Speaktomeofsummer Ready For ‘Ambitious Spot’ In Sunday’s Lake Placid

Stakes-winner Speaktomeofsummer will look to stretch out in distance in taking another crack against graded stakes company as part of a six-horse field of sophomore fillies in Sunday's Grade 2, $150,000 Lake Placid at historic Saratoga Race Course.

Owned by Waterford Stable, Speaktomeofsummer broke her maiden at second asking, posting a three-length score in a one-mile contest in her turf debut in September at Monmouth Park. The Christophe Clement trainee capped her juvenile campaign with a two-length triumph in her stakes debut, earning a 77 Beyer Speed Figure for her win in the one-mile Chelsey Flower over good turf in November at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Off a seven-month layoff, the Summer Front filly made her 3-year-old bow on June 20, running fourth in the Grade 3 Wonder Again at Belmont Park. After identical four-furlong works in 49.20 seconds on Belmont's inner turf, Clement said she is again ready to face high-caliber competition in her first attempt over the Spa's grass.

“It's a bit of an ambitious spot, but she's been working very well so we're giving it a go,” Clement said.

A $135,000 purchase at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale, Speaktomeofsummer will retain the services of jockey Joel Rosario, drawing the inside post.

Trainer Graham Motion has twice won the Lake Placid, capturing the 2009 edition with Shared Account, and last year when Varenka dead-heated the Chad Brown-conditioned Regal Glory. In this year's edition, Motion will saddle a pair of contenders in Cat's Pajamas and Blame Debbie.

Cat's Pajamas, owned by Larkin Armstrong and Jack Swain, transferred to Motion's care after two off-the-board finishes over the main track under Hall of Famer Bill Mott to start her career. Motion switched the Street Sense filly to grass, resulting in back-to-back wins, starting with a 1 1/16-mile route on May 17 at Churchill Downs before besting allowance company by a half-length on June 14 at the same distance over Belmont Park's grass.

“I think being able to stretch her out as a 3-year-old and getting her on the grass has helped her,” Motion said. “She's been impressive in the mornings since we had her. The time off has helped her, too. I think she can handle the mile-and-an-eighth. It's always encouraging when they can come back and duplicate their performances against winners.”

Hall of Famer John Velazquez, a three-time Lake Placid winner who has been aboard for both of her turf wins, will be in the irons again, breaking from the outermost post 8.

Motion will also send out Blame Debbie, who earned graded stakes blacktype to end her juvenile campaign with a third-place effort in the Grade 2 Demoiselle on the main track in December at Aqueduct.

The daughter of Blame made her first four starts on the main track before trying turf or the first time in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks, where she finished 11th on March 7 at Tampa Bay Downs. Dropping down in class, she ran third against allowance company at 1 ¼ miles on June 21 at Belmont, setting her up for another stakes appearance on turf.

“I thought her last race was very impressive against older fillies,” Motion said. “The key with her can be the distance. She likes to go longer and I think she's at her best on the grass.”

Jose Ortiz picks up the mount for the first time, exiting post 2.

Ken Geren's Mirabell Mei, eighth in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks last out, broke her maiden in the race prior, posting a 2 ½-length victory in February at Tampa Bay Downs for trainer John Terranova.

The daughter of Palace Malice, purchased for $100,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September Sale, Mirabell Mei made her first start at the Spa last September, running fifth. She returns to famous track and will have Jose Lezcano pilot her from post 7.

Cindy Hutson and Robert Masterson's Lashara has only three starts to her credit but won at second asking in April at Gulfstream Park before running second to Lake Placid-rival Cat's Pajamas by a half length in an allowance race on June 14.

Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse will see the English-bred daughter of Triple Crown-winner American Pharoah step up to stakes company for the first time, drawing post 3 with Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano.

Rounding out the field is Stunning Sky, sixth last out in the Grade 3 Regret on June 27 at Churchill, for trainer Mike Maker [post 6, Irad Ortiz, Jr.]; Key Biscayne, making her first stakes start in her nine attempts, for trainer Juan Alvarado [post 5, Manny Franco]; and Queens Embrace, a first-time stakes starter for trainer Kathleen O'Connell [post 4, Tyler Gaffalione].

The 37th running of the Lake Placid is slated as Race 9 on Sunday's 10-race card. First post is 1:10 p.m. Eastern. Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports and MSG Networks. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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Taking Stock: Coolmore’s Plundering of British Classics

John Magnier’s Irish-based Coolmore is dominating Britain. That’s not hyperbole, either.

