Breeders' Cup | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Bad Timing’: Annapolis Out Of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf With Ankle Chip

Winner of the Grade 2 Pilgrim Stakes and one of the top choices for next weekend's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, Annapolis has been ruled out of contention. The 2-year-old by War Front was found to have a hind ankle chip, according to bloodhorse.com.

“It's bad timing, but he'll be back. It's a humbling game,” co-owner Perry Bass told bloodhorse.com.

A Bass homebred out of graded stakes winner and Kentucky Oaks runner-up My Miss Sophia, Annapolis is undefeated in two career starts for trainer Todd Pletcher. He'll be sent to Rood & Riddle's Dr. Larry Bramlage for evaluation with the hopes of bringing the colt back for a 3-year-old campaign.

Annapolis' defection allows the Mark Casse-trained Credibility to draw into the field.

‘Incredibly Special’: Jump Sucker’s Slipstream Brings Duncker And Friends Back To Breeders’ Cup

When Jump Sucker Stable co-owner Steven Duncker goes to Del Mar for the Breeders' Cup World Championships, he will be doing so with a chance at redemption. Jump Sucker's Slipstream is seeking to give the ownership group a breakthrough victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

Trained by Christophe Clement, Slipstream will stretch out to one mile in the World Championships. He enters the race off a victory in the G3 Futurity over six furlongs on Oct. 10 at Belmont Park.

Duncker, a former NYRA chairman and current member of the NYRA Board of Directors, arrived at the 1999 Breeders' Cup as the standalone owner of Middlesex Drive, who went to post in the Mile as the 6-1 third-choice in a field of 14.

Unfortunately, the three-time graded stakes winner suffered a bad trip throughout, finishing tenth beaten five lengths.

“He was a speed horse who broke last and that was it for him,” Duncker recalled.

Duncker will not be flying solo this time around as he will be joined at the Breeders' Cup by his Jump Sucker Stable co-owners George Walker, George Loening, and Kevin Warsh.

Duncker's introduction to racing began in St. Louis: he and childhood friend Ted Levis took trips across the Mississippi River to Fairmount Park in eastern Illinois, igniting a lifelong love affair with the sport.

Duncker bought his first racehorse with Levis, purchasing a filly named Informal Affair during their senior year of high school with money earned tarring driveways.

Informal Affair broke her maiden at Fairmount at first asking in May 1976.

“She had been running unsuccessfully at Keeneland and we thought she would be very competitive at Fairmount,” Duncker said. “Ted and I went to Cahokia Downs and had the third leading trainer [Michael Fingerhut, Jr.] paged to come into the racing office. When he got there, we stuck out our hands and asked if he wanted to train for us. We were 17 and he thought it was a joke.”

With the money earned from Informal Affair, Duncker bought Cordial Affair, who won at Cahokia Downs in the first parimutuel wagering event to be called by legendary track announcer Tom Durkin – the former longtime voice of the NYRA circuit.

“The next day the newspaper said, 'Energetic young Irishman Tom Durkin made quite an impression on the fans. We think he'll be around to stay,' and they were right about that,” Duncker recalled. “When Tom was inducted in the Red Jacket Ceremony at Saratoga, I was honored to introduce him.”

Duncker has enjoyed great success as an owner. In addition to Middlesex Drive, he campaigned stakes-winner and multiple graded stakes-placed Cloak of Vagueness.

With his stock dwindling, however, Duncker was contemplating leaving the ownership game. He was eventually convinced to join forces with Walker, whom he met years earlier when working at Goldman Sachs. Both were partners in the company and bonded through their St. Louis roots and memories of attending races at Fairmount Park to cheer on future Hall of Fame rider Dave Gall.

“Of all the kids who grew up in St. Louis, Steve and I are amongst the few who, as soon as we turned 16, would find a way to make the 30-minute drive to Fairmount Park in Illinois,” Walker said. “He and I grew up watching Dave Gall win races.”

Through Walker, Duncker met Loening and Warsh, and in 2006, Jump Sucker Stable was born.

“He said, 'I'll buy horses but only if you come in with me.' Then we wooed in our other two friends,” Walker said.

Several years before forming Jump Sucker Stable, Duncker met Clement through NYRA co-chairman Peter Karches, who owned horses with the veteran conditioner at the time.

“The questions Christophe would ask about racing were so educated that I said to myself, 'This is a really smart guy',” Duncker said. “I said if I ever got back into the game in a bigger way, this would be my guy.”

Jump Sucker Stable made their first trip to an American Classic when Governor Malibu finished fourth in the 2016 Belmont Stakes. One month later, they earned their first graded stakes victory when Blacktype won the G3 Oceanport at Monmouth Park.

