Tag: Connections

Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: In Three Decades, Block Has Seen A Lot Of Change In Illinois Racing

When people ask children what they want to be when they grow up, the answers — sometimes comical, sometimes fanciful, and rarely practical — are rarely predictive of their eventual career path.

But for Chris Block, it was always a given that no matter where his life took him, no matter what job he aspired to or settled for, horses would always follow.

“My family has been in the industry in Illinois breeding and racing for probably more than 50 years,” said Block. “I grew up around the racing industry with my father and mother allowing me to get involved and taking me to the track and giving me the experience of going to the races. It is something that I cherish from my childhood days.

“First and foremost, I love horses, so that made it easy for me to get involved. I was fascinated by the racing part of it so those two loves I just combined. I had it in my mind that I wanted to be in the industry in some capacity and training was what interested me the most.”

After attending the equine program at a junior college in Illinois for two years, during which he worked for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Block was eventually able to strike out on his own in 1989. It was his parents who would give him his first break, sending him to Kentucky with a handful of homebred horses. Block sent out his first horse at Turfway Park but kept his sights on a return to the Windy City. Greater still was the goal of acquiring stalls at Arlington Park, the beating heart of Chicago racing.

“My eventual plan was to make my way to Chicago which I did. Once I was there, my first win was at Sportsman's Park,” said Block. “My father, he enjoys the industry just as much as me, he went and bought me a couple ready-made horses out of sales and it took off from there. It wasn't easy getting stalls and getting established in Chicago but my most favorite racetrack, and my family's, is Arlington. I was fortunate enough to get in there and I got four stalls. I eventually graduated to 10 stalls and at one point I had 50 stalls.”

Since that first horse left the gate at Turfway Park, Block has sent out 1,358 winners to date and banked more than $46 million in purses. Among his top winners is Grade 1 Clark Handicap and G1 Donn Handicap winner Giant Oak, who stood at Millennium Farms in Kentucky until his premature death in 2017. Block now maintains contingents of horses in Illinois, Kentucky, and Louisiana, though his home base remains Chicago.

But three decades after Block returned to Illinois with the overarching intent of racing and supporting his state program, Block, his family, and the entirety of the Illinois Thoroughbred breeding and racing community find themselves in a precarious situation. The closure of Arlington has left the state's horsemen in limbo and while the passage of an expanded gaming bill could bring business back to the state, relief may not come fast enough.

“Arlington closing was devastating,” said Block. “The history of Illinois horse racing in the last 10 years … no one would believe the book if I wrote it. I've been heavily involved in the political process. I lobbied hard with my constituents here to get gaming at the racetracks. I stood arm and arm with the Arlington/Churchill representatives in Springfield and the Hawthorne representatives in a strong effort to save the industry that was headed in the wrong direction and behind the times.

“The model of gaming at the racetracks and 'racinos' works in every other state. We worked hard and passed the gaming bill twice, but it was vetoed twice by Governor (Pat) Quinn for various reasons. That set us back, but then we passed it again with the current Governor, J. B. Pritzker. But Churchill turned their back and partnered up with Rivers Casino. They have now left a gaping hole in the industry that I'm not sure we can recover from unless Hawthorne Park comes through with their racino and there have been major delays with that. This is a central struggle that I face as a trainer and my family and so many others face and breeders and owners.”

Faced with a truncated Illinois racing calendar that now only includes 75 days, drastically cutting the opportunities for trainers, breeders, and owners to take advantage of Illinois-bred incentives, Block is concerned that breeding with continue to decline until the program is all but snuffed out.

“We have about 60 acres and we currently we have 14 broodmares,” said Block. “That's been a number that is consistent for us. We have had more, and even though the industry has really struggled in the last 10 years, my parents have held strong. But it has been a real struggle for Team Block. We're going to hang in there, but we are concerned about the future. From a breeding standpoint, even 10 years ago the industry was producing 1,000 foals. The last count for 2021 was 151 and we hear it will dip under 100 for next year.”

