The richest event is the $1-million GI Coolmore Turf Mile, while the purse for the GI Darley Alcibiades S. has been increased by $100,000 to $600,000. The Franklin S., raised to Grade II status for this running, will receive a $50,000 boost to $350,000. Of the 22 added-money events, 12 are slated for the turf and 10 on the dirt, with six programs offering multiple stakes. The Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund is contributing $1.3 million to Fall Meet stakes purses, pending approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

“The strength of the Fall Meet stakes schedule reflects our focus on providing the highest-quality racing for our horsemen and fans,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing Gatewood Bell said. “With these additional increases, all Grade I stakes are now worth a minimum of $600,000; all Grade II stakes are $350,000; Grade III races are $300,000; and listed stakes are $250,000. We believe these purse levels will attract the best in the sport and make for an exciting fall season of racing.”

The traditional kick-off to the Fall Meet is 'FallStars Weekend' Oct. 6-8, with eight 'Win and You're In' qualifiers for various Breeders' Cup divisions. The opening day Alcibiades is complemented by the GII Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix S. and the GII Jessamine S., sponsored for the first time by the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, taking place Nov. 7. The Saturday, Oct. 7 card features the Coolmore Turf Mile, the GI Breeders' Futurity–in its 10th year of sponsorship by Claiborne Farm–and the GII Thoroughbred Club of America S. as Breeders' Cup qualifiers, while the GI First Lady S. and GII Woodford S. are also set for day two of the meet. All three races on the Sunday program offer Breeders' Cup berths: the GI Juddmonte Spinster S., the GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. and the Listed Indian Summer S.

The 40th running of the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Oct. 14 anchors the second week of racing and will bring together some of the world's top 3-year-old turf fillies over nine furlongs on turf in the race first contested in 1984 to commemorate the Queen's visit to Keeneland and Lexington. The GIII Sycamore S. and  Franklin are set for Oct. 13 and Oct. 15, respectively.

The GII Lexus Raven Run S. and GIII Rood & Riddle Dowager S. feature the weekend of Oct. 21 and 22, while the GIII Valley View S., the GIII Hagyard Fayette S. and GIII Bryan Station S. are slated closing weekend Oct. 27 and 28.

The post Keeneland Fall Stakes Worth A Record $9.05M appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}), the even-money choice to become Brown's fifth winner in this prestigious affair, broke through with a career high in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. July 9 and added the GIII Jockey Club Oaks Invitational S. at Aqueduct Sept. 17 two starts later. She cuts back in trip to 1 1/8 miles here.

McKulick is named in honor of Brown's first-ever employee, bookkeeper Mary McKulick. McKulick passed away two years ago at the age of 67 after losing a battle with cancer.

Brown will also be represented by Gina Romantica (Into Mischief), heroine of Saratoga's Riskaverse S. Aug. 25 and runner-up as the favorite in the GIII Pebbles S. at Aqueduct Sept. 18 in her first two tries on grass.

'TDN Rising Star' New Year's Eve (Kitten's Joy), upset winner over McKulick in the GII Edgewood S. in the spring, cuts back in trip as well following a flat fourth as the favorite in the Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs Sept. 5.

Bellabel (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) ships in from Phil D'Amato's Southern California base following a solid second-place finish behind the talented Spendarella (Karakontie {Jpn}) in the GI Del Mar Oaks Aug. 20. She may have a pace advantage over her six rivals in a race lacking early speed.

Last term's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf heroine Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), meanwhile, is the one to beat in Saturday's GII Sands Point S. at the Belmont at the Big A meeting. The 5-2 morning-line favorite makes her first trip to the post for Christophe Clement since an eighth-place finish in the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot June 17. The field of nine also includes Exacta Systems Dueling Grounds Oaks one-two Vergara (Noble Mission {GB}) and Skims (GB) (Frankel {GB}); and narrow GIII Lake George S. runner-up Eminent Victor (Mr. Z).