“He's the best communicator I've ever seen as a trainer,” Duncker said of Clement. “He realizes that a lot of the fun in owning a horse isn't just showing up on race day. His whole operation is geared toward winning. The second most important thing are their owners getting the full experience of ownership. I appreciate the extra effort that his team goes through to make it a great experience.”

Duncker and company are indeed having a great experience with Slipstream, who won third-time out sprinting seven furlongs at Belmont Park.

Although the son of More Than Ready earned a “Win and You're In” entry into the five-furlong Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint via his Futurity score, Slipstream will instead compete in the one-mile Juvenile Turf.

“Going from the deeper turf courses of the east, to out west, it's a lot easier to carry speed and Christophe would rather have a horse stretching out into the mile race than cutting back,” Duncker said. “I'm not sure if Slipstream is a classic stayer by any means but Christophe feels that a mile should hit him right between the eyes. Christophe has always liked Slipstream. He didn't run too well in his first two races, but Christophe kept saying he was such a nice horse.”

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Duncker said he credits his experience with Jump Sucker Stable for rejuvenating his enthusiasm for owning Thoroughbreds.

“This group got me energized again,” Duncker said. “The amount of fun I've had with these guys is ten times more fun than I ever had by myself. They're passionate, they're good sports, and it's so much fun to have good partners. I wouldn't own horses right now if it weren't for those three. It's so much fun, more fun than owning on my own.

“It's incredibly special. It's magical to be able to be able to share this with people you love spending time with,” Walker added.

Duncker said he hopes Slipstream will have a much cleaner trip than that of Middlesex Drive.

“The way I see it, if the racing Gods are up there, they may owe us one,” Duncker said. “It just shows how important it is to break going a mile. Hopefully, Joel Rosario gets him out of there in fine fettle and we can run our race with a big chance.”

Clement said Slipstream is entering the Breeders' Cup with a winning chance.

“It's a fun group and they're a good group of owners to train for,” Clement said. “It's been a while since we've had a really good horse, so I'm delighted about this one. The horse is doing well at the moment, so it's exciting.”

While Jump Sucker Stable makes their Breeders' Cup maiden voyage, Clement has registered 40 Breeders' Cup starters and is still in search of a Breeders' Cup win – a stat that Duncker said he would dearly love to help change.

“It's going to happen someday, and I'd love for it to be with us,” Duncker said. “Christophe is at the very top of his profession in every way. I've loved owning horses that he trains. His whole team is sensational. His son and assistant Miguel has been a huge part of the team as well. He's the head man, but the exercise riders, grooms and everything is all first class.”

The post ‘Incredibly Special’: Jump Sucker’s Slipstream Brings Duncker And Friends Back To Breeders’ Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Collmus Steps in for Denman at Del Mar

Larry Collmus, who stepped up to pinch hit for Del Mar's longtime caller Trevor Denman during the height of the COVID 19 crisis in 2020, will take over for the recently injured Denman for the majority of the track's upcoming fall race meet starting Nov. 3. Denman, 68, suffered a herniated disc in his back earlier this week after a fall at his home in Minnesota. Collmus, who will cover the Breeders' Cup for NBC at Del Mar, will take over calling duties at Del Mar though closing day Nov. 28, with the exception of three days (Nov. 12-14) when he'll be on a previously planned holiday.

“I have never missed a day's racing in 50 years and now I have had to miss racing two years in a row because of the virus and this freak accident,” Denman said. “I am devastated, but this is completely out of my control.”

Del Mar will call on John Lies to handle the three days that Collmus will be away.

The post Collmus Steps in for Denman at Del Mar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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This Side Up: Breeders’ Cup a Track-and-Field Event

The genius of the Breeders' Cup is the way it brings together the two ancillary channels of investment that offer a Thoroughbred racehorse such viability as it may have: from the bloodstock industry, on the one hand; and fans and handicappers, on the other.

So far as the first group are concerned, it might be overstating things to say that the GI Kentucky Derby would not lose a single runner if they only ran for that blanket of roses. But it's certainly true that the values of the bloodstock market are self-fulfilling: a yearling colt can only raise millions on the premise that he might someday generate millions more, as a stallion, in turn only because someone will repeat the same gamble on his own sons.

In subscribing the prize fund at Del Mar next weekend, however, breeders not only tighten that cycle with a direct reward for racetrack excellence, and a heightened incentive for seeking it. They also give a narrative coherence to the career of a racehorse that simply wasn't there before 1984.

Hopefully that can also help to maintain the racetrack as the center of gravity for their own endeavors, in terms of genetic selection. We all know that far too many matings are oriented to the sales ring instead. But by spurring the competitive ardor of professional horsemen, with better purses harnessed to a better storyline, the Breeders' Cup conflates their interests with those of fans.

