Chris McGrath | Horse Racing Free Tips

Diversity in Racing: The British Experience

For a window on the diversity of the British Turf, you’ve probably come to the right place. White, male, middle-aged, straight: all boxes checked there, I think.

But if that is very much the stereotype, then at least the authorities here have acknowledged as much; and there is a corporate determination to do something about it. Nor is this merely some perfunctory response to the incendiary confluence, around the world, of a looming economic recession and the protests triggered by the killing of George Floyd.

Even in 2017, admittedly, action was probably long overdue. It was then that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) established a Diversity in Racing Steering Group. The following summer, its members–comprising volunteers drawn from across the industry–published an action plan. The most immediate and concrete outcome was the appointment as Head of Diversity and Inclusion of Rose Grissell, who now hopes to harness the heightened political energies of the moment to extend the spectrum of engagement with the sport: whether in terms of participation, leadership or fanbase.

Grissell was heartened, then, when the first female to chair the BHA recently identified diversity as the keynote to racing’s prosperity in a post-pandemic world. “We’ll be judged by what we all do, not by what we say, and we must do more,” Annamarie Phelps declared in the Racing Post last week.

“Racing’s recovery is not about turning the clock back to Mar. 17. It’s about seizing the moment to move forward.”

Grissell notes that Phelps, a former Olympic oarswoman who served for five years as chair of British Rowing, brought a useful breadth of perspective.

“Having been in other sports as well, she has seen the difference it can make,” Grissell says. “So I was absolutely delighted to see her setting out how important all this is, for the sustainability of racing. Because the more that people understand the business case, the better.”

For Grissell stresses that she is not just pushing a moral agenda; not just trying to educate people out of prejudice, vital as that is. She argues that if racing professionals want to stay in business, in the long term, they have no choice but to adapt; no choice but to reflect more scrupulously the make-up of society, with all its shades of ethnic, sexual and other differences.

“The Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) population of the U.K. is now around 14%, and in London it’s more like 40%,” Grissell remarks. “And those numbers are growing. This is our future workforce. These are our future customers. If we’re not actually engaging them, getting them interested and asking them to be involved, then how is racing going to survive as a sport? At the time I was recruited, much of the information wasn’t necessarily known, but it was acknowledged that we could definitely be doing a lot better in certain areas. And I do think there was also a recognition of the business case around all this, as well as being the right thing to do.

“We tried to whittle down the action plan to areas where we could make the most immediate difference. But we soon realized there was a lack of understanding across the industry. When you’re trying to change attitudes, change a whole culture, that’s not going to happen overnight. We need as many people on board as possible, so one of our key objectives has been to try and raise awareness of why diversity and inclusion are essential for the sustainability of our sport.”

The conundrum is how to convert the sweeping language of strategy into the detail of tactics. Resources are limited, and must somehow address challenges to some degree endemic in society beyond the sport. So do you target the grassroots, or the leaders and participants who can inspire by example?

“I think you need a bit of both, really,” Grissell argues. “It’s the same across all sports, all businesses: nobody has the perfect answer. But obviously some sports have different challenges. So, for example, we’re in a good place as a sport where, uniquely, all genders can compete on equal terms; and some individuals with certain disabilities are not affected in their ability to ride. That’s something we can really celebrate. We also have a very good gender ratio in our attendances, at around 40-60 [female-to-male], which is much better than many other sports. Again, that’s really positive. But then you see the other side, when you look at our senior representation, at board level; or at our participation. There are definitely areas we can improve on.”

And it is a short step from where the sport performs best to some of its most manifest failings. The complexion of the labor force is commendably balanced. Grissell notes that the gender representation, in racing stables, is virtually 50-50; and it is familiar nowadays to see grooms and riders imported from all around the world, notably from the Asian subcontinent, Eastern Europe and South America. Yet while a three-time champion jockey did emerge from Brazil, in Silvestre de Sousa, neither indigenous nor immigrant workforces have been able to add much diversity among those who have managed to break through the ranks.

“Obviously not all jockeys and trainers come through that pathway, but some do,” Grissell says. “And when we look at participation levels, ethnic minorities would be represented by a handful–if that. We have to address why that is. We have to ask why some people are able to get these opportunities, and other people can’t.”

Since generic, societal problems may take a generation to resolve, it makes sense for Grissell and her colleagues to focus on specific challenges. For example, they have sought to relieve the LGBT+ community from a perceived hostility–reflected in the number of jockeys to have “come out” while still riding. (That number being… one!)

