Purchased for $70,000 out of this year's OBS March Sale with the objective of sending him over to Royal Ascot–where his sire was a strong fifth to Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal) in the 2018 G1 King's Stand S.–Mattingly debuted in the May 13 Royal Palm Juvenile S., finishing runner-up to No Nay Mets (Ire) (No Nay Never), who received the automatic berth. Unplaced in the G2 Norfolk S., No Nay Mets has since added a pair of open-lengths stakes scores and is a leading U.S. hope for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. An easy maiden winner over this surface June 24, Mattingly was last seen finishing a softened-up second in the July 16 Victoria S. on the Woodbine Tapeta and landed here for a build-up into the fall.

Off quickly from gate four, the Florida-bred was soon overhauled at the fence by Esperon (Chitu), who zipped his opening quarter mile in :21.14 while opening a bit of daylight on the turn. Taking aim on the front-runner nearing the stretch, Mattingly needed to be straightened out by Samy Camacho approaching the eighth pole, but went to Esperon with about a sixteenth of a mile to race and edged clear. Okiro (Yoshida {Jpn}) rallied outside the eventual winner into the lane, but was outfinished for the victory.

“I learned a lot in that Woodbine race,” said winning trainer Joe Orseno. “When it scratched down to four horses, we thought, 'Just go. He's fast.' He got stuck in a speed duel to set it up for the horse coming off of it. I said, 'That's not going to happen again. I said, 'We've got to let [Esperon] and [Prevent {Neolithic}] go.' That was the plan we took, and it worked.”

Regarding future plans for the horse, Ironhorse Racing Managing Partner Harlan Malter said: “I honestly don't think he's truly a five-furlong horse, so we might just let them go knock heads at Santa Anita [in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint] and try a race like the [Nov. 4 $120,000] Atlantic Beach S. [at Aqueduct] to give him a little more distance and to see what he can do back on the turf. But nothing is off the table right now.”

Ironhorse also campaigns the Orseno-trained 3-year-old Bucchero filly Beauty of the Sea, winner of the Blue Sparkler S. in July, who also descends from a Gone West-line dam. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

HOLLYWOOD BEACH S., $90,000, Gulfstream, 9-30, 2yo, 5f (AWT), :56.67, ft.
1–MATTINGLY, 120, c, 2, by Bucchero
1st Dam: Battingstar, by Grand Slam
2nd Dam: Starship Sensation, by Go for Gin
3rd Dam: Tremor, by Tromos (GB)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($70,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Ironhorse Racing Stable LLC & Harlow Stables LLC; B-Lance Colwell (FL); T-Joseph F Orseno; J-Samy Camacho. $64,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-2-0, $147,028. *Third stakes winner for sophomore sire (by Kantharos).
2–Okiro, 120, c, 2, Yoshida (Jpn)–She Hung the Moon, by Malibu Moon. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. ($8,200 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $25,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-Yutaka Enterprises Corp.; B-Burleson Farm & McKenzie Bloodstock (KY); T-Jose Garoffalo. $13,000.
3–Esperon, 120, c, 2, Chitu–Satan's Mistress, by Songandaprayer. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. ($70,000 RNA 2yo '23 OBSMAR; $165,000 2yo '23 OBSOPN). O-Champion Equine LLC; B-Michael Frank (FL); T-J David Braddy. $7,800.
Margins: 1 3/4, 1, 1. Odds: 1.50, 2.80, 5.20.
Also Ran: Prevent, El Principito. Scratched: Hermoso Hombre, Roar Ready.

