Supplanted late at the top of the market by the European invader, Far Bridge was off without incident and settled in the latter third of the field as longshot Mondego set the pace in advance of Godolphin's Silver Knott (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), beaten a nose into second in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Worse than midfield at the midway stage and now down inside, Far Bridge was niggled along three furlongs out and pinched ground with no stone in his path at the hedge. Railing through inside of Mendelssohns March (Mendelssohn) into the stretch, Far Bridge was angled out a furlong and a half from home and kicked on gamely for the victory. The Foxes, dispatched as the 2-1 favorite, hesitated at the start and raced with only Webslinger (Constitution) behind through the opening exchanges. He raced more or less in the company of Far Bridge passing the half-mile pole, but found himself in a bit tight inside of GII Pennine Ridge S. hero Kalik (Collected) approaching the lane and was forced to wait a fraction or two longer than Oisin Murphy might have preferred. The Foxes sailed home and skimmed the rail late to finish a highly unlucky runner-up.

“We got a fortunate trip today,” said winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “Everything worked out. We were able to save some ground pretty much around both turns, especially the far turn. We knew he had a good closing kick, we just needed to be in position to deliver it. I really liked the way he was moving around the turn and then when he got clear in the stretch, I knew he'd keep coming. We always felt like the added distance was going to be to his advantage.”

Before hot-footing it to nearby JFK Airport to board a flight bound for France to ride Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in Sunday's G1 Prix Jean Prat, The Foxes's jockey Oisin Murphy lamented: “He stood to jump and was a little slow away. I followed the winner but I wanted to sit closer in the run. The winner got first run on me as we turned into the straight and The Foxes picked up brilliantly, but I'd have loved to have been more forward in the run.”

Far Bridge made the first two starts of his career for his breeder and Christophe Clement, flying home to narrowly defeat Carl Spackler (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) before impressively adding a Mar. 11 allowance to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors. Carl Spackler had earned the same designation a few weeks prior. LSU Stables acquired Far Bridge privately following the allowance and the bay rallied up the inside but was outfinished by Webslinger in the GII American Turf May 6. He was exiting fast-finishing second in the Pennine Ridge.

Pedigree Notes:

Far Bridge becomes the 69th worldwide stakes winner, 36th graded winner and 14th Grade I winner for the much-missed English Channel, winner of the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic over this course in 2006 and 2007. He is the 39th SW, 14th GSW and fifth GISW out of a mare by the late Kitten's Joy, a number that includes Channel Cat (English Channel) and dual Chilean G1SW Lukka (Chi), by Smart Strike's champion son Lookin At Lucky. Far Bridge is the last live produce listed for his dam.

Saturday, Belmont Park
BELMONT DERBY INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $750,000, Belmont, 7-8, 3yo, 1 1/4mT, 2:01.75, fm.
1–FAR BRIDGE, 122, c, 3, by English Channel
                1st Dam: Fitpitcher, by Kitten's Joy
                2nd Dam: Teenage Temper, by A.P. Indy
                3rd Dam: Pleasant Temper, by Storm Cat
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. 'TDN Rising Star' O-LSU Stables; B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Jose L. Ortiz. $412,500. Lifetime Record: 5-3-2-0, $629,700. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–The Foxes (Ire), 122, c, 3, Churchill (Ire)–Tanaghum (GB), by Darshaan (GB). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. (440,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-King Power Racing Co. Ltd.; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Andrew Balding. $150,000.
3–Mondego (GB), 122, c, 3, Lope de Vega (Ire)–Free Rein (GB), by Dansili (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. (230,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Cheyenne Stable LLC; B-Car Colston Hall Stud (GB); T-Christophe Clement. $90,000.
Margins: 1, NO, HF. Odds: 3.35, 2.15, 41.50.
Also Ran: Webslinger, Silver Knott (GB), Mendelssohns March, Redistricting (GB), Kalik, Wizard of Westwood, Cyber Ninja, Boppy O.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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European invader The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}), a narrow winner of the G2 Dante S. May 18 and fifth-place finisher after stumbling at the start in the G1 English Derby June 3, will make the trip across the pond for trainer Andrew Balding for the GI Belmont Derby Invitational. The 7-2 morning-line favorite, drawn widest of all in post 11, will square off against 10 rivals, including GII Pennine Ridge S. one-two-three Kalik (Collected), 'TDN Rising Star' Far Bridge (English Channel) and narrow GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Silver Knott (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}); and GII American Turf S. winner Webslinger (Constitution).

