The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale is less than two weeks away and potential buyers are marking up their sales catalogs while researching the accomplished families of those being offered.

At the 2019 Saratoga Sale, four yearlings tracing back to Phipps foundation mare Blitey sold for a collective $4.05 million, one of them being an undefeated Tapit colt named Flightline who has become a multiple Grade I superstar.

Thoroughbred Daily News columnist and pedigree expert Sid Fernando recently noted in story that the Phipps female “families have given past and present breeders a deep foundation on which to build upon and create their own top-class horse.” A look at recent Grade I winners confirms that this is true at the highest levels.

Last year, an impressive 12 Grade I races were won by 10 different horses from families with Phipps female lines, including Aloha West (Hard Spun), Corniche (Quality Road), Essential Quality (Tapit), Flagstaff (Speightstown), Flightline, Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), Maxfield (Street Sense), Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot), Queen Goddess (Empire Maker) and Got Stormy (Get Stormy), multiple of which are Saratoga Sale graduates.

Through the first seven months of this year, four Grade Is (23 graded stakes wins) have been won by horses from families with Phipps female lines. The Grade I winners this year include Flightline, adding his second Grade I in his first start as a 4-year-old, as well as Shirl's Speight (Speightstown), There Goes Harvard (Will Take Charge) and Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile).

That's an impressive dozen different winners from families with Phipps female lines winning 16 different Grade I races. An exclamation mark added when considering all graded stakes, with 23 of them being won this year by horses from families with Phipps female lines. This level of current success demonstrates the “deep foundation” that Fernando referred to and makes these influential families attractive to breeders and buyers.

A deep dive into the families of the 214 yearlings to be offered at the boutique Saratoga Sale finds that 17, or 8%, are out of top-class mares from families with Phipps female lines, including descendents of Personal Ensign, Blitey, Lady Be Good, Get Lucky, Ten Cents A Dance, and La Troienne mares Belle Histoire and Big Hurry, among others.

On top of their first-rate female families, these blue-blooded yearlings are sired by elite stallions, including Tapit (hips 4 and 179), Curlin (hip 15), Into Mischief (hips 74, 75, 102, 131, 164), Uncle Mo (hips 98, 160, 210), War Front (hip 69), Arrogate (hip 79), Catalina Cruiser (hip 39), Kantharos (hip 211), Oscar Performance (hip 182), and Union Rags (hip 73). Also of note is that Hip 179 is a filly that shares the same sire (Tapit) and Phipps female family (Blitey) as Flightline.

The 2022 Saratoga Sale will provide buyers another chance to purchase yearlings with top-class pedigrees from influential Phipps families which are currently excelling in graded and Grade I races. Like Flightline, some of the yearlings making their way through the sales ring of the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion in August will become the Thoroughbred stars of tomorrow on the track and subsequently carry on the Phipps legacy in the breeding shed.

The post Letter to the Editor: F-T Saratoga Sale to Feature 17 Yearlings from Phipps Families appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

SET SAIL (c, 3, Malibu Moon–Fleet of Gold {SP, $109,892}, by Medaglia d'Oro) was third on debut Feb. 26 in a seven panel maiden over Santa Anita's main track after altering course early and losing second by 1 1/4 lengths. Trying a mile here, the bay Mandella trainee broke on top and never looked back, coasting home much the best by 7 1/2 lengths as the 2-1 second choice over One More Bid (California Chrome). Q B One (Uncle Mo) finished third while 6-5 favorite Bletchley Park (Nyquist) finished a distant fifth.

The winner is the second surviving foal out of the stakes-placed half-sister to Indyan Giving (A.P. Indy), the dam of Champion 2-year-old colt Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and GI Churchill Downs S. winner Flagstaff (Speightstown). Set Sail has a 2-year-old half-brother by Tapit as well as a 2022 half-sister by Speightstown. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, $48,240.

Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

O/B-LNJ Foxwoods; T-Richard E. Mandella.

