Horse Racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Grade 1 Winner Klimt Sold To Stand In Turkey

Klimt, a Grade 1 winner and freshman sire, has been purchased by the Turkish Jockey Club, and he will relocate to that country for the 2022 breeding season, the Turkish publication Yaris Dergisi reports.

The 7-year-old son of Quality Road previously stood at Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, Ky., where he entered stud in 2018.

Klimt currently ranks sixth among North American freshman sires by progeny earnings, with $1,091,435 from 72 starters and 21 winners. His best runners to date include stakes-placed runners Rumble Strip Ron, Sea Art, Barone Cesco, and Quality Bet.

During his own on-track career, Klimt won three of eight starts, and earned $468,960. His resume was highlighted by victories in the Grade 1 Best Pal Stakes and G2 Best Pal Stakes.

Bred in Kentucky by Thor-Bred Stables, Klimt is out of the stakes-placed Dixie Union mare Inventive, and he's a half-brother to Grade 3-placed West Coast Chick. His extended family includes Grade 1 winners Concern and Fara's Team.

The post Grade 1 Winner Klimt Sold To Stand In Turkey appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Finnick The Fierce Retires From Racing, Could Point To 2022 Makeover With New Owner

Finnick The Fierce, the one-eyed chestnut gelding who captured many fans' imaginations ahead of last year's Kentucky Derby, has retired from racing and found a new home.

Jackie Barr, a long time fan of Finnick The Fierce, is the fan favorite's new owner and will be guiding his transition from the racing life to his next life.

“I followed his racing up until he was supposed to be in the Derby,” she said. “You just root for him, being an underdog. He's such a handsome horse.”

Finnick The Fierce had taken an extended break after being a late scratch out of the 2020 Kentucky Derby, returning to the races with an allowance win at Turfway Park in March of this year. Since then, however, Barr said his connections noticed he wasn't really competitive at the same levels he had been before, finishing third in his last outing at an allowance at Mountaineer Park. Although he was sound, co-owners Dr. Arnaldo Monge and trainer Rey Hernandez agreed it was best to let the horse find a new job. Monge's wife, Thena, knew Barr and learned she had been casually looking for her own horse.

Barr has previously ridden hunter/jumpers and fell in love with dressage while working at Hilltop Farm in Maryland. She also worked for Millennium Farms, and has recently been trying to figure out whether her time there overlapped with time Finnick may have been on the property as a weanling. Barr keeps track of several of her favorite Thoroughbreds from her time at Millennium and was excited to hear from Thena Monge at just the right time.

Finnick arrived at his new home at BTE Stables in Paris, Ky., earlier this week and will get some letdown time before Barr decides what his next move is. Her tentative goal for now is the 2022 Retired Racehorse Project's Thoroughbred Makeover, contingent on his progress and their admittance to the competition. Barr said that for now, all doors are open to them. She is inclined to point for dressage and/or competitive trail with Finnick, but is happy to take him in whatever direction he expresses interest in, even if that includes hunters or eventing.

“I don't want to push him too hard on anything; I'll just take it real easy and see how he likes being a sport horse,” she said. “We'll go from there. If he's enjoying it we'll keep going, and if he doesn't seem to, maybe he'll be a trail horse, who knows.”

Barr watches Finnick in the field. Photo courtesy Erin O'Keefe

Finnick's right eye was removed when he was young due to a rare congenital cataract in the eye. Barr said that he doesn't seem to have any residual anxiety due to his limited vision, romping and playing around his new paddock comfortably.

“It really is amazing,” she said. “I've met a couple horses that only had one eye and were spooky on that one side [where the eye was missing]. When I first met him, we were all standing on that side and he didn't mind us being there. He would turn his head so he could see people but he had no problem with it at all. He gallops with his head tilted a little bit, I think so he has a greater range of vision, but other than that you'd have no idea.”

Whatever comes, Barr said she's just happy to be a part of the story she had followed so closely as a fan.

“It's been really great — I've just posted on social media in the past hour or so and there are so many people who remember him,” she said. “It's so cool that he has this built-in fan base. It just shows that you owe it to the horse to make sure he has a good landing and to continue letting him have a good story.”

The post Finnick The Fierce Retires From Racing, Could Point To 2022 Makeover With New Owner appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Gulfstream: Casse-Trained Duo Of Lemieux, Palmach Will Try Turf In Friday’s Wait A While

D. J. Stable LLC's Lemieux and Palmach will both seek to a make successful transition from Tapeta to turf in Friday's $75,000 Wait a While at Gulfstream Park for a Hall of Fame trainer who knows a thing or two about surface switches.

Trained by Mark Casse, Lemieux and Palmach will both try to duplicate their recent respective dazzling front-running victories over Gulfstream's newly installed Tapeta course in the Wait a While, a mile turf stakes for 2-year-old fillies that will co-headline Friday's opening day of the 2021-2022 Championship Meet with the $75,000 Pulpit, a mile turf event for 2-year-olds.

Lemieux is the more seasoned and accomplished of the two fillies, but the daughter of Nyquist is scheduled to make her turf debut in her sixth career start.

