Month: February 2024

Saudi Crown, Bold Journey On To Dubai, Skelly Back To The States

Trainer Brad Cox confirmed that FMQ Stables' Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), a brave third in the G1 Saudi Cup after setting bruising fractions up front, has shipped to Dubai and has settled in at Meydan Raceourse. The $45,000 Keeneland January short-yearling turned $240,000 OBS April breezer holds an entry for the G1 Dubai World Cup, where he would face a rematch with the two horses that finished ahead of him last weekend–Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) and Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}). But Cox aid that the tentatively target is the Mar. 30 G2 Godolphin Mile.

“We were very proud of his effort and he came out of the race in good order,” trainer Brad Cox said by phone Monday. “So we packed him up, he landed safely in Dubai, and we are leaning towards the Godolphin Mile.”

The grey colt saw out nine furlongs well enough to take out last year's GI Pennsylvania Derby, and although well-beaten in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, rebounded with a strong victory in the GIII Louisiana S. to punch his ticket to Riyadh. Hard-sent to the lead in the Saudi Cup, Saudi Crown covered the opening 800 meters in :46.01–with no run-up–and held on stubbornly to be right in the finish. But it will be less distance and not more on Mar. 30.

“When you're running against the best horses in the world,” Cox said, “we think that the answer to that question is to run him over a mile.”

Among the horses he could face is defending champion Isolate (Mark Valeski), a meritorious sixth in the Saudi Cup.

 

 

 

As a result of his outstanding third-place effort behind Japan's Remake (Jpn) (Lani) and top American sprinter Skelly (Practical Joke) in Saturday's G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, Pantofel Stable, Adam Wachtel and Gary Barber's Bold Journey (Hard Spun) has been invited to run in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen Mar. 30. The 5-year-old arrived in the Emirates in good order Monday, Wachtel said.

“He came out of the race in good order, little bit scraped up, there was a little collision there at the gate, but nothing at all serious,” Wachtel said of the Bill Mott trainee.

The New York-bred, who was briefly on the Triple Crown trail in 2022, has found his best form over six furlongs, and won three straight in the Big Apple in late fall and early winter, including the GIII Fall Highweight H. Nov. 24 and the Dec. 30 Gravesend S. He settled well back in the run in the Riyadh Dirt Sprint, as Skelly locked horns with the top Saudi-based sprinter Rebellious Stage (Justify), but came with a solid rally nearer the inside to fill third spot, beaten three lengths for all of it.

“We thought if he performed well he might get an invite and that it might make some sense for a couple of reasons: we are already kind of there and we established that he is a serious sprinter,” Wachtel said. “I feel like he's improving and he did us very proud and I think he earned the right to run in a race like [the Golden Shaheen].”

Wachtel is looking forward to the opportunity, even if pre-existing commitments will mean he will be in abstentia.

Bold Journey and Saudi Crown galloping in Riyadh | Horsephotos

“We're pretty excited about it, he seems to be turning into the horse we'd hoped he would,” Wachtel said. “I don't know if he's good enough to do what he just did in Dubai, but we think it's a great move. I hope that at the end of the year, we're in the conversation as one of the best sprinters in the country.  Hopefully he'll take to Dubai as he did to Saudi Arabia and he'll come running down the lane.”

The Wachtel part-owned and Mott-conditioned Long On Value (Value Plus) missed by a zop in the 2017 G1 Al Quoz Sprint, while Gray Magician (Graydar), also campaigned by Wachtel in partnership, completed a U.S.-bred 1-2 behind Plus Que Parfait (Point of Entry) in the 2019 G2 UAE Derby.

Skelly, a game second after making the running last Saturday, is booked on a Chicago-bound flight this coming Thursday and will therefore pass on the Golden Shaheen, trainer Steve Asmussen said Monday.

“I thought he gave it a great effort. We want to get him back in a winning spot and there is a valuable spot at Oaklawn to do just that,” Asmussen said, likely referring to the $500,000 GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. Apr. 13. “We were very proud of his effort, but we thought it was very important to get him back winning and he's won seven in a row at Oaklawn. If he had won, we would probably have gone on, but he didn't, so we'll bring him back home.”

