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Golden Boy: Wide Draw No Problem for Uncle Mo Colt in BC Juvenile Turf Sprint

Randall Lowe’s speedy homebred Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) overcame the 13 hole and a few awkward strides to kick off the Breeders’ Cup action Friday while providing trainer Wesley Ward with his second consecutive victory in the GII Juvenile Turf Sprint. Looking to avenge his dam Lady Shipman (Midshipman)’s neck second in the 2015 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over this same course and distance, the 4-5 favorite blasted out of the gate and cleared off early until Irad Ortiz, Jr. tapped on the brakes and Golden Pal began to toss his head about. The chalk was swamped on both sides by foes approaching the turn, but was given his head again and began to edge clear around the bend. He was a couple lengths clear and seemingly on cruise control heading for home. Far in front after a :44.63 half, his lead diminished in the final furlong, but victory always looked pretty close to certain as the bay struck the wire 3/4 of a length to the good over slow-starting Cowan (Kantharos). British invader Ubettabelieveit (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) completed the trifecta.

“He’s a really nice horse,” Ortiz said. “He did the hard job. I just sat on him waiting for the time to go. He ran great. He really has a lot of potential.”

A close second at 1-2 odds on the Gulfstream dirt back in April behind a subsequently stakes-placed runner, Golden Pal nearly made all the running in Royal Ascot’s G2 Norfolk S., only to be collared on the line by Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf also-ran The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}). He resurfaced in Saratoga’s Skidmore S. Aug. 21, and put it all together to best stablemate Fauci (Malibu Moon) by 3 1/2 lengths while earning a standout 92 Beyer Speed Figure. He was scratched out of the local Indian Summer S. Oct. 4 in favor of training up to the Breeders’ Cup.

“He’s just amazing,” said Wesley Ward, whose win 12 months ago came with Four Wheel Drive (American Pharoah). “I got a little worried on the backside. Irad kind of lost a little momentum there and took a pretty good hold of him, but then he just accelerated down the lane. When he accelerated past the quarter pole, I knew we were OK. I got a little worried on the last part and was hugging onto my son, but we got there. He’s a champion colt. Thank God [Randy Lowe] gave him to me to train. I really appreciate it. [Next year’s Breeders’ Cup] is where we’re heading, but first we’re going to Royal Ascot. Here we come. He’s going to get them [next] year!”

For more on how Ward came to train Golden Pal, listen to the TDN Writer’s Room podcast. Ward was represented by three other runners in the Juvenile Turf: After Five (The Factor), Into the Sunrise (Into Mischief) and Blame the Booze (Blame).

“When he was born, I went into our stall and the mares are very protective when babies are born,” recalled owner/breeder Randy Lowe. “I went in there and stood there and put my hand out and he came right over and put his chin in the palm of my hand and I knew from that point on he was going to be something special.”

For more on Lowe, click here for a Second Chances feature following Golden Pal’s debut second this spring.

Pedigree Notes:
Golden Pal becomes the 39th graded stakes winner for Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie), winner of the 2010 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and an emerging sire of sires. Uncle Mo’s BC Juvenile-winning son Nyquist was represented by GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies heroine Vequist two races later.

Golden Pal is the first foal to race out of brilliant 13-time winner Lady Shipman (Midshipman), who missed by a neck in the 2015 GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. Lady Shipman has not produced a live foal since Golden Pal and was bred back to Omaha Beach for 2021.

Golden Pal is the first and only stakes winner from limited foals thus far out a mare by Midshipman, who took the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile himself in 2008.

