Tag: Coolmore

No Nay Never’s Little Big Bear Best In The Windsor Castle

The subject of a momentous gamble in Wednesday's Listed Windsor Castle S., Ballydoyle's Little Big Bear (Ire) (No Nay Never–Adventure Seeker {Fr}, by Bering {GB}) duly delivered to maintain the 100% record of the TDN Rising Stars in Royal Ascot's two-year-old contests. Hammered into 6-5 favouritism to get Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore off the mark for the week, the impressive Naas maiden winner raced near the pace far side before being sent forward with hands and heels passing halfway. In the end, the imposing bay had to fight to fend off the stand's-side winner Rocket Rodney (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}) but was equal to the task to score by a neck, with Eddie's Boy (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) 1 3/4 lengths back in third. “It was a good performance from a horse who is still learning,” Moore said. “He was out on the wing and the horses in the middle were ahead–he got a bit lonely, but he has plenty of ability. He is a big horse and I thought he did that comfortably. I know he didn't win by far, but there was more in the locker.”

Runner-up by a short head to the subsequent G3 Marble Hill S. runner-up Tough Talk (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) and ahead of future winner Shartash (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) on debut at The Curragh Apr. 10, Little Big Bear dealt with the drop to this trip without fuss when dominating his maiden from the well-regarded Joseph O'Brien-trained Alexis Zorba (GB) (Zoustar {Aus}) at Naas May 7. The extent of the money flow in his direction leading up to the off spoke volumes about the expectation surrounding him and he was carrying that weight looking to provide Aidan O'Brien with the Royal Ascot winner the form of his juveniles seemed to suggest was a formality this Spring.

Rosegreen's two-year-olds are never hard-baked for this meeting and there were a few moments when Little Big Bear needed encouragement from Moore before halfway as several appeared to be travelling sweeter across the track. It was only as he approached the furlong marker that the sizeable colt began to emerge as one of the chief protagonists and by the time he had got to half a furlong out he had the measure of Rocket Rodney who was a few horse-widths out of range. “He was drawn a little away from the pace, but we were delighted with him,” O'Brien said. “He should get further in the future and is in the Phoenix Stakes. He is a big horse. It is obviously a very fast race and horses need to know a lot in it and be very educated. He had only had the two runs, so we were a bit worried about that, but we're delighted really.”

Little Big Bear is bred to stay much further on the dam's side, with the Listed Prix de Liancourt winner, G3 Prix Cleopatre runner-up and GI E P Taylor S. fourth Adventure Seeker being a granddaughter of the legendary All Along (Fr), the French champion and US Horse of the Year in 1983 courtesy of her G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, GI Turf Classic, G1 Rothmans International and GI Washington D. C. International victories. A half to the precocious but ill-fated G3 Princess Margaret S. third Along Again (Ire) (Elusive City), she produced Andrea Mantegna (Giant's Causeway) who was second in the 12-furlong G3 Hobart Cup. Also connected to the G3 Prix du Muguet winner and G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains-placed Art Francais (Lyphard's Wish {Fr}), the dam's yearling is a full-brother to Little Big Bear.

Wednesday, Ascot, Britain
WINDSOR CASTLE S.-Listed, £100,000, Ascot, 6-15, 2yo, 5fT, 1:00.33, g/f.
1–LITTLE BIG BEAR (IRE), 131, c, 2, by No Nay Never
1st Dam: Adventure Seeker (Fr) (SW & GSP-Fr, $155,312), by Bering (GB)
2nd Dam: American Adventure, by Miswaki
3rd Dam: All Along (Fr), by Targowice
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. (€320,000 Ylg '21 ARAUG). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor & Westerberg; B-Camas Park Stud & Summerhill (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £59,200. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $84,657. *1/2 to Andrea Mantegna (Giant's Causeway), GSP-Aus, $352,585. Werk Nick Rating: D. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Rocket Rodney (GB), 131, g, 2, Dandy Man (Ire)–Alushta (GB), by Royal Applause (GB). 1ST BLACK TYPE. (18,000gns Wlg '20 TATFOA; 18,000gns RNA Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Victorious Racing Ltd; B-R W Stapleton (GB); T-George Scott. £22,390.
3–Eddie's Boy (GB), 131, c, 2, Havana Grey (GB)–Spontaneity (Ire), by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). 1ST BLACK TYPE. (45,000gns Ylg '21 TATSOM). O-Middleham Park Racing XLV & Partner; B-Crossfields Bloodstock Ltd (GB); T-Archie Watson. £11,190.
Margins: NK, 1 3/4, 1. Odds: 1.20, 14.00, 40.00.
Also Ran: Chateau (Ire), Jumbeau (GB), Bolt Action (Ire), Silencer (Ire), Wodao (Fr), Union Court (GB), Kuwait City (Ire), Ramazan (Ire), Kaasib (Ire), Rocking Ends (GB), Yahtzee (Ire), Mehmar (Ire), Knebworth (GB), Edgar Linton (Fr), Far Shot (Ire), Democracy Dilemma (Ire), Finn Russell (Ire), Guiteau (Ire), Star of Lady M (GB), Seismic Spirit (Ire), Whistle and Flute (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

