Tag: Bob Baffert

White Abarrio, Geaux Rocket Ride Lead Monday Workers

Two contenders for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic worked Monday but, due to foggy conditions at Santa Anita, only one received an official time.

With trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. in from New York to observe, White Abarrio (Race Day) worked five furlongs in 1:00.20. About an hour later, Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}) went to the track to work with Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith up. Due to the fog, Equibase clockers were unable to determine a final time and distance.

Geaux Rocket Ride's trainer, Richard Mandella, said the Candy Ride colt worked six furlongs.

“We'd liked to have seen it,” the Hall of Famer said. “I saw him come through the finish line, that was it. He worked six furlongs. Mike rode him and said he went well. We'll go with that.”

The official Santa Anita Park Workout Tab for Monday notes “dense fog from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.”

White Abarrio's work was his third since arriving at Santa Anita from New York. Jockey Emily Ellingwood was in the irons.

“He did his business,” said Chip Dutrow, Rick Dutrow's brother and assistant. “He does everything so easy. Just a very smart, classy horse. We thought he nailed it and Emily was happy. It looked like he got just enough out of the breeze.”

Also working Monday towards a potential start in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint was Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) for trainer Bob Baffert. He went three furlongs in 36.40 seconds.

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Letter To The Editor: Churchill’s ‘Unprecedented’ Suspension Of Baffert

My wife and I recently started working on our travel plans for next year's Triple Crown races. Unfortunately, that will likely not include the 2024 Kentucky Derby as our trainer, Mr. Bob Baffert, for the 3rd year in a row still won't be allowed to race our horses at Churchill Downs, should our horses be so qualified. We have had to deal with this for the past few years with multiple horses, where Churchill Downs, a public entity, has deemed itself to be a higher power than the various state horse racing commissions and arbitrarily and capriciously chose to exact its own extended punishment on Mr. Baffert for, what now really appears to be, personal and vindictive reasons.

It's disappointing that Churchill Downs has decided to use its private property exclusion rights in the manner it has. Not only has Churchill Downs initially applied these rights to suspend Mr. Baffert for a period eight times as long as that imposed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (the body responsible for implementing the rules of racing), Churchill Downs decided in July 2023 to apply these rights indefinitely to a validly licensed trainer with no regulatory violations since his initial suspension. Extending the suspension and leaving it open to review at the end of 2024 is unprecedented.

I am not aware of other sports where the tracks, arenas or stadiums can dictate what athletes, coaches or owners are allowed to compete in their facilities. When NASCAR penalizes drivers, crews or other team members for infractions, does Daytona Speedway, Bristol or other tracks randomly ban those same drivers and crews for additional length of times? Imagine if Jerry Jones, who owns Texas Stadium, was allowed to ban a specific athlete, coach or team from competing at Texas Stadium because he wasn't happy with punishment the NFL governing committees meted out for a late hit, a personal foul or Deflategate. What if MLB, NHL, NBA/WNBA, MLS or any other competitive sport league allowed for arena owners to do this for petty offenses under the guise of specific conduct being detrimental to the sport? It's ludicrous and unimaginable!

With the advent of HISA we now have a national governing body in place that is developing consistent standards across all states. The Kentucky state rules that existed at the time of the original suspension with respect to betamethasone, a controlled substance, have been superceded by HISA regulations. Mr. Baffert was suspended for 21 picograms (or .021 nanograms) of betamethasone in Medina Spirit. The most recent HISA regulations now use a screening limit of .20 nanograms of betamethasone in horses before any action would be taken. It's ridiculous to me for Churchill Downs to extend Mr. Baffert's suspension given that 21 picograms is almost 90% below the threshold!

I have had the opportunity to work with many world class public and private companies during my career as a partner at a large global firm, having worked closely with C suites and boards on over 500 transactions. I have never seen behavior like this from a board in my career. The allegations around the “false narrative” that the Churchill Downs board has used to defend this action indicate to me there is something deeper and more personal. It appears that Churchill Downs is sending a message to all horsemen and horsewomen not to cross Churchill Downs or proffer alternative points of view lest similar suspensions, far in excess of what is deserved, will be meted out to them. This bullying and abuse of power is not in the best interests of the sport.

It's not just the trainer that suffers either. By extending the suspension, Churchill Downs is not just punishing Mr. Baffert, but Churchill Downs is punishing me. There is significant value that has been lost. Similarly, Churchill Downs is punishing my partners. Churchill Downs is punishing other owners with horses with Mr. Baffert. Churchill Downs also is punishing Mr. Baffert's employees and their families. Churchill Downs is punishing fans, old and new, many of whom are drawn to the sport because of Mr. Baffert.

The bigger issue at play here is the upside down relationship between Churchill Downs and the athletes/horses, the coaches/trainers/breeders and owners. Churchill Downs is nothing without them. I am not alone in this opinion. It would be a shame to see the history of Churchill Downs diminished because of the bullheadedness of a few.

With the upcoming 150th anniversary, the story isn't going to be just about who's there, but who's not and why.

Gregg Slager, Waves Edge Capital, LLC

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Good Magic’s ‘Rising Star’ Muth Tops Baffert Exacta in American Pharoah

Zedan Racing Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (c, 2, Good Magic–Hoppa, by Uncle Mo), second as the heavy favorite after pressing a blistering pace in the GIII Best Pal S. Aug. 13, showed a new dimension by coming off the pace while making his two-turn debut in style in Saturday's 'Win and You're In' GI American Pharoah S. at Santa Anita. It was 3 3/4 lengths back to his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Wine Me Up (Vino Rosso) in second. Be You (Curlin) was third.

