Tag: Del Mar

Twitter Roundup: Industry Reacts To Breeders’ Cup Screw-Up

Modern Games' victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf was met with loud boos and social media derision, a circumstance that had little to do with the horse or his racing connections (Godolphin, Charlie Appleby, and William Buick).

The issue was that the 2-year-old colt was running as a non-wagering interest, for purse money only, since he had been prematurely scratched by the Breeders' Cup veterinary team due to a starting gate incident.

More details on that scratch and the California Horse Racing Board's reasoning is available here.

Some of the best Twitter reactions to the incident and Modern Games' subsequent victory are below:

The post Twitter Roundup: Industry Reacts To Breeders’ Cup Screw-Up appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Modern Games Wins Wild Juvenile Turf for Purse Money Only

For Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby, not to mention the betting public, the lead up to Friday evening's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf could not have been more of a roller coaster. Godolphin's two charges, rail-drawn Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and GI Summer S. winner Albahr (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) to his immediate outside, stepped into the gate the top two wagering choices. But the latter, who had already been acting up before loading, reared in the gate and was briefly cast, perhaps bothering Dakota Gold (Freud) to his outside in the process. Modern Games was let out of the front of his stall, but didn't get far. Albahr was an automatic scratch at that point (he reportedly suffered only minor cuts), but as the rest of the field circled behind the gate waiting for the cue to re-rack, Modern Games–as low as 8-5 in the betting–was also scratched on the tote. That action turned out to be premature, and Modern Games was allowed to run for purse money only after being examined. You can probably guess what happened next…

Modern Games, the handsome chestnut last seen taking the G3 Tattersalls Somerville S. at Newmarket Sept. 23, did not break particularly alertly, but crept closer down on the fence approaching the first bend to sit just north of midpack behind an honest pace. William Buick pushed Modern Games along for more and swung him out after a :46.89 half and into a six-furlong split of 1:11.24. Grafton Street (War Front) took over and briefly opened up, but Buick unleashed Modern Games at the top of the lane and he blew right over the top of his competition, reporting home 1 1/2 lengths to the good and galloping out to a chorus of boos. Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) was the “winner” as far as wagers were concerned, with local hope Mackinnon (American Pharoah) crossing the line third and Grafton Street fading to fourth.

“A testament to the horse and William,” said Appleby, now a three-time winner of this race for Godolphin, and possibly a would-be fourth if not for a disaster trip for eventual G1 Derby winner Masar (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) the last time the Breeders' Cup was contested at Del Mar in 2017. “On a big stage like that and things, a quite dramatic incident happening there in the gate. But for him to compose himself and get himself back in there, back in the mindset, and for William to also, like I say, taking on board at one minute you're not sure whether you are or are not in the race that day… But the horse came into the race with a lovely profile. He was a progressive 2-year-old, and he's really pleased us since he's been here. And so we were confident coming into the race that we were going to be a big player anyway.”

Appleby confirmed that Albahr, who was set to be ridden by Frankie Dettori, escaped the incident relatively unscathed, as did his rider.

“He went straight back, I saw him go out there under the pony rider,” Appleby said. “He jogged back to the barn and the team are looking after him. He's got some minor cuts, but no more than that. My vet's there now and just giving him a thorough examination. But, yeah, it looked uglier than, hopefully–we were expecting the worst and luckily horse and rider walk away from it.”

Buick also piloted the team's last Juvenile Turf winner, Line of Duty (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), in 2018.

“He does everything in his stride and not at any stage was I worried that he was not focused,” said Buick of Modern Games. “He remained calm. He remained focused. He didn't change complexion at all. And that makes it much easier.

“In regards to the race, we jumped a tad slow from the gate, but having the one hole you can get a bit more space on the inside and a bit more time. So we managed to get into a nice position. The pace was even, and look, the race–to be honest–was very straightforward. This place, the turf track at Del Mar, a lot of luck is involved in the way the race unfolds, but with a horse like him, you're able to put the luck in your own hands a little bit.”