Saturday's graded action is rounded out by Woodbine's GIII Ontario Fashion S.

The post Sophomore Turf Fillies Enjoy Saturday Spotlight appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Much has been written in the past few weeks about the christening of the “QEII” and its beginning to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Central Kentucky–and Keeneland–in 1984. As such, there have only been 38 runnings and a good third or so of the winners are too young to have yet given a fair representation of their ability as producers.

In spite of the abbreviated list in a sport full of history, a handful of the previous QEII winners have already passed on some very special ability. Following are the some of the most important QEII winners by what impact they have had on the sport through their sons and daughters.

Memories of Silver (1993, Silver Hawk–All My Memories, by Little Current): Who can forget the signature blaze of this wonderful Darby Dan/Galbreath/Phillips mare coming down the stretch in so many top turf contests? Her prowess continued as a producer with four stakes winners, including MGISW Winter Memories and GSW La Cloche. Her descendants in just the last five years have included French MGSW Spinning Memories (Ire), as well as U.S. GSWs Hawkish and Bellavais, plus MSW & MGSP Winter Sunset and GISP Seasons.

Perfect Arc (1992, Brown Arc–Podeica {Arg}, by Petronisi {GB}): Only one daughter produced any foals, but they include 2019 Canadian Horse of the Year and three-time Canadian turf female champ Starship Jubilee, whose nine graded wins on both sides of the border included the 2020 GI Ricoh Woodbine Mile over males. Perfect Arc was bred in New York by Delehanty Stock Farm.

La Gueriere (1988, Lord At War {Arg}–Lady Winborne, by Secretariat): Bred by Wimborne Farm, she kicked off her broodmare career with MGSW & MGISP Lasting Approval and eventually added GISW Icon Project, as well as two other stakes performers. One of the nation's current leading sires, MGSW & MGISP Munnings, is out of a daughter, as is GSW Fashion Business (GB).

Lotka (1983, Danzig–Kennelot, by Gallant Man {GB}): This Kennelot Stables/Henryk de Kwiatkowski homebred produced three black-type winners, including GSW & GISP Lotta Dancing, while her daughters and granddaughters have produced GISW Centralinteligence and GSW Fantasticat, as well as Chilean G1 winners Kurilov (Chi), Kitcat (Chi), Knockout (Chi), Kossimo (Chi), and Kirikina (Chi).

The post Background Check: Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Keeneland has planted six cherry trees–three on either side of the infield tote board–in tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away Sept. 8. A lifelong horsewoman, Queen Elizabeth II attended the races at Keeneland Oct. 11, 1984, for the inaugural running of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, for which she presented the trophy. The 39th edition of the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, presented by Dixiana, will be contested Saturday.

The tree planting at Keeneland is part of The Queen's Green Canopy initiative to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee and to serve as a living legacy to her “extraordinary service to her country and her people.”

“Queen Elizabeth II was an unmatched horsewoman and a tremendous patron of Thoroughbred racing,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “We were fortunate to have welcomed The Queen to Keeneland and Central Kentucky, and her visits to the Bluegrass created a lasting connection. We are honored to pay tribute to her racing legacy.”

The post Keeneland Honors Queen Elizabeth II appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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In the starting gate for the G1 stakes, with the field of ten lined up and ready to go, Lady Speightspeare acted up, necessitating all ten horses be backed out as the fractious filly required a veterinarian's examination before being allowed to continue. Lady Speightspeare was a late scratch, reducing the field to nine.

They broke cleanly from the Keeneland gate, with Chad Brown trainee Technical Analysis taking the lead over the yielding turf course. Prat settled Shantisara in fourth around the first turn, improving to third down the backstretch. Around the final turn, with Technical Analysis still the front runner, Shantisara angled three-wide to find a running lane for her stretch bid.

