Tag: Graham Motion

‘Mary’ Meets ‘Barbara’ in Beverly D.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL–For all leading trainer Graham Motion has accomplished in an illustrious career, missing from his resume is a victory in any of Chicago's Grade I events. Alex Campbell, Jr.'s Mean Mary (Scat Daddy) will try to right that wrong as the 9-5 morning-line selection for Saturday's GI Beverly D. S., the first of the afternoon's top-level tests.

A treble graded winner in 2020, the homebred was just run down by champion Rushing Fall (More Than Ready) in the GI Diana S. last August and weakened to seventh at 7-2 after setting a demanding pace in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf in November. The dark bay made her seasonal return with a deceptively easy victory in the GIII Gallorette S. at Pimlico May 15, besting a pair of next-out GSWs in the process, and exits a narrow defense of her title in the GII New York S. June 4 in ground that she may not have relished. Luis Saez has the riding assignment.

Remarkably, trainer Aidan O'Brien has never sent out a winner of the Beverly D., but Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) will be well-backed to rectify that anomaly. Fourth as the favorite to recent G1 Prix Rothschild heroine and stablemate Mother Earth (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) in the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas first off a September maiden win, Santa Barbara failed to fire in the G1 Cazoo Oaks June 4, finishing a distant fifth, before bouncing back with a narrow loss against older females in the G1 Pretty Polly S. June 27. She was back on 13 days' rest in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. and things looked bleak entering the final eighth of a mile before she exploded late to decision Con Lima (Commissioner) and Higher Truth (Ire), first and second home in last weekend's GIII Saratoga Oaks Invitational S. Santa Barbara gets six pounds from Mean Mary as she tries to join Euro Charline (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}) as the only 3-year-old winners of the Beverly D.

If Chad Brown is to win the Beverly D. for the sixth year running, it will be with Lemista (Ire) (Raven's Pass), whose owner Peter Brant campaigned 2018/2019 winner Sistercharlie (Ire) (Myboycharlie {Ire}). A two-time group winner in Ireland for Ger Lyons, she rallied into no pace whatsoever to just miss to GISW Harvey's Lil Goil (American Pharoah) in the GIII Beaugay S. on U.S. debut in May. She will try to rebound from a last-of-eight effort in the GI Diana S. July 17 with Flavien Prat at the controls.

Naval Laughter (Midshipman), who broke her maiden by nearly 20 lengths over the synthetic track June 3, most recently belied odds touching 9-1 to upset the course-and-distance GIII Modesty S. July 17 over Joy Epifora (Arg) (Fortify) and Bramble Queen (Silent Name {Jpn}).

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Trainers React to Navarro Guilty Plea

On Wednesday, disgraced trainer Jorge Navarro pled guilty to one count of distribution of adulterated and misbranded drugs with the intent to defraud and mislead, a major development in the doping scandal that has rocked the sport since indictments were announced in March of 2020. Navarro will likely spend time in prison and has been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $25,860,514. His career is over and he may be deported to his native Panama. But was this good day or bad day for the sport?  And what needs to be done from here to clean up the game? Those were among the questions we posed to some prominent trainers who are known not just for their abilities but for their integrity. Here's what they had to say:

Mark Casse: It's a start and I hope there are others out there who can't sleep at night. I bet that Jason Servis is seeing this and is starting to change some of his ideas so far as how to go forward. Servis has been trying to get the wiretaps thrown out. He's got bigger problems right now than just the wiretaps. Navarro is a very bad guy and he is getting what he deserves. He's a big bully and he thought he could get away with anything. He made his bed. I hope he like sleeping in it.

Bill Mott: I'm not happy about it and I'm not pleased that this happened in the first place. I am sorry to see that some of these guys got themselves involved in this kind of stuff. The bottom line is to be good. I don't think you have to do what these guys were doing. I don't know where this all ends. I hope that some time the sport will become proactive enough to stay in front of this problem. This is a great sport. The fact that they are on to some of this stuff is a good thing. But they can also go overboard on therapeutic medications. The testing of the therapeutic medications has become much better and they are picking things up in picograms. I'm not comfortable or confident that the penalties are in line with the testing, for the therapeutic medications. People are worrying more about that than they should be. They should be worried a lot more about the performance-enhancing drugs like EPO that probably do make a difference and are given illegally. That's the challenge. USADA is coming in and I hope they will be more focused on finding the illegal, performance-enhancing drugs.

Shug McGaughey: I'm glad this happened because it has cleared the air. Hopefully, this will be another step toward getting this problem straightened out. The biggest creep I've ever been around or seen in my whole life is Jason Servis. I hope they start getting after him. He is a horrible, horrible guy and had has been horrible for the game. I didn't really know Navarro. I saw that video they took at Monmouth and that was terrible. But the good news is that we won't have to ever worry about him ever again.

Graham Motion: Every trainer should be appalled by what this guy was doing. I don't understand how you couldn't be. Basically, he was cheating all of us. I don't see this as a good day. I feel about as down about the sport as I ever have been. We need to clean it up more. Servis and Navarro aren't the only two guys. Where are we going? What else is coming? Is this it? These guys were beating some of us all the time and I find it hard to believe they were the only ones doing this. It's incredibly disappointing that these tracks aren't more proactive and doing something about this situation. With Navarro, it was also his behavior. He was so in your face with this. It's so upsetting to know what happened to XY Jet. We can all have horses get hurt but to actually treat a horse with something that probably ended up causing his demise is pretty shocking to me. This whole thing is pretty sad.

