July, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Small To Medium-Sized’ Operation: Husband-Wife Team Sends Out Likely Favorite Shaquille For Group 1 July Cup

Julie Camacho and her husband and assistant trainer Steve Brown are looking forward to stable star Shaquille attempting to add another Group One victory to his CV in the July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday (July 15), day three of the Boodles July Festival. The 3-year-old Charm Spirit colt is currently trading as a general 7-4 favorite for the six-furlong contest which forms part of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

Shaquille handed his stable in Norton, North Yorkshire, its first Group One success last time out in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot on June 23, when he overcame a tardy start to defeat Little Big Bear by a length and a quarter.

Speaking on a Zoom call organized by The Jockey Club, Julie Camacho said: “Shaquille seems to be in great form and has come out of Royal Ascot well. We turned him out for three or four days and he started to get a bit fresh. He cantered on the Wednesday after Royal Ascot and he did a nice piece of work last Saturday and everything seems to be good.”

Steve Brown added: “He will have a final check over today as Wednesday is vets' and physios' day but he looks in great shape and we're very happy with him. I think he looks physically better than he did at Ascot – he has strengthened again.”

Saturday's contest will be the first time Shaquille takes on older horses but this is not something Brown is overly worried about.

He continued: “I wouldn't say it's a concern and it's the next logical step for him to take on older horses. Obviously, he gets an allowance and is a big, strong colt. Physically, for all he will be probably be a nicer horse next year, he is a big strong fella who holds condition well.

“We are relaxed about it. At home we felt this was the next step after Ascot and we'll see how it all works out.”

To have a first Group One winner has been a great source of pride for the yard and to now be starting favorite for the July Cup is something Brown admits brings a certain level of pressure – albeit one he admits is a nice position to be in.

He said: “It's a great feeling. Jules was saying yesterday when we were coming down to Newmarket how many good wishes we've had since Royal Ascot and how pleased people are for us as we are small to medium-sized training operation. People have been so kind and that's been such a nice surprise.

“We are looking forward to Saturday. It will be a different sort of pressure as it looks like we are going to start favorite, whereas at Ascot Little Big Bear was a short-priced favorite and we went there slightly under the radar. So it's different from that perspective but you've got to deal with it and what a lovely position to be and what a great position to be in – to have a favorite for a Group One race.

“To win any Group One is amazing and the July Cup carries a lot of heritage and history with it. Some great horses have won it in the past who have gone on to make good stallions. The main thing for us is to get him there in A1 so he can be at his absolute best.

“We love it when these good horses show up and show their best – I think the Eclipse last Saturday was the best four-runner race I've seen in my life, it was fantastic. It's exciting and we are still at the stage of what could and what might be with this horse.”

One thing which has still to be resolved is who will ride Shaquille but that is not an issue connections are too concerned about.

Brown continued: “There has been lots of interest from people interested in riding him! We are obviously waiting to see who is available. Oisin (Murphy) wasn't booked until 9.50am on Thursday morning when he won on him at Royal Ascot and Martin (Hughes, joint-owner alongside Michael Kerr-Dineen) is quite relaxed about waiting until Thursday morning and seeing who is available.

“Martin used to have horses based in the south in the past and has dealt with a lot of jockeys, so he said we'll have a conversation on Thursday morning after we have seen who has been declared. It has always been a bit of a topic of conversation with this horse as he has run seven times and had four different jockeys but the guys have managed that well and hopefully it will be the same on Saturday.”

Despite being a headstrong individual when seen on course, Shaquille is a completely different character at home.

Julie Camacho added: “He's lovely at home. Everybody sees him at the races and they think he's this big, ignorant, horrible animal but he's not! Paige Harrison who looks after him at home and rides him at home says he'd be quite happy to just walk up the six-furlong gallop, he just lobs along.”

Steve Brown added: “He is a horse who prefers to lead in his work. If you ask him to join a decent horse, he might not get there. He is relaxed and laid back. When he leads in his work he is a different beast – he likes horses joining him. His work is good but not exciting and we have two or three horses at home that work better than him but that's always been his way. As Jules said, he is a lovely character and a kind colt. He loves being turned out in the paddock and has great recall when you go to get him in. He is a lovely fella to be around.

“At the races I tend to lead him as I am physically bigger, stronger and definitely heavier than Paige. Each time he has raced he's got better. We were concerned how he would handle Royal Ascot but when he first stepped on the track he hadn't put a foot wrong and he hadn't broken sweat which I was really pleased about to the point that when Oisin hacked away I was actually worried he was too quiet but that didn't reflect in his performance. We just hope he is maturing as we are going along. It has been a steady progression in the right direction with him and hopefully that will continue on Saturday.”

Despite missing the break in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, Brown feels this was a one off and that there were extenuating circumstances.

