Bolt d'Oro currently has nine winners and, while still searching for his first stakes winner, he currently as two stakes-placed runners, with John Grey finishing third in the Hoover S. and Owen's Leap finishing second in the Bashford Manor. Owen's Leap was scratched from Saturday's GII Saratoga Special.

Freshman sire Good Magic is also represented in the Best Pal, with Quagmire Magic coming from the red-hot barn of George Papaprodromou. The youngster was claimed from trainer Peter Miller for $50,000 following a debut win at Los Alamitos June 25.

The Best Pal's freshman sire contingent also includes Mardukas, a son of GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming who broke his maiden second time out June 26 at Churchill Downs for trainer Jeff Engler.

Woodbine hosts its third graded event of the weekend with the GIII Seagram Cup S. Sunday.

The post Bolts Gallore in Best Pal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The year was 2014. The horse was John Oxley-owned Skyway, who was ridden to victory in the Futurity-prep Best Pal by Stewart Elliott. Casse, recently inducted into racing's Hall of Fame a year after being voted entrance, picks up the narrative from there.

“Skyway had won the Best Pal and he was going to be the favorite in the Futurity. Bob (Baffert) had an exercise rider get hurt and Stewart Elliott was walking over to exercise one for Bob and I guess he got too close to a horse on a hot-walking machine and he got kicked and broke his ribs.

“I had riders lined up to ride Skyway and Victor Espinoza was on the short list. A few days before, I told Espinoza's agent (Brian Beach) I was going to let Corey Nakatani ride.

“A few days go by and I see his agent and asked if he'd picked up anything for the Futurity. He goes, 'Aw, we picked up a maiden for Bob.”

That pick-up mount was eventual Del Mar Futurity and 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh.

“I think Skyway ($2.30-1 in the Futurity) was the only horse ever to be favored over American Pharoah,” Casse said.

Seven years later, Casse has Pappacap, a homebred son of Gun Runner from the Rustlewood Farm of George and Karen Russell and 2-for-2 in a career with a 4 3/4-length victory in the Best Pal on Aug. 7 here following up a wire-to-wire debut win in May at Gulfstream Park in Florida. Pappacap is the likely favorite for the 74th running of the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on closing day of the meeting, Labor Day Monday, September 6.

“Pappacap has been a horse, from the time we started breezing at our training center in Ocala, that always seemed a little extra special,” Casse said recently by phone from Saratoga. “George and Karen Russell are small breeders, but wonderful people and we're very excited for them.

“They're from South Florida and we had him here this spring and the plan was to run in South Florida and then maybe Saratoga.”

The plan was altered after the Gulfstream debut.

“I didn't know he would go right to the lead,” Casse said. “I didn't think they would beat him, but I thought he would settle and then make a run. I was kind of shocked by it, but good horses are very versatile and he's a good horse.

“We brought him back to Ocala, the Russells were there to watch him and I just ran it by them that there was a good series in California and I think this horse could be a Breeders' Cup horse. So why not send him out, and they said OK.”

With assistant Allen Hardy-Zukowski overseeing preparations at Del Mar, Pappacap, under Joe Bravo, rated nicely behind two front-runners, took over in mid-stretch and went on to a 4 ½-length victory

“I've seen much stronger Best Pals and I'm not sure he beat the greatest field in the world, but I liked the way he did it,” Casse said. “He settled, he finished, he galloped out strong. And I think it helped him. He's got a lot of confidence right now.”

If Papacap does well in the Futurity, the plan is to keep him in California, part of a small string for Casse at Santa Anita, and then back to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup World Championships on November 5-6.

In the 2017 Breeders' Cup, the first as host for Del Mar, Casse was represented by seven horses in five races. A third, at odds of 14-1, in the Dirt Mile by Awesome Slew as part of the Friday program got the Casse contingent off to a good start. A sixth by Wonder Gadot, one of three Casse charges in the Juvenile Fillies, was the best result from the next five he saddled.

Then World Approval won as the favorite in the $2 million Mile on turf, which was worth $1.1 million for owner Charlotte Weber of Live Oak plantation, a longtime client whose father was a Florida neighbor and friend of Casse's faher.

It was the third year in a row that Casse had won a Breeders' Cup race. In the post-race press conference he had this to say of World Approval: “Obviously, to win this race you have to be a great horse and he proved that today. You can't train greatness. You can just kind of make sure you don't get in their way.”

