Lobo Has Imperador, In Love Tabbed For Breeders’ Cup At Del Mar

Trainer Paulo Lobo already had one horse in his stable with a fees-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup in Imperador (ARG) before Saturday. By 6 p.m. yesterday, In Love (BRZ) had punched his ticket to Del Mar with a 1½-length victory in the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile.

Lobo said that In Love as well as stablemate Ivar (BRZ) both returned to The Thoroughbred Center on the other side of Lexington last night and were doing fine Sunday morning. Ivar, in his first start in more than five months, finished fourth after a troubled trip in his bid to repeat in the Turf Mile.

In Love, who provided jockey Alex Achard with his first Grade 1 victory, earned a berth in the Grade 1 FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile Presented by PDJF, a race in which Ivar was fourth last year here at Keeneland and remains under consideration for this year.

Imperador earned his spot in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf with a victory in course-record time in the Grade 2 Calumet Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., last month.

All three horses are owned by Bonne Chance Farm and Stud R D I. Lobo said he would ship his Breeders' Cup runners to Del Mar on Nov. 1.

The defending champion in the Breeders' Cup Mile, Order of Australia (IRE), finished last in the field of 12 in the Keeneland Turf Mile.

“He was a disappointment,” said Kieran Murphy, who is overseeing trainer Aidan O'Brien's horses at Keeneland. “He had a tough draw, 10 of 13, and he doesn't like to be in around other horses. He will leave tonight for Chicago and then fly home tomorrow.”

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In Love Finds Running Room Late To Take Keeneland Turf Mile, Earn BC Mile Spot

Of the two horses clad in the colors of Bonne Chance Farm and Stud Rio Dois Irmaos LLC, all eyes were on Ivar (BRZ), last year's winner of the Grade 1 Keeneland Turf Mile, but it was In Love (BRZ) who brought home the win in the 2021 edition at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., earning a guaranteed spot in the starting gate for the Breeders' Cup Mile along with his first graded stakes win.

Over a good Keeneland turf course, the 5-year-old gelded son of Agnes Gold with jockey Alex Achard broke cleanly, settling into seventh early in the one-mile stakes. As Brown Storm led the field around the first turn and into the backstretch, Achard and In Love bided their time in the middle of the field of 12, waiting until the far turn to move for a more advantageous position. On the rail, though, In Love was stymied by a wall of horses, Achard going wide in the stretch to find running room. That move was the winning one.

Clear of horses, In Love dug in late, passing Somelikeithotbrown and Tell Your Daddy to take the lead and drawing away to win by three lengths. The final time for the one-mile G1 stakes was 1:34.84.

In Love paid $26.40, $15.40, and $9.60. Tell Your Daddy paid $24.60 and $13.20. Somelikeithotbrown paid $8.20. Find this race's chart here.

The G1 Keeneland Turf Mile is part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series. Winners of Challenges Series races receive a fees-paid, guaranteed spot for the corresponding event at the Breeders' Cup World Championships Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“I think the big key was we went to Arlington and tried an easier spot, and he won the race, and then we put blinkers on him and he improved a lot, and running the one-turn mile – they are very unfamiliar in South America with that – and I think the horse is improving. You know, Kentucky Downs horses get very fit. And also he loves it here (at Keeneland). Last year he won an allowance very easy here, and I think the giving ground helped him,” trainer Paulo Lobo said after the race.

“(Recording my first Grade 1 win) feels great. Especially at Keeneland—I love Keeneland—and it couldn't be any better,” jockey Alex Achard told the Keeneland Communications Office after the Turf Mile. “He's getting older but he's getting better. He's like a good wine. Every race he shows up and he's even better every time.”

Bred by Fazenda Mondesir and Stud Rio Dois Irmaos, In Love is out of the Know Heights mare Last Bet. With his win in the G1 Keeneland Turf Mile, the 5-year-old gelding has three wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of five wins in 13 starts and career earnings of $729,700.

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Amplify Horse Racing’s Mentorship Pilot Program a Success

Several new faces were on the Keeneland sales grounds this week as part of the initial pilot for the Amplify Horse Racing Mentorship Program.

This August, the three-month program launched with a group of 12 mentees hailing from eight different states. While most mentor-mentee pairs were separated by distance and initially planned on holding their meetings virtually, several mentees expressed an interest in meeting their mentors in person and decided to make the trip to Lexington for their first visit to the Keeneland September Sale.

Matt Scull, age 23, lives in South Carolina and arrived in Lexington just in time for the start of Book 4 to shadow his mentor Shannon Castagnola, the Director of Marketing and Client Relations at Woodford Thoroughbreds. He was able to observe the Woodford consignment during both a day of showing and a day of selling. On his last day at Keeneland, he shadowed a bloodstock agent to inspect Book 5 yearlings.

