fergus galvin | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kentucky Oaks Winner Shedaresthedevil To Be Offered At Fasig-Tipton November Sale

Kentucky Oaks winner Shedaresthedevil, a current leader in the distaff division, will be offered this fall at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Hunter Valley Farm will consign the 4-year-old daughter of Daredevil on behalf of owners Qatar Racing Limited, Flurry Racing Stables LLC, and Big Aut Farms.

A graded stakes performer each year from two to four, Shedaresthedevil is a three-time Grade 1 winner and seven-time graded stakes winner of $2,291,458. Last year at three, she defeated the best of her generation to win the 146th Kentucky Oaks in the fastest time for 1 1/8 miles in the race's history. That classic win highlighted an outstanding 3-year-old season that included five graded stakes wins or placings, resulting in her being named an Eclipse finalist for 3-year-old filly.

This year at four, Shedaresthedevil has been nothing short of dominant – winning four of five starts. She began the year with a victory in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes at Oaklawn, and then took the G1 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs. Following a third in the G1 Ogden Phipps Stakes, she traveled cross-country to Del Mar, cruising to her third Grade 1 victory in the Clement Hirsch Stakes. Most recently, she captured Churchill Downs' G3 Locust Grove Stakes on Sept. 18 and will now be pointed for the Breeders' Cup Distaff, where she will be one of race's favorites.

“Very rarely does a multiple Grade 1 winner and classic winner, in the best form of her career, come to public auction,” said consignor Fergus Galvin of Hunter Valley Farm. “She is a remarkable talent, and at just four years old, can provide her next owner with a world class racemare to campaign on the sport's biggest and brightest stages.”

A 4-year-old daughter of Daredevil, the sire of multiple classic winners, Shedaresthedevil is out of a multiple graded stakes-producing Congrats mare. Her immediate family includes G1 Santa Anita Derby winner Crafty C. T., and traces back to the prolific producer Mumtaz, ancestress of nearly 70 stakes winners and 27 graded stakes winners. These include North American and European Group 1 winners Hernando, Palace Music, Well Time, Johann Quatz, and Prize Spot.

“Shedaresthedevil showed talent from the start. A debut winner at two, she progressed to win Grade 1 races at three and four,” said her trainer Brad Cox. “She's a tremendous filly who is as sound and consistent as a racehorse could be.”

The Fasig-Tipton November Sale will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 9, after the Breeders' Cup.

Added Boyd Browning, president of Fasig-Tipton: “Buyers will have an opportunity to purchase one of the finest fillies in the world with unlimited potential both as a racehorse and a broodmare – and she could very well have a significant update from the Breeders' Cup.”

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Walsh’s Born Great Best In Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint At Ellis

Born Great probably needed to win the $100,000 Kentucky Downs TVG Preview Turf Sprint at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky., to get a shot at the big money offered at his favorite track, Kentucky Downs. The 5-year-old gelding did his part, finishing fastest under Adam Beschizza to defeat Siem Riep by 1 1/4 lengths while covering 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:00.48. That was just off Totally Boss' 2019 track record of 1:00.26 in the same race.

Trained by Brendan Walsh, Born Great won a maiden and allowance race in a one-week span at Kentucky Downs last year. So obviously the plan was to win this race to get an automatic fees-paid spot in the $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint on Sept. 11 at that track. The winner of the Grade 3 FanDuel Turf Sprint, which will be televised live by NBC, in turn gets a fees-paid spot in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.

Because graded-stakes winners and then stakes winners are preferred if the Kentucky Downs stakes gets more than 12 entries, getting the automatic qualifier was critical.

“Obviously it's a big deal for him to win,” said assistant trainer Paul Madden, who runs Walsh's Ellis Park division. “But most importantly for him to qualify for Kentucky Downs, which is huge, a place where he was 2 for 2 last year.

“But he's a really neat horse. He always gives 100 percent. He had a little time off after the Fair Grounds and was second at Churchill not that long ago, but just lacked a little sharpness. Brendan was here on Wednesday and was thrilled with him and knew he was sitting on a big race. So we weren't surprised how he ran to be honest.”

