The last-out winner of the GIII Sunland Derby, the homebred was beaten for speed and settled just off the pace in fourth as Tapalo (Tapiture) set the pace from Imagination and E J Won the Cup (Omaha Beach). Content to allow those up front to do the dirty work as they went a good gallop, Stronghold was held together on the turn by Antonio Fresu, who went for his mount in earnest at the quarter pole and split horses in upper stretch. As E J Won the Cup and Tapalo began to back out of it, Imagination and Stronghold were left to settle it, and though neither gave an inch, Stronghold surged by in the shadow of the wire.

“We thought we needed a top three performance to get to the Kentucky Derby,” winning trainer Phil D'Amato said. “We were definitely hoping to get on the winning end here. I think this was a great education for him, and a nice test that he's going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby.”

The win was the first at Grade I level in America for Antonio Fresu.

“I loved the way Phil D'Amato was training him the last couple of works,” the Italian said. “The horse was getting so much confidence and he was getting so much better than before. Today he proved to be a very good horse. Still, when he hit the front, he didn't want to stay alone, he was waiting for some company. He got the job done and I want to dedicate this to my friend that passed away. I felt like he was there with me today. Stefano Cherchi was an amazing guy and I want to dedicate this to him.”

A maiden winner at second asking going Churchill's one-turn mile Oct. 1, Stronghold was a distant runner-up to 'TDN Rising Star' Nysos (Nyquist) in the GIII Bob Hope S. at Del Mar Nov. 19 before just getting reeled in late by Wynstock (Solomini) in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity Dec. 16. Sent to the Land of Enchantment for his sophomore debut, Stronghold proved too strong for his rivals at Sunland Park, taking that track's repositioned Derby by 2 1/2 widening lengths Feb. 18.

Pedigree Notes:

Hill 'n' Dale's Ghostzapper, the veteran son of Awesome Again out of Broodmare of the Year Baby Zip, may be among the elder statesmen in Kentucky's sire ranks, but he still cranks out top horses, among them 55 graded winners and 100 black-type winners worldwide. While Stronghold marks his only stakes winner of 2024 to date, Ghostzapper's other best runners most recently have included 2022-23 Eclipse champion female sprinter Goodnight Olive, 2022 Canadian Horse of the Year Moira, 2021 G1 Dubai World Cup winner Mystic Guide, and triple Grade I winner Guarana. No fewer than nine of Ghostzapper's stakes winners are out of Distorted Humor mares, with GISWs Guarana and Molly Morgan, as well as 2023 GSWs Rhyme Schemes and Two Ghosts, all bred on the same cross as Stronghold, who is the first stakes winner for Distorted Humor's son Jimmy Creed as a broodmare sire. Jimmy Creed stands at Spendthrift.

Stronghold is a fourth-generation homebred for the Waller family. Eric and Sharon Waller lost his dam, Spectator, after she foaled Stronghold–her only produce–in 2021. They had sold her dam, the unraced Diva's Tribute, to Richard Barton Enterprises in 2015 at Keeneland November for just $4,700. After Spectator won the 2017 GII Sorrento S. and placed twice in Grade Is, Diva's Tribute went through Keeneland's ring again in 2022 and hammered for $175,000 to Calvin Nguyen. She produced a Maxfield filly last year for Nguyen and partner Joey Tran before being bred to Idol for 2024. –Jill Williams

#3 STRONGHOLD ($6.40) holds strong, getting the best of favored Imagination on the wire to win the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1)!

The Eric and Sharon Waller homebred was ridden by @Antonio1Fresu for trainer @PhilDamato11. Congratulations to the connections! pic.twitter.com/P8YzIqeQ75

— TVG (@TVG) April 6, 2024

Saturday, Santa Anita
SANTA ANITA DERBY-GI, $751,500, Santa Anita, 4-6, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49.98, ft.
1–STRONGHOLD, 124, c, 3, by Ghostzapper
                1st Dam: Spectator (GSW & MGISP, $323,551),
                                by Jimmy Creed
                2nd Dam: Diva's Tribute, by Henny Hughes
                3rd Dam: Swiss Diva, by Swiss Yodeler
1ST GRADE I WIN. O/B-Eric & Sharon Waller (KY); T-Philip
D'Amato; J-Antonio Fresu. $450,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-3-0,
$827,200. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Imagination, 124, c, 3, Into Mischief–Magical Feeling,
by Empire Maker. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. ($1,050,000 Ylg '22
KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables
LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Robert E.
Masterson, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan and
Tom J. Ryan; B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Bob
Baffert. $150,000.
3–E J Won the Cup, 124, c, 3, Omaha Beach–Firsthand Report,
by Blame. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1
BLACK TYPE. ($150,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $95,000 Ylg '22
KEESEP). O-Superfecta King Stable (Margolis); B-Hoolie Racing
Stable, LLC (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $90,000.
Margins: NK, 3 1/4, 4HF. Odds: 2.20, 1.00, 23.40.
Also Ran: Curlin's Kaos, Tapalo, Wynstock, Mc Vay, Tessuto.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Stronghold Captures Imagination In Santa Anita Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Kentucky Oaks points were on the line in the Santa Anita Oaks and were offered on a scale of 100-50-25-15-10; however, both Nothing Like You and Kinza are ineligible to earn points as Baffert's horses continue to be prohibited from racing at Churchill Downs.

Winning jockey Frankie Dettori captured his fifth consecutive race of the day in the Santa Anita Oaks, which was carded as the sixth race Saturday. After finishing sixth in Race 1, Dettori gave a master class by winning Races 2-6, but he didn't stop there, taking Race 7 after the Oaks to make it six in a row. He didn't have a mount in Race 8 and finished third in Race 9, the GIII Monrovia S., and second in Race 10, the GI Santa Anita Derby. While six consecutive wins might be a career highlight for most riders, it's just another day in the iconic career of Dettori, who has been a household name since his “Magnificent Seven” in 1996, when he won all seven races on the Ascot card, including the GI Queen Elizabeth II S.