“He's a high-class horse,” Balding said. “He won the (G2 Juddmonte) Royal Lodge last year and this year he won our main Derby trial at York. He ran a good race in the Derby, but we felt he didn't get the mile and a half. Obviously, the option to drop back to 10 furlongs was attractive. Hopefully, it's a good fit for him.”

A field of nine will line up in the female counterpart in the GI Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational. Trainer Graham Motion will saddle 2-1 morning-line favorite and GIII Regret S. June 3 heroine Mission of Joy (Kitten's Joy) and Irish Group 3 winner Speirling Beag (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who makes her U.S. debut following a fifth-place finish in the G3 Prix Penelope in France Apr. 1. Trainer Chad Brown will seek his seventh Belmont Oaks trophy via undefeated Hilltop S. May 19 winner Aspray (Quality Road) and GII Wonder Again S. June 11 heroine Prerequisite (Upstart).

'TDN Rising Star' and last year's runaway GIII Dwyer S. winner Charge It (Tapit), meanwhile, headlines a five-horse field in the GII Suburban S. Unbeaten sophomore fillies Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic) and Dazzling Blue (Into Mischief) and GII Eight Belles S. winner Red Carpet Ready (Oscar Performance) will do battle in a fantastic renewal of the GIII Victory Ride S.

Derby Day at the Shoe…

Verifying (Justify), second in both the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. Apr. 8 and GIII Matt Winn S. June 11, will be favored to break through at the graded level in the GIII Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis. He dueled through a wicked early pace and paid the price, fading to finish 16th in the GI Kentucky Derby.

“He's doing really well,” trainer Brad Cox said. “I love how he came out of the Matt Winn. It will be back in 27 days, but he's a horse we felt we needed to get a race under his belt. He's run really well, just was narrowly defeated in the Matt Winn and the Blue Grass. His Derby was a throw out with the pace, going too quick too early. But he's a nice horse, he's doing well physically, looks amazing.”

The nine-horse field for the Indiana Derby also includes GIII Gotham S. winner Raise Cain (Violence), grassy Hawthorne Derby winner Act a Fool (Oscar Performance) and the highly regarded Cagliostro (Upstart), a strong second behind the talented Scotland (Good Magic) in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs June 3.

Taxed (Collected), an 11-1 upset winner of the GII George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan S. at Pimlico May 19, looks for her second straight win in the GIII Indiana Oaks. She'll face the Ken McPeek-trained GI Central Bank Ashland S. heroine Defining Purpose (Cross Traffic), purchased privately by Northern Farm since finishing seventh in the GI Kentucky Oaks.

Curlin Filly Headlines Delaware Handicap…

Juddmonte homebred Idiomatic (Curlin), a well-beaten second in the GII Ruffian S. at Belmont May 6 and wire-to-wire winner of the GIII Shawnee S. at Churchill June 3, is the clear cut one to beat in the GII Delaware H. The field of six also includes: Morning Matcha (Central Banker), second in last term's GI Cotillion S. and the local prep Obeah S. last time May 27; and GIII Royal Delta S. heroine Classy Edition (Classic Empire).

Graded Duo Beneath the Lights at Prairie Meadows…

Imonra (Violence) will make her stakes debut in the GIII Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows Saturday evening. The card also includes the GIII Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. for older horses and the $250,000 Iowa Derby.

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Aspen Grove carried Craig Bernick's distinctive silks to victory in a Group 3 contest at the Curragh last term and, with that valuable black-type success already secured, Stack felt connections could afford to be brave in travelling her over for Saturday's Grade I assignment. 

Stack said of the filly who is co-owned by Mrs. John Magnier, “She was in season when she ran in the Irish 1,000 Guineas so there was very much a plausible excuse for that effort. There's only one Guineas, she couldn't run in it next year, so that's why we took our chance. 

“Listen, she's travelled over well and she seems to have settled in nicely. Mark Enright is over here with her and he is happy with her so we'll see what happens.”

He added, “She has good form. She ran very well on her reappearance at Leopardstown when third in a Group 3 despite being caught wide the whole way round. 

Aspen Grove looking good ahead of Saturday's #Belmontoaks @Stack_Racing @craigb1818 @Deburghequine @oismurphy pic.twitter.com/kb3n7pT00q

— Mark Enright (@Markfishenright) July 3, 2023

“You could run around in Group 3s at home in Ireland for forty grand or you can come over here for a lot of money. She's already a Group 3 winner so she's nothing to lose and it all to gain.”

Aspen Grove is a general 8-1 chance with most firms for the Belmont Oaks and will have the assistance of Oisin Murphy in the saddle. 