Asmussen indicated that the same two-race sequence in the Middle East in a strong possibility for 2025.

Among those also returning to the states are Saudi Cup fourth National Treasure (Quality Road) to point for a summer campaign; narrow Saudi Derby runner-up Book'em Danno (Bucchero), who is reportedly headed to the $600,000 GII Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 4; and White Abarrio (Race Day), 10th in the Saudi Cup who has a repeat in the GI Whitney S. as a long-term objective.

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Baffert Wants Bettors’ Class-Action Suit Reassigned To Judge Who Already Dismissed Similar Case

Three days after a New Jersey federal judge ordered a class-action lawsuit filed in 2021 by a group of bettors against Bob Baffert to be transferred to a federal court in Kentucky, the legal team for the Hall-of-Fame trainer filed a motion seeking the reassignment of the case to a different, specific Kentucky judge who last summer dismissed a similar case against Baffert.

Baffert's Feb. 23 filing in United States District Court (Western District of Kentucky) asked for the reassignment based on the following reasoning:

“The Plaintiffs in this case are a group of disgruntled gamblers who placed bets on the 2021 [GI] Kentucky Derby and lost. In this action, they attempt to do what courts throughout the country have routinely rejected: they seek to recoup their gambling losses through a myriad of frivolous claims,” the Baffert filing stated.

“Plaintiffs initially filed this case in the Central District of California, only to voluntarily dismiss it when threatened with a Motion to Dismiss and Rule 11 sanctions. Plaintiffs then refiled the case in the District of New Jersey and Baffert filed a Motion to Dismiss in New Jersey.

“Rather than addressing the merits of Baffert's Motion to Dismiss, the District Court in New Jersey issued an Opinion and Order [on Feb. 20] transferring the case to the Western District of Kentucky,” the filing continued.

“One of the primary reasons the Court in New Jersey transferred this case to the Western District of Kentucky is that an almost identical case was previously been decided by the Hon. David J. Hale. In the prior case, Mattera, et al. v. Robert A. Baffert, et al., Judge Hale considered similar claims made by a group of disgruntled gamblers against Baffert involving the same 2021 Kentucky Derby.

“In transferring this case to the Western District of Kentucky, the New Jersey Court relied heavily on the fact that Judge Hale had previously considered the similar matter and that judicial economy and the interests of justice 'strongly' favored this case being assigned to him,” the filing continued.

“In sum, the District of New Jersey transferred this case to the Western District of Kentucky because it was that Court's determination that this matter should be resolved by the 'same decision-maker' that ruled in the Mattera action. That decision maker is Judge Hale. The Opinion from the New Jersey Court repeatedly cites to the fact that the case at bar involves the

same allegations, facts and defendants as the matter previously decided by Judge Hale…

“Given that one of the primary reasons that this case was transferred to the Western District of Kentucky was because of Judge Hale's familiarity with the issues in this case, the interests of judicial economy and justice dictate that the matter be reassigned to him,” Baffert's filing concluded.

The plaintiffs in the case had yet to file a legal response to Baffert's motion as of 3 p.m. on Feb. 26.

The original version of the suit was led by Michael Beychok, the winner of the 2012 National Horseplayers Championship. It was filed four days after Baffert's May 9, 2021, disclosure that Medina Spirit had tested positive for betamethasone after crossing the finish wire first in the Derby.

The Beychok-led class-action group of horseplayers alleged they were cheated out of their property by Baffert on the basis that his betamethasone-positive trainee purportedly prevented them from cashing winning tickets on the runner-up.

Baffert has not only denied those allegations and asked for the case to be dismissed, but his legal team has also stated in court documents that the plaintiffs have twisted their case so far from reality that their alleged misstatements amount to libel.

The Mattera v. Baffert case that got tossed out of court by Hale on July 20, 2023, for failure to state a claim is currently being appealed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. That suit alleged negligence, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment because the plaintiffs' losing pari-mutuel bets on the 2021 Derby weren't honored as winners.