Dettori and Nothing Like You broke from the rail in the Santa Anita Oaks, immediately settling into a comfortable rhythm while a joint third as Kinza tallied early fractions of :23.42 and :46.88 up front with Kopion glued to her flank. Shuffled back to fourth at the top of the stretch, Dettori continued to bide his time until room opened on the rail and he shot through with Nothing Like You in the blink of an eye. Dettori stayed busy on the bay until the last sixteenth, when it was clear the pair would be uncatchable. They covered the 1 1 1/6 miles in 1:43.21.

“I was fully loaded at the quarter pole,” said Dettori. “I just needed a little bit of room and she took off. What can you say about Baffert? He's a genius. We have a good working relationship. He trains them and I ride them.”

Baffert added, “Without the horse, the jockey doesn't matter, but Dettori kept this filly as clean as possible… Unfortunately, when you use Dettori, you can't blame it on the jockey. He's just a phenom. He is world class and has brought his talent to every stage. He's just that good, but you have to give him the horse. And he had the horse to do it.”

Dettori first rode Nothing Like You in the Feb. 10 GIII Las Virgenes S., a race in which she was fourth behind Kinza and Kopion. Dettori specifically said the filly did not appreciate the kickback that day and he took care of keep her out of it Saturday. She had previously won three in a row, including the Desi Arnaz S. at Del Mar in November and the GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos in December.

Pedigree Notes:

The bedrock of the modern Spendthrift goes down to Malibu Moon, who died in 2021 of an apparent heart attack at age 24. Nothing Like You is one of 55 graded winners and 138 black-type winners for the son of A.P. Indy, but only the third for 2006 GI Santa Anita Derby winner Brother Derek as a broodmare sire. The latter was last reported to be standing in Saudi Arabia.

It's a pretty safe bet to surmise not too many Hastings Racecourse runners find their foals winning graded stakes at Santa Anita, but Nothing Like You's dam, Miss Derek, was a three-time stakes winner at Hastings in Canada. Wolverton Mountain Farm, co-breeder of the Oaks winner, picked her up for $30,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale in 2015. She produced Aqueduct's 2018 Tepin S. winner South of France (Quality Road) as her first foal, while Nothing Like You is her most recent produce. John Rogitz, part of Nothing Like You's ownership group, picked up the Oaks winner for $190,000 at the 2023 OBS April sale after she worked a furlong in :10.

#1 NOTHING LIKE YOU ($16.40) runs away from her competitors in the $300,000 Santa Anita Oaks (G2). Bob Baffert trains this three-year-old filly by Malibu Moon. This is the fifth consecutive win of the day for @FrankieDettori! pic.twitter.com/mZVz2jB0UT

— TVG (@TVG) April 6, 2024

Saturday, Santa Anita
SANTA ANITA OAKS-GII, $300,000, Santa Anita, 4-6, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:43.21, ft.
1–NOTHING LIKE YOU, 124, f, 3, by Malibu Moon
                1st Dam: Miss Derek (MSW-Can, SP-USA, $159,610),
                                by Brother Derek
                2nd Dam: Quick Text, by Tiznow
                3rd Dam: Super Seniorita, by El Baba
($67,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $20,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $190,000
2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Georgia Antley Hunt, Jeff Giglio and John
Rogitz; B-Notch Hill Farm, Wolverton Mountain Farm &
Spendthrift Stallions, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Lanfranco
Dettori. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 8-4-1-0, $423,160.
*1/2 to South of France (Quality Road), SW, $156,005. Werk
Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Kinza, 124, f, 3, Carpe Diem–Secret Wonder, by Quality Road.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($17,000 Wlg '21 FTNMIX; $30,000 Ylg '22
OBSOCT; $350,000 2yo '23 EASMAY). O-Michael Lund
Petersen; B-JD Business Ventures LLC, Brushy Hill Stable &
Carpe Diem Syndicate (NY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Corposo, 124, f, 3, Vino Rosso–Manki, by Arch. 1ST BLACK
TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-Madaket Stables LLC and
Slam Dunk Racing; B-Nick Cosato (KY); T-Peter Eurton.
$36,000.
Margins: 7HF, HF, 8. Odds: 7.20, 0.50, 12.30.
Also Ran: Kopion, Ifuaintfirsturlast.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Nothing Like Dettori, Who Wins Santa Anita Oaks on Nothing Like You in Six-Win Streak appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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An $850,000 Keeneland September yearling, Newgate returned to the worktab for the first time since the Mar. 3 Big 'Cap, covering five furlongs in a bullet :58.20 (1/77) in the company of GIII Native Diver S. winner Mr Fisk (Arrogate) at Santa Anita. Frankie Dettori, who won his fourth World Cup aboard the Bob Baffert-trained Country Grammer (Tonalist) in 2022, has the riding assignment in the $12-million feature.

Stablemate Hopkins (Quality Road) went five-eighths of a mile in :58.80 (2/77) and will have Luis Saez aboard for the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, a race in which he was beaten just one length into fourth in 2023.

“We had a great day breezing,” trainer Bob Baffert told SF Racing's Tom Ryan, who added, “Two healthy and happy horses. We look forward to getting them to Dubai with Jimmy and Humberto “Beto” to acclimate them to the Meydan surface and surroundings. It's very exciting, and we are very grateful to have the caliber of horse to get invited to participate in such valuable and prestigious events.”

Also turning in a work at Santa Anita was Two Rivers Over (Tamarkuz), who covered five furlongs in 1:00.40 (19/77) and is expected for the G2 Godolphin Mile, an event won by his sire in 2015. Trainer Doug O'Neill has tabbed Edwin Maldonado to ride.

Crupi (Curlin) will attempt to give trainer Todd Pletcher a maiden victory in the World Cup and the 4-year-old, third to National Treasure (Quality Road) and Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) when last seen in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. Jan. 27, went five furlongs in 1:00.91 (1/7) at Palm Beach Downs Saturday morning. Luis Saez, who guided Crupi to victory in Saratoga allowance company last summer, made the trip up to breeze Crupi and has the mount at Meydan.

