Tag: Horse Racing

Jockey Gaffalione, Entire Casse Team Has Been High On Soup And Sandwich Since The Beginning

Though he'll be riding Live Oak Plantation's Soup and Sandwich for the first time in the Kentucky Derby on May 1, jockey Tyler Gaffalione has been following the 3-year-old's races since the very beginning.

“I've been following this horse since his first race,” Gaffalione said in an interview with Jennie Rees for the Kentucky HBPA. “He just, his stride looks effortless. He covers a lot of ground, he was still green that day, he swapped leads a couple times, but he kind of reminded me of a Gun Runner early in his 3-year-old year. He had a lot of raw talent but hadn't really figured it out yet.”

The son of Into Mischief won on debut Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park, dominating by 7 1/4 lengths for trainer Mark Casse.

“I texted Mark after the race that day, and said, 'If it ever comes up, I'd love the chance to ride this horse,'” said Gaffalione. “We weren't able to hook up until now, but I mean, this is the one you want! Everything's just kind of falling into place.”

In his second career start, on Feb. 24 at Tampa Bay Downs, Soup and Sandwich bested a three-horse field in his first start around two turns. From there, Casse was confident enough to send the colt into the Grade 1 Florida Derby, where he ran a big second behind Known Agenda despite not switching leads in the stretch.

“I've got to give a lot of credit to Nick Tomlinson at Palm Meadows,” said Casse's assistant, David Carroll. “Nick loved this horse before he ever ran, even though he said he was very immature. He showed that in his first race and even his second race, so he's learning on the job, so to speak… You have to think that having run just three races, there's a lot more upside to him. His race in the Florida Derby was very, very good, but he didn't switch leads, showed true greenness, and had every chance to give it up, but he didn't.”

Gaffalione got a chance to ride Soup and Sandwich in the morning for the first time on Saturday, breezing five furlongs at Churchill in :59 4/5.

“I loved every bit of it,” the jockey said. “He's got a beautiful stride, he just covers a lot of ground and just keeps finding more.

“There's just an aura about him. (Nice horses) have a different, I guess you would say 'class,' about them. They know they're a nice horse and they have a lot of confidence in themselves, and you can really feel that.”

Out of the winning Tapit mare Souper Scoop, Soup and Sandwich is a second-generation homebred for Charlotte Weber's Live Oak Stud. His name is a play on her heritage, since her grandfather is the Campbell Soup founder John T. Dorrance and she serves as a board trustee of Campbell Soup Company.

Soup and Sandwich is one of two likely Kentucky Derby starters for Mark Casse in 2021. The second is Helium, undefeated winner of the G2 Tampa Bay Derby, who will be partnered by Julien Leparoux.

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Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze Up Sale Catalog Now Online

A quality selection of 2-year-olds make up the 2021 Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze Up Sale catalog which is now online, while hard copies will be mailed out in the coming days.

The breeze will take place on Wednesday, June 2 at 9 a.m. at the Rowley Mile with the sale taking place on Thursday, June 3 at 10:30 a.m. at Tattersalls Park Paddocks headquarters in Newmarket.

Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Breeze Up Sale graduates have been performing well on the track with recent winners including Haqeeqy who impressed at Doncaster winning the Lincoln for John & Thady Gosden and HH Sheikha Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum. Haqeeqy topped the 2019 sale when he was purchased for €175,000 by Blandford Bloodstock from Oak Tree Farm.

Notable sires represented in the catalogue include Acclamation, Ardad, Bated Breath, Carravagio, Cotai Glory, Dandy Man, Dark Angel, Exceed And Excel, Frankel, Hard Spun, Kodi Bear, Kodiac, Lope de Vega, Make Believe, Mehmas, New Bay, Night of Thunder, No Nay Never, Pivotal, Profitable, Sea the Stars, Showcasing, Starspangledbanner, Street Boss, and many more.

