john sadler | Horse Racing Free Tips

Flagstaff Takes Wild Finish In Churchill Downs

LOUISVILLE, KY – Flagstaff (Speightstown) kicked on gamely in a wild, blanket finish to lead home a one-two for his leading sire in the GI Churchill Downs S. Saturday. It was a head back to Lexitonian (Speightstown) in second; and another nose to champion sprinter Whitmore (Pleasantly Perfect) in third.

“I'm thrilled,” winning trainer John Sadler said. “He's a real hard knocker; he always runs his race. He knocked it out today.”

Flagstaff, a last out winner of Keeneland's GIII Commonwealth S. Apr. 3, his first win in 13 months, vied for early command along the inside in a five-horse scramble, headed by Bango (Congrats), but began to drop back to fifth following a sharp quarter in :21.97 and half mile in :44.21.

The Lane's End Racing and Hronis Racing colorbearer dialed it back up approaching the quarter pole once guided to the outside by Luis Saez with a six-wide blitz.

Bango proved a stubborn foe and held the call into the final eighth of a mile, but the others were about to swoop in. No fewer than six in with a chance and Whitmore looking like he was doing the best work of all, Flagstaff wanted it just a little more and eked out a narrow decision.

“Getting settled off the pace was the key; they were going pretty fast up front,” Saez said. “I tried to save ground into the turn and when there was a moment to go out, I had that good spot, he came for me. I know Whitmore is a good horse, but my horse really dug in. When I saw everybody coming past me, I thought it was over, but he never gave up and finally he gave me the last little bit and we got there. John told me to ride him with confidence, and that he likes to fight, and we broke and then you saw that at the end.”

Flagstaff kicked off his 7-year-old campaign with a pair of efforts at Oaklawn, finishing fourth in the slop in the King Cotton S. Feb. 6 and third in the Hot Springs S. Mar. 13, prior to his aforementioned 9-5 score in Lexington.

Flagstaff's resume also includes: wins in the 2019 Damascus S. and 2020 GII San Carlos S., and five graded placings, headed by a third-place finish in the 2019 GI Santa Anita Sprint Championship S.

Pedigree Notes:

Flagstaff is the 21st Grade I winner for leading sire Speightstown. He is one of 60 graded winners and 122 black-type scorers for his sire.

He is the 31st Grade I winner (one of 110 graded victors and 235 black-type winners) out of a daughter of the legendary A.P. Indy.

Flagstaff is a half-brother to champion juvenile and Lane's End stallion Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}). Their unraced dam Indyan Giving is a daughter of champion Fleet Indian (Indian Charlie), who was acquired by Summer Wind Farm after she RNA'd for $3.9 million at the 2007 Keeneland November Sale.

Flagstaff was Indyan Giving's first foal. She was bred to Empire Maker after delivering the aforementioned Eclipse winner, but died due to complications following colic surgery before she could produce that foal.

Saturday, Churchill Downs
CHURCHILL DOWNS S. PRESENTED BY FORD-GI, $500,000, Churchill Downs, 5-1, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:21.82, ft.
1–FLAGSTAFF, 118, g, 7, by Speightstown
1st Dam: Indyan Giving, by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Fleet Indian, by Indian Charlie
3rd Dam: Hustleeta, by Afleet
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($475,000 Ylg '15 FTSAUG). O-Lane's End
Racing & Hronis Racing LLC; B-Summer Wind Farm (KY); T-John
Sadler; J-Luis Saez. $288,300. Lifetime Record: 19-7-6-3,
$991,585. *1/2 to Game Winner (Candy Ride (ARG)), Ch.
2-year-old Colt, MGISW, $2,027,500. Werk Nick Rating: A.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Lexitonian, 118, h, 5, Speightstown–Riviera Romper, by
Tapit. O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-Jack Sisterson. $93,000.
3–Whitmore, 123, g, 8, Pleasantly Perfect–Melody's Spirit, by
Scat Daddy. O-LaPenta, Robert V., Ron Moquett & Head of
Plains Partners LLC; B-John Liviakis (KY); T-Ron Moquett.
$46,500.
Margins: HD, NO, HF. Odds: 4.90, 46.10, 5.20.
Also Ran: Hog Creek Hustle, Phat Man, Bango, Mind Control, Basin, Endorsed, Shashashakemeup, Tap It to Win, Get the Prize. Scratched: Attachment Rate.
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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‘Maybe It’s A Good Thing’: Derby Trainers Unconcerned About This Year’s Lasix Rules

The general consensus around the Churchill Downs backstretch this week has been that requiring hopefuls on the Road to the Kentucky Derby to race without Lasix has not been a major hindrance for the year's 3-year-old crop.

