Tag: Racing

Several 3-year-olds that won or placed in graded stakes on this year's Triple Crown trail are among the overflow field entered in the Grade 3, $500,000 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort Aug. 6.

The 1 1/8-mile Derby drew a full field of 12 plus two horses on the also-eligible list. The Grade 3, $200,000 West Virginia Governor's Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles also attracted 12 entrants, with one on the also-eligible list.

This year's Derby program moves to a Sunday with a first post time of 5 p.m. The Governor's Stakes and Derby are races seven and eight, respectively, on a nine-race card.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who has won five editions of the West Virginia Derby, has entered Winchell Thoroughbreds' Red Route One, who most recently finished eighth in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes and fourth in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes. The homebred colt by Gun Runner earlier this year finished second in two graded Kentucky Derby preps at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.

Red Route One, who usually comes from far back early, drew post position four with Cristian Torres named to ride.

Though Grade 3 Indiana Derby winner Verifying is not entered, Raise Cain, who rallied strongly to finish a nose behind him in the 1 1/16-mile stakes, has been training forwardly in Kentucky for the Mountaineer fixture. Trained by Ben Colebrook for Andrew Warren and Rania Warren, the Violence colt won the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes in New York in March at 23-1 and finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby after a troubled trip.

Raise Cain drew post 11 with Luan Machado named to ride.

Jonathan Kalman's One in Vermillion, a winner of five of 10 starts—four of them stakes in Arizona, New Mexico and California—has been based at Canterbury Park in Minnesota this summer with trainer Esteban Martinez. After a second-place finish in the Canterbury Derby, the Army Mule colt crossed the wire first in the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows only to be disqualified and placed second for interference in the stretch.

One in Vermillion, who set the pace in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April and finished a respectable fifth, likes to be forwardly placed. He drew post eight with Harry Hernandez, the leading jockey at Canterbury, listed to ride.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., who won the 2022 West Virginia Derby with Skippylongstocking, entered Vegso Racing Stable's Lord Miles, who won the Grade 2 Wood Memorial in at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York at 59-1 in April. The Curlin colt returned to action in late June and finished fourth in the Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown.

Lord Miles drew post two with Arnaldo Bocachica, the leading rider at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, named to ride.

Gary and Mary West's Best Actor, winner of last year's Grade 3 Smarty Jones Stakes at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania, drew post 12 in the West Virginia Governor's Stakes with Kendrick Carmouche listed to ride. The 4-year-old Flatter colt raced once this year; he finished second in a June 30 allowance race at Ellis Park in Kentucky for trainer Brad Cox, who has won the Governor's Stakes three times.

The post Red Route One, Raise Cain Top Overflow Field For Sunday’s West Virginia Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Summer Is Tomorrow, a stakes winner who set the fastest opening quarter-mile time in Kentucky Derby history last year, was euthanized on Oct. 29, 2022 after suffering a catastrophic injury in Dubai.

The horse's death was confirmed via email by owner Michael Hilary Burke, who campaigned Summer Is Tomorrow with Negar Burke. Though he did not have details on how it occurred, Michael Burke said Summer Is Tomorrow suffered fractures in both hips, and the injuries led the colt to be euthanized.

“He really was a brilliant animal and obviously we were very disappointed,” said Burke, the chairman and CEO of Chanelle Pharma in Ireland.

Bred in Kentucky by Brereton Jones of Airdrie Stud, the son of Summer Front sold as a weanling to Magna Carta Bloodstock for $25,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. He then finished under his reserve with a final bid of $14,000 at the following year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale before being sent overseas for the 2-year-old sale season.

Summer Is Tomorrow sold to Burke for $169,743 at the 2021 Arqana Deauville Breeze Up Sale, and he was sent to Dubai with trainer Bhupat Seemar. He broke his maiden at Meydan Racecourse in his third career start at the close of his 2-year-old season.

He established himself as a contender for the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby after winning the Al Karama Stakes at Meydan in February of his 3-year-old campaign.

Summer Is Tomorrow stretched out to two turns for the first time in the U.A.E. Derby, where jockey Mickael Barzalona put him on the early lead at odds of 25-1. He entered the top of the stretch with the advantage, and he looked like he might sustain a challenge from Japan-bred Crown Pride with a furlong to go, but he was unable to hold off his rival's charge, settling for second.

Though he was defeated in the U.A.E. Derby, finishing second left him with enough qualifying points to make the Kentucky Derby field, where he would make his first start outside the U.A.E.

Summer Is Tomorrow was viewed as one of the Kentucky Derby field's longest shots in the weeks leading up to the race, and he left the gate at odds of 36-1. Similar to his U.A.E. Derby start, Barzalona shot his mount to the front, hassled on the outside by U.A.E. Derby rival Crown Pride through an opening quarter-mile in :21.78 seconds – the fastest opening quarter in the race's history.

He remained in front heading into the backstretch, through a half-mile in :45.36 seconds, the fifth-fastest in Derby history, before ceding the lead to Messier and Crown Pride at the halfway point of the backstretch. The colt eventually faded to last in the field of 20 behind eventual upset winner Rich Strike.