“I think she can do a little bit of anything. She is by Nyquist out of a The Factor mare – that's turf. Even the way she moves, I felt like she would like turf,” Casse said. “Her last start was on Tapeta, which she didn't mind either. I think she'll like the grass.”

Lemieux finished second in her first two career starts behind next-out winners before breaking through to graduate at Saratoga in an Aug. 21 off-the-turf maiden special weight race. The daughter of 2016 Florida Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist finished far back on the Churchill Downs' main track in the Pocahontas (G3) but rebounded with a dominating 6 ½-length front-running victory in a Gulfstream optional claiming allowance on Tapeta last time out.

“That was what I expected from her all along. I always felt she was on the A-Team from the beginning,” Casse said. “She ran well. She did break her maiden at Saratoga. Obviously, the race at Churchill was disappointing, but she rebounded in her last race and has trained well up to this race.”

Palmach came up short to finish fifth in his Sept. 10 career debut on Gulfstream's turf but graduated on the Tapeta course next time out with a front-running four-length romp.

“We were disappointed in her first start, but she came back and ran so much better. She's always trained well and showed a lot of ability,” Casse said. “I think she'll probably like turf too.”

Both Lemieux and Palmach likely would have run on turf instead of Tapeta last time out, but Casse was more than happy to have the all-weather surface as a viable alterative while the turf course was undergoing renovation during the Fall Meet.

“I think, unfortunately, early on Tapeta was misrepresented and misunderstood. That's unfortunate because, to me, it's superior to any other surface,” said Casse, who has dominated the trainer standings for many years at Woodbine, where the main track is an all-weather surface. “I've said all along that horses weren't bred to run on dirt. They were bred to run on the grass. Especially, here in the U.S., we can only run so many grass races because our grasses can't hold up. Tapeta is the closest thing to grass.”

Edwin Gonzalez, who rode both fillies in their recent victories, will ride Lemieux, while Emisael Jaramillo has the call on Palmach.

[Story Continues Below]

Ken and Sarah Ramsey's Sister Lou Ann, who finished second in her off-the-turf debut at Gulfstream Sept 24, enters the Wait a While off a front-running 7 ½-length score at a mile and 70 yards on Tapeta in her second career start Oct. 20.

“We tried to get her on the turf, but it rained off. We gave her a shot. The number was slow, but she got second. We ran her on Tapeta, which was the closest thing to turf at the moment, and I thought she won convincingly,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “We're hoping that when we get her on the turf, she'll do equally as good or better.”

Edgard Zayas has the return mount aboard the homebred daughter of Frosted.

Monarch Stables Inc.'s Last Leaf, a stakes winner over the Gulfstream turf course, enters the Wait a While off a third-place finish after dueling for the early lead in an optional claiming allowance on Tapeta. In her previous start and turf debut, the Ron Spatz-trained daughter of Not This Time pressed the pace before winning by a neck in the $75,000 Hollywood Beach, beating the boys at five-furlongs on turf.

Miguel Vasquez has the return mount aboard the Kentucky-bred filly, who has also won twice on dirt at Gulfstream.

Stuart Janney III's Gun Boat and Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd.'s Lia Marina are both slated to make their stakes debuts in the Wait a While while coming off maiden-breaking victories in New York.

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey will be represented by Gun Boat, a homebred daughter of War Front who broke through to graduate in her third career start in a six-furlong sprint on turf at Aqueduct Nov. 11. Julien Leparoux is scheduled to ride the Kentucky-bred filly for the first time Friday.

Trainer Christophe Clement-trained Lia Marina is coming off a hard-fought six-furlong maiden score on turf at Belmont Park in her second career start. Tyler Gaffalione has been named to ride the daughter of Uncle Mo for the first time in the Wait a While.

Qatar Racing's Sunstrike, an Irish-bred daughter of Dark Angel, is scheduled to make her U.S. debut in the Wait a While. The Brendan Walsh-trained filly won one of six starts in England. Paco Lopez has the call.

Average Joe Racing Stables' Myfavoritedaughter and DeLuca and Sons Stable's High Arabian round out the field.

The post Gulfstream: Casse-Trained Duo Of Lemieux, Palmach Will Try Turf In Friday’s Wait A While appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Trainer Morris Nicks, Father Of Ralph Nicks, Dies At Age 74

Multiple graded stakes-winning trainer Morris Nicks passed away on Nov. 25 after a battle with leukemia, reports bloodhorse.com. The veteran Southwest-based trainer was 74 years old.

Nicks passed the majority of his career between Louisiana Downs and Oaklawn Park. Since records began being tracked in 1976, Nicks saddled 819 Thoroughbred winners including Run Johnny in the 1999 Aristides Handicap (G3) at Churchill Downs and Golden Sonata in the 2004 Oaklawn Breeders' Cup Stakes (G3).

He is also the father of Breeders' Cup-winning trainer Ralph Nicks.

“Dad was an all-in horseman for the last 30 to 40 years of his life,” Ralph told bloodhorse.com. “If he had an afternoon off he was out buying supplies and hay for the rest of the week. He never took days off.”