Hot jockey Barry Foley continued his winning ways in the first of two NSA jump races on Monday at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Va.
Teaming up with owner Jacqueline Ohrstrom and trainer Richard Valentine, Foley notched his third win of the summer season, aboard Connagh's Quay, a son of Flintshire, bred in Kentucky by Juddmonte.
For most of the 2 1/4-mile, $40,000 maiden hurdle restricted to four-year-olds, Connagh's Quay sat in a stalking position, third behind Michael Smith's Wrestlingwithrae (Tom Garner) and Buttonwood Farm's Sa'ad (Parker Hendriks). The duo played cat and mouse, battling for the lead, until reaching the far turn the final time around the course.
Under Foley, Connagh's Quay asserted himself heading into the final turn, moving quickly on the inside, and drawing clear in mid stretch by a wide margin nearing the final furlong.
That's when Del Rio Racing's Pacifist, ridden by Bernie Dalton for trainer-wife, Kate, made a big move on the outside, closing stoutly with every stride, coming up about a half-length short of Connagh's Quay at the wire. South Branch Equine's Robert's Luxury, trained and ridden by Sean McDermott, put in a powerful effort, too, rallying strongly to finish behind Robert's Luxury by a neck.
Foley has had a great summer season, winning three races, to date, including the Jonathan Kiser novice stakes on Howyabud at Saratoga on Aug. 3. In addition, he finished second, beaten a neck, by Down Royal in the Grade 1 AP Smithwick at Saratoga last month.
Trainer-rider Sean McDermott, who finished a close third in the opener at Colonial Downs, got the job done in the second of two hurdle races on the card — a $35,000 handicap for horses rated at 115 or less — gliding off to an easy victory aboard South Branch Equine's Who's Counting.
Coming off a score in a starter allowance on the flat over Colonial's turf course on July 18, the r-year-old Maryland-bred, was primed and ready to go in his third start over hurdles.
Under Jamie Bargary, Clarke Ohrstrom's Mr. Bridger, trained by Laird George, took charge from the start of the 2 1/4-mile race over nine fences, with Paul and Molly Willis' New Appointment (Parker Hendriks) in pursuit. For much of the going, the rest of the five-horse field was strung out.
Mr. Bridger maintained a commanding lead going up the backside the final time, widening his margin with every stride.
But that advantage started to shrink turning for home, as New Appointment and Who's Counting menaced the leader. Without moving a muscle, McDermott guided Who's Counting to the front, drawing off with complete authority while geared down by about four lengths. At the sixteenth pole, McDermott took a quick peek at the competition over his right shoulder, but by that time the race was pretty much over. Mr. Bridger hung tough and held off New Appointment for the place spot.
The Road to the 39th annual Breeders’ Cup World Championships rolls on as August kicks into high gear, with a new twist to the Challenge Series schedule resulting from the closure of one of North America’s iconic racetracks.
There may be no horse at the graded stakes level with a more explosive first step out of the gate than Golden Pal.
On a regular basis, the son of Uncle Mo has displayed an early turn of foot that made elite turf sprinters appear flat-footed at the jump, akin to high school-era footage of a future NFL player being three strides off the line of scrimmage before the player across from him gets out of the set position.
In this year's Grade 2 Shakertown Stakes at Keeneland, he already had a 2 1/2-length lead after the opening quarter-mile — against a field of sprinters — and his rivals never got any closer to him until they turned around to unsaddle. His romp in last year's Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint looked awfully similar.
When a horse shows that much ability at a specific skill, the question becomes whether that skill was taught, or if it's just part of his makeup as a racehorse.
Trainer Wesley Ward said it's as much mental as it is physical.
“He's a highly intelligent horse, and that has a lot to do with it,” Ward said. “He usually stands motionless in the gate. He doesn't get fidgety or nervous.
“For a big horse, he's very athletic, and moves like a cat,” Ward continued. “He's just really quick and agile. You put all of that together, he's standing, peering at the gate in front of him, and the millisecond it opens, he's gone. Whereas, a lot of horses get in the gate, and are anticipating the race and looking around at what's going on in there, the other horses are rattling around and the assistant starters are yelling at the starter. They're kind of taking everything in, and he's just dead-on focused. When the gates pop, he's gone.”
A consistent display of concentration and reflex to that degree is something Ward said he has not seen in many horses. It's made Golden Pal a favorite of the trainer's well before his debut start in April 2020.
Even then, in a 4 1/2-furlong main track maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park, Golden Pal blasted out to a two-length lead in the opening quarter, but he got caught at the wire. He'd never let that happen again on U.S. soil.
“As time is progressing, you see a young athlete that develops physically and mentally, and it all comes together, that's what I see with him; same thing,” Ward said. “Every race that went on, and every few months that went by, he was getting better mentally and taking everything in. Now, he knows what his job is.”