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State Of Rest Makes All In The Prince Of Wales’s

Wednesday's G1 Prince of Wales's S. came down to a display of supreme jockeyship, but it was not Moore or Dettori or even Demuro who provided it but Shane Crosse, whose masterclass from the front on the under-rated State of Rest (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) proved the difference in such a tight Royal Ascot encounter. The race is a qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland in November. While Frankie fumbled with the blindfold on Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) as the gates opened and lost all chance there, Crosse was out and in control quickly on the 5-1 shot with no pressure on the lead. Hard though the 10-11 favourite Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) chased in the straight, from the two pole it was a lost cause with Joseph O'Brien's flagship performer having too much of an advantage. At the line, there was a length between the accomplished G1 Cox Plate, G1 Prix Ganay and GI Saratoga Derby winner and the Stoute runner as they pulled 2 1/4 lengths clear of Grand Glory (GB) (Olympic Glory {Ire}), who justified her supplementary entry. “In the space of the last 12 months, this horse has done a lot. He has done it all and I am just over the moon,” Crosse said. “To get here and participate is a huge thing. To ride a horse like this in top-class races is a dream. You cannot describe it.”

While this renewal showcased the remarkable distance that racing has come since the last century in terms of international competition, there is possibly still a sense that achievements overseas can be overlooked in the Royal Ascot analysis. State of Rest had been at inflated odds before a late gamble thrust him back to 5-1, which was in hindsight an insult given that he had faced the thrust of battle on contrasting surfaces in the States, Australia and France. Having outgunned Anamoe (Aus) (Street Boss) and Verry Elleegant (NZ) (Zed {NZ}) at Moonee Valley in October, State of Rest was probably only in his comfort zone dealing with the French contingent in the Ganay at the start of May and connections felt that his subsequent third three weeks later in The Curragh's G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup could be bettered. Running the final three furlongs there faster than the first and second Alenquer (Fr) (Adlerflug {Ger}) and High Definition (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), he was always going to be dangerous let loose on the lead.

State of Rest may have clocked a moderate overall time for the race, especially given how the ground has allowed for some rapid outcomes over the first two day, but his finishing effort up the straight was that of a top-class performer and a rematch with the still-promising runner-up will be fascinating to witness. Remarkably, this was Joseph O'Brien's first Royal Ascot winner as a trainer and it is fitting that it arrived 10 years after he won this aboard another Cox Plate hero in So You Think (NZ). “It's very special. It's been a long time coming,” he said. “We've had a lot of horses run well here. It's special to get a winner here and not only a winner, but to win a race like the Prince of Wales's Stakes is hugely special. We have a great team of owners and a special horse.”

“We had a good chat with Shane and decided to make the running. It could not have worked out better. He got the fractions perfect,” he added. “State of Rest is a very tough horse. He is very versatile and I take some of the blame myself for not using him enough last time, but it was a great run. We knew coming here today that we had a live chance of winning the race and I'm just pleased that the horse has proved himself. It is a huge day and I am very proud of everyone. This is what it is all about. We love the game, we are born and bred into the game. It is all we know. To have a big winner here is what we do it for.”

Paul Cashman of Rathbarry Stud, part-owner of the winner, said, “Things did not go to plan in the Tattersalls Gold Cup–the ground was not on our side that day. It was Joseph's plan to go forward. He knew from furlong to furlong what he wanted and that is how it panned out. It doesn't always work like that, but they had the confidence and the horse to do that. Joseph said he was unlucky in the spring of his three-year-old career. He pulled a muscle in the spring and did not have a Guineas campaign, so was a second half of the season horse. So for me he'd been under the radar for a race like this. I thought he should have been half the price he was.”

