For the seventh year in a row, America’s Best Racing is challenging some of the brightest minds in horse betting to come up with their top three picks for key races every weekend leading up to the 2023 Triple Crown and then continuing through the 2023 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The handicappers face off in what we like to call the “Big Race Showdown.”
Month: July 2023
“He’ll Be Sorely Missed” – Derby Winner Adayar Retired
Derby and King George winner Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) has been retired from racing with his trainer Charlie Appleby saying the Godolphin-owned five-year-old was “a pleasure to train”.
Adayar provided Appleby with a second G1 Derby success at Epsom in 2021 when ridden by Adam Kirby before going on to beat his elders in the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S. at Ascot the following month under William Buick.
He was subsequently beaten in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the G1 Champion S. and only made it to the track twice last season, albeit going close in the Champion S. when beaten just half a length by Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}).
Connections brought him back as a 5-year-old in the hope of adding to his top-level tally-but while he made a successful comeback in the rescheduled G3 Gordon Richards S. at Newmarket in May, he was beaten into third in the G1 Prince of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot and was turned over at short odds on his latest and final start at Newmarket.
Appleby told www.godolphin.com, “Adayar provided the team with two outstanding days on the racecourse at Epsom and Ascot and has been a firm favourite in the yard for the past three seasons. He has been an absolute pleasure to train.
“He will be sorely missed at Moulton Paddocks but we look forward to watching him in his new career at stud and are quite sure he will be a huge success.”
The fourth foal out of Dubawi (Ire) mare Anna Salai who won the G3 Prix de la Grotte and was second in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, the Godolphin homebred is a full-brother to the stakes winner Military Order (Ire). His extended family features Group 1 winner National Defense (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), and the GI Flower Bowl Invitational S. heroine Ave (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}).
Kirby said, “Adayar will always hold a special place in my heart, as he gave me the biggest win of my career.
“Obviously what he achieved means he's a great horse. He had a very high cruising speed and he could really quicken and keep lengthening, which takes a bit of doing.
“He had a great mind. I'd never ridden him before Epsom, but he travelled round very strong and he made everything easy for me. He had a great turn of foot, but what he achieved speaks for itself–he was obviously very, very talented on his day and I'm sure he will do well as a stallion.”
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The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Evolution Of Horse Racing Data
It's been over 30 years since The Jockey Club and North American racetracks formed Equibase to be the Thoroughbred industry's official record keeper and database. The company not only collects racing data, but supplies it to past performance providers like Daily Racing Form and Brisnet, advance deposit wagering companies, and also distributes or sells its own products to horseplayers and fans.
Kyle McDoniel was recently named president and chief operating officer of Equibase, which is based in Lexington, Ky. A racing fan while growing up in Arkansas, McDoniel remained enthusiastic about racing as his career path took him into management positions in the sports data industry at ESPN, FOX Sports, Yahoo Sports, and Sportradar.
Creating “phone friendly” past performances, incorporating GPS technology into data collection, and competing for customers in the sports betting world where data is plentiful and free are just some of the issues McDoniel will have to address in the coming months and years at Equibase. But he brings considerable experience to the position from the sports world, where fantasy games and more recently legalized sports betting have put a premium on data that helps gamblers make their wagering decisions.`
McDoniel joins Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills in this week's edition of the Friday Show to discuss the opportunities and challenges Equibase faces.
Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:
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Next Gives Trainer Cowans, Jockey Machado First Saratoga Victory In Marathon Birdstone
Trainer William “Doug” Cowans and jockey Luan Machado each earned their first Saratoga Race Course victory when heavy post-time favorite Next coasted to an impressive win in Thursday's $150,000 Birdstone, a 1 3/4-mile marathon for older horses, over the Spa's fast main track.
Owned by Michael A. Foster, Next found the winner's circle with a stalking trip under a patient Machado, allowing New York-bred Sea Foam to control the tempo before pouncing with ease into the final turn to notch his fourth stakes victory in his last five outings. The son of Not This Time entered from a strong 2 1/4-length triumph in the 1 1/2-mile Grade 2 Brooklyn on June 10 at Belmont Park.
“We were worried about coming up here with a deeper track and an extra two furlongs, but the horse got into his rhythm like he does,” said Cowans, whose lone previous start at the Spa was a close runner-up finish with Next Shares in the 2015 Grade 2 With Anticipation. “We weren't worried about where we were positioned in the race. Everything went just like planned.
“First win at Saratoga is awesome,” Cowans added. “Came up here with one other horse that got beat a neck. It's great to come up here. It's prestigious.”
Next was away cleanly from the outermost post 7 and tucked into the three path to stalk a length back of the sharp Sea Foam, who bounded to the front to lead through the first two turns and into the backstretch. Dash Attack and Lone Rock, winner of this event in 2021, matched strides in third as Machado kept a loaded Next within one length of Sea Foam.
Dash Attack attempted to inch up along the rail into the final turn as Next was given his cue and ranged up on the outside of a toiling Sea Foam. Machado needed only to shake the reins for Next to take a clear advantage into the top of the stretch before widening his margin under a confident hand ride.
The Ricardo Santana Jr.-piloted Time for Trouble made up ground late to battle with Dash Attack for place honors, but the two were no match for Next, who crossed the finish line first by 11 3/4 lengths. Time for Trouble swept past a game Dash Attack by four lengths for second with The Skipper Too coming on late for fourth another 4 1/4 lengths back. Sea Foam, Lone Rock and Treasure Trove completed the order of finish.
Due to a timing issue, the Birdstone will be hand-timed with a final time published on Friday.
Machado, aboard for each of Next's last five outings, said it is special to win at Saratoga, especially with a horse as talented as him.
“It just feels great,” Machado said. “The horse was great and we're happy to be here and get another one. When we were passing by the half-mile pole, it was the first time I checked on him to see how he was doing and he grabbed the bridle and gave me all that confidence. It was done by the half-mile. He was looking good and the other horses were asking already. He still had much to give and I felt super comfortable at that point.”
Next has proven to be the acquisition of Cowans' career after he was haltered for $62,500 out of a distant ninth when sprinting seven furlongs last April at Keeneland. The veteran conditioner won first off the claim with the grey gelding when stretching him out to nine furlongs in a $50,000 claiming tilt, but saw the biggest improvement when bringing him up to the marathon distance for the first time with an 18 1/4-length romp in an off-the-turf edition of the 12-furlong Cape Henlopen in September at Delaware Park.
Foster, who enjoyed his first graded victory when Next won the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in November at Keeneland, said he never anticipated the journey Next would take him on when he was first claimed last spring.
“We've claimed a lot of horses and had a lot of success. It's not our first stakes horse that we've claimed, but this guy's a claim of the century,” said Foster. “Doug figured him out early. We ran him back for $50,000 [tag] and we're amazed we got away with it. He's just a dream come true, I tell you. We have more fun with this horse than we ever dreamed of. We take every race one at a time, but we wanted Saratoga so bad just to be able to race up here. We're very happy.”
Cowans said Next will now target the 12-furlong Grade 3, $200,000 Greenwood Cup on September 23 at Parx Racing with an eye to a repeat victory in the 13-furlong Grade 2, $250,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance on November 3 at Santa Anita Park.
Bred in Kentucky by Silverton Hill, Next banked $82,500 in victory and improved his lifetime record to 18-8-0-1. He returned $3.20 for a $2 win ticket.
Live racing resumes Friday at Saratoga with an 11-race card, featuring the Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam in Race 10. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern.
Saratoga Live will present live coverage and analysis of the Saratoga Race Course summer meet on the networks of FOX Sports. For the broadcast schedule and channel finder, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule/.
NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.
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