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Tyler’s Tribe Pointing to Dec. 9 Advent Stakes at Oaklawn

After a failed attempt in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in which he bled, Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) will return to his comfort zone for his next start. Trainer and co-owner Tim Martin reports that his Iowa-bred gelding will start next in the Dec. 9 Advent S. at Oaklawn at 5 1/2 furlongs on the dirt for 2-year-olds.

“This will give him five weeks between races,” Martin said. “We worked him last week and he didn't bleed. Everything looked good. I'll breeze him again Saturday. In this race coming up we can use Lasix and I'd like to take advantage of that.”

Tyler's Tribe, an Iowa-bred who cost $34,000 as a yearling, dominated his competition in his first five starts, all of them at Prairie Meadows, winning by a combined margin of 59 3/4 lengths. With no dirt sprint race for 2-year-olds available at the Breeders' Cup, Martin elected to try Tyler's Tribe on the grass in the Juvenile Turf Sprint. It was more or less a disaster. Racing without Lasix for the first time in his career, Tyler's Tribe bled and had to be vanned off the track.

“He just got stressed that day,” Martin said. “I don't think he liked the turf. Then he made a pretty good bobble and his head went down right before he bled. When he walked on that turf course he started washing out. He never did that before. He had always been calm. He was doing fine in the post parade. The minute he stepped on turf he started sweating.”

While going back on Lasix in the Advent may help Tyler's Tribe in the short term, Martin can't count on using it throughout the year. In the races in which horses can accrue points for the GI Kentucky Derby, Lasix is not allowed. Martin is still holding out hope that Tyler's Tribe can prove worthy of chasing after the Derby and is hopeful that bleeding won't be an issue.

“We breezed him last week and he breezed good,” Martin said. “He scoped good, there was no mucus, no blood, no anything. Everything was good. I never have thought he was a bleeder.”

Should Tyler's Tribe win the Advent, Martin will reevaluate where he is with the horse. A race like the Smarty Jones S., run at a mile on Jan. 1 is a possibility.

“Will I point for the Derby? Maybe,” he said. “I want to see how he does in this race first.”

With Tyler's Tribe having never run beyond six furlongs, he'll need to prove he can go a distance. Martin doesn't think it will be a problem.

“I love the thought of him going a distance,” he said. “The rider thinks he'll be great going long. I never thought he was a sprinter. That he did so well in sprints kind of surprised me. At the end, he always has a lot left.”

The Advent is a $150,000 race and will be run on opening day at Oaklawn.

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Second Chances: Nightmare Debut ‘Effort’ for Liam’s Map Filly

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

Off as the 2-1 favorite on debut, it was an uphill battle from the start for Effortlesslyelgant (f, 2, Liam's Map–County Clare, by Uncle Mo) at Churchill Downs Nov. 23.

“It was kind of what I'd call a nightmare scenario, but that's horse racing,” owner Alex Lieblong said with a laugh.

Off a beat slowly from post three, the $475,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase was on the move and traveling nicely to race in a close seventh as the field of 12 bunched up through an opening quarter in a swift :21.81 for their six-furlong journey.

Forced to steady sharply in traffic nearing the three-eighths pole, Effortlesslyelgant had her work cut out for her with only two rivals beaten as they approached the top of the stretch. Quietly making some progress down the lane, jockey Ricardo Santana, Jr. tipped the gray out into the clear with a furlong remaining and she came blitzing home over the top in a field-best :12 to finish a promising fourth, beaten just 1 1/2 lengths behind fellow firster Neutralize (Runhappy).

Trained by Norm Casse, Effortlesslyelgant received a 66 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

“She was a tick slow coming out and then that one filly came over on her,” Lieblong said. “That started the rodeo and it just kept progressing. To be honest, I think at the end, Santana said, 'Well, I'm gonna let her relax and get her somewhat of a good feeling coming out of the race.' He never hit her with the stick–never touched her. It's a tough old game, but she looks like she has some talent.”

Effortlesslyelgant is the first runner that Lieblong has had with Casse. She will spend the winter at Oaklawn Park. The chairman of the Arkansas Racing Commission also recently sent horses to Riley Mott for the first time. The son of Hall of Famer Bill Mott won the first race of his fledgling training career in November.

“It's time to get some of these younger guys a leg up,” Lieblong said. “Because the industry needs 'em.”

Bred in Kentucky by Offshoot Farm LLC, Effortlesslyelgant is the first foal out of the unraced 8-year-old Uncle Mo mare County Clare, a half-sister to the ill-fated MGSW Indyanne (Indian Charlie). Effortlesslyelgant is bred on the same cross as Crazy Beautiful, one of seven graded winners for young sire Liam's Map. Lieblong has enjoyed previous success with the Lane's End stallion via GISW Wicked Whisper (Liam's Map), who sold for $2.9 million to Whisper Hill Farm at last month's Fasig-Tipton November sale.

“We were really tickled with the filly and her family,” Lieblong said of Effortlesslyelgant. “She looked a lot like Indyanne, who Bo Hunt had also purchased. I like Liam's Map–he can get you a good horse.”

