Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

Caravel Named Top Midlantic-bred of 2022

In the final Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred/The Racing Biz poll of 2022, GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint heroine Caravel (Mizzen Mast) was named 2022's top Midlantic-bred. The honor marks the fifth straight year the Top Midlantic-bred was also a Breeders' Cup winner.

In addition to her Breeders' Cup triumph, the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Zeezee Zoomzoom (Congrats) racked up a record of 8-5-0-0 for earnings of $930,983, which included wins in the GIII Franklin County S. and GIII Intercontinental S. She is the sixth Pennsylvania-bred to win a Breeders' Cup race, joining Go For Wand, Tikkanen, Alphabet Soup, Finest City, and Shamrock Rose.

“Breeders all over the region are breeding outstanding horses,” Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, said. “It's important to take a moment to reflect on and celebrate those achievements.”

Caravel, who is owned by Sheik Fahad's Qatar Racing, Marc Detampel and Madaket Stables and trained by Brad Cox, was scheduled to be sold at Keeneland in November, but was withdrawn with plans for a 6-year-old campaign, which includes a trip to Royal Ascot and a defense of her title in the Breeders' Cup.

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Al Muthana, Make It Snappy Earn Breeders’ Cup Berths In South Africa

Five-year-old gelding Al Muthan, at 80-1, came flying on the far outside to defeat previously unbeaten Charles Dickens by a neck in Saturday's R1.5-million L'Ormarins King's Plate (G1) going one mile at Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town.

With thevictory, Al Muthana, ridden by Bernard Fayd'herbe, earned an automatic berth into the $2-million FanDuel Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) later this year at Santa Anita through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.

One race prior to the King's Plate, Make It Snappy held off defending winner Captain's Ransom to capture the R1-million Cartier Paddock Stakes (G1) and earned a free berth into the $2-million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1).

Al Muthana, a son of Deep Field out of El Daana, by Redoute's Choice, trained by Ricky Maingard for a partnership, won his second Group 1 stakes race, and his eighth triumph in 18 starts. Al Muthana completed the mile in 1:38.22 over a course listed as good.

In the 1 1/8-mile Cartier Paddock Stakes, Hollywood Syndicate's 5-2 Make It Snappy, ridden by Luyolo Mxothwa, led wire to wire, defeating seven rivals, while holding off 4-5 favorite Captain's Ransom, the 2021-2022 Equus Horse of the Year, by a neck.

Trained by Brett Crawford, Make it Snappy, a 3-year-old daughter of Dynasty out of Icy Winter Air, by Western Winter, completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:52.07.

Make It Snappy won her fourth consecutive race and improved her record to four wins in five starts. In her previous start, she captured the Group 1 World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas at Kenilworth on Dec. 3.

Now in its 17th season, the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, which is scheduled to be held at Santa Anita in Arcadia, California, on Nov. 3-4.

As a part of the benefits of the Challenge series, the Breeders' Cup will pay the pre-entry and entry fees for the winners of Saturday's races to start in the World Championships. Breeders' Cup will also provide a $40,000 travel allowance for all starters based outside of North America to compete in the Championships. The Challenge winners must be nominated to the Breeders' Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of Oct. 23 to receive the rewards.

The post Al Muthana, Make It Snappy Earn Breeders’ Cup Berths In South Africa appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Laymon Hopes to Take Front Row at Keeneland January

Steve Laymon watched Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) clinch a likely Eclipse Award with her win in the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint at Keeneland in November and the founder of the First Row Partners racing partnership will be back at Keeneland Monday to watch that mare's half-sister Katie's Keepsake (Medaglia d'Oro) (hip 55) sell with the Nursery Place consignment during the first session of the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale. Laymon purchased the unraced mare, in foal to Tiz the Law, for $65,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November sale. At that time, Goodnight Olive had y made just two starts for the First Row Partners, who purchased her for $170,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton October sale.

