Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

Del Mar’s Summer Stars Aim To Shine On Saturday Undercard

Tizamagician and Going Global were impact players during the Del Mar summer meeting.

Tizamagician won the Grade 3 Cougar II, a 1 ½-mile main track marathon on July 18 to cap the opening weekend of the meeting. The 4-year-old Tiznow colt then came back in the TVG Pacific Classic to lead for the first three quarters before finishing second to Tripoli in the $1 million, 1 ¼-mile signature event of the season.

Going Global came to Del Mar on a four-race winning streak on turf after being imported from Ireland, but had it snapped when beaten a half-length by Madone in the Grade 2 San Clemente on July 24, contested at one mile on the Jimmy Durante course. A month later, and at her more preferred distance of 1 1/8 miles, Going Global took control in the stretch and won the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks by a length.

For that effort, Going Global was a unanimous choice in the Del Mar media vote for top 3-year-old filly of the meeting.

Del Mar followers will get another look and a worldwide Breeders' Cup audience can avail itself of a first glance of the two summer stars in a pair of stakes with combined purses totaling $550,000 immediately preceding the nine Breeders' Cup races on Saturday's card.

Call the $250,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes and the $300,000 Goldikova Stakes an aperitif for the smorgasbord to follow – races with combined purses of $21 million – if you like. But call the TAA and the Goldikova highly competitive featuring the 4-year-old colt and 3-year-old filly Southern California fans have found very much worth watching. A capsule look:

Race No. 2: $250,000 TAA Stakes; Grade 3, 1 5/8 miles for 3-year-olds and up.

Lone Rock, a 6-year-old gelded son of Majestic Warrior trained by Robertino Diodoro is the 6/5 morning line favorite with Tizamagician, trained by Richard Mandella for MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm, the second choice at 8/5 in a field of seven. It's easy to see why.

Lone Rock had a four-race winning streak snapped when second in his first try at this distance in the Jockey Club Grand Prix at Belmont Park on Sept. 18. One of the wins in the streak, however, was an 11 ¼-length romp in the 1 ½-mile, Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap in June at Belmont in which Tizamagician was the runner-up.

Tizamagician followed the Brooklyn with his summer assignments here then was fifth to Medina Spirit in the Grade 1 Awesome Again on Oct. 2 at Santa Anita.

Del Mar's leading jockey Flavien Prat has been aboard for the last five starts and will be again on Saturday.

“He ran a really good race last time here and he's been training well. He feels strong and I think he will be ready to run another good one,” Prat said. “When (Lone Rock) beat us (in the Brooklyn), we had a really bad break, so we had an excuse and I hope things will be different this time.”

The field of seven from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Mad Grace (apprentice Jessica Pyfer, 30-1); Lone Rock (Ramon Vazquez); Cupid's Claws (Luis Saez, 6-1); Tizamagician; Zestful (Florent Geroux, 8-1); Locally Owned (Tyler Gaffalione, 6-1), and Hapi Hapi (Tiago Pereira, 30-1).

Race No. 3: $300,000 Goldikova Stakes; Grade 2, one mile (turf) for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

Princess Grace, who made her summer mark here with a ship-in score in the Grade 2, 1 1/16-mile Yellow Ribbon on Aug. 7, is the 8/5 morning line favorite, barely ahead of 9-5 Going Global.

Trained by Michael Stidham and owned by Susan and John Moore, Princess Grace, a 4-year-old daughter of Karakontie, is on a four-race winning streak. She followed her Yellow Ribbon score with one in the Ladies Turf at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 11 to set her career record at six wins and a second from seven starts with earnings of $886,860.

Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, whose services were called upon for the Yellow Ribbon, will be back in the irons.

Going Global, trained by Phil D'Amato since being imported, has been freshened since her Del Mar Oaks victory with five works at Santa Anita starting in late September and a finishing touch 1:01.80 for five furlongs here on Sunday.

“We've been planning for this race for the last month and a half and she's coming into it in really good shape,” D'Amato said. “This will be her first against older horses and we look at it as a good chance to see how we stand in that regard. Also it's a good prep for the Oaks at the start of the Santa Anita meet in December.

“I think there are a lot of contenders in there and Princess Grace is definitely the top one.”

The field of nine from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Zofelle (Tyler Gaffalione, 6-1); Princess Grace; Abscond (Irad Ortiz, Jr., 8-1); Glesga Gal (Florent Geroux, 15-1); Ippodamia's Girl (Luis Saez, 20-1); Bodhicitta (Joel Rosario, 12-1); Going Global; Warren's Showtime (Juan Hernandez, 12-1), and Constantia (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1).