In an effort to help supplement their breeding program, Block and his family have had to retool their strategy and focus some of their mares on strictly breeding to sell. For the past three years, the family have sold those designated foals at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The rest remain with the family and go on to race.

Similar to the change in he's seen in the breeding shed, Block has experienced a notable reduction in the number of horses in his racing stable.

“I used to have close to 50 plus horses in the barn. This year, the number of horses was 27,” said Block. “The effects of what has happened in the state can be seen right there, and I think that number will dwindle even more. The program won't work much longer unless we see benefit from the passage of the gaming bill.

“We're also hoping a miracle happens at Arlington Park and that someone partners with the Chicago Bears, who are in line to buy the property, and puts together a multi-purpose design for that ground. It's one of the most beautiful racetracks in the world and we want that to be preserved. We want the chance to be able to race there in the future. We're the third largest market for horse racing and how racing could be on death's door here is beyond me. The horsemen find it amazing that we've arrived at this point. We've tried our best, but we've been dealt bad cards along the way by entities who have turned their back on the industry.”

With so uncertainty a reality that he has come to accept, Block continues to do what he loves: train. On a brighter note, his barn continues to churn out winners — among them, 5-year-old homebred Another Mystery (by Temple City), who took the Bob F. Wright Memorial Stakes Nov. 27 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

“Another Mystery has jumped to the forefront for the barn,” said Block. “Another horse that has been the stalwart for my barn before him is Cammack (Giant's Causeway). He's 11 and he's been what I call the 'blue collar' horse. He's raced in Illinois for the majority of his life, and he's been so consistent.

“I also have a filly by the name of Fate Factor who has been a really strong one for us, and we have another filly named She Can't Sing for that I train for Mr. [Bob] Lothenbach who has had a really good year. Then we have some young horses that are really improving, so we've been doing pretty well.”

A member of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association board, Block plans to continue his efforts to improve the state of racing at home and has thrown his hat in the ring as a candidate for president of the association. With so much on the line, he's prepared to go to bat for his horses and Illinois racing and breeding interests. The alternative, for Block, is unthinkable.

“Really, if you looked at Indiana, and you look at Pennsylvania, and you look at New York, that is where Illinois should be,” said Block. “I just hope we don't see what is happening in Illinois in other states.

“We're at a crucial point for racing and breeding here in Illinois. It will either survive, and get really, really good, or it will crash and burn very quickly here. I want to see if I can make a difference.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: In Three Decades, Block Has Seen A Lot Of Change In Illinois Racing appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Catalano’s Next Big Goal Is A Number

Thoroughbred trainer Wayne Catalano can count his career in the industry by a series of numbers.

At 15, the New Orleans, La., native first stepped onto the Fair Grounds racetrack and into the barn of Hall of Famer Jack Van Berg. At 18, he began riding and eventually became a jockey, a job he'd hold for almost 10 years winning 1,792 races.

At 27, plagued by knee issues, he struck out on his own and began training and 38 years later he's still at it. From the countless horses that have passed through his hands he can claim three Eclipse Award-winning champions in Dreaming of Anna, Stephanie's Kitten, and She Be Wild.

“I did not grow up around horses. I was never one of those guys that tell you how they were sat on a horse when they were two and grew up that way,” said Catalano. “I grew up in New Orleans, so I came really late to the game but I had a great opportunity because I started with Jack Van Berg. He was one of the greatest trainers and greatest teachers in the business. He taught horsemanship and hard work and those two ingredients will get you a long way in this business.”

Having banked more than $72 million in career purse earnings, Catalano has no intentions of ramping down. The number that would mean the most to him now would be 3,000—the number of victories he needs to join a class of trainers to have risen to the challenge.

“I have 2,937 wins at the moment,” said Catalano. “We're not too far away considering that there are only maybe 36 trainers in the country who have 3,000-plus wins. We're not slowing down yet; we've still got a lot of life left in us.”