THE REAL SET SAIL! OUR #1 from day 1! So proud of our HOMEBRED!! you made lots of people happy today! Below is baby SET SAIL. @Alex_Solis_II @litt_jason @MadisonScott157 An amazing way to end an incredible weekend winning 4 of 5 races pic.twitter.com/Z9PlP0VeAW

— Jaime Roth (@Fijithegreat) March 27, 2022

The post Malibu Moon’s Set Sail Goes Coast to Coast for Maiden Breaking Score appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bisphosphonates are a class of drug approved by the FDA in 2014 and prescribed to prevent bone loss in people and to treat navicular syndrome in horses, a common cause of forelimb lameness. The drug is not approved for horses less than four years old.

Equine surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage of Rood & Riddle warned about the use of bisphosphonates Osphos and Tildren in young horses during a client education seminar in 2018, saying the drug can have unintended, detrimental side effects. Many racing states moved to ban the drugs.

The CHRB banned bisphosphonates effective July 1, 2020, saying that any horse administered the drug in the previous six months – effectively a cutoff date of Jan. 1, 2020 – was prohibited from stabling on CHRB regulated grounds.

When the positive test was first made public in May, Sadler's attorney Darrell Vienna said Flagstaff was legally treated with Osphos on an unspecified date “late in 2019,” when Flagstaff was 5 years old. Vienna cited the extended half life of Osphos as an explanation for the positive test, saying it can linger in a horse's system for many months or even longer than a year.

Flagstaff was ordered unplaced in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship by a ruling released on June 19, 2021.

Friday's ruling specifies that Sadler entered into a settlement agreement with the CHRB, and that the fine is for violation of rule #1867.1(b), which states: “No licensee shall bring into a CHRB enclosure a horse known to have been administered a bisphosphonate within the previous six months.”

At the time the positive was announced, clodronic acid was not included on the CHRB's current list of prohibited substances, so under the regulatory body's rules it automatically falls under the most severe drug category, Class 1. Today, current CHRB regulations list bisphosphonates as Drug Class C, Penalty Category A.

Penalty Category A requires a one-year suspension, absent mitigating circumstances, along with a minimum fine of $10,000, again absent mitigating circumstances. Owners face loss of purse and potential placement of a horse on the vet's list for up to 90 days.

The post CHRB Settlement: John Sadler Fined $5,000 Over 2020 Bisphosphonate Positive appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The horse in question–as first reported by the BloodHorse–was GISW sprinter Flagstaff (Speightstown), who was recently retired at the age of seven.

Flagstaff tested positive for the bisphosphonate “clodronate” after finishing second in the 2020 GII Santa Anita Sprint Championship. The Santa Anita stewards subsequently disqualified him, requiring $40,000 in purse monies to be returned, according to a ruling dated June 19 this year.

Bisphosphonates are Food and Drug Administration approved for use in horses 4-year-olds and up for things like osteoarthritis and navicular disease.

But many in the industry have been concerned about the off-label use of these drugs, especially in young horses being prepared for the sales. That's because, rather than strengthening bones as intended, misuse of these drugs could make them weaker, more susceptible to fractures.

These drugs, however, have been notoriously difficult to regulate. Part of the conundrum is that too little is currently known about how long they remain in the horse's system. Bisphosphonates potentially stay in the bone for years.

Too little is also currently known about exactly how they behave for that duration.

As of July 1 last year, the CHRB put into effect a rule broadly prohibiting administration of bisphosphonates to any horse within any CHRB regulated facility. It also prohibits any horse from entering the grounds that has been administered the drug within six months.

Sadler's attorney, Darrell Vienna, stressed that the ruling did not constitute a fine for a medication positive. “If you look at the wording of the actual rule,” he said, “this is not a medication violation.”

The post $5K Bisphosphonate Fine for Sadler appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Art Collector was one of three horses to work for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Neil Poznansky was aboard the trio that included Casa Creed (Mile) going 4f in :47.60 and War Like Goddess (Filly & Mare Turf) going a half-mile in :48.20.

