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Elusive State on Dubai World Cup Trajectory

Elusive State (Aus) (All American {Aus}) missed a crack at Dubai World Cup night in 2020 when the meeting was canceled at the 11th hour, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the 7-year-old could take his chance this year following a victory in a rare Class 1 handicap over the Sha Tin all-weather track Sunday afternoon.

Slow to start, Elusive State raced in a share of last into and around the first turn, but was asked to improve by Joao Moreira at the 1100-meter mark and by the end of the next furlong and a half, was alongside favored Kings Shield (Scat Daddy), “giving him the big eyeball,” in the words of commentator Tom Wood. Matching strides on the second turn, Elusive State pressed by the 133-pound top-weight in upper stretch and came home a 1 3/4-length winner (video). The target now becomes Middle East riches, even if Plan A seems to have fallen apart.

“One would have liked to have gone to Saudi Arabia–the Saudi Cup would have been his race over 1800m and that would be the actual race for him,” trainer Tony Millard told the HKJC's Leo Schlink, adding that there are significant obstacles regarding travel from Hong Kong to Riyadh.”

Originally programmed for the G2 Godolphin Mile on World Cup night, Elusive State is now likely for the marquee event following a discussion between Moreira and Millard.

“Quite clearly, he gave them a galloping lesson here today because it (the race pattern) wasn't what we wanted,” Millard said. “On the back of this, we'll be definitely be going for the [G1] World Cup instead of the G2 Godolphin Mile because Joao feels that with him losing his early speed, he reckons that will be the right race for him. I don't think he could have had a better run in than this–I'm quite excited. I think he's going to be a big runner.

Millard added: “It's taken a bit of time to get him back into form. Last year, we had hardly raced him and then with Dubai coming and going (traveling to Dubai before the carnival was abandoned because of COVID-19), it really upset the apple cart. “It's just lovely to have a horse like this and also to have a dream –that's what it's all about.”

Hong Kong's last runner in the World Cup was the Caspar Fownes-trained Gun Pit (Aus) (Dubawi {Ire}), who ran second in the 2016 G1 Al Maktoum Challenge – R3 with Moreira in the irons before finishing tailed off behind California Chrome in the main event.

WATCH: Elusive State (#2) takes out the Class 1 feature at Sha Tin Jan. 17

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Brother to Bobby’s Kitten Starts at Cagnes

11.25 Cagnes-sur-Mer, Debutantes, €23,000, 3yo, c/g, 7 1/2f (AWT)
AFKAAR (Kitten’s Joy) debuts for Shadwell and Jean-Claude Rouget and is a full-brother to the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint-winning sire Bobby’s Kitten and multiple graded-stakes scorer Camelot Kitten. The March-foaled bay, who cost $500,000 at Keeneland September, meets eight rivals.

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Tiznow’s Midnight Bourbon Coast-To-Coast in the Lecomte

Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) put himself on the GI Kentucky Derby trail with a tenacious, one-length front-running score in Saturday’s GIII Lecomte S. at Fair Grounds. Proxy (Tapit) was second; 4-5 favorite and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Mandaloun (Into Mischief) was third after a wide trip in his two-turn debut.

The 7-2 shot left the gate running from his rail draw and led the scratched-down field of eight into the clubhouse turn. Midnight Bourbon cruised along on the front end beneath Joe Talamo through fractions of :24.68 and :48.99, while Proxy, a winner of two straight at Fair Grounds, and Juddmonte’s highly regarded unbeaten Mandaloun, began to swarm in as they approached the quarter pole. Midnight Bourbon still had plenty left, however, and kept finding in the stretch as Proxy outgamed Mandaloun for second.

Midnight Bourbon, a $525,000 KEESEP yearling purchase for Winchell Thoroughbreds, meant business at second asking for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, winning for fun going a mile at Ellis Park Aug. 22. Second after leading in the stretch in Churchill’s GIII Iroquois S. Sept. 5, he was last seen finishing a distant third behind stablemate and Eclipse Award finalist Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music) in the GI Champagne S. at Belmont Oct. 10.

“Lovely horse, he’s a beautiful individual,” Asmussen said. “Obviously, he had run some solid races, but we were very much looking forward to getting him into two-turn races. His pedigree, we think that going further will help him. He’s got a beautiful stride to him. He was away nice and cleanly and Joe gave him a nice trip. He’s going to develop into an excellent 3-year-old.”

The GII Risen Star S. Feb 13 will be next for Midnight Bourbon.

“We were very excited to get him down here and get him in this series,” Asmussen continued. “With him being capable of what he is away from there, the ground that he covers, I think it’s a natural fit.”

