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Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: First Pharoah Didn’t Rule The Track, But He’s On To Something New

The eponymously-named First Pharoah has a distinction shared by no other Thoroughbred. As the first offspring of Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, the colt made headlines soon after he was born on Jan. 3, 2017. Three years later, First Pharoah has displayed more of a likeness to his dam rather than favoring his sire, who quickly proved himself as a source of quality runners.

First Pharoah showed little promise in training, so late last year owner/breeder Oussama Aboughazale (of International Equities Holdings and Sumaya U.S. Stable) sent him to Brooke Schafer and Tay Wienold to redirect his talent. The Lexington-based business partners are experienced in schooling off-track Thoroughbreds in general and members of the First Pharoah clan in particular. The women were first introduced to the family when a friend recommended them for First Pharoah's dam Kakadu. A well-beaten ninth as a 2-year-old in her only start, Kakadu retired to the broodmare ranks but she experienced reproductive problems and never produced another foal. With Schafer handling the ground work and flat work and Wienold doing the jumping, Kakadu made a seamless transition to show horse. Now seven, Kakadu's specialty is eventing, combining refined movements of dressage with jumping in open fields and arenas.

Aboughazale was so impressed with the refashioned Kakadu that he channeled First Pharoah and Kakadu's half-brother Lock Keeper (by Quality Road) to them. Schafer and Wienold transformed Lock Keeper's laid-back personality and athleticism into a willing pleasure mount and sold him to an amateur rider who enjoys dressage with him. As a racehorse, he was unplaced in two starts as a 3-year-old in 2019.

First Pharoah's evolution has been slower than his relatives because of his physique. He is built like his dam with a stout body reminiscent of larger breeds so he was given plenty of downtime to develop into his frame.

“We ride him lightly just to keep him reminded about his job and to slowly mold him into the sport horse we know he is capable of becoming,” Schafer said. “Tay rode him first and he rode beautifully. She said he is one of the most comfortable horses she has ever sat on. She looked at me grinning during the first ride and said 'I could sit this trot all day.' ”

First Pharoah, pictured in late August

During this growing phase, First Pharoah mostly has been doing a whole lot of nothing while socializing with pasture mates and human friends.

“He is like a playful teenager who enjoys challenging his buddies to a game of tag when he's feeling frisky,” Schafer said. “He loves his horse companions dearly and gets very attached to every horse we put with him. He lives outside 24/7 in a field with a large run-in shed but loves to come in on hot days and take a nap in his stall. He gets checked daily and gets lots of treats from the neighbors.”

Schafer and Wienold balance their sport horse business and recreational riding with full-time jobs. Schafer is a speech pathologist in a Central Kentucky public school system and supplements her income by selling her customized painted drinking glasses and other equine-centric artwork. Wienold is an accountant who moonlights with a monogramming service. In their OTTB endeavors, they have established a reputation for transforming their projects into reliable mounts for other activities and placing them with suitable owners. Both strive for the perfect match and offer advice for those obtaining an OTTB with fundamental retraining.

“Take your time and start with the basics,” Schafer said. “Most Thoroughbreds are started in professional programs and know how to tie, lunge, get bathed, stand to be mounted, etc. But just because they do, don't assume they know how to do that in a new environment. Take the time to get to know the horse before you give them too many new pieces of information.

Behind the ears of First Pharoah

“Horses love routine and the more you can work with them on a daily basis, the better. I like to learn about my horses by working with them on the ground before we ride them. I like to know their personalities and what they are comfortable with. By knowing this, I feel like it gives Tay and I a better expectation of what we may encounter under saddle.”

The post Lost And Found Presented By LubriSynHA: First Pharoah Didn’t Rule The Track, But He’s On To Something New appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Zayat Legal Woes Continue As Creditors Force Involuntary Bankruptcy

2015 Triple Crown-winning owner Ahmed Zayat was hit with yet another legal proceeding this week, as the Thoroughbred Daily News reports a small number of Zayat creditors have initiated involuntary bankruptcy proceedings against him.

Involuntary bankruptcy actions are relatively uncommon, according to the TDN's T.D. Thornton, and are primarily designed to protect creditors who fear a debtor's assets will dwindle before they can be repaid. Thornton explains the gamble with involuntary bankruptcy filings is the filers can be required to pay the defendant's legal fees if a judge dismisses the petition.