Murphy's primary reason for jetting out Stateside is to ride Andrew Balding's The Foxes (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) in the Belmont Derby and Stack said that it would have been “silly” not to snap up a rider of his quality for Aspen Grove. 

He said, “It made a lot of sense to get Oisin to ride the filly. He's coming over to ride The Foxes for Andrew Balding anyway so it would have been silly not to use him while he's here.”

Stack has enjoyed a good start to his domestic campaign in Ireland and is operating at a 17 per cent strike-rate with 11 winners under his belt. 

Indeed, he has already tasted big-race success on American soil when Yesterdayoncemore (Ire) (No Nay Never) won a Grade II at Del Mar in 2019.

Like Yesterdayoncemore, Stack says that Aspen Grove could well continue her career in America for Bernick, who he describes as an important supporter of his famous County Tipperary stable.

Stack said, “We'll get this over with first, but we will probably run her at Saratoga or at Del Mar after this. I'm very lucky to have Craig as an owner. He's a very nice guy and has a great interest in the game. He actually bred Aspen Grove.”

On the race itself, he added, “Graham Motion's filly [Mission Of Joy (Kitten's Joy)] sets a good standard and Chad Brown has a couple of nice fillies [Aspray (Quality Road) and Prerequisite (Upstart)] in there as well. 

“There are no easy Group 1 races wherever you go but they are usually not as difficult to win on the grass in America than they are in Europe so hopefully she can go close.”

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Veinot, a transplanted Canadian now living in Lexington, purchased the colt for $30,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“I liked his frame,” Veinot said of the weanling's appeal. “There wasn't a lot of meat on those bones, but there was a beautiful frame. I liked the way he moved. This horse has probably the biggest walk on anything I've ever prepped in 20 years. I am hoping the buyers will see that. I am pretty sure that they will.”

Of the colt's transformation since last fall, Veinot said, “You wouldn't even recognize him. It doesn't always go that way. You buy that frame in hopes that it will all fill out in the right places. And with him, it has.”

The gray colt is out of La Boheme (Giant's Causeway), a half-sister to graded winners Electrify (Delaware Township) and Rothko (Arch).

Veinot worked as a showman for Taylor Made Sales Agency for two decades before starting her Dreamcatcher consignment with two horses at the Keeneland January sale earlier this year. But her relatively late start in horse racing was anything but certain after growing up showing horses in Canada.

“I left Canada when I was 24, almost turning 25,” Veinot recalled. “I was in Nova Scotia, married and had five businesses, and I didn't like anything I did. I was small enough. I always wanted to be a jockey. I knew a friend of a friend down in Maryland and he got me a job with Jonathan Sheppard. I packed up everything I owned and I went down to Jonathan Sheppard's farm.”

Veinot rode her first race at 30, but after five years in the saddle turned to training. She found a niche buying yearlings and selling them at the track as 2-year-olds.

“I would buy yearlings with no pedigree and I would run them at Keeneland and sell them off of the track,” she explained. “I would gate break and gallop them all on my own.”

That hands-on approach translated when she decided it was time to step back from breaking babies and transitioned to pinhooking weanlings to yearlings.

“When I had to step back from getting on those 2-year-olds, I wasn't really happy about that,” Veinot said. “To me, that was a step backwards. But I absolutely love weanling to yearlings. I break all of the babies before I bring them to the sale. And people know that I do that. I just like the one-on-one time with them. Anybody who knows me knows that I put a lot of groundwork in. All of my horses have had saddles and bridles and branches and tarps and balloons–I tie helium balloons to their backs before I get up on them. My favorite part is the groundwork and building confidence in the horse because I think it transcends onto the racetrack.”

In addition to showing at the sales for Taylor Made, Veinot sold her horses through the farm's sales consignments.

“I've partnered and sold with the Taylor Made boys for over 20 years,” Veinot said. “Taylor Made always blessed me with the privilege of going into their consignment and coming with my horses. So I was always able to show my own horses with them because I showed for them for 20 years.”

Among her pinhooking successes is Three Technique (Mr Speaker), who she purchased for $50,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale and sold the following year with Taylor Made for $180,000 at the Fasig-Tipton July sale. The 6-year-old recently added the July 1 GII John A Nerud S. to his resume.

“Three Technique was the first horse by Mr Speaker to go through the ring,” Veinot said. “I didn't even know who Mr Speaker was, but I really liked him.”

