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Spielberg Up to Give Baffert Seven Straight Futuritys at Los Al

After 8 1/2 furlongs of Saturday’s GII Los Alamitos Futurity, it was a ‘Close Encounter’ with pacesetting outsider The Great One (Nyquist)–playing ‘Catch Me If You Can’–but $1-million Keeneland September yearling purchase Spielberg (Union Rags) managed to snatch victory from the ‘Jaws’ of defeat, as he was the recipient of the kindest of headbobs to give Bob Baffert his seventh consecutive victory in the event, now held at the Orange County oval.

Drawn widest in a field of six, the second betting choice attended the pace three wide outside of GII Best Pal S. hero Weston (Hit It a Bomb) as the maiden The Great One made play from the fence. The front-runner hit the three-eighths going great guns and took them into the stretch, daring them to catch him. Spielberg emerged as the lone chance to do so as favored Red King (Tamarkuz), impressive in romping in the GIII Bob Hope S. last time out, began to paddle at midstretch. The Great One kicked on gamely into the final sixteenth of a mile, but the blaze-faced Spielberg dug in resolutely and dove home just in front. The win was the 14th overall in the race formerly known as the Hollywood and then CashCall Futurity and the winner represents a seventh different ownership group in the seven years the race has taken place at Los Al.

Second in the Sept. 7 GI Del Mar Futurity and third in the Sept. 26 GI American Pharoah S. as a maiden, Spielberg was more workmanlike than brilliant in graduating by a neck going a mile at Del Mar Nov. 1 and he was exiting a fourth, beaten 9 1/2 lengths, when last seen in the Bob Hope Nov. 15.

“I knew he was going to run well because he had shipped well over here and was really on it in the paddock,” said Baffert. “I thought it was an easy spot last time and he didn’t ship well. He got nervous when he got in the stall there [Del Mar] and was just flat. We ran him back too quick. I asked [jockey Flavien Prat] if there’s more there and he said there’s a lot more. I think he’ll get better with maturity.”

Pedigree Notes:

Spielberg becomes the 16th black-type winner and ninth at the graded level for Union Rags and is bred like his sire’s Grade I winner Union Strike. The winner’s dam is a daughter of SP Miss Kate (Storm Cat)-the cross of Union Rags over the late Overbrook sire is responsible for another two of Union Rags’s GISWs-also the dam of the SWs Outplay (Bernardini), Raconteur (A.P. Indy) and Katerbug (Pulpit). Spielberg’s dual Grade I-winning third dam produced Clear Mandate (Deputy Minister), herself a three-time winner at the highest level and dam of MGSW/MGISP Newfoundland (Storm Cat), GISW Strong Mandate (Tiznow) and SW Full Mandate (A.P. Indy). Miss Squeal is the dam of a yearling filly by Honor Code, a weanling filly by Bernardini and was most recently bred to City of Light.

Saturday, Los Alamitos
LOS ALAMITOS FUTURITY-GII, $200,500, Los Alamitos, 12-19, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42.56, ft.
1–SPIELBERG, 120, c, 2, by Union Rags
1st Dam: Miss Squeal, by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Miss Kate, by Storm Cat
3rd Dam: Dream Deal, by Sharpen Up (GB)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($1,000,000
Ylg ’19 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket
Stables LLC, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm LLC & Robert E.
Masterson; B-G. Watts Humphrey (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Flavien
Prat. $120,000. Lifetime Record: MGISP, 6-2-2-1, $257,200.
Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–The Great One, 120, c, 2, Nyquist–Little Ms Protocol, by El
Corredor. ($125,000 Ylg ’19 OBSOCT; $185,000 2yo ’20
OBSOPN). O-ERJ Racing, LLC, Train Wreck Al Racing Stables,
Niall J. Brennan, Tom Fritz & William Strauss; B-Coteau Grove
Farms (LA); T-Doug F. O’Neill. $40,000.
3–Petruchio, 120, g, 2, Into Mischief–Satirical, by Distorted
Humor. O-Perry R. Bass II & Ramona S. Bass; B-Bass Stables,
LLC (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $24,000.
Margins: NO, 3HF, 5. Odds: 1.90, 33.60, 6.00.
Also Ran: Red Flag, Weston, Positivity.
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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Ex-Louisiana HBPA President Jailed For Rigging Election Running Again For Board Position

Sean Alfortish, the former president of the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association who served 28 months in federal prison for defrauding the organization and rigging a 2008 Louisiana HBPA election, is one of 18 individuals running for five owner seats on the horsemen's board of directors.

