Tag: Breeders’ Cup

New Owner, Trainer Bonus Program at Belmont Stakes Racing Festival

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) will offer a number of unique incentives for owners and trainers at the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, slated for Thursday, June 8 through Saturday, June 10, at Belmont Park which will be highlighted by the 155th running of the GI Belmont S., the final jewel of the Triple Crown.

The event will encompass 16 stakes races worth a combined $7.65 million while the June 10 Belmont Stakes card will feature nine graded events, including three Breeders' Cup qualifying races as part of the “Win and You're In” series. During the three-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival, horses placed fourth through last in stakes races and horses placed second through last in non-stake races, will receive a starter bonus as set forth here for each eligible starter as part of the “Starter Bonus Program.”

Additionally, trainers whose horses start in any race during the Festival (all races on Thursday, June 8th; Friday, June 9th; or Saturday, June 10th) that are not stabled at a NYRA track (Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course), will receive a shipping bonus of $1,000 to be credited to the owner's account towards shipping expenses. Requirements for both bonuses include that the horse must be declared an official starter. Horses that are placed on a poor performance and/or veterinarian list will not be eligible for the bonus.

For additional information on the 2023 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and details on hospitality offerings, ticket packages and pricing, visit the official page of the Belmont Stakes.

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Songline Overhauls Sodashi In Final Strides Of Victoria Mile

Sunday Racing Co. Ltd.'s 5-year-old Songline overtook defending winner Sodashi in the final yards to prevail by a head in the  $2.1-million Victoria Mile (G1) for older fillies and mares Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse.

With the victory, Songline, ridden by Keita Tosaki and trained by Toru Hayashi, gained an automatic starting position and fees paid into the $2-million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.

Under drizzling conditions, Songline, the 7-1 fourth choice in the 16-horse field, broke smoothly from post 6 and settled into midpack along the rail through the first half-mile, just behind the 5-2 favorite Stars on Earth, while Kentucky-bred longshot Lotus Land set the pace. Sodashi, the 4-1 third choice who was a two-length winner of last year's Victoria Mile, broke from the far outside post 16 but quickly gained a position just behind Lotus Land.

Advancing to sixth entering the lane, Songline got into high gear behind Stars on Earth and passed her before the 200-meter pole. At that point, Sodashi finally put away a determined Lotus Lane and appeared headed for the winner's circle, but Songline surged brilliantly between those two in the last 100 meters to steal the victory, scoring by a head.

Stars on Earth, last year's Yushun Himba (G1) (Japanese Oaks) winner, closed well for third, three-quarters of a length behind Sodashi, followed by Divina, Sound Vivace, and Lotus Land in sixth.

“Though we had to race further back and inward than planned, we were able to race in good position while eyeing the race favorites,” Tosaki said. “The track was a little heavy due to the rain, but she responded strongly in the straight. It was a close race, but I was pretty sure we crossed the wire in front. I knew that Songline has a strong ability so I'm really happy we were able to win the race.”

Capturing her second Group 1 victory, Songline, a daughter of Kizuna out of Luminous Parade, by Symboli Kris S, completed the mile in 1:32.2 over a course listed as good to firm. Bred by Northern Farm, Songline, who finished fifth in last year's Victoria Mile, improved her record to six wins in 14 starts.

After claiming the Yasuda Kinen (G1) last June at Tokyo, which earned her an automatic berth into the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1), Songline finished fifth in the Sankei Sho Centaur Stakes (G2) in September. She was scheduled to run in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland, but the trip was canceled due to an epiglottis inflammation. This year, in her previous start, she was unable to defend her title in the 1351 Turf Sprint (G3) on Feb. 25 in Saudi Arabia, finishing 10th of 11.

Songline joins Make it Snappy, winner of the Cartier Paddock Stakes (G1) in South Africa in January, as the first two runners to earn free berths in the Filly ans Mare Turf through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series

The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of 80 stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

As a part of the benefits of the Challenge Series, Breeders' Cup will pay the entry fees for Songline to start in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, which will be run at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita. Breeders' Cup will also provide a travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the World Championships.

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Fan-Favourite Sodashi Lands Horror Draw For Victoria Mile

Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune), the world's most recognisable not to mention most talented registered white horse, has drawn the widest barrier in a field of 18 while making her 5-year-old reappearance in defence of her title in Sunday's G1 Victoria Mile at Tokyo, a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for this year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Santa Anita Park in California.

