Robin Goodfellow’s racing tips: Best bets for Tuesday, July 7
Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow dishes out his tips for Tuesday's meetings at Pontefract, Newton Abbot and Leicester.
Indiana Derby Favorite Winning Impression A ‘Dallas Stewart Prototype’
West Point Thoroughbreds president Terry Finley was asked how much he is thinking about the delayed Kentucky Derby with his partnership's 3-year-old gelding Winning Impression, the 3-1 favorite in Wednesday's $300,000, Grade 3 Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino.
“Sure, yeah, we are,” Finley said of the Arkansas Derby fourth-place finisher. “Especially with Dallas Stewart at the helm and the repertoire he has with these kinds of horses.”
That would be distance-thriving horses who come running late to pick up a good part of the pieces while speedier rivals stagger home. Prime examples: Commanding Curve, second in the 2014 Kentucky Derby at 37-1; Golden Soul, second in the 2013 Kentucky Derby at 34-1; Tale of Verve, second in the 2015 Preakness at 28-1. West Point campaigned Commanding Curve, as well as the Stewart-trained Macho Again, second in the 2008 Preakness at 39-1.
“He reminds us a lot of Commanding Curve — just kind of getting there, getting there,” Finley said.
If Winning Impression wins the 1 1/8-mile Indiana Derby, he'll claim one credential that Commanding Curve never achieved: being a stakes-winner. One thing that helps is Winning Impression has more versatility to stay near the early lead if needed, while Commanding Curve was dependent on a fast pace to set up his closing kick.
“Ever since he went two turns, he's been a very consistent horse — and run with the best,” said Jeff Lifson, West Point's executive vice president for Midwest Operations. “He is a Dallas Stewart prototype: Gets better and better and better. He was never a flashy 2-year-old. As soon as he went two turns, it was like, 'This is what I was meant to do.'
“The fun part is looking at the Thoro-Graph (handicapping) sheets. He has a pattern very similar to Commanding Curve. If the sheets are at all predictive, he's going to run massively big at Indiana — if he's getting better, and he seems to be getting better.”
West Point was a minority partner in Always Dreaming, the Todd Pletcher-trained colt who got really good early in his 3-year-old season, carrying his speed to four impressive victories to start off 2017, capped by the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby. He was never the same horse after that.
By contrast, Winning Impression is an example of a horse benefiting from the coronavirus forcing the Kentucky Derby to be postponed from May 2 until Sept. 5.
After a pair of fifth-place finishes sprinting last November, Winning Impression promptly won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race in New Orleans. That was followed by a second and third at the Fair Grounds and a disqualification from first to fifth for interference in an Oaklawn Park allowance race. But his team had seen enough to take the next step.
Winning Impression's stakes debut came on May 2 in the Arkansas Derby, in which he finished fourth by a total of nine lengths at 20-1 odds. The first- and third-place finishers that day, Charlatan and Gouverneur Morris are on the shelf and runner-up Basin is going in Keeneland's Blue Grass Stakes on Saturday.
“He's a nice horse,” said the Louisville-based Stewart. “He ran great at Oaklawn — won and got disqualified but he ran terrific. He ran great in the Arkansas Derby, has trained very consistent and this race will tell us a lot where we're at. He's doing well and he needs to run. We'll see where we're at in September, but right now we're just focused on this race. I think he fits real well in there, and we'll take it from there.”
Julien Leparoux, who rode Winning Impression in the Arkansas Derby and once in New Orleans, has the mount. Winning Impression drew post 9 in the field of ten 3-year-olds.
“It's a good race, it's a legitimate race,” Finley said. “There are no superstars in there. But the horses who figure to run well in here are very, very similar to what we are at this point in their careers. If we run well, we'll have a little stronger circle around the first Saturday in September.”
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Lone Star Cancels Through Week; Melancon Tests Positive for COVID-19
With Lone Star Park officials having little to say about the abrupt shut down of racing after Sunday’s first race, it was unclear when racing would resume at the Dallas area track or if the meet will be canceled.
Citing a conversation with racing secretary Tim Williams, the Daily Racing Form reported Monday that the three days of racing scheduled for this week would not be held.
Lone Star’s decision to stop racing may be related to the news that jockey Gerard Melancon has tested positive for the coronavirus. A regular at Delta Downs and Evangeline Downs, Melancon last rode June 28 on shipper Mocito Rojo (Mutadda) in the Lone Star Mile.
According to multiple reports, a person working in the jockey’s room who was responsible for handling the silks, also tested positive.
After the first race was run Sunday, the rest of the card was canceled. The only explanation was a post on Lone Star’s twitter account that read: “Due to an overabundance of caution and due to the coronavirus, racing for today has been cancelled. Racing will resume on a date to be determined.”
As of deadline for this story, Lone Star had yet to make any announcements concerning the shut down. Lone Star President Scott Wells had not returned phone calls seeking clarification of the situation.
“They had some people at the track test positive and they learned of this Sunday, shortly after the horses came out of the gate for the first race,” said Mary Ruyle, the executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association. “They’ll need to do a good number of tests on people and also do a deep clean and disinfect areas. They are looking at how long that will take.”