How’s this for an illustration? The Irish entity, which generally campaigns its runners under the various partnership colors of Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, has won an astonishing 25 of the past 49 British Classics over the last decade (see the accompanying charts of the five races), with the G1 St. Leger at Doncaster yet to be contested. And it’s possible that the partners could win that race, perhaps with Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who followed up her win in the G1 1000 Guineas at a mile with an exhilarating nine-length show of stamina in the mile-and-a-half G1 Epsom Oaks.

“[Trainer] Aidan [O’Brien] is thinking of the Yorkshire Oaks for Love and then the Arc at the moment,” a Coolmore spokesperson told me Wednesday, but those plans aside, she must still be considered an outside possibility to contest the final British Classic in September over an extended mile and three-quarters. She obviously handles a mile and a half easily and projects to stay farther, unlike Coolmore’s 2016 Guineas/Oaks winner Minding (Ire) (Galileo), who was cut back in distance after her Oaks. In 1985, Oh So Sharp (Ire) (Kris {GB}) was the last to sweep the “Filly Triple Crown,” and Coolmore has an appreciation for historical accomplishment: in 2012, it attempted the Triple Crown with G1 2000 Guineas and G1 Epsom Derby winner Camelot (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}) but fell just three-quarters of a length short. Nijinsky (Northern Dancer) was the last colt to win the three races in 1970, and he was trained at Ballydoyle in Ireland by Vincent O’Brien, Susan Magnier’s father and John Magnier’s father-in-law. Aidan O’Brien now runs the historic yard for Magnier.

Coolmore has a global presence–the partners’ Maximum Security (New Year’s Day), the U.S. champion 3-year-old colt of 2019 who is co-owned with Gary and Mary West, had been scheduled to return to the races Saturday at Del Mar before the track cancelled its meet until July 24–but Coolmore’s successes in the five British Classics over the last 10 years is unprecedented and is the primary focus here, because any attempt to broaden that scope in this space could lead to vertigo.

There’s a direct correlation between Coolmore’s British Classics haul and its late flagship sire Sadler’s Wells (Northern Dancer), whose two prepotent sons Galileo and Montjeu propelled it into a new stratosphere as their first crops hit the track in the aughts. The former, bred by D. Tsui and John Magnier’s Orpendale, was the first Epsom Derby winner for Coolmore, Sadler’s Wells, and the then-new Ballydoyle trainer Aidan O’Brien in 2001; the latter, bred by Sir J. Goldsmith and trained by John Hammond, was a G1 Prix du Jockey-Club (French Derby) winner in 1999.

Galileo and Montjeu transitioned from Derby winners to sires of Derby winners, and this is probably one reason why Coolmore chases the Classics, particularly the Epsom Derby, with multiple entries and calculated precision. The Derby is, after all, the race from which Galileo graduated to become one of the greatest sires of the sport. He is currently the all-time leading sire of Group 1 winners with 86 and counting to date, and Coolmore no doubt would like to find his successor from the same race, and why not? Galileo, now 22, has five Epsom Derby winners, more than any other stallion, and Montjeu, who died prematurely at age 16 in 2012, is in co-second place with four, and he was on a pace to have more than Galileo before his death. Together Galileo (16) and Montjeu (5, including one through his son Pour Moi {Ire}) account for 21 of Coolmore’s 25 British Classics over the last decade, and several of their Derby-winning sons are young sires at Coolmore.

Galileo was raced by Sue Magnier and Tabor while Montjeu raced for Tabor alone, but since then the Coolmore partnership horses have raced mostly in the names of all three partners, and it’s this group that has made a habit of plundering the British Classics with Aidan O’Brien at the helm from Ballydoyle, where Vincent O’Brien had done the same with horses for Robert Sangster, John Magnier, and others in an earlier era. Since 2012, Ballydoyle has sent out at least one British Classic winner every year, and except for the Andre Fabre-trained 2011 Epsom Derby winner Pour Moi and the 2015 1000 Guineas winner Legatissimo (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), trained by the Magniers’ son-in-law David Wachman, the rest were or are based at Ballydoyle.

