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Zayas Runs Gulfstream Streak To 16 Programs With At Least One Win
Leading jockey Edgard Zayas notched a double-win day Saturday, running his streak to 16 consecutive programs with at least one win at Gulfstream Park.
Zayas scored aboard first-time starter Beastly Speed ($4.60), a Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained 3-year-old son of The Big Beast who drew away to a 4¼-length victory, in Race 4, before riding Dan Hurtak-trained Swoonatra ($10.80) to a front-running triumph in Race 7.
Zayas, who entered Saturday's 11-race program with a 31-percent strike rate during the Sunshine Meet, has enjoyed nine multi-win days during his streak.
“I've been having a lot of support, to be honest. I'm riding a lot of nice horses. I've had a lot of support from my family, my agent and the horsemen, including Saffie. He's been big in my career,” said Zayas, who has enjoyed success in out-of-town engagements on Joseph-trained horses as well. “As long as I get good horse, I've just got to do my job and get it done.”
The 30-year-old Puerto Rico native has ridden 2,171 winners since venturing to Gulfstream in 2012 directly out of Escuela Vocational Hipica, and has won numerous riding titles at Gulfstream Park, Gulfstream Park West, and Calder Race Course.
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Knockemdown Crowned 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover Champion
The Finale Championship of the Retired Racehorse Project's 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, welcomed the five top-placed horses after two days of preliminary competition to compete for additional honors and $100,000 in prize money before an enthusiastic crowd and a worldwide audience watching via livestream.
A panel of judges watched the entire day of competition and ranked the ten discipline winners to determine the overall Thoroughbred Makeover Champion, sponsored by Churchill Downs. When the points were tallied, the honor went to Knockemdown, trained by professional Alison O'Dwyer of Lake Worth, Florida.
Knockemdown is a 4-year-old gelding by American Pharoah out of Ancient Goddess (FR), by Iffraaj (GB), bred in Kentucky by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock. He is unraced but posted his most recent timed work in racing training on December 27, 2021 at Turfway Park.
Knockemdown's route to the Thoroughbred Makeover Champion title and the Carolyn Karlson Trophy took him through Dressage, scoring above 81 other entries to top the preliminary standings. Coming into the Finale on a clean slate, O'Dwyer had the opportunity to showcase more advanced maneuvers of the discipline that is often used as a foundation of training for all equestrian sports, and her decision to showcase the young Knockemdown's introductory lateral movements and counter-canter put them to the top of the standings for the Finale round as well.
“I want to thank Kristen Goncharoff at e5 Racing Thoroughbreds for making the phone call, and Bob [Edwards], the leader of e5, who was looking to rehome this horse,” says O'Dwyer. “Wesley Ward had him in training at Turfway and when he didn't think much of him, they decided to cut his career short as a two-year-old. I'm thankful for the friendships that I've made that trusted me with this horse – Kristen loved this horse as a foal and there was something about his personality and his eye that really spoke to her.”
O'Dwyer admits that she wasn't quite as smitten with Knockemdown on initial appearance, as she typically takes bigger, flashier horses in for resale, and Knockemdown is a 15.2 bay with no markings – but once she took her first ride on the young horse, her opinion changed. “It felt like putting a shoe that's the perfect size,” she describes. “It was a Cinderella moment from the first ride. He's the right size for me, he's the right brain – he's the right everything. It is extra special that he is appreciated here as much as I appreciate him myself.”
The People's Choice Award, sponsored by Achieve Equine, was determined by text-in popular vote open to both in-person and live stream attendees. This award was given to Arklow, trained by Gina Gans, the winner of Field Hunter. Arklow (Arch – Unbridled Empire, by Empire Maker) is a 2014 gelding bred in Kentucky by John R. Penn and Frank Penn; he sold as a yearling for $160,000 at Keeneland September consigned by Penn Sales. He raced for Donegal Racing and Joseph Bulger in a remarkable career that spanned seven seasons, racking up multiple graded stakes wins, three attempts at the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1), and over $3 million in earnings. He won the Field Hunter discipline in both preliminary and Finale rounds.
Thoroughbred Makeover Finale Discipline Winners (in order of go):
Eventing, sponsored by Phoenix Performance Products: Smokeonthehorizon and Jhett Jenkins (professional)
Show Jumper, sponsored by Excel Equine: Limonata and Claudia Dollinger (professional)
Show Hunter, sponsored by Beyond the Wire: Mission Canyon and Chris Bennings
Field Hunter, sponsored by Masters of Foxhounds Association: Arklow and Gina Gans (amateur)
Dressage, sponsored by PTHA's Turning For Home: Knockemdown and Alison O'Dwyer (professional)
Polo, sponsored by United States Polo Association: Phlox and Buck Schott (professional)
Freestyle, sponsored by New Start: Burl and Hamby's Rockin H Ranch (team)
Barrel Racing, sponsored by SmartPak: Balboas Smile and Kaitlyn Aitken (professional)
Competitive Trail, sponsored by Godolphin: Adios Dee Dee and Haley Castleberry (amateur)
Ranch Work, sponsored by Triple Crown Feeds: Into Magarayquaza and Amber Jacobson (professional)
Find full results at TheRRP.org/makeover-results.
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Copper Tax Becomes First Stakes Winner For Darby Dan Farm’s Copper Bullet
Copper Tax made his stakes debut a winning one on Saturday when taking down top prize in the $100,000 Rocky Run Stakes for 2-year-olds at Delaware Park and becoming the first stakes winner for Darby Dan Farm's freshman sire Copper Bullet.
In winning his fourth consecutive race in front-running fashion, Copper Tax set all the pace in the one-mile fixture. He led the field under a strong hold up the backstretch and into the far turn, then drew off from his rivals to score by 6¾ lengths over the muddy (sealed) track.
Owned by Rose Petal Stable and trained by Gary Capuano, Copper Tax was produced from the stakes-placed Majestic Warrior mare Wilhelmina, a half-sister to Venezuelan champion sprinter Strength Mask (VEN). Copper Tax was a $45,000 acquisition at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale.
Copper Bullet, a graded stakes-winning juvenile and multiple graded stakes-placed son of More Than Ready, was a dominating four-length winner of the 2017 Saratoga Special (G2). An impressive eight-length maiden special weight winner at Churchill Downs in just his second career start for Steve Asmussen, Copper Bullet was named a TDN Rising Star off the eye-catching performance. In addition to his sensational juvenile season, in which he also finished second in the Bashford Manor (G3) at Churchill Downs, Copper Bullet went on to place in the Razorback Handicap (G3) behind multiple graded stakes winner Coal Front at Oaklawn Park as a 4-year-old en route to banking $339,345.
Copper Bullet's first three crops are the product of hand-selected matings with strict criteria: age, race record, family, production, pedigree, and conformation. The resulting offspring caught the eye at public auction this year with Copper Bullet's first 2-year-olds commanding up to $275,000, $260,000, and $175,000.
A $200,000 Keeneland September purchase by Winchell Thoroughbreds, Copper Bullet was bred in Kentucky by Dell Ridge Farm.
For more information on Copper Bullet, who will stand the upcoming breeding season for $7,500 S&N, contact Stallion Director Stuart Fitzgibbon at (859) 621-6763 or by email at Stuart@darbydan.com, or visit darbydan.com.
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