Jose D'Angelo breezed his two big-night entries about 10 miles north of Palm Beach Downs at Palm Meadows. Caramel Chip (Midshipman), fourth to Sibelius (Not This Time) in the Feb. 10 Pelican S. at Tampa, was the fastest of 92 workers going a half-mile as he stopped the clock in :47.45. While he stretches out in distance for he Godolphin Mile, his Gulfstream Park Sprint-winning stablemate Run Classic (Runhappy) will take on defending champ Sibelius in the Golden Shaheen. The Tom Durant galloper went in :48.95 (22/92). D'Angelo reports that Cristian Demuro rides Caramel Chip, while Florent Geroux will hop aboard Run Classic.

Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) has been doing the bulk of his training towards the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on the turf, but he turned in his final piece of work over the dirt course at Payson Park. The 8-year-old breezed a half-mile in :49.20 (11/63), with part-owner Lee Einsidler commenting, “He went great and he's doing fantastic.”

A pair of U.S.-trained horses who made the short trip over to Dubai after placing in races on the Saudi Cup program were out over the Meydan main track Saturday morning.

Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming), third to Senor Buscador in the G1 Saudi Cup, went a half-mile under the lights in a reported :48.50. He takes on defending champion Isolate (Mark Valeski) in the Godolphin Mile. Bold Journey (Hard Spun) went a similar distance in a reported :48.46 after daybreak for trainer Bill Mott. The New York-bred faces a rematch with Japan's Remake (Jpn) (Lani) in the Golden Shaheen after closing nicely for third to that rival in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint Feb. 24.

Pandagate (Arrogate), last-out winner of the Gander S. at Aqueduct works Sunday at Payson Park towards a potential appearance in the G2 UAE Derby, per assistant trainer Miguel Clement.

SAUDI CROWN breezed this Saturday morning, half mile in 48″50 over the Meydan dirt track, handily and comfortably, Kelvin Perez up for trainer @bradcoxracing

SAUDI CROWN ajustó esta mañana del Sábado, 48″50 para la media milla, cómodo y en el freno, con Kelvin Pérez up,… pic.twitter.com/w0SYyzCyLn

— Agentes305 (@agentes305) March 16, 2024

BOLD JOURNEY looking strong this morning, it breezed 4F – 48″46, easily with Kelvin Pérez up. 3rd last time in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, will look to turn tables in its favor next in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at @RacingDubai for trainer Bill Mott

BOLD JOURNEY lució con fuerza… pic.twitter.com/BaCwfY8iUm

— Agentes305 (@agentes305) March 16, 2024

The post Newgate Fires Bullet For Dubai World Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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While the modern booty plundered in the desert by a son of the venerable Mineshaft is temporarily distorting his latest title defense, the opening skirmishes of 2024 have already seen Into Mischief overtake Medaglia d'Oro in the all-time earnings table. He now stands cents shy of $170 million with only Giant's Causeway ($178 million) dividing him from Tapit ($204.5 million). The latter obviously has much unfinished business-and we fervently hope that he can still come up with the Derby winner he so deserves-but the industrial model at Spendthrift means that Into Mischief is about to overtake Tapit's aggregate of lifetime starters, from four fewer crops. And, as often remarked, he's only lately started to bring his elite mares into play.

Newgate himself was conceived at $150,000, but made that investment pay for Town and Country Farms-besides the $360,000 they gave for his graded stakes-placed dam Majestic Presence (Majestic Warrior) at the 2017 November Sale, already amply defrayed by the Runhappy foal she was carrying there and a couple of others-by realizing $850,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. The same farm gave us Adare Manor (Uncle Mo), who similarly made her Grade I breakthrough in her third campaign for Baffert, so they can take credit for raising horses that persevere. (Majestic Presence, incidentally, was returned to Into Mischief to produce the $500,000 yearling Denim and Pearls, who won her first two and has now run second in consecutive stakes.)

Life is hard enough for rival sires without Into Mischief again enlisting Dettori to clinch another narrow verdict in the GII San Felipe S. through Imagination. This colt is yet another tribute to Peter Blum's patient curation of a dynasty tracing to his foundation mare, Mono (Better Self), identified as a priceless conduit of King Ranch blood way back in 1975.

Mono was out of a sister to 1946 Triple Crown winner Assault, from the family of Man o' War himself. But she was actually being sold from the estate of the King Ranch farm manager, and had duly been confined to less expensive covers. The young Blum noticed that she had nevertheless produced good runners, and vowed that he would not leave the Keeneland January Sale without her. He'll never know where he might have stopped, but was able to do so at $17,500.

Blum, of course, has in recent years bred a Horse of the Year. But Authentic came from a rather younger line in his program, and possibly he's deriving no less satisfaction from the emergence of Imagination at a time when GI Preakness winner National Treasure (Quality Road) is also consolidating his own reputation. For both trace to Mono's daughter Mine Only.

Blum's first choice of mate for Mono had been an unproven Florida sire named Mr. Prospector. When the resulting colt won on debut at Del Mar, he resolved to send her back to the stallion at his new base at Claiborne. Their second tryst produced Mine Only, who won no more than a maiden but set a pattern for this family by proving a much better producer. Her three graded stakes scorers (all on turf) included Good Mood (Devil's Bag), who won the GIII Miss Grillo S. and is third dam of Imagination.

National Treasure | Adam Coglianese

Before that Mine Only had already produced a daughter by Secretariat, Chosen Lady, who failed to win but produced not only GI Ashland winner Well Chosen (Deputy Minister) but also the third dam of National Treasure. So while Blum always emphasizes the help he gets from the likes of Doug Cauthen and Bridie Harrison, he must accept the compliment implied to his own patient stewardship by the elite investors who target his program at the sales.

National Treasure made $500,000 at Saratoga, and Imagination $1.05 million at Keeneland September. The latter sum partly reflected the Grade II sprint success of his dam Magical Feeling (Empire Maker), who has always been given nothing but the best: she had four foals by Tapit before more recently being sent to Into Mischief and producing first Occult, sold as a yearling for $625,000 before winning the GIII Monmouth Oaks last year; and now Imagination.

Yes, Nysos (Nyquist) was the specter at this particular feast. But even the supporting roles on this circuit demand real caliber, and it might not require that much more Imagination to aspire to the mature deeds of National Treasure or Newgate this time next year.

Mage Page Paying Many a Wage

Let's not get too glum about these sophomores. After all, most enter their single year of Classic eligibility as little more than gawky adolescents. In fact, however diffident a crop they may seem for now, recent history suggests that there's probably a Horse of the Year lurking among them somewhere.

