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Baffert Trio Faces Undefeated Astute In Starlet Stakes

Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella will seek his first win in the $300,000 Starlet Saturday at Los Alamitos when he sends out the undefeated Astute in the final Grade 1 of 2020 for 2-year-old fillies. The race at 1 1/16 miles is being offered at Los Alamitos for the seventh time after 33 renewals as the Hollywood Starlet (1981-2013) at Hollywood Park. Post time is 12:30 p.m. The Starlet is the fifth of nine races and has an approximate post time of 2:30 p.m.

Owned by LNJ Foxwoods, Astute, a daughter of Speightstown and the Langfuhr mare Discerning, went gate-to-wire in her Oct. 12 debut on turf, then moved to dirt and stretched out an extra eighth of a mile to win the 6 1/2 furlong Desi Arnaz Stakes by 7 1/2 lengths Nov. 14 at Del Mar. Hall of Famer Mike Smith, who won the 2015 Starlet with Street Fancy, retains the mount on Astute, who has banked $93,000.

Seeking his fourth consecutive victory in the Starlet, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert entered a trio – Princess Noor, Kalypso and Varda. Baffert's three Starlet wins in succession – all in tandem with jockey Drayden Van Dyke, who will ride Varda Saturday – have been provided by Dream Tree (2017), Chasing Yesterday (2018) and Bast (2019).

A $1.35 million purchase at the OBS sale in April by Zedan Racing Stables Inc., Princess Noor suffered her first loss in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 6 at Keeneland after beginning her career with three easy wins in California. A Not This Time filly out of the Wilko mare Sheza Smoke Show, Princess Noor broke her maiden Aug. 22 at Del Mar, then won back-to-back graded races in a span of 20 days, taking the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante Sept. 6 and the Grade 2 Chandelier Sept. 26 at Santa Anita.The 19-10 favorite in the Breeder's Cup Juvenile Fillies, Princess Noor wound up fifth, beaten a bit more than four lengths by Vequist. She's earned $363,000.

Owned by Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen, Kalypso, a daughter of Brody's Cause and the Malibu Moon mare Malibu Cove has one win in three tries and has banked $64,100. The $240,000 yearling purchase earned her victory in a stakes, leading throughout in the Anoakia Oct. 18. The Starlet will be her first venture beyond six furlongs.

A Distorted Humor filly out of the Sky Mesa mare She'll Be Right owned by Baoma Corporation, Varda has been away since finishing a distant second in the Chandelier. She graduated first time out by 3 1/4 lengths Aug. 30 at Del Mar and has banked $73,000 in her two races.

Completing the field is Nasreddine, a $10,000 supplement by owners Andrew and Rania Warren. Trained by Michael McCarthy, the daughter of Nyquist and the Sky Mesa mare Appreciating, Nasreddine has a win in two starts and earnings of $45,200. The $360,000 yearling purchase scored a 7-1 upset over maidens at six furlongs Nov. 7.

From inside out, the field for the Starlet: Kalypso, Abel Cedillo rides, 120 pounds; Nasreddine, Tiago Pereira, 120; Princess Noor, Victor Espinoza, 120; Astute, Mike Smith, 120 and Varda, Drayden Van Dyke, 120.

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Graded Stakes Winner Silverfoot Euthanized At 20

Silverfoot, the aptly-named gelding who became a fan favorite in turf marathons at tracks in Kentucky and throughout the Midwest, was euthanized Tuesday morning at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital due to complications of aging and the debilitating hoof disease laminitis. He was 20 and had been spending the past decade in retirement, most recently at Ballyrankin Stud in Lexington.

Bred by owner Stephanie Clark and campaigned in the name of her Chrysalis Stables, Silverfoot won 11 of 40 starts spread over 10 seasons with trainer Dallas Stewart, earning $949,503 before his 2010 retirement.

“Silverfoot was a true champion,” Clark said. “I owe him so much. He gave me so many heartfelt moments.”

Silverfoot's five graded-stakes victories included three straight in Churchill Downs' Grade 3 Louisville Handicap at 1 3/8 miles, starting with his stakes debut in 2004. His richest score came in Kentucky Downs' $200,000 Kentucky Cup Turf in 2005, when he defeated the Grade 3, 1 1/2 mile stakes' two-time winner Rochester by 6 3/4 lengths. After missing his entire 7-year-old season with an injury, Silverfoot returned at age 8 to win Arlington Park's Grade 3 Stars and Stripes. His last of six stakes victories overall came as a 9-year-old in Arlington Park's Tin Man Stakes.

