Horse racing news | Horse Racing Free Tips

War Front’s Civil Union Finishes Fastest in Flower Bowl

The 3-1 third choice in a field of seven, Joseph Allen’s progressive Civil Union (War Front) built on her last-out success in the GII Glens Falls S. at Saratoga with a breakthrough top-level tally in Saturday’s GI Flower Bowl S. at Belmont Park, securing a berth in the gate for the GI Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf in the process.

Allowed to settle last but one beneath Joel Rosario, with only G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr})’s French and American Group 3/Grade III winner My Sister Nat (Fr) (Acclamation {GB}) behind her, Civil Union was content to bide time from a ground-saving position as longshot Lovely Lucky (Lookin At Lucky) set a modest pace in advance of favored Cambier Parc (Medaglia d’Oro). Always traveling sweetly, Civil Union was short of room entering the final 2 1/2 furlongs, but accelerated three off the inside once La Signare (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) vacated that spot. With one of the best finishers in the business at the controls, Civil Union came calling for the lead nearing the sixteenth pole and was home first as My Sister Nat attacked the line down the center of the course. Nay Lady Nay (Ire) (No Nay Never), who was relegated to second favoritism in the last few clicks of the tote, could not quite match strides with the top two and settled for third, one spot ahead of a disappointing Cambier Parc.

It was the second Flower Bowl win in the last four years for Allen, trainer Shug McGaughey and War Front, whose daughter War Flag landed the spoils at 9-1 in 2017 before finishing a respectable sixth behind Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar.

“When she started off this winter in Florida, I never imagined that she would be a Grade 1 winner,” the Hall of Fame conditioner admitted. “She’s progressed the right way. It’s fun. She’s a nice mare to train and nice to be around. She ran under some different tactics today on Joel [Rosario’s] part, but that’s why he’s such a great rider. He knows what to do.”

A debut winner from three starts for the Chad Brown barn in 2018 and 2019, Civil Union took a course-and-distance allowance in her second appearance for this barn ahead of a facile score in the 12-furlong River Memories S. July 12. With Rosario in the irons for the first time in the Sept. 5 Glens Falls, Civil Union sat handy to a walking pace, then covered her final three furlongs in a smart :34.97 to best My Sister Nat by a length.

Pedigree Notes:

Civil Union becomes the 23rd Grade I/Group 1 winner for her Claiborne-based stallion and is the 25th top-level scorer out of a daughter of the late Unbridled’s Song, three of which–Contrail (Jpn) and Volatile–have come this season.

Photograph is an unraced daughter of Black Speck, whose produce include the aforementioned War Flag as well as the former G2 UAE Derby hero Lines of Battle (War Front), who won the G1 Champions & Chater Cup in Hong Kong (then named Helene Super Star) en route to honors as that jurisdiction’s champion stayer. Civil Union’s third dam produced influential sire Dynaformer (Roberto) as well as the dam of GISW sire Offlee Wild (Wild Again).

A full-sister to the 2-year-old colt Battle of Britain, Civil Union has a weanling full-brother named Operation Torch. Having produced her first eight foals by War Front, Photograph was most recently bred to Tapit.

Saturday, Belmont Park
FLOWER BOWL S.-GI, $250,000, Belmont, 10-10, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/4mT, 2:01.28, fm.
1–CIVIL UNION, 124, m, 5, by War Front
1st Dam: Photograph, by Unbridled’s Song
2nd Dam: Black Speck, by Arch
3rd Dam: Andover Way, by His Majesty
1ST GRADE I WIN. O-Allen Stable Inc; B-Joseph Allen LLC (KY); T-Claude R McGaughey III; J-Joel Rosario. $137,500. Lifetime Record: 8-5-1-1, $396,810. *Full to War Dispatch, GSW & G1SP-Fr, $765,320; and George Patton, GSP-Fr, $105,521. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–My Sister Nat (Fr), 122, m, 5, by Acclamation (GB)
1st Dam: Starlet’s Sister (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
2nd Dam: Premiere Creation (Fr), by Green Tune
3rd Dam: Allwaki, by Miswaki
(€20,000 Ylg ’16 ARQFEB). O-Peter M Brant; B-Ecurie Des Monceaux (FR); T-Chad C. Brown. $50,000.
3–Nay Lady Nay (Ire), 122, f, 4, by No Nay Never
1st Dam: Lady Ederle, by English Channel
2nd Dam: Bright Generation (Ire), by Rainbow Quest
3rd Dam: New Generation (Ire), by Young Generation (Ire)
(€44,000 Wlg ’16 GOFNOV; €50,000 Ylg ’17 GOFOR; $210,000 2yo ’18 OBSMAR). O-First Row Partners & Hidden Brook Farm; B-Stephen Sullivan (IRE); T-Chad C Brown. $30,000.
Margins: HD, 3/4, 2 3/4. Odds: 3.05, 5.20, 2.90.
Also Ran: Cambier Parc, La Signare (Fr), Beau Belle, Lovely Lucky.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post War Front’s Civil Union Finishes Fastest in Flower Bowl appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

‘A Good Heart And A Good Soul’: Trainer Barry Abrams, 61, Dies;

Racing hasn't lost its greatest trainer, but arguably its greatest fan.

