Godolphin | Horse Racing Free Tips

Dubawi’s Kemari Wins the Queen’s Vase

Charlie Appleby's 3-year-old males seem to have the edge in the middle-distance and staying department at present, with Kemari (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) the latest to step forward and provide the outfit with its first Royal Ascot winner of 2021 in the G2 Queen's Vase. Stripped of one of its leading players at the start as Ballydoyle's Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was withdrawn after going down in the stalls, this latest renewal of the 14-furlong test nevertheless had enough depth to ensure that the winner would emerge with suitable kudos. Kemari, who was four-lengths second on debut to Thursday's G3 Hampton Court S. protagonist Movin Time (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in a 10-furlong maiden at Newmarket May 13, had earned this tilt when off the mark by six lengths next time over an extended 11 furlongs at Yarmouth May 28. Always travelling easily drafting behind the pace-setting fellow Godolphin runner Law of the Sea (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), the bay who is gelded and therefore unable to contest the G1 St Leger had the gap heading to the two-furlong pole. Quickly through and into the clear, the 15-2 shot kept finding for William Buick despite drifting left and hit the line with 1 1/2 lengths to spare over the 10-3 favourite Wordsworth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Stowell (GB) (Zoffany {Ire}) came from the rear to be 1 1/4 lengths further back in third.

“I must give the team at home a lot of credit for this–Kemari has been a challenging horse during the winter,” Appleby explained. “He was gelded and had his hood on for his first start, but full credit to them, they have done a great job. William praised Kemari highly after that win at Yarmouth. I have to say, I sat on the fence slightly and felt he was a horse who was progressing, but was he progressing quickly enough to be able to step up into today's league? He has proved me wrong and William right, which is the great thing about having a team such as we have got, we all put our opinions in and hopefully we get the right result. But the horse is definitely a horse who is going the right way.”

Appleby is looking at a potential crack at the Flemington showcase with Kemari and added, “I hope he will make up into a Cup horse for next year. As we all know, in the past few years three-year-olds in the Melbourne Cup have produced the goods. Whether he gets to that level, we will see, but we will enjoy today. We'll have the discussions with our principals and managers during the next few weeks and map the autumn out. He's got a profile that is working in that direction, anyway.”

William Buick added, “I had a nice draw and got a good position out of the gates. The pace took me to where I needed to be and he really quickened up well. It actually surprised me how well he quickened. He is learning on the job and I thought it was a good quality race.”

Kemari is the first of three foals out of Fittocks Stud's G3 St Simon S. scorer Koora (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), who emulated her dam Kithanga (Ire) (Darshaan {GB}) by winning that Newbury contest. Kithanga, who was also third in the G1 Irish St Leger, is best known as the dam of the G1 St Leger hero and sire Milan (GB) (Sadler's Wells) who was also runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf. His two full-sisters Kahara (GB) and Kibara (GB) both produced smart types, with the former responsible for the G2 German 2000 Guineas winner Karpino (Ger) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and the latter throwing the stakes winner Dubara (GB) also by Dubawi. Another of Kithanga's progeny is the G2 Great Voltigeur S. third Go For Gold (Ire) (Machiavellian), while this is also the family of the G1 Epsom and Irish Derby hero and leading sire Kahyasi (Ire), the G1 Irish St Leger heroine Kastoria (Ire) (Selkirk) and the G1 Yorkshire Oaks winner Key Change (Ire) by Kithanga's sire Darshaan. Koora's unraced 2-year-old is a full-brother to Kemari named Out From Under (GB), while she also has a yearling colt by Galileo (Ire) and a filly foal by Kingman (GB).

Wednesday, Royal Ascot, Britain
QUEEN'S VASE-G2, £200,000, Ascot, 6-16, 3yo, 14f 34yT, 3:04.77, g/f.
1–KEMARI (GB), 126, g, 3, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Koora (GB) (GSW-Eng, $136,783), by Pivotal (GB)
2nd Dam: Kithanga (Ire), by Darshaan (GB)
3rd Dam: Kalata (Ire), by Assert (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (400,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Godolphin; B-Fittocks Stud (GB); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £118,400. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $176,134. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Wordsworth (Ire), 126, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)–Chelsea Rose (Ire), by Desert King (Ire). O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. £44,780.
3–Stowell (GB), 126, c, 3, Zoffany (Ire)–Marywell (GB), by Selkirk. O-Nat Rothschild; B-Carwell Equities Ltd (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden. £22,380.
Margins: 1HF, 1 1/4, 1. Odds: 7.50, 3.33, 12.00.
Also Ran: Benaud (Ire), Law of The Sea (GB), Taipan (Fr), Arturo Toscanini (Ire), Dancing King (Ire), Ruling (Ger), Pied Piper (GB), Recovery Run (GB), Golden Flame (Ire), Dirham Emirati (Ire). Scratched: Kyprios (Ire), Zinc White (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by TVG.

