Tag: Racing

Despite being closely associated with the likes of Shamardal, Double Trigger and Attraction, trainer Charlie Johnston is the first to admit that horses like Subjectivist don't come around very often.

The son of Teofilo looked to have the staying division at his mercy after surging clear to win the 2021 Gold Cup at Ascot when trained by his father Mark, but unfortunately a serious leg injury meant he has been off the track ever since. However, after a lengthy rehabilitation process, the two-time Group 1 winner is back and Charlie, now the sole holder of the license, is excited to have his stable star ready to run in the $2.5 million Group 3 Longines Red Sea Turf Handicap on the Saudi Cup card on Feb. 25.

He said: “It's been an 18-month rehab journey, so to have come this far is great and we're all very much looking forward to having him on the track again.

“It's a bit of an unknown in the sense we aren't entirely sure what we have back, and it will be asking a lot to have the same horse that we had 20 months ago. I sincerely hope we do, but we won't find that out until he runs in Saudi.”

The six-year-old was given a racecourse gallop at Newcastle last week and with his trainer happy with the outing, everything is in place for a first run in 605 days.

“I was pleased with what I saw at Newcastle,” Johnston said. “The difficulty with any horse is that you don't put really put them into the red zone at home, but particularly with a horse of this nature who runs over these distances.

“We've never gone to the distances which he excels over, and we don't have many 120-rated stayers to work him either, so of course there's that unknown, but both myself and Joe [Fanning] were pleased with how he went.

“Joe knows the horse better than anyone and he said he got better and better the further he went which obviously bodes well for next weekend.”

Ahead of Subjectivist's run in the 3000m Group 3, Johnston is doing his best to keep his feet on the ground, though he admits that if his horse retains any of his old ability he will take all the beating.

He said: “I'm trying to keep my expectations relatively in check and the main thing is that the horse comes back safe and sound.

“If he can show that he can at least be competitive at this level, then we know that we've still got something to work with moving forwards.

“However, with the greatest respect to what else is in the race, this horse, at his best, is in a completely different stratosphere to the rest of them. The form he showed in any of his last three starts would win this race very comfortably.”

Subjectivist is likely to face off against fellow British raiders Trawlerman, Enemy and Nate The Great in the contest a week on Saturday and while Johnston isn't saying he thinks his horse will win necessarily, he admits that a victory would be right up there with anything his family have achieved.

“There have been some pretty remarkable training feats from this team over the years,” he said. “I was a lot less involved with the likes of Attraction, but to bring a horse of this level, with that injury, back after this time away would be a pretty monumental task.

“Horses of this caliber are very hard to find and we reached a stage two years ago where I was that confident in his ability that I didn't think there was a stayer in the world that could beat him. It was purely a case of picking which races we wanted to win.

“Those horses come along every 15 or 20 years, so to have nearly lost him was a huge blow, but if we can get him back to anywhere near his imperious best, it would be a huge thrill for us all.”

The post Even After 18 Months Of Rehab, Distance Specialist Subjectivist In ‘Completely Different Stratosphere’ Than Saudi Rivals appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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After a perfect freshman campaign punctuated by her trainer Tom Amoss stating this is the most promising horse he has ever trained, Hoosier Philly's time to shine has come. She is set to make her much anticipated 3-year-old debut at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans, La., on Saturday in the $300,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2) presented by Fasig-Tipton. Gold Standard's Hoosier Philly, the ownership group's first and only racehorse to date, was entered to face a field of five rivals including Selective LLC's Chop Chop, the runner-up in both the locally run Silverbulletday and Keeneland's Alcibiades (G1).

The Rachel Alexandra was carded as the 12th of 13 races on the Louisiana Derby Preview Day card with a post time of 5:41 p.m. CT. Saturday's program also features the $400,000 Risen Star (G2). Both races for 3-year-olds are the first preps to offer 50-20-15-10-5 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve and the Longines Kentucky Oaks. Along with the duo of 3-year-old stakes events, the program includes the $250,000 Mineshaft (G3) presented by Relyne GI by Hagyard, the $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes (G3) presented by Horse Racing Nation, the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes, and the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes.