“They were all useful works, nothing blazing fast,” said Mott, who has won 10 Breeders' Cup races. “I never have a problem working good grass horses on dirt and this track looks safe and very forgiving.”

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez was aboard Bella Sofia as she covered a half-mile in :48.40 in preparation for the Filly & Mare Sprint.

“She's a happy girl and she loves to just go about her business,” Rodriguez said of Bella Sofia who has won four of five career starts and features daylight victories in the Grade 1 Test and Grade 2 Gallant Bloom in her past two outings. “She handled the track well and was very comfortable on it.”

In all, 14 pre-entrants worked on the fast main track and six more were on the firm Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen worked four of his six pre-entrants headlined by probable Qatar Racing Sprint favorite Jackie's Warrior who covered 3f in :36.80. Also working half-miles for Asmussen were Clairiere (Longines Distaff) in :49.20, Echo Zulu (NetJets Juvenile Fillies) in :50.40 and Silver State (Dirt Mile) in :48.60.

Other dirt workers included C Z Rocket (Qatar Racing Sprint) going 3f in :35.80, Commander (Turf Sprint also-eligible) a half-mile in :48.80, Giant Game (TVG Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance) a half-mile in :48.60, and the Richard Mandella-trained duo of Dogtag (Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf) and Bombard (Turf Sprint also-eligible) working 5f in :58.20 and :58.40, respectively, in company.

Idol worked 5f in company in 1:02.40 but after the work trainer Richard Baltas notified Breeders' Cup officials that he did not feel Idol was 100 percent and withdrew him from the Classic.

Two other horses were withdrawn from Breeders' Cup consideration by their connections Sunday morning: Flagstaff from the Qatar Racing Sprint and Reina de Mollendo (ARG) from the Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf.

Highlighting the six pack of grass workers were two California standouts in Mo Forza and Going to Vegas.

Mo Forza, a two-time winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile, worked a half-mile in :49.40 for the FanDuel Mile presented by PDJF for trainer Peter Miller. Shortly after Mo Forza finished his work, Going to Vegas worked a half-mile in :49.20 for Baltas in preparation for the Maker's Mark Filly & Mare Turf.

Also working on the turf were Time to Party (Juvenile Turf Sprint) going 3f in :38.20, Charmaine's Mia (Turf Sprint) going a half-mile in :50.20, Extravagant Kid (Turf Sprint) a half-mile in :49.40 in company with Zofelle (IRE), and Cairo Memories (Juvenile Fillies Turf) going 5f in 1:04.40.

The post Art Collector Headlines Full Slate Of BC Contenders Working At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

“This is his last year,” said trainer John Sadler. “He'll probably go home after this race. He's made over a million dollars, he's won a Grade I this year, he's been terrific. We just love him. I'm going to miss him when he retires in Kentucky. I'm not sure where it will be yet, but he's going to have a high-end retirement, trust me.”

The post GISW Flagstaff to Retire After BC Sprint appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Tripoli disappointed finishing fourth of eight by 6 ¼ lengths behind runaway front-running five-length winner Medina Spirit in the Grade I Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita on Oct. 2.

“He had his first work Monday in preparation for the $6 million Breeders' Cup in 47 and four (47.40) and he's going to work five furlongs on Sunday,” the trainer said of Tripoli.

“He just didn't get the trip he needed (in the Awesome Again),” continued Sadler, who won the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2018 with Accelerate. “He got hung out wide all the way, so it's more about the trip for him, but he appears to have come out of it good, so it's on to the Breeders' Cup.

“The Classic is a great race, and it should be. That's the big race and you've got a top 3-year-old (Medina Spirit) and Knicks Go; it's a really good race.”

Medina Spirit worked five furlongs Friday morning in 59.60 seconds for Bob Baffert, who also breezed champion filly Gamine six furlongs in 1:12 flat.

