2020 breeders' cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

After Negative COVID Test, Soumillon Headed to Hong Kong For The Winter

Christophe Soumillon is to join the Hong Kong jockey colony for the winter after being granted a license for two months from mid-December.

Soumillon has not ridden since he was forced to stand down from commitments at the Breeders' Cup after failing a mandatory COVID-19 test.

As a result the Belgian, who was not showing any symptoms at the time of the test, had to spend the meeting in isolation while the two horses he was due to ride at Keeneland, Tarnawa and Order Of Australia, went on to capture the Breeders' Cup Turf and Mile respectively. Colin Keane rode Tarnawa and Pierre-Charles Boudot was on Order Of Australia.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club said Soumillon was due to arrive in Hong Kong on Thursday to begin quarantine and will be ready to ride from Dec. 13 – the date of the Longines Hong Kong International Races – until the license expires of Feb. 13.

A statement said: “Jockey Soumillon is scheduled to arrive in Hong Kong on 26th November and will undertake the mandatory 14 days quarantine period under the Compulsory Quarantine of Persons Arriving at Hong Kong from Foreign Places Regulation (Cap. 599E).

“Jockey Soumillon is presently in the UAE. Nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (SARS CoV2) PCR Tests on 12th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd November have been negative.”

Soumillon has enjoyed previous successful stints in Hong Kong. In March this year he became the most successful jockey in French history when he won his 3,315th race at Compiegne, surpassing the total of wins established by Yves Saint-Martin.

This story originally appeared at Horse Racing Planet and has been reprinted here with permission.

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View From The Eighth Pole: The Sky Is Not Falling Because Of Lasix Ban

Where are the pearl clutchers? You know, those people who promised that we'd be seeing jockeys with red-splattered pants getting off horses who gushed blood during a Thoroughbred race because trainers couldn't give the animals a diuretic four hours before competition.

They've gone silent.

Officials with the Breeders' Cup, Keeneland and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission managed to stage five world championship races for 2-year-olds on Nov. 6 (seven races for juveniles if you include a pair of undercard stakes) where the letter “L” for Lasix was missing next to each horse's name in the program, past performances and official chart.

Eighty-five 2-year-olds competed without race-day administration of Lasix. I'm sure some of the horses showed signs of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage when they were examined by endoscope following their races, but the bottom line is this: The sky did not fall because of a ban on Lasix.

On Nov. 7, the second day of the Breeders' Cup, things were back to “normal.” All 88 North American-based horses contesting nine championship races (plus all 28 runners in undercard stakes) were given an injection of Lasix approximately four hours before competition – whether or not they really needed it to treat internal bleeding. Trainers of 13 of 18 runners from overseas opted to have the drug given to their horses, too, even though they don't need it or use it in their home countries. All of the European winners – Glass Slippers in the Turf Sprint, Audarya in the Filly & Mare Turf, Order of Australia in the Mile (plus the second- and third-place runners from Aidan O'Brien's Irish stable) and Tanawa in the Turf – raced on Lasix.

I think it's fair to assume the use of this drug is a “when in Rome” decision by those overseas trainers who don't want to compete on a playing field that isn't level. And if they didn't believe Lasix enhances performance of the competition they were facing, why would they use it on their horses?

It's not just the Breeders' Cup Future Stars Friday program that has gone Lasix-free. In several major racing jurisdictions across the U.S., 2-year-old Thoroughbreds are competing without the use of the race-day drug. And the sky is still not falling.

I've talked to several trainers who were not eager for the change and they've said a small percentage of their 2-year-olds have bled this year – one of them adding that it's possible a horse that did bleed might have done so even if it had been administered Lasix. One of the trainers said horses seem to be coming out of their no-Lasix races with more energy than their 2-year-olds had in previous years when competing with the drug in their system..

Things get more complicated in 2021 when the ban on Lasix is extended to all stakes races in states where a coalition of tracks are partially eliminating the drug. That means horses likely will be racing on Lasix in non-2-year-old maiden and allowance races, then going without it in stakes races. Will “Lasix off” become the same kind of handicapping angle many horseplayers now use with “Lasix on”? It's not a good look for a sport when drugs are considered a factor in whether or not a horse will win.

The stakes race Lasix ban also means trainers with horses that have a history of bleeding will be trying other remedies. There will be lots of junk science and snake oil being sold.

The pearl clutchers who claim American racehorses cannot survive without Lasix are the same people who maintained that anabolic steroids were therapeutic and that horses (especially geldings) needed them to get through demanding training regimens. They're the same people who say horses need regular doses of clenbuterol because they're in dusty barn environments that create breathing problems.

Lasix is not the biggest problem facing this sport. It's nowhere near the focus of the FBI's investigation into illegal doping of racehorses that will be playing out for months, possibly years, to come. But the use of Lasix in nearly 100% of horses to address a problem that exists in a much smaller percentage of runners is an indication of how pervasive horse racing's drug culture has become.

That's my view from the eighth pole.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘I’ll Never Forget It As Long As I Live’

Stable lad Dean Sinnott has exercised several very nice horses for trainer Dermot Weld over the past six years, including 2016 Group 1 Epsom Derby winner Harzand, but he said he's never felt one quite like Tarnawa. The Aga Khan's homebred 4-year-old daughter of Shamardal went undefeated in 2020, including a triumphant victory over male rivals in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 7 at Keeneland race course in Lexington, Ky.