She also pinhooked Kalik (Collected), who she acquired for $80,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton October sale and resold for $200,000 at Keeneland the following September. The colt, owned by Bob LaPenta, e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Madaket Stables and trained by Chad Brown, won the June 3 GII Pennine Ridge S. and heads postward in Saturday's GI Belmont Derby.

“Chad Brown said he was his best 2-year-old last year, but he got slow going,” Veinot said of Kalik, who has now won three times from five starts. “He just won a stakes at Belmont that gave him an automatic entry into a $750,000 stakes. So I think he runs in New York before he heads to the Queen's [King's] Plate.”

The 58-year-old Veinot made the decision to go out on her own in January. In Dreamcatcher's first consignment, she sold a 2-year-old filly by Vino Rosso for $28,000 and RNA'd a daughter of Thousand Words.

“It was just time to take the leap,” Veinot said of the decision to start her own consignment. “By the time you give Keeneland 5% and [the consignor] 5%, it's $10,000 to sell your $100,000 horse. Financially this makes more sense. Truth be told, it made me a little nervous to step outside of the Taylor Made umbrella because they took care of the details, the paperwork, the entry forms. If I forgot something, they were on top of it. But, as long as I keep my ducks in a row as far as the paperwork goes, I am quite comfortable.”

While she purchased individuals with little pedigree when selling 2-year-olds off the track years ago, Veinot has found a new strategy with her weanling buys.

“That's the toughest part of the game that I've had to conform to,” she said. “I had the most beautiful Orb filly–just as one example–and nobody would buy an Orb. At that point they had all been burned by Orb and so I never got paid. So when I am looking at babies now, if I can afford the first-crop sires, I will. I can't afford the established sires, so what I will generally do is go in there and buy a first-crop sire with a smaller stud fee, like Mr Speaker and this Gift Box colt. But then I will try to buy something in that pedigree that might have a 2-year-old that could help me out next year. So I will look at all the yearlings turning two and the 2-year-olds turning three [in the weanling's pedigree] and hope to get a little lucky that way. That would be my niche, if you're buying on a budget.”

Veinot, who leases a farm off Huntertown Road, plans on keeping her operation small to continue her hands-on approach.

“I keep a really boutique bunch because I do all the work myself,” she said. “So a half-dozen is my magic number [to pinhook]. I did eight a couple of years ago and it was just too many.”

Veinot still has her trainer's license and has two horses in her stable.

“I kept a horse that I liked and had some talent and named him after my dad,” she said of You Make Me Happy (Firing Line). “He broke his maiden here at Keeneland in the fall, but I don't brag to be a trainer. I did that when I was pinhooking yearlings to 2-year-olds. I did that for 10 years and then I took a break and started doing the weanlings. When You Make Me Happy came along, I took my trainer's license back out for him. And I've kept another filly who went through that January sale, she's a filly by Thousand Words who I think has a ton of talent and I'm going to race her under my own name.”

Fasig-Tipton will host its July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale Monday at Newtown Paddocks with bidding beginning at 2 p.m. The Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings will be held Tuesday beginning at 10 a.m.

The post ‘This is a Beautiful Gift Box Colt’: Veinot Has High Hopes for One-Horse Fasig July Consignment appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Graduating by 4 3/4 lengths at second asking over the Lingfield all-weather last October, the Godolphin homebred reeled off three more open-lengths tallies culminating with a seven-length rout in the Newmarket S. Apr. 29. Disappointing some when finishing a distant eighth in the G1 Cazoo Derby June 4 at Epsom, he finished full of run before coming up three-quarters of a length short in second to 26-1 upsetter Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) in the July 9 Belmont Derby.

Breaking a beat slowly as the narrow favorite once again Saturday, Nations Pride was smartly sent through a narrow early opening by Buick to gain position as Classic Causeway went clear going past the stands the first time and found a perfect spot by the time the field bent into the first turn, stalking from the pocket in third. Tipping off the rail around the quarter pole, the blaze-faced bay charged past Classic Causeway inside the furlong marker and finished up smartly to win comfortably by 1 3/4 lengths in the end. Second choice Annapolis (War Front) edged out Classic Causeway for second on the wire.

“I came in yesterday and saw them train this morning [Nations Pride and filly With The Moonlight, who starts in Sunday's G3 Saratoga Oaks] and as a physical, I think they've done very well. The style of training [both recorded four breezes in an 11-day span], they've adapted to it,” said winning trainer Charlie Appleby. “On the back of Belmont, they were a touch unlucky. He was a bit slow from the gate there and had that wider trip around. It was a little bit messy, but that was by the by. We came in today confident that if we could just get him to break a bit quicker and William could get him up in behind the pace that we felt he was the right horse in the race and could go on and get the job done. It was a great ride by William.”