Summer Is Tomorrow never raced again after the Kentucky Derby, finishing his career with two wins in eight starts for earnings of $267,606.

The post Kentucky Derby Pacesetter Summer Is Tomorrow Euthanized After Injury appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Tom Marquand produced one of the rides of the season as he steered 16/1 shot Quickthorn to a stunning six-length success in Tuesday's Group 1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup at Glorious Goodwood. After poaching a sizeable early advantage, Marquand judged the fractions to perfection as his mount kept on rolling, and it was clear from some way out that Quickthorn had his first G1 prize in the bag.

It was a performance reminiscent of Quickthorn's runaway 14-length success in last season's G2 Lonsdale Cup at York, a crown he may well try and defend later this month.

Emily Dickinson (9/2) plugged on to grab second under Ryan Moore, a short-head in front of Coltrane (3/1) in a blanket finish to the minor places.

Marquand said: “Quickthorn is a warrior in his own right. I've had a bit of fun on him before and today was about riding him to his maximum potential. He just loves bowling away and putting everyone else to the sword – it was an exceptional performance.

“There's no masterplan with him, it's plain and simple what he's going to do. Down at the gates Frankie [Dettori] looked across and laughed and said 'Are you going to drop in?' because everybody knows what he's going to do and they still can't stop him. It is testament to how good he is.

“It's great for Lord and Lady Blyth [owners] because they have had a lot of fun with this horse and other horses. They are very passionate owners and breeders and you want them to find horses like this. It makes the game fun.

“I didn't look behind because there's no point. We know what this chap can do and if the gap had been closed at the two marker I was going to be in trouble so it was just a case of keeping him stepping forward.

“You would be doing other riders a disservice [if you criticized them]. If I was in behind I would have done the same – he's a relentless galloper and you think no horse can keep that up. It's easy to say in hindsight, but I wouldn't be putting down other riders in behind; I would be giving this lad credit for going such a gallop.”

On whether it was the plan to go that far clear, he added: “It's a case of going and finding a rhythm and wherever that puts you, it puts you. Obviously we showed that in the Lonsdale Cup last year and it just feels like the right way to ride him. Thankfully I got it right today.

“Once I lit him up at the three pole, it was evident that we were going to get home – it was just whether something would have exceptional ability to come and catch him. It's a nice feeling to go to that sort of race with that amount of stamina underneath you. Big performance.”

Winning trainer Hughie Morrison said: “It is fantastic for James and Pam [Blyth, owners]; they bred Quickthorn and it's fantastic to see they kept him and owned him. They have been very patient with him, and we've got our rewards. I felt that York last year when he won by 14 lengths was no fluke, and he proved it today.

“Jason [Hart] did absolutely nothing wrong last time over a slightly shorter distance on faster ground – he basically did the same thing. Tom got the seconds fantastically and gave him a breather at the top of the hill, but really, you have to say, what a horse.

“We don't have a huge amount of horses – 50 or 60 horses – and it's fantastic to train these homebreds, really, and to be able to bring them on so they reach their zenith at the right sort of age. We've had a Grade One and a Group One winner, and not many people have done that.

“I was quite excited going up the hill, because we saw what he did last year. I've always felt he needed a bit of juice in the ground. His autumn flops in the last couple of years – I think he's just gone over the top. You can see, he puts so much into it that he deserves to go over the top at some point.

“Quickthorn is a galloper. He's fantastic to train, because he goes past you every morning like a three-mile chaser. Every other horse has to do about three strides for his one.

“Tom got the fractions fantastically right, as he did at York last year. Jason [Hart] got it exactly right at York [in June] and I thank him for giving him such a fantastic ride last time. We all know how to ride him to his strengths – he's a galloper, pure and simple, and we're lucky to have him.”

Quickthorn's owner Lady Blyth said: “It is amazing, because we've never had a Group One winner before, not ever, ever, ever, so this is absolutely fantastic. I didn't even think he'd be going here – I didn't think he'd like the up and down bits, I thought he only wanted it flat. I didn't want to run him, but Hughie wanted to and my husband was keen – I was afraid of the track. These were my mother's colors, so they were in action before I married my husband. I've had horses for 40 or 50 years.”

Coltrane's rider Oisin Murphy said: “It was obvious in the first furlong that Lone Eagle, Tashkhan and Broome – those horses you'd expect to go forward – weren't going forward, so I changed my plan and decided to let Coltrane roll down to the first turn.

“I thought Tom was very clever round those sharp bends, he allowed Quickthorn to really slip on. You can only go so fast around those turns, because they are quite sharp, and by the time we turned to go back uphill, he had a sizeable advantage.

“He [Quickthorn] had to use up a fair bit of energy albeit basically going downhill to get away from us. But often you pay for that sort of ride and in the last furlong I wasn't sure if he would stop completely, but I probably cost myself second position by trying to close the gap from three down.

“Quickthorn has a massive pair of lungs and covers so much ground, so he has enough pace to get away from a high-class field. I was aware of what could happen, and he was still able to do it.”

The post ‘What A Horse!’: Quickthorn Dominates Group 1 Goodwood Cup By Six Lengths appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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