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Preakness Stakes Winner Bernardini Dies Of Laminitis At Age 18

Preakness winner and Eclipse champion Bernardini has been euthanized at Jonabell Farm due to complications from laminitis.

Homebred by Sheikh Mohammed in the early days of Darley's ownership of Jonabell Farm, Bernardini won six races in a row during a dazzling 2006 sophomore campaign, earning Eclipse champion 3-year-old honors and being rated world champion 3-year-old.

Trained by Tom Albertrani, the son of A.P. Indy broke his maiden in his second start at Gulfstream Park in March by almost eight lengths before capturing the Grade 3 Withers at Aqueduct in April. He then won in the Preakness, giving Sheikh Mohammed his first victory in an American Triple Crown race.

Later that summer, he easily won the G2 Jim Dandy and G1 Travers Stakes by nine and seven lengths at Saratoga, before a dominant six-and-three-quarter length victory in the G1 Jockey Club Gold Cup against older horses at Belmont Park, earning a career-best 117 Beyer. He finished his career with a runner-up finish to Invasor in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. Bernardini was piloted in all of his stakes wins by jockey Javier Castellano.

Bernardini retired to stud at Jonabell Farm for the 2007 breeding season as one of the most highly anticipated stallion prospects in recent memory. He did not disappoint. He sired no fewer than four G1 winners in his first crop: Travers and Cigar Mile winner Stay Thirsty, Woodward and Cigar Mile winner To Honor and Serve, Frizette winner A Z Warrior, plus Italian Gran Criterium winner Biondetti.

In his ensuing northern hemisphere crops, his top performers included Godolphin's homebred G1 Travers and G1 Woodward winner Alpha, Bobby Flay's G1 Humana Distaff winner Dame Dorothy, Shadwell's homebred G1 Vosburgh winner Takaful, and Stonestreet's G1 winners Cavorting and Rachel's Valentina, the latter a homebred daughter of Medaglia d'Oro's great daughter Rachel Alexandra.

Bernardini also shuttled to Australia for eight seasons between 2008 and 2015, siring G1 winners Boban, Ruud Awakening, and Go Indy Go. In total, he has sired 80 Black Type winners, 48 Graded Stakes winners, and 15 G1 winners worldwide.

In recent years, Bernardini has been making a name for himself as one of the best broodmare sires in the history of the breed. In May 2021, he became the youngest stallion ever to reach 50 Black Type winners as a broodmare sire. Bernardini currently has 54 black type winners, 32 graded stakes winners, and 11 G1 winners as a maternal grandsire, including Maxfield, Catholic Boy, Serengeti Empress, Dunbar Road, Colonel Liam and Paris Lights.

Bernardini was cared for during his 15-year tenure at Jonabell by his longtime groom, Philip Hampton.

Michael Banahan, director of farm operations for Godolphin USA, said, “Bernardini was one of a kind. From the day he was born, he exuded class. He was that crop's best foal, best yearling and best racehorse. His brilliance was only surpassed by his wonderful character. He will be sorely missed by all on the farm but especially by his handler for the past 15 years, Philip Hampton. It was an honor to be a custodian of this classic winning stallion whose legacy will live long as a broodmare sire.”

Tom Albertrani, Bernardini's trainer, said, “Bernardini was such a majestic animal. He was very talented, one of the best horses I've ever been around. I just feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to train him. He was a star.”

Jimmy Bell, President of Godolphin USA, said, “Bernardini was Sheikh Mohammed's first winner of a Triple Crown race – and a homebred one, too – and then a leading sire. We have been blessed to have him. A beautiful horse, and a lovely character, we are lucky to have so many of his daughters on the farm to continue his legacy.”

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Ernie Gaskin, Dr. James Carmichael Inducted Into Indiana Horse Racing Association’s Hall Of Fame

The Indiana Horse Racing Association (IHRA) has announced the newest class of inductees into the organization's Hall of Fame. Ernie Gaskin, longtime Standardbred owner, trainer, and breeder, and Dr. James Carmichael (posthumously), longtime advocate, owner, and breeder in Quarter Horse racing, have been selected for the prestigious honor.

Gaskin came to the state of Indiana in the early 1990s and worked as the head trainer for Viking Meadows Farm in Carmel, Ind. He and his wife, Darla, relocated to Anderson at the start of pari-mutuel racing to create and operate Crimson Lane Farm, complete with a training track, two training barns, a breeding operation and multiple outdoor paddock space.

Gaskin was one of the initial members appointed to the Indiana Standardbred Breed Development committee. The Vermont native has worked tirelessly to assist with projects in horse racing, including lobbying for casino gaming at racetracks, enhanced breed development funding, and overall positive solutions impacting horse racing. Gaskin was recently added to the prestigious Hambletonian Society Board of Directors.