In the Keeneland straight, Shantisara took over the lead from Technical Analysis early, easily drawing away from the field in the last furlong. Technical Analysis held on for second, Burning Ambition third. Nicest was fourth, with Queen Goddess, Closing Remarks, Cloudy Dawn, Flippant, and Emperess Josephine rounding out the order of finish.

The victory is trainer Chad Brown's fourth in the G1 stakes. He has also won with Dayatthespa (2012), Rushing Fall (2018), and Cambier Parc (2019).

The final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:48.86. Find this race's chart here.

Shantisara paid $7.00, $3.80, and $3.00. Technical Analysis paid $4.20 and $3.80. Burning Ambition paid $6.20.

“I expected her to run really well because (of) the way she breezed last time (5 furlongs in 1:03.40 over the turf at Keeneland a week earlier). She improves all the time. She's coming along. This filly, she has a really good talent. She handled the turf really well here,” Baldo Hernandez, assistant to Chad Brown, said after the race.

“It was a good run. I was really pleased with the draw (post 3), to be honest. I thought the good horses were around me, and I was able to keep tracking them. She made a really good move around the turn – she came really handy around the turn – and when I asked her to make a move she responded well,” Prat told the Keeneland Press Office after the G1 stakes. “She broke well and I was able to tuck her in right away and she switched off nice. I was traveling super and, like I said, when it was time to go, she was there for me.”

Bred in Ireland by Oliver Donlon, Shantisara is by Coulsty (IRE) out of the Dalakhani mare Kharana (IRE). The 3-year-old filly is owned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC, and Robert LaPenta. She was consigned by Aguiar Bloodstock and sold to agent Federico Barberini for $13,171 at the 2020 Tattersalls Guineas Breeze-Up Sale. With her win in the G2 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, Shantisara has three wins in six starts in 2021, for a lifetime record of 9-5-2-0 and career earnings of $788,108.

The post Shantisara Wins Again, Gives Brown Another QE II Cup Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Delayed a few minutes after the gate scratch of Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown), Shantisara, who was sent off at 5-2 behind the slightly more fancied 2-1 European invader, settled just off the early pace as stablemate Technical Analysis led into the first turn while under mild pressure from Empress Josephine and Burning Ambition through a :23.91 quarter. Inching her way forward following a half-mile in :48.63, Shantisara started to put the screws to the front runners midway on the far turn. Overtaking the weakening favorite turning for home, she collared the pacesetter in early stretch and drew off with ease to score by five lengths. Burning Ambition rounded out the trifecta. Empress Josephine faded to last of nine.

Shantisara's margin of victory is the largest in the history of the race, eclipsing the 4 1/2-length victory by Hot Cha Cha in 2009. The win also gave Brown his record fourth victory in the race following Dayatthespa (2012), Rushing Fall (2018) and Cambier Parc (2019) to break a tie he held with Jimmy Toner and John Veitch. Brown also won the GII Sands Point S. with Fluffy Socks at Belmont Park earlier in the afternoon.

“It was a good run and I was really pleased with the draw [post 3],” said winning rider Flavien Prat. “She broke well and I was able to tuck her in right away and she switched off nice. I thought the good horses were around me, and I was able to keep tracking them. She made a really good move around the turn–and when I asked her to make a move, she responded well. I was traveling super and, when it was time to go, she was there for me.”

Jose Ortiz, who partnered runner-up Technical Analysis, added, “She broke good, went to the lead and was a little keen early on. We set pretty decent fractions and I had plenty [of horse left] turning for home, but the other horse was just better. My filly was very relaxed [when they had to back the field out of the starting gate]. She's always a little nervous, but actually when they backed them up she was able to stand a little bit behind the gate and she relaxed a little bit better. I have no excuses; she ran her race.”

As for the beaten favorite, John Velazquez said, “It was going well until I [asked her for more] and she didn't go anywhere. She didn't have it. She didn't show up today.”