This is one area where Grissell feels racing has been able to profit from example elsewhere. “We’ve seen many sports achieve growing awareness through a campaign called Rainbow Laces, run by the Stonewall charity,” she explains. “So we’ve been learning where we can from them, and had gotten to the stage where we were ready to launch a campaign of our own in June. Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, that had to be delayed. But we are now sharing the e-learning module, which went out last week and was really well received.”

Perhaps the best statistical handle available to measure progress, or otherwise, relates the opportunity afforded to female riders. There have been a series of landmark achievements in recent years, both over jumps and on the flat, but Grissell is clear that much still needs to be done.

“Of all the diversity conversations, this is probably the one that has been in the forefront the longest,” she remarks. “As I said, it should be a real positive for the sport that all genders can compete on equal terms and equal pay. However if you look at the detail, female jockeys are not getting the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Obviously there are lots of different theories as to why that might be, and other jurisdictions have been doing different things to address the problem. In France, for instance, they brought in a weight allowance.”

What has heartened Grissell is the traction achieved, in the wider media, by such breakthroughs as have been made. None was more startling, perhaps, than the heartwarming tale of Khadijah Mellah. Yes, the race she won at Goodwood last summer was a charity event and not part of the main program. But the exposure the teenager gained for the sport, as a hijab-wearing novice rider from a deprived London neighborhood, was of Frankel proportions.

“That was a huge story for racing, that went far beyond anyone’s imagination,” Grissell recalls. “It reached different communities all round the world. And, in fact, throughout last year we had some really positive stories hitting the front pages, outside the racing bubble, and the majority celebrated our diverse participants. We had [jockey] Bryony Frost and [trainer] Emma Lavelle, with Andrew Gemmell [Paisley Park’s owner, who was born blind], winning in that ‘golden hour’ at Cheltenham Festival. We had Hollie Doyle breaking the record [for most British winners ridden by a female in a year]. And we’ve just had Hayley Turner winning at Royal Ascot again, and Hollie too.

“In the current climate, we know that women’s sport is growing faster than ever and racing has a story to tell as part of that. Of course, we hope there will come a time when it won’t be a story anymore. That’s where we want to get to, but at the moment it’s an opportunity that must not be missed.”

But there are twin fronts to fight here: in terms of both internal and external perceptions. The BHA diversity mission statement is emphatic: “Racing is for everyone. We want all individuals to feel free to be themselves without fear of discrimination or harassment.” But there’s a slight chicken-and-egg quality to these wholesome intentions. Only when that becomes axiomatically the case will it become, well, axiomatically the case.

Inevitably, Grissell has experienced setbacks. But there have been uplifting moments, also, when she feels that the message is really getting through. Prejudice works both ways, after all. The whole point is not to make up your mind about people in advance. Sure enough, Grissell has sometimes been pleasantly surprised by the receptivity of people who might be presumed reactionary; albeit occasionally the reverse has, of course, also been true.

“People will surprise you,” Grissell says. “I’ve had many conversations with people you might put in a certain box and they haven’t needed persuading at all. Though sometimes I can’t believe the things that come out of someone’s mouth! We should remember that everyone’s different, and everyone’s experience is different. The most encouraging thing is to receive emails from people in the sport saying how fantastic it is, that the industry is waking up to this; that they can now really feel included in their workplace. Because the things we’re talking about, to individuals, can be genuinely life-changing.

“The most discouraging thing, on the other hand, is if we try and share something and it gets stalled; gets put in the ‘too difficult’ pile. But that’s part of our role: to change attitudes, to share the understanding why this is so important for racing. Especially now, obviously. As with all sports, and all industries, this is a very difficult time for many. And we have to do everything we can to help.”

The post Diversity in Racing: The British Experience appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Speed Helps Violence Break Grade I Barrier

As his name suggests, there appear to be no half measures with Violence.

He had, let’s face it, suddenly been under a bit of pressure. It was only last year that Hill ‘n’ Dale had been able to hoist his fee from $25,000 to $40,000, his first sophomores having confirmed him as the most glamorous stallion in his intake: clear top of the class in 2018 by earnings, winners, stakes winners/performers, graded stakes horses. Having started out at $15,000, he had just processed his third crop of yearlings for an average $133,600.

Yet just when it seemed as though Medaglia d’Oro had found his most eligible heir, Violence faltered. He mustered two stakes winners in 2019 and his yearling average plummeted to $44,649.