Gaskin is a two-time leading trainer at Harrah's Hoosier Park (1997 and 1998) and was the track's all-time leading trainer in wins for more than a decade. He has conditioned four Indiana Sires Stakes champions (Brooklets Hotshot, Hoosier Nat, Sapphire Martini, Jammin Joshua) with Jammin Joshua earning more than $1 million and now standing as a stallion in the state of Indiana.

Joining Gaskin as an inductee is Dr. James Carmichael of Sullivan, Ind., who is being inducted posthumously. Dr. Carmichael, a longtime practicing veterinarian in Sullivan County, joined his father, Eugene, in creating Carmichael Stock Farm, a Quarter Horse breeding operation in the western part of the state. They raced across the country before Quarter Horse pari-mutuel racing came to Indiana in 1997.

In the 1970's, the Carmichaels purchased Jaguar Rocket to add to their breeding and racing operation in the Hoosier State. The California-bred grey stallion was a stakes winner in the late 1960's, winning 10 of 40 starts before being offered for sale by a Hollywood director. His impact on the state of Indiana has endured the past three decades. Jaguar Rocket is an inductee into the Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana (QHRAI) Hall of Fame and has a stakes race named in his honor at Indiana Grand.

In addition to breeding and racing Quarter Horses, Dr. Carmichael also served on the board of QHRAI for more than a decade, an organization he stayed active in until his death in 2009. The Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine graduate also served on the Thoroughbred Breed Development Committee where he was elected chairman. His wife, Jan, still resides on the family farm and maintains several horses on the property.

Both Gaskin and Dr. Carmichael will be inducted into the IHRA Hall of Fame during a special ceremony Sunday, Oct. 24, 2021 at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino in Shelbyville. Portraits of the inductees will be added to the display on the mezzanine level at Indiana Grand following the ceremony. Gaskin and Dr. Carmichael join a list of 17 previous inductees into the IHRA Hall of Fame.

The Indiana Horse Racing Association, Inc. (IHRA), an Indiana Not-For-Profit Corporation, was founded in 2014 for the following purposes: 1) Establishing and maintaining the Indiana Horse Racing Hall of Fame to recognize leaders in the Indiana horse racing industry; 2) Preserving the history, heritage and traditions of the sport; and 3) Educating the public about the rich and colorful history of horse racing in Indiana and its many contributions to Indiana agriculture and Indiana's economy. The organization consists of six board members representing all three racing breeds in the state of Indiana.

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Drain The Clock Will Try To Continue Strong Sophomore Campaign In Sunday’s Amsterdam

Drain the Clock has not left the competition much time to come back on him during a sophomore campaign that has already featured three graded stakes victories. The Maclean's Music colt will look to complete the trifecta of graded stakes scores at a NYRA track, headlining Sunday's Grade 2, $200,000 Amsterdam for 3-year-olds sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs over Saratoga Race Course's main track.

Owned by Slam Dunk Racing and Madaket Stables, Drain the Clock enters his Spa debut off an impressive victory by a neck over fellow Amsterdam contender Jackie's Warrior in the seven-furlong Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Nassau County Industrial Development Association on Belmont Stakes Day June 5. The Saffie Joseph, Jr. trainee earned a personal-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure for that victory over Big Sandy, which came two months after a win at the same distance in the Grade 3 Bay Shore at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Drain the Clock has won four of his five starts this year, commencing his campaign with two triumphs in January at Gulfstream Park. In total, Drain the Clock has won six of his seven career sprints, including a 7 1/2-length victory in his 3-year-old debut in the six-furlong Limehouse on January 2 at Gulfstream before posting a 6 1/4-length win in the seven-furlong Grade 3 Swale later that month over the same track.

Joseph, Jr. stretched out Drain the Clock in his only career route in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, where he ran a competitive second, just 1 1/2 lengths back to winner Greatest Honour, before racking up two consecutive graded stakes wins when cut back.

“Most of his one-turn races were won in hand,” Joseph, Jr. said. “He was basically geared down the last sixteenth in the Bay Shore. We always thought he had more to give but until you see it you don't know for sure and the Woody Stephens was definitely his breakout race. He earned his respect that day and beat a game horse in Jackie's Warrior. He's in good form and I think he's going over there with a really good chance.

“We tried two turns once and he ran credibly, but one turn is his niche and what he does best,” he added.

Drain the Clock, bred by Nick Cosato in Kentucky, will have Irad Ortiz, Jr.'s services from post 2.