In the mornings, Ward said he is content to let Golden Pal's natural talent out of the gate take care of itself, instead of trying to over-coach the colt for a box he's already checked.
“You don't have to go back to the gate and do any training like that anymore,” Ward said. “You know what he's going to do, and you try to keep him nice and calm going into the race. A lot of times, other horses I have and other trainers, they'll emphasize on the gate because the horse isn't quite this or that, but with him, it's quite the opposite. You keep him away from it, because you already know what he's going to do.”
Of course, Golden Pal's quick-starting ability would be the exception in any barn. For the ones that are less dialed in at the gate, Ward said he tries to help them find that same zen amidst the chaos.
There are two gates kept in the chute at the top of the backstretch during morning training hours on the main track at Saratoga Race Course. The one in front is used by horses to break from the gates and accelerate onto the main course. Behind it is a second gate employed strictly for standing in the contraption. Both have their purposes in Ward's gate training program when he's in upstate New York.
More than anything, the system is about repetition on the part of the horse, and patience on the part of the people around them.
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“We have a filly that hasn't started, and we just took her over there and broke her from the gate,” Ward said. “She's gone in succession quite a few times, and she was real nervous in there. She broke, and she was fine, but in the gate, she was really nervous. And that was just with one other horse of mine, let alone nine or 10 horses in a race.
“What we'll plan on doing is just bring her right back to the gate tomorrow, the pony will lead her in, she'll stand, and then we'll come right off the track and not train, and we'll just bring her back, so she's got her security blanket right there,” he continued. “Then she'll know she can go in there, and not come out at 100 miles per hour. She can get in there and start to relax. We'll work on her four or five days in a row. Every time she goes in right now, she's breaking and going fast, and that's why she's nervous. You don't want that in a race. You want them more like Golden Pal, where they get in there and relax, and then they come out and they're not scared of it. You have to get them over the fear.”
For all of Golden Pal's natural gate ability, his victory in the G3 Troy Stakes on Aug. 5 at Saratoga was somewhat off-brand.
Instead of his usual burst of speed out of the gate, Golden Pal started rather awkwardly, and took a bit of time to find his stride in third, before zeroing in on pacesetter True Valour and getting a head in front at the wire in near-record time.
Part of that was by design. Ward said he wanted to give the colt another tool in his belt, beyond “get to the front and stay there.” Part of it was circumstance that gave the trainer what he wanted anyway.
“The ground kind of broke out from underneath him in the first few strides, but our plan was to take back and harness that speed, which is tough to do when you break so quick,” he said. “Everything worked out in our favor.”
Get ready for the Duke of Love show, Queen's Plate edition.
When the leggy, robust colt steps onto the racetrack ahead of the 163rd running of the Queen's Plate on Aug. 21, expect a raucous reception from members of his ownership group, MyRacehorse (MRH), which could number up to 40 people that afternoon at Woodbine.
The other 950-plus who have shares in the handsome Ontario-bred will be tuning in from all over the world, literally, as Duke of Love contests the biggest race of his career to date.
No doubt, everyone associated with the horse through MRH, the affordable Thoroughbred ownership company founded by Michael Behrens in 2018, is champing at the bit to see Duke of Love burst from the gate in the 163rd running of the Plate.
MRH, championed by the late B. Wayne Hughes of Spendthrift Farm, brought together 5,314 owners who purchased shares in 2020 Kentucky Derby champion Authentic, the majority of whom are still partners in the stallion's breeding career.
Harry Rice, East Coast Racing Manager with MRH, gets emotional at the thought of adding a Canadian classic crown to the company's success stories.
“I'm so excited,” said Rice, whose father, a jockey valet in New York, owns a share in the horse. “I think it's awesome how parallel our journey in America with Authentic is with Duke of Love in Canada. They are both quirky horses. Authentic, as he got closer to the Kentucky Derby, time was his best friend. I think that's the same with the 'Duke.' He's such a cool horse. He's quirky, for sure. He runs with his head up in the air like a giraffe.”
A son of Grade 1 winner Cupid, a son of the renowned Tapit, Ontario-bred Duke of Love was an $85,000 MyRacehorse purchase from the Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in Maryland. He is the second foal out of Tell The Duchess, a daughter of the prolific sire Smart Strike.
Bearing a noticeable likeness to his sire – good sized, and bigger framed – the bay, bred by Caldara Farm Inc., Patrick Costello, David Whitford and Tom Zwiesler, launched his career on November 14, 2021.
Campaigned by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee and three-time Plate winner Josie Carroll, the then 2-year-old proved to be up to the challenge.
With Justin Stein in the irons, Duke of Love, in front by a head at the stretch call, went on to record a two-length triumph in the 5 ½-furlong main track race at Woodbine.
It wasn't only jockey and rider who took notice of the polished effort.