At this stage of his career, Cody's Wish remained unraced and he would only break his maiden, at the fourth attempt, in October. Flightline was also weeks short of his debut. Knicks Go had admittedly established his caliber at two, but at this point was bombing out in the GIII Sam F. Davis and then the GIII Gotham.

All three, of course, would only achieve their peak with age. But this time last year even the horse that went on to win the GI Kentucky Derby had just been beaten seven lengths in the GII Fountain of Youth S.

Puca selling at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale

The success of his full-brother Dornoch (Good Magic) in the same race last weekend has elicited some faint praise, thanks to the decimation of the field, but the fact remains that he's far more seasoned than was Mage at this stage. True, the latter was duly on a steeper curve of improvement, but whatever happens John Stewart can be gratified that his $2.9 million investment in their dam Puca (Big Brown) at Keeneland last November has stood up to both its first big tests, in the GII Remsen S. and now here. Just like Mage, Dornoch is advertising the expert grounding he received at storied Runnymede Farm, which raised and then consigned both colts on behalf of breeders Grandview Equine.

Mage proved a fairly marginal pinhook ($235,000 to $290,000) when resold at two, but events in the meantime make the extra investment on Dornoch at the Keeneland September Sale ($325,000 from Oracle Bloodstock) look pretty inspired. Those supporting Mage in his first year at stud, meanwhile, must be feeling similarly comforted by the way his page is evolving. Remember that Puca is a half-sister to a Grade I winner on turf, Finnegan's Weake (Powerscourt {GB}); was herself runner-up in the GII Gazelle S.; while her only previous foal-the Gun Runner filly she was carrying when acquired by Grandview for $475,000 at Fasig-Tipton in November 2018-was herself twice stakes-placed. Not least granted the parallel strides since made by her rookie sire, what a stroke of luck for Grandview that she failed to meet her reserve as a yearling!

By the time Puca sent her son by McKinzie into the Keeneland ring last September, her genetic wares were sufficiently known for Mayberry Farms to have to go to $1.2 million. Yet only that January, Puca's own dam Boat's Ghost (Silver Ghost) had been discarded in the same ring, in foal to Raging Bull (Fr), for just $17,000. That indignity, at the age of 19, was redressed by finding herself on a peerless farm of its type, Nursery Place, where she safely delivered a filly, apparently a good specimen too; and was then given a typically astute covering in Hard Spun.

Lonesome Days Long Forgotten for Pounce

Another interesting mare in Hard Spun's book last year was Bouncy (Twirling Candy), whose daughter Pounce (Lookin At Lucky) won the GIII Herecomesthebride S. at Gulfstream last weekend. In fact, if you ever needed a cross-section of our community to offer its most considered judgement, you could do worse than simply consult those breeders using Hard Spun. In an environment so childishly prey to fashion, those sticking with the Darley stalwart instead prize proven value in the last commercially accessible son of his breed-shaping sire.

Those who sent him Bouncy have four resonant surnames: Pounce's breeders are registered as Bell, Rankin, VanMeter and Hancock. From these familiar clans, it turns out we are dealing respectively with Gatewood, Hunter, Ike and, “the rose among thorns,” Lynn. One or two of them have evidently followed Bouncy from the outset, though along the way she also appears to have caught the attention of a couple of Texas rangers.

Bred and raised by the Hancock family's Stone Farm, she was pinhooked as a $85,000 yearling by Bell's Cromwell Bloodstock Agency; made $170,000 from “Augustus McRae” at OBS the following April; showed plenty of ability in both her starts in the silks of Augustin Stables, winning on debut at Keeneland before a close second to a stakes winner at Belmont; and was then picked up by “Joshua Deets” for just $37,000 in the Covid market of the 2020 Keeneland November Sale.

At that point Bouncy was pregnant to a maiden cover by Lookin At Lucky, an excellent choice to prove a mare despite his appalling treatment by the commercial market. That came at an initial cost, in that Pounce was a $20,000 RNA at the Keeneland September Sale-but in the long run it has paid off handsomely.

For she had caught Mark Casse's eye in the back ring. “When she didn't sell, we approached Mark to work out a deal so we could make sure she got into good hands,” Hancock explains. “And we are fortunate that she did! He trained her up to a certain level, to acquire interest in the filly, and we were partners from there on out. We are very appreciative of Mark for taking a chance on her and obviously he has done a spectacular job.”

Yes, he has: Pounce won on debut at Churchill in November and again at Turfway in February, after which she topped Fasig-Tipton's Digital Sale at $370,000 from Resolute Bloodstock. As with Puca, noted above, John Stewart has been quickly vindicated in a bold investment with Pounce's graded success at Gulfstream, still for the Casse barn, coming just 11 days later.

Hancock says that Bouncy has now delivered a “lovely” Hard Spun filly, but the gang is still debating-or maybe we should say bouncing around-her next cover. Maybe they should ask Woodrow Call what he thinks…

The post Breeding Digest: Another Week Full of Mischief appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“What a day, I am just blessed and happy that I have a hard-working crew that just works hard to get these horses ready,” Baffert said. “Today they got rewarded with their wins. Those grooms, I've never seen them happier.”

Newgate, sent off a slight second choice behind last-out GII San Pasqual S. winner Newgrange (Violence), settled just off the pace as longshot Subsanador (Arg) (Fortify) sprinted out to the early lead and took the field through fractions of :23.23 and :47.09. The field was bunching up approaching the far turn as the three-quarters went up in 1:12.15 and a three-wide Newgrange was the pacesetter's nearest pursuer as Newgate shadowed the favorite into the stretch. Subsanador showed he wasn't done yet, scampering clear into the lane and, still some two lengths in front with a furlong to run, the Argentinian invader looked set to spring the upset, but Newgate had all the momentum late to just get up for a narrow victory.

“I followed Victor [Espinoza aboard Newgrange] and I sat pretty low until the quarter pole,” said winning rider Frankie Dettori, who also road Imagination to victory earlier on the card. “I took my horse to the outside, I had a bit of weight pull with some of the horses. I thought I would get to the line okay and, in fairness, Subsanador gave me a good fight. The last 20 yards we got out in front, and I couldn't believe it. I could not believe that I had done it.”