Two months out, it's impossible to predict how many horses Casse will have when Del Mar serves as the Breeders' Cup venue for a second time. But he's hoping it will be similar, or even greater, in numbers to 2017.

Got Stormy punched a ticket to the FanDuel Mile with a 'Win and You're In' victory in the Fourstardave on August 1 at Saratoga. Casse has several prospects for the Woodbine Mile on September 18, and an assortment of 2-year-olds for the Natalma Stakes and Summer Stakes the following day in Toronto, all automatic qualifier events

“We have a lot of young horses and this is the time of year you look for them to step up,” Casse said. “I had a filly called Valadorna who didn't make her first start until September and she wound up second in the (2016) Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. I had a horse called Airoforce who didn't run until Kentucky Downs (early September) and he wound up getting beat a neck in the (2015) Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.

“So we've got horses out there that haven't started yet that have potential. You need a lot of luck.”

The 2017 Breeders' Cup was for Casse a return to the track where he had overseen a string in 2014. A proponent of artificial surfaces, Casse forged a western campaign for the final season before Del Mar switched back from Polytrack to dirt for the main track.

“I remember we had a bunch of seconds and no wins to start and it was being talked about,” Casse said. “I could run 15 at Woodbine and not win and nobody notices. (At Del Mar) you lose 15 in a row and you feel like everybody's watching.”

On the final weekend of the campaign, Casse – despite issues — wound up saddling the standout filly Lexie Lou to do battle with California Chrome in the first Hollywood Derby at Del Mar.

A normally short 10-minute trip from their rental house took more than twice as long and, arriving at the track, Casse was delayed further by a security guard who didn't recognize or believe him when he said he had a horse to saddle.

Lexie Lou put up a game fight before finishing second, two lengths behind California Chrome.

Win or lose, smooth sailing or hassles, Casse has always expressed an affinity for Del Mar on his visits.

“We love Del Mar,” Casse acknowledged. “If I said to my wife, Tina, 'Let's move to Del Mar,' she'd be packing in no time. She loves it there. I've said to a lot of people, it's where trainers die and go to heaven.”

The post Futurity Colt Stirs Del Mar Memories For Hall Of Famer Casse appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Prat took the $200,000 Grade 2 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes on Friday aboard Public Sector ($3.80) for trainer Chad Brown. Saturday, the same combination scored in the $120,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure Stakes with Flavius ($4.70).

Prat was fourth, beaten 6 ¾ lengths by Bella Sofia, aboard Always Carina for Brown in the $500,000 Grade 1 Longines Test Stakes. One race later on the card, Del Mar-based Hall of Famer Mike Smith was fifth, beaten 4 ½-lengths by 21-1 long shot State of Rest, aboard Secret Protector for English trainer Charles Appleby.

Meanwhile, Del Mar's pair of Grade 2 events on Saturday were won by riders with a combined total age of 100 and combined total experience of 62,819 races and 11,591 wins.

Joe Bravo, 49 for another month, took the first of the back-to-back stakes, the $200,500 Best Pal, getting Pappacap to settle nicely behind dueling front runners then swooping to a 4 3/4-length score. According to Equibase statistics, Bravo ended the day with 30,507 career races and 5,505 wins.

“His (only previous) race in Florida, he was just pure speed,” Bravo said. “You don't know if that's the way they like to go. I was glad to see how well he settled in behind those two up front. He showed another dimension today.”

Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux, 51, won the $200,000 Yellow Ribbon on Princess Grace for trainer Mike Stidham. At Desormeaux's urging, the 4-year-old filly shot through a gap between horses at the top of the stretch to take the lead and was never headed in winning by 1 ¼ lengths.

“Michael told me one thing before the race that I used to advantage,” Desormeaux related. “He said, 'She's brave.' When that hole opened turning for home, I sent her through and she went right on with it.”

Desormeaux, who missed much of 2020 while addressing personal issues, has 32,312 career starts and 6,086 wins according to Equibase statistics.

“I'm so happy for Kent,” Stidham said. “He's so talented, an amazing rider, and the way he came through that hole with (Princess Grace) was terrific.”

Bravo stands fifth in the Del Mar rider standings with nine wins from 53 mounts. Desormeaux is in seventh place with seven victories in 45 starts.