He concluded: “Ascot was the first time he has started slowly in his life. He was first to load and had been sitting there a long time so got a little bit impatient. When he jumped out slowly he lost ground but the way the race was run at Ascot it worked out. The way I think the race will be run on Saturday, you might to race quite handily and he doesn't want to be missing the break. He can lead if he has to and is a real six and a half-furlong horse who really lengthens well.”

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NTRA: ‘HISA Is The Necessary Solution’

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) is joined by key leaders throughout the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry in expressing its strong support for the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) one year after its landmark Racetrack Safety Program became effective on July 1, 2022.

The Racetrack Safety Program established for the first time in history a national, uniform set of integrity and safety rules in the sport. Every Thoroughbred that races in the U.S. is now required to be registered with HISA. More than 48,000 horses and 32,000 persons have been registered in the last year. Additionally, every Thoroughbred is required to have a pre-race veterinary inspection every time it races, at any track. Finally, 46 racetracks completed the initial Racetrack Safety Accreditation Audit as required by the Racetrack Safety Program. These are just a few of the key accomplishments of the program's first year.

“The work that HISA has done over this past year to improve racetrack safety across this country is critical to the future of the Thoroughbred racing industry,” said NTRA President and CEO Tom Rooney. “For the first time in history, all tracks are operating under the same national standards and rules, which has led to more fairness and confidence in the sport among industry participants and our customers whose wagering dollars fuel every aspect of our sport. With the recent implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Program in May, HISA is well on its way to providing the positive reforms Thoroughbred racing has needed for a long time. HISA is the necessary solution to show all stakeholders and the public at large that the health and safety of our equine athletes is the absolute top priority for our industry. As a small owner and breeder myself, nothing is more important to me than preserving this sport for future generations to love and enjoy as I have. As we have seen with the challenging Triple Crown season, we still have a long way to go, but I am confident that this is the best way for us to get there together.”

The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky. and Washington, D.C., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators representing nearly 80% of the U.S. pari-mutuel handle, more than 30,000 owners, breeders and trainers, and other affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development.

Other key leaders and stakeholders in the Thoroughbred industry have issued statements of support:

Craig Fravel, Executive Vice-Chairman, 1/ST

“The importance of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority's mission to bring uniform integrity and national safety best practices to our industry cannot be overstated. While much work remains to be done, we at 1/ST RACING are committed to supporting HISA's work and we look forward to further progress.”

Drew Fleming, President & CEO, Breeders' Cup Limited

“Safety and integrity have long been top priorities of the Breeders' Cup, which is why our Board supported HISA from the beginning. The creation and implementation of the Authority brings North American racing in line with international standards through uniform rules and regulations, swift adjudication protocols, and a robust anti-doping program and medication controls. HISA's fair, transparent, efficient, and economically sound approach has never been more vital. The Breeders' Cup will continue to advocate for united support of HISA, the law of the land, as we carry on in our efforts toward sustainable change.”

Bill Mudd, President and Chief Operating Officer, Churchill Downs Incorporated

“As an industry leader, we applaud the progress HISA has made thus far in developing and enforcing uniform, world-class standards in horse racing. We share an unwavering commitment to the protection and wellbeing of equine and human athletes as a fundamental part of our mission and remain steadfast in our commitment to continuous progress.”

Josh Rubinstein, President and COO, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

“Del Mar supported the passage of the legislation that created HISA and we will continue to support Lisa, her team and their mission. The reforms that we've instituted in California over the last three years are clearly having a positive impact. With HISA rolling out similar measures across the country along with its enhanced integrity programs, our sport is heading in the right direction.”

Shannon Arvin, President & CEO, Keeneland Association

“Keeneland has fully supported HISA from its inception as a landmark step toward building a better, safer sport that will strengthen public confidence in racing. This year, as HISA moved from concept to reality, its role in providing consistent rules governing medication and racetrack safety across all jurisdictions has become even more critical. The challenges of recent weeks demonstrate that the industry needs HISA leadership now more than ever as a means to codify the culture of safety and integrity that will protect and modernize racing for our fans, participants and, most importantly, our horses.”

Chauncey Morris, Executive Director, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association

“Kentucky deserves meaningful, independent regulation of Thoroughbred racing that is viewed positively by the larger public across the United States as well as our members, owners and trainers, who race both at home and beyond. KTA was especially grateful for the December 2022 amendment which makes the Authority accountable to the Federal Trade Commission. HISA must continue to respond to thoughtful and reasoned feedback on its regulations, and we applaud the Authority and Ms. Lazarus for making thoughtful changes since implementation.”

David O'Rourke, President & CEO, New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA)

“Over the last year, HISA has worked collaboratively with NYRA and jurisdictions around the country to ensure the swift implementation of a uniform set of safety standards and medication controls. NYRA applauds HISA's efforts to modernize the regulation of horse racing, and we look forward to building on the progress made to enhance safety and protect the integrity of the sport.”