“Shannon has introduced me to so many faces,” Scull said. “She taught me a bunch about the vetting process, the different bits the horses wear as well as the general basics of being a consignor at a sale. Before this internship, I didn't understand the number of different career paths there are in this industry. I was just thinking about a jockey, owner and trainer. I actually believe this is the greatest sport on earth and I think having people committed to it for their careers is huge.”

Scull developed an interest in racing through his family's annual trips to Monmouth Park.

“My great grandfather, who I met once when I was three before he passed away, loved racing from the gambling side,” Scull said. “So once a year at Monmouth Park my family would have 'Poppy Day' at the races. My freshman year of college I dug super deep in terms of the handicapping side of things. As my life has progressed, I've figured out that this is one of my passions and that I need to pursue it.”

Scull recently graduated from the University of Clemson with a degree in mechanical engineering. He said he was scrolling through Twitter one day during his lunch break at the gas and engine consulting firm he works for when he happened upon Amplify's mentorship application.

“I figured I probably wasn't going to get it, but I thought I would kill 30 minutes of my lunch break by typing it out,” he explained. “I was lucky enough to be selected and it has snowballed from there. It's been amazing. I've gone from not knowing what a pinhook is to potentially working on a farm later this year.”

Scull said he and Castagnola first met when he visited Saratoga this summer. They later conversed several times virtually and his mentor answered his many questions about the sales environment. After taking three vacation days from his full-time job to visit the Keeneland Sale, he said he's still unsure of which sector of the industry he would like to pursue a career in.

“I'm still figuring it out,” he admitted. “I'm a big fan of science and it's kind of crazy how many things are going on [at the sale] in terms of biomechanics and genetic testing. I got to see a video scope and that was really cool. I wish I had a better idea of which direction I want to go, but I think that's part of the beauty of it. There are so many different paths that you could go down and once you decide, it seems like everybody wears multiple hats which is awesome.”

Carol Hayes of Gainesville, Florida was paired with Bonne Chane Farm's Bloodstock and Office Manager Leah Alessandroni. When Hayes expressed an interest in the sales aspect of the sport, her mentor connected her with Carrie Brogden. One week before the Keeneland sale began, Hayes was hired on to work for the Machmer Hall consignment and she made the 12-hour drive up to Lexington to experience her first-ever horse sale.

“I really enjoy it,” the 22-year-old said between calling cards for Book 5. “It's high-paced and I like that. I think it's really interesting to see how the sale goes. I made sure to get here a day early so I could watch the sale before I started working. So I got to experience that side and now that I'm on the behind-the-scenes side, it's interesting to see how all this works.”

Growing up near Ocala, Hayes has been riding hunters and jumpers for most of her life. She said she has always had an interest in racing, but wasn't sure how to get involved.

“It's one sector of the horse industry that I never really got to dive into, so I've always wanted to check it off,” she said. “I found the Amplify mentorship program through the University of Florida. One of our advisors posted it on our undergraduate internship posting page.”

Carol Hayes takes a quick break for a photo op at the Machmer Hall consignment. | Katie Ritz

Hayes and her mentor first met over Zoom, but when Hayes was traveling to Lexington for a horse show a few weeks later, she met up with Alessandroni to shadow her for a day.

“We went to the track in the morning because one of their horses was training and then we went to her farm and I got to see what she does there,” Hayes recalled.

After her experience working the sales, Hayes said she is most interested in the management side of the industry.

“But I'm still figuring it out,” she added.

“It has been immensely gratifying to watch this group of mentees grow and progress,” said Amplify Horse Racing's President and Co-Founder Annise Montplaisir. “For most of them, the Thoroughbred industry was very new and felt daunting to be involved with on a more in-depth level than simply going to the races as a fan. Over these past couple of months, I have met and corresponded regularly with all 12, and have received nothing but positive feedback about all they have learned from their mentors and the respect they have for the time their mentors are sharing with them. Many mentees are already starting to make next-step plans about pursuing jobs in the industry and looking at other ways to gain more experience.”

Montplaisir, who in conjunction with her work through Amplify is also the equine education coordinator for the Kentucky Equine Education Project, explained that before the pilot program launched, potential mentees went through an application and interview process. The goal was to prioritize young adults who were interested in pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred industry, but had minimal exposure to the sport and didn't know how to get started.

Mentors and mentees were paired based on interests, commonalities and proximity. After an initial introduction to their mentors via Zoom by Amplify, mentees were tasked with organizing meetings with their mentors on their own. While they were required to have one meeting per month over the three-month program, Montplaisir said that many pairs met as often as once per week.

Mentors assisted their mentees by sharing their personal career experiences, answering questions and giving advice on the skill set their mentee might need in order to get involved in certain sectors of the industry.

