Thousand Words ‘Peaking At The Right Time’ For Kentucky Derby Bid

Albaugh Family Stables' and Spendthrift Farm's Thousand Words defeated top three Kentucky Derby candidate Honor A. P. in his most recent start, the listed Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar, but the 3-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile will likely have double digit odds on Sept. 5. In an interview with America's Best Racing, the Albaugh's racing manager Jason Loutsch reported that Thousand Words is in great form ahead of the Run for the Roses.

“He came out of the race tremendous,” Loutsch said, referring to the Shared Belief victory. “He is doing really, really good. He is peaking at the right time. We're excited.”

The winner of both the G2 Los Alamitos Futurity last fall and G3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February, Thousand Words started to go off form in March of this year.

“The horse has a little bit of an attitude,” Loutsch said. “He needed to mature and just wasn't happy. He needed to get healthy and happy and feeling good. He ran a dull race in the San Felipe Stakes (4th) and then we shipped him to Oaklawn Park (for the April 11 Oaklawn Stakes, in which he finished 11th). It was a sloppy track and he broke terrible. We thought if we gave him 30 days off we'd still have time with the Derby delayed this year.

“That's the only real positive for us in the COVID deal. It's been a difficult year for all of us. The only positive is that we gave the horse a little time to mature, he got happy and it allowed us to qualify for the Derby.”

Thousand Words is scheduled to arrive at Churchill Downs on Monday, alongside stablemate Authentic.

Out of the talented sprint mare Pomeroys Pistol, Thousand Words was a $1 million yearling at the Keeneland September sale. The colt was bred in Florida by Hardacre Farm, and has a record of four wins and a second from seven starts with earnings of $327,000.

Read more at America's Best Racing.

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Thousand Words Re-Enters Kentucky Derby Picture, Beating Honor A.P. In Shared Belief

Albaugh Family Stables and Spendthrift Farm's Thousand Words made every pole a winner Saturday in upsetting the $100,000 Shared Belief Stakes by three-quarters of a length at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif. In the process, he may have bought himself a ticket to the 2020 Kentucky Derby, to be run on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs.

The Pioneerof the Nile colt, ridden by Abel Cedillo and trained by Bob Baffert, took the lead right out of the gate and held off all challenges, including one from the 1-5 favorite Honor A.P. under Mike Smith. The latter was bumped from the outside coming out of the starting gate by Cezanne, a Baffert-trained stablemate of the winner who veered inwardly at the break under Flavien Prat.

The 1 1/16-mile feature went with only four runners when two of its 3-year-olds — Uncle Chuck and Anneau d'Or — were scratched Saturday morning.

“He (trainer Bob Baffert) just told me to warm him up real well, then get him out of there,” said Cedillo. “Then see what happens. He broke well and I saw I could take the lead, so I did. He was going along there steady, steady, steady. Then we got it done.”

“I told Abel (Cedillo) to jump him out of there and I thought he and Cezanne would be 1-2,” said Baffert. “Turning for home I could tell that Honor A.P. wasn't running like he usually does. Cezanne got really tired, but Thousand Words … I could tell when we got down here that he was a different horse from Los Alamitos and the real Thousand Words showed up today. His whole mind changed. His color has changed. He had soured out on me, but we got him going the right way. I think he earned his way to the Derby.”

With the victory, Thousand Words earned 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, and now ranks seventh on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard among potential runners, with 83 points.

Updated Kentucky Derby points leaderboard

Thousand Words covered the distance in 1:43.85 after setting fractions of :23.89, :47.93, 1:12.33 and 1:37.44. He returned $20.40 and $3.40. Honor A.P. returned $2.10 to place. There was no show betting.

John Sondereker's Kiss Today Goodbye finished third and Coolmore partners' Cezanne was fourth and last.

Thousand Words earned $60,000 for his tally and pushed his bankroll to $327,000, after winning his fourth race in his seventh start. Produced from the Pomeroy mare, Pomeroys Pistol, he was bred in Florida by Hardacre Farm and sold for $1 million by Brookdale Sales at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

The stakes win is the third of the meet for rider Cedillo, but his first in the Shared Belief. He now has five stakes wins at Del Mar.

As for Honor A.P., Mike Smith said: “He ran well, but we're disappointed he didn't win. I haven't been able to get on him in the mornings and I think that's made a difference. He's just been going along there not doing much in the mornings. I need to be on him and get more out of him. But that's the way it is now; that's just the way it is. This distance (mile and one-sixteenth) is too short for him, too. Just not his day.”

 

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Saturday’s Racing Insights: $510K Pioneerof the Nile Colt Debuts at KEE

2nd-KEE, $70K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 1:39 p.m. ET
John Oxley’s PALAZZI (Pioneerof the Nile) makes his career debut for trainer Mark Casse. Out of the stakes-winning and multiple graded-placed sprinter Kindle (Indian Charlie), the $510,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling graduate is a half to two-time winner Made in America (Tiznow). A year earlier, Palazzi realized $375,000 at Keeneland in November, while his year-younger brother, by American Pharoah, brought $2.2. million at that venue in September. Also worthy of note is first-time starter SWILL (Munnings), trained by Brad Cox, who has a 18% strike rate with his juvenile firsters. Campaigned by Kueber Racing and Ten Strike Racing, the bay was a $265,000 Fasig-Tipton July yearling purchase, making him the second highest-priced offspring and the top priced colt by Munnings sold at auction in 2019. TJCIS PPs

7th-Mth, $45K, Msw, 3yo/up, 5 1/2fT, 3:38 p.m. ET
Klaravich Stables’ ABUSE OF POWER (Karakontie {Jpn}) debuts for trainer Chad Brown following a series of four works over the seaside track’s dirt oval. A $460,000 OBS April juvenile purchase after breezing a furlong in :10 flat, the grey is the top-priced of 15 juveniles sold by the sire in 2019. Stakes-placed dam Oblivious (Cozzene) is already responsible for the stakes-winning Street Storm (Stormy Atlantic). TJCIS PPs

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Goffs Orby Topper Starts at Newbury

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Sunday’s Insights features a €3.2-million Goffs Orby sale-topping full-sister to two Group 1 winners.

1.25 Chantilly, Cond, €28,000, 3yo, f, 10 1/2fT
BONNE IDEE (GB) (Frankel {GB}) created a big impression for the Andre Fabre stable when winning a Lyon-Parilly maiden last month and takes the next step towards grander targets here. Khalid Abdullah’s daughter of the smart Mirror Lake (GB) (Dubai Destination) and half to the Australian Group 2 winner Imaging (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) faces four rivals over the course and distance of next month’s G1 Prix de Diane, for which she holds an entry.

1.55 Leopardstown, Debutantes, €12,000, 3yo, f, 8fT
SATIN AND SILK (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is Coolmore’s John Gunther-bred 900,000gns Tattersalls October Book 1 purchase and she debuts in blinkers for Ballydoyle. A half-sister to the GI Florida Derby hero Materiality (Afleet Alex) and GII Gazelle S. winner My Miss Sophia (Unbridled’s Song), she faces 14 here.

2.30 Leopardstown, Debutantes, €12,000, 3yo, c/g, 8fT
NAPA VALLEY (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is one of two from Ballydoyle with Seamie Heffernan siding with this half-brother to the star sprinting juvenile Tiggy Wiggy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) who holds an entry in Wednesday’s G3 Hampton Court S. He is joined by Ramesses the Great (Pioneerof The Nile), another bred by John Gunther this time in partnership with Winstar Farm and a $575,000 Keeneland September half-brother to last year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Classic hero Vino Rosso (Curlin).

3.15 Newmarket, £5,400, 3yo/up, f/m, 7fT
CRESSIDA (GB) (Dansili {GB}) is yet another John Gosden-trained 3-year-old filly to fascinate, being Juddmonte’s full-sister to the GI Beverly D. S. dead-heating runner-up Grand Jete (GB) from the family of the sires Showcasing (GB) and Camacho (GB). Not seen since a taking winning debut at Kempton in July, the homebred is joined by the stable’s unraced Spiritus Sanctus (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Lady Bamford’s 600,000gns Tattersalls December Foal purchase who is a full-sister to the high-class Ektihaam (Ire).

5.0 Newmarket, £6,400, 3yo/up, f/m, 12fT
DO YOU LOVE ME (IRE) (Galileo {Ire}) is the 2018 Goffs Orby topper at €3.2million who debuts for Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited and Karl Burke. The full-sister to the Group 1-winning duo Forever Together (Ire) and Together Forever (Ire) and half to fellow top-level scorer Lord Shanakill (Speightstown) meets Godolphin’s National Treasure (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), Charlie Appleby’s twice-raced relative of the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Wrote (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) who fetched €500,000 at the same ground-breaking auction.

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