Seven Derbys

The Epsom Derby is the most prestigious and sought-after Classic in Europe, as the Gl Kentucky Derby is here, and to win the mile-and-a-half “Blue Riband of the Turf” once is accomplishment enough. Several owners have won the Classic multiple times since Diomed won the first in 1780, a few as many as five times, including five wins each for the current Aga Khan and his grandfather, but wrap your head around this stunning achievement: the Coolmore partnership has won seven of the last 10 renewals, including this year’s race with Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo)–a pacemaker at that, flying unfamiliar gray silks instead of the ubiquitous navy blue or plain pink of Magnier, the orange and blue of Tabor, or the purple and white of Smith. That’s a statement of depth and an embarrassment of riches.

Moreover, as individuals, no one owner has won the race as many times as Susan Magnier and Michael Tabor, who have owned nine winners. Aside from Galileo and Serpentine, they include Anthony Van Dyck (Ire), Wings of Eagles (Fr), Australia (GB), Ruler of the World (Ire), Camelot (GB), and Pour Moi (Ire), plus High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), who won the Derby the year after Galileo did.

Over the last 10 years, the three partners have also won five 2000 Guineas with Magna Grecia (Ire), Saxon Warrior (Jpn), Churchill (Ire), Gleneagles (Ire), and Camelot; six 1000 Guineas with Love, Hermosa (Ire), Winter (Ire), Minding, Legatissimo, and Homecoming Queen (Ire); four Oaks with Love, Forever Together (Ire), Minding, and Was (Ire); and three St. Legers in the past nine years with Kew Gardens (Ire), Capri (Ire), and Leading Light (Ire).

In total, 22 individual horses accounted for these 25 Classics, with Love, Minding, and Camelot the dual winners. As noted earlier and is evident in the charts, most of these Classic winners trace their male lines to Sadler’s Wells through either Galileo or Montjeu, with only three tracing to Danzig and one to Sunday Silence–and three of these have Galileo (2) or Montjeu as their broodmare sires.

Clearly, Coolmore hit three extraordinary gushers with Sadler’s Wells, Galileo, and Montjeu, which it milked to advantage over other big-name European-based outfits, particularly the Maktoums, who’d ignored Coolmore sires for a while, but the 22 Classic winners are also a testament to the organization’s ability to buy, breed, and source top-level talent, something that John Magnier honed a long time ago when he was part of the buying team for Sangster with Vincent O’Brien.

Of the 22, seven were purchased at auction and 15 were either homebreds or bred by various Coolmore partnerships or associates. Coolmore oraganizational captain Paul Shanahan’s Lynch Bages, for example, is breeder or co-breeder of Pour Moi, Capri, and Leading Light.

Other European Classics

I venture here gingerly because I don’t want to drop the mic on you, but Coolmore has also raced six of the past 10 G1 Irish Derby winners, including this year’s winner, Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}), who also was bred by Shanahan and is part of a 2020 Derby double for him as the co-breeder of G1 South Australian Derby winner Russian Camelot (Ire) (Camelot). Both colts are by Montjeu stallions from Danzig-line mares, a version of the Sadler’s Wells/Danzig cross that Galileo has particularly exploited with Danehill and of which Juddmonte’s Frankel (GB) (Galileo) is its greatest expression.

Over the past decade, the Coolmore partners have also had two G1 Irish Oaks winners, Seventh Heaven (Ire) (Galileo) and Bracelet (Ire) (Montjeu); five winners of the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas – Churchill, Gleneagles, Magician (Ire) (Galileo), Power (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), and Roderic O’ Connor (Ire) (Galileo); and five winners of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, including this year’s winner, Peaceful (Ire) (Galileo), plus Hermosa, Winter, Marvellous (Ire) (Galileo), and Misty for Me (Ire) (Galileo).

And in France? The Gurkha (Ire) (Galileo) won the G1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) in 2016, and this year Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) accounted for the G1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks), giving Coolmore a total of six European Classics so far in 2020 with five individual horses: Fancy Blue, Peaceful, Santiago, Serpentine, and Love. Another could be added to this list from the Irish Oaks Saturday.

If you’re still standing, may I suggest a seat?

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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Thoroughbred Makeover Diaries Presented By Excel Equine: First Stitches And First Recognized Event

I've never worked so hard for or gotten my butt kicked so much by anything else in my life. I've also never felt so proud.