“I love talking about the Thoroughbred industry and I'm really passionate about it, so it's easy for me to talk about,” Castagnola said when asked why she decided to join the mentorship program. “I think the stigma is that we've all spent 20 years learning this business, and so for somebody who is coming in knowing nothing, they're having to start from scratch. I was telling Matt yesterday, I spend every day learning something new even now and that's the best thing about this business: every day you learn something new.”

“For me, it's really simple,” Alessandroni said of why she become a mentor. “I didn't come from a family that was involved in racing and when I was coming through the ranks, there were so many people that mentored me and gave me opportunities, so I felt like it was an obligation for me to essentially pay it forward.”

“The experience has been really great so far,” she continued. “I've enjoyed chatting with Carol and it has kind of renewed my excitement in the industry. We do this as a daily grind and sometimes we get caught up in it, but to see it through the enthusiasm of someone like Carol, I honestly think it has been equally rewarding from both sides. Through this Amplify program, it's critical to stress the importance of what they're doing to educate young people about the opportunities that are here for them in the industry and to let them know that you don't have to have the secret handshake to get in the door, you just have to work hard.”

The first round of mentorships will concluded at the end of October. A virtual mentorship assembly will be held over Zoom to bring all the mentors and mentees together to widen each of the mentees' networks to industry professionals.

In the future, Amplify's goal is to have a rolling application where prospective mentees can apply any time from January through August to be paired with a mentor for that year. Mentees who apply beyond the middle of August will be considered for the program the following year.

Industry members interested in mentoring can apply now at amplifyhorseracing.org/mentorship. The mentee application will reopen on January 7, 2022.

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Keeneland Colt A First For Wootton Bassett

Since Wootton Bassett's sale to Coolmore was announced just over a year ago, the son of Iffraaj has continued to go from strength to strength. This Wednesday will mark another milestone for the former French champion 2-year-old when his first yearling at a North American sale goes through the ring at Keeneland September.

Conceived in France and shipped in utero to Kentucky by breeder Bonne Chance Farm, hip 688 was foaled last February at his owner's farm in Versailles. He is the third foal out of Eldacar (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}), twice a winner for trainer Mikel Delzangles and a full-sister to the G2 Prix de Pomone and G2 Prix Royallieu runner-up Miss Crissy (Ire) from the family of the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud victor Shaka (GB) and G3 Prix de Psyche scorer Serisia (Fr) and her Australian Group 1-winning son Contributer (Ire).

The transatlantic intentions of Brazilian billionaire Gilberto Sayao Da Silva were rather plainly spelled out when Da Silva purchased the former Regis Farm in Versailles in 2015 and re-named it “Bonne Chance”-good luck in French. Da Silva had established Stud Rio Dois Irmaos (Stud RDI) in 2008 to race horses in Brazil and Argentina, and had begun to collect a few horses in France with the intention to establish a stud there. When the opportunity to purchase Regis Farm came along, however, the focus was turned in that direction and much of the stock acquired in France-including Eldacar–was rerouted to Kentucky, with a few fillies and mares remaining in France.

In the meantime, the folks at Bonne Chance had made a very shrewd decision when taking a share in a Group 1-winning 2-year-old called Wootton Bassett when he was syndicated at Haras d'Etreham.

“When they bought Wootton Bassett they asked us to be part of the syndicate and we were glad to do it,” explained Bonne Chance Chief Executive Officer Alberto Figueiredo. “You have to take a shot and when you jump on a horse you have to support him and keep your fingers crossed because no one knows who will be the next superstar. So we kept sending him mares and supporting him and hoped for the best.”

Among those mares was Eldacar, who produced as her first foal the current 3-year-old filly Sunny Morning (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) who was sold for €190,000 at Arqana August and placed in June for Ecurie Jean-Louis Bouchard and trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. Eldacar's second foal, the 2-year-old filly Macadamia (Fr) (Wootton Bassett), was retained by Bonne Chance and was exported to the U.S. to race after Eldacar sadly died last year. Macadamia made her first start at Kentucky Downs on Saturday for trainer Paulo Lobo and finished eighth after racing in contention on the rail.

Despite following the sire's results closely, Bonne Chance's Bloodstock and Office Manager Leah Alessandroni said she had never seen a Wootton Bassett in the flesh until Eldacar's colt came along, but she said he gave her a very favourable first impression of what the sire throws.

“I'd seen pictures of the stallion and I'd talked to Alberto about him and some other people that were familiar with the stallion,” she said. “But I didn't know what to expect until this horse was born. He's a big, strong horse. Looking at him and looking at the stallion I think there are a lot of similarities there. We imported his full-sister and she's also a quality horse but a lot smaller and more feminine. But we like her a lot and she's training well. I think anyone who is looking for a big, strong, quality horse is going to have to like this colt. I really can't pick him apart. He's a solid individual, big and strong and he's done everything right since day one.”