Appleby and Godolphin have now won six Grade I events in North America this year, plus a Jockey Club Derby with Yibir (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), one of the connections' two hopes in Saturday's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf to go with another pair of contenders for the GI Fanduel Breeders' Cup Mile. Appleby also has at least two more highly regarded juvenile colts for Sheikh Mohammed's operation back at home in four-for-four MG1SW Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and G3 Emirates Autumn S. hero Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

“I think one of the things Sheikh Mohammed enjoys the most is international competition and certainly with the Dubai World Cup he always loves to see so many participants from so many different places come to run. And the same here with the Breeders' Cup, a world championship whereby this is so exciting to bring European horses over here,” said Godolphin's Jimmy Bell. “It just adds such an element to it. And to be a homebred, to be a part of this thing, I know how proud he is of Charlie and how well he brought these horses over here and knows who to bring and so adept at doing that.”

A second-out winner at Newbury in July, Modern Games was a close second at Leicester Aug. 8 before annexing a Doncaster handicap by daylight Sept. 8. He showed good speed and a strong late kick when dominating the Somerville last out.

Meanwhile, as disgruntled horseplayers took to social media to air their grievances, track officials attempted to sort through the chain of events.

The following explanation was released by the California Horse Racing Board: “Concerning the 10th race at Del Mar today, the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf: Prior to the start of the race, #1 Modern Games (IRE) reared up and hit the back of the gate; #2 Albahr (GB) flipped over and became lodged underneath the starting gate. The scratch of #2 Albahr was relayed to the stewards and that horse was taken out of the wagering pools. Albahr appears uninjured. The veterinary staff then relayed a second scratch of #1 Modern Games (IRE) to the stewards based on initial observation. Upon confirmation that #1 also was to be scratched, the stewards removed the horse from the wagering pools. After further discussion among the regulatory veterinarians at the gate and after further observation of #1 Modern Games, that horse was declared fit and racing sound, and this fact was relayed to the stewards, who pursuant to CHRB rule 1974 allowed the horse to run for purse money only. The CHRB and the Breeders' Cup are reviewing the current veterinary and scratching procedures to ensure that this does not occur going forward.”

Rule 1974 stipulates that “If a horse is removed from the wagering pool due to a totalizator error, or due to any other error, and neither the trainer nor the owner is at fault, the horse shall start in the race as a non-wagering interest for the purse only and shall be disregarded for pari-mutuel purposes.”

The Breeders' Cup later followed up with a release noting that the event was being held under the authority of the CHRB.

“We thank the CHRB for their thorough review of this situation, and we regret the impact this has had on the betting public,” said the statement. “The health and safety of our equine and human athletes is our top priority and we are thankful for the safety of all involved.”

Friday, Del Mar
BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE TURF-GI, $920,000, Del Mar, 11-5, 2yo, c/g, 1mT, 1:34.72, fm.
1–MODERN GAMES (IRE), 122, c, 2, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Modern Ideals (GB), by New Approach (Ire)
2nd Dam: Epitome (Ire), by Nashwan
3rd Dam: Proskona, by Mr. Prospector
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Godolphin LLC; B-Godolphin (IRE);
T-Charles Appleby; J-William T Buick. $520,000. Lifetime
Record: 6-4-1-0, $595,348. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Tiz the Bomb, 122, c, 2, Hit It a Bomb–Tiz the Key, by Tiznow.
($330,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Phoenix Thoroughbred Ltd;
B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G McPeek. $170,000.
3–Mackinnon, 122, c, 2, American Pharoah–Scat Means Go, by
Scat Daddy. ($200,000 Ylg '20 FTKOCT; $285,000 2yo '21
FTFMAR). O-ERJ Racing LLC, Madaket Stables LLC & Dave
Kenney; B-International Equities Holding Inc. (KY); T-Doug F
O'Neill. $90,000.
Margins: 1HF, NK, HD. Odds: 0.00, 7.80, 6.30.
Also Ran: Grafton Street, Dakota Gold, Slipstream, Stolen Base, Portfolio Company, Coinage, Dubawi Legend (Ire), Great Max (Ire), Glounthaune (Ire), Credibility. Scratched: Albahr (GB), Detroit City, Ready to Purrform. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

Modern Games's Breeders' Cup victory gives his prolific sire Dubawi his 47th Group 1 victory. The fourth of six foals out of Modern Ideals (Ire), the Godolphin homebred is one of three winners and the leading performer produced by the half-sister to G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere-winning Ultra (Ire) (Manduro {Ger}), G3 Prix Minerve scorer Synopsis (Ire) (In the Wings {GB}) and dual stakes-placed Epic Similie (GB) (Lomitas {GB}), herself the dam of MGSP Figure of Speech (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). The winner is a great grandson of MGSW Proskona (Mr. Prospector), a half-sister to MG1SP sire Keos (Riverman) and G3 Prix Chloe-winning blue hen Korveya (Riverman). The family also includes MG1SW sire Act One (GB) (In the Wings {GB}), G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains third Gharir (Ire) (Machiavellian), G1 Fillies' Mile runner-up Summer Symphony (Ire) (Caerleon) and GI Belmont Oaks Invitational third Summer Solo (Arch). This is also the family of Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}). Modern Games's 11-year-old mare is responsible for a yearling filly by Exceed and Excel (Aus) and a filly foal by Mastercraftsman (Ire).

