Author: News

Bernhards’ Long-Term Plans for Pin Oak Could be Closer Than They Realize

When Jim and Dana Bernhard purchased Pin Oak Stud last fall, the plan was always to return stallions to stand at the historic property and, while that idea may have been on the back burner before, the heat may be turned up a bit now after the couple's Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) won the GI Haskell S. Saturday at Monmouth Park.

“Jim and Dana Bernhard are on cloud nine,” Pin Oak's Clifford Barry said Monday. “I think they can't believe it. I have spoken to them multiple times and they are some kind of excited.”

While Barry would not commit to the newly minted Grade I winner standing at Pin Oak, he did admit the sophomore was an extremely attractive option to stand in Kentucky.

“He's a very, very important young horse at this point, there's no doubt about it,” Barry said. “He's a son of Candy Ride out of an Uncle Mo mare, he's such an outcross to a lot of mares here in Central Kentucky right now. Obviously, he's a horse with lots of speed, breaks his maiden going six furlongs, second in the GII San Felipe and then comes back and wins the Haskell in his fourth start in what was probably one of the strongest Haskells in several years.”

While the Bernhards, advisor Matt Weinmann and trainer Richard Mandella are still to discuss options for the colt's next race and how best to get to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita in November, Barry said the current plan is to race Geaux Rocket Ride at four.

“I think the plan is to race him in his 4-year-old year, just talking to Jim and Dana this morning,” Barry said. “He's a lightly raced horse at this point and you hope he's got a really, really bright future ahead of him on the racetrack.”

As for his future beyond that, Barry said, “I think it would be premature to say he will stand at Pin Oak. I think it would be unfair on the horse to say that. But definitely Jim and Dana have had dreams of standing stallions here for sure. I think when they bought the farm, that was very much a focus on what they were thinking. Obviously, Pin Oak stood stallions–Maria's Mon, Peaks and Valleys, Sky Classic. We are very well known for standing stallions, so it won't be anything unusual to stand stallions here and it won't be unusual to take in partners at that time. We had some very loyal partners in all our stallions here.”

Barry added, “We're just excited that we even have a horse to be thinking in that way for sure. I don't think anybody was thinking to come up with a horse this quickly. Two years ago, Geaux Rocket Ride was bought as a birthday present and lo and behold, here we are after winning the Haskell. Everybody dreams those things, but you know how dreams in this game don't always turn out.”

The post Bernhards’ Long-Term Plans for Pin Oak Could be Closer Than They Realize appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Sniff Test: Horses Can Discriminate Between Scents Of Joy And Fear

A horse's sense of smell is incredibly keen, often alerting them to any sign of danger before it can be seen. Researchers in France, led by Plotine Jardat, sought to determine whether horses could differentiate human emotion by smell, as well.

To test the theory, the scientists created a habituation-discrimination test, which presents an odor in two successive trials, then presents that odor and a new, novel odor simultaneously. Researchers expect the duration of sniffing to decrease in the first phase, called the habituation phase, then increase when introduced to the new odor in the discrimination phase.  

During the test, the scientists observed whether a horse preferred to use an ear, eye, or nostril to evaluate the sample. Auditory and vision are contralateral, meaning they might look or hear out of the left eye or ear, but the input is processed on the right side of the brain. Smell is ipsilateral, meaning it occurs on the same side of the body. 

Previous studies have shown that domestic mammals use the right brain hemisphere for negative or intense stimuli and the left hemisphere for familiar or positive stimuli. 

The team used 30 Welsh mares to see whether they could discriminate between human scents related to joy or fear. They collected sweat via cotton pads placed in the armpits of 18 women and 6 men who had been shown a 20-minute video that encouraged fear or joy. One day later, the video viewing was repeated. Participant pads and shirts were then frozen in air-tight bags for up to six weeks; they were thawed at room temperature before the study began.

Once the samples were unfrozen, they were presented to the horses on a 5-foot pole so there was no co-mingling of scents. Three pads of one scent (joy or fear) and one of the opposite scent were used in total. The first odor was offered twice (habituation), then the same odor and a novel odor were offered simultaneously (discrimination), 20 inches apart.

The results show that horses used their left nostril more than their right during the habituation phase, which indicated that the scent was familiar or positive. During the discrimination phase, horses used their right nostril more, indicating a negative or intense stimuli. 

The researchers concluded that horses can discriminate between human odors related to fear or joy, and that they can emotionally respond to the scents. They feel this information may affect how horses interact with their owners, riders or caretakers. 

Read more at EquiManagement.

The post Sniff Test: Horses Can Discriminate Between Scents Of Joy And Fear appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Dark Hollow Farm’s Honor A. P. Colt Wins 89th Annual Maryland Yearling Show

David and JoAnn Hayden sent another strong contingent to the 89th Annual Maryland Horse Breeders Association Yearling Show on Sunday, July 23, at the Timonium Fairgrounds horse show ring in Timonium, Md.

They came away winning two of the four classes and the top prize with their Honor A. P. colt, who was awarded the grand champion trophy by this year's judge, trainer Ned Allard.

Said Allard of his picks for champion and reserve champion, Ann Jackson's chestnut colt by Holy Boss: “When you ask a trainer to look at horses, he's looking for a good racehorse. They have to be good movers and have a good walk. You can accept some flaws but these two seemed to be pretty clean with good walks. They stood out.”

The grand champion looks very much like his sire, and to Allard “has that race horse look.” Out of the Not For Love mare Flit, the dark bay blaze-faced February foal is a fourth-generation homebred for the Haydens' Dark Hollow Farm, going back to foundation mare Safely Home, the dam of Hall of Famer and Eclipse Award winner Safely Kept. Flit is a half-sister to stakes winners O Dionysus and Joy, also show participants.