Sixty-three wins, while daunting, seem within the horseman's grasp. Now 65, he's been on a bit of roll in 2021, hitting the board in 95 of his 223 starts to date, 42 of those being wins. For the first time in 10 years, Catalano returned to the winner's circle on the biggest stage in Thoroughbred racing when his 4-year-old colt Aloha West claimed the title in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Sprint Nov. 6 at Del Mar. While the Hard Spun colt only began racing in February, he's proved himself to be a credible runner with plenty of potential to keep the momentum going as an older horse.

“It was really, really nice,” said Catalano of the Breeders' Cup win. “He (Aloha West) is a playful little boy but he's a good boy. He's a nice little horse. He gets a little excited sometimes but he's started to settle down. He's maturing and he's become a good racehorse.”

“We won the trainer's title at Churchill Downs and Kentucky Downs,” said Catalano. “I think we hold the record at Kentucky Downs of 15 wins in five days. We won over 100 races at Churchill, so we have done well.”

These days Aloha West is one of only about 20 horses in Catalano's barn, 12 or so of which are actively racing. He supplements his barn with horses he breeds and races from his own program in Illinois, raising small crops from a band of four mares with the help of his wife Renee.

“We've won a bunch of races with homebreds. They might not have been big races but just to breed a winner is hard enough,” said Catalano. “For more than 30 years we've been living on our farm. We've had a lot of winners and a lot of fun. My wife loves it and she gets to raise the babies in the backyard. It's great. We have three or four mares and we breed to small stallions. We enjoy it and to raise babies and then watch them win is the most incredible feeling.”

Lately, things have been in an ever-changing state for the Illinois resident. After nearly a century, Arlington Park has been closed to the public. The last race on the historic track was run in late September of 2021, and the Chicago Bears signed an agree to purchase the track the same month. Catalano said the general upheaval that the closure has caused in the industry is yet another sign of change in the industry, one that makes life a little bit harder on the horsemen.

“The game is not the same. It's just not the same as it used to be,” said Catalano. “A lot of racetracks are closing. If you're not established, it's even harder. In Chicago when we were there we had the horses and the clientele and it went well. Then they took that away and I got relocated to Kentucky.

“The foal crop and the horses are also light. The crops are so much smaller. There used to be 40,000 or 50,000 horses and now I think it's closer to 20,000. You can see that all the fields are light no matter the money they're giving away. It's also a deal that now the way the industry is today, it's taken a lot of fun out of the game. We used to have a lot of fun. We would gather up before and after the races and have fun. Of course, that being said, when you win the Breeders' Cup, it's always fun. Those are the moments you're there for and you hang on for.”

While his barn might have a smaller roster than his competitors, Catalano is not wanting for talent in his quest for 3,000 wins. At the moment, his most recent Breeders' Cup star Aloha West is taking time off ahead of 2022 campaign that is being mapped out by his owner, Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners.

“He [Aloha West] will take a couple months off, get ready for another campaign and we'll try to win the Breeders' Cup again,” said Catalano.

Also conditioned by Catalano is Manny Wah, a stakes-winning son of Will Take Charge who ran fifth in last year's Breeder's Cup Sprint.

“Manny Wah probably should have won the Breeders' Cup last year, but we're hoping he can win it this year,” said Catalano. “We can't wait to get him back on the turf. We also have a couple young ones coming.”

A personal triumph for Catalano is the up-and-coming Big Dreaming (by Declaration of War), who holds spot in the trainer's hear as the last foal out of Dreaming of Anna.

“He's a big, good-looking, good-running horse,” said Catalano. “She [Dreaming of Anna] passed away so he's the last baby and he's a good one. [Owner/breeder] Frank Calabrese was very nice to let me have the last baby out of her because we don't really train for him at the moment. He promised me the baby and we've done very well so far. He's a good horse and we're looking at big races going forward.