The post Dubawi’s Kemari Wins the Queen’s Vase appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Pixelate Turns It On Late To Win At Pimlico

Godophin LLC's Pixelate, fifth in the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf and beaten a nose last time out here in the Henry Clark Stakes, ran down Logical Myth down the stretch to win Sunday's $100,000 Prince George's County by a length at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Md.

Trained by Michael Stidham and ridden by Joe Bravo, Pixelate covered a good 1 1/8 mile turf course in 1:53.56. Eons finished third and Argonne fourth.

Stidham called the win “very satisfying because he's there every time.”

“He's laying his body down for us every time,” he added. “When he loses, it's not by much so when he wins it's extra special. Joe [Bravo] had him in the right spot, moved at the right time and I was delighted with the effort.”

The 1 1/8-mile Prince George's County for 3-year-olds and up on the grass was the third of five stakes worth $475,000 in purses on a 10-race program. Having debuted in 2019, it was not run during a pandemic-shortened 2020 stakes schedule.

It was preceded by the $100,000 Searching Stakes, also on turf, and $75,000 Ben's Cat Stakes and followed by the $100,000 Shine Again Stakes and $100,000 Stormy Blues Stakes. The Ben's Cat for Maryland-bred/sired horses and Stormy Blues for 3-year-old fillies were both moved from the grass to the main track and kept at five furlongs.

It was a clean break for everyone in the Prince George's County with the multiple-dirt stakes winner Alwaysmining going to the front and taking the field into the first turn past a :24.74 opening quarter followed by Doc Boy, also carrying the Godolphin colors, Logical Myth and Bravo rating Pixelate in fifth along the rail.

Alwaysmining led the field down the backstretch past a :50.68 half and 1:15.25 three-quarters before Logical Myth moved up along the outside the leader entering the final turn and took the lead entering the stretch. But Bravo moved Pixelate up along the rail outside a tiring Alwaysmining around the turn entering the stretch and then drove past Logical Myth inside the final sixteenth.

“He was really strong on the first turn,” Bravo said. “When we got down the backside he started breathing underneath me and I knew he was comfortable. Turning for home I had to get him outside. Stidham did all the hard work and got him really ready. I want to say Thanks to Godolphin. What a month they've had. They've won everything. It's just nice to wear their colors.

When asked if he was told anything before riding Pixelate for the first time, Bravo replied, “Don't get beat, jock.”

Pixelate, the favorite, returned $4.20.

Prince George's County is the second most populous county in Maryland behind Montgomery, bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. Within its borders are both Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. and Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Md.

The post Pixelate Turns It On Late To Win At Pimlico appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Bloodlines: Tapit’s Belmont Stakes Legend Continues To Grow With Essential Quality

All hail mighty Tapit! The king of American classic stallions sired his fourth winner of the Belmont Stakes when last season's champion juvenile colt Essential Quality outran the game and good Hot Rod Charlie through the long stretch at Belmont Park to win the final classic of the 2021 season by a length and a quarter. It was another 11 1/4 lengths back of Hot Rod Charlie to last month's Preakness Stakes winner Rombauer (Twirling Candy).

Now a winner in six of his seven starts, Essential Quality added his third Grade 1 to an outstanding resume. A medium-sized gray, Essential Quality joined the previous Belmont Stakes winners by Tapit: Tonalist (2014), Creator (2016), and Tapwrit (2017). In addition to these, the young sire Frosted was second in the Belmont Stakes of 2015 behind Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, and Tacitus was second in the 2019 Belmont. Also, Tiz the Law, a member of the first crop by the Tapit stallion Constitution, won the 2020 Belmont.

Last year's Belmont, of course, will go into the record books with an asterisk because it was the first of the 2020 classics, and the classic was held at a distance other than 1 1/2 miles for the only time since 1925. A year later, Man o' War's son Crusader won the Belmont Stakes at 12 furlongs after years of renewals at a mile and three-eighths.