Meanwhile, Sadler has multiple graded stakes winner Flagstaff set for the Breeders' Cup Sprint.

“He just worked (four furlongs) this morning in 47 and three (:47.60),” Sadler said of the 7-year-old Speightstown gelding, a gem of consistency with a 7-6-4 record from 21 starts with earnings of $1,035,585.

The post Sadler: Tripoli Needs The Right ‘Trip’ For A Shot In Breeders’ Cup Classic appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The effort will certainly improve Dr. Schivel's standing among the contenders for this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint on Nov. 6 at Del Mar. He'd already earned a Breeders' Cup Challenge “Win And You're In” berth to the Sprint by virtue of his victory in the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes on July 31 at Del Mar, and Saturday's race was another “Win And You're In” event.

It was eventful start from the inside post for Dr. Schivel, after a buckle on his rein broke off in the opening jumps. Jockey Flavien Prat grappled with the rein across the backstretch, while also putting his mount in a forward position pressuring early leader Vertical Threat, who started from the second post.

Dr. Schivel went past his foe after an opening quarter in :21.87 seconds, and he never relinquished the lead from that point. Vertical Threat remained within a length of the leader as they passed the half-mile point in :45.07 seconds, well ahead of the rest of the field.

Dr. Schivel was well clear heading into the stretch, and after some mild urging at the top of the straightaway, Prat essentially hand rode the colt to the wire, gearing down at the finish to cross the line 3 1/4 lengths ahead of Flagstaff, who took an inside trip and held on by a nose ahead of a dogged C Z Rocket in third.

Over a fast main track, Dr. Schivel stopped the clock for the six-furlong Santa Anita Sprint Championship in 1:09.44.

Saturday's victory improved Dr. Schivel's record to five wins in seven career starts, and a perfect three-for-three in 2021, with lifetime earnings of $536,000. Mark Glatt trains the colt for owners Red Baron's Barn, Rancho Temescal, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and William A. Branch.

Dr. Schivel was bred in Kentucky by William A. Branch and Arnold R. Hill, out of the winning Mining For Money mare Lil Nugget.

To view the full Equibase chart, click here.

The post Dr. Schivel Survives Rein Troubles, Dissects Foes In Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Last term's GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity winner is perfect in two attempts since joining Mark Glatt's barn this year, most recently delivering a neck victory in Del Mar's GI Bing Crosby S. July 31. The 2-1 morning-line favorite is drawn on the rail in this six-horse field.

The one-two-three finishers across the line of this race last year–C Z Rocket (City Zip), Flagstaff (Speightstown) and Collusion Illusion (Twirling Candy)–meet again.

C Z Rocket, second in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, has held his form during his 7-year-old campaign, posting a record of 5-2-2-1, led by a win in the GIII Count Fleet Sprint H. at Oaklawn. A late-running third, beaten just a neck in the Bing Crosby, C Z Rocket enters off a second-place finish as the favorite in the GII Pat O'Brien S. Aug. 28.

Flagstaff tested positive for Clodronic Acid, a bisphosphonate otherwise known as Osphos, and was disqualified from purse money in last year's Santa Anita Sprint Championship. A narrow winner of the GI Churchill Downs S. May 1, he followed a second-place finish in Belmont's GII True North S. June 4 with a third-place finish in the Pat O'Brien.

Last year's GI Bing Crosby S. winner and GI Malibu S. third Collusion Illusion kicked off his 4-year-old campaign with a seventh-place finish in the grassy GIII Green Flash H. at Del Mar Aug. 22.