The post Modern Games Wins Wild Juvenile Turf for Purse Money Only appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Can’t Catch Corniche in the Juvenile

DEL MAR, CA – Following the unfortunate vet scratch of speedy morning-line favorite and 'TDN Rising Star' Jack Christopher (Munnings), unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Corniche (Quality Road) had things his own way on the front end and ran to the money as the 7-5 favorite for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert in Friday's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Del Mar.

Drawn widest of all in post 11, the $1.5-million OBS April topper shot out to the front beneath “Big Money” Mike Smith and cleared the field heading into the first turn. The Speedway Stables colorbearer sped through fractions of :23.03 and :46.15, kicked for home as the one to catch and kept finding down the lane to account for longshot Pappacap (Gun Runner) by 1 3/4 lengths. It was another 1 1/2 lengths back to Giant Game (Giant's Causeway) in third.

Corniche and Pappacap were also one-two across the line in Santa Anita's GI American Pharoah S. Oct. 1, the former's first try around two turns. Corniche previously rolled to a 'Rising Star' performance sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs on debut at Del Mar Sept. 4.

This is the fifth Breeders' Cup Juvenile victory for Baffert and 18th Breeders' Cup win overall.

“I knew from the [11]-hole that he was going to have to use him harder than he'd like to,” Baffert said. “Mike [Smith] is a great rider. I love him on a horse like that. You never know how good they are until you put them in a situation like that. He just kicked back in and held those horses off. It's so hard to win these races, especially when you have a favorite and you win. It's exciting. These young horses are what our whole program is about. It's a great win for the owners. I have tremendous clients.”

Baffert added, “Turning for home, this horse has a beautiful way of [going], he just, his movement, he just jumps a long ways. His mechanics, he almost has mechanics like American Pharoah. He's just got that long, loping stride. He covers a lot of ground.”

Baffert continued, “I felt bad for Chad Brown [trainer of Jack Christopher] when I heard that because I have been in those positions and you don't want to see that. You see horses scratching and it takes away from the Breeders' Cup–these races are really hard to win. You have to be lucky. You have to have a good horse. There's not a lot of margin for error.”

Smith, the all-time winningest rider in World Championships history, piloted his 27th Breeders' Cup winner aboard Corniche and third overall in the Juvenile.

“The only thing I was worried about was that he got hotter [before the race] than he ever had,” Smith said. “It just made me get calmer. I don't think I have ever been so calm in a big race. I just sat really still, he caught a flyer leaving the gate and just left him alone.”

As Medina Spirit's GI Kentucky Derby win remains in the balance due to a well-documented betamethasone positive, horses trained by Baffert were subject to enhanced scrutiny for this weekend's Championships. Furthermore, with Baffert banned from Churchill Downs Inc. racetracks for three years, Corniche didn't earn any points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby in Friday's Juvenile, which offered 20-8-4-2 points.

“Well the Derby is a long ways off, so right now my focus was just getting here and we'll see how it plays out,” Baffert said. “And there's still a lot of things going on and so… and, really, there's not much to talk about that right now, just, like I said, the main thing is to keep him healthy, that's number one, we have a really good horse, and we have to keep him healthy and the Derby, that's a long ways off still, so a lot can happen between now and then and we'll see how it–we got to see how it plays out.”

Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's Speedway Stables have also campaigned the Baffert-trained GISW Collected, runner-up to Gun Runner in the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at this venue. The duo continued to show their support for Baffert in the post-race press conference.

“Actually, K.C. and I never thought about moving the horse to a different trainer,” Fluor said. “We talked to Bob right after we bought the horse, he liked the horse, and so the horse was always coming to Bob. And three races and kind of look how he's done, so, with a great deal of thanks to Bob, and that's where we are.”