While Wootton Bassett has had just 11 runners in the U.S., they have proven adept to the American turf; Audayra is his headline act this side of the Atlantic, having won last year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Tamahere (Fr) won the GII Sands Point S. at Belmont Park last fall after being imported by Madaket Stables and partners, and Qatar Racing's Guildsman (Fr) took the GIII Franklin-Simpson S. at Kentucky Downs last summer, the same race that operation won this past Saturday with The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}). Three-year-old colt Wootton Asset (Fr) was the latest to advertise his sire locally when winning the GIII Virginia Derby on Aug. 31 for Madaket and trainer Graham Motion.

“I'm just excited for people to see him,” said Alessandroni of Bonne Chance's colt. “In following the sire because of our share in him, we've all become such huge fans of him and we're so excited to be able to offer the first North American-bred and sale yearling by him. I think he's a really great representation and I'm really excited for people to see him.”

Bonne Chance's Wootton Bassett colt will be offered on Wednesday during the first session of Book 2 from the Gainesway consignment.

Bonne Chance has 10 homebreds in Keeneland September, and also among those is a Lope De Vega (Ire) colt (hip 337) selling as part of the Hidden Brook consignment during the second session of Book 1 on Tuesday. His dam Diavola (Ire) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) was bought as a yearling by Stud RDI for 65,000gns at Tattersalls October Book 1, and won over a mile and a half on the turf for Mikel Delzangles. After producing the unraced Intello (Ger) filly Jessamine (Fr) as her first foal, Diavola was sent to Wootton Bassett in 2017 and produced the filly Rapid Achiever (Fr). Bought by John Foote for €130,000 at Arqana's October yearling sale in 2019, Rapid Achiever has won her first two starts Down Under for trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace since the Keeneland catalogue was published. Rapid Achiever was just the second runner in Australasia for Wootton Bassett after Richard Hannon's Beat Le Bon (Fr), who was sent down for the 2019 Golden Eagle, and an unbeaten debut winner will be welcome news to the breeders signed on to use the sire during his first season at Coolmore Australia.

Bonne Chance's Lope De Vega colt is from the excellent Aga Khan family of Darshaan (GB), Dar Re Mi (GB), etc., and Alessandroni said, “this guy is a really quality horse. He has the plain Lope De Vega head, but that's the only plain thing about him. He has a lot of presence and he's a really great mover. All around he's one of my top choices this year of our group. I can't pick him apart. He's really one of my favourites and has been ever since he was a foal. It's been great to see him continue to improve and step up and he looks like he's showing himself off here.”

From 42 runners in America, Lope De Vega has supplied three stakes winners including Newspaperofrecord (Ire) and Aunt Pearl (Ire), back to back winners of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf, and Grade III winner Capla Temptress (Ire). In addition to being one of Europe's elite sires, Lope De Vega has also been very successful in Australia, where his 15 stakes winners include Group 1-winning sprinters Santa Ana Lane (Aus), Vega Magic (Aus), Gytrash (Aus) and Vega One (Aus). Bonne Chance's colt is one of three by Lope De Vega at Keeneland; Bedouin Bloodstock offers a half-sister to Breeders' Cup winner and sire Bobby's Kitten as hip 303 on Tuesday, and a half-sister to triple Grade I winner Miss Temple City (Temple City) as hip 717 on Wednesday. Both were bred by SF Bloodstock.

“Lope De Vega has done a lot in this country and has been represented by some really nice horses,” Alessandroni said. “There are a handful of them every year that you see in the sale and they sell fine, but I think he's a horse people should feel comfortable with. He's proven himself on an international level as well as a domestic level, so I think he's a horse that anybody that wants to win big races is going to at least want to look at.”

Bonne Chance is certainly riding momentum into Keeneland September, having won stakes races with imported homebreds In Love (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}) and Imperador (Arg) (Treasure Beach {GB}) over the past week. Those horses alone show that Bonne Chance is not afraid to roll the dice on international horses in America, and indeed its Keeneland offerings also include a Medaglia d'Oro son of an Argentine Group 1 winner and an Into Mischief colt out of a Galileo (Ire) mare. These are members of Bonne Chance's biggest crop to date of 18 foals.

“We actually celebrate our six year anniversary on Sept. 15,” Alessandroni said. “We had three mares when the owner bought the farm and through a combination of buying horses and bringing horses from his other operations we've built ourselves up to between 20 and 30 broodmares, and that's probably where we're always going to stay. We're selling 10 here at Keeneland, we'll have a few selling in October and we'll keep some nice fillies to race.

“We're really excited about this year's group; we think it's a really great representation of our programme. We have a colt in Book 1 by Medaglia d'Oro and the mare was bred in Argentina. She's by Harlan's Holiday but she also raced in France and South America and the U.S., and now she's here breeding for us. This group of yearlings is a really great representation of our entire programme and the international appeal we have really worked hard to bring together.”

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