Tag: breeders’ cup turf

‘It’s a Love Story’: America and Japan Beckon for Fantastic Moon

Despite having run out the convincing winner of the G2 Prix Niel, one of Sunday's key Arc trials at Longchamp, the Deutsches Derby winner Fantastic Moon (Ger) (Sea The Moon {Ger}) will not run in this year's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Instead he has potential trips to America and Japan on his agenda, according to Lars-Wilhelm Baumgarten, who manages the colt's ownership syndicate Liberty Racing. 

“We have decided not to sell him. We've had big offers from all over the world but we have decided to run him. It's a love story, it's an adventure and we will go this way,” Baumgarten told TDN on Wednesday morning. 

Fantastic Moon is trained in Munich by Sarah Steinberg, a rising star of the training ranks. Earlier this season she became the first female trainer of a Deutsches Derby winner after nothing her first Group 1 success the previous year in the Grosser Preis von Baden with Mendocino (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}).

Baumgarten continued, “It's only 18 days between his journey back to Munich after the Prix Niel and then back to Longchamp, and in our opinion that is too much for him. He loves to have a break of about six weeks between races and we believe that he will be a very good four-year-old.

“He's fit and well. He had a vet check today and we are very happy with him and we want to go to the big races next year. We want to create a sire. The Arc is a big, big race and it could be run on soft ground, nobody knows at the moment. He loves good ground, so the Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita and the Japan Cup, which is also considered, are safer when it comes to finding good ground.”

In a statement released by Liberty Racing, Sarah Steinberg said, “I am obviously very happy about this decision and very grateful. Fantastic Moon is a great horse who is still maturing and therefore he needs an appropriate break between races.”

Baumgarten's Classic success in Germany in 2023 has not been confined to his involvement with Fantastic Moon. He is the co-breeder of the G1 Preis der Diana winner Muskoka (Ger), who is also by Sea The Moon, and he retains a 25% share of the filly along with three partners. 

On Tuesday it was announced that Muskoka would be one of three German Classic winners to be auctioned at Arqana's Arc Sale on the eve of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, along with 2,000 Guineas winner Angers (Fr) (Seabhac) and last year's Derby winner Sammarco (Ire) (Camelot {GB}).

Baumgarten added, “We will sell Muskoka at the Arc Sale if the price is good. She has a nomination for the Prix de l'Opera on that weekend. I still have her mother and I have her sister.”

 

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Longshot Get Smokin Wires Kentucky Turf Cup

When they throw $1.7 million at a race that entitles the winner to a guaranteed, fees-paid berth in the field for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, sometimes you cast all logic aside and roll the dice against all odds.

As the saying goes, 'you miss 100% of the shots you don't take,' and it was with that mindset that Get Smokin (Get Stormy)–a Grade II and Grade III winner, but unproven over the 12-furlong trip of the GII FanDuel Kentucky Cup Turf–was even entered in the first place. But given a perfect ride from the front by Fernando de la Cruz on a day the rail was where you wanted to be at Kentucky Downs, the chestnut, off at 19-1, forgot to stop and proved 1 3/4 lengths superior over Spooky Channel (English Channel) when all was said and done. Santin (Medaglia d'Oro) raced prominently throughout and settled for third.

“I have often told [Ironhorse Racing Managing Partner] Harlan [Malter] that he is the craziest owner I train for. But this was not a crazy idea,” winning trainer Mark Casse said in the immediate aftermath of the upset.

The hard-fought winner of a Gulfstream allowance first off a September layoff back in April, Get Smokin was sixth in a graded-stakes quality renewal of the Opening Verse S. at Churchill May 4, then was run down late and finished runner-up in the GIII Arlington S. June 3 and in the July 1 Wise Dan S. at Ellis. Tried over 10 furlongs for the first time in the Kentucky Downs Preview Turf Cup Aug. 6, Get Smokin made the running, but was reeled in late and settled for fourth.

Though he had a bit of early company in the form of Santin in the final event of Saturday's stakes-laden program, Get Smokin took the field into the first turn and opened up four or five lengths on his rivals as they hit the backstretch. Despite the loose lead, Get Smokin switched off beautifully on the engine, getting the half in :49.61 and the opening six panels in a comfortable 1:14.18.

Even though the next couple of furlongs were covered in a testing :23.81, Get Smokin was still full of run down the side of the track, daring some proven stayers to come and get him. But catch him they could not, as he switched his leads at the quarter pole, flopped back and forth in the final furlong, but remained clear to the wire.