Fifteen trainers are running for five trainer seats and there are three candidates for Louisiana HBPA president, including current president Bernard Chatters.

Nominations closed Dec. 3 and the Louisiana HBPA's election process runs through March 30, 2021.

List of nominees for Louisiana HBPA board and presidency.

Alfortish pleaded guilty in 2011 to one felony count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, identity fraud, and health care fraud and was sentenced the following year to 46 months imprisonment. Alfortish, an attorney, has reportedly been disbarred. Two other Louisiana HBPA employees also pleaded guilty in connection with the election scheme. A subsequent audit of the Louisiana HBPA found hundreds of thousands of dollars had been spent inappropriately for Caribbean vacations, expensive gifts, and personal items.

Following his release from prison, Alfortish sought to regain his owner's license in Louisiana but was originally thwarted. Only after getting licensed in Texas and suing the Louisiana State Racing Commission was he permitted to be relicensed in the state.

Alfortish's name recently surfaced in connection with an insurance fraud investigation involving staged automobile accidents and personal injury claims in Louisiana. The FBI has joined that investigation.

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New Racehorse Management Technology In Australia Changes How Champion Trainer Waller Runs His Stable

A new automated platform created in Australia has taken racehorse care and management to the next level, according to horsetalk. The product is currently only being used in Australia and champion trainer Chris Waller said it has changed how he runs his stable.

StableWizard is an app that was created by Segenhoe Stud chairman Kevin Maloney. The system is cloud-based and gives trainers and stable staff instant access to all details of the horses in their care. The app is accessible via smartphone or tablet and transfers general horse management information such as temperature, feed checks, and treatment plans onto a dashboard for trainers, stable staff, or service providers to view at any time or location.

in Waller's stable, each horse has its temperature taken daily using a Bluetooth thermometer, with the results sent to StableWizard in real-time. The trainer of well-known race mare Winx said the data provided by StableWizard has improved the efficiency of his business and the care provided to the horses.

“Some processes that took two hours now take two minutes,” Waller said.

The founders of StableWizard believe the product will modernize equine management and they are aiming for it to become the new industry standard. Maloney says that the addition of more components to the app is planned. No information has been provided about wether or not this technology will make an appearance in the U.S.

Juddmonte’s Full Sister To Bonny South On Path To Stakes Company After Fair Grounds Win

Juddmonte Farms Inc's 2-year-old filly Sun Path pressed the early pace of Rock Star Parking, took full command on the turn, and drew off to win a first-level Friday allowance under a hand ride for trainer Brad Cox and jockey Florent Geroux. The margin of victory was 12 ¾ lengths for the .20-1 favorite and she stopped the timer in 1:42.95 for one mile and 70 yards over a fast track.

“It was a short field, but I thought she ran well,” Cox said. “It was her first time around two turns and she continued the education process. It went really well. She's a good filly.”

By Munnings out of the Tapit mare Touch the Star, Sun Path is a full sister to 2020 Fair Grounds Oaks (Grade 2) winner Bonny South.

“At this stage of the game, she's better,” Cox said of Sun Path. “She showed more this summer than Bonny (South) showed as a 2-year-old. She's got a long way to go to catch up to Bonny's accomplishments, but at this stage of the game, there's more talent and speed there and she does things maybe a touch easier.”

According to Cox, the locally run $150,000 Silverbulletday on Saturday, Jan. 16 is “in play,” but he'll likely give her a little more time between starts.

“We will also look at the Martha Washington (Jan. 30 at Oaklawn Park) or we might just wait for the Rachel Alexandra (G2) (Feb.13 at Fair Grounds). We will just see how well she bounces out of this race, how it shapes up, how it plays out and let her tell us.”

One race earlier on the card for Cox and Geroux, Godolphin LLC's Divine Comedy put herself on the map with an impressive maiden score, wiring a field of eight foes by 5 ¼ widening lengths while eased under the wire.

“She appreciated the two turns,” Cox said of the 2-year-old daughter of Into Mischief. “First time out (sixth at Churchill Downs in a 6 ½-furlong sprint on September 17) she ran well but we knew she needed more ground. She had a little minor setback, nothing we had to send her out for, and it took a little time for her to get over that. She had a fantastic breeze here last week, we expected her to run big and she responded well.”

Cox also reported that Juddmonte Farms Inc's Mandaloun, an impressive winner of consecutive races in Kentucky, is being pointed for the $200,000 Lecomte (G3) at 1 1/16 miles on January 16. The Into Mischief colt is scheduled to breeze a local half mile on Saturday morning.

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