Dettori admitted winning the Big 'Cap was a special moment in his storied career.

“When I was a kid here in the late '80s, there were 60,000 people here to see Ferdinand and Alysheba and you just couldn't move,” he said. “I was in awe. I rode in the Big 'Cap the first time last year and it was a dream. And to win it, I couldn't ask for anything more. It is a big feather in my cap, they don't get bigger than the Santa Anita Big 'Cap.”

Newgate was bridesmaid to a pair of stablemates in the 2022 GIII Bob Hope S. and 2023 GIII Sham S. before breaking through with his first graded victory in the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. last February. Sidelined after that effort, the $850,000 Keeneland September purchase returned with a runner-up effort in a Jan. 6 optional claimer and was second behind Newgrange in the Jan. 27 San Pasqual last time out.

“We always thought that he was going to be a better horse as he gets older and we've been patient, just getting races into him and today was supposed to be his coming out party kind of race,” Baffert said. “I was getting a little worried there turning for home it looked like that other horse got away but he just dug in.”

Pedigree Notes:

Newgate gave Into Mischief his second graded win Sunday following stablemate Imagination's win in the GII San Felipe S. He is the 18th top-level victor for the Spendthrift stallion.

Graded stakes-placed Majestic Presence, a half-sister to graded winner Victress (Include), has a 2-year-old daughter by Authentic–who sold for $300,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale–and she produced a filly by Life is Good this year.

Town and Country Horse Farm purchased Majestic Presence, in foal to Runhappy, for $360,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November sale.

#5 NEWGATE ($8.40) runs down pacesetter Subsanador (Arg) in the final jump to win the $400,000 G1 Santa Anita Handicap under @FrankieDettori! pic.twitter.com/s1FJYiZfaQ

— TVG (@TVG) March 4, 2024

Sunday, Santa Anita Park
SANTA ANITA H. PRESENTED BY YAAMAVA' RESORT & CASINO-GI, $401,000, Santa Anita, 3-3, 4yo/up, 1 1/4m, 2:03.49, ft.
1–NEWGATE, 121, c, 4, by Into Mischief
           1st Dam: Majestic Presence (GSP-USA, MSP-Can, $227,896), by Majestic Warrior
           2nd Dam: Shining Victory, by Victory Gallop
           3rd Dam: Phoenix Sunshine, by Encino
1ST GRADE I WIN. 'TDN Rising Star'. ($850,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Town & Country Horse Farms, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Lanfranco Dettori. $240,000. Lifetime Record: 9-3-4-0, $535,775. *Full to Denim and Pearls, MSP, $212,535. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Subsanador (Arg), 120, h, 5, Fortify–Save the Date (Arg), by Hurricane Cat. O-Stud Facundito; B-El Mallin (ARG); T-John W. Sadler. $80,000.
3–Reincarnate, 119, c, 4, Good Magic–Allanah, by Scat Daddy. ($775,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert E. Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay A. Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Woods Edge Farm, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $48,000.
Margins: HD, 2HF, HD. Odds: 3.20, 22.30, 3.80.
Also Ran: Highland Falls, Mixto, Newgrange, Salesman (Ire).
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

The post Newgate claims the Big Cap for Dettori, Baffert appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Of his one-two finish in the San Felipe, Baffert said, “We're trying to develop these horses, so it was good for both of them. Wine Me Up ran tough. It's like watching the 49ers Super Bowl game. Unfortunately, someone has to lose, but I'm proud of them both. They both showed up. That's all you can ask for.”

Wine Me Up was fastest out of the gate and had the lead in the early strides, but Imagination, the 4-5 favorite, strode up to challenge for the lead into the first turn.

Scatify (Justify), who broke from the rail in the four-horse field found himself in tight quarters off Wine Me Up's heels with Mc Vay (Constitution) pressing him from the outside. Rattled in the right quarters, he came out into the first turn, knocking Imagination and forcing Mc Vay wide into the bend. Hector Berrios took a strong hold of Scatify down the backstretch and that colt took back to the rear of the field.

Imagination, meanwhile, had recovered his momentum and took a length advantage over his stablemate as the half went up in :47.04. Wine Me Up moved back on even turns with the favorite and the two turned for home together. Imagination looked to be getting the better of his rival in upper stretch, but Wine Me Up along the rail battled back on even terms and it was a ding-dong battle to the finish.

“He broke out and we went to the clubhouse turn the guy behind me struck into me,” said winning jockey Frankie Dettori. “My horse got frightened, and I took him back to get him wide to get him to relax and get him back into the race. He fought a great duel. He was full of heart.”

Tom Ryan of SF Racing, co-owner of the winner, admitted he wasn't sure who had won the photo finish, but he found plenty to be positive about Imagination's effort.

“That was a great race,” Ryan said. “I didn't know which way it went at the wire. It was a little bit of a messy race early on, he had to recollect himself. He kind of got scared, these are young 3-year-old colts, they are learning their craft. It is amazing you could have a 12-horse field and nothing, and in a four-horse field anything can happen.

“It's good to see him have the confidence to put it back together and not back down from a fight and get there at the wire. I think there is a lot of potential in this horse. He is just learning as he goes, and I think the farther the better. He is a classy colt, he's always shown it, he looks it and thankfully his ability matches his looks.”

A $1.05-million Keeneland September yearling, Imagination opened his career with a pair of runner-up efforts at Del Mar late last year. He graduated going one mile at Santa Anita on New Year's Day and missed by just a neck to stablemate and 'TDN Rising Star' Maymun (Frosted) in a one-mile allowance Feb. 11.

Pedigree Notes:

Spendthrift's all-conquering Into Mischief was represented by the second and third-place finishers in Saturday's GII Davona Dale S. at Gulfstream Park and his son Timberlake put himself firmly on the Kentucky Derby trail this year with a win in the GII Rebel S. last weekend.

Magical Feeling, the fourth generation of this family bred by Peter Blum, is the dam of last year's GIII Monmouth Oaks winner and GI Acorn S. third Occult (Into Mischief). She has a yearling colt by Gun Runner, but aborted a Flightline foal for this year.