Hill ‘n’ Dale promptly reversed that fee hike for this spring. With the far-sighted John Sikura at the helm, that looked a businesslike move rather than a nervous one. Certainly Sikura’s own fidelity remained unshaken. Everything that had made so many people hail Violence as the next big thing remained in place: the sumptuous physique, the aristocratic genes, the athletic caliber. Breeders just needed some encouragement to roll with the punches. As Sikura reminded TDN in March: “Sometimes you have to be a contrarian and jump on something when people are uncertain. That’s how you make money in the horse business.”

That said, Sikura plainly needed the horse to regroup–and, in such an unforgiving commercial environment, to do so quickly. Happily, Violence seems to have given himself a long hard stare in the mirror, and has come out with all guns blazing.

Earlier this month, the 4-year-old Volatile–at $850,000, the sire’s most expensive yearling to date–produced an extraordinary exhibition in the Aristides S. at Churchill, incinerating his rivals by eight lengths in 1:07.57. And then, last Saturday, the Louisiana-bred 3-year-old No Parole similarly showed speed to be his forte when giving their sire a breakout first Grade I score in the Woody Stephens S., dominating his pursuers from the front. Suddenly there is a strong case for crediting Violence with the premier sprinter in both crops.

That’s a pretty interesting development, given the diversity of his own sire’s influence. Medaglia d’Oro, though by an avowed turf sire in El Prado (Ire), himself operated on dirt and has divided his elite performers not only between the surfaces, but also across disciplines. Though his best stock has tended to operate round a second turn, his sprinters include Astern (Aus), Vancouver (Aus) and Warrior’s Reward (GI Carter H.).

Rather notoriously, Medaglia d’Oro’s dam Cappucino Bay is by the forgettable Bailjumper. But her own family contributes a double dose of gunpowder: both her damsire, champion juvenile Silent Screen, and her third dam were out of daughters of the Greentree matriarch Sunday Evening.

Herself inbred to that lightning bolt, The Tetrarch, the fast and precocious Sunday Evening includes some notably quick horses among the many good ones to have decorated her family. Silent Screen’s mother, for instance, is also third dam of GI Carter H. winner Swagger Jack (Smart Strike) and of an elite South African sprinter, All Will Be Well (Badger Land); while another daughter fills the same slot in the background of Irish champion sprinter Bluebird (Storm Bird).

Sunday Evening is also an ancestor of some outstanding turf runners, such as Indian Skimmer (Storm Bird) and Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo). As such, her duplication in his family tree may well have contributed to Medaglia d’Oro’s ability to parlay class into different environments.

Storm Bird–the sire of Indian Skimmer and Bluebird–also gave the modern breed one of its most important crossover stallions in Storm Cat, a champion sire on both sides of the Atlantic. And Storm Cat’s serial matings with the Hall of Famer Sky Beauty (Blushing Groom), besides producing a Group-winning juvenile in Europe, also gave us the second dam of Violence.

Then consider Sky Beauty’s Grade I-winning dam Maplejinksy. She was by a formidable Classic/turf influence, in Nijinsky, yet also a half-sister to the freakish Dayjur (Danzig), one of the fastest horses anyone can remember in Europe who was able to adapt instantly to dirt (if not to sunshine!) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Gold Beauty, the dam of Dayjur and Maplejinsky, had been a conduit of unadulterated Mr. Prospector speed on the track; only the second female sophomore besides Ta Wee, in fact, to be named champion sprinter. But then Mr P. himself developed an increasingly wide repertoire at stud. And Violence’s own dam Storming Beauty (a limited talent: won a nine-furlong dirt maiden at four, her only success in seven starts) is by Mr P.’s son Gone West, whose own versatility as an influence has been emulated, at stud, by fast sons like Speightstown, Elusive Quality and Mr Greeley.

Overall, this family can give us a grass router like Point of Entry (Dynaformer) or a GI Wood Memorial winner like Tale of Ekati (Tale of the Cat). So nobody should be too dogmatic about what to expect from Violence. He is absolutely entitled to give you a grass runner, for instance. Yet here he is, with two headline acts majoring in molten speed on the main track.

Having been confined to four starts, Violence’s own best game was never definitively established. He won on debut over seven furlongs at Saratoga, with a green outsider named Orb (Malibu Moon) creeping into third; Violence still looked raw, off an enforced break, when stepping up a furlong to win the GII Nashua S.; and he then adapted well to a synthetic surface for his Grade I in the Hollywood Park Futurity. Resurfacing in the GII Fountain Of Youth S., he thrived on a hot pace to lead into the stretch but was worn down late by Orb, by now on the curve that would lead to the GI Kentucky Derby itself.

Violence emerged from that first defeat with a sesamoid fracture that ended his career. As a result, he was never tested at a Classic distance and we can’t know quite how far he would have eked out the speed and precocity he had shown.

