Claiborne Farm | Horse Racing Free Tips

Praise, Dam Of Flatter, Congrats, Dies At Age 27

Praise, one Claiborne Farm's top broodmares of the past three decade, has died due to the infirmities of old age, the farm announced Tuesday. She was 27.

The daughter of Mr. Prospector was a homebred for longtime partners Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider. She was trained by Frank Brothers during her seven career starts, which was highlighted by a maiden win in Saratoga and an allowance score at Churchill Downs.

Praise joined the partnership's broodmare band at age four, and her success was immediate. Her first foal was Flatter, a son of A.P. Indy who finished third in the Grade 2 Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park before retiring to stud at Claiborne Farm in 2004 and becoming one of Kentucky's most reliable sires.

The mare went back to A.P. Indy for her second mating, which produced Congrats. The colt picked up wins in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Handicap and listed Alysheba Stakes, with additional Grade 1 placings in the Santa Anita Handicap and Hollywood Gold Cup. He began his stud career in Florida during the 2007 breeding season, and he now stands at WinStar Farm in Kentucky.

Praise saw her greatest success with her first two foals, but her proceeding offspring was led by Commend, a Grade 3-placed War Front colt. In total, Praise produced eight winners from 11 starts.

Congrats and Flatter will be the greatest extender of Praise's presence in pedigrees, but the mare has also had successful daughters in the breeding shed.

Amen Again, a winning daughter of Awesome Again, is the dam of Grade 3 winner Sprawl. Hip Hip, a placed Monarchos mare, had the stakes-placed Support.

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Sprawl Gets First Stakes Victory In West Virginia Governor’s Stakes

Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider's Sprawl earned his first stakes victory in the $200,000 Grade 3 West Virginia Governor's Stakes, which preceded the Grade 3 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in New Cumberland, W.Va.

The Kentucky homebred 4-year-old colt by City Zip grabbed the early lead from the inside post position under Joe Talamo in the 1 1/16-mile event, briefly lost the lead to Mighty Heart on the far turn, and fought back to pull away to win by 1 ¾ lengths.

Mighty Heart was second and Bourbon Calling third. Sprawl covered the distance in 1:44.95 and paid $5.20 to win as the favorite.

Claiborne and Dilschneider owned 2013 West Virginia Derby winner Departing, who returned three years later and finished second in the Governor's Stakes after having a two-length lead in the stretch.

“I thought he was done (heading into the stretch) but he switched leads and found another gear,” trainer Tom Drury said. “The inside is not so good on this track, but Joe did a great job riding him. This is my first graded stakes win for Claiborne, and after Departing finished second in the Governor's Cup, I guess they owed us one. I am so proud of this horse.”

Sprawl now has four wins in 16 starts and earnings of $401,653.

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Sprawl Ready For Rematch With Mighty Heart In West Virginia Governor’s Stakes

Three years after he won the West Virginia Derby, Departing returned to Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in 2016 as the favorite for the $200,000 West Virginia Governor's Stakes, which at that time had not yet achieved graded status.

Bred and owned by Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider and trained by Tom Drury, Departing was dispatched as the favorite in a field of nine. Then six years old, Departing took the lead turning for home and opened a two-length lead. But he was passed in the final sixteenth of a mile by Hawaakom and had to settle for second.

“Turning for home it looked like he was home free,” said Drury, who was and still is based in Kentucky. “He started to open up, and then he got caught. It was a very good effort, but I have to say it was the longest ride home in the history of horse racing.”

Kentucky-bred Departing retired after that race with nine victories in 27 starts and earnings just shy of $2 million. This year, the same connections will take another shot in the 1 1/16-mile Governor's Stakes, which has since achieved Grade 3 status.

The 4-year-old colt Sprawl, also bred and owned by Claiborne and Dilschneider, is one of seven entered in the stakes on the Aug. 7 West Virginia Derby program. The son of City Zip has performed well at a high level, having finished third in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs June 26, but is seeking his first stakes score.

Sprawl finished third, only a head behind the victorious Mighty Heart—also entered in the Governor's Stakes—in the Blame Stakes at Churchill, and fourth, only three-quarters of a length behind, in the Grade 3 Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland. In between those two races, the colt won an allowance test at Churchill by 7 ¼ lengths.

Sprawl has been training forwardly at the Churchill Training Center in preparation for the Mountaineer race.

“Any time you get to the races for older horses you have your work cut out,” Drury said. “Our horse is good. His Churchill and Keeneland races were good, and I don't know if he has been the luckiest horse in some of his races. His Stephen Foster race was huge for him, and we're looking for a little class relief.”

Along with Sprawl and Mighty Heart, a Grade 3 winner in Canada, the Governor's Stakes has also attracted Bourbon Calling, Grade 3-placed in 2020; Colonelsdarktemper, winner of the 2017 West Virginia Derby who is three-for-three this year against claiming and starter allowance foes; and Exulting, who was claimed for $7,500 in March and last time out finished second in the Schaefer Memorial Stakes in Indiana.

Drury, who also has horses stabled at Skylight Training Center outside of Louisville, Ky., said the Governor's Cup has implications beyond the race itself. Claiborne Farm has a long, successful history breeding Thoroughbreds, and Drury indicated the farm still has the dam of Sprawl.

“It's a Grade 3, it's black type, and so it's very important to us, not only to win it but for the family,” Drury said regarding the breeding aspects. “He has done very well on the (Churchill Training Center) track heading into this race, and I think he can take that track with him.”

First post time for the West Virginia Derby program is 2 p.m.

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Mastery Represented By First Winner at Gulfstream

Up Her Sleeve (Mastery) benefited from a perfect trip to become the first winner for her well-regarded Claiborne Farm-based sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}) in the Gulfstream opener Saturday afternoon.

Sent off at 19-1 off a distant last of four in a rained-off maiden on debut June 30, the bay filly was one of the first away, but came back to Wilmer Garcia to sit third rounding the first turn, as odds-on Royal Rocker (Noble Bird) led them along. Hugging the rail down the backstretch, she was asked for a bit of speed and pinched ground at the fence, popped away from the inside under a ride off the home corner and reeled in the pacesetter with a sixteenth to go, scoring by 1 1/4 lengths. Second-timer Castle Born (Vancouver {Aus}) rallied to be up for second.

Up Her Sleeve, who sold in utero for $160,000 at Keeneland November in 2018, is out of a half-sister to Cash Out (Street Cry {Ire}), graded-placed on turf and dirt as a juvenile; and to MSP Pretty Fancy (Lemon Drop Kid). Her third dam produced MGISW Clear Mandate (Deputy Minister), who was responsible for MGSW & MGISP Newfoundland (Storm Cat) and GISW Strong Mandate (Tiznow). Pocket of Aces is the dam of a yearling Tapwrit filly and a colt foal by the 2017 GI Belmont S. winner.

1st-Gulfstream, $51,000, Msw, 7-17, 2yo, f, 7 1/2fT, 1:32.10, gd, 1 1/4 lengths.
UP HER SLEEVE (f, 2, Mastery–Pocket of Aces, by Harlan's Holiday) Sales history: $120,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $30,000 2yo '21 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $29,250. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Constance Wickes & Brian Hanley; B-Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd & Bridlewood Farm LLC (KY); T-J Kent Sweezey.

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