The cross of Into Mischief over Empire Maker mares has resulted in 29 winners from 43 starters and now has seven stakes winners, including Saturday's G3 Burj Nahaar winner Laurel River. As noted by Alan Carasso in Sunday's TDN, the cross has also been represented by GI Kentucky Derby hero Mandaloun, the Grade II winners Occult, Center Aisle and Taraz.

Bob Baffert stablemates #5 IMAGINATION ($3.80) and #2 Wine Me Up slugged it out down the stretch, but the former got a nose down on the line to win Santa Anita's $300,000 G2 San Felipe Stakes under @FrankieDettori! pic.twitter.com/qiNhshsuNg

— TVG (@TVG) March 3, 2024

Sunday, Santa Anita
DK HORSE SAN FELIPE S.-GII, $294,000, Santa Anita, 3-3, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.55, ft.
1–IMAGINATION, 120, c, 3, by Into Mischief
           1st Dam: Magical Feeling (GSW & GISP, $554,532), by Empire Maker
           2nd Dam: Magical Mood (GB), by Forestry
           3rd Dam: Good Mood, by Devil's Bag
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($1,050,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Robert E. Masterson, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan and Tom J. Ryan; B-Peter E. Blum Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Lanfranco Dettori. $180,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-3-0, $256,800. *1/2 to Magical (Tapit), SW, $164,550 and Exulting (Tapit), MSW, $687,370; Full to Occult, GSW & MGISP, $451,450. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Wine Me Up, 120, c, 3, Vino Rosso–Deanaallen'skitten, by Kitten's Joy. ($115,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $300,000 2yo '23 OBSOPN). O-Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman; B-Kenneth L. & Sarah K. Ramsey (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $60,000.
3–Mc Vay, 120, c, 3, Constitution–Dothraki Sea, by Union Rags. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($1,250,000 Ylg '22 FTSAUG). O-C R K Stable LLC; B-Band of Brothers (KY); T-John A. Shirreffs. $36,000.
Margins: HD, 6 3/4, 31. Odds: 0.90, 1.70, 9.90.
Also Ran: Scatify. Scratched: Nysos.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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How has he done? Has the experience made him a better rider? Those were questions we asked Murphy when he joined this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast sponsored by Keeneland. Murphy was the Green Group Guest of the Week.

“On dirt, I always knew that if you get stopped at any stage, it can be race over for you,” Murphy said. “Watching those top riders riding on a daily basis has been great. And I've ridden for some top trainers while I've been here and I've enjoyed that. Hopefully, this week, I've got some chances to ride another winner or two. I just have a lot of admiration for the lads I've been riding against.”

Murphy has ridden five winners at the meet, not at all bad considering he came here with few connections and is riding every day against the likes of Irad Ortiz Jr., John Velazquez, Tyler Gaffalione and the rest. But he said he had hoped to do better.

Irish Jockey Oisin Murphy Joins the TDN Writers' Room from Thoroughbred Daily News on Vimeo.

“I'd like to have ridden a lot more winners,” he said. “I've tried. In fairness, I knew coming here that it wasn't going to be easy. I got some really good results on Saturday, which was fulfilling, and I felt like I rode well over the weekend. But, of course, I always want to do better. I knew coming here that the jockey colony was very strong. But I want to do better. If I get another chance to come here, I'd like to ride many more winners.”

Will he be back next year?

“I'll definitely aim to come back and do a similar stint,” Murphy said. “I know I'm not going to earn loads of money in the month of January here, but I think the connections I can develop here will serve me well in the future. Some of those top jockeys are going to retire in the next number of years, like to Johnny V. and Frankie Dettori. Those top dirt races like the Saudi Cup, Dubai World Cup, Breeders' Cup Classic are worth an awful lot of money. If I have enough experience on dirt, and can prove myself, hopefully I can put my hand on the phone and call a trainer or an owner and ask is your horse available in this race because I'd love to ride them?”

In the stallion spotlight segments, the podcast featured Coolmore's Tiz the Law (Constitution), who stands for a fee of $20,000. The focus was also on four-time Grade I winner Improbable (City Zip), who stands at WinStar for $15,000.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by WinStar Farm, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association,https://www.kentuckybred.org/https://www.nyrabets.com/ 1/ST Racing, the KTA & KTOB, West Point Thoroughbreds, https://www.winstarfarm.com/and XBTV.com, the team of Randy Moss, Bill Finley and Zoe Cadman gave their opinions on the fact that owners are not planning to transfer their 3-year-old stars out of the Bob Baffert barn even though that means they will not be eligible to run in the GI Kentucky Derby. The Derby could be missing some of the best horses in the division. They discussed a successful Pegasus World Cup Day at Gulfstream and looked ahead to a quartet of Derby preps set to be run this weekend, which include an appearance by 'TDN Rising Star' and 2-year-old champion Fierceness (City of Light) in the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream.

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

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The contenders are as follows:

• Stuart Broad (Cricket)
• Frankie Dettori (Horse Racing)
• Mary Earps (Football)
• Alfie Hewett (Wheelchair Tennis)
• Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Athletics)
• Rory Mcllroy (Golf)

In existence for seven decades, the awards allow the public to decide who its sporting heroes are. Votes can be cast by phone or online on the evening of Dec. 19, with the number to call for each contender revealed during the programme. For further information about the awards please visit the BBC website.

The post 2023 BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Shortlist Revealed appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Amid a huddle of reporters by the tunnel entrance as the runners went to post for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf, one of the most seasoned of American racing writers muttered, “The suspense is officially killing me. This is the one we all want to see.”

As it transpired, in the race with true world championship claims, we weren't far off seeing an American winner in the race traditionally dominated by visitors from Europe. Todd Pletcher's Up To The Mark (Not This Time) posted a valiant best-of-the-rest effort but there was no pegging back Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who became the first Derby winner since his fellow Coolmore campaigner High Chaparral (Ire) to go on to win the Turf.

With two duck eggs in the 2,000 Guineas and King George, Auguste Rodin had something of a will-he-won't-he reputation coming into this, but there is no denying the significant body of work he has compiled since winning the G1 Futurity Trophy a year ago. The Derby, Irish Derby, Irish Champion S., and now a Breeders' Cup, on three occasions beating King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who had created such a buzz on Champions' Day at Ascot only a fortnight earlier and who finished best of the other European-trained horses in fifth.