Shantisara, a winner of two of five starts for trainer Frederic Rossi in France, launched her U.S. campaign with a runner-up finish in Monmouth's Boiling Springs S. in June before breaking through with a three-length score in Arlington's nine-furlong GIII Pucker Up S. Aug. 14. Stretching out to 11 panels for her latest, she came home a 1/2 length on top in Belmont's Jockey Club Oaks Invitational Sept. 18.

“I expected her to run really well because of the way she breezed last time [five furlongs in 1:03.40 over the turf at Keeneland a week earlier],” explained Baldo Hernandez, assistant to winning trainer Chad Brown. “She improves all the time. She's coming along. This filly, she has a really good talent. She handled the turf really well here.”

Pedigree Notes:
With a Grade I win under her belt, Shantisara (Ire) moves to the head of the class for young sire Coulsty (Ire) and revives a previously prolific female line that had recently fizzled. Second-crop stallion Coulsty, who stands in Ireland's County Kildare at Rathasker Stud, has another Group winner in Santosha (Ire), as well as two additional listed winners, all in his first crop of 45 foals. Shantisara's broodmare sire, European Horse of the Year Dalakhani (Ire), will be far more familiar to Americans with the 41 stakes winners out of his daughters including 2019 English, French, and Irish champion Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal). Shantisara is the only runner out of her dam, the unraced and late Kharana (Ire). Interestingly, Kharana's dam was also unraced and her only winner was in Greece. Shantisara's third dam was a listed winner and Group-placed in Ireland, but also produced little of note. However, Shantisara's fourth dam was French champion Kozana (GB) (Kris {GB}), who counted U.S., Irish, and English champion High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) among her grandsons.

Saturday, Keeneland
QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP S. PRESENTED BY DIXIANA-GI, $500,000, Keeneland, 10-16, 3yo, f, 1 1/8mT, 1:48.86, yl.
1–SHANTISARA (IRE), 121, f, 3, by Coulsty (Ire)
                1st Dam: Kharana (Ire), by Dalakhani (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Khantala (Ire), by Zafonic
                3rd Dam: Khanata, by Riverman
1ST GRADE I WIN. (10,000gns 2yo '20 TATGBR). O-Michael
Dubb, Madaket Stables LLC & Robert V. LaPenta; B-Mr Oliver
Donlon (IRE); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Flavien Prat. $300,000.
Lifetime Record: 9-5-2-0, $788,108. Werk Nick Rating: A.  
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Technical Analysis (Ire), 121, f, 3, by Kingman (GB)
                1st Dam: Sealife (Ire), by Sea The Stars (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Bitooh (GB), by Diktat (GB)
                3rd Dam: Sitara (GB), by Salse
'TDN Rising Star' (200,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Klaravich
Stables, Inc.; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited (IRE); T-Chad C.
Brown. $100,000.
3–Burning Ambition, 121, f, 3, by Uncle Mo
                1st Dam: Do You Remember (Saf) (G1SW-SAF,
                GSP-Aus, $166,603), by Silvano (Ger)
                2nd Dam: Festive Occasion (Saf), by Casey Tibbs (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Noble Feast (Saf), by Al Mufti
O/B-Michael De Broglio (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $50,000.
Margins: 5, 1 3/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 2.50, 3.10, 10.50.
Also Ran: Nicest (Ire), Queen Goddess, Closing Remarks, Cloudy Dawn (Ire), Flippant, Empress Josephine (Ire). Scratched: Lady Speightspeare. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Lady Speightspeare was 2-for-2 in 2020 and had punched her ticket to the Breeders' Cup with a victory in the Natalma (G1) at Woodbine. After being sidelined, she did not return to the races until Sept. 6, when she scored a front-running 2-length victory at Woodbine.

“I was hoping to be here in the spring and at Saratoga in the summer,” trainer Roger Attfield said. “She is fine now and ready to carry on with her life. Hopefully, she will have a nice, long career and this is the next step up.”