The post Prat Wins On East Coast, Veterans Take Del Mar Stakes Saturday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Pappacap, a 2-year-old son of Gun Runner, “looks good and ate up well,” Hardy-Zukowsky said. “Now he'll rest a day or two before going back to the track and we'll see what happens from there.”

Casse watched the race in New York, where he had been inducted into racing's Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs a day earlier, and was soon on the phone with Hardy-Zukowsky.

“He was ecstatic, very happy for the horse and for the owner (Gary Barber),” the assistant reported. The $300,000 Grade 1 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on closing day, Monday, September 6, would be a logical next step for Pappacap. In the past 12 years, four horses have gone on from victory in the Best Pal to take the Futurity: Lookin At Lucky (2009); J P's Gusto (2010); Nyquist (2015), and Klimt (2016).

The post Pappacap Doing Well After Best Pal, Casse Considering Next Start appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The pair of offerings at the seaside track in Del Mar, Calif., were both Grade 2 events and both offered $200,000 purses. The Best Pal – being run for the 51st time – saw Pappacap maneuver like an old pro in only his second start in the juvenile headliner as he waited on rider Joe Bravo's signal, then zoomed to the front turning for home and went on to tally by 4 3/4 lengths. He ran the six furlongs in 1:11.66.

In the Yellow Ribbon – on the turf at 1 1/16 miles and being offered for its 69th edition – jockey Kent Desormeaux saw a hole nearing the quarter pole and asked the 4-year-old filly Princess Grace to go for it. She did readily and pulled clear in the lane to finish 1 1/4 lengths to the good at the end of the filly/mare feature. The winner covered the distance in a snappy 1:40.84.

Pappacap, a bay colt by champion Gun Runner bred by his owners, had captured his debut in a straight maiden race at Gulfstream Park in Florida on May 14.  Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse shipped him west for the Best Pal, perhaps looking ahead to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, which will be run at Del Mar on November 5.

Princess Grace, a homebred daughter of the Japanese stallion Karakontie, was winning her fifth race in her sixth start (she was second in her lone loss) and accomplishing it at her sixth different racetrack. The well-traveled filly is trained by Michael Stidham.

Pappacap picked up a check for $120,000 with his victory, pushing his bankroll to $158,000.  Princess Grace also earned $120,000 for her bit of handiwork and now shows winnings of $440,460.

Lovingier, Fasihuddin or Navarro's Finneus checked in second in the Best Pal, while Gary Barber's Bet On Mookie was third. Pappacap paid $6.60, $3.40 and $2.60 across the board. In the Yellow Ribbon, LNJ Foxwoods' Dogtag ran second and Slam Dunk Racing, Stable Currency and Branham's Maxim Rate was third. Princess Grace paid $9.20, $5.00 and $3.40.  Dogtag returned $4.80 and $3.20, while Maxim Rate paid $3.00.

Six horses ran in the Best Pal, while nine competed in the Yellow Ribbon.

Pappacap draws off to win the Best Pal by 4 3/4 lengths under Joe Bravo

The track's Pick 6 Single Ticket Jackpot Wager continued elusive for gamblers and grew its jackpot again for the 11th straight day. The carryover into Sunday's 10-race card will now be $982,985.

First post Sunday is 2 p.m.

Post-race quotes – Yellow Ribbon:

KENT DESORMEAUX (Princess Grace, winner) – “Michael (trainer Stidham) told me one thing before the race that I used to advantage today: He said 'She's brave.' When that hole opened turning for home, I sent her through and she went right on with it. She was a bit keen going into the first turn, but on the backside she was just all floppy ears and off the bit; taking it easy. I clucked to her at the three (eighths) and from there she just carried me home. Nice win on a nice filly.”

MIKE STIDHAM (Princess Grace, winner) – “I will tell you this: this filly is tenacious and one of the most hard-trying fillies I've ever trained. I trained her mother and she was just like that – not quite as talented, but always digging in and trying to win every time out. This little filly has been at six different racetracks and she should be undefeated, the one loss was just unlucky. I don't know what's next, I haven't looked past this race. This was going to be her test to step up to another league and she obviously passed the test really well.”