The 'Second Chances' honor roll is headed by two-time Breeders' Cup winner and new Ashford Stud stallion Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner and Lane's End stallion Honor A. P. (Honor Code), GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody's Wish (Curlin) and MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags).

This term's GI Carter H. winner and new Darley stallion Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), GI Preakness S. third-place finisher Creative Minister (Creative Cause), Curlin S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Artorius (Arrogate) and Cinema S. winner and GII Del Mar Derby third War At Sea (War Front) have also been featured in the series.

Other standouts include: GSW Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), GSW & MGISP Spielberg (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), MSW and 'TDN Rising Star' Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}); and GISP A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo).

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Owner of Champions Willis Horton Dies

Willis Horton, an owner and breeder in Thoroughbred racing for decades whose Willis Horton Racing campaigned champions Will Take Charge (Unbridled's Song) and Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), passed away Friday at the age of 82 after a bout with COVID-induced pneumonia. The news was first reported by Daily Racing Form.

Originally from Zach, Ark., Horton grew up on a farm and competed in rodeos. His wife of 64 years, Glenda, had a similar upbringing, and the two owned quarter horses before branching out into the world of Thoroughbreds. Horton's home racing base was Oaklawn Park, and he maintained a cattle operation at his farm in Marshall, Ark.

“Oaklawn sends our condolences to the entire Horton family and the racing community,” Oaklawn Park said in a tweet. “Willis Horton will be greatly missed by everyone that knew him.”

Horton's family founded D.R. Horton Homes in 1978, which grew to become America's largest homebuilder with revenue over $27 billion. The company has more than 11,000 employees and is traded publicly on the New York Stock Exchange.

As an owner, Horton's career reached new heights with D. Wayne Lukas trainee Will Take Charge, who won five graded stakes as a 3-year-old in 2013, including the Grade I Travers S. and GI Clark H., and was runner-up in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic en route to champion 3-year-old male honors at the Eclipse Awards. The chestnut, who Horton purchased for $425,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, currently stands at Three Chimneys Farm and was represented this past Friday at Keeneland by GII Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix S. winner Manny Wah.

Soon after Will Take Charge's breakout Travers score, Horton went to $435,000 to secure Take Charge Brandi at KEESEP. Named after Horton's granddaughter, she scored in the 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and added a victory in the GI Starlet S., also under Lukas's tutelage, to be named champion 2-year-old filly. In the fall of 2015, Horton sold the filly for a whopping $6 million at Keeneland November.

Horton also scored major victories in the 2007 GI Kentucky Oaks with Lemons Forever (Lemon Drop Kid) and more recently in the 2019 GII Rebel S. with Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy) and this year's GII Oaklawn H. with Last Samurai (Malibu Moon).

Horton is survived by his wife Glenda Holsted Horton; his son Kevin Horton and wife Laurie; his granddaughters, Tressa de Miranda and husband Ben, Brandi Horton and fiancé Grant, and Courtney Matyja and husband Shay; his great grandchildren, Wyatt Dale, Emma Pearl, Noah Matyja and Chloey Matyja; his brother Leon Horton; and his sister-in-law Wilma Horton.

Visitation will be held Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 12-2 p.m. at the Roller-Coffman Chapel (923 US-65, Marshall, AR 72650). A funeral service will be held Tuesday at 3 p.m. at the same location.

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Oaklawn To Offer End-Of-Season Trainer Bonus

Trainers who compete at the 2022-2023 meeting at Oaklawn Park will be eligible for thousands of dollars in incentives owing to a new program sponsored by Oaklawn and the Arkansas HBPA.

The 'Stay Until May' bonus will reward traines with $200-$250 for every non-stakes runner that fails to hit the board. Trainers are required to run at least two horses during the final 14 days of the racing season and one over the course of the last nine programs. According to a release, the total bonus payout could reach as much as three-quarters of a million dollars.

“We've always taken great pride in the fact that Oaklawn has among the largest fields in American racing,” Oaklawn Racing Secretary Pat Pope said. “And, while the trainers of the top finishers are richly rewarded, this enables us to also show appreciation to trainers who help make our races go even if their starters finish fourth or further back.”

Pope said that the concept, which was first discussed last May by track officials and the HBPA, was unanimously endorsed by the latter's board once finalized. The exact bonus will be $200 for every non-stakes starter that finishes fourth through last from opening day [Dec. 9] through Sunday, Apr. 2. The bonus will then increase to $250 starting Apr. 7 and through the balance of the meet, which concludes May 6.

“The Arkansas HBPA felt there were several reasons to endorse this bonus program, but mainly we wanted to try to help the trainers with the small to mid-sized operations,” said HBPA President Bill Walmsley. “The racing industry is a lot healthier with these trainers in business. We're fortunate at Oaklawn to have a healthy purse account, so it seemed like a good time to implement this program and hopefully it will encourage horsemen to stay until the end.”

Purses are projected to be a record $50 million during the 2022-2023 season. This would put average purses at more than $735,000 per day. All allowance races will be more than $100,000 and maiden special weights will start at $90,000.

The first condition book and stall applications can be found at https://www.oaklawn.com/racing/horsemen/. Stall applications are due Thursday, Oct. 13. The stable area opens Tuesday, Nov. 1 and the track opens for training on Saturday, Nov. 5.

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