July, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Mandella Keeping Options Open For Haskell Victor Geaux Rocket Ride

By Lynne Snierson

On Sunday morning, trainer Richard Mandella was a man with a lot to think about.

Though his charge Geaux Rocket Ride decisively won Saturday's $1-million TVG.com Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park going 1 1/8 miles, earning a guaranteed spot in the $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at 1¼ miles at Santa Anita on Nov. 4 via the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series “Win and You're In”, the pathway to get him there remains undecided.

“We'll be making plans as he tells us,” the Hall of Famer said in the immediate aftermath of Geaux Rocket Ride's 1¾-length victory over Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage.

After the long flight home to Southern California and in the light of day, nothing had changed.

Nevertheless, the $1-million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at 1 1/8 miles at Parx Racing on Sept. 23 and two Grade 1s open to 3-year-olds and older are in the mix: Del Mar's $1-million Pacific Classic at 1¼ miles on Sept. 2 and Santa Anita's $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on Sept. 30.

“I'll think about all of those races and about running against older horses,” said Mandella, who reported that Pin Oak Stud's Geaux Rocket Ride came out of the Haskell in good shape.

Nonetheless, the $1.25-million Travers Stakes (G1) at 1¼ miles for 3-year-olds at Saratoga on Aug. 26 remains a non-starter.

“I think it's too much to think about, taking him to Saratoga,” Mandella said. “He's young and he's not raced very much and we've pushed him along to get to this point.

“I don't like the idea of bringing him to Monmouth, bringing him back to California, and then coming back for the Travers. We pushed him to this point and we don't want to keep pushing. The Travers doesn't seem like the right thing to do.”

With his Haskell score under Mike Smith, Geaux Rocket Ride became a graded stakes winner and improved his record to three wins and one second in four starts and $780,200 in earnings.

The Kentucky-bred Candy Ride colt also gave Mandella his second win in the Haskell – 23 years after his first one in his only other appearance. He won the 2000 edition with Dixie Union.

Geaux Rocket Ride, who was bred by OXO Equine LLC from the Uncle Mo mare Beyond Grace, had been on the Triple Crown trail via the Santa Anita Derby (G1) in early April. But when he came up with a fever and a high white cell count on the morning of the race, it was back to the drawing board.

The bay colt won the June 4 Affirmed Stakes there, which set him up perfectly for the Haskell.

“He had us dreaming pretty high and still does,” said Mandella.

Having the Breeders' Cup right in the stable's backyard at Santa Anita could give Geaux Rocket Ride homefield advantage.

“It does if you're fast enough,” Mandella said. “We think he's fast enough, and so far he's passed every test. But that's another step up to get to the Classic and it's against older horses, so we'll just have to wait and see if he leads us there.”

Geaux Rocket Ride and the Bob Baffert-trained Arabian Knight, the third-place Haskell finisher, were scheduled to be flown back to Southern California on Tuesday.

The post Mandella Keeping Options Open For Haskell Victor Geaux Rocket Ride appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Kavanagh Seeks Industry Support In Bid To Find Long-Term Home For Museum

Jim Kavanagh, the retired racehorse trainer who has showcased his vast collection of Irish racing memorabilia at the Courthouse in County Kildare for five years now, has made a passionate plea for support from the industry to keep his rare treasures alive by finding a permanent home for the museum.

At 80 years of age, Kavanagh has single-handedly kept the museum open for the past five summers and, while he had initially planned to close up shop for the year after Oaks weekend, has committed to running the tours for another month by appointment only.

But Kavanagh hopes to secure something more long-term for his vast collection of racing memorabilia which dates back to Orby, the first Irish-trained winner of the Derby back in 1907, and says that people in the industry could make a big difference.

He explained, “We are based in the courthouse, which is owned by the Kildare County Council. In their draft of plans, there is a lot of money going to be spent in Kildare town but they have earmarked this building for the arts. There's a feasibility study being done now and we're putting our speak in.

“We hope to convince them that this building is big enough, if it was invested in properly, to host more than just the arts and that there would be room for us in it as well. That's the dream. We have a visitors book, which we get people to sign and, the more signatures we can gather, the easier job we have of convincing the powers that be that there is a demand for the museum.”

There has been a steady stream of people visiting the museum this summer, according to Kavanagh, who explained that a walk through his collection of racing memorabilia was comparable to stepping back in time.

He said, “We've had quality over quantity this summer. We've had a lot of visitors from all over the world who were in awe of what we have here. To have them engaging and interested about what we have on display here is great.

“We have a number of display units and behind each one there is a story. There is memorabilia going back to Orby, the first Irish-trained winner of the Derby in 1907, photographs of the old Curragh stand and trophies that were won by the late Darkie Prendergast. It's a refreshing walk back through time to the black and white era.”

