Tag: Curlin

American Sprint Champ Elite Power Gives Dettori And Juddmonte The Victory In Riyadh Dirt Sprint

Named the 2022 Eclipse Champion Male Sprinter, Juddmonte's Elite Power (Curlin) picked up right where he left off with an easy 3 1/4-length score in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint Presented By Sports Boulevard. The favorite held fellow American-bred challenger and GI Hopeful S. hero Gunite (Gun Runner) in second in the $1.5-million 1200-meter race.

In between horses as Meraas (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) showed the way, the $900,0000 Keeneland September yearling raced in the last third of the field away from the kickback in the center of the track. Piloted by veteran jockey extraordinaire Frankie Dettori, who rode Juddmonte's star mare Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and is riding his final season, the 5-year-old had about five lengths to make up at the 500-metre mark. The Italian said go a few strides later, and Elite Power unleashed a strong turn of foot to motor right by his rivals before the final furlong and win as he pleased. Gunite also made steady late progress to take second, another two lengths to the good of Remake (Jpn) (Lani). The victory marked the first time a Breeders' Cup winner had landed a Saudi Cup day event, and it was the first time an American-based horse had made the winner's circle in the Dirt Sprint.

Dettori, who had also finished second in the G3 Saudi Derby Presented By Boutique Group aboard Havnameltdown (Uncaptured), and filled the same spot later in the evening with Country Grammer (Tonalist) in the G1 Saudi Cup, said, “My first word has to be aeroplane. I was a little out of reach and asked him to get a little closer and then the turbo just kicked in and I was a passenger then. He's a very laid-back horse and only does what you ask him to do but wow he has some turn of foot.

“The Abdullah family has given so much to the sport; the legacy keeps going. I love these colors and it's nice to give the locals something to cheer about.”

Neil Poznansky, assistant to trainer Bill Mott, said, “He's a big strong animal. He shows nothing but class. He shipped over here like he was here his whole life. He's a good horse, a very good horse. His turn of foot is incredible, he's just incredible to watch, a magnificent animal.

“He's really coming into himself and getting better as he was really slow to mature. Now he's putting it all together. Bill doesn't come here without reason but bringing a horse like Elite Power is a good reason to come. For Frankie and Juddmonte it was like a whole dynasty thing.”

Comparatively lightly raced, Elite Power's victory was his sixth in a row. After an allowance optional claiming win at Saratoga in September, he ran out a 5 3/4-length winner of the GII Vosburgh S. at Belmont Park a month later, and secured his first top-level tally in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland Nov. 5.

 

Pedigree Notes:

One of the best dirt sires standing in America, dual Horse of the Year Curlin also thrived in desert conditions, taking the 2008 G1 Dubai World Cup. The Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa stallion has 93 stakes winners (51 graded) to his credit. Of Curlin's 20 Grade I-winning offspring, 11 trace tail male to Seattle Slew, and Elite Power is out of a Vindication mare, just like three-time Grade I winner and GI Preakness S. winner Exaggerator.

Broadway's Alibi won the GII Forward Gal S. and GIII Comely S. and was second in the GI Kentucky Oaks in 2012. Put in foal to Curlin's sire Smart Strike, the dark bay made $2.15 million from Alpha Delta Stables when offered as part of the E. Paul Robsham Stables dispersal during the 2013 Keeneland November Sale. The lone runner out of his dam, Elite Power has a 2-year-old full-brother, and Broadway's Alibi is carrying to City of Light.

GI Florida Derby hero Dialed In (Mineshaft) is a half-brother to the winner's granddam, Astoria S. heroine Broadway Gold (Seeking the Gold). Elite Power's fourth dam is American Champion Juvenile Filly Eliza (Mt. Livermore), who collected both the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and GI Santa Anita Oaks, and was second in the GI Kentucky Oaks.