After winning all three of her juvenile starts, including the Golden Rod (G2) and the Rags to Riches – both by open lengths – Amoss sent Hoosier Philly for a freshening at Woodford Thoroughbreds in Florida, circling the Rachel Alexandra for Hoosier Philly's sophomore debut. When she returned to the Amoss barn, the daughter of Into Mischief (out of the Tapit mare Tapella) proceeded to fire three successive bullet workouts. Hoosier Philly has done everything a trainer could hope from a stand-out filly.

“We have a lot of expectations for her based on what she's done so far, so there's a lot of anticipation about how she's going to come back at three,” Amoss said. “Her morning preparation has been just as it was when she was two, so that gives us some feeling of confidence going into the race. But still, it is just her first race at three.”

Hoosier Philly's sensational 2-year-old season earned her a spot in Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 where she was bet to 11-1, the 3rd-favorite behind “All Other 3 Year Olds” and Forte. Trainer Tom Amoss has targeted the 1 1/16-mile Rachel Alexandra for his highly-lauded filly all along, but if she wins, then what? She'd need to earn points in a Kentucky Derby prep race like the Louisiana Derby (G1) to qualify for a spot in the starting gates on the first Saturday of May.

“That's just noise,” Amoss said. “We're not looking at anything other than this race right now. We're going to look out for her and do what's in her best interest in each race. Right now, it's the Rachel Alexandra, how she runs, and how she comes out of it.”

If Hoosier Philly continues her success and wins the Rachel Alexandra, it would be Amoss' third filly to win this race. First was the 74-1 longshot Venus Valentine winning in 2016. Next it was eventual 2019 Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress.

“Serengeti Empress is the best horse I've ever trained and she won the Kentucky Oaks so there's a special place in not only my heart but the barn, my family, everybody's,” Amoss said. “We've got some things to still accomplish with a horse like this before we can start talking about how they compare.”

Currently ranked 15th with 10 points in the Kentucky Oaks points standings, Hoosier Philly will be guided from post No. 2 by jockey Edgar Morales.

The top rival to Hoosier Philly in the Rachel Alexandra is Selective LLC's Chop Chop. A nose shy of winning the Alcibiades (G1), the City of Light filly was sent off as the favorite in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), but after a difficult trip around Keeneland's main track under Joel Rosario, she disappointed her backers and connections, finishing last of 13.

“The Breeders' Cup (Juvenile Fillies) is a throw out race with the trip she got,” Cox said. “Last time here (in the Silverbulletday), you could say maybe she needed the race a little bit, but from a fitness stand point I thought she looked really good. The works were great but she just really didn't go by (The Alys Look, winner of the Silverbulletday).”

Never leaving the barn and training forwardly ahead of her 3-year-old debut in January's Silverbulletday Stakes, Chop Chop ran well enough to put 13 lengths between her and five of her foes, but she was unable to bid past stablemate The Alys Look in the stretch, and ended up finishing second. Cox has decided to add blinkers for her run in the Rachel Alexandra.

“I'm hoping the blinkers can help her get over the top if she ends up eye-balling another horse late in the race,” Cox said. “Even when she won it was by a narrow margin, so I'm hopeful this is something that can get her over the top and get her in the winner's circle.”

With 12 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to her name, Chop Chop will break from post No. 4 with Florent Geroux aboard the lone Cox filly in the field. Silverbulletday winner The Alys Look awaits her next run, possibly in the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) on March 25.

Godolphin's Untapable winner Pretty Mischievous will make her 3-year-old debut in the Rachel Alexandra as well. Putting in three local works since last raced, the Into Mischief filly by the Tapit dam Pretty City has been training well, filling out, and maturing nicely for the Brendan Walsh barn.

“She's doing great,” Walsh said. “We just backed off her there after the Silverbulletday because she had run continuously since her first start and we figured we needed to give her some down time at some point. She's come back well, and her works have been good, so we're all set for Saturday.”

After winning her first two races at sprint distances, Pretty Mischievous finished third behind Rachel Alexandra foes Hoosier Philly and Knockyoursocksoff in November's Golden Rod. In her successful Untapable run, Pretty Mischievous was piloted by Brain Hernandez Jr. who placed her more forward than she had been previously under Tyler Gaffalione, who climbs back aboard on Saturday.