Precisely half of this year's Kentucky Derby field has never raced on Lasix, while all 20 entrants completed their final prep without the diuretic medication, which aids in preventing exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in racehorses.

“This may not be a popular opinion,” warned David Carroll, assistant to dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse. “I was pro-Lasix, but having seen that now, you know what, maybe it's a good thing. Maybe no race-day medication is a good thing. I think a lot of things we do, we're creatures of habit, and we have a tendency to do things because that's the way we've always done it, not the way it's meant to be, and not what's best for the horse.”

“I would say it's an individual thing,” said two-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O'Neill. “And in an ideal world, if the horse doesn't have any kind of tendency to have any kind of nosebleed, running without Lasix, they do seem to come out of the races with more energy, and they get back to their normal exercise energy quicker. So they recover quicker, I think, without Lasix.”

Many trainers spoke out against the restriction of Lasix use for years before a ban was implemented for 2-year-old runners in many jurisdictions last year. Now, both the Triple Crown series and the Breeders' Cup Challenge series, as well as the World Championship races themselves, are all scheduled to be conducted without race-day Lasix. In several jurisdictions, all graded stakes races will be held Lasix-free.

“It's something, I think, we all in this sport kind of knew it was coming,” O'Neill said. “Just – if you look around the world, most of the big races around the world are run Lasix-free. So as much as I was apprehensive, like I think a lot of horsemen were and are, I think the longer we've done it, the more able to – I've been able to adjust.”

Some trainers have altered their pre-race and pre-workout regimens, while others say they have not.

“Obviously last year we started with the 2-year-olds not being on Lasix, so we really didn't do anything particularly different with them at all,” said Carroll. “From a personal perspective, we had a few that showed some traces (of EIPH), but no bad cases.”

“We have a little bit different diet leading up to works and races,” O'Neill said. “Just, we're more thoughtful of not having much in their stomach for exercise, which probably, we should have been thinking of that. Anyways, so just try to have them a little bit more light going into their works and races. It's definitely been something that we've been more conscientious of with no Lasix.”

While the majority of this year's Kentucky Derby trainers agreed that the Lasix ban wasn't harmful to the current 3-year-old crop, they remain concerned about requiring older horses, those who are used to running with Lasix, to now race without it.

“I think with this particular crop, for my cohort, it's not been an issue,” said Hall of Fame nominee Todd Pletcher. “I can't speak for everyone else, but I think some of the bigger concerns are around older horses that maybe have been running on Lasix for three, four, five years and then have to come off with it. But bleeding can be an issue for horses, with or without Lasix.”

“You have some horses that struggle with that,” echoed John Sadler. “I've had some older horses, and I have to say no more stakes for them. They've got to run in the easier races. They weren't capable of running without Lasix.”

“I do feel bad for the horses who have been racing on it for years, and now have to stop,” Carroll concluded. “For older horses now that have been racing on it for the last three to four years, I think that's really hard. I wish they'd made it more of a progression.”

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Spendthrift To Stand Rock Your World

Hronis Racing LLC & Talla Racing LLC's Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}–Charm the Maker, by Empire Maker), the GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner and morning-line second favorite for Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby, will stand at B. Wayne Hughes's Spendthrift Farm at the conclusion of his racing career.

Bred by trainer Ron McAnally and his wife Deborah, Rock Your World was a $650,000 purchase by Sapphire Stable at the 2019 Keeneland September sale before joining the Southern California barn of trainer John Sadler. A debut winner sprinting six furlongs on turf at Santa Anita on New Year's Day, the dark bay rallied to a 2 1/4-length success in the Feb. 27 Pasadena S. Possessed of an each-way pedigree, Rock Your World was given a chance to show what he could do on the dirt in the GI Santa Anita Derby, and he set a strong pace en route to a 4 1/4-length defeat of Medina Spirit (Protonico) before galloping out strongly.