Malter was full of praise for de la Cruz, who won back-to-back runnings of the GII Woodford S. aboard Ironhorse's Bucchero (Kantharos) before also partnering with the horse in consecutive renewals of the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

“We looked at this race,” Malter said. “We wanted to test out at Ellis [in the 1 1/4-mile prep]. Even though we ran fourth, we were happy. He ran a similar figure to what he was running at a mile and a sixteenth. We were all systems go. We kind of came up with the idea to have Fernando. We made a very specific plan, and it's amazing how well Fernando executed it.”

Pedigree Notes:

By Get Stormy, winner of the GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at nine furlongs on the turf, Get Smokin is out of a mare by noted sprint sire Smoke Glacken. There is a bit of stamina as you go down the page, as second dam Doc's Leading Lady–the dam of MSW Spanish Pipedream (Scat Daddy)–was a full-sister to Phi Beta Doc, who set a Saratoga course record when winning the 1999 GIII Saranac S. over a mile and three-sixteenths before annexing that year's 10-furlong Virginia Derby, also in course-record time. Third dam Smart Queen was a half-sister to 1977 GII Arkansas Derby hero Clev Er Tell (Tell).

Hookah Lady is the dam of a 2-year-old colt by Vino Rosso who was a $32,000 RNA as a KEENOV weanling, then sold for $35,000 at KEESEP last fall before blossoming into a $550,000 OBS March breezer. Smoldering Ash, a yearling full-sister to Get Smokin, went for $102,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Sale to NBS Stable's John Ballantyne, coincidentally the owner of Turf Cup runner-up Spooky Channel. The mare produced a Classic Empire colt this year and was bred back to Practical Joke.

Saturday, Kentucky Downs
FANDUEL KENTUCKY TURF CUP S.-GII, $1,675,429, Kentucky Downs, 9-9, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:28.66, fm.
1–GET SMOKIN, 122, g, 6, by Get Stormy
                1st Dam: Hookah Lady, by Smoke Glacken
                2nd Dam: Doc's Leading Lady, by Doc's Leader
                3rd Dam: Smart Queen, by King Pellinore

($11,000 Ylg '18 FTKOCT). O-Ironhorse Racing Stable LLC, BlackRidge Stables LLC, T-N-T Equine Holdings, LLC and Saratoga Seven Racing Partners, LLC; B-Hurstland Farm, Inc. & James Greene Jr. (KY); T-Mark E. Casse; J-Fernando De La Cruz. $972,220. Lifetime Record: 27-6-7-2, $1,650,497. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Spooky Channel, 124, g, 8, English Channel–Spooky Kitten, by Kitten's Joy. ($10,000 Ylg '16 FTKOCT). O-NBS Stable; B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Jason Barkley. $316,200.
3–Santin, 122, h, 5, Distorted Humor–Sentiero Italia, by Medaglia d'Oro. O/B-Godolphin (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh. $158,100.
Margins: 1 3/4, HD, NO. Odds: 19.57, 17.54, 4.29.
Also Ran: Red Knight, Verstappen, Kitodan, Me and Mr. C, Therapist, Never Explain, Foreign Relations, Another Mystery, Nautilus (Brz). Scratched: Cellist, Highest Honors, Red Run, Sy Dog.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Gold Phoenix Defends His DMR H. Title, On to Breeders’ Cup Turf

Gold Phoenix (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) will get a second chance at the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. With a win in Del Mar's GII Del Mar H., the 5-year-old gelding earned a 'Win And You're In' spot in the gate for the November event. 10th behind Rebel's Romance (Dubawi {Ire}) in last year's rendition of the race, Gold Phoenix rebounded in 2023 with a pair of graded-stakes wins including a narrow victory in the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile S. to start his year March 23. Though he faltered in both the GII Charles Whittingham S. and the GI Shoemaker Mile S., he entered Saturday's spot off a win in the GII Eddie Read S. July 30.

Favored at 5-2 in a race he also won in similar fashion last year, Gold Phoenix broke smoothly from the outside and let the inside horses clear him, settling near the rear of the field as Azul Coast (Super Saver) and Crosby Beach (Gormley) handled the tempo. Comfortably at the back past the wire for the first time and into the backstretch, the favorite didn't begin to move until the group started to stack up around the far turn. Splitting horses past the quarter pole, he found a seam six wide into the stretch, dove through and still found more than enough to win despite a tardy lead change in the final yards.

