Therapist Upsets United Nations to Score First Grade I Victory at Eight

With the most starts in the field at 41 and the most claims under his girth in the last year with three, Therapist (g, 8, Freud–Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike) may not have appeared to be the one most likely headed back to the barn after Monmouth Park's GI United Nations S. as the winner. But like fine wine, he has improved with age, winning his first graded race earlier this year and adding his first Grade I score in Monmouth's Haskell undercard highlight. Therapist is 8-years-young.

Off at 12-1 in the $600,000 United Nations, Therapist broke cleanly from the inside and settled into a nice midpack spot as 58-1 longshot So High (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) showed the way through early :24.76 and :49.32 quarters. Unhurried, Therapist bided his time until the final turn, where he kicked on wide and rallied down the lane to reel in favored last-out GIII Monmouth S. winner Catnip (Kitten's Joy), who had tracked So High all the way before tackling him in the stretch. Therapist also held off a surging Red Knight (Pure Prize), a fellow older model who has had a resurgence of his own to win the GI Man o' War S. in May. Red Knight, like Therapist, hails from the barn of Michael Maker, who has now won this race three times since 2017.

“He's a really good horse,” said jockey Javier Castellano of the winner. “He's a long-distance horse. He seems to always maintain his rhythm. I knew that horse on the lead was going to stop. I just rode my race. I knew he was going to come back to us. I didn't want to chase him and not have anything left. It's a long distance. You have to have a lot of patience and have a lot of confidence in the horse. It's amazing that he won a Grade I race at 8-years-old. He's just a professional horse.”

Therapist has had a long career, breaking his maiden in 2017–three years before the competitors in the GI Haskell S., the next race on Monmouth's card–were even born. A multiple listed winner at two and winner of several black-type races in the ensuing years, he has clearly improved over time, adding his first graded win in Gulfstream's GII Pan American S. just this April. Last seen finishing second in the Chorleywood Overnight S. at Ellis Park June 17, Therapist was picked up by owner Michael Dubb for $50,000 at Gulfstream in January after he lost a $25,000 shake for him in December.

“I followed this horse throughout his career,” said Dubb, who was winning his third consecutive United Nations, although the last two were in partnership. “I knew the ability he had and that's why I claimed him.

“This is Mike Maker's sweet spot. When we got him the horse hadn't been racing this long and I asked Mike why he wanted to go this long. He said, 'I see it in the breeding.'”

Pedigree Notes:

Therapist is the fifth Grade I winner for New York's veteran star sire, Freud. The 25-year-old Sequel Stallions stalwart, a full-brother to the late Giant's Causeway, has 61 black-type winners bred in the Northern Hemisphere and 11 graded winners. Freud has three stakes performers out of Smart Strike mares, with two of those being Therapist and his younger full-sister, Fresco. Smart Strike currently sits second on the 2023 list of leading broodmare sires and has 164 black-type winners out of his daughters.

Now 20, Lady Renaissance has been sold since foaling Therapist and Fresco in the Empire State. She brought $52,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale from Dennis Yokum and was shipped to California. Her most recent produce is Seize the Derby (Carpe Diem), an unraced 3-year-old gelding. Lady Renaissance's lovely extended pedigree includes a granddam who is a half-sister to 1994 Broodmare of the Year Fall Aspen (Pretense), whose influence is still felt today.

Saturday, Monmouth Park
UNITED NATIONS S.-GI, $612,000, Monmouth, 7-22,
3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:14.50, fm.
1–THERAPIST, 124, g, 8, by Freud
               1st Dam: Lady Renaissance, by Smart Strike
                2nd Dam: Artistic, by Pirate's Bounty
                3rd Dam: Paintbrush, by Bold Hour
1ST GRADE I WIN. ($8,000 RNA Ylg '16 SARAUG). O-Michael Dubb; B-Oak Bluff Stable, LLC & C. Clement (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Javier Castellano. $360,000. Lifetime Record: 42-13-5-8, $1,353,815. *Full to Fresco, SW, $125,350. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Catnip, 124, g, 4, Kitten's Joy–Masquerade, by Silent Name (Jpn). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O/B-John Moore & Susan Moore (KY); T-Michael Stidham. $120,000.
3–Red Knight, 124, g, 9, Pure Prize–Isabel Away, by Skip Away. O/B-Trinity Farm, LLC (NY); T-Michael J. Maker. $60,000.
Margins: 1HF, 3/4, NO. Odds: 12.30, 1.20, 2.70.
Also Ran: Limited Liability, Planetario (Brz), Foreign Relations,
So High (GB), Yamato, Kygo (Ger). Scratched: Oceans Map.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV .

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Red Knight Upsets Kentucky Turf Cup

Red Knight blew up the tote at 15-1 in the GII Kentucky Turf Cup S. at Kentucky Downs Saturday, earning a spot in the gate for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf in November. Breaking sharply from his inside post, the chestnut settled back near the rear with just three of his 11 rivals beat through an opening half-mile in :49.72. Inching up a bit, but still biding his time through three-quarters in 1:14.52, Red Knight snuck up the outside to be within striking distance approaching the far turn. Four wide at the top of the lane, the gelding hit the front in mid-stretch and held off a late charge from Gufo and Another Mystery to spring the upset.

“He ran a great race at Colonial Downs,” said winning rider Gerardo Corrales. “This is the perfect distance for him, 12 furlongs. Gufo is a three-time Grade I winner. When Gufo came next to Red Knight, Red Knight actually saw him eye to eye and he got additional energy. He just never quit. He just kept trying.”

He added, “I've won two graded races in all my life, and they were this week with Kitodan in the [GIII] Dueling Grounds Derby and now with Red Knight.”

“I thought he was gonna get beat,” said winning trainer Mike Maker. “He dug in and fought hard. He is a fighter, he is a tough horse. He rode hm great and got him to the outside and go the job done.”

Winner of the GIII Sycamore S. back in 2020, Red Knight checked in second to GISW Arklow (Arch) in the GII Louisville S. last May and was fifth to recent GI Sword Dancer S. winner Gufo in the Grand Couturier S. last July. Fifth again in Saratoga's GII Bowling Green S. last summer, he was sixth in the restricted John's Call S. there a month later and was shelved for the season. Transferred from Bill Mott to Mike Maker in the interim, Red Knight rallied to victory in the Colonial Cup S. last out July 27 after 13 months on the sidelines.

Pedigree Notes:

Red Knight is a half-brother to MSW Macagone. Isabel Away's most recent produce is a 4-year-old gelding named Druid (Magician {Ire}).

Saturday, Kentucky Downs
KENTUCKY TURF CUP S.-GII, $694,180, Kentucky Downs, 9-10, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:26.96, fm.
1–RED KNIGHT, 124, g, 8, by Pure Prize
                1st Dam: Isabel Away, by Skip Away
                2nd Dam: Indio Rose, by Alydar
                3rd Dam: Misukaw, by Northern Dancer
O/B-Trinity Farm, LLC (NY); T-Michael J. Maker; J-Gerardo
Corrales. $317,130. Lifetime Record: 29-10-8-1, $1,210,388.
*1/2 to Macagone (Artie Schiller), MSW, $654,981. Werk Nick
Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Gufo, 124, h, 5, Declaration of War–Floy, by Petionville.
O-Otter Bend Stables, LLC; B-John Little & Stephen Cainelli
(KY); T-Christophe Clement. $186,000.
3–Another Mystery, 124, h, 6, Temple City–Ioya Two, by
Lord At War (Arg). O/B-Team Block (IL); T-Chris M. Block.
$51,150.
Margins: NO, NK, 1. Odds: 12.02, 1.63, 15.67.
Also Ran: Highest Honors, Admission Office, Arklow, Glynn County, Who's the Star, Rogue Element, Breakpoint (Chi), Temple, Keystone Field. Scratched: Militarist.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Sky Racing World Announces Historic Merger Of U.S., Argentinian Wagering Pools

Sky Racing World is excited to announce a substantial boost to its content portfolio of International Racing by facilitating the International commingling of wagering pools with host pools in Argentina on racing at Palermo Racetrack, Buenos Aires. On Monday, Jan. 3, the commingling of pools was made available for the first time ever on Argentinian horse racing from the Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo for the American, Canadian, Caribbean and other International markets. PGI (owned by Tabcorp) is the exclusive International Commingling hub for connecting into Palermo pools.

