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Pyledriver Stands Ground for St Leger

MGSW Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) is vying for favourtism in the G1 Pertemps St Leger S. at Doncaster, as he is one of 15 horses to stand their ground in the final British Classic of the season on Saturday. A listed winner at two, Pyledriver was second in the June 3 G3 Classic Trial S. over the Kempton all-weather to open his 3-year-old account and captured the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot by two lengths on June 16. The July 5 G1 Investec Derby did not go as planned with an unplaced run after denied a clear passage, but the colt bounced back with a 3 1/2-length win in the G2 Great Voltigeur S. at York on Aug. 19.

Said Muir, “He’s in great order and has done all the work he needs to do. As long as he stays like this for the rest of the week, I couldn’t be taking him there in better shape. I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of person–my glass is always overflowing, to be fair.

“I think he will stay and I think we’ve got a great chance, but it is a horse race. I thought we had a great chance in the Derby, and it all went wrong, but you shake yourself down and go again…if this horse could go and win on Saturday it would be fantastic for the whole team and everyone around it.”

“The owners have turned down some big offers,” he continued. “If the offers had been accepted I don’t think he would have stayed in this country– places like Australia and Hong Kong wanted him really badly. If one person had owned him, you couldn’t have said no to the kind of offers we got–it was life-changing money–but there’s three of them, and they wanted to keep him.”

His charge’s plans, both for this year and next year are already taking shape. However, a crack at the 2020 G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is not in the cards.

“He’ll go for the Champion S. at Ascot [on Oct. 17] after Saturday, as long as the horse is fine. That will be his last run of the year, because we’re not going abroad–it’s too difficult with the COVID.

“Next year is mapped out already in my mind. You could start off at Newmarket in the G2 Jockey Club S., then you’d go G1 Coronation Cup S. at Epsom, G2 Hardwicke S. at Royal Ascot, the King George [VI and Queen Elizabeth S.]–and at the back-end of the season, if we’re out of this COVID, we could go for the Arc.”

Aidan O’Brien could saddle as many as four horses in the Leger-G1 Irish Derby hero Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}), Irish Derby third Dawn Patrol (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), G1SP Mythical (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) and Tiger Moth (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was second in the Irish Derby. Shadwell’s Group 3 winner Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) from Owen Burrows is also entered, as is Aug. 29 G3 March S. victor Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) for Mark Johnston and stakes winner English King (Fr) (Camelot {GB}) from the Ed Walker yard. The latter could instead contest the Sept. 13 G1 Grand Prix de Paris.

“He’s in great form and is all set to run somewhere this weekend,” said Walker. “We’ll have a look at both races during the week, see what the ground is looking like and decide where we go. We’ll make a decision much closer to the time.”

The post Pyledriver Stands Ground for St Leger appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Robin Goodfellow’s Racing Tips: Best bets for Tuesday, September 8

Sportsmail's racing expert Robin Goodfellow dishes out his tips for Tuesday's meetings at Goodwood, Newton Abbot, Catterick and Newcastle.

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Wright Looking For First Longacres Mile Victory With Anothertwistafate

Ten older horses led by Peter Redekop's Anothertwistafate have been entered in the $100,000 Longacres Mile (G3), to be run Thursday, Sept. 10, at Emerald Downs in Auburn, Wash.

The 85th renewal of the Northwest's premier event goes as Race 8 at 8:30 p.m.

Unraced since a 10th in the 2019 Preakness, Anothertwistafate is the 8-5 morning line favorite in the Longacres Mile. A 4-year-old Kentucky-bred by Scat Daddy, Anothertwistafate was among the nation's top 3-year-olds last year, finishing second in both the Sunland Derby (G3) and Lexington Stakes (G3) and winning the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby by seven lengths. Trained by Blaine Wright, Anothertwistafate is 3-2-0 in seven lifetime starts with $303,505 in earnings. The dark bay colt capped a strong series of works with a bullet six furlongs in 1:12 2/5 last Sunday at Golden Gate.

“Everything has gone well, our horse has worked lights out,” Wright said via phone from California. “His six-furlong works are like a mile, he gallops out strongly.”

Wright has been the leading stakes trainer the last three seasons at Emerald Downs, amassing 30 stakes wins here since 2017. The Mile, however, has eluded his grasp. There have been some close calls, including runner-up finishes by Alert Bay in 2018 and Anyportinastorm, who missed by a head to Law Abidin Citizen in 2019.

Wright says winning the Longacres Mile is a big deal for anyone in Northwest racing.

“I think everyone involved in this race would say the same thing, that winning the Mile means a lot,” Wright said. “It means a lot to me, Mr. Redekop, and everyone in the race.”

Wright is adept at returning horses from layoffs, winning with 19 of 69 horses that have been sidelined 180 days or more. In 2018, Wright brought millionaire Alert Bay back from a 13-month break to finish second in the Longacres Mile.

Anothertwistafate drew the No. 4 post-position and will be ridden by two-time Longacres Mile-winning jockey Juan Gutierrez.

Five Star General and He's the Reason, both from Canada, are 9-2 and 5-1 on the morning line. Five Star General captured the 2019 British Columbia Derby and is two for two at a mile, while He's the Reason is a multiple stakes winner in Vancouver. Both are owned and trained by Glen Todd, whose Princess of Cairo stunned previously unbeaten Daffodil Sweet in the Washington Oaks earlier this week.