In the Woody Stephens, Drain the Clock edged fellow Maclean's Music progeny Jackie's Warrior at the wire. He will now be returning to a Saratoga track in which he won two graded stakes in his juvenile year, capturing the Grade 2 Saratoga Special last August before winning the Grade 1 Hopeful.

Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Jackie's Warrior made a strong bid for Champion 2-Year-Old honors, notching a 5 1/2-length win in the Grade 1 Champagne in October at Belmont to give him three graded stakes wins in his first four starts. After running fourth in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile in November, Jackie's Warrior carried that success into 2021, running third in the Grade 3 Southwest in February while on the Kentucky Derby trail.

Shortened up after that effort, Jackie's Warrior bested Dream Shake by a head in the Grade 2 Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby Day before matching Drain the Clock's 97 Beyer for the Woody Stephens.

Owned by J. Kirk and Judy Robison, Jackie's Warrior is approaching millionaire status, registering an 8-5-1-1 record with earnings of $948,964. He will look to reach that threshold Saturday, breaking from post 3 with regular rider Joel Rosario in the irons.

Klaravich Stables' Crowded Trade, who last raced when fifth in the Grade 1 Preakness on May 15 at Pimlico, has twice finished in the money in graded stakes, starting when second – a nose back to Weyburn – in the Grade 3 Gotham on March at the Big A. A competitive third in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial presented by Resorts World Casino in April in the Big A's signature race set up his start in a Triple Crown race, where he finished 12 1/4-lengths back to winner Rombauer.

Trained by four-time Eclipse Award-winner Chad Brown, Crowded Trade will make his first start at Saratoga with Hall of Famer Javier Castellano returning to ride from the outermost post 6.

Robert Hahn's New York homebred River Dog will bring his 2-for-2 record into his graded stakes bow. The Jeremiah Englehart trainee was a seven-length debut winner going six furlongs on May 2 at Belmont and won against state breds in the seven-furlong Mike Lee over a sloppy and sealed Belmont track on May 31.

The son of Twirling Candy will face open company on full rest, drawing the inside post with Jose Ortiz aboard.

“He's done everything we expected him to do,” Englehart said. “He ran so well in his maiden, and in the Mike Lee was able to get the job done. We wanted to let some time go by. We gave him two months between races, so hopefully from a timing standpoint, it works out the way we think it will.”

Rounding out the field is Jerry Namy's Flash of Mischief, who will be cutting back in distance off consecutive runner-up efforts at Prairie Meadows in the Prairie Mile and the Iowa Derby, for trainer Karl Broberg [post 4, Eric Cancel]; and Lugamo Racing Stable's Mister Luigi, who won his debut in September and returned off a 10-month layoff to finish fourth against optional claimers on July 9 at Gulfstream Park in his first start since Antonio Sano took over the training duties [post 5, Luis Saez].

The Amsterdam is slated as Race 9 on the 10-race card with a post time of 5:39 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:05 p.m.

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

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‘Everything Has Been Positive’ With Juvenile Champ, Jim Dandy Favorite Essential Quality

Godolphin's Essential Quality has gone off as the favorite in six of his seven career starts. The reigning Champion 2-Year-Old has rewarded that confidence almost every time, notching six wins along with a competitive fourth-place effort in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby in May at Churchill Downs. This Saturday, Essential Quality will likely be the top mutuel choice again, with the 1-2 morning-line favorite headlining a six-horse field in the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy for sophomores going 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga Race Course.

Essential Quality's appearance in the 58th running of the Jim Dandy will mark his first race since besting Hot Rod Charlie by 1 1/4 lengths in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets on June 5, which gave conditioner Brad Cox – who won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Trainer in 2020 – his first career win in a Triple Crown race. The Tapit colt has breezed three times this month at Saratoga since shipping from Churchill, including a five-furlong work in 1:00.90 on Saturday over the main track, with Cox saying he's adapted well to his new surroundings.

“I think he looks like he put on weight. He looks great,” Cox said. “I feel like he's grown just in the short time he's been here at Saratoga, from his muscle-tone to his weight. Everything has been positive since he's moved here. I think he really likes it here.”

Essential Quality surged on the scene with a 3-for-3 juvenile campaign in which he won his debut by four lengths in September before capturing the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity in October at Keeneland and winning the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile by three-quarters of a length over Hot Rod Charlie in November over the same Kentucky track to secure the Eclipse Award.