The next step up is Saturday's $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1) Presented by Dixiana going 1 1/8 miles on the grass, the surface on which Lady Speightspeare has made all of her starts.

Lady Speightsphere arrived at Keeneland from Woodbine Wednesday night and has trained on the main track the past two mornings with a visit to the starting gate being a part of Friday's activity. Ally Walker has been aboard both mornings.

Attfield trained Lady Speightspeare's dam, Lady Shakespeare, who won the Bewitch (G3) here in 2010 for Fipke and was fourth I the 2009 Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup,

“They are similar in a number of ways,” Attfield said of mother and daughter. “They are both very sensible and good to work with and always feeling good.”

Emma-Jayne Wilson, who has been aboard for all of Lady Speightspeare's starts, will be aboard Saturday.

The post Unbeaten Lady Speightspeare Ready For ‘Next Step’ In Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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First, in the backyard of Windsor Castle, William Haggas saddles the unbeaten star of his Newmarket stable, Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. at Ascot. Then, just a few hours later, he will see whether Cloudy Dawn (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) can export the GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.

Be in no doubt, an elite prize on either side of the ocean–both honoring one of the patrons of his own yard–is a day's work well within the reach of one of the premier English trainers of his generation. Two weeks ago, Haggas sent out eight winners at five different tracks in one afternoon. That might seem a relatively feasible endeavor in the American system, Jeff Runco having saddled seven state-bred winners on a single card at Charles Town only last week, but it is thought to be unprecedented in Britain. Regardless, you can judge the precision with which Haggas places his horses from the last time he sent Cloudy Dawn into action, at Deauville in August. She was first of four winners either side of the English Channel within 40 minutes, three at Group level, at cumulative odds of 4,252-to-1.

This upgrade for Cloudy Dawn duly implies that her progress must be ongoing. But a race so hospitable to the strengths of European raiders, true to the diplomatic spirit of its creation, also features one whose campaigning invites horsemen on both sides of the water to ponder their collective management of the breed.

For it was only last Saturday that Empress Josephine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) finished strongly for third in the GI First Lady S. This same formula worked for Ballydoyle 10 years ago with another daughter of Galileo, Together (Ire), who similarly finished strongly for a podium against her seniors before wheeling back to beat fellow sophomores the following weekend. (And Together, moreover, had run in a Group 1 at Newmarket just two weeks before the First Lady.)

Empress Josephine (left), third just last week in the First Lady | Coady

Now this kind of thing has long been a familiar trademark of their record-breaking trainer, Aidan O'Brien. Partly, no doubt, that has been a luxury of his status as primarily a private trainer. Federico Tesio, who was similarly in the business of proving stock for breeding, ruthlessly diverted even elite animals to the service of their workmates as soon as he felt he had established their ceiling. And O'Brien has always said that his employers–renouncing the nervous protection of reputations that once inhibited so many commercial operations–urge him to use the Ballydoyle talent pool as a means of drawing out its deepest genetic resources. John Magnier had plainly decided that the cyclical, dynastic nature of breeding made it a better play, in the long term, to be sure what you had.

As a result, O'Brien has been able to produce breeding stock that repeats its brilliance because it's encased in corresponding hardiness. The most celebrated example among stallions he has made is Giant's Causeway, whose ferrous qualities were such that the aggregate winning distance across his last eight starts–five as winner, three times as runner-up, over different distances and surfaces but all at Group 1/Grade I level–was barely a couple of lengths. But O'Brien has frequently hammered wonderful careers out of fillies, too, by plunging them unsparingly into the forge.

That of Peeping Fawn (Danehill), for instance, was compressed between April and August of her sophomore campaign, and included four starts in maidens. Eleven days after the last of those, she ran third in the G1 Irish 1,000 Guineas–and then second in another Classic, over half a mile farther at Epsom, just FIVE days after that. Time for a break? Forget it. Later that month she was launched on a spree of four Group 1 wins, each more impressive than the last, within 54 days.