Five Star General, co starting high-weight with He's the Reason at 122 pounds, is ridden by two-time Kentucky Derby winner Mario Gutierrez, two for two in the Mile with wins on Taylor Said in 2012 and Point Piper in 2016.

Elliott Bay at 8-1 appears the top local threat. The lone returnee from the 2019 Longacres Mile, the 5-year-old Harbor the Gold gelding is unbeaten in two starts at the meet and also boasts the track's hottest connections. Eddie Martinez leads all jockeys with four stakes wins in 2020 while trainer Frank Lucarelli and owners Chad Christensen and Josh McKee have combined for four stakes wins at the meet: two by 2-year-old filly sensation Time for Gold and one each by Elliott Bay and Gold Crusher, the latter taking the $40,000 Muckleshoot Derby earlier this week.

Papa's Golden Boy and Take Charge Deputy, second and third to Elliott Bay in the Mt. Rainier, are 10-1 and 12-1. For sheer speed, Papa's Golden Boy is the fastest horse at Emerald Downs. His quarter and half-mile fractions in three races this year are otherworldly: :21 1/5 & 44 1/5 , :21 1/5 & :43 1/5, :21 3/5 & :43. The question, of course, is distance. Thursday will be his first try around two turns, but it was encouraging that younger brother Gold Crusher easily won the Muckleshoot Derby at a mile and sixteenth. In two starts this year, Take Charge Deputy defeated Barkley in an allowance at 5 1/2 furlongs and finished third in the Mt. Rainier at 6 1/2 furlongs. A 5-year-old gelding, Take Charge Deputy is three for six at the distance including a victory in the final edition of the Portland Meadows Mile.

Makah Lane, La Waun, The Press and Hollywood Heat all figure to go off at big odds.

Makah Lane won the one-mile Washington Cup Sophomore as a 3-year-old and began this year with a sharp allowance win opening day, but failed to fire while finishing fifth in the Mt. Rainier. La Waun is a a hard-hitting 5-year-old with 10 wins from 36 starts, but The Mile represents a big step up in class and his lone route win was vs. $12,500 claimers on a synthetic surface.

The Press is sharp and can get the distance; he beat Mach One Rules at a mile in the 2016 Washington Cup. He also is stepping up in class, but trainer Howard Belvoir has won the Longacres Mile three times at Emerald Downs. Hollywood Heat produced a $105.60 upset in allowance company last month, but was drilled by Elliott Bay on July 2 and has never raced farther than six furlongs.

The field for the $100,000 Longacres Mile (G3)

1: Elliott Bay (8/1), Eddie Martinez, 121 lbs
2: Five Star General (9/2), Mario Guttierez, 122
3: The Press (20/1), Jennifer Whitaker, 114
4: Anothertwistafate (8/5), Juan Guttierez, 118
5: He's the Reason (5/1), Alex Cruz, 122
6: Hollywood Heat (30/1), Alex Anaya, 114
7: Papa's Golden Boy (10/1), Gary Wales, 117
8: Take Charge Deputy (12/1), Cerapio Figueroa, 118
9: Makah Lane (15/1), Jake Samuels, 117
10: La Waun (20/1), Patrick Henry Jr., 115

The post Wright Looking For First Longacres Mile Victory With Anothertwistafate appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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EQUITANA USA Unveils Month-long Virtual Program To Celebrate The Horse

The equine industry won't have to wait a year to celebrate the horse with EQUITANA USA after all. The event announced today a month-long virtual celebration of the horse in September, free and open to anyone. Registration and more information about the full programming schedule can be found here.

Virtual sessions begin Tuesday, Sept. 1, and include a variety of webinars with equine industry notables, expert horsemen and women, and an array of exhibitors with innovations and products to advance the care, performance and celebration of horses of all breeds and pedigrees. Sessions include live interviews, panel discussions, expert seminars and educational content ranging from equine nutrition to yoga on horseback as well as behind the scenes with notables like Sydney Collier, Mikhail Proctor and Jamilah Simms.

Select Saturdays in September will feature special Kid's Edition content. Plans are also in the works for barn tours in collaboration with Horse Country, Inc. sessions on training the performing arts horse, equine photography sessions and Q&A's with equine legal experts, among other topics.

“We listened to the feedback from the industry after our very difficult decision to cancel the in-person event due to COVID-19 concerns and instantly knew our fans still wanted to connect and learn,” said Meghan Margewicz, the event's director. “A lot of the session leaders and experts we would have seen at the event have joined us to present a September packed full of great learning for everyone. We're excited to have everyone join the celebration online now which will offer a sneak peek of the amazing programming we'll witness when we're back together again at the Kentucky Horse Park in 2021.”

Next year's event is slated for Oct. 1-3 at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Ky.

EQUITANA USA invites equestrian professionals, enthusiasts, and everyone interested in learning more to join the online events throughout September. The daily schedule will be updated as sessions are added to the EQUITANA USA website at www.equitanausa.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow the event's social channels and e-newsletters for updates on the live 2021 event, but also several planned live streamed content sessions during the September celebration.

Exhibitors interested in the 2021 event, virtual celebration, or year-round promotional opportunities can learn more at equitanausa.com or by contacting Kaitlyn Fritz at kfritz@reedexpo.com.