Tag: Horse Racing

‘He Just Floats Over The Ground’: Life Is Good Fires Bullet Toward San Felipe

Here's a bit of sobering news for rival camps of Life Is Good: the co-individual betting favorite at 8-1 with Eclipse champion Essential Quality in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Book Wagering is growing up.

Winner of the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at one mile on Jan. 2, the $525,000 son of Into Mischief worked six furlongs Monday at Santa Anita Park in a bullet 1:12, breezing, for his next engagement, the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at a mile and one-sixteenth on March 6.

It was the fastest of nine drills at the distance and nearly two seconds faster than the average time of 1:13.86.

“He went really nice,” said Bob Baffert, who trains the bay colt for China Horse Club, Inc. and WinStar Farm, LLC. “I let him work a little bit. We're really happy with how he went.

“He's starting to mature and fill out. He just floats over the ground.”

Baffert, a six-time Kentucky Derby winner and two-time Triple Crown king, is represented by four horses in the KDFW pool: Life Is Good (8-1), Concert Tour (20-1), Freedom Fighter (20-1), and Medina Spirit (20-1).

The category of “All Other Three-Year-Olds” is favored at 9-5.

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American Pharoah Represented By First Hong Kong Starter

'TDN Rising Star' Congratulation (American Pharoah), previously raced in Europe as Monarch of Egypt, will become his sire's first runner in Hong Kong when he steps out in Sunday's Class 1 Chinese New Year Cup H. over 1400 metres at Sha Tin Racecourse.

Bred in Kentucky by Ran Jan Racing Inc. and trained by Aidan O'Brien for Peter Brant, Michael Tabor, Sue Magnier and Derrick Smith, the $750,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase won on Naas debut in April 2019 to become American Pharoah's first winner before finishing runner-up to Siskin (First Defence) in the G2 Railway S. and in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. (video).

Beaten just over five lengths behind Siskin in last year's COVID-delayed G1 Irish 2000 Guineas June 12, the bay returned on six days' rest to be second in the G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot (video) and makes his first appearance since finishing fifth in the G3 Ballysax S. over the Dundalk all-weather last June.

Now conditioned by Douglas Whyte, Congratulation (no 's') has trialled three times and has been the subject of positive reports. His most recent jump-out came over the Sha Tin dirt track Feb. 2 (video), when he ran on nicely from midfield to be second to the talented California Rad (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who he meets again Sunday.

 

 

Congratulation debuts off a lofty local rating of 89 in the 110-85 event and will carry 113 pounds, some 20 pounds fewer than top-weighted MGSP Fat Turtle (Aus) (Smart Missile {Aus}). Keith Yeung rides from gate seven in a competitive field of nine.

“He's settled in well and he's a lovely horse–he's obviously thrown in the deep end for his first run, but having said that, he's had a very good grounding with three trials leading in to this and he's progressively improved with every trial,” Whyte told the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Declan Schuster.

He continued, “I'm going in hopeful that he'll run well, the way that he has progressively increased his competitiveness at the trials shows to me that he's at the right frame both mentally and physically to run a race–it's a small field, it's a competitive field but he's got the quality behind him. He's taken time to adjust– he's been running on tracks with a bit of give in them and he's hit the tracks here and it's just taken time for him to adjust to the firmer tracks, which he has done now. He's on the right track–I have no doubt that he is going to show his true ability going forward and it's his first run, but he has a lovely galloping weight–he's certainly in there with a chance.”

Congratulation is a son of Up (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a dual winner at Group level in Ireland and second in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in 2012, and a half-sister to G1SW Dutch Art (GB) (Medicean {GB}).

The Chinese New Year Cup goes as race eight on an 11-race program Sunday, with post time set for 4.05pm local time (8.05am GMT).

The post American Pharoah Represented By First Hong Kong Starter appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Tattersalls Launches New Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus For Craven Breeze Up Sale

Owners of 2-year-olds bought at the 2021 Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale look set to be rewarded with unprecedented bonuses as Tattersalls launches a new £250,000 (US$346,212) Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus in addition to the lucrative and widely acclaimed £15,000 (US$20,773) Craven Breeze Up Bonus scheme.