All horses are different, naturally, and a genius like O'Brien will clearly tailor his methods to their individual needs. And being totally ignorant of what makes Malathaat (Curlin) tick, for instance, it would be invidious to rebuke her Halley's Comet schedule. In broader terms, however, I think we are all entitled to regret those changes in either the breed or training methods, or both, that nowadays inhibit the way racehorses are campaigned.

Flippant brings a three-race win streak to her first GI test | Coady

We owe nearly all the copper-bottomed influences in postwar American pedigrees to an old school testing of their genetic selection for the kind of robust constitution required to carry speed. Hail to Reason's career notoriously derailed in its first September, but he had already made 18 starts. Nashua won a maiden on debut, in May, and was contesting his second stakes 14 days later.

John Williams, such a precious and enlightening conduit of the best old lore, has always said that this horse was his physical paragon. John will tell you that just looking at Nashua's shoe, even as an ageing stallion, would explain how he had sustained a juvenile championship, 2-1-1 finishes in the Triple Crown, and a Jockey Club Gold Cup over four seconds faster than his first. Eddie Arcaro once told John how he was wondering what to say as Nashua returned from one of his occasional dud works, but before he could say a word Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons had sent him straight back out to do it again. This time Nashua put in a bullet, and he won the Wood Memorial three days later.

Now you may say that it would be reckless to train horses like that today. But I'm not sure O'Brien would agree with you and, if the Thoroughbred really is less resilient today, then that may well reflect a far more culpable recklessness among breeders.

Earlier this week colleague Emma Berry broke the story in TDN Europe that G1 2,000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace S. winner Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire})–who this spring contested three Classics in 22 days–has been acquired to stand in Japan. Poetic Flare, remember, was bred and trained by Jim Bolger, once mentor to the young O'Brien. And you can be sure Bolger approves what his former protégé is doing with Empress Josephine, as another 2021 Classic winner from the same school of Irish horsemanship.

As a stud prospect, Poetic Flare offered precisely what we need to staunch the genetic losses being suffered by the breed today. Unfortunately, however, European commercial breeders have unanimously written off his sire and none of them, despite the evidence before their eyes, appears to accept that worthwhile strains in a pedigree might filter through regardless. (Ironic, really, when Poetic Flare satisfies the Galileo-Danehill blend they hold so sacred.)

Maybe an imaginative farm in Kentucky might have taken a chance with Poetic Flare, but the environment there would have been no less wholesome. Despite the vogue for importing yearlings from Tattersalls, everyone can see how hard it is even for proven turf stallions, never mind extremely credible new ones, to get commercial traction in the domestic yearling market.

Bassett and The Queen before the 1984 inaugural race in her name | Keeneland photo

Once again, then, the Japanese have been able to consolidate a program that will eventually leave the transatlantic gene pools to repent, too late, of their disastrous recent schism. One keen observer of the breed will surely not need reminding of what has been lost as a result. During the war her father bred a filly named Knight's Daughter, who was exported to Claiborne and a couple of years later delivered a Princequillo colt. His name was Round Table, and he won just the 43 of 66 starts.

By the same token, then, perhaps The Queen will also be glad to see a daughter of Tapit in the Keeneland race run in her name. The Gainesway phenomenon has been given mysteriously little opportunity in Europe, despite a dazzling winner of the historic Cambridgeshire H. from a very small sample of runners. Tapit's stock actually has a pretty respectable record on turf in the U.S., bearing in mind that it's an option typically only even tried for horses appearing short of ability on the main track. Certainly Flippant has been thriving on the grass, and we wish her connections well in a race they would prize dearly.

We can't all benefit from the length of perspective shared by Mr. Bassett and The Queen of England, now approaching a combined 195 years. But maybe Empress Josephine or Flippant, between them, can at least get a few people to see a slightly bigger picture.

