Shackleford Filly Sets Quarter-Mile Mark at OBS Breeze Show Monday

The six-session under-tack show for next week’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s July 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale began Monday and, with temperatures quickly rising into the upper 80’s, the day’s last of three sets was twice delayed as fierce rainstorms swept through the area.

A filly by Shackleford (hip 15), working early in the day’s first set, turned in the session’s fastest quarter-mile time of :20 4/5. Consigned by Jesse Hoppel’s Coastal Equine, the bay filly is out of Peace Queen (Indian Charlie), a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Tizaqueena (Tiznow).

“We expected her to be a very fast horse,” Hoppel said. “I didn’t know if she’d be the fastest horse breezing today, but I knew she would be right up there.”

Hoppel continued, “She is a big, classy-looking filly. She doesn’t have any vices about her, physically or mentally. She is a horse you can count on. So leading her up there, we expected her to breeze well and she did.”

The consignor said he was happy with the track conditions at OBS Monday.

“The track was a slow track today, but the slow tracks let horses separate themselves more,” Hoppel said. “A fast track will speed up a slow horse, but not necessarily help a fast horse.”

Hoppel is consigning the youngster on behalf of New York breeder James Doyle, brother of KatieRich Farm owner Larry Doyle. James Doyle, who purchased Peace Queen for $10,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton New York Mixed Sale, currently has just two broodmares. Also through Coastal Equine, he will be offering a filly by Dialed In out of a granddaughter of Inside Information (Private Account) (hip 542) who is scheduled to work Thursday.

“I am lucky my brother has a great operation down there, so many times I drop them in New York and then they go to KatieRich for some kindergarten training in Kentucky,” Doyle said. “And I kind of draft on him a little bit.”

Asked if it was his brother who led him into racing, Doyle said with a laugh, “It was just the other way around. He blames me.”

Of his Shackleford filly, Doyle said, “She has just been a joy since the day she hit the ground. She has size and she’s obviously fast. The mare is a great Darley mare and Jesse Hoppel has just done an outstanding job with her.”

As for how the juvenile ended up at the 2-year-old sales, Doyle laughed again and said, “I forgot to put her in a yearling sale–how about that?”

Six juveniles shared the day’s fastest furlong time of :10 flat.

A colt by Ride on Curlin (hip 66) was first to work the co-fastest :10 flat time Monday. Consigned by Grassroots Training and Sales, the dark bay is out of Rated Xtreme (Magna Graduate), a full-sister to graded winner Blueeysintherein. He was purchased by Grassroots for $11,000 at last year’s OBS October Yearling Sale.

A colt by Race Day (hip 27) went the furlong in :10 flat for consignor Bobby Dodd. He is out of Pistolpackinsenora (Closing Argument). Also from Dodd’s consignment, hip 143, a filly by Tale of Ekati, worked in :10 flat. The bay is out of Shelby’s Song (Songandaprayer). Both juveniles were bred by Misty and Brad Grady.

Hip 49, a daughter of Into Mischief, went in :10 flat. Consigned by Brick City Thoroughbreds, the bay filly is out of graded stakes winner Prospective Saint (Saint Ballado) and is a half-sister to graded placed Island Saint (Speightstown). Bred by Mulholland Springs, the juvenile RNA’d for $170,000 at the OBS March sale following a :10 2/5 work earlier this year.

A daughter of Frosted (hip 82) worked in :10 flat for consignor Eddie Woods. The bay filly is out of the unraced Ride to Houston (Candy Ride {Arg}), a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Runway Model (Petionville), who is the dam of Grade I winner McKinzie (Street Sense). Bred by Whisper Hill Farm, she RNA’d for $275,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.

From the Wavertree Stables consignment, a filly by Malibu Moon (hip 115) went in :10 flat Monday morning. The chestnut it out of Samsational (Unbridled’s Song), an unraced half-sister to Grade I winner I Want Revenge (Stephen Got Even). She was purchased by Joe Minor’s JSM Equine for $125,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale.

The last of the bullet workers went to the track shortly before 10 a.m. and the day’s final set was delayed twice for about 20 minutes between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

“The later part of the day, the weather affected conditions,” Hoppel said. “I don’t know how it affected the track itself. The last page of the breeze show was riddled with a lot of scratches, so there weren’t as many horses who had to deal with the weather later in the day. Early in the day, down here this time of year, it gets hot pretty fast. So we just do everything we can to help these horses be as happy as they can be and of course help ourselves-it’s hot for us, too.”

The first session of the under tack show was lightly attended, but Hoppel noted it’s a long time to sale time.

“It’s a six-day breeze show and it’s hot,” he said. “I think OBS does a good job of putting these videos online and now incorporating walking videos. I think a lot of people are going to be doing their homework and getting their notes off the tougher individuals who are sitting on the turn, possibly. So I think right now, with the six-day breeze show, it’s too early to tell what the attendance is going to be like here. I think for a filly like [hip 15], there are going to be people looking for good horses like that. The other levels, I don’t know what parties are scheduled to attend, but the more the merrier.”