FRACTIONS:  :23.06  :46.61  1:10.46  1:34.89  1:40.84

The stakes win was the first of the meet for rider Desormeaux but his fourth in the Yellow Ribbon. He now has 84 stakes wins at Del Mar, ninth best among all riders.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer Stidham and his first in the Yellow Ribbon. He now has six stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Susan and John Moore from Far Hills, N.J.

A stakes doubleheader saw a young colt begin to bloom and an impressive filly continue to shine Saturday afternoon at Del Mar as Rustlewood Farm's Pappacap scored smartly in the Best Pal Stakes and Susan and John Moore's Princess Grace found a hole turning for home and ran away from rivals in the Yellow Ribbon Handicap.

The pair of offerings were both Grade II events and both offered $200,000 purses. The Best Pal – being run for the 51st time – saw Pappacap maneuver like an old pro in only his second start in the juvenile headliner as he waited on rider Joe Bravo's signal, then zoomed to the front turning for home and went on to tally by four and three-quarter lengths. He ran the six furlongs in 1:11.66.

In the Yellow Ribbon – on the turf at a mile and one sixteenth and being offered for its 69th edition – jockey Kent Desormeaux saw a hole nearing the quarter pole and asked the 4-year-old filly Princess Grace to go for it. She did readily and pulled clear in the lane to finish a length and a quarter to the good at the end of the filly/mare feature. The winner covered the distance in a snappy 1:40.84.

Pappacap, a bay colt by champion Gun Runner bred by his owners, had captured his debut in a straight maiden race at Gulfstream Park in Florida on May 14.  Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse shipped him west for the Best Pal, perhaps looking ahead to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, which will be run at Del Mar on November 5.

Princess Grace, a homebred daughter of the Japanese stallion Karakontie, was winner her fifth race in her sixth start (she was second in her lone loss) and accomplishing it at her sixth different racetrack. The well-traveled filly is trained by Michael Stidham.

Pappacap picked up a check for $120,000 with his victory, pushing his bankroll to $158,000.  Princess Grace also earned $120,000 for her bit of handiwork and now shows winnings of $440,460.

Lovingier, Fasihuddin or Navarro's Finneus checked in second in the Best Pal, while Gary Barber's Bet On Mookie was third. Pappacap paid $6.60, $3.40 and $2.60 across the board. In the Yellow Ribbon, LNJ Foxwoods' Dogtag ran second and Slam Dunk Racing, Stable Currency and Branham's Maxim Rate was third. Princess Grace paid $9.20, $5.00 and $3.40.  Dogtag returned $4.80 and $3.20, while Maxim Rate paid $3.00.

Six horses ran in the Best Pal, while nine competed in the Yellow Ribbon.

The track's Pick Six Single Ticket Jackpot Wager continued to be too tough to take down for gamblers and grew its jackpot again for the 11th straight day. The carryover into Sunday's 10-race card will now be $982,985.

First post Sunday is 2 p.m.

Post-race quotes

Yellow Ribbon

KENT DESORMEAUX (Princess Grace, winner) – “Michael (trainer Stidham) told me one thing before the race that I used to advantage today: He said 'She's brave.' When that hole opened turning for home, I sent her through and she went right on with it. She was a bit keen going into the first turn, but on the backside she was just all floppy ears and off the bit; taking it easy. I clucked to her at the three (eighths) and from there she just carried me home. Nice win on a nice filly.”

MIKE STIDHAM (Princess Grace, winner) – “I will tell you this: this filly is tenacious and one of the most hard-trying fillies I've ever trained. I trained her mother and she was just like that – not quite as talented, but always digging in and trying to win every time out. This little filly has been at six different racetracks and she should be undefeated, the one loss was just unlucky. I don't know what's next, I haven't looked past this race. This was going to be her test to step up to another league and she obviously passed the test really well.”

FRACTIONS:  :23.06  :46.61  1:10.46  1:34.89  1:40.84

The stakes win was the first of the meet for rider Desormeaux but his fourth in the Yellow Ribbon. He now has 84 stakes wins at Del Mar, ninth best among all riders.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer Stidham and his first in the Yellow Ribbon. He now has six stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Susan and John Moore from Far Hills, NJ

Best Pal

JOE BRAVO (Pappacap, winner) – “I was glad to see how well he settled in behind those two up front. His race in Florida, he just was pure speed. You don't know if that's the way they like to go. But he showed another dimension today. Mark Casse sends them out ready.”

