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Ashland Winner Speech Heading Back To California To Train For Kentucky Oaks

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables' Speech is scheduled to return to Del Mar on Monday following her three-length victory in Saturday's $400,000 Central Bank Ashland (G1) at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky.

The victory earned Speech 100 qualifying points toward the $1.25 million Kentucky Oaks (G1) to be run Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs. Speech has 160 points and ranks second in points for the Oaks that is limited to the top 14 point earners to pass the entry box.

Speech gave trainer Michael McCarthy his first Keeneland stakes victory. McCarthy watched the victory from Del Mar, where an hour and a half later he won the third race.

“Justin Curran was deputizing on my behalf and was very pleased with them (Speech and third-place Toyota Blue Grass-G2 finisher Rushie) this morning,” McCarthy said via text.

Jim and Donna Daniell's Rushie is scheduled on the Monday flight to Del Mar.

McCarthy now has eight weeks to get ready to return to Churchill, where he spent several meets as an assistant to Todd Pletcher before going out on his own.

“Most likely both will have a few works here at Del Mar before deciding on a Churchill Downs arrival date,” McCarthy said about Speech and Rushie.

Rushie is not Triple Crown nominated, and plans are uncertain for the colt, who has picked up 40 Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the Run for the Roses on Sept. 5.

“Nothing is set in stone for Rushie,” McCarthy said. “There are plenty of options.”

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What’s in a Name: Enola Gay

Saturday’s GII Appalachian S. winner Enola Gay and her dam Dakota Queen carry names of WW2 flying machines (with parallel connections to family females). Enola Gay is the world-famous nickname of the B-29 aircraft who dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945 (mother of the pilot, Paul Tibbets, was Enola Gay Tibbets), while Dakota Queen was the Italy-based B-24 bomber valiantly captained by George McGovern in WWII; he made a dangerous emergency landing, saving his crew aboard the badly damaged plane, which was named after his wife Eleanor. Both Tibbets and McGovern were Dakotans. George McGovern was a long-serving senator for South Dakota and unsuccessful presidential candidate against Richard Nixon in 1972. Time is so kind to significant names.

APPALACHIAN S. PRESENTED BY JAPAN RACING ASSOCIATION-GII, $150,000, Keeneland, 7-11, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:33.97, fm.
1–ENOLA GAY, 118, f, 3, by Uncle Mo
                1st Dam: Dakota Queen, by War Front
                2nd Dam: Moon Queen (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells
                3rd Dam: Infamy (Ire), by Shirley Heights (GB)

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Oodnadatta Back In Action At Killarney

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Today’s Observations features the debut of a seven-figure Tattersalls October Book 1 yearling.

3.40 Windsor, Novice, £5,400, 3yo/up, 10fT
PROPRIETY (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) debuts for the long-established and successful Cheveley Park Stud-Sir Michael Stoute axis, having been added to David and Patricia Thompson’s enviable broodmare band for 1.2million gns at the 2018 Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale. A daughter of the G3 Ballycorus S. scorer Wannabe Better (Ire) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}), she is therefore a half to last year’s Listed Ruby S. winner Lady Wannabe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}).

5.25 Killarney, Cond, €30,000, 2yo, 8f 30yT
OODNADATTA (IRE) (Australia {GB}) makes her return to action, having beaten the subsequent G3 Marble Hill S. winner Minaun (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) on debut at Leopardstown last month. Robert Scarborough and Susan Magnier’s half-sister to the listed-winning Pablo Escobarr (Ire) by Australia’s sire Galileo (Ire) encounters a newcomer from Ballydoyle in Sir Lucan (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), a full-brother to last year’s G3 Chester Vase winner Sir Dragonet (Ire).

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Options Open for Art Collector

Bruce Lunsford’s GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Art Collector (Bernardini) returned to trainer Tom Drury’s Skylight Training Center base in Goshen, Kentucky Saturday night and options for the colt’s next start are still open.

“I am going to get with Bruce in the next couple of days and figure out what we will do,” Drury said. “Art Collector will stay at Skylight for a little while because it is quieter there and then like we have done before, two weeks or so before he runs we will bring him back to Churchill.”

With the Blue Grass victory, Art Collector picked up 100 qualifying points toward the Sept. 5 GI Kentucky Derby, good for fourth place on the Derby leader board with only six points races remaining.

“If we do anything [before the Derby], it likely would be Ellis [the Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9],” Drury said.

Art Collector gave Drury his first graded stakes victory with his authoritative score at Keeneland Saturday, but the trainer didn’t have much time to celebrate.

“It was a pretty special day,” Drury said Sunday morning. “You know how we horse trainers are. I had to get him back to Skylight last night and I had to be at Churchill Downs at 5:30 [this morning] for the first set. I wound up having a frozen pizza and a cold beer.”

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Madaket Stables’ Speech (Mr Speaker), along with stablemate and Blue Grass third-place finisher Rushie (Liam’s Map), is scheduled to ship back to California Monday following her victory in Saturday’s GI Central Bank Ashland S.

“Justin Curran was deputizing on my behalf and was very pleased with them this morning,” trainer Mike McCarthy said of the duo via text Sunday. “Most likely both will have a few works here at Del Mar before deciding on a Churchill Downs arrival date.”

Rushie is not Triple Crown nominated, and plans are uncertain for the colt, who has picked up 40 Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the Run for the Roses.

“Nothing is set in stone for Rushie,” McCarthy said. “There are plenty of options.”

The post Options Open for Art Collector appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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