With a new year on the horizon and plenty of days on the racing calendar ahead, Catalano remains hopeful he'll add the elusive 3,000th win to his résumé. Numbers aside, the lifelong horseman knows the real joy lies in just enjoying the ride.

“It'll be a little bit but we'll get there,” said Catalano. “We have been on a little run there. We've won seven races out of the last 19 and one was a Breeders' Cup. So I hope that roll continues.

“We've developed a lot of horses. I've been very fortunate to have had opportunities that I took advantage of and been able to race some really nice horses.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Catalano’s Next Big Goal Is A Number appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Bisha Finds Belonging Starting Cox’s Future Stars

Eleven years ago, Tessa Bisha needed to get away from racing.

She was 27 years old and she found herself at a crossroads. She had majored in communications at California Polytechnic University Pomona without completing her degree. She had embarked on the itinerant lifestyle of many race trackers, working as an exercise rider for Bob Hess, Jr., D. Wayne Lukas, Jerry Hollendorfer and Anthony Dutrow, Jr.

It was Dutrow who made Bisha lift up her head from the daily grind by challenging her with a question.

“Why do you come here every day and do this and work so hard at it?” Dutrow asked.

For sure, it was not about money. Bisha had been forced to take assorted part-time gigs to meet financial obligations. The gambling aspect had never interested her beyond the $2 she and her father, Jon, used to wager on races at Emerald Downs. Ambition? She was not driven to become a trainer.

“The why, I think I lost track of it a little bit,” said Bisha.

The “why” became an anguishing question when A Little Warm, Dutrow's 2010 Jim Dandy winner and a horse she had drawn particularly close to, fractured both front ankles during a routine gallop. Although the horse was saved, the frightening injuries only added to the doubts of a young woman struggling to find her way. Thoughts of the damage suffered by A Little Warm haunted her more than other breakdowns she had witnessed.

“The hardest part is always the fact that they're doing this because we're asking them to,” Bisha said. “Even though it's natural for them to run, we're the ones placing them on the racetrack that day and saying, 'Go ahead, do it buddy.' The good ones always want to and they'll run through pain and they're the ones who will get hurt.”

With the help of a $5,000 inheritance from her grandmother, Eloise, she retreated to her home state of Washington, to be with her father and other loved ones. She set up an apartment in the basement of her father's house and spent a long winter there, contemplating where she has been and where she was going. In a sense, she retraced her steps, talking to many of the people who had been influential when she was getting started.

“She was still every day trying to figure out where she belonged with a horse career,” Jon said. “She wasn't thinking, 'Oh, maybe I'll go back and study accounting or something like that.'”

Bisha had experienced such extreme emotions with A Little Warm, the absolute thrill of watching him give his all to win a major race at Saratoga before that burning desire nearly contributed to his demise.

She was still young – but no longer naïve.

“I'd kind of seen the good, the bad and the ugly,” she said. “And everything in between.”

Another question was added to Dutrow's. Did success have to come at the expense of hard-trying horses? Did it have to be one or the other?

“You can care about both. You can care about winning and you can care about the horses themselves,” her father said. “I think that kind of turned the corner for her.”

Bisha took care of unfinished business by completing her degree at Cal Poly Pomona. She returned to Hollendorfer to gallop for him while the goal of becoming   an assistant trainer gradually came into focus.

Tessa Bisha and Darain

She moved to Kentucky to pursue a romantic relationship that ultimately failed while a promising business relationship developed. She began to work for Brad Cox as a freelance exercise rider in the spring of 2016 and became increasingly important to his growing operation. She was able to catch on to a rising star when he hired her as an assistant.

“I saw that he himself was going up and it would be a good move job security-wise and probably a better financial position than other assistant jobs,” Bisha said.

Cox, of course, swept four Breeders' Cup races last season in winning his first Eclipse Award as the outstanding trainer in North America. His success this year includes Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go, Belmont Stakes and Travers winner Essential Quality and Mandaloun, runner-up in the controversial Kentucky Derby.