ALLEN HARDY-ZUKOWSKI, assistant to Mark Casse (Pappacap, winner) – “Joe (Bravo) gave him such a great ride coming out of the gate. He seemed loaded and when Joe asked in the stretch he responded. I was glad to see that, especially coming off a layoff. It was great.”

FRACTIONS:  :22.11  :45.79  :58.61  1:11.66

The stakes win was the second of the meet for rider Bravo, but his first in the Best Pal. He now has four stakes wins at Del Mar.

The stakes win was the first of the meet for trainer Casse and his second in the Best Pal (Skyway, 2014). He now has nine stakes wins at Del Mar.

The winning owners are Rustlewood Farm of George and Karen Russell of Reddick, Fla.

The post Eastern Invaders Take Best Pal, Yellow Ribbon At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

They are all California-bred sons of Stay Thirsty owned in partnerships and bred by Terry C. Lovingier.

“Stay Thirstys have really good minds,” Solis said Saturday morning at his Del Mar barn, gesturing toward Finneus who was being given a race-day veterinary check. “Even the colts, they act like older horses.”

Finneus comes into the Best Pal off a maiden victory at Santa Anita Park in June. Thirsty Always is 2-for-2 with the most recent being a stakes at Pleasanton on the Northern California fair circuit. The duo of Rock N Rye and Mr. T's Thirsty are the 8-5 favorite and 2-1 co-second choice, respectively, on Jon White's morning line for Sunday's Graduation Stakes.

Being a graded stake with a larger purse, the Best Pal would be a bigger feather in the cap of Solis, whose lone Del Mar Stakes victory to date came with My Fiona, the dam of Finneus, in the 2014 CTBA Stakes.

Solis, 59, formerly managed Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona for John and Betty Mabee, the longtime patriarch and matriarch of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and three-time Eclipse Award winners in the 1990s as the top Thoroughbred breeders in North America.

“I managed the farm for the Mabees for five years and Best Pal was before my time,” Solis said. “But when I was there we had General Challenge and a lot of other big horses. It would be nice to win a race like this. It's a hope for a small guy.”

The post Solis Prepares To Send Out Two In Best Pal, Two In Graduation At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Seven juveniles will lock horns in this 51st edition of the Best Pal over six furlong that goes as the ninth race on an 11-race program. Then 10 older fillies and mares will go 1 1/16 miles on the lawn in the 69th running of the Yellow Ribbon, which goes as race 10.

The likely favorite in the juvenile race is the eastern shipper Pappacap, a Gun Runner colt owned by Rustlewood Farm and trained by newly minted Hall of Famer Mark Casse. The bay homebred was a smart winner of his lone start on May 14 at Gulfstream Park in Florida and has been in steady training since then. Newcomer Joe Bravo gets the call.

Another promising runner in the lineup is Gary Barber's Bet On Mookie, a son of the Lion Heart stallion Uncaptured who has been to the post twice and shows a win and a second for his efforts. His tally came at Santa Anita on June 11 when he simply outran his field in a straight maiden affair to score by five and a quarter lengths. Trainer Peter Miller has given the assignment of Bet On Mookie to Abel Cedillo.

In the Yellow Ribbon the competition runs deep. Among the distaffers who rate more than a casual look in the turfer are Slam Dunk Racing Stable and Currency's Maxim Rate, LNJ Foxwoods' Dogtag, Agave Racing Stable and Medallion Racing's Charmaine's Mia.  Also in the mix is last year's Yellow Ribbon winner – Calvin Nguyen's Bodhicitta.

In fact, all 10 runners in the lineup are stakes winners.

Here are the fields for the two stakes from the rail out with riders and morning line odds:

Best Pal —  Bet On Mookie (5/2); Chapman or Tsumimoto's Our Empire (Tyler Baze, 20-1); Pappacap (8/5); Lovingier, Fasihuddin or Navarro's Finneus (Umberto Rispoli, 3-1); Lovingier, Beckerle or Carrillo's Thirsty Always (apprentice Cesar Ortega, 7/2); Peter Redekop's Aquitania Arrival (Juan Hernandez, 4-1), and Opas or Sinatra's Olympic Legend (Jose Valdivia, Jr., 10-1).