A two-length winner of this event last season, Sodashi was only fifth as the favourite in last August's G2 Sapporo Kinen (2000m) behind Jack d'Or (Jpn) (Maurice {Jpn}), Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and Win Marilyn (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}), each of whom have since recorded top-level successes. A head second in the nine-furlong G2 Fuchu Himba over this course in October, the two-time champion was last seen finishing a competitive third behind Serifos (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) in the G1 Mile Championship last November. Sodashi gets a noteworthy change in the saddle Sunday.

“Jockey Damian Lane rode her two weeks ago, and he said he found her easy to ride,” said trainer Naosuke Sugai. “He has been studying all her races and I do want him to ride her as he feels is right. There are a lot of top horses in the lineup, but I want her to be able to bring out her best. Of course, I want results, but the most important thing is that she runs safely and comes out of the race well.”

 

 

 

Reining Japanese champion 3-year-old filly Stars on Earth (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) won the first two legs of last year's Japanese Filly Triple Crown, the G1 Oka Sho and G1 Yushun Himba, ahead of a luckless third behind Stunning Rose (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) in the G1 Shuka Sho. Sidelined thereafter, she flew home late and was unfortunate not to get past the aforementioned Jack d'Or in the G1 Osaka Hai on her seasonal return Apr. 2.

“She'd been coming off a layoff in her previous race, but this time, with a race behind her, I think she has improved,” said jockey Christophe Lemaire, back from his sixth-place effort in the GI Kentucky Derby last weekend. “She feels to be in perfect shape. We lost last time because we were racing from too far back. The start will be important.”

Songline (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) is back at the mile, having finished a somewhat disappointing 10th behind Bathrat Leon (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}) when going for back-to-back victories in the G3 1351 Turf Sprint in Saudi Arabia Feb. 25. She improved from a well-backed fifth in this spot to cause a mild upset in last term's G1 Yasuda Kinen in her next visit to the races.

So deep is this year's renewal that Lotus Land (Point of Entry), a dual Group 3 winner and near-miss second in the 2022 G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen, is no better than a 100-1 chance. She exits a sixth in the latter event Mar. 26 when the ground at Chukyo was exceptionally testing.

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Breeders’ Cup Offers 80 ‘Win and You’re In’ Races in ’23

Breeders' Cup Ltd issued a rundown of the 2023 Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In schedule, which consists of 80 races in 11 countries. Each winner will receive automatic qualifying positions, with fees paid, into a corresponding race in the 2023 Breeders' Cup World Championships.

Horses from around the globe will qualify through the Win and You're In program, now in its 16th year, for the 40th running of the World Championships. Consisting of 14 Grade I races and purses and awards totaling $31 million, this year's Championships will be held Nov. 3-4 at Santa Anita Park.

The first Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race of the year in the United States will be the May 29 GI Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita, a qualifying race for the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile.

Thirty-nine international races will complement the North American season as the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is hosted at premier racetracks in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Ireland, Japan, Peru and South Africa.

After a successful restructuring in 2022, the 2023 series in the U.S. will again feature a regional qualifying program to balance divisional competition across the country. In 10 of the 14 race divisions, there will be one Breeders' Cup Challenge Series race per region, identified as East, Midwest, and West. The exception to the regional format will be the Longines Breeders' Cup Classic division, which will have six domestic qualifying races. New this year, all North American Challenge races must be graded to be included in the series.

Breeders' Cup has allocated $5,120,000 in free entry fees for this year's Challenge Series and will pay the entry fees and guarantee a starting position in a corresponding Championships race for all Challenge Series race winners. The Challenge winner must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 23 to receive the rewards.

In addition, Breeders' Cup will provide a $10,000 travel allowance for all starters within North America that are stabled outside of California, and a $40,000 travel allowance to the connections of all Championship starters based outside of North America.

There will be eight automatic berths awarded for the $6 million GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Lemon Pop became the first horse to qualify for this year's Classic when he won the Feb. 19 February S. at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan. The next automatic qualifier in the division will be the July 1 GI Stephen Foster S. at Churchill Downs.

The international portion of the series began Dec. 17 when the The Punisher (ARG) captured the G1 Gran Premio International Carlos Pellegrini at Hipodromo de San Isidro in Argentina to gain the first automatic starting berth into the Breeders' Cup Turf.

The complete 2023 schedule is available at www.BreedersCup.com/races/challenge-series

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