Tag: Frankie Dettori

Santa Anita Kicks Off 87th Winter/Spring Season of Racing Monday

Santa Anita Park will launch its annual winter/spring live racing season on Monday with a 11-race card featuring six stakes races, highlighted by the $300,000 GI Runhappy Malibu S., $300,000 GI American Oaks, and $300,000 GI La Brea S., the last three Grade Is of the year in the U.S.

Dubbed this season for the first time as the Classic Meet, racing at Santa Anita will be conducted on a Thursday-through-Sunday schedule through Apr. 9, the exceptions being Monday, Jan. 2 for the New Year's Day holiday, Monday, Jan. 16 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Monday, Feb. 20 for Presidents' Day. After a brief respite in the spring, live racing will return for a 25-day meet Apr. 22, concluding June 18.

The first race on opening day is set for 11:00 a.m. PST. Then post time will be at noon daily through Jan. 8, at 12:30 p.m. PST through Mar. 12 and 1:00 p.m. PST for the remainder of the Classic Meet with the exception of big-race days.

A total of 93 stakes worth $17.5 million, including 10 Grade Is, are on tap during the 3 ½-month meeting. Led by the $750,000 million GI Santa Anita Derby Apr. 8, the 2022-2023 stakes schedule is rich with GI Kentucky Derby prep races and coveted Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points. These important Triple Crown prep races are the GIII Sham S. on Jan. 8, which is worth 10 points to the winner; the GIII Robert B. Lewis S. on Feb. 5, also worth 10; and GII San Felipe S. on Mar. 4 which guarantees 50 Road to the Kentucky Derby points to the winner. Overall, 11 winners of the Santa Anita Derby–and 18 runners in California's final prep for the Run for the Roses–have gone on to stand in the winner's circle at Churchill Downs reserved for one horse a year in Louisville on the first Saturday in May, the most recent being 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy).

This year, the historic GI Santa Anita H. will be worth $500,000 and the 1 1/4-mile event has been scheduled for Mar. 4. It remains one of the handful of original stakes events contested each year since Santa Anita opened in 1935.

Zedan Racing's Grade I winner and TDN Rising Star Taiba (Gun Runner) will face eight others in the Malibu in his first start since a third-place finish in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Should the chestnut colt win, he would become the only 3-year-old male to win three Grade Is in 2022 and give trainer Bob Baffert a fifth Malibu winner, one shy of fellow Hall of Famer Richard Mandella. The $1.7 million FTFMAR 2-year-old purchase also won the Santa Anita Derby in his second start back in April.

Flightline (Tapit) won his first stakes race in last year's Malibu en-route to a likely 2022 Horse of the Year and champion older male Eclipse Awards.

Mandella will send out multiple Grade II winner Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah) for the seven-furlong test, while former California-based trainer Wesley Ward will try to take advantage of the lucrative ship-and-win money with recent Keeneland allowance winner Nakatomi (Firing Line).

The Malibu has been carded as the 10th race on the card with a 3:30 p.m. PST post time.

Baffert will tighten the girth on four of eight for the La Brea in seeking a record ninth winner, including GII Zenyatta S. winner Midnight Memories (Mastery), GII Summertime Oaks heroine Under The Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) and Fun To Dream (Arrogate), who won the Betty Grable S. at Del Mar last month. Trainer Rudy Rodriguez shipped GIII Victory Ride S. winner Hot Peppers (Khozan) and her jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, to the Left Coast in what will be her first start in 2 1/2 months. Post time for the La Brea, which is the day's 8th race, is 2:30 p.m. PST.

Anchoring the day's card with a 4:11 p.m. PST post time is the American Oaks, which drew a field of 11 runners from coast to coast. Joining the local contingent set to line up will be two trained by East Coast-based Graham Motion, and one each from Brendan Walsh, Chad Brown and Shug McGaughey. Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) debuts for Motion after her previous eight-race career in the hands of Christophe Clement. She most recently was a $3.45 million RNA at KEENOV and returns in the colors of celebrity chef Bobby Flay.

Pizza Bianca will join her new stablemate, GIII Valley View S. winner Sparkle Blue (Hard Spun), in the gate, while Walsh will for the first time send out G1 Bet365 Fillies Mile S. winner Mise En Scene (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) returning to action off a sixth-place finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. McGaughey shipped G2 Sands Point S. winner Skims (GB) (Frankel {GB}) to California with the Brown-trained Winter Memories S. winner and TDN Rising Star Salimah (Ire) (El Kabeir) for the 10-furlong turf test.