Cubbie Girl North, the 4-year-old Thoroughbred filly that I've been retraining with the hope that we'd compete at the Retired Racehorse Project Thoroughbred Makeover, just completed a roller coaster run of five horse shows in six weeks. During this time, I realized the real reason why I've gone through the ups and downs of eventing with a young ex-racehorse. What's ironic is that the reason why I originally began this journey no longer exists because of the postponement of the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover to 2021.

After three schooling shows in Colorado at Pendragon, Mile High, and Sunrise Equine, Cubbie and I were ready to try our first recognized event at the Spring Gulch Horse Trials on July 5. Well, not quite, because the week before at the Sunrise Equine Big Mini Trial we may have broken the record for worst eventing score. Since it was a schooling show, officials decided not to eliminate any horse and rider for refusals at jumps. Cubbie and I were like the golfer whose ball has a magnetic attraction to bunkers, water, and rough.

During our stadium jumping round, Cubbie and I accumulated 36 jumping penalties, the result of nine refusals or rails dropped, plus 120 time penalties, the result of a scrupulous timekeeper that kept the clock running for the five minutes we went beyond the optimum time allowed. Cubbie's nerves were maxed out by the height and positioning of some early jumps to the point where, following a combo, she decided she would not jump anymore, even though we were getting to arguably the easiest and most inviting jump on course. She stopped, went backward, and spun around with the same determination of one of my favorite racehorses, the Australian sprint star Chautauqua, when he decided he wouldn't leave the starting gate at the end of his racing career.

During our cross country round, we added 60 jumping penalties for three refusals, including another epic meltdown at the water. The organizers let us school the water afterward, and I convinced Cubbie to channel her best Michael Phelps as we did laps across it in preparation for the water we'd have to go through a week later at Spring Gulch. Adding some time penalties and our dressage score, we finished on a 266.2. The winner had a 32.8. Eventing, like golf, is won by the lowest score.

The truth is, I was actually quite proud of how we did. I wrote in a previous article for this series that overcoming the mental challenges is harder for athletic ex-racehorses than the physical challenges. Yes, Cubbie threw a few tantrums, but that's inevitable, especially with an opinionated 4-year-old filly.

“She's going to have to do it, and you got her through it,” said my fiancée and trainer, Ashley Gubich of Super G Sporthorses.

Dealing with Cubbie's theatrics is exactly like dealing with a tantrum from a 4-year-old child, except the horse weighs about 1,000 pounds and doesn't understand English. Whenever Cubbie decides to make a scene, it can be terrifying to ride through, especially for someone who's an amateur and only started riding five years ago at the age of 30. The truth is I keep waiting for Ashley to throw in the towel for me and bail me out. But she doesn't, so I keep at it because I won't actually quit myself.

Then, three days before the Spring Gulch Horse Trials, Cubbie gave me seven stitches, the first I've had in my life. It was a during a dressage lesson of all things. She reared up when I asked her not to lock on the bit. When she came down, she crow-hopped, and her head busted open my chin.

“Looks like you and your horse butted heads today,” said Dr. William Boroughf, who kept me in good spirits while stitching the wound.

As comments started popping up after I posted before and after photos to Facebook, I realized how supportive the Thoroughbred community is.

“Battle scars!!!!! Now you['re] officially one of us,” wrote Heather Collins, a race trainer.

“Badge of horsemanship,” wrote Ellen Zachary, a race owner.

With only days until our first recognized event, Ashley stepped in and brought Cubbie back to being a workable horse. There's a language for communicating to horses that she's more proficient in than I. I wrote earlier in this series about the benefits of “Jumping In The Deep End With Lifeguards At The Ready.” Eventing is an individual sport on paper, but it truly takes a team to make a rider and horse successful. That's what Ashley has instilled to our Super G Sporthorses team.

I woke up at 4 a.m. on Sunday, July 5, to feed the horses on our farm, give Cubbie a bath, and make sure our tack was organized in the trailer. Thankfully, no blood had dripped on the brand new black and gold dressage bridle that we used for the first time during our death-defying dressage lesson.

“Hey, the next time you use your fancy dressage bridle, your ride will definitely be better,” said Ashley, always finding those valuable moments to lighten the mood.

I headed to Spring Gulch for a full day of announcing and riding. My favorite equine moments are when I get to announce and compete at the same event. Announcing is where I'm comfortable, and it calms my show anxiety.

