Joe Allen | Horse Racing Free Tips

Quality Road’s Talk of the Nation Takes $1M Gun Runner S.

Off as the 6-5 chalk in Saturday's $1-million Listed Gun Runner S. at Kentucky Downs, Joe Allen and CHC's TALK OF THE NATION (c, 3, Quality Road–She's Not Here, by Street Cry {Ire}) took command in upper stretch and staved off a stinging late rally from Wadsworth to lead home a 1-2 finish for their in-form stallion. Away in good order, Talk of the Nation took up a stalking position from second early on as Smokey Mandate (Strong Mandate) made the running down the hill and towards the side of the galloping oval. Held together into the final quarter mile, the dark bay put his head in front with about a furlong to travel and kept on resolutely. Wadsworth lingered towards the back of the pack early and was committed to an overland passage at an early stage by Florent Geroux. The Godolphin homebred finished full of run down the center of the course and was gaining late, but the wire arrived in time. A maiden winner in two starts on the dirt to begin his career, Talk of the Nation took his first two tries once switched to the dirt, including Tampa's Columbia S. Mar. 11. A money-burning runner-up in the June 3 Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park, he was last seen checking in second to More Than Looks (More Than Ready) in the GIII Manila S. at Belmont Park July 7. It was the second win on the afternoon as breeder for China Horse Club, who was represented by new 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road at Sararoga. The colt's GII Yellow Ribbon S.-winning dam was acquired by CHC for $1.3 million at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale, and is herself out of Where's Bailey, a stakes-winning half-sister to Horse of the Year Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}); MGISW Balance (Thunder Gulch); and 'Rising Star' Eblouissante (Bernardini), the dam of this year's GII Rebel S. upsetter Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}). She's Not Here is the dam of a yearling colt by CHC part-owned champion Improbable and was most recently covered by Life Is Good, also campaigned by CHC in partnership. Lifetime Record: 7-4-2-0. O-Joseph Allen LLC & CHC Inc; B-CHC Inc (KY); T-Shug McGaughey.

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Quality Road Colt Cruises in Columbia

Talk of the Nation blew away local optional claiming foes last out Feb. 4, and did the same to stakes company here. Off as the chalk breaking from the far outside, the dark bay hopped a bit at the start but was pushed along by Samy Camacho to track from fourth while hung a bit wide. Scrubbed on to assert three deep entering the lane, he seemed to be stuck in neutral for a few strides while figuring out his leads, but as soon as he found his footing he zoomed home with a powerful burst to win going away. Mo Stash, last seen finishing fourth at almost 52-1 in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Nov. 4, was a clear-cut second.

A $470,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream buyback last term off a :10 1/5 breeze, Talk of the Nation easily handled just two rivals while sprinting on the Big A dirt Nov. 11. Joe Allen was listed as the colt's sole owner at that point, but the China Horse Club apparently bought back in before he finished last of sixth going a mile on the Gulfstream dirt Jan. 8. He earned a strong 85 Beyer for that bounce-back effort last time Feb. 4.

China Horse Club paid $1.3 million for 2016 GII Yellow Ribbon H. winner She's Not Here that Keeneland November. The mare is out of a stakes-winning half-sister to none other than Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) and MGISW Balance (Thunder Gulch). The family was in the news again recently when another half-sister to the trio produced GII Rebel S. winner Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}). She's Not Here has a 2-year-old filly by Uncle Mo and a yearling colt by Improbable. She aborted to the latter for 2023.