“[Trainer] Chad [Brown] had told me Goodnight Olive had a lot of promise,” Laymon said. “She had had some ankle procedures done, but we knew she was very talented. So that's kind of why I bought [Katie's Keepsake].”

Of the then 7-year-old mare's price tag, Laymon said, “There was no guarantee that Goodnight Olive was going to be a Breeders' Cup winner. We had a plan and we had high hopes because Chad's skill at accessing talent is so good and he felt like she was a Grade I athlete, so I felt like $75,000 would have been a really good buy for her no matter, with her being by Medaglia d'Oro. We obviously got her for a little bit less than that.”

After breaking her maiden by 8 1/2 lengths in October 2021, Goodnight Olive romped home a nine-length allowance winner at Aqueduct in November. She resurfaced with a pair of optional-claimer scores in New York in early summer before making the jump to graded company where she had immediate success. The dark bay filly swept to victory in the Aug. 28 GI Ballerina H. before concluding the year with a 2 1/2-length win in the Breeders' Cup.

As the filly continued to improve, the partners began discussing what to do with her half-sister.

“We kicked that around a lot,” Laymon said of the decision to sell Katie's Keepsake. “We thought about keeping her for a while, but then with Goodnight Olive's success, we decided to go ahead and maybe make a profit.”

Asked if it was an emotional decision to sell the mare, whose daughter by Street Sense fetched $600,000 at last year's OBS April sale, Laymon said, “Well maybe not as much with her, but it will be with Goodnight Olive. I know some owners collect them and I tend not to be that way. I do have family that I keep that I've had a long time. But I try to make the right business decisions.”

First Row Partners still maintains the mare's short yearling colt by Tiz the Law, who likely be on offer later in the year.

“We will probably sell him in September,” Laymon said. “He's doing well. The reason this mare and the colt were not in November is that we were just not sure how Goodnight Olive would turn out in November. And so we decided to wait. We felt probably in the January sale, she would be a little more of a stick out.”

Laymon, an optometrist from North Carolina, traces his participation in racing back some three decades to Cot Campbell's Dogwood Racing Stable. While First Row Partners' primary focus is racing, Laymon and partners do maintain a small number of broodmares.

“I have five broodmares,” Laymon said. “Typically, I try to keep five or six. That's about my number. Some I have on my own and some I have with some of the First Row partners and some are First Row. This particular one [Katie's Keepsake] is a First Row. I actually bought her for myself and then I thought to be a good leader and a good manager, I should offer her to them. I didn't want to take advantage. And it's fun to have the guys involved. First Row Partners, there are just six of us, and we are scattered across the country, so it gives them a reason to follow the mare as well. A couple of my guys have never done any breeding before.”

He continued, “We buy only fillies, so sometimes you get into the mare business even though you don't want to. We have another Ghostzapper mare that we felt was a somewhat talented horse that never made it to the races, so we kept her. But we try to keep that number limited.”

Goodnight Olive could give Laymon his second Eclipse champion. He was co-owner of Dayatthespa (City Zip), who won the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Turf before being named the champion grass mare of 2014.

Asked what it would mean to add a second Eclipse statue to his collection, Laymon said, “Oh wow. I just never imagined. I started with Dogwood Stable probably getting close to 30 years ago now. Cot Campbell was such a good mentor and he could see I wanted more. Dogwood Stable had maybe only won one Eclipse Award and I was thinking about who was lucky enough to win one. And here we are with a strong chance of winning two. It's just hard to imagine. At the Breeders' Cup, I said there was one connection, besides myself, between Dayatthespa and Goodnight Olive and that's Chad. He's the connection.”

Goodnight Olive, meanwhile, is back in light training after getting a winter break in Florida.

“I went down to check on her in December with the rest of our horses right before Christmas,” Laymon said. “Chad had given her 45 days of just turn out. She's back in light training. It's a little soon [to have a target race]. But Chad is a second-half-of-the-year guy. I would think springtime. Probably the Madison at Keeneland would be a first target. If she's ready, I would think that would be the target because she's done so well at Keeneland. It just makes sense to start there if she's ready.”

