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Annapolis Defeats Elders in Coolmore Turf Mile

Bass Racing LLC's 'TDN Rising Star' Annapolis (War Front) would have been one of the chief protagonists in the 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar, but was forced to miss the race after the injury bug bit. Twelve months on, connections have their collective minds set on making up for that missed opportunity, as the colt secured the gun run beneath an in-form Irad Ortiz, Jr. and outsprinted arguably the deepest turf Grade I field of 2022 to become the first 3-year-old since Aussie Rules (Danehill) in 2006 to defeat his elder rivals in the GI Coolmore Turf Mile, a 'Win and You're In' springboard to the GI Breeders' Cup Mile over the same course and trip Nov. 5.

“[This win is] the pinnacle,” said Perry Bass, who races Annapolis with mother Ramona. “[My mother and I] talk about [the racehorses] daily. We fret daily. The lows are the worst, and the highs…I've never experienced a high like this.”

Venturing out of age-restricted competition for the first time in his career, Annapolis secured a foothold at the fence on the back of this year's GI Maker's Mark Mile runner-up Masen (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who pulled fairly hard against Flavien Prat through quick fractions of :23.58 and an even more testing :46.60 with pressure to his outside from longshot Atone (Into Mischief) and Somelikeithotbrown (Big Brown). On hold as he continued to slipstream Masen around the turn and into the stretch, Annapolis was momentarily short of room at about the three-sixteenths as Atone did his best to string him up in some traffic, but he went through his gears once into the clear and prevailed comfortably in the finish. Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}), winner of this two years ago and fourth in 2021, raced behind midfield and in the two-wide line trailing last-out GI Fourstardave H. hero Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed) and got home well down the center of the course to just touch 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Mile upsetter Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) out of second. Set Piece (GB) (Dansili {GB}) closed stoutly from the tail to round out the super.

Forced to miss early-season stakes in Florida and at this venue, Annapolis made his seasonal reappearance in the GIII Penn Mile S. June 3, fighting on bravely to be second to longshot Wow Whata Summer (Summer Front) over boggy ground that was clearly not to his liking. Back to winning ways from off the speed over a sounder surface in the July 4 Manila S. at Belmont, the homebred was an excellent runner-up to the Breeders' Cup-bound Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) in the stamina-testing GI Saratoga Derby Invitational over a mile and three-sixteenths Aug. 6, but doled out a soft pace when last seen in the Sept. 3 GIII Saranac S. at the Spa and bolted up by 5 1/2 lengths at skinny odds.

“He is very tactical–he can do anything,” said Ortiz, Jr., who rode 'Rising Star' Forte (Violence) to victory in the GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity one race prior. Last time [in the Saranac], there wasn't too much speed in the race so we decided to let him do his thing. It was a slow pace..and he was going relaxed; it was pretty much an easy win. But before, in the race at Belmont, he was right in behind the speed and on the bridle and he responded really well with a good turn of foot coming home.

Pedigree Notes:

A 24th worldwide Grade I/Group 1 winner for his outstanding Claiborne-based sire, Annapolis is the second foal from his talented dam, a $260,000 Keeneland September purchase by Mathis Stable, who won the 2014 GII Gazelle S. and was second to Untapable (Tapit) in that year's GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, then was acquired by Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stable for $2.15 million at Fasig-Tipton November in late 2014. Kept in training at four, the filly was third to Hall of Famer Tepin (Bernstein) in the 2015 GI First Lady S. She was unplaced in two starts in 2016 and produced the stakes-placed Nevisian Sunrise (War Front) before selling to the Basses' bloodstock agent Steve Young for $4 million with Annapolis in utero at Keeneland November in 2018, second only to the $4.2-million Lady Eli.

A half-sister to former Grade I-winning 'Rising Star' Materiality (Afleet Alex) and from the family of Grade I winners Embellish the Lace (Super Saver) and Afleet Express (Afleet Alex), My Miss Sophia is the dam of a yearling full-brother to Annapolis and visited Gun Runner earlier this season.