What had seemed auspicious, in that regard, was the kind of glossy, lengthy build we associate with Medaglia d’Oro. As a yearling–bred by Dell Ridge Farm, and sold through Hill ‘n’ Dale–he had duly realized $600,000 from Black Rock Stables on the third day of the Keeneland September Sale. He was the session’s top colt and that noted judge of horseflesh, Donato Lanni, described him as “the best-looking yearling by far” he saw in 2011.

That physical allure helped crowd as many as 181 mares into Violence’s debut book, behind just four other stallions in North America; and his immediate traction, first in the ring and then on the track, means that the pipeline has remained loaded throughout. His juveniles this year graduate from a book of 187 mares; and his yearlings, from one of 214.

With numbers like that behind him, Violence was in growing need of a standard-bearer to advance cumulative indices–32 black-type horses at 8%, for instance, or 14 graded stakes performers at 3.5%–that do not quite stand up (as yet) to such underrated achievers, at this tier of the marketplace, as Lookin At Lucky, Sky Mesa or Violence’s own studmate Midnight Lute. Just as well, then, that he is again walking the walk, after last year’s stumble, with the simultaneous emergence of two such theatrical dashers as Volatile and No Parole.

As is true of any talented horse, of course, credit must be divided with their own families. Last month colleague Steve Sherack anticipated Volatile’s sensational Churchill display with a profile of her granddam Lady Tak (Mutakddim); and No Parole’s Louisiana antecedents also merit a separate treatment. In the meantime, it’s worth noting that his first two dams are a reverse mirror of his sire: one by a son of Storm Cat, in Bluegrass Cat; the next by a son of Mr. Prospector, Miswaki.

One way or another, connections of No Parole seem to have renounced the two-turn experiment that backfired in the GII Rebel S. Prior to that, he had smashed up Louisiana-breds to the tune of 34 lengths in three starts (including, admittedly, a two-turn mile); and he effortlessly dominated his rivals when dropped to six furlongs next time.

Violence does have a Group 1 winner over 10 furlongs on dirt in Argentina, the result of early shuttling to Haras La Pasion. But it’s intriguing that one of his first graded stakes winners, Talk Veuve To Me, ended up dropping back to sprinting despite deep seams of stamina in her pedigree.

Clearly these two darting swallows, No Parole and Volatile, “do not a summer make.” There are literally hundreds of young horses by Violence out there who remain entitled to go a second turn, and extend the impact achieved by this pair around one. For now, the fact that they share such blazing velocity must remain no more than a striking coincidence.

Arguably the El Prado branch has given the Sadler’s Wells sire-line greater reach, in terms of where and how its scions operate, than has the record-breaking European colossus Galileo (Ire). That’s largely the work of Medaglia d’Oro; and that is also how Violence can most validly assume the mantle of his 21-year-old sire.

It scarcely needs reiterating of the breed-changing Northern Dancer that his legacy was as much about versatility as class. And, besides representing the El Prado sire-line, Violence entwines other branches of the dynasty through two of his first four dams: his granddam’s sire Storm Cat did a similar service for Storm Bird to that performed by Medaglia d’Oro for El Prado; and then there is Maplejinsky’s sire Nijinsky.

The other epoch-making name that recurs in Violence, incidentally, is that of Somethingroyal: one son, Sir Gaylord, gave us Sir Ivor to sire El Prado’s Classic-winning dam Lady Capulet; and daughters of another, Secretariat, foaled the sires of both Violence’s first two dams, Gone West and Storm Cat.

So while it’s often pleasing to find something exotic behind a good horse–the Bailjumper element in Medaglia d’Oro, for instance–it’s pretty hard to argue with the way Violence blends so many dominant colors of the modern breed. By the same token, it would be premature to predict that these especially vibrant streaks, freshly daubed in sprints by Volatile and No Parole, will necessarily end up dominating the whole palette. But it looks like it could be fun to watch.

The post Speed Helps Violence Break Grade I Barrier appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

This Side Up: Inside-Out Classic Has Redemptive Potential

The last shall be first; and the longest, shortest. Insofar, that is, as we have a Triple Crown series at all. This year, to many, the

GI Belmont S. is just another mile-and-eighth GI Kentucky Derby prep, conveniently loaded with qualifying points. For those deigning to line up, however, an asterisk is a perfectly acceptable price for becoming a 152nd consecutive name in the annals of the oldest Classic, extending all the way back to Ruthless at Jerome Park.