The post This Side Up: A Warning Flare Illuminates Empress Bid appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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International racing will take center stage and Jason Whitham will be on-site at Randwick for the $15 million Everest on Friday as defending champion Classique Legend squares off against a field of eleven rivals. Post time for the Everest is 10:15 p.m. PT/1:15 a.m. ET. There are two Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” Challenge Series races scheduled for Saturday from Ascot – the QIPCO Champion Stakes (G1) which earns the winner a berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) which will qualify the winner for the Breeders' Cup FanDuel Mile (G1). These are the final two qualifiers of the year for the 2021 Breeders' Cup which will be held November 5-6 at Del Mar.

TVG's Todd Schrupp, Caton Bredar, Gabby Gaudet, Caleb Keller, Scott Hazelton and Joaquin Jaime will be trackside from Keeneland with exclusive interviews, analysis and handicapping selections throughout the weekend. The featured race is the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1) for sophomore fillies on the turf. The race has drawn a field of ten including Group 1 winner Empress Josephine (IRE), third-place finisher in the First Lady Stakes (G1), for trainer Aiden O'Brien.

At Santa Anita, TVG's Mike Joyce, Christina Blacker, Britney Eurton, Simon Bray and Kurt Hoover will be live at Santa Anita with coverage of the weekend's races. The California breeding program will be in the spotlight in Saturday's featured race, the $100,000 California Distaff Stakes. The turf sprint for fillies and mares has drawn a field of six including graded stakes winner Warren's Showtime for trainer Craig Lewis. The consistent daughter of Clubhouse Ride will have Juan Hernandez aboard as she aims for her second win of the year.

Sunday will also feature the third annual telethon to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF). Fan favorite jockeys of today and years past will be on hand live at call centers in California and Kentucky from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET. Throughout the day, TVG will be connecting with personalities and horsemen who have been involved with the PDJF's work in support of jockeys who have suffered serious on-track injuries. Fans are encouraged to donate by calling 1-844-TVG-PDJF or through the PDJF website.

In addition to racing from Keeneland and Santa Anita, will also be featuring Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park and more. Fans can tune in on TVG, TVG2 and the Watch TVG app which is available on Amazon Fire, Roku and connected Apple TV devices.

The post International Racing, Stakes From Keeneland And Santa Anita Highlight TVG’s Weekend Coverage appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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In terms of achievements, Shantisara (IRE) could be considered first based on money earned as she's just $12,000 short of a half-million dollars, the majority of that earned winning the non-graded but very classy $700,000 Jockey Club Oaks Invitational last month at Belmont Park.

Then there's Empress Josephine (IRE), who along with Nicest (IRE) has faced the toughest competition of any horse in the field. Empress Josephine (IRE) won the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas in May and comes back on six days rest after finishing third last week in the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes at Keeneland. Nicest (IRE) finished third in the Irish Oaks when last seen in mid-July and the horse that won the race is top European filly Snowfall, who recently finished sixth against some of the toughest males in the world in the Group 1 Prix De l'Arc de Triomphe.

Technical Analysis (IRE) enters this race off a victory in the Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes, while Flippant just won the Virginia Oaks at the distance of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup. Closing Remarks is another who has been competitive in top company as she finished second in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks in her most recent race. Burning Ambition is yet another recent stakes winner, having captured the Indiana Grand Stakes last month.

Cloudy Dawn (IRE) makes her North American debut and when last seen in August she was victorious in the Group 3 Prix de Lieurey so is another not to be taken lightly. Queen Goddess and Lady Speightspeare both enter this race off allowance wins and for Lady Speightspeare it was her first start following nearly a year away from the races. Just prior to the layoff she won the Grade 1 Natalma Stakes.