A selection of the many highlights within the catalogue include:

Lot 13 – Acclamation brother to Black Type 2-year-old winner West End Girl
Lot 27 – Shalaa colt out of three-time winning black type mare Helisa
Lot 39 – Dark Angel brother to Group 3 winner Koropick
Lot 41 – Goldencents brother to Group 2 winner London Bridge, also holds an entry in the Swedish Derby and Oaks Series
Lot 51 – Dandy Man full brother to Black Type Squats, also holds an entry in the EBF Ballyhane Stakes Race on 2 August
Lot 64 – Le Harvre brother to Group 3 winner Queen Blossom ex Black Type mare Mark of An Angel
Lot 66 – Oasis Dream colt out of four-time winning and black type mare Maybe Grace
Lot 94 – Dabirsim filly out of Group 3 winning mare Percolator
Lot 104 – Belardo colt out of a full sister to Dawn Approach
Lot 143 – Fastnet Rock colt out of a full sister to Group 3 winner Pablo Escobarr
Lot 152 – Pivotal brother to Group 2 winner Mobsta
Lot 161 – No Nay Never full brother to two-time winning 2-year-old Thank You Next, also holds an entry in the Swedish Derby & Oaks Series
Lot 165 – Dark Angel colt out of black type mare Venturous Spirit and qualified for French Owners Premiums
Lot 181 – Panis full brother to Group 3 winner Alistair and qualified for French Owners Premiums
Lot 184 – No Nay Never sister to Group 2 placed Annie Fior, also holds an entry in the Swedish Derby and Oaks Series
Lot 193 – Frankel filly out of winning mare Bella Nouf
Lot 197 – Churchill brother to listed winner and group placed Viren's Army
Lot 203 – Havana Gold sister to champion Scandinavian sprinter Easy Road
Lot 206 – Profitable colt out of seven-time winner and black type mare Byrony

To view the online catalog, click here.

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Toast To Vino Rosso: Colt Out Of Melody Girl Is ‘Just An Athlete’

Throughout the breeding season, the Paulick Report will be sharing photos of foals from the first crop of Spendthrift Farm's Breeders' Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso in the “Toast to Vino Rosso” series.

This week's featured foal is a Feb. 10 colt out of the winning Unbridled's Song mare Melody Girl, whose first foal is a 2-year-old of 2021.

Bred in Florida by Westbury Stables, the colt hails from the family of Grade 2 winner Shepherd's Field.

The colt is currently being boarded at Glencrest Farm in Midway, Ky. Glencrest's John Greathouse plans the matings for Alfonso Figliolia's Westbury Stables, and he said this colt was a star on his dam's produce record.

“He's a big, strong colt,” Greathouse said. “The mare's thrown a couple nice foals so far, but to me, this was her best one. He's got a lot of personality, a lot of quality to him. Good bone, good size, just an athlete. I've been thrilled with him since he shipped up from Florida. He's one of the best foals I've got on the farm.”

In planning the mating that produced the colt, Greathouse said the stamina Vino Rosso showed on the racetrack, which further affirmed Curlin's classic-making reputation, was a large factor in sending Melody Girl to the Spendthrift Farm resident.

“I wanted to breed her up a little bit, and maybe something a little more two turns,” Greathouse said. “A son of Curlin went well with her, since she was an Unbridled's Song mare. She's a beautiful physical herself. I thought it would be a good nick and we'd produce a racehorse out of this deal.”

Vino Rosso, a 6-year-old son of Curlin, stands at Spendthrift Farm for an advertised fee of $25,000.

Vino Rosso won won six of 15 starts and earned $4,803,125 on the racetrack. In addition to his signature Breeders' Cup Classic score, the stallion picked up victories in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes, and the G2 Wood Memorial Stakes.

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Letter To The Editor: ‘Petty Jealousy And Elitism’ The Motivations Behind MyRacehorse Bashing

Dear horse racing Twitter, and the industry at large:

Do better. Stop shooting yourself in the foot. Stop creating division and strife where there is no reason for it; we have enough issues as a sport.