Bisha was a finalist for the Dedication to Racing Award, sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Jorje Abrego, Dustin Dugas and Ricky Giannini are other highly-regarded assistants in Cox's massive, high-powered operation.

“He really puts an effort into being hands on but also trusts his eyes on the ground,” Bisha said. “The way he manages the team, it just couldn't be any better.”

Cox entrusts what has annually become a large and promising 2-year-old class to Bisha.

“She plays a huge role in our operation,” he said. “She does a lot with the young horses we get in. She's very patient with them. She's an all-around horseperson.”

In her current role, she never needs to ask “why” she does what she does. She relishes her position, eagerly waiting to see what each well-bred prospect might become. Is there a Derby winner in the bunch?

“They all get attention and care and the best chance they can to turn into the best possible version of themselves,” Bisha said.

Jon, once a concerned father, no longer worries.

“I think she feels like she is doing what she was always supposed to do,” he said contentedly.

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Bisha Finds Belonging Starting Cox’s Future Stars appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘Ordinary Guys’ Beating The Odds

Hours after winning his first Group 1 race on the Arc de Triomphe undercard, trainer Ado McGuinness found himself waiting on a bus to take him and his crew back to their hotel in Paris.

“We're ordinary guys, coming from an ordinary place,” the Irishman explained. “We were finding it hard to get taxis, so we just decided we'd head for the bus, and we had great fun actually. It was one of those bendy busses, so the back of it was going all over the place because we were dancing and singing the whole way into Paris!”

That celebration was well-deserved: McGuiness has trained racehorses for 21 years, working his way up from the lowest ranks to become one of the top 10 trainers in Ireland. In addition, the win meant McGuinness would be making his first trip to the United States for a chance to run in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

The son of a vegetable farmer with a background in show jumping had never been one to shy away from hard work, and he found a solid niche in Ireland buying horses from the in-training sales and keeping them running consistently well. 

A partnership with his cousin, Darley Flying Start graduate Stephen Thorne, and the development of ownership syndicate Shamrock Thoroughbreds has helped McGuinness bring a higher class of horse into the stable over the past several years.

The trainer won his first stakes race in 2020 when Current Option captured the Platinum Stakes at Cork on Aug. 8; he sent out a first international winner with Bowerman in the G2 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup in Qatar on Feb. 19, 2021; and he progressed to the Group 1 level when A Case of You scored by a narrow margin in the Prix de l'Abbaye on Oct. 3.

A Case of You, the 3-year-old son of Hot Streak, was also McGuinness' first ever runner at Longchamp. The last time the trainer had been in Paris was for his honeymoon.

“The whole place just went mad,” McGuinness told Friday Night Racing on Off The Ball. “I got a great reception, [jockey] Ronan [Whelan] got emotional, we all got emotional, it was just brilliant. It's hard to describe the feeling really when it happens, your first time, especially in a place like that.

“You just sort of say to yourself, 'Am I dreaming, am I dreaming?' You never think it might happen to you. You'd often be sitting at home watching this race saying, 'God wouldn't you love to be there,' and I'm very privileged that I was.”

Ronan Whelan gallops A Case of You at Del Mar

Owned by McGuinness' longtime friend and owner Gary Devlin, A Case of You joined the stable in early 2021. The colt had been sold as a weanling for just €950 (about $1,100), then was picked up by trainer John McConnell as a yearling when after the 2019 Goffs Sportsman's sale, when bidding stopped at €3,000 (about $3,300).

McConnell trained A Case of You to win at second asking, then to capture a G3 race at The Curragh before he finished for the season. A deal was brokered to sell the colt to Hong Kong but it fell through, allowing McGuinness to step in.

“Going to Hong Kong, with all the x-rays and everything, it can be very hard to pass the vet,” McGuinness explained. “I think there was one little problem with something on x-ray, and we got him x-rayed again, and my vet was very happy with him, and he passed him. We brokered a deal and bought him. He's a very, very cheap horse now, compared to what we paid for him, but he was the most expensive horse I've ever bought.”