“Plan A was to save ground,” said Juan Hernandez. “My horse relaxed really well today and was so patient. This time I go outside because I had a lot of horses in front of me. So I say I want to swing out and see if I can find something. If not I can go back inside. But I was able to find some space to come through, and after that he flew for home. He is getting better every race. Last time he was a little closer and he was able to keep up that space and able to win that race. I just have to wait and he loved the distance.”

Pedigree Note:

Gold Phoenix is the sole winner produced to date out of a full-sister to G1SW Sea Defence and MGSW Jibboom, herself the dam of GSW Flying Jib (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and GSP Accede (Into Mischief). Belardo (Ire), by Lope de Vega (Ire), stood at Darley's Kildangan Stud until last year before moving to Bearstone Stud in Shropshire for 2023. Magnifica foaled a full-brother to Saturday's winner last year and reported a filly by Lucky Vega (Ire) this spring.

Saturday, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
DEL MAR H. PRESENTED BY THE JAPAN RACING ASSOCIATION-GII, $303,000, Del Mar, 9-2, 3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:15.34, fm.
1–GOLD PHOENIX (IRE), 124, g, 5, by Belardo (Ire)
                1st Dam: Magnifica, by Mizzen Mast
                2nd Dam: Palisade, by Gone West
                3rd Dam: Peplum, by Nijinsky II
(€24,000 RNA Ylg '19 GOFSPT). O-Little Red Feather Racing, Sterling Stables, LLC and Marsha Naify; B-Mighty Universe Ltd (IRE); T-Philip D'Amato; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $180,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 15-6-3-3, $1,017,757. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Nineeleventurbo, 118, g, 6, More Than Ready–Rosalie Road, by Street Cry (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($300,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV). O-Stepaside Farm, LLC; B-C.W. Swann & Wetherbee Holdings, Ltd. (KY); T-Neil D. Drysdale. $60,000.
3–Cash Equity (Fr), 120, g, 5, Toronado (Ire)–Funny Crazy (Fr), by Chichicastenango (Fr). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. (€20,000 Ylg '19 AROYRG; €245,000 3yo '21 ARARC). O-Madaket Stables LLC, Michael Dubb and William Strauss; B-S.C.E.A. Des Prairies, Thomas Jeffroy & Benoit Jeffroy (FR); T-Philip D'Amato. $36,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NO, NO. Odds: 2.50, 13.50, 10.70.
Also Ran: Missed the Cut, Planetario (Brz), Cathkin Peak (Ire), Offlee Naughty, None Above the Law, Win the Day, Crosby Beach, Azul Coast.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Sapporo Kinen An Important Jumping-Off Point For Big Names

The return of Group 1 racing in Japan is officially about six weeks away, but Sunday's 2000-metre Sapporo Kinen–a Group 2 in name only–sees the return to action of some familiar names who are potentially looking to prep for big spots further afield over the coming months.

Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), the 2021 G1 Tokyo Yushun hero, makes his first start since finishing fifth to world's top-rated racehorse Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in defence of his title in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic Mar. 25, with a trip to America for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf in the offing, all things equal. The 5-year-old son of Dubai Majesty (Essence of Dubai) will be ridden for the first time by Takeshi Yokoyama. Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was just defeated in the 2021 Sapporo Kinen before going on to annex the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

The progressive Prognosis (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), third to Shahryar in Group 3 company in 2021, earned his first success at pattern level when prevailing by 3/4 of a length in the G2 Kinko Sho last March. It was off to Hong Kong for his next and a meeting with local champion Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Accalamation {GB}) in the G1 FWD QE II Cup in late April, and Prognosis covered himself in glory in finishing two lengths adrift of the course-and-distance specialist in second. All roads could lead back to Sha Tin for the Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting in December.

Win Mighty (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn}) steps out for the first time since finishing a narrowly beaten second when going for consecutive victories in the G3 Mermaid S. at Hanshin June 18. The 6-year-old, third in the 2021 G1 Yushun Himba, holds an entry for the G1 Caulfield Cup during the Melbourne Spring Carnival Oct. 21, but will need a strong effort to merit the journey down under.

Defending chamipion Jack d'Or (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}) won a star-studded renewal of the G1 Osaka Hai going this distance at Hanshin Apr. 2 and cut back to the mile for his latest in the G1 Yasuda Kinen, where he finished a determined fifth to the Breeders' Cup-bound Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) after setting the pace. He would become the first back-to-back winner of this race since Air Groove (Jpn) in 1997-98. Danon Beluga (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), who ran on well to finish three-parts of a length adrift of the three-peating Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan when last spotted, should also appreciate Sunday's 10-furlong trip. The 4-year-old is reunited with Joao Moreira this weekend.

 

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