Tag: Racing

Last year's Melbourne Cup-winning mare Verry Elleegant will be supplemented to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at a cost of £120,000 (approximately US$137,000), owners Jomara Bloodstock Ltd announced via Twitter on Sunday.

Most recently, the 7-year-old mare finished third in the Prix Foy, her second start in France for new trainer Francis Henri-Graffard.

Verry Elleegant was trained to 11 Group 1 victories in Australia by Chris Waller. According to racingpost.com, Verry Elleegant will be the first horse representing Australia or New Zealand to contest the Arc since 2011, when So You Think (NZ) finished fourth.

The Arc is scheduled to be held on Oct. 2, with potential runners as follows: Luxembourg, Alpinista, Torquator Tasso, Titleholder, Onesto, Adayar, La Parisienne, Westover, and Sealiway, among others.

After a meeting with the ownership group & the trainer Francis-Henri @GraffardRacing we are delighted to announce that we will be paying the late entry fee & giving our champion mare the chance to represent AUS/NZ in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe & take on the worlds best

— Verry Elleegant (@VerryElleegant) September 19, 2022

The decision was announced just after the news that Verry Elleegant's dam, two-time New Zealand Broodmare of the Year Opulence, passed away after foaling a full sister to Verry Elleegant.

According to the New Zealand Racing Desk:

Grangewilliam Stud has been home to Opulence for the last decade and she has brought much acclaim to the South Taranaki farm through her lucrative matings with resident stallion Zed.

She has had six live foals by the stallion, including Melbourne Cup (3200m) heroine Verry Elleegant and Listed Rangitikei Gold Cup (1600m) winner Verry Flash.

Farm principal Mark Corcoran was devastated by Opulence's death but took solace that everything was done to try to save the mare.

“She foaled in the early hours of Saturday morning and had a cracking filly. She was fine all day and then in the afternoon she went for a trot,” Corcoran said.

“While she was jogging around she had an internal bleed.

“On vets advice we put her on a truck to take her to Massey University's surgical clinic and unfortunately she died en route.

“We have just done a post-mortem this (Sunday) morning and she had ruptured the uterine artery and had an internal hemorrhage.

“It is really upsetting, but that is breeding.”

Corcoran said her filly foal has been doing well and she has now been paired up with a foster mare.

“The filly is fine and we have now got a foster mare for her. She is a lovely filly and we are just rapt it was a filly,” Corcoran said.

“Don Goodwin, the breeder, will be keeping her, that's for sure.”

Corcoran said Opulence has been a great advocate for the farm, particularly through the deeds of Verry Elleegant, who is now plying her trade in France where she placed in the Gr.2 Prix Foy (2400m) last weekend.

“She (Opulence) has been a real flagbearer for us and has given us plenty of profile, which has been great,” Corcoran said.

“She has been New Zealand Broodmare of the Year for two years running and has left some great foals.

“Verry Elleegant was a Champion in Australia and last week she looked well and showed her true fighting spirit.

“Opulence isn't a one-hit wonder, with Verry Flash having won 11 races, including one at stakes level.

“Her Haradasun, Grand Prospect, won a race the other day so hopefully he wins a few more.”

Opulence also has a Zed yearling colt, which will be the last of her progeny to be offered to the public as a yearling next year.

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Longacres Mile champion Slew's Tiz Whiz was voted 2022 Emerald Downs Horse of the Meeting for the 52-day season that concluded Sunday.

A 4-year-old Washington-bred gelding by Slew's Tiznow, Slew's Tiz Whiz went 3-1-1 in seven starts and earned a meet-leading $142,112 for owner/breeder K D Thoroughbreds of Oak Harbor, Wash. Slew's Tiz Whiz captured two stakes including an authoritative 2 ¾-length score in the $150,000 Longacres Mile.

Slew's Tiz Whiz is the 17th Washington-bred to be honored with the track's top award and combined with the brilliantly fast Papa's Golden Boy to deliver the first Washington-bred one-two Longacres Mile finish in 27 seasons at Emerald Downs.

Trained by Tom Wenzel and ridden throughout the season by Jose Zunino, Slew's Tiz Whiz also won honors as Top Older Horse, Top Sprinter, and Top Washington-bred. The bay gelding is expected to return in 2023 to hopefully continue his budding rivalry with Papa's Golden Boy, the 6-year-old Harbor the Gold gelding who edged Slew's Tiz Whiz in Sunday's thrilling Muckleshoot Tribal Classic.

