Amo Racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Devastated and Shaken by New York Thunder Tragedy, Trainer Delgado Finding It Hard to Carry On

After watching the best horse he ever trained, New York Thunder (Nyquist), suffer a catastrophic injury in Saturday's GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., trainer Jorge Delgado had to get out of Saratoga. Shortly after the race, he drove back to his base at Monmouth Park, arriving there about 4 1/2 hours after the field crossed the wire in the Jerkens. It was 9 o'clock, but he needed to be with his horses.

“I had to go to his stall to make sure he wasn't there,” Delgado said. “It was still like I couldn't believe he was gone. I couldn't stop crying. I saw the other horses, them being happy, them being horses. I was happy to see that. These horses are my family. I individualize them. They are all different, they all have their own lives. If they run for $5,000 or $2 million, they are all the same to me. I love to be around them.”

Even before the Jerkens, it had already been a very difficult meet and a very difficult day for the sport. Earlier in the day in the fifth race, Qatar Racing's Nobel (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), the 9-5 post-time favorite for a 9 1/2-furlong turf allowance on the Travers Day undercard at Saratoga, broke down on the gallop out and was euthanized. That was the seventh fatality at the meet during racing and four more horses had broken down while training.

While Delgado, a 33-year-old native of Venezuela, felt for the owners and trainers who had lost horses during the meet, his focus was on the Jerkens. New York Thunder was the type of horse every trainer dreams of getting into their barns. He was 4-for-4 and coming off a blowout win in the GII Amsterdam S. Though facing two highly regarded horses from the Bob Baffert Stable in Arabian Lion (Justify) and Fort Bragg (Tapit), New York Thunder was made the 3-2 favorite. A win in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint was well within the realm of possibility.

While getting ready to watch the race, Delgado thought about how far his stable had come since he started training in 2017 and what it would mean for him to pick up his first Grade I win. As the race was developing, Delgado grew more confident that New York Thunder was on his way to what would be the biggest win of his career.

“I am watching the race and hear people shouting 'come on Tyler [Gaffalione]' or 'beat those Baffert horses.' At the three-eighths pole, I know my horse and I know the way he had been working,” Delgado said. “I knew that he was going to romp. Once I saw that Arabian Lion couldn't catch him and that everyone else was pretty far behind, I thought we were home.”

So did those surrounding Delgado, who watched the race on television. Nearing the sixteenth-pole, New York Thunder had what seemed like an insurmountable lead. In the very moment that people were congratulating him, New York Thunder was crashing head first to the track. He suffered a catastrophic injury to his left front fetlock and had to be put down.

“People were starting to congratulate me and started celebrating,” he said. “A couple of people came to me to congratulate me and in that same second the horse went down. When he went down, my whole world went from being in glory to being in misery and hell. I couldn't believe it. There was all this noise in my mind and everything turned blurry.”

It was, of course, a tough blow for Delgado and the owner, AMO Racing USA. They had a certain Grade I win snatched away from them. But Delgado said none of that matters.

“I was never thinking what is next for me, when can I win a graded stakes race or be in the position I was in Saturday?” he said. “That hasn't crossed my mind. It's been all about the pain I felt losing the horse. I was heartbroken, devastated. I have had no good emotions. Just trying to stay strong.”

He knows it won't happen, but said he would do anything to bring New York Thunder back.

“I have been thinking a lot about this and it might sound corny, but that horse meant so much to me that if I could change my life for him in some way and that would bring him back I would do it in a second,” Delgado said. “There's nothing in the world I wouldn't do to have that horse back. Tell somebody they could shoot me in my knee and that would mean I could have that horse back I'd let them do it right now. What happened to us, I would never wish that on anybody.”

On the ride back from Saratoga Saturday night and during the hours he spent at his barn Sunday morning at Monmouth, Delgado had a lot of time to think. He said the reason that he got into training was because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, a trainer in Venezuela. His uncle is Gustavo Delgado Sr., the trainer of Mage (Good Magic). He found that while he enjoyed winning, he got even more pleasure from being around his horses.

“I was talking with my assistant trainer the other day and we talked about why we moved to this country and why we have been working in this industry. We came to the same conclusion, it's because we love the horses. We love being around them. They give us joy, hope, answers, happiness. There is nothing you can compare that to.”

But when you lose a horse that was on his way to a Grade I win in Saratoga, it becomes impossible not to focus on the fact that this game comes with more than its fair share of pain and tragedies.

