Tag: Europe

Making Waves: Kodiac Filly The Star Of Saratoga

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This week's column is highlighted by the victory of Kodiac Wintergreen in a maiden race at the Spa.

 

A Touch Of Frost At Saratoga

Alex Bregman's Bregman Family Racing, LLC's Kodiac Wintergreen (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) went one better than her Belmont debut to win a Saratoga affair on Thursday (video) for trainer Rusty Arnold.

Bred by Patrick Grogan, the April foal sold for €160,000 as a Goffs Orby yearling. She is a half-sister to a trio of stakes winners led by GI Sword Dancer S. hero Glorious Empire (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), and her latest half-sibling is a yearling colt by Mehmas (Ire). Crack sprinters Avonbridge (GB) (Averti {Ire}) and Patavellian (Ire) (Machiavellian) are under the fourth dam.

Tally-Ho Stud's Kodiac has been represented by 73 runners in the U.S. A total of 36 (49%) have won and seven (9%) are stakes winners. Two-time graded winner True Valour (Ire) is one of four American graded scorers for the 22-year-old.

 

 

No Nay Never Gelding Triumphs At The Spa

Lindy Farms and Ice Wine Stable's Monet Never (Ire) (No Nay Never) broke his maiden in his fourth try at Saratoga on Saturday (video) for trainer Phil Antonacci.

Bred by Lynch Bages, Ltd. and Lindy Farms, the February-born $160,000 Keeneland September yearling is the third foal, runner and winner for his dam, the Invincible Spirit (Ire) mare Last Jewel (Ire). Hinitsa Bay (Ire) is a juvenile full-brother to the winner, who also has yearling and weanling full-brothers by the Coolmore Ireland sire. Last Jewel is a half-sister to  the granddam of G1 Irish 1000 Guineas heroine Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), among others.

The 12-year-old son of Scat Daddy is well represented in the U.S., with 37 winners from 69 runners (54%). His nine stakes winners in that jurisdiction (13%) include GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Meditate (Ire), as well as another pair of graded winners.

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‘We Thought She Could Be Special And That’s Where The Name Came From’

He may hail from a family that will forever be associated with one of Ireland's most famous jumps horses but trainer Pat Foley has been making a name for himself on the Flat of late and sent out the well-named Special Wan (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) to record an emphatic debut success at Leopardstown last week. 

That performance put Special Wan slap bang in the shop window and, while Foley admitted that she is likely to continue her career for new connections eventually, he also revealed that his owner Jim Browne could be tempted to up the filly in class before agreeing to sell. 

He said, “There have been plenty of phone calls since Leopardstown, plenty of interest. I'm not one hundred per cent sure if there is a deal done or not but we could run her in the Platinum Stakes at Cork if she's not sold. I'll leave that up to Jim. He is in the business of selling but he could be tempted to run this filly in the listed race before letting her go.”

A light went out in Irish racing when Foley's father Tom, one of the game's true gentlemen, passed away at the age of 74 in 2021. Tom trained the legendary jumper Danoli, who became the people's horse in the 1990s by winning 17 races all told, many of which were at the big festivals and in front of jam-packed stands full of his adoring fans. 

Pat's first victory since taking over the licence from his father was achieved with Special Wan's half-brother Yermanthere (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) and he also sent out the half-sister Yerwanthere (Ire) (Markaz {Ire}) to win on debut at Leopardstown before selling to Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners for Joseph O'Brien

The family has been good to Foley and Browne, who operates under the banner of Kilnamoragh Stud, and has clearly found a diamond in the rough with the broodmare Fast Jazz (Ire) (Frozen Power {Ire}).

Foley said, “She has been a fantastic broodmare for Jim. Fast Jazz has produced three winners for us and none of them have been by the most fashionable sires so the mare is definitely putting plenty of ability in them. They are a very straightforward family to train and they all have a great attitude on them. We've been very lucky with them.

“Jim only has a few broodmares but he does very well with them. He bred Tango Flare (Ire) (Fulbright {GB}), Simply A Breeze (Ire) (Casamento {Ire}) and Bounce The Blues (Ire) (Excelebration {Ire}). He has a lovely setup at Kilnamoragh Stud.”

He added, “Fast Jazz has a lovely 2-year-old filly by Bungle Inthejungle (GB). We broke her last year and she's due back to us next week with a view towards possibly running her at the back end but we could always wait until she's three. She's a big scopey filly. He has a yearling colt by Profitable (Ire) and the mare is in foal to Blue Point (Ire) so there's plenty more to come from her.”

Foley is no different to the majority of trainers in Ireland in that selling potential stars like Special Wan is a necessity to keep the business in lights. While his first big-race win was recorded over jumps when stable stalwart Rebel Gold took the Dan and Joan Moore Memorial at Fairyhouse this year, Foley endeavors to maintain a Flat arm to this famous nursery of National Hunt talent. 