At the post-race press conference, Coolmore's MV Magnier referred to the ease with which Auguste Rodin had handled the dirt in training this week, as outlined in TDN on Friday, and he dangled the tantalising prospect of the colt staying in training next year to return for the Breeders' Cup Classic at Del Mar.

“He's a remarkable racehorse and he's very well bred,” Magnier said. “We could stand him in Ashford [Kentucky]. We could stand him in Europe. Or we could keep him in training next year.

“I have this lovely romantic idea about maybe bringing him back for the Classic next year. Like Aidan said on Thursday, he was floating over the dirt. So there's a lot of options open. We'll have to decide in the next week or so.”

Aidan O'Brien, whose record seven wins in the Turf began with the aforementioned dual winner of the race, High Chaparral, lauded Ryan Moore's “incredible ride” and he wasn't the only one. In fact the only person playing it down was Moore himself, who hopped on third-placed Aesop's Fables (Ire) in the Turf Sprint after his victory and then hotfooted it to the airport for a 16-hour flight to Australia, where he will ride Melbourne Cup favourite Vauban (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) on Tuesday.

“I'm just delighted that a horse like him, he's vindicated himself now,” he said of Auguste Rodin. “Ending up on the rail was Plan F really. I just had to make the best of the opportunities as they came. He was getting a bad trip and I think he won because he's so good. I made the right call but it could have been the wrong call as well, but because I had so much horse he was able to overcome things. To me, he won despite things not going as smoothly as they should have done, and I think that marks him out to be a good horse.”

Moore had earlier been only inches away from another victory when thwarted by a dazzling stretch run by Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Filly & Mare Turf. Any lingering doubts as to whether the four-year-old would see out the 10 furlongs were quashed as she tanked on round the bend after catching Warm Heart (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the shadow of the post. The lady was not for stopping after gathering her sixth Group/Grade 1 win, but she will be stopping at the Gosdens' Clarehaven Stables, with her owner/breeder Richard Thompson of Cheveley Park Stud swiftly declaring that Inspiral would remain in training at five.

That's great news for racing fans, who, if Inspiral makes it back to Royal Ascot, will almost certainly see Dettori back there too. He may not have confirmed it himself in the aftermath but it is clear that he is the one whom connections will want back in the saddle next year. 

A champion at two, a champion at three and surely this year's champion older filly, Inspiral's defection from Ascot on Champions Day was very much Santa Anita's gain.

“She was pointing for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot but the rain arrived and we didn't even declare her to run,” said her co-trainer John Gosden. “She's very opinionated and very strong-minded. You go with the flow with her, there's no point getting in an argument.”

He added, “I think what is particularly fulfilling is that she's owner-bred.”

Indeed, it was a good day for homebreds, especially those in the royal blue. After Godolphin America's early triumph with Cody's Wish, its two Newmarket stables delivered the closest finish of the day when Mawj (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) was cruelly denied on the line by Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Breeders' Cup Mile. Saeed Bin Suroor had got Godolphin's European campaign off to a great start in 2023 when saddling Mawj to win the 1,000 Guineas. After her Grade I win at Keeneland three weeks ago, she failed by the flimsiest of margins to emulate her half-brother Modern Games (Ire) in winning at the Breeders' Cup, with Master Of The Seas completing a rallying late charge from Charlie Appleby's stable, which also won last weekend's G1 Kameko Futurity Trophy with Ancient Wisdom (Fr) (Dubawi {Ire}). 

Appleby's Breeders' Cup record is quite extraordinary: he recorded his first ever Grade I winner here a decade ago when Outstrip (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) won the Juvenile Turf, and he maintained his 50% strike-rate by notching his tenth victory with Master Of The Seas. And, who knows, we could yet see Master Of The Seas and Mawj back again in 12 months' time as both are remaining in training and heading next to Dubai.

It was perhaps too much to hope that Live In The Dream (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}) could offer up the perfect finale and clean sweep for Europe in the turf races on Saturday. The bonny little chestnut has been a pleasure to watch in the mornings, sauntering around Santa Anita as if he's been there all his life. He has already perhaps surpassed the wildest dreams of owners Steve and Jolene De'Lemos and trainer Adam West by winning the G1 Nunthorpe S. in August, and he has brought them all on the journey of a lifetime to California. The bullet-fast four-year-old broke as sharply as ever but just couldn't sustain his early exertions, finishing an honourable fourth, a length and a quarter off the winner Nobals, a gelded (obviously) son of Frankel's brother Noble Mission (GB).

There was no Hollywood ending for the most enthusiastic set of connections to arrive in LA this week, but the dream lives on.

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One of the back-markers crossing the dirt in the 1 1/4-mile contest, the 5-2 favorite found plenty of friendly cover in the master hands of Frankie Dettori who was looking for his 15th Breeders' Cup success. Glued to the rail into the clubhouse turn behind a half-mile in :46.90 as four-time Grade I winner and last year's runner-up 'TDN Rising Star' In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) showed the way, the filly was in a good rhythm on the backstretch. Creeping closer on the far turn, Dettori shook his filly up at the quarter pole and she produced a killer burst of speed to win coming over the top of the field in the lane to just pip stretch leader Warm Heart, who had saved all the ground, by a neck in the final two jumps. The Coolmore runner was a length better than the remainder. 2022 Canadian Horse of the Year Moira (Ghostzapper) just nosed out G1 Hong Kong Vase heroine Win Marilyn (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) for third.

Dettori, who will not be retiring as originally planned and has instead relocated to the Southern California jockeys' colony, said, “She jumped good. I got squeezed out [after the break]. I really wanted to be where William [Buick on With The Moonlight (Ire) (Frankel {GB})] was, but he got there before me.

“She needs a quarter of a mile to get really in top gear. She was flying. For the team, this was always the plan. Give credit to everyone — John, Thady, and the Cheveley Park team that supplemented for this race. Coming in here this week, I thought she's my best ride, and she proved me right.”