Saturday, King Abdulaziz (Riyadh), Saudi Arabia
RIYADH DIRT SPRINT PRESENTED BY SPORTS BOULEVARD-G3, $1,500,000, King Abdulaziz, 2-25, 3yo/up, 1200m, 1:11.01, gd.
1–ELITE POWER, 126, h, 5, by Curlin
1st Dam: Broadway's Alibi (MGSW & GISP-US, $521,500), by Vindication
2nd Dam: Broadway Gold, by Seeking The Gold
3rd Dam: Miss Doolittle, by Storm Cat
($900,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Juddmonte; B-Alpha Delta Stables (KY); T-William I. Mott; J-Lanfranco Dettori; $900,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. Male Sprinter-US, GISW-US, 9-6-0-1, $2,305,711. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
2–Gunite, 126, c, 4, Gun Runner–Simple Surprise, by Cowboy Cal. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Steven Asmussen; J-Tyler Gaffalione; $300,000.
3–Remake (Jpn), 126, c, 4, Lani–Sariel (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). O-Koji Maeda; B-North Hills Co., Ltd. (Jpn); T-Koichi Shintani; J-Yuichi Fukunaga; $150,000.
Margins: 3 1/4, 2, 1. Odds: 1.00, 3.50, 4.50.
Also Ran: Justin (Jpn), Dancing Prince (Jpn), Ryuno Yukina (Jpn), Freedom Fighter, Pagan (Ire), Meraas (GB). VIDEO.

 

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Which Sire Has Had The Most Rising Stars? It’s Tapit

Since 2004, we've shined the spotlight on over 1,500 'TDN Rising Stars' worldwide, recognition given to a horse early on its career who has done something so impressive on the racetrack that our team believes they will go on to become graded stakes winners.  A horse is designated as a 'Rising Star' by the TDN staff after a careful and comprehensive review of many factors–including the quality of the field, margin and time of victory, pedigree, sales price and more.

Over the years, it has become a badge of honor for a sire to produce a Rising Star. So which sires have been the most prolific when it comes to having one of their progeny be named a Rising Star? Below is our Top 10, which includes only sires based in North America. The list probably won't surprise you. Good sires produce good horses.

 

Sire (#Rising Stars)

1) Tapit (51)
Not only is the 22-year-old Tapit one of the top sires in the history of the sport, but he has been around nearly as long as the Rising Stars have. He got his first Rising Star way back in 2010 when Trappe Shot won a maiden special weight race for 3-year-olds at Gulfstream Park. The TDN team was not wrong about Trappe Shot, who went on to win the GII True North H. in 2011. A year earlier, he won the Long Branch S. and ran second in the GI Haskell Invitational S. As a sire, Trappe Shot has had two Rising Stars.

Tapit was just getting started. Constitution was named a Rising Star in 2014 after winning a maiden special weight race at Gulfstream. He would go on to win the GI Florida Derby and the GI Donn H. Constitution turned out to be a top sire in his own right and had produced seven TDN Rising Stars. The hits kept on coming with subsequent Rising Stars by Tapit including 2014 GI Belmont S. winner Tonalist and Essential Quality, the 3-year-old champion of 2021, whose victories include wins in the Belmont, the GI Travers S., the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity.

And, no, the team didn't miss out on Flightline. Arguably the best horse Tapit has ever produced, he was named a Rising Star after he broke his maiden on April 24, 2021 at Santa Anita. You know the rest of the story.

We didn't always get it right. One of Tapit's early Rising Stars was Tapit It Rich, who broke his maiden on Oct. 12, 2013 at Santa Anita. He ran five more times and never won again.

2) Into Mischief (36)
The main thing separating Tapit and Into Mischief is how long they have been at stud as Into Mischief is four years younger than his rival stallion.
Into Mischief started churning out Rising Stars from the start. His first was Goldencents, who was named a Rising Star after he broke his maiden in 2012 at Del Mar. A top horse throughout his career, Goldencents went on to win, among other races, the GI Santa Anita Derby and two runnings in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. As a sire, he's had two Rising Stars. Other notable Rising Stars by Into Mischief include GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun, multiple Grade I winner Life Is Good and 2020 champion female sprinter Gamine.

There are two Rising Stars by Into Mischief who are among the top candidates for this year's Kentucky Derby in Newgate and Giant Mischief.

We did not tab 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, among the better horses Into Mischief has produced, as a Rising Star.

3) Distorted Humor (28)
Another sire who has been picking up Rising Stars for years. He got his first Rising Star way back in 2005 with Halo Humor, a maiden winner at Saratoga who was a Louisiana-bred. Halo Humor did not go on to win a graded stakes, but plenty of other Rising Stars by Distorted Humor did. The list includes such graded stakes winners as Any Given Saturday, Alternation, Cowtown Cat. There's also Maclean's Music, who, though he raced just once, has gone on to be a top sire.

With Momos having earned Rising Star status in 2020, Distorted Humor's time as a producer of Rising Stars has covered a span of 15 years.

