TOBA Announces Finalists For Owner Of The Year Award

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced today that Gary Barber, Godolphin, Klaravich Stables, the partnership of Spendthrift Farm LLC, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stables LLC and Starlight Racing, and Three Diamonds Farm have been selected as finalists for the TOBA National Owner of the Year.

The TOBA National Owner of the Year will be announced live at the TOBA National Awards Dinner, which will be held on Saturday, Sept. 11 at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa in Paris, Ky.

TOBA will also honor breeders from 18 states and Canada. The National Breeder of the Year and the National Small Breeder of the Year will also be revealed at the TOBA National Awards Dinner. Samantha Siegel will be presented with the TOBA Industry Service Award and Drumette has been named National Broodmare of the Year.

Other TOBA national award winners include Frost or Frippery, who will be honored as Claiming Crown Horse of the Year, presented by the National HBPA. Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners will receive the Cot Campbell Partnership of the Year Award.

The Rood & Riddle Sport Horse of the Year will go to Kaytee Mountain, owned by Susan Gallagher and John and Leslie Malone will receive the Robert N. Clay Award, which recognizes a member of the Thoroughbred community who has made an outstanding contribution to preserving land for equine use.

“These owners, breeders and horses exemplify the best of our sport and we are honored to be able to recognize their outstanding achievements,” said Dan Metzger, president of TOBA. “Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa will present an incredible experience for what promises to be a memorable evening.”

To participate in the online auction and purchase tickets to the TOBA National Awards Dinner, visit toba.wedoauctions.com.

TOBA National Awards Dinner sponsors include Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, Keeneland, TVG, Stonestreet Farm, Jackson Family Wines, Breeders' Cup, NTRA Advantage and John Deere, Limestone Bank, Stoll Keenon Ogden, BloodHorse, The Jockey Club, National HBPA, Independence Bank, Flair LLC, Wildcat Moving, Pyranha and The Horse.

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Philly Eagles, Let’s Be Clear Headline P.G. Johnson Field At Saratoga

Tracy Farmer's Philly Eagles made a stellar debut in winning in Great Britain in June. She will now look to notch a victory on the opposite side of the Atlantic in Thursday's $120,000 P.G. Johnson for juvenile fillies going 1 1/16 miles on the inner turf at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Philly Eagles was a half-length victor in a maiden weight-for-age contest going seven furlongs on June 26 at Doncaster with Alice Haynes as her conditioner. The daughter of Havana, now in the care of Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, breezed three times this month over Saratoga's Oklahoma training turf, including a five-furlong work in 1:03.45 on August 22.

On Thursday, the Irish-bred Philly Eagles is slated to break from post 4 while picking up the services of jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr.

“It's the first time running her here in the country,” Casse said. “She's training well and we're excited about Santana riding her. Everything is all set. She looks good and we're looking forward to it.”

Mystic Eyes was also a debut winner, posting a gate-to-wire 4 1/2-length score on August 5 in a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint at the Spa. Owned by MeB Racing Stables and Vincent Esopi, Mystic Eyes earned a field-high 77 Beyer Speed Figure for her win over firm going.

Trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Mystic Eyes will look to handle the stretch out in distance, drawing the outermost post with Hall of Famer John Velazquez in the irons.

Conditioner Christophe Clement will send out Manzanita Stables' Silvery Rill, who ran second in her debut on August 1 at the Spa in a 1 1/16-mile contest. Silvery Rill, a daughter of War Front, will see Joel Rosario ride from post 5.

Let's Be Clear ran a competitive second for reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox in her debut going five furlongs on June 11 over the Churchill Downs main track, finishing a head back to Sax, before graduating at 5 1/2 furlongs on July 21 on the Spa dirt.

Cox will now try the Munnings filly on turf for the first time. Owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Michael Caruso, Let's Be Clear will make the foray to the grass with Manny Franco picking up the mount from post 8.

Meet-leading trainer Chad Brown will see Klaravich Stables' Expand the Map look to break her maiden after running second on debut on July 22 at Saratoga. The Irish-bred daughter of Dark Angel will break from post 3 with Irad Ortiz, Jr. aboard.