Saturday, Keeneland
COOLMORE TURF MILE S.-GI, $1,000,000, Keeneland, 10-8, 3yo/up, 1mT, 1:33.29, fm.
1–ANNAPOLIS, 123, c, 3, by War Front
                1st Dam: My Miss Sophia (GSW & MGISP, $605,040),
                                by Unbridled's Song
                2nd Dam: Wildwood Flower, by Langfuhr
                3rd Dam: Dial a Trick, by Phone Trick
1ST GRADE I WIN. 'TDN Rising Star' O-Bass Racing, LLC; B-Bass Stables, LLC (KY);
T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $573,500. Lifetime Record:
7-5-2-0, $1,166,100. *Full to Nevisian Sunrise, SP, $196,180.
Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating:
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Ivar (Brz), 126, h, 6, Agnes Gold (Jpn)–May Be Now, by Smart
Strike. O-Bonne Chance Farm, LLC and Stud R D I, LLC.; B-Stud
Rio Dois Irmaos (BRZ); T-Paulo H. Lobo. $185,000.
3–Order of Australia (Ire), 126, h, 5, Australia (GB)–Senta's
Dream (GB), by Danehill. O-Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier,
Michael Tabor & Anne Marie O'Brien; B-Whisperview Trading
Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan P. O'Brien. $92,500.
Margins: 1HF, NO, NK. Odds: 6.35, 5.27, 6.01.
Also Ran: Set Piece (GB), Casa Creed, Masen (GB), Classic Causeway, Atone, Santin, Gray's Fable, Somelikeithotbrown. Scratched: Dark Shift (GB), Emaraaty (GB), Greyes Creek, Natural Power (Ire), Smooth Like Strait. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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War Like Goddess Beats The Boys in Turf Classic, BC Turf Next

If Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott had any qualms whether his star turf distaffer could hold her own against the boys, George Krikorian's War Like Goddess (English Channel) dispelled all doubts with an emphatic 2 3/4-length score over males in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, run this year at Belmont at the Big A. Pacesetter Bye Bye Melvin (Uncle Mo) was second with Astronaut (Quality Road) checking in third, and second choice Gufo (Declaration of War), third as the favorite in last year's renewal, a dull last of seven. It had been nearly four decades and a 1983 renewal of the Joe Hirsch that pre-dated the inception of the Breeders' Cup when the great All Along (Fr) (Targowice)–that year's winner of the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe-last beat the boys in the race, also the last time it was run at Aqueduct.

“I always thought she belonged,” said Mott, who indicated War Like Goddess will face males a second time in the Nov. 5 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf. “There's good horses and she could get outrun, but I think she deserves an opportunity, for sure. I don't think we're out of line whatsoever. We're a long ways from the winner's circle, but I think she deserves her opportunity. She's done nothing wrong.”

The Joe Hirsch and the Breeders' Cup Turf are both contested at 1 1/2 miles, while the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, in which War Like Goddess finished third last year, will be held at 1 3/16 miles due to Keeneland's configuration. War Like Goddess is undefeated in five tries at 1 1/2 miles.

In the Joe Hirsch, run over Aqueduct's inner turf, Bye Bye Melvin went straight to the lead and led the field on a merry chase, clocking the first quarter in :24.25, the half in :48.96, and the mile in 1:39.10. Astronaut rated in second while War Like Goddess settled on the rail in third as the odds-on favorite. The field got closer to Bye Bye Melvin on the backstretch and after the third of three turns, War Like Goddess shifted to the outside, got a couple of right-handed taps from jockey Jose Lezcano, and overhauled the leader, lengthening her stride and taking over with aplomb. She was an easy winner.

“The filly is very easy to ride,” said Lezano. “She broke very good and I moved her up a little more than I wanted to, but she seemed a little quiet so I moved her up a little more. I wanted position at the start of the race and [Bye Bye Melvin] and [Astronaut] went, so I sat right there. I stepped aside and stayed there the whole way around. It was very easy to get there, there were only seven horses.

“She's a very nice mare and she does everything right. When I asked her, she gave me her race. She's a very good horse. When you ride a horse for Billy [Mott], you've always got a chance to win this kind of race.”

But for a pace-compromised neck defeat in the GII Flower Bowl S. Sept. 3, War Like Goddess would be undefeated for the year. She captured the Aug. 6 GII Glens Falls S. at the Spa after a minor physical issue that kept her away from the races for a few months following her GIII Bewitch S. win Apr. 29 at Keeneland. Last year, she won four straight graded stakes, including the then-GI Flower Bowl, prior to her Breeders' Cup third in the Filly/Mare event run in 2021 at 1 3/8 miles.

