What Was Your Favorite Moment of 2023: Jake Ballis

As 2023 draws to a close, the TDN is asking industry members to name their favorite moment of the year. Send yours to suefinley@thetdn.com

Crimson Advocate winning the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot in a photo finish. It was a huge moment and accomplishment for my young syndicate.

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Porta Fortuna Is Medallion Racing’s Lucky Charm at Ascot

Ever since Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio)'s win in the G3 Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint S. at Naas last month, bloodstock agent Mark McStay had been pestering Taylor Made's Mark Taylor to make his plans to come to Royal Ascot. But the Taylor family is more known for probity and hard work than they are flights of fancy, and Taylor demurred, citing preparations for upcoming sales in America.

But when Porta Fortuna launched a determined bid and got up for the win in Friday's G3 Albany S. at Ascot to give Taylor Made's Medallion Racing partnership a win at the royal meeting, Taylor couldn't be blamed for maybe having thought twice about his decision.

“It's been two and a half hours, and I think my blood pressure has just come down to the point where I can have a conversation with you that you can understand,” said Taylor, reached after the race. “I'm a very superstitious person, so the agent who helped us find this filly, Mark McStay, he has been texting me literally three times a week since she won her last race, saying, `you've got to come, you've got to come, you've got to come.' And historically, any time I go to great lengths to see a race, things never go well. So, I've got a lot going on here, I've got to get ready for sales season, I'm not going. When I was watching the race, there were 18 horses, some of the best two-year-olds that have come out in Europe so far are in this race, and I thought if we could crack the top four it would be a great accomplishment. I was trying to temper everybody's expectations, and then when she put on that move and put everybody away. It was just surreal. I was watching it, saying, `is this really happening?' It was fantastic.”

Medallion and its partners-Barry Fowler, Steve Weston and Dean Reeves-bought the filly after the win at Naas, telling the TDN at the time that the partnership tries to buy one or two horses a year in Europe.

“I was very happy for our partners, both our partners in Medallion Racing that enable our team to go build the stable and also the people that come in alongside us like Barry Fowler, Steve Weston, and Dean Reeves because they put their confidence in us. With Steve Weston and with Barry, we've bought into some horses that have gotten hurt, didn't pan out, but they've stuck with us, and to see Steve Weston's silks cross the finish line at Ascot and to see him get to lead that filly in, it just really made me so happy because he's such a loyal guy, he's such a just great human being. I was crying for him, I was just so happy for Steve.”

Mark Taylor | Fasig-Tipton photo

Taylor said that Medallion has around 25 partners, each of which invests $50,000 or more in the partnership. The group raises from $1.2 million to $1.7 million every two years, only buys proven horses, and every partner is in on every horse.

“Our model is we buy all female horses and we buy horses that have already run who we believe have graded stakes talent off of what they've done so far. A lot of times, we have to pay; we're not stealing these horses. Everybody would like to go in and buy them, but we're also willing to let the existing partners stay in. A lot of times, we can leave them with the same trainer.”

In Porta Fortuna's case, they left her with her trainer, Donnacha O'Brien, son of the original owner, Annemarie O'Brien. Taylor said he felt that it was accommodations like that which help them to get a leg up on others who might be offering more.

“We try to be very accommodating partners, which allows us to get a crack,” he said. “Even though somebody else might offer more money, they're going to take the whole horse and do their own thing. So we try to be more flexible and just allow our people to participate on stages like Royal Ascot or the Kentucky Oaks or the Breeders' Cup or Grade Ones at big racetracks. Our theory is that once people get a taste of that, they might want to play on their own and take it to a larger level, or they might want to stay with this model. We have had some people that have gone outside and tried to do it themselves, which is great. It drives investment in the game.”

Porta Fortuna was well-represented by her American owners at Ascot this week, with Medallion's Philip Shelton as well as Reeves, Fowler and Weston, and at least six additional Medallion members on hand for the win. Ironically enough, it wasn't Taylor Made's only connections to succeed at Ascot this week. Other Taylor Made customers, Black Ridge Stable, won the Queen Mary with Crimson Advocate (Nyquist).

“We were going crazy for her when they won the other day, and then in my superstitious mind, I was like, `Well, there's no way two horses are going to win at Ascot with Taylor Made connections.' For it to happen twice, it was beyond words.”

In addition to creating and nurturing new owners, Medallion also has a goal of showing off the sport at its best.

“In Medallion, we want to educate the people who come into the sport about all aspects of racing, including international racing, and to showcase to them how well these horses are taken care of. So many people look at our sport and say negative comments like, `These horses are just pawns in this big game,' but they're really not. We partner with people and we employ trainers that really care about these horses. And we try to shed light on that anytime we can so that our partners can see these horses are really loved, they're cared about, and we cheer for them and love them whether they win or lose.”

And even if he wasn't on hand, Taylor said he'd celebrate the win in typical Ascot-and typical Taylor–fashion. “I will drink some champagne,” he said. “But I'll wait until 5:00 tonight.”