“It's just a very proud week to be an Australian,” Henry Field told TDN AusNZ on the win. “It was absolutely fantastic. It was a crack-hot field with the top-class middle distances European horses and Japanese horses. It means a lot because he has shown he is the best mile-and-a-quarter horse in the world. It has taken a long time for us to step into this part of the market and find a middle distance horse to stand at stud, but after his Cox Plate win we took a leap of faith and I think that after today's [Wednesday] result that decision has been very much vindicated.

“He's a star horse. He's won Group 1s in America, France, obviously the Cox Plate and now Royal Ascot–that is quite the record. He has got one of the strongest syndicates of owners we have ever put together for a horse and it includes some breeders from New South Wales, Victoria and New Zealand, so it's just a great thrill and many of them are here–it's a day we will never forget.”

“I was actually talking to Chris Waller before the horses came to Ascot and how the week could be a big one for Australia,” Field added. “We have seen the Japanese horses travel round the world and really vindicate the power of their racing. So, to see a horse like Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) win the [G1] King's Stand [S.] on Tuesday, and not just win but blow his rivals away, and then our Cox Plate winner, albeit a horse trained in Ireland, prove he is the best mile-and-a-quarter horse in the world, I think all this is very important for Australian racing to showcase to the world how powerful our product is.

“This guy is trained by Joseph, who is a child prodigy and has an extraordinary brain. One of the greatest parts of investing in this horse is being able to pick Joseph's brain over the phone and I don't think I've ever spoken to a smarter younger man in the horse business. But to see both the Australian sprinting and middle-distance form stack up as it has this week, it's a week that Australians should be really proud of and it is really important for the future of our industry. It's just a very proud week to be an Australian. ”

Added Field, “Fingers crossed Artorius (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}) can give us something to celebrate on Saturday, but if he doesn't we will all be cheering on Home Affairs (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) for Coolmore.”

Sir Michael Stoute was far from downcast following the end of Bay Bridge's sequence and said, “The race didn't pan out brilliantly for him, but he ran a very big race and we're absolutely delighted. We haven't run him on fast ground before, but that didn't inconvenience him–there was no problem there. Whether we stick at 10 furlongs or go to 12 furlongs, no decision will be taken for a little while.” Lord North was in a race of his own for much of the contest, left several lengths behind after the blindfold had become caught in the bridle, while the G1 Tokyo Yushun and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic winner Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) failed to fire on another disappointing day for Japan here. “When I asked to go, he didn't have the same acceleration as last time,” rider Cristian Demuro explained.

State of Rest's unraced dam Repose (Quiet American) is now the property of Juddmonte and their recent acquisition takes on even greater import following this latest confirmation of their unerring shrewdness. Also responsible for the G3 Blue Wind S. winner Tranquil Lady (Ire) (Australia {GB}), she is a daughter of Monaassabaat (Zilzal) who captured the Listed Virginia S. before producing the listed winners Prince Alzain (Street Sense) and Echo River (Irish River {Fr}), with the latter also second in the G3 May Hill S. She is also the second dam of the G2 Royal Lodge S. and G2 Vintage S. runner-up Artigiano (Distorted Humor).

The third dam is the 16-times-winning dual GI Vanity H. heroine and champion It's In the Air (Mr. Prospector), whose descendants include the triple group 1-winning Champion S. hero Storming Home (GB) (Machiavellian), the GI American Oaks heroine Music Note (A.P. Indy) and her G1 Dubai World Cup-winning son Mystic Guide (Ghostzapper), plus the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Musical Chimes (In Excess {Ire}). Repose's 2-year-old filly Double Scoop (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) was a €180,000 purchase by Anthony Dutrow at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, while she delivered a filly foal by Sea the Stars (Ire) this year.

State of Rest will stand at Rathbarry Stud, Ireland and shuttle to Newgate Farm, Australia upon his retirement.

Wednesday, Ascot, Britain
PRINCE OF WALES'S S.-G1, £1,057,500, Ascot, 6-15, 4yo/up, 9f 212yT, 2:07.79, g/f.
1–STATE OF REST (IRE), 128, c, 4, by Starspangledbanner (Aus)
1st Dam: Repose, by Quiet American
2nd Dam: Monaassabaat, by Zilzal
3rd Dam: It's in the Air, by Mr. Prospector
(45,000gns Wlg '18 TATFOA; 60,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-State Of Rest Partnership; B-Tinnakill Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-Joseph O'Brien; J-Shane Crosse. £599,708. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Aus & Fr, GISW-US & G1SP-Ire, 12-5-1-3, $3,808,013. *1/2 to Tranquil Lady (Ire) (Australia {GB}), GSW-Ire. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Bay Bridge (GB), 128, c, 4, New Bay (GB)–Hayyona (GB), by Multiplex (GB). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-James Wigan & Ballylinch Stud; B-London Thoroughbred Services Ltd (GB); T-Sir Michael Stoute. £227,363.
3–Grand Glory (GB), 125, m, 6, Olympic Glory (Ire)–Madonna Lily (Ire), by Daylami (Ire). (€18,000 Ylg '17 AROYRG; €2,500,000 5yo '21 ARQDEC). O-Haras de Hus; B-Elevage Haras de Bourgeauville (GB); T-Gianluca Bietolini. £113,787.
Margins: 1, 2 1/4, HD. Odds: 5.00, 0.91, 16.00.
Also Ran: Shahryar (Jpn), Lord North (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

