Tag: Horse Racing

Magic Cross Wins P. G. Johnson S., Becomes First Second-Crop SW For Good Magic

Magic Cross (Good Magic) aired by 7 1/4 lengths in a modestly graded Belmont maiden July 8 and progressed from there into the GIII Adirondack S., where she finished 10 lengths in back of Brightwork (Outwork) in fourth.

Stretching out in distance for this scheduled turf debut, the bay was quickest into stride and made the running while pressed along to her outside by Takemetothebeach (Take Charge Indy). Those two went at it headlong into the stretch, but Magic Cross did the better work in the final furlong and won by a clear margin. Heavily favored Miz Sense (Street Sense) dumped Jose Ortiz just prior to loading, was caught after running free for about a quarter mile and was ordered scratched by the stewards.

“I was playing the track a bit,” said Junior Alvarado, who earlier in the day was named the recipient of the Mike Venezia Award. “The track has been carrying speed today, so I was breaking [out of post one] and I knew she had speed and she's been on the muscle lately. I just broke out of there well and hustled her out of there. After that, I just tried to get her to relax so she can finish and she really showed up today.”

Winning trainer Bill Mott said he would look to run Magic Cross back in the GII Miss Grillo S. at Aqueduct Oct. 1, a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Magic Cross is the first stakes winner from the second crop of her successful young stallion and his 12th overall. The winner was produced by a half-sister to the stakes-winning turf horse Mohs (Hard Spun) and MSP Grandaria (Curlin). Her third dam Baghdaria was a three-time winner at Grade III level and is herself a half-sister to Classic winner Shackleford, GISW Lady Joanne, MGSW Afleeting Lady (Afleet Alex) and SW/MGSP Stephanoatsee.

Be Jeweled is also the dam of a yearling City of Light filly, a weanling colt by Yaupon and was covered by Cyberknife this season. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

P. G. JOHNSON S., $139,500, Saratoga, 8-30, 2yo, f, 1m (off turf), 1:40.15, ft.
1–MAGIC CROSS, 120, f, 2, by Good Magic
1st Dam: Be Jeweled, by Tiznow
2nd Dam: Bagh of Jewelz, by A.P. Indy
3rd Dam: Baghdaria, by Royal Academy
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. ($112,500 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-James S Karp; B-Phil & Christine Hatfield (KY); T-William I Mott; J-Junior Alvarado. $82,500. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $144,000.
2–Takemetothebeach, 120, f, 2, Take Charge Indy–Street Doll, by Street Cry (Ire). 1ST BLACK-TYPE. ($18,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT). O-S Matthew Kintz & James Fisher; B-Stillmeadow Farm LLC (KY); T-S Matthew Kintz. $30,000.
3–Dancing Spirit, 122, f, 2, Social Inclusion–Dancing Sparks, by Jump Start. 1ST BLACK-TYPE. O/T-Adam Rice; B-Glenn E Brok LLC (PA). $18,000.
Margins: 4HF, 4 3/4, 44. Odds: 0.65, 5.20, 1.65.
Also Ran: Villi Olento. Scratched: Brocknardini, Cynane, Gala Brand, Hard to Justify, Madame Mischief, Miz Sense, She Feels Pretty.

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Mark Casse: “I’m Not Proud Of Our Sport”

Appearing as the Green Group Guest of the Week on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse grew emotional when the subject of the rash of fatalities that have plagued the sport this year came up. Believing that the industry has not done all that it can to help alleviate the situation and that tracks must embrace a return to synthetic surfaces, Casse admitted that his outlook on his profession and the sport has changed for the worse.

“This is sad to say, but I'm not as proud to be a horse trainer as I used to be,” he said. “I'm not proud of our sport. That's sad. In my opinion, it's dangerous and I'm going to do whatever I can do to help it. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn who I piss off or upset.”

Casse came on to discuss some of the opinions he expressed earlier in the week from a Q & A that ran in the TDN. Because he has stables at Woodbine, where all racing is conducted on either the Tapeta surface or turf, and at U.S. tracks where the predominant surface is dirt, Casse, perhaps more so than any other trainer, is well versed in the differences between the various types of surfaces. He has become an outspoken supporter of synthetic tracks and insists that U.S. racing needs to make the conversion from dirt to synthetic.

“I think it is,” he answered when asked if the time has come for dirt racing to be replaced. “We've got years and years of data that says it's far safer. The path we're going down right now is ugly and we have to do something and we have to do it quickly. It's going to take a drastic measure.”

Some believe that the end of dirt racing would be a huge blow to the breeding industry, where hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in sires and bloodlines meant to produce top-class dirt horses. Casse argues that the potential problems have been exaggerated.

“It's not as big a worry as they make it out to be,” he said. “From my experience, maybe one out of ten horses don't like synthetic.  Most good horses will run on anything pretty well. And I can tell you, they'll run a lot longer and last a lot longer.”

This isn't the first time that Casse has been outspoken about industry issues. He has also been vocal about what he saw as the widespread and ill-advised use of clenbuterol. He said his only motivation is to try to make this a better, safer sport.