Pedigree Notes:

Brad Kelly's Calumet Farm is having somewhat of a resurgence this year as a breeder, with both GI Kentucky Derby victor Rich Strike (Keen Ice) and War Like Goddess, among others, emerging from the program. Both Rich Strike and War Like Goddess are by Calumet-standing stallions, although English Channel was lost after a brief illness last November. English Channel, himself a turf champion in 2007, has been a reliable conduit for turf class, with 11 of his 12 Grade I winners coming on the grass. Overall, English Channel has 34 graded winners and 65 black-type winners in the Northern Hemisphere. It's also not the first time he's made an impact in the Joe Hirsch: he won the race himself in 2006 and 2007 after a second in 2005 and his Canadian champion son, Channel Maker, won it in 2018 and 2020 and finished second in 2019.

War Like Goddess is out of a North Light (Ire) mare and is one of six stakes winners out of daughters of the Danehill stallion and 2004 G1 Epsom Derby winner. Misty North, purchased by Calumet at the 2014 Keeneland November sale for $30,000 in foal to Cape Blanco (Ire), was resold at the same sale in 2019 to Charles Yochum for $1,000. She produced a colt named North of Bali (Bal a Bali {Brz}) the next spring, currently the last reported foal for the 12-year-old mare, although she was bred to Curlin for next term.

Saturday, Belmont at The Big A
JOE HIRSCH TURF CLASSIC S.-GI, $500,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-8, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:27.29, gd.
1–WAR LIKE GODDESS, 123, m, 5, by English Channel
                1st Dam: Misty North, by North Light (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Misty Gallop, by Victory Gallop
                3rd Dam: Romanette, by Alleged
($1,200 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $1,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP; $30,000
2yo '19 OBSOPN). O-George Krikorian; B-Calumet Farm (KY);
T-W Mott; J-J Lezcano. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 12-9-1-1,
$1,612,184. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk
Nick Rating: F.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Bye Bye Melvin, 126, g, 5, Uncle Mo–Karlovy Vary, by
Dynaformer. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Alex G. Campbell, Jr.;
B-Alex G. Campbell, Jr. Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-H. Graham
Motion. $100,000.
3–Astronaut, 126, h, 5, Quality Road–Armanda (Ger), by
Acatenango (Ger). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-John M. B.
O'Connor; B-Anastasie Astrid Christiansen-Croy (KY); T-Thomas
Albertrani. $60,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, 3/4, NO. Odds: 0.95, 6.70, 67.75.
Also Ran: Rockemperor (Ire)-(DH), Soldier Rising (GB)-(DH), Adhamo (Ire), Gufo. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Golden Pal Sets Stakes Record in Woodford Repeat

It was another dazzling display by two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), who successfully defended his GII Woodford S. title while establishing a new stakes record at Keeneland Saturday.

In contrast to his last start in the GIII Troy S. at Saratoga Aug. 5, where he was restrained off the pace after a slow dispatch before just scraping in, the 1-5 favorite blasted out to the front here. The Florida-bred led through an opening quarter in :21.25, cornered for home in the four path and wasn't for catching in the stretch following a scorching half mile in :43.42 to make it a perfect four-for-four over the Keeneland lawn. It was 1 1/2 lengths back to Oceanic (Constitution) in second. The final time of 1:01.39 established a new stakes record and was a full 1.73 faster than his final clocking over good going last year.

The 2020 GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint winner and last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner had made only three previous attempts this term. After posting a career-high 110 Beyer in Keeneland's GII Shakertown S. Apr. 9, Golden Pal lost all chance after missing the break in Royal Ascot's G1 King's Stand S. June 14. He secured a head victory following an eventful trip at the Spa last out.

“Every time he runs, I get kind of nervous because he's so exceptional,” winning trainer Wesley Ward said. “We're real excited now to get on to the Breeders' Cup. We got our prep into him here on his home track at Keeneland, and 28 days from now we'll be ready to roll.”

Ward continued, “It's just like any other great athlete in any sport. Of all the horses I've ever trained–and fast ones–he's just unbelievable, just an extreme talent. The athleticism he has; he's just like a cat when he moves for such a big colt. He's got a brilliant mind to him as well. I really look forward to what he's going to be as a stallion. He's so smart in the barn, so quick and agile–I really look forward to his babies here.”

Pedigree Notes:

Golden Pal, one of 83 stakes/45 graded winners for leading sire Uncle Mo, is the first foal out of ultra-talented turf sprinter and 'TDN Rising Star' Lady Shipman, who came up just a neck short in her GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint bid at Keeneland in 2015. Lady Shipman failed to get into foal to Gun Runner for 2019 and her 2020 Justify foal died. The 10-year-old mare produced an Omaha Beach colt now named Lieutenant General in 2021 ($385,000 RNA at KEESEP) and an Uncle Mo filly named Luvwhatyoudo in 2022. She was bred back to Essential Quality. Lady Shipman's MSP full-sister Just Talkin brought $675,000 in foal to American Pharoah at the 2019 FTKNOV sale.