With no word out of Lone Star, many trainers were left to wonder if the meet will resume and, if so, when. It is scheduled to conclude Aug. 11.
“You know the racetrack, you hear 100 different things,” trainer Robertino Diodoro said. “But I have been told by my sources that they have every intention of finishing the meet and that right now the target date to resume is the 19th. I’ve been told they will finish the meet. Hopefully, this is nothing more than a hiccup.”
Others weren’t so sure.
“I think that’s a safe bet, that they won’t run again this year,” trainer Karl Broberg said. “When you realize what is happening in Texas and that cases are just going to continue to grow. I’m a pessimist by nature, but that’s where I would put my money. They’re going to have to stay shut because other people are going to test positive.”
Texas has become a hot spot for the coronavirus. According to the New York Times, there were 6,289 new cases of the virus reported Saturday and total coronavirus-related deaths in the state have been 2,667.
According to sources, anyone involved in racing at Lone Star that came in touch with those who have tested positive for the virus will have to self quarantine for 14 days. Indiana Grand announced Monday that any jockeys, exercise riders or grooms who had been working at Lone Star will not be allowed on the racetrack property until after they had self quarantined for 14 days.
Melancon, who is 53, said he is not sure if he got the virus during his trip to Lone Star. He said he began to feel sick the following day, after he returned to Louisiana.
“Nobody knows for sure where I picked this up,” he said.
Melancon said he is feeling better and looking forward to riding again.
“I want to make sure it is safe before I ride again,” he said. “I don’t want to be around people if I am going to be sick. I want to feel 100%. People are scared to death of this.”
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Legacy Equine Academy’s Ronald Mack Working To Increase Diversity, Inclusion In Thoroughbred Racing
Earlier this year in an effort to take meaningful strides toward increasing diversity and inclusion in Thoroughbred racing, the NTRA began working with the Legacy Equine Academy to create a scholarship through the University of Kentucky that would support students of color who show an interest in a career within the equine industry.
The Legacy Equine Academy, which encourages students in grades 6 – 12 to attend college and pursue equine, agriculture, natural resources, and environmental science degrees, is the brainchild of Ronald Mack. Mack recently shared with the NTRA his inspiration behind the Legacy Equine Academy and some of the long-term hopes he has for the program.
Q: What was the impetus behind your decision to found the Legacy Equine Academy?
A: “As a kid, I literally grew up on the grounds of the old Kentucky Association in the Eastend of Lexington, KY. The street I lived on (Aspendale Drive) was an oval. We were aware that our street was an old horse racing track. However, we had no idea that when we played in the field out back, we were playing on the infield of a historically famous racecourse.
“A few years ago, I read a book titled Perfect Timing to my son Stoney. The book is about the life of Isaac Murphy. Many consider Murphy, a Black horseman, the greatest jockey of all time. Inspired by Murphy's story, I began to research Thoroughbred racing in the late 1800s and early 1900s era. The names, stories and accomplishments of hundreds of Black horsemen in and around Lexington, KY may be lost but there is little doubt of their significance to Thoroughbred racing. Through my research, it was obvious to me that the Thoroughbred industry, and indeed, the wealth and success found today would not exist without the Black horsemen's hard work and expertise! These Trailblazers overcame adversity and found great success, which quickly vanished from memory in the early 20th century.
“Much of that history happened where I played as a kid. I wanted to establish a grand event (The Legacy Ball) to pay homage to those Thoroughbred legends. I also founded The Legacy Equine Academy, Inc. to connect African American and other racially diverse youth to their heritage of the Black horseman.”
Q: A major objective of the Legacy program is to encourage and expose students in grades 6-12 to the equine and agricultural industries. What can the Thoroughbred industry do specifically to help advance that objective?
A: “We encourage the Thoroughbred industry to support our efforts! Both financially and by providing resources and industry related activities, such as apprenticeships, job shadowing, tours, etc., to help potential future industry leaders. We welcome opportunities for our LEA students to discover firsthand how equine and agriculture technology relate to the world around them and discover the excitement of academic excellence, leadership, technical development, and teamwork. In turn, LEA provides a 'pipeline' of qualified and certified student leaders for career employment opportunities in the Thoroughbred and Agriculture industries.”
Q: So much of the Thoroughbred industry is rooted in the contributions of the African-American community and people of color. How can the racing community better amplify those voices?
A: “Reaching out and supporting an organization like LEA is an example of how the industry can solidify their commitment of exposing two of the world's most prominent industries to a new audience and a new generation. As an industry partner, LEA fosters a commitment to young people that promotes the Equine and Agriculture industries and career related opportunities it offers. These industries take a special kind of skill, passion and patience. As a community partner, the racing establishment could begin to set a standard throughout the world by exemplifying the importance of greater professional workforce racial diversity.”
Q: What has been the most rewarding aspect of your work with the students in the Legacy program?
A: “To experience the moment when a young person has a 'discovery' of new ideas and opportunities as a result of our program makes it worth the hard work, commitment and dedication to the LEA mission. As I mentioned before, bridging the rich heritage of the Black Horsemen to today's standards in the industries they help build, has been a mission that, hopefully, will become my 'Legacy'.”
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