Wenzel enjoyed a smashing 2022 season, clicking at 27 percent wins and finishing third in earnings ($541,081) with only 81 starters. Wenzel swept juvenile honors with 2-year-old colt Lloyds Logic and 2-year-old filly Aloha Breeze, both campaigned by Washington Racing Hall of Fame member Dr. George Todaro.

A Kentucky-bred by The Factor, Lloyds Logic romped by 7 ¼ lengths in the $70,000 Gottstein Futurity and edged out double stakes winner Runnin Out of Days in the 2-year-old Colt & Gelding category. Aloha Breeze, also by The Factor, was 2-1-0 in three starts and delivered a 4 ¼-length triumph in the Barbara Shinpoch Stakes and is Top 2-Year-Old Filly.

Mike Phillips' Zippin Sevenz took honors as Top Older Filly or Mare. A 4-year-old Washington-bred by Coast Guard conditioned by Alan Bozell, Zippin Sevenz scored a $49 upset in the $75,000 Emerald Distaff and finished a close second to 2021 Washington Horse of the Year Blazingbellablu in Sunday's hard-fought Washington Cup Fillies & Mares Stakes.

Wil Win Stables and trainer Debbie Van Horne authored the meet's biggest underdog story with You're the Cause, an unlikely tale that saw the Creative Cause gelding voted Top 3-Year-old Colt or Gelding and Van Horne voted Top Training Achievement. Claimed for $8,000 on July 9, You're the Cause won, in order, a $15,000 claiming race for non-winner of two, the $75,000 Muckleshoot Derby, and a $10,000 starter allowance. Winning $2 mutuels on those wins paid $39.40, $115.60, and $16.20.

Ten Broeck Farms' Slack Tide is the meet's Top 3-Year-Old Filly. Trained by Blaine Wright, the daughter of Shaman Ghost scored dominant victories in the Seattle Stakes and Kent Stakes and, attempting two turns for the first time, finished second to Tiz a Macho Girl in the $75,000 Washington Oaks.

Prospera was voted Top Claimer, compiling a 4-1-0 record in five starts with earnings of $45,075. A 4-year-old Twirling Candy gelding, Prospera finished the season on a four-race winning streak including the last three with trainer Candi Cryderman and owner John Parker.

Alex Cruz won a third straight riding title with 90 wins, joining Rocco Bowen as the only riders in Emerald Downs history to win three consecutive titles. Cruz, Kevin Radke (77 wins), and Juan Gutierrez (70) dominated the proceedings, winning nearly 57 percent of the races at the meeting. Radke led all riders with five stakes wins while Gutierrez upped his all-time Emerald Downs' win total to 1,567.

Jorge Rosales won his first Emerald Downs' training title by a 36-29 margin over perennial powerhouses Blaine Wright and Frank Lucarelli. Rosales had been knocking on the door, finishing second in 2020 and third in 2021 and 2019. Wright led trainers with six stakes wins, the fourth time in six years he has led the category.

The yellow and black silks of John Parker monopolized the winner's circle with 25 wins—third highest single-season total in track history. For Parker, fourth all-time with 175 wins, it was his fifth leading owner title in seven years.

Trainer Debbie Peery received the Martin Durkan Award for leadership and cooperation, and fellow jockeys voted Radke the Lindy Aliment Award for sportsmanship and accomplishment throughout the meeting.

Abraaj was the leading stallion with 20 wins, ending a run of eight straight titles by Harbor the Gold.

LG Racing's Dr Tool captured the meet's top event for Quarter Horses, scoring by a neck in the $54,972 Bank of America Emerald Downs Championship Challenge Stakes.