James L. Gagliano, President and COO, The Jockey Club

“Various incidents in our sport over the past year have reiterated our need for HISA, and it is tremendous that our sport finally has the uniformity it so desperately needed through HISA's Racetrack Safety Program and Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program. Knowing everyone is on a level playing field and that violations are being handled fairly and swiftly should be welcome by the entire industry.”

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Graham Motion Enters Formidable Pair In Laurel’s Big Dreyfus

Stakes-winning stablemates Candy Light and Sparkle Blue, each making their third start of the year, seek to break through with the first win of their 4-year-old season in Saturday's $100,000 Big Dreyfus at Laurel Park.

The fourth running of the Big Dreyfus for fillies and mares 3 and older is the first of three $100,000 stakes on a nine-race program, followed by the Prince George's County for 3-year-olds and up, also scheduled for 1 1/8 miles on the Exceller turf course, and Caesar's Wish for fillies and mares 3 and up going one mile on the main track.

Post time is 12:25 p.m.

Fortune Racing's Candy Light, by Candy Ride, made her season debut in a one-mile optional claiming allowance May 21 at Churchill Downs and ran fifth by 2 ¼ lengths in a race where each of the top three finishers came back to win stakes in their subsequent start, including Henrietta Topham in the Mint Julep (G3).

Stretched out to 1 1/16 miles next out in a similar spot June 15 at Ellis Park, Candy Light came with a wide run to be second as the favorite, beaten 1 ¼ lengths. Both races came after concluding her sophomore season winning the Tropical Park Oaks in December, rained off the grass to Gulfstream Park's all-weather Tapeta surface.

“I was encouraged by the race at Ellis,” trainer Graham Motion said. “I thought in her first race she broke awkwardly and that hurt her chances, and probably she needed the race. I thought her second race back was very good and I'm hoping that sets her up for a stakes performance.”

Candy Light was second by a head in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight in October 2021 on the Laurel turf in her career debut. She graduated going a mile over Laurel's main track last February then ran second in the Beyond the Wire and 10th in the Black-Eyed Susan (G2) before being returned to the grass where she has a win, three seconds and a third in eight tries.

“I think she handles all of the surfaces, but I do think she handles grass the best,” Motion said. “We did give her a freshening after she won the stake in Florida, not that she had to have it for any specific reason just that we thought she needed a little break. She's come back well. She's going to have to step up again. It's not an easy spot, but I think after her last two races she will be competitive. It's a good distance for her.”

Feargal Lynch rides Candy Light from Post 2 in a field of eight.

Catherine Parke and Augustin Stable's Sparkle Blue will break alongside Candy Light from Post 3 with Jorge Ruiz aboard. Out of the Smart Strike mare Silk n' Sapphire, Sparkle Blue is a half to graded-stakes winners Colonial Flag and Shared Account, the latter a millionaire trained by Motion to victory in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1) that subsequently produced 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1) winner Sharing.

In her two races this year Sparkle Blue was sixth by 4 ¼ lengths in the 1 1/8-mile Modesty (G3) May 5 and third, beaten 3 ½ lengths, in the 1 ½-mile Keertana May 27, both at Churchill. The Big Dreyfus will be her eighth consecutive stakes start, half of them in graded company.

“I'm not exactly sure what distance she wants to go. I thought she handled a mile and a half last time,” Motion said. “The first race I ran her at Churchill came up a very competitive race. This should give her a little bit of class relief coming out of the graded races. She's been very consistent. She's a good competitor and it's a family we've had a lot of luck with, obviously.”

Fourth behind Consumer Spending in the 2021 Selima at Laurel in her second career start, Sparkle Blue won the Christiana last July at Delaware Park to open her sophomore season, ran second in the Virginia Oaks, won the 1 1/16-mile Valley View (G3) and Keeneland and was third by less than a length in Santa Anita's American Oaks (G1) before getting the winter off.

“She was very competitive, and I think she just kept improving every time we ran her last year,” Motion said. “She's been running pretty much in graded races, so this is a little bit of class relief for her and we'll see how she handles it. I like the distance for her.”

Trainer Arnaud Delacour won the inaugural 2019 Big Dreyfus with I'm So Fancy and he returns this year with Adelphia Racing Club, Cutair Racing and Dark Horse Racing Stable's Community Adjusted. Previously trained by Christophe Clement, the 5-year-old mare made her season debut a winning one June 3 at historic Pimlico Race Course, drawing off to win a second-level optional claiming allowance by 2 ¼ lengths going 1 1/16 miles.