The Keeneland January sale will be held Monday through Thursday with bidding beginning each day at 10 a.m.

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Racing’s Crystal Ball: How TDN Europe Predicts 2023 To Play Out

A large part of the fun that comes with following racing and the bloodstock game is predicting the future. Who will win the Derby? Who might top the Orby Sale? What freshman sires are here to stay and which ones will drift into the abyss?

Well, we've looked deep into the TDN Europe crystal ball for 2023 to see if we can come up with the answers to the burning questions for the year ahead. Enjoy!

January

If you think he had a good Christmas, wait until you see how January goes for Willie Mullins. This is the month where Ireland's dominant jumps trainer ramps up a gear, highlighted by Energumene's deadly performance in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot. Can anyone stop Energumene–or Mullins for that matter–at Cheltenham?

Meanwhile, Gordon Elliott appears to have his own festival banker in the shape of Mares' Novice Hurdle hotpot Halka Du Tabert, who makes light work of her rivals in the Solerina Mares' Novice Hurdle at Fairyhouse.

Guess who features among this race's roll of honour? None other than Honeysuckle and Minella Melody. Could the torch be passed to fellow Kenny Alexander-owned Halka Du Tabert?

February

Reassuring figures are recorded at one of the first big Flat sales of the new year, the February Sale, where multiple lots sell for six figures. Maybe 2022 wasn't a dream after all.

Willie Mullins once again dominates at the Dublin Racing Festival where Honeysuckle's bid for a four-timer in the Irish Champion Hurdle is foiled by State Man, who now appears the chief Irish challenger to Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle.

Galopin Des Champs dazzles in the Irish Gold Cup, but will he stay the extra two furlongs up the punishing hill at Cheltenham?

March

Did somebody say Flat racing? Aidan O'Brien opens the gates at Ballydoyle to the Irish press and Brendan O'Rourke is back in search of the next two-year-old star to follow this season. “He's by No Nay Never, Brendan. Big Little something, I think he's called,” says Aidan. “A fiver or a tenner,” asks Brendan.

Constitution Hill proves worthy of all of the hype in the Champion Hurdle by beating Honeysuckle, who runs a tremendous race in the first-time cheekpieces.

It's easy-as-you-like for Energumene in the Champion Chase but there's a surprise in the Stayers' Hurdle as Ahoy Senor, re-routed from the Gold Cup, denies Flooring Porter a third straight triumph.

It's a one-two-three for team Mullins in the Gold Cup, but it's Emmet who takes the top honours, not his uncle Willie, as Noble Yeats out-battles Galopin Des Champs with Stattler running an eye-catching race with a view towards the Grand National back in third.

The recently-returned Oisin Murphy shines at the Dubai World Cup meeting. Meanwhile, industry stakeholders begin to get a foothold on what's required for the Dubai Breeze-up Sale as solid trade is recorded.

April

Don't say you weren't told. Stattler does a Hedgehunter by building on a cracking effort in the Gold Cup to secure Grand National glory at the main expense of Lifetime Ambition.

Oh yes. We're back, baby. The breeze-up circus gets going with a bang as the international buyers turn out in force for the Tattersalls Craven Breeze-up Sale. Tally-Ho Stud sells the top lot, a Kodiac colt, to Peter and Ross Doyle for high six figures.

Will he or won't he? The build-up to the Craven S. revolves around whether leading 2000 Guineas contender Chaldean will take in a prep or head straight to the Classic. In the end, Andrew Balding elects to sidestep the Craven, describing himself as delighted with Chaldean's condition at home on the gallops.

May

No prep run? No problem. Balding's decision to go straight to the 2000 Guineas with Chaldean pays off in spades as he romps home at Newmarket. Little Big Bear fails to get involved but Auguste Rodin finishes a fine second for Aidan O'Brien, who goes on to win the 1000 Guineas with Meditate.