The new £250,000 Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus will offer a £125,000 (US$173,108) bonus for the first Craven Breeze Up winner of any of the six 2-year-old races at the Royal Meeting, with £100,000 (US$138,488) being paid to the owner and £25,000 (US$34,622) to the vendor of the horse. An additional £125,000 bonus, with the same £100,000/£25,000 split, will also be paid to the first Craven Breeze Up winner of any of the 15 European Group 1 races open to 2-year-olds, including the all-age Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York and the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp.

Commenting on the new £250,000 Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus, Tattersalls Chairman Edmond Mahony said;

“The new £250,000 Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus reinforces our commitment not only to the flagship Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale, but also to rewarding owners in as many innovative ways as we can. The £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus immediately captured the imagination of owners and trainers and the new £250,000 Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus further enhances the appeal of a sale which annually produces a consistent flow of high class precocious Royal Ascot two-year-olds as well as Group 1 performers throughout the year. The multiple bonuses will reward numerous owners and in addition, the prospect of an owner winning a £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus, followed by the £125,000 Royal Ascot Bonus and ultimately the £125,000 Group 1 Bonus is also very real.”

Endorsing the new £250,000 Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus, trainer Richard Hannon added;

“We have bought some serious two-year-olds from the Craven Breeze Up with Peter and Ross Doyle over the years and the combination of the new £250,000 Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus with the £15,000 Craven Breeze Up Bonus will make it a compelling prospect for our owners. Mehmas springs to mind, although we will have to do better this time. He finished second in the Coventry at Royal Ascot, second in the Group 1 National Stakes and third in the Group 1 Middle Park.”

The 2021 Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale will take place April 12-14, with all 2-year-olds breezing on the morning of Monday, April 12 on the Jockey Club Estates' watered gallop at Newmarket's Rowley Mile Racecourse.

£250,000 Royal Ascot/Group 1 Bonus Qualifying Races:

ROYAL ASCOT RACES FOR 2-YEAR-OLDS

Group 2 Coventry Stakes
Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes
Group 2 Norfolk Stakes
Group 3 Albany Stakes
Listed Chesham Stakes
Listed Windsor Castle Stakes

UK GROUP 1 RACES FOR 2-YEAR-OLDS

Nunthorpe Stakes
Cheveley Park Stakes
Middle Park Stakes
Fillies' Mile
Dewhurst Stakes
Futurity Trophy

IRELAND GROUP 1 RACES FOR 2-YEAR-OLDS

Phoenix Stakes
Moyglare Stud Stakes
National Stakes

FRANCE GROUP 1 RACES FOR 2-YEAR-OLDS

Prix Morny
Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp
Prix Marcel Boussac
Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère
Critérium International
Critérium de Saint-Cloud

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It’s A Girl! Champion Beholder Delivers Bolt d’Oro Filly At Spendthrift Farm

Multiple Eclipse Award winner Beholder welcomed her fourth foal on Friday morning, when she delivered a filly by Bolt d'Oro at Spendthrift Farm, the operation announced on its social media channels.

The filly follows Beholder's other Spendthrift-homebred foals: Q B One, a 3-year-old Uncle Mo colt who is working toward his debut start; the 2-year-old Curlin filly Karin With an I; and the newly-turned yearling Teena Ella, a filly by War Front.

Bolt d'Oro stands at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky., for an advertised fee of $15,000. Beholder's filly hails from his second crop at stud.

The 6-year-old son of Medaglia d'Oro won four of eight starts and earned $1,016,000, highlighted by victories in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, the G1 FrontRunner Stakes, and the G2 San Felipe Stakes. He also finished in the money in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the G1 Santa Anita Derby.

Beholder, an 11-year-old daughter of Henny Hughes, retired from racing in 2016 after an illustrious career that saw her win 18 of 26 starts with earnings of $6,156,600. She earned Eclipse Awards as the outstanding 2-year-old filly of 2012, 3-year-old filly of 2013, and older female of 2015 and 2016.

Among her 11 Grade 1 victories were three Breeders' Cup triumphs, including the 2012 Juvenile Fillies, and the Distaff in 2013 and 2016. Beholder also scored a memorable win in the 2015 G1 Pacific Classic, facing and defeating males in dominating fashion by 8 1/4-lengths at Del Mar.

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