#FloridaBred Mattingly, a son of #FloridaSire ⁦@Buccherostud⁩ wins the $65,000 Hollywood Beach ⁦@GulfstreamPark⁩ while also earning a $25,000 Florida-bred win bonus. Ridden by ⁦@SamyCamacho1⁩ pic.twitter.com/vwxds4Tv3m

— FTBOA (@florida_horse) September 30, 2023

The post Bucchero Colt Goes Deep In Hollywood Beach appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The series documents the journey of US-based syndicate operator Harlan Malter, as he tries to turn the dream of returning to Royal Ascot with a horse sired by his 2018 G1 King's Stand S. runner-turned-stallion Bucchero (Kantharos) into reality. In the first video installment, Malter reflects on his personal reasons for his ambitions, as well as his experience of watching the horse carry the Ironhorse Racing silks to place fifth at the Royal Meeting in 2018. He also explains his plans for purchasing an offspring of Bucchero that can be trained in the UK, as well as one day producing a homebred out of Improvise (Fr) (Iffraaj {GB}), a filly purchased from the dispersal of Queen Elizabeth II's horses at Tattersalls last November who is now racing for Ironhorse Racing in America.

Since this first episode was filmed, Malter has also secured a 2-year-old by Bucchero that he plans to aim at the Royal Palm Juvenile S. at Gulfstream Park on May 13, the winner of which will earn an automatic entry into one of Royal Ascot's six 2-year-old races. The colt, purchased for $70,000 at the OBS March Sale, will be trained by Joe Orseno.

Malter said, “Our first tangible step [of the plan] was to head over to Tattersalls this winter to try to acquire a quality European mare to eventually breed to Bucchero. After finding that in Improvise, I was thrilled when GBRI reached out to help me and follow along in this dream. The next step in the process was to find a ready to race 2-year-old Bucchero this year who hopefully we found in the colt we purchased last week.

“The last step will be to head over to Royal Ascot in June and firm up our plans with a UK trainer and together look for a yearling prospect in the fall to send right over to Newmarket to begin preparation for a 2-year-old campaign in the UK.

“In a game that is often dominated by a small group at the top, horse racing is one of the few sports that lets anyone take a shot at glory. The process, the challenge and the people we surround ourselves within this sport is why all of us wouldn't think of living a day without these amazing horses in our lives.”

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Malter and his IHR partners eagerly accepted an invitation to Royal Ascot for the 2018 G1 King's Stand S. over a straight and undulating five-furlong trip. Bucchero acquitted himself exceptionally well against some of the best European short-trackers in recent memory like Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Mabs Cross (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), just missing fourth while beaten under five lengths.

The flames had been fanned and this weekend at Meydan Racecourse, a half a world away, Get Smokin (Get Stormy) faces a diverse bunch in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on the G1 Dubai World Cup undercard.

“I think once you're exposed to international racing and the enthusiasm and passion that the rest of the world has toward all of the racing, it makes you want to put your horse on that stage,” Malter said last week from his home in Southern California. “You have to have the right horse. And when we went with Bucchero, we were 50-1, but the horse ran as competitively on the world stage as you possibly could have hoped. And we feel the same way about Get Smokin.”

Malter and partners BlackRidge Stables LLC, T-N-T Equine Holdings LLC and Saratoga Seven Racing Partners acquired Get Smokin in a private transaction late last year.

“We've been working with [bloodstock agent] Phil Hager for about three years now, and he came to us with the horse,” Malter said when asked how they came to own the 5-year-old. “He had picked the horse out as a yearling [$11,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky in 2018] and had stayed quite involved with his progress both through his friendship with [trainer] Tom Bush and with the [previous owners the] Sullivans.

He continued, “They were starting to disperse a little bit of some of their holdings, and they had kind of leaned on Phil to hopefully find a really good spot for the horse to end up in. And so he came to us with the possibility of purchasing the horse. We were able to put together a really, really good team of Ironhorse partners plus some outside partners who were super game and have been really great to own the horse with. There's some very obvious similarities to another horse that we campaigned internationally, a chestnut with four white socks, but the thing that really, really caught our eye about the horse is, you just don't see a horse that's more game than this horse. If you look at his past performances, it's littered with the top turf horses in the country the last two years.”