Said John Gosden, “They [Cheveley] bred her, and the whole team there with Richard Thompson here, Patricia's son, it's a wonderful achievement for them.”

Added Cheveley's Richard Thompson, “This is such a special feeling, obviously, winning the Breeders' Cup with Inspiral. Chris is sitting next to me here. He runs the stuff for us, the family, my mother, et cetera. To have a homebred filly win the Breeders' Cup is just–six in Group 1, it's the pinnacle of everything we strive for at Cheveley, to breed a filly like this.”

Said Cheveley Park Stud's manager director Chris Richardson, “Pleased to say she stays in training, which is very exciting. I think her last performance in the Sun Chariot S. at Newmarket was one of the most impressive up until today.

“John has done a magnificent job in getting the filly, who is quite a high-strung filly — always has been, ever since she was a foal — to perform today at the highest level is a huge accolade to Patricia Thompson and the Thompson family.”

Unbeatable as a juvenile and named the Cartier Champion 2-Year-Old Filly after four victories by a combined 11 1/4 lengths including the G1 Fillies' Mile, Inspiral picked up right where she left off with another Group 1 victory, this time in Royal Ascot's Coronation S. in June of 2022. Second in the G1 Falmouth S. last July, she claimed her first of two G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois in France in August. At year's end, she became only the third filly to also be named the Cartier Champion 3-Year-Old Filly. This term, Inspiral missed in the G1 Queen Anne S. by a neck in June, and resumed with another Prix Jacques Le Marois score in August. Most recently, she landed the G1 Sun Chariot S. at Newbury on Oct. 7. Saturday's contest was her first start beyond a mile. Earlier in the day, the Cheveley colors had been borne by Regal Jubilee (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to victory in the Listed Montrose Fillies' S. at Newmarket.

Already a five-time Group 1 winner, the filly had been due to run on QIPCO British Champions Day last month, but the heavy ground put paid to that plan. Next year's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar is a possibility, as well.

Added Gosden, who trains with his son Thady, “She was poising for the Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot, but the rain arrived, and the terrain came too deep. She was in the race and we didn't even declare her to run. We said, right, we're coming here.

“The way she came and finished and the way she galloped out, she's probably saying that the trainer has been running her over the wrong distance the last year.

“Whether you go for the like of the [G1] Lockinge or the Queen Anne or she's meant to stay in training. I could see the [G1] Juddmonte International being a very key race for her next year. I think, if she's in great order next year, there will be no question but to consider Del Mar very seriously. Particularly since the trainer and his wife love coming back to California.”

Pedigree Notes:

Through the Filly & Mare Turf, Juddmonte's Frankel has only had five Breeders' Cup starters. She is one of his most decorated progeny, however, and one of 33 top-tier winners. With her victory on Saturday, she is tied with Frankel's 2022 G1 Prix de l'Arc de Tromphe winner Alpinista (GB) for most top-drawer victories at six.

Runner-up in the G1 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation S. in the Cheveley red-white-and-blue, Inspiral's dam Starscope is a half-sister to listed winner Solar Magic (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) and has also foaled the stakes-placed Celestran (GB) (Dansili {GB}). Starscope's Ulysses (Ire) yearling colt brought 160,000gns from Stetchworth and Middle Park Studs out of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and has since been named Stetchworth Friend (GB). Her winning 8-year-old daughter Lunar Corona (GB) (Dansili {GB}) will be consigned by Cheveley in foal to Twilight Son (GB) (lot 1431) as part of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale next month.

Third dam Mystic Goddess, who won the Listed Sweet Solera S. and was placed thrice in Group 3s, is a half-sister to Italian champion and Group 1 winner Sanam (Golden Act), while she threw two-time Group 1 winner and eventual Cheveley Park stallion Medicean (GB) to the cover of Machiavellian. The Thompsons first got involved with the female family when they purchased Inspiral's fourth dam Rose Goddess (Ire) (Sassafras {Fr}) for $450,000 out of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale carrying to Diesis (GB) in 1988.

Saturday, Santa Anita Park
MAKER'S MARK BREEDERS' CUP FILLY & MARE TURF-GI, $1,840,000, Santa Anita, 11-4, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/4mT, 1:59.06, fm.
1–INSPIRAL (GB), 124, f, 4, by Frankel (GB)
                1st Dam: Starscope (GB) (MG1SP-Eng, $251,626), by Selkirk
                2nd Dam: Moon Goddess (GB), by Rainbow Quest
                3rd Dam: Mystic Goddess, by Storm Bird
O/B-Cheveley Park Stud Limited (GB); T-John H. M. Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. $1,040,000. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-Eng, MG1SW-Fr, 13-9-2-0, $3,639,932. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Warm Heart (Ire), 120, f, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
                1st Dam: Sea Siren (Aus) (Hwt. Older Mare-Ire- at 5 – 7 f., MG1SW-Aus, SW & MGSP-Ire, $1,743,772), by Fastnet Rock (Aus)
                2nd Dam: Express A Smile (Aus), by Success Express
                3rd Dam: Hold That Smile (Aus), by Haulpak (Aus)
O-Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Derrick Smith and Michael Tabor; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan P. O'Brien. $340,000.
3–Moira, 124, f, 4, by Ghostzapper
                1st Dam: Devine Aida (MSW & GSP, $273,215), by Unbridled's Song
                2nd Dam: Passion, by Came Home
                3rd Dam: Rajmata, by Known Fact
($150,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Madaket Stables LLC, SF Racing LLC and X-Men Racing; B-Adena Springs (ON); T-Kevin Attard. $180,000.
Margins: NK, 1, NO. Odds: 2.50, 4.20, 13.50.
Also Ran: Win Marilyn (Jpn), In Italian (GB), Lumiere Rock (Ire), With The Moonlight (Ire), Lindy (Fr), State Occasion (GB), Didia (Arg), Fev Rover (Ire), McKulick (GB).
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

REPLAY: Inspiral (GB) wins the $2 Million @MakersMark #BreedersCup Filly & Mare Turf! Congrats to her connections! #BC23 pic.twitter.com/CmTKJupCj9

— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) November 4, 2023

The post Dettori Magic Grants Frankel First Breeders’ Cup Winner With Inspiral In Filly & Mare Turf appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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