“It makes you re-evaluate things, contemplate things,” Delgado said. “What should I do? I feel that I could do many different things in this industry. Being a trainer was the only thing I ever wanted to do. But now that I've gotten older and have gained experience and have had highs and lows, I have been contemplating things and trying to put things in balance. Is this worth it or is it not? It's times like this when you really have to look at yourself in the mirror and decided if this is really worth it.”

Delgado said he has no immediate plans to leave training, but added, “I don't think I will train forever.”

And, just 33, he worries that he might outlast the sport.

“I'd be lying to you if I said the sport is going in the right direction,” he said. “You see tracks closing , attendance is down, betting is less. There are fewer people trying to become trainers. You know deep in your heart that it's not the best time for the sport and I don't know that it will last for the rest of my lifetime. It's something that concerns me a lot. The sport is suffering a lot. The training profession is suffering. Its not easy for anybody.”

And a rash of high-profile fatalities has the sport reeling and in the midst of what feels like a losing fight against a changing society that views animal usage in a different light.

“Hopefully, this sort of thing will happen less in racing. That's very important,” Delgado said. “And, hopefully, this will be the last time it happens to me. I really don't know how I could get through this happening to me again.”

The post Devastated and Shaken by New York Thunder Tragedy, Trainer Delgado Finding It Hard to Carry On appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

King Of Steel Will Bypass International And Point To Irish Champion Instead

Derby runner-up King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}), last seen when third in the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S. last month, will skip the Aug. 23 G1 Juddmonte International S. and instead target the G1 Royal Bahrain Irish Champion S. on Sept. 9.

“We didn't confirm him today for York,” said Tom Pennington, racing manager for owners, Amo Racing. “I know when you look at the prize-money and think it could be quite a small field, you might get a bit carried away, but we are going back to what was always Plan A and go to Ireland.

“We've been patient with him all the way along and I don't think another couple of weeks is going to do us any harm. He's in good form and he's on the right track, we're very happy with him.

“When you look at his size, touch wood, he should be even better again next year and we're playing the long game with him.”

The G2 King Edward VII S. hero, who is trained by Roger Varian, was due to face four-time Group 1 winner Paddington (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}), G1 Prince Of Wales's S. hero Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), and 2022 G1 Derby victor Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) among others in the York showpiece.

The post King Of Steel Will Bypass International And Point To Irish Champion Instead appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Group Schedule Outlined for Night Of Thunder’s Ornellaia

Ornellaia (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), winner last out at Goodwood Aug. 3, will target a series of group tests over the coming weeks, according to Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for Amo Racing. The Dominic Ffrench Davis-trained filly is slated to make her first foray into group company Saturday in the G2 Prix du Calvados at Deauville.

Prior to her seven-furlong score, the 2-year-old finished third behind Sacred Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire})–subsequent G3 Princess Margaret S. winner–in a six-furlong Newmarket maiden July 13.

“We went to Newmarket on debut knowing she would benefit from the experience and we were encouraged when the winner went on to win the Princess Margaret,” said Pennington. “I was a bit disappointed to see the Godolphin filly that finished second [Dubai Treasure {Ire}, by Exceed and Excel {Aus}] get beat at Yarmouth [Aug. 9], but we knew our filly had a good deal of ability. We went to Goodwood pretty confident that she would get the job done at seven furlongs being by Night Of Thunder and with there being some cut in the ground. She went and did it nicely.”

As for her upcoming itinerary, he added, “She's in the Prix du Calvados at Deauville and that is on the radar at the minute, but she's also in a lot of nice races. She's in the [G1] Moyglare Stud S. [Curragh, Sept. 10], she could go to the [G3] Prestige [Fillies' S.] at Goodwood [Aug. 26] at the end of the month. She's potentially a very nice filly who we think is probably group class.”

The post Group Schedule Outlined for Night Of Thunder’s Ornellaia appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Seven Days: Bucanero Fuerte Times His Run to Perfection

Most normal people spend some of August at the beach. Bloodstock folk do too, though the spade work involves no bucket, just plenty of prowling around the Arqana sales ground looking at yearlings. There may be the odd oyster here and there at the hospitality suites of various consignors but, make no mistake, this is gruelling work.

It's curtain up this Friday for the European yearling sales season, and we all know what that means: Christmas is right around the corner. For breeders and stallion masters, results on the track are important at any time of the year, but they become ever more crucial in the coming weeks and months, with a fresh update providing the pedigree equivalent of gold dust when trying to sell a yearling.

