Tag: APBs

Temperence Hill or Isaac Murphy Up ‘Next’ for Streaking Marathon Man After 45-60 Days Off

After missing an intended start in the GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Santa Anita on Breeders' Cup Saturday due to a fever, the streaking marathon specialist Next (Not This Time) is currently being turned out for 45-60 days, according to trainer Doug Cowans.

“This fall, we were planning on going to California, but the Sunday before he was supposed to get on the plane, he got a little temperature,” Cowans said of Next missing the 1 5/8-miles event, a race he won at Keeneland in 2022.

“He was fine a couple of days later, but I tell 'ya, with flying and going out there I just said, 'Better not do it.' I scratched the whole idea. Everything had gone perfect all year and I wasn't gonna push the issue.”

Perfect, indeed.

Claimed by Michael A. Foster off owner/breeder Silverton Hill and trainer Wesley Ward for $62,500 at Keeneland last spring, the gelded 5-year-old has found his calling in the marathon division. He's won five out of his last six starts either on or just off the lead, including the GII Brooklyn S. going 1 1/2 miles at Belmont Park June 10, the Birdstone S. going 1 3/4 miles at Saratoga July 27 and the GIII Greenwood Cup S. going 1 1/2 miles in the slop at Parx last time out Sept. 23. He's won his last two starts by a combined margin of a whopping 36 3/4 lengths.

“He'll go back into training Jan. 1,” Cowans said. “We're pointing towards either the ($200,000) Temperence Hill S. (at Oaklawn Mar. 29) or the Isaac Murphy (Marathon S. at Churchill Downs).”

He continued, “Everybody in the barn is excited. He brings a little bit of a different type of energy with his specialty of running in these marathon races. These kind of horses don't come along too often. He's a unique horse. Me and my assistant have both checked in on him at the farm once a week and he is doing great. We're excited to get him back in here in about three weeks.”

Next, one of 13 graded winners for Not This Time, was produced by the multiple stakes-placed Awesome Again mare Bahia Beach.

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Angel of Empire Gearing Up for 4-Year-Old Campaign – ‘We’re Expecting a Big Year From Him’

Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), a powerful winner of this spring's GI Arkansas Derby and a rallying third as the favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby, has returned to training at WinStar Training Center and is expected to rejoin trainer Brad Cox at either Fair Grounds or Oaklawn Park within the next month.

The Albaugh Family Stables colorbearer was given a freshening after concluding his six-race sophomore campaign with a dead-heat fourth-place finish in the GI Belmont S. June 10 and a close third-place finish in a roughly run renewal of the GII Jim Dandy S. in the slop at Saratoga July 29. Angel of Empire was also a come-from-behind winner of the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds Feb. 18.

“The Triple Crown is a big ask to get through all those races and he never really had a break since he started,” Albaugh Family Stable's General Manager Jason Loutsch said.

“We try to listen to our horses. After the Jim Dandy, he came back and you could tell he had enough. We did the right thing–we obviously would've liked to press on and make the Breeders' Cup–but we gave him some time and thought that he could have a really big 4-year-old season. We're excited to get him going. I think he'll be one of the top handicap horses next year if he continues to go forward. He's doing really well right now.”

Angel of Empire, one of four graded winners for young sire Classic Empire, is the first foal out of the 7-year-old To Honor and Serve mare Armony's Angel, who brought $1.8 million from Katsumi Yoshida while in foal to Gun Runner at last month's Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Bred in Pennsylvania by Forgotten Land Investment Inc. and Black Diamond Equine Corp., Angel of Empire was purchased by Dennis Albaugh's operation for just $70,000 during the eighth session of the Keeneland September Yearling sale. He previously RNA'd for $32,000 as a Keeneland November weanling.

“He'll get a start around March or so and we'll probably target something on (Kentucky) Derby Day,” Loutsch said. “The end goal would be to try to get to the Breeders' Cup.”

Loutsch concluded, “He's such a cool horse and he tries hard every time. He deserved the time off and we're expecting a big year from him.”

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APBs: Derby Day ‘Rising Star’ Strobe Aiming for Fall Return

With the completely stunned Kentucky Derby day crowd of 147,294 beginning to file out following Rich Strike (Keen Ice)'s upset for the ages, Strobe (c, 3, Into Mischief–Flashing, by A.P. Indy) looked like he could be any kind while closing out the stacked 14-race card with a dominating 'TDN Rising Star' performance.

But where's the Godolphin homebred been since the first Saturday in May?