“We are really excited about Rock Your World and thankful to the Hronis family, Michael Talla, and John Sadler for allowing us to be a part of the horse's promising future,” said Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey. “Rock Your World has a wonderful combination of sheer talent, pedigree and sire power, and he's an imposing physical specimen which you would expect from a $650,000 yearling. We were especially taken by the brilliance he displayed in the Santa Anita Derby in his first start on the dirt, and think he has a great shot to show that again in the Kentucky Derby and beyond.”

A full-brother to GSP She's Our Charm, Rock Your World is out of Charm the Maker, a two-time black-type winner who was second in the GI Hollywood Starlet S. and third in the GI Oak Leaf S. as a juvenile. Rock Your World's Grade III-winning second dam Charm the Giant (Ire) (Giant's Causeway) is herself the dam of GSW Liam the Charmer (Smart Strike) and is a daughter of MGSW & GISP Olympic Charmer (Olympio). The last-mentioned is also the dam of MGSP and stakes-producing Charming Legacy (Ire) (Danehill).

“We are excited about of our relationship with Spendthrift Farm on such a special horse like Rock Your World,” said Kosta Hronis of Hronis Racing. “It is hard to argue with the success they've had when it comes to standing premier stallions, and we are hopeful we can accomplish a lot with this colt before we retire him to stud.”

Added Michael Talla: “We are thrilled to have a horse like this. Hopefully, Rock Your World will be the son to carry on the Candy Ride sire line, and I can't think of a better place than Spendthrift for him to get the opportunity to do that.”

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‘Talent, Pedigree, And Sire Power’: Spendthrift Secures Breeding Rights To Rock Your World

Spendthrift Farm has secured the breeding rights to undefeated Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner and Kentucky Derby (G1) contender Rock Your World, it was announced Thursday.

Rock Your World – the second choice on the morning line for Saturday's coveted $3 million Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs – will stand stud at the historical Lexington-based farm upon his retirement from racing.

“We are really excited about Rock Your World and thankful to the Hronis family, Michael Talla, and John Sadler for allowing us to be a part of the horse's promising future,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift General Manager. “Rock Your World has a wonderful combination of sheer talent, pedigree and sire power, and he's an imposing physical specimen which you would expect from a $650,000 yearling. We were especially taken by the brilliance he displayed in the Santa Anita Derby in his first start on the dirt, and think he has a great shot to show that again in the Kentucky Derby and beyond.”

Trained by John Sadler, Rock Your World began his racing career on New Year's Day, winning on debut at six furlongs before stretching out around two turns to win the one-mile Pasadena S. in his second start – both coming over the Santa Anita turf course. Earlier this month, the son of Candy Ride (Arg) asserted himself as a serious contender for the Kentucky Derby with a powerhouse 4 ¼-length victory in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby in his first start on the dirt. He stopped the clock in 1:49.17 for 1 1/8 miles over a fast local main track, earning a 100 Beyer – the only triple-digit Beyer earned among this year's Kentucky Derby field.

Rock Your World enters the Derby 3-for-3 with earnings of $546,600 for owners Hronis Racing and Talla Racing, which acquired the bay colt as a yearling for $650,000 at the annual Keeneland September sale with bloodstock agent David Ingordo signing the ticket. Rock Your World is out of the multiple stakes-winning Empire Maker mare Charm the Maker. His first three dams are all multiple stakes winners or graded stakes winners.

“We are thrilled to have a horse like this,” added Michael Talla. “Hopefully, Rock Your World will be the son to carry on the Candy Ride sire line, and I can't think of a better place than Spendthrift for him to get the opportunity to do that.”

Rock Your World will break from post 15 and will be ridden by Joel Rosario in the Derby. Before traveling to Louisville last Sunday, he breezed five furlongs in 59.20 seconds on Apr. 24 at Santa Anita in his final serious work in preparation for Saturday.

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