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Johannesburg: A Trailblazer Twenty Years On

Del Mar, CA–While the bridge between the European turf and the American dirt is one that is rarely crossed nowadays, it has historically been the path to some of the greatest payoffs-at both the parimutuels and in the realms of international ratings and stud value-at the Breeders' Cup World Championships.

In 1991, Sheikh Albadou forged the path when backing up a win in the G1 Nunthorpe S. and runner-up efforts in the G1 Sprint Cup and G1 Prix de l'Abbaye into a first victory for a European-trained runners in a Breeders' Cup dirt race when he shocked older horses at 26-1 in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. The victory for the Alex Scott-trained 3-year-old provided compensation for pundits of European racing who saw the continent's great sprinter Dayjur snatch defeat from the jaws of victory just a year prior when jumping a shadow inside the final furlong of the Sprint and conceding his lead to the champion filly Safely Kept.

Indeed, Sheikh Albadou holds the coveted title of first European-trained horse to win a Breeders' Cup dirt race by a mere few hours. Later that same day at Churchill Downs, the Francois Boutin-trained Arazi came along and posted the widest-margin victory on the card and one of the great performances in the history of the meeting when rolling past the American favourite Bertrando (Skywalker) to take the Breeders' Cup Juvenile by a runaway five lengths.

While the Andre Fabre-trained Arcangues and John Gosden's Raven's Pass secured their places in history by downing America's very best in the meeting's marquee GI Breeders' Cup Classic in 1993 and 2008, respectively, it was the juvenile that once again produced a memorable result for the European contingent at Belmont Park in 2001, and 20 years on one can still look back on the performance of Johannesburg in the Juvenile-and the ambitious campaign that preceded it-with admiration.

Bred in Kentucky by Wayne G. Lyster and Jayeff 'B' Stables out of the winning Ogygian mare Myth, Johannesburg was selected by Demi O'Byrne out of the 2000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $200,000. Joining trainer Aidan O'Brien, Johannesburg was sent off favourite for his first trip to the post at Fairyhouse on May 30, 2001 and came home a cozy 3 1/2-length winner under Mick Kinane. Johannesburg would maintain favouritism for his next five outings and didn't once disappoint, sweeping Royal Ascot's G3 Norfolk S. and The Curragh's G3 Anglesey S. before picking off his first Group 1 when coming home a five-length winner of the G1 Phoenix S. Fourteen days' rest proved plenty for Johannesburg when he wheeled back to win the G1 Prix Morny, and he once again easily had the measure of the French-trained Zipping (Ire) (Zafonic) when taking the Dewhurst by three lengths, completing a rare European juvenile Group 1 treble.

By the autumn of 2001, the 32-year-old Aidan O'Brien was flying high. Just months removed from his first Derby win with Galileo (Ire), the young O'Brien loaded up his largest contingent yet for the Breeders' Cup (seven) at Belmont Park. O'Brien had sent out seven runners in the three Breeders' Cups prior, his first runner at the event being the 1998 Mile sixth-place finisher Second Empire (Ire) (Fairy King). Entering the 2001 Breeders' Cup, O'Brien had not yet had a winner at the meeting, though Giant's Causeway's thrilling throwdown when finishing second to Tiznow in the Classic at Churchill Downs in 2000 doubtless emboldened O'Brien to continue rolling the dice on the dirt with his European stars-let us not overlook, of course, that Giant's Causeway and Johannesburg were both American-breds from the Storm Cat sireline.

O'Brien's day at the Breeders' Cup on Oct. 27, 2001, started decently enough, with Bach (Ire) (Caerleon) finishing best of his first three runners to pick up third in the Mile. Johannesburg, however, would take things into an entirely different stratosphere in the Juvenile. Not favoured for the first time in his career, with punters coming in droves for the GI Champagne S. winner Officer and also the GI Hopeful S. scorer Came Home, Johannesburg was let go at more than 7-1 and was initially caught flat-footed when the gates opened. The European champion was soon slicing up the rail, however, under Kinane, and by the time they passed the second furlong Johannesburg was stalking the front-running duel of Officer and Came Home, who were locked neck-and-neck while setting honest but not breakneck fractions. Officer had his head in front at the top of the lane but it was soon apparent he was in deep, with Siphonic squeezing through on the fence to head him, while in behind Johannesburg took back briefly to find clear runway. Once he did, the race was sewn up in a matter of strides, with Johannesburg unleashing a powerful turn of foot to sweep past the front runners while holding at bay the fast-finishing longshot Repent. Officer-whose sire Bertrando was incidentally second to Arazi as the heavy favourite in the same race 10 years prior and runner-up to Arcangues in the Classic two years later-could manage just fifth.