At first, McGuinness tried to put A Case of You on the trail for the Classics, but the colt quickly proved he was more effective at sprint distances. By September, A Case of You was facing off with the best sprinters in Ireland, and ran a great second at long odds in the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh. 

That effort, and post-race comments from his jockey Ronan Whelan insisting he would have won had he moved a bit sooner, inspired McGuinness to supplement the colt to the l'Abbaye. Whelan made his move earlier at Longchamp, and got up to win by a short head on the wire.

That success brought about an even more prestigious opportunity in the Breeders' Cup.


“We never thought he'd bring me here,” McGuiness said, watching A Case of You train over the dirt at Del Mar ahead of the Breeders' Cup. “I've been all over the world, but never to the U.S. I've been to Australia, Saudi, Dubai, but never the U.S. It's unbelievable.”

McGuinness chose to stick with Whelan, bringing the jockey over to California to ride.

“I've known Ronin since he was an apprentice, and he's a real hell of a good lad, a very underrated jockey,” said the trainer. “There's only very, very few jockeys in Ireland getting an opportunity to come over and ride in a place like this, so it's great for the likes of him. He can come out here, he proved it in Paris. People were saying, 'Oh, put an American jockey on him,' and I said, 'Not a hope!'”

Also of concern was the tight bend of Del Mar's turf course, as well as the turf itself. 

“The tightness, right, is a little bit of a concern, but he's a well-balanced horse so I think he shouldn't have a problem with it,” McGuinness said. “We have a nice draw; there'll be pace on our inside and we can just slot in behind them. When you walk out on it it's not too bad. There's a lovely sponge off it compared to home. When it's firm in Ireland, it's hard-hard, like it's like out there [pointing to the pavement]. We listened to the horses galloping by yesterday in the race, and if you were at home and you listened to the same bunch of horses galloping on firm ground, it'd be a lot harder than what you'd get here. But then, we don't get firm ground too often in Ireland with the weather!”

Jockey Ronan Whelan and trainer Ado McGuinness discuss strategy in the paddock at Del Mar ahead of the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint

A Case of You certainly did not disappoint in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, closing to finish fifth behind Golden Pal.

“He ran a massive race and going past the line would have been placed with a bit further,” McGuinness said after the run. “He's been invited for Hong Kong which is something we'll discuss over the weekend, and if he travels home well it's something we'll think about.”

McGuinness also has plans in the works to run A Case of You at Royal Ascot in 2022, and did not rule out a return to the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland next fall.

“He's just three, and he'll be better next year,” said McGuinness. “I think if he'd run out here even three to four months later, he'd have been much closer at the finish.”

[Story Continues Below]

In the meantime, A Case of You is getting some down time in McGuinness' yard at Skylark House Stables, Hayestown, Lusk, Co. Dublin. He'll likely join a group heading to the local beach for a refresher, with McGuinness keeping a watchful eye on his stable star.

“We have a beautiful beach which is not too far away,” McGuinness said. “When the weather's not too bad, it's a beautiful place. It's great mind-wise for a horse just to take them. Usually when we race our horses we go there the next day, just to let them chill out and have a walk around the water. 

“The horses seem to really enjoy it. They love it. On the odd day we get a horse to go swimming, but very seldom. Just up to their knees, and if it's a real calm day, I even go farther with them, right up to their shoulders, and they just love it.”

The future definitely looks bright for McGuinness, who plans to continue to improve the level of his stock while staying as hands-on as possible. He'll still be the first one in the stable each morning, feeding his horses breakfast himself, and driving the trailer to haul them to their races.

“Ireland is probably the hardest country in the world to train horses because we have the best horses, some of the best trainers, and the biggest operations in the world to compete against,” McGuinness said. “I think we've proven that we can train good horses when we get them.”

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘Ordinary Guys’ Beating The Odds appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights