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After enjoying quite the prosperous season at Saratoga Race Course last summer, Dean and Patti Reeves of Reeves Thoroughbred Racing are primed for more success at racing's most prestigious meet.

The residents of Suwannee, Georgia won five stakes during the eight-week 2022 meet, visiting the winner's circle twice with Big Invasion in the Grade 3 Quick Call and the Mahony. They also garnered stakes glory at the Spa with Dakota Gold [NYSSS Cab Calloway] and Isolate [Tale of the Cat], as well as City Man [Grade 3 Forbidden Apple], who they co-own with Peter and Patty Searles.

Most Thoroughbred owners can only dream of having the meet the Reeves had last year, but Dean expressed confidence that just as much success can be had this summer.

“Last year, we didn't really expect to win five stakes, but I think we're pretty confident this year,” he said. “I don't know if we can match or better that number, but I think we're coming into this year in good shape. We have confidence in our horses and we're hopeful that we have a good group. I think we're coming in with a good group of horses to compete. How well we do at the end of the day, we'll just have to wait and see.”

The Reeves are hopeful to kick off his meet in similar fashion on Saturday, when they have three entrants for the 11-race card, including Grade 3 Kelso aspirant Big Everest – co-owned with Steven Rocco and William Branch – who rides a four-race win streak into the one-mile inner turf test for trainer Christophe Clement. Also representing Reeves are the Clement-trained Breeze Easy, co-owned by R.A. Hill Stable, and Steven Rocco and Tango Uniform Racing co-owned Silver Skillet, who targets Saturday allowance company.

“I would love to jump to an early lead in the owner's standings,” Dean said, with a laugh. “I think all of them have a good shot. Having three horses in on Saturday will be a big day for us. We'll have our family up here that weekend and we're really looking forward to it.”

Big Everest is sure to show his frontrunning fashion when he contests Grade 1 winners Annapolis and Casa Creed in the Kelso. A 5-year-old British-bred son of The Gurkha, Big Everest makes his graded debut following stakes scores at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Artie Schiller in November and Danger's Hour in April before taking Monmouth Park's Cliff Hanger on May 27.

“I think he's put it all together,” Dean commented. “He wasn't hard on himself like he used to be and now he can set a good pace and we're excited about the Kelso. He'll be tough if he's out there on the lead.”

Reeves' confidence is partly fueled by the fact that three of their four stakes heroes from last year will return to the Spa this summer in pursuit of more stakes glory. All but Isolate, who was privately sold to Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi after last season, will be amongst their arsenal.

The Reeves hit the ground running last year when Clement trainees City Man and Big Invasion captured their respective graded stakes wins on Opening Weekend.

City Man, a New York-bred son of Mucho Macho Man, earned his first graded stakes triumph in last year's Grade 3 Forbidden Apple [now run as the Kelso] after previously winning four stakes. The hardy 6-year-old rounded out last year with state-bred stakes scores in the Ashley T. Cole and Mohawk at Belmont at the Big A before taking the Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale on New Year's Eve at Gulfstream Park. City Man has not raced since a late-rallying score in the May 29 Kingston at Belmont Park and will eye a mid-August return.

Big Invasion returned from his Quick Call win to capture Saratoga's Mahony in August. He began his 2023 season with a victory in the Silks Run on March 4 at Gulfstream two starts before finishing second in the Grade 1 Jaipur on June 10 at Belmont and 13th in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee two weeks later at Royal Ascot. Big Invasion could potentially race back at some point during the end of the meet in the $150,000 Harvey Pack going 5 1/2 furlongs on September 2.

“Last year, we didn't know how good Big Invasion or some of those others that won some of those races were,” Dean said. “City Man stepped up and won a graded stake and had a phenomenal year. Whether he can match that this year, I don't know. He's back now jogging and probably will have a work sometime soon. That trip to England was a long roundabout for Big Invasion. I'm hoping he'll be ready by the end of the meet.”

Dakota Gold also returns to the Spa after capturing the state-bred Hudson Valley on July 3 at Belmont for trainer Danny Gargan with an eye on the $135,000 Fasig-Tipton Lure on August 5. The son of veteran New York sire Freud showed vast improvement from his sophomore season, where he had a tendency to be not as focused in his races. As a juvenile, he defeated open company in his second career start, taking the one-mile Nownownow at Monmouth Park.