Beschizza had Born Great settled into eighth in the field of 10 older sprinters as High Crime set a torrid pace. Though in mid-stretch it looked like almost any horse could win, Born Great surged through the stretch, blowing to the lead in the final sixteenth-mile. He paid $7.20 as the favorite.

“Most of the horses I've been riding early on in the day have all been speed close to the lead types of horses,” Beschizza said. “As fast as the turf is playing, it's not really paying off. Horses are coming from behind and reaping the reward from the fast pace up front. Kentucky Downs really suits him. Ideally, I think his best trip is probably three-quarters (of a mile). At 5 1/2, if he's got a decent pace in front of him, he usually can reel them back in within reason. He did it pretty comfortably in the end.”

Born Great, a son of the deceased Scat Daddy, now is 4-2-1 in nine starts, earning $2442,025 for owners Marc Detampel and Fergus Galvin.

“It's perfect that his beloved Kentucky Downs is just around the corner, and obviously he's going to get the course and distance there,” Beschizza said of the six-furlong $1 million FanDuel Turf Sprint. “Thanks to Marc Detampel, Brendan and Paul here for having him in good shape coming into this race, and I don't think he's done yet this summer.”

The Terry Brennan-trained Siem Riep, making only his second start since he was second by a neck in the 2019 Preview Turf Mile, rallied from last. It marked his third time to be second in a Preview race, also finishing second in 2018 in the Preview Turf Mile. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to Gray Attempt, making his turf debut.

“We got a little bit shuffled back on the turn, but when you don't have that sprinter speed early, it's kind of tough to hold your position,” said Graham, who rode Siem Riep in his three Ellis Park runners-up finishes. “But he made a good account for him today. He's a cool little horse, and he tries. I ran after Born Great. He got to save ground around the turn. He took my spot going into the turn, so I had to go around. But I can't say anything. My horse was looking for a little bit more ground anyway. But he finished the right way.”

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Kentucky To European Horsemen: We Want You

It's easy to see why so many top American stables have made a point of circling the Kentucky Downs meet on their calendars. It mainly comes down to the money. During the unique European-style six-day meet, $10 million alone will be paid out in stakes purses, there are three $1 million races, maiden races go for $125,000 and the purses for allowance races range from $135,000 to $145,000. This year, Chad Brown will be there and so will Wesley Ward, Brad Cox, Bill Mott, Steve Asmussen and many other top stables.

Yet, the story of Kentucky Downs and its purses, among the best in the world, has apparently not traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. From Europe, there has been little to no participation at the annual meet that runs through the early part of September.

“We're the track they've never heard of,” said Kentucky Downs Director of Racing Rick Hammerle.

It's something Kentucky Downs management is hoping to change.

The Kentucky Downs team has decided to make a concerted effort to attract European horsemen, which includes a post COVID-19 trip in 2022 to meet top trainers in person. In the meantime, they're doing everything they can to get their story out, and they have a long list of talking points. It starts with the purses.

A new record will be set this year with $14,903,000 in purse money, which averages out to $2,483,833 a day. It must be noted that, due to funds provided by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF), only Kentucky-breds run for the full listed purse. But even absent that contribution to the purse, the pots are still huge. Generally, about 50 to 60% of the total purse is available to all horses.

“It's kind of surprising that more European horses haven't come over for the Kentucky Downs meet,” said Fergus Galvin, the U.S. racing advisor for Qatar racing, which has been a big supporter of Kentucky Downs. “Quite a bit of the money is tied in with the KTDF money that is built into the purses, but, leave that aside, and the purses are still tremendous, especially when you compare them to what these horse might be running for in Europe. They have races for every category and at every distance, for sprinters, for milers, for route horses. There are a lot of opportunities.”

Hammerle hopes European stables will focus in not on a single race or two but the entire meet. It would make perfect sense for a stable to bring over six or seven horses.

“There are a lot of reasons why people put horses on a plane,” he said. “It's not always for the Breeders' Cup or for a certain race for a certain caliber of horse. It would be great to have Breeders' Cup horses, but there is a whole caliber underneath. You can think of this as something like the Dubai Carnival. Those horses run for a lot of money and not all of them are horses you'll see back on the World Cup card. Historically, people in Europe don't think of a race meet as something to point towards. We'd like to change that.”

