to it a little bit, but it's still fantastic.

“It's not only the winners, but again it's a team effort – there have been a lot of seconds, a lot of thirds – so if you look at the whole armada of horses, it's an amazing effort by everybody who is involved with them. I'm proud of that.”

O'Brien's had four wins – the same total as John and Thady Gosden – and six seconds. The master of Ballydoyle was joined on the winners' list by both of his sons, with Joseph sending out two victories and Donnacha recording a first Royal Ascot success with Porta Fortuna in Friday's Albany Stakes (G3).

O'Brien said: “It's very special for the two lads [Joseph and Donnacha] to have winners as well. We know how difficult it is – we came here a lot of years with a lot of horses and didn't have any winners. It's very, very competitive, fiercely competitive. When you come here and have a winner, it's such a privilege.

“We came with a lot of horses this year and we hoped, but we never expected. We are so delighted to get the winners we got. Ryan [Moore] was brilliant, Wayne [Lordan] rode a winner today and a lot of people have put in a lot of hard work.

“The lads – John and Sue [Magnier], Michael and Doreen [Tabor], Derrick and Gay [Smith], Georg and Emily [von Opel] and Peter and Stephanie [Brant] – are the people that make it happen for us. They supply the horses and everything for everybody at Coolmore and Ballydoyle, who work very hard. So many faces that I won't mention because I would be here for a long time, but there are so many people that go into making it happen. It comes down to Ryan on the day. It's a difficult job but he is a superstar and we really appreciate that.

“I would think Paddington would be the highlight. He looks very different – he is progressing with every run and he travels and quickens. I know Ryan (Moore) was always taken by him and I think he was really blown away.”

Moore ended the week with six wins to secure a 10th leading jockey title at Royal Ascot. In addition to his wins on River Tiber, Paddington and Warm Heart, the rider also enjoyed success on Vauban for Willie Mullins in Tuesday's Copper Horse Handicap.

His two other wins were provided by Joseph O'Brien, with Okita Soushi taking Friday's Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap and Dawn Rising scoring in the meeting's final contest, the Queen Alexandra Stakes.

Moore said: “I had good rides, and I would have liked a few more. Aidan's horses have been in great form. I'd like to think it has been, and hope it has been, a good week for racing.”

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Veteran Rated R Superstar Retiring to Old Friends

Fan favorite Rated R Superstar (Kodiak Kowboy), a 13-time winner of over $1.8 million in a career that spanned nine seasons at the racetrack, has been retired and will take up residence at Old Friends Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, according to a series of tweets from Allison Caldwell, the wife of trainer Danny Caldwell.

Rated R Superstar began his career in the barn of Ken McPeek and was third to Brody's Cause (Giant's Causeway) in the 2015 GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity before finishing unplaced behind Nyquist (Uncle Mo) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Winner of the GIII Carry Back S. in 2016, he added the GIII Ben Ali S. as a 5-year-old in 2018 and was claimed by Cipriano Contreras for $62,500 late that year. Winner of the 2019 Essex H., Rated R Superstar was haltered by Caldwell for $50,000 in January 2021 and posted his richest career victory in the 2022 GIII Essex H. A two-time winner of the Governor's Cup at Remington Park in 2021 and 2022, he was being aimed for a third try at that event, but Allison Caldwell tweeted that medication constructs dictated that he be retired “sound, healthy and happy.”

“Today is a bittersweet one, as @IloveFastHorses (Danny Caldwell) and I announce Rated R superstar's retirement to Old Friends,” Allison Caldwell said in the first of a three-tweet thread. “Owning Rated R has been one of the greatest gifts in our racing careers. He's a member of the family and we've always done things his way, in his best interest.

“As rule changes for Lasix this year, we feel an absence of therapeutic medication is not in the best interest for optimal health & performance. We're not in the habit of changing the things that are working for rules that do not benefit the health of our horses as individual.

“We are very excited about this next chapter and we ask that if you're in the area of Old Friends, please schedule a time to visit or make a donation on his behalf. He's a very social guy and he loves seeing his friends!”

In reply, Old Friends tweeted: “Allison, we are thrilled at the prospect of Rated R Superstar retiring to Old Friends. Thank you for trusting us with your boy!”

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HKJC, Ascot Renew World Pool Partnership Another Five Years

The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) announced that it has renewed a five-year World Pool partnership agreement with Ascot Racecourse to continue to promote racing as a global sport.

The HKJC and Ascot Racecourse initiated the first World Pool partnership in 2019. The renewal agreement, signed at Royal Ascot on Friday will run from 1 July, 2023 until 2028.

The agreement will cover the commingling of bets into the World Pool as well as an integrity feed and other information which the HKJC will be permitted to transmit at its racecourses and betting outlets in Hong Kong, or re-transmit to television and radio broadcasters as well as mobile phone operators.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Chief Executive Officer, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, said: “World Pool offers the best international racing for customers across the globe. The five-year renewal of the agreement with Ascot Racecourse demonstrates the Club's strong commitment to our World Pool partnership and underlines an unwavering belief in the benefits of World Pool for horseracing internationally.

“In the four years since we launched World Pool at Royal Ascot, the Club has forged — and enhanced — a host of World Pool partnerships around the world and we are delighted at the significant progress achieved so far.”

“The Club looks forward to working closely with Ascot in the future with a mutual goal of delivering benefits to horseracing globally, enabling our partners to make significant investments in horseracing, while also delivering world-class entertainment for our customers, who are able to enjoy unmatched liquidity and value from commingling partners in 25 countries and regions,” Engelbrecht-Bresges added.

Since its introduction, World Pool has developed significantly with Royal Ascot turnover alone growing from HK$1.09 billion in 2019 to HK$1.76 billion in 2022, generating greater value for customers and allowing participating clubs to make substantial investments for the betterment of horseracing.

The five-day Royal Ascot meeting and the King George Stakes Day and QIPCO British Champions Day meetings at Ascot Racecourse are all part of the World Pool Programs operated by the HKJC.

Alastair Warwick, Ascot Racecourse Chief Executive, said: “Our relationship with the Hong Kong Jockey Club is an amazing partnership and shows how global the sport is becoming. I couldn't be happier with the support that Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges and the team at the Hong Kong Jockey Club have provided.

“This is our fifth year of doing World Pool – the time has flown by. As one of the key instigators, it really doesn't feel like it was five years ago that we were doing our first World Pool.”

Michael Fitzsimons, Executive Director, Wagering Products, at the HKJC, said: “The partnership is great for us, for Ascot and for racing generally around the world. The continuity of big brands working together for the benefit of racing has been really important in bringing familiarity of the product, and of the betting markets, to customers around the globe. Working together to really promote racing in a truly global sense has been brilliant for everybody.

“We know that our customers are familiar with UK racing, especially Ascot. Thousands of people are watching Royal Ascot this week in Hong Kong as Wellington runs in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1). We are all very keen for Hong Kong to put its own horses on the map, and the World Pool unites everybody in a way that's never really been done before and we are very proud of working with Ascot and other racetracks.”

Felicity Barnard, Commercial Director at Ascot Racecourse, said: “This is exciting for Ascot and exciting for racing in general. The relationship has grown and grown and this renewal shows that the Hong Kong Jockey Club invested in racing across the world. It gives us the opportunity to expand what we are doing on the global stage so we are absolutely thrilled.

“All the revenue we generate, we look to invest in the business so our partnership with the Hong Kong Jockey Club is incredibly important to allow us to invest a significant amount into prize money. That in turn generates better-quality runners and a better product for World Pool customers.”

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