“I think Dakota Gold has shown that he's been running well, so we may put him back in one of those [open company] stakes,” Dean said. “I thought I saw it in his last race. He was much more engaged the entire trip. When asked, he didn't fool around, he really got into a good mode of finishing and finished up strongly down the stretch. I think he's running as well now as he has since we've had him. Danny has done a good job getting him ready to go. You never want to miss any of those New York-bred stakes, but you would want to try an open company stake if they fit. So, we're going to have to see if we can fit some open company stuff around the New York-bred races.”

The Reeves additionally own Dakota Gold's Gargan-trained sophomore half-brother Ramblin' Wreck, owned in partnership with Peter and Patty Searles, who became a stakes winner in the last out NYSSS Spectacular Bid on June 18 at Belmont Park. The son of Redesdale made his 2023 debut in the seven-furlong test for eligible New York-sired 3-year-olds and is now on target for the $150,000 NYSSS Cab Calloway on July 20. Both Ramblin' Wreck and Dakota Gold are out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Dakota Kid.

“I think he's going to be really tough in the New York-bred races. He's consistently improving and hopefully, he'll match his big brother,” Reeves said.

Gargan spoke high volumes of training for the Reeves.

“They're very patient,” Gargan said. “The biggest factor is when you want to give a horse time and turn them out, Dean always says, 'Yes' and does the right thing. That really makes it easy. I love going to their farm and seeing all the babies train in the winter.”

The Reeves also have horses with trainers George Weaver and Tom Amoss and Patti Reeves noted her appreciation of their conditioners' dedication.

“It's a great testament to the trainers who keep them fit and our program, where we cycle them down and let them have some time off at our farm in Micanopy, Florida. We let them rest during the winter and get them ready for Saratoga,” Patti said.

Patti expressed a sense of enthusiasm to be back at the Spa.

“We're excited and ready to be back,” Patti said. “Win or lose, we have always have a great time in Saratoga.”

The post Dean, Patti Reeves Poised For Another Whirlwind Summer At Saratoga appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The sixth panel of the OwnerView Virtual Thoroughbred Owner Conference held Tuesday, July 11, featured jockeys Katie Davis, Sophie Doyle, Tyler Gaffalione, and Chris McCarron discussing how they prepare mentally and physically for race day. The panel was moderated by OwnerView's project manager, Gary Falter.

The conference is hosted by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and sponsored by Bessemer Trust, Stoll Keenon Ogden, and The Green Group. This panel was sponsored by MyRacehorse and Walmac.

Attendees were able to ask questions through Zoom's Q&A feature, sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds.

The panel started with videos created by America's Best Racing of Doyle riding in the 2019 Breeders' Cup and Gaffalione in the 2019 Louisiana Derby followed by a discussion on the dedication and lifestyle of a professional jockey, fitness requirements, nutrition, preparing for a race, and coming back after injury.

“It requires a lot of dedication,” Doyle said. “I've found throughout my career that it was one of those careers that you have to literally put it before everything else.”

“Staying on top of working out is super important, even if that's 20 or 30 minutes a day on top of working horses in the morning and getting out there and getting on as many as possible helps a lot,” Davis said. “It's a lifestyle. It's not for everybody.”

“We obviously have to maintain our weight, eat the right foods, fuel our bodies. It's just finding that balance that works for you,” Gaffalione said. “Personally, I can't lift too many weights because I gain too much muscle and muscle is heavy so I try to find other ways to keep my body loose and to kind of keep me sharp.”

McCarron summed up what it takes to get back to riding after an injury.

“The one thing you have to be careful about as a jockey post injury is that you maintain yourself on a regimen of a good diet,” he said. When you are in the position of going through a healing process, your body really needs as much nutrition as you can give it, so you've got to find the balance between the proper nutrition to aid in the healing process without putting on any weight.”

A replay of the jockey panel and previous panels can be viewed here: bit.ly/OVVideos.

There are five more Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels scheduled for 2023, with the next session, Buying at Public Auctions, to be held August 8 at 2 p.m. ET. A full schedule can be found here: bit.ly/OVSchedule.

There is no registration fee for the virtual conference series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at 859.224.2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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A proud graduate of the prestigious College of William & Mary and a former teacher and coach at his hometown high school in Virginia, Ferris Allen III knows the value of education.

Now, the licensed Thoroughbred trainer of nearly 50 years with nearly 2,300 career wins to his credit based at Laurel Park is funding a scholarship program he hopes will help others in their educational pursuits.

The Ferris Allen Bootstraps Scholarship was launched last month by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association with the goal of providing up to $10,000 annually for qualified college or university students.

Qualified candidates include those who have been employed on the backstretch at Laurel Park or historic Pimlico Race Course or worked in another support area of Maryland's Thoroughbred racing industry over the past three years, and are enrolled in a four-year college or university for the fall of 2023.

“The idea behind it is to try to identify serious students that are trying to swing going to a four-year school and to give them a boost to get over the hump and help them so they don't have to incur so much debt to access an American dream,” Allen said. “We realize that $10,000 will not be enough to finance somebody's [entire] education, but it may be helpful enough for someone to keep going or to pursue their education.”

Allen, who serves on the MTHA's board of directors, said the idea for the scholarship stemmed from his desire to help the child of a former stable employee dating back to the early years of his training career, which began in 1976 after teaching government and coaching baseball and basketball for three years at Varina (Va.) High School.

“It could be any industry or any family situation. It's a tough climb. Social and economic circumstances are a huge factor in what kind of chance somebody has at success. This is one little thing we can do,” Allen said. “What we're after here is finding that kid that's affiliated with the backstretch that's trying to pull themselves up by the bootstraps through a college program and say, hey, we're fully supportive of you and here's some help.”

Allen has been a mainstay on the Maryland circuit for more than 40 years, receiving the Outstanding Service to Maryland Horsemen Award in 1990 and leading all Maryland trainers in wins in 1999. Among his many stakes winners are 1999 Barbara Fritchie (G2) winner Passeggiata, Chrusciki, Palette Knife, Miracle Wood and Wicked Awesome. Miracle Wood won four stakes and placed in seven others including seconds in the Jim Beam (G3), Woodlawn (G3) and Fairmount Derby (G3) in 1986, when he also ran fifth in the Preakness Stakes (G1), Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.

Applications for the Ferris Allen Bootstraps Scholarship are due Aug. 15 and can be completed at http://ferrisallenscholarship.com.

“I think there's certainly someone out there maybe going into their second year of college and living at home and finding it daunting,” Allen said. “We had a conversation the other day. Kind of the whole purpose of this thing is to find the right person. Yeah, it would be great if the right person finds us, but let's [also] do some real work and make some effort in trying to find them.”

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Defending Champion Jockey, William Buick is the first jockey to reach 50 victories this season, after landing the Unibet/British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes at Kempton onboard Works of Art, trained by Andrew Balding and owned by His Majesty The King. 

Buick, 34, is hoping to secure back-to-back titles and double his Flat Jockeys' Championship tally in the process. 

The 2023 Flat Jockeys' Championship is shaping up to be an enthralling contest and despite a relatively quiet start to the season, Buick has been firing from all cylinders recently, including when landing a four-timer at Windsor Racecourse on Monday 3^rd July. Buick's half century came from 265 rides with an impressive strike rate of 19%. 

Buick said on his season so far: “Reaching 50 winners is always nice, I am in a fortunate position, first and foremost with my job at Godolphin and I have been well supported so far this season, so hopefully that will remain the same and I can continue to be given some good opportunities.” 

Speaking on the 2023 Jockeys' Championship Buick said: “I haven't been thinking about the title too much, as it is still early in the season, I am always trying to improve myself however and make myself better. I have been taking each day as it comes and hopefully things will continue.” 

Three-time champion jockey, Oisin Murphy is close behind in second with 42 wins and a strike rate of 16%. Buick will be hoping to keep this momentum going this week however and he has some strong contenders at The Boodles July Festival at Newmarket Racecourse, including the unbeaten Great Truth for Charlie Appleby, who runs in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes on Saturday. Buick could also be on board the Ralph Beckett-trained and last year's Group 1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes victor, Kinross, In the Pertemps Network July Cup that same day. 

Closely behind Buick and Murphy are last season's joint runners up and racing's very own power couple, Hollie Doyle (third) and Tom Marquand (fifth). Doyle is fresh off the back of two very impressive performances of her own this week, after a four timer on Monday at Chepstow, followed by a treble on Wednesday at Lingfield. They will both be looking to close that gap this weekend. Doyle has 41 wins with a strike rate of 18% and Marquand has 39 wins with a strike rate of 14%. 

The Norwegian-born jockey Buick will be hoping he can extend his lead in the title race this weekend but let us not forget about another leading contender in Joe Fanning, who sits in fourth with 39 wins and a strike rate of 19% as he looks to win the title for the first time at the tender age of 52. 

The Flat Jockeys' Championship runs from Saturday 6^th May to Saturday 21^st October, when the Champion Jockey will be crowned in front of the crowds at QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse. 

The 2023 Jockeys' Championship table can be found here.

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