Fluor added, “This race was such a big race for Corniche and what it means to him and his 2-year old standing. And we have said–and Bob's doing a great job and we have a better chance of winning this race with our friend Bob Baffert and that's what happened. So we're kind of enjoying moment and down the road we'll focus on that later on, but thank you.”

Pedigree Notes:

Corniche–the $1.5-million OBS April topper selected by Speedway advisor Marette Farrell–is one of 51 stakes winners/28 graded stakes winners/12 Grade I winners for Quality Road. Quality Road is also the sire of fellow Breeders' Cup winners: Caledonia Road, City of Light and Hootenanny. Corniche, a son of six-time GSW and GI Matriarch S. runner-up Wasted Tears (Najran), was led out unsold on a bid of $385,000 at KEESEP last year, but turned in a smooth sales breeze in :10 flat to become one of two horses to eclipse the seven-figure barrier in Ocala. Wasted Tears, also responsible for the late stakes-placed Coffee Crush (Medaglia d'Oro), had a filly by Mendelssohn in 2020. She brought $750,000 from B.B.E. at this year's Keeneland September sale. Speedway Stables and Baffert also teamed up for a win with Quality Road's 'Rising Star' Roadster in the 2019 GI Santa Anita Derby and a runner-up finish in the GI Malibu S.

Friday, Del Mar
TVG BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE PRESENTED BY THOROUGHBRED AFTERCARE ALLIANCE-GI, $1,840,000, Del Mar, 11-5, 2yo, c/g, 1 1/16m, 1:42.50, ft.
1–CORNICHE, 122, c, 2, by Quality Road
                1st Dam: Wasted Tears (MGSW & GISP, $941,463),
                                by Najran
                2nd Dam: Wishes and Roses, by Greinton (GB)
                3rd Dam: Anniversary Wish, by Beau's Eagle
'TDN Rising Star'. ($385,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP; $1,500,000
2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Speedway Stables LLC; B-Bart Evans &
Stonehaven Steadings (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Mike E. Smith.
$1,040,000. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $1,262,000. Werk Nick
Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Pappacap, 122, c, 2, Gun Runner–Pappascat, by Scat Daddy.
O/B-Rustlewood Farm Inc (FL); T-Mark Casse. $340,000.
3–Giant Game, 122, c, 2, Giant's Causeway–Game for More, by
More Than Ready. ($500,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-West Point
Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-H. Allen
Poindexter (KY); T-Dale L. Romans. $180,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, 1HF, 2HF. Odds: 1.40, 15.10, 21.90.
Also Ran: Commandperformance, Oviatt Class-(DH), Pinehurst-(DH), American Sanctuary, Double Thunder, Barossa, Jasper Great, Tough to Tame. Scratched: Jack Christopher.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Flay Homebred Pizza Bianca Gives Clement First Cup Victory In Juvenile Fillies Turf

Last of 14 runners with a quarter mile to run, Bobby Flay's homebred Fastnet Rock filly Pizza Bianca was masterfully guided through a narrow opening along the inside by jockey Jose Ortiz and accelerated powerfully in the final furlong to score a half-length victory over Irish-bred Malavath in the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Friday at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

The Juvenile Fillies Turf was one of five Breeders' Cup races for 2-year-olds on what has come to be known as Future Stars Friday. The championships continue on Saturday, culminating with the $6-million Classic, last of nine Breeders' Cup races on the day.

The win by Pizza Bianca ended a long string of frustrating losses in the world championships for trainer Christophe Clement, who was 0-for-40 in Breeders' Cup races entering the day. An earlier loss by Derrynane in the Juvenile Turf Sprint extended that streak to 0-for-41 – the most defeats by any trainer who had yet to win one of the 14 Cup races.

Coming off a second-place finish in the G1 Natalma Stakes at Woodbine on Sept. 19, Pizza Bianca was winning for the second time in three starts. She covered one mile on firm turf in 1:36.08 and paid $21.80 on a $2 win mutuel.

Runner-up Malavath finished a neck in front of Haughty, one of two entrants in the Juvenile Fillies Turf for trainer Chad Brown, who was gunning for his sixth victory in this race in its 14th running. Irish-bred Cachet finished a head back in fourth, with another Irish-bred, Hello You, finishing fifth.

They were followed by Consumer Spending, Koala Princess, Helens Well, Cairo Memories,Mise En Scene, California Angel, Bubble Rock, Sail By and Turnerloose.

The win was the second in a Breeders' Cup race for celebrity chef Flay, who won this same event with Todd Pletcher-trained More Than Real in 2010.