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Bobby Flay: ‘Royal Ascot is the Pinnacle for Me’

Celebrity chef Bobby Flay is excited to swap his apron for a top hat and tails at Royal Ascot and described his bold bid for G1 Coronation S. glory with Breeders' Cup-winning homebred Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) as “an experience of a lifetime.”

The Coronation S. has been the main aim for Pizza Bianca ever since she stormed to victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Del Mar last November and Flay has said that next week's royal meeting is the pinnacle.

“I feel like I have won already just by participating in a race like this,” the television star told TDN Europe on Thursday. “It's one of the things that I love about this game, being able to participate in big races, and no matter what, we are going to have a great time.

   “We have big races at home in our back yard worth a lot of money but Ascot is the experience of a lifetime and we're so excited,” – Bobby Flay

“Royal Ascot is the pinnacle for me. The pageantry of it all, the quality of the horses, the food and beverage, the building itself and the royal family. It has everything that you could possibly want at a horse racing event.”

Flay didn't become one of the most successful owner-breeders in America by simply wanting to take part. He bought White Hot, a half-sister to G1 Derby winner Pour Moi (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), for 1.25 million gns out of the 2014 Tattersalls October Book 1 Sale. Pizza Bianca is her first foal.

She has proved an outstanding addition to Flay's broodmare band, which is said to have numbered only 10, with Pizza Bianca flying the flag for the family with that Breeders' Cup success representing an important first for her trainer Christophe Clement.

Flay said, “Christophe is incredibly talented and extremely knowledgeable. He's got a great team and is meticulous. They love what they do and are great communicators. It's been such a fun experience having a horse with him and I was so happy for Christophe to win his first Breeders' Cup race with Pizza Bianca. We have big races at home in our back yard worth a lot of money but Ascot is the experience of a lifetime and we're so excited.”

He added, “Pizza Bianca has an incredibly rich pedigree and it's mostly European. To be able to showcase her talents on the biggest stage in Europe is a privilege. I have 10 mares. The philosophy behind the operation is that we try to breed the best to the best. We try and leave mediocre to the side and everything we breed is of a very high quality.

“My bloodstock agent, James Delahooke, is a bit of a legend in European racing and helped create a lot of the good Juddmonte families. If you look through some of their great horses, James would have picked out the third or the fourth dams in the pedigree, so having somebody who can see into the future is a huge help.”

Flay has surrounded himself with some of the brightest minds in racing in order to give himself a fighting chance of succeeding but he does a lot of the matings himself and selected Fastnet Rock for White Hot, with the resulting foal turning out to be the now famous Pizza Bianca.

He explained, “Fastnet Rock has been an amazing sire in Australia and when he shuttled to Europe he got a lot of good horses over there as well. Galileo might be the best sire of all time but, the problem with him is, he has a lot of sons at stud. When you have a Galileo mare, the choices are not there at the highest end, and when I was looking at what stallion to go with for White Hot, Fastnet Rock just seemed like he would be a really good choice.”

Flay added, “He was a very fast racehorse and I felt like White Hot needed some speed. As everyone knows, 95% of these things are guesswork, but one of the things that I really believe in is, if you have a mare with good blood, it will show up at one point. You don't know when, but if you breed well, she is going to produce something special. I just didn't think it would be with her first foal! White Hot has an Uncle Mo colt yearling and a Not This Time colt foal. She is in foal to Into Mischief so hopefully there is a lot to look forward to.

“I spend a lot of time on matings and have a couple of rules that I follow. I don't go to unproven stallions. I just don't do it. When I think about sires in the United States, I think Curlin, Uncle Mo, Quality Road and Into Mischief–the top of the food chain. Not This Time and Constitution, they are going to take the lead at some point, but I am very careful with my breeding choices.”

