Tag: breeders’ cup juvenile

Derby Trail Heats Up in South Florida

Led by last term's hard-fought GII Remsen S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo), a deep field of nine will line up for Saturday's GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park.

Owned by Donegal Racing and trained by Todd Pletcher, Mo Donegal outslugged Zandon (Upstart) by a nose after a roughly run stretch drive while making his stakes debut in that aforementioned 1 1/8-mile affair at Aqueduct last time Dec. 4.

“We decided that the Holy Bull was the right starting point,” Pletcher said. “It gives us plenty of options. If he were to run well, we still have the [GII Fasig-Tipton] Fountain of Youth [Mar. 5] to come back in if we wanted to or we could train up to the [GI Curlin] Florida Derby [Apr. 2] like we did with Audible. We kind of felt like it put us in a position to have the most options.”

Pletcher added of the 5-2 morning-line favorite, “I'm really pleased with his training since he came here after the Remsen. We targeted this right away and, knock on wood, thankfully everything has gone according to schedule. He has not missed a beat since he's been here.”

Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) outran his 21-1 odds to complete the trifecta in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar most recently Nov. 5. He previously defeated subsequent GIII Lecomte S. upsetter Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute) by three lengths in his Keeneland maiden breaker at this same 1 1/16 miles distance Oct. 9.

Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) returns to dirt after rallying from far back to cross the line a troubled second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. Last term's GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. and Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile S. winner graduated by 14 1/4 lengths in his most recent attempt on dirt in an Ellis Park off-the -turfer last July.

“I thought it was somewhat of an unlucky trip, but he still ran well,” trainer Ken McPeek said of Tiz the Bomb's Breeders' Cup effort. “It was a respectable run. He ran a good race; he split horses and came flying late. The other horse got a little bit of a jump on him.”

The Florida-bred Simplification (Not This Time) could have things his own way on the front end in his two-turn debut here after wiring the one-turn mile Mucho Macho Man S. Jan. 1.

The Holy Bull offers 10-4-2-1 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby.

The post Derby Trail Heats Up in South Florida appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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‘Quality’ First Book of Mares

'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit–Delightful Quality, by  Elusive Quality), a leading Eclipse Award finalist for champion 3-year-old colt, heads to the breeding shed with an impressive line-up of mares for his first season at stud at Darley's Jonabell Farm in Kentucky.

The 2020 champion 2-year-old colt and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner continued to add to his loaded resume at three, capturing the GI Belmont S. and GI Runhappy Travers S. He concluded his career with a third-place finish against his elders in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

The Godolphin homebred stands his first season at stud for $75,000.

“We are delighted with Essential Quality's first book,” said Darren Fox, Sales Manager, Darley Stallions. “He has amassed a very strong group of mares as you might expect from the highest-priced freshman of his year. This positions him extremely well for his second career and we hope he is equally adept as he was at his first career.”

Essential Quality's first book of approximately 160 mares includes standouts such as:

  • American Story (Ghostzapper), GSP; half-sister to MGISW Seventh Street (Street Cry {Ire}) and G1SW Reynaldothewizard (Speightstown); $2.2 million FTKNOV purchase in 2017; dam of MGISW American Gal (Concord Point) and SW & GSP Americanize (Concord Point).
  • Artemis Agrotera (Roman Ruler), MGISW; dam of SW and $2-million OBS March topper Chestertown (Tapit).
  • Baffled (Distorted Humor), GSP; half-sister to GISW Emcee (Unbridled's Song); $1.8 million FTKNOV purchase in 2019; dam of MGISW Constitution (Tapit), GSW Jacaranda (Congrats) and GSW Boynton (More Than Ready).
  • Bashful Bertie (Quiet American), full-sister to MGSW & GISP Allamerican Bertie and half-sister to MGSW & GISP Hurricane Bertie (Storm Boot); dam of MGISW Beach Patrol (Lemon Drop Kid).
  • Believe You Can (Proud Citizen), winner of the 2012 GI Kentucky Oaks; dam of SW & GSP Believe In Royalty (Tapit).
  • Candy Fortune (Candy Ride {Arg}), dam of GISW Hog Creek Hustle (Overanalyze) and GSW Majestic Dunhill (Majesticperfection).
  • Centre Court (Smart Strike), GISW; half-sister to GSW Ravel (Fusaichi Pegasus); dam of GSW Navratilova (Medaglia d'Oro).
  • Comedy (Theatrical {Ire}), $1.5 million KEENOV purchase in 2015; dam of GISW Taris (Flatter), SW & MGSP Theatre Star (War Front); and SW Stoweshoe (Flatter).
  • Concrete Rose (Twirling Candy), GISW; $1.95 million KEENOV purchase in 2020.
  • Crosswinds (Storm Cat), half-sister to GSW & MGISP Filimbi (Mizzen Mast); dam of GISW Weep No More (Mineshaft) and GSW Current (Curlin).
  • It Tiz (Tiznow), MSW; dam of GISW It Tiz Well (Arch).
  • Lady Shipman (Midshipman), GSW & GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint runner-up; dam of GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner and GII Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo).
  • No Questions Asked (Awesome Again), $300,000 KEENOV purchase in 2021; full-sister to GISW Paynter and half-sister to GSW Tiz West (Gone West).
  • Panty Raid (Include), MGISW; $2.5 million FTKNOV purchase in 2008; full-sister to GSW & GISP St. John's River; dam of GSW & GISP Micheline (Bernardini) and MGSP Proxy (Tapit).
  • Red Lark (Ire) (Epaulette {Aus}), GISW; half-sister to GSP All Set To Go (Ire) (Verglas {Ire}).
  • Romantic Vision (Lemon Drop Kid), GISW; half-sister to SP Hard Attack (Hard Spun).
  • Seventh Street (Street Cry {Ire}), MGISW; $1 million Fasig-Tipton Florida 2-year-old purchase in 2007; half-sister to G1SW Reynaldothewizard (Speightstown) and GSP American Story (Ghostzapper); dam of GSW & GISP Lake Avenue (Tapit) and GISP Marking (Bernardini).
  • Wedding Toast (Street Sense), MGISW; dam of SW Ya Hayati (Dubawi {Ire}).