Last week, when transferring the case led by Beychok out of New Jersey, U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz wrote that, “[T]he Western District of Kentucky has already resolved, on the merits, a case that is closely similar to this one…. There are, in short, fundamental similarities between the [Mattera] case and this lawsuit…. Having the same court handle both cases would help ensure that like cases–and these are very much like cases–are treated alike. That is a fundamental goal of our justice system.”

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PA Horse Breeders Association Names 2023 PA-Bred Award Finalists

The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association has named the 2023 PA-Bred Award finalists. Winners will be announced during the annual Iroquois Awards held Friday, May 10. Finalists are listed in alphabetical order:

Horse of the Year: Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), Caravel (Mizzen Mast), Nimitz Class (Munnings), Neecie Marie (Cross Traffic), Roses For Debra (Liam's Map) and Twisted Ride (Great Notion).

Broodmare of the Year: Armony's Angel (To Honor and Serve), Diva's Gold (Tenpins), Essential Rose (Bernardini), Five Diamonds (Flatter), Home Ice (Iam the Iceman), Katarica Disco (Disco Rico) and Zeezee Zoomzoom (Congrats).

2-Year-Old Filly: Aoife's Magic (Smarty Jones), Carmelina (Maximus Mischief), Dancing Spirit (Social Inclusion) and Greavette (Austern {Aus}).

2-Year-Old Colt: Capo (Peace and Justice), Drum Roll Please (Hard Spun), Going Up (Mineshaft), Notice of Action (Hoppertunity) and Uncle Heavy (Social Inclusion).

Older Female: Caravel (Mizzen Mast), Disco Ebo (Weigelia), Morning Matcha (Central Banker) and Roses for Debra (Liam's Map).

Older Male: Nimitz Class (Munnings), Our Shot (Kantharos), Twisted Ride (Great Notion) and Witty (Great Notion).

The full list of finalists can be viewed here.

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Half-Brother to Classic Heroine Cachet Among Select Tattersalls Craven Catalogue

The catalogue for the first of this year's European two-year-old sales is now online, with 180 lots catalogued for the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale set to be sold on April 16 and 17.

With the high-class dual Group 1 winner Vandeek (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) as its poster boy for last year, the Craven sale has been represented by some notable graduates in recent seasons, including the Classic winners Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}). The latter's half-brother by Mehmas (Ire) is among those on offer this year.

Plenty of other well-bred horses are contained in this year's book which boasts half-siblings to 29 Group or Listed winners, induing another Mehmas colt who is a half-brother to the G2 Coventry S. winner River Tiber (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). Also included is a Siyouni (Fr) half-brother to Grade III-winning sire Demarchelier (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is out of a sister to Group 1 winners Yesterday (Ire) and Quarter Moon (Ire).

As already referenced in a recent TDN feature on the members of the final crop of multiple champion sire Galileo (Ire), last year's sale-topping consignor, Glending Stables, will offer a Galileo three-parts brother to Listed winner Hidden Dimples (GB) (Frankel {GB}).

All 180 horses in the catalogue are eligible for the £250,000 Tattersalls Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus. The scheme offers a £125,000 bonus for the first Craven Breeze-up winner of any of the six two-year-old races at the Royal Meeting and an additional £125,000 bonus to the first Craven Breeze-up winner of any of the 15 European Group 1 races open to two-year-olds.

Commenting on the catalogue, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said, “The Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale's market leading status was reinforced again in 2023 with another exceptional year on the racecourse following the Craven Classic double of Native Trail and Cachet in 2022. The £125,000 Tattersalls Craven Group 1 Bonus was won for the second time in three years by Vandeek, whose two spectacular Group 1 victories saw him crowned the highest rated British trained two-year-old, following in the footsteps of European Champion Two-Year-Old Native Trail. The sale produced more Group and Listed winners in 2023 than any other European breeze-up sale, and the unrivalled racecourse results are testament to the outstanding quality that Europe's leading breeze-up consignors offer year after year. Their support has again resulted in a catalogue with quality in abundance, which combined with unrivalled bonuses on offer makes the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale a compelling prospect for both domestic and overseas buyers.”

Horses in the sale will breeze on Newmarket's Rowley Mile Racecourse on Monday, April 15 starting from 9.30am. The sale will take place at Park Paddocks after racing on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

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