Joel Politi's Take the Backroads, a Will Take Charge filly, enters with momentum following a 4 3/4-length victory in her first start on the turf on August 4 at Saratoga in a five-furlong sprint.

Take the Backroads has progressed in each of her three starts, building on a third-place effort behind Let's Be Clear in that June 11 contest before running second to her emerging rival on July 21, this time finishing just one length back to Let's Be Clear on dirt. The duo will face each other for a third time and the first time on turf, as the Tom Amoss trainee drew post 6 with Tyler Gaffalione aboard.

Treadyway Racing Stable's Sail By earned stakes back type last out, building on her first-out win on June 18 at Belmont by running second to Miss Alacrity in the Colleen on August 1 at Monmouth Park. Trained by Leah Gyarmati, Sail By will have Junior Alvarado ride from post 7.

Owner and trainer Kevin Rice will see Runaway Breeze, who made her first three starts at Presque Isle Downs, including a win last out on August 18, look to make an impression at Saratoga. Runaway Breeze drew the inside post with Dylan Davis scheduled to ride.

Pletcher also entered Miss Interpret for the main track only.

The 17th running of the P.G. Johnson, slated as Race 9 on the 10-race card with a 1:05 p.m. Eastern first post, honors the late Hall of Fame trainer who crafted a distinguished career that spanned six decades. Philip George Johnson was the leading trainer at Saratoga in 1983 and according to the National Museum of Racing, won at least one race each year at the Spa from 1962 to 2003. His biggest career victory came in 2002 with a horse he co-owned named Volponi, who pulled off a 43-1 upset of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Saratoga Live will present daily television coverage of the 40-day summer meet on FOX Sports. For the complete Saratoga Live broadcast schedule, and additional programming information, visit https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

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Brown Pleased With Viadera Win In Ballston Spa, Points Jack Christopher To Champagne

Chad Brown saddled a pair of winners Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with Viadera scoring in the $400,000 Grade 2 Ballston Spa and Jack Christopher impressing on debut to extend the four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer's meet-leading win total to 32 [eight more than Mike Maker and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher] heading into Day 34 of the 40-day summer meet.

Juddmonte homebred Viadera, a 5-year-old daughter of Bated Breath, was one of three entrants in the six-horse field along with pacesetter Tamahere [4th] and Kalifornia Queen [3rd].

Tamahere set strong splits of :22.60, :47.55, and 1:12.12 on the firm inner turf as Viadera saved ground in third under Joel Rosario. Viadera advanced up the rail through the final turn and angled out in the stretch run to reel in her stablemate and hold off the late charge of High Opinion.

Viadera, who capped her 2020 with a first Grade 1 score in the Matriarch at Del Mar, entered Saturday's test from a troubled fourth in the De La Rose on August 8 at the Spa.

“She had so much trouble in her first start of the year here and I was proud of her to come back on short rest and still get it done,” Brown said.

Viadera is likely to target the $400,000 Grade 1 First Lady on October 9 at Keeneland.

Jim Bakker and Gerald Isbister's Jack Christopher earned a 92 Beyer for his winning debut in a six-furlong maiden special weight for juveniles, powering to an 8 3/4-length score as the even-money favorite.

The Munnings chestnut, a $135,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale, exited post 5 in the seven-horse field under Jose Ortiz and settled in second position before taking command.

“I was very pleased. The word was out. He had worked well and he ran to his works, which is always a relief for a trainer,” Brown said.

Brown said Jack Christopher will point to the $500,000 Grade 1 Champagne on October 2 at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., a one-turn mile offering a “Win and You're In” berth to the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile in November at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

Brown saddled Royal Flag and Dunbar Road to respective third and fourth-place finishes Saturday in the Grade 1 Personal Ensign presented by Lia Infiniti.

Royal Flag, a 5-year-old Candy Ride chestnut, entered from a score in the Grade 3 Shuvee on July 25 at the Spa, while Dunbar Road, a 5-year-old Quality Road bay, was looking to secure her first win since taking the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap last July.

While multiple Grade 1-winner Letruska won the nine-furlong test gate-to-wire, Royal Flag closed willingly to complete the trifecta, a head in front of Dunbar Road, who was forced in at the start under Flavien Prat, and had to rally six-wide down the lane.

