Otter Bend Stables’ consistent 3-year-old Gufo turned in another strong performance to win the $250,000, Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes Oct. 3 at Belmont Park, his first top-level victory.
A total of 11 horses trained by Aidan, Joseph, and Donnacha O'Brien will be withdrawn from Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe card at Longchamp after a French lab returned positive urine samples for the banned substance Zilpaterol, Racing Post reports.
Four of the O'Brien runners – Mogul, Japan, Sovereign and Serpentine – were set to test Enable in the Group 1 Arc. Fancy Blue, a leading contender for the G1 Prix de l'Opera trained by Donnacha O'Brien, will also scratched.
The withdrawals were announced after Gain Equine Nutrition advised customers to stop using its feed after some batches were found to have been contaminated with Zilpaterol, a substance that's unlicensed in Europe, but is used in the U.S. and elsewhere, primarily to promote weight gain in cattle.
Urine samples from the O'Brien horses were cleared by the Irish Equine Centre, but Aidan O'Brien told Racing Post that a difference in testing methods between the Irish and French laboratories might have produced different results. O'Brien said the Irish test is primarily used to find the drug in cattle, instead of horses.
The Zilpaterol contamination had already caused five positives in France over the past few weeks, and trainer Roger Varian, who also uses Gain products, scratched all seven of his British runners on Saturday, as well.
In 2013, feed made in a California mill and contaminated with Zilpaterol caused a rash of positives in that state, and reached as far as Hong Kong when the feed shipped overseas.
Gain is one of the most widely-used feeds in England and Ireland, meaning a large portion of their racing populations could be exposed to the contaminated feed. However, Racing Post reports that John Gosden, trainer of top Arc contender Enable, does not feed Gain products, thus the mare is not at a risk to scratch due to the contamination.
A statement from the Ballydoyle Twitter account on Saturday read:
“Unfortunately, the results of the urine samples taken from the horses yesterday have come back positive from the French laboratory. There is a possibility that the contaminant may have left their system by the time of racing tomorrow, however we have no guarantee of this, and in order to protect the integrity of racing, we have decided to withdraw all our horses from racing tomorrow. Joseph and Donnacha O'Brien will do likewise.”
Read more at Racing Post.
The post O’Brien Family Runners Withdrawn From Sunday’s Arc Card Due To Zilpaterol Positives, Possible Feed Contamination appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
Ivar (BRZ) and jockey Joe Talamo surprised the field in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., coming from the clouds to take the colt's first American G1.
The Shadwell Turf Mile is part of the Breeders' Cup Win and You're In Challenge Series, which means Ivar now has an automatic berth in this year's Breeders' Cup Mile.
Sent off at odds of 14-1, Ivar wanted no part of the early pace, sitting third last for almost the entirety of the contest. The Paulo Lobo trainee began gradually moving up as the field narrowed the margins of early leaders Casa Creed and Born Great on the backstretch, but then seemed to linger far back through the turn. Midway down the final stretch however, he put on an impressive burst of late speed, eating ground with every stride and easily passing Raging Bull (FR) in the final moments.
The final time for the mile was 1:33.99.
Raging Bull was second, followed by Without Parole (GB).
Lobo trains Ivar for Bonne Chance Farm and Stud RDI LLC. The 4-year-old was bred in Brazil by Stud Rio Dios Imaos and is the son of Agnes Gold (JPN) and Smart Strike mare May Be Now. He came to the Shadwell Turf Mile off a third-place finish in the listed Tourist Mile at Kentucky Downs. Earlier in his career, he won the G1 Gran Criterium and the G1 Estrellas Juvenile, both in Argentina.
Ivar paid $30.80 to win. Favored Analyze It finished eighth of nine, never running better than fifth. See the full chart here.
Quotes from the $750,000 Shadwell Turf Mile (G1), courtesy Keeneland press office
Paolo Lobo (winning trainer of Ivar [BRZ])
On cheering for the horse as he raced down the stretch
“You know how hard it is to win a Grade 1, especially here at Keeneland. We need to celebrate.
“We were very worried about the (outside 11) post position, but his style if you see his races in Argentina, he always comes from off the pace – way off the pace. Today, it worked very well. I was very concerned because of the first turn. Joe (Talamo) rode him 100 percent magnificent.”
Joe Talamo (winning rider)
“Down the backside, he got in such a good rhythm, was so relaxed. Congratulations to Paolo. He did a great job training this horse, (changing) his tactics. When he won at Churchill (in June), he was in front. He took the blinkers off. Just an incredible training job on his part to get this horse to turn off like that. I was all smiles turning for home when I took him out there. He just exploded.”
Joel Rosario (rider of runner-up Raging Bull [FR])
“He ran well. He made a nice run. Too bad we couldn't get to the winner. The winner ran a monster race today. I was by myself in the clear in the back, and he made his move nice. I thought for a second that we were going to get there (for the win), but the winner was too good.”
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