Empress Josephine (IRE) has the best credentials in the field and one of the best Equibase® Speed Figure earned by any filly in this group, a 113 when third last week in the First Lady Stakes at a shorter distance on the Keeneland Turf. In that race Empress Josephine (IRE) raced mid-pack in sixth of 12 in the early stages and steadily made up ground to finish third, just a half-length from the runner-up, with the winner another half-length in front. She had just run four weeks earlier in Ireland when fourth of 13, beaten a head for second, in the very important Group 1 Matron Stakes. That effort earned a 115 figure and she had earned a 114 figure in May when winning the Irish 1000 Guineas.

No other horse in the field, except Nicest (IRE), has broken through the 110 figure threshold so considering Empress Josephine (IRE) has done it three times this season, she appears to be the one to beat. As a daughter of amazing sire Galileo, Empress Josephine (IRE) should appreciate the extra eighth of a mile and she adds blinkers as well, likely suggested by top jockey John Velazquez, who returns to ride after being aboard last weekend. There's also no concern about the filly returning so quickly because her trainer is one of the best in the world in Aiden O'Brien, who according to a Race Lens query has only run two horses back on a week's rest in the past five years. One of those was Athena, who won the 2018 Belmont Oaks easily off a similarly short respite. Even more significant is the fact that Together (IRE), who was a daughter of Galileo and who was trained by O'Brien, finished second in the 2011 First Lady Stakes then went on to win the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup one week later.

Flippant may be a live longshot candidate although she has won three races in a row, two of those stakes races. Flippant won the Preview Dueling Grounds Oaks Stakes in August with a 98 figure then improved to 100 at the end of August when victorious in the Virginia Oaks at the same nine furlong trip of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup. In the Virginia Oaks, Flippant put in a furious rally from 11th with a quarter mile to go and was never really asked as she lengthened her stride to win going away. The 100 figure earned is a far cry from any of the three best figures Empress Josephine (IRE) has earned but Flippant has the pattern to improve, and the breeding to run very well. The Race Lens report on her dam, Frivolous, shows that mare won the Grade 1 Fleur de Lis Stakes at this distance on dirt as well as won on turf, and the report on her sire Tapit shows me his daughter Time and Motion won the 2016 edition of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup so there is a lot of potential for this filly to run well.

Cloudy Dawn (IRE) and Nicest (IRE) are both nice fillies who have faced some tough competition in Europe and who could both have a say in the outcome of this race. Cloudy Dawn (IRE) just won a group three stakes in Europe, the equivalent of a grade two stakes in North American, and she was flattered when the runner-up came back to win her next race. Trainer William Haggas hasn't started many horses in North America in the past few years but one of them was Call to Mind, owned by Her Majesty the Queen, who shipped in to win the 2018 Belmont Gold Cup. Nicest (IRE) has been facing top company just like Empress Josephine (IRE) and that alone warrants consideration as a contender. She finished third of 13 in the Ribblesdale Stakes in June at Royal Ascot and followed that up with a third place finish behind top European three year old Snowfall in the Irish Oaks in mid-July. That last effort earned a 116 Equibase Figure and if she can repeat or improve off that effort nearly three months later she could certainly be in the thick of the action at the wire in this race.

The rest of the field, with their best Equibase® Speed Figures, is Burning Ambition (83), Closing Remarks (101), Lady Speightspeare (98), Queen Goddess (91), Shantisara (IRE) (101) and Technical Analysis (IRE) (100).

Top Win Contender:
Empress Josephine

Other contenders:
Flippant
Cloudy Dawn (IRE)
Nicest (IRE)

Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes presented by Dixiana – Grade 1
Race 8 at Keeneland
Saturday, Sept. 16 – Post Time 4:44 PM E.T.
One Mile and One Eighth on Turf
Fillies, Three Years Old
Purse: $500,000

You can get Ellis' full card detailed analysis and betting recommendations for all the races at Keeneland at Equibase.com, TrackMaster.com and most online wagering sites.

The post Equibase Analysis: Empress Josephine Could Rule In QEII Challenge Cup appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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