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Next Stop Saratoga For Tom’s D’Etat, Midnight Bisou After Dominating Performances At Churchill Downs

G M B Racing's brilliant $500,000 Stephen Foster (Grade II) winner Tom's d'Etat along with Bloom Racing, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing's ultra-classy $200,000 Fleur de Lis (GII) hero Midnight Bisou both exited Saturday's races at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., in good shape and will head to Saratoga in the coming days for their eight-week meet, according to their respective connections.

“It was just an unbelievable day on Saturday,” trainer Al Stall Jr. said. “To draw off like that, and almost break the track record, was unreal. He ran a sub 36-second final three-eighths. You don't see many route horses in the country that are able to do that, especially as geared down as he was in the final stages.”

Tom's d'Etat cruised to a 4 ¼-length win in Saturday's Stephen Foster, a Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In Classic Division” race for the $7-million Breeders' Cup Classic (GI), which is scheduled for Nov. 7 at Keeneland. His connections will have all Breeders' Cup pre-entry and entry fees covered for the season-ending championship race.

Just one race prior to Tom's d'Etat, 2019 Eclipse Award-winner Midnight Bisou stylishly returned to the winner's circle with an emphatic 8 ¼-length victory in the Fleur de Lis.

“I can't say enough how thankful we are to Jeff Bloom, Sol Kumin and the Allens for keeping this brilliant mare in training for this year,” said Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who had a busy Sunday morning working 13 horses beneath the Twin Spires.

By winning the Fleur de Lis, Midnight Bisou secured a “Win and You're In” berth to the $2-million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (GI) on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. The question remains if she will point toward the Distaff or the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

Asmussen and Stall's string of horses are expected to ship from Churchill Downs to Saratoga in the coming days. With the disrupted racing schedule around the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many trainers and jockeys are opting to remain in Kentucky for the summer and ship to Saratoga as necessary. Jockeys Tyler Gaffalione and Ricardo Santana Jr. are among the local riders expected to ride at Saratoga following Keeneland's Summer Meet which spans July 8-12.

Most of the other jockeys in the Churchill Downs riding colony such as Rafael Bejarano, James Graham, Florent Geroux, Brian Hernandez Jr., Chris Landeros, Corey Lanerie and Julien Leparoux plan to ride the summer at Ellis and ship out of town if necessary.

Many local trainers will keep their string of horses in training at Churchill Downs including typical Saratoga-goers D. Wayne Lukas and Dallas Stewart.

Several of the West-Coast trainers currently stabled at Churchill Downs, including Peter Miller and John Sadler, are planning to return to California for the Del Mar meet.

Chad Brown, who was a new addition to the Churchill Downs backstretch this spring, is planning on remaining stabled in Barn 26 throughout the summer and fall, according to his local assistant Whit Beckman. Brown will still be a very strong presence at Saratoga with the majority of his string based in New York.

The Kentucky racing circuit with shift to Ellis Park on Thursday, July 2-Sunday, July 5. Then, Keeneland will run their abbreviated Summer Meet from Wednesday, July 8-Sunday, July 12 before racing continues throughout the month of July and August at Ellis Park.

Racing at Churchill Downs will return on Tuesday, Sept. 1 for the start of Kentucky Derby Week.

The post Next Stop Saratoga For Tom’s D’Etat, Midnight Bisou After Dominating Performances At Churchill Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Freshman Brody’s Cause Gets First Career Winner

William Thompson Jr.’s Gospel Way (Brody’s Cause) came from off the pace to graduate in his career unveiling at Woodbine Sunday afternoon. Sent off at 24-1 in the five-furlong main track test, the homebred settled in the second flight third early as Dancing Dragon (Old Forestor) established early fractions. Improving his position while two paths wide turning for home, the gelding bore down on the frontrunner through the lane, took over with relative ease and drew off to win by 1 1/4 lengths. The victory represented the first winner for his freshman sire Brody’s Cause (Giant’s Causeway), who won the GI Breeders’ Futurity and GI Blue Grass S. during his racing career. The victor’s dam Bible Belt (Pulpit), a full sister to graded-placed Angel on Watch, is also responsible for Grade III-placed Hardworkcleanlivin (Colonel John) and a pair of Runhappy colts produced over the past two seasons.

5th-Woodbine, C$81,088, Msw, 6-28, 2yo, 5f (AWT), :58.37, ft.
GOSPEL WAY (g, 2, Brody’s Cause–Bible Belt, by Pulpit) Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $31,549. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. O/B-William B. Thompson (VA); T-Nathan Squires.

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New Research Makes Stifle Arthroscopy Easier

Arthroscopic surgery on a horse's stifle is challenging: Current approaches risk both nerve and cartilage damage. However, new research by Drs. H.D. O'Neill and B.M. Bladon offer an alternative arthroscopic entry point for access to the stifle.

In cadaver and clinical studies, the scientists found that the caudal pouches of the lateral femorotibial joint can be accessed arthroscopically in a way that did not threaten damage. The entry point is immediately cranial (toward the head) to the lateral collateral ligament.