The under tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 7:30 a.m. The July sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday with bidding commencing at 10 a.m.

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‘Unlucky The Last Two Races,’ Major Fed Tries To Get Back In Gear In Indiana Derby

Trainer Greg Foley believes Major Fed is an extremely good horse, the lifelong Louisvillian even allowing himself thoughts of having his first Kentucky Derby starter after Lloyd Madison Farms' 3-year-old colt impressively won a 1 1/16-mile maiden race on New Year's Day.

But now is crunch time. Belief isn't enough. The Churchill Downs-based Foley says he needs to be proven right in Wednesday's $300,000, 1 1/8-mile Indiana Derby, in which Major Fed will break from post 8 in the field of 10. The son of 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper is the 7-2 second choice behind 3-1 favorite Winning Impression.

“If this horse can't run good in this race, we don't need to think about the Kentucky Derby anymore,” Foley said. “Not saying we have to win, but we have to run really good in it. If he doesn't, our Derby hopes are probably at the end. But the horse is going great, and we're expecting a big race.”

Major Fed ranks 17th on the leader board with 30 points toward qualifying for the delayed Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs. A win in the Indiana Derby — worth 20 points —would virtually assure Major Fed a spot, with still time for one more prep race.

Named for 20-time Grand Slam singles winner Roger Federer, Major Fed won on his second attempt after adding blinkers and stretching out in distance at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. That encouraged Foley to run him in a division of the Grade 2 Risen Star, with Major Fed a bit wide on both turns but closing well to finish second by a total of a length.

The march to the Derby then hit a couple snags.

Major Fed drew the rail in a 14-horse field in the Louisiana Derby, breaking slowly to trail the field then coming extremely wide on the far turn to finish a rallying fourth. The trip only got worse in his next start, Churchill Downs' Matt Winn. Breaking from the extreme outside in the 10-horse field, Major Fed was wide and wider on both turns, languishing home last through the stretch.

“I think he's been very unlucky the last two races,” Foley said. “He went from the 1 hole in the Louisiana Derby. He turned his head when they broke and he got left. He was five lengths behind the next-to-last horse going into the first turn, so he had to be 15, 20 lengths out of it. I thought with a decent break that day, if he doesn't win then he's right there. Then the last race, we were in the outside hole, the total opposite. The ground kind of broke out from under him leaving there so he didn't get away great.

“I think you can draw a big line through that race. Maybe I'm wrong. If he doesn't run well in this one, I'd say maybe he just isn't that type. But I don't see that… He's no bad gate horse. He's smart. He doesn't do anything wrong. It's just whatever you want to call it. Bad luck is all I can call it.”

James Graham, the 2019 leading rider at Ellis Park, will ride Major Fed in a race for the first time.

“He's a good rider, and I'm confident in him,” Foley said. “I want somebody who is going to sit still and finish on the horse. I mean, James can ride a variety of ways, but I think he's a good 'sit still and finish strong' rider – and that's what I want on this horse.”

Graham was aboard for a sparkling workout at Churchill Downs, when Major Fed cruised five-eighths of a mile in 1:01 on June 25.

“He worked really well. He picked up, and he kept picking up, which you're going to need in a really good horse,” Graham said. “I liked the way he went off. He went off in 12-flat, picked up down the lane, picked up again on his gallop out. So, I was really happy with that.

“He showed he could run a little bit in a couple of races at the Fair Grounds. He got not a great trip the last time he ran, ran against some good quality. Let's see if we can muster up some more points. He's a solid horse. He does everything you need.”

This year's road to the historic delayed Kentucky Derby is littered with defections to some of the most prominent contenders, including the winners of the Arkansas Derby (Charlatan), Louisiana Derby (Welles Bayou), Rebel (Nadal), Matt Winn (Maxfield) and a division of the Risen Star (Mr. Monomoy).

“He deserves a crack at it,” Graham said. “Because come September, who's going to be left around? We don't know. Hoping some of the heavy heads have to go and take a little bit of a break come September, which I doubt they will. But it's just the way it is. Everybody is pointing to September. If the horse runs good in the Indiana Derby, he's got a good chance to go on to the Kentucky Derby.”

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Grade I Winners Salty and Dacita Thriving at Don Alberto Farm

An intentional breeder is a student of their broodmares, diligently studying each mating and the resulting offspring while adjusting and making inferences at every corner.

Over the past seven years, the Don Alberto Corporation has meticulously analyzed each foal produced on their growing Kentucky-based farm and has endeavored to make each mating more successful that the last as they continue to learn from their elite broodmare band.

“The engine has started working,” Don Alberto’s Executive Director Fabricio Buffolo said. “We know the mares and know more about how they are producing. We are getting better matings because we know what we can do with them.”

Buffolo said that this year, two crosses in particular have proven to be successful–the mating of Chilean-bred millionaire Dacita with Quality Road, and of Grade I-winning maiden mare Salty with Tapit.