Get Smokin posted a front-running defeat of the classy Decorated Invader (Declaration of War) in the 2020 GIII Hill Prince S. going Belmont's one-turn mile and made the majority of the running in that year's GI Hollywood Derby over a stamina-stretching nine panels, only to be swarmed late to finish a close fourth to divisional leaders Domestic Spending (GB) (Kingman {GB}), Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute) and Gufo (Declaration of War). A four-race campaign in 2021 included a 3/4-length success in the GIII Tampa Bay S. from just off the pace and he also annexed a graded-stakes quality renewal of the Seek Again S. in May. He was sidelined off a fifth in the GIII Poker S. and resumed with a very useful runner-up effort in defense of his title in the Tampa Bay S. Feb. 5, going a good gallop before just running out of fitness late in his first run for his new owners.

“I think any time you give a horse some time off, you don't know exactly how tight they'll be when they come back. So we were thrilled,” Malter said. “[Trainer] Mark [Casse] said he was extremely happy with the way he was training. So we were excited about the way of coming into it. And he put in exactly the effort we had hoped off a break like that.”

Grade 2-winning $1.5m Al Quoz Sprint (G1) hopeful GET SMOKIN stretched his legs for the first time @RacingDubai on Friday morning as he prepares for #DubaiWorldCup day. @markecasse @casseracingdc @racingwithihr

Full video: https://t.co/GMp0Y0ptXC pic.twitter.com/eMVnk0J2rV

— Michael Adolphson (@AdolphsonRacing) March 18, 2022

Malter is well aware that the task ahead in the Al Quoz will not be an easy one, as Get Smokin is set to face a distance and configuration he is generally unaccustomed to. The competition in the race, contested over a straight six furlongs, figures extremely strong, including last-out G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint romper Man of Promise (Into Mischief), European Group 1 winners Emaraaty Ana (GB) (Shamardal) and A Case of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) and GI Jaipur S. hero and recent G3 1351 Turf Sprint runner-up Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) among what is expected to be a full field. Flavien Prat has accepted the mount in the race won last year by fellow Yankee Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid).

“In talking to people who have experience with Dubai and some of the past success, and some of the Americans going over, the cutback milers have fared quite well,” Malter said. “The near miss by Long on Value (Value Plus) comes to mind. It is one of those situations where you don't know that he can't do it, and you don't know that he can do it. And we tend to lean to the side that we don't know that he can't do it. So he's the type of horse that gives you a ton out of the gate going through turns, and immediately pretty much rates himself. And he gives you a kick toward the end.

He added, “It's really going to be a lot up to how he decides to handle early, faster fractions, because he's never really been exposed to them. And what we obviously hope is that we've put one of the best riders in America on him, who's run this type of race before. And we'll leave it to him and the horse to see how they're feeling when the gates open. But we do feel like, with the speed he has, he should be able to position himself quite handy. And you hope that a horse that is normally used to going a much longer distance should have plenty left for the last two furlongs.”

Win, lose or draw Saturday, the allure of traveling horses has led Malter, Ironhorse and his partners to the sprawling Meydan Racecourse. And he is relishing the opportunity.

“When you get a chance to have the world bring their horses to a single race and put your head in there and let your horse be seen on that stage, it really does become about the horse,” he offered. “And giving the horse the chance. This is a unique opportunity to give your horse a chance to show what he's got against the top horses in the world and really make a mark. And we would definitely not go unless we thought this horse was going to be very competitive.”

The post Get Smokin Has Ironhorse, Partners On the Road Again appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The latest issue of the PR Back Ring is now online, ahead of the OBS June 2-Year-Olds And Horses OF Racing Age Sale.

The PR Back Ring is the Paulick Report's new bloodstock newsletter, released ahead of every major North American Thoroughbred auction. Seeking to expand beyond the usual pdf presentation, the Back Ring offers a dynamic experience for bloodstock content, heavy on visual elements and statistics to appeal to readers on all platforms, especially mobile devices.