Simulcast is now available for all Palermo meetings on the SRW website, ADW websites, and the SRW App. The races will take place every Monday, including a mix of races on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday with first post at approximately 3 PM EST. The weekend dates change monthly and you can see the full calendar here.

This exciting news is all possible thanks to the work done by the Board and Management of Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo and their work with the government to pass legislation that allows international commingling. The Hipódromo Argentino de Palermo is home to some time-honored events, like the Estrellas Classic, Gran Premio Selección and the Gran Premio Nacional (The Argentine Derby) which started back in 1884.

American and Argentinian breeding have a rich connection that goes back many years. A great example of this is Pure Prize, a Grade 2 winner who sired Grade 1 performers in both countries. In total, Pure Prize has sired 13 crops of racing age and combined progeny earnings of nearly $75 million. He's not alone, as other great stallions Blue Prize and Hi Happy were bred in Argentina before moving north to win major races there. More recently, we saw Gouverneur Morris move over to Argentina when sold, after being a hopeful for the 2020 Kentucky Derby.

All races are live-streamed on the new Sky Racing World App, skyracingworld.com and major ADW platforms. Fans can also get free access to past performances and picks at skyracingworld.com.

Sky Racing World is a subsidiary of Tabcorp, Australia's biggest wagering and entertainment company. It retains the exclusive rights to distribute live racing from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, Singapore, and Japan (NAR) to territories across the Americas and the Caribbean. It also remains the leading digital source for premium tipping content from the Southern Hemisphere's leading race markets and live video broadcasts.

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Dual-Hemisphere Sire Pure Prize Dies In Argentina At Age 23

Pure Prize, a Grade 2 winner who had success at stud in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, died Saturday at Haras La Providencia in Argentina following complications from a stroke, the South American publication Turf Diario reports. He was 23.

A Phipps Stable homebred by Storm Cat, and out of the champion Heavenly Prize, Pure Prize raced for three seasons, and won five of 17 starts for earnings of $475,459. The Shug McGaughey trainee got better with age, earning his first graded stakes placing at four when he ran second in the Grade 3 Fourstardave Handicap. In his next and final start, he picked up his first graded stakes victory in the G2 Kentucky Cup Classic Handicap at Turfway Park.

Pure Prize retired to Vinery in Lexington, Ky., for the 2003 breeding season, and he remained there for every Northern Hemisphere season through 2012. He joined the rest of Vinery stallions in moving to WinStar Farm for the 2013 season. All the while, he shuttled to Argentina for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season, where he became a star.

Pure Prize was Argentina's leading sire in 2012 and 2013, he relocated to the country permanently during his second championship season, moving to Haras Carampangue.

The stallion was a steady producer of champions in Argentina, siring 2015 Horse of the Year Hi Happy, and year-end honor-earners Winning Prize, Ollagua, Jumbalaya, Puerto Real, and Kononkop, as well as Peruvian champion Hija Rubia.

Despite leaving the country nearly a decade ago, Pure Prize remained a stallion of note in the U.S., with several Argentine-breds that shipped north and won major races.

Chief among them was Blue Prize, who won the 2019 Breeders' Cup Distaff, and promptly sold to Larry Best's OXO Equine as a broodmare prospect for $5 million. After earning Argentina's champion 2-year-old colt and champion miler honors in 2012, Winning Prize shipped to Southern California, where he won the G1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita Park. Hi Happy came stateside after securing 2015 Horse of the Year honors and took a pair of graded stakes races, including the G1 Man O'War Stakes.

In terms of domestically-sired U.S. runners, Pure Prize's record is led by Grade 1 winners Pure Clan and Pure Fun, Grade 2 winner Dothraki Queen, and Grade 3 winner Birdbirdistheword, Red Knight, Holy Nova, and Now I Know.

In total, Pure Prize has sired 13 crops of racing age, with 1,138 winners and combined progeny earnings in excess of $74.9 million. He was pensioned from stud duty in 2016 and relocated to Haras La Providencia to live out his remaining days.

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