If eventing had a “Group of Death” like soccer's World Cup, it was the Open Beginner Novice C division that Cubbie and I were part of at the Spring Gulch Horse Trials. We were Australia going up against Spain, Netherlands, and Chile. Our competition included two other 4-year-old OTTBs, the youngest age at the show, but they were ridden by two upper-level riders. There was Brit Vegas, a finalist at last year's Makeover, riding Mr. Park, a horse I announced in races at Arapahoe Park. There was Dani Sussman, who's competed at the CCI2* level, riding Vera (JC: It's Kisses). And, there was Madeline Backus, who ribboned at the CCI4* Kentucky Three Day Event at the age of 21 in 2017.

Cubbie with Horowitz (L) and Vegas with Mr. Park (R)

Our dressage test was decent, and I love how the judge, Beth Wheeler, summed it up in her comments on our scoresheet, “Promising pair!! Horse has to be more attentive to the aids.”

The stadium jumping course of 11 jumping efforts with a max height of 2-feet-7 was technical, including three lead changes, two bending lines, one combo, and a partridge in a pear tree. We made it all the way around, dropping one rail, a huge improvement from our stadium jumping effort the week before at Sunrise Equine.

Finally, to cross country. To be honest, both Ashley and I didn't think I'd make it through the course of 15 questions that included a ditch and water, the two tinders that have ignited a fire within Cubbie on cross country courses. Adding to the challenge of the ditch was that a new T-log jump was placed four strides before it. Any change to a familiar setting can be alarming for horses.

The T-log-to-ditch combo turned out to be the defining moment of our first recognized event. We started with a refusal at the T-log, as Cubbie weaved from side to side trying to figure out why something so scary looking now appeared in a place she had been several times before. I circled Cubbie back toward the combo.

“You got it, Cubbie,” I said to her. She picked up her knees over the jump. “Alright, let's do the ditch. Come on, Cubbie. Come on! Yeah!” Ashley and the other Super G riders there to support us cheered. The moment of exhilaration over the ditch in this video made the hard work and stitches worth it.

 

The rest of the cross country course was a rush. We cleared the water, opened up to a gallop between fences, and took jumps at stride. We managed to finish our first recognized event. Perhaps we may have placed better and earned a ribbon at the lower Intro level, but I found it more rewarding to complete the Beginner Novice level as part of such a strong group of riders I admire with a 4-year-old filly. I'm incredibly grateful for the special memories from the show.

Being a green rider with a green horse, I now realize and appreciate that the victories are the moments when Cubbie and I are in rhythm. As we continue to progress, these moments will hopefully happen more frequently.

It was exactly one year prior to the date that this article was published that Cubbie stepped off the trailer from Illinois to our farm in Colorado. I didn't know her, she didn't know me, and neither of us knew what we were getting into. I'm getting a bit emotional as I write this, reflecting on how far we've come and that we've done it together.

Cubbie and Horowitz looking determined on cross country

Now, where are we going? When Ashley and I first came across Cubbie's listing on CANTER's website, the destination we set was Lexington, Kentucky for the 2020 Thoroughbred Makeover. Earlier this month, Retired Racehorse Project made the difficult but prudent decision to postpone this year's event to 2021. I was bummed because of how much I've invested in reaching the destination. That's when the strong two-legged and four-legged women in my life taught me a lesson I previously would nod my head to in agreement but never got to practice fully until now.

“You realize nothing about what you and Cubbie are doing changes,” was Ashley's reaction to the news.

I actually get to embrace tennis great Arthur Ashe's famous quote, “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”

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GISW Dinard Euthanized at Old Friends

Grade I winner Dinard (Strawberry Road {Aus}–Daring Bidder, by Bold Bidder) was euthanized at Old friends due to the infirmities of old age. The 32-year-old had been pensioned at Old Friends since 2010.

Bred and campaigned by Allen E. Paulson and trained by Richard Lundy, Dinard captured the 1991 GI Santa Anita Derby and GII San Rafael S. He retired in 1992 with eight starts, four wins and earnings of $590,250.

After retirement, Paulson sent the gelded Dinard to the Kentucky Horse Park with hopes he could be retrained for a second career, but foot and leg injuries prevented it. While at the park he was cared for by Georgetown local Beverly Sharp. Sharp fell in love with Dinard and Paulson gifted him to her on Mother’s Day. He remained with Sharp until 2010.

“Dinard was a great racehorse, a great companion, and a great elder statesman,” said Blowen. “We were proud to have him these 10 years. His kind spirit will be missed by all.”

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