Tag: Hopkins

Country Grammer Leads North American Charge Into DWC Night

WinStar Farm, Commonwealth Thoroughbreds and Zedan Racing's defending G1 Dubai World Cup champion Country Grammer (Tonalist) tops a dozen North American entries for the Dubai World Cup program at Meydan Racecourse Saturday, Mar. 25. The prospective fields were revealed overnight by the Dubai Racing Club.

The 6-year-old is one of 13 in the field for the $12-million centerpiece of the meeting, including no fewer than eight runners from Japan topped by Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), who registered a half-length defeat of Country Grammer in the G1 Saudi Cup last month. Emblem Road (Quality Road), who upset Country Grammer in the 2022 Saudi Cup, is set to make the trip over from Riyadh.

In terms of numbers, the U.S. supplies five of the 13 likely starters the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, whose defending American-bred champion Switzerland (Speightstown) is also engaged. Gunite (Gun Runner) gave an excellent account of himself when making his seasonal debut in the G3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, finishing runner-up to champion Elite Power (Curlin), while the in-form Sibelius (Not This Time) ships in for Midlantic-based conditioner Jerry O'Dwyer and will be ridden by Ryan Moore. Hopkins (Quality Road), a latest winner of the GIII Palos Verdes S., also represents the Bob Baffert barn, while C Z Rocket (City Zip) was a late addition to the field. Super Ocho (Chi) (Dubai Sky) is one of two World Cup night entries for trainer Amador Sanchez, who also sends out Gulfstream allowance winner Super Corinto (Arg) (Super Saver) in the G2 Godolphin Mile.

The G2 UAE Derby is the first race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby that offers the winner 100 points, and three American-based sophomores are in the mix. Two of those wintered in Dubai for Doug O'Neill, namely Tall Boy (Lookin At Lucky), fourth to Practical Move (Practical Joke) in last year's GII Los Alamitos Futurity, who handed Charles Fipke's Shirl's Bee (Bee Jersey) a one-length loss in the G3 UAE 2000 Guineas over a mile Feb. 10. Ah Jeez, a son of 2018 UAE Derby romper Mendelssohn, earned his way into the field with a 2 1/4-length allowance victory going seven furlongs at Meydan Feb. 24. Worcester (Empire Maker) is a third World Cup night runner for Baffert and most recently rounded out the trifecta in the Feb. 4 GIII Robert B. Lewis S.

Extravagant Kid (Kiss the Kid) won the 2021 G1 Al Quoz Sprint for Brendan Walsh and the conditioner is represented in this year's running by 'TDN Rising Star' Cazadero (Street Sense).

The last of the North American-based entries is Fipke's Grade I-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Shirl's Speight (Speightstown), who runs in the G1 Dubai Turf after finishing ninth behind Golden Shaheen entrant Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) in the G1 February S. on the dirt at Tokyo Feb. 19.

 

 

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Hopkins Leaves Rivals ‘Green’ With Envy in Palos Verdes

Hopkins (Quality Road) gave his outstanding Lane's End-based stallion a sixth 'quality' winner over the course of the last five days, kicking clear late to easily prevail in Sunday's GIII Palos Verdes S. at the Great Race Place.

Nicely away from gate two beneath Juan Hernandez, the $900,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was content to lay second as Straight No Chaser (Speightster)–favored by about $900– drilled the opening couple of furlongs in :21.80. Asked to claim the front-runner as the half went up in a slick :44.10, Hopkins hit the front leaving the three-sixteenths pole and, though unwilling to swap over to his correct lead, kept on well to score in smart time.

“I just played the break and I just watched the other horses,” said Hernandez. “I saw the one [Straight No Chaser] broke really fast, he broke way better than me, and I broke better than the outside horses. So, I just let him go and sat behind him and waited for the quarter pole to ask my horse to go…When I asked him…he picked it up really well and he got the job done.”

Having run a 104 Beyer in defeat on opening day 2021, Hopkins graduated in his second start off a nine-month absence last October and ran back to that effort with a hard-fought allowance win at Del Mar the following month. Sixth to stablemate Country Grammer (Tonalist) when trying a route of ground for the first time in the Dec. 26 GII San Antonio S., he cut back to this trip and was tagged late to drop a head decision when last seen Jan. 15. Hopkins has been given an entry for the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan Mar. 25.