“He was drawn 10 at Belmont and he jumped a step slow, which he did today as well,” added Buick. “From the four gate, I managed to go to the inside and get him into a good spot and he did the rest from then on really. I expected them to go faster, but I also had in the back of my head that the horse that made the run in the Belmont race [Classic Causeway] would want to be doing the same again today. Once I saw that I knew Julien [Leparoux, aboard Classic Causeway] wasn't going to go too fas, I was happy where I was. I knew there were a couple closers in the race, but I knew my horse would stay well and the way that rain took the speed out of the track a little bit, so I was confident that my horse would stay well and hit the line well.”

Nations Pride was the first mount at Saratoga for Buick, who appreciated the occasion and the company kept in the track's star-studded jockeys' room.

“I'm very privileged to be able to come over here and ride these horses,” the 34-year-old said. “I've been riding a lot in the States on and off the last few years and I love it. The jockey colony over here is something really special. To be in that jocks' room today with all the superstars was fantastic and great to be part of it. I've never been to Saratoga before. This is my first ride. I've watched plenty of races here and last year we couldn't travel here, so when Charlie asked me to come and ride these horses, it was great to get that call.”

Pedigree Notes:

With the victory, Nations Pride is now the 59th graded/group stakes winner and 23rd Grade I/Group 1, as well as the first Stateside top-level scorer for the 18-year-old Kildangan Stud stalwart. His second dam Satwa Queen (Fr) was a five-time group winner in France and half-sister to G1SW Spadoun (Fr) (Kaldoun {Fr}) whose crowning achievement was a victory in the 2007 G1 Prix de l'Opera. Important Time, a minor stakes winner in Germany in 2015, has a yearling filly by Dark Angel (Ire) and produced a full-sister to the winner Mar. 8.

Saturday, Saratoga
CAESARS SARATOGA DERBY INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $1,000,000, Saratoga, 8-6, 3yo, 1 3/16mT, :00.00, fm.
1–NATIONS PRIDE (IRE), 122, c, 3, by Teofilo (Ire)
                1st Dam: Important Time (Ire) (SW-Ger), by Oasis Dream (GB)
                2nd Dam: Satwa Queen (Fr), by Muhtathir (GB)
                3rd Dam: Tolga, by Irish River (Fr)
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Godolphin, LLC; B-Godolphin (Ire); T-Charles Appleby; J-William T. Buick. $535,000. Lifetime Record: 8-5-2-0, $899,216. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Annapolis, 122, c, 3, War Front–My Miss Sophia, by Unbridled's Song. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Bass Racing, LLC; B-Bass Stables, LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $185,000.
3–Classic Causeway, 122, c, 3, Giant's Causeway–Private World, by Thunder Gulch. O/B-Kentucky West Racing LLC & Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek. $100,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HD, 1. Odds: 2.10, 2.90, 5.90.
Also Ran: Sy Dog, Stone Age (Ire), Royal Patronage (Fr), Main Event, Grand Sonata, Ethereal Road, Emmanuel. Scratched: Stolen Base.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Among top-tier trainers, there is no one like him. He'll run fillies against the boys, run back in a week and he's not afraid to throw a 50-1 bomb into a race or, in the case of 2022 GI Belmont S. winner Sarava (Wild Again), a 70-1 shot. It hurts his winning percentage, which is at 17% on the year. But McPeek doesn't seem to care. His job is to make money for his owners, and he understands that the more chances he gives his horses, the more money his clients are likely to make.

McPeek dipped into his bag of tracks Saturday when he entered Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway) in the Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational, a decision that led to a Grade I win in a $1-million race.

The colt had shown a lot of promise early in his career and was among the top contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby after winning the GII Tampa Bay Derby. Then trained by Brian Lynch, Classic Causeway went off form and finished eleventh in the GI Florida Derby and eleventh again in the GI Kentucky Derby. The owners made a move after the Kentucky Derby and turned the horse over to McPeek. In his first start for McPeek, he ran third in the GIII Ohio Derby, a sign that maybe he was about to come around.

That might have set him up for some of the big dirt stakes coming up for 3-year-olds. Instead, McPeek targeted the Belmont Derby. Never mind that Classic Causeway would have to come back in two weeks or that he had never run on the grass. It was a $1-million race, and McPeek decided to take a shot, something few other trainers would have done with this horse.

