Tag: Breeders’ Cup

Geaux Rocket Ride Succumbs to Injuries

GI Haskell S. winner and GI Breeders' Cup Classic contender Geaux Rocket Ride (Candy Ride {Arg}–Beyond Grace, by Uncle Mo), who was pulled up with an open condylar fracture earlier this week in routine morning work at Santa Anita, has been euthanized, his connections announced Wednesday afternoon. He had undergone successful surgery Sunday evening, but did not recover as well as hoped, owner Pin Oak Stud had originally said in a Monday update.

Pin Oak gave a final update on X, formerly known as Twitter, late Wednesday, saying, “Our hearts are broken but Geaux Rocket Ride is at peace. We will miss you forever, Rocket.”

Pin Oak's official statement said: “It is with very heavy hearts that we report that, at the recommendation of the medical team, Geaux Rocket Ride has finally reached peace. His mind and his spirit never quit, but his body never recovered from surgery. He had a very rare response post-op and he wasn't able to stand up again. He fought hard and our team of vets tried everything they could.

“We are grateful for Dr. Bramlage, Dr. Carpenter, Dr. Slovis, Dr. Klohnen and all of the other doctors and medical staff who helped Rocket. We are appreciative of all of the support that we've received from everyone. We made sure he knew how loved he was. Geaux Rocket Ride was the first member of our Pin Oak family and he will never be forgotten. We will miss you forever, Rocket.”

Bred by OXO Equine LLC in Kentucky, Geaux Rocket Ride was a $350,000 purchase on behalf of the Pin Oak team at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale in 2021. Sent to Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, he burst onto the scene this January with a 5 3/4-length maiden special weight win at Santa Anita. After winning the Affirmed S. in June, he shipped across the country to Monmouth Park and won the TVG.com Haskell S. He also placed in both the GI Fanduel Racing Pacific Classic and the GII San Felipe S. His final record was 5-3-2-0 with earnings of $980,200.

The Breeders' Cup also released a statement late Wednesday, saying: “The immense effort that went into Geaux Rocket Ride's medical care following Saturday's injury is a testament to his team's deep commitment to his wellbeing. Our thoughts are with Pin Oak Stud LLC, Richard Mandella, and everyone affected by his loss.”

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Catching Up with 2015 Breeders’ Cup Classic Winner American Pharoah

The sport's first Triple Crown winner since 1978, American Pharoah famously went through Fasig-Tipton's Select Saratoga Yearling Sale in 2013 only to be bought back by his breeder to race as a homebred. He spent eight months at Taylor Made Farm before the sale; Mark Taylor, who has had his hands on a lot of nice horses, distinctly remembers him.

“It's kind of a microcosm of this industry: when you think you have it figured out, you don't have it figured out. He was born at Vinery, then went to Tom Van Meter. We got him in December of his weanling year; he stayed with us through the Saratoga sale, so we had him December through August.

“This is no revisionist history; he was not the highest-regarded yearling on our farm.”

Taylor continued: “He was a very, very nice horse, very well balanced. Great body, great muscle, very correct, huge walk, touch long in his pasterns. I've looked back on our notes and he got into Saratoga on his physical. He was a nice horse, but he went up there and, really, everybody looked and said, 'Zayat Stables bred this horse, they're not going to give him away. I'm not really going to risk that much on a Pioneerof the Nile right now.' If you look back on it, Pioneerof the Nile had 2-year-olds when he was a yearling. We must have had 20 people ask what the Zayats would take for this horse; they really did want a lot for the stage Pioneerof the Nile was at in his career and we didn't get him sold.

“In the end, we had the Triple Crown winner right there in front of us, right in front of all the best judges of horseflesh, and no one took a swing. It was amazing. It's a cautionary tale that you have to give every horse a chance.”

American Pharoah (2012 bay horse, Pioneerof the Nile–Littleprincessemma, by Yankee Gentleman)

Lifetime record: Horse of the Year, Ch. 2yo colt, Ch. 3yo colt, MGISW, 11-9-1-0, $8,650,300

Breeders' Cup connections: B/O-Zayat Stables, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Victor Espinoza.

Current location: Coolmore America/Ashford Stud, Versailles, Ky.

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Breeders’ Cup Outlines Comprehensive Safety and Integrity Measures in Place for 2023 World Championships

Edited Press Release

The Breeders' Cup World Championships at Santa Anita Park will be conducted according to industry-leading safety and integrity protocols to ensure the wellbeing of all human and equine athletes. As previously announced, Breeders' Cup introduced an enhanced pre-screening protocol in the lead-up to this year's World Championships, upholding its ongoing commitment to putting safety first.

This year also marks the first time the Breeders' Cup World Championships will run under the full jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), including the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which took effect in May.

Breeders' Cup runners are subject to strict anti-doping and medication control requirements, including out-of-competition, pre-race, and post-race testing administered by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU). Additional safety and integrity protocols include equine security and surveillance measures, enhanced veterinary exam procedures, injury management protocols and racing surface maintenance and testing in the leadup to the event.

Early Preparations: Out-of-Competition Testing, Veterinary Coordination & Racing Surface Oversight

Beginning in July 2023, a list of potential Breeders' Cup contenders was developed. The list included a combination of graded stakes winners, Challenge Series winners, and other horses on the possible starter list. HIWU then performed out-of-competition (OOC) testing for banned substances on those potential contenders. Blood samples were taken by HIWU-trained collection personnel and sent for testing to HIWU-accredited labs. Breeders' Cup OOC testing administered by HIWU concluded Oct. 30 and resulted in the collection of 226 samples.