Saturday, Keeneland
WOODFORD S. PRESENTED BY FANDUEL-GII, $315,175, Keeneland, 10-8, 3yo/up, 5 1/2fT, 1:01.39 (NSR), fm.
1–GOLDEN PAL, 124, c, 4, by Uncle Mo
                1st Dam: Lady Shipman (GSW-Can, MSW & GISP-USA,
                                $902,387), by Midshipman
                2nd Dam: Sumthingtotalkabt, by Mutakddim
                3rd Dam: Nannetta, by Falstaff
($325,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Westerberg Limited,
Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith; B-Randall E
Lowe (FL); T-Wesley A. Ward; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $176,700.
Lifetime Record: GISW-uS & GSP-Eng, 12-8-2-0, $1,815,131.
Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating:
   A+. Click for free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Oceanic, 120, g, 5, Constitution–Rockin Girl, by Rock Hard
Ten. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($75,000 Ylg '18 FTKJUL).
O-Surfside Stables, LLC; B-DP Racing, LLC (KY); T-Jordan Blair.
$66,500.
3–Artemus Citylimits, 120, g, 5, Temple City–Dene Court, by
City Zip. ($25,000 RNA Wlg '17 KEENOV; $34,000 Ylg '18
FTKFEB; $60,000 RNA 4yo '21 FTKHRA; $85,000 4yo '21
FTIDEC). O-Paradise Farms Corp., David Staudacher & Michael
Dubb; B-Gunpowder Farms LLC (ON); T-Michael J. Maker.
$28,500.
Margins: 1HF, NO, HF. Odds: 0.37, 13.48, 7.24.
Also Ran: Bad Beat Brian-(DH), Gear Jockey-(DH), Charcoal, All in Sync, County Final, Cadamosto (Ire). Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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PointsBet, 1/ST Technology Announce Partnership

Edited Press Release

Premier Turf Club, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of PointsBet USA Inc., today announced a partnership agreement with 1/ST TECHNOLOGY, a business division of The Stronach Group (“TSG”). The agreement encompasses 1/ST's broad portfolio of products and services including 1/ST BET, Xpressbet, Monarch Content Management and AmTote International.

Key features of the deal include:

PointsBet and 1/ST Technology will collaborate on integration and launch of the one-of-a-kind 1/ST BET online horse wagering product in US jurisdictions where Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) is permitted.
Deeply aligns the companies and drives vertical integration across key components of ADW–product, tote, and content management–serving to enrich the PointsBet offering and introduce new bettors to American horseracing.
Racing customers of 1/ST TECHNOLOGY's currently operated brands, Xpressbet and 1/ST BET, will be introduced to the world of Sports Betting and iCasino via PointsBet products through this unique marketing partnership.

The agreement encompasses a wide range of services and synergies across the companies which is set to deliver a fully integrated, white-label horse betting experience to PointsBet customers. The partnership marks the first time in the United States that a tier-one sports betting company and horse racing company have aligned to power an independently owned and licensed ADW operator.

1/ST BET is a revolutionary multi-featured app with an algorithm based handicapping tool and a fully configurable UI/UX created to introduce new customers to horse racing and betting, as well as support for the most advanced horse racing bettors. The 1/ST BET app was developed to make handicapping and betting fun and intuitive. Its goal is to educate customers to make smarter bets, engage with the sport of horse racing, and complement the on-track visuals and wagering experience. 1/ST BET was successfully launched nationally in May 2019.

Regarding the strategic partnership announcement, PointsBet Group CEO Sam Swanell commented: “Horse racing has a unique role to play alongside sports betting in the United States, and despite already generating over $6.5 billion per annum in industry online handle, we consider it an attractive category on the cusp of further expansion on the back of the ongoing shift from brick and mortar to digital. With PointsBet's mature market Australian racing expertise, and now a strategic partner in 1/ST TECHNOLOGY, we can introduce new and existing customers to a dynamic and interactive PointsBet branded horse betting experience.”

Paul Williams, Chief Executive Officer, 1/ST TECHNOLOGY, added: “1/ST TECHNOLOGY is excited to be partnering with the truly innovative team at PointsBet to bring the great sport of horse racing to a growing customer base across US markets. We are uniquely aligned on a superior product vision as well as the value that this relationship brings to our collective organizations and horse racing industry stakeholders at large.”

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