The dominance of the sons of Tapit at the international classic distance of a mile and a half by itself is a telling fact in the tale of Tapit's importance to the breed. The Belmont Stakes is the sole dirt stakes in North America for 3-year-old colts at 12 furlongs, and that is the race upon which the three-time leading American sire has exerted such great influence.

Without making too much of it, Tapit is an unwavering source of stamina and classic quality for the breed, and a breeder can only wonder what the sire's record might look like if North America had representative racing opportunities for horses of all types and aptitudes. At present, only sprinters and milers have proper opportunities to race and develop their talents; so it's no wonder that the stallions who succeed most often in the States are milers and very robust sprinters.

For a stallion such as Tapit's grandsire A.P. Indy to have raced and bred across the grain of the North American racing program and to have succeeded at the proportion and level he did is a tremendous accomplishment.

The proper cross for A.P. Indy was Mr. Prospector, the best domestic source of speed and classic quality aside from the Seattle Slew line of A.P. Indy himself, and Blue Grass Stakes winner Pulpit, an important sire in his own right, introduced quite a lot more speed into his own stock, including his fine son Tapit.

And Tapit himself does get horses with speed, but the majority of his sons and daughters also tend to show their best form at a mile and frequently farther. Many of them would also race effectively at much longer distances if a program of races (maidens, allowances, claiming, and stakes) were available to suit their needs.

Bred in Kentucky by Godolphin, Essential Quality is out of Delightful Quality, a daughter of the extremely fast miler Elusive Quality, from the Mr. Prospector line through Gone West. Delightful Quality is a half-sister to champion juvenile filly Folklore (Tiznow), and both are out of the Storm Cat mare Contrive. The third dam is by Metropolitan Handicap winner Fappiano (Mr. Prospector), and the fourth dam is by Metropolitan Handicap and Florida Derby winner In Reality, a sire of speed and quality.

This is a very fast, high-quality family that has returned to the championship level with the addition of Tapit, and now the family has added a new dimension with the classic success of Essential Quality.

The post Bloodlines: Tapit’s Belmont Stakes Legend Continues To Grow With Essential Quality appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Second Chances: Cody’s Wish

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

A day before capturing the final leg of the Triple Crown with 'TDN Rising Star' Essential Quality (Tapit), Godolphin unveiled another sophomore to keep an eye on during the GI Belmont Stakes Racing Festival.

Sent off as the 3-1 second favorite on debut, Cody's Wish (c, 3, Curlin-Dance Card, by Tapit) raced in a close fourth through an opening quarter in :22.68 over the harrowed, muddy going. Caught in some traffic on the far turn and shuffled back to sixth three furlongs from home, Junior Alvarado steered the bay out into the clear at the top of the stretch. He leveled off nicely from there to report home a strong third, beaten 3 3/4 lengths, behind new 'TDN Rising Star' Mahaamel (Into Mischief). Cody's Wish, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, came home in a field-best final furlong of :12.41 and earned a very strong 92 Beyer Speed Figure. The final time for seven furlongs was 1:22.46.

The Godolphin homebred is out of Dance Card, heroine of the 2012 GI Gazelle S. and third-place finisher behind two-time champion Groupie Doll (Bowman's Band) in the following year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in her career finale. The $750,000 Fasig-Tipton Florida 2-year-old has also produced the GSP Endorsed (Medaglia d'Oro) and the SP Bocephus (Medaglia d'Oro). She had a colt by Into Mischief this year.

The Curlin over Tapit cross is also responsible for Tenfold, the 2018 GII Jim Dandy S. winner and GI Preakness S. third-place finisher.

“He had been showing promise in the mornings,” Godolphin USA President Jimmy Bell said. “It was a gallant first effort-he found some trouble and learned quite a bit. He showed good determination in persevering to finish a closing third. We are looking forward to running him back at Saratoga at either seven-eighths or 1 1/8 miles.”

Bell added that Cody's Wish was named in honor of Godolphin's Make-A-Wish guest in the fall of 2019 at Keeneland.

Previous standouts featured in 'Second Chances' include: GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (Honor Code), GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner and Royal Ascot G2 Norfolk S. runner-up Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GII Los Alamitos Futurity winner and MGISP Spielberg (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), and MSW and 'TDN Rising Star' Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}).

The post Second Chances: Cody’s Wish appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post