Yellow Ribbon – Bodhicitta (Trevor McCarthy, 6-1); Little Red Feather Racing or Sterling's Raymundos Secret (Tiago Pereira, 6-1); Charmaine's Mia (Joe Bravo, 4-1); Dogtag (Rispoli, 4-1); El Tata Stables' Brooke (Kyle Frey, 12-1); Tommy Town Thoroughbreds' Keeper Ofthe Stars (Cedillo, 12-1); George and Martha Schwary Racing's Ippodamia's Girl (Geovanni Franco, 12-1); Susan and John Moore's Princess Grace (Kent Desormeaux, 8-1); Maxim Rate (Hernandez, 7/2), and Gary Barber's Laura's Light (Valdivia, Jr., 15-1).

The post Del Mar: Juveniles Clash In Best Pal; Quality Runs Deep In Yellow Ribbon Field appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Fellow Florida-bred Bet on Mookie (Uncaptured) is a California resident in the Peter Miller barn. Second on debut on the Santa Anita main track May 23, the bay romped by 5 1/4 lengths on the Arcadia lawn June 11. His new stablemate Aquitania Arrival (Carpe Diem) makes his first start for the Miller barn here The dark bay was a first-out winner for trainer William Morey last out at Churchill May 28.

Thirsty Always (Stay Thirsty) already boasts a black-type score, following his victorious unveiling against Cal-breds May 16 with a decisive win in the Everett Nevin S. July 10 at Pleasanton.

The post Pappacap Ships West for Best Pal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The $100,000 California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Stakes, at 5 ½ furlongs for California-bred 2-year-old fillies initiates things on Thursday. From a list of 12 nominations, a field of nine was entered Saturday with Jorge Periban-trained At the Spa significantly coming in off a victory in a $100,000 stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif., in June.

The post position draw was to be held later in the day. The field in alphabetical order with jockeys in parenthesis: At the Spa (Tyler Baze); Carmen Miranda (Giovanni Franco); Drizella (Juan Hernandez); Gianna's Wild Cat (Jessica Pyfer); Irish Wahine (Abel Cedillo); It's Simple (Mario Gutierrez); Ko Olina (Edwin Maldonado); Lion's Lair (Tiago Pereira) and Madiha (Umberto Rispoli).

Friday's feature is the $200,000 Grade 2 Sorrento Stakes for 2-year-old fillies, often a stepping stone to the $300,000 Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante near the end of the meeting. Bob Baffert, a seven-time Sorrento-winning trainer, has three of the 22 nominees.

Saturday card features the $200,000 Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon and the $200,000 Best Pal. The Yellow Ribbon, at 1 1/16 miles on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course, drew a dozen nominees topped by Simon Callaghan-trained Maxim Rate, winner of the Grade I Gamely at Santa Anita in May.

The Best Pal, often an identifier of potential for the $300,000 Grade 1 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on closing day of the meeting, has 16 nominations, six of whom have been training outside California.

The week concludes Sunday with the $150,000 Grade 3 La Jolla, the second leg of the series for 3-year-olds, and the $100,000 Graduation Stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds.

John Sadler-trained Santa Anita Derby winner Rock Your World is among 15 nominations for the La Jolla, a return to turf racing for the son of Candy Ride after unsuccessful Triple Crown trail runs in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Fourteen were nominated to the Graduation, among them Luis Mendez-trained Big City Lights, a winner of two starts by a combined 19 ¾ lengths.

The post Upcoming Del Mar Stakes Feature Two-Year-Olds, Rock Your World appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Hanson conditioned multiple graded stakes-winning Quarter Horses, and he is also a World Champion in the sport of chariot racing.

“In my office, the chariot racing photos are the ones that get the most people talking,” the trainer said. “It's the one thing I really miss about being in the northwest; I don't miss the snow or the cold, but I miss chariot racing.”

Both Hanson's father and grandfather also earned World Champion titles in chariot racing, which is conducted by hitching two horses side-by-side and competing over a quarter of a mile. Hanson won the title in 2006, just before the family moved to Southern California.

“It's a really, really huge family activity, but it's still ultra-competitive,” Hanson explained. “By the time I was doing it, we were claiming Quarter Horses from Los Alamitos, hooking them on the chariot and racing in Idaho.”

Unfortunately, it was hard to make a living during summertime Quarter Horse racing in Idaho, and chariot racing is exclusively a winter activity. Hanson's father James “Jim” Hanson moved the family racing operation to Los Alamitos in 2006, and everyone pitched in to help climb the ranks.