Here is what's inside this issue…

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS EDITION OF THE PR BACK RING

• Lead Feature Presented By Niall Brennan Stables: After the pandemic ravaged the 2020 juvenile auction and created an uncertain yearling marketplace in which to re-stock, how are consignors feeling as we head into the home stretch of the 2021 2-year-old season? Pretty good, actually.
• Stallion Spotlight: Harlan Malter of Ironhorse Racing Stable on young Florida stallion Bucchero.
• Pennsylvania Leaderboard Presented By Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association: The late stalwart Jump Start continues to reside at the top of the standings by Pennsylvania stallion incentive earnings. Learn more about his reign at the top and the horses that got them there.
• Ask Your Veterinarian Presented By Kentucky Performance Products: Dr. Raul Bras of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital on the hoof ailment White Line Disease.
• The Stat: Examining Florida's leading freshman sires from 2010 to 2020.
• First-Crop Sire Watch: Stallions whose first juveniles are cataloged in the OBS June sale.

CLICK HERE TO READ THIS EDITION OF THE PR BACK RING

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A horse that receives the best characteristics of its parents is said to have hit the genetic lottery. One that's sold for well above its expected value is often compared to hitting the jackpot, while the buyer of that same horse will say the prospect is their lottery ticket toward success on the track, and hopefully the breeding shed. Then, the ticket printer starts humming all over again.

For breeders who book their mares to Florida stallion Bucchero in 2021, the hyperbole is put to the side. They're getting an actual lottery ticket.

To help drum up support for the stallion in his third crop, typically a challenging book to fill for any sire, managing partner Harlan Malter will buy a $2,000 lottery ticket in July, and anyone that sent a mare to Bucchero this year has the option to join it. One mare bred equals one share in the group ticket.

Malter has never been one to shy away from promotional hooks for the Grade 2-winning son of Kantharos. When the stallion's first foals were born last year, he designed a website to show them off and create a marketplace to buy and sell the foals. Each season at stud has seen a unique incentive program, from offering lifetime breeding rights if his runners win graded stakes races to creating a “lock-in” plan to keep early-book breeders at the same stud fee in the future in the event Bucchero succeeds enough to raise it.

“Each year, I try to think of what would be something as a small breeder that would be fun or exciting,” Malter said. “For about a month straight, the Mega Millions was going up every single month. I think it ended up going over a billion dollars, and I felt like with all the national excitement about the lottery, it just kind of fit the comparison of what breeding is like. It's like the lottery sometimes – you need lightning to strike.

“This one's probably the longest shot,” he continued, “but it'll have the biggest payout if something happens.”

Which particular lottery game would be played with the group ticket was still to be determined. Malter said he'd likely plunk the money down on whichever game had the highest jackpot in July, once the breeding season is over and the list of eligible players was finalized.

Malter said the lotto-ticket comparisons were especially true for breeders in a stallion's third book. By the time the ensuing foals reach the marketplace as yearlings, Bucchero will have two crops of racing age on the racetrack, and his ever-important first crop will be in the midst of its 3-year-old season. The stallion's reputation will be settling in the minds of potential buyers, and a fast start at stud could lead to a windfall for those third-book breeders who will have high-demand product at the right time. On the opposite side of the coin, if those first crops don't come out running, they'll bear the commercial brunt.

Fortunately, Bucchero will have about as many chances to get off the mark quickly as any stallion in North America. The 291 mares he covered in his first two books at Pleasant Acres Stallions was the most of any stallion in Florida over the same timespan. He defied convention last year when he covered more mares in his second book than his first, rising from 130 to 161 from year to year.

“We wanted to highlight that it's an even bigger benefit to the breeder than it is to us, because they'll be sitting on the product in that year,” Malter said. “If the horse does hit, and he'll hopefully have all these chances, we hope it pays off for them.”

Bucchero has a while before his first foals hit the racetrack, but the early commercial indicators have been positive. He was the leading Florida-based sire of newly-turned yearlings by both gross and average, among those with more than one horse sold, with eight sold for a total of $135,000 and an average of $16,875.

“Obviously, I've had a tremendous amount of passion for Bucchero and his prospects, and he was very well received,” Malter said. “I was at the sale talking to people shopping and buying, and he brought the goods. He brought what you would expect from Bucchero.”