He said, “The yard is full at the minute, thank God. We have a mixture of everything and all of the winter jumpers are back in and we have a team for the Flat as well. It has been a great mixture and we'll be hoping to have a few more Flat horses next year and have the yard 50-50 between Flat and National Hunt if we could. Even with a filly like Special Wan, there is an international market out there for horses like that. When it came to selling on the Flat over the past couple of years, we've had phone calls from America, Australia, Hong Kong, all over the place. It's very important to be dual purpose and you have to be selling one or two horses every year to keep everything going. From a training point of view, you'd love to be holding on to horses like Special Wan to show that you can do the job but unfortunately you need to sell for the whole thing to make business sense.”

Regardless of where Special Wan goes next, Foley says that he is convinced that the filly will live up to her name. 

He said, “Her work has always been brilliant. Even as a 2-year-old, she could have run but we were a little bit worried about the ground when it got very soft. Jim is a very patient man and, if he thinks there is any reason not to run, he would rather wait until everything is perfect. We are lucky that way and thankfully it paid off. 

“We liked Yerwanthere a lot but this filly was working even better as a 2-year-old. We thought she could be a bit special and that's where the name came from.”

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Kavanagh Seeks Industry Support In Bid To Find Long-Term Home For Museum

Jim Kavanagh, the retired racehorse trainer who has showcased his vast collection of Irish racing memorabilia at the Courthouse in County Kildare for five years now, has made a passionate plea for support from the industry to keep his rare treasures alive by finding a permanent home for the museum. 

At 80 years of age, Kavanagh has single-handedly kept the museum open for the past five summers and, while he had initially planned to close up shop for the year after Oaks weekend, has committed to running the tours for another month by appointment only. 

But Kavanagh hopes to secure something more long-term for his vast collection of racing memorabilia which dates back to Orby, the first Irish-trained winner of the Derby back in 1907, and says that people in the industry could make a big difference. 

He explained, “We are based in the courthouse, which is owned by the Kildare County Council. In their draft of plans, there is a lot of money going to be spent in Kildare town but they have earmarked this building for the arts. There's a feasibility study being done now and we're putting our speak in. 

“We hope to convince them that this building is big enough, if it was invested in properly, to host more than just the arts and that there would be room for us in it as well. That's the dream. We have a visitors book, which we get people to sign and, the more signatures we can gather, the easier job we have of convincing the powers that be that there is a demand for the museum.”

There has been a steady stream of people visiting the museum this summer, according to Kavanagh, who explained that a walk through his collection of racing memorabilia was comparable to stepping back in time. 

He said, “We've had quality over quantity this summer. We've had a lot of visitors from all over the world who were in awe of what we have here. To have them engaging and interested about what we have on display here is great. 

“We have a number of display units and behind each one there is a story. There is memorabilia going back to Orby, the first Irish-trained winner of the Derby in 1907, photographs of the old Curragh stand and trophies that were won by the late Darkie Prendergast. It's a refreshing walk back through time to the black and white era.”

Kavanagh added, “I trained for a long time and was CEO of the trainers' association for many years. When I retired, I had a lot of memorabilia and it was five years ago when the local Derby committee came to me and asked me to do something for the weekend. 

“As soon as I started that, people began to come to me with stuff and we've built it up since then. We missed a year through Covid but we've been building every year since we started and it seems to be going down well with a lot of people, including the locals, who bring me in a lot of pictures and like to come and talk about their relations who used to work in the industry.”

Kavanagh's main aim is to find a permanent home for the museum and is convinced that, if enough people show their support, the exhibition could fit in nicely in the Kildare courthouse every summer. 

He said, “We will be open for another month and will be doing visits by appointment. I'm happy to put my number [+353872898213] out there and, if there were a small group of people who wanted to come along, I'd be only too happy to give them the tour. I have the time, I'm 80 years old now, so I enjoy doing it and it's a great way to meet people. I love it and I hope to find a permanent home for the museum.”

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The Curragh Fixtures Rearranged After Sunday Card Called Off

Sunday's meeting at the Curragh, which was cancelled due to waterlogging, will now be held on Sunday, Aug. 13, Horse Racing Ireland announced.

The G2 The Minstrel S. will now be contested this Thursday, July 27, at Leopardstown and the race reverts back to entries after final forfeit stage with fresh declarations to be made by 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 25. The G3 Rathbride Fillies S. will be contested next Saturday at Gowran Park and will close for fresh entries along with the remainder of the Gowran Park meeting by noon this Tuesday, July 25. The Hurry Harriet Fillies S., which was due to be held at Gowran Park on Wednesday, August 16, will now be offered on the Curragh's rescheduled meeting on Sunday, Aug. 13 with entries closing on Tuesday, Aug. 8 with the remainder of the Curragh card.

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