“That was a perfect race. She was able to save ground and come with a good run at the end. I was very happy with that, and she came back well,” Delacour said. “She's doing really well. I really like the way she's training. Of course, we are stepping up a little bit but I think she deserves a shot.”

Community Adjusted was fourth or better in eight of 11 starts for Clement with two wins, one second and one third. The Big Dreyfus will mark her stakes debut and she retains the services of jockey Victor Carrasco, aboard last out.

“I'm very happy about that. He likes the filly so we're very excited to run,” Delacour said. “She's a lovely, good-looking mare. She's a really big, strong filly with a good pedigree so it only makes sense to try to get some black type now. It's a tougher race, but hopefully she can step up and be competitive.”

Clement will be represented in the Big Dreyfus by Michaela Faust, West Point Thoroughbreds and Winters Equine's Atomic Blonde, a German-bred that the trainer picked out of the Arqana Breeding Stock sale last December in France for $316,225. She won a Group 3 going 1 ¼ miles on the grass in Milan and placed in two other European group stakes before coming arriving in the U.S.

Atomic Blonde has placed in each of her three North American starts, taking a lead into the stretch before settling for third behind stablemate Amazing Grace – who cost nearly $900,000 at the same French sale – and Personal Best in debut in the 1 ½-mile Orchid (G3) April 1 at Gulfstream Park. She followed up running third to Higher Truth and Virginia Joy in the 1 3/8-mile Sheepshead Bay (G2) May 5 and second, beaten two lengths, by Skims in a third-level optional claiming allowance June 16, both at Belmont Park.

“She's just a beautiful filly. So far, she's been ultra consistent,” West Point executive vice president Tom Bellhouse said. “A little unlucky just on race setups, but we're excited. I think we're in a good spot in the race down at Laurel and I think we'll be a contender.”

Jaime Rodriguez, who leads Laurel's ongoing summer meet standings with 16 wins, will ride Atomic Blonde from Post 6.

“We were excited to get him on her,” Bellhouse said. “This is the time of year where it's tough racing everywhere and I think she definitely fits and will gave a great account of herself.

“She's been very versatile,” he added. “Obviously, the Orchid was a huge test off the layoff. Jose Ortiz rode her that day and he made a real aggressive move on the turn and tried to kick on and win it, and we just got run down a little late. The fillies that she's been running against are all top-notch fillies. We feel really good about our chances.”

NRS Stable, James Chambers and Avalon Farm's Coconut Cake wheels back in the Big Dreyfus two weeks following her come-from-behind three-quarter-length victory in the six-furlong Jameela for Maryland-bred/sired horses July 1 over a Laurel turf rated good. Fourth, beaten two lengths, in last year's Big Dreyfus, the 6-year-old Bandbox mare was twice stakes-placed on both turf and dirt before breaking through in the 1 1/8-mile Maryland Million Ladies last October.

William Pape's homebred Deciding Vote was second at odds of 11-1 in the Big Dreyfus after winning Laurel's Dahlia and running fourth in Parx's Neshaminy to open 2022. The overall Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship (MATCH) Series champion last year is again making her third start off the layoff in the Big Dreyfus, having run fourth in the Dahlia and most recently second in the PTHA President's Cup June 18 at Parx.

Also entered are Lugamo Racing Stable's Lady Puchi, runner-up in the 2022 Searching at Laurel racing first time for trainer Rudy Sanchez-Salomon; and Super C Racing's Cupid's Strike, a two-time winner that was fifth in last year's off-the-turf Searching.

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Extreme Temperatures: California State Fair At Cal Expo Cancels Opening Weekend Racing Programs

The California State Fair at Cal Expo canceled its opening weekend race programs out of safety concerns over projected extreme temperatures in Sacramento.

Like all race meets in California, the State Fair follows the Inclement Weather Policy (IWP) developed by the California Horse Racing Board, a policy that includes recommendations and requirements pertaining to the heat index, which is a combination of temperature, wind speed, and humidity. The IWP lists the heat index in steps, beginning at 130, the point at which some horses experience discomfort. The danger to horses increases at 150, then reaches a critical level at 180.

Although the heat index is not expected to reach 150 in Sacramento this weekend, so racing could have taken place provided horses were given plenty of water and other cooling techniques, management at Cal Expo in consultation with the CHRB and the California Authority of Racing Fairs (CARF) elected to cancel racing on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday out of an abundance of caution. Racing at the State Fair is now scheduled to commence on July 21.

This decision is a reflection of the prevailing attitude among other racetracks, horsemen, and equine veterinarians in the State whereby safety comes first, in cooperation with the CHRB. This team effort has helped reduce total equine fatalities by more than 50 percent over the last few years and reduced fatal injuries sustained while racing and training by one-third in the last year alone.

“The Board commends the State Fair and CARF for putting animal welfare first,“ said Scott Chaney, executive director of the CHRB.

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