Pedigree Notes:

Hopkins is the 68th stakes winner and 33th graded winner for Quality Road and is bred on the same cross over mares by Deputy Minister or Deputy Minister-line mares as Grade I winners Abel Tasman, City of Light and Spring Quality and other graded winners Guest Suite and Long Haul Bay.

John Mayer's Nursery Place purchased Hopkins's stakes-placed dam for $85,000 in foal to Morning Line at the 2015 Keeneland January Sale about four months after the mare's son Saratoga Heater (Temple City) became a stakes winner in New York-bred company. Madaket Stables, a part-owner of Hopkins, is also involved with Hot Spell's 4-year-old son Of a Revolution, a narrowly beaten runner-up in last year's GIII Gallant Bob S. at Parx Racing.

After not producing a live foal for two seasons, Hot Spell dropped a Daredevil filly in 2022 and was put in foal to American Pharoah.

Sunday, Santa Anita Park
PALOS VERDES S.-GIII, $200,500, Santa Anita, 2-5, 4yo/up, 6f, 1:08.80, ft.
1–HOPKINS, 120, h, 5, by Quality Road
          1st Dam: Hot Spell (SP), by Salt Lake
          2nd Dam: Sizzlin' Sara, by Saratoga Six
          3rd Dam: Relasure, by Relaunch
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($900,000
Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket
Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Golconda Stable, Siena
Farm LLC and Robert E. Masterson; B-Nursery Place (KY);
T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $120,000. Lifetime Record:
7-3-3-0, $244,700. *1/2 to Of a Revolution (Maclean's Music),
MGSP, $218,280; 1/2 to Saratoga Heater (Temple City), SW,
$396,078. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report &
5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style
pedigree.
2–Radical Right, 120, g, 4, First Samurai–Emily, by Sky Mesa.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($42,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP;
$260,000 3yo '22 FTIDEC). O-Tom Kagele; B-Richard Shultz (KY);
T-Peter Miller. $40,000.
3–Straight No Chaser, 120, c, 4, Speightster–Margarita Friday,
by Johannesburg. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($110,000 2yo '21 EASMAY). O-MyRacehorse; B-John Eaton &
Steve Laymon (KY); T-Dan Blacker. $24,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 1HF, 1. Odds: 2.10, 6.00, 2.10.
Also Ran: Howbeit, McLaren Vale, Escape Route.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO,
sponsored by TVG.

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Beholder’s First Foal, Q B One, to Debut Sunday

The long wait is just about over. Q B One (Uncle Mo), the first foal out of four-time Eclipse Award winner Beholder (Henny Hughes), will make his debut in Sunday's fourth race at Santa Anita, six days shy of turning four years old.

Like Beholder, he was bred by and is owned by Spendthrift Farm and is trained by Richard Mandella. Kyle Frey has been named to ride.

For now, Mandella's expectations for Q B One are rather modest.

“I wish we'd see a little more from him to get excited about,” he said. “But his works have been pretty good. I don't think we've seen anything great yet. It's time to throw him in the deep water and see what happens. He shows he might be good enough, but I'm not sure.”
Mandella is hopeful that Q B One will benefit from his debut and improve.

“I leave him a little room to improve because when it comes to his mind he's not yet 100% serious about the game yet,” he said. “I think a race will probably do him a lot of good. I think his mind is such that a race might make a man out of him, and then we can see the real deal. That's what I am hoping.”

Q B One had a five-furlong work in January and Mandella said at the time that he was just a few weeks way from making his first start.

“He had some bone bruising and needed a little time off, ” he explained. “So we had to start over.”
Mandella also trains Beholder's second foal, the 2-year-old filly Karin With an I (Curlin). She has yet to have a published workout.

“She's been fighting a virus,” he said. “She's just starting to breeze. She's a nice-looking filly. She's not too far along yet, but she does everything pretty nice.”

Beholder also has a yearling filly by War Front and a weanling filly by Bolt d'Oro. She was bred back to Curlin for 2022.
Q B One won't be the only one garnering attention in Sunday's race, as it includes a pair of pricey first-time starters from the Bob Baffert barn. Hopkins (Quality Road) was a $900,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September sale, while Shaaz (Uncle Mo) was a $1.1-million seller at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training sale. Yet the one they might all have to beat is the $5,000 Keeneland January purchase Soy Tapatio (Not This Time). Trained by Doug O'Neill, he was third in his most recent start.

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