The Breeders Cup Veterinary Team also began holding coordination meetings with counterparts from 1/ST Racing, HISA, HIWU and the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) in July. Through a regular cadence of meetings in the ensuing months, the group outlined veterinary exam schedules, OOC testing, safety and medication regulations, injury management and diagnostic tool implementation.

Dr. Mick Peterson, Program Director of the University of Kentucky Racetrack Safety Program, has worked in collaboration with 1/ST Racing Track Consultant Dennis Moore throughout the year. Both surface experts have also consulted with HISA's new Track Surfaces Advisory Group throughout their evaluation and maintenance operations of the racing surfaces at Santa Anita Park.

Safety & Integrity Protocols: October through World Championships Week

The five-member Breeders' Cup Veterinary Review Team completed its initial phase of enhanced pre-screening protocols on Oct. 23. This included:

  • The assessment of veterinary and treatment records as well as training and racing patterns associated with more than 200 potential contenders;
  • Physical examinations conducted by veterinarians in relevant racing jurisdictions around the world; and
  • The use of advanced diagnostic tools in the event additional scrutiny was required.

Attending veterinarians for all potential Breeders' Cup runners were required to submit 30-day treatment records–a nationwide requirement under HISA that will inform the Breeders' Cup Veterinary Review Team's second review–upon pre-entry. 24-hour surveillance began following the mandatory equine security check-in at 10:00 pm PT on Sunday, Oct. 29 for international runners and 11:00 am PT on Tuesday, Oct. 31 for domestic runners. All horses entered in a Breeders' Cup race underwent an additional round of HIWU-administered pre-race blood testing for banned substances on Tuesday, Oct. 31, with results set to be returned by race day.

Additionally, every Breeders' Cup runner is subject to:

  • Comprehensive onsite veterinary exams, including jog exams and the use of diagnostic technology as needed, beginning Wednesday, Oct. 25;
  • Random physical examination at the determination of the Breeders' Cup Veterinary Team;
  • In-stall and on-track veterinary oversight during training and schooling;
  • Mandatory jog-up veterinary exams before exiting any racing or training surface at Santa Anita Park starting Friday, Oct. 27;
  • Pre-race veterinary examinations in the barn and veterinary monitoring of horses in the paddock and during warm-up on race day;
  • Extensive post-race testing of the first four finishers as well as any runner that does not perform as expected and other runners as designated by the stewards; and
  • Observation of all other finishers cooling out as they exit the racetrack to determine if any need aid.

Throughout the week leading up to the World Championships, Dr. Mick Peterson's team has been conducting various checks to evaluate all track surfaces. Additionally, TurfTrax software has been employed to measure the condition of the turf track. These results are posted daily for horsemen and the media.

Additional resources detailing Breeders' Cup's health and safety protocols for the 2023 World Championships can be found here and downloaded here.

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‘Blue Collar’ Clapton Brings Plenty Of Experience To Breeders’ Cup Classic

Before the horses head into the starting gate for Saturday's $6 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Clapton is already ahead of everyone else.

The 4-year-old son of Brethren will be making his 25th career start in the 1 ¼-mile Classic. The 5-year-old Proxy is second in the start department with 19.

“He is a throwback horse, he is a dude,” trainer Chad Summers said. “Some of these horses run four times in their lives. He just wants to keep on going.”

And yes, before anyone asks, the colt was named for the famed English guitarist and singer-songwriter, Eric Clapton. The horse got the moniker from Brian Cohen, President of Arindel Farm in Ocala, which bred Clapton.

“I like one-word names,” Cohen said. “I'm a fan of (Eric) Clapton.”

And a fan of the horse, too.

Summers said he has not piped in Clapton's famous song “Layla” into Clapton the horse's stall. At least not yet.

“He's a pretty cool horse, laid back,” Summers said.

Clapton the horse has six career wins, four seconds and six thirds on his lengthy resume.

He has only been in Summers care for the last two starts, a win in the Lukas Classic (G2) at Churchill Downs on Sept. 30 and a fourth in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at Saratoga on Sept. 2.

Clapton was purchased privately by Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Alnuami's RRR Racing of Dubai from Arindel this past summer. The goal for Clapton at the time of the sale were races next year in Dubai – the Al Maktoum Challenge (G1) on Jan. 26 and the Dubai World Cup (G1) on March 30.

That changed after Clapton showed up in the Lukas Classic and won it by a head at odds of 8-1.

Before the Lukas Classic, RRR Racing was lukewarm about the Breeders' Cup.

After his performance in Kentucky, a trip to California, indeed, was in order.

In seven starts this year, Clapton has two wins, a second and three thirds. Five of his starts have been in graded stakes races.

Nineteen of his first 20 starts came at Florida's Gulfstream.

Summers said that RRR Racing got interested in purchasing the horse after his consistent showings.

“We saw a horse that was on the improve,” Summers said. “It is very difficult to buy horses after they win races.”

In the first start for the new ownership, Clapton was a nose away from third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and then powered through to win the Lukas.

Now, here he is on the game's biggest stage. This will be the second horse Summers has brought to the Breeders' Cup. He trained Mind Your Biscuits to a third-place finish in the 2017 Twin Spires Breeders' Cup Sprint; they were 11th in the 2018 Classic.

Now he is here again and hoping for big things.

“He just tries, he always shows up,” Summers said.. “He is one of those blue collar horses; he always brings his lunch pail and always gives an honest effort.”

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