“I'm going to give you everything I have,” he said. “I'll go down fighting. You can only do so much but I will do my best. I'm doing my best. I'm not a good loser.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, NYRABets.com, WinStar Farm, XBTV.com, Stonestreet Farms, Lane's End and West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Zoe Cadman, Bill Finley and Randy Moss also tackled the subject of synthetic surfaces, an issue that drew more attention after a tragic Saturday afternoon at Saratoga, which included the breakdown of New York Thunder (Nyquist) in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. All three agreed with Casse that switching to synthetics has become a necessity. There was also a look at the GI Travers. S., won by Arcangelo (Arrogate) and an admission from Moss that he underrated the horse that is now the sport's leading 3-year-old male. The team also took a look back at the remarkable career of Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard, who passed away this week at the age of 82.

To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here.

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Thursday’s Insights: Constitution Colt Looks To Author Juvenile Score

10th-KD, $150K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 6:28 p.m.
The European-style grass course situated on the Kentucky side of the southern border with Tennessee cards a maiden finale which draws $450,000 Keeneland September graduate from last year, PUBLIUS (Constitution). Bred by Twin Creeks Farm, the bay colt debuts out of Sharp Instinct (Awesome Again), who is the dam of seven winners from nine to race. The Brad Cox trainee, ridden by Florent Geroux, is a half-brother to GIII Excelsior S. hero Send It In (Big Brown).

Also entered is the well-bred Tapitoro (Tapit), who was purchased by De Meric Sales for $170,000 at the Keeneland September Sale and was pinhooked for $300,000 during OBS April Sale. Trained by Brian Lynch and ridden by James Graham, the gray colt is a half-sibling to Canadian champion turf male and GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile winner El Tormenta (Stormy Atlantic), GIII Las Cienegas S. victor Zero Tolerance (Mizzen Mast) and Strut the Ring (Strut the Stage).

Out of an extended female family which includes Canadian Horse of the Year Dance Smartly (Danzig), multiple leading sire Smart Strike (Mr. Prospector) and champion 2-year-old colt trio Sky Classic (Nijinsky II), Regal Classic (Vice Regent) and Grey Classic (Grey Dawn II), Tapitoro's dam Torreadora (El Prado {Ire}) is a half-sister to MGSW His Race To Win (Stormy Atlantic) and the dam of MSW Galilean (Uncle Mo). TJCIS PPS

2nd-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1m, 1:44 p.m.
Up at Saratoga, first timer Paradise Lane (Quality Road) will debut for Hall fo Fame trainer Bill Mott with regular rider Junior Alvarado up. Bred and part-owned by Pam and Martin Wygod, the bay filly is the first offspring out of GI Santa Anita Oaks and GI Zenyatta S. heroine and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags). Second dam Wild Forest (Forest Wildcat) is a half-sister to GSW and English GSW Tajaaweed (Dynaformer) and digging a little deeper under the fourth dam we find MGSW and GISP Mr. Greeley (Gone West) and GISW Mona de Momma (Speightstown). TJCIS PPS

 

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Stonestreet’s Emery ‘More Than Ready’ For Graduation Day

Justice Julia (Medaglia d'Oro–Dreaming of Julia) would have been the sexier half of a commonly owned entry that was sent off as the 7-10 favorite in what became the first race of the final week of racing at Saratoga, but the half-sister to champion Malathaat (Curlin) was never truly involved, and entrymate Emery (f, 2, More Than Ready–Athena, by Street Sense) proved more than equal to the task, skipping clear in the final 150 yards to debut impressively.

Away in midpack in a scratched-down field of five, Emery tracked from an inside position early on before easing out into the clear down the back as Waskesiu (American Pharoah) took them along through a quarter in :21.97 over a drying-out strip. Three deep into the stretch, Emery came after the pacesetter with about a furlong to travel and did her best work through the line, scoring by about four lengths over Waskesiu. The cleverly named Before You Go Go (Mitole) was free of excuses in third, as apparently was Justice Julia, who trailed in.

“From the time I got on her, she was cool, calm and collected,” winning rider Tyler Gaffalione, told Saratoga Live. “She warmed up great and did what I asked her to, she's really kind. She broke alertly and put herself into a great spot. Once we got to the outside, she was very comfortable and just kept kind of building on that.”

Gaffalione, who missed some time after being thrown from the stricken New York Thunder (Nyquist) in last Saturday's GI H. Allen Jerkens S., reflected on his summer at the Spa. His current tally of 30 wins is just three shy of his career best.

“It's amazing,” he said. “Anytime you can come up here and compete with these guys, it feels really good. I owe a lot of credit to my agent, he's been getting me on a lot of live mounts and horseman have been putting me on good horses. There's just something about being up here in Saratoga, it just gives you a little more life and you want to try to be as successful as possible here.”

A $235,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase by the Stonestreet braintrust, Emery has a now-yearling American Pharoah half-sister that cost $70,000 at last year's Novembeer Sale. Stonestreet acquired the winner's dam, who hails from the female family of Grade I winner Peeping Tom (Eagle Eyed), for $130,000 at last year's KEENOV sale, and she produced a filly by Improbable this term before being covered by Good Magic.

2nd-Saratoga, $101,850, Msw, 8-30, 2yo, f, 6f, 1:09.80, my, 5 3/4 lengths.
EMERY (f, 2, More Than Ready–Athena {MSW, $459,222}, by Street Sense) Sales history: $235,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $57,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Mary K Grum (KY); T-Brad H Cox.

 

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