I Am Maximus wins Grand National at Aintree
I Am Maximus storms clear to win the Grand National at Aintree for jockey Paul Townend and trainer Willie Mullins.
Month: April 2024
Tamara Back on Worktab, ‘Eager to do More’ for Mandella
Spendthrift Farm homebred and 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), sidelined with a fractured splint bone in her left hind leg after fading to seventh as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, has begun to gear up for her sophomore campaign.
The talented daughter of Hall of Famer Beholder (Henny Hughes) has posted a pair of two-furlong breezes for trainer Richard Mandella over Santa Anita's all-weather surface this month, most recently stopping the timer in :23.80 (1/1) Apr. 10.
How are the initial reports so far?
“Really good,” Spendthrift Farm's General Manager Ned Toffey replied. “You know Richard. We certainly weren't gonna put any pressure and Richard is a guy who's gonna give them all the time they need. She's gotten a chance to heal up. She just needed time. There was a fracture of the splint bone on the hind leg. It wasn't anything too dramatic, but just needed plenty of time. She got that and hopefully is ready to move forward now.”
He continued, “He's breezed her twice now and has been very happy with what he's seen so far. He simply said that, 'she's eager to do more,' which I think is a great sign. Obviously, it will be a bit before she's ready to run, but we know she's in good hands. It's enough to be excited about her 3-year-old year.”
Tamara overcame a stumble at the start from her rail draw to launch her career in style with a 'Rising Star' performance at Del Mar Aug. 19. She ran to the billing as the 6-5 favorite with a 6 3/4-length tour de force over 11 rivals in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. She set the pace and tired to finish a disappointing seventh, beaten 8 1/4 lengths, behind champion Just F Y I (Justify) while making her two-turn debut in the Juvenile Fillies at Santa Anita Nov. 3.
“We're still at a point where we're gonna just continue to let her dictate to us,” Toffey said. “She's certainly a filly who's shown enough that she can be anything. Obviously, we'd love to see her land in the Breeders' Cup at the end of the year, she's the kind of filly that could put you there. Richard will listen to her and let her tell us when she's ready to roll. Hopefully, she stays sound and we can have the kind of year that you would hope that a filly like that can give you.”
Tamara is the fourth foal from the aforementioned four-time champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner Beholder. Beholder's colt by Curlin, now two, brought a sale-topping $4 million from Zedan Racing at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale last summer. Beholder has also produced 2023 GIII Senorita S. heroine Teena Ella (War Front). She had a filly by Jackie's Warrior Feb. 13, and, according to Toffey, is currently in foal to Gun Runner for the 2025 season.
She's here, and she's perfect
Beholder foaled a gorgeous Jackie's Warrior filly in the early morning hours on February 13th, which also happens to be her sire's birthday. pic.twitter.com/fKF3FhLHxV
— Spendthrift Farm (@spendthriftfarm) February 14, 2024
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Classic Hopes On The Line In ParisLongchamp Trials
France's key mile Classic trials take place on Sunday, with ParisLongchamp hosting the G3 Prix de la Grotte and G3 Prix de Fontainebleau over the same course and distance of next month's G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches and Poulains. The Grotte sees some major names among the generation's fillies making their seasonal return, led by China Horse Club International's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac runner-up Rose Bloom (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and Alain Jathiere's G3 Prix des Reservoirs winner Tulipa Chope (Fr) (Born To Sea {Ire}). The Aga Khan's four-length Chantilly conditions winner Candala (Fr) (Frankel {GB}) adds spice from Francis-Henri Graffard's Aiglemont base. With ample stamina in her pedigree, the latter will have to prove sharp enough to deal with speed-tested peers here but it is intriguing that Graffard opts for a mile to restart her.
In the Fontainebleau, the Poulains contenders include Philippe Allaire and Haras d'Etreham's G3 Prix la Rochette-winning TDN Rising Star Beauvatier (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) who lost his unbeaten record but effectively nothing in defeat when third from a compromising draw in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. He faces a fellow 3-year-old bigwig in Nurlan Bizakov's Ramadan (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), who was fourth in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud, had beaten the subsequent TDN Rising Star Narkez (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) at Chantilly and returned this term with a five-length success in the Listed Prix Omnium II at Saint-Cloud last month. There is also Peter R Bradley III's unbeaten Metropolitan (Fr) (Zarak {Fr}), who beat the TDN Rising Star Elbaz (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) over this trip at Chantilly when last seen in September and until he suffers defeat the Mario Baratti trainee's limit is unknown.
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What happened to your Grand National horse?
Where 21 of the 32 runners finished in the 2024 Aintree Grand National, won by the 7-2 joint favourite I Am Maximus.