The post Dr. Schivel Streaks Into Santa Anita Sprint appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

• Leading the field is C Z Rocket, who has earned nearly $1.5 million while winning 11 of 28 races in his career, including the 2020 Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes.
• Flagstaff was beaten a head in last year's edition of the race and has done little wrong in his last four races, winning the Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes in May and most recently finishing third and a head behind runner-up C Z Rocket in the Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes.
• The third place finisher last year was Collusion Illusion, who had won the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes one month earlier. After taking eight months off following a third place finish last December in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes, Collusion Illusion most recently finished seventh while trying turf for the first time in the Grade 3 Green Flash Handicap and could improve back on the surface where he has won five of eight races in his career.
• Vertical Threat has won four of five dirt sprints in his career, three of those stakes including the Steel Valley Sprint last November and most recently the Russel Road Stakes.
• Dr. Schivel, the only 3-year-old in the field, won the Bing Crosby this year as Collusion Illusion had done last year at the same age before finishing third in this race. Winner of four races in a row after losing his first two, Dr. Schivel appears to be on the verge of another top effort.
• Colt Fiction rounds out the field. Runner-up in the Thor's Echo Stakes for California bred horses only in June, he enters the Santa Anita Sprint Championship off a victory against softer foes in an allowance race.

As mentioned previously, Vertical Threat is a perfect four for five in dirt sprints. Three of those three wins came at the six furlong distance of the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. The fastest of those came last November when leading from start to finish to draw off by seven and one-half lengths in the Steel Valley Sprint, earning a career-best 118 Equibase® Speed Figure on par with the 117 figure C Z Rocket earned winning this race last year. Although this field is composed of some top sprinters, none has the early speed of Vertical Threat, which he not only used to win the Steel Valley Sprint but also most recently when winning the Russell Road Stakes. Leading from start to finish on fast fractions for the track at Charles Town, Vertical Threat still pulled away late to win by three and one-half lengths.

Cutting back from seven furlongs to the six furlong trip he so dearly loves, and making his third start after returning from an eight month layoff, I have little doubt jockey Abel Cedillo is going to put Vertical Threat on the lead and play “come catch me” with the field. Considering those tactics were successful in the colt's last two wins and considering the 118 figure earned in one of them is good enough to win in this field, Vertical Threat may be very tough to beat in this situation.

C Z Rocket was claimed for a fairly paltry $40,000 in April of 2020, compared to the more than $1 million he's earned since then winning seven of 10 races. He won the 2020 Pat O'Brien Stakes at Del Mar with a 110 figure before a career-best 117 figure in last year's Santa Anita Sprint Championship. Not disgraced one bit following that when second in the 2020 Breeders' Cup Sprint, C Z Rocket returned in March to win the Hot Springs Stakes (111 figure) and the Count Fleet Stakes (114 figure) and has run well in three races since, all graded stakes, without winning. It's possible the seven year old has lost a step but on the other hand considering he's on the same pattern as before winning last year's edition of this race by cutting back from seven furlongs to six, he must be respected as a contender.

Flagstaff won the Commonwealth Stakes at seven furlongs in April and the Churchill Downs Stakes in May then cut back to six and one half furlongs and ran in to a buzzsaw in Firenze Fire when second in the True North Stakes with a 110 figure in June. Rested nearly three months while pointing to his race, Flagstaff was only a head behind C Z Rocket in the Pat O'Brien and so is on the same pattern he was last year when second in the Pat O'Brien behind C Z Rocket before losing by a head to the same horse in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship. That effort tied a career-best 117 figure earned when beaten a neck in the Palos Verdes Stakes in January of 2020 at this six furlong trip. Cutting back a furlong while making his second start off a layoff just as he did when almost winning this race last year, Flagstaff has a strong chance to add to his seven for 21 record on dirt and $1 million in career earnings.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase Speed Figures, is Collusion Illusion (114), Colt Fiction (110) and Dr. Schivel (109).

Win Contenders:
Vertical Threat
C Z Rocket
Flagstaff

Santa Anita Sprint Championship Stakes – Grade 2
Race 8 at Santa Anita
Saturday, October 2 – Post Time 7 PM E.T.
Six Furlongs
Three Years Olds and Upward
Purse: $200,000

The post Equibase Analysis: Vertical Threat Can Lead All The Way In Santa Anita Sprint Championship appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post