Turnerloose and Florent Geroux tried to make the early running but were beaten to the punch by Luis Saez aboard Cachet, who set fractions of :23.59 for the opening quarter mile, :47.84 for the half and 1:11.85 through six furlongs.

Ortiz and Pizza Bianca were fourth from the rear as the field hit the backstretch, and were shuffled further back approaching the far turn. With a quarter mile to run, Ortiz could see the entire field in front of him. He slipped through an opening inside of a second Brown entrant, Consumer Spending at the top of the stretch, then swung outside a path to overtake the front-running Cachet inside the furlong pole. Malavath, racing along the rail, was passed by Pizza Bianca at the top of the stretch, then re-rallied in the final sixteenth to make it close at the end.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf chart

“If I go outside I was going to be eight, nine wide and that wasn't the plan,” said Ortiz. “The only instruction they gave me was to save ground. And I stick to it and when we hit the three-sixteenth pole she did a beautiful turn of foot, I knew I had a shot to win the race. And at that point, passing the eighth pole, I knew I was going to go between those two horses because the turn that she gave me, I knew I was going to go blow by them and I was going to play them easy.”

Ortiz was riding the filly for the first time after Joel Rosario opted for Koala Princess, who went off the 9-2 favorite but was never a factor while finishing seventh.

“I watched the replays, I did my homework,” Ortiz said. “The filly is a very nice filly, she run second behind a very, very talented filly (Wild Beauty) last time at Woodbine. I talked to Christophe this morning and said, I told him what I wanted to do. I said, Christophe, I want to break good, save ground, use her a little bit out of the one hole and take some solid position. He said, I agree with you a hundred percent that's what I want to do also. Things didn't work out like I wanted, I wanted to be closer two or three, but she was very comfortable to where she was.”

“Very nice. Great win. I'm delighted,” said Clement. “I was surprised with (agent) Ron Anderson and Rosario didn't ride the filly because we always thought that she a nice one and she proved us right today. I'm absolutely thrilled with the confidence showed in us. It's nice.”

“He's the best trainer in the world that hasn't won the Breeders' Cup, and I'm glad that that story's over,” said Flay. “He is a very deserving trainer. He's so great at what he does, cares so much about his horses … clearly pays attention to every detail.

“His team, his son Miguel, his assistant, who is also named Christophe, I mean, these guys eat and sleep these horses, and to be part of a victory for them, their first victory in the Breeders' Cup, it's a very special feeling.”

Flay purchased Pizza Bianca's mare, White Hot (by Galileo) for approximately $2.1 million as a yearling in 2014.at Tattersalls in England. Though she never made it to the races herself, she has now produced a Breeders' Cup winner with her very first foal.

Additional Post-Race Quotes:

Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard (second with Malavath (IRE)) – “I'm absolutely delighted with the run. She gave it her all. It's obviously disappointing to be narrowly beaten however I'm very proud of the filly. She's going to be even better next year.”

Jockey Ryan Moore (second with Malavath (IRE)) – “Ran a great race. She's a very good horse.”

Trainer Chad Brown (third with Haughty) – “Tyler (Gaffalione) rode a great race from that post. I was very happy with the trip. I think, in the end, the three weeks' rest really did me in. She made a really big jump in her numbers from her first to her second race and I think I just didn't have enough space between races. Not every horse can do that back in three weeks. I think that's where she lost a little bit of the starch from the quarter-pole home.”

On Consumer Spending, sixth – “She got a good trip inside and she ran fine. Flavien (Prat) remarked that she probably wants to go a little bit farther. She might not be up to this class level.”

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione (third with Haughty) – “I felt real confident coming into the stretch. She gave me a nice kick but it wasn't enough to hold off the closers. It was a great performance coming off the maiden victory.”

Jockey Joel Rosario (seventh on beaten favorite Koala Princess) – “She ran well but hung a little bit. I got stopped a little bit right before the quarter pole but what can I say? We will try another time.”

Jockey Luis Saez (fourth with Cachet) – “She ran big. I thought she was going to win but she just got tired at the end. She tries so hard and gave me everything. I'm grateful to have been given the opportunity to take the ride.”

Trainer George Boughey (fourth with Cachet) – “I thought for a minute we were going to win. Luis gave her a fantastic ride. I was delighted with her coming over. Her preparation was excellent. She's only two years old and will be better at three. She's going to be really exciting next season.”

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