“He's just back with Brad [Cox] and slowly getting back going again,” Godolphin Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan said.

“He had his first little work last week [three furlongs in :38.60 at Churchill Downs Aug. 19]. Hopefully, he'll be back in the fall in a non-winners of one and then we'll come up with a gameplan for him. He's exciting. He's a fast horse and we're looking forward to getting him back on the track again.”

As for the time off, Banahan added, “There were just little minor issues that he's had all along, so he just needed a little bit of time off again. Nothing major, just enough that we had to give him that time. That was all really. He responded well to treatment and rehab. We got him back to Brad's barn relatively quickly.”

Backed as the 8-5 favorite on debut off a series of sharp-looking works for Cox, Strobe blasted out to the front, set fractions of :21.73 and :45.34 and powered home impressively to score by 4 1/2 lengths over older horses while stopping the timer for six furlongs in a snappy 1:08.71. He earned a gaudy 99 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The field of 11 also included promising third-place finisher Elite Power (Curlin), who has since won two straight for Hall of Famer Bill Mott.

Strobe, one of 33 'Rising Stars' for Spendthrift Farm super sire Into Mischief, is out of Flashing, who carried the famed Godolphin blue silks to victories in the GI Test S. and GI Gazelle S. She has also produced Floodlight (Medaglia d'Oro), SW & MGSP-Fr. Strobe's extended female family includes Canadian champion Key to the Moon, GI Kentucky Oaks winner Seaside Attraction and GISW Gorgeous.

“He's a talented horse,” Banahan said. “It's just a matter of getting him to the racetrack again and seeing if we can put a few races together. We're excited to get him training again and hopefully we can pick up some nice races with him down the road.”

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APBs: McGaughey Troops Gearing Up in South Florida

A pair of highly regarded sophomores of 2021 are on the comeback trail for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey.

Courtlandt Farm's homebred Greatest Honour (Tapit–Tiffany's Honour, by  Street Cry {Ire}) was a serious early contender for the GI Kentucky Derby following flashy wins in Gulfstream's GIII Holy Bull S. and GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. last winter. After finishing a flat third as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Curlin Florida Derby Mar. 27, however, McGaughey decided to hit the reset button on the bay.

“I wasn't really pleased with the way he was going after the Florida Derby,” McGaughey said. “So, we gave him some time. Then we gave him a little bit more time. He's been back training now. He was training at Courtlandt Farm then he came to Payson Park and we stepped it up a little bit when he got there. So, this is where we are.

McGaughey added, “He was always a tall horse and probably didn't carry as much weight as a 3-year-old that I'd like for him to. I think that's all come together now. I like everything he's been doing.”

Greatest Honour, produced by an unplaced daughter of bluehen mare Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister) and hailing from the same female family as Classic winners Rags to Riches and Jazil, has posted three workouts since late January at Payson Park, most recently completing a four-furlong breeze in :50.40 (21/24) Feb. 14.

“So far, he's doing really well,” McGaughey said. “He's been breezing weekly at Payson Park and hopefully he's probably a month or so away. I haven't gotten any timetable [for specific races] for him. I'm just sort of waiting to let him to tell me. But, so far, so good.”

Last year's GIII Dwyer S. 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin–America, by A.P. Indy), meanwhile, has begun gearing up at McGaughey's Gulfstream base. A disappointing well-beaten third while suffering his first career defeat making his two-turn debut in Saratoga's 1 1/8-mile Curlin S. July 30, he was subsequently freshened after bypassing a potential start in the GI Pennsylvania Derby in September. He's breezed six times so far this year, including a five-furlong move in 1:01.46 (6/14) in Hallandale Feb. 14.

“There really wasn't anything the matter with him, I just wasn't all together pleased of where I stood with him, so I thought, 'Well, let's just give him some time,'” McGaughey said. “Time helped him a lot. He was at Barry Eisaman's and he did a great job with him. He got out here and had a really good bottom in him and he's been breezing ever since. Hopefully, we can find a spot for him down the road somewhere along the lines.”

The $1.5-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling is campaigned in partnership by West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, breeder Bobby Flay and Woodford Racing. First Captain, the first foal out of Flay's GSW & MGISP America, is bred on the same Curlin over A.P. Indy cross responsible for recently crowned champion Malathaat as well as GISWs Global Campaign and Idol.

“I just want them to have a good summer campaign, so I'm not in any hurry,” McGaughey concluded of the duo.

 

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