Kavanagh added, “I trained for a long time and was CEO of the trainers' association for many years. When I retired, I had a lot of memorabilia and it was five years ago when the local Derby committee came to me and asked me to do something for the weekend.

“As soon as I started that, people began to come to me with stuff and we've built it up since then. We missed a year through Covid but we've been building every year since we started and it seems to be going down well with a lot of people, including the locals, who bring me in a lot of pictures and like to come and talk about their relations who used to work in the industry.”

Kavanagh's main aim is to find a permanent home for the museum and is convinced that, if enough people show their support, the exhibition could fit in nicely in the Kildare courthouse every summer.

He said, “We will be open for another month and will be doing visits by appointment. I'm happy to put my number [+353872898213] out there and, if there were a small group of people who wanted to come along, I'd be only too happy to give them the tour. I have the time, I'm 80 years old now, so I enjoy doing it and it's a great way to meet people. I love it and I hope to find a permanent home for the museum.”

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Caravel on Track for Troy

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – On the Whitney Day card with three Grade I races, the GIII Troy S. is pretty easy to overlook.

Last year, though, two-time Breeders' Cup race winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) drew attention to the 5 1/2-furlong turf test, which he won by a head. On Aug. 5, Caravel (Mizzen Mast) will be the headliner in the 20th running of the Troy and, if the 2022 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint upsetter prevails, will be its first female winner.

Caravel prepped for the race Saturday on the Oklahoma turf training track with a half-mile in :48.88 under Kelvin Perez. It was the sixth-fastest of the 20 at the distance.

Trainer Brad Cox gave the breeze a solid review.

“Very good. She's always a great workhorse,” he said. “Great work this morning, so very pleased with what we saw out there.”

The gray 6-year-old Pennsylvania-bred mare brings a five-race unbeaten streak into the Troy. Starting with her victory at 42-1 in the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, three of those wins have come against males.

While she was a very accomplished runner for breeder-owner-trainer Elizabeth Merryman winning seven of nine starts–topped by the GIII Caress S. in 2021 at Saratoga–and finishing third in the other two, she has really blossomed since last summer. Merryman sold a 75% stake to Bobby Flay in 2021 and they sold her for $500,000 to Qatar Racing and Marc Detampel at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale. Madaket Stables subsequently became a partner. The 5-year-old was turned over to Cox, who tried her once against males without success in the GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint on the Kentucky Derby program.

Cox said he had no idea that Caravel was capable of what she has accomplished.

“She got really good starting last fall,” he said. “She's always been good, but she became dominant maybe.”

After Caravel won the GIII Franklin S. at Keeneland on Oct. 16, Cox and the owners decided to try her in the Breeders' Cup over the same course. She handled pace pressure throughout, won by a half-length and paid $87.78. This year she is three-for-three and has beaten males in the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland and the GI Jaipur S. at Belmont Park.

“She stepped up. She's been able to defeat them three times now within the last nine months,” Cox said. “She's really good. She's happy. She likes Saratoga. I'm looking forward to getting a run into her here the first part of August.”

Cox said entering Caravel in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint was a gamble.

“We were taking a shot,” he said. “She had just come off a win at Keeneland in a Grade III. It was a big run. We were asking her to run back in three weeks. We were taking a shot. She was 40-something to 1 or whatever she was. When you run horses in races and when you're that price there's really no pressure. There was no pressure and obviously the favorite that day [Golden Pal] missed the break. I don't know how things would have played out, but she's gone on to capture another Grade I since that against the boys and is undefeated since. She's got a nice win streak going and she gives us a lot of confidence throughout the entire year, really.”

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Forecast High Heat Indexes Prompt Later First Post Times At Canterbury Park

With high heat indexes expected Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, Canterbury Park racing officials, after consulting with the Minnesota Racing Commission and the Minnesota HBPA, proactively changed post time each night to 7:00 p.m. (CT) from the originally scheduled 5:00 p.m.

“The decision to race later in the evening as temperatures drop is in the best interest of the racehorses and the people that work outdoors with them,” Senior Director of Racing Operations Chris Merz said. “The Minnesota Racing Commission veterinary staff was consulted and the Minnesota HBPA, which represents owners, trainer and jockeys, is in full agreement. Making the decision today allows for everyone involved, including our racing fans, to make necessary adjustments.”

With the change in post times two turf races will be moved to the main track. The turf course is not illuminated for racing after sunset. Race 7 on Wednesday will now be run at five furlongs on the main track. Race 6 on Thursday will be run at one mile on the main track.

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