There can be none fresher than the Group 1 victory on Saturday of Amo Racing's Bucanero Fuerte (GB) in the Keeneland Phoenix S. The colt, who is named after a brand of Cuban beer, no doubt prompted the imbibing of a similar product for those closely involved in his career, as he provided a first top-level win for Kia Joorabchian's outfit. He also became the seventh Group 1 winner for his sire, Wootton Bassett (GB). Remarkably, two of those have the same dam, Frida La Blonde (Fr) (Elusive City), with Bucanero Fuerte having followed his brother, the Prix de l'Abbaye winner Wooded (Ire), in snaring a Group 1 success.

When you look at their pedigrees and see the names of Wootton Bassett on top and Elusive City on the bottom line, it is not hard to come to the conclusion that all roads lead to Normandy's Haras d'Etreham, and this is indeed where Frida La Blonde is boarded by her breeder Maurice Lagasse of Gestüt Zur Küste.

The Swiss-based operation has been behind a good deal of decent winners, most notably Teppal (Fr) (Camacho {GB}), the heroine of the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in 2018 on the same day that another Gestüt Zur Küste-bred, Dice Roll (Fr) (Showcasing {GB}), was third in the Poulains. The G2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier winner San Huberto (Ire) (Speightstown) won his first stakes race in his breeder Lagasse's colours before being part-sold to OTI Racing.

The pairing of Frida La Blonde, whom Lagasse bred in partnership with Pontchartrain Stud, with Wootton Bassett has also yielded the Group 3-placed Beat Le Bon (Fr), who was her first foal, but the 12-year-old mare has visited Dubawi (Ire) twice since foaling Bucanero Fuerte. Her yearling daughter by the Darley stallion is set to sell on Saturday as lot 214 from the Etreham draft.

I'm going to take a wild guess and say that the Amo team rather likes Wootton Bassett. Robson Aguiar was effusive in his praise of Bucanero Fuerte when he spoke to Brian Sheerin last week ahead of the Phoenix, and he can take much of the credit for presenting Joorabchian, who co-owns the colt with Aguiar's wife Giselle, with a commercial stallion prospect, having bought him last year at Arqana for €165,000.

Then there's the imposing King Of Steel, by the same sire, and surely a Group 1 winner in waiting following his runner-up finishes in the Derby and King George, which sandwiched his victory in the G2 King Edward VII S. The contrasting characteristics of these two colts speak to the versatility of Wootton Bassett as a stallion, with his top runners having struck from five furlongs to a mile and a half. Like their sire himself, a number of them are precocious: Al Riffa, Zellie and Bucanero Fuerte are all Group 1 winners at two, and this set may well expand on Sunday if the Coventry S. winner River Tiber (Ire) can extend his unbeaten record in the Sumbe Prix Morny. Wootton Bassett's record with juveniles was further enhanced over the weekend by the victory of Grey Man (Fr) in the G3 Prix Francois Boutin.

Though Wootton Bassett did not really make his mark beyond his own two-year-old season, he atoned for that from the off at stud as he got the European champion three-year-old Almanzor (Fr) from his tiny first crop born in 2013. His Breeders' Cup-winning daughter Audarya (Fr) excelled at four over 10 furlongs, the same distance over which Incarville (Fr) proved best in the Prix Saint-Alary.

After Almanzor's flamboyant start, there was a three-year wait for another Group 1 winner by Wootton Bassett, but let's not forget that his early crops numbered just 23, 18, 45 and 47. Since Audarya, who was foaled in 2016, there has been a Group 1 winner emerge from each of his five subsequent crops.

Almanzor's sterling work in 2016 meant that the following year there were 92 Wootton Bassett foals, a figure which held more or less steady until the three-figure mark was first breached in 2021, when there were 127 on the ground. That was the last batch conceived at Haras d'Etreham, whose Nicolas de Chambure must take great credit in helping to establish the son of Iffraaj (GB) as one of the most desirable stallions in Europe, so much so that he was bought by Coolmore and has stood at their Irish base for three seasons, commanding a fee of €150,000 for the last two years.