COLUMBIA S., $75,000, Tampa Bay Downs, 3-11, 3yo, 1mT, 1:33.45, fm.
1–TALK OF THE NATION, 120, c, 3, by Quality Road
               1st Dam: She's Not Here (MGSW, $450,453),
                              by Street Cry (Ire)
               2nd Dam: Where's Bailey, by Aljabr
               3rd Dam: Vertigineux, by Kris S.
($470,000 RNA 2yo '22 FTFMAR). 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN.
O-Joseph Allen LLC & CHC INC.; B-Chc Inc. (KY); T-Claude R.
McGaughey III; J-Samy Camacho. $45,000. Lifetime Record:
4-3-0-0, $107,770.
2–Mo Stash, 118, c, 3, Mo Town–Making Mark Money, by
Smart Strike. ($130,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). O-BBN Racing, LLC;
B-Rhineshire Farm LLC (KY); T-Victoria H. Oliver. $15,000.
3–A Western Yarn, 118, c, 3, Eastwood–Basket Stitch, by
Tiznow. ($45,000 Ylg '21 EASOCT). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Mark B.
Grier; B-Equivine Farm LLC (PA); T-Arnaud Delacour. $7,500.
Margins: 2HF, 3 1/4, HF. Odds: 1.20, 4.30, 11.20.
Also Ran: Freedom Trail, Summer Bee, Sendero, Smoke Lightening, Lights of Broadway, Naga's Boy. Scratched: Worthington.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Shug Unveils Potential ‘Star’ at Spa

Capture the Flag (Quality Road–War Flag, by War Front) entering with some positive workout notes and backed at 5-2 for the notoriously patient Shug McGaughey barn, turned in an auspicious debut in Saratoga's Saturday opener that seemed like just the tip of the iceberg. Last away in the field of five, the hulking bay quickly narrowed the gap and mounted a three-deep move into the turn. Going much easier than the two foes to his inside approaching the stretch, he was confidently ridden out by Luis Saez, bounding home by three lengths in 1:06.17 en route to being named a 'TDN Rising Star'. Tatum (Cross Traffic), who had been beaten a nose on debut at Parx, was second best.

Capture the Flag was bred by Mr. Joseph Allen LLC and appears to be have been bought into privately after that by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg Limited and Jonathan Poulin. He is the second foal out of Allen and McGaughey's 2017 GI Flower Bowl S. winner War Flag–the first, Personal Best (Tapit), was most recently third going nine furlongs on the grass at Belmont in maiden special weight company last month. War Flag is a full to Hong Kong G1SW Lines of Battle. A half to the dam produced the same connections' 2020 Flower Bowl heroine Civil Union. Capture the Flag's third dam is GISW Andover Way (His Majesty), who in turn produced MGSW and influential sire Dynaformer (Roberto). Next in the pipeline for War Flag is a yearling Uncle Mo filly and a foal colt by Into Mischief. She was bred back to Gun Runner.

McGaughey's recent 'Rising Star'-worthy debut winners at the Spa include champion Honor Code (A.P. Indy) and MGISW Code of Honor (Noble Mission {GB}).

1st-Saratoga, $101,850, Msw, 7-30, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:06.17, ft, 3 lengths.
CAPTURE THE FLAG, c, 2, Quality Road
                1st Dam: War Flag (GISW-USA, GSW-Fr, $474,660),
                                by War Front
                2nd Dam: Black Speck, by Arch
                3rd Dam: Andover Way, by His Majesty
Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $57,750. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
O-Allen Stable, Inc., Magnier, Mrs. John, Tabor, Michael B., Smith, Derrick, Westerberg Limited and Poulin, Jonathan; B-Mr. Joseph Allen LLC (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III.

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Doswell Does It in Ft. Lauderdale

Joseph Allen homebred Doswell (Giant's Causeway) hadn't seen the inside of a winner's circle since October 2020, however, marked his return with aplomb, scoring by a front-running, 1 1/2-length margin over longshot Atone (Into Mischief) in Saturday's GII Ft. Lauderdale S. at Gulfstream.

Sent to the front by Junior Alvarado straight away, the 9-2 shot showed the way as the stalking duo of GSW Analyze It (Point of Entry) and English Bee (English Channel) kept him in their sights. Still in front and moving well with a half mile left to negotiate, Doswell ramped up the tempo as 17-1 chance Atone burst on the scene approaching the quarter pole, spurted clear in early stretch and finished up with good energy late to win. English Bee held on for third, only a half-length adrift of the runner up.