Over the weekend, yet another tweet made the rounds mocking a MyRacehorse owner. While there were prominent industry members that defended the legitimacy of ownership through micro shares, there were multitudes chiming in with condescending disdain for the “fake” ownership through MyRacehorse.

For years, the industry has discussed and lamented how to bring in new participants. No significant changes have occurred since the creation of syndicates, until MyRacehorse. When the model was first launched, I was skeptical. However, there is no denying that the model is working. MyRacehorse is bringing in thousands of new owners to the industry, and yet somehow many in and around the industry view that as a bad thing.

In the “Sport of Kings,” one of the greatest appeals is the ability for the underdog to win at the highest level. Yes, million-dollar horses win the Kentucky Derby, but so do California-breds that would have brought a small fraction of that price if offered at auction. When syndicates like Team Valor, West Point, or Starlight win the Derby, their co-owners are not met with challenges to the legitimacy of their ownership. Yet it seemed as soon as Authentic crossed the wire, Twitter was exploding with condescension for the ecstatic micro shareholders. So, what is the difference?

Was Animal Kingdom celebrated because he was trained by Graham Motion, and not Bob Baffert? Did the shareholders in Authentic just suffer as collateral damage from “Baffert in the winner's circle” fatigue? That can't be it, because there was no issue with the Starlight partners in Justify, also trained by Baffert. Likewise, Starlight bought in after Justify had broken his maiden, so it can't be that MyRacehorse bought in later.

As a $350,000 yearling, Authentic brought the same price as Always Dreaming. With syndicate owned Derby winners selling for much more and much less, he was neither “too expensive” nor “too cheap” to support.

The only true difference that can be noted in the industry's reception to successful syndicates seems to be share price. It is the height of ignorant elitism to think that writing a bigger check makes you more of an owner. Any individual willing to spend their money to own any piece of a horse is an owner. Working with syndicates, and advocating for ownership through them, I have said, “Nobody asks how much of the horse you own when you're in the winner's circle” many times. And that was true, until MyRacehorse. 

Are people jealous they didn't come up with the model first? Or that they chose not to buy in and have missed out on ownership of some truly spectacular horses? Do they feel that owners with MyRacehorse didn't suffer through enough failure to have “earned” the levels of success achieved? I truly don't know the answer, but there isn't an explanation I have come up with that is anything other than petty and self-sabotaging. 

The one argument I've seen that almost makes sense is that MyRacehorse is a “scam.” I say almost makes sense because they are the most transparent entity I have seen. The reason everyone can criticize share prices and number of owners is because that information is readily available. They can complain about fees, and claim to be defending those buying in, because those fees are explicitly stated on the website. MyRacehorse is utterly open about what your financial contribution goes to, from acquisition of the horse, to training costs, to overhead and management fees. And you know who I've not yet seen complain about those things? Actual MyRacehorse owners. I have seen them defend their ownership, I have seen them express gratitude for all the information provided ahead of commitment, I've seen them brag about the access to their horses they have, and I have seen them celebrate their horses on the track.

And the part the entire industry should be celebrating? I have seen them progress to individual ownership. 

As MyRacehorse continues to blaze new trails in the industry, they appear to be striving to continue to bring in more owners, and to help those owners fulfill their horse ownership dreams, whether that is always at the micro share level or something more. I wish I could say it's baffling to me that the industry is so opposed to such a positive force of change, but it's really just par for the course. The industry faces a multitude of challenges to long term success, and is consistently divided on every aspect of them. While most issues have legitimate arguments on both sides, there is no reason to dismiss new participants for not spending enough money on the sport other than petty jealousy and elitism. As an industry, we need to do better.

*I do not work for nor do I own shares through MyRacehorse

–Erin O'Keefe, Farm Manager & Bloodstock Services, BTE Stables

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, please write to info at paulickreport.com and include contact information where you may be reached if editorial staff have any questions.

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