Dacita is a daughter of Scat Daddy, and is the leading earner for her dam Daja (Chi) (Seeker’s Reward). She was a dual champion in Chile before moving to the United States and into the barn of top turf trainer Chad Brown as a 4-year-old. She raced for three years in the States, claiming four graded stakes including two Grade I races in the Diana S. and Beverly D. S.

As fellow Chilean natives, the Don Alberto team had a strong attraction to the millionaire earner.

“Dacita is very dear for all of us because she raced in Chile,” Buffolo said. “She won Grade I races there, including the Chilean Oaks, and when she came here she had a long campaign, running until she was six years old.”

The chestnut mare was purchased by Don Alberto at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November Sale for $1.85 million. Last year, Dacita had her first foal, a colt by Uncle Mo and was bred back to Quality Road. The resulting filly was born in January of this year, and Buffolo said their team is very happy with the result of the mating.

“We really like the scope that Quality Road gave her,” he said. “Size is really important for Dacita, because she’s a nice, medium-sized mare. Quality Road gave her the scope she needs.”

Buffolo also added that they had picked the mating in hopes that the offspring could be competitive on dirt or turf.

“Quality Road is a horse that could go either way,” he said. “He can have good runners on the grass and the dirt. And although Dacita was a turf runner, we know that Scat Daddy could do it all.”

Don Alberto liked Dacita’s second foal so well that the mare is now back in foal to Quality Road for next year.

A year after they purchased Dacita, they found another Grade I winner up for grabs in the Fasig-Tipton sales ring in Salty.

Produced by the stakes-placed Dixie Union mare Theycallmeladyluck, Salty broke her maiden second time out as a 3-year-old, and then won the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks when making her stakes debut in her next start for trainer Mark Casse. She placed in three Grade Is later that year before claiming her first Grade I in the 2018 La Troienne S. in her final career start. Among those behind her was Eclipse champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road).

Buffolo said he can easily recall initially seeing her at the sale.

“I remember very well the day that I first saw her there,” he said. “I was standing beside Leif Aaron from Juddmonte, and when we saw her, I was just like, ‘Wow.’ She was a beautiful individual, just gorgeous.”

Buffolo passed on his findings to Don Alberto’s Carlos Heller Solari, who also fell in love with the imposing bay filly.

They purchased Salty for an even $3 million, and bred their new addition to champion sire Tapit in 2019.

After the resulting filly was born in January of this year, Buffolo said that Salty was well worth the hefty price tag.

“We have an outstanding Tapit filly,” he said. “She’s just class. She’s very pretty, very feminine. She’s refined, and has almost an Arab-like head, but is a really good size. We were rewarded; Salty gave us a very pretty filly.”

Buffolo reported that the youngster has a sweet charm to go along with her quality physical.

“She has an incredible personality,” he said. “Every time somebody comes here to take pictures, she’s always the first one to come to you. She’s very inquisitive and has a curious mind. She wants to be with you. Even if you’re trying to take pictures of the other foals, she comes up behind you and is always trying to be with people.”

As the auspicious young fillies continue to develop, plans are formulated as to where they could end up.

“We will enter all of them [into a sale] as yearlings,” Buffolo said. “We will assess them one by one as we get closer to the deadlines. We’re not sure yet, but some we might retain.”

While the number of horses on the farm continues to grow, so too does the farm’s acreage. Since the original purchase of Vinery, they’ve added 400 acres from the adjoining Crestwood Farm, and recently, they also bought a portion of the nearby Hill ‘n’ Dale property, and look to receive more acreage later this year.

“We’ve grown a lot in the last few years,” Buffolo said. “For us, three, four, or five years seems like a lot of time, but in this industry it’s not. It takes a long time to get to know the good mares, to know how they are producing, especially when we bought a lot of maiden mares. You really need to learn what they are producing and adjust your matings accordingly so that you can make a plan for the future.”

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Changes to Apprentice Agreements to Start July 15

The previously announced changes to the apprentice and conditional jockey training agreements will now go into effect on July 15, 2020, the British Horseracing Authority confirmed on Monday. These changes, originally slated for Mar. 28, were temporarily postponed due to COVID-19. The initial decision for the new agreements to be brought in required approval by the BHA Board following considerable period of consultation and discussion between the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) and National Trainers Federation (NTF) where agreement did not prove possible. The BHA has invited the PJA and NTF to create a working group to discuss the subject at length as new tweaks are needed.

“This has always been a subject which has created strong feelings both from jockeys and trainers and their representatives,” said BHA Director of Integrity and Regulation Tim Naylor. “Our job has been to mediate to try and arrive at the best compromise possible, whereby there is not the potential for an uneven balance of power and also that trainer’s contribution to the early stages of an apprentice’s career is suitably recognised.

“We also felt that it was not appropriate to bring in the new agreements in the initial stages of resumption, particularly as there were restrictions on apprentices riding. We fully accept that both from the point of view of apprentices and trainers there is more discussion to be had on this topic, and as such have re-instated the cross-industry working group to ensure there is a suitable forum to work together on any further concerns that arise.”

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