Barry Abrams died peacefully Friday night at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Arcadia, Calif., after he was taken off a ventilator following a recent fall at home that injured his back. He was 66. Services are pending.

Abrams had courageously battled throat cancer for 15 years. A bear of a man at 6-4, 315 pounds before he was stricken, Abrams bared his soul in a story I authored about his ordeal that appeared in the October-November 2015 issue of North American Trainer Magazine, excerpts of which follow in this item.

Barry Abrams never smoked. He got cancer anyway. Side effects from the treatment over a 10-year period caused him to lose his taste buds, prevented him from swallowing (he used a feeding tube), he couldn't eat, run, go in the ocean or a swimming pool.

“I'm just functioning and happy to be alive,” he said. “I can eat cookies as long as they're liquified and made pudding-like. I can't swallow anything else because I have no salivary glands that create saliva.”

He lost half his voice box during surgeries, reducing his speech to a whisper, but he never complained.

“Ordinarily, you talk about things like saving for the future and making plans for this and that, but facing this, you realize that there could be no future,” he said in the 2015 article.

One of Barry's dearest friends was trainer Richard Baltas, who assisted in the barn operation during Abrams' five-month recovery in 2011. “He's very kind with a good heart,” Baltas said. “Years ago, I wanted to leave Louisiana and come home to California, but I needed a job.

“Barry didn't quibble. He simply asked me, 'How much do you want to make?' and that was it. He came to my wedding on Feb. 26, 2011, when he was sick with cancer. He's done many kind and generous things for me.”

Said Abrams' wife, Dyan: “Barry is so kind and helpful. If you needed the shirt off his back, he'd give it to you. … He's one of the good ones. He's got a good heart and a good soul.”

Trainer Peter Miller was looking forward to winning the Breeders' Cup Mile with a horse Abrams owns in part, Mo Forza. “Barry and I have known each other probably 25, 30 years,” Miller said several days ago. “Barry's a great guy. Everyone loves him, and this horse really helped keep him going.”

A highly accomplished conditioner of both Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds, Barry Abrams will forever be associated with Unusual Heat, a horse he claimed for $80,000 on June 10, 1996. The son of Nureyev would go on to become one of the greatest stallions in California racing history.

With Barry's passing, two questions will forever remain unresolved: did racing love Barry more, or did Barry love racing more?

Call it a dead-heat.

The post ‘A Good Heart And A Good Soul’: Trainer Barry Abrams, 61, Dies; appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Fall Allergies Can Trigger Equine Asthma, Impact Performance

Just as many humans start to sneeze in the fall, horses also can be affected by seasonal allergies.

Sometimes this is apparent by coughing, but other times, according to Laurent Couëtil, professor of large animal internal medicine in Purdue University's College of Veterinary Medicine, the only sign is that their performance suffers.

Couëtil has spent much of his career treating and researching equine respiratory disease, and he collaborated with three other researchers to argue for the adoption of equine asthma as an official diagnosis in the Equine Veterinary Journal. Equine asthma can flare up as a result of allergies, especially during the fall, which is when many of the traditional spring races were moved.

“We tend to see an increase in horses showing signs of equine asthma during crop harvest season,” he said. “Horses pastured near fields where crops are harvested may be exposed to the dust generated by the combine harvesting crops.” Horses affected by these allergies may develop signs like coughing or increased breathing efforts within a few days of exposure to the dust or allergens and may show impaired performance.

“Other horses with asthma tend to show signs when pollen and molds peak again in the fall,” Couëtil said. “So, the triggers may be different, but horses will show similar symptoms.”

One reason for so many allergy and asthma flare-ups in the fall has to do with feeding. As grass becomes sparse toward the end of the summer or early fall and horses are supplemented with dry hay, more susceptible horses may develop asthma flare-ups.

“Most asthmatic horses are allergic to hay dust,” Couëtil said, “and, therefore, they usually develop clinical signs when fed hay in the barn during the winter months.”

Additionally, feeding round bales is associated with more severe signs because horses are exposed to higher dust levels compared with eating from square bales.

“This is especially true when round bales are left in the field uncovered as they tend to become moldy from exposure to rain and moisture,” Couëtil said.

Couëtil has found that often, less severe asthma symptoms improve when horses are on grass pasture, but during the fall months, this isn't always possible. Feeding low-dust forages can help horses recover and also prevent flare-ups.

“Our recent research demonstrated that athletic horses, such as racehorses, benefit from being fed steamed hay or haylage instead of dry hay,” he said. “These forages result in lower exposure to dust as compared to dry hay, and this translates in lower levels of airway inflammation. Haylage appears to have the strongest beneficial effect, and this effect seems to be linked to higher omega-3 fatty acid content.”

Additional supplementation with nutrients rich in omega-3 fatty acids, like EPA and DHA found in fish oil and algae, can help keep asthmatic horses healthy.