4) Medaglia d'Oro (24)
Another prolific sire who has been around for a while and has churned out two dozen Rising Stars, starting with Dashing Debby in 2009, who broke her maiden in the JJ'sdream S. at Calder.
In 2015, the team nailed it when naming Songbird a Rising Star after she broke her maiden at Del Mar. She, of course, went on to be a major star who was the champion 2-year-old filly in 2015 and the champion 3-year-old filly in 2016. She won eight Grade I races.
Elate, named a Rising Star in 2016, became another top performer for her sire and had Grade I wins in the Alabama S. and the Beldame S.

4) Unbridled's Song (24)
His list is topped by Arrogate, named a Rising Star after he won a 2016 maiden special weight race at Santa Anita. Considered one of the best horses of this century, he had a run that won't soon be forgotten, winning, in order, the Travers, the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. and the GI Dubai World Cup. Arrogate has produced three Rising Stars so far during his brief time as a stallion.

Unbridled's Song's list of Rising Stars also includes Liam's Map, the winner of the GI Woodward S. and the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

6) Speightstown (23)
He got off to a fast start as a Rising Stars sire as his second ever Rising Star was Munnings. Named a Rising Star in 2008, he won three Grade II races and went on to be a top stallion, who has had 10 Rising Stars. Other notable Rising Stars by Speightstown include Speighster, Echo Town, Charlatan and Nashville. Another sire who has been producing Rising Stars over the course of three decades, he had his most recent Rising Star last year when Andiamo a Firenze broke his maiden at Belmont Park.

6) Curlin (23)
Curlin picked up his first Rising Star in 2013 with Del Mar maiden winner Socialbug. That horse didn't go on to win a graded stakes, but plenty of other Rising Stars by Curlin did. His most successful Rising Star was no doubt Malathaat, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2021 and the champion older dirt female of 2022. Her dam, Dreaming of Julia, also deserves mention as she is also the dam of Malathaat's full sister and Rising Star Julia Shining. Julia Shining was named a Rising Star after breaking her maiden last fall at Keeneland and has since gone on to win the GII Demoiselle S. (The record for most Rising Stars for a broodmare is six, held by Delta Princess, the dam of Royal Delta). Curlin's most recent Rising Star is Faustin, who is a Kentucky Derby candidate after finishing second in the GII San Vicente S.

8) Malibu Moon (22)
Another sire who has been producing Rising Stars for what seems like forever. He had his first Rising Star in 2007 and his most recent came in 2021 with H P Moon, a maiden winner at Pimlico. His top Rising Star is Carina Mia, who captured the GI Acorn S.

9) Bernardini (19)
Bernardini's list is topped by Cavorting, a three-time Grade I winner who captured the GI Test S., the GI Ogden Phipps S. and the Personal Ensign. Grade I winner Dame Dorothy is another Rising Star by Bernardini. She is the dam of Spice Is Nice, a Rising Star by Curlin.

9) Storm Cat (19)
Considering that he was retired from study duty in 2008, it's remarkable that Storm Cat made the Top 10. Where would he be if Rising Stars went back to 1990 when his first crop appeared on the racetrack? He picked up his first Rising Star in 2005 with Where's That Tiger, a winner at the Curragh. In the U.S., the list of Rising Stars by Storm Cat includes Grade I winners Bluegrass Cat and Life Is Sweet, the winner of the 2009 GI Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic. He had his last Rising Star in 2011 with Hoorayforhollywood, a maiden winner at Santa Anita.

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Taking Stock: Pletcher on the Curlins

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher is on fire, unveiling one promising colt or filly after another in maiden, allowance, and stakes races it seems.

Last month, Pletcher won his eighth Eclipse Award as North America's leading trainer. Not only that, but three horses trained by Pletcher also won Eclipses: Forte (Violence), champion 2-year-old colt; Nest (Curlin), champion 3-year-old filly; and Malathaat (Curlin), champion older female.

Like Pletcher, Curlin shone at the Eclipses. Aside from Nest and Malathaat, his Elite Power was named champion sprinter of 2022, giving the Hill 'n' Dale-based stallion three individual Eclipse winners in one year, the first time any stallion has had more than two in a year.

Curlin and Pletcher, in case it wasn't evident, have a special long-term relationship. On Saturday, the promising Pletcher-trained Julia Shining (Curlin), a Grade ll-winning 3-year-old sister to Malathaat owned and bred by Stonestreet, finished third in her season debut in the one-mile-and-40-yard Suncoast S. at Tampa Bay Downs, 1 1/4 lengths behind 2-year-old champion Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief), who in turn was a neck behind 38-1 upsetter Dreaming of Snow (Jess's Dream), a granddaughter of Curlin. This Saturday, Pletcher saddles Crupi (Curlin) in the Gll Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds for Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable. Crupi is a maiden; he has placed in each of his five starts, but like Julia Shining, who won the Gll Demoiselle at 1 1/8 miles last year, he figures to improve as the year progresses and the distances increase. That's simply a function of the Curlins.