There have been a number of horses to win at Kentucky Downs that have started their careers in Europe before moving into U.S. stables. Many of them would not have been considered top-tier horses overseas, but, like many Europeans horse before them, have found that the competition in U.S. grass races is not as strong as it is in England, Ireland and France. Kentucky Downs has also been held back by the graded stakes committee's slow response to its ascendancy. Even with those purses, there are no Grade I races at the meet and only six of the 16 stakes are graded.

Galvin said you wouldn't necessarily need to bring a star over to come away with a lucrative stakes win.

“You wouldn't have to bring over the cream of the crop to be very competitive down there,” he said. “Obviously, the best turf horses in the world are normally based in Europe. So there is a great opportunity for maybe a second-tier type horse to be competitive in any type of race.”

For those who have the ability to perform in the Breeders' Cup, Kentucky Downs also make sense. They can make just one trip to the U.S., run at Kentucky Downs, maybe at Keeneland in the following weeks, and then go to the Breeders' Cup. That will be a particularly attractive option in 2022 when the Breeders' Cup will be just up the road at Keeneland.

It's usually fairly warm and dry in southern Kentucky in September, so Kentucky Downs may also present an opportunity for European horses that like the firm going, something that is often not available overseas at that time of the year. The layout of the track is another factor that should help European shippers. With its undulations, sweeping turns and long stretch, Kentucky Downs is the closest thing the U.S. has to a typical European race course.

Hammerle understands that there won't be an influx of horses overnight, but he's confident that once a handful come over the word will start to get out and others will follow.

“If we start with one or two coming over and a few people experiencing it, they are going to go back and share their experience with people,” he said. “That can only help us. Maybe in five years or so we can be lucky enough to have, say,10 shippers on a card. If they come over, I can't imagine they'll regret it. Not with the money we have for our purses.”

The post Kentucky To European Horsemen: We Want You appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Hidden Scroll Tops KEENOV Tuesday

‘TDN Rising Star’ Hidden Scroll (Hard Spun) (Hip 3295) topped Tuesday’s session of the Keeneland November Sale, which was highlighted by the horses of racing age section, when selling for $525,000 to Fergus Galvin, who was acting on behalf of Marc Detampel. The 4-year-old colt was consigned by WinStar Racing as agent for owner/breeder Juddmonte Farms.

” He is going to go to Brad Cox,” Galvin said. “His pre-race antics are well-documented. We are just hoping a change of scenery might benefit the horse. We know he has a world of talent. It is just a matter of getting it out of him.”

He continued, “He has run some huge numbers. On his best day, he is Grade I caliber. He has shown that talent in the past. He is also a beautiful physical. If we can unearth the talent out of him, we are definitely excited to see what the future holds for him.”

Trained by Bill Mott, Hidden Scroll romped by 14 lengths in the slop on debut at Gulfstream in January of last year. Off the board in both the GII Fountain of Youth S. and GI Florida Derby last term, the bay was third in a Churchill allowance that May and was subsequently shelved for the season.

Kicking off this season with an optional claimer score at Gulfstream Mar. 1, Hidden Scroll was off the board in the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. in April and dropped his rider after stumbling at the start next out in a Belmont optional claimer in June. Eighth when trying turf in the GI Jaipur S. 17 days later. He was fifth when last seen in a Saratoga turf test Aug. 1.

The second highest-priced offering of the day was Miss J McKay (Hangover Kid) (Hip 3085), who summoned $300,000 from Jackson Farms. Consigned by Elite, the 3-year-old by Maxis Stable, Madaket Stables and Wonder Stables with trainer Cathal Lynch. The MD-bred has been in the money in eight of her nine starts and captured the Anne Arundel County S. last term.

A total of 216 horses summoned $5,697,700 with an average of $26,3378 and a median of $10,000. There were a total of 25 RNAs. Throughout the nine days of selling so far, 2,060 horses changed hands for a gross of $156,257,200 with an av erage of $75,853 and a median of $30,000. Overall, 416 Thoroughbreds failed to meet their reserves.

“There were a few soft spots, but the horses that vetted clean and were good race prospects were making money,” said Galvin.

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