Using cadaver limbs held in place to mimic dorsal recumbency with the stifle held in 90-degree flexion, the scientists entered the leg just cranial to the lateral collateral ligament. The arthroscope was then fed along the popliteal tunnel toward the horse's head and then down. Once they had become comfortable with the technique, the scientists completed 38 arthroscopic inspections of caudal lateral femorotibial joints using the new entry point. The doctors were able to see both pouches using the new technique, and no horses experienced complications.

Delayed Midlantic Sale Starts Monday

TIMONIUM, MD – The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, postponed from its traditional May date due to the coronavirus pandemic, kicks off its two-day run at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium Monday morning with bidding scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. A total of 563 juveniles were catalogued for the auction, with 154 listed outs as of Sunday afternoon.

Buyers were out in force on a steamy morning at the sales barns Sunday, with trainers like Barclay Tagg, John Servis, Ron Moquette, Mike Trombetta and Mark Hennig all making the rounds along with bloodstock agents David Ingordo, Dennis O’Neill, Joe Miller, Josh Stevens, Phil Hager, Patrick Lawley Wakelin, Alistair Roden and Patti Miller.

Donato Lanni and owner Michael Lund Petersen who bought the $1.8-million future GI Acorn S. winner Gamine (Into Mischief) at last year’s sale, were out shopping Sunday morning and stopped by the consignment of Bobby Dodd, who sold the record-setting filly in 2019.

Dodd, who returns with a five-horse consignment this year, is hoping for solid sales results despite uncertain conditions around the globe.

“Yesterday traffic [at the barn] was pretty good and today is better,” Dodd said. “I am seeing people today that I didn’t see yesterday, so that’s encouraging. I am hoping and praying it’s going to be good for everybody, but down at OBS [Spring Sale], it was tough. It was either you are all in or not at all. We sold our horses at OBS and just basically got out of the trap, but we didn’t get any cheese. Under the circumstances and the way the world is right now, I think that’s what a person needs to do, unless you are planning on going racing.”

Gamine’s seven-figure price tag was the most ever paid for a horse out of the Midlantic sales ring and highlighted an auction which set records for both gross and average.

“We sold a really nice horse a year ago and everyone is coming back and congratulating us,” Dodd said. “Last year, I really thought that filly was special. Obviously, I didn’t know she was going to bring $1.8 million and I didn’t really know how special she was, but I thought she was a really nice filly. I have some nice horses this year, I don’t honestly think I have one like her. But you never know what’s going to happen-how one is going to bloom.”

Action was constant at Danzel Brendemuehl’s Classic Bloodstock consignment Sunday morning.

“Obviously we are in very difficult times, so it’s very encouraging to see this many people here. We’ve been run off our feet,” Brendemuehl said.

Classic Bloodstock’s main pre-sale attraction is a colt from the first crop of red-hot freshman sire Not This Time (hip 213) who worked in :10 1/5 during last week’s under-tack preview.

“Yesterday we had 60 shows on 213 and probably more–I didn’t record them all because I can’t keep up,” Brendemuehl said.

Asked what she liked about the handsome chestnut, she said simply, “Everything,” before adding, “If you don’t like him, you don’t like horses.”

Brendemuehl purchased the colt for Robert Lambe for $40,000 from Sally Thomas’s consignment at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October Yearling Sale.

“I keep my mares with Sally in Kentucky, so when Sally tells me she likes a horse, I listen,” Brendemuehl said. “My client and I went to get lunch at Ryleigh’s Oyster Bar and all of a sudden there were a bunch of outs and he was coming up, so I called Peter Penny at the Fasig office and told him he had to bid on the horse for me. So we bought him and we named him Mr. Penny. He’s been my favorite horse all year long.”

While declining to speculate on what the strength of the market will be in Timonium, Kip Elser said there were plenty of shoppers around his Kirkwood Stables consignment this weekend.

“Traffic is right about normal-certainly no less,” Elser said. “What that translates to for tomorrow and the next day, I couldn’t begin to say, but so far we are right on par with the last couple of years as far as traffic.”

Elser had planned to offer a group of horses who would gallop at the under-tack show ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale in March, but with that boutique auction cancelled, the group all turned in quarter-mile works last week in Timonium.

“The [Gulfstream] sale was cancelled and the normal progression is that those horses would be breezing by this time of year,” Elser said. “So that’s what we did. We put more bottom in them. We were actually considering going three-eighths here with all of them and just showing the logical progression to get to the races. But the way the track is laid out here, I didn’t think coming right out of the paddock where it is gave them enough of a warm-up to go three-eighths. So we went quarters and galloped out. They were very consistent and did what they were supposed to do. And I hope that people see it as one more step on the way to getting to the races. This would have been our third year doing it. I still like the idea and the program just as much.”

While the recent OBS Spring Sale suffered declines, consignor David Scanlon is looking for increased action in Maryland as buyers adapt to market conditions and take advantage of the geography of an auction held within a few hours drive of several racetracks.

“I am highly optimistic [about the sale],” Scanlon said. “We brought more up here, I thought maybe with the little bit later start, it would give everyone time to get going. After seeing one sale already happen, I think people are going to see it’s a buyers market. Plus, I think because of the location of the sale, people have been able to drive here. So I think it’s going to be ok-as good as it can be everything considered.”

During last year’s Midlantic sale, 326 horses sold for $29,374,000 for an average of $90,104 and a median of $43,000.

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