Friday, Santa Anita
BREEDERS’ CUP JUVENILE TURF SPRINT-GII, $920,000, Keeneland, 11-6, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:02.82, gd.
1–GOLDEN PAL, 122, c, 2, by Uncle Mo
                1st Dam: Lady Shipman (GSW & GISP, $902,387),
                                by Midshipman
                2nd Dam: Sumthingtotalkabt, by Mutakddim
                3rd Dam: Nannetta, by Falstaff
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($325,000 RNA Ylg ’19 KEESEP).
O-Ranlo Investments LLC; B-Randall E Lowe (FL); T-Wesley A.
Ward; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $520,000. Lifetime Record: GSP-Eng,
4-2-2-0, $593,056. Werk Nick Rating: A+.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Cowan, 122, c, 2, Kantharos–Tempers Flair, by Smart Strike.
($185,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP; $385,000 RNA 2yo ’20 OBSMAR).
O-L. William & Corinne Heiligbrodt, Madaket Stables LLC &
Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings, Inc (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen. $170,000.
3–Ubettabelieveit (Ire), 122, c, 2, Kodiac (GB)–Ladylishandra
(Ire), by Mujadil. (€35,000 Wlg ’18 GOFNOV; 50,000gns Ylg ’19
TATOCT). O-Martin Webb Racing; B-Ringfort Stud (IRE); T-Nigel
Tinkler. $90,000.
Margins: 3/4, 1, 1 3/4. Odds: 0.80, 11.10, 26.90.
Also Ran: Lipizzaner, After Five, County Final, Momos, Bodenheimer, Dirty Dangle, Windy City Red, Mighty Gurkha (Ire), Second of July, Into the Sunrise, Blame the Booze. Scratched: Amanzi Yimpilo (Ire), Gypsy King, Trade Deal.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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New Record Price at Fairyhouse

Ginto (Fr) (Walk in the Park {Ire}) (lot 5) set a new record for a horse sold at Fairyhouse when bringing €470,000 to top the Tattersalls Cheltenham November (Ireland) Sale on Friday. Snapped up by Noel and Valerie Moran’s Bective Stud, the winning 4-year-old gelding will remain with Gordon Elliott. Consigned by Cullentra House Stables, he won a maiden at Tattersalls by 12 lengths on Oct. 25.

Another 4-year-old gelding, Gringo d’Aubrelle (Fr) (Saddler Maker {Ire}) (lot 16), made €270,000 also from Bective Stud. Consigned by Monbeg Stables, the bay won on debut at Loughanmore.

A third lot brought €250,000, the grey gelding Gentlemansgame (GB) (Gentlewave {Ire}) (lot 9). Knocked down to Mags O’Toole, he was offered by Monbeg Stables.

Of the 25 lots catalogued, 24 were offered with 13 sold (54%) for a gross of €1,644,000. The average was €126,461 and the median was €75,000.

“Having initially moved this fixture from its Cheltenham home to Tattersalls Ireland as a result of COVID-19, new ground has been broken with today’s sale being the first live online auction to be held by the Tattersalls group,” said Matthew Prior, Head of Tattersalls Cheltenham Sales. “We have witnessed strong demand for the top end of the market, with purchasers from both Ireland and the UK competing for the cream of the Irish point-to-point crop via a combination of internet bidding and telephone bids. The highlight of the day was the sale of the hugely exciting prospect Ginto, whose price of €470,000 marks him out as the highest price horse to ever be sold at Fairyhouse, which is testament to the location being able to service this sector. It would be remiss to not acknowledge that trade has been difficult for some vendors with a selective clearance rate and we will certainly review the format ahead of the next sale. We would like to thank vendors who have thrown their support behind this new concept, providing us with the same accustomed quality that is the hallmark of Tattersalls Cheltenham sales and those purchasers that have participated in the sale.”

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In Superseding Indictment, Servis Faces Far More Serious Charges

Jason Servis and two veterinarians involved in the scheme to allegedly drug race horses could be spending considerable time in prison after the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York released a superseding indictment Friday that includes the charge of Mail and Wire Fraud Conspiracy. The maximum sentence under federal guidelines for the charge is 20 years.
Five individuals named in the original indictment were not included in the superseding indictment, including former Servis assistant Henry Argueta. That could lead to speculation that the five are cooperating with law enforcement authorities.

In addition to Servis, the wire fraud charges were directed at Alexander Chan and Kristian Rhein. According to the indictment, the two conspired with Servis to administer misbranded and adulterated PEDs.

“It is likely the expansion resulted from additional investigation, possibly as a result of a potentially cooperating witness,” said Frank Becker, an attorney specializing in equine law in Lexington, Ky., who is unconnected to the case.