Johannesburg's light on the racecourse would not linger much longer; he made just three starts at three and failed to find the winners' enclosure. His legacy has endured, however, at stud, largely through his highly influential son Scat Daddy, who provided a Breeders' Cup winner of his own in 2017 with the Coolmore-owned, O'Brien-trained Mendelssohn in the GI Juvenile Turf. While the Juvenile on the dirt continued to be a happy hunting ground for European raiders through the first decade of the century-with Wilko (Awesome Again) winning under Frankie Dettori at 20-1 at Lone Star Park in 2004 and Godolphin's Vale Of York (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) springing a 25-1 upset at Santa Anita in 2009-the more recent addition of the juvenile turf races to the Breeders' Cup programme has ushered in a new era for international participation at the meeting. And just as Johannesburg had announced his ambitious young trainer's arrival on the global stage in 2000, so too did Outstrip (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the 2013 edition of the Juvenile Turf, when he provided his fledgling trainer Charlie Appleby with a first Breeders' Cup victory just four months into his training career. This weekend, fresh off a stellar European season in which he recorded his second Derby win in four years, among many other highlights, Appleby brings a team of six to Del Mar with now three Breeders' Cup winners to his name.

Could his Juvenile Turf contenders Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) or Albahr (GB) be the 2022 Derby winner? Del Mar to Epsom Downs may seem a large gap to bridge, but that is exactly the route taken by Appleby's 2018 Derby winner Masar (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), who parlayed a sixth-place finish behind Mendelssohn in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf into blue riband glory seven months later. Remarkably, the next year's edition of the Juvenile Turf at Churchill Downs produced another also-ran Derby winner in Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), with the GI Preakness S. scorer War Of Will also down the field.

So what is it about the Breeders' Cup that has made it such a successful springboard to Epsom? Perhaps the ability to navigate the tighter turns of American tracks transfers to a penchant to skip across the twists and turns and cambers of the Derby course that is the undoing of so many. Perhaps the horse with the constitution to cross the Atlantic and bear the stresses of Breeders' Cup week is equally suited to overcome the mental challenges of the blue riband. Perhaps it is simply the rarity of a trainer brave and ambitious enough to attempt both.

Last year's Juvenile Turf fifth Sealiway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) couldn't quite bridge the Classic gap this year, finishing second to St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club, but after an extended summer holiday the Cedric Rossi trainee signaled an indication of things to come with a respectable fifth in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, followed by a 12-1 victory in the G1 Champion S. Sealiway is handled by another relative newcomer to the training ranks, Cedric Rossi, who inherited the horse from his uncle Frederic this autumn and who himself saddles his first Breeders' Cup runner this weekend in the G1 Prix de l'Opera scorer Rougir (Fr) (Territories {Ire}).

Rossi is a member of a new era of young trainers in Europe hungry to make their name on the international stage, and it has been refreshing to hear the views of–and see in action this week–the likes of Dave Loughnane, Michael O'Callaghan, James Ferguson, George Boughey and Henk Grewe as they saddle their first Breeders' Cup runners. These young trainers can take heart from the accomplishments of both Aidan O'Brien and Charlie Appleby, as well as Aidan's son Joseph, who earned his own first victory at the Breeders' Cup as a trainer at the age of 26 in 2019, beating his father to the mark by no fewer than six years.

O'Brien, for his part, has continued to be a treasured international ambassador for the Breeders' Cup 20 years after his first win at the meeting. He is the Breeders' Cup's second all-time leading trainer by money won, his $26.6-million second only to Bob Baffert. O'Brien has continued to heavily patronize the meeting's turf races and has also still periodically rolled the dice on the dirt, recent gambles including Gleneagles (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Mendelssohn and Declaration Of War (War Front) in the Classic-the last of which came a quarter-length from being pulled off-and US Navy Flag (like Johannesburg, a European champion 2-year-old–in the Juvenile.

The likes of Johannesburg, Arazi, Arcangues and Sheikh Albadou–and the pioneering spirit of their respective connections–were pivotal in opening the door for widespread overseas participation at the Breeders' Cup, and it will be fascinating to see what chapters are added to this ongoing story at Del Mar this weekend.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents The News Minute: Scratches Change Complexion Of Turf

With the Thursday morning news that the top-class geldings Domestic Spending and United would be withdrawn from the $4-million Breeders' Cup Turf, the complexion of the mile and one-half Grade 1 race has changed, Ray Paulick reports in Thursday's Breeders' Cup News Minute.

