matthew o'connor | Horse Racing Free Tips

In this new series, the TDN takes a look at the success of European-based sires in North America, on a semi-weekly basis. This week's column (Feb. 18-Feb. 25) is highlighted by the victory of Godolphin homebred Lake Lucerne (Dubawi {Ire}) in the Albert M. Stall Memorial S. at Fair Grounds on Feb. 18.

A worldwide influence for class, Dubawi celebrated his 250th stakes winner with Lake Lucerne's two-length victory for Brendan Walsh and Tyler Gaffalione in a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes in New Orleans eight days previously. The 6-year-old mare was previously placed in Belmont's GIII Athenia S. and five other black-type races.

Part of the extensive international breeding programme of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Lake Lucerne is a daughter of GI Breeders' Cup Distaff and GI Acorn S. heroine Round Pond (Awesome Again), who joined the Darley broodmare band after selling for $5.75 million out of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale of 2007. Lake Lucerne's half-brother Long River (A.P. Indy) won the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3, while another half-sister produced GI Carter H. victor and new Darley American stallion Speaker's Corner (Street Sense). Classic winners and subsequent sires Black Minnaloushe (Storm Cat) and Pennekamp (Bering {GB}) are under the third dam.

Looking at the stakes success and winners by Dubawi in North America, of his 69 runners, 35 (51%) have won, with 18 of those 69 (26%) winning at least one black-type race. Leading the charge are Grade I winners In Italian (GB), Dubawi Heights (GB), last year's American Champion Turf Male Modern Games (Ire), Almanaar (GB), Yibir (GB), Mubtaahij (Ire), Wuheida (GB), Rebel's Romance (Ire), and Space Blues (Ire). The last-named is standing his first season at Kildangan Stud in Ireland.

Sharing Is 'Caring' Down In Florida

Coolmore Stud's Australia (GB) celebrated a new maiden winner in Florida on Feb. 18 in the form of Ashbrook Farm, Matthew O'Connor, Upland Flats Racing and Amy E. Dunne's Just A Care (Ire). A 1 1/2-length winner of a five-furlong turf maiden for trainer Rusty Arnold (video), the filly was making her second start. From just 19 North American runners, Australia has 10 winners (53%) and five stakes winners (26%) led by GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Order Of Australia (Ire), GI Gamely S. victress Ocean Road (Ire) and GIII Endeavour S. heroine Counterparty Risk (Ire).

Bred by China Horse Club International, Ltd. in Ireland and consigned by David Cox's Baroda Stud, the bay went through the Tattersalls October Book 1 ring in 2021, where Kerri Radcliffe snapped her up for 105,000gns. Just A Care made her racetrack debut with a fifth-place effort in a six-furlong turf affair for Dew Sweepers and Arnold at Belmont Park last June. Sent back through the sales ring at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale last year as a member of the Grovendale Sales draft, Just A Care was picked up by Bo Bramagen, agent, for $150,000.

Out of the one-time winner Greater Good (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), Just A Care is a half-sister to a 2-year-old filly by first-season sire Ten Sovereigns (Ire) and a full-sister to a yearling colt. Second dam is GIII Hollywood Juvenile Championship S. heroine Necessary Evil (Harlan's Holiday), and young sire Sergei Prokofiev (Scat Daddy), who won the G3 Cornwallis S., is under the third dam.

Just A Care | Ryan Thompson

Synthetic The Answer For Thunder Love

One day before Profitable (Ire)'s Kimngrace (Ire) became his newest stakes winner (number seven) in Lingfield's Listed Betuk Hever Sprint going just over five furlongs on the all-weather, Turfway Park in Kentucky hosted AMO Racing USA's Thunder Love (GB), who managed to take a six-furlong synthetic allowance optional claimer by a half-length on Feb. 24. It was the daughter of G2 Mill Reef S. third Nantyglo (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire})'s second consecutive win at the northern Kentucky track for Paulo Lobo, although she has been based in America for some time.

Bred by Richard Kent and Clare Lloyd's Mickley Stud, the now-4-year-old filly was offered by her breeder at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale and caught the eye of Joanna Morgan for 13,000gns. Re-offered during the 2020 Tattersalls Ireland September Yearling Sale by Bill Dwan's The Castlebridge Consignment, the Apr. 30 foal was knocked down to Robson Aguiar for £18,000. Bearing the deep purple Amo Racing silks of Kia Joorabchian, Thunder Love made her first pair of starts winning ones over the Kempton synthetic in the spring of 2021 for trainer George Boughey, and was transferred to Lobo after several stakes attempt in the UK.

Thunder Love's dam has a 3-year-old colt named Alfil (GB), an 11,000gns purchased by Wallhouse at the 2020 Tattersalls December Foal Sale and a juvenile filly, who was acquired by Rabbah Bloodstock for 20,000gns out of the Tattersalls Somerville Yearling Sale last September, both by Massaat (Ire). Her extended family features the Classic heroine Moonstone (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}).