Muth becomes a record-extending 12th American Pharoah winner for Baffert. He's captured five out of the past six runnings of the race named in honor of his 2015 Triple Crown winner.

“I love the way Muth settled,” Baffert said. “When I saw that I thought, 'well, we'll see how good he is,' and I think (jockey) Juan (Hernandez) just helped him a lot today. It is nice when you have two nice colts. (Wine Me Up) definitely earned his way into the Breeders' Cup. We still have (Best Pal and GI Del Mar Futurity winner) Prince of Monaco (Speightstown), too. We just have to keep them healthy.”

The 2-5 favorite, purchased by Amr Zedan for a sale-topping $2 million earlier this year at OBS March, rated kindly in an inside fourth as his aforementioned stablemate led through fractions of :23.30 and :46.49. Muth was ridden to take on Wine Me Up approaching the quarter pole, took over with authority in the stretch and drew clear late to win for fun.

Muth romped by 8 3/4 lengths in front-running fashion on debut at Santa Anita June 18 prior to finishing 4 1/4 lengths adrift stablemate Prince of Monaco in the six-furlong Best Pal at Del Mar.

“He surprised me the way he relaxed today because he is normally a really aggressive horse,” Hernandez said. “Out of the gate he's fast. Bob and his team have been working with him trying to get him to relax.”

He added, “I think this is the best horse I've ever ridden so far, I mean Cave Rock was one of the best, but this one is pretty close. Hopefully we can stay healthy and we can get him in the Breeders' Cup.”

Pedigree Notes:

Muth becomes the third winner at the top level and eighth graded stakes winner overall for his young sire Good Magic, who is also the sire of this year's GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage. Broodmare sire Uncle Mo is now responsible for eight graded winners, including GISW and leading GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}).

The first foal out of the winning Don Alberto homebred Hoppa (Uncle Mo), Muth brought $190,000 from the Gladwell family's pinhooking partnership out of the Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency consignment on day seven of last year's Keeneland September sale. Muth was the buzz horse of OBS March after delivering a :9 3/5 bullet breeze and a sensational gallop out for Top Line Sales during the under-tack show.

As profiled by Steve Sherack in our special American Pharoah Preview Edition, Zedan also purchased fellow GISWs 'TDN Rising Star' Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) ($2.3 million OBS April) and 'TDN Rising Star' Princess Noor (Not This Time) ($1.35 million OBS April) off of Top Line Sales at 2-year-old sales in Ocala.

Muth's breeder Don Alberto purchased Handoverthecat (Tale of the Cat), with Hoppa in utero, for $170,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November sale. Hoppa's yearling filly by Violence was purchased by Rigney Racing for $385,000 at Keeneland September. Hoppa was bred back to Good Magic after producing a filly by Tacitus this year.

Saturday, Santa Anita Park
AMERICAN PHAROAH S.-GI, $301,500, Santa Anita, 10-7, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42.45, ft.
1–MUTH, 122, c, 2, by Good Magic
                1st Dam: Hoppa, by Uncle Mo
                2nd Dam: Handoverthecat, by Tale of the Cat
                3rd Dam: Frayne, by Red Ransom
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($190,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $2,000,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $256,600. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Wine Me Up, 122, c, 2, Vino Rosso–Deanaallen'skitten, by Kitten's Joy. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($115,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $300,000 2yo '23 OBSOPN). O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman; B-Kenneth L. Ramsey & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Be You, 122, c, 2, Curlin–Jacaranda, by Congrats. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($320,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Repole Stable; B-Alpha Delta Stables, LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $36,000.
Margins: 3 3/4, 5 1/4, 3 1/4. Odds: 0.40, 9.00, 5.10.
Also Ran: Raging Torrent, Rothschild, Indispensable, Next Level, El Magnifico.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs.

VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

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Classic Hopeful Arabian Knight Leads Saturday Work Tab

Clairiere (Curlin) and stablemate Gunite (Gun Runner) each had their first works at Santa Anita Saturday for trainer Steve Asmussen while Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) fired a bullet towards the GI Breeders' Cup Classic for trainer Bob Baffert.

 

Also on Saturday, GI Breeders' Cup Sprint hopefuls Anarchist (Distorted Humor) and The Chosen Vron (Vronsky) each worked and Arcangelo (Arrogate), another contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic, returned to the track after working Thursday. Fellow Classic hopeful White Abarrio (Race Day) galloped for trainer Richard Dutrow Jr.

Arabian Knight, last-out winner of the GI Pacific Classic at Del Mar Sept. 2, blitzed six furlongs in 1:12.60.

Clairiere, bound for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, worked an easy half mile in 51.0 seconds. Gunite, possible for either the Breeders' Cup Sprint or Dirt Mile, went the same distance in 50.2 seconds.

As for Clairiere and Gunite's works, Blasi noted “it was the same thing as we did yesterday. Just giving them a feel for the track. We'll start to pick things up next week.”

The Chosen Vron, winner of the GI Bing Crosby at Del Mar July 29, worked five furlongs on the training track in 1:02.40 for trainer Eric Kruljac.

Anarchist, second to The Chosen Vron in the Bing Crosby, worked five furlongs on the main track in 1:00.00.

Back East, Godolphin's Proxy (Tapit) began the Kentucky phase of his preparation for an expected start in the Classic by working five furlongs in 1:01 for trainer Mike Stidham.

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