It was a first Breeders' Cup victory for the 28-year-old Sinnott, as well as for top Irish trainer Weld and 2020's champion Irish jockey Colin Keane.

“It was my first time bringing a horse to America, and we all had a bit of luck on our side,” Sinnott said, his lyrical tone rising to accentuate the emotion of the moment. “In the test barn (after the win) my phone was just buzzing away in my pocket, and it was actually Dermot Weld himself and he couldn't have been happier; it was a very special win for him.”

Coming into the Breeders' Cup off wins in the G1 Qatar Prix Vermeille and G1 Prix de l'Opera Longines, Tarnawa was sent to post as the third choice in the talented field of 10. She was facing 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf runner-up and world-traveler Magical, Group 1 winners Mogul and Lord North, as well as top American hopes Channel Maker and Arklow.

She lost her footing a bit at the start of the 1 1/2-mile contest, and Keane guided Tarnawa over to the rail to save ground along the rail near the rear of the pack. The filly worked her way out to the five-path and moved up into fifth near the head of the lane, but still had nearly four lengths to make up.

Sinnott was watching from the rail, cheering Tarnawa home as she powered to a one-length victory over Magical.

The field for the 2020 Breeders' Cup Turf makes its way around the Keeneland turf course

“When she came into the home straight my heart began to beat a little bit quicker,” Sinnott remembered. “I tell ya, I was nice and calm, but I think I just jumped off the wall and let a few rolls out. The emotions got the best of me. It was an incredible moment, and I'll never forget it as long as I live. It was brilliant to do what she'd done.”

Everything had gone well since Tarnawa arrived in the United States over a week before the race, from her morning gallops under Sinnott, gate schooling, and her attitude in the stall. Stable lads in Europe are both the exercise rider and the groom, so Sinnott knew the filly was as well prepared as possible for the biggest test of her career.

“In a strange sort of way, I was more anxious for her to not let herself down,” said Sinnott. “Things were going very well, everything according to plan, and we were expecting a big run. I was just hoping that she would do herself justice.

“It was just a fairytale plan.”

Born in Wexford, Ireland, Sinnott has worked around horses for as long as he can remember.

“At my home place in Ireland we've always had young horses and mares,” the lad said. “One year I decided I might try riding a few. It was madness maybe, but we kind of progressed into actually trying to make a living out of it. I don't think we made too much of a bad decision!”

Sinnott went first to a local trainer's yard to learn how to ride, then attended the racing academy at the Curragh for a year before he was sent to a trainer in France for further schooling. Sinnott spent 2 1/2 years with trainer Connor O'Dwyer, also from Wexford, before the full-time opportunity to ride for Weld came about six years ago

Today, Sinnott rides out for several other trainers early in the morning at the Curragh, then works for Weld, then rides a few other mounts during lunch hours. He also rides a few races both on the flat and over jumps, and even rode over timber in the United States for Leslie Young during a three-month span two years ago.

With all that experience, it isn't hard to see why Sinnott would be entrusted with a promising filly like Tarnawa. He has been aboard her all season and said she's actually pretty easy to work around.

“She's a very straightforward filly, as honest as you get,” Sinnott said. “It's unbelievable, I've never ridden a horse that has passion as she does… She's after establishing a big fan base in Ireland.”

When Sinnott returned home this week, he was required to begin a 14-day quarantine due to pandemic restrictions. He also had to pass a COVID test before traveling to the United States for the Breeders' Cup, but said the extra steps were all worth it in the end.

“It was an unbelievable result,” Sinnott said. “We were fairly confident, but as you know it was such a competitive race. We figured if she runs well, we'll be happy, but to go and win was really incredible.

“She's actually after winning me heart. I've been lucky enough to ride very good horses in the yard, like Harzand, but this one is by far the best one I've ever ridden.”

Dean Sinnott (right) with the victorious Tarnawa

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Geroux Retains Hot Hand At Churchill Downs Following Breeders’ Cup Riding Double

Jockey Florent Geroux's success after last weekend's Breeders' Cup world championships continued at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., as he vaulted to the top of the rider standings after he won with seven of his last 11 mounts beneath the Twin Spires.

“We've been on a great run,” said Geroux, who won aboard Aunt Pearl and Monomoy Girl at the Breeders' Cup. “It was an incredible weekend aboard some fantastic horses. Now, back at Churchill, we're continuing to do well.”

In total, Geroux recorded 16 wins through Friday's halfway mark of the 24-day Fall Meet. Geroux, typically the first-call rider for trainer Brad Cox, has recorded victories for 10 different trainers at the meet. Besides Cox, Geroux has also recorded wins for Tom Amoss, Rusty Arnold, Juan Cano, Wayne Catalano, Phil D'Amato, Eddie Kenneally, Mike Maker, Tom Van Berg and Brian Williamson.

“We had a great Breeders' Cup weekend next to Brad's four wins,” said Geroux, who is represented by veteran agent Doug Bredar. “I've stuck with Brad for a long time and it's been a snowball effect over the last few years – not only at the Breeders' Cup but just for our business in general.

“It's been a challenging year when we stopped racing over the winter with the pandemic. We've been very grateful to be able to run and do our job through this.”

Geroux was named to ride six horses on Sunday's program and 10 on Wednesday and Thursday. He remained one win ahead of Tyler Gaffalione and Ricardo Santana Jr. in the jockey standings.

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