It is safe to say that Wootton Bassett has not been short of suitors in Tipperary. He is listed as having covered 229 mares in 2021 and 249 last year. Their names are as starry as they are abundant. Twenty-six members of his first Irish-conceived crop are catalogued for Arqana this week, among them a daughter of the Oaks winner Was (Ire), who is bred on the cross with Galileo (Ire) that has already yielded Al Riffa, who is set to run in Tuesday's G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano. We can expect to see plenty more of his runners bred this way.

With the increase in both the number and the quality of mares that Wootton Bassett has received in recent seasons, it will be a surprise if the exploits of his stock are not filling the racing pages for years to come.

Hot Forecast

Talking of timely updates, the former champion two-year-old Too Darn Hot (GB) was represented by his first group winner at the weekend with a determined performance from Steve Parkin's smart filly Fallen Angel (GB) in the G3 Sweet Solera S.

Simon Marsh, manager of Watership Down Stud where Too Darn Hot was bred, showed a smart turn of foot himself in getting to Newmarket's winner's enclosure to greet the Clipper Logistics colour-bearer, and he was quick to remind us that Too Darn Hot didn't appear on the racecourse until that same week in 2018. From his winning debut in mid-August, he collected a win in every group division to finish the season unbeaten and be crowned champion juvenile. He currently has eight winners from his 33 runners.

Fallen Angel already held the accolade of being her sire's first winner when making a successful debut back in May. She earned her first sliver of black type with a runner-up finish in the Listed Star S., and it would be no surprise to see her chart a similar path to her talented but somewhat ill-fated mother, Agnes Stewart (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}), who won the G2 May Hill S. and was second in the G1 Fillies' Mile.

With injury hijacking Agnes Stewart's three-year-old season, and colic claiming her life after Fallen Angel, the last of her four foals, was born, it would certainly be pleasing for the team at Parkin's Branton Court Stud to welcome her daughter back there eventually. As a Group 3 winner, Fallen Angel has already earned her place in the broodmare band, but let's hope there's plenty more to come on the track first.

Up and Coming

It is the time of year when the juvenile races start to become much more interesting. One would question the wisdom of having the pretty much identical Group 1 contests of the Phoenix S. and the Prix Morny just eight days apart, but this coming Sunday's line-up should be pretty stellar, and will hopefully pitch Christopher Head's filly Ramatuelle (Justify) against the aforementioned River Tiber, whose trainer Aidan O'Brien opted for Deauville over the Curragh, and possibly the recent G2 Richmond S. winner Vandeek (GB). The latter's sire Havana Grey (GB) continues to go from strength to strength and was second in the Morny himself to his stable-mate Unfortunately (Ire).

Amo Racing have rarely been unrepresented in juvenile stakes races this season, and this weekend they could have the G2 Norfolk S. winner Valiant Force (Malibu Moon) in action for Bucanero Fuerte's trainer Adrian Murray as well as the Dominic Ffrench-Davis-trained G2 Duchess of Cambridge S. victrix Persian Dreamer (Ire) (Calyx {GB}).

The Irish National Stud's Phoenix Of Spain (Ire), who beat Too Darn Hot in the Irish 2,000 Guineas, has crept into the picture in the first-season sires' table. He's had just 17 runners to date, but six of them have won, including the G3 Vintage S. winner Haatem (Ire). Similarly, another European Classic winner, Lanwades Stud's Study Of Man (Ire), has made an encouraging start with three winners from just eight runners. His dual winner Deepone (GB), trained by Paddy Twomey, garnered some black type on Friday when a close second to Warnie (Ire) (Highland Reel {Ire}) in the Listed Coolmore Stud Churchill S.

It is also worth noting that City Light (Fr), Etreham's son of Siyouni (Fr), has eight winners from 19 starters, giving him a strike-rate just above 40%.

Inspiral Emulates Miesque

The Prix Jacques Le Marois has become something of a Gosden benefit in the last decade, with John, and later John and Thady Gosden, winning five of the last ten runnings, including four consecutive victories with just two horses: Palace Pier (GB), who is a son of the 2014 winner Kingman (GB), and now Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}). Cheveley Park Stud's four-year-old remained unbeaten as a juvenile and is now a Group 1 winner in each of her three seasons.

Only one other filly, the great Miesque (Nureyev), has won the Jacques Le Marois twice, and in joining her, Inspiral provided Frankie Dettori with an emotional big-race success on his final ride at Deauville. She may yet give him a chance to shine at Santa Anita, with her trainers considering the Breeders' Cup Mile on the first weekend of November after Inspiral's 'win and you're in' success in Deauville.