I spoke to Pletcher about this recently, and he said, “Curlin is my favorite stallion I didn't train. We're big Curlin fans.”

Pletcher has trained a number of prominent stallions throughout his career, including More Than Ready, Scat Daddy, Quality Road, Uncle Mo, Speightstown, and Munnings, among others. There isn't another modern-day trainer with such a striking record as a stallion maker. None of these stallions, however, regularly imparts stamina in the pronounced manner that Curlin does. And many of the better Curlins frequently get even more stamina in their pedigrees from their broodmare sires, because the stallion nicks so well with Seattle Slew-line mares. Both Nest and Malathaat (and Julia Shining), for instance, are from A.P. Indy mares; Crupi, who was bred by Claiborne, is from a mare by A.P. Indy's top sire son Malibu Moon, the sire of Gl Kentucky Derby winner Orb. (Skinner, a promising maiden winner from over the weekend for John Shirreffs, is also from a Malibu Moon mare and was bred by Stonestreet.) In different hands, the Curlin sons and daughters that have excelled with Pletcher may not have realized their potential. They have with Pletcher because he understands pedigrees and specifically knows how the Curlins tick.

“A lot of our training program builds toward stamina,” Pletcher said. “I don't think [the Curlins] want to be rushed off their feet. We always feel like you want to let a horse be comfortable, and if you're trying to take them out of their comfort zone early on, then you're probably not going to finish the way you want to. We would expect them, hopefully, to put themselves in a tactical position, but you wouldn't see too many of them going wire to wire. We've recognized that, for whatever reason, he fits our program well.”

Pletcher's Curlins

Curlin, a son of the Mr. Prospector stallion Smart Strike, has been represented by six Eclipse winners to date, and Pletcher has handled three of them. In addition to Nest and Malathaat, he also trained Vino Rosso, champion older male of 2019.

Though the Curlins aren't especially noted for early maturity and front-running speed, the best of them have plenty of class, are seemingly Classics contenders every year, improve with time, and are particularly adept at a mile and a sixteenth and above on dirt. That's because Curlin, a two-time Horse of the Year, was a Classic winner and a mile-and-a-quarter specialist who also stayed a mile and a half on dirt (he lost the Gl Belmont S. by a head to the Pletcher-trained A.P. Indy filly Rags to Riches, who, like Curlin, was out of a mare by Deputy Minister). In fact, it was notable and surprising that in 2022 Curlin got a champion sprinter and two others, Cody's Wish and Obligatory, that won Grade l races at seven furlongs. Both Cody's Wish, who won the Gl Forego at Saratoga, and Obligatory, first in the Gl Derby City Distaff at Churchill, won their respective sprints by closing from the back of the pack.

Bill Mott trained the trio of Elite Power, Cody's Wish, and Obligatory, and before them he'd trained Gl Coaching Club American Oaks winner Paris Lights, giving him four of Curlin's 20 top-level winners.

Only Pletcher has more, and then some. He has trained an astounding eight of the 20, or 40% Grade l winners. Aside from champions Nest, Malathaat, and Vino Rosso, Pletcher handled Belmont S. and Gl Metropolitan H. winner Palace Malice, who was from Curlin's first crop; Gl Florida Derby winner Known Agenda; the fillies Curalina, who won the Coaching Club American Oaks, and Off the Tracks, winner of the Gl Mother Goose. Keen Ice, who won the Gl Travers for Dale Romans, won the Gll Suburban at a mile and a quarter for Pletcher.

I asked Pletcher if there is a common physical thread among the Curlins.

“I think yes and no,” he said. “I do think there are some similarities in the good ones, that they're medium–at least medium–to larger size. Some of them can tend to be a little bit small, and we've found that the better ones maybe have a little more size and scope, but in terms of a particular conformational prototype, I don't know that there is. Keen Ice was a big strong horse, and so is Palace Malice. Off the Tracks was a very talented filly, but conformationally she was very, very incorrect but was able to overcome that with good mechanics. Malathaat is a scopey, long mare; Curalina was a little more refined, but she was impressive as a 2-year-old; Nest is not real big, but she's one of the best walkers I've seen. For a filly that's probably just over 15.3, she covers a lot of ground. There is an athletic component to the good ones, and in particular, I'd say Nest would stand out as an outstanding walker.”

