6th-Gulfstream, $73,420, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($62,500), 3-2, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:22.47, ft, 1/2 length. KINGSBARNS (c, 4, Uncle Mo–Lady Tapit {GSP}, by Tapit), last year's GII Louisiana Derby winner, made his return to the races Saturday off nearly a nine-month layoff. A player on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, the son of Uncle Mo wound up 14th behind Mage (Good Magic) under the TwinSpires and finished his 3-year-old season beaten just a neck as the heavy favorite in the Pegasus S. at Monmouth June 17. Confidently bet at 3-5 in his first trip back to Gulfstream since breaking his maiden in Jan. 2023, Kingsbarns was outrun by much of the field through the opening half mile in :44.52 as Vivir Con Alegria (Chi) (Flyer {Chi}) led. The pace began to catch up to the frontrunner and Kingsbarns swung off the turn three wide with a clear path to go by, doing so inside the final sixteenth to pick up the half-length win. Vivir Con Alegria held second at odds of 12-1. An $800,000 2-year-old buy for Spendthrift Farm, Kingsbarns is out of a half to GISW Gozzip Girl (Dynaformer). Lady Tapi's now 2-year-old Gun Runner colt sold as a yearling for $650,000 at Keeneland last September. She foaled a Munnings filly in 2023 and visited Not This Time for this year. Sales History: $250,000 Ylg '21 FTSAUG; $800,000 2yo '22 FTFMAR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 6-4-1-0, $731,100. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Parks Investment Group, LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher.
Last year's GII Louisiana Derby winner #5 KINGSBARNS ($3.20) made his return to the races a winning one, getting up in the nick of time to win race 6 at Gulfstream Park.
Trainer John Size has won the Hong Kong Classic Cup, the second leg of the 4-year-old Triple Crown, no fewer than four times and he'll saddle two of the top fancies as he looks for his first victory in the race since Sun Jewellery (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) in 2011 Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Helios Express (Aus) (Toronado {Ire}) is the lone member of the 14-strong field rated in triple figures (102), has won six of his eight lifetime starts and three of his last four. Drawn neatly in gate two Sunday, the bay was impressive in defeating Class 2 rivals over a mile Jan. 7 and backed up the performance with a 1 3/4-length defeat of Helene Feeling (Ire) (Sioux Nation) and a running-on Star Mac (Aus) (Heroic Valour {Aus}) in a slowly run renewal of the Hong Kong Classic Mile four weeks back. The 1800 metres of Sunday's test is as far as he's been, and he'll need to switch off better if he is to see it out, his connections admit.
Size said: “We're trying to adapt to a distance and to a tempo, which always is an issue for the jockeys who manage the horse through the race, so it depends on the circumstances on the day and what sections they run during the race. So far, he's been okay.”
Size's second entry, Ensued (Lemon Drop Kid), will look to become the first US-bred to take the Classic Cup since Zaidan (Street Cry {Ire}) back in 2012. Placed twice from three overseas runs for James Fanshawe, the bay gelding broke his maiden on local debut over 1800 metres last October and–equally unusually–already owns two victories over the BMW Hong Kong Derby trip of 2000 metres. A horse that grinds it out, he just missed in Class 2 over the metric 10 furlongs, but tries restricted company for the first time in Hong Kong.
“He's been quite unusual the way he came into Hong Kong and won immediately at a distance, that doesn't happen too often so he's sort of stamped himself as one who has adapted to Hong Kong quite quickly,” Size said. “[Being] just a little bit one-paced is probably the chink in his armour, he just doesn't have enough acceleration. But, with that, as long as he's running in a forward position and running freely, that's okay.”
Two other American-breds are rough chances, Chancheng Glory (Mor Spirit) and Unbelievable (Justify).
Chill Chibi (NZ) (Wrote {Ire}) posted four straight wins over the course of last season and this season at Happy Valley before having the streak snapped by subsequent G3 January Cup H. hero Happy Together (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) Dec. 20. Having missed the Classic Mile via a minor setback, he makes his Sha Tin debut Sunday.
Owned in partnership by Woodford Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds and Chris Larsen, SEDONA (Curlin) debuts Sunday at Gulfstream Park for trainer Shug McGaughey. The full-sister to MGSW/GISP and $1.5m FTSAUG yearling First Captain nearly topped 2022's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale when selling for $2,000,000. Dam America, herself a graded stakes winner and dual Grade-I placed, last went through the auction ring late last year at FTKNOV but failed to meet her reserve at $1,200,000. She also RNA'd for $3.1m at FTKNOV back in 2019. The family has produced plenty of pricey horses including America's half-sister Paris Bikini (Bernardini) who brought $1.95m at FTKNOV in 2020 and that mare's daughter, GISW Paris Lights (Curlin), who went to Spendthrift Farm on a final bid of $3.1m at KEENOV in 2021. TJCIS PPS
5th-FG, $57K, MSW, 3yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 3:45 p.m.