Zayat filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week, listing tens of millions of dollars in debts. A judge awarded MGG Investments a $24.5 million in summary judgment against his Zayat Stables earlier this year as part of a civil suit over a loan that went partially unpaid. Zayat has countersued and the case is ongong.

The petitioners in the involuntary bankruptcy petition include former Zayat financial advisor Steven Keefer (who Chapter 7 documents say is owed $275,000), U.S. Elite, where Keefer is CEO ($188,500), and and Joseph Bodner ($150,000).

Trainer Orseno Hoping For ‘Another Miracle’ In Wednesday’s Franklin-Simpson Stakes

Four days after winning the $700,000 RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint with Imprimis, trainer Joe Orseno will try to win another Grade 3 sprint stakes with 15-1 shot Another Miracle in Wednesday's closing-day $500,000 Franklin-Simpson for 3-year-olds.

This will be Another Miracle's third start for Orseno, who received the colt from longtime clients Leonard and Jon Green upon the retirement of Gary Contessa. Another Miracle won a stakes at Saratoga as a 2-year-old and was third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

“Believe it or not, I got Another Miracle because of Imprimis,” Orseno said. “They were talking about where the horses should go. Jon said to his dad, 'Listen, Joe knows what to do. He campaigned Imprimis flawlessly. He knows horses like this.' I think I can campaign any horse, but that was nice and I got him because of that, and I'm OK with that.”

Orseno only had Another Miracle 12 days when he ran in Gulfstream Park's March 21 Texas Glitter Stakes, when Another Miracle missed the break, then hit the gate and generally had a bad trip the rest of the way in finishing seventh.

“It was just a throwout race,” he said. “I told Jon, 'I think I just need to regroup with this horse and get to know him.' We dropped back and gelded the horse, which he needed tremendously.”

Back in July 12 at Monmouth Park, Another Miracle won the $80,000 My Frenchman Stakes.

“He's a different horse,” Orseno said of the son of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. “He's very happy now. Listen, he was third in the Breeders' Cup last year so he doesn't have to get too much better to have a good campaign. I'm expecting a big race from him. He loves where he's at at Kentucky Downs. He's a horse who is really thriving.

“He's 15-1 for a reason. There are some quality horses in there. But they're all 3-year-olds. This is the time of the year where some get better. I like to think my horse will get better off one race for me.”

With jockey Paco Lopez serving a suspension, Gerardo Corrales has picked up the mount on Another Miracle. Corrales, in his first year riding at Kentucky Downs, has won four of 13 starts.

Meanwhile, Orseno said he's delighted with how Imprimis came out of his victory. The 6-year-old gelding earned a fees-paid spot in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland with his neck victory over Bombard and Front Run the Fed, who dead-heated for second. Imprimis won last year's Grade 2 Shakertown and was third in last fall's Grade 2 Woodford at Keeneland. He came in sixth in the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita.

Imprimis had surgery for correct a breathing obstruction and didn't start his 2020 season until Saratoga's Grade 3 Troy Stakes, in which he was disqualified from first to third. The RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint was his second start of the year.

“He looks fantastic,” Orseno said. “Everything says we're leaning and pushing toward the Breeders' Cup. So we'll start to get him ready. He likes Keeneland, and if it's a little soft, it doesn't bother him. And it could be soft on Nov. 7.

“Last year his first race in the Silks Run (at Gulfstream) was just phenomenal, and he came back and won the Shakertown at Keeneland,” Orseno said. “It looked like he was on his way. We got a little sidetracked, took him to Royal Ascot. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the best thing for the horse, but we wanted to try it. It just didn't work. Getting him back off of that was the tough part. So it's really gratifying, especially knowing some of the work we did to him and bringing him back. You never know when you do all that with a horse. You hope and pray he's the same horse. But a lot of them come back and they're not.”

Orseno thinks Imprimis is a better horse this year “all the way around.

“His coat and his weight he's carrying, he's very happy,” he said. “I think it all goes with the time off, what we did and the horse was not getting all his air — and now he's getting all his air and he's very happy.”

Orseno said he'll go into the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint with a good measure of confidence.

“I knew I won the race, but I didn't realize the trip he got until I watched the replay a bunch of times,” he said of the RUNHAPPY Turf Sprint. “For him at the top of the stretch to be where he was and to swing out seven-wide — I know it's a long stretch and you still have a quarter-mile to go — but I think he overcame a lot in that race in running them down. I was really pleased with that.”

