For the fourth year in a row, top racing announcer Larry Collmus will be back in the booth at Del Mar to call the track's upcoming Bing Crosby Season from Nov. 10 to Dec. 3, their front office said in a release Friday.
Besides his three earlier fall sojourns, Collmus also covered the limited 2020 summer season at the track.
“We really couldn't ask for anyone better than Larry to be filling our booth in the planned absence of our longstanding caller Trevor Denman,” said Josh Rubinstein, Del Mar's president and COO. “He brings terrific energy to his role here, both behind the mic and on the social media scene. To top it all off, he tells us he just loves calling races at Del Mar.”
GISW Arklow (Arch), one of the most accomplished horses competing at the 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover at the Kentucky Horse Park this week, is adding another achievement to his resume as he advanced in the Field Hunter preliminary round under amateur rider Gina Gans, the Retired Racehorse Project said in a release late Thursday night.
The former Brad Cox trainee, who earned over $3 million during his racing career, turned in three relaxed rides over two days of competition and has made it to the weekend. The 9-year-old will have the opportunity to take part in his division's Finale Championship on Saturday.
“He's just so fun,” said Gans. “When we had the big gallop up the hill today [in the Mock Hunt], he really took a big hold of me… but when we got to the top of the hill, he stopped in the check and just looked around. I think that's really hard for a lot of Thoroughbreds to be able to turn it on and switch it off–you show him something and he gets it and he's calm and cool. The biggest difference is the brain on him. His brain being so good makes such a difference–he could do anything.”
Click here for a complete Thoroughbred Makeover schedule.
The last time the G1 Shuka Sho was staged at Kyoto Racecourse in 2020, Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) validated a quote of 1.4 (2-5) favouritism to become the fifth winner of the Japanese Fillies Triple Tiara in the modern era. Closed for two years for reconstruction, racing returned to Kyoto this spring and Sunday afternoon, the fans will pack the grandstand to watch Sunday Racing's Liberty Island (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) try to add her name to the list at what will be a similarly skinny price, if not shorter.
The daughter of two time Australian champion and dual Group 1 winner Yankee Rose (Aus) (All American {Aus}) is sparingly raced to date, having made just five trips to the post and having tasted defeat on only one occasion, a desperately unlucky runner-up effort to the re-opposing Ravel (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) when badly held up for a run in the G3 Artemis S. last October. Liberty Island locked up champion 2-year-old filly honours in the G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in December and returned to action in the Apr. 9 G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas), coming from a seemingly unlikely position to defeat Kona Coast (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) (video, SC 3). The G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) was a much more straight-forward task, as Liberty Island turned on the afterburners in the final 200 metres to score by a half-dozen lengths from Harper (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and Dura (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) (see below, SC 5).
Liberty Island reportedly won the Oaks at 468kg, but was a reported 520kg when she returned to training in September. She recently tipped the scales at 490kg, but jockey Yuga Kawada remains bullish on his ride.
“I'd heard so many reports about how big she'd gotten, so I'd been thinking she was going to be too big, but she wasn't,” the leading rider commented this week. “In a good way, I found it hard to even feel the difference. She didn't feel heavy either when she started working, but since it was a week out, I did think she would improve from then.
“Since she's so talented, it's always hard to find a training partner,” he added. “This week, so call it a partner or a pacemaker, we put another horse in front and worked this one, being careful to keep her in good balance. I did feel improvement from last week.”
Dura was better than 100-1 when rallying from far back in the Oaks and went on to frank the form of the race with a one-length success when favoured in the G3 Queen S. (1800m) at Sapporo July 30.
“She had a prep that should tie in nicely with the Kyoto 2,000 meters, and physically she's much more powerful than she was in the spring,” said assistant trainer Atsushi Nishioka. “I hadn't been confident she'd do well in either the Oaks or the Queen S., but this time I'm looking forward to her performance. On top of that, I'm looking forward to seeing how close she can get to Liberty Island.”
Shadai's Masked Diva (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) is one of the more progressive types in the field, with three wins from her four starts, including a convincing 1 1/2-length success in the G2 Rose S. in her group-stakes debut last month. As of this writing, the dark bay is the second choice in the markets at better than 17-1, such is the expected dominance of Liberty Island.
Moryana (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) was well-beaten in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies and was absent from the first two legs of this series, but gained a berth in the Shuka Sho with a half-length defeat of Oaks sixth Hip Hop Soul (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in the G2 Shion S. over Sunday's trip Sept. 9.
3yo filly MASKED DIVA working the Ritto chip slope this morning, considered the main rival to LIBERTY ISLAND in the G1 Shuka Sho on Sunday
Ran a world record time for 1800, / 9F winning last start
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will be present at this year's Maryland Million Day at Laurel Park on Saturday, Oct. 14, the equine advocate said in a release Thursday afternoon.
On a day designed to promote and celebrate Maryland breeding and racing, the TAA will be recognized, along with Maryland Jockey Club, with a named race. Following the running of the Maryland Jockey Club S., a presentation will be made to the winning connections including a branded Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance blanket and swag bag.
“The Maryland Jockey Club is honored to sponsor a race with Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance,” said Mike Rogers, Acting President, Maryland Jockey Club. “We are dedicated to accredited aftercare, ensuring our horses find safe homes after their racing careers.”
The TAA will also be onsite as part of the VIP experience that was auctioned off earlier this year in the “Off to the Races” campaign and was donated by 1/ST Racing and The Hotel at Arundel Preserve.
