Tag: Racing

Concert Tour, Swiss Skydiver Moving Up In NTRA Polls

After each posted handy victories this past weekend, unbeaten sophomore Concert Tour and champion filly Swiss Skydiver both advanced up to third in this week's National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll and NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll, respectively.

Concert Tour earned his third win from as many career starts when he captured the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes by 4 ¼ lengths on March 13. The son of Street Sense previously won the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes on Feb. 6 and earned 2 first-place votes and 306 points this week to rank just behind poll leader Essential Quality (20 first-place votes, 372 points) and Life Is Good (14 first-place votes, 365 points).

“He was doing it with ease, with plenty left,” trainer Bob Baffert told the Oaklawn Park notes team of Concert Tour.

Greatest Honour, winner of the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, dips one spot to fourth with 2 first-place votes and 290 points. Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes winner Mandaloun (1 first-place vote and 239 points) sits fifth ahead of his expected run in Saturday's $1 million Louisiana Derby followed by Medina Spirit (156 points), Helium (77) and Risk Taking (73).

Proxy, who is also set to start in the Louisiana Derby, ranks ninth with 57 points while Hot Rod Charlie (38 points) rounds out the top 10.

While Grade 1 winner Charlatan continues to lead the way on the Top Thoroughbred Poll with 22 first-place votes and 362 points followed by two-time Eclipse Award winner Monomoy Girl (13 first-place votes, 348 points), Swiss Skydiver closed the gap on the top two following her victory in the Grade 1 Beholder Mile at Santa Anita Park March 13. The daughter of Daredevil earned 2 first-place votes and 288 points to jump up to third, just ahead of multiple Grade 1 winner Knicks Go (1 first-place vote, 275 points).

The Richard Baltas-trained Idol, winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, sits fifth with 169 points. Graded stakes winner Mystic Guide (1 first-place vote, 159 points) ranks sixth followed by Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes winner Colonel Liam (123 points) and Maxfield (110).

Shedaresthedevil, winner of the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, joins the top 10 in ninth with 58 points in the wake of her victory in the Grade 2 Azeri Stakes. Champion female sprinter Gamine (57 points) completes the order.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in the Top Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Poll concludes following the Belmont Stakes on June 5 and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through November 6.

The post Concert Tour, Swiss Skydiver Moving Up In NTRA Polls appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘She Is A Champion’: Melody Belle’s 14th Group 1 Win Breaks New Zealand Record

Champion mare Melody Belle (NZ) (Commands) created a piece of New Zealand racing history at Ellerslie on Saturday when she strode to victory in the Gr.1 Bonecrusher NZ Stakes (2000m, or 1 1/4 miles), her fourteenth win at the elite level, to surpass the mighty Sunline (NZ) (Desert Sun) for the most Group One wins in the modern era for a New Zealand-trained galloper.

The 6-year-old daughter of Commands had attracted her share of doubters as to whether she could produce another Group One victory after being beaten at Te Rapa over the same distance in the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes last month.

Never a truer word has been spoken than the age-old adage that form is temporary and class is permanent as the dual New Zealand Horse of The Year gave her seven rivals, including runner-up and stablemate Avantage (Fastnet Rock), a galloping lesson as she stormed home for rider Troy Harris to win going away by a length and spark some emotional scenes in the Ellerslie birdcage.

Trainer Jamie Richards was clearly affected by what he had just witnessed as he paid heartfelt tribute to his champion galloper.

“She is such a wonderful mare,” he said. “All of the talk that she wasn't going well enough and all that crap, well she is a champion and champions bounce back.

“It wasn't her fault at Te Rapa and I'm just proud of her and the whole team.

“It was a fantastic win and I'm also just thrilled for Troy, it's just a feelgood story.

“I'm also really proud of Avantage and take nothing away from her today as she went down fighting.”

Richards will now shift his focus with Melody Belle to a final trans-Tasman raid before she is likely to be retired at the end of this campaign.

“She is sound, happy and easy to train and loves going about her business,” he said. “I'm really proud of her and she loves to prove people wrong.”

Bred by Thoroughbred racing and breeding identity Marie Leicester, Melody Belle was a $57,500 purchase by David Ellis CNZM at the 2016 Premier Yearling sale at Karaka from the Haunui Farm draft for owners, the Fortuna Melody Belle syndicate.

Her career record now stands at nineteen wins and seven placings from 38 starts with all bar one of her career wins coming at stakes level including 13 New Zealand Group One victories along with the Gr.1 Empire Rose Stakes (1600m, or six furlongs) at Flemington and over $4.24m in total prizemoney.

Melody Belle will continue her farewell tour in Sydney later this month, flying to Sydney next week in preparation for the Gr.1 Tancred Stakes (2400m, or 1 1/2 miles) at Rosehill.

“She is booked to fly on March 25 and she will be able to work that morning and go straight into the Tancred,” Fortuna Syndication's John Galvin said.

“The only reservation would be track conditions. If it was a really heavy track we might not want to race her at 2400m because it is the first time she would have raced at that distance.

“2000m is clearly her pet trip and she is pretty dominant at it from what we have seen.

“She is also nominated for the Queen Elizabeth (Gr.1, 2000m) and the Coolmore Legacy (Gr.1, 1600m), which are both on April 10 at Randwick.”