In particular, Malter noted that Bucchero's broodmare sire, the leading California sire General Meeting, was showing through in his foals, giving them traits one might not expect from a stallion who was best known during his racing days as a turf sprinter.

“The words that I heard were, 'athletic, strong, very good muscle tone,'” Malter said. “The thing I found most interesting, and I got this from a few people, was 'I think I need to rethink what I was expecting of a Bucchero.' I think the people who have never seen him in person think he was a very fast sprinter, and that you're going to get a stocky, short-coupled horse. What I got from most people was they're scopy, they've got nice leg. I think a good chunk of that is coming through with General Meeting in the bloodline, which I don't think the East Coast saw much of. I was happy to hear from people that he was checking off pretty much all the boxes they were looking for.”

The post Playing The Numbers: Bucchero’s Third-Book Breeders To Join On Group Lottery Ticket appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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In the Breeders' Cup Buzz, we're asking some notable Thoroughbred industry names about their experiences with the event and a few hypothetical questions tied to the races.

This week, we asked participants in the upcoming Breeders' Cup to look back at the last time the card was held at Keeneland and recall what memories have stuck with them in the time between.

To view previous editions of the Breeders' Cup Buzz, click here.

Valorie Lund – Trainer

“American Pharoah winning the Classic was awesome. He was doing something that will probably never done again in many years, if ever.”

Aron Wellman – Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

“Selfishly, we had a runner that year in the Distaff, Curalina. She put up a really game effort to be third behind Stopchargingmaria and Stellar Wind. That was my most vivid memory.”

Harlan Malter – Ironhorse Racing Stable

“I had 2 1/2 to get from Lexington, Ky., to Shelbyville, Ind., to make it from the end of American Pharoah's Classic win to Bucchero's first stakes win as a 3-year-old in the To Much Coffee at Indiana Grand. I'm a big planner, and I was sitting next to my partner saying, 'I don't think we can wait until American Pharoah crosses the finish line.' We had to make a beeline to the car because other people would be trying to leave. I had so much excitement for American Pharoah's race, and I thank him for winning it so convincingly, because we legitimately headed into the tunnel when he passed us, and we were able to get to the car. We arrived in Shelbyville as Bucchero was walking into the paddock. It was the first stakes win for Ironhorse.”

Carlos Martin – Trainer

“American Pharoah putting on a show in the final race of his career, and destroying the field. He was just a magical horse. I was a big fan of his, and to watch him go out to Keeneland and dominate the way he did, and the reception he got, it was just a special, special day.”

Jerry Crawford – Donegal Racing

“Donegal Racing had over 125 people at the races that day, and I think that was my biggest memory. It was the year Keen Ice won the Travers, beating American Pharoah, and we, of course, were hoping that he'd repeat that feat in the Classic. That wasn't meant to be, but it was still a very exciting summer and fall of racing.”

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After breeding to 130 mares in his first season at stud, multiple graded stakes winner Bucchero followed up his first-year success by breeding to 161 mares in 2020. Second in Florida only to Khozan, his total topped standout second year sires such as Collected, Bolt d'Oro and City of Light. His 291 mares bred in 2019-20 made him the most-popular stallion in Florida over the past two years.

“Kantharos and Bucchero's direct family is as hot as any up-and-coming family in America” said the ownership group's managing partner Harlan Malter. “Between his sire Kantharos and Bucchero's three-quarters relative, multiple Grade 1 winner World of Trouble, this direct family bred to 421 mares in 2020. I think this really says a lot about how breeders feel about the explosive potential of this 'Freaky Fast Family.'”

Bucchero is the first son to stud by Kantharos, whose tremendous success as a Florida-based sire resulted in his being transferred to Kentucky to continue his career at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa. Kantharos's current 15 2-year-old winners from his first Kentucky-conceived crop is more than American Pharoah, Munnings and Tapit.

Bucchero enters his third year at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida in 2021, where he will continue to stand for $5,000.

