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Xigera Overhauls Pacesetter Heavenly Sunday Late For Tepin Win

Rigney Racing's Xigera got past Heavenly Sunday in deep stretch to win Saturday's 4th running of the $225,000 Tepin Stakes at Ellis Park.

Xigera, named after a safari in Africa, covered the one-mile distance in 1:35.37 over turf rated as good. The now three-time winner is trained by Phil Bauer and was ridden to victory by Julien Leparoux.

Heavenly Sunday was sent to the early lead under jockey Florent Geroux and completed a pedestrian opening quarter-mile of :24.01. Leparoux positioned Xigera in third early, to the inside of Santa Fe Gold. Up the backside, Leparoux and Xigera began to get closer to Heavenly Sunday, who completed a half-mile in :47.79. Leparoux tipped Xigera in the two-path as the field turned for home while third-place Safeen attempted to get into the mix to the inside of Heavenly Sunday. In deep stretch Xigera stuck her nose in front of Heavenly Sunday and kicked on for a half-length win.

“We loved this filly since she came back to the track this year,” Leparoux said. “She's been training super and has been more mentally focused this year. Today, she put me into the race while being relaxed, and I think that goes into her improved maturity this year.”

“In last year's Breeders' Cup (when she ran 14th in the Juvenile Fillies [G1]), it was one of the most disappointing days for our outfit,”
Bauer said. “We had to take a step back and regroup. That meant turning her out and giving her time to grow up. She filled out but also improved mentally. As soon as she got back to the barn she kept doing everything right. Hopefully she'll continue this march forward.”

Xigera, who returned $4.16 for the win, is a 3-year-old daughter of Nyquist out of the Black Tie Affair mare Argent Affair. She was bred in Kentucky by Cedar Hill LLC.

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Bango Goes Wire To Wire To Take Kelly’s Landing

Tamaroak Partners' homebred Bango added to his already impressive resume by taking a field of six sprinters wire to wire in Saturday's $225,000 Kelly's Landing (Listed) at Ellis Park.

Bango, a 6-year-old homebred son of Congrats, boosted his resume to 32-13-4-2 with earnings of $1,275,811.

With the early scratch of Fortin Hill from the rail, Bango and jockey Tyler Gaffalione broke from the inside post. Gaffalione sent Bango to the lead, a position he hasn't been in since July 24, 2022 when he finished sixth after setting the early fractions of the Jeff Hall Memorial.

Up the backside, Bango clipped off an opening quarter-mile fraction of :22.29 with Marsalis and jockey Joel Rosario applying mild pressure to his outside. As Bango entered the stretch, Marsalis began heavily pressuring Bango on his outside while Miles ahead started to close to his inside. Bango was determined on the lead and never let any of his rivals by to score a half-length victory.

“The credit goes to Greg (Foley) and his entire team for having this horse ready to go all the time,” Gaffalione said. “We broke from the inside but he broke on top today. I just let him settle since he broke on top and let him do his thing. Up the backside he had his ears up like he was waiting for horses. He hasn't really been in that position before. In the stretch when the field started closing ground he kept digging in and wasn't going to let anyone by.”

“The money spends the same at Ellis as it does at Churchill,” Foley said. “We'll just have to get that all-time winning victory at Churchill next time. He's still one away (of tying Ready's Rocket all-time win mark of 11 Churchill Downs wins while racing from 2005-2012 at the Louisville track). Don't think I'm not thinking about it every day. This horse is very special to us. He's part of a great breeding program by Fred and Debbie Schwartz (of Tamaroak Partners). I trained his mom (Josaka, by Smart Strike) and have a 2-year-old brother of his in the barn that I love. I hope he can be half as good as his older brother. It was great to win this race today. Bango showed a slightly new dimension being on the lead, but it didn't seem to bother him any.”

Kentucky-bred Bango completed the 6½-furlong distance of the Kelly's Landing in 1:15.02 over a fast track. He returned $4.30 for the win.

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Fev Rover Denies Moira In Nassau, Caps Three Graded Wins For Casse On Canada Day

Irish-bred Fev Rover provided trainer Mark Casse with a Canada Day graded stakes hat trick after winning the one-mile $175,000 Nassau (G2) for older fillies and mares Saturday afternoon at Woodbine.