While looking forward to the Australian leg of her farewell tour, Galvin was left pondering on Monday the significance of his mare's accomplishments, after she brought the curtain down on her New Zealand racing career in the best possible fashion on Saturday.

“There were all sort of emotions on Saturday,” Galvin said. “The fact that it was her 14th Group One win and it was a magnificent occasion on Auckland Cup day at Ellerslie.

“Her previous start had led to a failure when she ran at Te Rapa in the Herbie Dyke (Gr.1, 2000m), through no fault of her own, so there was an extra edge and pressure there.

“My main emotion was relief that once again we saw how good she was.

“It was fantastic to be there with the crowd, the weather, and the big group of owners, many of them were there and there was a lot of emotion.”

Galvin was also pleased to see jockey Troy Harris finalize his undefeated record on Melody Belle and continue his enviable strike-rate with Fortuna Syndicated horses.

“He is a lovely rider and rode her perfectly,” Galvin said. “He has had four rides for four wins on her, and that's five Group One rides and five wins for Troy on Fortuna horses. He has ridden for us 14 times in total, for 11 wins. It is a pretty good strike-rate.”

Melody Belle has become the flagbearer for the syndicator, and Galvin said she will be sorely missed when she retires at the end of this campaign.

“She is a flagship race mare for us,” he said. “We did have Tell A Tale who was a Group One winner and top three-year-old. This girl has taken it to another level, so it has been really important for us.

“My wife, Jessica, has got a share in Melody Belle, so that has been particularly important for us as a family, with our young children. She is a favorite amongst the household.”

With Melody Belle raced by a syndicate of 34 people, the glamour mare will be sold at the conclusion of her racing career in the coming months before she heads to the broodmare paddock.

The post ‘She Is A Champion’: Melody Belle’s 14th Group 1 Win Breaks New Zealand Record appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Dubai World Cup: ‘Underdog’ Sleepy Eyes Todd ‘Tries His Eyeballs Out Every Time’

Thumbs Up Racing's Sleepy Eyes Todd continues to grow his fanbase heading into the toughest test of his career, the 10-furlong, $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1) on March 27. While his propensity to pose for the morning racing media and genuine nature around the barn have earned him points with onlookers and horsemen, alike, it is his grit and consistency that flock favor to those only aware of his performance record. All of the above will likely come into play if the roan warrior is to be successful on the big day.

“He's a gentleman,” said trainer Miguel Angel Silva. “He feels really good to be around. Even though he's a stallion, he acts like a good friend. He's just gentle with everyone and he doesn't like to do anything bad or stupid to the groom or gallop-people. He's a cool guy and he likes the (media) cameras.”

A five-time stakes winner who has shown marked versatility in trip and track, the photogenic son of Paddy O'Prado is not considered a favorite in the market for the Dubai World Cup, but is respected by many as one they know will have a say in the outcome. He exits a strong-closing fifth in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh, suffering traffic issues, and has won graded stakes at nine furlongs and seven furlongs.

“We didn't get the trip we wanted in Saudi,” Silva explained. “It's just racing luck and hopefully he can have better luck this time and maybe we can get the win. This time, like last time, I would like to see him five or six lengths behind the speed, but you never know what's going to happen during the race. That was the plan last time and all of a sudden we were dead-last and had to come running.”

The eight-time winner from 17 starts will be reunited with jockey Alexis Moreno, who was aboard in the Saudi Cup. While he has yet to prove himself at the G1 level, he has been successful against G1 horses with the proverbial world watching.

On the Breeders' Cup World Championships undercard at Keeneland in November, he defeated a talented Lafayette Stakes (Listed) field, including next-out Cigar Mile (G1) winner True Timber and Burj Nahaar (G3) victor Midnight Sands. In December's Mr. Prospector (G3), he turned back G1 winners Diamond Oops and Mind Control, as well as multiple G2 winner Firenze Fire. Those efforts have been par for the course for a runner who has consistently and successfully taken his show on tour, including winning last year's Charles Town Classic (G2) over nine furlongs. He will have to stretch another furlong in Dubai, attempting 1 1/4 miles for the first time.

“I would love to see him finish the way he did on Breeders' Cup day,” Silva said. “He tries his eyeballs out every time. He's a hard-working horse who's always the underdog and we just love him. He's had issues in the races, but always managed to come back and perform well.

“He's training amazing right now and he really likes this track. The transition from Saudi to here has been great and we've had no issues so far. It's a little more similar to a U.S. track and he loves to train and gets over the track. The works have been a little bit longer with him (to build stamina), but I don't see any problem with the distance. He has been, in the last couple races, one of the only horses who is finishing in the race. In Saudi, he was the only horse really closing in on the frontrunners. If anything, the distance will be good for him.”

The ride Sleepy Eyes Todd has taken the Mexico City native on has undoubtedly been a memorable one. A second-generation horseman who has worked his way from hotwalker to head trainer, Silva is not quick to take any part of this experience for granted.

“It is an amazing experience to have him and I've been trying to take it all in,” Silva said. “Hopefully we will get more horses who have this kind of quality of racing in them after this, but we'll see. We are trying to enjoy it and are going step by step with the horse heading into the race.

“I have climbed the ladder and found my own path. It has been like a family business to work with horses, from my grandfather to my dad and to me and my brothers—we all belong to these beautiful animals.”

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