Sure, gaudier prizes even than the Classic are nowadays offered elsewhere, but nothing can match the organic engagement–both with the public, and with the rest of the racing calendar–of the greatest single innovation of the modern Turf.

True, some of us retain reservations about the dilution inevitable with the expansion of the Breeders' Cup program. We have a short field daring to take on Gamine (Into Mischief), for instance, instead of discovering whether she could emulate Safely Kept against the boys. As has become bleakly predictable, moreover, the Europeans have again failed to muster a single entry on the main track, partly because they are nowadays indulged with so many more turf options. And potentially the most talented animal at the meeting has sought easier pickings in the Dirt Mile.

Not that anyone could quibble with the connections of Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who still lacks seasoning and has not had the chance to explore 10 furlongs at any level, never mind in the company than would await in the Classic. In its short history, after all, the Dirt Mile has been used as a platform for precisely the kind of breakout that remains available to Life Is Good as he matures. The pair that chased home Tamarkuz (Speightstown) in the 2016 running divided the next two Classics between them: runner-up Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) the following year, and third Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky) coming through as a 5-year-old. This time round, of course, Knicks Go (Paynter) is bidding to become the first to win both races.

And Life Is Good still has to go out and earn these laurels, bearing in mind what happened to Omaha Beach (War Front) when in a similar situation. But while its inauguration has eroded both the Sprint and the Classic, the Dirt Mile has unquestionably matured to fill a valid niche and it's no surprise to see such a warm reception for City Of Light (Quality Road) at stud, following the promising starts made by the likes of Goldencents (Into Mischief) and Liam's Map (Unbridled's Song).

The miler has always had a premium for stud, as eking out sprint speed towards Triple Crown eligibility. By the same token, however, a race like the GI Met Mile surely owes its stallion pedigree to its one-turn, one-gasp configuration. This will be a relative crapshoot and it's a shame that only Churchill, among established and surviving Breeders' Cup venues, can approach the same aerobic/athletic demands. (Yet another reason for grieving the doom of Arlington and Hollywood).

This revives a point I've made before about the modern Kentucky Derby, which appears to favor speed without really testing it, now that the sprinters are being squeezed out by the points system. In terms of the stud careers of winners, the Derby has been going through quite a sticky patch. (Though obviously there are some younger sires now in a position to do something about that). And if Essential Quality (Tapit) happens to win the Classic, leaving his messy Churchill run as the single blemish of his career, then we might have another reason to be nervous of the Derby's current direction.

In contrast, there probably won't be any hiding place for the speed horses in the Classic. And that's just as it should be. Certainly those who have subscribed the funds will, as usual, be perusing the pre-entries over the coming days to see how their funding of the breed's proving ground will play out.

In the Classic itself, for instance, we have a son of Kitten's Joy who has become a revelation on dirt. We have sons of Oxbow and Paynter who, whatever happens, will presumably go to market at a higher fee than their under-rated sires. We have a colt that could secure a different legacy for that most precocious of broodmare sires, Bernardini, who has also bequeathed a longshot in the Juvenile.

Two other lamented sires feature in that race: Giant Game is one of three named colts from the final crop of Giant's Causeway; while the tragically premature loss of Arrogate would feel still more poignant should Jasper Great score a historic success for Japan. Across the card, moreover, the late City Zip has three chances to add to his five individual Breeders' Cup winners.

Among those still with us, let's hear it for the only stallion to have sired the winners of seven races, More Than Ready, who just keeps on rolling: he has three leading contenders for the Juvenile Fillies' Turf alone. And another evergreen veteran, Speightstown, sees his studmate and raises him with four starters in the Sprint!

At the other end of the spectrum, Gun Runner and Connect have managed to get members of their first crop into both the Juvenile and the Juvenile Fillies. That's a hell of an achievement. We can certainly celebrate those rookies that do make the grade, while still deploring the way commercial breeders stampede from one unproven sire to the next. It's only right that some freshmen excel, because they are given every chance to do so. That doesn't mean their success should be downplayed, but nor does it excuse people for breeding so transparently for the ring.

The covering stats that have just been published by the Jockey Club contain all their usual horrors, at both ends of the scale: many stallions that will be in Oklahoma or Turkey in five or six years' time, covering far more than the proposed limit of 140; and others, far more eligible to sire a Grade I horse, struggling with two or three dozen (one of them shockingly down to single figures) because of a perceived want of commercial luster.

Which takes us back to our opening premise: that the Breeders' Cup abbreviates the connection between the bloodstock industry and the one crucible that should really count. This sport, in economic terms, is a triangle of symbiotic interests. So let's not just enjoy where the surf meets the Turf, but where the breeders meet the fans-and the track meets the field.

The post This Side Up: Breeders’ Cup a Track-and-Field Event appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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