It didn't hurt that Classic Causeway was the recipient of a lucky break. Emmanuel (More Than Ready) was not only a top contender in the race but the clear speed. But he was scratched by the stewards for reasons that remain unclear. The New York Gaming Commission tweeted the following: “The Commission Steward has ordered the scratch of Emmanuel, scheduled to run in today's Belmont Derby, due to issues relating to veterinary records. The matter remains under review.”

With Emmanuel out, Classic Causeway was the only speed in the race. Jockey Julien Leparoux picked up on that and put in a heads-up ride. Classic Causeway led by a length after a half-mile had been run in :48 and, from there, they couldn't catch him.

McPeek's aggressive handling of horses was also on display at Horseshoe Indianapolis, where he had a good showing Saturday. He got a win in the $100,000 Mari Hulman George S. with Semble Juste (Ire) (Shalaa {Ire}), who was coming back in nine days after winning an allowance at Churchill. In the GIII Indiana Oaks, he ran Runaway Wife (Gun Runner) off an eight-day layoff and Silverleaf (Speightster) off a nine-day layoff. Runaway Wife finished second and Silverleaf was third. McPeek also ran Rattle N Roll (Connect) in the GIII Indiana Derby, just a week after he won the American Derby. He finished seventh.

On Saturday, McPeek also won the GIII Iowa Oaks with Butterbean (Klimt). She was coming back in 28 days, by McPeek standards a long layoff.

The only horse he ran all day that had more than four weeks off was Tiz The Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), who was making his first start since the May Kentucky Derby in the Belmont Derby. He finished ninth.

On the day, McPeek ran horses in five different races, all of them stakes. He won two and had two others, both fillies, finish in the money and pick up black type. Among that group, everyone was running back in 28 days or less. That just doesn't happen anymore.

A Record-Breaking Belmont Meet For Chad Brown

Chad Brown winning a training title at the NYRA tracks is no longer big news, but what Brown accomplished at the Belmont meet that ended Sunday was historic.

With 153 starters, he won 47 races, setting a new record for most wins by a trainer at the Belmont spring-summer meet. The old record was 44, set by David Jacobson in 2013. But Jacobson compiled those numbers during a year in which the meet ran for 56 days. This year's meet ran for 44 days.

Twelve of Brown's winners came in graded stakes races and four were in Grade I's. He won 14 stakes overall. He won 27 turf races and 20 on the dirt. But his winning percentage on the turf was 26%, while he won with 41% of his dirt starters.

More Small Fields

They could only find five horses to run in the GII Suburban S. Saturday out at Belmont–a race that has been won by Easy Goer, Dr. Fager, Forego, Buckpasser, Kelso, Bold Ruler–and one came from the barn of the racing secretary's best friend, Uriah St. Lewis. The winner, Dynamic One (Union Rags), had never before won a graded stakes.

Between the June 11 GI Metropolitan H. and the GI Woodward S., likely to be run this year on Oct. 1, NYRA will offer five graded stakes for males on the dirt. (The other two are the GI Whitney S. and the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup). Please don't try to tell me this isn't a problem.

Juan Vazquez and the Pennsylvania Racing Commission

For years, the Pennsylvania Racing Commission seemed like a do-nothing organization run by bureaucrats who had better things to do than to truly police the sort. But it looks like that has changed.

Juan Vazquez, who has a long and troubling history of breaking the rules, shipped a horse in January from Belmont to Parx. The horse, Shining Colors (Paynter), arrived in such bad shape that she had to be euthanized due to what the stewards said was a case of severe laminitis. Vazquez was suspended for 2 1/2 years Friday, and the stewards called his actions “grossly negligent, cruel and abusive.”

This was not your typical slap on the wrist, but a penalty that fit the crime. Obviously, the racing commission has had enough of Vazquez's flouting the rules and it brought its hammer down on a trainer who should have been thrown out of the game years ago.

He is eligible to return on Jan. 26, 2025. Will someone–a racing commission, a track?–let him race at that time? One would hope that the sport can show enough backbone that Vazquez will never participate again. Just don't count on it.

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The Aidan O'Brien-trained colt is now being aimed at the GI Belmont Derby, where he is likely to clash with Charlie Appleby's Breeders' Cup and French 2,000 Guineas winner Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is set to be ridden by Frankie Dettori.

O'Brien, who won last year's Belmont race with Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), said, “Stone Age will go to Belmont the following weekend instead.

“It will give him another week and obviously it's against 3-year-olds only. We can step up again after that, depending on how that goes.”

O'Brien, who won his sixth Eclipse with St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) 12 months ago, will not be represented in this year's renewal.