While not the best horse in his division, the gelding became one of the most popular, with his longevity and striking almost-white coat, flowing flaxen tail, and normally a late running style. It was largely all or nothing with Silverfoot, who accrued one second and two thirds in his long career while racing against America's top turf horses. His second came by only three-quarters of a length to 2004 Breeders' Cup Turf winner Better Talk Now in Monmouth Park's Grade 1 United Nations in 2005, a race in which Silverfoot uncharacteristically found himself on the lead in a race devoid of pace.

“Very sad to hear,” Stewart said of Silverfoot's passing. “He was and is truly one of my favorites.”

Silverfoot was foaled at and spent much of his retirement in a life of leisure on Ann Britt's Maresgate Farm in Finchville. The horse came by his ethereal coloring honestly, being a son of the roan or gray turf champion With Approval (a son of the gray Caro) and out of Clark's roan mare Northern Silver, herself a daughter of the silver-looking Silver Ghost.

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Misread Tattoo Causes Confusion In Maryland: Rescued Mare Is Not Saskawea

A recently rescued Thoroughbred mare in Maryland has left quite a few people puzzled over the past few days. According to an article on Canadian Thoroughbred, she was originally believed to be the Canadian earner of over $750,000, Saskawea. When the story started to circulate, racing fans immediately took notice.

The mare now named Quizzical Quartz was saved from a neglectful situation by Days End Horse Rescue in 2019. Due to a mistake when reading her lip tattoo to try to identify her and the fact that the two horses had almost identical markings, they incorrectly came to the conclusion that she was the Ontario-bred 16-year-old stakes winner by Stormy Atlantic, Saskawea. This was quickly checked by Canadian Thoroughbred and proven to be false.

After Canadian Thoroughbred tracked down the last known owner of Saskawea through public auction records, Tommy Wente of St. Simon's Place in Lexington, Ky was not pleased upon hearing of the mistake made in regards to the mare he purchased for $2,500 at the Keeneland January sale in 2017. He went on to mention that she does not have foals anymore, but has had embryos flushed and surrogate mares producing Quarter Horse foals.

Days End Horse Rescue took action within an hour of being notified and apologized for the misunderstanding.

“We so regret there was an impact to Tommy, he was getting calls,” said DeEtte Hillman, Equine Programs Director for Days End, to Canadian Thoroughbred's Jennifer Morrison. “We had supplied all the content for the story, nothing appeared in print and it has since been re-written.”

Quizzical Quartz is now thriving in her next career as a riding horse with her adopter, Devon Griffin.

Broodmare Field Turned Training Center: Michelle Nihei’s Story Of Success

Michelle Nihei's Circle 8 Ranch was originally nothing more than an old broodmare field with unseen potential according to Thoroughbred Racing Commentary. When she laid eyes on it, it became a series of furlongs and gallop sets in her mind, and would eventually contribute to her multiple graded stakes wins as a trainer.

The broodmare field eventually turned into a one mile circuit that Nihei has her horses complete three times as part of their daily training and a six-furlong left-handed reseeded turf course. She has seen great results with this facility. The horses are more relaxed and happy and not quite as high strung as you might see on the racetrack.

“When they go back to the racetrack after a couple of months,” said Nihei to Thoroughbred Racing Commentary's Patrick Lawrence Gilligan. “everyone who has ridden them both before and after says it is remarkable how much stronger they are and how much better they takes the turns because now they know how to lift that shoulder instead of just flattening around the turn.”

Nihei was born in Calgary in Western Canada. Her father was a scientist and her mother was a lawyer. Before she began her career in the Thoroughbred industry, Nihei followed in her father's footsteps as a neuroscientist.

Nihei eventually realized she wanted to ride horses for a living instead of neuroscience and made the switch from lab coats to jeans and a helmet by becoming an exercise rider and then assistant to Todd Pletcher. She had the opportunity to gallop some of Pletcher's most well known horses like Scat Daddy, English Channel, and Pollards Vision.

“It was an amazing fantastic experience,” said Nihei to Gilligan. “Everything I know about breezing horses I learnt from Angel Cordero and Johnny Velasquez. I was getting on ten a day sometimes. It was the best education you could get.”

Eventually a riding injury caused her to take a step back from exercise riding and led her to becoming a trainer. That is how she ended up in the presence of her future Grade 1 winner, Prince Will I Am. Michelle still rides Prince Will I Am to this day and now refers to him as her Prince Charming.