“We were excited to bring the Kantharos bloodline back to Florida and once the breeders were able to see him in person, he really sells himself” commented Joe Barbazon, owner of Pleasant Acres. “Breeders realize that the Florida program and 2-year-old sales put a lot of emphasis on speed and precociousness, and they see that Bucchero checks these boxes. We have had the chance to see many of his first crop foals and breeders report back that he is really stamping them –  smart, correct and fast looking.”

A winner of 11 races, with earnings of $947,936, Bucchero won stakes going long and short, on dirt and turf, and was stakes placed on synthetic.

Bucchero won seven black-type races, including the $200,000 Grade 2 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland in both 2017 and 2018. He was stakes-placed seven times, including second in the $200,000 G2 Shakertown Stakes and third in the $150,000 G3 Twin Spires Turf Sprint Stakes.

Bucchero was the rare horse who was both precocious and durable. Debuting as a 2-year-old in stakes company, and finishing second by a half-length, he then broke his maiden at second asking running a Thorograph 4. Durable and sound, he raced 31 times at 13 different tracks, winning his second Woodford at the end of his 6-year-old campaign.

An “Early Bird” discount of $1,000 will be offered for bookings made before Jan. 1, 2021.

The post Bucchero Breeds 291 Mares In 2019-20; Leads All Florida Sires appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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In horse racing, Momos is a very talented and very fast son of Distorted Humor and Inspeight of Us (Speightstown) who delivered the first ‘wow’ performance in the first 2-year-old maiden of the Saratoga meet July 18 (video), earning ‘TDN Rising Star‘ status.

“I think everybody that buys a horse that wants to win that first maiden special at Saratoga realizes that you’re going to be running against some of the best horses that have been specifically targeted for those races,” said Harlan Malter, the managing partner of Ironhorse Racing Stable, which owns Momos in partnership with Tami Bobo’s Secure Investments.

“No matter how good your horse is training, it’s difficult to expect to win,” he continued. “The reports I got were that the horse is healthy and training great and, something you always like to hear–‘This is a fast horse.’ We were concerned about a possible speed duel or running into a monster, but I was cautiously optimistic. We felt like he was going to run well, but I don’t think anyone goes into those races thinking that you’re going to win. But we were thrilled with the way he did it.”

Turns out Momos was the monster.

Momos was bred by Bobo and the Distorted Humor syndicate and was purchased for $75,000 as a short yearling at the 2019 OBS Winter Mixed Sale. Entered for, but withdrawn from the Fasig-Tipton July sale, the colt was rerouted for the breeze-up sales, where De Meric Sales was tasked with the prep work ahead of this year’s OBS March sale.

Malter has a soft spot for OBS, owing in no small part to the fact that it was at the auction house’s June sale in 2014 that he and his partners acquired a chestnut colt by Kantharos for $43,000. An Indiana-bred, Bucchero took the Ironhorse partnership on the ride of a lifetime, winning back-to-back renewals of the GII Woodford S. at Keeneland leading to consecutive appearances in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. The over-achieving near-millionaire also represented Ironhorse at Royal Ascot in 2018, finishing a highly creditable fifth in the G1 King’s Stand S.

While in England, Malter–an enormous fan of Cigar–made the acquaintance of Riley Mott, the son of Cigar’s Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, who was to be represented on the same opening-day program by Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) in the G1 Queen Anne S. The junior Mott recommended to Malter that he consider bloodstock agent Phil Hager if he was looking for advice on any future purchases. In July 2018, Hager, a one-time employee of the Mott barn, left a position in bloodstock services at Crestwood Farm to launch Taproot Bloodstock. A partnership was struck.

Ultimately, there was a fair bit of synergy between Malter–‘the pedigree guy’–and Hager, who concentrates more on the physical in front of him without regard to the page, where it came to the Distorted Humor colt, who hammered for $180,000, with Taproot signing as agent for IHR.