Ken McPeek: I am disappointed that this industry has to deal with something like this. This should get the attention of those who want to stain the game, so that makes this a good thing. Navarro claimed some horses off of me over the years, but he never really did anything significant with any of them. I had heard other trainers complain about him and what he was doing. Maybe their experience was different than mine. I don't know what tricks he was up to. I think we're headed in the right direction. The threshold levels are so low that we are practically racing drug free. Good horsemen can handle that and good horsemen have shown they can play by the rules and prosper.

Christophe Clement: What I want to know is will my owners ever get paid back for every time they were beaten by Jorge Navarro over the last four of five years? What have the racetracks done to protect my owners? It's not about me, it's about my owners. People are supposed to regulate the sport and protect them from this sort of thing happening. I'm not sure how many times Navarro beat me, but I finished behind Servis a number of times and in some big races. Unfortunately, this is nothing new. It's the culture out there. The vet is in charge. We need more horsemanship and less medication. There is a great difference between how people train around the world versus how they train in the U.S. Here, the vet is so much more powerful.

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Two-Time Graded Winner Kanthaka Retired

West Point Thoroughbreds' Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed–Sliced Bread, by Noonmark), a dual graded-stakes winner on dirt and Grade I placed on turf, has been retired. According to a tweet from the New Jersey-based partnership, John H. Haines, a partner in the 6-year-old gelding, adopted Kanthaka and moved him to a ranch in Oregon, where he arrived Sunday.

A $140,000 purchase out of the 2017 Barretts March Sale, Kanthaka was at first based in California with trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, for whom he won the GII San Vicente S. and GIII Laz Barrera S., both at seven furlongs, in 2018. Placed three times at the graded level at four, including a third when trying the turf for the first time in the GIII Daytona S. in 2019, Kanthaka was sidelined for better than a year and made his return to action in the 2020 GI Jaipur S., his first start for trainer Graham Motion. Sent off at 16-1, the chestnut made a run to the lead inside the final furlong, only to be caught late by Oleksandra (Aus) (Animal Kingdom).

Winless in three trips to the post this term, Kanthaka retires with three wins from 17 starts and earnings of $456,635.

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Da Hoss Stakes, Juvenile Turf Sprints Headline Monday Card At Colonial

The third week of the Colonial Downs summer racing season kicks off Monday, August 2 with a trio of $100,000 stakes races, including a pair of Virginia-restricted turf sprints for 2-year-olds and a rescheduled stakes from the July 26 card when storms caused its postponement. Colonial Downs is located in New Kent, Va.

The five-furlong Hickory Tree Stakes attracted a field of ten colts/geldings including Sean Feld's Evan Harlan, the morning-line favorite. The Graham Motion trainee finished third in a maiden special weight turf race at six furlongs June 20 at Belmont, his only career start. The Temple City colt was two lengths back at the wire. Victor Carrasco has the mount from post three.

Jeremy Brooks' Wow Whata Summer, second early choice, finished second in his career bow July 20 at Colonial, but was bumped up to the top spot when initial winner Capt. Candy was disqualified and placed down a notch. The Summer Front colt is trained by James Lawrence and will be ridden by Feargal Lynch, who was up in the start two weeks ago.

Four first-time starters are also in the field. The Hickory Tree has been carded as the eighth race of nine at a scheduled post of 5:01 PM.

A field of nine fillies will compete in the Keswick Stakes, also at five furlongs, led by Big Lick Farm's Cavalier Cupid. The Sarah Nagle trainee is fresh off a two-length victory in a maiden special weight turf sprint opening day at the New Kent track. The daughter of Quality Road was the favorite with Horacio Karamanos in the irons. She is the morning-line choice in the stakes and Karamanos is scheduled to ride again.

David Ross's Rambert finished second to Cavalier Cupid in that maiden race July 19 and is the second early pick in the Keswick at 4-1. Michael Stidham, leading Colonial trainer in '19 and '20, conditions the Declaration of War filly. Colby Hernandez is back as rider.

Three other horses in the field come in fresh off maiden victories, though they all came on dirt. O K Smarty Pants and Fancy Her Up prevailed by five-plus lengths at Charles Town Race Track in Charles Town, W.Va., while Buff My Boots dominated gate-to-wire by ten lengths at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md. Determined Truth, third early choice, lost by a neck at Pimlico in her debut July 9 which was also was on dirt.

The Keswick Stakes has been carded as the seventh and will go to post at 4:33 PM.

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Six of the seven Da Hoss Stakes entrants have a bankroll of $220,000-plus including Michelle Lovell and Griffon Farm's Just Might, the 9-5 early favorite. The 5-year-old Justin Phillip gelding captured the Mighty Beau Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., last out and earlier this year, powered home to a five-length win in the Colonel Power Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. In 2020, Just Might was stakes placed in a pair of Grade 2's — the Woodford Stakes and Twin Spires Turf Sprint. In all, he has bankrolled $400,309. Colby Hernandez will ride.

Ed Orr and Susie Orr's Virginia-bred Boldor, conditioned by Steve Asmussen, is the second early choice at 7-2. The 5-year-old Munnings gelding prevailed in the King Cotton and Sam's Town Stakes earlier this year at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., and Delta Downs in Vinton, La., in back-to-back starts. Jockey Sheldon Russell gets the call Monday.

Jim and Susan Hill's Holiday Stone, top money earner in the field with $521,159, is the third early pick. The 7-year-old Harlan's Holiday horse has a turf allowance victory in each of the last three years. Feargal Lynch will ride for trainer George Weaver.

The Da Hoss, open to three-year-olds & up at 5 1/2 turf furlongs, will kick off the stakes action in the third race at 2:41 PM. First post at Colonial is 1:45 PM.

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