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Former Zayat Financial Advisor Among Creditors Trying to `Force’ Stable’s Bankruptcy

Ahmed Zayat’s former financial advisor is among the entities now initiating an “involuntary bankruptcy” petition against Zayat’s family-owned racing stable. This Sept. 14 court action comes six days after the allegedly insolvent Triple Crown-winning breeder and owner voluntarily filed for his own personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Although once prevalent, involuntary bankruptcy proceedings are now relatively uncommon in United States courts. They are designed to protect creditors, not debtors, and are often filed against companies (as opposed to individuals) as an attempt to get paid when it is believed that a firm is rapidly burning through assets and/or financial malfeasance is alleged.

Zayat Stables, LLC, is currently a defendant in a $23 million lawsuit filed in January by a New York lender alleging fraud and loan defaults. A Kentucky receiver is in the process of liquidating those equine assets.

Although it is unclear exactly what effect this attempt at “forced” bankruptcy might have on that case, one possible scenario is that the petitioners believe that the only way to preserve the remainder of the dwindling assets for distribution to them is to take legal action via an involuntary bankruptcy. They’d be banking on the bankruptcy order stopping the current liquidation from moving forward, which might keep others from getting paid first.

The Chapter 7 documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey (Newark), on Monday allege that Zayat Stables owes $275,000 in loans “above the value of any lien” to Steven Keefer.

A 2003 New York Times story on Zayat’s beverage business referred to Keefer as “a former New York investment banker and now chief of staff to Mr. Zayat” who was also head of the development group for the beverage firm.

Zayat apparently even named a Thoroughbred racehorse “Keefer” in honor of his business associate. The colt broke its maiden in 2008 at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, the home state for both men.

Keefer is now the chief executive officer at U.S. Elite, LLC, a New Jersey company that specializes in “tactical” apparel for fitness and military enthusiasts. According to Keefer’s bio page on the company website, the firm’s motto is “We exist to Enhance the Warrior Lifestyle.”

U.S. Elite itself is also listed as a petitioning creditor in the court documents, alleging $188,500 in loans owed by Zayat Stables.

A third party, Joseph Bodner, who lives in the same town (Teaneck) as Zayat, is listed in the petition as being owed $150,000 by the stable.

Under involuntary bankruptcy law, if a debtor has more than 12 creditors, three creditors must join in the involuntary petition for a “force” to move forward.

The claims total $613,500. All three amounts match what Zayat stated he owed those entities in his personal Chapter 7 filing last week.

The petitioners indicated via checking a box that “The debtor is generally not paying its debts as they become due, unless they are the subject of a bona fide dispute as to liability or amount.”

In his separate, voluntary petition for bankruptcy, Zayat is claiming $19,371,466 in total liabilities versus total estimated assets of $1,892,815.

Thoroughbred trainers, horse farms, bloodstock businesses, veterinarians, and equine transportation companies are among the 132 entities listed as creditors in Zayat’s own Chapter 7 filing. They are due $14,755,1717 in “non-priority unsecured claims,” which means they are at the bottom of the hierarchy to get paid—if they get paid at all. Zayat Stables is listed as a co-debtor to 112 of those 132 non-priority unsecured claims.

The next step in the involuntary petition is for Zayat Stables to file a response. If the debtor contests an involuntary petition, the petitioning creditor must prove that the debtor is generally not paying its debts.

If the petitioners are successful, the bankruptcy court will enter an “order for relief” granting the involuntary petition.

But if the court dismisses the petition, the creditors might be on the hook for paying Zayat Stables’ attorney fees and court costs. In addition, if the court rules that the petition was made in bad faith, it can award compensatory and even punitive damages.

Involuntary bankruptcies can be complicated and fraught with peril for both sides. Nicholas Gebelt, an attorney who writes on the subject as a California-certified bankruptcy specialist, described the process like this on his law blog:

“On a practical level, the most compelling reason for filing an involuntary bankruptcy against a debtor is the fear that the debtor is rapidly depleting the resources available to pay its creditors. [But] filing an involuntary bankruptcy against someone is very dangerous. If you are a creditor who files an involuntary bankruptcy against a debtor, then if you can’t establish one of the two grounds for relief…you may find yourself paying the very entity from whom you’re trying to collect. Therefore, absent compelling exigent circumstances it is probably safer to use some other approach to debt collection.”

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