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Vendor Buyback To Royal Ascot Prospect – Gaenari Leaves Dias Dreaming 

While records were being broken at the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Sale on Friday, leading breeze-up handler Diego Dias showed that there is always another way to get a horse sold when sending out Gaenari (Ire) (Inns Of Court {Ire}) to finish second in the opening maiden on Guineas weekend. 

It was just over a month ago when Dias was forced to buy back Gaenari after she failed to put in the breeze he felt she was capable of doing. Devoid of any other options, Dias, backed by Star Bloodstock's Matt Eves, threw a set of silks on the filly nobody wanted at Doncaster. 

It looks to be a shrewd move now, given the filly was beaten just a neck by the fast-finishing Joseph O'Brien-trained Nemonte (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) in that six-furlong Curragh maiden. 

Dias and Eves are now dreaming of Royal Ascot with the filly and the Brazilian native says that he hopes to secure a sale before the G2 Queen Mary S. 

“It was almost a dream start,” Dias commented on his first ever runner. “The filly ran really well and was only caught in the last few strides. We brought her to Doncaster but she didn't put in the breeze that we knew she could and then nobody wanted her. She went into the ring and there was absolutely nobody for her–not one bid–so we bought her back for £3,000.”

He added, “We knew she was better than she showed at Doncaster. At the end of the day, horses are not machines and, sometimes they just don't turn up on the day. But on her homework at home, we knew that she had the potential.”

Gaenari was bred by Tally-Ho Stud, who sold the horse at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale for £23,000 to Byron Rogers and Star Bloodstock.

Of course, it is not the first time Eves has thrown a set of silks on a horse, with eagle-eyed observers remembering that it was his light blue and purple colours that were carried initially by Joseph O'Brien's listed winner Lady Penelope (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) a few years ago. 

Dias said, “I bought Gaenari with Byron Rogers at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale for £23,000 off Tally-Ho Stud. We had no other option but to race her and I just appreciate that Matt sent her to me. 

“We were quietly confident that she would run well, even though it looked a good maiden, and I think we will go to Royal Ascot with her now. The Queen Mary would suit her because she is a very quick filly.”

He added, “She could be sold before Royal Ascot. She is for sale and, if someone were to buy half of her and she stay in training with me, that would be the ideal option but we'll see what happens in the next few days.”

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‘We’ve Got A Queen Mary To Win’–US-Based Morley Hoping Bold Plan Pays Off

It was Mike Tyson who famously said, 'everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.' Racing is a sport where the metaphoric punches can be unrelenting. 

Therefore, when New York-based trainer Tom Morley dreamed up the idea of purchasing a filly with the idea of returning home to England to try and win the G2 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot, he knew the plan was a daring one. 

But credit to Cynane (Omaha Beach), bought for $250,000 through Oracle Bloodstock at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, she delivered a suckerpunch of her own when winning impressively on debut at Belmont Park last week. 

That performance put Cynane firmly in the Queen Mary picture, and Morley ever closer to a dream first winner back home in Britain at the royal meeting. 

“You don't often get emotional when you train horses that win maidens, but for the people involved in her ownership, it means an awful lot,” Morley told TDN Europe.

“I have trained for Gregg and Cathy Palesky [VinLaur Racing Stables LLC] for a long time and they haven't had a huge amount of luck. They did claim an Into Mischief filly called Xantique and she won a stakes race for them but they have had some bad horses in the meantime. It is huge for them. 

“West Paces have been wonderful supporters of our yard–are made up by a group of guys from Atlanta who I would describe as great mates–and they go to Royal Ascot every year. To be able to go with a runner is huge for them as well.”

He added, “Rainbow's End are also great supporters, and only have horses in training with me, so it's a really cool group of owners. 

“And then you realise what the horse herself has managed to do. She has put herself in the thick of things for the Queen Mary by being an impeccable student.”

That Belmont Park victory, where Cynane pulled clear of the short-priced Wesley Ward-trained favourite Sam's Treasure (Munnings), was the culmination of the excellent homework the filly had been showing ever since she was broken by Raul Reyes. 

Cynane was identified, like a lot of Morley's stock, by the Oracle Bloodstock team, who signed for the Hinkle Farms-bred and -drafted half-sister to classy middle-distance performer Cat's Claw (Dynaformer). 

Cynane | Chelsea Durand

Recalling what he liked most about Cynane as a yearling, Morley said, “The first time I saw her, I wrote, 'what a walk' and gave her two ticks. I went back through my Keeneland Sale catalogue and she was one of four fillies that I gave two ticks to. I absolutely adored her.

“Conor Foley, Jim Hatchett and Scotty Everett at Oracle Bloodstock do a lot of my short-listing at the yearling and 2-year-old sales. This filly was on their list. 

“Conor and I put her ownership group together and, I was so high on her, I probably would have gone strong on her if I had to. I'm delighted we didn't have to. She's obviously got a very strong female family and looks to have given herself a real shot at competing on a huge stage.”