Pedigree Notes:

Midnight Bourbon became the 46th graded winner and 82nd black-type winner for his recently pensioned and leading 24-year-old WinStar sire, Tiznow. Other spring sophomore winners by Tiznow have included GI Santa Anita Derby and GIII Sham S. winner Colonel John, GI Wood Memorial S. victor Gemologist, GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner Irap, and GI Belmont S. upsetter Da’ Tara.

The unraced dam of Midnight Bourbon, Catch the Moon, has an unblemished record, with all four of her foals to race–or 100%–now graded stakes winners, making her singlehandedly responsible for four of Malibu Moon’s 48 black-type winners out of his daughters. Girvin (Tale of Ekati), winner of the 2018 GI Haskell Invitational S., GII Louisiana Derby, and GII Risen Star S., is the best, followed by additional graded winners Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John) and Pirate’s Punch (Shanghai Bobby). The mare also has a 2-year-old colt by Curlin, who hammered for $500,000 last September at Keeneland, plus a yearling colt by Quality Road and she was bred back to Curlin for 2021.

Catch the Moon’s first two dams were Florida-breds for John Franks and her fifth through seventh dams were California-breds for Rex Ellsworth. She last sold for $240,000 carrying Pirate’s Punch in 2015 at Keeneland November and is now part of the powerful Stonestreet broodmare band. Catch the Moon’s dam, Catch My Fancy, is inbred 3×2 to Louisiana star Monique Rene (Prince of Ascot), whose descendants of the last 25 years include Canadian champion Kiss a Native (Kissin Kris), GISWs Yes It’s True (Is It True) and Silver Max (Badge of Silver), as well as recently retired GSW & MGISP Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby).

Saturday, Fair Grounds
LECOMTE S.-GIII, $200,000, Fair Grounds, 1-16, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.41, ft.
1–MIDNIGHT BOURBON, 122, c, 3, by Tiznow
1st Dam: Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon
2nd Dam: Catch My Fancy, by Yes It’s True
3rd Dam: Walk Away Rene, by Gold Alert
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($525,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP). O-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M Asmussen; J-Joseph Talamo. $122,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-2, $221,420. *1/2 to Girvin (Tale of Ekati), GISW, $1,624,392; Pirate’s Punch (Shanghai Bobby), GSW, $332,751; and Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John), GSW, $497,660. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Proxy, 122, c, 3, Tapit–Panty Raid, by Include. O-Godolphin (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $40,000.
3–Mandaloun, 122, c, 3, Into Mischief–Brooch, by Empire Maker. O-Juddmonte Farms Inc (KY); T-Brad H Cox. $20,000.
Margins: 1, HD, 8 3/4. Odds: 3.70, 8.90, 0.80.
Also Ran: Santa Cruiser, Arabian Prince, Game Day Play, Regular Guy, Red N Wild. Scratched: Beep Beep, Dyn O Mite, Manor House. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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Constitution Colt Flies Home to Become a ‘TDN Rising Star’

Sent off at debut odds of 28-5, LNJ Foxwoods’ Annex (Constitution) came with a telling turn of foot inside the final furlong to break his maiden extremely impressively in Saturday’s seventh race from Gulfstream, earning the ‘TDN Rising Star’ tag.

Bet down from a morning line of 12-1, the bald-faced chestnut was void of early speed and settled last but two as a good pace developed on the front end. Traveling well within himself entering the final half-mile, Annex was quietly ridden on the turn, but was angled out sharply into the four path nearing the entrance to the stretch. He still had a bit of work to do as they hit the furlong marker, but he hit another gear and covered his final furlong in a slick :11.17 (final quarter :22.86) to win stylishly. The final time was 1.53 seconds faster than the slower-paced split of race three.

Bred on the same cross over Unbridled as this sire’s star-crossed GSW Amalfi Sunrise, Annex is out of a half-sister to MGISW You (You and I), in turn the dam of GSW You And I Forever (A.P. Indy) and SW & GSP Causeway’s Kin (Giant’s Causeway). Annex was bought back on a bid of $65,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September sale, while his dam produced a colt by Honor Code in 2019 and a filly by the same stallion last year. You Make Me Sing was most recently bred to champion Mitole.

7th-Gulfstream, $40,000, Msw, 1-16, 3yo, 1mT, 1:34.93, fm, 1 length.
ANNEX, c, 3, by Constitution
1st Dam: You Make Me Sing, by Unbridled’s Song
2nd Dam: Our Dani, by Homebuilder
3rd Dam: Lovely Briar, by Briartic
Sales history: $65,000 RNA Ylg ’19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $24,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
O-LNJ Foxwoods; B-William Harrigan & Mike Pietrangelo (KY); T-William I Mott.

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