As a sophomore, Essential Quality sustained those winning ways with scores in the Grade 3 Southwest and Grade 2 Blue Grass on the Kentucky Derby trail. In the “Run for the Roses,” the Kentucky homebred overcame a bump at the start to still finish a competitive fourth, just one length back to winner Medina Spirit and behind runner-up and stablemate Mandaloun and third-place finisher Hot Rod Charlie. Essential Quality cracked triple digits for Beyer Speed Figures for the first time in the Kentucky Derby, earning an even 100, which he then surpassed by garnering a 109 for winning the 1 1/2-mile Belmont Stakes a month later.

“I thought the Kentucky Derby was one of his best races. He's a horse who acts like he's getting better as the year goes on,” Cox said. “He doesn't over-do it in training. You can tell this week, that's he's just a little more antsy, biting at the grooms, but feeling really well. He's showing us he has plenty of energy.”

Essential Quality, with regular rider Luis Saez in the irons, drew post 5 in the Jim Dandy field which also includes Keepmeinmind, Weyburn, Dr Jack, Masqueparade and Risk Taking. The Jim Dandy also serves as a prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers for sophomores going 1 1/4 miles on August 28.

Expectations are high when a three-time Grade 1 winner is loaded in the starting gate, but Cox said he welcomes the challenge since it means he has a talented contender to send out in another prestigious race.

“I'm assuming he'll be a short price on Saturday and when you're a short price, there's always pressure,” Cox said. “It's one of those things where you are excited about it, but you almost want to have things go your way and get it over it from a trainer's view of it. I'm excited. There is pressure, but it's good to be in position to have that pressure on you. It means you're in a good spot.”

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Another potential starter for the Travers is Juddmonte's Grade 1 Haskell-winner Mandaloun, who could also target the Grade 1, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby on September 25 at Parx.

Mandaloun ran second in the Kentucky Derby, a half-length back to Medina Spirit, before winning the Pegasus on June 13 at Monmouth. Running back a month later, the Into Mischief colt crossed the wire second to Hot Rod Charlie in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell but was elevated to first when Hot Rod Charlie was disqualified for interference.

“We'll probably make a decision next week but I can tell you, the horse really came out of the Haskell in good order,” Cox said. “He's been training over here on the Oklahoma [training track] and I'm really happy with the way he's moving. He looks tremendous and has really put on weight since the Haskell. He's recovered well and very sound and we're in a good spot. We're happy with him.”

Mandaloun has posted a 2-2-1 record in six starts this year.

“The horse has run six times this year and I think we'd be five weeks between the Haskell and Travers,” Cox said. “We'd like to get to the Breeders' Cup somehow, and that doesn't mean we can't get there through the Travers, but he's a horse that we want to try to map out the schedule that makes the most sense for him. Essential Quality has already run the four times and he doesn't have as many miles on him this year, and that'll play a big role in what we do.”

Juddmonte homebred Snow House stepped up to stakes company for the first time with a third-place finish in the Grade 3 Dwyer going a one-turn mile last out on July 5 at Belmont and will now contest a stakes going two turns as part of a seven-horse field in Friday's nine-furlong $120,000 Curlin for 3-year-olds at the Spa.

The Twirling Candy colt made his debut with a fourth-place finish on the Fair Grounds turf in March before breaking his maiden in April at Keeneland in a one-mile off-the-turf contest. Following another main track win over the Churchill main track in May, Cox elevated Snow House to stakes company in the Dwyer, where he tied a personal-high 86 Beyer in a race won by First Captain.

“He wasn't the sharpest gate horse early on. He's not a real big horse, but once we ran him at Keeneland, it came off the turf, and he performed well and had plenty of time to recover from the maiden victory,” Cox said. “I thought he ran a really good race in the Dwyer. This will be his second start around two turns, so I feel it could be an advantage getting him around two turns. I think he can handle it.

“He didn't get started until March, so he's been pretty straightforward,” he added.

Arklow is also a possibility to run on Travers Day, with the Grade 1, $750,000 Sword Dancer for 4-year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on the turf a possibility for the 7-year-old son of Arch. Arklow ran sixth in the Grade 1 United Nations on July 17 at Monmouth going 1 3/8 miles after clipping heels.
Cox said Arklow is also acclimating well to Saratoga as he readies for his next start.

“He's great. He's here; he stumbled enough to cost him a placing at Monmouth but he recovered well and the Sword Dancer is a possibility for him later in the meet,” Cox said. “He's doing really well.”

Owned by Donegal Racing, Joseph Bulger and the Estate of Peter Coneway, Arklow ended his 2020 campaign with a victory in the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup in November at Del Mar. Following a six-month freshening, he made a triumphant seasonal debut with a win in the Grade 3 Louisville going 1 1/2 miles on the Churchill turf in May before the United Nations effort. Arklow is 9-7-2 in 33 lifetime starts with earnings of more than $2.75 million.

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