Morley added, “She was the only one who we bought last year with Ascot in mind. We wanted to give her every opportunity to do this if she could. I said to Raul Reyes when she went down to Florida, train her like a very, very precocious two-year-old until she tells you that she can't do it, and then we'll just build her back to what we normally do. 

“On March 2, he rang me and said, 'Tommy, that filly is leaving tomorrow,' and I said, 'Raul, well done.' That's how it went.”

“She has never missed a day of training and eats like a pig, so it's all credit to her. You can't miss a day if you are going to do this. Then you have to be enough to deal with Wesley [Ward] on debut. It's then, and only then, when you can start to think about trips like this.”

The seeds of this Royal Ascot plan were not set back in September when Morley first set eyes on Cynane but much further back than that. The son of a successful breeder and owner, he is also the nephew of multiple Group 1-winning trainer David Morley, whose Royal Ascot victory in the Gold Cup with Celeric (GB) (Mtoto {GB}) sticks out in the memory for the young handler. 

A graduate of the Godolphin Flying Start programme, Morley could have set up training anywhere in the world, but on the advice of his former boss in Newmarket Jeremy Noseda, took out his licence in America. Fast-forward 13 years and he is still there, building his stable bigger and better, season after season. 

“I started off with Eddie Kenneally in Palm Meadows and Brendan Walsh was an assistant there at the time. We then went to Keeneland, followed by Churchill, and by the time I got to Saratoga, I thought 'this is a wonderful life'. 

“Then I began to think about what it would take to get started up in England compared to America. You don't need an enormous amount of capital over here. I literally started training with one horse, one bridle, one saddle, two water buckets and a feed tub. That's it. 

“I groomed the horse every morning and my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife [Maggie], rode him out and he won his second race for us. That was it, we were up and running at that point.”

He added, “I just felt that young people get afforded a little bit more of an opportunity out here. It's very hard to break into the upper echelons as a trainer anywhere in the world but we have been lucky this year in that I came back very strong about the bunch of yearlings we purchased and am very strong on our 2-year-olds for this year. You've got to feel good about the horses you are going to war with on a circuit like New York. For me, it's the toughest place in America to be competitive.”

Morley's confidence behind Cynane's ability to handle the demands of the royal meeting stems from his insight into the tried-and-trusted criteria that Noseda followed so successfully during a golden period in the early noughties. 

Tom and Maggie Morley | Walter Wlodarczyk

He explained, “Jeremy used to come to America to buy fillies just like Cynane and we would have runners and winners every year in the Queen Mary. This filly reminds me enormously, physically, of the fillies that Jeremy used to be so successful at buying in America and bringing back to Europe to have a crack at these races. 

“This is the model that Jeremy used to buy so I will have to credit my ex-boss for giving me the idea on what to look for physically on a Queen Mary type. I was very fortunate to be there for Laddies Poker Two (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}), Fleeting Spirit (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Sixties Icon (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), Strike The Deal (Van Nistlerooy), Simply Perfect (GB) (Danehill), the list goes on and on. They were wonderful, wonderful years and Jeremy was an unbelievably talented trainer. He was the reason I came to America. He told me to go for a year or two to get some experience and I never came back.”

Of course, you can't mention Noseda without bringing up Laddies Poker Two in detail. Morley is all too aware that he bore witness to one of the greatest Royal Ascot training performances of the modern era. Oh, and he also pocketed himself a few quid in the process!

He recalled, “Laddies broke her pelvis and then she got a tendon. She would have won the Wokingham as a 4-year-old but got a tendon getting ready for that race off the back of fracturing her pelvis the previous year. It was an extraordinary training feat to win the Wokingham after 610 days off the track. And it was like dealing with a priceless vase because we knew how good she was but we needed to keep her in one piece. 

“She did one piece of work with Fleeting Spirit who had been the European champion sprinter the year before. They did a piece of work in the spring and they worked very nicely together so we knew that, if you were going into the Wokingham off 8st 3lbs and had been working with the European champion sprinter, you knew you were going to have a decent shot to say the least. She was incredibly talented and has obviously gone on to be a very good broodmare being the dam of Winter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).”

And that famous gamble?

“I might have had a few quid on in the weeks leading up to the race,” comes the reply. “I certainly wasn't one of those people who got involved on the day–there was too much to do at that point. But it was rather remarkable watching a horse open up at 10-1 for the Wokingham, which is normally the starting price of the favourite in that race, and then get absolutely hammered in the betting before the race. It was great to be a part of that.”

As Morley acknowledges, rare is the day where a plan is executed to a nicety in this game. Rarer still when that plan just so happens to involve purchasing a yearling with the distinct aim of travelling halfway around the world to compete on one of the greatest stages on turf. 

Morley has avoided the many and obvious pitfalls that come with negotiating something so daring and, with the royal meeting inching ever closer, is starting to believe that this bold piece of planning could be about to come off. 

“We've got a Queen Mary to go and try to win,” he says. “It's very exciting and it will mean the world to me if we can do it. The day Celeric won the Gold Cup at Ascot sealed my faith in becoming a trainer. He was a horse who meant so much to me and my family. Ascot is a very special place.”

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