In Chaldean's absence, Little Big Bear justifies O'Brien's faith in the colt's ability to see out the mile as he makes light work of the opposition in the Irish 2,000 Guineas while Dermot Weld's Tahiyra shows a blistering turn of foot to win the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

It's that man again. Willie Browne tops the Arqana breeze-up sale with a colt sourced in America the previous autumn.

June

Aidan O'Brien wins the Oaks with a filly who failed to win as a two-year-old while the Guineas runner-up Auguste Rodin takes the step up to 1m4f in his stride by running out one of the most impressive Derby winners for some time.

It's a week for the first-season sires at Royal Ascot as colts by Ten Sovereigns and Soldier's Call win the Coventry and Norfolk S. respectively while an Inns Of Court filly lands the Queen Mary S.

Kyprios runs out one of the most impressive winners of the week to take his second Gold Cup. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Sakheer dazzles in the Commonwealth Cup, once again advertising the prowess of breeze-up handler Willie Browne.

Back at the Curragh, Aidan O'Brien records a record-extending 15th Irish Derby triumph.

July

Auguste Rodin had the option of bidding for the Derby double at the Curragh but he proves himself to be equally as adept back over 10f in bolstering the good record that three-year-olds have in the Coral-Eclipse S. at Sandown.

Remember him? Desert Crown makes his long awaited return to the track in the King George at Ascot but he is no match for Vadeni who appears a much stronger horse this year and sees the trip out well.

The demand for horses with good ratings remains strong at the July Sale at Tattersalls while, on the track, Sakheer follows up his brilliant display at Royal Ascot with a red-hot performance in the July Cup.

August

After running a number of classy races against the boys, Dramatised causes something of a surprise for local owner Steve Parkin and trainer Karl Burke in the Nunthorpe S. at York.

September

He never managed to win the St Leger as a jockey but he does it as a trainer. Step forward Donnacha O'Brien. Proud And Regal, indeed.

Goffs captures the imagination with its latest incentive to attract buyers and vendors alike to the Orby, which continues to go from strength to strength. A number of New Bay and Mehmas colts sell nicely while Saxon Warrior hardens his reputation as a coming force in the stallion ranks with his progeny selling for notable sums.

October

No match for Alpinista 12 months ago, Vadeni wins the Arc from stablemate Al Hakeem with Bay Bridge keeping on best for third.

Book 1 does not disappoint at Tattersalls with 10 lots breaking the million gns mark, including Philip Stauffenberg's Kingman half-brother to Skitter Scatter, who he picked up for €550,000 at Goffs the previous November.

But the top lot is a 3 million gns colt consigned by Watership Down and it sells to Mick Donohoe, bidding on his iPad for Yulong, with MV Magnier and Anthony Stroud pushing him all the way.

The weather Gods do not look kindly on British Champions Day as the meeting is a washout and the testing ground throws up a number of surprise results.

November

It's a first Melbourne Cup victory for Willie Mullins as Champion Hurdle also-ran Vauban builds on his Queen Alexandra S. victory at Royal Ascot to take the race that stops a nation.

Nothing can separate Aidan O'Brien and Charlie Appleby once again at the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita as both men send out five winners apiece. Special mention to Modern Games, who secures his third Breeders' Cup triumph and second Breeders' Cup Mile success.

December

There must be something in the water. Tally-Ho Stud clinches its third first-season sire championship in four years as Inns Of Court does what Mehmas and Cotai Glory did before him by producing the goods with his first crop of runners. It was an incredibly-strong year for the freshman sires with Soldier's Call, Ten Sovereigns, Too Darn Hot, Advertise and Blue Point achieving plenty.

Some extra dates are added to the farewell tour as Frankie Dettori announces his decision to continue his riding career for another season.

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