Other stakes on the Monday card include the $200,000 GIII Santa Anita Mathis Mile, which drew a field of seven turf milers including I'm A Gambler (Ire) (No Nay Never), who sold for a sales-topping $1,076,000 at TATIHA in October to Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal; the $200,000 GII San Gabriel S., a 1 1/8-mile turf test and traditional early prep for the historic GIII San Juan Capistrano S. at the end of the season; and the $200,000 GII San Antonio S., in years past a traditional prep for the Big 'Cap but more recently used as a stepping stone to both the $6 million G1 Dubai World Cup and $20 million G1 Saudi Cup. Last year's Dubai World Cup winner Country Grammer (Tonalist) will have European champion jockey Frankie Dettori back aboard in the 1 1/16-mile test for the first time since the pair teamed up for the win at Meydan nine months ago. Dettori, in his first and likely last winter in California before his retirement from the saddle at the end of 2023, is scheduled to ride five on the Monday card.

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Legendary Jockey Frankie Dettori Reveals Plan To Retire In 2023

One of the greatest jockeys of all time, Frankie Dettori has announced that next season will be his last and that he will call time on his glittering career in 2023.

Dettori will begin his global farewell tour at Santa Anita on Dec. 26 and could well bring the curtain down at that same venue at the 2023 Breeders' Cup.

Dropping the bombshell on ITV Racing on Saturday morning, Dettori said, “Next year, 2023, will be my final professional year as a jockey. It's something I've been thinking about for a while.

“My heart wants to carry on riding but I have to use my brain. I want to stop at the top. It has been difficult but I think it's the right time.”

He added, “The plan is I am riding Boxing Day in Santa Anita and I'm planning to spend 10 weeks in California.

“I should make my way back via Dubai and Saudi and I guess start my [British] season in Newmarket.

“I will be riding right through, obviously it will be my last Guineas, my last Derby, my last Royal Ascot so on and so forth and then will probably finish [in Britain] at either Champions Day at Ascot or at Newmarket. The final farewell as a professional rider will be in California at the Breeders' Cup.”

Dettori insists the decision to call it a day is not one he has taken lightly.

“It is a very difficult decision because my heart wants to carry on riding, but I have had to use my brain and I've just turned 52 and next year I'll be 53,” he continued.

“I want to be competitive enough to do my owners and my horses justice next year and I think I'm still in that bracket of being good. It was difficult, but it is the right time.

“I spoke to my dad at length. My dad stopped at 51, he is very supporting and I also had to speak to my wife and children who are delighted because they have barely seen me for 35 years!

“I've been thinking about it for a few weeks and I've decided with the firepower I have next year and the horses I have to ride I can finish my career on a big note. Fingers crossed I stay in one piece and we'll give it a good go next year.

“Look at Ronaldo, one day he was playing and he's on the bench the next. I don't want to end up like that and end up where I'm struggling to get rides in the big races. At the moment I still have good horses to ride and I want to finish like that.”

The 52-year-old has been crowned champion jockey three times in Britain and has hogged the headlines for the majority of his career, including when winning all seven races at a high-profile Ascot meeting in 1996.

The long-time number one rider for Godolphin, Detorri parted company with the world-famous racing operation in 2012 and served a six-moth drugs ban soon after the split.

He has been based with John Gosden, for whom he will again ride as number one for in 2023, since 2015, although the pair's relationship was put under well-documented strain this summer after a disappointing Royal Ascot.

However, it is alongside Gosden that Dettori has enjoyed some of his greatest days on a racecourse, and the trainer said he felt the rider was making a good decision to retire next year.

Gosden commented, “Frankie and I discussed this whole matter last week in some depth and we've had a 30-year association together. It is essential that he goes out at the top. Being an elite athlete at any age is incredibly demanding, never mind at 52 years of age.

“He has been riding for me since the early nineties. He came to me in 1993 and he was champion jockey in 1994 and 1995 which showed his amazing class and ability as both a jockey and an athlete. He then went to Godolphin after that and had a wonderful career with them.

“Things slightly went into a dip after that period and it was about 2013/14 that William Buick was our jockey here and he transferred to Godolphin and Frankie had left Godolphin some two or three years before then. But of course with William going there it created a vacancy for Frankie to come back.”

Since reuniting, Gosden and Dettori have combined to win three G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphes–with Golden Horn (GB) in 2015 and with Enable (GB) in 2017 and 2018–and three Classics.

On their success, Gosden continued, “We've had since 2015 the most amazing and extraordinary time together, thanks mainly to all the wonderful horses we've had here and the owners who support our stable.

“But since then the list is endless of top-class Group 1 horses, Golden Horn, Stradivarius (Ire), Enable, Palace Pier (GB)–when you're operating at that level there are some pretty amazing horses.

“So we've had a great run here and he had a good year last year. But I think there comes a time when a great rider like this needs to know when to hang up his boots.

“We've all seen footballers, boxers–anybody really–try to stay a bit too long at something and I think to get to 52 is an amazing achievement.

“I think he'll go on this world tour now starting off in California and winding up in California at the end of the year in November and that's what he wants to do, to be riding all over the place, but obviously based out of England.”