Emerald Downs 2022 Season Honors

Horse of the Meeting: Slew's Tiz Whiz
Top Older Horse: Slew's Tiz Whiz
Top Older Filly or Mare: Zippin Sevenz
Top 3-Year-Old Colt or Gelding: You're the Cause
Top 3-Year-Old Filly: Slack Tide
Top Sprinter: Slew's Tiz Whiz
Top Washington-bred: Slew's Tiz Whiz
Top 2-Year-Old Colt or Gelding: Lloyds Logic
Top 2-Year-Old Filly: Aloha Breeze
Top Claimer: Prospera
Race of Meeting: Longacres Mile
Leading Jockey Wins: Alex Cruz (90)
Leading Jockey Stakes Wins: Kevin Radke (5)
Leading Trainer: Jorge Rosales (36)
Leading Trainer Stakes Wins: Blaine Wright (6)
Leading Owner: John Parker (25)
Leading Horse Wins: 4 (tie) Antecedence, Collecting Stars, Crooked Finger Ray, Prospera, Willing to Burn, You're the Cause, Zatter
Leading Horse Stakes Wins: 2 (tie) Papa's Golden Boy, Runnin Out of Days, Slack Tide, Slew's Tiz Whiz
Top Riding Achievement: Alex Cruz third straight title
Top Training Achievement: Debbie Van Horne with You're the Cause
Martin Durkan Award: Debbie Peery
Lindy Aliment Award: Kevin Radke
Leading Sire Wins: Abraaj (20)
Leading QH Trainer Wins: Edwin Rosales (3)
Leading QH Jockey Wins: Guilermo Suarez (3)

 

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Grade 1-winning filly Juju's Map is expected to make the trip to next week for the Grade 3, $200,000 Remington Park Oaks scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 25.

Juju's Map, a 3-year-old daughter of Liam's Map, out of the Flatter mare Nagambie, was building quite a resume as a 2-year-old last year, breaking her maiden by 5-3/4 lengths at Ellis Park in Kentucky and immediately stepping up in class to win the Grade 1, $400,000 Alcibiades Stakes at Keeneland Race Course. She impressed so much in that effort on Oct. 8 that trainer Brad Cox entered her in the Grade 1, $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Del Mar near San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 5. She was game in a second-place finish to Echo Zulu, the winner of North America's top race for 2-year-old fillies. Echo Zulu is owned by L and N Racing of Tulsa, Okla., and Winchell Thoroughbreds.

Juju's Map is owned by Albaugh Family Stables, an Iowa-based horse racing operation led by Dennis Albaugh and his son-in-law Jason Loutsch. Albaugh mortgaged his home to purchase a pesticide company that boomed and led him into horse racing. Albaugh Inc. exploded into a multi-billion dollar business and the family began purchasing horses. Besides Juju's Map, Albaugh Family Stables also has had Kentucky Derby trail horse Brody's Cause. Brody's Cause won the Blue Grass Stakes before running seventh in the “run for the roses.” He was a million-dollar earner in only eight starts.

Juju's Map is nearing that $1 million milestone with a career record of seven starts, three wins, two seconds and two thirds and $753,180 in earnings.

Cox is currently the No. 4 trainer in the country with his horses earning more than $17 million this year. He won the Eclipse Award as the nation's top trainer the past two years. His horses earned the most money of any conditioner in the country in 2021. They finished the year with $31,715,312. Trainer Steve Asmussen's $31,487,684 made it one of the tightest finishes in history in the earning's competition. Cox won the Belmont Stakes last year with Essential Quality and the Kentucky Derby with Mandaloun.

Juju's Map, who was bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III, was laid off after her runner-up finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies from Nov. 5 to May 6. Cox brought her back in an easier spot and she won the allowance-optional claimer for $62,500 horses under allowance conditions by 4-3/4 lengths at Churchill Downs. She followed that up with third-place finishes in the Grade 2, $250,000 Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park in New York and the Grade 2, $250,000 Monmouth Oaks on July 31. She hasn't raced since but has been working steadily in the mornings at Churchill.

The Remington Park Oaks is set for the only Sunday of racing this meet. A total of eight stakes races are expected on that night including the cornerstone Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby, the $150,000 David Vance Stakes for sprinters, the Flashy Lady Stakes, the Ricks Memorial Stakes, the Remington Green Stakes on the turf, the Kip Deville Stakes for 2-year-olds, and the E.L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

Some of the other Oaks prospects expected or possible among the 29 nominations for the biggest race for 3-year-old fillies at Remington Park this year are:

• Cleopatra's Charge. By Will Take Charge, out of the Smart Strike mare Cleopatra's Finest. Owned by Samuel F. Henderson and trained by Scott Young. She broke her maiden at Remington Park last year and then won the $300,000 Sunland Park Oaks in New Mexico this year by three-quarters of a length after trailing by 15 lengths in the race. Record: 10 starts, two wins and two thirds, $207,941 earnings.
• Cocktail Moments. By Uncle Mo, out of the Where's the Ring mare River Maid. Owned by Dixiana Farms and trained by Ken McPeek. Was runner-up in the Grade 1, $600,000 Ashland Stakes on April 8 before finishing eighth to Secret Oath in the Grade 1, $1,250,000 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 6. She was bred in Kentucky by Mark Stansell. Record: seven starts, two wins, one second and two thirds, $296,660 earnings.
• Hits Pricey Legacy. By Den's Legacy, out of the Concord Point mare High Price Hit. She would be carrying the local flag and is a multiple stakes winner at Remington Park, having won the $75,000 Slide Show Stakes here as a 2-year-old and then the $50,000 Oklahoma Stallion Stakes fillies division this year for owner-trainer-breeder C.R. Trout of Edmond, Okla. She was bred in Oklahoma. Record: six starts, three wins, two seconds and one third, $139,355 earnings.
• My Friend Amy. By Orb, out of the Smart Strike mare Orrery. Owned by Scott Gelner and trained by Jayde Gelner. Scott is Jayde's father and also a longtime trainer in Louisiana. If she goes, My Friend Amy would be trying to step up in class from a second-level allowance win here at Remington Park. She was bred in Kentucky by JSM Equine. Record: 17 starts, three wins, seven seconds and three thirds, $159,927 earnings.
• Turnerloose. Another filly from Cox's barn. This one is by Nyquist, out of the A.P. Indy mare Goaltending. She is owned by Ike and Dawn Thrash. She won the first two races of her career, breaking her maiden at Ellis Park in Kentucky and then stepping up to win the $500,000 Juvenile Fillies Stakes over the Kentucky Downs rolling turf course on Sept. 6 last year. Her only stakes win this year was the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans. She was bred in Kentucky by William Humphries & Altair Farms. Record: nine starts, three wins, one second and one third, $584,200 earnings.

The post-position draw for the Remington Park Oaks and the Sunday, Sept. 25 racing program will be conducted on Thursday morning, Sept. 22, in the Remington Park racing office.

The Oklahoma Derby Day program will cap the only five-date race week of the season. Remington Park action will take place Wednesday thru Sunday, Sept. 21-25. The first race nightly is at 7:07pm, with the derby card on Sunday afternoon at 3pm. All times are Central.

Tracked by more than 171,000 fans on Facebook and 10,600 Twitter followers, Remington Park has provided more than $301 Million to the State of Oklahoma general education fund since the opening of the casino in 2005. Located at the junction of Interstates 35 & 44, in the heart of the Oklahoma City Adventure District, Remington Park features the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby and Grade 3 Remington Park Oaks on Sunday, September 25. Thoroughbred racing continues through December 17 with simulcast racing daily, and a casino that is always open! Visit remingtonpark.com for more information.

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Making her first start since finishing a distant fourth in the Summertime Oaks (G2) June 12, heavily favored Ganadora toyed with her five rivals in the $75,000 Dark Mirage Stakes Sunday at Los Alamitos.

Owned by Baoma Corp. and trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the 3-year-old daughter of Quality Road and the Ghostzapper mare Beloveda led throughout, despite an eventful beginning, under jockey Juan Hernandez, ultimately prevailing by eight lengths.

The win was the third in four starts for Ganadora, who was purchased by agent Donato Lanni for $1 million from the Gainesway consignment at the 2020 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She's now banked $131,600. She paid $3.60 the 4-5 choice while completing the mile in 1:36.30.

“She broke weird and I lost my stirrup briefly, but everything was fine after a sixteenth of a mile,'' said Hernandez, who is now 3-for-3 with Ganadora. “She was just playing on the lead. She had her ears up, which I love, because it means she's waiting for company. She changed leads at the quarter pole and was very strong.''

Mike Marlow, an assistant to Baffert, said the time off since the Summertime Oaks was beneficial to Ganadora.

“She's been doing well,'' he said. “She's light and she's really hard on herself, so the time between races did her good. That's her style. She's got speed and you just have to let her do what comes easy and not fight with her.''

Empire House, who had been unplaced in five previous races around two turns, was second at 10-1, finishing three-quarters of a length in front of 5-1 third choice Trouville.

Founder's Day, Velvet Slippers, the other Baffert entrant and the 3-1 second choice, and Cover Version completed the order of finish. Midnight Jamboree was scratched.

Ganadora was bred in Kentucky by Gainesway Thoroughbreds LTD, Brian Graves, and Michael E. Hernon.

The post ‘She Broke Weird’: Ganadora Overcomes Awkward Start Before Romping Home In Los Al’s Dark Mirage appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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