A jockey for his father from age 16, Ryan Hanson outgrew those boots and became his father's assistant and top exercise rider. Eventually Hanson took the horses under his own name, saddling 2013 AQHA World Champion Distance horse Honoroso, who the family had claimed for $6,250 in 2012.

Ryan Hanson in a 2006 chariot race

In 2015 Hanson went home to Idaho for the summer, racing at what turned out to be the final season in Boise. Returning to Southern California that winter, Hanson made a change. He took a job galloping Thoroughbreds for trainer Robertino Diodoro, and worked his way up to assistant.

“It's really hard to make a living in Idaho,” Hanson explained.

Two years later, Diodoro left California, and Hanson felt he didn't really have a choice but to try to make a go of it on his own. He hung out his shingle over a single horse, True Ranger, a $12,500 claimer.

That chestnut gelding may not have won a race for Hanson, but he did hit the board in most of his starts at Santa Anita and Del Mar. Hanson would win just one race in 2017, with a horse he co-owned with his father named Poshsky, but he started to make his presence felt on the Southern California circuit.

In 2018 Hanson began to train for outside clients, first in partnerships between his father and Robin Dunn. Dunn recommended Hanson to an owner named Chris Drakos, who had actually lived 15 minutes away from Hanson in Idaho, but the two had never met face to face.

Drakos took a chance and sent Hanson four horses, and the two are now co-owners of Grade 2 winner Weston.

Weston and Drayden Van Dyke after the Best Pal

“It was nice of Robin and dad to partner with me, but I wasn't able to make it on that alone,” Hanson explained. “I'm so appreciative of Drakos, because not too many people want to give a young guy a chance, and he did.”

Hanson started winning a few more races, and today he conditions a 25-horse string at Del Mar alongside his wife, Michelle Yu. Yu works afternoons as an on-air handicapper at Santa Anita, and the couple have two children under the age of four.

“They're my pride and joy,” Hanson said. “They get to come with us to the ranch, and before COVID, they'd come to the track in the afternoons as well.”

Every morning, seven days a week, Hanson rides at least 10 horses over the track before heading out to a ranch in Pico Rivera, where he, Yu, and a couple exercise riders spend another two hours or so starting babies and riding out the young horses in the river bottoms.

“Riding them yourself, I just thing you get a better feeling of the horses, you can see how they're doing,” Hanson said. “When I'm getting on them, I can make split-second decisions. When I'm out there we take them two at a time, so if I see the horse next to me doing something and think he needs to do something different, we can make that decision on the track right then.

“I do think Quarter Horses are a bit smarter than Thoroughbreds, because the Thoroughbreds you have to get out on the track every day. We try to do something different with them every day, gallop in a different way, or jog them, just something different to keep them thinking differently.”

Weston, a $7,000 purchase at the Keeneland September yearling sale, was one of those started through Hanson's program at the ranch.

“Honestly, he was miserable to break and miserable to ride,” Hanson said. “We brought him in (to the track on) April 1, and I remember thinking I couldn't wait to get him into the track and geld him. It didn't really help.”

Hanson rode the 2-year-old son of Hit It A Bomb for his first several workouts but didn't think too much of the gelding, so he decided to turn the reins over to exercise rider Emily Ellingwood. Now Ellingwood gallops Weston every day, and the gelding seems pleased with the new arrangement.

He won his debut on June 21 at Santa Anita by 1 1/4 lengths, then came back on Aug. 8 to win the G2 Best Pal by a neck.

“I was happy to win it for Ryan Hanson,” jockey Drayden Van Dyke told Del Mar publicity after the race. “He's such a kind man and a good horse trainer. And this horse showed some class, too. Ryan told me he never got to paddock him (prior to the race), but he was just standing in there like an old pro. I knew I got there in the end and I'm real glad I did.”

Hanson was thrilled, of course, but the pragmatic trainer not sure what the next step will be with Weston.

“I'm happy we got the race, but I don't know how good of a horse he is,” Hanson said honestly. “We caught the right field, and we were very ready. I'm not happy that we don't have another place to go with him besides the Del Mar Futurity, but if he continues to do well, I want to take advantage of it.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Chariot Racing World Champ Finds Success With Thoroughbreds appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post