 

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ARCI’S Ed Martins Joins The TDN Writers’ Room

Confusion has reigned ever since an appellate court ruled last week that the Horse Racing and Integrity Act (HISA) is unconstitutional. So what does that mean for the state racing commissions and what should they do going forward? The TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland called upon Ed Martin, the chairman and CEO of the Association of Racing Commissioners International to help clear up the situation. Martin was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

Martin believes that considering the situation HISA should drop the Jan. 1 date and put off taking over drug testing until after the situation has been fully resolved in the courts.

“HISA could fix this themselves by going back to the FTC and saying we're going to put off enforcement of our drug rules,” Martin said. “And they could put it off six months and hopefully we'll get a final court answer by then. But it doesn't look like we're going to get a final determination of their constitutionality any time soon. So this is going to go into a great gray area.”

Martin said he feared that if HISA were to sanction someone after taking over drug testing and enforcement from the state racing commissions that the ruling could be thrown out because the court has said that HISA is unconstitutional.

“We're in a situation where we have a sport where the HISA rules will apply on January 1st and people will get sanctioned for a drug violation or a doping violation under the HISA Rule,” Martin said. “Then if HISA is ultimately declared unconstitutional and invalid, then that violation goes away. It doesn't exist. The penalty goes away. And you've redistributed purses. So this has the potential to be an enormous, chaotic situation.

“There's also been a number of jockeys across the country who have been sanctioned for HISA crap rule violations. Well, if there aren't constitutional, those violations really don't exist. So expect litigation.”

Martin said he is hearing that should HISA go through some tracks will elect not to take part. That would mean they cannot send out their simulcast signal, a price some may be willing to pay.

“There are tracks that, and I'm not at liberty to say who they are, that are considering not simulcasting their signal to come out from under HISA,” Martin said. “And there are states where the tracks in that state, some of them will simulcast and some of them won't. It depends on their economic viability. This was supposed to bring uniformity to the sport. Right now, it's kind of going in the other way. It's off the rails right now. ”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, Lane's End, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, XBTV and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, Bill Finley, Zoe Cadman and Randy Moss gave their own take on the HISA mess. They also looked at Frankie Dettori's decision to join the Santa Anita riding colony starting on Dec. 26 and hue and cry over overly aggressive riding in New York and the feeling that the NYRA stewards are not doing enough to discipline jockeys who go over the line.

To listen to the audio version only, click here. To watch the entire video, click here.

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Haskoy Connections Lose St Leger Appeal

Haskoy (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), the filly that crossed the wire second in the G1 Cazoo St Leger and was demoted to fourth for inference, will remain in that position after connections lost their appeal on Tuesday.

The Juddmonte homebred, with Frankie Dettori in the irons, was deemed to have caused interference to Giavellotto (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) of a sufficient nature to place her behind that Marco Botti-trained colt, the raceday stewards determined.

During the appeal hearing, two incidents were looked into by the independent disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority–an incident between the three- and two-furlong poles where the Ralph Beckett-trained filly drifted towards the inside rail, and again later on once jockey Neil Callan had re-balanced Giavellotto and were closing once again. The race was won by Eldar Eldarov (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), with New London (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) promoted to second, Giavellotto third and Haskoy fourth.

Callan said, “About two and a half out I started to make my move and I noticed Mr. Dettori have a glance over his shoulder so I gave him a shout to tell him I was there. I got carried left and ran out of room.

“I lost momentum and had to pick my horse back up after further interference on my outside and then Mr. Dettori drifted back out so I went for the rail again, but half a furlong from home Mr. Dettori switched his whip and his filly leaned in on me again which cost me more ground.”

“I would say that up to half a furlong from home I was giving it 100% and then when the winner passed me half a furlong out and I knew I had the others beat, I was riding at 80%,” said Dettori, who would subsequently serve a five-day suspension for the ride.

“I can't judge Mr. Callan's ride, only my own, but I would disagree that Giavellotto passed me after the line so that means he would otherwise have beaten me. I took the revs off inside the last half furlong because I couldn't win.”

Panel chair Timothy Charlton KC said during the closing statements, “There was considerable interference just before and just after the two-furlong marker which cost Giavellotto a lot of distance and momentum.

“Without that he would have had a traffic-free run to the line and would have begun a serious challenge at that point. Instead, Mr. Callan had to take back sharply to avoid clipping heels which took him into more trouble with Danny Tudhope's mount [French Claim (Fr) (French Fifteen {Fr})] which compounded the loss of balance and momentum suffered from when Haskoy crossed in front of him.

“When Giavellotto returned to the rail he again suffered interference when Haskoy squeezed him up.

“The panel fully recognises the peril of an arithmetical approach to these sort of cases, especially when the interference is so far out, but despite those uncertainties the panel was persuaded that Haskoy's interference prevented Giavellotto from finishing ahead of Haskoy.

“It is the panel's view the deposit should be returned [to the connections of Haskoy] as perfectly respectable arguments were put to us.”

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