The United States struck for the first time at Royal Ascot this year when Crimson Advocate narrowly held on to win the June 21 Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes ahead of Relief Rally in a thrilling finish. Royal Ascot coverage courtesy of Racing Post
Month: June 2023
Five Semifinalists Selected for 2022 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award
Five semifinalists have been selected for the 17th Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, including two novels, two biographical works based on the lives of late 20th century American champions, and a fictional oral history, all published in 2022. A 2006 brainchild of the late philanthropist and global businessman Dr. Tony Ryan, the competition is open to any literary genre of book length, the only stipulations being that entries must have a Thoroughbred horse racing premise/backdrop, and that the writing be of high quality.
Grade 1 Winner, Veteran Sire El Corredor Dies In Turkey At Age 26
El Corredor, a Grade 1 winner and a veteran sire in the U.S. and Turkey, died on June 20, the Turkish publication Yaris Dergisi reports.
The 26-year-old son of Mr. Greeley had resided in Turkey since the fall of 2014, following stays in Kentucky, New York, and Louisiana.
Bred in Kentucky by Needham-Betz Thoroughbreds/Liberation, El Corredor raced for Hal Earnhardt III, and after finishing out of the money in his debut, the horse won his next four starts, culminating with a 2 1/2-length victory in the Grade 2 Del Mar Breeders' Cup Handicap.
After finishing second in the G2 Jerome Handicap, El Corredor went on a three-race winning streak, racking up victories in the G1 Cigar Mile Handicap, the G2 Pat O'Brien Handicap, and a defense of his title in the G2 Del Mar Breeders' Cup Handicap. His final start came in the 2001 Breeders' Cup Sprint at Belmont Park, where he finished out of the money.
El Corredor retired after the Breeders' Cup with seven wins in 10 starts for earnings of $727,920.
He retired to Hill 'n' Dale Farms for the 2002 breeding season, and he regularly shuttled to Argentina for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season. He resided there until 2013, when he was relocated to Questroyal North in New York for one season. El Corredor then stood one season at The Stallion Station at Copper Crowne in Louisiana in 2014 before being moved to Turkey.
In the U.S., El Corredor's top runners included Grade 1 winners Adieu, Backseat Rhythm, Dominican, and Crisp. Internationally, his offspring was led by 2010 Mexican Horse of the Year El Biologo and 2013 Saudi Arabian Horse of the Year Qatoomah.
As a broodmare sire, El Corredor leaves behind runners including Grade 1 winners Iotapa and Let Faith Arise, and Turkish champion Starunna.
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‘This Ranks Right Up There’: George Weaver-Trained Crimson Advocate Triumphs At Royal Ascot
Crimson Advocate (9/1) became the fifth US-trained filly to win the G2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot after clinging on by the narrowest of margins in a thrilling finish.
The George Weaver-trained juvenile showed blistering speed and established a clear lead on the stands' side entering the final furlong. However, her stride started to shorten and she was joined close home by the fast-finishing Relief Rally.
Crimson Advocate had her head in front on the line to give her trainer a first Royal Ascot success, while it was a fourth victory at the meeting for Hall of Fame rider John Velazquez.
Relief Rally was devouring the ground late on under Tom Marquand and was in front a yard after the line but the head bob went against her. Beautiful Diamond, sent off the 11/4 favourite, kept on well to finish two lengths off the front pair in third.
Weaver said: “I have so much respect for the horses over here. It always seems like the European horses are better grass horses than what we have, but I knew our filly was very talented and I was hoping that she would be able to get the job done. Don't get me wrong, the way she won at Gulfstream, I was very excited about her, but like I said, I have tremendous respect for the trainers and horses that are over here.
“I came here eight years ago with a horse [Cyclogenesis] that wasn't good enough. I thought it would be great if I could ever come back with something that was, and we did. When you try to plan things, you try to buy horses for Ascot, it never works out. Things just come together, and this year we've got two nice horses to bring over here.
“Royal Ascot is Royal Ascot, what can you say? You can feel the electricity when you're here and how special it is, and it's a beautiful feather for us to have in our cap. It's not the biggest purse I've ever won – Vekoma was a tremendous racehorse and I won the Dubai Golden Shaheen early on in 2005 [with Saratoga County]. I've had some great moments, but this ranks right up there.”
Velazquez said: “That was close, but I'm glad Crimson Advocate held on. We knew she was going to be really fast coming out; we tried to get her on the best path for the firmer ground. From yesterday to today, the turf is a little bit firmer, so it's better for our horses and she showed up today.
“I rode two races yesterday and the ground was a little soft for our horses – Wesley Ward's horses break fast and they had a hard time to keep the pace. Today is a little drier and our horses handle it better.
“I saw her run in Florida when she won, and I was like, I want to ride that horse at Royal Ascot! I actually texted the trainer right away saying I wanted to ride her.
“In the race she was going so well, but I probably made a little premature move thinking I would get away from them and then hold on. In hindsight, I almost messed up the race and should have waited. She handled it better than I did!
“It's great to be here and to have another winner, and it's great for George. His wife had a very bad accident a year and a half ago and they didn't think she would walk again, so for her to be here is a miracle.
“It is a dream come true coming here and I try to come whenever I can. It is a special place and it's great to come here and have winners.”
Relief Rally's trainer William Haggas said: “We were in front before, and after the line, but not on. There you go, that's the way it is, she's run a great race and made up a lot of ground in the last furlong.”
Marquand added: “I thought we were going to get there. Relief Rally landed there one stride before the line, and one stride after the line.”
Karl Burke, trainer of Beautiful Diamond, Got To Love A Grey (5th), and Lady Pink Rose (7th), said: “All three of them ran great races. They are three lovely fillies to go forward with. Beautiful Diamond had her prep for the breeze-up all winter, she came to us, we ran her only two weeks ago. She comes to a meeting like this – Royal Ascot – and has run a huge race. But she is a weak filly and has had a hard race today. We will back off her for a month now and hopefully we can get her ready for the Lowther or something like that.
“Got To Love A Grey from what I saw ran a real honest race again. She wears her heart on her sleeve and I'm not sure where we will go with her yet. She probably just lacks that bit of class of the others, but maybe a step up to six will help her improve a little bit.
“Sheikh Juma's filly, Lady Pink Rose, is a speedy filly and ran a great race to be second on the far side – Tom [Eaves] thought if he had been on this side, he would have been in the mix, but he would probably have been third or fourth.”
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