Klaravich Stable's Domestic Spending, trained by Chad Brown, is a three-time G1 winner coming off a narrow defeat in the G1 Mr. D. Stakes (formerly the Arlington Million) at Arlington Park. LNJ Foxwoods' United, trained by Richard Mandella, scored a nose victory last out in the G2 John Henry Turf Championship at Santa Anita.

Inflammation was detected on a leg in both horses on Thursday morning.

The scratches permit Aidan O'Brien-trained Bolshoi Ballet and front-running Bill Mott trainee Channel Maker into the field.

Watch the Breeders' Cup News Minute below:

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Breeders’ Cup Distaff Notes: Pletcher Wants ‘Honest Pace,’ ‘Clean Trip’ For Malathaat

As Time Goes By/Private Mission – Private Mission, a winner of both career two-turn stakes starts, and As Time Goes By, who captured the Santa Anita's winter-spring meeting's distaff title, galloped for trainer Bob Baffert this morning while readying to compete in Saturday's $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1). As Time Goes By, who was on the track immediately after the renovation break, galloped twice around the oval, while Private Mission emerged from the barn with the stable's next set of horses to gallop a mile.

Blue Stripe (ARG) – Pozo de Luna's Blue Stripe (ARG) visited the paddock and then jogged 2 ½ times around the main track under exercise rider Alex Jimenez.

Blue Stripe will represent the fifth Breeders' Cup starter for trainer Marcelo Polanco and first since 2005 when Island Fashion finished 10th in her second try in the Distaff.

“It is exciting to be back (in the Breeders' Cup),” Polanco said. “The filly is doing real good. However, this is all about timing. Your horse has to be 100 percent. You can have the best horse, but if something goes wrong …”

Clairiere – Stonestreet Stable's Cotillion (G1) winner Clairiere had an easy gallop Thursday as she prepares to give her trainer Steve Asmussen his second Breeders' Cup Distaff victory with a 3-year-old filly. He also won the race in 2014 with Untapable, who secured champion sophomore filly honors after winning the Distaff and Kentucky Oaks.

Dunbar Road/Royal Flag – Both of trainer Chad Brown's Distaff contenders, W. S. Farish's Royal Flag and Peter Brant's Dunbar Road, galloped easy circuits of the Del Mar main track Thursday morning.

Dunbar Road, who was Brown's final of 12 gallopers on the morning, was out just past 9 o'clock, while Royal Flag went out about 20 minutes prior.

Grade 1 winner Dunbar Road will make her final start in the Distaff, while G2 winner Royal Flag's plans have not been decided, per Brown. Both are five years of age.

Horologist – Bill Mott reported that his Distaff contender Horologist galloped about a mile and a quarter of the Del Mar main track Thursday morning. Owned by There's a Chance Stable, Medallion Racing, Abbondanza Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Paradise Farms and David Staudacher, the Grade 2 winner is a 30-1 longshot in the Distaff.

“She's good,” Mott said.

Letruska – St. George Stable's 8-5 morning line favorite for the Distaff Letruska, continued her preparation for the $2 million race Thursday with a 1 ½-mile gallop under Roger Horgan at Del Mar.

Trainer Fausto Gutierrez, 54, discovered racing as small child in Spain, became a fan while growing up in Mexico, and moved toward a training career while in college. He spent about a decade working as a turf writer at a Mexico City newspaper before turning to training on full-time basis.

Gutierrez has developed the Kentucky-bred Letruska for St. George Stable LLC, owned by the Mexican billionaire German Larrea Mota-Velasco. She has won six of seven starts in 2021, four of them Grade 1, and is the leading contender to win the Eclipse Award as the older female dirt horse.

Gutierrez majored in communications in college and thought it would lead to a job in television or advertising. As a college freshman, one of his professors noticed that he had a sales catalogue with him. The professor, who had a horse in the sale, invited him to visit the backstretch with him and introduced him to a trainer. That meeting led to the start of his training career and a few years later into journalism

“I had a good friend who liked (soccer) and he started to work for the Periodico Reforma. It is one of the most important in Mexico,” he said. “When the newspaper started, he called me. We are very good friends from the university, we finished together, and he told me 'I'm looking for a person to write about the horses.' A special (contributor), or something like that. I thought, 'why not?'

Gutierrez balanced the unusual combination of training and journalism for several years and often had to write about his own horses. He spent 1998 and 1999 training horses in Texas for Mexican owners while the track in Mexico City was closed. Gutierrez's association with Larrea Mota-Velasco began in 2001 when the CEO of Mexico's largest mining company asked him to represent him at the Keeneland sales following the 9/11 attacks.