“She's a pretty easy filly to ride,” Walsh said. “If she ends up prominent she's prominent, if she ends behind, it won't take her out of her realm. We'll leave it to Tyler and wherever she finds herself.”

Pretty Mischievous will break from post No. 5, looking to add to her 13 Oaks qualifying points.

Another sophomore filly with potential star power that was entered in the Rachel Alexandra is Belladonna Racing, Edward Hudson, West Point Thoroughbreds, LBD Stable, Nice Guys Stables, Manganaro Bloodstock, Runnels Racing, Steve Hornstock, and Twin Brook Stables' Vahva. The daughter of Gun Runner broke her maiden by three lengths going seven furlongs on the “Stars of Tomorrow II” card at Churchill Downs in November. Trainer Cherie DeVaux stepped Vahva up against stakes company in the Untapable, but after stumbling out of the gate and spotting the field five lengths, she could only manage to run third, over eight lengths behind the winner and Rachel Alexandra foe, Pretty Mischievous.

With three Oaks points to her name, DeVaux sent Vahva to Palm Meadows in Florida, where she trained forwardly and began touting her fine health with her dappled-out bay coat. Vahva has continued to shine since returning to Fair Grounds, putting in one local drill on Sunday, Feb. 12, under exercise rider Irwin Rosendo. Luis Saez will retain the mount, looking for a clean break from the rail.

Here's the complete field for the Rachel Alexandra from the rail out (with jockey, trainer, and morning line odds): 1. Vahva (Luis Saez, Cherie DeVaux, 8-1); 2. Hoosier Philly (Edgar Morales, Tom Amoss, 6-5); 3. Knockyoursocksoff (Flavien Prat, Chris Block, 12-1); 4. Chop Chop (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox, 8-5); 5. Pretty Mischievous (Tyler Gaffalione, Brendan Walsh, 9-2); 6. Miracle (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 12-1).

Fasig-Tipton has been named the title sponsor of Fair Grounds' 2023 series for 3-year-old fillies. The Fasig-Tipton Tremé Triple consists of the Silverbulletday Stakes (ran on Jan. 21), the Rachel Alexandra(G2), and the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) on March 25. The name of the race series is a tribute to the historic Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans that borders Fair Grounds Race Course.

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On the undercard of Saturday's Festival Preview Day at Tampa Bay Downs, 5-year-old gelding Sibelius won the 39th edition of the $100,000 Pelican Stakes in stakes-record time of 1:08.75 (.08 seconds off the track record) for the six-furlong distance. After the victory, winning trainer Jeremiah O'Dwyer danced an impromptu waltz with his 2-year-old daughter Adelaide in the Oldsmar, Fla. winner's circle.

Sibelius's performance under jockey Junior Alvarado was worthy of celebrating. They withstood a race-long duel with 4-year-old Minnesota-bred Doctor Oscar, who finished a length-and-a-quarter back, with Gatsby another length-and-a-quarter back in third.

Sibelius, who is owned by Jun H. Park and Delia Nash, paid $5.20 as the betting favorite in the 10-horse field. He is 6-for-18 lifetime, including a victory on Dec. 31 at Gulfstream in his previous start in the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Stakes, and the winner's share of $45,000 raised his earnings to $488,889.

“I was hoping for an easier time out there today,” O'Dwyer said. “We knew that (Doctor Oscar) has speed, and he kind of took it to us. I leave it up to Junior when he rides this horse. You don't tell these good riders what to do – they play the break and see how it goes.

“He was on the lead the whole way, he got pressured the whole way and he was strong at the finish. I'm just very proud of the way he battled and held on to the wire.”

O'Dwyer said he is hopeful of getting an invitation for Sibelius to compete in the Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 25 in the United Arab Emirates.

Alvarado said he was impressed by how Sibelius fought throughout, despite being pressure through taxing fractions of 21.46 seconds for the first quarter-mile and 43.88 for the half.

“Sometimes he breaks very sharp and sometimes he's just OK out of the gate, but today he broke sharp and I wasn't going to take anything away from him,” Alvarado said. “It wasn't a real struggle for him. He was a fighter for me.”

The post ‘Proud Of The Way He Battled’: O’Dwyer Hopes Sibelius’ Stakes-Record Victory Leads To Dubai Invitation appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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