He also left G1 Coronation Cup third High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})  and Group 3 winner Aikhal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Eclipse at Monday's confirmation stage, but the pair too have alternative targets.

“High Definition is going to go to the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud the following day and Aikhal is going to go to the G1 Grand Prix de Paris the following week (July 14),” the trainer added.

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Dalika started the sequence by besting Luck Money by one length in the $150,000 Grade 3 Robert G. Dick Memorial in Race 5 at Delaware Park in Wilmington, Del., with fillies and mares 3-years-old and up competing at 1 3/8 miles on the turf. Trained by Al Stall, Jr. and ridden by Miguel Mena, Dalika completed the course in 2:16.35 and returned $10.60 on a $2 win wager.

Three consecutive stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. comprised the heart of the wager, starting with Santa Barbara's rally for a half-length win in the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational in Race 7. The Irish-bred shipper for trainer Aidan O'Brien rallied from seventh at the top of the stretch under internationally renowned jockey Ryan Moore, winning the 1 1/4-mile inner turf contest for sophomore fillies that was the first leg of the Turf Triple series. Santa Barbara, who notched a 2:03.76 final time, paid $4.30 as the even-money favorite in Race 7.

Prat, aboard the runner-up Con Lima in the Belmont Oaks Invitational, earned a trip to the winner's circle in the next race piloting Souper Sensational to a 3 1/4-length victory in the Grade 3 Victory Ride for 3-year-old fillies sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track in Race 8. Trained by Casse, Souper Sensational returned $13.80, posting a final time of 1:15.79 to top Ova Charged.

Belmont's other Turf Triple opener – the Grade 1 Belmont Derby Invitational for 3-year-olds also going 1 1/4 miles on the inner turf, saw O'Brien and Moore team up again to win aboard a talented Irish-bred shipper, as Bolshoi Ballet rewarded his even-money favoritism with a 1 1/4-length score, paying $4.10. Bolshoi Ballet topped the French-bred Tokyo Gold, hitting the wire in 2:04.42.

Delaware Park bookended the action when Miss Marissa bested a six-horse field of fillies and mares 3-years-old and up to win the $400,000 Grade 2 Delaware Handicap by 1 1/4 lengths in Race 9. Miss Marissa, conditioned by James Ryerson and ridden by Daniel Centeno, notched a final time of 2:04.50, paying $11.40.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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Santa Barbara won the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks Invitational after some anxious moments around the far turn and into the stretch. Expertly piloted by jockey Ryan Moore, Santa Barbara saved ground between horses down the backstretch, but lacked racing room at the top of the stretch. Approaching the furlong marker, she angled into the clear and displayed a devastating turn-of-foot going from seventh to first in the final two points of call. The half-length victory garnered a 90 Beyer Speed Figure.

Two races later, the all navy blue Coolmore colors found prosperity once more when Bolshoi Ballet backed up his heavy favoritism in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby. The beaten favorite last out in the Group 1 Epsom Derby on June 5 saw redemption by making a wide, sweeping move at the top of the stretch under Moore to win by 1 ¼ lengths.

Bolshoi Ballet and Santa Barbara will head back to Ballydoyle Training Center in Ireland on Sunday evening, where further plans will be evaluated.

“They both ate up well last night and left nothing. They walked this morning and are a hundred percent,” said O'Brien's traveling assistant T.J. Comerford. “They'll head home tonight, but they're in good shape after running.”

Comerford said that a start in the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships on November 6 at Del Mar is possibly in play for both horses.

Santa Barbara would likely target the $2 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, while Bolshoi Ballet would be a candidate for the $4 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf – which O'Brien has won six times.

“That's the plan for them both,” Comerford said. “Wherever they go next is another thing, but now that they had a bit of practice coming over here, it will be easier the next time.”

The second legs of the Turf Triple for sophomores are the $1 million Grade 1 Saratoga Derby Invitational on August 7 and the $700,000 Grade 3 Saratoga Oaks Invitational on August 8. Comerford said while both races have not been ruled out for either horse, they would be more likely to campaign in Europe before heading back to the United States for the Breeders' Cup.

“It's probably an option, but now that they have it done, maybe we'll find some other horses to come to Saratoga with,” Comerford said. “I'm sure we'll have something – maybe not these two – but Aidan will decide.”

Comerford said both Santa Barbara and Bolshoi Ballet have been highly regarded horses for O'Brien from the get-go.

“He brought two very good horses this time,” Comerford said. “The filly was favored in the Guineas and finished third. The colt was favored in the Derby, he just didn't get to running. The ground didn't come up the way we had hoped, but he took his chance. He did get galloped well into behind, but he came out of it very well.”