Thousand Stars

While there was Group 1 action occurring just a stone's throw from his Deauville stable, Stephane Wattel crossed the border to Germany to notch his first win at the top level on Sunday with Simca Mille (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) in the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin.

Torquator Tasso (Ger) and Alpinista (GB) both went on to score in the Arc in the year after winning Hoppegarten's major prize. Perhaps that means we should be following Rebel's Romance (Ire) this year, and Simca Mille in 2024, though Wattel is already eyeing that prize for his four-year-old Haras de la Perelle homebred this season, and rightly so.

Simca Mille has run at Longchamp on four occasions, winning two Group 2 contests, the Prix Niel and the Prix d'Harcourt, and twice finishing runner-up, in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Prix Ganay. In fact, he has only ever been out of the first two twice in his 14 starts and it had long appeared to be only a matter of time before he claimed his own Group 1 triumph. Simca Mille also gave his young jockey Alexis Pouchin his second Group 1 victory in as many weeks, following the win of Mqse De Sevigne (Ire) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the Prix Rothschild a fortnight earlier.

Sweeping the Board

Croom House Stud's Sweepstake (Ire) is already a noted matriarch as the dam of the multiple group winners Broome (Ire) and Point Lonsdale (Ire), who are both sons of Australia (GB). Her two youngest racing offspring have both added to the 18-year-old mare's record since the start of August, with Saadiyat (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) having won at Vichy on Aug. 2 for Al Shira'aa Farms. The juvenile Diego Velazquez (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) followed suit when making a scintillating debut at the Curragh on Saturday to win his maiden by almost five lengths. He was awarded a TDN Rising Star for his efforts.

As a 2.4 million-guinea yearling, he is his dam's most expensive offspring to date, but his siblings haven't exactly been cheap. Sweepstake has certainly done her bit to help balance the Croom House books, as another eight of her offspring have been sold for six-figure sums as yearlings.

From the first crop of Acclamation (GB), Sweepstake became her sire's second stakes winner in the same week that Pencil Hill (Ire) beat her to the punch when holding off You'resothrilling (Storm Cat) to win a Listed contest at the Curragh. This duo emanated from the same crop that also produced the G1 Middle Park S. winner Dark Angel (Ire), who on Saturday was represented by his 100th black-type winner when Heredia (GB) landed the Listed Dick Hern S for owner/breeder Andrew Stone of St Albans Bloodstock.

Fev Takes The Bev

It takes a little adjustment to get used to the Arlington Million and the Beverly D S. being run at Virginia's Colonial Downs rather than in Chicago, but both those Grade 1 contests last Saturday fell to familiar names on this side of the pond.

Juddmonte's Set Piece (GB), by the late Dansili (GB), took the Million. Winner of the Listed Hyde S. and third in the Craven for Hugo Palmer before joining Brad Cox, the seven-year-old gelding has been a solid performer in America with five graded stakes wins to his credit.

Not quite so advanced in years, the Manister House Stud-bred Fev Rover (Ire), now five, continued her admirable career with her first top-level strike in the Beverley D. The daughter of Gutaifan (Ire), who is by the aforementioned Dark Angel, claimed the first of her wins at two in the Listed Star S. for Richard Fahey, before landing the G2 Prix Calvados and finishing fourth in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac. She was third in the 1,000 Guineas the following May and though she didn't manage another win in Europe, she strung together enough impressive runs to ensure a 695,000gns price tag when she went through the Tattersalls December Sale and was bought by Tracy Farmer. She has rewarded her new owner and her trainer Mark Casse with victories in the GII Canadian S. and GII Nassau S. and two further Grade 1 placings prior to Saturday.

Fev Rover is out of the High Chaparral (Ire) mare Laurelita (Ire), and her three-parts-brother has been catalogued for the Goffs Orby Sale on Sept. 27, selling through breeder Luke Barry's Manister House draft.

Barry was understandably delighted with the latest important update for the family. He said, “We're chuffed to bits. It's becoming more and more important to breed good horses. It's the Group 1 winners that catch people's attention and we've had so many messages from well-wishers.

“She's actually the third Group 1 winner we've sold at Doncaster after La Collina (Ire) and Law Enforcement (Ire). That's always been a lucky sale for us.

“Laurelita's yearling colt was bred specifically to produce a racehorse–it's a good cross–and she is now back in foal to Starspangledbanner.”

The post Seven Days: Bucanero Fuerte Times His Run to Perfection appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post