“What we’ll generally do is not put any horses in his mind,” Malter said of the team’s approach. “He’ll do his list and then we’ll see if there’s overlap and go from there. What was great about this one, which rarely happens, this was basically on the top of our list going into the sale. The horse obviously worked very, very well (:21 flat) and Phil was very happy with the work, specifically–the way he did it, how professional and forward the horse was. Once we had that overlap, it was basically the target of our whole sale. Phil does a tremendous job. Tami Bobo expressed an interest to stay in for part, and it’s been a pleasure to have her as part of the team.”

He added, “When you have a horse that you kind of model everything after–with Bucchero being in my mind’s eye–I like to see very efficient movers and when we saw him in the work, he just did everything the right way. He kind of just drove himself into the ground, low, a very driving and efficient mover. There was no wasted energy. He galloped out extremely well. We were also really happy that he was coming out of the de Meric consignment. We have a relationship with Tristan and Valery de Meric, we know how well they prep them and we knew he’d probably come out ready to go.”

Malter admitted that the colt was at the upper limits of what they wanted to spend, but that circumstances dictated that they be aggressive.

“We felt with what was going on in the world that (a) potentially this was going to be the last time to buy for a little bit; and (b) there also may be a little reluctance to spend as much money at that sale. We did see it as a potential value play, so we were ready to spend a little bit of money. As far as Ironhorse, we try to offer a wide range, from $30,000 up to $200,000, which is about as much as we want to spend. We’re really looking for value. We were looking to try to get a $300,000 horse for $150,000, and we weren’t too far off that. We are going to have to do a little bit of zigging when other people are zagging and this is a little bit of where I blend my other business, being a financial planner, with looking at horses.”

Ironhorse campaigns its horses with Tim Glyshaw–who called the shots on Bucchero’s career–Mike Trombetta and Mott, but Malter was keen on getting a horse to Christophe Clement.

“I met [Clement’s son] Miguel at last year’s OBS sale and that got the wheels in motion. I’ve really enjoyed working with Christophe and Miguel, they make a very strong team,” Malter explained. “When we gave the horse to Christophe, we said, ‘Maybe this is the horse that gets us back to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint down the road,’ but the feedback we got was, ‘This horse can really run on dirt, let’s not worry about grass now.’ Initially the goal on this horse was turf sprinting and I don’t think there are a lot of trainers better at training turf sprinters than Christophe. But, obviously he showed what he could do right now on the dirt.”

With that in mind, Momos is a candidate for the six-furlong GII Saratoga Special S. Aug. 7 and/or the GI Runhappy Hopeful S. over seven furlongs Sept. 7.

As for Bucchero, he has completed his second year covering mares at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida. As hands-on as he was during his racing career, Malter has taken an active role in aggressively marketing his stallion to the breeding public.

“I grew up with the Todd Marinovich story, where his father was so heavily involved with managing his whole development and career,” Malter said, referring to the former professional football quarterback. “I often feel like if Bucchero could talk, he’d say, ‘Who is this guy and why is he always around?’ I’ve tried to take the bull by the horns and do the best that I could by this horse. But he’s done all the speaking. It’s been unusual that we’ve had an even bigger second year than we had the first year.”

Malter reports that Bucchero’s first crop numbers a healthy 76 foals.

“There’s really only one thing I was hoping for with the babies–that [Bucchero’s] mind would come through,” he said. “The feedback I am getting from the breeders on a consistent basis is ‘solid, balanced, athletic,’ but they almost always emphasize these horses’ minds. When I hear people describing these foals, it’s like they’re describing Bucchero to me.”

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Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, the French-born trainer also touched on the increased competition for imports from Europe, summer and fall plans for his leading 3-year-old turfers and how his stable bounced back from tragedy earlier in the year.

Asked about hitting the ground running following the coronavirus-forced interruption of racing in New York, Clement said, “The pandemic has been a challenge regarding the workforce and the organization of the barn, but I think we’re very lucky in New York. NYRA and Martin Panza did a great job and we’re just lucky to race here. It’s probably more challenging for the people who only have one string, but we’re lucky because we do have a string in Saratoga before the meet. That makes it much easier.”