“Notably, the superseding indictment alleges that at least some of the doping scheme commenced as far back as 2002 when Seth Fishman allegedly began manufacturing PEDs. Another significant allegation is that Seth Fishman provided the use of his veterinary license to distributor Lisa Giannelli to sell prescription veterinary `without a valid prescription.'”

The superseding indictment lays out a picture where Servis, Chan and Rhein were involved in a scheme whereby they obtained money and property by “means of false and fraudulent pretenses.” Specifically, the indictment charges that fraudulent bills were sent to owners, falsely billing them for the “undisclosed use of adulterated and misbranded drugs on the owners’ horses.”

In the original indictment, it was alleged that Servis, Chan, Rhein and Argueta conspired to dope racehorses using illegal drugs, including the PED SGF-1000. In a call intercepted between Servis and Navarro, Servis allegedly said “I’ve been using it on almost everything.”

In addition to Argueta, the individuals who were left out of the superseding indictment are Gregory Skelton, Nick Surick, Chris Marino and Ross Cohen.

The original indictment charges that Skelton is a veterinarian who misbranded and adulterated PEDs and Cohen acted as a distributor of PEDs. Surick and Marino are harness trainers who, according to the indictment, were also involved in receiving and administering misbranded and adulterated PEDs. Of the four, Surick was facing the most serious penalties as the charges against him included two counts of obstruction. The maximum penalty for obstruction is a sentence of 20 years.

Servis was among 27 individuals indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District in March after a probe into a “widespread, corrupt scheme by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, PED distributors and others to manufacture distribute, and receive adulterated and misbranded PEDs and to secretly administer those PEDs to racehorses under scheme participants’ control.”
“The superseding indictment adds that some of the defendants, specifically Jason Servis, Kristian Rhein, and Alexander Chan, falsified billing records to cover up the administration of SGF-1000 and Clenbuterol, such as by falsely labeling such charges as `stable supplies’ to deceive horse owners and regulators. Because these deceptive bills were mailed or electronically sent, the Superseding Indictment added a charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud,” said Becker.

Another significant expansion of the original indictment is a claim for `forfeiture’ against almost all of the alleged conspirators, rather than just trainer Nicholas Surick as in the original indictment. In fact, Surick (and four others) are not even included in the superseding Indictment, which may be a result of either a determination that there is insufficient evidence or that there has been an agreement with the prosecutors. In the original indictment, the three were charged with one count of Drug Alteration and Misbranding Conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

The new charges against Servis are the first developments in the case to be made public after Scott Robinson and Sarah Izhaki pled guilty to lesser charges, also raising the possibility that they are cooperating with authorities.

The superseding indictment did not include any new charges against high-profile trainer Jorge Navarro, who still faces two counts of Drug Alteration and Misbranding Conspiracy.

No new names surfaced in the superseding indictment, which replaces the original indictment filed Monday, March 9.

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Equine Influenza Outbreak Kills Nearly 50 Wild Donkeys In CA

Equine influenza has killed 46 wild donkeys in Riverside, CA, since mid-October and more are expected to die from the disease.

DonkeyLand, a nonprofit burro rescue located in California, reported that more than 50 additional donkeys are coughing and showing signs of respiratory issues. The Riverside County Department of Animal Services reports that the majority of the deaths have occurred in Reche Canyon, but dead donkeys have also been found along Pigeon Pass Road, Heacock Street and Redlands Boulevard.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture veterinarians, Moreno Valley Animal Services and San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control are assisting DonkeyLand Rescue with care of the sick animals. Ill burros are being transported to DonkeyLand or to the SoCal Equine Hospital and quarantined; they will be released back into the wild upon recovery.

Donkeys that are around the sick donkeys are also being transported to the clinics, where they are vaccinated for flu and other diseases before being released back into the wild once they show no sign of the disease. Donkeys are more susceptible to equine influenza and develop severe secondary bacterial infections, which is what is killing the wild donkeys.

The public is advised to avoid contact with the wild burros and to keep horses away from wild donkeys to avoid disease transmission. Owners of horses in the area are encouraged to vaccinate their horses and put biosecurity measures in place to keep from spreading the disease.

Read the AAEP Equine Influenza Fact Sheet here.