“Right then and there, Josie's husband Charlie [Nash] said it,” started Rice. “He said, 'I don't say this very often, but he's going to be our Plate horse.' The horse got into a ton of trouble, and he still ran a great race. It gives you chills thinking about it.”
Duke of Love completed his rookie season with a fifth in a turf race at Gulfstream in early December.
After prepping for his three-year-old campaign in Florida, he was back on track at his home base, trouncing his rivals to the tune of a 5 ½-length score at 6 ½ panels over the Toronto oval Tapeta on May 7.
His first stakes test, the 7-furlong Queenston on June 12, yielded a fourth-place finish, albeit only 1 ½ lengths behind highly regarded The Minkster.
After a second to top Plate contender in the Grade 3 Marine one month later, Duke of Love saddled up for the 1 1/8-mile Plate Trial on July 24.
A tough trip, from start to end, produced a fourth-place finish.
Stuck behind a wall of horses late, Stein and Duke of Love were able to find daylight, and rallied impressively despite the tangled journey.
“He was in trouble the whole away around,” offered Rice. “Justin gave him a terrific ride. I have been happy everything he has done for us. The last race, he put it all together. If he didn't get in trouble, there might have been a chance he got through and won. But I'm happy with that effort.”
So too was Stein.
“I don't think we've seen the best of him yet,” said the veteran rider. “He's grown up, yet he's still growing up. I can't wait to ride him in the Plate.”
Jim Mahoney, one of the MyRacehorse shareholders, made the trek, about a two-hour road trip from his home in Buffalo to watch the Plate Trial.
The longtime racing fan was hard to miss.
Clad in purple, replete with leopard-print collar, pockets and cuff, accompanied by a purple fedora framed by a leopard-print band, along with a white silhouette of a horse and the words 'Duke of Love' on the back of the ensemble, Mahoney caught the eye and camera lens of more than a few people at Woodbine that afternoon.
Jim Mahoney
Perhaps all that missing was a red carpet and paparazzi.
“When they first offered the horse, there was a retro look in what they sent out, and I just wanted to make it fun,” said Mahoney, who will be bringing some family members to the Plate. “I painted the MyRacehorse logo on it. I thought it was a fun thing to do. The last time I was at Woodbine was in 1996 for the Breeders' Cup, so it was amazing to come back for the Plate Trial. It's a wonderful track and the people are really nice. The whole experience is just wonderful. I wasn't sure what the reception was going to be with what I was wearing, but as soon as I walked through the gates, a lot of people smiled, congratulated me, gave me the thumbs-up, and took pictures. I think it went over fairly well.”
Not bad for a $40 Amazon purchase.
“I told him the purple suit has to come on the big day,” said Rice. “He said his wife might not let him, but he has to bring it. That was so cool, the outfit, and Josie loved it. Martha [Wakely, Manager of Racing Operations & Horsemen Concierge Services with Woodbine] told me we had a guy wearing a purple suit. I told her that I was pretty sure it wasn't one of our owners, but she said, 'Oh, it is. It's branded with Duke of Love on the back.' And then I saw the pictures and thought it was the coolest thing ever. At the end of the day, these are fans, passionate fans who love their horses and love the sport.”
Ardent supporters who will be out in force at the Queen's Plate.
Just how many MyRacehorse owners will be in attendance that day is still unknown.
“It's confirmed that we have at least 30 owners coming out, but that number could grow up to 40. We have a Queen's Plate experience for them, which includes a trip to LongRun (the Ontario-based organization that takes recently retired Thoroughbreds and through rehabilitation and re-training, finds them adoptive homes and new careers) as well as having a big race-day event.”
The mere thought of the 'Duke' experiencing a Canadian racing coronation less than three weeks from now is enough to make Rice a little teary-eyed.
Impossible, he admitted, to know how he'd react if the big-framed bay were to take all the spoils in the $1 million classic.
“I think we're just seeing the beginning of something special. I've been in racing my whole life and if we were to win this, I'd cry my eyes out. That's just how I am. Big wins, I get emotional. It's awesome.”
Their hopes ride on the hooves of a colt who combines size and strength packaged together with a quirky, yet endearing, personality.
Some members of the 3-year-old colt's ownership group, like Mahoney, are just as colourful.
And even if they aren't, the bond between the owners, through their joy of the game and of their horses, undoubtedly is.
It's what makes the 'Duke' and his merry band a most compelling show.
“MyRacehorse, through those microshares, has made the game more fun and enjoyable for people like me,” said Mahoney. “Everything about horse racing is fun and that's the way it should be. I've loved the sport for a long time and got away from it a bit after college. It was MyRacehorse that got me back in. And now, here we are with a horse in the Queen's Plate. I love this horse, and now he gets to be in a million-dollar race. Just how great is that?”