The modern ruthless can perhaps be found at Churchill Downs instead–albeit we still don’t know if they will be able to bank the gate money that appeared, rather transparently, to drive their contemptuous treatment of those tracks that host the other Classics, not to mention historic prizes like the GI Runhappy Travers S.

The unilateral postponement to September of the Kentucky Derby represented one of our sport’s very first responses to the pandemic. A sudden, shared crisis called for far-sighted leadership, collective strategy and a spirit of sacrifice. As it was, we saw an immediate fragmentation by vested interests.

Whatever the merit of the resulting schedule, the 2020 Derby will clearly be tailored to Thoroughbreds at a different stage of their development. And already both the sophomores who were ready to win a Grade I over 10 furlongs on May 2 are out of the picture.

But the misfortunes that derailed Charlatan (Speightstown) and Nadal (Blame) can afflict any Thoroughbred, any time. Maxfield (Street Sense), after all, was only ever able to approach the Derby through the back door-and now he, too, is off the trail. Some things never change, and the few immutabilities of these confusing times are not always comforting.

Connections of Maxfield, of course, had already renounced the Belmont in favor of the GII Blue Grass S. That was perfectly defensible, in serving the interests of a specific horse. But all these defections, taken together, rob us of a solace we desperately needed in this horrible year.

That said, we still have the redemptive prospect of an East-West showdown between Honor A.P. (Honor Code) in California, and whoever picks up the gauntlet in New York Saturday.

And there’s a word–“redemptive”–we may hear a great deal should Sole Volante (Karakontie {Jpn}) emerge as best in the East. Now I realize that many people will never even give Patrick Biancone a hearing, in protesting his innocence of charges past. Without remotely entertaining his side of the story, they would cheerfully have “thrown away the key” when it came to his return. It takes some courage, indeed, even to enunciate one of the principles that defines a just society: guilty or not, he is entitled to start over after duly serving the punishment ordained for his (perceived/denied) offenses.

Perhaps, then, his only viable redemption–given that some will never be reconciled to his rehabilitation, whatever he does–would be to succeed afresh by methods that he knows, in his own heart, to be whiter than white. If he can never win round everybody else, all Biancone can realistically do is look himself in the mirror knowing that he has relied scrupulously and solely on his flair as a horseman (which it would be churlish to deny) while lacking the kind of patronage he previously enjoyed. For instance, in winning a Classic with a $20,000 gelding.

Human dignity is too precious, and too precarious, to be denied by mere presumption. To see Biancone reassemble his self-respect, somehow sieving out two of the best sophomores of their crop (the other being Ete Indien {Summer Front}, spectacular winner of the GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S.), should at least intrigue any truly humane observer.

Our presumptions, remember, are based on the herd–and anyone can see that Biancone is an uncommon creature. Just consider the way he has brought out these two turf-bred horses. Who else, nowadays, would have prepared Sole Volante (alongside Ete Indien) with a $55,000 allowance prize 10 days ago? And who else would have sufficient courage of their convictions to recognize in Luca Panici, a 46-year-old who has previously ridden a single graded stakes winner, a horsemanship and character equal to this opportunity?

A single turn won’t play to the strengths of Panici’s mount, especially if Belmont is feeding the speed. He will surely risk traffic on the inside sooner than get stuck wide rounding that endless sweep out of the back stretch, especially out of gate two.

With luck, there should be enough pace for a gap to open as they tire up front. The rails draw hands the initiative to Tap It to Win (Tapit) after he burned off a talented pursuer here last time; while Fore Left (Twirling Candy) forged his Dubai success from the front, and likewise a stakes win last summer on his only previous Belmont start. Between them, perhaps they can generate enough heat to ignite Sole Volante’s acceleration.

Whether he can get going in time to outfinish Tiz The Law (Constitution) remains to be seen. That horse sets the clear standard, with a Grade I already to his name round here plus a congenial stalking set-up. So long as Sole Volante again finishes with gusto, however, he can at least keep himself in the Derby picture.

Of the less seasoned types, Max Player (Honor Code) offers his sire a coast-to-coast foothold for superstardom; Pneumatic (Uncle Mo) fared creditably enough against Maxfield, having looked special in his maiden; while Dr Post (Quality Road) has already shown fight of a sort he might have borrowed from his purchaser, the late Jimmy Crupi.

Now there was a guy who showed, with all the disadvantages he was dealt, that you can start at the back of the line and still, with enough industry and wit, work your way to the front. Anticipating the likely run of the race, however, this time it may turn out to be Sole Volante who decrees that the last shall be first.

The post This Side Up: Inside-Out Classic Has Redemptive Potential appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post