The owner-trainer partnership grew into a massive, powerful stable and Gutierrez was the leading trainer at the country's only track for 10 consecutive years. He twice won Mexico's Triple Crown.

Gutierrez found international success and U.S. exposure when the Clasico del Caribe series was relocated to Gulfstream Park in 2017. His victories included Jaguaryu (MEX) in the 2017 Lady Caribbean; Jala Jala (MEX) in the 2017 Caribbean Classic and 2018 Confraternity Caribbean Cup; Kukulkan (MEX) in the 2018 Caribbean Classic and 2019 Copa Confraternidad del Caribe and Letruska in the 2019 Copa Invitacional del Caribe, facing older males as a 3-year-old filly.

Larrea Mota-Velasco decided that he wanted a division in the U.S. and Gutierrez brought Letruska and some other runners to Florida early in 2020. Letruska is the leader of his current 15-horse stable and his first Breeders' Cup runner. He hopes to stay in the U.S. and keep building a bigger, but not too large, stable.

“Any trainer to continue to be competitive needs to have material, to have horses,” he said. “I want to have an operation that I can control very closely. Maybe I can have 30 to 40 horses that I can pay attention to. In Mexico before I trained nearly 200 horses at the same time. It's different. At this point, I prefer to be closer to the horses and make more decisions.”

Malathaat – In her first start since a victory in the Alabama on Aug. 28 at Saratoga, Malathaat could become the 12th 3-year-old filly to win the $2 million Distaff – being run for the 38th time – and the fourth Kentucky Oaks winner to complete the double with the Distaff in the same year.

Monomoy Girl (2018), Untapable (2014) and Ashado (2004) are the only fillies to win both races in the same season. All three won the Eclipse Award as the division champion.

Royal Delta (2011) is the only Alabama winner to double in the Distaff as a 3-year-old, which led to a division title.

Malathaat, owned by Shadwell Stable and trained by Todd Pletcher, has won six of her seven career starts. She will face older horses for the first time in an eagerly anticipated showdown with speedy Letruska, who has a five-race winning streak.

“We would benefit from a good, honest pace,” Pletcher said. “Letruska is a forwardly placed filly, although I think she's also had success when she's not on the lead, but she's usually going to be close. Hopefully we get a good, honest pace and a clean trip and we'll see. It's always a challenge running against older mares for the first time, but she's put together a pretty impressive resume herself. We're excited about it.”

Malathaat's lone loss, by a head to Maracuja, came at Saratoga Race Course in the Coaching Club American Oaks. Marcuja, who was 14-1, pressed the 1-5 Malathaat early, retreated for a while under jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. while Clariere presented the challenge, and rallied in the stretch.

“It was a tricky race,” Pletcher said. “There was a four-horse field. She drew the rail. There was no obvious speed on paper. And then they kind of ran relays at her. Santana made what turned out to be a smart decision and one that most of the time guys go to, to let their horse fall back in the middle part of the race and then come on again. It was one of those things that just nothing, nothing really went the way we wanted it to. She still ran courageously off the layoff and just couldn't get her head down on the wire, but certainly made amends in the Alabama.”

Thursday morning Malathaat galloped 1 ¼ miles.

Pletcher has a 2-1-4 record with 20 starters in the Distaff. His winners were Ashado (2004) and Stopchargingmaria (2015). Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez has the mount. Velazquez has a 2-0-3 record in 18 starts in the Distaff. His winners were Ashado (2004) and Forever Unbridled (2017).

Marche Lorraine (JPN) – U. Carrot Farm's Marche Lorraine (JPN) visited the starting gate and paddock Thursday morning and galloped on the main track.

Shedaresthedevil – Flurry Racing Stable, Qatar Racing Limited and Big Aut Farm's Shedaresthedevil had an easy gallop under Edvin Vargas and visited the starting gate Thursday morning in her second to last day of training before the Distaff.

The connections of the Daredevil filly have had the Distaff circled on their calendar since last October when they made the decision to bypass the 2020 edition following a third in the Spinster Stakes at Keeneland.

“We made a plan and it has worked out to T,” co-owner Staton Flurry said. “We mapped out our strategy and we stuck to it, including sending her here for the Clement Hirsch. It's exactly what we did last year as well leading into the Oaks. Once we knew the rescheduled date, we just worked backward. It's a testament to (trainer) Brad's (Cox) and his team with how well it's worked out.”

Shedaresthedevil is scheduled to be sold the Tuesday following the Breeders' Cup at the Fasig- Tipton sale and the Distaff could be her last race.

“In this business, you have to lead with your head and not your heart,” Staton said. “There's a lot of money on the table, so I think we're doing the right thing. But, it will be bittersweet.”

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