Tag: Horse Racing

How ‘Sweet’ It Is For Dolce Zel in Florida Oaks

Making her U.S. debut as the 3-1 second-elect, Dolce Zel (Fr) (Zelzal {Fr}) fell into a golden trip from a perfect draw and pounced late to narrowly defeat stablemate Spicer (Quality Road) in Saturday's GIII Florida Oaks. It was a second straight Florida Oaks winner saddled by trainer Chad Brown and keyed a one-two finish for the second time in the day's graded events.

Away without incident from the three hole, the bay filly–adding Lasix for her first stateside appearance–secured a cozy spot at the fence as Spicer prompted soft fractions from the outside. Traveling with a fistful of horse as they raced into the final three furlongs, Irad Ortiz, Jr. eased Dolce Zel off the inside and into the two path at the quarter pole and slipstreamed Spicer off the home corner. Pulled out three deep to deliver her challenge in earnest with three-sixteenths of a mile to race, Dolce Zel collared Spicer under whipless encouragement and was punched out to score by a slim margin, albeit in reasonably comfortable fashion. On Alert (Medaglia d'Oro) caboosed the field after angling over at the break, came with a no-straw-in-her-path run around the second turn and finished with good energy for third.

Previously trained by Alessandro and Giuseppe Botti, Dolce Zel was 14th of 15 behind the Peter Brant-owned Spanish Baroque (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in 1400-meter maiden in soft ground at Dieppe on the north coast of France July 26 and made just one subsequent appearance, a 3/4-length upset on a sounder surface at ParisLongchamp Oct. 14.

Pedigree Notes:

Dolce Zel is the second graded winner and third stakes winner from the first crop of her sire, a son of Sea The Stars (Ire) who resides at the stallion arm of Al Shaqab Racing, Haras de Bouquetot in France. The stallion's daughter Ouraika (Fr) took out this year's GIII Sweet Life S. at Santa Anita.

Trained by Jean-Claude Rouget for Sheikh Fahad's operation, Zelzal posted his biggest career victory in the G1 Prix Jean Prat in 2016 and made a single appearance in this country, finishing  sixth, beaten less than two lengths, behind champion World Approval (Northern Afleet) in the 2017 GI Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar.

A half-sister to SW & MGSP Pure Zen, Dolce Zel is out of a winning daughter of 1999 Bassinet S. heroine Lady Gin, herself the dam of SW Queen Amira (GB) (Forestry). Dolce Attesa is the dam of a now 2-year-old filly by the promising Shalaa (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) that was knocked down to Alessandro Botti and Meridian International for €47,000 from the Grandcamp consignment at the Arqana October Yearling Sale in Deauville.

Saturday, Tampa Bay Downs
FLORIDA OAKS-GIII, $151,000, Tampa Bay Downs, 3-12, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:44.18, gd.
1–DOLCE ZEL (FR), 118, f, 3, by Zelzal (Fr)
                1st Dam: Dolce Attesa (GB), by Dr Fong
                2nd Dam: Lady Gin, by Saint Ballado
                3rd Dam: Romantic Dinner, by Who's for Dinner
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Michael
Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC & Robert V LaPenta; B-Scuderia
Micolo Di Nicola Galli & C SNC (FR); T-Chad C Brown; J-Irad
Ortiz Jr. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $105,655. *1/2 to
Pure Zen (Fr) (Zoffany {Ire}), SW & MGSP-Fr, $112,606. Werk
Nick Rating: C. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Spicer, 118, f, 3, Quality Road–Moulin de Mougin, by Curlin.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($300,000 Ylg '20
KEESEP). O-Jeff Drown & Don Rachel; B-Ran Jan Racing Inc
(KY); T-Chad C Brown. $30,000.
3–On Alert, 118, f, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Darling's Darling, by
Bernardini. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($500,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald Adam);
B-Debby M Oxley (KY); T-Claude R McGaughey III. $15,000.
Margins: HD, 1HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 3.00, 2.20, 12.70.
Also Ran: Mrs. Barbara, Sweet Dutchess, Alittleloveandluck, Roughly a Diamond, Princess Elin, Ambitieuse.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Fonner Barn Quarantined Following EHV-1 Positives

Barn R on the backstretch at Nebraska's Fonner Park has been placed under a 21-day quarantine after a pair of horses tested postive for equine herpes virus (EHV-1). Both horses were subsequently euthanized.