Santa Barbara, a daughter of 2012 Epsom and Irish Derby winner Camelot, arrived at the Belmont Oaks off three straight starts at Group 1 caliber, the most recent of which was a narrow defeat to older filly Thundering Nights in the Group 1 Pretty Polly at the Curragh, just 13 days before the Belmont Oaks. A similar route was taken with 2018 Belmont Oaks victress Athena, who won off six days rest when third in that year's Pretty Polly.

Prior to the Pretty Polly, she was a respective fourth and fifth in the British 1000 Guineas on May 2 at Newmarket and the Epsom Oaks on June 4 at Epsom Downs.

“In fairness to her, her last three races were top class Group 1 races so she had plenty of experience,” said Comerford. “She showed in the Oaks that she had a good turn of foot, even though they were going steady. Ryan never hit her. Even after the race, he said it was the easiest winner he's ridden.”

Breeders' Cup victories have been a family tradition for Santa Barbara, whose half-siblings Order of Australia and Iridessa captured the 2020 Breeders' Cup Mile and 2019 Filly and Mare Turf, respectively. Santa Barbara's grand dam, Starine, won the 2002 Filly and Mare Turf for late Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel.

“She's starting to progress like him [Order of Australia] and Iridessa,” Comerford said. “She's starting to go along the same lines as them. She's just getting better. The next time she'll be a lot more streetwise again. It was only her fifth start.”

Prior to the Epsom Derby, Bolshoi Ballet registered two Group 3 victories at Leopardstown going the Belmont Derby distance. Comerford said a mile and a half is easily within the athletic colt's ability.

“If it were a mile and a half yesterday, he would have won further,” Comerford said. “He wants a mile and a quarter, but a mile and a half isn't a problem to him either.”

A victory in the Belmont Derby came on the same day as the passing of Bolshoi Ballet's internationally acclaimed sire Galileo, who captured the Epsom Derby, Irish Derby, and King George & Queen Elizabeth Diamond, all Group 1, in 2001.

“There are going to be other Galileo horses that come along, but we were fortunate to win yesterday,” Comerford said. “He's proven to be a decent horse and we've always thought a lot of him.”

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Breaking from post two, the son of Galileo hung toward the middle of the field of nine, content to sit behind Hard Love on the lead with Sainthood and Safe Combat behind him for the first part of the ten furlongs. Hard Love maintained his lead by a length on the backstretch, with Cellist moving past Sainthood to take over second as they approached the final turn.

On the turn, Cellist took over the lead, with Hard Love just behind him on the hedge as Bolshoi Ballet went wide and then accelerated into the stretch. That turn of foot allowed Bolshoi Ballet to take over the lead within the race's last sixteenth of a mile, with Tokyo Gold surging late to take second and Cellist holding on for third. Du Jour, Sainthood, Palazzi, Hard Love, Safe Conduct, and Hidden Enemy rounded out the field. The final time for the mile and a quarter was 2:04.62.

Find this race's chart here.

Trained by Aidan O'Brien, Bolshoi Ballet follows up his seventh-place finish in the Group 1 Epsom Derby with today's victory in the G1 Belmont Derby, the first leg of the New York Turf Triple, improving his record to four wins in seven lifetime starts for total winnings of $638,434. The 3-year-old colt is by Galileo out of the French mare Alta Anna, by Anabaa. He was bred by Lynch-Bages & Rhinestone Bloodstock and is owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg.

Ryan Moore saw the slow pace of the Belmont Derby and knew what Bolshoi Ballet needed. “It felt like they were going very slow. This horse, we know he gets the 10 [furlongs] very well. It was a messy race and he won comfortably without being able to show how good he is. We're happy with him. He's the most beautiful horse you'll see. He's a real athlete. He's a class horse.

“With a furlong to run, you could see he was just waiting; having a look and his ears were going. He's still getting used to knowing what he has to do. We think there's more to come. Potentially, I suppose he could be a Breeders' Cup Turf horse.”

T. J. Comerford, assistant to trainer O'Brien, was pleased with the colt's performance on less-than-ideal turf. “The ground was probably a little bit slow for him, because he likes quick ground, but he did well at the finish because he had a good gallop and that helped him. Ideally, he probably wants tougher ground. In fairness to him, his class pulled it out at the end of the day and you have to be happy with it.”

Bolshoi Ballet paid $4.10, $3.20, and $2.80. Tokyo Gold paid $10.60 and $6.20. Cellist paid $7.20 to show.

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