The post ‘Quality’ First Book of Mares appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Holy Bull Is ‘On The Table’ For Juvenile Third Giant Game

West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables' Giant Game, unraced since running third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) last fall for trainer Dale Romans, continues to work toward his 3-year-old debut.

The sophomore son of Giant's Causeway had a five-furlong move in 59.76 seconds Wednesday morning over Gulfstream's main track, the fastest of five horses. Giant Game has been breezing steadily at Gulfstream since returning to the work tab Dec. 20, including another bullet five-eighths in 59.85 Jan. 11.

The $250,000 Holy Bull (G3) at 1 1/16 miles Feb. 5 is Gulfstream's next step for 3-year-olds on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby (G1) going 1 1/8 miles April 2. In between is the $400,000 Fountain of Youth (G2) March 5, also at 1 1/16 miles.

“I think everything is progressing nicely. I did talk to Dale probably a week ago and he was upbeat,” West Point's chief operating officer Tom Bellhouse said. “He said everything is going smooth. From what I understand, the Holy Bull is on the table. If he's training well, I would think he'd go to the Holy Bull.”

Giant Game, who fetched $500,000 as a yearling in September 2020, graduated at second asking in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight last October at Keeneland, earning him a shot at the Breeders' Cup. Sent off at 21-1, he was in a striking position on the outside in the stretch but wound up 3 ¼ lengths behind front-running favorite Corniche, trailing runner-up Pappacap by a length and a half.

“You have to start somewhere this year. Dale gave him plenty of time,” Bellhouse said. “I thought he ran a monster race in the Breeders' Cup. With a better trip I think we're probably second. If you look at the race the horse was really in a perfect spot on the rail, but I know when you feel like you're loaded you want to take that swing out. But, he ran a huge race and I'm hoping that he comes back and moves forward.”

The post Holy Bull Is ‘On The Table’ For Juvenile Third Giant Game appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘He’s Going To Be Up Against It’: Derby May Be A Longshot For Jack Christopher

Trainer Chad Brown told the Thoroughbred Daily News this week that Grade 1 winner Jack Christopher would be hard-pressed to make it into the field for this year's Kentucky Derby. The 3-year-old son of Munnings remains at least two weeks away from joining Brown in South Florida, the trainer said, as he's still recovering from an injury that kept him out of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

A winner on debut at Saratoga, Jack Christopher returned to capture the G1 Champagne at Belmont Park before shipping West, where he would likely have been the favorite in the World Championships race. Instead, the colt was scratched and Dr. Larry Bramlage wound up surgically inserting a screw to repair a stress fracture in his left shin.

Brown is not optimistic about having Jack Christopher ready for the Run for the Roses.

“He's going to be up against it, that's for sure,” Brown told the TDN. “I don't want to rule anything out until I put my hands on him, but he's certainly behind. To get him to go a mile-and-a-quarter I'm going to need to have something under his belt. We'll see where he takes us and if he doesn't make [the Derby] we have several other races we'd love to target with him.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

The post ‘He’s Going To Be Up Against It’: Derby May Be A Longshot For Jack Christopher appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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