Pletcher also noted that some of the Curlins may show talent in workouts that takes some time to translate to races.

“Known Agenda reminded me a lot of Vino Rosso in that way. If we hadn't had the setback that ultimately made them decide to retire him to stud, Known Agenda was going to be a good 4-year-old. As a younger horse, he would display more talent sometimes in the mornings than we were producing in the afternoons. But then he kind of put it together in the Florida Derby, and I thought if we'd had a chance to go on with him, we would have seen him get more consistent. I'm not saying he would have won the Breeders' Cup Classic like Vino, but he had that sort of potential.”

Mike Repole's Repole Stable, which co-owns Nest with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, raced Vino Rosso in partnership with Vinnie and Teresa Viola's St. Elias Stable, which bred and raced Known Agenda. Both Repole and Viola are billionaire patrons of Pletcher, and they race Forte, the current Derby favorite, in partnership as well. However, they know the value of the Curlins and their trainer's ability with them, and they've loaded up on more sons and daughters of the stallion to send Pletcher's way. Last September at Keeneland, the two combined to sign for two fillies at $650,000 and $450,000, and two colts at $400,000 each. Meanwhile Repole, in partnership with Coolmore, bought a colt for $1.1 million, and in another partnership with Spendthrift bought a colt for $525,000. For his own account, Repole then purchased another five with agent Jacob West signing the tickets: three fillies for $675,000, $500,000, and $250,000; and two colts for $320,000 and $275,000.

So be prepared to see even more Curlins in Pletcher's hands this year, and not just from Repole and Viola. Stonestreet, which raced Curlin with Steve Asmussen and is the stallion's majority owner, campaigns Grade l winner Clairiere with Asmussen, but the operation sent Julia Shining to Pletcher instead of Asmussen, presumably because of Pletcher's success with her Grade l-winning dam, Dreaming of Julia (A.P. Indy), and with her champion sister Malathaat, but also for his sterling record with their stallion.

Pletcher is a maestro with the Curlins.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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Champion Elite Power to Return on Saudi Cup Undercard

Recently crowned champion sprinter Elite Power (Curlin) will launch his 5-year-old campaign in the $1.5-million G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint on the Saudi Cup undercard Feb. 25.

The Juddmonte colorbearer capped a five-race winning streak with a powerful, come-from-behind victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland last out Nov. 5. Elite Power, a $900,000 Keeneland September graduate, has posted five workouts for Hall of Famer Bill Mott since the beginning of the new year at Payson Park, including a five-furlong breeze in 1:02.80 (4/8) Feb. 2.

“He had his program tailored out pretty much immediately after the Breeders' Cup that we would go to the Saudi Cup Sprint,” Juddmonte USA General Manager Garrett O'Rourke said.

“Bill [Mott] gave him a little break and has him back in full work now and everything is–touch wood–on target. The horse is doing well and looking good. He seems in great form.”

Looking further ahead this season, O'Rourke added, “I want to clarify it with [Juddmonte] first, but, at the moment, the plan is for him to come back [to the U.S. afterwards] and look to an end-of-the-season campaign. Give him a little break, target some of the summer races and work on up to Breeders' Cup.”

Juddmonte, founded by the late Saudi Prince Khalid bin Abdullah in 1980, was represented in all three prior runnings of the card's main event with MGSW & MGISP Tacitus (Tapit) (fifth, 2020; and seventh, 2021) and promoted GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun (Into Mischief) (ninth, 2022).

“It's building into a magnificent event and slotting right into the international racing schedule,” O'Rourke said. “By the time you finish with the Breeders' Cup, you're thinking about the Saudi Cup. It's nice to be able to share our best horses and be able to take on the elite of the world at international events like this. The Saudi Cup is firmly established now as that type of an event.”

Juddmonte homebred Laurel River (Into Mischief), meanwhile, scratched by regulatory veterinarians the day before last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, has been given the green light to resume training with Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. The 5-year-old was last seen recording a career high in Del Mar's GII Pat O'Brien S. last summer.

“We gave him 60 days of doing nothing and another 60 days of just bringing him back slowly and he's here on the farm now and galloping every day,” O'Rourke said. “We checked him out then, we've checked him out again now and everything checks out perfectly fine. He's going back to Bob Baffert in the next week. We always do the right thing by our horses and I'm very confident that the horse is absolutely 100 percent. He's a very capable and talented horse.”

He concluded, “The value of having scrutiny of horses going into big events has been a huge boost to the public's confidence that we're doing all the right things. We will always stand by and respect the decisions that the professionals make.”

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