In the name of Dark Hollow Farm, the Haydens have won 16 classes (solely or in partnership), since 1989, and sent out grand champions in 2009 and 2014. Their second winner this year came out of Class III, a Golden Lad filly out of Bread and Butter (by Pure Prize), who was herself a class winner in 2012.

It was the second year in a row that Dark Hollow Farm has produced the Yearling Show champion – Ellen Charles' Hillwood Stable mares reside at the Upperco, Md., farm, their offspring are born and raised there and, as yearlings, are prepped for the show. Charles' Bandbox colt took top honors in 2022.

“Everyone at the farm really work their butts off,” said David Hayden. “They get all the credit. They do everything that needs to be done to get them there in good order.”

A total of 60 yearlings were judged and are now eligible for the $40,000 premium award which is split annually, with $20,000 going to the exhibitors of the four show contestants who earn the most money as 2-year-olds during 2024, and another $20,000 divided among the exhibitors of the four highest-earning 3-year-old runners the next year.

Holy Boss, who stands at Anchor and Hope Farm in Port Deposit, Md., was the recipient of the Northview Get-of-Sire trophy as the top Maryland sire of the show. In two classes he had a total of three ribbon winners, including the reserve champion.

Complete results follow:

Class I: For colts and geldings foaled in Maryland, the produce of mares covered in Maryland (12 exhibited):
1. ch.c., 6/1/22, Holy Boss—Barouchka, by Not For Love. Owned and bred by Ann B. Jackson, White Hall, Md. 2. BISHOP, dk.b./br.c., 3/7/22, Mosler—Belle Vlada (Ire), by Kheleyf. Owned and bred by Robert Atkinson and Mary Atkinson, Bel Air, Md. 3. ch.c., 3/25/22, Golden Lad—Corinnaise, by Corinthian. Owned and bred by BTR Racing Inc., Clarksville, Md. 4. JOHNJACKJIMJAYE, ch.g., 4/20/22, Divining Rod—Parade of Colors, by Leading the Parade. Owned and bred by John E. Williamson III, Reisterstown, Md. 5. b.c., 4/15/22, Great Notion—Last Love, by Not For Love. Owned and bred by Wendy Komlo and Drew Komlo, Derwood, Md.

Class II: For colts and geldings foaled in Maryland, the produce of mares covered in states other than Maryland (12 exhibited):
1. dk.b./br.c., 2/25/22, Honor A. P.—Flit, by Not For Love. Owned and bred by Dark Hollow Farm, Upperco, Md. 2. b.c., 1/29/22, Bolt d'Oro—Lunar Rille, by English Channel. Owned and bred by Country Life Farm and Lunar Rille LLC, Bel Air, Md. 3. FAROOQ, ch.c., 4/13/22, Maclean's Music—Congaree Princess, by Congaree. Owned and bred by Daniel E. Marconi, Mount Airy, Md. 4. b.c., 4/24/22, Catalina Cruiser—Cat Charmer, by Storm Cat. Owned and bred by Dark Hollow Farm, Upperco, Md. 5. dk.b./br.c., 2/23/22, Practical Joke—Fancy Love, by Not For Love. Owned and bred by John C. Davison, Baltimore, Md.

Class III: For fillies foaled in Maryland, the produce of mares covered in Maryland (20 exhibited):
1. b.f., 3/27/22, Golden Lad—Bread and Butter, by Pure Prize. Owned and bred by Dark Hollow Farm, Upperco, Md. 2. GOGO BOOTS, b.f., 3/9/22, Eclipticalspraline—Another Cougar, by With Distinction. Owned by Mellissa Perrin Keithly, Buxton, Maine. Bred by Maria M. Haire. 3. TWOS THE BOSS, ch.f., 2/22/22, Holy Boss—Fingerpaint, by Union Rags. Owned and bred by Designated Hitters Racing, Ellicott City, Md. 4. RAVEN DANCE, ch.f., 2/20/22, Holy Boss—Bekki's Dance, by Dance With Ravens. Owned and bred by Dr. Ronald Harris Parker, Long Beach, Calif. 5. dk.b./br.f., 5/6/22, Mosler—Rotate, by Orb. Owned and bred by Abele B. Dilschneider, St. Louis, Mo.

Class IV: For fillies foaled in Maryland, the produce of mares covered in states other than Maryland (16 exhibited):
1. dk.b./br.f., 4/3/22, Exaggerator—High Tolerance, by Louis Quatorze. Owned by Alison P. Delgado, Upperco, Md. Bred by Alison P. Delgado and Sabrina L. Moore. 2. dk.b./br.f., 2/27/22, Honor A. P.—Madison Avenue, by Quality Road. Owned and bred by Dark Hollow Farm, Upperco, Md. 3. gr./ro.f., 4/11/22, Liam's Map—Missy Rules, by Peace Rules. Owned and bred by Country Life Farm and Missy Rules LLC, Bel Air, Md. 4. b.f., 2/12/22, Twirling Candy—Safe Journey, by Flatter. Owned and bred by Dark Hollow Farm, Upperco, Md. 5. dk.b./br.f., 3/29/22, Maclean's Music—Bridled Assurance, by Unbridled's Song. Owned and bred by Hillwood Stable LLC, Washington, D.C.

Champion: dk.b./br.c., 2/25/22, Honor A. P.—Flit, by Not For Love. Owned and bred by Dark Hollow Farm, Upperco, Md.

Reserve Champion: ch.c., 6/1/22, Holy Boss—Barouchka, by Not For Love. Owned and bred by Ann B. Jackson, White Hall, Md.

The post Dark Hollow Farm’s Honor A. P. Colt Wins 89th Annual Maryland Yearling Show appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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