Spendthrift homebred Wine and Waves (Vino Rosso), running for Albert Stall, Jr., debuts on the grass Sunday in New Orleans. A daughter of MGSW/GISP Malibu Pier, she is a half to SW and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf runner up Coasted (Tizway) who went the way of Katsumi Yoshida for $1.3m at FTKNOV in 2017 and produced Japanese GSW Danon Beluga (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}, runner up in last year's G1 DP World Dubai Turf. Malibu Pier is additionally responsible for MGSP Malibu Stacy (Tizway). Wine and Waves drilled four furlongs in a near-bullet :47 4/5 (2/54) Feb. 22 in preparation for her debut. TJCIS PPS
Charlie Appleby, runaway leading trainer this season at Meydan by both earnings ($8,915,500) and percentage of wins (40%) amongst those conditioners with more than a handful of runners at the meet, got his third winner on the Super Saturday card with LEGEND OF TIME (GB) (c, 3, Sea The Stars {Ire}-Kissable {Ire}, by Danehill Dancer {Ire}) in the Listed Jumeirah Classic sponsored by Arabian Adventures. His earlier wins on the evening came with Bold Act (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) in the G2 Dubai City of Gold and with Cinderella's Dream (GB) (Shamardal) in the Listed Jumeirah Guineas. All three of the winners are Godolphin homebreds.
Perfect in his three starts at Meydan, Legend Of Time emerged from the early scrum in an eager third and had to be hard held by jockey William Buick. Quickly settling into a comfortable spot against the rail with cover just behind the leading duo of Athan (Arg) (Orpen) and Musical Act (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), Buick bided his time with a clearly loaded mount until the straight loomed. With little visible effort, Legend Of Time tipped out and around Athan as Musical Act floated wide. Legend Of Time already found the front before Buick encouraged him with hands and heels and was a facile winner despite Musical Act finding more and briefly looking for a battle until Legend Of Time kicked clear by 4 3/4 lengths. Like the winner, Musical Act is a Godolphin homebred trained by Appleby. Athan held for third as none of the others factored at the finish. The final time for the 1800 metres was 1:49.83.
Legend Of Time has been steadily building his CV, having won his debut at Haydock last fall. Off the board when trying the G3 Tattersalls S. at Newmarket three weeks later, he was put away before reemerging in Dubai to win conditions events Jan. 5 and Feb. 2, going 1400 meters and 1600 meters, respectively.
“He's won the series now and probably 1800 metres is more to his liking,” said Buick. “He's an exciting horse for the rest of the season. The American Turf Derby series over there might suit him.”
Appleby's exacta in the Jumeirah Classic mirrored his success in the race in 2023, when he sent Naval Power (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), One Nation (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), and Highbank (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) to fill out the trifecta. He only had the two entrants this year.
Legend Of Time is the 117th black-type winner worldwide for Gilltown Stud's all-conquering Sea The Stars (Ire). With the Jumeirah Classic winner, the remarkable sire of 70 group winners now has two stakes winners out of daughters of Danehill Dancer and an additional two out of daughters of that one's sire, Danehill. The late Danehill Dancer has 168 stakes winners as a broodmare sire.
Kissable (Ire), dam of Legend Of Time and herself a listed American stakes winner who also placed in the G1 Moyglare Stud S., is the dam of G1 Qatar Prix de Royallieu winner Loving Dream (GB) (Gleneagles {Ire}) and additional American stakes winner and Grade I stakes-placed Amandine (GB) (Shamardal). Her 2022 Pinatubo (Ire) colt died as a yearling and she produced a Night Of Thunder (Ire) filly last year. Her granddam, high class English runner Eva Luna (Alleged), produced multiple Group 1 winner Brian Boru (GB) (Sadler's Wells), global multiple group winner and multiple top-level placer Sea Moon (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}), and the unraced Soviet Moon (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), dam of G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe/G1 Espom Derby winner Workforce (GB) (King's Best). Click for the ERA chart and video.
JUMEIRAH CLASSIC SPONSORED BY ARABIAN ADVENTURES-Listed, AED800,000, Meydan, 3-2, 3yo, 9fT, 1:49.83, gd.
1–LEGEND OF TIME (GB), 121, c, 3, by Sea The Stars (Ire) 1st Dam: Kissable (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire) 2nd Dam: Kitty O'Shea (GB), by Sadler's Wells 3rd Dam: Eva Luna, by Alleged 1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. (150,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-Godolphin (GB); B-Lordship Stud & Sunderland Holding Inc (GB); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. AED480,000. Lifetime Record: 5-4-0-0, AED795,989.
2–Musical Act (Ire), 121, g, 3, Dark Angel (Ire)–Poetic Charm (GB), by Dubawi (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby. AED160,000.
3–Athan (Arg), 131, c, 3, Orpen–Athania (Arg), by Pure Prize(GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Gulf Racing Club LLC; B-Carampangue (ARG); T-Fawzi Nass. AED80,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, 2 1/4, 1.
Also Ran: Quartier (Uru), Whathappensinvegas (Ire), Tohoku, Acclaim To Royalty (Ire). Scratched: Drink Dry (Ire).
