Month: December 2023

‘Hopefully Sky’s The Limit’: Easter Finishes Fast To Capture Tuesday’s San Gabriel

Heavily favored at 3-5, Phil D'Amato's French-bred Easter tipped five-wide turning for home en route to a powerful 1 ¼ length victory in Tuesday's Grade 2, $200,000 San Gabriel Stakes, one of six graded events on Santa Anita's Classic Meet opening day.

Ridden by Antonio Fresu, Easter was under a snug hold down the backside, last by about four lengths passing the half mile pole and despite the fact Frankie Dettori had carved out a moderate early pace aboard Eastern Ocean, Easter was simply too much, as he ran up his third consecutive stakes victory, getting a mile and one eighth on turf in 1:47.60.

A gutty half length winner of the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap going a mile and one sixteenth on turf at Del Mar Nov. 25, Easter dominated the wagering versus five rivals aged three and up and paid $3.40, $2.40 and $2.10.

A 5-year-old gelding making his second start for D'Amato raced almost exclusively through five starts in New York this year for trainer Graham Motion. Easter, owned by Madaket Stables, LLC, picked up $120,000 for the win, increasing his earnings to $567,910 while improving his overall mark to 19-7-3-3.

Ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., Missed the Cut raced as a team with Easter to the far turn and finished well to be second, a nose in front of Tio Magico. Off at 4-1, Missed the Cut paid $3.60 and $2.60.

The second choice at 7-2 with Flavien Prat, Tio Magico, who is also conditioned by D'Amato, got the jump on his stablemate turning for home but was no match for him late as he checked in third and paid $2.40 to show.

Fractions on the race were 24.64, 48.76, 1:12.66 and 1:36.21.

GRADE 2, $200,000 SAN GABRIELSTAKES QUOTES

ANTONIO FRESU, JOCKEY OF EASTER, WINNER: “This horse was fantastic in the final eighth. I was a little concerned about the pace because we only had six horses. He was really relaxed today and I took him to the outside in the last quarter. I tapped him once and he really quickened. I'm really happy with his performance. He is not an easy horse to trainer or to ride, but I really think there is a lot more there.”

PHIL D'AMATO, TRAINER OF EASTER, WINNER: “Antonio (Fresu) said he broke out of the gate a little more lethargic than normal. He got in a good stride down the backside and thought he was going to come with a run, luckily it worked out. For a Euro he is a really good size, he's just a horse to me, he has a ton of talent. They didn't go that fast early, for him to just come from behind and make that big looping move and not look back, he just flew home.

“I think two things helped today, when he won under Graham (Motion) he got his confidence up. We also learned that he liked the firmer turf courses over here. Between those two things and getting to know his quirks, he is a very quirky horse and just knowing what he likes to do and just keep him happy. I think hopefully sky's the limit.”

NOTES: The winning owner is Madaket Stables, LLC.

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What Was Your Favorite Moment of 2023: Delrene Sims

My favorite moment, Arcangelo winning the Belmont, plus the Travers. And his trainer Jena Antonucci's poise and professionalism during his career and how she carried herself through all the hoopla. The most poignant moment, for me, was seeing the empty stall of Maple Leaf Mel with the flowers from the trainer of the winner who showed such great class in declaring that Maple Leaf Mel was clearly the winner and offering his condolences to Melanie.

The post What Was Your Favorite Moment of 2023: Delrene Sims appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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TDN Horses of the Year: Moss Tucker

We all have our favourites, and this week members of TDN Europe's editorial team each select a horse who provided particular enjoyment in 2023. Kicking off the series, Brian Sheerin puts forward the case for the sprinter whose victory in the G1 Flying Five was made all the more special by his human connections.

I don't know about you, but I love an underdog story. Perhaps that is why I fell in love with National Hunt racing at a young age.

Danoli (Ire), Bobbyjo (Ire) and Papillon (Ire) developed something of a cult following in the late nineties and early noughties in Ireland while Flemenstar (Ire) is another who caught the imagination when mopping up a host of Grade 1s for the late Peter Casey, one of the game's great characters.

Sadly, it has been far too long since racing has supplied its audience with a narrative to grab hold of. Not only that, but the David and Goliath stories that we used to dine out on in the jumps sphere are now few and far between.

The tables have turned. It seems as though the smaller trainers and owners can now hold genuine hopes of coming across a horse capable of mixing it at the highest level on the Flat. It's just not the same over jumps any more.

Take Moss Tucker (Ire) winning the Flying Five for example. Already a Classic-winning trainer, Ken Condon is hardly what you would describe as a smaller trainer, but this is a result that resonated with many given that the horse was bred by his owner and former Munster rugby legend Donal Spring. Part of the Munster side which famously took the scalp of the All Blacks in Thomond Park back in 1978, Spring has a history of producing sporting shocks.

Moss Tucker, named in honour of Spring's teammates, the late Moss Keane and Colm Tucker, was said to have about as much chance of winning the Flying Five as the experts gave that fabled Munster side of blindsiding the All Blacks. But therein lies the beauty of sport.

Moss Tucker embodied everything that is brilliant about the game, chewing up the script and spitting out high-class sprinters like Highfield Princess (Fr), Bradsell (GB) and Art Power (Ire) in the process.

It must be said, the heavy rain that fell before the race was in Moss Tucker's favour. But take nothing away from Condon's charge, who fought tooth and nail for his big day and was thoroughly deserving of a breakthrough win at the highest level.

But it's the human side of this story that propels Moss Tucker to being one of the results of the year. You will be hard pressed to find a man who is as well-liked and respected universally as Condon. One of racing's good guys, Condon goes about his business in an understated manner and Moss Tucker proved once again that he is deadly when given the ammunition.

By Excelebration (Ire) and out of a mare who won twice over hurdles as well as on the Flat, where she reached a modest mark of 76, Moss Tucker would have raised few predictions of Group 1 aspirations, not least over sprint distances. But here is a horse who has benefited from Condon's softly-softly approach, culminating with that big-race triumph at the Irish Champions Festival on his 30th racecourse start.

It should also be noted that Moss Tucker winning the Flying Five came off the back of a below-par season by Condon's high standards.

He has trained just nine winners in 2023, down from 17 in 2022 and 18 in the Classic-winning season the Curragh operator sent out Romanised (Ire) to land the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 2020.

To produce a result like Moss Tucker winning the Flying Five, one of the most fiercely-contested sprints in Europe, off the back of a difficult season is a measure of what a good trainer Condon is.

Billy Lee riding Moss Tucker sugar-coated what was one of the sweetest successes of the year. Criminally under-appreciated, Lee is pound-for-pound one of the best riders in Britain and Ireland and would almost certainly have been crowned champion in his native country by now had God blessed him by being an inch or two shorter.

 

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