Making her fourth consecutive start on the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, Fev Rover watched from midpack as longshot Sister Lou Ann grabbed the early advantage. Scotish Star sat second with Sweet Enough positioned third and 4-5 choice Moira, Canada's reigning Horse of the Year, fourth through an opening panel over yielding turf in :24.34.

It was status quo among the top four after a half in :48.50, while Patrick Husbands, aboard Fev Rover, was unhurried at the back of the pack in ninth.

Poised to the outside in seventh entering the turn for home, Fev Rover got her cue and responded with an explosive turn of foot, striking front and then holding a half-length lead at Robert Geller's stretch call.

At the wire, the 5-year-old daughter of Gutaifan out of Laurelita, by High Chaparral, was 4¼ lengths in front of Moira, who finished 1 ½ lengths ahead of Millie Girl. Devil's Bit was fourth.

Eminent Victor, Scotish Star, Purrfect, Sweet Enough, and Sister Lou Ann rounded out the field.

The final time was 1:40.03, the result of a heavy downpour in the lead-up to the race.

“I was on the best side of the track on the wide outside and those guys keep on rolling, rolling, rolling,” said Husbands. “My horse enjoyed it on the wide outside. I'm just thinking just cut corners, cut corners, then open her up.

“You get to ride good horses, they make you look good. You can do what you want to do. The race went well for me and I'm happy for Mark and the owner.”

Bred by Manister House Stud, the bay mare, who endured a rough trip in her previous race, when she finished fourth but was elevated to third in the E.P. Taylor (G1) in October, is now 4-4-2 from 15 starts.

Owned by Tracy Farmer, who acquired Fev Rover for $971,704 at the 2021 Tattersalls December Mares Sale, the bay mare paid $9.10 for the win.

Casse took three of the five Woodbine graded stakes on Saturday. Earlier in the card, Solo Album romped in the $150,000 Selene (G3) and Lucky Score won the $200,000 Highlander (G2). He also won the fourth race with Queen Judith.

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CHRB Reports Safety Measures Continue To Protect Horses

California horse racing again experienced a significant decline in the number of horses that died from injuries suffered during racing and training at the state's facilities during the 2022-23 fiscal year that ended June 30, the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) said in a press release on Saturday.

A total of 26 died last year as a result of musculoskeletal injuries that occurred while racing or training, compared with 39 the previous year. For context, approximately 30,000 race starts and far in excess of 100,000 workouts occur each year from 8,000 to 10,000 horses at CHRB regulated facilities.

“That's still too many fatalities, but it shows that all of the new regulations, policies and procedures that that we've introduced in cooperation with the industry have had a significant effect,” said CHRB Chairman Greg Ferraro. “Our efforts are focused primarily on preventable injuries, and that's what the numbers reflect. I don't know of any racing jurisdiction in the country that even comes close to matching this effort or result.”

In the interest of full transparency, the CHRB also tracks fatalities caused by any non-exercise-related catastrophic injury. The most common cause of death in this other group is gastro-intestinal diseases, such as colic, colitis, and enteritis, followed by respiratory disease. Unfortunately, the number of “other” deaths increased last year, and those 43 deaths, coupled with the 26 due to musculoskeletal injuries, brought the total to 69, or three more than the 66 from the previous year.

“I've considered several times the idea of not counting other deaths, the type that occur among horse populations anywhere in the world, including the popular riding stables and in the wild, but I've always decided that full transparency is the best way to go,” said CHRB Executive Director Scott Chaney.

Those 43 other deaths occurred despite care and treatment by on-site veterinarians and specialized equipment located in stable areas.

“Six of those horses were transported to the veterinary hospital at the University of California, Davis, as well as other local referral hospitals, where experts did their best to save them,” said Dr. Jeff Blea, the CHRB equine medical director. “Illnesses such as severe colic, advanced neurologic cases, and obscure medical conditions, sometimes just are not treatable, as animal and horse owners throughout the world know from personal experience.”

For further context, equine fatalities at CHRB-regulated facilities have declined by 54 percent since 2019, including the “other” category.

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