“He broke good, I put him on the engine a little bit and then tried to slow him down, and he rated kindly for me,” said Alvarado. “When we turned for home, I asked him and he gave me a nice kick. I knew they were in trouble as soon as I started asking him, because he picked it up very quickly and I thought they'd have to be flying at the end to go by.”

A front-running victor in a Belmont allowance in October 2020, the dark bay finished runner up in this race last December before coming home third in the GIII W. L. McKnight S. in January. Sidelined after that effort, he didn't return to racing for nine months before running third in back-to-back optional claiming allowances Oct. 21 at Belmont and most recently, at Aqueduct Nov. 19.

“It was nice and easy,” added Alvarado of Saturday's effort. “Last year, they kind of told me to try to see if he would stalk to make sure he would finish strong, and we kind of took away his main [weapon]. Today, they told me, 'You're in the one [post], just leave out of there rolling,' and that's what I did.”

And is the GI Pegasus World Cup Turf in January in the cards for the 6-year-old?

“We're thinking about it. We'll probably go in it,” said winning trainer Barclay Tagg. “We'll see how he comes out of this. We'll see if he freshens up and if he's got [good] energy. I don't want to take him over there and just make a fool out of him if we can help it.”

Pedigree Notes:

The late, great Giant's Causeway, gone since the spring of 2018, continues to churn out stakes winners. The classy chestnut stood the whole of his career at Coolmore locations around the globe, but had his greatest success as a stallion during his longstanding engagement in Kentucky. The 6-year-old Doswell became the 164th Northern Hemisphere-foaled black-type winner for his sire and the 98th graded.

In contrast to Giant's Causeway was Doswell's broodmare sire Minardi, who was also a European champion raced by Coolmore connections, but hardly took the stallion ranks by storm. From 11 crops, he managed only three stakes winners from Malaysia to Europe, with Doswell's dam his only black-type winner in a major racing country (France). Doswell is the fourth black-type winner out of a daughter of Minardi. Doswell's half-brother Secretary At War (War Front) is one of the others.

In addition to her two stakes-winning sons, Ballet Pacifica has Grade III-placed Entrechat, a full-sister to Doswell, and a placed juvenile full-brother to Secretary At War named Fort Ticonderoga. Her yearling filly is named You're the Top (Into Mischief) and she visited both War Front and Not This Time for next term. Ballet Pacifica is out of Irish champion, three-time U.S. GISW, and $1.05-million broodmare Kostroma (Ire), making Ballet Pacifica a half to 2008 GI Santa Anita Oaks winner Ariege (Doneraile Court).

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
FT. LAUDERDALE S.-GII, $200,000, Gulfstream, 12-18, 3yo/up,
1 1/8mT, 1:45.60, fm.
1–DOSWELL, 121, g, 6, by Giant's Causeway
                1st Dam: Ballet Pacifica (SW & GSP-Fr, GSP-USA,
                $120,100), by Minardi
                2nd Dam: Kostroma (Ire), by Caerleon
                3rd Dam: Katie May (GB), by Busted (GB)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Joseph Allen LLC (KY); T-Barclay Tagg; J-Junior Alvarado.
$115,320. Lifetime Record: 12-3-5-3, $314,621. Werk Nick
Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross
pedigree.*Full to Entrechat, GSP, $170,730; 1/2 to Secretary
At War (War Front), SW & GSP, $382,754.
2–Atone, 121, g, 4, Into Mischief–Captivating Lass, by A.P.
Indy. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($130,000
4yo '21 FTKHRA). O-Three Diamonds Farm; B-Godolphin
(KY); T-Michael J. Maker. $37,200.
3–English Bee, 121, h, 5, English Channel–Evil Kitten, by
Kitten's Joy. O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-H. Graham Motion.
$18,600.
Margins: 1HF, HF, 1 3/4. Odds: 4.50, 17.90, 21.20.
Also Ran: Space Traveller (GB), L'Imperator (Fr), Sole Volante, Renaisance Frolic, Breaking the Rules, Order and Law, Media Blitz, Analyze It, King Guillermo. Scratched: Brown Storm (Chi).
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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