In addition to capturing the GII Hall of Fame S. and GII Lake Placid S. last weekend at the Spa, Clement also unveiled a ‘TDN Rising Star’ with Momos (Distorted Humor) romping in the first 2-year-old race of the meet.

“I’ve got a very good group of 2-year-olds this year,” Clement said. “Momos is all about speed. He’s built like a very fast horse. He’s not big, but he’s very well balanced. My only instruction to [Manny] Franco was, ‘We know the horse is very fast, don’t make it too complicated.’ He gave a very good ride and he was always in control. That’s pretty exciting.”

Clement’s operation is likely a sentimental favorite for many in the industry this year after dealing with the devastation of losing 10 horses in a trailer fire on the New Jersey Turnpike last month. Speaking candidly about how to cope with that kind of loss, Clement said simply, you can’t.

“I don’t think you cope with that,” he said. “That phone call, I think it was 3:45 or 4:00 in the morning from the state trooper, it’s the worst of the worst. I’m lucky in a way because I train for amazing owners, so in a way they made it easy on me. But no, nobody can cope with that. That’s the worst.”

Elsewhere on the show, the writers gave their takeaways from the rest of the weekend’s big racing including the GI Haskell S., discussed the temporary closure of Del Mar and the increasing unlikelihood of fans in the stands for the GI Kentucky Derby. Then, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, they used the return of Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) as an opportunity to look back on whether anything has changed with racing’s drug problems in the four-plus months since the bombshell FBI indictments. Click here to listen to the podcast and click here to watch it on Vimeo.

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Jockey Fernando De La Cruz wasted no time getting Sandy's Newsgirl in the mix of the six-furlong sprint. The sophomore filly rushed out to the lead, keeping open lengths between her and the remainder of the field the entire distance. At the top of the stretch, Sandy's Newsgirl increased her dominating hold on the lead, opening up by six and one-quarter lengths at the wire for the win. French Vanilla and Emmanuel Esquivel maintained ground for second followed by Angry Bee and Carlos Diaz, who moved up late to finish third. Time for the stakes race was 1:14.18.

“I can see a big improvement this year in her,” said De La Cruz, who rode her in all six of her starts last year at two, finishing second in four of those outings. “I wanted to make it to the lead. Those were my instructions. I just wanted to sit there and keep her going to the wire. I've been getting on her a lot in the mornings. You can really tell a difference in her physically.”

“We are extremely happy about her race today,” said Glyshaw. “She has always shown speed. She's grown up a lot both size wise and maturity wise. We could see that. Her works are just as fast as they were last year, but we still weren't 100 percent sure about her. She's had trouble carrying her speed in the past, but we wanted to try her in this stake.”

Sandy's Newsgirl's road to the winner's circle has been a little bumpy this year. In February, she arrived at Glyshaw's barn in Tampa and ran right through the webbing and attempted to jump a four-foot concrete wall, with no success. As a result, she was left with a deep wound on her hock, an injury that could not be corrected with stitches.

“Tim (Glyshaw) and his crew handled the day to day care on this filly and put in so much work to get her right,” said Malter. “To see a horse come back and run like that is a huge testament to Tim. It just shows how dedicated he is to his horses. I don't think people realize how much time and effort he puts into this.”

Malter, who is based on the West Coast, is generally trackside for as many Indiana stakes as he can attend, but due to current travel restrictions, he had to watch Sandy's Newsgirl win via simulcast.

“I wasn't there because I didn't think she (Sandy's Newsgirl) could win, I just have not been able to get on a plane,” added Malter. “We are part of the breeders on this filly too, and through Superbad Stables, this is our first-ever time of breeding a stakes winner. It's been a very exciting day.”

Superbad Stables teamed up with Pine Lake Breeders of Carmel as breeders on Sandy's Newsgirl. Superbad Stables is now concentrating their efforts on former Ironhorse Stable standout Bucchero, who stands at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston, Fla.

“Superbad is now in the business of breeding Bucchero babies,” added Malter. “We have a lot to look forward to.”

The post Sandy’s Newsgirl Breaks Her Maiden In Indiana’s Swifty Sired Fillies Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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