Avoiding exposure to allergy triggers, such as by feeding low-dust forages, can help horses stay healthy and perform at peak levels. During crop harvest season, this might mean keeping the horse in the barn while crops around the stable are harvested.

“If horses continue to show signs of asthma despite environmental management, your veterinarian may prescribe treatment with aerosolized corticosteroids,” Couëtil said.

Taking preventive measures can help minimize horses' exposure to allergens and prevent asthma flare-ups, keeping horses healthy and performing at their best levels.

Couëtil's research is supported by the Grayson Jockey-Club Research Foundation, the state of Indiana and the Purdue Veterinary Medicine research account.

A Grade 1 First For Trainer Hamm As Dayoutoftheoffice Wins Frizette

Dayoutoftheoffice extended her unbeaten streak to three on Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., with a command performance in Saturday's Grade 1, $250,000 Frizette for 2-year-old fillies, a 'Win and You're In' event for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies.

The race was a fitting encore to the day's first Grade 1 event for juveniles, the one-mile Champagne, which was won impressively by the undefeated Jackie's Warrior in 1:35.42. Contested just a little more than a half hour later on the fast main track at Belmont, Dayoutoftheoffice completed a mile in the Frizette in 1:35.82, a sparkling final time that could position her to be among the favorites in next month's Juvenile Fillies.

Trained and co-owned by Tim Hamm with Siena Farm, the dark bay daughter of Into Mischief began her career with an easy win in a 4 1/2-furlong dash on May 14 at Gulfstream Park. She made her next start in the Grade 3 Schuylerville at Saratoga Race Course and despite being sent off at 19-1 odds, she exploded to a six-length score in the six-furlong sprint. Having learned their lesson in the Schuylerville, the wagering public made her the second choice in the betting in the Frizette, with runaway Grade 1 Spinaway winner Vequist inheriting the role of odds-on favorite.

Breaking from post 5 under Junior Alvarado, who was aboard Dayoutoftheoffice for her breakthrough victory in the Schuylerville in July, the Siena Farms homebred took up position in second early as stretch-out sprinter Joy's Rocket darted to the front to set the pace. With Vequist tucked in along the inside in third of a tightly packed bunch, Joy's Rocket carved out splits of 22.94 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.41 for the half.

Joy's Rocket's early advantage evaporated in a hurry around the far turn, however, as Dayoutoftheoffice made what proved to be the winning move, quickly wresting control of the lead away from the frontrunner and putting daylight between her and the rest of the field as they turned for home through three-quarters in 1:10.98

Vequist, not willing to concede defeat, launched her rally and was in hot pursuit of Dayoutoftheoffice in upper stretch, even appearing at points as if she would overtake the leader, but her chase was ultimately in vain as Dayoutoftheoffice dug in doggedly in the final eighth of a mile and hit the wire first by two lengths.

“When you ride fast horses, it makes it easy for you,” said Alvarado. “I thought it [the pace] was going to be a little more contested and I was going to stalk but I felt like I was in control of the race from where I was. I knew I had the horse in front of me [measured], so I just made sure my filly got into a nice rhythm and at the same time keep everybody where I wanted them to be. It worked out great today. When I asked her turning for home, she responded beautifully.”

Just shy of 3-1, Dayoutoftheoffice returned $7.80 on a $2 win wager and bumped her bankroll over the $200,000 mark through three career starts, all of which have been spaced out by at least a couple months.

“She's a big, scopey filly and I wanted to have some horse for the end of the year,” said Hamm, who earned the first Grade 1 win of his career in the Frizette. “The plan was to have a fresh horse for this time of the year. We wanted to just train her a little lightly and have her fresh for the fall run. Everything went according to plan.

“When you put a plan together that works – the team of Siena Farm and myself and all our assistants – you feel vindicated,” the veteran trainer added. “We all thought this filly was special when she won at 4 1/2 [furlongs] because we knew she would be able to get longer than that. She was able to get the job done today.”

While no match for the winner, Vequist ran a valiant race in defeat and proved her 9 1/2-length demolition of the Spinaway on September 6 at the Spa was no mirage. The dark bay daughter of Nyquist finished second, 10 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher Cilla.

“She broke pretty nice and I thought we were in a good spot,” said Luis Saez, rider of Vequist. “When we got to the three eighths, I started asking her a little and when we got to the stretch the winner took off.

“I wish we could have been outside [instead of inside post] so I could have pressed early, but that's racing,” Saez added.

Joy's Rocket, Cantata, and Get On the Bus completed the order of finish in the 71st running of the Frizette. Fifth Risk was scratched.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Belmont Park with a 10-race card highlighted by the 130th running of the Grade 3, $100,000 Futurity, a six-furlong turf sprint offering a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1, $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 6 at Keeneland. It is one of two turf stakes for juveniles on the 10-race card, with the Grade 3, $100,000 Matron for 2-year-old fillies going six furlongs also on the docket. First post is 12:50 p.m.

The post A Grade 1 First For Trainer Hamm As Dayoutoftheoffice Wins Frizette appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post