On Wednesday, Mar. 9, a horse residing in Barn R had a high temperature and was displaying mobility issues. A first round of testing at NVLS in Ames, Iowa, returned results that were inconclusive, requiring an additional sample to be drawn. A second horse began displaying similar symptoms the same day. On the evening of Mar. 11, lab results were released and proved positive for EHV-1.

Horses stables in Barn R are restricted from having contact with the rest of the horse population and any horses entering Fonner Park will not be able to leave the stable area until the quarantine is lifted. The track has begun sanitizing the paddock, starting gate and other common areas for horses.

“We enacted immediate protocol and now we must adhere to and increase our measures of safety,” said Fonner Park CEO Chris Kotulak. “Everyone knows they have a role to play in our return to normalcy. Sadly, there are many in the stable area now shut down from earning a paycheck to feed themselves and their horses.”

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Former Ballydoyle Charge Set For Hong Kong Debut

Call Me Teddy (Uncle Mo), who won the Listed Doncaster S. when trained by Aidan O'Brien as Lipizzaner, is set to make his Hong Kong debut in Saturday's Class 3 Tai Mei Tuk H. over the straight 1000-metres at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Bred in Kentucky by the Irish Lights Syndicate, the bay gelding was runner up in a paid of Naas maidens in the spring of 2020 before a low-odds fourth behind The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince of Lir {Ire}) and Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot. After graduating at Navan first off a 47-day absence, Lipizzaner ran A Case Of You (Ire) (Hot Streak {Ire}) to 1 1/4 lengths in the G3 Anglesey S. that October and stayed on well to be fourth behind Golden Pal in the G2 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.

On the board in two of four starts at three, Lipizzaner makes his first local appearance off a mark of 69, having finished runner-up under 140 pounds in a five-furlong handicap over the Dundalk all-weather when last seen July 12.

“I've had a look at his Irish and English form and I'm obviously very encouraged by what I've seen, actually,” said jockey Harry Bentley, who takes the call from trainer Michael Chang. “He's aimed at some very good races, clearly Aidan thought plenty of him. He won the Doncaster S., a listed race, and he looked pretty impressive.

“My only concern is that all of this form seems to be on either soft or heavy ground. I know he's run on good a couple of times [but] the fact he's going to run on much quicker than on Saturday is a little bit of a concern but hopefully it won't be too much of a concern.

“I have trialled him twice on the turf (video) and he seemed absolutely fine. I've been very encouraged by what I've seem so far. He certainly has shown plenty of speed. He travels extremely well.”

A $650,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, Call Me Teddy is out of 2009 G1 Schweppes The Thousand Guineas heroine Irish Lights (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), also the dam of Australian Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Omei Sword (Aus) (High Chaparral {Ire}). This is also the family of the Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen (Pretense).

 

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Greatest Honour Returns in Challenger

After finishing behind the likes of future graded winners Olympiad (Speightstown), Speaker's Corner (Street Sense) and Known Agenda (Curlin) in his first three starts, the homebred followed up on a Gulfstream maiden win in late 2020 to take the GIII Holy Bull S. and GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. in his next three appearances. He makes his first start since finishing a well-beaten third behind Known Agenda in the GI Curlin Florida Derby last March. (Click for more from trainer Shug McGaughey in Steve Sherack's APB series)

Also on the comeback trail is Dynamic One (Union Rags), who was second to Greatest Honour in that one's maiden-breaking success before going on to just miss behind stablemate Bourbonic (Bernardini) in the GII Wood Memorial S. last spring. After beating home just one rival in the GI Kentucky Derby, the $725,000 Keeneland September grad defeated the Curlin duo of Miles D and 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain in the July 30 Curlin S. at Saratoga and was last seen finishing seventh in the GI Runhappy Travers S. Aug. 28.

'Rising Star' Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) is a somewhat surprising inclusion in the Challenger, given that three of his four wins have come on the grass, including a 1 1/2-length defeat of defending champion Get Smokin (Got Stormy) in the GIII Tampa Bay S. Feb. 5.

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