Not only has Flay enjoyed a great deal of success with Pizza Bianca in recent times, he remains a shareholder in GIII Pimlico Special S. winner First Captain (Curlin), a horse he bred, and recently bought into GI Belmont S. contender We the People (Constitution).

An unrelenting ability to make good and informed decisions has led to Flay's outstanding run of success, according to Clement, who says he is no such believer in luck.

Clement said, “I am a realist and Bobby is an optimist–and thank God he is an optimist because this is a tough game and he has done very well. When I was an assistant trainer for Luca Cumani, we trained horses for Gerald Leigh, and Bobby Flay will be the next Gerald Leigh.

“He has a small broodmare band, is very disciplined, sells his colts well and keeps his mares in  training.”

The trainer added, “The main thing that makes him successful is that he is amazingly disciplined. He has a wonderful broodmare band and you need to give him credit. Many people have tried to do it but not many have done it as well as he has.

“Bobby has surrounded himself with very good people in his own business and in racing as well. He has bought into some of the top pedigrees and is now involved in racing at the top level.

“I don't believe in luck whatsoever and Bobby is successful because he had a good plan and it's working well.”

Flay's yellow and orange silks will be carried by Pizza Bianca in a race that features Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), representing Moylgare Stud in Ireland, the Cheveley Park-bred Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and a host of Coolmore-bred blue bloods. It may seem daunting, but Flay is relishing the challenge.

He said, “I don't buy a lot of horses because I don't have the resources that some of these people I am competing against have. Some of these people own countries. I mean, they have extreme wealth and can just fire away as they please, but I have to be very clever and save my powder for the moments when something special comes up.

“When White Hot was in the sales, I knew she wasn't going to be cheap, but it's like buying a piece of real estate to me. I would never buy a colt like that. I can't afford to try that. If White Hot was a colt, she'd be worth zero [once she never raced] but, the fact that she's a filly, you still have a chance.

On the race itself, he added, “William Hill has Pizza Bianca at 10-1 but everyone else has her odds at 16-1 so maybe the guys at William Hill took a bet.”

Pizza Bianca is not the only horse that Clement runs at the royal meeting with the rapidly-progressive sprinter Slipstream (More Than Ready) due to line out in the G1 Commonwealth Cup as well.

Speaking about his chances of landing a royal winner at the first attempt at travelling horses to Britain, Clement, who was once based in the United Kingdom, said, “I worked in England for four years as assistant to Luca Cumani and have been lucky enough to train for Her Majesty in America. To have runners at Royal Ascot is a lot of fun and I actually like that they are not favourites.”

He added, “Slipstream was very impressive when he won at Keeneland in April. He has a good mind and has a lot of talent. He is still improving.

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TDN Snippets: Week of May 30-June 5

It was a pretty quiet racing week here, so this installment of snippets is a little European-centric. We hope you find it interesting.

The Mind Boggles…

Tuesday's win in the G1 Cazoo Oaks at Epsom gave Aidan O'Brien a record 41st British Classic winner, including 10 wins in the Oaks. Tuesday was also the 94th Group 1 winner for her sire, Galileo and the second Oaks heroine and third Classic winner for her dam, Lillie Langtry (following Minding and Empress Josephine). Coolmore/Ballydoyle's stats never cease to amaze.

Pletch Being Pletch…

The Todd Pletcher-trained Emmanuel is one of 51 Northern Hemisphere graded/group winners (106 overall) for the ever-present international powerhouse More Than Ready. Pletcher, of course, also trained More Than Ready to victory in the GI King's Bishop at Saratoga, 22 years ago!

Caveat Emptor?…

Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock picked up the G1 Cazoo Derby winner, Desert Crown, for 280,000gns ($368,734 using today's exchange rate) at Tattersalls Book 2 for owner Saeed Suhail. His breeder, Strawberry Fields Stud, had actually promoted the son of Nathaniel as a future Classic winner when selling him as a yearling in 2020. It pays to keep an eye on those TDN ads!

100 Years And Counting…

One hundred years on from the late Aga Khan III's initial foray into European racing, the internationally-renowned operation celebrated a Classic victory Sunday as Vadeni dominated the G1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) at Chantilly. It was also a first Group 1 victory for Coolmore stallion Churchill, from his first crop, highlighting the Aga Khan's belief in using the most suitable stallion for each individual mating, regardless of where they stand.

The Rising Star Machine…

Andiamo a Firenze was named the latest 'TDN Rising Star', and is the 23rd son/daughter of Speightstown to claim that honor. Echo Town, Charlatan, Sharing, and Munnings are also all on that particular roll of honor for WinStar's finest.

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