Lope De Vega Colt Shines At Gulfstream

As chronicled extensively in Sunday's edition of the TDN, Lope De Vega (Ire) sired his ninth 'TDN Rising Star' and third in America with the success of Bob and Kristine Edwards of e Five Racing's Carl Spackler (Ire) in a one-mile turf maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park (video). Previous American 'Rising Star's by the Ballylinch Stud resident include GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf and GI Just a Game S. victress Newspaperofrecord (Ire), and fellow Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Aunt Pearl (Ire), trained by Chad Brown and Brad Cox, respectively. His rate of runners to winners in America and Canada sits at 46% (28 winners from 61 runners), and four of his five stakes winners (8.2% from runners) are graded winners Stateside.

The Fifth Avenue Bloodstock-bred was making his second start after finishing runner-up there when unveiled on Jan. 21. He was a 350,000gns buyback out of the 2021 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 when offered by Ballylinch. His dam joined the e Five fold for $550,000 at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale and went on to take the GII Goldikova S. later that year. A half-sister to Grade I winner Western Aristocrat (Mr. Greeley), she foaled a Frankel (GB) half-sister to the winner that made 450,000gns at the 2022 edition of the October Sale and she also has a yearling filly by Lope De Vega.

The post Making Waves: Milestone Week For Dubawi appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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On Jan. 8, 2022, less than two years since he sent out his first starter as an independent Thoroughbred trainer, Matthew Brice O'Connor found himself in the Gulfstream Park winner's circle with Clear Vision. The 6-year-old Artie Schiller gelding had bested his competition going one mile on the grass in the Tropical Turf Stakes (G3T), marking the first graded win for the horse and for O'Connor.

“That win felt so good—it was a tough spot,” said O'Connor. “We thought we could be third or fourth but (my mentor), Nick Zito has always told me that if you think you can run even fourth in a stakes race, you take the shot. That is how you find the big horses. It all panned out and I'm glad we took that shot. I've only run 50 or so horses so to get a win like that on the tail end of my second year training is a big accomplishment for me and my team.”

In terms of a career metaphor, there could be no more aptly-named stakes winner for O'Connor than Clear Vision. Born in Manhassett, New York, in 1998, just a stone's throw from Belmont Park, O'Connor's exposure to racing came early. Some of his first memories are of his early morning outings with his father to Saratoga's Oklahoma training track and the barn of Dennis Brida, who trained a handful of horses for his family.

“I spent every summer of my life at Saratoga,” said O'Connor. “When I was 5 or 6 years old, I would wake up early and my dad and I would go out to the barn every day. Horses were just always there, so my interest just grew as time went on. I can't say that racing consumed my life, but it's always been a major part of my life.”

In the early 2000s his uncle, Anthony Bonomo, began buying into more horses as an owner racing under the banner MeB Racing Stables. It was under Bonomo's trainer, Dominick Schettino, that O'Connor began learning his first horsemanship skills. In 2014, he received his hotwalker license and began working in earnest for Schettino. There he had the opportunity to interact closely with Grade 1 winner Greenpointcrusader, as well as eventual 2017 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Always Dreaming, who made his first few starts with Schettino before being transferred to Todd Pletcher.

After entering college, O'Connor assisted trainer Robert Falcone, Jr. before finally landing a job with Hall of Famer Nick Zito, who became—and remains—his closet mentor.

“Nick does it right, that's for sure,” said O'Connor. “I talk to Nick at least once or twice a week. We've always kept in touch ever since the moment I started working for him.”

Concurrent to working with Zito, O'Connor graduate from the Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona and decided it was time to break out on his own.

“I took out my license in late 2019 and I got my first horse in February of 2020,” said O'Connor. “It was a really tough time, trying to start out in the middle of a pandemic, but by the time it really started going we were too far in it to turn around so we had to keep going.”

O'Connor's first winner came in April of 2020 when he saddled Duellist to a maiden victory at Gulfstream Park. Since that time, O'Connor has continued to grow his stable, running his horses in New York in the summer and Florida in the winter.

“We now have four horses in Florida,” said O'Connor, who runs his barn with the help of a tight three-person crew. “At the highest point I had 18 horses this past summer in Saratoga. That being said, they weren't all the highest quality horses so we decided to trim down and just bring a handful that we thought could be competitive to Florida. Hopefully we will start growing more again.

“We did some shopping in Saratoga and bought a Gormley colt and a Tiznow filly who are both New York-breds. Wherever the good horses are, we try and find them and get them in the barn. I will have to see how many owners I have and how many are looking to get something, but I would expect we should get two or three out of the sales this year. Hopefully it'll be more, but I think that is a good place to start.”

With plenty of races ahead of him in the new year, O'Connor looks forward to every new start and credits his continued luck on the track to the dedication of his team and their combined passion for the sport. And as for Clear Vision, O'Connor is targeting a run for the gelding in the Feb. 5 Tampa Bay Stakes (G3T) at Tampa Bay Downs.

“Without my team, and my horses and owners, I'm just another guy on the backside,” said O'Connor. “To have a first start of this year be the first winner of the year … it's a great way to start. Now we just have to try and top that.”

Matthew O'Connor leads his first graded stakes winner, Clear Vision, into the winner's circle after Saturday's G3 Tropical Turf at Gulfstream Park

The post Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: Young Trainer O’Connor Has ‘Clear Vision’ Of His Future appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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