“Dunbar Road had a bit of an unfortunate trip as she fell a little far out of it after missing the break and went quite wide,” Brown said. “Royal Flag had her normal trip that worked out just fine. I was proud of both of their efforts. A really great filly won the race.”

Peter Brant and Robert V. LaPenta's Miles D, a sophomore son of Curlin, garnered a career-best 100 Beyer for his third-place effort in the Grade 1 Runhappy Travers. The lightly-race Curlin chestnut, a $470,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, graduated at second asking in June at Belmont and followed with a strong runner-up effort to Dynamic One in the nine-furlong Curlin on July 30 at the Spa.

Brown said he was pleased with the effort.

“He's only run four times and he might be a little bit better at a mile and an eighth,” Brown said.

Brown also confirmed Klaravich Stables' Technical Analysis, last-out winner of the Grade 2 Lake Placid on August 21, will point to the $500,000 Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on October 15 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

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Technical Analysis Takes Lake Placid At Saratoga

Klaravich Stables' even-money favorite Technical Analysis again displayed an affinity for the turf at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., improving to 2-for-2 this meet after leading gate-to-wire for a 3 1/2-length victory in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 2 Lake Placid for sophomore fillies contesting 1 1/16 miles on the Mellon course.

The 38th edition of the Lake Placid saw Technical Analysis build on her 1 1/4-length score in the one-mile Grade 3 Lake George over firm going on July 23 by relishing a yielding turf course. Breaking alertly from post 2 under jockey Jose Ortiz, the Irish-bred daughter of Kingman led the six-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in :24.68 and the half in :50.03 with Spanish Loveaffair in close pursuit.

Technical Analysis maintained the lead out of the final turn, swinging wide entering the top of the stretch but undeterred. Ortiz helped the pacesetter maintain her advantageous position, using right-handed encouragement that kept Technical Analysis to task. She drew away in the final furlong, completing the course in 1:46.49 in outkicking a charging Runaway Rumour.

“We knew there was no speed in there, so our options were limited,” Ortiz said. “We didn't want to get stuck being behind a slow pace. The turf was pretty soft, but this filly is bred in Ireland and she liked it. I've ridden her before on [good] turf and I knew she was going to handle it well. I knew it would be to our advantage.”

Trainer Chad Brown captured the Lake Placid for the third time in the last four runnings, while Technical Analysis won for the fourth time in six career starts and for the third time in four races as a 3-year-old.

“The more we work with this horse, she just keeps getting faster and stronger and bigger,” Brown said. “I can see that she's willing in her works and I just don't want to take anything away from her. Too often, we've been caught in these paceless races where sometimes we have the best horse and it blows up on you. So, if my horses have some speed, like this one, I'm going to send them out there.”

Technical Analysis returned $4.20 on a $2 win wager. She improved her career earnings to $298,200.

Brown compared Technical Analysis to Dayatthespa, who won the 2014 Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf in gate-to-wire fashion en route to Champion Grass Mare honors that year.

“This filly is starting to remind me of a nice horse we used to train named Dayatthespa and I told Jose that in the paddock,” Brown said. “She ended up being a champion horse for us down the road and as she got older, she showed a lot of speed and went to the lead. I can see a lot of similarities with this horse, so I'm not going to take anything away from her.

“She's a high-energy horse and my team has just done a fabulous job with her,” Brown added. “We've found a few things to sweeten her up and get along with her and it's really working.”

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Lawrence Goichman's New York homebred Runaway Rumour, ridden by Jose Lezcano, bested Ego Trip by a half-length for runner-up honors. The Jorge Abreu trainee earned her first graded stakes placing after running a competitive fourth in the Lake George last month.

“She's a nice filly. She struggled today with the track, but she still tried very hard to run a good race,” Lezcano said. “Whenever I asked her, she kept on trying. The turf is very soft. My filly was never comfortable the whole way.”

Spanish Loveaffair, Illogami, and Lovestruck completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Sunday at Saratoga with a 10-race card featuring the $120,000 Summer Colony, a nine-furlong main track event for older fillies and mares who have not won a graded stakes race in 2021. First post is 1:05 p.m. Eastern.

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