Trainer Brad Cox made it 2-for-2 in the first two 3-year-old Kentucky Derby prep races of 2024 when Drum Roll Please took charge leaving the eighth pole and did not miss a beat in recording a 3 3/4-length victory in the $145,500 Jerome Stakes Jan. 6 at Aqueduct Racetrack.
In The Hot Seat: Denise Callanan
Next to face the questions is Denise Callanan, who manages her family's commercial breeding operation at Nanallac Stud.
What are your goals for 2024?
To produce good racehorses on the track and in the sales ring, make profits on our pinhooks and breed a black-type horse from our 2023 yearling draft.
Give us a horse to follow…
Phoenix of Spain (Ire). I think for a stallion whose progeny didn't look like two-year-old types, he still produced nearly 40% winners to runners in his first season, which is impressive, and I am interested to see what is in store for his progeny in 2024.
And a young person in the industry to keep an eye on…
Jack Jones in Newmarket looks to be a very talented young trainer.
Who do you think will be champion first-season sire in 2024?
I'd say Earthlight (Ire) but I wouldn't rule out Far Above (Ire) as they also look like runners.
And the best value stallion in Ireland, England, and France?
Havana Grey (GB). He produces class racehorses and very saleable types in the sales ring.
Your best buy/sale of 2023?
We sold a Blue Point (Ire) filly for €300,000 at the Goffs Orby Book 1 Sale. We also bought a lovely Blue Point filly for €82,000 at the Goffs November Foal Sale. Blue Point looks to be the real deal.
The best yearling/weanling you saw at the 2023 sales (that someone else bought)?
A filly by Palace Pier (GB) out of Quixotic (GB) at the Goffs November Foal Sale. She was bought for €145,000 by Elton Lodge Stud. She was way out of our budget though.
Who is or was the perfect Thoroughbred?
Dubawi (Ire). He is perfect physically, as a racehorse and as a stallion
Biggest thing you've learned in your career?
With horses you learn something new every day. No one is an expert.
If you could be someone else in the industry for a day who would it be, and why?
Paul McCartan. I think he is very shrewd and is also the most down-to-earth person in the industry, and always stops for a chat.
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Eclipse Finalists Tallied For Awards Show Jan. 25
The finalists for the 2023 Eclipse Awards, recognizing excellence in Thoroughbred racing, were announced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), The Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB) Saturday..
Winners in 17 horse and human categories will be handed out on FanDuel TV and other outlets, during the 53rd annual Eclipse Awards, presented by FanDuel Racing, John Deere, Keeneland, The Jockey Club and the NTRA, on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The evening will culminate with the announcement of the 2023 Horse of the Year.
Of the 250 eligible voters represented by the NTRA, consisting of member racetrack racing officials and Equibase field personnel, the NTWAB, and Daily Racing Form, 219 (88%) took part in the voting. Finalists were determined in each category by voters' top three selections, using a 10-5-1 point basis. Eclipse Award winners are determined solely by first-place votes.
The 2023 Eclipse Awards Finalists, with the exception of Horse of the Year, (in alphabetical order) are:
Two-Year-Old Male: Fierceness (City of Light), Locked (Gun Runner), Muth (Good Magic)
Two-Year-Old Filly: Candied (Candy Ride {Arg}), Hard to Justify (Justify), Just F Y I (Justify)
Three-Year-Old Male: Arcangelo (Arrogate), Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Mage (Good Magic)
Three-Year-Old Filly: Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), Randomized (Nyquist)
Older Dirt Male: Cody's Wish (Curlin), Elite Power (Curlin), White Abarrio (Race Day)
Older Dirt Female: Clairiere (Curlin), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), Idiomatic (Curlin)
Male Sprinter: Cody's Wish (Curlin), Elite Power (Curlin), Gunite (Gun Runner)
Female Sprinter: Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic)
Male Turf Horse: Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Master of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Up to the Mark (Not This Time)
Female Turf Horse: In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), Inspiral (Frankel {GB}), Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus})
Steeplechase Horse: Awakened (Curlin), Merry Maker (Ire) (Malinas {Ger}), Snap Decision (Hard Spun)
Owner: Godolphin LLC, Juddmonte, Klaravich Stables Inc.
Breeder: Calumet Farm, Godolphin LLC, Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC,
Trainer: Chad Brown, Brad Cox, William I. Mott
Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione, Irad Ortiz, Jr., Flavien Prat
Apprentice Jockey: Axel Concepcion, Jamie Torres, Sofia Vives
In addition to honoring the 17 winners in the horse and human categories, Paul Calia will receive the Eclipse Award as the 2023 Horseplayer of the Year. Members of the media will be honored for outstanding coverage in six categories.
Eclipse Awards voting is conducted by the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters (NTWAB), the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA), and The Daily Racing Form. The Eclipse Awards ceremony is produced by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.
The Eclipse Awards are named after the great 18th-century racehorse and foundation sire, Eclipse, who began racing at age five and was undefeated in 18 starts, including eight walkovers. Eclipse sired the winners of 344 races, including three Epsom Derbies.
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Corrigan: `I Did Reach Out’ to HISA
In Friday's TDN, Bill Finley wrote about trainer Jimmy Corrigan's suspension after one of his horses tested positive for methamphetamine Oct. 7 at Belterra. In the story, HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus said that Corrigan hadn't reached out to HISA for help or to let them know he felt the positive test was caused by contamination. Corrigan sent a statement to the TDN Saturday morning contradicting that assertion.
“I would like to make a response to Lisa Lazarus's claim I never reached out to anybody in regards to my case. I reached out to Alan Foreman early on and spoke to him about my case as well as to Mark Casse and Dale Romans, who are on (HISA's) advisory committee. I realized I needed their advice and I reached out early on.”
A HISA spokesman told the TDN, “Mr. Corrigan never responded to the allegation against him and that is why a provisional suspension was imposed.”
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